Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, it belongs to Dan and Nickelodeon. Also, this chapter's inspiration: 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift; song may be subject to future use.
Note: As promised, it's Wednesday and I'm posting chapter 1; see you in a month, xD
Interlude 1: First Scene
Chapter 1: Exposed Hearts
When everyone heard that Tori Vega and Jade West had to share a house during the summer... They feared the worst to say least. They were certain that, despite the fact that they had become friends, they couldn't be left alone for long periods of time, and three weeks and a half had to exceed the time limit. Why did they have to share a house for so long? Well... Mr. West had his own place to worry about, Mr. Vega had several out-of-town seminars to attend to in order to gain the detective rank, and meanwhile, Tori's mom, Holly, was with Trina helping her get set on her university on the big apple, while Ms. West had left for a trip.
The gang actually feared the worst; it was their last year and Tori definitely deserved to at least graduate. Everyone feared that they wouldn't be able to see Cat live it through but never thought they would have to worry about the Latina in such aspect.
"Oh, do you think Tori will give us the new scores?" asked the bubbly redhead, in reference to the fact that the group kept scores on the dysfunctional relation of the two girls.
"Girl, can't you see?" André asked back, and at the cute frown, he proceeded to explain. "For all we know there's a tanned body buried somewhere."
"Oh no..." But, this is Cat, "wait, who?"
The gang sighed, and when they caught sight of Tori entering the halls she was promptly hugged by the company, it being slightly awkward with Robbie. Then they began to drill her with questions but only managed to overwhelm her, and by the time the Goth appeared, she forgot them promptly and went to her, completely worried.
"Jade—"
"Not now, Vega," she replied with plenty of bite, but stopped right in front of her best friend, who blocked her path, "what is it, Cat?"
The last thing she wanted was to scare the ditz away, but she couldn't help her scathing tone. School had begun, and she was already thrown in the middle of something. What the hell?
"I am glad to see you," was all the redhead said before hugging her; everyone was shocked when the Goth slumped into it, sighed, and actually hugged the redhead back; it didn't last long however. "Now, I need those broken scissors; last time you brought them to school, you were suspended."
Jade made an irritated sound, but everyone was surprised to see her passing Cat three aluminum cases, which were opened and see the Goth placed some scissor's half. Tori immediately recognized them as the tools used during the carving process; one pair had a Chinese dragon, the other had an orange bird, most likely a phoenix, and the last one had an image of an angel. Once they were all in their cases, the bubbly teen looked sadly at all three.
"You really should fix them," she said, concern in her dark chocolate eyes, "time to let go..."
Everyone was shocked by the seriousness of the situation, and more so by the fact that Cat wasn't ruining it, instead fomenting it. Then several noticed that even the Latina had some inside knowledge, so to speak, or could at least follow the conversation to some extent. Had thing, perhaps, gone better than imagined? There was one, simple and single reason for them not to send their Goth friend birthday greetings on TheSlap; they all knew that it was a delicate subject and date. It was almost as if she posted that it was her birthday just for the sake of not forgetting it, although she hadn't posted it that summer...
"Yeah, maybe you're right..." It was the only reply, and when the Latina made motion to place a comforting hand, and this time, not even the narrowed blue eyes or the snarl in her mouth made the tanned hand stop, so she hissed at her. "Don't you dare touch me, Vega."
But all that only made Tori smile softly, and the only thing Jade did was move on before said hand could be placed. Beck was by her side with his calm and casual smile, giving her a one-armed hug. Classes went on as usual, with their bare-foot teacher going through in his unorthodox way and piling them with assignments, although, curiously, everyone could see Cat going around with more pep and nuttiness than was common. Lunch was a buzzing affair since she was involved, and her smile was contagious, for everyone but her best friend, Jade. The Latina caught some vibe that, perhaps, the redhead could shed some light on the happenings.
Tori managed to catch the extra bubbly teen before the end of lunch, as André had to get his props in order for his next class and Robbie had an appointment with Lane and Rex. Beck and Jade... Well, they were probably getting all mushy, but this only made the Latina more worried; what about the pale boy of the Goth's dream?
"What is it Tori?" Cat asked, clearly becoming hyper.
"Why are those scissors broken?" The Latina asked with worry and sorrow; her hazel eyes bore down on their darker counterpart, and she could tell that her enthusiastic friend's mood was dampened immediately. "I just want to learn more; her birthday was spent carving a handsome boy on windows and walls, and I found her deep inside a dark room, the type I thought she would have, staring at her portrait, where she has honey hair and angel wings, about to tear on it with the dragon scissor—"
"Oh my God!" The news was upsetting, and she could see those chocolate eyes glistening with tears. "Tell me you stopped her!"
Cat took her by the shoulders and shook, usual soft eyes now resembled her best friend's in intensity. There was certain degree of desperation for the answer to be positive, and once she nodded to confirm this, she was crushed by the embrace. But the words of thanks were enough to help her realize that her friend needed it, and that the seriousness would only be seen in such points. Finally, she was released, and she took deep breaths to release some of the ache and burning in her lungs. They looked into each other's eyes, and the redhead knew that it didn't matter much if Jade didn't want others to learn the truth, they both owed Tori at least an explanation; she sighed at the realization.
"That boy... He's Jade's older brother, a child prodigy and gifted musician, we both loved him, and I would often chastise him for looking at other, older girls, since I was determined to be his bride," all the seriousness, something not seen on the redhead, left the Latina with a certainty that she preferred her normal, bubbly and ditzy friend; those eyes were lifeless, "and he would laugh, but he did mean it when he said he would propose when I was a star. He was always motivating our creativity."
"Does he have auburn, spiked hair?" The question obviously brought more pain, so she tried going with a different line of thought. "Wait, what does he have to do with the scissors?"
"When he turned fifteen, he was requested to perform in China during a summer event of theirs, and his charisma granted him the spot; that, and his magnificent ability." Cat got lost in the past, a ghost of her usual charming smile appeared, but this one too was devoid of life. "Since that's the time of her birthday, he made sure to send her a pair of scissors; first came the ones with the dragon, since he often boasted that in his past life he had been a dragon, and always added that so was Jade. The next year, he sent her the one of the phoenix, with a note that said that every dragon needs a phoenix, and the following year, it was the one of the angels..."
"Scissors?" It was the only thing Tori could say after a few moments of silence; the redhead was reminiscing and the brunette was mulling over the information. "Why scissors?"
Cat chuckled; the sound was hollow. "He was the one who introduced her to The Scissoring."
"That explains an awful lot..." Another silent spell, this time, it was an uncomfortable sort, and the Latina had to break it. "How come she doesn't have more? How did they break?"
"He died abroad that third summer," the tone left the words as whispers, and Tori whipped around to see her friend, and she could tell that it was taking a toll just speaking of it, "when she woke, she found the scissors already broken, and even though she told her parents to call her brother, they wouldn't listen; it wasn't until they received a call, sometime after her insistence, that they learned the truth, but it was already too late."
Tears began falling and Tori held her as she cried silently. How could both girls continue on living after suffering so much was a shock, but then, from what she could tell, Jade had been awaiting death because she had been waiting to have his age; she probably couldn't handle living beyond her brother. Everything seemed so clear, but one small detail.
"This happened on her birthday, right?" A nod was all she needed, and she nodded in reply; the last scissors were probably received broken as well. "Cat, how can you be so upbeat all the time?"
It was as if a switch had been pressed; the tears stopped, and she gave the tanned teen the biggest smile ever. "He said that I was his shining sun, and that it was this that he valued the most in me; he would tell me: 'never change'.
"Wait, what are we talking about?" They had both been deeply affected, the ditzy and perpetually bubbly redhead was the only way she could cope with the loss and honor his wishes; that and the genes in her body.
"Nothing," was the brief reply, no one, and it was true; she didn't even know the boy's name, much less his music and besides, the bell rang. "Come on, we got class..."
Meanwhile, Beck was trying hard to understand his girlfriend. He mentally cursed himself; ex-girlfriend. She couldn't return with him, and all he could do was scowl softly and sadly. What had happened? He asked as much.
"I..." She took a deep and frustrated breath, running a hand through her brown/black hair. "I don't know Beck, I truly don't know. Can you tell me why you want to return with me? Honestly, I love you" he beamed "but..."
"But?" He pressed delicately.
"I am no longer sure if I know what it means to love," her reply was so honest and without hesitation, that he could tell there was something deeper, she just didn't know it herself, "as I read somewhere: I love you, but I'm not in love with you."
He chuckled bitterly, his eyes pained, and blue met dark chocolate (bitter sweet, just how she liked it), and all they could do was smile at each other. It was a pained smile, but slowly, they transformed into delicate and calm smiles, their eyes restless and searching deep within the other. It was then that Beck realized something, and he chuckled once again; this time, it was a tad less bitter.
"You know, when we met, I knew you were troubled, I knew you were trouble, and that was what drew me in to you; I've always been a model student, always well behaved, always prudent and well-mannered, so never in trouble." He smiled at her, and she grinned back, knowing where he was going with it. "It's how I convinced my parents to get me the RV.
"But, I also knew that you had some deep scars," his smile turned sad, "I truly wanted to help you overcome all that, and I thought I was the one when we began talking..."
"We had clicked back then," she placed her hand over his, and the contact didn't send goose bumps anymore, "and even though we weren't officially dating but until a day later, no other girl approached because they could see the chemistry."
"But, as the years passed, you never disclosed the reason for your scars," he took her hand in his, a delicate frown etched on his features, "I never pressed it, and I won't start now, but I guess I cannot help you, I'm just, not the one."
"I am truly sorry, Beck," she whispered, eyes averted; perhaps if she were used to speaking that word, she would have been able to face him as she spoke, and as she swallowed on a dry throat, she realized he deserved that much. This was Beck, for crying out loud! So, turning green on chocolate, she repeated the word. "I'm sorry..."
They kissed softly, nothing too deep, just to make sure that they were both on the same page. He obviously still cared deeply as he sighed in regret, eyes closed. Now Jade was worried; could he truly let her go? But once he opened his eyes, she could tell that he understood it was for the best. Her eyes betrayed her worries, and he chuckled again, sadly; it was funny, he never had venom.
"Jade, I would fight, but there's no opponent," she winced at his words, and felt the pain she always did when it was her birthday, coming back in full force. Would no boy be good enough when compared to the ghost of her brother? "A relation involves two, and it's easy to see you cannot fight it."
She looked away once again, eyes in pain. I bet you never thought you would cause me this amount of trouble, huh? To be fair, neither did I... Maybe it was time to come clean? Then again, there really wasn't much to say about it, and she hated the fact that she would develop some sort of incest-like complex. Cat would certainly abandon all defenses and kill her on the spots, using her very own scissors, the ones gifted and from the movie. But then, she had agreed on fixing the gifts her brother had given her, which was a step forward, perhaps for them both. She turned back to look at Beck, who gave her his easygoing smile, and she smiled back, bitterly; she couldn't take that step with him. They had already tried that, but it hadn't worked so they had to move on. Then his word choice caught up to her and she looked at him with shock plastered on her face, and he grinned back. They left the Black Box Theater together, laughing, her eyes now shining with their usual confidence as she punched him lightly on the arm.
"You knew I was trouble?!" She demanded, laughing, and he grinned as he walked right behind her.
"You could write a song with that as the title."
"Then you would have to sing it," she replied mischievously, and he narrowed his gaze.
"I refuse. I won't get in trouble that easily," he teased her.
"Beck Oliver, I never thought I would say this but, are you a coward now?" She asked him with a smirk as he hugged her with one arm, kissing her temple, and she smiled at him, happy to at least have her best friend. "Ah, saved by the bell."
The bell rang as Tori and Cat left the classroom where they had been talking. When the Latina saw Jade and Beck, she thought that they had gotten back together until they lost contact, and just smiled at each other. At least, until the Goth noticed her best friend and, although no one else would be able to tell that the redhead had been crying, the glare from those now-emerald eyes bore down the tanned female, snarl tugging on her lips as a savage growl left them and she went to the bubbly ditz. Obviously, Jade could tell.
It was an unusual exchange, their eyes met, the pale teen's eyes turning a soft blue, while her friend looked at the ground, her lower lip wobbling into an adorable pout, and Jade gave her a hug. The unusualness of the entire affair was the fact that it didn't look awkward, as if she was wont on the art of hugging. Beck and Tori exchanged bewildered glances, especially when the not so brief hug was ended, and both girls stared into each other's eyes; Cat released a shuddering breath, which prompted another hug, this one brief, and once again at arm's length, she cleared the redhead of tears that hadn't even begun their trail down the cheeks. They pressed their foreheads together, and it was evident that the bubbliness came out in double doze; skipping off, Cat went to her last class.
For her part, Jade, with her snarl back in place and her scissors out, approached Tori with a death sentence written. Her eyes were now blazing blue, rage evident. The two girls had spoken enough and before Beck could stop his best friend, he was shocked when the Latina stepped forward, arms open, as if welcoming death with an embrace, her hazel eyes glistening. It shocked the Goth as well, who stopped and so, it was her turn to be hugged.
"Jade, I promised you," she whispered as Beck averted his brown eyes from the sight, "I won't let you go."
"Vega..." She sighed in defeat, she then scowled and pushed the tanned body at arms' length, hand tight arround her now closed scissors and hissed, "You had no right to press her for it."
"She needed it," was the whisper, concern shining through, "you need it..."
"Um, girls," the moment was interrupted by the leader, who pointed to his wrist, "class."
They broke apart, and began following Beck. Why couldn't things be simple? They looked at each other, wary, but Tori knew better than to miss a class, especially since the odds of getting stuck with each other wasn't high. Beck breathed in relief; crisis averted. Green eyes turned to his, and though he questioned his best friend, she was unable to come clean about it all. He shrugged; pressing the girl further could prove to be fatal, besides, she would act as if nothing had happened, and even though she loved him, he wouldn't be safe from her wrath this time and Cat had probably forgotten. Definitely better pretend it had never happened, it was the most prudent course of action. As it had been established, he wasn't one to get in trouble.
Up next: honesty strikes! Tori already knows too much, and the last thing Jade wants or needs is an out-of-sorts Cat. Since when does Tori know how to pull strings and manipulate others? That certainly how it feels to Jade, but since the Latina knows enough, a little more shouldn't hurt. Right?
