A Jori Story:Coffee Shop Confessions

Chapter 15

Tori woke up to the smell of breakfast.Opening her eyes she saw a tray of all her favourite breakfast foods laid upon it."We made you breakfast,"said Cat,stating the obvious as usual.She sat up and began eating,smiling all the way through.When she was done,she got dressed and Andre said,"First stop,mall!,"but Tori stopped in her tracks."You guys.I know you're helping me get over this but I know you have your own lives.You don't have to stop living it for me."Robbie smiled at Tori."We love you.Let us do this."Tori put a hand on his shoulder and said,"I love you guys,too.Please don't waste anything else on me.Go to school."Andre,Robbie and Cat exchanged looks with one another until Andre said,"You sure you'll be fine?"Tori nodded and hugged him."Go."He smiled and the three of them exited her house,leaving Tori alone.

Once they shut the door,all Tori felt was cold.She felt cold and numb and limp.She tried to push Jade to the back of her mind by reminding herself that today was the day her parents would be home.She texted her mother to see where they were when she got hit with disappointment as she read the text her mother sent right back."Major storm.Plane delayed for at least 3 days. Sorry."She sighed and dropped her phone.I'll just relax today.Jade was sitting quietly in her RnB vocal classroom,staring around for any sign of the girl with brown eyes she broke.She started to get a little worried when Tori was nowhere to be found.She spotted Andre after one of her classes and asked him if he knew where the brunette was."She's at home."She nodded and let him go.She began contemplating whether it would be a good idea for her to go see Tori.But Tori wouldn't wanna see her.

Jade wanted Tori back so badly she could feel it freezing up her bones every minute away she was from Tori's beautiful strawberry scent.Who was she kidding?She needed  Tori Vega,the one person who literally changed her life for the better.But of course she wouldn't tell Tori that.Her ego was far too high for her to go begging Tori to give her another chance,though she wanted another chance so badly she could have tasted it.Unable to function that entire day at school, she was aware of the fact she might not ever be welcome in the Vega household after breaking Tori's heart.She decided to stay away for a while,hoping the distance would help her get over the literal love of her life.Tori,on the other hand,was sick as a dog.She had a burning fever and couldn't stop vomiting.However,being the fighter she was,she strove to show Andre and the rest she could do fine without them.

As expected,they arrived at her door step once school was over. She was still extremely drained after vomiting so many times in a row but put on a smile,hoping they wouldn't notice how pale she looked.They walked in all smiling,all except for Andre who could clearly see how messed up Tori was.Thankfully,he said nothing.Robbie and Cat,however,didn't notice any changes in Tori or how feeble her voice sounded.Tori couldn't blame them,really.She wasn't as close to them as she was to Andre.After Robbie and Cat had bombarded Tori with questions,they stood up and motioned for Andre to follow them."Why don't y'all go home first?I wanna talk to Tori."It wasn't even five minutes after the door slammed shut behind them that Andre was holding Tori's hair while she expelled whatever that was left in her stomach into the kitchen sink.After she was done,she fell limply to the kitchen floor into Andre's arms and sobbed.

Andre stared with pity at Tori crying into his sweater.Knowing she couldn't afford to stand on her own,Andre lifted her onto the sofa and placed the back oh his palm on her forehead."You're burning up."He left to get her a wet towel when he heard his phone start to ring.He answered it without checking the caller ID only to hear Jade's voice,cracking with tears on the other end. "Andre?,"said the voice.He could hardly believe it was Jade because of how hollow the voice sounded,like a dead leaf."Is that you,Jade?"He heard the person on the other end sniff and say, "Meet me at the new coffee shop tomorrow at 8."Before he could respond,the line went dead.He had forgotten what he was about to do that moment when he heard Tori groan and ran to get her the towel.As he pat her forehead gently,she looked at him with sleepy eyes and said,"Who was that?"

"Uh,just a friend.He wants me to meet him tomorrow morning."She nodded and fell asleep while Andre kept patting.He noticed and covered Tori with a blanket on the sofa.Kissing her forehead,he whispered,"Get well,chica,"and slowly crept out the door.When morning came,Tori woke up to see she was much better and thanked Andre silently before getting up and going to the diner across the street to get breakfast.Sure she was better but didn't feel like making breakfast.Jade,on the other hand,was waiting for Andre in the coffee shop,her feet tapping like crazy on the floor beneath her.Her hands were shaking but she was a little relieved when she saw Andre slip into the seat across from her."What's up?"She looked at Andre desperately and said,"Andre,I really fucked up.I need Tori back.I need her."As much as he wanted to deny it,he said,"She misses you too."Her ears perked up at his words."She told you?"

"No,but she was really sick yesterday.Puking everywhere and crying.It broke me to see my best friend like that."Jade felt an enormous twinge of guilt and squeezed Andre's hand."I need to make it up to her."Andre sighed and shook his head."Just go apologize."Jade wouldn't have it,though."No.She doesn't deserve me.I'm so selfis-"But she didn't get to finish because Andre had cut her off."You keep talking like that and you really will have zero chance of getting her back."She sighed and her eyes glistened with tears."I honestly don't even know why I called you here.Sorry for wasting your time,"and she got up to leave but Andre held onto her arm."Sit."She sat reluctantly and rested her head in her hands."I don't know what to do anymore,Andre."He sipped at his cocoa casually and said,"You either do something about getting her back or stop sulking."

"But I want her."Andre rolled his eyes and then he lit up."Look,if you really want her back,sing her a song at the Full Moon Jam.And dedicate it to her,announce y'all are together.She's bound to forgive you."She stirred her cocoa around,not talking."Think about it.If you wanna do it,buzz me,"and he stood up to pay for both of their drinks.As they walked to Andre's car,Jade said,"I appreciate you helping me."Andre smiled genuinely at her when all of a sudden,she hugged him. He was stunned but just wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed every second of rare affection she received from the goth.When they pulled away,Jade gave him a look that said quite plainly,"That never happened."He chuckled at Jade's expression and got into the car.