Tightrope

Chapter Twenty One

"I'm sorry." Jade repeated herself for the tenth time, curled up in the corner of the couch, wearing some of Tori's old sweats. Tori herself lay across the cushions, with her feet in Jade's lap and an ice pack pressed against her temple.

"Stop apologizing, it's creeping me out." Tori smiled, despite the large bump that had appeared on the side of her head when she smacked it on her dresser earlier. Jade didn't seem to know her own strength - unless, of course, she'd done it on propose. Something about her guilt seemed to be sincere, though. It hurt, sure, but Tori was much more concerned with the horrified look that had come across Jade's face the second it happened, and the number of times she'd genuinely apologized afterward. Jade had never been the type of person to feel bad about other people's pain, and something seemed a little off, only in a way that wasn't quite so bad.

"I'm just making sure you know it's not my fault that you fell in the direction of a piece of furniture."

"Yes it is! You pushed me in that direction!" Distracted from her pain, Tori set her ice pack down on the floor beside the couch and pulled herself up into a seated position.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my intention to give you a concussion. I was just messing around." Neither of them so much as blinked when Jade reached out to set her hand on Tori's knee, and Tori only stared back at her with a slight smile when the actress' fingers crawled a little further up her leg.

"I'm fine. You just need to learn your way around my bedroom so you'll know what you're pushing me toward next time." It didn't even occur to Jade that Tori's words sounded a little off until the girl went silent and turned red. "Oh my god. Why did I even open my mouth? I did not mean it that way."

"Sure." Jade only said the one word, but her eyes were speaking for her. Tori could only imagine all the dirty things she was restraining herself from saying out loud.

"Umm... do you want some ice cream or something? I think I have a few different flavors in the freezer." Tori stood up and moved to the kitchen, though she wasn't hungry. Her embarrassment and discomfort could only be dealt with by stuffing her face, so she rifled through the freezer for something to eat.

"Uh, no, I should probably go home. It's getting kind of late." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the lights flickered and died, changing her mind instantly. "On second thought, maybe I will."

"Don't wanna take the stairs?" Tori guessed accurately in the dark, while she reached into the drawer she kept her flashlight in. A second later, the light shone in Jade's face, nearly blinding her. She reached across the counter, ripping the device from Tori's hand and then smacking her on the shoulder with it.

"Ow! How do you expect me to date you if you're just gonna keep hurting me!"

"I don't know, I guess you'll just need to put my happiness before your own." Jade laughed to make sure Tori knew it was supposed to be a joke, and aimed the flashlight at the tub of ice cream slowly melting in front of her. Tori had scooped out some of it into one bowl, which she pushed toward Jade, giving the girl a reason to smile as she thought about how Beck would have just passed the ice cream to her and taken the first bowl for himself. Granted, she probably would've made some passive aggressive remark about his misogynistic assumption that she couldn't do it for herself, and he would've expected that. With Tori it was different though, so this time Jade let herself be catered to without saying a word.

Tori scooped the last of the ice cream into a small bowl for herself and left the spoon in the empty container. She took a few bites, watching the outline of Jade's shadowed body as she licked her spoon in silence. Tori wondered if she was acting this way because she was disappointed with what had happened - or technically, what hadn't happened - earlier, or if she just felt awkward because Tori felt awkward.