Tori doesn't need things--she needs you

You squeezed around Tori's shoulders lightly. "I'll help you replace it all. It's not fair what Andrea did, but you can think of anything in this house as yours. I want you to stay no matter what, Tori."

With a nod, Tori turned back to you, wrapping her arms around you. Her voice croaked a little--possibly from the yelling Andrea had done just the other day, possibly from recovering from the shock of what she saw--but she seemed appreciative. "I don't need the stuff. As a channeler, I'm really familiar with needs, true needs. Having things of my own is important, sure, but I think what I really need is you."

"I, uh..." You put your arms around Tori's back, holding her closer. "I think I need you too. I couldn't give you up to make Andrea happy, and we've always been best friends, but I think it doesn't have to stop there for us. I almost went there with Lucinda, but I held back. I don't need you to channel anyone or anything to want to be with you in every possible way, you know!"

Tori giggled a little, before coughing. "The channeling helps! I don't mind being regular old me, but I could find so many fun ways to change things up. I'll be whatever you want me to be, Pete." She leans against you, reaching up to kiss you. You could feel her shivering a little, there's a lot of things happening at once that have shaken your friend up a bit, but she seemed to relax in your arms as you embraced.

After the kiss ended, you stumbled a little, realizing just how tired you were. "Whoa, I think I need to lie down. I didn't get any sleep, in case Andrea tried to make a break for it."

"Yeah, I think I could use a little clean-up myself." Tori pulled the blanket back, showing her stomach, which still had writing on it from permanent marker. "I'm going to take a shower, see if I can get the marker, and then let's pretend this is Saturday all over again. My channeling quota for the day is already done, but I don't think I really want to go anywhere, so we can try a normal afternoon indoors with just us. I would love one of those, it's been so long..!"

You agreed, as demonstrated by your eagerness to pass out. You didn't need a lot of sleep, but a few hours felt like plenty. Even so, it was hard to sleep, with dreams of a giant, monstrous Andrea stomping through town, chasing down Tori and yourself as you ran for your lives. Still, something seemed to comfort you midway through, and when you awoke, you saw what helped you: Tori had joined you in the bed, wearing a bleach-stained shirt and pajama pants--she didn't have a lot of other options, but she didn't seem to mind. Holding onto you, she seemed comfortable. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled. "Hey, I hope you don't mind. Your bed's really comfy, I think I'd like to spend more time in it."

With another kiss, Tori moves closer to you, her movements a little hesitant. "I, uh. You said you might want to try things without the channeling, but I'm kind of like you and want to take things nice and slow at first for this." Tori eventually slid on top of you, her warm body pressing against you, her hips wriggling atop you as she got comfortable and brown hair tickling at your face and chest. "I mean, I still think of us as best friends first, even if I've had fantasies about things being more! There's just a lot of stuff happening at once. But, uh."

"Yeah?" You looked at Tori, brushing some of her hair back.

"What is this, between us? Or, what do you want it to become? Are we just gonna have fun, or is this going to get more serious?" Tori asks, biting her bottom lip a little.

You shrugged a little. "We'll find out, right? We always let things play out how they need. So, maybe a little of both. Or, a lot of both. I mean, now that I am officially single and all..."

"Not anymore, you're not," Tori said with a giggle. You two barely moved for the remainder of the afternoon and evening, with some kissing and touching, but mostly cuddling. This wasn't something you would normally do with Tori, so this was already new territory, but it was a pleasant start to a new beginning.