For most of the day, Tori had kept the details of their first "real date" to herself, away from Jade's prying eyes and questions. It didn't help that neither of them had work for the day, so every Internet search Tori made for possible places was done in the privacy of the bathroom or while Jade was deep in a video game. Nichijou and the entire shopping mall area were out of the question, as both of them had been around those places more than most sane people would in just a month's time. Once Tori finally settled on a place, thanks to high recommendations from Piper and Tara, she stowed away her phone and snuck up behind Jade on the couch to plant a sweet kiss on the top of her head.
Jade, taken by surprise long enough for her character to be pelted with icy bullets, quickly reached behind her to try and grab Tori before she could retreat back. When her hands ultimately grabbed nothing, she turned her game off and hopped off the couch to find Tori leaning back against the dining table, crooking her finger to come over to her, which Jade happily obliged with her arms around her waist and a quick kiss. "Okay, you little sneak," Jade smiled after removing herself from Tori's lips, "What magical, mysterious place have you found for our actual, first date~?"
"Oh, why would I ruin the surprise~?" Tori grinned back with a teasing wink, "You'll find out when we get there, now go get dressed!" With that remark, she broke away from Jade's embrace with a giggle and dashed to her room to change. Jade simply watched her go, shaking her head with a laugh, and slowly made for her own bedroom.
A few minutes later, Tori emerged from her room in her favorite, casual red blazer, a dark tank top underneath, and denim jeans that rang similar to the double-date they had with Nora and Piper, but she hoped Jade wouldn't overthink and dwell on what was simply Tori's favorite outfit. As she brushed back her layers of hair with her hand, Tori heard Jade stepping back into the living room wearing a grey tank-top and black jeans that ran down to her red boots. Her natural brown hair complimented the outfit better than her old, dyed black hair would have, which made Tori's face glow red as she appreciated the beautiful sight in front of her.
"Wow..." Tori smiled, brushing Jade's hair back with her hand, "Isn't this...a little like what you were wearing when we first met; minus the highlights, piercings, and punk makeup, of course?"
"Is it?" Jade smiled back, rolling her shoulder playfully toward her, "I was just about to ask the same, seeing as you're dressed in the same outfit when we hung out together and watched your no-talent sister get chased around by kids in mouse costumes~" The two of them shared a laugh over their nostalgia, then grabbed their respective bags before heading outside. "So are you going to tell me where we're going now?"
"I told you," Tori cleared her throat as she closed the front door and locked it behind them, "You'll know when we get there~"
Jade sighed back, resigning herself to the surprise as they both slid into the SUV's front seats. When the vehicle left the parking lot, Jade leaned against her side window, looking toward the colorful lights that lined the boardwalk far ahead of them on the right. Crowds of people, families and students alike, were gathering along the crosswalks to join in on what looked like a fair of some sort. Despite the festive atmosphere, Jade's mouth sunk to a frown as her mind raced back to a similar time, but not nearly as positive a memory...
2 months ago...
The group bunched together to fit the camera's limited field of view. With everyone standing close in the foreground and the enormous Ferris wheel and the rest of the fair in the background, the view seemed perfect for a group selfie, according to Cat.
"How is her phone able to stay on that little stick so easily? It's pear-shaped!" Tori tried asking while maintaining her photo smile.
"Vega, just shut up and smile," Jade growled through her half-smile, "Cat, take the damn picture already!"
"Okay, everyone!" Cat laughed as she held down the button on her selfie stick, "Say, 'Spaghetti!'" With an audible click, her phone captured the picture and everyone immediately loosened back and stretched from holding the pose for much longer than they'd hoped. As Cat retrieved her phone from the end of the stick, a message notification pinged on the screen. "Oh! It's Sam! She must be wondering how I'm doing, isn't she sweet~?"
"You're talking about Sam Puckett, right?" Andre raised a confused eyebrow, "Your roommate? Sam from iCarly?"
"The same Sam Puckett who beat a certain someone with a bat for taking one piece from her bucket of chicken?" Rex added, turning his wooden head toward Robbie, who wore a surprised expression.
"That was ONE time, Rex!" Robbie interjected.
Cat let out a hearty laugh as her phone pinged again, "I just sent Sam our group photo, and look what she said!" She held her phone out to everyone, leaning over to read the tiny screen.
As soon as a few choice words registered in Tori's mind, she rolled her eyes and backed away, "She said, 'You didn't tell me you knew Shelby Marx—'Oh, my god! Not again!"
"What's wrong?" Beck turned toward her as he straightened back up, "You're not a fan of Shelby Marx, CFC champ?"
"Oh, I like her, don't get me wrong!" Tori scoffed, "But you wouldn't believe how many times people thought I was her back in my old school; almost as much as when my classmates thought I went to a boarding school in Malibu when I was younger!"
Jade snuck a few not-so-subtle looks up and down Tori's confused face before remarking, "I can kinda see it...but Marx definitely has you beat in the looks department." Tori stuck her tongue out to the standard Jade quip, to which the Goth just turned away with a cough to clear her throat.
Another ping of Cat's phone made her retract it and read the all-caps message from Sam, "Oh, Sam's saying I need to head home right now. Our new babysitting kids are coming!"
"I can give you a ride!" Robbie raised his hand eagerly.
"Robbie, isn't it a little too dark now to be 'driving' your pedal car; much less with a passenger?" Tori crossed her arms at the thought.
"I have an actual car now!" Robbie laughed loudly to hide his embarrassment, "And, Cat, you can ride in the front, because Rex will be a gentleman this time!"
"Thanks, Robbie!" Cat clapped her hands happily and started toward the boardwalk's exit.
"Yeah," Rex chuckled, "Because the backseat is where all the best views are~"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cat suddenly turned around with a sour face, but Rob laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder as they walked off together to the exit.
"They'll be okay, right?" Tori shook her head as she watched them cautiously.
"Yeah, I think so," Andre nodded, "Besides, Robbie knows who he'll have to answer to if Cat gets in trouble..."
With a short laugh, Tori checked her phone briefly and turned to Andre, "So, you think I could bum a ride with you, best pal~?"
"Of course, chica~" Andre grinned, "And don't worry, my grandma's playing cards with her friends tonight, so no need to worry about 'surprises' like last time!"
"Great!" Tori sighed in relief as she turned to Beck. "Now you have a safe trip to Canada! I can't wait to see you on the big screen, Officer Kennedy~" She gave a quick salute like her father taught her, making Beck chuckle and pull her into a hug.
"Thanks, Tori," he smiled, "And if I'm not back by the time you head over to Miami, you have a safe trip, too!"
Tori smiled back and stepped over to Jade, who was looking aside at the sunset apathetically. "You, uh..." Tori struggled to find words that would snap Jade out of her usual mood, "Have a good night, Jade..." She backed away awkwardly to join Andre, but could faintly hear a low reply coming from Jade as she left.
"Good night, Tori..."
Jade walked toward one of the wooden picnic tables set up by the edge of the boardwalk, sitting on top of it as she heard the last shreds of conversation Andre and Tori were having about the latter still not having her own driver's license yet. Tori's faint remark about 'working on it' made Jade smirk to herself before she heard Beck slide next to her on the table. They both stared at the sunset in peaceful silence, bracing themselves for the conversation that was sure to come.
"So..." Beck cleared his throat, "Today was fun, right?"
"Sure," Jade nodded, her head tilting down to her red boots shuffling against the wooden bench, "A nice 'calm before the storm', right?"
"Is this really so bad that you call it a 'storm'?" Beck sighed.
"You're right," Jade replied, "Not much of a storm when you've seen it coming a mile away..."
"Okay, we're definitely on the same page, then," Beck leaned back on his hands, staring up at the sky, "I'm sorry, Jade."
"What exactly are you sorry about?" Jade pulled her feet up to the table, hugging her legs as she looked at him with some contention, "Sorry for us not ending this sooner? Sorry for not trying to make this any better than the last time we broke up—"
"Sorry for not realizing sooner..." Beck interrupted her, his face even and not reciprocating anger, to Jade's surprise, "...for not realizing that you weren't in love with me anymore."
"Beck..." Jade loosened up with a frown, "What do you..."
"Today was the most we—and I mean you and me—have done anything together all senior year. Ever since you didn't want to go to that drag race with me, we haven't done...anything a couple would."
Jade shrugged, "Well, you ended up having fun anyway, right? With Sinjin?"
"That's not the point," Beck shook his head, "I thought you were just focusing on getting good grades so you could graduate with honors, like everyone else was, but in the few times we hung out as a group...I could tell you were just kinda half-here half-there with me."
Jade only sighed, confirming his thoughts, as she looked at the sea losing the orange color in exchange for the darkness of the night sky.
"You're into someone else," Beck said bluntly, but softly at the same time, "The one you really wrote that song at the Full Moon Jam for..."
Biting her lip, Jade shook her head, as if to deny his claim, "How do you even—"
"Anyone who knew you two could tell with those lyrics," Beck chuckled a bit, offsetting the tension between then, "I was just so mixed up in my feelings for you at the time...that I thought you were singing about me; but you were really singing about Tor—"
"Stop." Jade cut him off, covering her face in her hands, "Just...stop."
"So it's true?" Beck continued, looking down at Jade hunched over herself, "You really like her?"
"What does it matter?" Jade said through a muffled sob against her palms, "We're barely even friends, and I don't even know if she's..."
"I mean...you won't know until you try, right?" Beck offered a smile, placing a hand on Jade's shoulder to bring her back up straight. "I'm...not upset, really. Tori's great, and I think you two have gotten a lot better than before. In fact, you two would probably be better together than you and me."
Jade scoffed, looking away, "You sure you're not saying that because you think girls getting together is hot?"
Beck chuckled, "Okay, don't mix me up with Robbie or Andre, now. Seriously, all I care about is you...being happy, and there have definitely been more times that you've been happy with Tori than with me lately. It doesn't matter—it shouldn't matter that you're both girls; as long as you're happy, Jade."
"I...I appreciate that, Beck," Jade finally broke a smile and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, "But again...I don't know how she feels about me. Even after all we've done, maybe we're friends, but I don't know if she likes girls like that—much less, me."
"Well, you shouldn't wait around wondering," Beck remarked, "In about a month, she's off to Miami for who knows how long...so don't miss your chance, you know?"
"Yeah...sure," Jade sighed as she pushed off of the table and onto her feet, "I should get going. You have a safe trip, Beck."
"You don't need a ride?" Beck asked as he joined her toward the exit, "I drove you here, after all."
"It's fine," she shook her head, looking toward the black SUV ahead of them, "My mom's here to pick me up."
Beck looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and briefly wrapped his arm around Jade, "I'm happy for you, Jade. Take care..."
"You, too." Jade hugged him before breaking off and sliding into the passenger seat of her mom's car, staring straight ahead at the lights of the Ferris wheel.
"Jade?" Tori tapped her shoulder multiple times before Jade finally stirred out of her daydream, "Hey, we're here!"
Jade blinked a few times to clear her vision, but her eyes widened as the fair she was dwelling on since they started driving was now right in front of her. "Wha-this is our date?!"
"Yeah!" Tori nodded, backing up a bit at Jade's somewhat upset reaction, "The Summer's End Fair; Tara and Piper told me about it! I...thought you'd be a little more excited; you know, because we started the summer at a fair in LA and now we can end the summer here!"
Jade stared wordlessly at Tori's smile fading, then sighed and looked back at the fair, "I'm sorry...that fair just had a few more negative memories for me than good ones."
"W-Why?" Tori frowned, "I thought you were having fun, like all of us were..."
"I was, at first," Jade answered, gaze still fixed forward, "But after that day—when you all left—that was when Beck and I broke up for the last time..."
"Oh god..." Tori gasped, "I'm so sorry, Jade. I didn't know..."
"I mean, I told you we broke up," Jade shrugged, "Just not when exactly; but it's okay now." Tori leaned closer as she continued, "You asked me when I found out I was bisexual before?"
"Yeah..." Tori nodded, "It was during school, right?"
"Kinda-sorta," Jade clarified, "There were girls I found attractive, but never acted on, either because I was with Beck at the time or I just didn't know what to say or do. Then, there was someone...this girl who turned it all around for me. I hung out with this girl more than almost anyone else, and while I hated her at first, she grew on me...and we eventually became friends...and now we're...partners." She turned from the fair to Tori, whose eyes were widened and her mouth covered in surprise. "Is it that much of a revelation, Tori? Like I've said before; you're the first girl I felt this strongly toward. You're...my first, in every sense of the word."
Tori's eyes almost glowed as she broke a smile and undid her seatbelt to lean over and hug Jade tightly, "Oh, Jade..."
Jade accepted the hug, unbuckling her seatbelt just before Tori collided with her, and patted her back, "Okay...okay, Vega. You can let go now; don't we have a date to get to?"
Tori quickly broke away, blushing as she retrieved her bag and stepped out of the car with Jade. "Come on...let's do this first date thing right...for once~" She held out her hand as they met in front of the fair's entrance.
Jade smiled back, taking Tori's hand and weaving their fingers together as they walked to the boardwalk; their eyes fixed on each other as they made their way to the fairway.
The abundance of sunshades over the fair's many attractions quickly became Jade's favorite part of the date—aside from Tori, of course. While she gladly walked alongside her girlfriend, browsing through different stands of locally-made art and clothes, Jade was quietly cherishing every second under the cool shade to avoid the afternoon sun looming over their heads.
As she breathed a sigh of relief under the latest shade they passed under, Tori's voice cut into her thoughts, making her look in the direction of a small black box on the vendor's counter that held a beautiful necklace.
"Hey, Jade!" Tori bent down to examine the necklace closer. At the center of its small chain, there was a black and gold circular charm that rang eerily familiar to both of them. "This necklace...it looks a lot like my mom's! I guess she must have gotten it here a long time ago."
Jade blinked, kneeling down next to Tori to examine it herself, "Your mom had a necklace like this, too?"
"Yeah," Tori sighed as she stood back up, "She let me wear it sometimes, but then Trina wore it one day and lost it. My mom got over it, but I still think I would have taken better care of it."
"So, do you wanna get this necklace and send it to your mom or something?" Jade frowned as she listened to the story.
"I-Well, I would..." Tori sighed, taking another look at it on the counter, "But I don't think I can afford it. Sorry." She frowned, waving to the disappointed vendor as they left for another booth.
A few feet away from the last of the street vendors were various midway carnival-like games that made Tori's eyes light up with excitement over. Jade, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at the inevitable call from Tori to play them with her.
"I keep telling you, Tori..." Jade groaned as she joined Tori in front of a booth full of colorful balloons tied to a cork board, "These games are rigged as all hell!"
Tori quickly shushed her with a finger to her lips, nudging her head toward the small group of kids to their side, "Jade! They can hear you!"
"Good!" Jade scoffed, craning her neck to make sure they could hear her. "Then they should be wasting their money somewhere else!" Her elevated tone and the face she made to the kids made them run away, leaving the worker at the booth annoyed and glaring at them both.
Tori lightly slapped Jade's shoulder as she reached into her bag for her wallet, "You see what you did? This guy's just trying to make a living; you know how that feels!" She handed a five-dollar bill to the vendor, who gave her 5 small darts in return. "Now let's at least make up for the business we just cost him, okay?"
Jade's eyes narrowed at the three darts Tori held out for her, and she inspected the tips for any flaw in their sharpness. With a sigh, Jade took a stance in front of the balloons, uttering, "You are just too freakin' nice sometimes, Vega..."
"You know I'm right, though," Tori smiled back, taking her stance next to Jade, aiming her first dart at a red balloon directly in front of her. She tossed the dart forward, but it ended up bouncing right off the balloon and onto the floor. She then tried again with her remaining two darts, varying her angle and strength, but to no avail.
Jade eyed the balloon suspiciously as the vendor just shrugged at Tori's frown. She aimed her dart at a green balloon in front of her and loosed it forward just as Tori did. The same result occurred with a light bounce and the dart falling to the floor. With a huff, Jade turned to Tori, "Told you; you just burned five bucks! We shouldn't even bother with the last one!"
Tori bit her lip before answering, "Um...so...about that. I just realized I forgot to bring cash, so that five dollar bill was all I had!"
"WHAT?!" Jade shouted, her hand instinctively tossing the last dart in her hand like she would a pair of scissors, and the dart pierced a small purple balloon with ease and stuck right onto the board. She turned toward the board as the popping sound boomed next to them, then turned back to Tori, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"You lied to intentionally wazz me off. How did you know that would work?" Jade asked, deadpan in her tone.
"Beck and Andre may have told me you did something similar with a pair of scissors someone sat on~" Tori feigned a shrug, then leaned over the counter to pick out her prize. She pointed to a purple stuffed koala bear, and the vendor handed it over to her.
The sight of Tori holding the large stuffed bear in her arms like a baby made Jade flash a quick smile of admiration before turning her back and searching for a food stand or restaurant. "Alright, Vega, you got your plushy toy. Now let's get something to eat!"
They stopped in front of a shaded space with multiple picnic tables set in front of a stage with large speakers and a banner with Nichijou's logo along the front. Tori gasped in surprise, nudging Jade with her elbow, "Hey! Nichijou's hosting a karaoke event! We should—"
"No," Jade answered flatly, then stared at Tori's pout unfazed, "Literally every date we've gone on—real or otherwise—had us singing like some high school musical flick! Just once, I'd simply like to have a peaceful meal with my girlfriend; is that too much to ask? Besides..." she smiled and booped Tori's nose, "You're a famous singer now~ It wouldn't be fair if you upstaged everyone else, would it?"
Still pouting, Tori nodded, "Alright, you make a good point. Let's just order our usual, then."
"Oh, no, I'll take care of it!" Jade took her wallet out as she gently led Tori aside and patted the stuffed koala's head, "You're with child, after all!" She took one look at Tori's blushing face before turning around, laughing as her girlfriend's cheeks puffed in anger.
Jade glanced at the menu the host handed her as she approached them. She wrote down her name and order on a slip of paper and handed it to the host, along with the menu. She moved aside and looked at the assorted couples and groups of friends trying their hand at karaoke on the stage. Plugging an ear with her finger to tune out the less favorable "talents", Jade's eyes fixed on a couple sitting at a table nearby; a familiar-looking girl reluctantly accepting a kiss on her cheek from the boy in a varsity jacket wrapping his arm around her shoulder before getting up and leaving for the restroom. Jade's eyes narrowed as she recognized the girl as Casey from the theater classes, and she carefully walked to her table, taking the seat vacated by the boy.
"Hey, Casey," Jade smiled, leaning casually over the table, "Fancy seeing you here~"
"Oh, Jade!" Casey suppressed her gasp and sat up straight as she saw Jade. "H-Hi there!"
"Relax!" Jade laughed, "We're practically the same age, even if I'm kinda your teacher..."
"R-Right, sorry," Casey mumbled, then nodded to another girl sitting across from her, "Oh, this is Jade from the theater classes I've been taking! Jade, this is my friend Leticia!"
"Letty, please," the other girl waved kindly to Jade, "Casey says your classes are a lot of fun!"
"They are," Jade chuckled, "Though I've only personally taught one of her classes, but I'm glad she enjoyed it...thoroughly~" She winked in Casey's direction, making her blush in return. Her gaze moved up to the boy who was in her seat before, "Is that the boyfriend you told Tara about before?"
Casey blushed harder as she nodded, "Yeah...that's Jackson. Been with him for the last couple months..."
"And not happily..." Letty added quietly, but not enough for Jade not to hear it herself.
"I could have told you that," Jade frowned, "Trouble in paradise, Casey?"
"He, um...he found out about my latest class," Casey sighed, trying to look away from them both, "Including my...improv game with Brad and Tara."
Jade raised an eyebrow and glanced in Jackson's direction before looking back at Casey, "What's he upset about then? He didn't know you're taking the classes?"
"He knew about them," Casey shook her head, "But he heard from Brad about my...kiss with Tara, and he wasn't happy."
"It was a stage kiss," Jade scowled, feeling the situation was familiar, "Just part of the game; even he knows that, right?"
"Jackson doesn't see it that way...He said he didn't want me taking those classes if I was going to be...unfaithful."
"Well, screw him!" Jade interjected, drawing a gasp from Letty and Casey, "I mean...forget him! Tell him that you'll do what you want!"
"Like it's that easy?" Casey groaned, looking down at the table.
"Do you two like to sing?" Jade asked, taking a napkin from the table and a pen from her bag. The two girls nodded, watching her writing on the napkin. She passed it to Casey, revealing a song code and a phone number under it. "Tell the DJ you two wanna sing that song, and I guarantee you'll come out a lot better than you are now."
"Oh...okay," Casey reluctantly tucked the napkin in her pocket, "Um, Jade? You and Tara hang out a lot, right? Could you tell her I'm sorry? I think I hurt her feelings when she asked me out. I mean, I think she's cute, but...with Jackson-"
"That's what the phone number's for," Jade winked to her again and got up, "Tell her yourself; she'll be happy to hear from you." As she left the table to pick up her order from the host, the familiar electric intro to a popular song blared on the speakers to a hearty applause from the audience. Jade didn't even have to look back as she smiled and heard Casey and her friend exchanging lyrics on stage.
Tori passed the time watching the sun slowly moving across the sky from the top of a picnic table against the pier. Picking up her newly-won stuffed koala, she took out her phone and took a few impromptu selfies with it to share later. After her last selfie was interrupted by a sudden kiss on her cheek, she turned to see Jade holding up the bag of Nichijou dinner and placing it between them.
"Was that you preparing for your photoshoot, Vega?" Jade smirked as she opened up the bag and handed Tori her box of sushi, "Do you think they'll let you bring your new koala baby~?"
"Oh, hush!" Tori laughed, taking the box and splitting her chopsticks, "And besides, it's our koala baby! You won it, remember?" Before stowing away her phone, Tori looked at the last selfie taken, smiling at how Jade's surprise kiss was captured rather well in the shot.
"Meh, whatever. At least this baby isn't gonna eat all our food and lay around all day long," Jade said as she opened up her box of pork fried rice.
"Well, you do such a stellar job of that already," Tori jabbed nonchalantly as she took a quick bite of her Jade Dragon Roll, "But anyway, thanks for the food, babe. I thought you wouldn't want Nichijou, though, since we've gone to the actual place so much already."
"Eh," Jade shrugged, "Good food is good food, and at least it's not as expensive as Nozu." She snuck a glance back toward the stage where she could barely make out Casey delivering a firm slap to her boyfriend's face and walking away with Letty by her side. With a satisfied smirk, Jade turned toward the vivid coastline, where her smile soon faded as she remembered a similar situation.
Noticing her frown, Tori tapped on Jade's shoulder, "Hey...you okay? You look like you're someplace else."
Jade blinked out of her trance and looked at Tori's concerned face. She shook her head and flashed a smile, "I'm fine; just remembered the last time I was looking at a view like this."
"Oh..." Tori's face dropped and her appetite followed, "You mean when you and Beck..."
Jade sighed and took a roll from Tori's box to stuff in her mouth. "Like I said, it's in the past, and I'm a lot happier now."
She smiled sincerely to Tori, who reciprocated with a bump against her arm, "I'm a lot happier with you, too." Tori leaned in close, hoping to initiate a kiss, when a small voice cut through the moment from behind them.
"You're Tori Vega!"
The couple turned round to see a small young girl with blonde hair, thick glasses, and overalls looking up at them with beaming eyes, like she was idolizing them.
"Um, yeah!" Tori smiled back to the girl, quickly closing up her food, "I'm Tori Vega, and what's your name?"
The girl was about to answer when another, older voice called from a few yards away. "Rose! Rose, I've told you a dozen times not to go off on your—oh, Jade!"
Jade recognized the tall, blonde woman in a casual grey blazer as Emily Parker from the theater and immediately spun around and sat up straight, "Mrs. Parker—I mean, Professor Parker! Is it...Dr. Parker?"
Emily laughed, shaking her head as she pulled the little girl toward her, "Please, Emily is fine! I'm so sorry about my daughter! I took my eyes off her for one second to find my phone, and..."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" Jade laughed with her, then remembered Tori was also there and cleared her throat, "Um, Tori, this is Emily Parker. She's a professor at the University of Miami; the one who came to see me at the theater the other day! Emily, this is..."
"Tori Vega, I'm guessing from my daughter's little cry just now?" Emily smiled and extended a hand to Tori, who shook it happily.
"Nice to meet you, Emily, and nice to meet you, too, Rose~" Tori waved to the little one, smiling sweetly and holding the stuffed koala up to her.
"My daughter's a big fan of you, Tori," Emily ruffled Rose's hair as she was waving to Tori's stuffed animal, "Ever since I bought her your cover album, she's been singing every track almost non-stop in her room!"
"Aww," Tori's heart leapt as she looked at Rose's face turning red at that remark, "I'm so flattered—but I guess I'm sorry, too?"
"Oh, please don't be! You should be proud, Tori, really!" Emily waved away the concern, "If anything, I should be sorry for interrupting your...dinner?"
"S-Something like that..." Jade shook her head, then turned to Rose, "You know, I remember you saying little Rose here wanted an autograph when we first met? Well, how about something better; like a picture with Tori Vega, herself~?"
Rose gasped, then looked up at her mother excitedly. Emily chuckled, "Well, if it's alright with you, I'd really appreciate it!"
"Mommy, can she be in it, too?" Rose pointed to Jade, whose eyes widened at the request, "I wanna say I met Tori Vega and the pretty director from her show!"
Emily looked to Jade in a nonverbal question, and she nodded happily, opening her arms for Rose to jump up onto the table and sit between her and Tori.
Tori offered the purple stuffed koala to Rose, who scooped it up in her arms as Emily readied her phone's camera. "Alright, one...two...three...smile!" The sound of the shutter indicated the picture was taken and Rose leapt back down to her mother after handing the koala back to Tori.
Emily flashed a bright smile and turned her phone to the couple. Tori "aww"ed at the wholesome smiles all three of them shared and even Jade smirked along with her. "Would you like me to send this to you?" Emily tapped her screen a few times and looked to Tori, whose phone pinged from her pocket. She took it out to see a notification from Emily, and the photo appeared on her screen as well.
"Whoa, that's nifty!" Tori laughed in surprise, "Thank you!"
"Thank you," Emily said, herding Rose back to her side, "You two just made my daughter's whole day—maybe her whole week! I guess I'll see you soon, Jade? Don't worry; there's no rush on the stuff I gave you about..."
"Sure!" Jade nodded, "Actually, maybe we could meet...Monday?"
"Monday...yeah, Monday can work! Send me an email and I can set something up for you!" Emily scooped her daughter up in her arms and waved to them, "Say 'bye-bye' to Tori and Jade, sweetie!"
"Bye-bye!" Rose waved cutely to them. Tori and Jade waved back, with the former waving the stuffed koala's paw as well until they were out of sight.
"Well, that was a cute surprise," Tori giggled, looking at the picture of them on her phone.
Jade leaned over to see it for herself, smirking how clear they looked despite being in front of the sunlight. "Kid has every right to smile that brightly; it's not every day you meet someone famous."
"You know, I think she was more excited to be in a picture with you, Miss 'Pretty Director'~" Tori laughed and leaned against Jade's shoulder.
"Well, then the kid has good taste in singers and directors, then," Jade rolled her eyes and gathered their food boxes back in the bag she carried them in, "Come on. The sun's starting to set, so we'd better go before everyone else does." Tori followed Jade off of the picnic table and the two of them made for the SUV back at the end of the boardwalk.
The couple safely made it back to their apartment, with Tori plopping down on the couch while Jade placed their bag of edible leftovers in the fridge. Taking a quick look at Tori before taking something out of her bag, Jade called to her, "Hey, Tori...you still alive over there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Tori laughed, sitting up with her back against the couch cushion, "That was just a lot more walking than I thought. That boardwalk's got the one in LA beat by a mile—literally!"
Jade smiled as she joined Tori on the couch, "Well, don't faint on me yet, okay? I...just wanted to say that I really enjoyed our first 'real' date. Thank you."
Tori smiled at Jade's sincerity, leaning on her hand against the cushion to face her, "You're welcome, babe. I'm glad...um, what have you got there?" She tried to peek behind Jade's back, prompting Jade to reveal the surprise to her; a small black box that Tori recognized in an instant. "Oh my god! Jade, you didn't!"
Jade's face glowed as she nodded and opened the box with the black and gold necklace laid out before Tori. "I felt bad when you said Trina lost your mom's necklace that looked just like this one, and...maybe the vendor guilted me a bit, too, but that's beside the point. I remember when you wore that one a few times in school, actually. I thought you looked...really pretty with it, especially on the not-date we had that one time."
"Jade..." Tori sighed, taking the necklace out of the box and holding it in her hands, "But...this was expensive. Weren't you going to get a new phone with the last of your showcase money?"
"Eh," Jade scoffed, waving her hand, "I can survive on my dumb, old PearPhone for another year if I'm careful. This was the least I could do after all that you've done for me. I mean it; I don't know where I'd be right now if not for you, Tori. Thank you."
Tori smiled brighter than almost any moment in recent memory, then held the necklace up to Jade, "Could you put it on for me?"
Jade smiled back and obliged her, holding each end as Tori turned around, pulled her blazer off, and lifted her hair over her neck to give Jade room. Looping her arms around Tori, Jade clasped the small chain around her neck and let it rest on her. The close proximity between them made Jade hesitate for a moment before taking a chance and leaning close to whisper in Tori's ear, "I love you," and sneak a kiss on her cheek from behind.
Tori quickly spun around, blushing from the surprise kiss and the rather seductive whisper in her ear, but then she settled back into a smile and pulled Jade in for another kiss. Unlike most other times Tori initiated a kiss, she immediately took charge of the moment; softly placing her hands on Jade's back to press against her and slowly bring her down with her back against the couch. When she finally broke away from Jade to catch her breath, Tori hovered over her girlfriend's surprised, but joy-filled expression that made her heart soar as she whispered, "I love you, too."
Jade could feel her heart beating faster in response to Tori's whisper, prompting her to quickly sit back up, holding Tori by her waist and slowly wrapping her fingers around the hem of her T-shirt. She remembered their prior agreement about intimacy, but their close proximity and the moment feeling so ripe to Jade that her fingers tightened as she looked into Tori's eyes, quietly asking for her approval.
One look into Jade's pleading eyes made Tori's stomach flip, and with one nod, she backed up a little to pull her shirt over her head, treating Jade to the sight of her in just her new necklace hanging just over her bra. Tori could have sworn she heard Jade gasp under her breath before she was pulled back in for an extended kiss. As their kiss deepened, Tori firmly grabbed the hem of Jade's top and pulled it up and over to join her shirt in the pile next to them. An approving hum from Jade could be heard as she almost pounced on top of Tori, pinning her to the couch and deepening their kiss even more; moving down to where the necklace still hung round Tori's neck. Their mutual laughs and sighs were all that could be heard as night fell on their apartment and their love only grew stronger from the first date they finally had.