By Any Other Name

Chapter Two

The next day found Jade West scowling into her phone as she brushed her teeth. She was on Tori Vega's Slap page, reading the half-Latina's last post.

'Dinner at my favorite place with way more presents than I deserve. I have the best friends in the world! :{)'

With an aggravated groan she slammed her phone down onto the sink counter and immediately regretted it. The poor device hit the porcelain with a crack that made her wince and after a moment Jade huffed, letting the toothbrush hang out of the side of her mouth as her other hand moved to gingerly turn the phone back over. A brief moment of relief passed through her when she saw no cracks in the screen but in a second her mood went sour again.

Why couldn't I have just gone to the stupid party? Now I'm gonna have to hear all about it from Beck and Vega'll ask me why I didn't go and I'll have to think of something biting and cruel to say... it's not like it'll be hard but I'm just so sick of this. Teasing just doesn't do it for me anymore...

Ripping the cap off the mouthwash, Jade poured herself a capful and tipped it back, gargling until she was sure her breathe was Wintergreen-fresh. As she spit into the sink she caught sight of herself in the mirror and proceeded to glare at her own reflection.

"You can break into her locker and leave her a stupid flower but you don't have the guts to go to the girl's stupid birthday dinner?"

She kept the staring contest going for a solid thirty seconds, her irritation growing as her snarling reflection mocked her. When she got sick of waiting for an answer she knew wasn't going to come, she groaned and headed back to her room to get dressed. The trip from the bathroom to her bedroom was eerily silent, as always.

There were never any home-like noises in her house: no faucets running, kettles sounding off, no pleasant morning conversation.

Hell, if there was any sound at all in that house it was the sound of silence.

Even the slamming of her bedroom door seemed somehow muted... like it felt awkward breaking the silence and was trying to apologize for it. Even though Jade always tried to make as much noise as she could when she was getting ready in the morning it always proved futile. The house was still cold and empty; it didn't matter what she did. No one was around to hear it. No one was around to care. She was still alone.

"...now what am I gonna wear. Dress? No. Skirt?" She frowned, hands fisted firmly on her hips as she stared into her predominately-black closet. After a moment, she sighed. "Pants. I'm not in the mood to be gorgeous today. Shirts shirts shirts... hah, let's see... This one? No. That one? Hah, no. Scissor shirt? ...Maybe."

Talking to herself was just one of the many tactics she'd invented for dealing with her house, as did tossing each disregarded article of clothing onto her bed. She always told herself she'd busy herself later by putting it all away when she came home; it'd kill maybe a good seven minutes.

"...I haven't worn flannel in a while..." Jade held the purple flannel shirt in her hands, trying to remember the last time she'd worn it, but the harder she tried the more convinced she became that she hadn't. Looking back up into her closet she spied the red one she always used to wear before she'd dyed her hair. "Hm. Flannel it is."

She grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans then went to her dresser to get a bra, underwear and a black tank top. Once she sat down at her vanity to do her face. When she went to line her eyes she paused, eyes flitting about her face, and tried to decide if she loved or hated how pale she was.

Tori's tan... and I like the way Tori looks, even though I'll probably never admit it to her face... fat lot of good it'd do if I did. She thinks I hate her guts.