Chapter 8: Just Additional
Tori Vega's Point of View
My eyes snap open to sunlight, I cover them with a hand, blinking a few times to see again. I look around questionably, my vision returning slowly. I sit up from my laying position, finding a blanket over top of me. I look around and begin to remember that i'm at Jade's house, I search for my phone in my jacket pocket, pulling it out and seeing that it's ten in the morning.
My senses start to come alive, my nose smelling eggs being cooked. I take off the blanket as I stand up from the couch, I fold the blanket and put it on the arm of the couch before walking through the house towards the smell of food. I round a corner and enter a beautiful kitchen, finding Jade standing in front of the stove, cooking eggs as she listens to her I-pod.
She looks up to me and grins, pulling out one of her ear-buds. "Good morning." she then looks back to her eggs, toast popping up in the toaster.
"Morning." I half smile, finding the situation a bit odd. She dumps the eggs on a large plate, before returning the pan to the stove. She smiles as she makes the two plates, I stand awkwardly looking down at my wrinkled clothes.
"Sorry that I fell asleep, I should have gone home." I apologize feeling kind of guilty.
"No, thank you for staying. You made me feel better." She tells me as she sets the two plates at the island, the bar stools, only inches apart. She sits down and pats the stool next to hers, "Hope you like your eggs scrambled."
"Wow, thank you. This is awesome." I tell her as I sit down, we both take a few bites before she talks.
"We should hang out more." She tells me, making my smile appear. She stares at me with a small smile before simply shrugging.
"We should, I'd love that." I tell her which makes her grin, she then goes back to her food staying silent for the rest of the meal. It's not uncomfortable, it's enjoyable, sitting with her, eating breakfast together. When we finish, she invites me to her room upstairs before I leave. Her room is fascinating, it shows a lot of her personality making me love it.
With the scissors and the film posters, her room is really fun to look at. We both sit on her bed, talking for a bit, myself forgetting that I was going to leave after I went into her room. We talk about when we were kids and all of the funny things that happened to us, we talk about our favorite films and books, we talk about each other's dreams of becoming famous.
Somehow we get onto the topic of celebrity crushes, I feel guilty when I have to lie though. Instead of sharing some of the iconic women I love, I talk of some of the more mainstream men that most teenage girls are crazy for, quickly trying to talk about something differently. Jade seems a little curious though, almost as if she's trying to get inside my head or something. I am able to change the topic, glad that I don't have to stress about maybe revealing something about myself, that I'd rather her not know just yet. Her weird attitude changes then, going back to her normal self again.
The entire time i'm with her though, I can control myself when it comes to the staring and the desire to touch her, but I can't stop the fact that i'm absolutely in love with her.
*****
When I get home at two o' clock, the house is empty and I take advantage of that. I grin like a little girl as I sing and dance while moving around the house. I feel my heart swell with joy thinking of the previous hours with Jade, loving that she does have this hold on me. I know I should hate the fact that I love her, but I can't. It feels good to feel like this, I don't ever want to stop thinking about her.
When my family shows up, they all give me curious looks when they see my happiness. Trina wondering if I met a girl or something, I lie and tell them i'm just happy, knowing I couldn't possibly reveal my feelings for Jade to anyone. I know it would go terribly wrong if that ever got out. I do homework, keeping myself busy until dinner is ready, my mom cooking tonight.
While jamming out to some mainstream pop music, trying to accomplish some English homework an hour later, I hear my mother calling from downstairs, "Tori, your friends are here!"
I stop singing and scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, wondering what friends. I walk out of my room and to the stairs, raising my eyebrows when I see Beck and Jade standing by the front door.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" I ask them skeptically, wondering what's going on. They both turn to look at me, my mother in the kitchen continuing to cook. I walk towards them seeing their smiling faces, am I wrong, or did I not comfort a crying girl last night because of that boy in front of me?
"We came to steal you away." Jade tells me with a smirk, making me raise my eyebrows.
"Huh?" I ask confused, wondering what they have planned.
"Go get dressed, we're going out tonight." Beck smiles, putting his arm around Jade. Jade gives me a look confirming what he said, I hesitantly nod before walking back upstairs. I get out of my comfy clothes and get into something cuter, feeling lost about the whole situation.
I find myself frowning as I get dressed, I should be happy because Jade is, but she's happy because of Beck and not me. They must have already made up, maybe after I left her house earlier today? I wouldn't have forgave him so quickly though if I were Jade, and I'm not just saying that because I'm jealous. I'm just saying that in general. I stop my thoughts though, remembering that Beck is my best friend. I shouldn't be siding against him so easily just because I have feelings for his girlfriend.
I walk back downstairs when i've gotten a new outfit on, Jade stands by the fire place looking at the pictures again on the mantel. Beck chats with my mother in the kitchen, being nice and laughing at her bad jokes.
"So, you going to tell me where we're going?" I ask Jade as I walk up to her, she turns and grins.
"A nice restaurant. Then a hockey game." She tells me with a small wink, I blush and quickly look back to Beck and my mother to hide it. Beck wraps up the conversation, saying goodbye to my mother. He then comes over with a smile, leaning down and kissing Jade for the slightest moment. I continue to look away, hating the scene.
"We just wanted to apologize and repay you, you didn't get a chance for a nice dinner last night." Beck tells me with a smile making me raise my eyebrows.
"So, you've apparently worked out the differences?" I question with a small gulp.
"Yeah, and it's partially because of you." Jade smirks at me making my stomach fall, of course it is. I always screw things up for myself.
"Let's go to dinner, go watch the game. We'll have a blast." Beck smiles opening up the door for us, Jade walks out and I follow her. We get in Beck's truck, Jade in between Beck and I. Her arms stays touching mine the whole time, making me hide my small smile. We drive to this restaurant, my eyes staying away from their holding hands.
We walk into the restaurant, already having a reservation. I sit across from the two of them, feeling a bit awkward as they chatter. I order my food realizing that i'm pretty much just watching their date play along. They laugh and talk about things that I would have never discussed with either of them, both of them sharing inside jokes that I don't understand.
I even turn on my phone, just trying to find some other place to look. I look for the slightest second to see Jade's eyes on me, but not turning her head away from Beck. She quickly looks back to him letting a devious smirk play across her face. I raise my eyebrows wondering what that could have meant, I shake it off before going back to my stupid game on my phone.
When the food arrives, Beck finally looks to me for the first time since we arrived. "That looks good Tori, what is it?"
"Trennette al Pesto I believe, don't know what it means, but it looks good." I chuckle taking my first bite. Beck starts to talk to me, asking me different questions about school and friends. I notice Jade's personality change a bit making me feel confused. Her jaw tightens and she begins to eat her meal in silence.
"We need to hook you up with a date Tori, maybe we can do a double date sometime?" Beck smiles making me frown, what's he trying to pull here? He's not going to reveal right now that i'm into girls, right? Because I would have to kill him if that were to happen.
"Yeah, that would be fun..." I reply a bit awkwardly, hoping he doesn't say anything more about the subject.
I look over to Jade, who starts to look angry confusing me further. Beck and I control the rest of the conversation, talking about our own inside jokes and random stories. I try to bring Jade into the conversation, honestly wanting to talk to her instead anyways, but I have a bad feeling she isn't too happy with me at the moment. I have no idea why either, she doesn't think i'm trying to make a move on Beck right? Because she would be very wrong.
"Well thanks for the meal." I thank Beck after he pays for all of our food.
"No problem at all, let's go to the game now." He smiles, apparently oblivious to the fact that Jade's unhappy. We then leave the restaurant, walking back to Beck's truck in silence. I do notice the little motion though when Beck tries to reach for Jade's hand and she retracts. I raise my eyebrows for the hundredth time tonight not understanding this situation at all. She was all over him in the beginning, why is she so secluded from us now?
We drive towards the stadium, awkward silence playing over us as the radio plays. I look over to Jade, finding her staring back at me. I blush and let my eyes look forward, so I don't reveal anything. I slightly jump though when I feel her finger tips touch the top of my hand that sits in my lap. I quickly look down and watch her fingers attempt to intertwine with mine. The only way for that to happen though, is if I let it happen and move my hand so that she can.
I do move my hand, and she intertwines our fingers making my heart just about explode inside of my chest. I look over to her, seeing her look straight ahead with the same bored exspression as before. It's too dark in the car for Beck to see this, which is probably why Jade is doing this now. But why?
I take deep breaths, trying to figure Jade out. She does these little actions, but I don't know how to take them. I know that I would like to take them as her expressing her love for me, but I know deep down that isn't the case. Is this really how friends act around each other? The closest friend i've ever had, is Beck. We've never done anything like this, where we're so close with touching each other. Is this how girls act with their friends?
Because if it is, it's pure torture. Her hand feels so soft in mine, it stays motionless most of the ride. That doesn't change the fact that this feels so amazing though, holding her hand is like a dream come true for me.
When we get to the parking lot for the stadium, Beck grins as we get out of the car. Jade looks over to me for the slightest second, squeezing my hand before getting out of the car through Beck's door. I blink a few times before getting out of the car as well, feeling even more nervous about this whole night. Jade stands in between us as we walk to the doors of the stadium. Beck begins to talk about who the L.A. KIngs are playing tonight, and how it's going to be an amazing game. I feel slightly guilty because I don't pay much attention, I just think about how Jade's hand felt in mine earlier.
We go inside and grab some food, Jade staying silent the whole time, but smiling whenever Beck and I say something. I have no idea what her mood is tonight, she seems happy, then angry, then chill. Like what the fuck?
We go get our seats, munching on our food as we sit down. Jade specifically sits in between us again, making it a bit obvious that she doesn't want Beck and I sitting next to each other. Beck starts to catch onto Jade's odd behavior, but he doesn't say anything. Only just shrugs when I ask him with my eyes.
The game begins and Jade already looks super bored, she pulls out her phone and plays on it the first period. Beck talks to me every now and then, but mostly keeps his attention on the game. Jumping up when the Kings score, booing when the ref makes a bad call. It feels weird being here, to be honest. The first period ends and Beck excuses himself quickly to go use the restroom. When he leaves, Jade puts her phone away quickly and looks over to me for the first time since the game started.
"Everything okay Jade?" I ask her, hoping to get some kind of normal reaction out of her tonight.
"Of course." She smirks, reaching over and grabbing my hand once again. She intertwines her fingers with mine again, staring intently at me the whole time with a smirk. I raise my eyebrows and let my jaw drop a bit, feeling more confused then ever.
"What-" I begin but she quickly interupts me.
"Shhh." She rolls her eyes, turning her eyes towards the game. I raise my eyebrows wondering what the hell is happening. She watches the game, her thumb rubbing against my skin, I gulp and look to the ice as well. Is she...does she like me that way?
I'm so fucking confused, it's making my head hurt. I know she doesn't like me that way, she's straight and has been dating Beck for two years now. This has to be just a friendly kind of thing, she just feels like she can be close to me. That has to be the only explanation here.
"Guys are hot in hockey uniforms, don't you think?" Jade then asks me with a mischievous smirk making my eyebrows raise further.
"Um...uh yeah..." I reply back feeling flustered, of course i'm lying. Why the hell would she ask me that? She doesn't know that i'm gay right? Is she testing me right now?
She furrows her eyebrows the slightest, before turning her eyes back to the game. I take a deep breath, feeling so anxious inside. Usually around Jade, I feel so comfortable. Now though, I don't know what to make of the situation.
Looking away from her, makes me concentrate on her touch. How her thumb gently rubs against my skin, the little gesture making my heart pound intensly inside of my chest. My face feels hot and I really hope it doesn't show that. Jade looks up the isle every now and then, making me wonder what she's looking for.
When she looks up for the last time though, she releases my hand and Beck smiles as he sits back down next to Jade.
"Did anything cool happen while I was gone?" He asks with an innocent smile, he then places his arm around Jade making me frown again.
"Nope, just grown-ass men hitting a puck with sticks." Jade tells him without any emotion. Beck rolls his eyes before looking back to the game. So Jade is seriously going to act like she wasn't holding my hand the last ten minutes?
She looks over to me and winks making my jaw drop the slightest, she then looks away and snuggles into Beck's side.