I didn't quite know how she had convinced Tori to do this. Yet here she is, cold and damp and scared, so naturally, I'm not going to question her.

Somewhere in the distance a clock tower pierces the silence that lays over the field, twelve low chimes echoing in my ears and a smirk slowly spreads across my lips. I scan Tori's face intently and it pleases me to see that she is frightened, gawking at the mist that envelops us, leaving a viewing range of merely two, maybe three meters. She's trembling all over and I'm not sure whether it's because of the cold - it's not even chilly. But all in all, it wouldn't really get any better than this.

"I see you've packed," I finally say, pointing in the vicinity of the ginormous bag that hangs loosely from her shoulder.

"Y-yeah... it's just the necessities, really," she laughs nervously, "You know. I took some stuff with me because you never know what you might need... outhere."

Tori looks around and I follow her gaze amusedly. I can only wonder how she must feel right now, gathered here in the middle of nowhere because of some stupid bet she knew she was going to lose. Somehow she thought it was funny to challenge me.

Yesterday at school she challenged me to do this stupid cinnamon thing, you know, the one where you have to shovel your mouth full with the spicy goodness and not choke to death. And I'm not scared of challenges. Or cinnamon.

At some point Tori must have felt like she could win. Silly little girl she was, no one wins bets against me.

And actually, we aren't quite the middle of nowhere - we're at a bloody graveyard. All part of the deal. I smirk at the thought alone. If Tori would've won the bet I would have had to spend a day at the hospital helping old people, and if I would win she would have to spend the night at the local graveyard. So obviously, I won. Besides, I hate old people. There was no way in hell I would let myself be shipped off there for a whole day; I'd rather be found dead covered with Barbie dolls. Tori would have lost one way or another.

I hoist my bag further up my shoulders, gripping the handles as the breeze plays with my hair, throwing it out of shape. The soft rustle of the tall grass bending down to obey the ways of the wind is the only sound that floats past for a few moments as Tori and I stand opposite of each other like in an old western. An owl that resides in a near tree hoots.

"Last chance to turn back, Vega. It's now or never."

I watch her eyes flicker for a moment but then she shakes her head. She's determined, "No. Let's do this."

"As you wish, princess," I say, and pull out a rusty old key from my backpack. It's ancient and it nearly breaks off as I put it in the lock of the gate that leads to the graveyard, but when I twist it the iron-barred door creaks open and we pass through. It closes with a huge clunk that reverberates through the graveyard, the echo dying out slowly like a sputtering flame. For a moment I think someone might've heard us but the whole area stays quiet and dark.

Gravel crunches underneath my feet. In the trees bugs and critters make noise and I see Tori is on edge, noticeably jumping at each and every sound. She holds her hands clutched at her chest as if it gives her some form of protection. She's shrinking away with each step we take, eyes growing ever bigger as we walk and I enjoy every minute of it.

I can't be bothered to talk; it would ruin the atmosphere anyway.

We walk and walk and soon a muffled squeak breaks free from Tori's lips as through the mist gravestones rise. My eyes dance over the stone, silent monuments, carefully reading names and birthdates as if it's not something obscure to do. Wilted flowers rest on the deathbeds we pass by and I have to look over my shoulder occasionally to make sure Tori is still behind me.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Tori asks after a while. Her voice is trembling slightly, fear hinting in her tone.

"Does it matter? It's a graveyard, we're not going to get lost or anything."

She stays silent again. We pass the part where there are trees and a deafening silence suddenly closes in on us. It's like the sound of the gravel grinding underneath my shoe soles doesn't echo anymore, it just disappears a quickly as it appears. The stillness presses on my head and ears and it's hard to even hear myself think. Shivers erupt on my skin, raking my spine and the only sound is my heart thumping down in my chest. I love this kind of eerie silence.

The same can't be said for Tori. When I glance over my shoulder she's white as a sheet, cold sweat rolling down her forehead. Her fearful eyes are fixed on the path we're walking on. I realize that I should probably feel guilty for bringing her here, but I'm not. Hey, I gave her the chance to leave, if she doesn't want to take it then the blame is all on her.

After what feels like forever I stop, Tori bumping into me. She plucks herself off me when I glance over my shoulder, murmuring an excuse.

"Right, this feels like a nice place," I say, opening my backpack to get out a small but powerful lantern. The tiny glass door squeaks open as I push it and I light the fuse that's embedded into the oil container. Immediately a bright flame lights up the area, enough for me to see Tori and the few gravestones in our range.

I put the lantern down on top of one of the tombstones, making sure it's steady before I turn to Tori, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I think so! How long did you need me to stay again?"

"Until dawn. It's a little over midnight now, and I checked the sunset times online this morning - the sun should rise at half past six in the morning or so," I say, making sure the light of the lantern is on my watch to be able to check the time, "So that leaves roughly five hours of terror for you. I swear, you're lucky it's summer, Vega."

"Pfsh!" in the dim light I see her nose crumple as she lets out a very unladylike snort, waving off my comment with her hand, "I can take it. Bring it on!"

I raise my eyebrow, mocking her, "Yeah. Don't get too full of yourself."

Tori's tongue peeks out from between her lips, pointing towards me as she sits down, back against the black marble deathbed behind her. I follow her lead, dropping onto the dirt below me, resting my head back against the cold gravestone. It's big enough for the two of us and we just sit there for a while.

Somewhere I admire Tori's courage; I can see clearly from the way she carries herself that she is scared and uncomfortable as hell. Yet she stays, trying to stay as dignified as possible while she's freezing to death on the damp, hard floor, shivering from both the cold and fear. Her big chocolate brown eyes are squinted as she looks ahead in the dark, slender fingers fumbling with the hem of her shirt. She tries to play the big, though girl while that's clearly not the case - I cannot notappreciate the pure guts she has sometimes.

Because she always does things she doesn't like. I know that if I don't like something, I will stay away from it. Simply because mankind is not programmed to do things they disagree with, so naturally, people don't involve themselves in stuff they dislike. And then there's Tori, deciding to fuck all and just do whatever she is told because she can and will.

Not that I would ever admit that out loud.

"What was that? Did you hear that?" Tori breaks my stream of thoughts. The first, inevitable wince has broken free from her sealed lips and I smile.

"Yeah. I bet it's the zombies coming for you."

"Jade!" the tone of her voice is distressed and it carries all across the graveyard, bouncing back off the tombstones, slicing through the thick, heavy silence.

I groan loudly as I shift on the ground, not getting the gravestone to be comfortable against my back. The rough texture scrapes against my clothes and the cold of the marble slowly drenches into my body, into my bones. I can't say I dislike the feeling, "Vega, seriously? Zombies? Are you that gullible?"

"Oh, come on!" Tori protests, flinging her hands up in the air as if it's my fault she's acting like a dumb girl, "We're at a graveyard and I've seen too many horror movies to not instantly think of zombies. You can't blame me for anything."

"What about the ghosts then?" I smirk.

Her eyes widen in shock, dark eyebrows knitting over the worried flicker that rests deep within her irises, "G-g-ghosts?"

"Oh yes."

"D-don't be silly, Jade... Ghosts don't exist!"

"Don't they?"

"No! They don't, you know that."

I curl my lips, "Hmm. Are you sure?"

It is more than amusing to watch Tori freak out. Her mouth is open in a perfect circle, brown eyes darting nervously between me and the environment around me - I follow her gaze that's hopping from gravestone to gravestone to check if my words are indeed true. I know she is a scaredy-cat, but this tops everything.

Tori jumps up as soon as a crow or something flies away a few meters off, her hands finding mine and before I know it I feel her fingers curl around my own. Tori's hand is surprisingly warm and I frown at the touch. Also, she's stronger than I expected her to be; she's nearly crushing my fingers with the force she's holding onto them.

"Vega. I know you're a big baby, but really, you don't have to hold my hand," I smirk, watching Tori's face grow confused as she looks down at the hand that's around mine.

Like a spring that escapes from a broken ballpoint pen, Tori's hand shoots loose and away from mine, now resting safely in her lap. Brown eyes gaze around to find mine ever so often and I can only grin at the reactions that I'm getting. I can read Tori like a book and she doesn't even know.

"Sorry," Tori finally chirps, as if it's taken her some time to realize what she's been doing.

"It's fine. If little scared Vega needs to hold my hand then she can."

I watch her eyebrows hook down in a somewhat offended frown, grimace on her lips as she retracts her hand impossibly farther back, as if to prove she doesn't need me to survive tonight. Which is hardly true. If it weren't for me and this stupid bet, Tori would have long ran out of this place, screaming and kicking.

"I'm not scared!" she then exclaims, the defense in her voice strong.

"Oh really? So you're actually not afraid of ghosts or demons or zombies?" I start, smirking mischievously, "'Cause you know, I've heard that some pretty freaky chizz goes around here. I've read stories about people disappearing, hearing voice of the dead right before they blanked out and all. I know I would be scared, just saying."

Tori gulps audibly and I try to hide my obvious grin, snickering as quietly as possible. It's amazing how effortlessly I can get on Tori's nerves. It's like her mind is open for me to wander about, pluck some strings here and there and just see what happens, getting a reaction none the less. I wonder often if I am the only one capable of freaking her out so quickly, because I don't know if it's because she fears me or because she's just that easy.

She counters, "N-nice try, Jade, but I'm not afraid! Because I've got my secret weapon with me!"

I hear Tori rummage around in her gigantic bag more than I see, but I look over when she lets out a loud victory-war cry. I raise my eyebrow as I inspect the item she's holding in her hand: a simple can of salt. At first I'm surprised as to why she's brought that, but then my days of watching Charmed and Supernatural and other paranormal movies and series - I'm in no way proud of it - wash over me and I get what she is going at. Salt is supposed to repel demons and the like.

"Vega," I say her name slowly, mockingly as I watch her get up, "Are you serious? That chizz is made up!"

Shoulders move upwards into a small shrug, "Yeah, so what? It makes me feel safe."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Deal with it, Jade," Tori just says as she sticks her tongue out at me. She then bends over and circles the salt all around the grave in a messy circle. It's like someone's highlighted the area of the tombstone with white, grainy paint, reflecting the light from my lantern.

Tori sits down inside her salty safe haven, and I look at her with eyebrows raised in disbelief, "And I thought Cat was weird sometimes."

"She is," says the brunette through gritted teeth, her voice carrying out with a soft sigh that sounds as though it's echoing off the tombstones. She looks at me and then shrugs, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Then we just sit there for a while in silence, nothing but our breaths that exit past our lips.

Mist slowly drifts away from us, as if it's scared by the light around the area. It swivels and swerves like a tiny tornado when the wind sweeps up. It's damp and cold but I don't mind in any way. Another owl hoots from somewhere and I watch the sky warily as bats start to fly around, black against the star-crossed, dark expanse above me.

From the corner of my eye I let my gaze drift over Tori's face, absentmindedly noting that in the dark she's actually really pretty. Shadows play beneath her cheekbones, both the moon and the lantern casting a brilliant yellow glow across her skin. I let my eyes trace the slope of her neck, the curve of her shoulder and the outline of her face and it marvels me how Tori is so flawless - I almost want to tentatively reach out and touch her, just to check if she's not some illusion or a bubble that will pop at each and every contact.

I've always sort of had this envy towards Tori. Not that I'd like to be her, or have the things she has: not at all. There is nothing or no-one in the world I'd ever switch lives with because mine is unique and all for me, but somehow, Tori is kind of an exception. She has looks I'd literally kill for. It's just something about her.

As I shifted on the ground I realized I wasn't really willing to correct myself that I shouldn't be thinking of these things.

"Hey, Jade-"

"Why are you talking?" I interrupt Tori, groaning irritatedly.

Tori snaps her mouth shut on instant, dejected eyes in the distance to look at something I don't see. She's probably scanning for demons and ghosts and zombies and other species that don't exist but in her tiny, scared mind. I watch Tori's profile as she holds her bottom lip between her teeth and see goose bumps rolling over her skin.

Surely it only takes her a second or two before she bursts out talking again, "Jade, I'm cold."

I sigh, "Then put something warm on, there's bound to be a sweater among the hundred things you packed."

"I already have it on. It's not helping."

"Run some laps? If you dare."

"Are you nuts, Jade - who knows what's out there!"

"Start a fire?"

"No!" she squeaks in disbelief, "I don't want to get arrested for arson!"

"Well, what the chizz do you expect me to do about it then, Vega?"

Tori wiggles her eyebrows, "I heard body heat is a great way to stay warm."

"No."

"Jade, come on. I'm cold, I'm scared out of my mind and I'm suffering - you got what you wanted, didn't you?" says Tori, jutting out her lower lip as she whines, "Can you now please find some mercy in your dark, ruthless heart and come warm me up?"

"Ugh. I said no."

She's not the type to give up that quickly, "Pretty please?"

I roll my eyes at her, yet I sink down to the ground, folding my legs up underneath me. Tori instantly wraps her arms around me, nuzzling her face into my neck - I feel her cold nose press against the skin on my collarbone and I hear her teeth chatter. My face is stoic as I rummage around in my backpack, fish out an old blanket and drape it over myself and Tori.

She is almost purring by the time I tuck the blanket in around her. I remain wordless as I slump against the gravestone, cold hard stone grazing my back. I look at Tori from the corner of my eye and wonder silently why I haven't kicked her off me yet. Because let's face it, I don't like her. Not one bit - at least, that's what I always tell myself.

It's not so much that I hate Tori, I just like to see her squirm. My heartbeat just peaks every time I see her frown or get sad or be on the brink of losing her temper - it's those volatile, resolute emotions that thrill me more than any other kind of sappy, half-hearted feeling that most people care to appreciate more. Tori supplies lots of those. I like to see Tori unhappy more than I like to see her happy and I know that it's a sick and twisted thought, but it's what I do. So maybe, in a way, I do like her. Maybe.

Tori mumbles something against my neck and shakes me out of my thoughts with her breath warm tickling my senses, "You're so nice and warm, Jade."

"That's the blanket," I clarify.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," her voice is raspy and low and, much to my dismay, it creates an explosion of goose bumps, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as the feeling ripples across my skin like a wave on the ocean, "Because this old, paper-thin piece of fabric sure is capable of keeping us warm!"

I grit my teeth, not knowing why I'm getting upset, "I think it's best for you to shut up right now, unless you want to end up under the ground here as well."

"Can't you just be nice for once?"

"No."

Tori sighs and I feel her face press comfortably into my neck as she grimaces, "But why? I mean, there's not possibly anything that can annoy you right now."

"Well," I start, smirking as my mind summons up a whole list of things that could be better right now, "My hair's getting kinda damp from the mist, my eyes hurt because I can't see for chizz, my butt hurts from sitting on the ground and I'm sleepy, but yeah! Other than that, I'm feelin' dandy."

My throat tightens when Tori's warm lips brush along it as she stirs as my heart jumps as she's lifting her head up to look me in the eye, "Seriously. You have issues."

"That could not be more true."

"I-I didn't mean that," says Tori, her chocolate eyes twinkling with something I quite can't put my finger on. Heartfelt care and apology drench her voice and for the first time I'm not disgusted by the sickly sweet words that drip from her lips like honey. My eyes follow the dip of her nose to involuntarily look at her mouth for a second before flying back up.

I don't know what drives me; the fact that Tori's face looks so intense and actually quite adorable in the dim light, the moon casting a myriad of shadows and light on her bronze skin; or the fact that for some reason I'm wondering what it would be like to kiss her, but my lips are against Tori's in a heartbeat and suddenly there's no backing out.

I can't tell who initiates the first contact but the brush of her mouth upon mine sends my thoughts flying out the window.

Surprisingly enough, Tori kisses back and I run my tongue over her lower lip, earning a shiver and a mouth that opens up to let me explore. I taste candy and the cool tinge of mint on her lips. Tori's hands move about my waist and I can feel her fingers being icy cold even through my clothes. White spots start to dance behind my closed eyelids. It's like fireworks and cannons firing and rollercoaster rides full of adrenaline and I regret the fact that I need to breathe in order not to pass out.

With a huge effort I rip my face away from Tori's, just an inch, just to gasp some fresh oxygen in my lungs like someone who's drowning and gets above the surface to breathe, because I am in fact drowning, I'm drowning in the feeling that is Tori all over me.

Said girl plants her lips on mine again with a force I didn't think she had stored in that skinny body. She knocks us both over, Tori landing on top of me and I feel a strange sensation whistle from my heart to the tips of my fingers, back to my chest and to the rest of my body, spreading out a heat that makes sweat bead on my forehead. I'm afraid my heart might break right out of my chest.

I feel the passion that's put into the kiss. It's fierce, it's lightning and explosions and fire and it's burning me; that's when I realize that I was wrong when I thought I didn't like Tori.

I'm not given much more chance to think because cold, freezing hands suddenly roam across my legs and I let a soft moan escape from my throat before I can stop it. I'm kissing Tori's teeth for second and I know she's grinning. It's infectious and I curl my lips too, finally getting some life in my arms and hands. I snake them over Tori's slender waist, dragging fingernails over the thick fabric of her sweater before I find a way inside that damn prison of clothes.

Tori is scorching underneath and I find bare skin that quivers and ripples at my touch. In the meanwhile, Tori is bold enough to let her mouth leave mine for a while to leave sloppy wet kisses in my neck. Her tongue traces my veins, my pulse and she nips at my collarbone, giving me sensations Beck has long lost access to. I nearly lose myself.

When my hands start to explore Tori's bare stomach - releasing an instinctual sounding hum in her throat that drives me insane - I faintly remember that we're lying right on top of someone's grave. The thought don't disturbs me as much as it should, but I realize that maybe we should stop.

I tear my lips from Tori's warm ones, wanting them back on mine because they're immediately starting to grow cold and tingly.

My breathing is dangerously fast and I watch Tori pluck herself off me, ashamed but excited eyes lingering to look into mine before they swerve away. It's quiet for a while until the heaving of my chest returns to its normal rhythm.

"... Woah." Tori solely says.

Right then I know that I do like her; this wasn't just a kiss because I felt like it, and it sure wasn't a spur of the moment thing. I know that deep down I have feelings for Tori because only she can get the best and worst of me and vice versa. She's making me feel this range of emotions that are almost like opposites and sometimes they're so overwhelming that I can't do anything else but be on my toes. If I try then I'm sure I'll soften on her. It's always like that. And let's be honest, she's also very easy on the eyes.

"Yeah," I finally reply, raking my hand through my now messy hair. I can't prevent a grin that's tickling on my lips to appear on them and I'm painfully aware of my full blush, "You might want keep your pretty little mouth shut about this."

"T-that's cool," Tori murmurs under her breath, looking at anywhere but me, "I-I mean, y-you won't do it again... Right?"

"Oh, yeah? Wanna bet?"

A/n: I don't even know, but I must say I like the outcome.
I really hope you guys do as well, please leave me review to tell me what you think of it! (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious