Having finally finished getting dressed the girl moved to the mirror to see the finished product. There she surveyed what there was to see. She was wearing black boots, black leggings with a green skirt. She also was wearing a black corset studded with silver and a leather Jacket. Her hair was black with blue tips and of course her fingernails were painted solid black.
"You look perfect Jade." Tori Vega said to her reflection in the mirror.
Tonight was the night of the Hollywood Arts Halloween dance. Instead of going as a ghost, mummy or other monster, Tori decided to go as the most scary creature of all; Jade West.
Once before she imitated Jade, when Andre was crushing on her, but Tori realized that it was a crude imitation at best. This time she decided to use her acting skills and do it right. She started by studying Jade carefully. That was easy for Tori since she secretly had been in love with the Goth anyway.
After studying Jade's clothes, Tori scoured resale shops and Goth clothing stores for the perfect Jade outfit. Luckily she was able to find duplicates of several things the Goth owned. But Tori knew she needed to do more than look the part. She made careful notes, of things that Jade said and her mannerisms. With the help of an amused Sikowitz, Tori practiced every aspect of Jade's behavior.
Tonight was the night. Tori carefully looked over every detail of her "costume". She even duplicated Jade's makeup and hair. Looking in the mirror Tori no longer saw herself. It actually gave her a chill to see a smirking Jade West starring back at her from the mirror.
The reason why was the most important of all. She wanted Jade to notice her. Not look at her dismissively but really see her. She wanted Jade's full attention for once in her life. It was probably futile and she half expected to come home with a fat lip but Tori was determined.
The best thing of all was the fact that no one knew what she was going as. Tori acted like she couldn't decide, earning some mocking by Jade no less.
Tori emerged from the room, making a point to use Jade's walk and mannerisms. She didn't want to break character if she didn't' have too.
Trina was waiting downstairs, dressed as a Sexy Vampire. Upon seeing her younger sister, Trina did a double take. "Holy Cow. You look exactly like Jade." Trina said with amazement.
"I am Jade" Tori snapped, mocking Jades voice nearly perfectly.
Trina got of the couch and grabbed her keys. "Oh goody, now there are two of them. This should be fun. Come on Jade."
Trina on the car ride, kept babbling on about how great her sexy vampire costume was. Then she talked about which boy she was going to "Bite" so to speak. Occasionally she would just look at Tori and shake her head.
"You realize she's going to kill you." Trina warned her sister. Tori just smirked and pulled a huge pair of scissors from her boot. "Not likely"
By the time the Vega sisters pulled into the parking lot the dance was in full swing. They could see few students working their way towards the gym. All of them in various costumes.
Tori brushed aside her nervousness. "Jade never lets her nervousness show and neither will I. I'm not Tori Vega anymore. I'm Jade west" She thought.
Trina got out of the car and made a beeline for a sophomore boy dressed as a prince, leaving Tori alone. The Latina just smirked and walked to the open doors of the Gym.
On the way she passed Sinjin who was crudely dressed as an alien. He had green painted skin and what appeared to be a spacesuit. It looked like she threw it together in 5 minutes.
"HI Jade" He said, with a toothy grin as he made his way up to Tori.
Tori just did what Jade would do. She whipped out her scissors and immediately barked at Sinjin in her best Jade voice. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SPEAKING OR LOOKING AT ME!"
A look of utter terror suddenly came into the boy's face. An instant later he began to scream and ran away.
Tori just laughed. "Holy chiz, he totally thought I was Jade." Tori said as she walked to the open door. Just outside the doorway was a crowd of students in front of the doorway. Tori just glared at them, and they quickly moved out of her way. Tori knew about half of them rather well and not one even seemed to recognize her.
On her way in she heard one of the girls mutter to another. "Jade isn't even wearing a costume."
As Tori entered the Gym which had been decorated with all kinds of Halloween decorations, she could hear the opening lines of a very old dance song by ministry. Tori couldn't help but think how fitting it was.
Well I live with snakes and lizards
And other things that go bump in the night
Cos to me, everyday is halloween
I have given up hiding and started to fight
I have started to fight
Well any time, any place, anywhere that I go
All the people seem to stop and stare
They say 'why are you dressed like it's halloween?
You look so absurd, you look so obscene'
The gym was a sea of black and orange with pictures of happy looking ghosts and ghouls all about. Tori quickly realized that no one seemed to notice she wasn't Jade. She also noticed how most everyone seemed to avoid eye contact with her and several of them looked downright frightened of her.
Tori just put on her best Jade smirk and continued through the crowd. The Latina was pleased as could be by everyone's reaction. She actually began to really like being Jade. It gave her an unknown confidence. It also gave her an idea how she could finally express her feelings to Jade.
She wandered to the refreshments table where there was a line for the punch bowl. Playing her part perfectly, Tori just walked to the front of the line and helped herself. When a freshman girl who was dressed as a bunny protested, Tori just snarled at the girl. The frightened freshman quickly hopped away.
Armed with a glass of punch, Tori went to find the others, Jade especially. After a few minutes Tori found herself at the edge of the dance floor looking at the crowd on the other side. She first spotted Andre who was dressed as an astronaut. Next to him was Robbie, he was dressed as Prince charming. Rex was dressed in a 70's disco suit.. She couldn't see Beck but quickly spotted Cat. The red haired girl was dressed as a fairy, complete with wand and wings.
It was who Cat was talking to that really got Tori's attention. The figure had her back to Tori but she still couldn't believe what she saw.
Tori could see an exact duplicate of her. Hair, clothes, mannerisms were all hers. The outfit was an exact copy of one she had in her closet. It was a pink and blue dress with skirt. Even the hair was straight and brown as she normally wore it. Tori's duplicate looked a bit odd as she appeared to not have a costume. But Tori realized that was the costume. It was surreal to see "herself" talking to Cat.
"Hey babe" said a familiar Canadian's voice from behind her.
Tori spun around to face Beck. "Where were you Beck? Talking to other girls! Are you cheating on me?" Tori snapped in her Jade voice. Beck and Jade had been broken up months ago but she couldn't resist playing the part to its fullest.
Beck, who was dressed like a Canadian Mountie, put up his hands defensively and seemed to turn white. "Look I'm sorry babe, I was uh…hey wait a second." He started to defend himself, but stopped when he realized he wasn't talking to Jade. He realized was talking to Tori, who was now laughing hysterically.
"Oh my God Tori, you almost gave me a heart attack. I actually thought you were Jade for a moment. You're costume is perfect." Beck said, looking very impressed.
"Thanks Beck. That means a lot to me. Sorry I couldn't help myself." Tori said.
"Hey, no worries. You were playing the part perfectly. I'm not sure if Jade will be amused."
Tori pointed over to Jade. "I think someone had a similar idea." Beck then looked over at Jade who was now a dead ringer for Tori.
"Holy Cow."
Tori thought for a moment. "Hey do you want to have some fun?"
Beck had an idea what Tori was thinking. "I'm game."
Meanwhile across the floor Jade was talking to Cat. She had dressed as Tori, for very similar reasons as it turned out. She secretly liked Tori. Much like Tori she carefully studied her subject and got the mannerisms down perfectly. Cat, Andre and Robbie all loved her costume and were very impressed. Though Jade was getting impatient as Vega hadn't shown up.
Jade was talking to Cat, who was babbling about her new roommate Sam, when a strange look came to Cat's face.
"Oh goody, you're here." Cat suddenly said, somewhat excited.
Jade thought Cat had lost it. "Of course I'm here Cat. I've been talking to you for over 20 minutes."
Cat shook her head and pointed. "No you're here, over there on the dance floor."
Jade disregarded Cat's odd statement, but asked anyway right before she took a drink. "So if I'm here, what am I doing over there."
"Doing the bump and grind with Beck! It looks like you're about to kiss him. How can you be over there and here at the same time?" Cat said with a puzzled look.
The very next sound heard was that of Jade choking on an ice cube. Jade turned, still coughing, to see a sight she never thought she'd see. It was her, or an exact duplicate of her, dancing with Beck in a rather sultry fashion.
"She even has the way I dance perfect." Jade mumbled to herself as the stunned expression took hold on her face.
A second later Jade turned to see her double look at her. Jade couldn't quite make out the face but she could certainly see her smirk.
What happened next, blew Jade away. Jade took one step forward, when her double suddenly blew her a kiss and moved into the crowd across the dance floor.
Jade stormed over to Beck who was still on the dance floor. "Who was that?" She snapped.
"Oh hi Tori." He said with a grin, seeing that Jade was dressed as Tori.
"Don't, Oh I Tori me, Beck. Who were you dancing with?"
"I was dancing with Jade." He said with a wink.
Jade simply growled and went after her double. Fortunately Jade quickly spotted herself, sitting with her feet up at an empty table off in the corner. Jade spotted her doppelganger playing with a pair of scissors, cutting a napkin apart. She still couldn't see the face.
Jade wasn't sure if she was more impressed or irritated by the imitation. It was a good one, she had to admit to herself.
As she walked up, the figure at the table half glanced at her.
"Vega, fancy meeting you here. You know you're supposed to wear a costume at these things. Surely you weren't too dense to figure that one out." Tori said to Jade with a scowl on her face.
Jade was briefly confused as she had one of her own insults tossed back at her. But she remembered that she was dressed as Tori.
Deciding to play the part, Jade put on her best Vega smile and sat down facing Tori. Jade couldn't help but looked shocked when she realized it was Tori, who had done the near perfect imitation of her. For several seconds her mouth hung open as she processed what she saw; studying Tori Carefully. She was genuinely impressed how carefully her look had been created. Tori must have done a lot of homework. Jade thought that Tori had gone to greater lengths to create her look than she did to create Tori's look.
"Like what you see Vega. I know you do. Don't think I don't catch you looking at me in class every day." Tori said, with a perfect Jade like smirk. Tori said that because she did just that every day. She was hoping Jade would pick up on the hint.
Jade realized that Tori wasn't going to drop character so she decided to play along. Jade also realized how unnerving it was, being on the receiving end of one of her own smirks.
"OK, Jade. That's really funny. You know I love puppies, rainbows and want to be everyone's friend. Even you I want to be your bestest friend in the world. Though I really should know when I'm not wanted. Hopefully I can find a big strong man to marry, little ole me someday." Jade said in her Tori voice, but somewhat mockingly.
Now Tori was going to use her Jade persona to say something she could never say as Tori. "That's what you let everyone think, Vega. The fact is that you're a lesbian and of course happen to like girls. Me most of all. You just never had the guts to say anything to me. Too afraid of being rejected, I guess." Though she said it in a rather dismissive fashion, Tori was nervous. She was nervous because she simply described herself. Just being Jade, let her say things that she could never say as Tori. She was very scared deep down, this would blow up in her face.
It took a second for Jade to realize what Tori was doing. As herself, Tori had been too afraid to admit her feelings, but dressed as Jade just did. She had no idea that Tori held real feelings for her. Jade had not told Tori her feelings because she was afraid of the same rejection. Jade was rather impressed by the way Tori was approaching things.
Jade leaned forward and put on a warm Tori smile. Now it was her turn. "I see through you little act Jade. You pretend to hate me. You pretend to be Jealous of my talents. You pretend to not want me around. When in fact, you're in awe of my talents, you very much want me around. You love my bright smile, you love my cheerful attitude. You think I'm beautiful and you act all tough because you're terrified you'll get shot down if admit you like me." Just like Tori a few moments earlier, she merely described herself.
Tori's lips parted for a moment as she realized Jade actually liked her back. Her mind raced for the appropriate "Jade" response. It was then she decided to put all her cards on the table.
Tori, took her feet off the table, stuck her scissors in her boot, sat up and leaned forward toward Jade. Tori then put on her best Jade smirk. "That's all fine and dandy Vega, why don't you just admit you've been in love with me from the moment you first saw me. Just do it, what's the worst I'm going to do, make your life a living hell. Is that what you're afraid of?" That was the hardest thing Tori ever said. Admit both that she was in love with Jade and the fact that she was terrified that Jade would make her life a living hell if she did.
Jade sat there with an unreadable expression. A moment later she dropped her Tori like demeanor. "I wouldn't do that Tori. I just didn't tell you I loved you because I was afraid you wouldn't' feel the same way about me." Jade said quietly.
Tori's eyes widened as she dropped her Jade persona. "You love me? I never thought you'd feel the same way I did. I've been crazy about you since that first day."
Jade looked coy for a moment and smiled. "You're in luck Vega, I feel the same way."
A huge happy smile grew on Tori's face. "I dressed like you so I might be able to attract your attention. You always seemed to disregard me. I thought maybe as you I could tell you how I feel."
Jade smirked. "I think I had pretty much the same idea. I can't tell you how stunned I was to see, ME, dancing with Beck. Vega, top notch costume. I am impressed."
Tori blushed. "Thank you. You'll be happy to know that I scared the pants off of Sinjin. I also nearly gave Beck a heart attack when I sort of acted all jealous like. I asked him if he was cheating."
Jade just began to laugh. "I wish I could have seen that."
Tori looked at Jade not sure what to do next. "So now what do we do?"
Jade stood up and put out her hand. "Would you like to dance with me Jade."
Tori crossed her arms and said in her best Jade voice. "I'd rather be beaten to death."
Jade just narrowed her eyes. "Be careful how well you play your part JADE! I'm sure there are lots of guys willing to dance with happy peppy Tori Vega."
Tori smiled and broke into her best imitation when Jade mocks her speech by talking in a southern accent. "I'm sure there are lots of guys willing to dance with happy peppy Tori Vega."
Jade just laughed and grabbed Tori's hand. "Come on Bozo, let's dance."
Tori grinned and let Jade lead her to the dance floor. The attendees at the dance were puzzled to see Tori and Jade dancing together. Not only that they were dressed as each other.
A slow dance came on but as Tori put out her arms to dance with Jade, she took the Latina's hand and led her off the dance floor.
"Don't you want to dance with me Jade?" Tori said with a disappointed look.
Jade kept taking Tori towards the exit. "Yes, and kiss you as well. But there's one small problem. You're dressed like me and I just can't get myself to kiss me, that's too wierd. So Let's ditch these costumes…"
Tori quickly interrupted Jade. "Stuff it Vega and Just kiss me." Tori said picking up her Jade persona again. With that Tori grabbed Jade and quickly wrapped her arms around her. A instant later, Tori quickly pressed her lips against Jade's.
Though surprised at first, Jade quickly began to kiss back as she felt a tingling though her entire body. Jade couldn't help but wonder if she can't make me feel this way with just a kiss, I wonder what else she could do.
A few moments later Tori broke the kiss and grinned. "You kiss pretty good Vega. I might just keep you."
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Jade said with a smirk, before she went back in for another kiss.