Jaded Eyes (Jori)

6: Smurfs and Radio Stations

"Peculiar?"

"Yeah, you always have this tough front at school. Acting like you don't care about anything-" Tori was suddenly cut off.

"I don't care about anything. I have no need to" Jade snapped quickly at a nervous looking Tori. Tori hands trembled as if she has no use for them at the moment.

"Well, obviously you care about your grades. 'Nothing less than an A' Those were your words. And what about your friend? Cat, was it?" Tori tried her best to sooth Jade.

Now blushing with embarrassment, Jade twirled her phone in her hand while her left was still hovering her keyboard. It's true Jade cares about things, but if people knew that, then she would be vulnerable. Jade hated the thought of having any weakness.

"Ok yes fine. I care about Cat and my grades. I hate that I do, but I can't help it" Jade admits looking down at her computer screen. She wouldn't say this aloud, but she also cared about other people in her school. She cared for Beck. Yet he can't even ask me to the stupid dance.

"Was that so hard to say?" Tori locked eyes with her. Tori could never truly read Jade facial expressions but from the slightly curved mouth she could tell she broke through a bit.

"Yes, it was. Now, can we get back to this project?" Jade said grabbing a cupcake off the night stand.

"Sure, if you hand me a cupcake as well."

Jade reaches over again and picked up a blue covered cupcake this time and went to hand it to Tori. "Can I actually have a purple one?"

Jade scoffed. While putting the wrong cupcake back and grabbing the right one, she spoke, "does it really make a difference? I chose the blue one because look around, you smurf."

Tori chuckled a little, "yes it does. Purple tastes better." Now satisfied with the icing color, Tori peeled off the little cupcake sleeve and took a huge bite.

"Purple isn't even a taste. You can't taste color." Jade said while chewing on her sweet.

"If that's true, why do people find red Mac-and-cheese weird? It tastes the same." Tori said very slyly like she just proved some big conspiracy.

"Because Mac-and-cheese is supposed to be yellow. That's just how it is. Red Mac-and-cheese just sounds gross." Jade said with a little snap in her tone.

"But, color doesn't have a taste, according to you..." Tori sits up straighter.

"Finish that cupcake or I'll shove it down your throat. And we really do need to work." Jade replies, moving her arm quickly as if to imitate shoving the desert down Tori's throat. Tori moves out of the way and finishes her cupcake without having to choke to death.

Tori finally opens her laptop out, which to Jade, was a sign of obedience. (Even though it was stalled). Tori logs in and Jade can see the purple smears on the number row on her keyboard. Jade disregarded it even though she so badly wanted to wipe it off.

The two got into a routine of dividing the tabs with different tasks to complete evenly between them. It truly was a rapid process. The project wasn't due until next week, before the dance, but the girls just couldn't stop working. Eventually, they decide to stop working around 7:25.

"Damn, have we really been working for like three hours?" Tori asks, already aware she will have to start most of the conversations with this girl.

"Oh shit, really. Fuck, alright, I should head home." Jade said scrambling to collect her school materials and allowing them to be slammed into her backpack.

"Woah! What's going on? It's only 7 o'clock, what's the rush?" Tori asks, with her eyebrows furrowed.

"I- I just- I can't get into it. But I do have to leave. Like right now if I am planning to get home in time." Jade said, slinging her backpack on her shoulder and unlocking the bed room door.

Jade sprints down the staircase, past all the blurred paintings to the sides of her. She trips on the last step, but makes a nice recovery without falling on her face. She hears rushed foot steps behind her whilst putting on her shoes. Jade runs out the door and out into the lawn. Fuck, I'm so gonna be late.

Jade was a block away from Tori's house, when she hears a car engine. She puts it out of her head, until the car pulls up about 50 feet in front of her. Jade heard the door open but never heard it close. She has no chance to look at the car before she plows into someone. They both fell to the ground, and Jade looks up at the small figure that somehow ended on top.

She pushes her off and yells from the ground, "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?! MOVE!!" But before her legs could allow her to stand up she looks to the girl that she pushed to the right of her.

Tori.

"Okay, I'm sorry for chasing you, but why are you so scared?! What the fuck happened back there?" Tori yells back looking down at her knees and hands that are scrapped up and looking down at the girl she just plowed over.

Jade was shocked. She thought this girl was incapable of swearing. Jade pushes herself off the ground, knowing that she'll be sore tomorrow. "Tori! I have to get home!"

"Then let me drive you! It'll be faster if you really can't stand the sight of my face any longer" Tori suggests with some sarcasm.

"No it's fine, I can do it on my own!" Jade yells and takes one step. "Fuck, my back is screwed up or something"

——————

"Can we turn this song off?" Jade complains from the front seat of Tori's car. "I hate Shawn Mendes."

Tori turns to look at Jade, "HOW? HES LITERALLY AN ANGEL!" Tori refutes, obviously passionate about this dweeb.

"I don't know, he's just so weird." Jade says while pushing a button on the radio to see what other songs are playing. Before she can even hear the first word of the new song, she hears Shawn's voice again.

"For the love of all that's unholy, are you serious?" Jade asks rhetorically while pushing the same button she had previous pushed. This time she can hear it's an Ariana song. But yet again, it changes back the the first channel.

"Are your fucking kidding me? You'd rather listen to him than Ariana?" Jade asks, now expecting an answer.

"Yes, Jade, because I'm a logical human being with a sense for music." Tori says acting like the Queen. The channel switches yet again when Tori was singing along. "Okay, fine, we will sit in silence then" and she switches off the radio.

"Oh, you ass." Jade looks for the power button for a while but can't seem to find it. Filled with anger, she grabs the AUX cord.

"Oops, sorry, can't use that." Jade hears Tori say.

"And why the fuck not?"

"Because you're home"