Sikowitz sure is doing a surprisingly decent job of herding the boys today. She smiled, peering through the slightly dusty two-way mirror. The dim lighting of the prop room cast heavy shadows, making their already weary faces look even more drained from the heavy practice sessions. Beck, bless his brooding heart. He had to be here; otherwise, his wounded pride might just detonate in a blitz of gossip, and Cat certainly couldn't allow that. As far as they knew, Cat passed out an hour ago and was just in here snoozing. As long as Sikowitz kept them busy with lines and improv, he wouldn't have the energy to blow up Jade's love life.
She already knew Tori was safe and sound at Jade's, a little birdie – okay, fine, it was a text from Jade last night, full to the briiiim with a string of heart and screaming panic emojis – had confirmed their little meeting shortly after Tori sped off. The silence that followed from Jade's phone spoke volumes. She was… occupied. Jade knew she wasn't the ditz everyone took her for. They had a history, a secret language built on shared glances and inside jokes. She was the only one who saw the gears turning beneath the fluffy exterior, the sharp mind that ate knowledge like a greedy pig and observed everything with an almost paranoid fineness.
Her friends – And yes I did see them as my friends you jerks! – had no clue about the all consuming performance she gave daily. They saw the giggling, the random flip-flopping, the vacant stares. They didn't know that the "real" Catarina only surfaced when she was with Jade, their conversations sharp and insightful, their understanding unspoken. Underneath the layers of feigned naivety, she was actually quite perceptive, a keen observer. But the world, she had learned early on, prefers the pretty, vacant version of Cat Valentine. It was easier to dismiss, easier to control.
So she played the part with gusto. And yes, I was absolutely on Jade's team in this little romantic hupla! My last name is literally Valentine. You really think I'd care who makes her happy? As for the guys... most of the guys hadn't even considered the possibility!
Robbie, though… Robbie was a special case. His oblivious charm was wearing thin. One of these days, his 'playful teasing' and testing my boundaries will push me past my breaking point. I wonder what his face will look like with a heel print. Jade knew it was inevitable. She had already mentally marked the precise spot on his forehead – right between those stupid, fuzzy, unkempt eyebrows! – where her foot would land when his luck finally ran out.
He was a nice enough guy, in his own oblivious way, but his tendency to infantilize her, to take her perceived naivety as an invitation to… well, whatever crossed his mind, was grating. From her little nest – filled with only my favorite plushed animals to help cushion and shush me of course – behind the slightly warped two-way glass Sikowitz had spontaneously installed years ago, she watched them. This was always the best part of her day. it let her study without the constant need to look spacey. She could focus. They were talented actors, sure, but they had no way to hide their smallest tells. Beck was not even trying, to be fair. He was basically a walking red flag of total batman fanboy energy at the moment.
"Say, do you think I should ask Tori out?" Andre's voice, nervous yet hopeful, drifted through the thin walls. He ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "I mean, I've been crushing on her for a while, and I kinda thought she felt the same. Whaddya think, Beck?" He was so adorably clueless. It was practically written in neon lights across Tori's forehead that her romantic inclinations lay elsewhere. Anyone with a pair of eyes and basic observational skills could see it.
But of course, only she truly understood the depth of Tori's disinterest in boys. She tried to play the part, to fit in, but the subtle cues were undeniable to someone who had spent a ton of her free time to studying the intricacies of human behavior. Mentalism wasn't just a quirky hobby; it was a tool she used to navigate a world that often underestimated her. Her airheaded persona was the perfect camouflage, allowing the not-so-dopey redhead to observe people in odd ways without raising suspicion. Tori had been an open book from the moment Cat met her – maybe six minutes in, tops. But it wasn't her secret to tell. Besides, they'd just chalk it up to "Cat being Cat."
"Nope. I don't think she'll go for it," Beck snapped slightly, his voice flat and devoid of its usual relaxed, almost stoner like vibe. He sounds like a comic book villain waiting to happennnnn. The raw feeling of pain was unmistakable. It was different than before. Sharper. "That's all I have to say, so don't ask me anything about Tori." The way he spat her name held a venomous edge.
Andre and Robbie could be surprisingly perceptive when the situation demanded it, but the idea of Tori and Jade… It was as probably as alien as Beck flirting with Andre to em! Jade's carefully cultivated "hatred" for Tori had been a masterclass in acting, hiding a painfully intense infatuation that had gone from sparks to a damn firework show since Tori first walked through those double doors.
"I can't believe I'm asking this, but what do you two think?" Andre continued, turning his attention from the brooding pretty boy to the two men who probably didn't have a mature bone between them. "Beck's not in the best mood, so I don't think his advice would help anyone."
"I think -" Sikowitz began, his voice starting out loud as usual.
"Definitely!" Rex's voice cut in, a smug certainty in his tone, effectively interrupting Robbie. If a puppet could smirk, Rex was doing it with those freaky eyebrows. Then again, Rex was Robbie's unfiltered thoughts, a portion of him puppeted in wood and felt. He operated on pure, unadulterated impulse. "She's hot. You aren't too bad, and you guys have been friends since you met. In fact, you were her first friend. Why wouldn't she like you?" Rex, for all his supposed worldliness, was just as clueless as the rest of them. He only had access to Robbie's conscious thoughts, and Robbie hadn't even registered the subtle dynamic between Tori and Jade.
"I think you should work on the play," Sikowitz boomed, taking another loud slurp from his coconut. "We need to have this memorized, and Asap! The head of casting will be here in two days, Two! Days! That only gives us tonight and tomorrow to work." He lowered his voice slightly, a rare moment of sincerity from the otherwise frantic man. "In any case, whatever is going in will just have to be a problen you kids figure out AFTER. Now get to it before our personal wicked witch comes back in here looking like a storm cloud and breaks up all our focus! She's already going to be a depressed brat, so lets get working in the interum. Mkay?" He was trying to divert, and all it did was feed their curiosity more. Amateur. He was doing so well before.
"Hold on a sec," Andre interrupted, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean she's gonna come in depressed?"
"Yeah, why would she be depressed if she just let a big thing off her chest like she did?" Robbie chimed in, finally looking up from where he'd been absentmindedly petting Rex's head. "Hasn't she been thinking about this for, like, a year now? At least that's what Beck told me."
"Well, actually, Jade has been harboring this particular… affection for closer to two years!" Sikowitz corrected, a knowing glint in his eye. He could of done it with a little less spittle on the emphasis, though. "Also, there's no guarantee that her feelings will be reciprocated. We can only wait and see what tomorrow brings. Now. If you would be so kind as to FOLLOW. INSTRUCTIONS."
They reluctantly returned to their scripts, kept moving by lukewarm coffee and the sugary rush of red bull, the hours stretching into the early morning. Cat had conveniently "fallen asleep" around six the previous evening, feigning exhaustion. She woke up just in time to hear the muffled sound of the staff bell banging on to the start of the school day.
"Wow, it's already tomorrow," Andre mumbled, stretching and cracking his back. "Sorry for falling asleep, Sikowitz. I'll go get Cat so we can get ready for class today." He punctuated his sentence with a wide yawn. Good thing it wasn't rare for our gang to pull all nighters. It was a wonder our folks trusted Sikowitz.
She stepped out from the backroom plush pile, yawning slightly as Cat rubbed her eye, a quiet chirpy . "So sleepy... You guys were amazing." I clapped with a long and rather wide open yawn that had the groggy Robbie staring way too closely, my voice a little scratching in the still-sleepy room. "I hope the casting dude likes it. Hey, does anyone want a smoothie? I was thinking mango and… maybe a little spinach for a kick? Oh! Maybe kale? Or we could even..." she leaned against the doorframe, embodying her usual airheaded charm as Cat trailed into nothings.
"Wait," Robbie said, his eyes narrowed suspiciously when he finally stopped oggling Catarina's neck. "Wasn't Tori supposed to show up and help last night? And… where is she? She never misses a practice if she can help it, right?"
"She was never coming." She said dreamily, completely ignoring the second part of his question with a brief yawn to punctuate. "Nice job with the story, Sikowitz... Mango and… bean, right? You mentioned a craving for beans."
"Then where's Tori?" Andre repeated, his gaze searching the doorway behind me.
"I'm right here..." Tori's voice, sheepish and quiet, drifted into the room. All heads swiveled as she and Jade walked in, hand in hand. The sight was… impactful. Tori's usual bright-eyed demeanor was softened to a massive bundle of nerves, like the wrong poke would make her scream, explode, cry? Or maybe all three. Meanwhile Jade… Jade was smiling. Truly smiling, without a hint of her usual gothbitch twist. Not that the many patterns of faint hickeys blooming on Tori's neck painted a vivid picture of their night. Jade, Cat knew, had her boundaries, but anything short of… well, clearly, anything short of that had been open season. Jade wasn't wearing a trace of her signature dark eyeliner, her natural features somehow softer, more vulnerable.
"Tori… is… with…?" Robbie stammered, his mouth wide-opened, his jaw practically scraping the tile floor. Beck just mumbled something low and growly, a sound of utter defeat. Sikowitz and Catarina exchanged a triumphant glance and a silent high-five while the others were still gawking. Operation "Tori and Jade" had been in the works for… welllll, let's just say it involved a lot of carefully placed 'accidental' encounters and a ton of Cattish brand vaguery. Sikowitz, with his uncanny ability to see beneath the surface, had recognized the simmering tension beneath Jade's act of animosity towards Tori. Alllllll I diddddd confirmed it with my… extracurricular studies in body language, expressions and maybe a dash of trauma experience. She held in the shudder of uncomfortable memories. The way Jade's shoulders would slump ever so slightly when Tori was near, the rapid flicker of her eyes, the faint but persistent blushes she thought her foundation hid from Cat. It all spoke volumes to a trained eye.
Tori's signals had been less subtle, a constant stream of attempts at physical closeness, the lingering hugs Jade never truly fought. The boys, however, were blinded by their own teenage dramas and expectations. They wouldn't have noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere whenever Tori and Jade were in the same room, the almost magnetic pull between them.
"And to think I was bugging the guys if I should ask you out." Andre said, shaking his head in chuckling amusement. Thentension left Tori slightly. He was her best friend. "That explains why Sikowitz dodged the question and Beck snapped at me. Really though, if you were in the rainbow mafia girl, you could have given a guy a heads-up. All I'm saying. Would have saved me some serious internal agonizing. Been crushin' on you for a while, you know?" His tone was full of a jokster's tone. Cat had always figured it had been just a crush, and the fear that Andre would be an obstacle died right then and there.
"I know, Andre." Tori said gently, her hand squeezing Jade's. "It's... why I never said yes to you... Even when I did to a lot of bad guys. I couldn't break your heart like that... Maybe I didn't even know that was why. Don't get me wrong, you're a 10... Bro." The way she failed to land the gruff broish voice was way too cute and made Jade purse her lips to contain her own giggle. "I just… I've never really been into guys. I don't think I ever was... I was scared, and I kinda.. well. Put on an act. The whole 'dating boys' thing was mostly for show. I guess, maybe I wasn't as good at acting as I thought though."
"So, you showed you cared by not dating me." Andre chuckled, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "Well, at least I can officially retire from the Tori Vega fan club. Now get over here and hug me. I still love you girl."
She smiled, the two embracing in a relaxed hug. It had so much sibling energy, Cat had to react, giggling in a fit as she pointed at the two and said, "Like two beans from different stalks!" The confused looks came and went pretty quick, but Jade smirked and Sikowitz tipped his glasses subtly to her. Maybe he knew, too. He masked it by wiping them off, but she saw.
"Well, don't think this changes anything," Jade interjected, her usual sharp tone returning, though softened around the edges. "I'm still Jade. Just… permanently taken." She emphasized her statement by raising her left hand, her finger now adorned with the matching jade and diamond ring. Tori mirrored the gesture with her right hand. It took a full thirty seconds of stunned silence for the boys to register the significance of the jewelry.
"Wait a minute," Robbie finally blurted out, his eyes wide. "Aren't you guys, like… sixteen?"
"We aren't planning on running away to Vegas anytime soon, Robbie!" Tori said, a playful smirk dancing on her lips even while she yelled her denial. "But... yeah, you guys have the right idea. Kinda like a promise." Cat smirked internally at just how forward Jade could be when she truly admitted what she wanted, but then again, when Jade wanted something without just putting up a front, she went for it with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. Besides, this was just the first domino in a series of carefully orchestrated romantic pairings Sikowitz and Catarina had planned for the year, aaaand judging by the current vibe they all had going in, things were all going according to plan. Heh heh heh. She earned a maniacal giggle once in a while, as a treat.
"So, you guys are going to be, like, attached at the hip now?" Robbie asked, a hint of minor frustration in his voice. His own rampant crushes had been less playful than Andre, and it was starting to peek through.
"Yes, actually," Jade said, a possessive gleam in her eye as she tightened her grip on Tori's hand, "I'm not planning on being away from her. Ever. I already talked to the principal, and she was surprisingly chill about switching all my classes to match Tori's schedule. We're going to start moving my stuff over after school."
"Your family is moving?" Andre asked, his confusion evident.
"Nope, just me," Jade replied, a cocky smirk playing on her lips, "into one of Tori's guest rooms. Though, let's be real, it won't be a 'guest' room for long. I got so much to darken up in that house." The boys sweat a little, but Tori just giggled slightly at the idea of more gothic shtuff around the house. "Unfortunarely, Mrs. Vega didn't approve of us sharing. Apparently, 'two teenage girls sharing a room' isn't on her mama checklist or whatever. At least I get to decorate my space my way."
Jade's casual announcement sent Beck visibly aback. He had seemed so defeated before, but his expression hardened into a mask of pure, unadulterated anger. He clearly hadn't grasped how utterly obsessed with Tori Jade had been, or how much their own two-year relationship had been a functional farce. The fact that she had never once let him get her naked, despite his persistent advances, should have been a clue. He must be furious that she was willing to move in with Tori after barely a night together, something she had never even considered with him.
"Really, Jade?" Beck finally exploded, his voice raw with betrayal and something darker. "That's it! I'm done with all of you! Am I the only one who finds this… this disgusting? They're the same sex, for God's sake! Doesn't anyone see something wrong with this?" He glared around the room, his eyes wild. I knew Andre's open-mindedness bordered on oblivious, Sikowitz's hippie sensibilities would embrace any form of love, and Robbie… well, Robbie was usually too caught up in his own world to pass judgment. Cat's own carefully constructed 'ditziness' served as a convenient shield against such narrow-mindedness. Even Rex, surprisingly, remained silent, perhaps his programming for dramatic romance overriding any potential prejudice. When no one echoed Beck's outrage, his face contorted with disgust.
"Fine! If you all find this… this... sick shit acceptable, then I'm through with you guys. Screw the play. I'm leaving Hollywood Arts. You can go and fall off a cliff for all I care!" He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room, the slam of the door echoing the finality of his departure.
Cat would later heard through the grapevine – it was totally Sinjin, who else? – that Beck had indeed withdrawn his tuition. An eerie silence descended upon the room, thick with unspoken reactions. Of course, it was Tori, ever the optimist, which added to her quirky charm, who broke the tension.
"Wow, moody much," she commented dryly. "So, anyone ready for first period? Starts in, like, two minutes."
"Actually!" Sikowitz announced, clapping his hands together with a rather loud and enthusiastic tone, "You will all be staying here today. I informed Principal Eisner that you, including our newly… united couple, would be assisting me with my classes. As far as she knows, you two have been here all night, diligently rehearsing. Whiiiich also means one of you will be stepping into Beck's role, as it, ehhh, well, we can bend the gender roles a bit. Who really cares if the 'knight in shining armor,'" adding air quotes for emphasis, "wears a codpiece or not? You are all excused from your regular classes today." He paused, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Besides, I have a feeling the rest of the student body is positively dying to find out who stole our little goth princess's heart." He reached to grab Jade's cheeks, only to have her bite as his hands like a tiger. Beside Jade, collective groan rippled through the room as the others finally grasped the speed at which rumors – especially juicy ones spread by our resident candy coated gal, yours truly – traveled through the painted halls of Hollywood Arts. Everyone knew about the dramatic breakup; the burning question was the identity of the 'other woman.'
"I told you we could have kept this secret," Jade muttered to Tori, a hint of social anxiety and mental exhaustion to come worming into her voice, though her eyes held a soft fondness. Tori simply leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Jade's cheek, followed by an adorably pouty look.
"Now, where would be the fun in that?" Tori countered, her eyes sparkling a little. She was really good at that trick. "Besidessss, we both know either Beck would have spilled the beans in a fit of broody batman syndrome, or Sinjin would have sniffed out the truth eventually and plastered it all over the school's online forum! You think I wanna be that girl who managed to score THE Jade West and hide that? Hell no! I'd rather be open about it! I don't care what anyone else thinks anymore, and I know you don't either. Honestly, I'm surprised you ever really did." That little pout of hers was surprisingly persuasive; even Jade seemed to melt a little under its innocent charm now that she wasn't playing pretend anymore. It was about time!
"Fine, whatever." Jade conceded, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. And so began the first day of these two's futures, a day spent navigating curious glances and hushed whispers. Tori and Jade, however, remained completely inseparable, their intertwined hands a silent declaration. They had decided, for now, to let the school gossip mill churn, holding off on the official 'coming out' to the wider student body until the day after Jade finished moving her decidedly non-guest-like belongings into Tori's spare room. I, for one, couldn't wait for all the responses! It was going to be so... Hehe. Informative.