Dog Days of Summer

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: This idea was inspired by a much older story of mine that I wanted to write in the Victorious fandom. It is of a curse that must be broken, essentially. This is something I think and hope you will enjoy. Not only is it inspired by something during what was likely the "peak" of my writing life-I'm hoping it will get the juices truly pumping again. I want you, my reader, to enjoy my work and not be bored by it. So please, read if you will and enjoy!


Chapter 1 (A Startling Curse)

"So are you glad she's gone?" Jade asked as Tori followed her into a magic shop owned by a woman named Madame Fontessa. She was the first person Tori saw in the shop and was dressed in an extravagant blue robe. She had a face like Mrs. Wong, but with long gray hair. Her emerald green eyes distracted her from Jade's question regarding her sister. "Tori?"

"Yes! No more dealing with her lame ass bathroom hogging or trying to absorb the attention in the room."

Beck raised an eyebrow at them and shook his head, "Over the last few years, Tori, I think you kind of had all the attention." She scoffed at him and waved her hand in the air. "Doesn't she live on some farm now?"

"Yeah, with grandpa." For whatever reason, Trina decided to move out to the country. It was closer to the University, sure, but it didn't seem like she moved to be closer to her college. "I don't know why she moved, but enough about my whacko sister, right?"

"What were we looking for, again?"

"Some cheap magic tricks for Robbie's little show," Jade rolled her eyes and leaned against a nearby shelf. Tori could feel the owner of the shop staring at them, her gaze burning into them as if studying their very souls. As she turned her head, her eyes made contact with Madame Fontessa, and her stomach started to drop. "Poor nutsack thinks people actually care about his tricks. He's a freaky little weirdo that carries around a puppet and claims the puppet talks."

Tori didn't know why they chose this shop, of all the magic shops there were. When they told Cat about it, her roommate's face turned white as a ghost. Sam urged them to be careful, but they didn't really pay any mind. "So let's just get some stupid wand and be out of here."

There was a shiver going down her spine, feeding off her nerves. "The guy needs more than just a wand, Tori." Beck picked up an item from a nearby shelf and raised an eyebrow at it. "Though, he really ought to do this himself. I have an audition at the community theater that I cannot miss. Some things are more important than his puppet show."

"Are these your friends that you speak of?" Answered the woman in a calm and cool voice. Beck jumped out of his skin and almost dropped the item he was holding. Tori spun around to see Madame Fontessa now standing near them. She grabbed the object out of the air and narrowed her eyes at Beck. "If you break it. You buy it."

"Sorry, I-I didn't expect…"

Jade pushed herself up from the shelf and crossed her arms. "What do you want, old lady?" Beck shot her a bewildered look and Tori bowed her head as the woman closed her eyes and lifted her eyebrows up into her bangs.

"You three lack respect. I feel for your friends."

"Not that it's any of your business," Tori stated with a heavy sigh, "But yes they're friends." She paused and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Trina's my sister, but you know how that gets." Madame Fontessa put her hand to her chest and parted her lips.

"Your sister? The way you speak of her, I am sure any would think otherwise."

"Well she's a bit of a drama queen and needy-"

"Don't forget self-centered," Jade laughed, "Horrible person." Beck moved his hand to his forehead while the woman continued to stare with little emotion at the three. Tori winced at Jade's words, but she wasn't going to argue since it didn't seem like she was wrong. "As for the other guy? Robbie? Sure we harp on him from time to time, but come on guys? The puppet doesn't talk, he's just as dense as Cat is at times."

Tori spread her hands out, clearing her throat. "Okay, enough!" Jade twisted her lips and Beck turned his eyes to Tori. "Anyway our lives are our lives, so if you don't mind…we just need some help finding magic items for our friend's show tonight."

Madame Fontessa crossed her arms and leaned her head back, her voice grew dangerously thick and her right eyebrow arched high on her forehead like a cat rearing its back. "You need more help than that. How you expect to live with such little respect for your fellow man. Surely it is you who think of yourselves so self-important to belittle your friends, and your own families."

"Come on, it isn't like that," Beck replied.

"How well do you know these friends of yours?"

"We spend every damn day with them." He shrugged and poked his thumb over his shoulder. "Well, not with Trina. We don't know her that well." Tori hated to admit that even she didn't know her sister.

She nodded once and turned up a crooked smile. "I try to avoid having to deal with her. Makes life a little easier." She reached over for a small trinket on the shelf, it had a long silver chain and a smooth texture. "What's this? Any good for a magic ventriloquist show?"

"No. It is not." The woman turned away and lifted her hand, curling her bony fingers inwards. "Come this way, I have something that I believe shall help you three." As they followed the woman, Tori heard Jade whisper that this lady was not only old, but creepy as hell. Her eyes darted to the woman and she saw her shoulders hike up. "I had a sister once, she and my friend Esmerelle were the nicest people."

"Oh?" Tori valued an opportunity to get away from the uncomfortable subject that they were on, and this was a promising chance. "What happened to them?"

"Rinali passed away six years ago and Esmerelle has since moved on." Tori's heart sank when she watched Madame Fontessa pull a purple beaded curtain to the side, revealing a hidden room with various artifacts and trinkets. Jade and Beck looked impressed while Tori remained curious to the reason they were now in this room.

There was a mirror at the back end of the room. It was covered in dust, and shone no reflection. There were three shelves on either side of it that spanned out and wrapped around the circular structure. The shelves had a variety of flasks, orbs, crystals, and statues.

Madame Fontessa touched a large round object that looked like a smooth crystal in the shape of a stone. It had a white light in the center that radiated to the edge and gave out a soothing humming noise.

"What is that?"

"This, I believe, is the item that you three search for. It will help you." She placed the object in Tori's hand and curled her lips into a smile. "May the maker watch over you on your path."

"What?" Tori lifted her head up and the woman put her hands to her hips.

"Just leave my shop. The orb comes to you at no charge."

They wasted no time heading out, and stopped when they were finally on the sidewalk. Holding the orb, Tori was fascinated by the texture of the object, and quickly showed it off to Jade and Beck, both of whom cradled it with their hands.

After several seconds, she heard Madame Fontessa's voice and looked back at the shop, disheartened when she did not see the woman. "You will need to learn to see others as your equal and not your inferior, if you wish happiness in life. For your lack of respect and tact in decency, you are to be cursed until your minds and hearts are one…" The woman's voice faded away and Tori moved her hand up to her left temple, groaning softly.

"Jade? Beck? Did you guys hear that?" Her stomach twisted as a violent and painful sensation rushed through her veins. The couple looked over to her, their eyes were large, and their lips were separated. "It sounded like that woman in the shop."

"You heard it too?" Beck exhaled sharply and shook himself. "I thought it was just me. What did she mean?"

The humming noise coming from the orb intensified, piercing their eardrums like a knife. Their hands flew up to their ears and they dropped to their knees, screaming out in agony.

When Tori opened her eyes, she could see nobody walking by to help. This wasn't surprising, given how little traveled this area was. Madame Fontessa's shop had been almost in a back alley towards the older part of downtown Los Angeles. "This is the last time I go to a place that has an ad in the paper and nowhere else!" Jade exclaimed. "The last time!"

Beck's shout echoed into the air and the girls threw their gazes onto him. "Something's wrong!" He was staring at his hands, now on the ground, and beginning to sweat. Thick black and grey fur was growing out on his hands, and his fingers were growing short and plump. "What's happening to me! Am I seeing things?"

Jade's scream was next. The girl had her hand up to the side of her face where golden fur was starting to grow. As Tori's brow furrowed, she felt a large amount of foreign smells drifting to her nose, some more nauseating than others.

She clenched her eyes and growled in attempt to fight the illness that had stricken her. It came swiftly, and within seconds, consciousness had left her.

When she awoke, she could not see Beck or Jade. Rather, to her right was a German Shepherd , to her left was a brown cocker spaniel, and between them was the orb. She tried to reach out, to throw the orb off to the side, but could hardly move.

"W-What's happening to me?" She had a sudden urge to eat, and felt as though all of her senses had become stronger. The intense smells and sounds around them were enough to drive her insane. "Beck? Jade? Where are you?"

"Right here," muttered the spaniel. Tori's eyes widened as the dog's eyes shifted open. When the spaniel looked at her, she froze. Her snout fell and a scream rushed through the air. The German Shepherd's eyes opened and he jumped up to his feet, looking around.

"Jade! What's happening! I'm here!" He pulled his head back and stared at the dogs. "I see a cocker spaniel and a poodle…what in the hell?"

"That-That woman!" Jade barked and threw her head towards Madame Fontessa's shop. The old woman was standing before a window, her arms were crossed and a smug grin had stretched over her face. "She turned us into dogs!" Immediately Jade ran for the building and began pawing at it, barking until the woman opened the window and leaned out. "Turn us back, old hag! Do it now!"

"I am human, you are dogs, no human ear can hear what you are saying, dear. If you are trying to tell me something, I do not know what it is." Jade froze and fell onto her feet, whimpering softly as Beck and Tori walked over. "You spoke of your friends and your family as though they were common mutts, and now, it is you who have gone to the dogs."

Madame Fontessa threw her head back and laughed twice before looking back at them. "If you wish to break your spell, you must look within yourselves. Help others before you help yourself, or you can live out your days as dogs."

"Honestly, if you want to be truly happy, you must first learn to put others before yourself. Only then will you find what you seek."

The woman folded her arms and tilted her head to the right, curling her lips into a subtle frown. The way I see it, three bratty teenagers less, and there is no trouble. The world is a better place without your type. Shall I inform your families?"

"Families?" Tori snapped her head back and groaned. Jade and Beck looked at her with great concern. "Mom and Dad think I'm going to the field trip to Florence with Mr. Sikowitz!"

"Same here," Beck muttered. None of their parents would be looking for them until the end of the summer. "What do we do?" The window slammed shut, startling them.

"I can't believe this is happening," Jade whined, "This can't be happening. It isn't happening! This is not happening! I can't be a dog! I'm not a slobbering, drooling, flea infested canine!"

"Just relax!" Tori walked down the street a few paces and began sniffing the air. Among the many scents coming to her, there was a familiar fragrance. "Lavender shampoo, lightly scented peaches and cream perfume…" Beck and Jade slowly moved beside her, staring blankly at her. "My god, it's a beautiful scent!"

"Tori, we're dogs." Beck's voice was flat and had a tone of irritation. "We can smell many things, and you're going on about peaches and lavender? Frankly all I can smell is the barbeque from down the street!"

"No, it's not just that. Think about it…" She hopped around, gazing down at her skinny limbs. From what Beck had said, she was a poodle. She also had dark brown fur. Of all the dogs she would have loved to transform into, poodle was not among the list. "First off, I hate poodles."

"Get on with the point."

"Sorry." Poodles often got distracted, or so she thought. Along with Chihuahuas, they were the worst kind of dog. "Look, I can't go home. Mom and Dad would throw us out on the street because they hate dogs. We need somewhere to stay. Jade, your mom already has a dog, right?"

"Yes," Jade frowned and pawed at the ground. "A purebred. She's always saying how she can't stand dogs that come off the street, and that they're 'flea infested, filthy mongrels'. So we can't really go there…"

Beck rolled his head to the right and exhaled. "My dad hasn't been able to look at a dog since the whole Rottweiler incident. No way he's taking in three strays. But what does this have to do with lavender shampoo and peach perfume?" His small light brown eyebrow rose and his lips curled into a frown.

"My sister lives on a farm now, guys. Hello!" Jade's ears perked up and Beck lifted his head. "She's probably got a ton of animals there, and if I know Grandpa, he loves dogs."

"Oh no way," Jade shook her head and gagged. "There is no way we're staying with that-that-weird sister of yours."

"Do we really have much choice, Jade? Until we can figure how to get ourselves back to normal, I don't see any other alternative!"

Jade groaned and the scent of perfume was fleeting. Tori spun around and sniffed the air. As much as she didn't want to do it, she had to find Trina and hope that the girl would take in three stray mutts off the street. It wasn't as though they could talk to her and tell her who they were, and if they went to the pound they'd surely be separated.

"Follow me, our one shot is leaving." She raced for the smell and looked back to see Beck and Jade rushing after her. Beck was catching up while Jade was struggling not to trip over her large brown ears. Tori had some difficulty maneuvering on her shaky limbs, but her determination to get to where Trina was seemed more important.

"Once we get to her farm, we can try and figure out what to do to become human again."

As they drew closer, Tori was entranced by the familiar smell of tobacco and grease. The sound of an engine sputtering filled her ears and dazzled her heart. "Grandpa's truck!" As they ran around the corner, she was thrilled to see her grandfather's beat up old Ford.

The truck's paint was chipped, the door of the truck bed was missing, and the exhaust was puffing out thick black fumes. An old man was standing outside the passenger side door, leaning back against it with his arms crossed and shoulders hunched forward. He was wearing a grey fedora and smoking a corncob pipe.

The sight brought tears to Tori's eyes and she nearly broke her cover with her desire to call out to her grandfather. His gentle eyes were focused on the shop in front of him, and his small button nose was twitching every few seconds that the smoke from his pipe would brush up against it.

"Stay down, guys." Tori crouched low behind a blue mailbox and poked her head out, watching as the man tapped his leather shoe on the ground.

"What do you expect us to do now?" Beck inquired with mild agitation. "We found your grandpa, his truck, and now you want us to sit?"

"Because I smelled Trina. We need to get in the bed of the truck and ride to the farm with them…"

"How do you expect to get in the bed?" He chuckled at the two of them and shook his head. "Both of you are small, you can't just jump up there." Tori rolled her eyes and snapped at him, causing him to jerk back.

"That's where you come in, Beck. You're going to pull us up."

"I got everything!" Trina's voice struck her ears and forced her attention over. Trina was walking out of the shop with a yellow sun dress that flowed down to her ankles, and was holding a bunch of bags in her hands. "Can we get back to the farm so I can get out of this dress? I don't get why I have to dress up to come downtown."

The old man held his pipe and slowly removed it from his lips. "Would you prefer coming to town with your manure and dirt covered britches?" Trina's face scrunched and she shook her head.

"Nope. I think I'll take the dress." Trina walked over to the truck and threw the bags into the bed. "I just prefer not getting hit on by every guy drooling at a girl in a dress. If Jason were with us, different story."

The elder laughed and waved his hand in the air. "I'm sure. A woman in the presence of a marine is nothing to trifle with." He let out a heavy sigh and cocked a half smile. "I do miss my days in the Navy." He turned to the door and watched as Trina walked around to the driver's side of the car. "Did you remember the lentils for tonight's stew, dear?"

Trina opened the door and looked over the hood of the car. "They're in the bags, Grandpa."

When the two started to enter the car, Tori made a mad dash for the back. Beck raced ahead and jumped into the bed first, then reached down, grabbing a tuft of Tori's fur with his snout and tossing her up into the bed of the truck.

"One down," Beck spat out and gagged, "Dog fur in my mouth. Not pleasant!"

"Beck!" Jade screeched. The truck's engine roared and panic gripped Tori's heart. Jade was bouncing up, trying to hop into the bed of the truck. Beck reached down just as the vehicle started to move and grabbed Jade by the tuft of her neck at the last possible instance.

She let out a loud scream as he pulled her into the bed of the vehicle and made her roll into the soft bags that Trina had placed. "Sorry about that," Beck gazed at his girlfriend and moved over, keeping low to remain out of vision.

Jade curled up beside him and set her snout onto her paws. "It's fine." Tori moved over and looked up into the back window, whimpering as she studied the two people in the vehicle. "You better be right about this, Tori. They better let us stay on the farm. If they take us to the pound…"

"She won't. She wouldn't."

"How sure of that are you?" Beck lifted his head up from his paws and stared blankly at Tori. "You don't even know why Trina moved to live on a farm-and here she's running errands with your grandpa?"

"Your point?"

"Do we really know if she's going to feel anything for three dogs that just hopped up into the bed of her truck? Have you ever seen her around animals? If your parents hate dogs so much, does she? Also, who is Jason?"

"I have no idea who he is, and I don't care about that at this moment. As for Trina, I don't know. She lives on a farm, I assume she likes animals."

Jade opened one eye, "She lives on her grandfather's farm. That doesn't mean she likes animals."

"Well, we'll see!" Tori crouched and closed her eyes, focusing on the rumble of the rickety truck. She made sure to stay like Jade, between the back of the bed and Beck, so that she wouldn't end up rolling out onto the road. "When we get to the farm, we just need to stay there and figure out how to get back. Should have listened to Cat's roommate and gone to some other magic shop. Jesus."


The idea here is that, as Madame Fontane said, to break the curse they must put others before themselves. By coincidence Trina and the grandfather are the only ones they can stay with, this rule applies not only to those two and the ranch, but the other friends as well. They must put their friends before themselves as well. This is going to be fun to write, and I hope it'll be fun for you to read!