Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious.
Chapter Three: Snapshot
Rain clouds had started to gather overhead as Tori hurriedly sped through metropolitan traffic in her sporty blue coupe. Two days had passed since Tori's callback audition and she still hadn't heard a word from the casting office or her agent. It was making her a little antsy to say the least, but she was determined stay optimistic until she received word of the final decision. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard and cursed under her breath upon seeing the time.
"Trina's going to kill me," she said as she made a right turn to take an alternate and hopefully less congested route.
Tori was making her way across the city to her older sister's town house that she shared with her fiancé and nine-month old daughter. Yes, fiancé and daughter. The last two years of Trina's life had taken a pretty eventful turn, and even though Tori was a first-hand witness to everything that had happened, she still found it hard to believe that Trina was raising a child and planning a wedding. Nevertheless, she was happy for her sister and even happier to have two new additions to the family.
Tori finally pulled into the driveway of Trina's town house with a few minutes to spare. With a sigh of relief, she briskly walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. In a matter of seconds, the door swung open and Tori was greeted by Trina's ruggedly handsome fiancé.
"Hi, Adam," greeted Tori as she stepped through the threshold.
"Made it just in time." He shot her a playful smirk. "Didn't hit anything on the way, did you?"
Tori rolled her eyes, knowing he was referring to the time she had almost ran over the neighbor's dog.
"No, I actually got here without wreaking havoc today."
"Too bad. That damn dog kept us up all night."
The two shared a laugh as they made their way into the living room where Trina and Adam's daughter, Sophia, was laying in her playpen. Tori bent over and waved to her niece, who cooed and kicked with delight.
"I can't believe how big you're getting, Sofia!" Tori exclaimed. "And I can see you like the attention. You get that from your mom."
Just then, a voice called from the other room.
"Tori, is that you?"
Trina walked in looking stunning in a white chiffon dress and gold heels. Shortly after giving birth to Sophia, Trina had gotten to work on shedding the baby weight with early morning walks and frequent visits to the gym. Now, one can hardly tell that just nine months ago, she was nearly the size of a hot air balloon.
"Did you hit the neighbor's dog on the way here?" Trina asked as she put on a pair of dangling earrings.
"No, not today, babe," Adam replied for Tori. "She decided to be a good driver today."
Trina pursed her lips with disappointment. "Darn. That dog didn't shut up all night."
"Okay, you two are sick people," Tori jumped in, her gaze moving from Trina to Adam and back.
While Adam went to finish getting ready, Trina took Sophia out of the playpen and the two of them joined Tori on the couch. As Trina playfully bounced her daughter up and down on her knee, Sophia laughed and squealed, making the two sisters laugh with her.
"So, how did your callback go?" Trina asked after a while.
"Good, I think. Beck said it was good."
"Beck was there?"
"Yeah, he's playing one of the lead roles. I did a reading with him."
Trina's eyes widened with surprise. "Wow, that's great. So if you get this part, you two will be working together."
"If I get this part. I was supposed to hear back from them today, but I haven't gotten any calls yet."
"Well, you know if I had auditioned for that part, they wouldn't have had a choice but to cast me," Trina said, her voice thick with self-importance. "Isn't that right, babe?"
"They would make you the star of the show, sweetheart," Adam casually replied as he strode into the room.
Tori watched the couple in amusement, secretly envying the sweetness of their relationship. Tori knew that Trina had to make a huge sacrifice by putting her career and dreams on hold to raise Sophia. It had taken Trina a while to come to terms with the reality of her situation, but Adam had been understanding and supportive through the whole ordeal. He was, in many ways, a perfect match for Trina, balancing out her craziness with his cool and grounded personality. Though Trina's sacrifice was great, having Adam and Sophia in her life made it all worthwhile.
"Okay," Trina said, giving Sophia an onslaught of kisses before handing her to Tori. "You have our cell numbers and the number to the restaurant is on the fridge. We should be back by ten."
"Thanks again for doing this, Tori," Adam said with an appreciative smile. "We haven't had a chance to go out like this in months."
Tori smiled back. "Don't mention it. You guys just have fun on your date night."
Once Trina and Adam left, Tori pulled out some toys and books for Sophia to play with, hoping to keep the infant distracted from the fact that her parents were no longer in the house. Tori's well-intended efforts, however, were futile. After an incredibly messy diaper change and almost two hours of crying, fussing and hair-pulling, Tori finally managed to rock Sophia to sleep. She laid the baby down in her playpen and, with a long-winded sigh, fell back on the couch and began flipping through channels on the TV. She eventually landed on the hit show Word on the Street, which always updated on the latest celebrity news and gossip. The host of the show Gail McPherson was currently reporting on the most recent cheating scandal by Hollywood starlet Kristi Stevens.
All of a sudden, Tori's pear phone rang causing her to jerk in surprise. She hastily dug through her bag to find the phone, hoping to answer the call before it woke up Sophia.
"Hello?" Tori said, trying to keep her voice low. A strange mixture of calm and worry suddenly hit Tori when she heard her agent's voice on the other line. "Hey, Pauline! I'm glad you called."
Pauline had some news, though Tori couldn't tell from the tone of her voice if they were good or bad. A part of her didn't want to ask, but Tori knew there was no avoiding it.
"So what's the verdict?"
It took Tori nearly a whole minute to register the following words that came out of Pauline's mouth: you got the part.
"You…I…me–" Tori stammered, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy course through her veins.
Still fully aware of Sophia's presence in the room, Tori hopped off the couch, ran into the guest room, and shut the door behind her. She then let out a long triumphant scream before promptly returning to the living room, calm, cool and collected.
"Pauline, you have no idea how happy I am right now," Tori said, still unable to believe her luck. "Thank you so much. Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye!"
Tori suppressed an elated squeal as she sank into the couch in contented bliss. At length, Tori pulled out her phone again, wanting to share the good news with someone. Beck was the first person that came to mind. She texted him and then turned her attention back to the TV while she waited for a response. Not even five minutes later, her phone sounded, alerting her of a new message.
Beck: Congratulations, Tori! I knew you could do it.
Tori: Thanks, Beck :-). I guess this means we'll be working together.
Beck: At least now I'll have something to look forward to when I go to work ;-).
Tori read over Beck's last text message a second time and felt a stirring of emotions deep within her that she couldn't quite explain. But before she could put anymore thought into the subtext of his message, Tori looked up and saw an oddly familiar image displayed on the TV screen. She picked up the remote and turned up the volume just enough to hear what Gail McPherson was saying.
"It seems like romance is in the air for up-and-coming Hollywood heartthrob Beck Oliver. Here is a snapshot of him and a mysterious young brunette having dinner at the exquisite downtown restaurant Del Sur. This picture was taken just two days ago by another patron who recognized the young actor. The picture has gone viral ever since and, no doubt, causing hearts to break all across the nation."
Tori narrowed her eyes and carefully scrutinized the image. Though it was blurry and unclear, she could easily make out Beck in the picture. Tori's face, however, was partly obstructed by the table's centerpiece. That, combined with the hazy lighting, made her almost unrecognizable.
Tori lowered the volume on the TV just as Gail McPherson was finishing her report. She leaned back on the couch and gazed thoughtfully up at the ceiling, wondering how anyone could come up with such a ridiculous story. Though she found it mostly amusing, a part of her felt somewhat unsettled about how fast the rumor had spread. Deciding that it was probably best not to overanalyze it, Tori picked up her phone and texted Beck.
Tori: Have you heard the news? Apparently, romance is in the air for rising star Beck Oliver and the "mysterious young brunette" he had dinner with the other night.
Beck: Lol. Is that what they're saying?
Tori: Yeah. Should we set the story straight before it gets out of hand?
Beck: Nah, let them think what they wanna think. That's how Hollywood works. Better get used to it, Tor :-P.
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