Heartstrings | Jade x Tori

Chapter 1 : A normal-ish day

Author notes: Okay guys, this chapter and story as whole is gonna contain smoking most likely. But yeah. This is my first time writing Jori, but i've honestly been so obsessed with them lately so I really hope you guys love this as much as I do!

Tori's PoV

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It was just after lunch at Hollywood Arts. I sat slumped in my chair toward the front of the familiar classroom that belonged to none other than my drama teacher, Sikowitz. To nobody's surprise, he was late to class. It was definitely far from the first time this had happened, so I was practically just staring off into space whilst waiting, my eyes pointed up into the direction of the stage ceiling. Why does he always do this shit? I mean, he could've just had another bad coconut milk experience, but regardless, I was actually sorta grateful for times like these. They meant I could just relax for five minutes.

I could hear indistinct chatter around me, but I was able to make out the voices of a few of the people I called my friends. Like, I could hear Cat's signature high pitched voice probably trailing off about some random shit her brother did, whilst Robbie and Andre listened, kinda disturbed. Times like these I'd just sorta get lost in my own thought, often too tired to actually speak to people. I wonder what Mom's cooking for dinner... type thoughts. But then, out of nowhere, I encountered an unexpected thought. A thought of the girl I know as Jade West. It wasn't that interesting though, just an image of her in my brain. But still it was weird. I try not to think of Jade whenever I can, mostly just because it actually really fucking hurts sometimes thinking of how I did pretty much everything I could to win over her friendship, only to get treated like shit over and over again. But before I could think too deep into this, I was quickly snapped back into reality by the sudden crash of the classroom door, and a low, yet energetic voice filling the atmosphere surrounding me.

"Good morning ye old mutants!" the voice called. I pretty much physically jumped when I heard it. Sikowitz had finally showed up to teach our class. Only about 5 minutes late though, which was definitely not the latest he'd ever been.

"Wait. But, its afternoon now?" I hear Cat call from the seat behind me, interrupting him. Everybody turned to look at her, before looking back at our teacher.

"It appears you are correct." Sikowitz responds, following with a few seconds of awkward silence, before continuing. "Anyways, not that it matters really. Let's get on with some actual classwork. I was thinking we could try an alphabetical acting challenge today." He finishes, scanning the classroom. I scan the class with him, turning round to look at the people surrounding me, when I noticed an empty seat where Jade normally would've been sitting, next to Cat. My brow furrowed a little in confusion as I turned back around to face the front, where I noticed my kind of crazy teacher staring directly at me, a wide smile pulling at his lips as I meet his eyes.

"Tori." He spoke quickly. "Could you please be the first student up on the stage today?" He asked, still smiling my way.

"Yeah, sure." I respond, quickly jumping up from my seat and making my way up the steps onto the stage. I face the rest of the class, smiling at my friends. From the stage, I finally get a full view of the class. My eyes scanned over the room, and it became noticeable that Jade West and her boyfriend Beck Oliver were missing from their seats. Shit, do I even wanna know what they're up to? Nah, who am I kidding. They're probably fighting again. They had been a lot recently, but I tried not to intrude too much. I didn't want Jade to literally rip me apart, after all. I noticed Sikowitz also scanning the room, probably looking for the next victim to throw up onto the stage to take part in a really high effort acting challenge first thing after lunch, right when all anybody can think of is going home. At this point, the door slammed open, causing me to jump back a little bit at the sudden noise. A familiar figure entered the room. Jade. It felt like she moved in slow motion. Her wavy raven hair had bluey-green strands streaked through, which stood out as her hair bounced with each step, which was heavy from the black combat boots she wore. She kinda terrified me, but intrigued me at the same time. I couldn't even imagine being as confident as her. But what stood out more than anything was the angry glare radiating off of her face.