Mystery
a/n: Hey guys alright so I know I probably shouldn't be writing a new story without finishing my Bellice (Alice x Bella, Twilight) however I wanted to put this story down for quite awhile. I wanted to wait til I finish Eternity but…if I wait too long I may forget it so here I am writing another story. Now I'll be Authoring two stories lol. Oh yeah if anyone wants to help beta for me that be great. I'd love someone who's well versed in Victorious(I'll admit I haven't watched the show as much as I would have liked) and well versed in music.(pop, alt rock) if this sounds like you give me a holler on YM my screen name is evamia4816 at yahoo. You get the idea. Anyway I've read almost all the Jori fandom stuff and I wanted to do a story that well was a little diff. well here goes. Oh and for the purpose of this story, Flyleaf, Paramore, Evanescence and the Band Perry don't exist in this world, and subsequently neither do their songs, or they do but in this story their songs belong to The Fallen Valkyries IN THIS STORY ONLY. In reality all songs belong to their prospective singers, bands etc and as they get used there will be a disclaimer for that before each chapter.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Victorious, if I did it wouldn't have ended. Even if I would have had to chain all the actors down, it also would have been totally Jori or Catorade. –nods nods-
Disclaimer 2: Misery Business is a song by Paramore.
NPOV
Jade hated everything. Ok, Jade loved coffee and scissors, but she hated everything else. One of the things she hated was anything keeping her from something she loved, and right now there was a line of students between her and her favorite cup of coffee. She tapped her foot impatiently as she paused for a second next to her car. Then, with a determined look, she started walking towards the shop, her face set with a look that could freeze fire. Those who saw her coming quickly moved out of her way as she made her way to the front of the line, those who didn't see her were simply…."Relocated". Most let her do what she wanted without bothering to question her. Those that did question her, received a glare that dared them to continue protesting as her hand would seemingly magically produce a pair of scissors. She got to the front of the line and shoved the freshman who was paying for his coffee out of the way and turned to cashier. With a raised eyebrow that dared the cashier to challenge her, she placed her order. The young woman behind the counter nodded in fright and hurried off to make the girl her coffee as quick as possible, fearing the implications of the scissors in the goth's hands. Jade took the cup and tossed a five on the counter then walked away not bothering to wait for her change. It wasn't like she needed it anyway. What she needed the most was her coffee. She sipped her coffee letting the scalding hot liquid slip down her throat and revitalize her. She smirked to herself thinking back to what she just did to the line of people and walked back to her car where she sat and drank her coffee while turning on the radio.
"Alright ladies and gentleman now it's time to open up the request lines and get you to request anything you want to hear. Phone lines are open now. Hello? You're on the air, what's your request?"
Jade rolled her eyes and reached over to turn the dial to a different radio station. She hated hearing all the teeny boppers request teeny bopper songs. It's not that they were bad, in fact, Jade liked the music (she would never tell anyone this of course). It's just it got old as they keep getting over-played repeatedly.
"Hi, I'm Michelle I want to request Misery Business by The Fallen Valkyries" well it was a teeny bopper after all making a request, but Jade's hand suddenly stopped and then went to turn up the volume. The Fallen Valkyries were her favorite band. They didn't sing the usual overplayed pop songs. They were more of a rock band with a bit of gothic and punk feel to it. Weird combo, but it worked for them. They were a mysterious group, sending in their tapes anonymously while never having been seen. Their songs were played but there never were any photos of them, no interviews, no concerts, no guest appearances, nothing. They were an enigma and people just ate it up. With their songs and their mysterious intrigue garnering U.S. and international fame, The Fallen Valkyries became the biggest hit on the music scene since Michael Jackson's prime days. Naturally rumors flew about them, ranging from a purely simple rumor to the utterly insane and stupid rumor. Some say that they had no talent and that it was only their mystery that kept them famous. Jade didn't agree. The band was awesome, the mystery only added to their intrigue, it definitely did not define it. Jade started her car and drove off while singing along.
We're in the business of misery, let's take it from the top
She's got a body like an hourglass that's ticking like a clock
It's a matter of time before we all run out
But when I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth
I waited eight long months, she finally set him free
I told him I couldn't lie, he was the only one for me
Two weeks, we caught on fire
She's got it out for me but I wear the biggest smile
Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him now
And if you could then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good
Second chances they don't ever matter, people never change
Once a whore, you're nothing more, I'm sorry, that'll never change
And about forgiveness we're both supposed to have exchanged
I'm sorry honey but I passed it up, now look this way
Well there's a million other girls who do it just like you
Looking as innocent as possible to get to who they want
And what they like, it's easy if you do it right
Well I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!
Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him right now
And if you could then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good
I watched his wildest dreams come true
And not one of them involving you
Just watch my wildest dreams come true
Not one of them involving
Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him now
And if you could then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good
Jade, who had long since reached the school, turned her car off and stepped out of her car. Feeling rather good, she sipped her coffee before laying the cup on the top of her car before reaching in for her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She then picked up her cup and downed it fully. A few skaters were popping tricks a few feet away in the same lot, she took aim and tossed her cup hitting one of the skaters, who rode a little too close to her car, in the head as he tried a kick flip. This of course would startle the kid who landed wrongly on the board sending it hurtling upwards into his groin. He hit the floor like sack of potatoes and he had the voice of a 7yr old girl. A couple of the kid's friends got up as though to defend their friend from whomever threw the cup, until they saw Jade smiling sickeningly sweet at them.
"That was a warning. Hit my car with any of your stupid boards and I'll shove each and every one of your boards up each of your asses. Got it?" She glared at them to get her point across, they nodded and picked up their friend and moved to a different part of the lot, away from Jade's car.
"Jaaaaadeeyyyyy" A blur of red slammed into the goth from behind at full speed.
"CAT, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that, and not to call me that?!" Jade screamed at the now frightened face of her best friend….. Well, pet, in her mind. "Thanks to that Mr. Purple's neck will be getting a very intimate encounter with my scissors!"
"Oh no! Not Mr. Purple!" Cat turned and ran to her locker where she kept the purple stuffed giraffe.
"Did you really have to do that? You made her cry! Now she's going to need candy just to be cheered up!" An overly concerned half latina scolded her as she bit her lip and stared off down the way the redhead had gone.
"Shut it Vega! If I wanted your opinion on the matter I'd have asked." Jade snapped at the brunette before she as well took off towards the school.
As she entered she saw Cat talking to Andre and Robbie as though nothing happened completely docile now that she had her purple stuffed giraffe in her arms and was petting it. Jade shook her head at the sight as she turned to put things in her locker while taking a few books out for her morning classes. By the time she had closed her locker and turned around Tori had already joined the other three as they talked excitedly, as a matter of fact everyone was acting a little too excited. As Jade looked around the school she noticed that everyone was speaking animatedly while others looked at their pear phones. Something was up, and for once Jade was in the dark. She approached the other four and opened her mouth to speak when Tori spotted her and like a schoolgirl gushing over some hot guys she ran to Jade and squealed.
"Oh my god, Jade have you heard?" Tori squealed while jumping up and down her hands holding Jade's stunned hands.
"Don't do that again. Ever." Jade yanked her hands away and glared at Tori with a look that would have made a field of flowers wilt in 3 seconds. Then, in her voice she loved mocking the half latina in, she replied. "Calm down Sweet Sally Peaches do pray tell me what ever is going on."
"I don't talk like that!" Tori huffed and shot her frenemy a hurt look to which the goth shrugged off easily. "Any way they just made an announcement this morning on the radio, but…"
"Oh dear god please tell me you aren't pausing for dramatic effect….you are, aren't you?" Jade raised her eyebrow as she scrutinized the brunette. She then shrugged and looked over at Andre. "Andre you have 2 seconds to tell what's going on and one second was just wasted."
"Alright alright chill girl I'll tell you. Seems that this morning after playing one of The Fallen Valkyries' songs, Misery Business, I believe, there was an announcement that the band would be doing a live Big Reveal concert right here in L.A. Not only that but there is a competition they are holding for there to be another lead singer. Apparently they want dual lead singers. The new member will sing along with them during the Big Reveal!" Andre explained. With each passing word Jade's face got paler.
"I'm totally winning that concert by the way, so you guys get to see me make it to the big time like I was always meant to!" Trina said suddenly appearing out of nowhere flipping her hair like she was a big deal.
"Trina, you don't even know what kind of songs they sing." Tori deadpanned.
"Well they sing right? Then I'm a shoe-in!" Trina replied confidently then walked away.
"Where she gets her confidence from, despite her lack of ability, I'll never know." Andre shook his head. Suddenly realizing that someone's harsh retort was missing while Trina was here, Andre looked over at stunned stupid Jade. "Uh…Jade you ok?"
Just then the bell rang signifying that it was time to head to class. Jade was a zombie during her morning classes, in fact she couldn't even remember going to her classes. She was in a state of shock. Had she kept the radio on a little bit longer she would have heard the announcement herself. The second part of Andre's explanation finally hit her as well.
They are going to hold a reveal concert and not only that but offer others to join them? How can I possibly pass this chance up? I would love nothing more than to simply write plays and scripts. But that can wait it's not like I totally hate singing, rather I love it but no one gets the music I sing. But they will. They will.
"We should try out." Tori suggested as Jade reached the lunch table. The goth stared at her as though Tori had grown a second head. To Jade, she might as well have been, seeing as Jade never pictured Tori as the type to sing rock, let alone punk/gothic rock.
"Oooh Cat wants to try something…..wait what are we trying?" Cat looked confused for a minute before Jade offered her a lollipop to suck on in order to keep her quiet. "Oooh! Candy."
"Vega, you are the last person who should try out." Jade smirked.
"Jade be nice" Beck said as he sat down on the other side of the table. Not because it was weird between them since the break up, in fact everything was pretty much the same only not intimate.
"What, it's true! She's bubble gum, there's no way she can sing rock. That would be like Luther Vandross singing heavy metal." Jade pointed out as she picked at her salad.
"I can too sing it! Just you wai-"
"Shut it Vega, the day you make their band is the day I'll come to school dressed in a pink tutu and shooting rainbows out of my ass." The goth snickered at her own joke while the brunette sat there shocked. Just then the bell rang signifying the end of lunch. "Tell you what Vega, let's both go for it, whoever is eliminated first has to do whatever the person who lasted longer wants for a month."
"A-anything?" Tori asked a bit timidly.
"What's the matter scared?"
"N-no!"
"Then we have a deal, better start practicing Vega."
Jade walked off to her afternoon classes with a spring in her step, thinking of all the things she would make the latina do. Of course Jade wasn't just trying out to beat Tori, she genuinely wanted to join her favorite band. She was already planning which of the songs she had wrote while inspired by The Fallen Valkyries.
After school, Jade went to her room and pulled her music equipment from her closet and started to compose a beat for songs. She reached into the back of her closet to her safe and unlocked it to pull out a black notebook where she kept her songs, scripts, and anything else she was inspired to create. Taking out a pencil, she began to jot things down as she started to get into composition. It would become a routine for the next couple days and for awhile she wouldn't hang out with her friends, too engrossed in her work to care much. Naturally she wasn't the only one avoiding them, as Tori apparently was doing the same. This made her smile more, seeing how Tori was taking this so seriously, even though it was totally out of her element. She couldn't wait to make Tori her bitch for a month. After about a week of composing and working on a song Jade sent her MP3 file into the designated email address for the competition. Now she only had to wait.
I wonder if Tori will even pass the first round.
A few days later in downtown L.A., in a tall building called "V Records"
Vicky, lead singer of The Fallen Valkyries, laid out on a couch her feet propped up on the coffee table as she flipped cassette tapes, CD's and thumb drives one after another into a nearby waste basket. She reached for the next one and tossed it in a high arc towards the basket when a hand came out of nowhere to swat it aside.
"DENIED BITCH!" Eva laughed as the cassette went skittering under the couch the sultry lead singer was on and shooting the horrible contestants' entries from, the ones that were denied at least.
"You little slut! That was so going in!" Vicky complained as she tossed another thumb drive this time at Eva's head. The drummer swiftly dodged as it sailed by her harmlessly only to hit the guitarist, Katelynn, in the face. The peeved guitarist bent down and grabbed a CD causing the others to cringe a bit in fright.
"Now, now, Kate that wouldn't be advisable, CDs have sharp edges and could quite possibly behead one of them if you aren't careful." A voice from the door spoke as the bass guitarist Ami came in and smiled. "Besides if you hurt Eva, there won't be trace of your existence left when I'm done with you"
The tall blonde woman smiled her anything-but-innocent smile as she sat down near Vicky, who promptly hid behind the well-built woman for protection. Eva moved over to Kate and wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek before plopping herself into her girlfriend Ami's lap. Ami wrapped her arms around Eva's waist and snuggled her while Vicky, believing the coast to be clear, went to the computer and searched through the massive lists of songs by potential new members for their band.
"Holy fuck this is a lot of songs and people to sift through. Who's fucking bright idea was it to do this anyway?" Vicky said annoyed as she clicked sluggishly through each name and competitor.
"I believe, oh fearless leader, that would be you." Kate said as she walked up behind the brunette singer and smacked her on the head with a notebook.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Let's start today's batch of untalented morons to sift throu-" Suddenly Vicky stopped talking as she stared at the screen. It was so sudden it took Kate a few seconds to realize her band-mate had stopped talking.
"Oi, you whore what were you going to say?" She turned back to her companion and noticed that she was still staring at the screen. She waved her hand in front of the brunette. "Hello….."
"Wha- what? I'm sorry did you say something?" Vicky came back to the present.
Before Kate could question their lead singer the door opened and another brunette entered the room carrying a clipboard and looking every bit of the talented, beautiful agent she was for The Fallen Valkyries.
"Alright guys, we have a big day today, we have to get through all the rest of the contestants today in addition to the other obligations you have. It is 10am right now and at 1pm you are to be in the recording room to finish up your new song, so we can send it out to the radio stations. And at 4pm we have to go over the staging crew for the Big Reveal and make sure they sign contracts about not disclosing your identities before the Big Reveal, since you will be working with them. And at 6pm you all have your dance classes, and calisthenics. Do we have any questions?"
"Uh yeah Ms. V I do…" Eva said mischievously. "When was the last time you got laid? You work us harder than a Spartan general."
"I don't think that's any of your business Eva. I run a tight ship because I see the potential you guys have. My talent at spotting stars in the making are what made me the top talent agent in the industry even at a young age. So if you don't like it, we can always find you a new agent who isn't as good. Hmm?"
"Oh, quit giving her a hard time, Ms. V. Eva is a bit stupid but she isn't saying she hates you." Vicky spoke up while she downloaded a file to a thumb drive on the computer. Before taking it out.
"I know that I was just teasing her back" Ms. V smirked.
"One, I'm not stupid! Right Ami? Tell her." Eva turned to her girlfriend who nodded her head in answer.
"Yep, she's not stupid." Eva beamed and happily turned around to face the agent. Ami meanwhile nodded her head and pointed at her girlfriend, then back to her head and made a circle motion with her finger indicating the girl to be crazy causing everyone to giggle.
"What, what's so funny?" Eva turned to look at her girlfriend who now held an impassive face like she found something interesting outside the window. This of course only sent the other girls into renewed peals of laughter.
"Alright, alright, let's get back to what we are doing for now, which is listening to every untalented singer in L.A. before we get to someone decent. Where should we start?" Ms. V placed her clipboard down and walked to the TV turning it on.
"Let's start with this one." Vicky tossed a thumb drive over to Ms. V, who caught it without any problem. She put the thumb drive into a laptop that was connected to the TV, and brought up a sound file. As she opened the file the screen on TV lit up as a girl appeared on the screen. She was a gothic or bad ass type punk rocker sort of chick.
"Alright look I'm Jade West and I hate everything but scissors, coffee and your music. So here goes a song I put together. If you pick me great, if you don't…whatever. But if you steal my song I will come after you with a pair of rusty scissors."
Ms. V pressed pause and stared at the TV screen with a shock look on her face. Katelynn giggled and clapped. Eva and Ami were engrossed in their own make out session while Vicky smiled at the TV screen in a weirdly proud sort of way.
"I like her" Katelynn said. "She fits the image perfectly."
"I think so too. We should put her through to the second round."
"Are you sure we haven't even heard her play her song yet" Ms. V said uncharacteristically nervous as she stared at the face on the screen.
"Well yeah we can check the song but you and I both know she can do this." Vicky replied.
"Tori…." Ms. V started to say before she was interrupted.
"It's Vicky while I'm here in The Fallen Valkyries, do try to remember that dear sister. Just like how you aren't Trina, but Ms. V" Tori/Vicky retorted somewhat harshly. The room suddenly going quiet as everyone seemed to wait for incoming sibling war between the two that always seem to spark when they forget their stage names.
"Yeah, yeah, I forgot sorry. Let's just listen to what she's got before we decide on passing her." Trina/Ms. V conceded, not wanting to start a fight so early in the morning. She turned back to the TV screen and hit play.