Tori kept her phone off all weekend, wanting to be alone so she could process what had happened between her and Jade. Everything that Jade had said before made it seem like she wanted something more, but then, why did she sneak out? Was it just sex, to her? Did Jade change her mind? Tori groaned into her pillow. She was not ready to leave the safety of her bed to face reality.

All the way to school she was dreading facing Jade. She knew that the conversation they had to have was going to be awkward, but she just needed to get it done and over with. She took a deep breath and braved the parking lot. She decided to wait for Jade outside the school, not wanting her to sneak by before classes started. She leaned against one of the walls by the parking lot entrance, sorting through the dozens of messages and missed calls from her friends from over the weekend. Unsurprising, there were none from Jade.

Tori almost dropped her phone when she looked up and saw Jade step out of Beck's car. Coming around to the front of the vehicle, she watched as Jade buried her face into his chest as they hugged. She had woken up with a million questions for Jade that morning, but seeing the former couple together cleared them up and left her with a very simple answer; Jade didn't want her.

She quickly pushed herself off the wall, walking hastily towards the school doors. She chanced one last look over her shoulder at the couple, catching Jade's eye as she pulled open the door. Tori watched Jade quickly pull away from Beck, putting distance between them as she began to move towards Tori. Not ready to deal with Jade's rejection, Tori turned back to the door, hastily getting lost in the crowd of students.

Tori was sitting in her first period class, song writing, when Andre dropped into the seat next to her. "Hey Chica, where have you been all weekend? Did you not get my texts? You disappeared half-way through the dance, thought maybe you found your mystery girl?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her with a wide grin.

She groaned and dropped her head onto her friend's shoulder, "Don't remind me."

"That bad?"

"No, that good. Just no happy ending." She said quietly.

"What does that even mean?" He pulled back, making Tori's head fall a bit before she caught herself.

She squinted her eyes at him, "You can't tell anyone." She pointed at him, and he placed his hand on his chest in response.

"Pinky promise." He said lifting his pinky to her. She quickly linked them before taking a deep breath.

"Okay well, my mystery girl has been-" She bit her lip, "Well it's someone I know, someone we all know-"

"Stop rambling and just spit it out already."

"It's Jade." She held her breath as she watched shock, then confusion, then disbelief all flash across Andre's face in a matter of seconds.

"Jade?" He asked, eyebrows raised. She nodded. "Like our Jade?" Another nod. "Like cut you with scissors Jade?"

"Yes Andre, that Jade! What other Jade do we know?" Tori exclaimed.

"Wow."

"I know."

A big grin started spreading across his face, "Wait, so two weeks ago when you were freaking out over having a crush on Jade but also liking this mystery girl-"

"Yes I know! I see the irony." Tori cut him off before he could finish. He burst out laughing.

"Man I can't believe this, I can't wait to tell the others."

"Like hell you are! You promised me you wouldn't tell! I'm embarrassed enough as it is. I don't need Jade to make fun of poor little Tori, who she tricked into liking her before getting back together with Beck." Tori was close to tears, no longer able to deny the painful truth behind what she saw that morning.

"What do you mean Jade's back together with Beck? That can't be true. Last I checked he was into someone new." Andre explained. Tori could feel a headache starting to form.

"Well I don't know if that's true, but Beck and Jade seemed pretty cozy this morning." Tori was back to pouting in her chair.

"Have you talked to Jade since Friday night?" Tori just remained silent. "Well damn chica, maybe she's just finding comfort in the one person that's not scared of her, considering you haven't talked to her all weekend!" Andre exclaimed.

"But she snuck out of my room in the middle of the night and hasn't tried to call or text all weekend! Clearly she doesn't want anything beyond what happened Friday night."

"Wait, your bedroom? You mean to tell me you and Jade you know, bow chicka wow wow-" Andre sang and did a little suggestive dance. Tori just hid her face in her hands. "Oh my god, you did!"

"And you're not saying a word to anyone!" Tori poked him in the chest a little harder than necessary. His hands shot up in surrender.

"Okay, well I still think you need to talk to Jade. You guys are gonna mess up the group dynamics and I can't be hangin' out with Robbie just cause you're avoiding Jade." He huffed and crossed his arms.

She sighed, not given the time to respond as their teacher rushed into the room in a flurry of papers. "Sorry I'm late let's get started!"

Tori was relieved that she didn't share her first two classes with Jade. However, their class with Sikowitz was fast approaching and Tori was panicking as she watched the seconds tick by on the clock. The only way she could see herself surviving the rest of the day was to pretend that nothing was wrong. It sounded impossible, but maybe it was time to put all these acting classes to good use.

The bell rang, dismissing all classes to their third period. She took a deep breath, and gathered her books up. "I can do this. Nothing is wrong. You did not sleep with Jade and then get left in bed alone." She whispered to herself. "I can do this!" Now fully amped up, she quickly left the classroom.

She made it to Sikowitz' classroom before anyone else and took a seat in the front row, refusing to look behind her as students filed in. "What the heck Jade, why did you just stop?" Tori heard Beck exclaim from the back of the room. Tori closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, willing herself not to turn.

There was no answer, just the sound of boots on the linoleum floor, followed by someone sitting in the chair behind her. Her breath caught in her throat. She could do this, she had to. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again, her focus razor sharp on Sikowitz who was drinking a coconut as he sauntered up the stage.

"Can anyone tell me what subtext is?" Sikowitz looked out to the class as he leaned against a stool on the stage. "Beck."

"Subtext is what is happening that you can see or feel, but isn't explicitly said by any of the actors." Beck called from behind her.

"Perfect! It's the tension of two people who are angry but refusing to talk, the desire between two people who refuse to act on it. It could be a subtle look, the brush of a hand, the way someone stands. Every movement is important when it comes to conveying an alternate story that might not be scripted. The way you move and say your lines will change a scene dramatically." Sikowitz was rambling passionately. "Let's have an example, shall we? Volunteers?"

Tori saw Robbie raise his hand, followed by Sikowitz calling out, "Robbie perfect! How about two more?" He hummed before his eyes landed on her and he smiled. "Tori and Jade, why don't you join him!" Her eyes widened, why did it have to be the two of them.

She hesitated before going up on the stage, turning just in time to see Jade walking up to her, standing right beside her. She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on how close Jade was.

"Perfect, let's have a location!"

"A museum!" A shrugger called out.

"Great, now how about some main text?" Sikowitz called.

"First date" Cat called excitedly.

"What about the subtext?"

"The tour guide is into the person's date!" Beck said, smirking.

"Perfect, Robbie and Tori, you'll be on your first date. Jade you'll be the tour guide. And Action!" Sikowitz called.

Robbie quickly grabbed Tori's hand, slowly sauntering across the stage, and Tori had to stop herself from cringing at his sweaty palms. Jade fell into step ahead of them.

"And this painting here is from the romantic era, it is entitled The Naked Maja, by Francisco Goya. It is a revolutionary artwork. One of the very first to have a woman completely and unabashedly nude." Jade seemed to fall into the character naturally, the facts rolling off her tongue with ease. "Isn't she beautiful." Jade gave Tori an up and down look, one that made Tori blush for real.

"Why yes she is." Robbie stated, clearly oblivious to Jade's look. Tori was freaking out, wasn't Jade supposed to be pretending to be into Robbie? That's what the group proposed, not Jade flirting with her in front of the entire class.

"The painting has a sister piece as well; The Clothed Maja. So similar and yet so vastly different; one bold, the other reserved." Jade's eyes bore into Tori.

"I think we prefer the nude one eh?" Robbie elbowed Tori, laughing at his own crude comment.

"I don't know, I think they work better as a pair, complementing each other, showing the contrast perfectly." Tori looked up to Jade, not bothering to direct her comment to Robbie.

"All the best things should have contrast, after all, you can't appreciate the light without the darkness now can you?" Jade winked at her with a coy smile. A smile that made Tori want to just grab her and kiss her right there in front of everyone.

"Next we have a piece by Alexandre Isailof, entitled Sappho. Named so for the woman in the painting. Sappho was a poet from Ancient Greece from the Island of Lesbos. She was one of the greatest lyrical poets of all time, enough so that she became well known as a symbol of love and desire between women." Tori tried hard not to let Jade's art choices get to her, but she was hitting close to home.

"Love between women, is that so? I would like to learn more about this Sappho." Robbie leered and wiggled his eyebrows. Both Jade and Tori grimacing.

"How about you, would you like to learn more about Sappho and the love between women?" Jade directed to Tori, eyes piercing.

Tori opened her mouth once, twice, but nothing came out. Finally she managed words, but they were not for the scene, "I can't do this." and with that she ran from the classroom, not stopping to see the shocked faces of her classmates.

She ran right to the janitor's closet and slammed the door, pressing her back against it as she caught her breath. She couldn't believe she had just run out of there. Jade would no doubt tease her for weeks to come about how little Tori couldn't even handle an acting exercise without getting emotionally involved.

She started to pace back and forth in the small closet. Getting over Jade was not going to be easy, not when she was always there, not when the world had a sick sense of humour and kept putting them in situations together like that.

"Damn it!" She kicked a nearby bucket, watching as it toppled over, the liquid from inside dripping onto the ground. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed.

"What did the bucket do to deserve that?" Tori froze at the sound of Jade's voice.

"What are you doing here?" Tori said, not willing to turn around to look Jade in the eye.

"I came to check on my best friend. She ran out of class, I was worried." Jade spoke softly and Tori felt a hand brush her arm. She yanked it away, not wanting the contact.

"Best friend, is that what I am to you?" Tori asked, back still to the goth.

"Of course you're my best friend Tori, you mean so much to me I thought I made that clear on Fri-" Tori laughed harshly and spun around.

"On Friday? When you fucked me and left me alone in bed, that doesn't sound like a best friend to me. Doesn't sound like a friend at all" Tori moved to leave, but Jade blocked her path.

"Tori, let me explain I-"

"Explain what? That you were just looking for a good fuck? That you were playing me the entire time? You don't need to explain that Jade, I got the message loud and clear. Just leave me alone." She pushed past Jade, managing to open the door a few inches before Jade grabbed her by the arm. slamming the door shut, she spun Tori around to look at her again.

"Let me explain, and show you how much I like you." Jade began to kiss Tori, one hand holding her still while the other gently brushed across Tori's cheek. Tori was momentarily lost in the feeling until her brain caught up to her and she pushed Jade away harshly by the shoulders.

"Get off of me!" Tori yelled, turning around to leave again, but was stopped by a hand holding the door shut.

"Please Tori." Her voice sounded broken, and so un-Jade-like. "Let me explain that I woke up in the middle of the night and realized it was past my curfew. That when I got home my mom grounded me and took all my electronics, and my car keys from me. I wanted to call you, I wanted to come see you, I swear. I wanted to talk to you so badly Tori, please believe me."

Tori didn't move, just listened. She let out a deep breath and let her head fall against the door. "You snuck out the window Jade. A person who was just trying to make curfew doesn't do that when it would be so much easier to use the front door." She slowly turned to look Jade in the eyes. "And if you had time to climb out my second story window, you could have left a note, or texted me before you left, or woken me up even. But you snuck out."

Jade dropped the hand that was holding the door shut. Her head fell as well, unable to look Tori in the eyes. "You're right. I messed up. I should have let you know that I was leaving but that I still wanted to keep seeing you. I should have gone out the front door, instead of letting my fear of running into your parents guide my actions. I'm sorry. I understand if you never want to see me again."

Tori was hesitant. She wanted to believe Jade was telling the truth, but after being tormented by her for so long, it was hard. "I don't know how to trust you Jade, I want to, but I don't." Jade lifted her eyes to meet Tori's. "You left me alone feeling used and lied to. And then I show up to school today, thinking maybe we could talk, and you're hanging off your ex-boyfriend. How do I trust you after all that?"

Jade opened her mouth, but nothing came out. So Tori spoke for her, "You've been lying to me for so long Jade, and knowing that all that time you were just using me for sex-"

"It was never just for sex Tori, I promise you that. Even once I knew it was you, I just wanted you even more. I wanted more than sex, I wanted to talk to you and get to know you, and spend time with you. Please believe me!" Jade had grabbed both of Tori's hands as she pleaded. Tori half expected Jade to get down on her knees. "Let me prove it to you. Give me a chance to earn your trust, Victoria."

Tori was thrown by Jade using her full name, but she couldn't help liking how it sounded coming from Jade's lips. "How? How would you prove to me that this is all real and not some joke or you just looking for sex?" Tori pulled her hands from Jade's grasp, folding them across her chest.

"Well I'd start with a date. No sex, we don't even have to talk about it. Just me and you, out to dinner, no expectations. You can leave at any time if you don't want to be there. We never have to have sex again if that's what you want. All I'm asking for is a chance to show you that I care for you Tori, I really do." Jade bit her lip anxiously, something that Tori had never seen from the goth before. She was normally so confident, maybe this was her showing a new side of herself.

Whatever it was, it was enough for Tori to be curious. "Fine, one date. But I'm holding you to that no sex thing, I'm not ready for any of that after Friday. I need time."

"You can have all the time you need, I'll even let you decide what we do on our date. I want more than just sex Tori, I want to build a relationship with you, if you'll let me." Jade admitted, hesitantly reaching for Tori's hand and squeezing it. Tori looked down at their connected hands before back up at the goth, and she saw a flash of vulnerability in the green eyes that stared back at her.

"Thank you Jade. I think it's hard going from you being my best friend to being more. Cause all I want to do right now is talk to my best friend about all the crazy stuff going on with the girl I like. But you're both of those people." Tori kept Jade's hand in her own, eyes locked on the thumb that had started running over the back of her hand comfortingly.

"I can still be your best friend Tori." Jade squeezed her hand. "Besides, who else would know how to deal with the crazy scissor wielding goth that you're into, better than me?" Jade smiled cheekily, and Tori couldn't help but return it. She tugged at Jade's hand and brought her into a hug. She felt Jade tense at first before quickly wrapping Tori up in her arms. Tori couldn't deny that she felt safe there.

"Thank you Jade." Tori whispered into Jade's neck, taking the opportunity to breathe in the goth's scent freely.

"I won't let you down, I promise." Jade whispered back, and Tori believed her.