SMACK

His hand collided with her face not for the first time that day; the only difference is that she couldn't have possibly braced herself for this one seeing as how she had been dead asleep when the contact was made. Her eyes snapped open and she flew into motion instinctively and fearfully. Tumbling off her once welcoming bed, Tori hit the floor with a soft thud. She wasn't very heavy, so her fall wasn't very hard at all. He was glaring at her, his eyes bloodshot with his pupils dilated; she could smell the heavy stench of the vodka on his breath.

"You bastard! I'll kill you for what you did to her!" He spat angrily at her, striking again just barely missing. It was happening again. He wasn't aware of his surroundings. He didn't know that he wasn't at the station with Gary interrogating a wanted felon.

"Daddy! Stop! It's me, Tori!" She cried trying to shield herself from him, but it did nothing when he used his knee on her gut. She folded over, collapsing to the floor in pain. He had just aggravated her still fresh wounds that adorned her slim torso. Her once flawless skin had been splattered with cuts bruises and burns. It was as if her father was a painter, and her body was the canvas. One that he felt needed improvement every day.

"SHUT UP! Don't you DARE mention my family's name! If I found out you've been near my youngest, I will strangle you, and no law can stop me." His voice went from angry and loud to just above a whisper filled with venom and she couldn't help but quake under the hostility his eyes were emitting.

He stared her down for a moment with a cool hard gaze that Tori had found herself under far too often, and then he punched her in the face for good measure before turning and walking out. He muttered something along the lines of "Lock him up" as he slammed her bedroom door shut. Trinkets she had stored on shelves fell from their perch with a resounding crash.

She lied there on the floor for a while letting silent tears depart from her eyes in a tragic goodbye. In that moment, she was able to somewhat compose herself and start her nightly routine she had celebrated missing hours before. She hadn't thought he'd attack her in her sleep.

Her father was getting worse every day. Ever since a horrendous crime, he had changed for the worse. Doctors labeled it many things, but the only term Tori had understood at least somewhat was PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." There was nothing she could do to help the fading man and that only killed her more and more with each and every passing day.

The broken brunette trudged into the bathroom across the hall. It was hers alone since her dad used the private one connected to his bedroom. She opened the cabinet to find the stash of supplies that she had bought with her own hard earned money. She didn't touch the ointment since he hadn't actually broke skin that time, but she did change her self-applied bandages from previous nights, and used a plethora of make up to try and conceal her gradually bruising eye. Turns out that concealer doesn't work so well on its own.

Once she was satisfied enough, she turned back to her room hoping to get at least a couple hours of shut eye before school, but to her dismay it was the time she usually got up anyway. With a heavy sigh she instead gathered her things and got dressed before cautiously heading down the stairs. It wasn't often that he'd still be out after one of his episodes, but she didn't want to take any chances. Either he'd still be lost in his delusion, or sobbing his eyes out in guilt for knowing that he had hurt his daughter. She honestly couldn't decide which she preferred, so she was relieved to find that the coast was clear.

She prepared bacon and eggs with some sausage as well and served it up on a plate before covering it with a paper towel and placing it in the microwave and leaving her usual note. She then started a pot of coffee that she knew her father would need later and headed out the door. She never ate breakfast because she was never hungry anymore. She had to choke down her lunches and keep up her stupid facade so that no one would notice anything to comment on, but that was all she ever ate.

She arrived at Hollywood Arts ten minutes before the warning bell rang and went straight to the bathroom. She liked to arrive early enough so that not many people were there. She would always check the mirror to make sure nothing slipped and was visible before heading into a sound proof practice room to be alone and gather her thoughts. She would often play the keyboard or pick up a guitar, but not this morning. She just wasn't feeling it, so she sat in a corner and began to draw.

Drawing was a secret hobby of hers. She never told anyone because the last time she had showed her artwork, she was laughed at, so instead it was just a personal pleasure. A release of sorts. She felt that there were no limits with drawing; like it was a world at the tip of her pencil or pen that she had complete control over. There was nothing she didn't like, and didn't fail to exclude what she did. Sometimes she dreamed that if her life was that way, everything would be much more peaceful, but then again, someone else somewhere would be miserable. It was a concept on life she had learned far too well. It was like her art, it could be the most amazing creation yet, and still someone would hate it. It was that old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

She's thrown from her thoughts when the door suddenly slams open and someone storms in. They had beautiful pale porcelain skin that complimented and contrasted her raven-locks. Her eyes were unique; they could be an icy blue one day, and a forest green the next. It was these eyes that had intrigued Tori from the very first day she had been acquainted with them. They were the beautiful eyes of none other than Jade West.

"VEGA GET THE HELL AWAY FROM-" She starts to scream, but then seems to notice that the brunette is on her own. This is it Tori thought. Time to put on my best on-going performance.

"Is there a problem Jade?" She asked in a confused, yet still somewhat perky voice. While she was a meritorious actress, some of that confusion was real. She had a small inkling as to what had upset the goth now, but she couldn't know for certain.

"Never mind" She grumbled turning towards the door about to exit when she stops. She scanned the room as if in search of something then turned back to the Latina.

"So, if you're not in here macking on my boyfriend, then just what are you doing in here Vega? Little Miss Sweet Sally Peaches isn't hiding is she?" She taunted using the voice that was specifically reserved for the petite Pop Star in the last sentence.

"You mean you actually care?" Tori inquired lining her voice with a tinge of hope that wasn't the least bit real. She knew Jade didn't care and never would. She figured it was a loss she could endure, but she had to keep up the act. If something as usual as this changed, people would question it and then suspect things.

"Psh please Vega, you're so pathetic. Why on earth would I ever care about anything you do? Now, if it involved me in an infuriating or offensive way, then I really only care to avoid getting expelled because of you." Tori got the threat, she understood it better than most, but again, the Latina had an image to project.

"How would I get you expelled?" Jade rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Forget it Vega. Gosh, you're hopeless." She said before leaving, not realizing that, like many times before, the goth had been manipulated. Jade hadn't gotten her answer, and even forgot that there was something odd. Tori did these kinds of things with her all the time, so it wasn't new to her.

Out of all her friends, Tori would definitely say Jade was the smartest out of the group. If she ever did care about Tori, she probably would have noticed something was off when it first happened. It's true that the whole perky little miss sunshine facade hadn't always been fake, but she changed that summer. She couldn't determine whether it was a good change or a bad one, but there was one thing she knew for certain: She will never be the way she once was.

Jade found herself bored out of her mind in class. The teacher just seemed to keep droning on and on; she wished she could be anywhere but here. She was in a bad mood thanks to Tori's "Stupidity" and Becks constant evasion. Although it was more the latter that was irritating her, her thoughts kept drifting off to the chocolate-eyed singer.

She had already made it to her second period class when she had realized that the teen had successfully avoided her questioning. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why it mattered. She reasoned that it was most likely because she had in a sense tricked her. She knew that wasn't the whole reason; something about it was seriously bugging her, but she figured that was the best explanation for now.

The bell rang signaling it was now lunch. She grabbed her bag and was the first one out the door. She immediately scoured the area for a certain shaggy-haired guy that happened to be avoiding her. She spotted him across the hall making his way towards the exit.

"Oh no you don't." She muttered to herself striding past the sea of students heading out for lunch. She caught him before he could get to his car.

"Hey Beck, where you heading off to?" She asked him sweetly. This was the first sign of danger.

"Jade! Hey, uh, just felt like going out for a change." He told her nervously.

"Oh really?" She asked and he nodded. "You wouldn't be avoiding me would you?" She asked him threateningly and he sighed.

"Okay look. I know you're mad, but we need to talk." He told her. Those words were never good.

"Then talk." She told him. He sighed and ran a hand through his fluffy black mane. He glanced around the parking lot seeing all the other students either making their way to their cars or just hanging where they were.

"Not here." He told her ushering her into his car.

Jade stared out of the window beside them. They were sitting in a small café a few blocks away from the school where Beck had finally told her what she wanted. Except it was just the opposite. They had been on rocky terms lately and she had wanted to know what was up, but she didn't want to hear what he just said.

After Beck had said what he needed to, he hadn't been able to get a response out of her. She just sat there staring at him with a blank expression. When he failed to get any kind of reaction out of her, he left. Now she was watching the ground through the window trying to process things.

This was the spot Beck had first told her he loved her. This was where they had their first kiss. Now, this is where he dumped her. Sure that didn't mean much since they had been on and off for a while now, but this time was different. This time he didn't list the faults that he had known she had, or try to say that she wasn't making him happy. This time he was telling her that it was him. God, can he be any more cliché? She thought bitterly. He'd used the line she'd seen in so many of those stupid movies. "It's not you, it's me."

He had fallen in love again, and it wasn't with her.

He loved Tori.

Ironic, wasn't it? She had been so worried that she would steal him, but finally believed them when they promised they had no interest in each other. All those times Beck had promised her that there was never another girl, that he only had eyes on her. All those times he told her that Tori didn't matter because he had her. He had Jade. So, why wasn't that enough? After all those times and now he's left her alone at a café mulling over the fact that he dumped her for Vega. Little-Miss-Priss, Sunshine Vega.

She just couldn't understand. He had spent so much time reassuring her, and the whole time, it had been lies. Lies strung together, crafted so elegantly that she could never see through them until he shredded them apart with the bitter truth.

There was no way she could just let this go. Vega could have him, but not without suffering first.

The raven-haired goth walked back to school making it just in time for seventh period. She figured she might as well go to class. Of course her last class of the day was with Sikowitz.

"Ah Jade, nice of you to join us." He said cheerily when he saw her.

"Whatever." She muttered dropping her bag to plop on to her seat. Beck was seated on the far opposite side of the room, which she very much appreciated.

Class went by surprisingly fast, but not as uneventful as the crystal-eyed teen would have liked. They were each assigned a project and a partner. Andre and Cat got paired together and were supposed compose music for an original musical, Beck and Robbie got partnered up and were assigned an action scene with their own choreographed fighting, and Jade was left with none other than Tori.

"Now, Tori, Jade. I have a very special assignment chosen specifically for you two. "He told them with a small smirk. "Now I want everyone to sit with their partners." He announced walking back towards the stage.

"But… You didn't tell us our assignment." Tori pointed out looking a bit lost. Sikowitz didn't answer and instead opted to watch and wait for everyone to situate themselves next to their partner. Jade didn't move and grunted in irritation when the Latina pulled up a chair to sit beside her.

"Good. Now stick out your hands." The class looked around in confusion, but because it was Sikowitz that was saying this, no one questioned the command. Arms were raised so that they were hovering above their respective laps and the odd teacher walked by each group as if inspecting their wrists before he approached the two opposites.

In the blink of an eye and without warning, the nutty coconut-loving man brought out a pair of handcuffs and linked their wrists together.

"Hey, what the-"Jade exclaimed out of surprise and anger.

"Wha- No no no no no no no, I can't do this" Tori's eyes widened in fear and panic. Her breathing began to speed up coming in shorty raggedy breaths and she looked like she might pass out.

"Whoa Tori, chill. What's wrong?" Andre's voice seemed to remind the girl where she was and she immediately recollected herself.

"Uh, sorry, I just- I don't-" she struggled with her answer, and for some reason Jade thought to help her out.

"What the hell do you mean what's wrong? The lunatic just cuffed us!" She snarled glaring up at their teacher.

"Yes I did. This is your assignment; you two will spend a week together getting to know each other, and next Friday you two will perform a scene in which you will portray one another."

"Why?" Sikowitz picked up his coconut and took a sip, not caring to answer Tori's exasperated question right away.

"Because Two months from now, I'll be holding another one of my legendary plays, and I'm going to want you two to play the leads. It's no secret that you two have an obvious disdain for each other and I will not have you ruining my play."

"But how's this even supposed to work? We don't even share the same schedule." Jade pointed out.

"That's why I have talked to your teachers and the principal. You will alternate. One day you'll both go to all Tori's classes, and the next, all Jades."

"But-" Tori started but she was cut off.

"But nothing. It's all set, you two figure out the rest on your own. Now," He went back to the front of the room. "Let's talk about Dramatic Irony"

It took everything in Jade's power to remain calm. At least calm enough not to strangle the girl beside her. The Latina looked like she could start crying at any moment, and Jade almost couldn't blame her. She would have loved anything more than to be where she was at that moment. Although she wasn't happy with what had happened, she did figure it was beneficial. After all, this just meant she would be close enough to Vega to exact her revenge. She just had to think about how.

Tori had to force herself to breathe. She was panicking majorly. The sight of the metal confinements gleaming on her risk was far too much of a reminder. She had to remind herself that they didn't mean anything and that it was stupid for her to react that way. Besides, Jade was now by her side, and she wasn't leaving anytime soon; She couldn't let anything slip.

She wasn't sure how they were going to do this. She did her best not to think about what might happen when one of them need to use the restroom. How were they supposed to do this? It was impossible! They were already showing a struggle when the bell rang, freeing them for the day. Tori of course stood as she always did when the bell rang which instantly clashed with Jades routine of reaching down to grab her bag. It resulted with the both of them tumbling to the ground. There were snickers around the room before Jade silenced them with a low and threatening growl. She gave the girl she was now linked to a cold glare, but neither of them spoke as they managed to rise to their feet without any more problems. They went down the hall seeming to have a silent agreement; Jade would lead. They went stopped at her locker and Tori held her arm out so that the goth could use both her hands to switch out her stuff.

After Tori got a quick visit to her locker the two girls went out in the parking lot and stopped in front of Jade's car.

"So my house or yours Vega?" Jade spoke to her for the first time since being linked.

"Can we go to yours?" Tori asked hopefully. Her dad was most likely home and seeing the hand cuffs could potentially set him off. Jade grumbled before going to the driver's side and opening the door. Tori crawled through first to get to the passenger's side before Jade sat behind the wheel.

"Are you okay driving with one hand?" Tori asked nervously seeing Jade start the car.

"Yeah. Just don't try to jerk your arm or something." The goth pulled out of the lot and started down the road. Tori had her head leaning back against the head rest, her eyes trained out the window, but she wasn't actually paying the world any attention. She had her mind on how she was going to deal with all this. Going home with Jade strapped to her at any time was a risk, but she would need to go over there eventually. She doubted Jade would let her wear her clothes. Besides, wouldn't it be odd for the youngest Vega to start wearing all black? It would certainly show that something was up.

Tori was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized the car had stopped. She looked out the window to find they were in her own driveway.

"Wha- I thought we were going to your house?" She inquired Jade trying her best to keep her breathing even.

"Well, I changed my mind. Come on, or does Miss Sweet Sally Peaches have something to hide?" She used her "Tori" Voice and said girl sighed before running a hand through her hair.

"I do actually, so can we please just go to yours?" Tori admitted looking to the actress with pleading eyes. To say Jade was taken aback would be an understatement. Not only had she refrained from protesting her mocking, but she would never have expected her to be hiding something, much less would she expect her to admit to hiding something without so much as a fuss. Jade regained her composure and nodded.

"All right. But we should still grab your stuff. I get the feeling we'll be at mine for a while." She smirked knowing she had Tori cornered. Tori fidgeted in her seat and rubbed her arm while seemingly finding the ground quite interesting.

"Can't I just wear something of yours?" She spoke after a moment of silence and looked at Jade with the saddest look the goth had ever seen.

"Why don't you want to go inside?" The Liz Gillies look-alike asked, her voice softer than Tori had ever heard it. The Latina turned away for a moment wondering how she was going to respond without giving anything away.

"I just don't." They were both silent for a moment before Jade sighed.

"All right, fine. But you do know I'll find out why sooner or later." The black clad actress started her car again and pulled away from the Vega residence, not missing the look of total relief on the other girl's face.

Getting out of the car proved to be more difficult than either girl anticipated. The result was jade lying flat on her back in her driveway with Tori fallen on top of her. Jade groaned at the sudden pressure on her, but It was Tori who cried out. The goth was about to tell her off for being such a baby when she was the one who got hurt, but then she noticed the dark spot around one of her eyes. Had she not been in such close proximity, she wouldn't have even noticed. It was just barely different from the rest of her face, and Jade found the sudden urge to wipe at it; so she did.

Tori jerked back in shock, fear, and pain, but it was too late. While she kept her head turned away from the actress, the goth was examining her hand which was now stained with makeup. Shocked, Jade looked up to Tori who had removed her hand to examine her own fingers. There were dark streaks where Jades hand had brushed against her skin revealing the discoloring around her eye.

"Shit." Tori exclaimed seeing the expression on the other girl's face. She placed her free hand back over her injury and attempted to pull Jade up with her chained hand.

"Wha-" Jade started but Tori cut her off.

"No! No questions, please. Just… Just forget it." The two of them got to their feet and Tori tried walking toward the house, but found herself stuck when Jade wouldn't follow.

"Did someone at your house do that?" She asked her and Tori sighed.

"Jade, please, just leave it alone." She pleaded but the raven-haired beauty would have none of it.

"No, Tori. Tell me, did someone at home do that?"

"Why do you even care?" She yelled. Jade had never cared before, so why now? Jade ran her free hand through her hair as she considered her answer. Sure, usually she didn't give a damn about her, in fact, she had just been thinking up ways to make her even more miserable than she was now, but this certainly changed things. Jade might seem heartless, but she really wasn't. She couldn't kick someone while they were down.

"Because… I understand family problems. I have my own past, and… well I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy." She finally said and Tori studied her face for a while.

"Did… Did your family… hit you?" The Latina asked and Jade couldn't meet her gaze.

"You could say that, but that doesn't matter now." Her tone let Tori know that it was no longer a topic they could discuss. "Who did it Tori?" Said singer looked down and scuffed a shoe on the pavement wishing she could be anywhere but there.

"Trina? No one's seen her around school for a while now.." Jade guessed. She didn't know why Trina would suddenly disappear to hurt Tori, but it was odd that they hadn't seen her for a long time. Tori tensed at the sound of her sister's name, and her eyes took on a clouded, guarded look like they were walls holding back any emotions that might try and leak through.

"No. Trina would never do that. She had her faults, but she would never have dreamt of seriously hurting me." Jade instantly knew she had hit a sore spot and was confused. Then she realized how the brunette had been referring to her sister.

"Wait, why are you speaking in past tense?" Tori grimaced as she realized her mistake. "Tori?" Jade pushed. The slim singer had no idea what she was supposed to say. She hadn't told anyone just how her family had fallen apart. Whenever asked, she merely told everyone that Trina had gone off to live with her aunt and no one would question it further.

Tori looked Jade in the eyes wondering if she should tell her when she found that she didn't need to. Her cell phone went off, so she dug into her pocket and retrieved it. It was her dad.

"Hello?" She answered the phone hesitantly.

"Tori? Tori honey, where are you?" He asked sounding worried and Tori looked again at Jade.

"I'm at a friend's. We're working on a project." She told him simply.

"Tori please. I didn't mean it, I-I –" he tried but Tori cut her off.

"It's all right dad. I'm fine." She told him her voice empty like it was every time she spoke to her father now.

"No, it's not all right. Tori-" He sighed heavily. "Tori please come home." He begged and she turned her back to Jade hoping she couldn't see her expression.

"Dad I- I don't think that's a good idea." She told him honestly and she could practically see the hurt look that must have over taken his face.

"Tori, I'm sorry-"

"No dad, it's okay." She told him her voice cracking slightly.

"No it's not! How can you say it's okay when you won't even come home?" He asked.

"Dad…" She turned to look at Jade who was watching her with something Tori thought she'd never see from the goth. Concern. It actually scared the Latina. If Jade was worried about her… well it wasn't something she wanted. No one was supposed to know, or even come close to knowing, yet her enemy was the closest she could possibly get without actually knowing the full story. It was because of the stupid hand cuffs. If they hadn't been linked, Jade wouldn't have seen anything and she would be in the clear. To think one small moment unraveled a year of secrets. She couldn't let her get any closer; she had to get the stupid cuffs off.

"Dad, do you still have a set of keys for hand cuffs?" She asked him and Jade's eyebrow rose.

"Uh… Yeah. I do actually, why?" He asked.

"I need them." She told him honestly. "I'm coming to get them." She told him then hung up without giving him a chance to respond.

"Come on. We're going to get these stupid things off." Tori said and to her surprise Jade didn't even try to object. They got into the car the same way they did before and took off. The ride was completely silent as neither girl spoke. After arriving at the Vega household, they were able to get out with less difficulty than before and no one ended up on the ground. They made their way up the driveway to the front door where Tori stopped them. She stood in front of the door hesitating. She had her hand hovering over the doorknob and she found herself wishing they had just stayed at Jade's, but it was too late. They were there now, and her father had sounded calm on the phone… But really anything could set him off, especially the silver chain around her wrist.

"Tori?" Jade spoke up snapping her out of her thoughts to realize her hand was shaking. She brought it down to her side and took a breath before extending it out again and opening the door.

The lights were off and if Tori hadn't seen the car in the driveway, she would have thought he wasn't home.

"Dad?" She spoke up hesitantly but got no reply. She motioned for Jade to keep walking and they headed farther into the room. Tori didn't want to turn on the lights because her father most likely had a reason for turning them off. She didn't want to risk another episode with Jade right there.

"Dad?" She tried again and they heard a noise behind them. Turning on their heels the girls found Mr. Vega leaning against the stairs watching them with a cold hard stare.

It was the same stare that haunted his daughter every night.

"Shit!" She exclaimed before grabbing Jade by the arm and physically dragging her along. They ran past the kitchen and through the door that led into the garage. Tori ignored the sound of her father running to catch up to them and was relieved when they made it just in time to slam the door in his face and lock it.

"Open the door you son of a bitch!" He yelled through the door and he began pounding on it. Jade stared on in horror, but Tori tried to ignore her. She began searching through the random scattered boxes frantically. She opened box upon box, tossing its contents aside carelessly until she found what she was looking for. It was a bag with a badge, gun and a silver pair of keys. She ripped it open and snatched the keys before lifting her and Jade's hand to undo the lock. Once their arms were free Tori threw the handcuffs across the room to the other side of the room and again grabbed Jade by the wrist. She lead her over to a side door that lead outside, but gasped when she found it boarded shut.

"No, no, no ,no, DAMN IT" She kicked the nearest object with was a a screw driver that was discarded carelessly on the floor. It sailed across the floor and hit another box that was sitting under the table. Tori stared at it as she remembered something.

"Daddy what's this?" a five year old Tori asked her father pulling a plastic device from a box that her dad had left in the living room. David looked to where her daughter was and saw what she was holding up.

"Well, it's really just a cover to protect what's inside it." He told her and she looked at him in awe.

'What's inside it?" She asked him as he took it from her.

"Well, it's this liquid stuff that we use at the police station to calm people down." He told her and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Would it work on Trina?" She asked and David chuckled.

"Tori, that stuff can be dangerous. I don't want you playing with it, and I certainly don't want you using it on Trina." He told her and she pouted.

"All right fine." She conceded and he patted her head.

"That's my girl"

Tori scrambled to the box now knowing exactly what had been concealed in there. She rummaged through the old box until she found the very thing she had held up all those years ago.

"Tori, what are you doing!?" Jade asked her eyes wide when she saw her pull something out that looked eerily like a gun. It seemed that the Goth had finally snapped out of whatever state of shock she had been in.

Tori ignored her as she slid off the top and held it upside down so that a syringe fell into her hand. She held it up to see that there was plenty of content left in it for what she needed to do.

"Follow me." She told her nemesis and they went back to the door that David Vega had stopped pounding on only moments ago. Tori wasn't exactly sure what would happen, but she knew that if she didn't use too much, no harm would come to her father. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Jade felt like she was in a dream. She couldn't believe what they were seeing and it scared the shit out of her when she saw that Tori looked far too used to it. At least she now knew who had hurt her. The thought made her angry for some reason. She wanted to pound that bastard senseless, and knew that she would in a heartbeat if necessary. She braced herself as Tori opened the door and they stepped into the still dark kitchen of the house. They both were extremely silent wanting to go unnoticed if possible. They got out to the living room before they spotted the man they were looking out for.

He was sitting on the couch with a bottle of whiskey in his grasp. There was already an empty bottle on the floor and another one turned over on the coffee table. Tori didn't even want to think about how long he had been drinking. Obviously it was all from earlier today and possibly earlier in the week as well.

Tori turned to Jade and put her hand up to her mouth and signaled for the raven-haired teen to stay put. She then cautiously walked toward her father who seemed to be oblivious to their presence. She held up the syringe having it ready to use when suddenly the man turned around and smacked the object out of her hand.

"You're lucky I don't call the cops." He told her icily. "But considering what I'm about to do to you? Maybe you're not so lucky after all." He growled and started toward her slowly.

"Dad, it's me. Please dad, listen to me." She begged but her pleas fell on death ears.

"Shut up. I don't know what crap you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work on me." He snarled, and Tori tripped, falling back on her backside. She spotted Jade behind him looking ready to hit him, so Tori did the only thing she could think. She lunged forward and tackled her dad to the ground.

"Don't hurt him! Get out of here!" She called to the goth, but Jade only looked at her as if she'd gone insane. "NOW!" She screamed just as David shoved her off of him then turned over and punched her right in the jaw.

"Thought you could take me down huh?" He snarled before delivering another punch, this one to her gut and far harder than his usual punches.

"Dad.." She choked out in immense pain. There had been a resounding crack as her ribs finally couldn't take it anymore. It was just the straw to break the camel's back.

David Vega suddenly found himself pinned against the floor by a 17 year old who had a look of rage in her eyes that could scare the fiercest of people.