The following is a revised, oneshot edition of "Maybe Someone Does Like You".
Dan and Nick own iCarly and Victorious. The San Francisco 49ers belong to the National Football League (NFL). All I own is Angeles Village, Orangefly's, The Naked Longhorn and The Middle Of Nowhere. This is another idea that I couldn't get rid of, so here I went in Doc Manager. Like "Advice From Dad", this takes place before "The Tech Whiz And The Former Grunch" and "A Shower And Two Valentines (The Best Shower Ever)", but this deals with the day that Trina comes back to L.A., or rather, the first time that she sees her family and friends after doing so. But anyway, here goes "Maybe Someone Does Like You". Hope you enjoy it.
(Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; Saturday afternoon, June 2015)
It had been a day since she finally came back to Los Angeles and moved into her new apartment at Angeles Village, but for 22-year-old Trina Vega, her return wouldn't feel complete until she made one important visit. Although she wasn't aware of her plans, and knowing that this impromptu visit could also lead to her running into their parents, Trina's only concern was to see Tori. The two had talked a great deal while Trina lived in Austin, and her "baby sister" had even made the trip to see her a few times. But now, this meeting was even more special, since it was the first time that they would see each other after Trina returned to L.A. the day before.
After parking her red convertible in the driveway, and dressed in a black tank top with the San Francisco 49ers logo in the middle, blue jean shorts, and black-and-white Converse sneakers, the oldest of the Vega sisters used the key that she still had to open the front door of her old home.
Once inside, she noticed how everything virtually looked the same, and thought that it was almost as if she had never left. Not long after Trina made it into the house, Tori, who was dressed like her sister except for a plain white tank top, had made it downstairs and back into the living room. She was about to walk to the kitchen when she was suddenly greeted by her older sibling.
"So, I finally make it back home, and my little sister can't say 'hello'?" Trina jokingly asked after noticing Tori come down.
"Trina?" Tori said excitedly once she realized her sister was in the room.
"The one and only."
"Ahhh! Come here, you!"
In a matter of seconds, both siblings had embraced each other in a tight hug. Even though the two of them hadn't lost contact in the three years that Trina was in Austin, her time there had left a void just the same, so it wouldn't have been a surprise if the two were in each other's arms for a great deal of time.
"When did you get here, and why didn't you call or text or something to tell me you were coming over?" Tori asked, still excited about her sister's sudden arrival.
"I just got here not too long ago, and I didn't say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise," Trina began. "I figured that I would come to see you after all of the times you went to Austin to see me."
"Well, I'm glad you decided to stop by. But wait, how'd you get in here if nobody let you in?"
"I still have my key, baby sis. Apparently, Mom and Dad weren't too concerned about me to ask for it back."
"Got it. So how long are you gonna be back in town?" Tori asked, unaware that Trina had come back to L.A. for good.
"Well, unless I have to move again for whatever reason, I'm here for the rest of my life," Trina answered.
"Wait, you're moving back?"
"No, I'm not moving back, Tori. I already moved back."
"Oh my GOD, you're full of surprises today," Tori said happily. "When did this happen?"
"I just moved yesterday, but I actually found a place a few weeks ago."
"Really? That's great. Where do you live?"
"This place called Angeles Village."
"That's pretty good. I've heard of that place. So... do Mom and Dad know that you're back now?"
"No, they don't know," Trina responded. "I'm still not ready to really deal with them just yet. I don't plan on ignoring them forever, but I'm not gonna go running back to them, and I definitely don't want them to think that everything's okay between us just because I'm back in town." Seeing Tori nod her head, Trina decided to shift the conversation to a lighter subject. "So, enough about me. How's everything going for you?"
"I'm doing good, actually. Probably not as good as I would have been if I stayed at Neutronium, but I'm fine," Tori answered. To her credit, she was telling the truth, as she had managed to maintain a good living as an aspiring actress and singer, partly due to her singing and writing with André, who had a surprising amount of success as an independent artist. She also scored brief parts in various TV shows, and even scored a role in a film titled The Middle Of Nowhere, which Beck had also been in.
She had also been selected as a model for the fashion column of a local magazine. And for good measure, she managed to land gigs singing at Maestro's, much like she had during her and André's spur-of-the-moment performance when they were on Hollywood Arts' "ping-pong team".
"Well, considering that you managed to make it on someone's album, TV and movie screen, and not to mention you being 'Little Miss Model' now, I'd say you're just getting started," Trina teased.
"Now, come on, Treen," Tori began, calling her sister by her nickname. "I'm not the only one who did a little posing and stuff since we've been out of school." Tori was referring to the modeling jobs Trina had done in Austin, particularly in her first months there.
"Well, this body is useful for a lot more than just waiting tables and working poles," Trina joked as she stood up and motioned her hands in a "look at all of this" type of manner, referring to her time as a waitress and, as she preferred to be called, an exotic dancer.
"You know, you're either pretty brave, or pretty crazy to have ended up working at a strip club. If you needed money, you could've just called me, or even asked Mom and Dad."
"I didn't need money, Tori. Dancing at The Naked Longhorn and working at Orangefly's got me through just fine," Trina responded. "Besides, if push came to shove, and I did need some money, I would have thought of something else. In fact, that's one reason why I started dancing there in the first place, so I wouldn't have to come to you, and especially Mom and Dad, for anything."
"So what was another reason?" Tori asked.
"It... It sounds dumb now, and if I ever danced at another strip club ever again, I wouldn't use this as a reason, but... but when I got up on stage, it felt good. I felt good. I liked the attention that I got when I went on stage or when I danced for somebody on the floor or in one of the private rooms. I used to act like the center of attention when I was still here, but I actually was when I danced for the last three years. I mean, a lot of times, I had to get rid of some losers and assholes, and every so often, I would run into someone who was with somebody else, and as a result, they probably shouldn't have been there. But more often than not, when I danced for a guy, or even a girl sometimes, I felt like... like I was the woman out there. Like I really lived up to all of that hype that I put on myself when we were younger. I never really had that feeling before I had moved away."
Realizing that she may have ventured on to a rocky subject, and not wanting to drive her away again, especially when she had just returned, Tori moved on from the topic of Trina stripping... or dancing in an exotic manner.
"So, what were you planning on doing today?" Tori asked.
"Well, aside from this, I hadn't really made any plans," Trina began in response. "Seeing you was my only real mission for today, since everything is already settled at the apartment."
"Okay, well, since you said that, why don't we hang out for the afternoon? Grab some lunch, go shopping, maybe even surprise some friends?"
"You want me to go with you so you can show everybody that I'm back in town?" Trina asked, having recognized the last part of her sister's plan.
"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Tori responded jokingly.
"You brought it up in the first place. It wasn't a hard case to solve."
"Yeah, well - "
Just when Tori was about to finish her thought, the doorbell had rung. She was gonna get the door herself, but Trina had gotten up from the couch instead.
"So you answer doors now?" Tori joked.
"Yeah, I do. Are you surprised?" Trina fired back in a humorous manner.
"Actually, yeah I am, because you used to wait for someone else to do it."
"Very funny, baby sister." And with that, Trina went to open the door. If the simple fact that Trina was answering the door was shocking, then that would pale in comparison to the reaction from the young woman on the other side of the door.
"It's about time, Vega. I was wondering when you were - Trina?"
"Hey, Jade."
Even though the pair had talked over the phone, through texting and social media, Trina and Jade hadn't physically seen each other since the day of their graduation, since Trina had left the very next day. And since they patched things up between them just before then, what was about to happen, which once would have been considered a sign of Hell freezing over, didn't seem so odd now.
"Oh my GOD. Hey Trina!" Jade exclaimed as she went to hug Trina, which she happily returned.
"Hi, Jade," Trina answered as she hugged Jade back.
"You know, it's funny that you two are all hugged up like that, because I remember when you two hated each other's guts," Tori joked. "And Jade, I don't think you ever hugged anyone else like that."
"Are you jealous, baby sister?" Trina teased as she and Jade finally separated.
"No, I'm not jealous. I just find it... interesting, that's all."
"Well, for one thing, in case you forgot, we all made up with Trina before she suddenly left," Jade said. "And besides that, I may not hug you guys or anyone else like that, but I haven't gone three years without seeing you in person either. Even with everything going on, I still see you on a regular basis."
"That is true," Tori admitted. "So, Jade, me and Trina were going to lunch. Wanna come with us?"
"Sure, why not?" And with that, the three young women were headed out of the door.
"So you're really back now? You're not just visiting for a few days and then going back to Texas?" Jade asked as she and Trina walked to her black car with Tori right behind them.
"Yeah, I'm really back home for good," Trina answered. "Being in Austin, it was good, but it was time to come back to L.A."
"Well, I'm glad to see you again, and I know Tori is too. Are you gonna go and see Cat and the guys later?"
"Probably, you know, if they don't show up once we get back. Or even before we get back." Despite being in Austin for the past three years, Trina did have a point. One thing that hadn't changed, even after their graduation from Hollywood Arts, was that the house was the hangout spot more often than not. This definitely was the case the day after their graduation, when the crew came to check on Tori, and ultimately found out about Trina leaving.
(Sunday afternoon, sometime in June 2012)
After trying to call and text Tori with no response, Jade and André had come by the house to find out why. After discovering that Trina was leaving home, but not knowing where she was or when she would come back - if she was gonna come back, Tori wasn't in a talking mood. But after she answered the door, it was virtually unavoidable.
"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" Tori asked, with sadness and frustration still lingering in her tone.
"What are we doing here? We've been trying to get in touch with you the whole morning, and you couldn't respond even once. What gives, Vega?" Jade asked in a irritated tone.
"Look, I'm not in the mood to deal with this shit, so if all you came here for is to yell and complain, then just go away."
"Wait a minute, Tori," André began in concern. "Is something wrong? Because you seem upset."
"Trina's gone, okay?"
"Trina's gone? Wait, what happened?" Jade asked, suddenly afraid of what she and André might hear next.
"Trina, she... she left this morning, and she didn't say where she was going," Tori began. "She didn't say when she would come back, or even if she would come back. All she said was that she had to start over, and that she needed to do it somewhere else and get away from Mom and Dad."
"What did they do to her?" André asked.
"They talked all of this shit about her, saying how she was untalented, and then Mom, she fucking railroaded her, saying that if Trina was gonna make it, then it would only be by doing music videos or being on reality shows. Then she had the damn nerve to accuse Trina of sleeping around! And she really didn't have any room to say that, not after what happened with her and my dad's partner."
All Jade and André could do is watch as Tori was near the point of breaking down again. After hugging her to console her, André then said, "I'm sorry, Tori."
"So have you or your parents talked to Trina at all since she left?" Jade asked.
"No, we haven't talked to her yet. At least not out loud," Tori began after sitting down and wiping the latest tears from her eyes. "My parents tried calling her, and obviously, she didn't answer. Then I called her, and it went to voicemail. The only thing she said to me so far is that when she found somewhere to stay tonight, she would let me know."
"She isn't upset with you too, is she?"André asked.
"No, I don't think so. I mean, she wrote a letter that she left for our mom and dad, and she said that she loved me, and that if I needed anything, then I could go to her. But right before she left, she just said that she was going on a 'spur-of-the-moment road trip', and she wasn't taking me only because she knew that we were all supposed to go to Mexico in a few days."
"So you think she doesn't wanna be around you either?" Jade wondered.
"No. I mean, I don't know what to think right now. I mean, I know we all fixed everything with Trina lately, and we started spending more time together lately, but... for so long, we all just pushed her away and basically told her that we didn't want her around. You made it a point to tell her that nobody likes her, and I heard about that prank you guys pulled when the two of us and Cat went to San Diego. We might not be the reason why she left, or at least the main reason why, and I'm not trying to blame myself or you guys, but deep down, everything we've said and done had to get to Trina at least a little bit. And Mom and Dad pushed her to the edge."
Jade and André would spend the rest of the afternoon, and the beginning of the evening trying to console Tori, and to help her understand that it wasn't her that caused Trina to leave. Beck, Robbie and Cat had eventually came by themselves to do the same once they heard about everything. But it had done little, if anything, to comfort the youngest Vega, as she still felt a mix of sadness from Trina leaving, and anger from her parents being the cause of it, and their general mistreatment of her that eventually drove her away. It wasn't until she heard from Trina later that night that Tori felt any kind of relief, and even though Trina didn't give any details about where she was, who she was with (although she was alone), or when she had made it to her destination, Tori was just happy that she was okay, and that at least she still trusted her, even if the same couldn't even be remotely said for their parents.
(Back to Saturday afternoon, June 2015)
"I don't regret much about leaving here and being in Austin for the last three years, but I do regret not being completely honest with you before I went away," Trina said to Tori. "I didn't think about how leaving for so long would have affected you, and I guess that maybe I didn't want you saying anything to Mom and Dad about what was going on. But still, I should've handled that better than I did."
"No, Trina, it's okay. I get it," Tori replied. "I know why you did that, and I think that if what happened to you had happened to me, I might have made the same decision. And I know we didn't discuss it outright when we first talked after you got to Austin, but I thought we cleared this up then. I didn't give you the whole 'what were you thinking' speech, so that should've been a sign that things were fine between us."
"I'm with Tori on this, believe it or not," Jade began. "Although I gotta admit, it would have helped if you did give her a better heads-up before you went away. For starters, if that happened, me and André wouldn't have went into panic mode about being able to get a hold of her. And if nothing else, it would have kept the girl from being a blubbering mess."
"Oh, shut up, Jade. I wasn't crying that bad," Tori said.
"It was close enough," Jade said jokingly.
"Okay now, that's enough," Trina began. "Let's leave the little baby alone."
"I hate you guys," Tori joked after hearing her sister's teasing.
"No, you don't, baby sister."
Tori didn't see it or hear it, but after all of the joking and teasing was over, Trina and Jade looked at each other and began laughing. It was a far different scenario than what their normal interaction had been like in high school, and given what would happen a few weeks later, it wouldn't be the last time that the pair joked around, and as it would turn out, it would lead to something far deeper than just a few laughs.
"Who knew the guy had a jealous streak?" Trina asked Jade after hearing about the fight that nearly took place between Beck and her co-star on the set of a movie she was in.
"I definitely didn't think he had it," Jade replied. She and Trina had just gotten their lunches and were looking for a place for themselves and Tori to sit. "I mean, it's different because usually, I'm the one worrying about him when he's around other women. I was starting to think he didn't really care."
"Well, he's never really had to deal with that before. I mean, before now, almost every guy who knows or did know you is practically scared to death of you, and even if they weren't, you aren't the most inviting person in the world."
"So, basically, you're saying that I'm just some evil, scary witch of a woman?" Jade asked jokingly.
"Let some little kid tell it, that might actually be how someone would describe me," Trina answered, remembering her encounter with the little boy (who was now possibly a teenager) who kicked her seat on a flight not long after Tori arrived at Hollywood Arts.
"You must mean the kid from that flight you two were on. But I take it you had to fight off some jealous girlfriends yourself at some point. You know, because of your job."
"Yeah, every so often, that did happen. Trust me, it wasn't fun."
You know, for a lot of different reasons, I never would have pictured you stepping foot in a strip club, let alone working at one."
"Let me guess, I'm not attractive enough? A guy would be stupid to pay me to dance for him and watch me strip?"
"If we were still like we had been at Hollywood Arts, I might have said something like that. But no, I'm actually more surprised by it because of how you were when we were kids. It would seem like your ego and your pride would get you to think that you were too good for something like that."
"Well, we're not kids anymore, so there's that," Trina said with a trace of humor. "But more than that, I did it because it was a way for me to provide for myself. I didn't wanna ask Tori or even you guys for anything, and I definitely wasn't going to our parents. And even with me modeling and working at Orangefly's, it wasn't enough. But what dancing and stripping really did for me was that it really made me feel like everything I thought I was when we were younger. Like I told Tori before you came to the house, I really was a star to somebody, or at least somebody else besides me acted like I was. Maybe that's not the right way to think about it, but it was like that."
Sensing a bit of doubt in the older woman's voice, and understanding that there was more to her than the self-absorbed, ego-tripped side that she had displayed for so long, Jade decided to pass along a vote of confidence to Trina, much like Freddie would eventually do two years later.
"Listen, star or not, I'm sure that you're important to someone besides yourself. Tori thinks that, and if your parents finally woke up and realized how bad they screwed up before, then they probably think that. Cat and the guys would probably even tell you that now. Hell, I even think so. You're Tori's sister, and you're a friend of ours now. You aren't the only one who cares about you anymore. And whenever it happens, there's even another guy who really does think that you're the biggest thing in the world, even if no one besides us knows about you."
She didn't realize it then, but what Jade was saying to Trina would also eventually apply to herself as well. Jade may have not seen him in person until Labor Day a couple of years later, and she may have been described as a "gift" for Freddie on the following Valentine's Day, but as it turned out, he was the guy she had described for the both of them. And with Trina's 25th birthday having just passed, he lived up to and beyond that description, and would get another chance to do so the following Saturday.
Meanwhile, Trina smiled and replied with a simple but appreciative "thanks, Jade" before the pair continued eating, with Tori finally joining them just seconds later.
And now, the Goth and the diva are friends. They had been before Trina left, but it's solid now. As you can see, there's also some foreshadowing of the future between her, Jade and a certain "Whiz". Hopefully, before too much longer, I can finally show you that future. But for now, that's it. Be good, take care of yourself and each other, and tip your nurses and clowns. Night, everybody.