Rebound (jade x tori)

360

 Still Jade's pov

My eyes are empty of tears, but I take a deep breath. I'm so nervous-what if Beck and Percy are kissing again, what if I start crying and make a fool of myself, what if, what if, what if, and my stomach feels like it's dropped out. Like I'm hungry, but I'm full, it's like there's this empty pit in my core and the one thing that can fill it is Beck.

She opens the door gently and Sikowitz, in the midst of his teachings, turns and looks at her. I step out through the door and we take a seat in the back together, hands locked, and when I look back to him I give him one of my nastiest death glares, the one that means I'm about to pull a cannon out of my bra and unalive the entire contents of the room, as I wait for him to keep teaching. He continues after a short pause.

My head's aching. Maybe it's nerves, or anger, or misery, or all the water that left my body in the form of tears, or the stress or maybe just a normal headache, but I'm tired, and my eyes hurt to keep open and sting when I blink, and I just want to rest on something. I look to my right. We're in the corner, so next to me is the windowsill with like a thousand dead bugs on it, and on my left is Tori, her clever, chocolate eyes on Sikowitz, holding my hand securely and absentmindedly rubbing her thumb over my bandages to let me know she's there for me.

The bug-filled windowsill or Tori. I let out a long breath and Tori looks at me, making sure I'm okay, before turning back to Sikowitz. Maybe I can keep my head up. I try, but eventually I stop. I close my eyes and lay my head on her shoulder, nestling into her neck. I feel her hold my hand a little tighter, and rest her head on top of mine.

I don't know why I'm doing this, why all of a sudden I hug her and hold her hand and lean my head on her shoulder. I think it's because, when I was panic attacking and breaking down, she stayed with me, at my side, and she held me when I cried, all even though I was total ass to her. So I care about her now. For her. I'd die for her, and kill for her like I would for Cat. Like I would have for Beck.

I mean, those two aren't saying that much, really, because I love beating people up and I had already lost my will to live. I widen my eyes slightly at that thought. Why was I still here if I had lost my will to live? Because I had someone to live for-Beck. I lost him now. Why was I still here? Why wasn't I dead?

No reason.

None at all.

Time skip

Tori's pov

I drive home from school in my car, and when I get to my house Trina is there at the door. At first I think my mom planted her there to apologize for the incident occuring that morning-in which she glued feathers to my favorite pants and attempted to turn them into, from what I could tell, some kind of hideous half of a furry suit. But then I hear her.

Don't get me wrong, I love and care about my sister. For the most part. Or the some part. Or any part at all. But she's infinitely entitled, sings like a screeching goose but is convinced she sounds like an angel, and whines until my skeleton is all that's left and my parents rescue me. She's serenading me with bloody mary shrieks as I get home.

Too tired for this, I push past her and go to my room, closing the door and sitting on the bed and thinking. About Jade. I like her, especially this new side of her, this side she never shows anyone else. The side that I could be friends with. And I think I'm starting to be. But she protected me, and I promise myself that as long as I have a choice I'm never leaving her side. I'd do whatever it took to help her heal.

I'd be there for her. She's a protector, I know that, so I feel the need to somehow repay the saving she gave to me today. And it's not even the first time, though she doesn't know it. Jade has this... safety about her, where if I'm with her I know nothing but her can kill me. I vividly remember the time Cat tried to drive us around late at night, and in her trunk was a bag of fake feet. I remember how, when we opened it and thought they were real feet, and I was scared, the first thing I did was grab Jade's hand for protection.