A Jori Story:Coffee Shop Confessions

Chapter 2

Tori's alarm almost caused her to fall off her bed in the morning.She slammed her fist down hard on it and it went silent.She looked at the clock but took a while to focus because of the fact she'd just opened her eyes for the day.She finally saw it and the time was 7.30 am.It was a weekend.Why did she set her- Then she remembered.She was supposed to be meeting the gang at that new coffee shop.Groaning,she got out of bed and stretched as if her life depended on it. She got to the bathroom and had a quick shower before changing into a fresh t-shirt and a pair of jeans.Wrapping her sweater around her,she shoved her notebook and Pearpad into her backpack and sprinted downstairs where she saw her mother over the stove."Mom,I'm going to meet Andre and the others at that new coffee shop."Her mother looked up and asked."Get me a bagel.Be safe,sweetheart."Smiling at her mother's cuteness,she closed the door behind her and began walking to the bus station.

On the way there,she managed to think about that dance she shared with Jade.She was happy to spend time with Jade,even if it was only a couple of minutes.The dance was friendly and sweet.Too friendly if I might add.She'd never been that intimate or close to Jade before.It felt exhilarating and made her happy to the tips of her toes.For some deranged reason,her heart raced when Jade put her hands on her waist.Their bodies were brushing during the dance and Tori could have sworn she felt Jade's heart speed up when she pulled her closer.She was just about to tell Tori what was going on with her when the song ended and that had been bugging Tori the whole night.She finally got to her senses when the bus arrived and dropped into a seat at the back.She plugged earphones into her Pearpod and began listening.She didn't know how long it had been but she recognized the new coffee shop pretty easily.It was the one with a ton of fairy lights and a lot of customers.

She walked into it and the smell of cinnamon slapped her in the face.She inhaled deeply and sighed at the scent.Looking around,she saw none of her friends had arrived yet,that is until she had to double take at a very familiar looking girl with the same flowing curls and black lipstick. She walked right up to Jade who hadn't noticed her presence and sat down opposite her.Jade looked up to see who it was then smirked.

"Oh,it's you."She smiled at Jade and stood up to get herself a nice mug of warm cocoa.When she settled back in the seat opposite Jade,she noticed Jade fidgeting slightly and said."Hey."Jade looked at her and then at the milk moustache she had on her upper lip.Jade chuckled and said,"Look at you."Then without warning,she reached over and swiped at the chocolate on Tori's upper lip with her finger.She brought that same finger up to her mouth and licked the chocolate off as if it was the most natural thing in the world.Jade looked down at her own mug of coffee in front of her and blew the steam emitting from the top.Tori was mesmerized at this beautiful work of art that was Jade.The milky white of her skin,the beautiful shade of teal her eyes were.She could have stared all day if not for Jade shaking her from the daydream."It's not nice to stare,Vega",Jade said playfully.Tori tore her eyes away from Jade and looked down at her mug.

"Hey,Jade.Can I ask you something?"Jade looked up into the chocolate brown eyes once more. "Must you?"Tori ignored the comment and continued."What happened between you and Beck last night?"Jade flared up at this."Why the hell do you wanna know so bad?"Tori's heart sank at the reaction."I just wanted to help.I'm sorry for even asking."Dejected,Tori visibly sank backwards in her seat.Seeing the sudden drop of mood,Jade reached for Tori's hand on the table."It's sweet you care,Vega.Really,it is.I'm just not the kind of person who opens up easy." Tori,relieved that Jade didn't yell,looked back up at Jade then at the hand that was on hers.Her eyes widened and she began blushing but immediately stopped after Jade noticed her reaction and moved her hand away."I'm sure you know why I don't have friends,right?"Tori locked eyes with Jade once more.

"Cause everyone's scared of you?"Jade nodded then looked at Tori,confused."So why do you wanna help me?"Tori sighed and rested her head on one hand."Cause I want you to know that I'm not scared,Jade."She makes my name sound so nice."Fair enough.But I've always treated you terribly.Why do you still wanna be my friend?"Tori took another sip of her cocoa and said, "Like I said yesterday,I know that under that scary exterior,there's someone that's worth it. Someone that's worth digging for.And I'll dig hard 'til I find her."Jade's cheeks turned red and she broke eye contact with Tori,preferring to look at her mug of untouched cappucino."I've never had a friend, Tori.I wouldn't know what to do."Tori smiled at her."Then I'll show you.I'll be your friend.I want to be your friend Jade,but you have to let me in."Jade sighed at this and rubbed the back of her neck."I'll try,Tori.I really will.But I have to take my time."

"Take all the time you need.I'll be right here."Jade smiled and looked back up at Tori."Thank you."Tori just grinned in response and Jade took the opportunity to stare at Tori's dimples.She stared at her beautiful cheekbones and longed to reach forward and lightly touch it with her finger.She hadn't realized that she was staring at Tori but fortunately,Tori didn't catch her looking."We should do this more often,just the two of us."Tori looked up at these words and nodded her head vigorously."Great idea."Jade,looking amused said,"Someone's pretty eager." Tori went bright red once more and kicked Jade's foot under the table.They were laughing when the rest of the gang appeared beside them.

Tori noticed Jade frantically motioning for her to sit next to Jade and she couldn't be happier.I mean,they were friends so why wouldn't she be happy to sit next to her friend.She moved in next to Jade and the girls were squeezed into each other when Cat and Robbie moved in next to them.Tori hadn't noticed that she'd placed her hand on Jade's thigh.They looked at the hand on Jade's thigh then at each other and blushed.The gang had gotten themselves drinks and bagels and were munching and sipping happily when Andre spoke up first.

"Alright,what are we shooting about and where?"The group went quiet for a few minutes when Jade piped up."How about we touch a serious topic?"Everyone stared at her in awe."Jade West not insisting we do horror?Congratulations,Tori Vega.You got the wrong Jade."She chuckled and looked at Tori."I'm serious."Andre nodded and said,"Okay,what topic?"Robbie chipped in with, "Bullying?"Everyone shook their heads."Animal cruelty?",said Cat but no one liked it.Then Tori surprised everyone with,"Homophobia?"Slowly,they nodded but Beck said,"It seems pretty sensitive.We should ask Sikowitz first."They all agreed and Tori volunteered to ask Sikowitz.She whipped out her phone and dialled in his number.

"Hello?"
"Yes.This is Erwin Sikowitz I'm drinking out of a coconut."
"Uh...Hi Sikowitz.It's Tori."
"Oh,Tori hi!"
"Yeah.We wanted to ask you about the topic of our play."
"Go on."
"We were thinking about touching a serious topic and in this instance its homophobia."
"Homophobia eh?I like it.Never done before."
"So we can do it?"
"Yes,yes!Go ahead."
"Thanks,Sikowitz!"

She put the phone down and told them what he had said.They were all ecstatic and Andre announced,"Great.Now I'll go home and put the names of characters in hats and all of you will be picking on Monday."Everyone seemed really excited."See you on Monday guys."

Everyone parted ways so the only people left were Beck,Jade and Tori.Beck was busy paying while Tori walked over to Jade and said,"Homophobia huh?"Jade nodded and smiled ahead."People don't address these kinds of important stuff and I don't know why."

Tori smiled at Jade and said,"I knew you were a good person."Jade rolled her eyes and nudged Tori gently.In the silence that took place after that,Tori was about to ask Jade for a ride when Beck grabbed Jade by the wrist and dragged her to the car.Tori was left standing there,bewildered.