A Singer or a Fighter (Tori Vega/Shelby Marx)

Double Life

It's been two weeks and man, is she tired and sore. Tori squeezed her water bottle, so the refreshing ice water streamed into her mouth. She has been hitting the gym hard every day except Monday.

Surprisingly, she fell back into her routine rather easily, working out in the morning when any sane person should be sleeping and later in the day after school. She could already see progress that was well earned. Her body became even more toned, but remained thin which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, she guesses that's part of why she wins her fights. Her opponents always underestimate her. She may have been small in stature and didn't have big muscles, but these muscles have been conditioned to be lean and powerful, add that to her strategical mind, and boom, Shelby Marx.

Once cooled down, she showered in the locker rooms the gym provided, dressed, and did her makeup there. Now, on to school.

"Yay," she sighed, not looking forward to being the energetic Tori her friend have come to know as her body was struggling to repair itself to keep up with her intense training. Although, she loved her new black Ducati Monster. It took a little convincing for her dad to let her get one, but even he knew Trina wasn't going to get Tori to and from the gym everyday. He had asked how was she going to ride it if she didn't know how. She said it was better not to question it. What? Can't a girl have an interest in motorcross? While Trina snuck away to parties, Tori/Shelby snuck away to 'other events'.

Tori arrived a little past her usual time. She quickly parked her bike a block away to avoid questions about "perfect prissy Tori" having a motorcycle. She power walked until she was inside schoolat her locker, groaning when her hands proved too shaky to open up her locker. She really needed more than just a shake and pre-workout for breakfast. Darn it, she could have left earlier to get a donut at least.

"I got you, Tori," a familiar, friendly voice sounded near her and she thanked Andre for getting her locker opened a minute later.

"No problem, chica. Why the shaky hands?" Andre asked, worriedly.

"I don't think I had enough to eat this morning," Tori got the books she needed for her first class, closing her locker, "but no need to worry, I can wait until lunch."

"If you say so, guess this means I'll have to help you with your locker all day today," he teased. She gave him puppy dog eyes, "Just until lunch?"

"Sure," he shrugged, his locker was just right there anyway.

"You're the best, Andre! If only you had some food..." she trailed off as a red haired girl popped out of nowhere, "Did someone say food? I love food! Everyone does! But not all foods, my brother absolutely refuses to even try vegetables," she said in horror, "He just hates it because I love them, even if he faints all the time and has to go to the special hospital to get "vital nutrients"," she whispered, "He doesn't make any sense," she laughed.

She and Andre stood in silence for a few moments as one always did after Cat would try to relate her brother's weird behavior to the topic at hand. Spoiler alert, it never did.

During the silence, Beck and Jade walked up, "Hey guys," the Canadian greeted pleasantly in contrast to his girlfriend who rolled her eyes and leaned against the locker near Tori, who had what Tori wanted most in the world at that moment. A donut.

While her other friends talked, or was silent(Jade), Tori's eyes followed the donut to Jade's mouth who took a bite, swiping her tongue over her upper lip to get a crumb and suddenly, Tori felt strange.

She was startled out of it when a loud, "Vega!" made her jump. She immediately looked up, not knowing she hadn't been looking at the donut anymore. She had been staring at Jade's lips. "What?" Tori asked, innocently.

Jade raised an eyebrow, "You were drooling." Tori's hand shot to her mouth, "No, I wasn't." Really, she wasn't.

"It sure looked like it."

Tori was defensive, "I was just hungry and you're donut looked really good."

"Right. Whatever." Jade sounded bored, but inside, she was wondering why Tori was staring at her with such concentration, it made her shiver. Which was strange, she never did. Even when she was cold.

Jade took a second bite and Vega was back to staring. Feeling odd, she held out the donut to Vega, hoping to stop the staring and the weird feeling that came with it, "Here Vega. Eat it."

Tori gasped, "Really?"

She took the offered donut and immediately took a bite. "Yeah, even dogs need to eat," Jade smirked.

Tori stopped for a second to give Jade a glare, but she couldn't hold it for long. Jade had given her food! That's what friends do... At the thought of being friends with Jade, a smile grew without restraint on her face. Jade did care! At least a little, she could have gone without the dog comment though, but that was just Jade. She acted like being nice would kill her.

"Stop smiling, it's gross. I only gave it to you because I lost my appetite seeing your face."

Or Jade could actually dislike her and Tori was just giving herself false hope.

Tori sighed and continued eating, her enthusiasm dampened.

She paused at a minty taste on the chocolate donut. Weird. She looked up in time to see Jade pop another gum into her mouth. Tori's mouth went dry, 'Okay... So that's why.'

Beck's voice floated in her mind, "Tori? Are you ok?" Tori switched her gaze from Jade to Beck, "Yeah, just fine," Even she knew that sounded like a lie.

Beck raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to inquire more about Tori's off behavior- she didn't even talk much at all during the group's conversation- but he was interrupted by the bell.

"Okay, well, see you guys later," Beck put an arm around Jade and they walked to their classes.

"Tori?" She tore her eyes away from the couple who switched to holding hands, "Yeah?"

"We going to class or what?" Andre asked, not unkindly, if a little worried.

Tori shook her head to clear mind, not liking what she was feeling, "Yeah, of course. Let's go."

~ One week later ~

It was lunch time and they were all at the Asphalt Cafe. Tori downed her water and large chicken salad in no time, which didn't go unnoticed by the group.

"Woah, Tori! How does your small body take that much in?" Robbie exclaimed.

"Yeah, lately, you've at the appetite of ten men," Beck chuckled, but was still curious.

Tori shrugged, "I don't eat much for breakfast and I joined a running program out of school."

They all shrugged, accepting it, but Jade thought it odd and said as much, "Why would you join out of school? Wouldn't you get credit if you joined the school's team?"

This sparked the group's curiosity again, waiting for her answer. 'Dang it, Jade. Now of all times to talk to me and this is what you want to know?'

Tori tried to act nonchalant, "Seemed like fun, plus I do get credit since I also coach for challenged kids there. We have meetups scheduled and they always switch up the type of activity unlike Hollywood Art's track team. Besides, kids are fun."

Her friends nodded and moved onto other topics. Tori sighed, she wasn't exactly lying to her friends. She knew they would see through a full lie, so she gave them a half truth.

She does coach kids, but as Shelby Marx. And it was martial arts she taught, not running. She did these celebrity visits when she could, hoping to inspire children and give them tools to defend themselves if anything did happen.

"What if Turtle Ducks were real?" Cat asked, extremely serious, "because I want one so bad! Wait, Turtle Doves are real! So Turtle Ducks are too! Jade, why would you lie to me?!"

Everyone at the table sighed.