By Any Other Name

Chapter Three

If in her head Tori had been expecting to find Jade crying alone in the Black Box Theatre, the notion hadn't had time to travel down her vertebrae and send her heart the message. The way she was looking at Jade, her eyes filled to the brim with sadness and something that in anyone else but Tori would have been pity...

But Jade knew Tori didn't pity her. You don't pity the people you care about.

And Tori did care about her.

Despite everything Jade had done to push the other girl away Tori still cared, somewhere deep down. Sure, on the surface they couldn't stand each other... but if Tori didn't care about her she wouldn't bother putting up with her. After realizing that the other girl was there to stay, Jade gradually began to find herself looking forward to "spending time" with Tori. Teasing to get a rise out the half-Latina had always seemed to satisfy Jade's need for her attention; instead of intimidating, Vega's return fire had just intrigued and entertained her. And when teasing stopped being enough? Jade knew she was in trouble. Instead of backing off though, Jade just tried harder; her teases became all-out emotional assaults and every word out of her mouth was accompanied by a metaphorical dagger.

In hindsight, that was probably the worst thing she could have done; somehow Tori had seen past the harsh words and biting insults and glimpsed the vulnerability hiding behind them.

Not your typical love story... but hey, typical is boring. No wonder she drives me crazy; our relationship is anything but typical.

"...do you wanna talk about it?"

Talk about what, Vega? The fact that I'm head over heels for you? Do you want to talk about how, no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop you from scaling my walls and stealing your way into my heart? Would you like to hear all about how my boyfriend just broke up with me because he's in love with you too? Or maybe we should just skip all that and discuss how incredibly hopeless I am with this love crap.

"No."

She heard Tori exhale through her nose; not quite a sigh, but it spoke volumes.

Tori was the only girl she knew that could manage to be frustrated, hurt, angry, sympathetic and understanding at the same time. Her eyes flicked to the side, meeting Tori's, and she waited to see if the other girl would try and force an explanation from her. She wouldn't get one, Jade wasn't that weak, but it was still important for Jade to wait and see.

A minute passed with no questions, no words... only those eyes, begging silently, pleading her to open up. Jade felt the corner of her mouth twitch up in satisfaction.

Thanks for not pushing it, Tori.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't sit here anymore; she needed to move, to do something. Gently untangling herself from Tori's embrace, she stood up, pulling her bag along with her. She wasn't going back to class, no way; the chances of seeing Beck in the hall or in class were too high. She wasn't going home either; she'd sooner turn herself in to the police for slashing her neighbor's tires.

...Coffee. I'll get coffee.

She started off without a word, and when Tori called out to her she didn't stop, instead casting a glance back over her shoulder and flashing a reassuring half-smile.

"Relax, Vega. I'm not gonna do anything stupid. I just need to get out of here for a little while."

"Want me to come with you?"

That did make her stop. Did she want Tori to come with her? Well, yes; that was a stupid question. But did Tori need to come with her? Was it worth it for her to get in trouble for skipping just so she could keep an outwardly stone-cold Jade West company? It'd make her happy, thrilled even, but...