The Only Exception | Jori

three.

Everyone left the Vega household at around 3am, leaving Tori, Jade, Cat, Andre, Beck, Robbie, and Rex to themselves. They all helped clean up the house for a bit before Cat and Tori disappeared for a moment. The two came back with a small pink cake that Cat had baked. She decorated it with lots of hearts and stars and 'Happy Birthday Robbie' written in cursive in the middle of the cake. A lit candle flickered while Tori walked carefully towards the rest of her friends. Everyone began singing 'Happy Birthday' to the nerdy boy, including Jade who was more so mumbling it and rolling her eyes every so often.

While the six friends picked at the cake with their fingers and forks, Jade pushed herself between Tori and Cat. She proceeded to pinch the girl's side which caused Tori to jump a bit before turning to the girl with eyebrows raised. 

Jade leaned over as nonchalantly as she possibly could, "I'm going to pretend to leave." She whispered to the girl. 

Tori couldn't help but freeze up. Jade's breath brushed against her cheek. She was extremely grateful that everyone was too indulged in the cake to notice the interaction. She quickly nodded before scooping up another small piece of cake and putting it in her mouth. She turned to Jade and bit the fork, smiling a bit. Jade smiled back before sticking her frosting covered finger in her mouth and pulling it out slowly. Her eyes locked on Tori's as she did so. 

Tori quickly looked away as she felt her cheeks grow warm. She was praying that her cheeks weren't as red as she expected them to be. She heard Jade quietly snicker from next to her. Tori wondered if Jade had discovered her power over her. She wouldn't doubt it, after all, Tori wasn't exactly the best at hiding her nervousness around Jade lately and she knew the girl was good at picking things like that up. 

Everyone left after the cake, including Jade who was the first one out the door without a single goodbye. Of course Tori didn't mind, she was coming back after all. 

The Latina girl sighed calmly to herself. Most of the cleaning up was already done so she decided to get ready for bed before Jade came back. 

As she headed up the stairs a smile blossomed on her face. Jade was staying the night.

Tori quickly changed into a pair of tight shorts and an oversized sweatshirt that belonged to Andre. She then proceeded to brush her teeth and get the taste of liquor out of her mouth then wash her already smeared makeup off. By the time she was done and under her covers, she heard the front door open and close lightly followed by the sound of the lock turning. Light footsteps walked around downstairs for a moment before making their way up to Tori's bedroom. Tori recognized the sound of clunky boots immediately and smiled to herself. 

"Welcome back." Tori grinned as a figure appeared in the corner of her eyes. 

A soft snicker came from it before a shirt was flung over Tori's face. It smelled like her, hints of jasmine and sandalwood radiated off of the clothes. 

"Hey!" Tori grumbled as she moved the shirt off of her face and let it rest on her chest. 

Jade's back was turned towards Tori. The pale girl unclasped her bra slowly and pulled the garment off of her shoulders, followed by her jeans that pooled to her feet. Jade bent over to dig through her backpack for her clothes. After retrieving a pair of sweats and a tank top, she looked over her shoulders to find Tori gawking at her with dreamy eyes. 

"Enjoying the show?" Jade snickered before raising a pierced eyebrow. 

Tori snapped out of her inappropriate thoughts and quickly stiffened. "Err, uh... Sorry." She stammered before hiding behind her phone. 

Jade laughed before throwing on an oversized shirt and padding to the other side of Tori's bed. She quickly got under the covers and sighed as she turned her body to face Tori who was mindlessly scrolling through social media. 

"Did you just get under my covers with no pants?" Tori placed her phone on her nightstand and huffed. 

"Yep. Problem?" Jade asked. 

Tori sighed and shook her head. "Nope. Not a problem." She responded before turning her body to face Jade as well. 

Jade had taken off her makeup before coming back to Tori's, so her features seemed more soft and inviting. Tori liked that. Although she didn't mind Jades rough and intimidating look one bit.

"So why did you want to stay the night?" Tori asked, scooting her body a bit closer to the girl. 

Jade shrugged. "No one is at my house right now. I didn't feel like being alone tonight and you seemed like good company..." 

Tori's lips curved upwards. "You're always welcomed here, you know?" 

The ebony haired girl nodded slightly. "I know. Thank you." 

The two stayed silent for a moment. Tori taking in every little detail of Jade's face, and the older girl seemed to be doing the same. Her green eyes seemed to linger on Tori's lips for a second too long. It didn't go unnoticed. 

"So how did you like the party?" Tori quickly spoke up, trying to brake any tension that was building up. 

Jade shrugged slightly. "You know I'm not one for parties."

"You didn't have fun?" Tori frowned. 

Jade quickly shook her head. "No, I did. I just... No one really talks to me besides our group. And everyone was drunk and socializing so honestly I was alone for the most part. Which I prefer anyways but... Let's just say, us talking at the end of the night was my favorite part." The girl refused eye contact on that last part. 

The tan girl smiled wide. "Mine too." 

Jade looked back up at Tori with furrowed brows. "Why?" She asked as if she expected their moment together to be insignificant to the girl. 

"Because you're my friend. And I like spending time with you." Tori answered as it was just that simple. Which it was, but Jade couldn't accept the notion that anyone would enjoy one-on-one time with her. 

"But I yelled at you." Jade remembered. 

Tori smiled sweetly before reaching out and grabbing Jade's hand, squeezing it for comfort. "Jade, you opened up to me. Something was bothering you and you let me know. I know that's hard for you to do. So if you have to raise your voice sometimes, it's okay. I'd rather you tell me than keep everything all bottled up." Their fingers intertwined. "So yes, talking to you tonight was my favorite part of the night." 

Jade kept her eyes on their hands, running her thumb across the back of Tori's hand a few times. "I'm honestly surprised you remembered and listened. You were gone when you first came outside." She smiled. 

Tori's cheeks turned red. "Sorry." 

"Don't apologize. It was kind of cute, you had the hiccups." Jade smiled followed by a small yawn. 

Tori's heard pounded against her chest. She wasn't used to this kind of interaction with anyone, let alone Jade. It was intimate, it felt safe... And her crush just called her 'cute' so she was definitely out of her comfort zone.

"Let's get some sleep, the sun is going to be rising any minute now..." Tori suggested. 

Jade simply nodded and Tori switched off the lamp besides her. The only light in the room was the dim and pale moonlight coming from the window, illuminating just enough of the room to where Tori could make out some of Jade's features. Her eyes were still open, scanning her face. 

"Thanks for everything, Tori." Jade mumbled. 

"Of course, anytime." 

Jade's eyes finally closed. She let go of Tori's hand and draped her now free arm over the thin girl's waist, pulling her closer. 

Tori happily cuddled into Jade's embrace, her head resting against her chest and legs now tangled in each others. 

"Goodnight, Jade." Tori whispered. 

"Goodnight, Vega."