Autumn Leaves

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

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Chapter 4 (Crossroads)

Trina awoke in tears the following morning, she'd been dreaming she'd been in her boyfriend's arms once more. When she realized it was only a dream, her heart broke. Her teeth clenched as she studied the tree outside her window, it was now bare. She wiped her eyes and glared down at the phone beside her. She picked it up and glanced at the time, it was eleven in the morning.

She looked through her contact list until she found Jesse's name. The temptation pulling her was powerful. As she scanned the contacts, she came across Vivian's number, past Tiffany's. She scrolled back to Jesse's, then set the phone gently on the table. Perhaps it would be okay to pass them up for the day.

Could she work towards a different solution? She didn't know. Trina rolled onto her left side and made eye contact with a particular wooden puppet. She let out a loud scream and jumped from her bed, her heart pounded and her chest heaved. As she heard the sound of laughter behind her door, she growled and yanked the puppet from the bed. Tori's friends were over already? She cursed under her breath, then shouted out for Robbie. "You're about to lose your damned puppet! I'm shoving him out the window in the next five seconds!" How could she have forgotten to lock her door?

"No!" Robbie burst through the door and ran for Rex, grabbing him from Trina. "It was just a prank! We thought you'd-"

"I'd what? You thought I'd laugh waking up to find myself sleeping next to a wooden puppet?" She flared up with rage and grabbed Robbie's shirt, then dragged the screaming boy to the window. With incredible force, she threw open the window and pushed his head out. "You see that, Robbie? If you were to fall you'd break your leg, or worse. Next time you come into my room while I'm sleeping, you will be falling out!" She pulled him back and released his shirt, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. "Where's Tori? Does she know about this!"

"N-No!" He scrambled to his feet, whining. "It was just a prank that Rex came up with." Trina rolled her eyes and brushed her hair over her shoulders. She grabbed his shirt collar and burned him with her glare.

"Rex is a goddamn puppet! I'm sick of you making excuses for yourself through an inanimate nonliving toy!" Robbie cringed as Trina forced him up against the wall. She clenched her fist as her heart began to race a mile a minute. "Just like that time 'Rex' cut my cord in that play, right?"

"Y-You knew about that?"

"Of course I knew! I saw you do it!" Robbie seemed to shrink beneath her. She was ready to pound him to a bloody pile of bones. "I'm sick of you men thinking you can just waltz on by and take advantage of me or walk all over me. This is my bedroom as well, you can't just come into my room while I'm sleeping!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Too late for that, Shapiro."

"Robbie!" Tori's voice startled her and she instantly released him, letting him fall to the ground. What was she doing? Her anger had gotten the better of her! Tori was standing in the doorway in her full purple nightgown. "What are you doing in my sister's room?"

"It was just a prank." He picked up Rex and made his way out the bedroom. Tori gave Trina an apologetic look and moved forward, hugging her.

"Good morning. I'm sorry about Robbie. Dad woke me up about an hour ago, saying my friends had come over. I wasn't expecting them over so early…"

"It's fine. So long as they leave me alone." She made her way out the bedroom with Tori and started for the stairs. Her sister went back to her own bedroom to change out of her nightgown. As Trina descended the steps, she paused halfway down to look out at Tori's friends. They were all sitting around the living room, except Cat, who was likely hanging out with her roommate.

"Hey Trina," Beck began to crack up. Beside him, Jade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Trina narrowed her glare on Beck. "How'd you sleep?" Her muscles tensed and her hand firmly grasped the railing. "I heard you woke up spooning a puppet."

The next words came from Rex, in the form of Robbie's ventriloquism. "She needed a little wooden lovin' after last night." Trina flinched and attempted to swallow her anger, but she opened her mouth to shout, only stopped by Jade.

"Robbie!" Jade snapped. Robbie waved his hand defensively, saying it wasn't him. "Jesus, take responsibility for your own damn depravity. You shouldn't even be creeping into a girl's room when they're sleeping, anyway. It's weird."

"Man he's always been weird," Andre remarked, "Everyone knows that." Trina's thoughts drifted back to Jesse's number. More and more she wanted to call him up and tell him to pick her up, or at least his address so she could drive over. She didn't need to deal with these assholes today. "Good to see you're all cleaned up, Trina."

"Oh shut up," she growled. Andre flinched as she descended the steps and made her way to the kitchen. "Damn assholes." She opened the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of milk. She heard Beck ask if she'd grab him a soda, she started to yell at him, but thought better of it. A dangerous smirk formed on her face as she grabbed a root beer and began to shake it beneath the counter. "Okay Beck. I'll bring you a soda."

"Thanks!" When she handed him the can, the others stared at it in suspicion. Much to her pleasure, once he opened the can, it immediately fizzed out and drenched his pants. Beck screamed and practically tossed the can on the ground. "Shit! What the hell, Vega?!" The others looked ready to laugh, but Beck seemed closer to lashing out. She was up for the challenge if he wanted to attack her, she'd strike back, and he would be more than just a little bruised by the time she got done with him.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know it was all shaken up."

"What is wrong with you?! Why are you such a bitch!" Trina froze and silence filled the air. Jade closed her eyes and the others held their breath. "It's like there's something wrong with your brain!" Rage flourished once more and her muscles began to tighten. "Stupid, self-centered-" Her eyes drifted to the stairs where she saw Tori standing at the top, glaring down at Beck. She turned back to him and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong with me, Beck? You really want to know?" Her voice softened and began to deepen as her vision began to turn a shade of red. Beck looked up at her, seemingly realizing what just came out of his mouth. "I'll tell you."

"W-wait a minute Trina, I didn't mean-"

"What's wrong is Sinjin's dead, you fucking asshole! Sinjin's dead, I just got beat up by his killer who won't be getting his ass thrown in jail, and now I have to put up with you! Want to know what else is 'wrong'? The fact that Sinjin is no longer around to keep me from lashing out and kicking your ass, I have no reason to keep calm!" Trina started to lunge, but kept herself in check while studying his neck. His neck was so thin she could probably snap it like a twig if she had the chance.

"Beck!" Everyone twisted around to see Tori making her way down the stairs. "You don't talk to my sister like that. I put up with a lot of things, but I draw the line at my friends calling my sister a 'bitch'. You need to leave my house. Now."

"Forget it." Trina walked around the couch, stopping just behind Beck. Her eyes shot out at him from the corners and her lips twisted into an angry snarl. "He doesn't need to leave. I will." She desperately wanted to deck him, or at the very least, tear him to shreds.

"Trina…" Tori's whine was ignored. Trina walked past her sister and made her way up the stairs. "Trina please!"

"Leave me alone." She charged into her room, slamming the door behind her. "Damn asshole. Fucked up boy with puppet. They all…" She pressed her back against the door and began breathing heavily. She stared at her open window and stiffened when she saw some leaves on the floor, having been blown in by a strong gust of wind.

Trina made her way to the phone and sat down on the bed, wiping her eyes as tears began to stain her cheeks. When Jesse finally answered, her voice cracked in her greeting. "Are you all right?" He asked with concern in his tone.

"Do you have space available at your house right now, Jesse?"

"Yeah…I told you, I have plenty of guest rooms. You're still thinking of staying over a couple of days?"

"Yes. I can't be in this house right now! I'm going out of my mind! My sister has her fucked up friends over and all I want to do is punch them all in the face."

"Okay, okay, deep breath." She took his advice and let the silence fill the air. After a minute, he spoke up again. "So. What do you want to do? You want me to pick you up or are you wanting to drive over?"

"I have a few things to pack, if that's okay. I'll drive over. I know I'll probably need my car. What's your address?"

"Berkley Hills countryside. I live kind of off out of the way of the busy city."

"Sounds fine to me." She hated the noise of the inner city. All she wanted was silence. "I'll give you a call when I'm packed and on the road…"

"Okay. If you need help with directions, I'll be able to help out."

"Thank you, Jesse."

It took her nearly half an hour to pack her clothes and utensils. She put a photo album in with her items too, the album was filled with pictures of Sinjin, Tori, and family. She stashed her laptop into her suitcase and left the house when the friends weren't in the same room. Of course, she had time to say goodbye to Tori, who was hoping she'd come back soon.

In all honesty, she didn't know when she'd be back, if at all. She was done dealing with the nutcases in her life. It didn't take much to leave, no one put up a fight, and Tori did tell their dad. Unfortunately, the man was too busy with his urgent paperwork that he didn't think to ask any questions. This worked out for her, because the less questions asked, the better her luck.

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So there's a turning point in this chapter, or I should say a crossroads decision made. Tori's friends are pure brilliance, although there's more to Beck than meets the eye at this point.