Beyond Blue Eyes

08: Jade

The next morning, I wake up and discover that I'm holding Tori in my arms. I'm a bit surprised to wake up next to her, but I smile anyway because I get to see her as soon as I wake up. I simply lay there and observe her for a bit, since it's the first day of Thanksgiving break, so we have nowhere to be. While I watch her, her eyelids flutter a few times, then she wakes up. "Morning Vicki," I say with a smile. "Morning babygirl. How long have you been up?" She asks sleepily. "About ten minutes, I think. You're cute when you're sleeping," I reply. "You were watching me sleep?" She asks. "Yeah. I wanted something to do until you got up, since you were in my arms and probably would've woken up if I had moved," I reply. "Well, I'm glad that I look cute when I'm asleep," she says with a smile. "You should be. I probably look terrible when I'm asleep," I say with a chuckle. "Nah, I bet you look beautiful, babygirl," Tori replies, kissing me softly. "Heh, maybe you're right. So, what do you feel like doing today, since it's now Thanksgiving break?" I ask her. "Do you want to go for a walk, then stop at Nacho Ball for lunch?" She asks me. "Works for me, Vicki," I reply, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to take a shower. When I return to my room, I find Tori sitting on my bed with one leg crossed over the other. "Your turn, sweetie," I say, and she gets up and heads to take a shower, while I pick a nice necklace to wear.

After a quick breakfast, Tori and I head out for our walk, where we get surprised when we run into Robbie and Rex almost immediately after we get to the park. "Hey Robbie, Rex. How are you guys?" Tori asks. "We're doing pretty good, thanks for asking," he replies, and I notice that he looks like he's been out walking for a while already. "How long have you been walking this morning?" I ask him. "What time is it?" He asks. "8:30," I reply after looking at my watch. "About three-and-a-half hours now," he says, and my jaw drops. "You've been out here walking around since five AM?" I ask. "Yeah," he says casually. "Who are you trying to impress?" I ask him. "Well... you know that group of new students at school? The ones who started their own band?" He asks. "Oh, I know who you mean," I say, remembering the five students who started at Hollywood Arts at the start of the year. "Well, I've been trying to get the attention of one of the girls, but I don't think that she knows that I exist," he says. "So... you're exercising in order to get her to notice you?" I ask him. "Yep," he replies simply. "Have you tried just walking up and talking to her about something?" Tori asks him. "Yeah, but every time that I try, one of her friends walks up and starts talking to her instead," Robbie says. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, Robbie," I say, then I hear rock music coming from somewhere nearby. "That music sounds familiar," Tori says, having heard the music too. "I know, right? It sounds like Mouth Noise, doesn't it?" I ask her. "Yeah, it does," she replies. "Maybe we can go watch them play for a bit," Robbie says. "Sounds like a great idea," I say, and Tori nods in agreement.

When we reach the band, they've just finished playing, and the first one to notice us is the brunette, Presley. "Hey guys. I'm guessing you guys came to watch us play our music," she says. "Yeah, but it's alright if you're already done," I say. "Yeah, we are. Sorry," she says softly. "Maybe we can come to one of your concerts sometime," Robbie says. "I'd like that. You'd be welcome to any of our concerts," Presley says. "Can I tell you something?" Robbie asks her. "Sure. It's Robbie, right?" She asks. "Yes. I wanted to say that I think that you're beautiful. Maybe we could get coffee sometime or something?" He asks, and Presley looks at him. "You mean like a date or something?" She asks him. "Well, yes. If that's alright, I mean," he says. "Well Robbie, I really appreciate the offer, and I'm touched that you think that I'm beautiful, I really am. It's just that I'm already going out with someone else," she says, and just as Robbie's about to ask her who, her friend Lex comes over to join her, kissing her on the cheek. "Ah, here she is now. This is my girlfriend, Lex," she says, and Lex waves at us. "Oh. It's fine. Nice to meet you, Lex," he says. "Nice to meet you too, Robbie," Lex replies sweetly. Presley's younger brother Fisher walks up to Robbie and whispers something in his ear. Robbie nods and walks away, while Tori and I continue on our walk.

At Nacho Ball, Tori and I chat about Thanksgiving tomorrow, and what our plans are. "I really don't plan on doing anything special tomorrow. My mom probably won't even be home," I say. "Well, you're welcome to come to my house for Thanksgiving dinner if you want. I'm sure my parents won't mind," Tori says. "And what about your older sister?" I ask. "Don't worry about her. If she tries to make you mad, just don't respond," Tori says. "I'll try my best," I say. "That's all I'm asking you to do, babygirl," she says, taking my hand briefly.

When I wake up the next morning, I find that Tori has left me a text message saying that she's excited for me to come over for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. I put an outfit together that I hope will be appropriate for Thanksgiving at Tori's house, then head downstairs for breakfast.

That evening, I knock on Tori's door, and she answers it almost immediately. "Hey babygirl! I'm so happy you could make it!" She says, embracing me in a tight hug. I return her hug and we head inside, and I sit down with her on the couch. "How have you been so far today?" She asks me. "I've been good, how about you?" I ask her. "I've been good, but I'm doing better now that you're here," she says. "Same here, sweetie," I reply with a smile, just as the rest of her family comes into the room. Predictably, Trina's face darkens as soon as she sees me, but her parents are all smiles. "You must be Jade. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tori's father David, and this is my wife Holly," her father says, shaking my hand, and Holly does the same. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," I say, doing my best to ignore Trina, who's glaring at me. "We're almost done making dinner. All that's left is the turkey," Holly says, just as a timer goes off. "Speaking of," David says, going over and getting the turkey out of the oven. We all gather at the table for dinner, and I sit next to Tori, which annoys Trina, judging by her reaction to it. Once everyone has some food, we start to eat. "Wow, this turkey is delicious," I say with a smile. "Thanks. I worked very hard on it," Holly says with a smile. "I can tell there's a lot of care put into making it," I say. "I'm glad that you enjoy it," she says.

About halfway through dinner, I'm surprised when something weird hits the side of my face. I touch it to see what it is, and when I look at my fingers, I discover that it's ranch dip, and my best guess for who did it is limited to one person: Trina. I take a napkin that Tori offers me and wipe off my cheek, then return to my dinner like nothing happened. When I get up to get something from my car, when I walk back inside, I feel something land on my head and proceed to get soaking wet. "Ugh! What is this chiz?!" I ask furiously, shaking my hands off. "Oh my God, I am so sorry! I don't know how that happened!" Tori says, hurrying over to me with a towel. I grab the towel from her and dry off my face. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Do you have something dry I can wear until I go home?" I ask her. "Sure. I'll put something in the bathroom for you," she says, rushing off upstairs. A short time later, she comes back in and tells me that everything's ready for me.

After I've taken a shower, I rejoin Tori and her family, and they all apologize for what happened to me, even Trina. "Thanks for apologizing. I appreciate it. I don't even really care if I find out who did it," I say kindly.

----

Okay, I know that this chapter ended kind of abruptly. I just kinda ran out of ideas. The next chapter is probably going to be about Christmas, but that's all I'm going to say about it. I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, bye for now!