Wasn't He Enough?

Patience

After fleeing the lunch room and her concerned friends that sat in it, Tori ran to her best bet for privacy. She entered the school hastily, hoping not to see anyone she knew. The last thing she wanted was to talk about her conflicting emotions. As she was navigating her way through the hall ways she remembered Colton. She had yet to reply to him, it had been a few hours since she even viewed his text.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little bad, but she really hated feeling like she was leading him on and didn't have the courage to bluntly tell him she just wanted to be friends. What was she supposed to do?

It took her a second to realize she had lost focus on her mission and was standing in the middle of the hallway, motionless. Lucky for her it was still her lunch period so she technically wasn't breaking any rules.

She didn't even know where she had been going, really. She spun around, trying to find somewhere to go. She had no desire to actually go to her next class, so she bolted to her soon-to-be hideaway. She moved closer to the large wooden door, placing her hand lightly on the cold metal of the handle. She sighed, then turned it quickly, peaking around her surroundings to be sure no one would spot her going into the janitor's closet.

She quickly stepped inside of the closet to find that the light was already on. She closed the door behind her quietly and turned around.Luckily for her, it wasn't the janitor, but to say she was surprised would be an understatement of what she saw. She was stunned.

Sitting in the corner of the closet, leaning on one of the old shelves was Jade West. She looked the same as she had this morning, if not more pissed off.

"What the hell-" Jade started looking up at Tori from her spot on the floor. "Of course it's you, Vega." She said as she turned away from the girl, annoyed. Tori stood frozen for a moment, looking at the dark-haired girl seated on the dirty closet floor.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Tori said in a confused whisper. Jade shot up to her feet. Her shoulders were tense, and her stance was wide. She clenched her fists and glare at the intruder.

"Y'know,  I could ask you the same damn thing." She paused for a second to meet Tori's eyes. "You should get out." Her tone was full of frustration, but just as she had been earlier that morning, Tori was confused. This time Jade's anger didn't seem to reach her eyes. She  seemed more tired and frustrated than she did angry. Tori couldn't help the curiosity that filled her, what could make Jade so off?

Tori stared at Jade, taken aback my her own thoughts trying to conjure up possibilities for why Jade wasn't her usual self. Jade didn't break her gaze, but Tori could see that her facade was crumbling, even if it was only slightly, she noticed. The way Jade's eyes were glazed over, sparkling with wet tears that she would never let fall. The way her face stayed focused on Tori, trying to put up a tough front but her expression was too tight, too tense. She was trying too hard.

"I'm not gonna just leave you here Jade."

"Maybe you should."

Tori stood and stared. She could see Jade's strong front crumbling slightly, her eyes still  glossed over with tears threatening to spill over.

The raven-haired girl turned away from Tori, contemplating her options. She wanted to run. Just leave and hide away, that's how she had ended up in the damn janitor's closet in the first place. She faced Tori again, but couldn't think of anything that would get her to leave. She broke her struggling gaze from Tori and looked to the door knob.

"Jade." Tori whispered softly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what's wrong, but I'm not gonna leave you." For a moment Tori truly believed she had broken through to Jade. There seemed to have been a simple understanding between the two girls for a second, as though Jade would finally explain everything going on with her, but Jade caught herself. Opening up was just a trap, she reminded herself.

Jade shrugged off Tori's arm and mustered up a glare. "And why shouldn't you leave me, Vega? Huh?" She shook her head angrily. "Because you and I are such good fucking friends, aren't we?" She stepped away from the door and leaned back into one of the cluttered shelves. "You can't possibly still believe we're friends. I don't even like you Vega." She chewed the inside of her cheek, as much anger as she forced out onto Vega, she could feel her eyes watering. "It's all just bullshit and you know it. So why don't you just-"

Tori pressed her palms onto Jade's shoulders, forcing her focus onto her.

"Jade, stop! Just stop fucking talking." Jade was surprised at Tori's aggressive reaction, but remained silent. Her attention had been pulled to the brunette's hands that grasped her shoulders. Tori shifted her balance from left to right nervously. Cautiously, she removed her hands from Jade's shoulders. "Whatever's wrong, I'm here for you, okay? I'm not gonna leave you here." Jade shook her head, eyes staring at the ground. Tori stood there, hesitant to say anything else that could make Jade leave.

Seconds later Jade's back was sliding down the old wooden shelf and had returned to sitting on the floor. She held her knees in her arms and emitter a barely audible sniffle. She sat beside Jade and wrapped her arm around her. Damn, if only Jade would just tell her what was happening.

Instead, Tori ran her hand through Jade's dark hair and rested her head on her's. She held her close, and desperately hoped Jade wouldn't try to flee again.

When Jade finally spoke, Tori wasn't sure how much time had passed. She was content, but filled with so much concern for her friend.

"He broke up with me."

And in just five words, everything that had happened made much more sense. Tori lifted her head from Jade's to face her. "I guess it finally happened. I became to much for the only person who could tolerate me." Tori shook her head, trying to ignore the derogatory stance Jade held on herself.

It made sense too, that Tori never saw them at homecoming. Something must've happened during the dance, or that night atleast. With that, Jade's lips are pressed together again, and muffled sniffles return to the air. Tori simply waits. Sitting patiently, arms wrapped tightly around the crying girl, she waits. She'd been waiting for what felt like forever just for Jade to tell her what was wrong, and for the first time ever, she was sure there had been progress made in their friendship.

Jade adjusted a piece of fallen hair from her face and carefully wiped her eyes. When Jade regathered herself, she broke away from Tori. Clenching her jaw nervously she looked to the brunette. Tori gave her a soft smile and repositioned herself to face Jade.

"Do you wanna come over?" Jade nodded uncomfortably, averting eye contact. "Let's go." Tori helped Jade rise front the floor and cautiously peeked out into the hallway. Quite a bit of time must have passed because the halls were once again empty. Tori supposed it was probably 7th period. When Tori decided the coast was clear she guided Jade into the hall, her hand wrapped around Jade's.

The two girls made it to Tori's car without conflict. The sun was high in the sky, but clouds obscured the sunlight from shining down. A tiny smile made its way onto her face as they drove. She thought about finally getting Jade to open up to her. She wished Jade would've just trusted her sooner, but she wouldn't trade the progress for anything. After all, she would have waited forever if she had to.

Waiting. Damn, she still hadn't replied to Colton. Oh well, that was a problem for later.

She glanced over at Jade in shotgun who was zoning out as she looked up at the grey clouds. It would rain soon, but at least they would make it to Tori's house. The radio played softly in the background, neither of the girls recognized it but Tori could feel the rhythm of it and struck her as happy; Jade connected to the lyrics, even though she would likely never reveal it. Perhaps they'd have to learn it someday.

Tori pulled into the driveway, just as it began sprinkling.