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Jade hated a lot of things. The word ‘panties,’ ducks, rainbows, bras that hooked in the front — those were just a few of the things she hated.
However, something she hated more than absolutely anything was being wrong.
Of course nobody liked being wrong, but Jade loathed it. It took a hit to her pride in being right about pretty much everything and an even bigger hit to her ego.
So, yeah, when Sikowitz insisted being on a “date” with Tori would help because their chemistry on stage sucked, Jade thought he was full of shit. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.
Realizing how wrong she’d been was a gut punch. Not only was she wrong about the fact that the date actually did help their chemistry, but…it also proved she was wrong about Tori in general.
She wasn’t this awful person Jade made her out to be. Okay, fine, she never genuinely thought Tori was an actual bad person or anything. She did find Tori annoying though. And deep down, Jade knew that was because she was…jealous…of Tori in some weird way. Unfortunately for Jade, she learned how the narrative she’d created was flawed, and she came out of the date thinking Tori wasn’t that bad.
In fact, it made Jade want to be around Tori. Willingly. Ugh. Being wrong really, really sucked.
She found herself at Tori’s house everyday after their night at Nozu. For rehearsal purposes, obviously. Sure, they’d only seriously rehearse for about an hour before hanging out the rest of the time, but whatever. Jade told herself that showing up to the Vega residence on Saturday afternoon was totally for rehearsal purposes and definitely not because she actually liked being around Tori now.
Since it was Saturday, Tori had convinced her that they had plenty of time to hang out first and rehearse later. Damn her for being so persuasive. Damn Jade even harder for allowing herself to be persuaded by a simple smile.
“We probably should rehearse at least once,” Jade suggested. It was nighttime.
They’d done nothing all day but hang out. They watched a few episodes of Celebrities Underwater after Jade arrived, went out for frozen yogurt, and then had dinner with Holly and (unfortunately) Trina. David was at work and Trina was a big enough loser to not have plans on a Saturday night.
Tori sighed, “That’s so boring.”
They started rehearsing anyway.
Granted, Tori was correct about it being boring. They were on their second run through of the last scene, where Nancy and Walter exchange ‘I love you's' and hug. However, if Jade was being honest, she found that scene to be anything but boring. She would never admit to liking the feeling of having Tori’s arms wrapped around her — really, she wouldn’t — but she couldn’t deny the fact that she kind of…liked it…and that it was her favorite part of the whole play.
“You can let go now,” Jade grumbled, but her tone was playful.
Tori grinned, pulling back from the hug, but not yet letting go. “I think you like hugging me as much as Nancy likes hugging Walter,” she teased.
“You’re so…weird,” Jade snorted.
“Yeah,” Tori happily agreed. “But I think you like that about me.”
And then Jade gulped. Had their faces been so close the entire time? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that, now, she could smell the spearmint lip balm on Tori’s lips. She could feel Tori’s eyes focused on her lips, and wondered if Tori felt her eyes do the same.
She wasn’t sure who leaned in first. She just knew that they were both doing it.
“Tori?”
Holly’s voice, accompanied by a firm knock on the door, was enough for them to jump apart from one another.
“Come in,” Tori replied. She hoped Jade didn’t notice the tremor in her voice.
Holly only peeked her head in. “I was just wondering if Jade will be spending the night?” she asked.
Tori looked at Jade. Jade looked away.
“I can’t,” she answered with an awkward clear of her throat. She stood up from Tori’s bed and slipped on her leather jacket. “I actually was about to head out. I have a thing tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay,” Holly said. “Good night, Jade.”
“Night, Mrs. Vega.” Jade went back to gathering her things once Holly left.
Tori bit her lip. She had no idea what to say next and it was painfully clear Jade didn’t either. She couldn’t believe how close they were to kissing. The only thing she did know was that Jade would be pissed if she tried talking to her about it, so she decided not to. Not when they’d gotten so close in the last week alone.
“Are you coming over tomorrow?” she asked. “To rehearse.”
“Probably not,” Jade answered. “I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
“Okay.” Tori nodded. She hoped her disappointment didn’t show. “Text me when you get home,” she requested.
“Yeah.”
Jade thought about the almost kiss from the second Tori walked her out to her car all the way to her house. She couldn’t believe they almost kissed. How? It didn’t make any sense. The fact that Jade was kind of pissed that Tori’s mom interrupted them confused her even more. Despite the mix of emotions she was feeling, she pulled her phone out to text Tori that she’d arrived at her house as she locked the front door.
ok good
i had a good time today :)
Jade grunted. She didn’t know if Tori was actually talking about having fun hanging out, or if she was talking about their near kiss. She decided to ignore that.
same
Maybe she shouldn’t have been so short, but it was better to be vague. It appeared to have worked.
good night nancy :)
lol good night walter
They never talked about their almost kiss after that, much to Jade’s delight. It was surprisingly easy to move on from, and there wasn’t any lingering awkwardness between them. They almost kissed. So what? It wasn’t a big deal.
Until it almost happened again the day before their senior year began.
Unlike the first time the year prior, Jade couldn’t blame it on the fact that they were playing a couple in some play.
They were at the senior sunset — a Hollywood Arts tradition where all the seniors went to the beach to watch the sun set the night before senior year kicked off — when it happened. Or didn’t happen.
They were alone. Their friends had ventured off to dip their feet in the water after it was dark, and they opted to stay dry. And there was also the whole Jade absolutely hated the ocean thing that was the ultimate deciding factor.
“I can’t believe tomorrow’s our last first day of school ever!” Tori exclaimed.
“Some of us are going to college,” Jade reminded her, jokingly rolling her eyes. “Not everyone has a record deal waiting to be signed.”
Even though it was dark out now, she could see the blush on Tori’s face.
“Sorry! It’s just—”
“I’m just being a bitch, Vega,” Jade snorted. “You don’t have to freak out.”
“I’m really excited,” Tori smiled. “I think this year will be a lot of fun.”
“School’s not fun,” Jade scoffed. “It’s school.”
“I meant with you,” Tori laughed. Then she froze, like she said something she shouldn’t have. “And everyone else,” she quickly clarified.
Jade shrugged. “I know I’m your favorite. I won’t tell Andre,” she quipped.
“I’m glad to know you can keep my secret,” Tori joked.
“How else am I supposed to cash in a future favor from you?” Jade raised her eyebrows in an expectant manner.
“You’re awful.”
“And still your favorite friend.”
Tori shook her head, but couldn’t contain her smile. She lightly nudged Jade’s shoulder with her own. “Am I your favorite friend?”
“No comment,” Jade grumbled.
“That means yes!” Tori cheered. “It’s okay, Jade. I won’t tell anyone about our unbreakable bond.”
“Oh, my God. You’re so annoying,” Jade groaned, but, unfortunately, the laugh she was holding back slipped through. “If you shut up, I’ll split the Kit Kat in my car with you.”
“I’m not Cat,” Tori protested, “I can’t be bribed that easily.”
“Do you want candy or not?” Jade lifted her pierced eyebrow.
“I do,” Tori smiled sheepishly.
Their friends looked far too entertained in the water, so they snuck off to Jade’s car. They left Tori’s towel and blanket they were sharing to remember where exactly to return.
Tori hummed on the short walk to Jade’s car and if it were two years ago, Jade would’ve told her to shut up. Now that she was more fond of being around Tori, she found herself walking slower just to hear her a bit longer. Jade recognized Tori was humming “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer and swore her heart skipped a beat.
Was that supposed to mean something? Was Tori giving her a hint? Was Jade simply reading too much into things? After all, Tori never brought up the time they almost kissed and that had been nearly a year ago. Coincidences existed and not everything had a meaning. (At least that’s what Jade told herself while they sat in her car.)
Jade reached across and grabbed the Kit Kat that’d been sitting in her glove compartment since that afternoon. She bought it at the gas station before she picked everyone up and had no intention of sharing it until Tori had bugged her.
“Don’t tell anyone I’m giving you this,” Jade said, ripping the wrapper.
“I won’t,” Tori promised.
They ate their halves in silence and looked out towards the beach. It was nice to be around Tori like this — with nobody around to annoy them. It was also kind of cool to not have to say anything and still be so comfortable with her.
“We should head back before they think I drove off without them,” Jade said as soon as they finished eating their candy.
Tori nodded in agreement and was about to reach to open the door, but then noticed something. “You have chocolate on your chin,” she pointed out with a soft laugh.
“Ugh, great,” Jade groaned. She used the back of her hand to wipe it away. “Did I get it?”
“No,” Tori laughed harder. Still she reached out a hand and gently cupped Jade’s chin. She wiped the remaining chocolate off with her thumb and it was nearly like being in her room for play rehearsal.
Similar to last time, Jade couldn’t tell who started to lean in.
Similar to last time, a loud noise broke them away from each other. This time, instead of a knock, it was an irritating, high pitched, firework that went off. Tori yelped like a dog who’d been accidentally stepped on, and Jade jolted in her seat.
“Jesus Christ!” Jade exclaimed. She genuinely couldn’t tell if she was startled by the sound or if she was annoyed that they were interrupted again. Probably both. “Let’s go back,” she grumbled.
They walked back to the beach. Tori wasn’t humming. Jade wondered if that was an even bigger hint.
Senior year came and went without any near kisses and without bringing up either of their near kisses. Jade was happy about it. She didn’t want anything to be weird between them and, to Tori’s credit, they weren’t. In fact, they’d gotten even closer, so it was even better that the near kiss didn’t push them away from each other.
(That didn’t mean Jade never thought about it. Like…all the time. Because she thought about Tori…all the time.)
They were at a classmate’s house for a graduation party when it happened again.
And the third time, it was all Jade’s fault.
She couldn’t blame it on liquid courage because she hadn’t been drinking. She drove there and if she even thought about drinking and driving, her mother would kill her. So, Jade didn’t know what possessed her to grab Tori’s wrist and lead her to one of the few secluded places in the backyard.
“How do you know your way around here already?” Tori asked.
“I looked out the window when we got here,” Jade answered.
“Are you gonna kill me? Oh, God, was your plan last year to get me to trust you?” Tori joked.
Jade laughed wholeheartedly. “Yeah, and I’m doing it at a crowded place so everyone knows it was me.” She stopped once they reached the back of the pool house. “Seriously, though, I brought you here because I have to tell you something.”
“What?” Tori nodded. Her eyes were warm, welcoming, and hopeful.
She gave Jade the courage she needed to keep going.
“Actually, it’s more…there’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now,” she said, gently squeezing Tori’s wrist.
Tori smiled softly. “I think you should do it,” she encouraged.
So, Jade took a step closer to Tori, put her other hand on her waist, and leaned in — consciously this time.
“Why are you guys— oh, my God!”
Oh, my God was right.
“Andre!” Tori squealed, jumping away.
“Andre,” Jade growled, though she was far more mad than Tori was. Her voice was low and her jaw was clenched.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m sorry! I was just confused that you guys came over here by yourselves and if I knew you came over here to—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jade snapped through clenched teeth. Truthfully, she was far more embarrassed than actually mad at Andre for interrupting them. So, she did the one thing she always did any time she felt slightly embarrassed. “I’m leaving.”
-
Tori watched as Jade stormed away. Her heart sunk and she was so overwhelmed with everything — from Jade telling her about something she’d been wanting to do, to Jade leaving — that she stood still.
“Tor, I’m so sorry,” Andre apologized again. “Seriously, if I—”
“Forget about it,” Tori sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair and continued to look at the door, willing for Jade to come back. It was useless and she knew that.
“But—”
“It’s fine,” she cut him off. “Just…never bring it up. Seriously.”
She hung out with Jade the next week and like the other two times they almost kissed, neither of them brought it up. It stung this time, but Tori justified it by telling herself it was better to have Jade in her life as a friend than not have her at all.
The fourth time they almost kissed was four years later, at Tori’s birthday party, and they were sort of drunk.
Honestly, it was kind of a miracle they’d managed to stay as close as they did considering how busy both of them were.
Tori was the biggest pop star on the planet to nobody’s surprise. She had multiple hit songs, two chart topping albums, and topped all that off with a couple of Grammys — Grammys she won on her birthday no less. Even Jade would admit that was a pretty sick gift.
While Jade wasn’t nearly as busy as Tori, she still had her hands full. Not only did she earn her Bachelor’s, but she had also written and directed a few short films for film festivals and she’d won some awards for them.
So, yeah, they were busy, but life was good.
They were good.
That, in all honesty, kind of surprised Jade. She didn’t really expect them to remain friends after how clear she’d made her feelings for Tori. Feelings that went away, yet faintly lingered some days. (There was tension between them that was…noticeable…to people they’d been interested in.) Regardless, Jade was glad they were able to remain friends despite them almost kissing — three times.
So, since they had a weird history that friends typically didn’t have, Jade wasn’t even sure if she should’ve been surprised when it almost happened again.
They were celebrating Tori’s birthday and her Grammy wins, so, yeah, they got slightly carried away with their alcohol consumption. After the party, Tori invited Jade to spend the night at her place. She had a thing about not liking to be alone after drinking and Jade knew that, so she accepted Tori’s offer instantly.
When they got in the back seat of the car Tori’s label set up for her, Tori remained in the middle seat once Jade sat down. Jade waited for her to sit on the left side, but she never did. It was fine — even if Tori was wearing this unbelievably short, tight dress and their legs were touching. Jade was fine. She was mature and she wouldn’t let something so small affect her so much.
“Best birthday ever,” Tori yawned.
Jade chuckled softly. “Yeah, I bet,” she agreed.
“Thanks for coming,” Tori smiled tiredly. She leaned her head and rested it on Jade’s shoulder. “It was so much more fun once you showed up.”
“Yeah, that’s me — total life of the party,” Jade deadpanned.
“I’m serious,” Tori laughed quietly. “You always make everything better.”
Jade swallowed and looked out the window. She had never been more grateful for the driver to have the heater turned up so high, otherwise Tori would’ve seen she was red because she was blushing. (Ugh.)
“I do,” she joked. She put her head on top of Tori’s and sighed. She was a little drunk, a little nervous, but…she was happy.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed in that position, but she knew that when they got out of it, it was because they started looking at one another. Their faces were also only a couple inches away from each other and Jade couldn’t help but notice the flush of Tori’s cheeks. She wondered if it was from the alcohol or from the lack of distance between them.
Like two other times, Jade also wondered who leaned in first.
But like three other times, it didn’t matter because they didn’t kiss. Again.
This time, they had the driver honking his horn at another car that was blocking the entrance of Tori’s street to interrupt them.
It was like groundhog’s day. They awkwardly kept their distance, didn’t talk about it, and acted like nothing happened the next morning.
Jade wondered if maybe they just weren’t meant to happen.
They almost kissed again five years later at the premiere of Jade’s directorial debut for her first big budget film.
It’d already been a hectic day, only because Jade had been sick to her stomach. It wasn’t about the quality of her film or anything like that — the studio and people who saw the screen test loved it. It was about the red carpet. Even now in her late twenties, Jade didn’t mix very well with other people. She’d gotten a lot better with them since she was a teenager, but she got extremely anxious with hundreds of cameras in her face.
“I don’t know how you do this, like, everyday,” Jade muttered, almost glaring at her phone. On her screen, Tori shrugged in response.
“I hate it, too, but I sorta got used to it,” she replied. “You’ll be fine!”
Jade groaned, “That doesn’t help.”
“I know,” Tori frowned. “But you will be.”
It turned out that Tori was right. Unfortunately. Jade (still) hated being wrong. Still, the premiere was a success. People loved her movie. Her friends, mom, and brother showed up to support her and they all went out to Nozu after to celebrate because the production company set it up for her. It was nice.
(Though, she did freak out when Andre and Cat showed up to Nozu holding hands. Apparently, they started dating a couple months prior. It came out of nowhere, but she was happy for them.)
And then it got even better when Tori pulled her into the hallway away from the few people still there as the party dwindled down.
“There’s only, like, four people here and they’re most likely already leaving,” Jade pointed out, following closely behind Tori. “Why do you need to talk to me privately?”
“Because…I got you something,” Tori smiled.
Jade’s gaze softened and she returned the smile. “You did?”
“Of course I did,” Tori replied. She reached in her purse — her monster sized one that she didn’t have the heart to get rid of — and pulled out a rectangular box that was neatly wrapped in neon pink wrapping paper.
“You want me to open it now?” Jade asked, lifting her eyebrows at the expectant look Tori had. Tori nodded eagerly. “Okay.”
She opened the present and was met with a clapperboard — the one that signified the very final scene Jade shot. Her small smile turned into a full fledged grin.
“How did you get your hands on this?”
Jade had taken a few props from the set — some she asked if she could have, some she smuggled away. She never thought to take a clapperboard with her.
“I have connections,” Tori slyly replied with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
“Who?”
“Can’t say.”
“Weirdo.”
“I’m really proud of you, Jade,” Tori blurted out. There was a sense of urgency in her tone that matched the look on her face — like she wanted Jade to know how sincere she was.
“Thanks Tori,” Jade smiled.
“Nobody deserves this more than you,” Tori continued. “You actually deserve more. And I know you’ll get it ‘cause this is what you’re meant to do.”
Jade gulped. She thought she was going to cry, which was ridiculous. But what Tori said meant a lot to her. Tori, in general, meant a lot to her. She had no clue how to properly thank her for her kind words and the gift.
She also had no clue when they got close enough for Tori to put her hand on the small of Jade’s back. It was…feeling a lot more likely than all the other times they’d been physically close to each other.
However, it was just like the other times because Jade’s mom’s voice boomed throughout the restaurant. Jade jumped back from Tori just in time because her mom then appeared in the hallway.
“There you are, honey,” she said. “We’re heading out, so I wanted to say bye.”
The moment was gone after that.
Jade was now certain nothing was ever going to happen between them. She had to tell herself she could live with that.
They found themselves in London for Andre and Cat’s wedding two years later.
Jade never expected them to have a destination wedding, but she thought it was cool — selfishly because it meant there would probably be less people willing to go, and the chance of her seeing someone she hated was lowered. Still, she also liked the fact that they were both in the wedding. Tori was in Andre’s wedding party, and Jade was in Cat’s.
The trip kept her and Tori busy up until the reception. The first day, they landed and immediately slept because of how jet lagged they were. The second day was the rehearsal dinner, and the morning of the wedding had been hectic. One of Tori’s heels broke, so she had to borrow a pair from one of Cat’s cousins. Then, Jade’s dress had a small hole near her waist and she had to get it sewn up by one of Andre’s cousins who, luckily, was prepared for the event. They took advantage of having the chance to sit down during the reception and only really got up to get drinks from the bar.
“I left my jacket inside,” Tori realized, groaning. “In Cat’s dressing room.”
“Want me to go with you to get it?” Jade offered. As much as she liked having all the time in the world to sit, she felt like she had to stretch her legs.
Tori nodded. “Please.”
They got up and went inside the venue and straight to Cat’s dressing room. Tori slipped on her jacket and then gasped.
“What?” Jade’s eyes widened.
“I love this song!” she exclaimed as it faintly made its way through the walls of the venue.
“Oh, my God, Tori,” Jade huffed, but couldn’t mask the laugh that accompanied it. The two of them headed back outside and Jade was about to make a sarcastic remark, and that was when she heard the song clearly.
It was “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.
For all of the time they’d spent together in the last decade plus, including the five times they’ve almost kissed, that was the moment when something clicked for Jade — like, really clicked for her. Obviously, her feelings for Tori never faded completely, but they also never rose to the surface. Not since they graduated from high school, anyway. So Jade had no idea why they flooded to the surface so suddenly.
She stopped dead in her tracks and Tori looked back at her.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Instead of answering verbally, Jade took a step closer and cupped Tori’s cheeks. And then she kissed her.
Finally.
Finally, they were kissing. No interruptions. No distractions. Nothing. Just the two of them doing what they should’ve done so long ago.
“It’s about time,” Tori exhaled when she pulled back.
Jade could only laugh and nod in agreement. Then she kissed her again.
There was nothing that could stop them anymore.