Disclaimer: Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon. Anything in this story that isn't part of the canon universe either belongs to Tsubasa K. Kruger.

You watch them. Always did, always do, always will. They don't notice, due, due to the mask you've carefully put on your own face. If they know you're watching them they probably think you're plotting ways to get them to ride unicorns with you or something like that.

(It'd be nice, but that's not really why you observe them.)

In all honesty, you don't care what they think – because that childish mask, that fake eternal giddiness, that pretend simple-mindedness, is what allows you to watch everything without people knowing how much you really understand.

Because Jade would bark that you better stop looking at her like you pity her, that she's alright and you better mind your own business, like she did with Beck when he asked how she was holding up last week.

Because Tori would just smile, shrug and say that she's fine, really, that you're seeing things and projecting your own nostalgia to believe she's feeling the same, like she told Andre just three days ago.

Neither of them would recognize that they truly, deeply miss each other.

Sometimes it seems like they liked each other since day one. They flirted for what felt like ages, but were actually just a couple of months after Jade and Beck broke up for good and Jade allowed herself to admit that, okay, maybe she's attracted to Tori.

They dated for what felt like forever.

It was Tori the one who finally gave the first step.

The gang was in Nozu, Friday night you remember, and a couple of guys tried to hit on them. The four seemed to know each other (weeks later, you remembered that those were the guys who'd flirted with them the day of their playdate and showed up to the play, the ones your friends ran away from), though Jade threatened them and Tori ignored them.

Tori had claimed that they were in a group date and the pair had interrupted what was looking up to be a great night, but those two (you never learnt their names) had still insisted on being annoying.

(She pitied Tori, sometimes, because it was always she the one stuck with those pushy types. At least Beck could shake girls off when they got too clingy.)

It had taken Tori grabbing Jade's shirt and planting a kiss on her (before your pale friend could do anything more than stare wide-eyed at the half-Latina) for the duo to retreat.

Things had been a bit awkward for the following fifteen minutes, until they finished eating, and then everyone went their separate ways.

(You'd noticed how Jade's eyes followed Tori the rest of the night, how Tori gave subtle sideway glances, how they looked down at each other's lips continually. You'd thought that maybe Sikowitz had been on to something, there.)

That was the night that started it all.

You didn't see either of them that weekend, but the following Monday morning they walked into Hollywood Arts together, hand in hand – Tori smiling widely for everyone to see, Jade fondly exasperated to anyone who knew her.

Gossip did its job, particularly after several people saw them kiss before going to separate classes, and by the end of second period everyone in school knew they were together.

It didn't take long for them to become the most popular couple in HA, the unexpected pair that somehow worked, that somehow made all the sense in the world, dysfunctional and different but loving and perfect, and had you asked anyone back then or even now they would tell you they thought their relationship would be of those that would last forever and always.

You, too, seriously thought that they would never ever break up, not even if their lives depended on it.

It's just because it was so painfully obvious how much they loved each other.

Four months passed, full of bliss and love and fluffiness (though Jade would deny it to her dying day). They seemed like a married couple sometimes, always together and looking at the other with a warm brightness in the eye – the kind of emotion that just can't be faked. No matter how much talent either of them has as an actress, it's absolutely impossible to fake that glint, you're sure.

A blind man could see they loved each other (that they still do), but even the best couples have their problems. They'd been together for four months and a week when their problems started.

The cause was one of Tori's old friends, one from even years before Sherwood. Her name was Hannah and she was the gorgeous brand new HA girl. She strode into school one day and popped up in Sikowitz's class the next and everything changed.

Jade was jealous immediately, in no small part because the unknown blonde had squealed upon seeing Tori and jumped on her to hug her like her life depended on it, and it'd taken just a second for the half-Latina to process what was going on and return the hug just as fiercely.

(The gang couldn't really begrudge Jade's reaction – Tori had, after all, informed the gang that she was actually also attracted to girls by presenting them with a stunning blonde girlfriend.

She seemed to like a lot of things when it came to boys, but her female dates had most often been of light hair. Probably a type, there.)

Tori and that girl had been the best of friends since they were like two years old, but Hannah had moved out of America right before graduating middle school and they'd lost contact, not knowing anything at all about each other until the blonde transferred to Hollywood Arts.

Jade's jealousy was always very easy to spot – she never bothered to hide it, in fact, claiming that whoever she was with (first Beck, and then Tori) should know damn well she wasn't happy about anyone overstepping boundaries with her partner.

(It went without saying she disliked her partner being the one overstepping boundaries even more. Not that it'd ever actually happened, but perceived slights and all that.)

It's for that reason that Beck's posture on the whole thing made sense – from the start, he never bothered to hide the opinion that, if the happy couple ever broke up, it'd be at least mostly due to Jade's jealously (he was careful to keep it to himself when said couple was around). It was mostly why he and Jade broke up the first five times, with only the sixth and last being for other reason (namely, they didn't even like each other that way anymore, let alone love).

All three of you knew he was right, all of you knew Jade and Tori and could see their obvious love for each other, but still you were sure that a breakup wouldn't ever occur.

You still remember the night that ended it all.

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. The gang (plus Hannah, who was more or less part of their group now, and minus Jade, who'd had to meet some classmates for a Physics project) was in the Vega household doing nothing specific or productive as usual.

Hannah was leaning against Tori, almost asleep, when Jade finally arrived – she'd taken one look at the scene and frowned more heavily than was usual lately, practically barking at the blonde to get away from Tori.

(Jade never seemed to get mad at Tori when she thought her girlfriend was acting too close with someone – she knew that Tori would never cheat on anyone, much less on her.

Later, you learnt that knowing that didn't stop them from arguing frequently when they were alone. It made the events of that night make a lot more sense.)

The newest HA student mumbled something in response, too low for you to catch but clearly enough for Tori and Jade to understand clearly. Tori had grimaced and pushed Hannah to sit upright before motioning her girlfriend to sit at her other side, which she did while still glaring at the blonde.

Scenes like that happened often since Hannah transferred, so no one was very surprised and the four of you just turned back to the screen.

The next part is a mystery to you, but whatever happened it was bad – because suddenly Jade and Hannah were standing and snapping at each other with Tori in the middle trying to make them stop.

As it turns out, Hannah wasn't only Tori's childhood friend, but also her ex-girlfriend – her first relationship, in fact, lasting a whole five months before they broke up halfway through their last year of middle school. And Jade, of course, being stubborn and jealous and completely unreasonable, didn't accept the fact that their romantic relationship is over for good.

The arguing started being a mildly common (but slightly worse) Jade versus Hannah, turned into a three-way arguing when Tori stepped in because excuse you stop acting like children, and devolved into a full blown Jade versus Tori when the accusations became a bit too much and the half-Latina refused to take that kind of crap from her own girlfriend.

The rest of you just stared, completely unsure as to what to do or how to react, because you'd barely seen them lightly bickering over where to go for dinner and their current fight proved it wasn't the first time they had a go at each other's throats since they started to date.

Trina hurried from her room when the girls started to yell at each other and froze halfway down the stairs, her whole posture hinting that this wasn't the first time she was exposed to a disagreement between the two but that it was worse than anything she'd ever heard from the couple.

They were getting downright mean when Tori's parents rushed into the house, probably worried that someone was getting murdered until they saw the source of the screams. Some minutes ticked by in complete, tense silence, and then Jade stormed off, pushing past Tori and Andre and Robbie and the Vegas and slamming the door closed on her way out.

Tori just let out a strangled yell of incoherent rage and stomped up the stairs, slamming her own door with as much force as Jade seconds prior.

Two hours later, their TheSlap profiles read 'single'.

You drove to Jade's house only to learn that she wasn't there, and went back to the Vegas' place after failing to locate your best friend. Hannah was already with Tori (you still don't know if she even left), sitting down on her desk chair and staring at the recently single girl with worry and a tiny bit of guilt.

Tori didn't speak for the rest of the weekend, still too shocked by Jade breaking up with her to do anything other than stare at her knees and chew mechanically when Hannah or Trina (or you, whenever you weren't trying to find Jade) put some food in her mouth.

Monday morning (the day that should've been their sixth month anniversary, which you knew both were looking forward to), you arrived at school and found Tori and Hannah standing a bit too close by the blonde's locker.

You know they don't want to date, they haven't since they broke up several years ago (they just don't like each other that way anymore), but you still reminded them to not be too close or Jade could go ballistic.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Tori asked, looking down at her bag to avoid your shock and Hannah's frown. "She broke up with me. She doesn't have any right to be jealous."

"Come on now, Vic, don't be like that," Hannah said, looking worried. "Cat's right, if we don't tone it down it could destroy any chance you may have of getting back together."

Tori tensed up and looked away, scowling. "Screw her. She didn't trust me to not cheat on her, she wouldn't even do me the courtesy of dumping me face to face and she went all crazy over something that happened before we even met. I won't take her back if she insists on being such a bitch."

She stormed off after that, the crowd parting for her just at the barest glance of her expression.

Almost three months have passed since that catastrophic breakup, and you're home alone on a Saturday evening of the winter holidays despite the fact that everyone is in LA and no one seemed to have any plans other than staying in.

(It's normal for the six of you to be apart, now, since Jade and Tori fell apart and dragged the rest of the gang down with them. Hardly ever there's more than three of you together, and it's painful and uncomfortable and alien, but none of you even tries to make an effort to mend things because all of you know that them getting back together is the only thing that will fix the group.

All of you got used to hanging around with Tori and Jade being sickeningly sweet in the background, and it hurts to not have that anymore. Trying to hang out like you used to is just torture.)

You're not very surprised when the doorbell rings and you find Jade in your doorstep, looking as if she hasn't sleep in weeks (probably true – she misses Tori fiercely, no matter what she tries to say), and she's so obviously close to tears that it gives you the sensation that her world has just been torn apart.

"Tori and Kingsley are dating."

You blink, having not expected her to speak at all and certainly not expecting her to say what she just said.

"What?"

"Tori and Hannah Kingsley are dating, damn it!" she explodes, pushing past you into the house as you stare at her. You close the door quietly behind you and can only stare as one of your best friends paces back and forth in your living room, tugging her hair and tears just barely visible in her eyes. "She told me that they weren't and they wouldn't and she– but they–"

"Jade," you say, grabbing her upper arms as soon as your brain restarts and she's within reach again, "breathe. What happened?"

"I saw them."

You frown. You know for a fact that Tori and Hannah broke up ages ago and won't ever get back together, largely because they don't like each other like that and Tori is madly in love with Jade, so you don't understand a thing about whatever the hell is going on.

It's impossible, but if Jade says she saw something...

"What exactly did you see?"

"They– they were at the park near Tori's place, like an hour ago" Jade croaks out, head down and hands fisted tightly. "They were... they..."

She's outright crying now, you notice because a teardrop falls to the ground, and a part of you notes that she's going to be pissed when she sees her mascara ruined.

A more prominent part of your brain latches onto one particular part of the speech, and you can feel a bit of hope creeping up.

"Why were you near Tori's house?" you ask, trying not to hope too much for the answer you've been expecting for months.

(You're not successful, because part of you has always known that Jade would eventually realize she was being an idiot and swallow her pride to crawl back to Tori.)

Her shoulders shake, and you feel a bit bad that you're glad for this reaction – it means that Jade does love Tori and does want to get back together, which you know will happen because the only reason they haven't is Jade's stubbornness, because Tori would've taken her back in a heartbeat if Jade had just freaking apologized.

"I... I wanted to... to apologize" she sobs, as your heart breaks a little. "I... I can't live without her, Cat. I just can't. The last three months I could barely breathe and I... I need her with me."

She covers her face with her hands and part of you is so stunned at the odd scene of your best friend showing "weakness" that you can't even blink.

(Another part of you, one you really, really try to keep behind your usual mask, is doing a giddy dance because your favorite couple in the world is finally going to get back together.)

You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, and you are very tempted to ignore it for the three seconds it takes you to realize that, considering the scene in front of you, this could be extremely important.

You unlock your phone, seeing a message, and you barely manage to contain a giddy smile once you read the contents.

"Hey, do you want a cup of tea?"

Jade nods and you try not to flinch, because she only drinks tea when she's completely destroyed. You've seen her accept that drink exactly once before – when her mother left her and her father almost ten years ago.

"Go to the kitchen, I'll follow you after I answer this, kay?"

She nods brokenly and moves away. You look down at your phone and text Hannah back.

Jade there?

Yes. Drinking tea. What happened?

... It was a misunderstanding. We're going to your place, so don't let her leave.

Wasn't going to, but you better hurry up.

And if I tell you that Tori wants to get back together with Jade?

Wish her luck.

You move to the kitchen, heat up water and make tea mechanically, half your attention on the doorbell and the other half on your best friend, who begins to sip at her drink as soon as you place the cup in front of her, ignoring (like always) that it's scalding hot.

The doorbell rings and you have to make use of all your acting skills to avoid squealing. Instead, you send Jade to open (another sign of how broken she is – she doesn't complain) and lean back on your chair to listen.

The door opens and Jade's cup, that black one she's kept in your house since you were thirteen, breaks against the ground.

There is tense silence for a minute, and then– "Tori?" Jade chokes out.

"I knew you'd be here" she answers softly. "Can we talk?"

Jade's voice is low and shaky, so you don't understand what she says, but you feel like whatever is going to happen is best kept between them and leave your house through the back door.

When you circle to the front, you see Hannah sitting on one of the benches, flipping her car keys from one hand to the other, and she smiles when she sees you.

"Hey there, Kitty Cat."

You smile back – she has a pretty smile, almost as pretty as Tori's, and you can see why your friend once liked her enough to date her.

"Hey yourself. Not that I mind, but why are you still here?"

"I figured, since those two need to sort things out, you'd want to bail. Want to go to Nozu's for dinner? My treat."

Your smile widens a little. She's a good friend, and you're sure the only reason Jade hasn't liked her so far is because she was irrationally jealous.

"Sure, that sounds great."

Hannah gets up and you two move to her car, leaving your friends alone for a long overdue conversation.

Hopefully, the once happy couple will finally get back together.

And, who knows? Maybe if (when) they do, you'll finally manage to stop worrying about their happiness more than you do over yours.

But you will keep watching over them.

Edited on March 31, 2017.