The Runaway
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious, or FOP
A/N:
Chapter 3 (Trauma Follows You)
Walking together, she looked up to the sky with a smile as Timmy hurried ahead to talk to a couple kids about something. Wanda perched on Trina's shoulder. Trina sipped her hot chocolate and looked to Wanda with a smile. "Hey, how's it going there?" Wanda hummed, studying her cup. She pointed her wand to it in question.
"Would you like something different, sweetie?"
"No this is okay." Wanda leaned back and removed her wand. Trina didn't want the lady to think there was something wrong, because there wasn't. She sipped the hot chocolate again and let her eyelids close over. In her mind, she envisioned a hand moving a metal thermos into her view. Removing the lid, she saw a white swirl and cinnamon sprinkled about. It warmed the soul and calmed the restless spirit, tempting her into a state of luxury. "Those days are gone…" Her eyes opened and she chuckled at the sight of Cosmo creating a balloon toy out of air and Timmy handing it to the kid. "So adorable, so sweet, so…magical." What time was it, exactly? Timmy couldn't wish for knowledge, so he was stuck trying to pass the fifth grade. Mr. Crocker was basically throwing out As every which way, just so he could get Timmy out of his class. "Timmy's a really great guy, Wanda. He cares so much about people, about me…"
"That's why you like him, he cares about you." Wanda was an enigma of sorts. The woman was very motherly in her ways and always trying to figure Trina out. Of course, Trina typically played coy when she had to. If she had to. "Of all the men in the world that would love you for you, you're with Timmy. I'm happy for you two, but are you happy?"
"Of course! What kind of question is that?" Wanda gave her a skeptical look and returned her gaze to the hot chocolate in Trina's hands.
"Timmy and Cosmo are naïve, Tootie. They're not the most observant people. They can see you wake up from a nightmare, drenched in sweat, and they won't think a thing of it. In a relationship with them, you have to be the strong one."
"I'm plenty strong. I know martial arts, I can be brave and courageous, I care about wildlife. I love people, and I think family is great…"
"Really? Family? You've been in Dimmsdale for five months and you haven't paid Vicky a visit yet. I know you two had a hard past, but, she's your sister…" Trina rolled her eyes as Wanda left her shoulder and hovered before her. She refused to make eye contact with the fairy. "You haven't even talked about your family or your life before you came back to Dimmsdale. I know pain when I see it, someone or something hurt you…didn't they?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Wanda." Trina lifted her mug to her lips, then looked over her shoulder. She thought she saw Vicky nearby, listening in or watching. Of course, the woman was nowhere around. "I'm not hurting…" She looked back ahead, Timmy was joking with Cosmo about something to do with underpants. "And if I was, I wouldn't talk much about it."
"I know. I just…there's that look in your eyes. When you were a kid and your sister used to do the cruel things to you, or ignore you, you were sad about it." Behind them, Vicky was hiding behind a tree. The twenty-nine year old woman slowly poked her head out from the tree and narrowed her eyes, holding her breath. "There was that look in your eyes. When you came to Dimmsdale, the look in your eyes then…someone or something worse hurt you because you looked more traumatized than anything your sister could ever put you through." Vicky bowed her head and put her hand to her chest, her reddish brown hair fell in front of her eyes and her lips fell into a frown.
"Maybe. Wanda, it's not something you can fix."
"But at least talk to us about it. It's never good to hold things in." Trina looked away and shook her head. "You remember being stuck in that room with the maniac that was draining us?" She clenched her eyes shut, growling at the scathing memory. She didn't need to remember nearly falling into a ball pit, which would have been the strangest end. Though, Mr. Crocker fell into it and he was still alive and here today. "You were panicked, you may have been fighting it off, but your eyes betrayed you then. Even when we went to the North Pole and Santa said he knew you, the look in your eyes…you didn't want him giving something away. I think that's why he called you by your nickname as everyone here does…"
"I prefer it. If you must know, and I'm not going into details…" She breathed in slowly and clenched her forehead, struggling to hold back the tears in her eyes. "Before I came here…I was dating this guy…Seth Roland. Well I was supposed to."
Vicky lifted her head and turned her gaze over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes angrily.
"He…He called me out and-and he beat me. He and about two of his friends, Dennis and Zachary." Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes stung as her memory flashed back to the incident. Wanda's hand covered her mouth and her eyes enlarged. "They threw glass bottles at me. Said I was…I was a joke. I was worthless. That-That's what brought me back here." She clenched her fists and slowly shook her head. She could feel the porcelain mug handle cracking in her fist, but was unable to control the pressure. "Now I don't want you telling Timmy or even Cosmo about that, okay? Just…between me and you. If I want to talk about it, I will. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it, and I'm not going to. That's a part of my past, a part of my life that is over."
"I see…" Wanda hugged her and her body started to relax. She heard a door slam shut nearby and looked behind her, startled. "Well you know that I am here if you ever need anyone to talk to." She couldn't envision a fairy as that good of an advice giver, but she was. Wanda was not bad at all. Score one for the mystical creatures. "So then, back to the hot chocolate. You're sure you don't want anything added to it?"
"I'm sure, but thank you." She smiled slowly and continued walking forward. Timmy jumped over and hugged her spontaneously. Normally she enjoyed the spontaneous sudden hugs, but not now. Her body was rigid and the flashbacks were playing through her head, making her tense up. She hated being touched when she felt like this. Just the simple touch was enough to set her off. He moved in to kiss her, only this time, his kiss took her to a very bad place. Her eyes widened and her hand gripped the cup as a whimper started in her throat.
"What are we doing here?" Trina asked as she studied the ditch on the side of the road where Seth and his friends parked. He grabbed her waist and pulled her forward, kissing her lips. She gagged as the taste and smell of alcohol stung her. Suddenly she felt someone prick her with a needle, she pulled back gasping and clutching her arm. Her vision began to grow woozy and her heart started pounding rapidly
"The kiss of death!" Seth laughed. "Okay guys." Suddenly the air around her drifted away and oxygen was only a lingering thought as the air left her lungs. He smacked her across the face, forcing her to fall back into the ditch. Crying out, she moved her arm above her face. She should be able to fight them off, but not in this shape. Not with her vision blurring down.
"S-Stay away from me!" With that, a bottle crashed into her chest and pain seared through her body like a dozen knives cutting into her.
Trina put her hand to Timmy's chest and pushed him back, quickly looking over her shoulder in a breathless pant. "Tootie? You all right?" She looked back to him, her eyes wide and frantic. He put his hands to her shoulders and gazed into her eyes, a wrinkle formed in between his eyebrows and he tilted his head slightly to the right like a little puppy would. "Sorry if I caught you by surprise…I thought you liked that." She moved her hand to her chest and cleared her throat, taking a slight step back.
All she could do was think of the evil bloodshot eyes and the cruel laughter. "J-Just a joke, I'm just a joke. A joke to my sister, to her friends, to my parents, to every guy that ever wants to date me. Just a joke!" She clenched her eyes and moved her hand to her forehead, gasping as the porcelain mug shattered at her feet. Timmy raised his eyebrows and lowered his arms. Cosmo and Wanda exchanged looks of concern and Trina quickly cleared her throat. "I-I'm fine."
Fine?What a lie!
She was fighting away the images and the smells coming to her. Timmy started to smile and bounced on his heels. "Okay then, so we'll continue?" Wanda moved her hand to her forehead. Trina became enchanted with his smile for the moment, though the trouble was still there. "Besides, I have to kind of get to class. You know, I can't wait to graduate."
Yes. Graduate the fifth grade.
She nodded swiftly and started walking as Cosmo cleared up the shattered mug. Who knew the fairies could be so handy?
After saying goodbye to Timmy at his school, Trina continued the walk on her own, though with Wanda tagging along. Wanda hung close to her, smiling gently. "You sure you're okay, Tootie?"
"Yes, Wanda. I would like to stop thinking." That's what Dimmsdale was supposed to be, a place she would never have to think again.
"You can't just block things out, Trina. Problems aren't something you can just switch on, switch off, they follow you. Your problems won't just vanish because you're in a-"
"Don't you think I know that?! Geez! I'm just trying to get over it, that's all!"
Wanda looked hurt for a second, then shrugged it off. Trina scoffed and closed her eyes, she felt guilty for snapping at the woman. All Wanda was trying to do was make her feel better.
"Sorry about that. I'm just tense…I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"It's okay, I understand. You know, when you've been around as long as I have, you learn to understand certain things. I'm sorry for the pain those men put on you, I know it hurts. But be honest with yourself, don't try and hide yourself in a place and time that might not really help you."
"It's been helping me just fine. Aside from Chester and AJ, there's not really any creepy guys." Wanda chuckled and perched on her shoulder.
"You know, I remember those two when they were younger and not nearly as strange. They still had their quirks, granted, but yeah. I can understand that concern, they are a couple creepy guys now. You're right to be wary of them."
"They call me Timmy's hot girlfriend, they think I'm just as much of a joke as the guys back home did."
"Well you're not a joke, Tootie. You are far from it!"
"Thank you…" Her heart lifted up as Wanda pumped her fist in the air. "You know, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you weren't flying around me all the time…"
"Hm? This better?" Wanda hovered in front of her, held out her wand, then vanished in a pillar of smoke. As the smoke cleared, a tall woman with vibrant red hair and fiery red eyes. She was wearing a yellow v-neck tee and black jeans. "I decided to do away with the pink for my human form, I figured you had enough of pink."
"A little bit. So, let's keep moving, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to do here and I've been here five months already." Wanda laughed as the two of them started heading towards the Dimmsdale Mall, this was just going to be the two of them for a while. She needed that.
Thanks everyone who is enjoying this thus far. Tell me what you're thinking as this chapter goes along? Sounds quite like Vicky's been watching over her sister for a while, and has overheard what happened to Trina. What are your observations?
