When Jade was five, she made a friend on the first day of school. Except she wouldn't actually call her a friend, more of a someone that clung to her side all the time. And if you asked the tiny raven haired girl she would immediately deny any form of friendship with the girl. But Jade learned to tolerate her. Secretly enjoying the others presence, but when asked why she still hung around with the other girl she would always say that she shared her cookies and juice box with her.
Jade sat by herself during lunchtime, her purple, plastic lunchbox on her lap. She tore the crusts off her sandwiches that were cut into triangles, frowning. She specifically asked her Mom to cut them off, not wanting to eat them on her first day of school. Once the crusts were successfully off, she tossed them onto the ground where she watched them land next to a small pair of shoes.
"Can I sit with you?" A small voice asked and, Jade looked up at the girl who had just spoken. She had brown hair that was tied into two pigtails, brown eyes that were filled with happiness stared back at Jade, a shy smile on her face. A purple top with a smiling sun on the front of it. Her hands clutching her lunchbox. The girl screamed happiness and sunshine, which caused Jade to scowl.
"No"
"No?"
"No!" Jade snapped moving her eyes back to her lunch, with the full intention of ignoring the girl that still stood in front of her.
"I'll give you half of my cookie and juice box" The girl said the smile still on her face. Jade looked at the other girl, raising her eyebrows before looking down at her own lunch. Her Mom hadn't given her a cookie, instead some fruit insisting that Jade had to eat more healthily.
"You can sit" She said, scrunching up her face when the girl squealed and plopped down into the seat next to her. She reached into her lunch and tore the cookie in half.
"Friends?" She asked handing half of the cookie over to the raven haired girl.
Jade took it from her and said "No" Before taking a bite.
When the girl said her name was Victoria, Jade scoffed and said that it was too long and boring to say. Not liking how her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled, Jade came up with the nickname Tori. When she grinned and wrapped her skinny arms around Jade's waist, she wouldn't admit that she liked the way that Tori hugged her.
"You haven't asked me my name?" The brunette said as she sat down beside of Jade.
"I don't care" Jade said taking a bite out of her sandwich, ignoring the other girls frown.
"My name's Victoria," She said breaking her cookie in half and handed it over "There you go Jade"
"I don't like it" Jade said taking the cookie off of her and taking a bite.
"Why?" She asked her voice above a whisper. Jade looked over at the girl frowning as she noticed the tears that were ready to spill from her brown eyes, her lower lip trembling.
"It's too long and boring, so I'm going to call you Tori instead" Jade said thankful that Tori didn't start crying right there and then. She grinned widely and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. "What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes wide and her body tense.
"Hugging you"
"Why?" Jade asked not allowing herself to hug Tori back, even if it's something that she really wanted to do.
"Because you gave me a nickname, and your my friend" Tori said releasing her grip on the other girl
"We're not friends"
"I know" Tori grinned at Jade before going back to her lunch.
When Tori got pushed in the playground by Billy Fredrickson, a boy a couple of years older than the two of them. Jade wouldn't say that when she saw the blood flowing out of the cuts that was on her knees she felt a rush of hatred towards Billy for even thinking of hurting Tori. And when she herself had pushed the boy headfirst into a brick wall. She tried to ignore the pleasant feeling she got when Tori stayed with her when she had to stay indoors during playtime as a punishment.
"Thank you" The tiny brunette said as she sat down on the seat next to Jade, scooting the chair closer to the raven haired girl.
Jade turned her head to look at her so called friend, and saw the dried up tears on her face. But her brown eyes gleaming with happiness as she grinned at the other girl. Her blue eyes glanced to her knees seeing the dinosaur plaster covering up the cuts. She smiled a little when she saw the dinosaurs.
"I like your plasters" Jade said ignoring what Tori had previously said to her.
"Thanks, they had one with polka dots on which I was going to choose. But then I saw the dinosaurs and I know you really like them so I picked these even though I don't really like them" Tori said the grin on her face growing even bigger if that was even possible.
"Why?" She asked her head tilting to one side in curiosity.
"Because you saved me from the big bully" The brunette said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And you're my friend"
"I'm not your friend" She snapped folding her arms over her chest.
She witnessed the pout that appeared on her face before it turned into a grin as she imitated Jade's actions. "Okay"
"Okay" Jade said nodding once frowning slightly when Tori did the same.
When Jade was six, she finally admitted that her and Tori were friends. She was finding it harder and harder to deny it when all the obvious factors were pointing towards friendship. But when Jade admitted, she couldn't help but feel as if they were friends all along when she saw the knowing smirk on Tori's face and couldn't help but smile back.
Just like the same as every other day, Tori sat down beside Jade and handed her half a cookie. Together the two sat in silence eating their lunch, watching the other children play a game of chase. Maggie Hill, a girl in their year, ran over to the two girls a smile on her face.
"Tori, do you want to play with us?" She asked the brunette. Jade narrowed her eyes at the girl who had approached them, not liking how everyone else has started calling her Tori when she was the one who had thought of it.
"No thank you" Tori said taking a sip of her drink "I'm going to sit here with Jade"
The raven haired smirked smugly at Maggie "Run along now, you're annoying me" She huffed before storming off to rejoin the game that was being played. "Why didn't you go play?" Jade asked out of curiosity.
"They weren't going to ask to ask you, and I didn't want to leave you alone. We are friends"
"Yeah we are" Jade admitted noticing the grin that appeared on her face.
"Really?" She asked turning to face Jade.
"Yes, now don't make me change my mind" She said but allowed the smile to creep on her face.
It was that same weekend that Jade went over to Tori's house while her parents were at work. There Jade discovered that Tori had a treehouse. She had always wanted her Dad to build one for her own, except every time Jade had asked him the man was too busy with work. So when Jade and Tori had to hide from the brunette's older sister Trina, they hid away in the tree house.
Two small figures, pressed their back against the wall of the tree house hands pressed over their mouths as they tried to hide their giggling. Trina's screechy voice could be heard down in the garden.
"Tori? Jade? Where are you?" Trina screamed, causing Jade to giggle louder.
"Jade sshh" Tori whispered a smile still on her face.
"She won't come up here. You said she's afraid of heights"
"But still, it's your fault we're up here anyways" Tori said accusing to Jade, who couldn't help but smirk.
"You did it"
"It was your idea! My mom is going to tell me off and ground me and then we won't be able to play anymore" Tori said with wide eyes. Jade sighed and shuffled closer to Tori taking her hand in her own.
"If she asks, I'll take the blame" Jade said squeezing her hand softly.
"Really?" Tori asked looking at the other girl, her brown eyes still widened in panic.
"Really" Jade said smiling slightly which of course made Tori grin back.
After that the tree house had become the girls' safe haven. It was where they went to hang out after school, during the weekends. And when Jade was nine, the tree house in the Vega's family back garden was the only place where Jade felt safe. Her house now had failed to give her the comfort she needed, especially when her parents were arguing all the time.
A notebook in her lap, the one that Tori had gotten her for her ninth birthday, Jade sat in the tree house furiously scribbling something down on the piece of the paper. She refused to go home, and have to listen to both her parents argue through the hours that she was forced to spend at home. She had yet to tell Tori that she was here and she will, but right now she wanted to be alone and write. Because when she writes her head becomes clearer.
"Are they doing it again?" Tori's soft voice asked as she climbed through the entrance hall. Jade nodded not bothering to look up at the brunette who had sat down opposite her.
"Do you want to stay the night?" Tori asked and Jade once again nodded not trusting her voice to speak. "I'll tell my Mom" Tori said reaching over to gently squeeze Jade's hand.
Saturdays then became sleepover night, and Jade couldn't be more thankful for having Tori as a friend. The girl had become her safety net, one of the only she people she could trust and Tori treasured that piece of information with a grin that lit up her entire face. It took her forever for Jade to admit they were friends and now she was the most special person in her life, so Tori promised that she would never ruin that trust. When Jade was twelve, she allowed Tori to read the story she was writing. Handing it over like it was her whole life, as Tori was reading her palms began to sweat as her nerves grew. She watched her friends face carefully, in search for any signs that she didn't like what she reading. The small smile on her face when Tori told her it was amazing. When Jade was twelve she decided to be a writer.
Jade climbed up the ladder to their tree house, already knowing that Tori would be up there. It was a Saturday and the raven haired girl was eager to spend the weekend with her friend. She poked her head through the entrance to find Tori sitting down with a guitar in her hand as she casually plucked on the strings. Jade smiled slightly and lifted herself up into the tree house and plonked herself down beside the other girl.
"Tori?" She said pulling her bag off her shoulders turning to face her. The brunette looked away from the guitar over to her friend and smiled giving Jade the courage to carry on "Well you know how you keep asking me to read what I write, well I got tired of your whining so here" She said as she pulled out a notebook and handed it to the other girl.
"You really want me to read it?" Tori asked her smile slowly morphing into a grin.
"No, I want you to look at it" Jade said in her sarcastic tone rolling her eyes. The brunette squealed as she opened it to the first page and let her eyes scan the words that Jade had written while the girl sat there doing nothing but stare at the other girl. This was the first time that Jade had done something like this and it was scaring the hell out of her. When she wrote, she put her all her thoughts and feelings into and if someone rejected it then she didn't know what would happen.
"Jade," Tori said looking up at her, a grin on her face and her eyes sparkling "This is amazing, I didn't know you could write like this"
A small blush crept onto her cheeks and a shy smile formed on her face as she looked down, her hair covering her face. "You don't have to lie to me"
Tori sighed softly and shuffled closer to her, slipping her hand into Jades and moved her hair away from her face. "You know me Jade, I'm not lying" She said softly placing a quick kiss to Jade's red cheek. "You should be a writer" Jade's blush intensified when Tori placed her lips on Jade's skin, and she vowed that she would become a writer and dedicate everything she wrote to a certain brunette.
After that whenever Tori came near her, Jade's stomach felt as if it was doing backflips and her heart had started beating faster. Whenever Tori touched Jade's skin, she felt electric race through. It was terrifying for the girl, but she had to admit that didn't just feel friendship towards Tori. When Jade was fifteen, she finally plucked up the courage to kiss the girl she was crushing on.
The two girls sat side by side in their tree house, each doing their own thing. Tori had just finished her maths homework and was strumming a random tune on her guitar, while Jade had started scribbling down random words on her page.
"Jade?" Tori spoke up, disturbing the comfortable silence.
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever think about the future?" Tori asked, looking over to stare at her friend who didn't move her gaze away from the notebook.
"What about it?"
"You know, whether we'll still be friends or not? Have kids, be happily married? That sort of stuff"
Jade looked up at Tori, raising an eyebrow at her. "We'll still hang out when we're older. If that's what you're worried about"
"But what if we're not close like we are now?" Tori said softly moving the guitar to the side of her. Rolling her eyes at her friends question, Jade moved closer to her and cupped her cheek with her hand.
"That, Tori, is never going to happen" She whispered before gently pressing her lips to Tori's, kissing her softly. It took Tori a moment to register what was going on before kissing back. Their lips moved together in sync and both girls couldn't get enough of the other and the kiss turned from slow and gentle to fast and filled with want. The two separated for air, their eyes closed as they rested their foreheads against each other.
"What now?" Tori whispered.
"Be my girlfriend?" Jade asked trying not to let her nerves show.
"Of course" Tori said smiling before kissing her girlfriend again.
Being Tori's girlfriend seemed easy for Jade, they barely argued and when they would always make up. She knew that she always wanted the brunette in her life, before though it was a friend. Now though was different, Jade could imagine a future with her girlfriend. When Jade was sixteen she found out she was in love with Tori, and how she knew everything would be alright when Tori said it back.
"Tor?" Jade whispered incise the other girl was asleep. They had made their escape up to the tree house, and just enjoyed the others company. Tori had her head resting on Jade's lap, while she ran her fingers through the brown curls.
"Yeah" Tori said softly her eyes closed as she enjoyed the way Jade was massaging her scalp.
"We're going to be together for a long time right?" Jade asked looking down at her girlfriend, who opened one eye revealing the chocolate brown orb.
"Yeah we are"
"Well I just want to say, I love you" Jade said her voice just below a whisper, but Tori heard anyways and couldn't stop the smile that made its way onto her face as she moved upwards to softly kiss Jade's neck.
"I love you too" She said as she captured Jade's lips in her own.
Jade thought they would be together, for as long as they could and she blames it on all the stupid romance films that Tori had made her watch. Her head was filled with all these stupid fantasies, about her and Tori. Proposing, getting married, having children, growing old together. It was all the things that couples in love should think about. When Jade was eighteen, she sat on the wooden floor in her tree house. The mascara she wore now leaving trails down her cheeks, as the guitar that Tori used was clutched in her hands. Now she was sitting alone being suffocated by the memories that the two shared in this very tree house. And when Jade was eighteen she made a promise to herself, to become a writer and dedicate everything she would ever write to Tori and to never set foot in another tree house.
Because when Jade was eighteen, she lost everything she had ever cared about all because of one accident.
When Jade was eighteen, she attended Tori's funeral.
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