Nora
"Okay...is it rolling?"
"It...doesn't roll, Ellie, it just starts recording. See the red light on the screen?"
"Y-You know what I mean, Piper! Stop laughing!"
"It's getting all of this, you know? Just say what you're gonna say and I can edit it later!"
"Ugh! Fine, just give me a second!"
Nora let out a frustrated groan, hoping Piper would edit it out as she said she would, and straightened her posture before facing the laptop's camera again and starting proper:
"Hi, Holly and David. I'm sure you're wondering what this video is all about, especially since I've never made something like this before..."
"Clearly!" Piper laughed aside, out of the camera's view and to Nora's continued annoyance.
"Shut it, Pipe—okay, I'll just get to the point. This was all Tori and Jade's idea. They wanted us to send you a video...journal...log thing like they used to in school as a way of telling you what we've done with them over this past summer. Actually, come to think of it...get over here, Piper. You're in this, too!"
Piper eagerly took one of her chairs from the dining table and sat next to Nora in front of her laptop. She smiled and waved to the camera, "Hi, there! I'm Piper Hastings; Masters in Journalism, independent reporter, and currently the love of Ms. Nora West's life~"
Embarrassed and blushing, Nora buried her face in her hands, groaning loudly again, "Oh my god, why did we agree to this?!"
"Because you love your daughter," Piper answered, still smiling to the camera, "And remember, you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her!"
"Yes...you're right," Nora corrected her posture again and faced the camera, "It's no secret to you two that I came to Miami to, officially, fill a vacancy in Neutronium Records' legal team, but also to keep my own eyes on Tori and Jade after I heard they were moving here together. To say I was shocked would be a massive understatement, especially because I didn't think either of them had what it took to live on their own—much less together—after such a rash decision. I didn't make my presence easy on them at first, especially Jade, but they've proven to me time and time again that they aren't on just some summer fling; they're every bit the hard-working students we knew them to be in Hollywood Arts, and now they're putting their talents out in the real world together...as partners. I had my doubts about how far they'd go—and truthfully, I'm still worried, as parents like us should be—but I'm proud of what they've accomplished together so far."
"I, um...obviously haven't known your daughters as long as you have..." Piper cleared her throat as she chimed in, "But I think you would be very proud of them, too. I was the one who wrote the first article Tori was featured in here, and believe me when I say she handled herself like a champ. You probably already know from her about how she was struggling with coming out. I had those very same issues when I was her age; except where I couldn't even tell the woman I loved how I felt at the time, Tori and Jade have never been more certain of how much they care about each other. I'm not gonna say it'll be smooth sailing for the two of them from here on; we're all adults, after all, but so are they—at least they're on their way to it." Piper glanced over to Nora, sneaking her hand under the camera's view to hold hers, and Nora returned the gesture with a subtle smile.
"Anyway, you've heard our collective two cents on this, and you'll also be meeting a friend they've made here—someone whose life has probably been changed for the better...along with ours. All in all, Tori and Jade have my blessing as a parent, and I hope they have yours, too."
Piper tapped the computer screen to turn off the recording and watched Nora lean back in her seat, breathing a sigh of relief. Pulling her in by her waist, Piper said sincerely, "That was a good thing you did, Ellie."
Nora chuckled, then matched Piper's gaze with a question, "So are you still too afraid to tell the woman you love how you feel, or...?"
Piper raised her hand up to Nora's hair, brushing it back before resting her hand behind her head and leaning in to kiss her. They let their mutual bliss linger for a few seconds before pulling back and Piper whispered, "I love you, Eleanora Daphne West."
Nora laughed again, holding Piper's hand close, "Wow, my full name, huh? Must have been waiting a long time for that!"
"Too long," Piper nodded shortly, pulling her hand back to her side and making a little more distance between them, "But I don't want to wait any longer for this; not after all these years..."
Blinking curiously at Piper's sudden change in tone, Nora looked at her closely, "W-What do you mean by that?" Her answer would soon be answered, but not in a way she expected as Piper smiled back to her and took something out of her pocket...
Tara
"Okay, so first, tilt the screen forward so the angle's good..." Tara muttered Jade's directions to herself as she made quick glances at herself on the computer screen. Each look was met with a more disgusted reaction than the last, as she wasn't used to looking at her reflection; much less, a selfie-like shot.
"Press the button, count to five, and...wait, do I count now or...where does it show the countdown—oh, forget it, I'll wing it!" With a huff, she sat down in her chair and shook her head a few times to compose herself. An audible beep signaled the video was now recording.
"Hi! Mr. and Mrs. Vega, I think? I'm Tara Mendoza, and I'm a friend of Tori and Jade!" With her lips tightly shut after that first sentence, Tara now regretted not rehearsing or writing down her words like Jade strongly suggested. After several seconds of silence, she sighed and shrugged to the camera. "So, I first met Jade at the theater she worked in with Sikowitz, her old teacher, I think? She found out I was staying at the theater because I 'graduated' from my foster home and had nowhere else to live. She said she felt sorry for me and helped me get by with clothes, decent food, and that was when I met her mom and Tori...I really could have made that a lot shorter, huh?"
Rubbing her neck a bit roughly, Tara looked aside as she thought her next words through carefully; all as the camera continued to record her. Looking forward again, she smiled, "I'm incredibly grateful for what Jade, Tori, and Nora have done for me. Thanks to them, I have a roof over my head, a job that's helping me pay them back little by little, and more friends than I've ever had before; though they insist that I've earned these myself, it doesn't stop me from thanking them for it every day. I honestly don't know where I'd be if not for them...and you're probably gonna hear that a lot, but it's only because it's true.
"To be honest, we're all still figuring ourselves out here, in a lot of ways, and we've been helping each other through it all. I, for one, never really felt close to people until Jade...wait, maybe I shouldn't...um..." Eyes widened by what she was about to say, Tara paused again, choosing her next words very carefully. "W-whoever is gonna look at this video before sending it, please edit that out—you know why!"
With a heavy sigh, the camera caught Tara raising her head up from the table and painting a wide smile on her face, "Sorry about that. What I'm trying to say is...Tori and Jade are doing great things here. You've seen the showcase Tori did and Jade directed, you've read the articles Nora—uh, Ms. West's girlfriend wrote about them, and they're not showing any signs of stopping, so there really isn't much else I can add to all that except...that I'm glad to be a part of their lives here, and...I'm glad that they're a part of mine." Tara gave one last wave before clicking the record button to stop the video and turning to lay down on her hotel room bed. Looking up at the ceiling, Tara sighed heavily before hearing her phone ring in her pocket. She flipped it open and pressed the surprisingly ancient device to her ear.
"Hello? Casey? How'd you get my...oh. She did?" As the conversation picked up, Tara sat up accordingly, a wide smile forming across her face. Practically leaping out of her bed, she propped the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she jumped into a fresh pair of jeans from her drawer.
"Well, I...I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to assume...Y-You do? Really?! When? Sure, yeah! I can meet you outside and we'll go...oh, who's Letty? Is she coming, too? N-No, that's fine! I just hope I won't be...imposing or anything." Tara laughed the concern away, glad that Casey couldn't see how much she was blushing as she walked out of her room.
Jade
"Alright...I remember the last time I did one of these, it was just me listing off stuff I hate, but obviously it's different this time. If everything's gone right, you'll have seen my mom and Piper, then Short Stack, talking about all the stuff we've gotten into this summer. As crazy as it all might sound, I assure you...it's all true. Rather than repeat all that, though, I'm going to talk about me and Tori...as roommates here; especially since that's how we started here in Miami."
Jade took a quick sip from her coffee mug, then set it down next to her camera, quickly checking the playback image's quality before continuing.
"First...Tori snores; like a lot. The bathroom may be in between our bedrooms, but I can still hear her most nights. In fact, the only times I haven't heard her snore are...well...certain nights." She looked aside, trying to suppress her blush before going on to the next item on her script. "Another thing, she tenses up a lot; when she's driving, playing one of my games, or even when she was putting together that cover album. It wasn't until I started helping her with that album that she was a little more relaxed, but maybe it was also because she started drinking less coffee. Ah well, more for me!"
After another sip, Jade's brows furrowed, thinking about the other pseudo-roasting remarks she had planned for 'levity' in this otherwise serious video to send to Tori's parents. With a sigh, she shook her head and her tone became more even and serious, "And next...Tori makes the best breakfasts I've ever had. She puts more heart—more care—into everything from a fried egg to a whole fruit salad; which is more than I expect anyone who doesn't have their own cooking show to do in their own home. I can barely make toast, let alone a whole meal, but the times we've made pizza and sushi rolls together were...honestly a lot of fun, and they came out halfway decent! Maybe we could make them for other people someday...as long as she's making most of it.
"I once told her that her singing 'wasn't awful', but I know better now after watching her work. She works harder than I ever gave her credit for in school, and she deserves the record deal she has with Neutronium, but you know that, of course. Directing her showcase was a real opportunity for me, as much as it was for her. I got to show Thornesmith my own talents that he missed out on in the Platinum Music Awards, and in my own way, I was making up for my 'gank-ish' behavior around Tori by making sure she had the best debut a girl like her could ever have, and...that night was the best night of our lives." She smiled sincerely, knowing the double meaning of what she said, and hoping her parents wouldn't.
"Now about the sort-of elephant in the room...about me and Tori as...girlfriends." There was no hiding Jade's pale face growing redder as she started this next point, but she sat up straight in her lounge chair and spoke clear and true. "I like to think Tori and I are closer now than ever before. We've gone through a lot together in just this past summer, as everyone else has said, living together, working together, and now we're...hopefully...studying together.
"Tori's probably told you already, but we've both applied at the University of Miami. One of the staff there took an interest in us after the showcase, told us about the opportunities we'd have as Hollywood Arts grads and working for Neutronium. So we got letters of recommendation from Sikowitz and Thornesmith, sent out our applications, and we really think it could work out for us. I've had my own apprehensions about college, and Tori is also worried about balancing schoolwork again, only now with her music career, but we both agreed that we'd take it on together, like we have everything else so far. We haven't heard back from the university yet, even after a week or so since we applied and auditioned for their fine arts programs, but we're still hopeful—no matter what they say.
"I promised both of you and Tori that I'd never stand in the way of her success and her career here, and I hope you'll continue to trust me on that...because I really care about her, and I want to be with her through all of this. Whether we both go to college together, or just one of us goes, or neither of us go and we just continue working like we have so far, Tori's...my Postgrad Partner, and I'm hers...and I love that." With one last smile, Jade pointed her clicker toward the camera and pressed the Stop button to end the recording.
Tori
A few days later...
"Jade! They're here! I think this is it!"
Tori entered through the front door of their apartment, carrying a large pile of mail in their designated tote bag slung over her shoulder. She held up two envelopes with the University of Miami logo across the centers, prompting Jade to get up and join her at the dining table. They took seats next to each other, taking their respective envelopes with their nails poised to tear them open. Tori stopped to steady her already rapid heartbeat and looked at Jade with a mix of anxiety and excitement. "Now we both agree..." she took a deep breath and said to her, "Whatever they say—and I mean my parents and the university—we're still partners; whether you have to stay with your mom at the hotel or here with me..."
"...or if only I get accepted and you stick to making music full-time..." Jade continued for her, her hand also shaking with anticipation. "...or I keep working at the theater while you take on classes and music..."
"Or if neither of us get in and the working life goes on for both of us...no matter what, Jade..."
"...no matter what, Tori..."
"I love you."
"Ride or die."
They both finished their sentences with a firm nod and slid their hands across the sealed flaps of the envelopes. Grabbing the letters inside, they frantically, but clearly read them aloud to each other at the same time.
"Dear Victoria/Jadelyn...we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the University of Miami's School of Music/School of Communication for the Spring 2015 semester—oh, my god!"
The two slammed their letters on the table and immediately held each other in a tight hug. Tori was already crying happy tears into Jade's covered shoulder, but Jade was in no position to tease her about it since she was crying into Tori's shoulder as well. Pulling back to face each other, they laughed and wiped the tears from their eyes, glad to be crying happily and not miserably for once.
"Oh my god..." Tori let out a huff, steadying her breathing as she picked up her letter again. "I can't believe we both got accepted...and they're offering me a scholarship! What about you?"
Jade snatched her letter off the table, still out of breath, and quickly scanned the rest of it. Her smile grew wider as she simply nodded to Tori, prompting them to hug once more. "We did it, Tori...we're really doing this!"
"We really are..." Tori patted Jade's back as their hug lingered until a melodic chime rang from her phone. She fished it out of her pocket and saw her mother's name and photo across the screen. Accepting the call without hesitation, Tori placed the phone against her ear and answered...
"Mom? Yeah, we're both here! We just got our letters from the university...Accepted! Both of us!" Tori kept watching Jade's smile beaming toward her as she listened to her mother on the other side. "Yeah...yeah she's right here. Okay...hold on. Jade, she wants to talk to you..." Looking more surprised than merely moments before—which she almost didn't think was possible—Jade took the phone from Tori and pressed it against her ear.
"Hi, Mrs. Vega? Yeah, we were both accepted...with scholarships! Well, we're going to have to discuss it all with Emily—t-the staff member who met with us! Yeah, I think we're both definitely considering it." Seeing Tori's eyes growing brighter with each nod Jade made filled them both with increasing determination until the next reply from Holly Vega that made Jade gasp. "R-Really? You mean it?! Th-thank you! Yes, I promise—just like before...as long as she'll have me!"
Tori looked like she was about to burst with joy as Jade hung up the call and placed the phone on the table between their letters. She blurted out, unable to wait any longer, "So?! She said yes?!"
Jade nodded once, which was enough for Tori to squeal and raise her arms in celebration. "You're stuck with me...roommate," Jade smirked, watching Tori's eyes widen and her arms lower slightly, "Oh, I mean...girlfriend...or rather...partner."
Letting out a cross between an exasperated groan and a sigh of relief, Tori slapped Jade's shoulder hard before pulling her in for a passionate kiss. Jade happily accepted the slap and the kiss, wrapping her arms around Tori just as she had on that fateful night months ago in front of Tori's house, when she thought they were sharing their first and only kiss...but it was really the first of many.
After the kiss broke, the two laughed with each other, resting their foreheads together and sitting in a moment of pure, satisfying joy. They knew their story wasn't over by a long shot, rather it was headed to its next chapter, and they were more than ready to see it through together.