6:00am (3:00am SEQUEL) // Jori fan fic

Chapter 21 - Redemption (+18)

My night was both hot and cold, with great moments that I'll never forget and gnarly reminders of things that I wish I could forget. It ended lovely with me dropping Tori off home and walking down the few blocks to my house in peace. Everything was going well and I felt like I was walking on clouds until I turned the corner and saw Babe waiting for me outside my building in a black hoodie and some shorts. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, and she looked rather tired. I took a deep breath and walked towards her. Once she spotted me, she quickly walked towards me, trying to get my attention.
"Jade, can we please talk?" Babe pleaded quietly, getting to my side, but I gently shoved her aside and kept walking.
"I don't wanna talk to you, dude." I scoffed, walking past her. She ran up to me again and grabbed my hand, holding me back from walking away. 
"I swear that Henry and I didn't kiss. I'm sorry if that's what you think happened, but I swear on my life that nothing happened. He's got a girlfriend! They're happy together. Just like I am with you, Jade." She explained. I turned back to her slowly and studied her face - she looked worried and sad. Her brows her furrowed and her eyes were threatening to spill the tears that were pooling. She wore no makeup and seemed to not have put effort in her outfit, but ran out to see me instead. Was she telling the truth? Or is she lying almost flawlessly the way Tori did? 
"Why did you whisper to him in that way?" I asked. Stupid question, but at the time it made sense to ask. Babe looked confused at my question too, but wiped away the tears that rolled down her cheeks and took in a deep breath. 
"It's stupid, but we had just passed this little cafe, and seated inside was one of our old friends, Gary. We no longer talk or hang out with him because he ditched us to hang out with some preppy, rich kids. He sold us out and we were talking shit about him and the reason I turned that way instead of whispering normally was because they were seated by the window, and I didn't want him to recognize me with his trashy friends." Babe explained as she started fidgeting with her fingers. 
"That sounds insane. Plausible, but insane." I sighed. At this point, if she's actually telling the truth, then damn, but if she was lying, I was too tired to continue arguing anyway. I'll have to take a leap of faith again. I opened up my arms and in she jumped, wrapping her arms around my waist tightly and burying her face in my chest.
"I missed you." She wept. 
"Me too." I answered quietly before wrapping an arm around her and walking into the building with her at my side.
We walked past the doorman who greeted us with a nod and called the elevator. I dug out my keys from my bag and let Babe walk in before me. 
"How was your night?" I asked.
"It was alright. I was worried because you weren't answering my calls, or my texts and I felt terrible about the words we exchanged." She stated, keeping an am around my waist. " How was yours?"
"Good. Had dinner with Sam and Cat as Mary Frank. I went as Jake and Tori went as Beth." I replied with a small smile. 
"Oh, that's great. Where did you go? I'm surprised you didn't return with a car." 
We got to my door, and I unlocked the door, letting us in to a happy Ice that jumped on both of us, wanting to give us kisses.
"We went to Elisa's and I had a few strawberry mojitos to last me the night, so I didn't take the care with me and instead walked home with Tori since she lives just a few blocks down." I informed, taking off my coat and heels and holding them instead. I didn't wanna tell her about my little moment with Tori knowing that it would lead to another fight when we were just method acting. Babe was never really an easy person to talk to, and sometimes it would suffocate me, but I liked her a lot, so I sucked it up and pushed through.
"Oh. I've always wanted to go to Elisa's." Babe mentioned behind me. 
"I'll take you there one day." I spoke, making my way to the kitchen with her behind me. I left my purse and coat on a chair and opened up the fridge to get a bottle of water and then got a small bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos from the pantry. Once I got what I needed, I ushered for Babe to follow me up to my bedroom. We got to my room and Ice hopped on the bed, visibly showing his excitement for me to get into bed with him. Midnight was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he was asleep with my parents. 
"Do you need pajamas?" I asked as I slipped out of my outfit and started putting on my pajamas which was just a black band shirt and some shorts. 
"I'm good." She  smiled, pulling off her hoodie and revealing a t-shirt underneath which she was gonna sleep in. As I was starting to settle in, a knock emitted from my door. We both turned and saw my Mom in her silky night dress with her hair up in a pony tale and a fuzzy robe keeping her warm. 
"Hi honey, did you have fun?" She asked with a small smile. 
"Yeah, I did, Mom. Thanks." I replied with a nod. 
"Would you like a cup of tea?" My Mom offered quietly. 
"Sure. Babe, you can get comfortable. I'll be back in a minute." I stated. She nodded and my Mom and I made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen with a desperate pitbull on our heels who needed the affection. I took a seat on the island and watched as my Mom pulled out the kettle to warm up the tea and water in. Once that was left to boil, she pulled out three mugs and waited with me. 
"So, what happened, sweetie?" Her hands were clasped together as she patiently awaited for an answer.
"What do you mean?" I responded. 
"Earlier, before you left with Tori, you were yelling at Babe over the phone. I don't know what happened, but you seemed very upset. " 
I sighed and slumped down, leaning on the table on my elbow, "I'm sorry about that, Mom. We got into a fight, but it's resolved now."
"Is it? You seemed to have had fun tonight." She stated with a smile as she wiped my under eye with her thumb only to show me I had eye liner smudges from laughing too hard. 
"Yeah, I did." I chuckled, pulling out a tissue for her. 
"Thanks, honey. I think Babe is a lovely girl. She's really kind, and beautiful, but is she really the one?" She asked. 
"Why are you being like this?" 
"Like what?" 
"Why don't you trust my sense of judgement? I'm happy with this girl, Mom." I explained tiredly as I rubbed my temples. 
"Honey, I do. I trust you. You are such a great daughter, a great person. If you say this girl makes you happy, then I'll trust you. But you cannot get mad when I question a few of your decisions because I'll always be your mother and I'll always worry when my baby doesn't seem alright." My Mom pointed out, taking my hand in hers in comfort. 
"I am alright, Mom. Don't worry. Please." I answered. 
"Alright, honey." She respectfully nodded and made our tea before we made our way up. We split up and my Mom walked into her room, leaving me to walk into mine. I walked in, letting Ice in as well and shut the door behind me. Babe was sat on my bed, scrolling through Netflix on my television. 
"Hey, wanna watch a movie?" She asked with a smile. This smile didn't make me feel a way, though. 
"Sure." We got under the covers, and Ice got in between us, finally getting the love he wanted. I cuddled him and gave him plenty of kisses. "Hi, my love." 
Babe had clicked on a movie, and I turned off the lights and left the lamp beside me on. The movie she picked was just another cheesy romance movie despite me telling her I hated romance movies. I noticed halfway through the movie that the love story depicted was the same as everything else I've seen; the leading lady is loved by two important men in her life and she had to choose between a rich, successful man she just met that would be perfect for her, or the best friend that didn't have much but would give her the world. Of course, the underdog best friend got her. The reason why I started to hate every single minute of this was because this was unrealistic. Not everybody could end up with the person they want to.