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1 - Andre's dare
"You in, chica?"
"Remind me why I'm risking my skin to do this again?"
"Hey," Andre raised his hands in surrender, "you were the one who chose the jacket. I was just gonna say one of her scissors or a bracelet. Maybe a necklace."
Tori sighed. He was right, of course. When he had first approached Tori with the amusing bet, Jade's leather jacket was the first personal item to come to mind. Andre had already stolen Beck's flannel from his locker, and Robbie's glasses case. Per the rules, both were returned anonymously after a day, as mysteriously and silently as they had disappeared.
Now, it was Tori's turn.
Tori’s nerves were alight with restless energy as she glanced across the library.
Jade was sitting at a table, hunched and poring over a science textbook.
She quickly sent off the text she had prepared and waited for Jade's reaction.
A moment later, Tori barely managed to hear the sound of glass shattering. Jade broke her focus away from the textbook and the paper she was scribbling on to pick up her phone with a mix of mild irritation and interest.
As expected, Jade asked Beck to watch over her things while she stepped outside.
Tori strode over and took Jade's seat.
"Hey, Beck," Tori greeted her friend.
He greeted her back with a kind smile. Tori eased the jacket off the back of the seat and slowly dropped it to the floor alongside her purse.
Tori made small talk as best she could before excusing herself. She gathered up her things, stuffing Jade's jacket into her bag and speeding away.
Her phone vibrated in her hand. It was an irritated text from Jade asking why she had been sent on a wild goose chase after Cat.
Tori feigned confusion and met up with Andre in the parking lot.
"There, see?" Tori huffed as soon as they were safely in the car and pulling out of the parking lot.
"Congrats, chica," Andre smiled. "You sneaky."
"Yay," Tori deadpanned, pulling the stolen article of clothing out of her purse. She dusted it off carefully.
Andre threw her a glance, but Tori didn't turn to meet it. She didn't have to. She knew it was going to be his fond, knowing smile.
"Shut up, already," Tori grumbled, already regretting for the thousandth time not choosing a bracelet or something she could've easily swiped from the dressing room or something.
"Just one day, and then she'll have it back," Andre reminded Tori.
"I hope she doesn't miss it too much."
Oh, but Jade did.
Tori had left it at home the next day, for safekeeping, deep in the back of her closet, in case Trina rifled through her clothes for something to wear. Jade raved and ranted about the missing jacket. Beck gave Tori a side glance, and Tori just shrugged, a grimace on her face. Beck dropped it after that, Tori hoped.
Jade skipped school the day after that, much to Tori's relief. Only, Beck caught Tori trying to leave it at Jade's locker, hung on one of the protruding scissors (not the most reliable hook, she knew).
Beck raised a questioning eyebrow.
"It was a bet with Andre," Tori explained quickly. "It won't happen again, I swear."
"I hope not," he said quietly. "Jade didn't sleep well not knowing how she lost it."
"I'm sorry."
"Are you going to tell her?"
Tori shook her head quickly. "No, are you kidding? She'd kill me! Like, harder than when she was understudy for Steamboat Suzy!"
Beck chuckled. "You asked for it," he shrugged. "But I'll keep your secret for now."
"Thank you, Beck."
"Until you're ready to apologize."
Tori groaned but agreed. A hard sell, but it needed to be done.
Jade iced her out for a whole week.
(Tori also noticed Jade began to wear it more.)
2 - Just a high school party
Tori was drunk. Much drunker than she had planned to be. But it was a good feeling. She was feeling light and giggly. The smile plastered across her face drifted back lazily whenever it slipped away, like it was her default face. It kind of was. But alcohol made her gigglier, smilier, so all her happy thoughts were heightened.
That was probably the only reason why Tori even thought of that crazy idea. Or at least, why she felt brave enough to pull it off.
She spotted the worn leather jacket on an ottoman near the front door.
She had cheated death once, and she could do it again, fueled by pink lemonade-flavored vodka and tequila-infused Cherry Blast Wahoo Punch.
Stealthy as a cat, she checked to make sure Jade was preoccupied with trying to get Robbie to his feet before swiping the jacket off the seat.
She hugged it to her chest and smiled. Jade smelled good.
Jade had rarely taken off the jacket for as long as Tori had known her. Tori remembered Jade had definitely come to the party wearing it. When had she taken it off?
Tori’s silly little drunk mind suddenly flashed with some very inappropriate images as her thoughts swirled around Jade taking off an article of clothing. Or two. Or… all.
Maybe she should stay away from tequila from now on.
Anyhoo, Tori was now hugging Jade’s infamous leather jacket to her chest. With her eyes closed. Humming tunelessly as she breathed in the scent of Jade.
“What the fuck?” Like a record scratch moment, Tori’s eyes flew open. Jade’s outstretched hand was quickly approaching Tori, and in a moment of drunken confusion, Tori’s thoughts jumped to the fact that Jade seemed to be reaching for her chest, and instinctively, Tori tried to lean out of reach. “Give me that. And get your ass in the car.”
Jade’s hand fisted into the soft leather and yanked the jacket right out of Tori’s grasp.
Tori let out a whine before she could stop herself, and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. She clawed forward, fingers grasping only air when she sought soft, worn leather. She looked up at Jade, standing over her, with her free hand clutching her keys and resting on her cocked hips.
“Vega, up. C’mon. Or I’m leaving your sorry ass here, and you can explain to Detective Vega why his precious angel of a daughter is out past midnight with this sordid crowd.”
“You are so mean sometimes, Jade,” Tori said slowly, enunciating her words in an effort to show just how sober and coherent she was. She jabbed a finger into the height of Jade’s (surprisingly toned) abdomen to punctuate her words.
Jade swatted Tori’s hand away with a scoff. Then, Tori leaned forward because that seemed to be the direction the world wanted to tip toward.
There was a jingle of keys, then Jade’s hand was wrapped around Tori’s wrist. She tugged Tori’s arm to drape across her shoulders, and Tori got to her feet unsteadily. With Jade’s help, Tori managed to drag her feet over the slippy-slidey floor until they made it outside.
“Goddamn it,” Jade cursed under her breath.
“What?” Tori lifted her head from her concentrated gaze on where her next step should go. Belatedly, she realized what Jade had muttered and chided, “Language, Jadey.”
“I’ll give you a pass because you’re drunk out of your ass right now. But call me that again, and I’ll rip your tongue out with my bare hands. I won’t even use my scissors.”
“Graphic,” Tori mumbled.
Jade huffed. They had made it to the car. Jade ducked out from under Tori’s arm and leaned her against the car frame before dashing off to the side. Tori narrowed her eyes and tried to follow the rapid movement, but she lost Jade’s dark silhouette in the dimness of the night. Tori didn’t need to wait long, though. Soon enough, Jade had one of Cat’s wrists captive as she tugged along the giggling redhead toward the car.
“Get in,” Jade barked before opening the door to the backseat to guide Cat in.
“Me? Front seat?”
“Just get in,” Jade sighed.
Tori felt her smile slide onto her face again. It had been chased away for a little while because Jade was gone, and the soft leather jacket was far from her touch. But now, she got to be really close to Jade and that really nice scent and—
Oh. Tori had to be really close to Jade. She suddenly felt much too sober for her own good. It was unsettling.
But then, the alcohol decided to take over for the night, and Tori slipped unconscious into the warm embrace of sleep, lulled by Jade’s steady driving and the low hum of soft radio tunes.
She only woke up when the warm weight of soft leather was yanked off her shoulder.
3 - Rainy day kickback
It was an abnormally rainy day. In fact, rain wasn’t even on the forecast for that day. They had expected to chill on the backyard patio, passing Beck’s bong back and forth. But now, they were forced to fall back on the stash of edibles hidden in Beck’s trunk.
Tori volunteered to go get them. She had never gotten high before, but she had witnessed Trina host a party or two at their house during one of their parents’ many, many business trips. She knew the kinds of packaging to look for. (Much to Jade’s apparent surprise.)
Without much thought, Tori swiped the nearest jacket off the couch, which just happened to be Jade’s leather jacket. But even as she shivered her way out the front door to Beck’s car (ignoring Jade’s annoyed shouts at her back), she couldn’t help but wonder if her split-second decision had been more subconsciously intentional than she realized, choosing this jacket out of the pile.
The rain fell steadily over her, and Beck’s open trunk offered little shelter. Tori felt a little bad, knowing that leather, especially leather as worn as this jacket, could be hard to take care of. But nothing could really beat the sensation of its comforting weight wrapped snug around her thin frame. Nothing except maybe a hug from Jade herself.
Shaking her head at herself, she retrieved the package and tucked it safe and dry under the jacket, pulling it tighter around herself. She slammed the trunk shut, and she spotted Beck by the window, looking out toward the driveway. Moments later, his car beeped, announcing its locked state, and Tori hurried back to the dry haven under the eaves of her front porch. She stepped inside, trying to ignore the gnawing dread of having to take the jacket off, now that she was safe in the house again.
She pulled out the package from its shelter under the jacket with a triumphant cry, and the group (sans Jade) echoed one back. Jade glared at Tori, her pierced eyebrow twitching upward in a silent “Well?” Tori hurried to shrug off the jacket, once she was liberated from the package, and only then did Jade move. Jade crossed the living room in three long strides and plucked the jacket from Tori’s reach without a word. She brushed past Tori, and Tori’s skin tingled where ivory met caramel, brief as the moment was.
Jade swung the front door open, and for a heartstopping moment, Tori thought Jade was going to leave then and there, abandoning the party (abandoning Tori) altogether for the night. But Jade stayed at the front doorway, shaking out every last water droplet from the jacket before folding it over her arm and demanding to know where she could hang up her jacket to dry.
Tori pointed her toward the laundry room that had a fan they could turn on. She led the way, Jade close behind, so close she could almost feel the vanilla mint breath ghost over the back of her neck. But it must have been her imagination because when they arrived, Jade was standing a respectable distance behind her.
The room had always been small, but it suddenly felt so much smaller, squeezed tight with Jade blocking her only escape.
Then, Jade cleared her throat softly and pointed at the air over Tori's shoulder. "Can I…"
Tori was in the way. Of course she was. Of course that was the real reason they were standing there, staring at each other like a moment frozen in time. "Oh, yeah, right. Sure." Tori scooted out of the way, pressing herself as close to the wall as humanly possible and giving Jade as much space as she could possibly offer to slide past her.
"Jesus, Vega, I'm not contagious."
"Yeah, well, sometimes I wonder," Tori heard herself mumble aloud before her cheeks flared with heat. She ducked her head and apologized before shuffling back to the party, hoping against hope that Jade didn't fully make out what she had half-confessed.
Jade returned to the party a few moments after Tori, looking as nonplussed and neutral as ever. Tori breathed a silent sigh of relief that her secret was safe again for the moment.
4 - Mrs. Lee's revenge
“Thank you again for having us for dinner, Mrs. Lee,” Tori said, shrugging her jacket off and folding it over her arm.
“Oh, it’s no problem, dear,” Mrs. Lee said, taking Tori’s jacket to hang it up on the coat rack. She waved them in further into the house.
Jade didn’t say a word as they walked. She was, understandably, reluctant to interact with the restaurant owner who had nearly destroyed her reputation as a playwright.
“This house is beautiful. Do you live here with Daisy?”
“No, no, this is my sister’s house. She married a rich man a long time ago, and she is away on a cruise with her husband and two children this weekend, and she asked me to look in on the house during the day.”
“Oh,” Tori smiled awkwardly. She threw a quick glance at Jade, who missed it completely by looking around at the intricate architecture. She almost looked like she was studying the walls and every nook and cranny.
“Sit, girls, sit.” Mrs. Lee waved them over to the dinner table, already set and laden with a lavish sushi feast. A bench lined the long sides of the table, while single chairs headed the short ends. “I figured it is long overdue that we put the past behind us. I have the miso soup simmering on the stove right now. I just need to ladle it out.” Mrs. Lee excused herself from the dining area for a moment.
“This is crazy,” Jade whispered as soon as Mrs. Lee was out of earshot.
“You’re telling me?” Tori whispered back frantically. “Why is she being so nice to us?”
“Hell if I know!”
“Shh! She’s coming back!”
“Don’t ‘shh’ me!”
Tori merely tapped Jade on her arm, and both of them assumed polite smiles as Mrs. Lee came back into view, holding a tray with three steaming bowls of soup.
“Come on, take a seat! I promise I don’t bite.”
Tori laughed nervously and did as she was told, tugging on the sleeve of Jade’s leather jacket so that she would follow suit. Which Jade did, reluctantly, after only a moment of hesitation.
“You girls want anything to drink? Water, Wahoo Punch, green tea?”
“I’ll take water,” Jade said tightly.
“Green tea, iced, please.”
“You got it!” Mrs. Lee disappeared into the kitchen again.
Jade shrugged off her jacket and folded it before placing it on her other side, where there was some leftover space on the bench.
“I don’t get it,” Tori whispered to Jade as she began to pour herself some soy sauce. “I mean, why—”
“Watch it, Vega!” Jade hissed. Tori jerked the hand that was pouring the soy sauce back and looked with horror upon Jade’s seat. Tori had completely missed her bowl and somehow splashed the dark condiment onto the white seat cushion Jade was sitting on. Thinking fast, Jade quickly commanded, “Grab those napkins, and I’ll dab—”
“One iced water,” Mrs. Lee said as she returned from the kitchen. Without thinking, Tori reached over Jade’s lap and whisked the jacket over to the space between them, neatly covering up the stain. “And one iced green tea.”
“Oh, what about your beverage, Mrs. Lee?” Jade asked politely. “Can I pour you a drink?” Jade casted a quick sidelong glance at Tori, and a lightbulb went off in Tori’s head. Tori knew Jade always kept a stain remover pen in her purse (from one of the handful of times Tori had a little leak at school during that time of the month). Jade stood up to guide Mrs. Lee by the arm back to the kitchen as she struck up amicable small talk.
Once again, Tori only kept up her polite facade as long as they were in sight. As soon as the door to the kitchen was shut between them, Tori allowed her smile to drop into the frantic panic she was keeping at bay as she dove into Jade’s purse to find the stain remover pen and dab at the dark splotch. While the chemicals did their work, Tori ducked under the table to mop up the rest of the spilled soy sauce that had landed directly onto the floor (and luckily missed the seat). She glanced around for a trash can and spotted one across the room.
Tori was barely able to get back into her seat and cover up the disappearing stain with Jade’s jacket right as Jade backed into the dining room again, mostly blocking Mrs. Lee’s view of the table until the last possible moment.
“Well, I’d love to tutor Daisy for a lesson or two in writing.”
Tori spied the smile on Jade’s face, and immediately recognized it as the faux-polite kind. None of the warmth from her dazzling pearly-whites reached her icy green-blue eyes.
“I’ll be sure to contact you for lessons this week. And the lessons would be free, of course.”
“Sure, yeah, of course,” Jade agreed with a strained voice.
Tori saw Jade struggling to keep the smile up and jumped in to divert topics. “So, Mrs. Lee, would you like to introduce to us what you’ve prepared for dinner?”
“How kind of you to be so interested.” Mrs. Lee began to explain in great detail each of the different fishes that were prepared.
Twenty minutes later, it became apparent that Mrs. Lee was dragging out the explanation on purpose. Tori and Jade were only offered a reprieve when Mrs. Lee suddenly got a phone call she had to hurry into the next room to take.
Once Mrs. Lee was gone, Jade turned to Tori with a glare. “I don’t appreciate my jacket being used like a rag.” Jade snatched her jacket up as she spat the last word and held it up to observe it for any stains or damage.
“I’m sorry, I panicked!”
“Yeah, whatever, I’ll bill you the cleaning fees later,” Jade muttered. Satisfied with her inspection, she carefully set her beloved jacket aside and thrust her chin toward the stain. “How’s it coming?”
“It’s almost gone. Oh, and before I forget, here.” Tori handed Jade the stain remover pen. She had kept it hidden in her sleeve, having not had the time to return it to Jade’s purse before they came back into the kitchen earlier.
“Thanks,” Jade said softly, stuffing it back into her purse without much care. “God, I’m starving.”
“Me too. This sushi looks so good…”
“She’s definitely fucking with us, right?”
“Jade! Language!”
“You sound like Cat.” Jade rolled her eyes. “No, but seriously, she’s acting like we tried to murder her daughter. We didn’t even make her get into the harness opening night!”
“I know, you’re right.” Tori sighed. “But Trina did keep Mrs. Lee at the restaurant for over an hour…”
“You don’t think…”
Tori and Jade looked at each other. “Oh god…” they said in unison.
“One hour?” Tori whined. She patted her grumbling stomach affectionately. “I don’t know if I can last that long.”
“Wanna bail?”
“You promise there’s no shovel in the back seat?”
“God, it was one time, Vega!”
“Do you promise?”
“Do you have any other choice?”
Tori bit her lip. “No,” she sighed. “Let’s go.”
Together, they tiptoed to the back patio door and slid it open.
“Oh wait! My jacket!”
“Can you live without it?” Jade gave Tori a deadpan look when she hesitated. “You can live without it. Now, come on.”
Tori huffed but followed close behind Jade as they stole across the backyard toward the wall. They crept along the length of the wall, ducking below the window sill and crawling on all fours until they came up to the locked fence gate that would swing out to the front lawn. Jade helped Tori climb up and over the gate before climbing her way over easily. They checked that the coast was clear, and on three, they booked it across the front lawn to the curb where Jade’s car was parked.
Jade had her car keys ready in her hand by the time they reached the car, and the doors were unlocked so that they opened as soon as the handles were tugged on. They slid into the front seats in unison, buckled in, and the car engine was turned over and revving by the time Tori took her first deep breath during the whole escapade.
They sped out of the Beverly Hills neighborhood and into the night, far, far away from the vengeful Mrs. Lee.
5 - Camping
Tori's watch read a little past midnight. Everyone had gone to bed almost an hour ago, but Tori was still wide awake. Sure, she was full from the good food and the laughter and the stories shared around the campfire. But she could still feel her body thrumming with a restless sort of energy, and since her pullout bed in the RV was likely to wake Jade and Cat up by creaking with her every toss and turn, she felt even more trapped.
After a quick glance at Cat and Jade's sleeping forms, Tori decided to just take her chances and slip outside.
Along the way, she paused near the door, spotting that familiar, worn leather jacket. Tori hesitated. She remembered shivering by the time they had initially all said goodnight earlier, so it was no doubt even colder outside by now. But she didn't want to dig through her packed clothes just to find her own jacket. And Jade's jacket was just… there.
Another glance at Jade's nearly motionless silhouette, and Tori bit her lip and whisked it noiselessly off its perch. She carefully and quietly slipped outside and shut the creaking door behind her with a click.
Once outside again, Tori took in a deep breath of the cool mountain air through her nostrils and let out a steaming stream of puffy white air from her mouth. She repeated the exercise a few more times, already feeling calmer and more refreshed outside of the airtight RV. She wrapped the leather jacket around her a little tighter, imagining it to be like a big warm hug. Then, she finally walked over to the ashy remains of their campfire and took a seat on one of the chopped log stools. She turned her body toward the wide clearing over the treeline and tilted her head up to the sky.
The stars twinkled in the distance. They were so much clearer out here over the campground than she’d ever seen at home in Hollywood. There was a certain calmness blanketing the silence of the night, far from noises of technology and bustling urban life, where only the occasional nocturnal animal called out. And the stars, overhead, looked down and winked in and out of sight.
Tori turned to the sound of a zipper being undone. Soon, Andre crawled out of the boys’ tent only to look up and lock eyes with Tori. His eyes evidently took a moment to focus and recognize it was Tori sitting outside and alone.
“You couldn’t sleep either, chica?”
Tori shook her head with a soft smile. “Not really.”
“Something keeping you up?”
“Not really.”
“Someone then?”
Tori laughed and shook her head again. “No. Well… kind of.”
Andre dragged a stool over next to Tori and sat down. “I see you haven’t broken your bad habit yet.”
“What?” Tori feigned ignorance, even as she tugged the jacket tight around herself again. “She’s sleeping right now. She doesn’t need to know.”
Andre chuckled. “Girl, you got it so bad.”
“Shush,” Tori whined with a nudge to his shoulder.
Andre bounced back easily and sighed. Ever since Tori finally told Andre what had been weighing on her chest for what felt like ages, Andre had been taking most opportunities to lightly tease Tori about her crush. The same kind that Tori had gone to such extreme lengths to snap Andre out of so many months ago, as Andre loved to remind her.
“Graduation’s coming up,” he remarked lightly, and Tori groaned, already anticipating where the conversation was headed. “You gonna let it pass you by?”
He had asked the same question about a million different ways since he found out, especially with June quickly approaching.
“It’s not that easy, Andre. For all I know, it might just backfire on me, and the last memory I have is of her laughing in my face about it.”
“Worst case, she laughs at you, rejects you, and you never see her again starting summer.”
“That sounds like a pretty bad worst-case scenario.”
“Best case? Who knows, maybe she’ll be nice about it.”
“Really? Her? Nice?”
“I haven’t seen her complain very much lately about your weird fixation on her jacket.”
“Well, because I’m sneaky.”
Andre tried to muffle his laughter into chest-vibrating chuckles so as not to wake the other four friends sleeping soundly. “Girl, you are the opposite of sneaky sometimes.”
Tori sighed with a wistful smile. “I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”
Andre recovered with a satisfied sigh. “No, chica, you’re not pathetic. You’re just a horny little teenager like the rest of us.”
Tori scoffed. “Whatever.”
Meanwhile, inside the RV, Jade jerked awake from a dream and had to take a moment to remember where she was. She heard indistinct voices conversing outside, but specific words were impossible to make out through the bulletproof window. She sat up and lifted the curtain to peek outside.
She could make out two silhouettes sitting side by side next to the dead firepit. In the dim moonlight, Jade’s eyes finally focused enough to make out certain details. Details like how the figure on the left was apparently wearing what looked like Jade’s jacket around her lean shoulders. Jade glanced at the spot where she was sure she left her jacket before turning in for the night. Sure enough, there was nothing but an empty space there.
Jade looked back outside and felt a warm bubble forming in her chest, a cozy kind of warmth. She felt her lips tug into the slightest of smiles at the sight of Tori wearing her jacket. Though she had the ever-present urge to claim her jacket back and interrupt whatever secret conversation the two of them were having, Jade was surprised at how good Tori looked in her jacket.
In the end, she decided she would just try to go back to sleep. It was too much effort anyway to leave the decently insulated RV and her warmed sleeping bag and step out into the freezing night air outside.
+1 Summer concert in the park
“That was so awesome!” Cat exclaimed as she led the charge away from the crowd. They had just attended a local summer concert in the park, very similar to the one Andre, Cat, and Robbie had taken Tori to last summer, after the Steven debacle. Cat, light as a fairy, seemed to float across the sidewalk pavement with her bouncy energy and endless chattering with her friends around her.
The group was headed to Tori’s house, their default hangout spot, to cool off, regroup, and figure out rides home. Tori had enjoyed the day out, just as much as last year, and perhaps more than last year, since Beck and Jade were able to join this time. Tori lingered a few steps behind the group, smiling wide and trying to take as many mental pictures in her mind to keep with her when she goes out of state for college next fall. She was going to miss her friend group so much.
The first tear fell before she noticed.
Tori could never tell if Jade could just sense whenever Tori was having a moment. But regardless, Jade happened to glance over her shoulder, perhaps noticing a particular presence missing from the group’s conversation. Tori had stopped keeping pace with them for a moment and was now a short distance behind. Tori seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts she was trapped in and pulled on a wide smile before hurrying to catch up to where Jade stopped. Tori was shivering slightly, and Jade’s lips turned downward into a slight frown.
The closer Tori drew, the clearer Jade could see that Tori wasn’t just shivering, she seemed to actively be shaking some thoughts out of her very being, as Jade had seen her do so many times before.
“Cold?” Jade asked, tearing her gaze away and setting a brisk pace to catch up with the rest of the group. She didn’t want to be too obvious (as if she hadn’t been already all school year).
“No,” Tori shook her head, though she instinctively drew her arms up and wrapped them around her chest tight. A light breeze blew over them, lifting the tips of her long hair just slightly before it passed.
Jade rolled her eyes and sighed, wordlessly shrugging off her well-worn leather jacket and slipping it over Tori’s shoulders.
Tori stopped walking, and Jade did too.
“What.”
“I…” Tori gaped for words, like a fish out of water. Though Jade would never admit it out loud, a stunned and speechless Tori was one of Jade’s favorite reactions to elicit out of her. Jade spotted some rosiness slowly darkening Tori’s cheeks, and she was sure she was only able to see it because they were standing so close now. She wondered how many times she missed being able to see this soft blush because she had always distanced herself before. “Thank you,” Tori rushed out, dropping her gaze to the sidewalk underfoot and breaking into a desperate speed-walk. Jade jogged a few steps just to catch up before falling into step next to Tori again.
“Don’t mention it. Wouldn’t want a world superstar to catch pneumonia and die before her big world tour.”
“Shut up,” Tori whined, pushing Jade just the slightest to knock her off balance. “I’m not a world superstar.”
“Yet,” Jade corrected her.
Tori shot a disbelieving glance at Jade for a moment before quietly agreeing, “Yet.”
Jade suppressed a chuckle and shook her head. “Still can’t believe I gave up my spot at the PMAs for you, Vega.”
“Well, you were really just giving me my spot back.”
“Semantics.”
Tori laughed, light and musical. “I still can’t believe it either.” Tori paused for a moment, biting her lip. “Can I… Can I ask for a favor?”
Jade regarded Tori carefully. “What's the favor?”
Tori seemed almost instantly relieved that Jade didn’t flat-out say No. And in the same breath, she suddenly seemed ten times as nervous as before. “Well… can I… can I keep this jacket?”
“Keep my jacket? Why?”
“I… well, I… ah, never mind, forget it. It’s stupid.” Tori turned away from Jade to fully speed ahead, but Jade caught her by the elbow.
“Hey, wait, is this about you moving away for college?”
“Uh… maybe?” Tori squeaked, smiling sheepishly.
Jade chuckled. “Wow, Vega, you want something to remember me by? God, you’re acting like you’re moving an entire continent away. We’re like a five-hour drive if you ever want to visit.”
“I-I know, but—”
“Fine. Keep it.”
Tori’s eyes went wide, nearly bulging out of their sockets. “Re-really?”
Jade nodded. “Really. On the condition that you take care of it, and I mean it, Vega.”
“Swear on my life and my abuela Rosa’s grave.”
Jade cocked her eyebrow. “Is she the one who made you that pillow I stained with my mascara?”
Tori nodded.
Jade shook her head with a wry smile. “Jesus, Vega. Alright, yeah, I believe you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your weird obsession with it since last year.”
“Wh—I—But—I do not have an obsession with it!”
Jade just laughed. “Yes you do.”
And the rest of the walk home, Jade laughed at Tori, who was wrapped in her leather jacket, sputtering protests against Jade’s teases. And Andre just smiled knowingly, watching the banterful exchanges, thinking to himself, Finally, before returning to the larger group's conversation.