Jaded Eyes (Jori)

34: She'd Burn Too

"Will you take me as your girlfriend?"

—

Leaving Tori's lips, the words felt so foreign yet so enchanting to Jade's ears. Since before homecoming, Jade wanted to be the one to ask the question, which was apparently on both their minds. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in herself, but having Tori finish that sentence for her was also quite beautiful. The way she phrased it was way better than what Jade's stuttering mouth could ever come up with in that tense scene.

Jade just stared into Tori's eyes, which were patiently waiting for a response. Jade's eyes flickered down to her lips and she spoke.

"If you'll have me, I'll be yours forever."

And in that park, in public where all eyes could see them, that is if anyone were ridiculous enough to be there this early on a Saturday, they kissed. Boldly, their lips collided.

—

After spending their morning together, Tori dropped Jade off at her house for a little down time apart from each other. They'd spent the last 12 hours literally inches from each other the whole time, so being able to have independent thoughts was a nice change.

Even if they were across town thinking the same things.

Tori now laid on her bed, still smelling the events of last night, just remembering how Jade's back arched, or how her eyes closed tighter when she was close.

Jade was at her desk in her own room, turning all of the memories she could muster into ink. How could the best night of her life be summarized and confined between lines on a total of four pages?

Both girls, though miles apart, closed their eyes and simply thought:

God, I just love her.

The doorbell rang.

Tori got up to go see who it was, confused slightly because who comes to someone's house this early? She walked down the stairs to find her mom had already let the guest in.

"Hi Tori! You slipped away last night, and I'm only in town for another day so I wanted to stop by to see what y'all were up to."

"Well, we love having you over, Amelia." Tori's mom chirped.

"Yeah, of course! Come on up to my room!"

"Actually. I was kind of hoping we could go around the city? I've never been this far west before." Amelia smiled, still with one foot out the door.

"Oh duh, let me grab my wallet and I'll meet you at your car."

"Absolutely, it was nice seeing you Mrs. Vega," Amelia said while turning her heel.

Tori sprinted up the stairs, grabbed her wallet, and went outside to hop in Amelia's car. Her car already had the air going and was a nice change from the day that seemed to be growing more humid.

"So, what's the best place to go around here?"

"Honestly, I've only been here a couple of weeks, and the first two I spent helping move and organizing my room. And this past week I started school, so I haven't been around town all that much either."

Of course, if Tori wasn't with Amelia, and rather with Jade, Tori's answer would've been the forest ledge. The one where Jade found her because of her Instagram post. The place where she asked Jade to homecoming with the white lilies that are still there. But she was with Amelia. She couldn't tell her any of that. Not yet.

"Well, where is the mall then?" Amelia asked.

"That, I do know."

Tori directed Amelia around town, telling her where to turn and what not. They almost got into an accident that definitely would've been Amelia's fault but thankfully they didn't. They arrived at the mall just past noon.