The Blonde Squad- Twisted
This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world (Not really, but there's a cookie in it for anyone who can tell me where that line's from). My branching out into new areas continues with my first Cori story. I'd been thinking about doing one for a while, but when I saw The Blonde Squad, and it was so blatantly there, I had to write something about it. This is what came of my compulsion, and I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Some of the following content has been featured on the television show Victorious, and you can rest assured I don't own any of that. I'm just borrowing one of the episodes and the song Tori sings. I rather wish I did own them instead of just owning a bruised toe from where I dropped my fan on it, but you take what you can get, eh?
Jade West has known for a long time that there are winners and losers when it comes to the competition for love. You know you're one of the winners when you can stop thinking of it as a competition and just be happy with what you've got, as she did for the longest time while she was with Beck. Now that they've broken up, she's not sure how to think about things anymore, so she's decided to keep things as normal as possible, and just spend more time and effort on her friends (or at least on Vega and Cat, who are about the closest people she has now). That's why, when Vega asks them out for sushi after the end of shooting Beck's movie for the day, she agrees to go, even though she makes it common knowledge that she doesn't really feel like going. She does like sushi at least, and she's admittedly curious about what's making Vega so over the top about this whole 'being a blonde' issue. There must be something else behind her behavior...
Later, at Nozu, the girl hasn't gotten any less weird. However, it's not until she notices Cat sitting down and talking excitedly with a guy, and Vega promptly all but throws herself at that poor guy Reece, who just wanted to borrow their soy sauce, that Jade begins to make a connection (and laugh her head off at the other girl's absurd overreactions and general idiocy in the moment).
The next day at school brings more evidence to support her new theory, as Cat comes bouncing down the hall like usual, except this time she's offering free hugs. Jade watches from across the hall as Vega's eyes first light up with hope at the possibility of getting a hug, then close tightly in pleasure as Cat spins her around in her arms. She then does the same with the nearby Robbie, and Jade watches as he goes through the same sequence, followed by simultaneous disappointment from him and Vega as Cat explains how much fun she'd had with the guy from yesterday, whose name is apparently Evan. It's at that point that Jade learns something else as well. She confirms her suspicions of the surprising competition for love she's only recently begun to notice, the battle for Cat Valentine's heart between Tori Vega and Robbie Shapiro.
Around lunch time, Jade confirms that this Evan only goes for blondes, and the mood at their table becomes an interesting mix of relief, in that he probably won't like Cat once he sees her real hair (how could she have forgotten she was wearing a wig for five hours?), and disappointment because Cat's not going to be happy about losing him. The two combatants apply vastly different methods of dealing with the problem. Robbie gets indignant and makes a big speech about how cheese is lucky or something (Jade isn't really listening until Cat tells him he doesn't know how guys think, then she's laughing her head off again. At least this dance of emotions is providing some entertainment, she thinks). Vega decides to stick to being her annoyingly nice self, comforting Cat and telling her how pretty her hair is, but then things get weird when she gives Cat her underwear, and the redhead blows her nose into it. Jade decides to find somewhere else to eat her lunch after that.
Jade doesn't see the three of them again until later on at the showing of Beck's movie. Robbie, spineless little thing that he is, has helped Cat with her wig again, and Vega is understandably upset about her lack of faith in her 'natural beauty', and annoyed with Robbie for being an enabler and folding like a flimsy plastic chair whenever Cat asks anything of him (not that Vega doesn't do the exact same thing, but Jade decides it's not the time to point that out to her).
After Larry has his dinner out of Cat's wig, Vega finally manages to convince her that she's the most beautiful thing since sliced bread (Jade laughs at the thought that if this situation continues long enough, she might have enough ingredients for a thought sandwich) and Robbie goes to do his 'Wig Master' duties, making Cat her normal self. That leaves Vega with the task of convincing Evan to stay, although Jade's not sure she's only describing Cat when she goes on about her being 'pretty, sweet, and deserving of being accepted for who she is'.
Cat comes out soon after that, and Evan tells her she's beautiful. Jade almost thinks the whole situation will end there, at least for a few weeks while those two date and the smitten twins try to get over themselves, but then he goes on to say he only goes for blondes. He does it so casually, and then he just walks away, leaving Cat looking like someone just kicked her puppy, and Jade has to follow him out to the parking lot.
By the time she's done teaching him a lesson, and he'll probably never come near the school again, she finds the two girls sitting quietly back in the screening room. Cat still feels upset, and Vega's still being her overtly accommodating self, even agreeing to try having something bad happen to her when Cat wants her weekend ruined. Her face falls when she's denied a hug and the redhead just wants to be alone, so she disappears around the corner. It's then that the third corner of this love triangle appears, when Robbie comes from behind the curtain with his guitar.
"And I think you're swell" He finishes his strange little song, and Jade is surprised to hear sobbing. She knows it's not Cat, as she can see the gratefully cheerful smile now on her face, and it's another shock when Vega re-emerges from behind the wall, where she'd apparently been waiting.
"Well, I guess you'll get your wish after all, Cat." She cries, shambling her way towards them, but stopping a few feet away.
The redhead's face quirks as she raises an eyebrow and cocks her head, unsurely asking "What's that supposed to mean?"
It takes her a moment, but the other girl eventually blurts out "Please, that song was just beautiful, and now you're going to fall in love with Robbie, because he's nice and doesn't screw up your life, and I'll never get the chance to tell you how much I love you!" Her tears stop, and a hand flies up to cover her mouth before she bolts out of the room. Cat follows her after a moment of shock, and Robbie is left behind, muttering "Every time, every time I get upstaged!" He then turns quizzically as Jade also rushes past, annoyed at how desperate he always is (Some people are just always losers when it comes to love, or really any sort of competition in his case, and he doesn't even have the dignity to take it like a man, which just disgusts her) and not wanting to miss a moment of what's becoming her favorite little soap opera.
In the next room, Vega has managed to make it up onto the stage before collapsing in tears, and Cat is just attempting to get her attention. She asks if the declaration was true, and obviously, it is, the tearful confirmation coming just as Jade had expected. The surprise comes after that, when she sobs "I wrote a song for you too, you know, but I guess now you'll never even want to hear it."
It's just one surprise after another when Cat climbs up on stage with her, wraps an arm around her shoulders, and assures her that she does indeed want to hear the song, and so Vega shakily stands up, moving to the center of the stage. "You're sure?" She asks again, looking pitifully hopeful as she stares down at the redhead, who simply nods quickly. A small smile finally crosses her face before she steps forward and begins her song.
"I'm wandering the streets in a world underneath it all Oh, F Oh, You a I T
Nothing seems to be
Nothing tastes as sweet as what I can't have
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair round your finger
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you
What I feel about you
And cannonball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will, for you I will
From all the clutter in my head
Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes
Like a water bed
Do I seem familiar
I crossed you in hallways a thousand times
No more camouflage
I want to be exposed
And not be afraid to fall
And cannonball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
But I've got to try
Muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will, for you I will, for you I will
And create a mood, I would
Shout out your name so it echoes in every room
I would
That's what I'd do
That's what I'd do Muster every ounce of confidence I have You always want what you can't have
To get through to you, yeah
And cannonball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
But I've got to try
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will, for you I will, for you I will
Jade is shell-shocked in her hiding place, and Cat's now the one lightly crying as the song finishes. Vega rushes quickly over to her, compelled to make sure she's alright. Jade is then sure she's never been this constantly shocked before when the redhead attaches their lips, sending Vega collapsing to the floor when they finally part, her knees having buckled.
"So, does that mean I have a chance?" She asks weakly, her voice and breath seemingly all but gone.
"You'll have a chance as long as you want one." Cat assures her, lifting her into a hug and soothingly smoothing her hair.
"Trust me, I'll always want you." Vega answers, holding her tighter, and Jade has seen enough, suddenly feeling like she's intruding on a private moment. At some other time, she might step in and make a scene, as that's always fun, but for the time being, she feels uncharacteristically happy for the two of them, and decides to leave them be. Her mind's mouth, the one that's always making smart comments to her thoughts, is smirking, and it's telling her that maybe, just maybe, she really does consider those two her friends. At the very least, she's happy for them. For now, anyway.
The song Tori sang is 'For You I Will (Confidence)' by Teddy Geiger. I hope the story makes you think 'For You I Will (Review). -SGM-