Chapter 4. Blackjack & Somber Thoughts
Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.
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The Vega Residence - December 9th, Senior Year
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"I'm just gonna go right out there and say it," Beck started as he rose his glass up in the air. "Tori's house beats Andre's grandmother's out every day of the week!"
"Indeed," Jade added, raising her glass as well.
"Totally!" Cat chimed in, taking a sip of her fruity cocktail rather than toasting.
"Damn straight," Rex said in agreement. "Raise yo glass up sucka," he ordered Robbie.
"Oh, come on. Andre's grandmother's house wasn't that bad!" Robbie challenged.
The rest of the group glared at Robbie. Tori, the lone exception, looked more confused than anything else. Even Andre seemed to be in agreement with the rest of the group.
"You're kidding, right?" Jade barked.
"What!? I happened to have a very good time. Thank you very much." Robbie countered, though the uneasiness in his voice didn't do much to reinforce his case. It was apparent by the way the rest of the group was alienating him that his optimism wasn't welcome.
"Speak for yourself. You didn't get thrown out of a window," Rex snapped back.
At this point, Tori's confusion was melding more into curiosity than it was confusion. There was a story to be told and she was already interested. "Wait, why'd Rex get thrown out of a window?"
Andre took a sip from his drink – maybe his third or fourth at this point, he wasn't entirely sure – and simply looked across the poker table at Tori. "I'll give you three guesses."
"Jade!" Tori blathered out, to which Jade's eyes widened in disrespect. Tori sunk slightly in her seat, "Not Jade?" She wasn't entirely sure of why she had blamed Jade, but it just seemed appropriate, given the less than perfect relationship between her and Robbie's puppet.
Beck chuckled slightly at Tori's guess, to which Jade redirected her gaze at him, "Guess again."
Tori thought for a moment and then had a look of disbelief on her face. Perhaps more accurately, she was surprised why it had taken her as long as it had to single out what was arguably the most obvious candidate as to why a puppet would be thrown out of a window. "Andre's grandmother?"
"Bingo!" Rex exclaimed.
Tori found herself laughing, even though it was far from what she might have expected out of Andre's grandmother. In the time that Tori had known her, she had seen the woman punch a laptop, break into Sikowitz's house, and even one time shooting at the pizza delivery guy because she thought he was an intruder. In actuality, the idea of her throwing Rex out of a window was actually a pretty plausible one.
"Hey, now while I appreciate the vote of confidence Rob. I have to agree with Beck on this one," Andre spoke, hoping to put a rest to the obvious contrast in opinions. For as noble as Robbie was to try to argue that last week wasn't AS bad as they were making it out to be, it pretty much was. Rex being thrown out of the window was – in the grand scheme of what Andre's grandmother could have done – pretty tame. "Thankfully though, our game is back where it belongs," he said, shooting a smile to Tori who responded with the raising of her glass. "Thank you Tori, for not being gone for another week!"
"Agreed," the group added, glasses being raised, clattering against one another, a couple drops of liquid falling onto the table but for the most part remaining within their respective glasses.
"So, Vega," Jade began, to which Tori immediately started to disappear within her seat. She knew that this was going to happen, that Jade was going to ask her about what happened, no doubt hoping that some sort of punishment was going to be dealt out. Given what had ultimately happened, she wasn't entirely sure that Jade would be pleased. Come to think of it, there was no way that Jade was going to be happy once Tori was done with the story. "What happened with you and Helen?"
"I told you! She took out Helen's car!" Rex barked out, though his comment was pretty much ignored.
Tori sulked in her seat as everyone's eyes fixated on her. "Do I really have to tell you? I mean, I'm here, I'm not dead," she glared at Jade with that remark. "I didn't destroy Helen's car," this time now glaring at Rex – and Robbie by effect. "Let's just not worry about it."
"Ah, come on Tori. That's no fun," Andre whined. "Besides, you said-"
Before he could finish his comment, Tori rose her hand to shush him, to which he did stop. On the other hand, Jade wasn't done. "So, you told Andre but you won't tell us. That's low Vega."
"I didn't tell him!" Tori exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration. It was a lose-lose situation for her. On one hand, she could tell the all what happened, but the mixed reactions were far from what she was wanting. Add the fact that they've all been drinking, and it only further complicates things. On the other hand, if she didn't tell them… Well, add in the alcohol again, and it wouldn't be that much of a better option.
Beck stepped in at this point, motioning with his hands for both his girlfriend and Tori to calm down. "Ladies, ladies. It's OK. I think I have a way to determine this fairly." Everyone moved in closer as Beck calmly explain his idea. "Blackjack, or something similar to it. Tori and I both get two cards. Who's ever closest to 21 wins."
"So if I win," Tori began.
"If you win, you don't have to tell the story," Beck finished her thought for her. "But if I win, then you tell us. Sound fair?" The smile on Beck's face was devious. Earnest, yes, but there was like this snake-oil salesman attribute to it too.
Realizing that there was pretty much no other alternative than just telling the story, Tori sighed in defeat, "Fine." Maybe this'll work. After all, I can get lucky. Maybe he won't draw anything. I mean, I have as good of odds as him.
"Wait." Robbie piped in, "Are Aces high or low?"
"High. We're only doing two cards, so no point in having to worry about them as being ones." Beck didn't even bother with getting all the cards and shuffling them. Instead, he just grabbed the deck of cards which weren't in play already and shuffled it quickly. "So, you'll flip one, then I'll flip, and then we repeat. Sound good?"
Tori nodded. Even though she was confident a moment ago, watching Beck shuffle and deal out their cards, just looking at the backs of her cards made her worry she was going to lose. As her fingers dangled between the two cards, trying to determine which one to flip first, her anxiety began to overtake her. Should she flip this one or that one, the indecisiveness wasn't helping. Finally giving in and just going with her gut, she flipped the closer of the two cards she had, a wide smile appearing on her face at the sight of a 10 of Hearts.
"Alright, not bad," Beck commented as he quickly flipped his first card, revealing it to be a Jack of Diamonds. "10 to 10. You're up," he smirked as he again watched her hover around her last card. "Oh, because we didn't say earlier, ties'll go to Tori."
Unlike the previous time though, she was feeling far more confident. If it had been a 2 or 3, it would have been a completely different story. But now, if she could pull like an 8 or 9, maybe even one of the 10s, she had it won. Closing her eyes as her fingers caressed against the edge of the card, she took a deep breath as she flipped the card. Opening her eyes, she almost found herself jumping out of her seat in glee at the sight of the second card, King of Spades.
Her happiness was felt throughout the table, Cat and Andre both "oohing" at the revelation. Beck had come off as so confident at first that it seemed like he couldn't have been beat, but now it was seeming that his poker face as being seen through. "20. Beck, nervous?" Andre asked. While he didn't want to admit it, for as much as he respected Tori's privacy, he was hoping that Beck would win. With whatever happened earlier today being draining enough to cause Tori to pass out, keeping it bottled in probably wasn't the best thing to do.
"I'm not worried. Four aces in the deck, easy enough to win." Beck casually said as he brushed his fingers around the edge of his card, rotating it around in circles.
Hearing how hopeful Beck was at getting an ace only made Tori more and more confident. Even if about half the deck wasn't in play due to the poker game that they had been playing, Tori knew that at least one of the aces was in her poker hand, two others already in play. Assuming that there were about 25 or so cards in the deck, the chance of one of them being an ace – assuming that there was still one that wasn't in play – let alone being the card that he had drawn, was rather low.
"Dude. Stop playing and just show us the card," Jade grunted, tossing back a considerable swig of her drink. Tori couldn't help but look a bit surprised at how effortlessly she had downed it, considering it was the 5 shot drink that Andre made for her earlier but had rejected.
"Fine, fine," Beck smirked as he flipped the card, not even bothering to look at it, instead just keeping the smirk directed at Tori. He didn't need to look at it. Just going off the gasps and the cry of disbelief coming from Tori and Cat, he knew exactly what he had drawn. And as he looked down, he chuckled slightly to himself, as he had just flipped the Ace of Spades. "Well well. What do you know? 21!"
Tori looked with disbelief at the card. "You've got to be kidding me…" She was so confident, so sure that she was going to have won. That she lost, she wasn't sure if she were more disappointed in the fact that she lost or the fact that Beck won in the way that he did. And even though Jade was looking at Tori with almost baited breathe, excited for the story she was going to tell, Beck was more composed, taking in his victory no doubt, but being a bit more humble in it than his girlfriend.
"You gonna tell us what happened early today now?" Beck casually asked, taking a small sip from his drink, frowning slightly as he pulled the drink away. The ice cubes had he had thrown in earlier had all nearly dissolved away in his whiskey. What he had left was effectively a watered-down drink, hardly worthy of story time. "Actually, hold that thought. I need a refill. Anyone else want one?" He offered to the rest of the group as he left the table and proceeded towards the counter.
"Oh! Thanks Beck!" Cat exclaimed, not realizing that she had tossed her glass to Beck, everyone anticipating the glass to shatter upon impact with the floor. "Oops," she quietly spoke as she sunk into her chair similar to how Tori had moments earlier.
By some miracle perhaps, Beck had managed to catch the glass, kneeling down and practically hyperextending his arm out to grab only inches from the ground. A small applause ushered from the poker table. Getting back to his feet, Beck admired the glass he had caught for a moment before his eyes darted at Cat, causing her to further sink in guilt. "Not again." It wasn't much said, but the point stood as Cat frowned and nodded in compliance.
"It's aight baby girl," Andre consoled her, patting her back. "Nothing broken."
"This time," Beck said under his breath, out of earshot of the group. As he finished his drink and moved onto Cat's, he figured that her continuing to drink whatever Andre had made her probably wasn't the best idea, if what just happened was any indication. "Cat," he called out, "What were you drinking again?"
"Something sweet that Andre made!"
"Shot of tequila, shot of vodka, and some fruit punch." Andre called out, "Need any help?"
"Don't worry, I got it." Beck responded, throwing his hand up to indicate he was all good. More, he just wanted to keep Andre at his seat. Tequila and vodka weren't exactly the best things to mix together, and as his eyes bounced between the bottle of tequila and the bottles of vodka, trying to determine which one was the best option, he sighed and finished the drink.
"Here you go Cat," Beck smiled as he reached across the table to hand the glass over to the excited redhead.
"Thanks!" Wasting no time at all, she was already thirstily drinking from it. "Oh wow, it's so sweet! You should totally be a pro bartender!"
Beck chuckled to himself slightly, wrapping one arm around Jade who he could see wasn't taking to Cat's flattery too well. "I don't know about that. Enjoy though." Yeah, enjoy the cocktail consisting of fruit juice, and only fruit juice. She won't know the difference. A part of him did feel a bit bad about deceiving Cat, but the fact that she could be as chipper and upbeat as she was even without alcohol balanced it out. And as distasteful as it might have been, there were plenty of times before where someone had asked Cat if she were drunk in public, even when she was stone sober. Tonight could be another of those nights. Finally, he turned his attention back to the Latina. "So Tori, forgive my earlier interruption, but you ready to tell us your story?"
"Yeah Vega. We're waiting," Jade's words slithered out of her mouth like a serpent, one that was ready to strike. While unnerving, there was something about it that Tori didn't mind. For as much as she put up that mask, that tough girl attitude, over the course of the last year the relationship between the two of them had become a lot stronger. Jade just had a different way of showing it, like that.
Tori sighed, knowing that there wasn't anything she could do to get out of it. Everyone, including even Rex, had fixated their gazes onto Tori, making her feel like when she's on stage, all of their attention on her. The difference was that she actually enjoyed being on stage. There were a number of things that she could think of that would be more enjoyable than this. "So…" She began, a little intimidated at how it seemed with only the first word everyone had slowly crept closer to her. "So, Helen called me down to her office…" She closed her eyes and exhaled, "Because she thought that I had given someone a bottle of Vicodin…"
At the mentioning of Vicodin, it seemed like everyone's eyes lit up in a mixture of disbelief and intrigue. Several gasps were heard, including Andre choking on his drink from the reaction. Similar to how Tori couldn't believe what Helen was accusing her of doing, so too it seemed the rest of the group had trouble believing it.
Even Jade, who probably would have taken the most glee to Tori being caught in that kind of situation couldn't help but stare in disbelief of what she was hearing. There were probably half a dozen or so students at Hollywood Arts that she knew personally that abused Vicodin or similar pills. Chances were that there were probably a ton more than that, but Tori? She was one of those goodie-two shoes who wouldn't dare touch them, one of the few seniors in Hollywood Arts that not a single person would suspect of using them, let alone push them.
"What?" Robbie blurted out, being the first person to manage to say something at all in response.
Beck looked perplexed at what Tori had just said, "How can see possibly think that you were dealing pills? For that matter, if someone said Tori Vega had gotten them pills. One, you're like the least likely person who would be dealing that crap. Two, if they had been caught, their credibility is pretty much shot anyways. I mean, it doesn't make sense."
Andre nodded in agreement, "He's right. I mean, how could she actually believe someone who assumedly had been caught with drugs. It's like saying 'Yeah I cheated with the answers to the test but I got them from the top student who's never been in trouble before'. Doesn't make sense."
The words of encouragement were certainly kind and really what Tori needed after what happened earlier today. But, there was still more to the story, so she continued. "It didn't make sense to me either. And then Helen pulled out a bottle of pills. It had T. Vega typed out on it."
"So they were your pills!?" Robbie exclaimed. It took no time whatsoever following this for Jade to swing her hand out, striking the back of his head hard. "Ouch!" He cried out.
"They weren't my pills!" Tori responded back, as animated and loud as Robbie had just been.
"So someone faked the label?" Andre suggested. He didn't doubt that Tori was being honest, but it brought the greater question of if they weren't her pills, then who's? And then it hit him. "Trina?"
There was a collective silence as everyone waited for Tori's response, but even in her silence it was obvious that what Andre was suggesting was true. When she nodded, it all but affirmed it.
"That fucking bitch," Jade hissed, the suddenness and anger that she said it with taking everyone for a surprise, Beck included. Hoping to console her, Beck began to wrap his arm around her, but surprisingly she had tossed him aside as she gulped down the remainder of her drink, not stopping to breathe throughout. As she put the glass down to see the faces of everyone still looking at her, she shrugged her shoulders, 'What? It's not like any of us feel differently."
The truth in what she said was a bitter pill to swallow and the digestion of it brought a bit more silence with it. It wasn't as though it were a secret that the rest of them and Trina never got along, that there had been a level of uneasiness whenever they were together. Honestly, once they had learned that Trina wasn't living with Tori anymore was a significant reason why the Vega residence had become their main place, for their weekly poker game and otherwise. Even then, having managed to blanket her out of their lives, the fact that she was being brought back up wasn't a particular high point for them.
"So, the pills are Trina's. That means you're good right? You're not in trouble?" Beck asked, gently putting a comforting hand on Tori's shoulder. Jade made no objections, nor did she give any looks.
She felt weird. Particularly the fact that even though she was in the company of her friends who all were comforting her, their approval and support came at the expense of her sister. She found herself forcing a weak smile. "As far as I know, I'm OK. When I got back home today, my parents were talking about her. I guess that's why they went out tonight," She hid her face within her palms, "Ugh, I don't know what'll happen…"
"Well baby, I can help fill that void," Tori lifted her head up from her palms to reveal a disgusted look on her face. If there was one quality that the damned puppet Rex had, it was to say the wrong thing at the worst times. And while its mouth moved in a laughing gesture, nobody else seemed to share the same opinion.
"Ouch!" Robbie yelped in pain as Jade brought her hand down back to gripping her now empty glass. "That wasn't me who said that. It was-"
Jade help up the glass right in Robbie's face, "Then how about you tell Rex that if he has another comment, I'm going to break this over one of your heads. And yours is a lot bigger target." Her words were cold and perhaps more than anything else, serious.
Nobody made any further remark to that little confrontation, even in spite of some people perhaps wanting to. But unfortunately, it had already become quite clear by this and the earlier silences that there was little chance for the mood to take a drastic turnaround and everyone's spirits to rise. Tensions were building between Robbie – and Rex by extension – and Jade, which Andre was secretly - and perhaps selfishly - hoping that it would be a chance for Robbie to show his angry side. In the past, when he's been angry it had more been for show or effect, not genuinely angry. It wasn't looking like it was going to happen though, not with Beck basically sealing Jade off from Robbie and Rex. All things considered though, it was probably time for the group to call it a night.
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A Short Time Later
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It wasn't long until a cab had arrived for Robbie and Cat, marking their ending to the evening – at least their evening with the rest of the group. As they both left through Tori's front door, all of them still there couldn't help but stare in surprise at what they saw. "Are they going home together?" Tori asked as she lay with her back on the couch.
"I really don't know…" Beck said, his attention so fixated on the now closed door that he seemed to struggle with putting on his coat.
"Poor Cat," It was all that Jade contributed to the conversation as she waited for Beck to get her coat as well.
"You sure you don't want us to call you guys a cab?" Tori offered, her eyes glowing with concern. The fact was both of them, Jade especially, had drank a lot, and the last thing that she wanted on her conscious was anything happening to either of them. "It really isn't a burden."
Beck flashed her a smile as he handed Jade her coat, "It's all good. Jade's house isn't that far anyways. Besides, probably for the best that we get some air," he said, holding his hand to cover one side of his face as his other hand pointed towards Jade. Tori smiled at this, mentally agreeing with what he said.
"Alright then! See you guys later?"
"Maybe. Depends on how they're feeling," Beck pointed not only to Jade but also to Andre, seated at the counter while he feasted on the remaining pizza. "Probably though. Night Andre! Night Tori!"
"Later Beck," Andre called out, his mouth full of food.
"Bye guys!" Tori waved as Jade and Beck walked out the front door.
"Later Vega!" She heard Jade call out from the other side of the door, which caused Tori to smile. It was things like that, even just small things like saying good night which showed that in spite of her evil persona, Jade was a good person. And, in some of those rare occasions, a good friend.
Getting up from the couch, Tori turned her focus to Andre. "So, Andre. Want me to call you a cab?"
It took less than a second for Andre to respond to that, grabbing another slice of pizza and jumping onto the couch beside Tori, "The couch is mighty comfortable. You wouldn't mind if I stayed the night, would you?"
Tori looked at Andre for a moment, raising an eyebrow as her focus turned to the slice of pizza he was holding, "That's not the last slice of pizza is it?" As he shook his head, she smiled. "Then the Tori Vega Couch Hotel has an open room!" She then got up from the couch herself and rushed over towards the pizza boxes, hoping that Andre wasn't lying just to get a place to sleep. After all, pizza was no laughing matter.
Having been granted a place to sleep for the night, Andre rose his hands in joy as he threw himself back onto the couch, nestling himself comfortably between the large cushions. As he stretched out on the couch, he could hear Tori begin to ascend the stairs to her own room. "Good night Tori!" He yelled from the couch.
"Good night Andre!" He could hear her call out from the top of the stairs. He promptly passed out minutes later.
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Outside Tori's House
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"So, you gonna tell me what that was about?" Beck asked his girlfriend as they left Tori's block. Jade had been acting increasingly irritated since they had found out Tori and her incident with Principal Helen, and though he had suspicions why, he wanted to make sure he wasn't jumping to conclusions.
"What what was about?" Jade asked. While she was willing to play games, the last thing she wanted was a lecture from Beck, which she could tell was incoming.
"With Robbie. I mean, I understand that Rex can be rude, but threatening him with a glass?" Beck didn't have a problem with what she did with him. There were more than a few times where he wanted to just punch Robbie for that damn puppet, and earlier tonight was another example of that.
Jade stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms. "Oh come on. You mean you wouldn't have done the same thing? Sure…"
Beck couldn't help but smirk at how effortlessly it seemed that Jade saw through him. "Fine. What's really going on? I mean, you went from like, normal Jade angry to a whole 'nother level tonight."
He hoped that Jade would say something, but just stood there, with a look on her face like he should know why she was so angry. "Trina?" He asked, pretty sure that that was it.
Jade kept her mouth shut but her heavy breathing was enough of a tell for Beck to know he was right all along. Pulling her into a hug, Beck held her for a moment, just letting Jade's anger boil over, however she wanted to convey it, if it were just sulking, pouting, crying, whatever. After a minute of her standing in Beck's embrace, it seemed her breathing had returned to normal. Beck was almost ready to let go when he heard her swear under her breath, "I fucking hate her for what she's done to her."
He didn't need any further explanation, no need for her to go into more detail or justification. He simply pulled back slightly to see the tears begin to drip down Jade's face, blurring her mascara. Beck smiled, admiring how in these moments – when she was seemingly at her most vulnerable – that Jade seemed to be the most beautiful. He gently ran his thumb across her face, wiping away the lone tears which had escaped her eyes. "I know… and nobody blames you for feeling that. Certainly not Tori."
The last bit, that was what Jade needed to hear, and the smile on her face showed it. But as Beck pulled her back in for another hug, the smile began to wane away. Jade knew better than to think that this was it. And if the past were any indication, but she would be there for Tori if and when the fallout came to fruition.
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