Disclaimer: I don't own victorious. I did make up Palace Royal, but I shouldn't have had too. It's just too perfect a name for a gated community. (If there is one, I didn't find it on my Google search.)
Disclaimer two: I'd say spoiler alert, but it's part of the story.
:}
Tori sat in the car, watching her sister check her mirrors while Cat giggled in the back seat. She was having second thoughts about Trina's plan, and those thoughts were making her stomach spin. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Neither of them will be home." She in formed her co-conspirators.
"That's even better. Now buckle up. I need to make a stop, and I don't want to be late." Trina said, starting the car. They pulled out of their spot at Hollywood Arts and started towards the exclusive living community of Palace Royal.
Tori felt a little confused by that attitude. But that was the nature of Trina's plan. Or rather, what Tori suspected was Trina's plan. The elder sister hadn't exactly filled her in on how they were going to get past the gate, beyond claiming to be looking at an open house. 'Like she could ever convince them she had the resources to afford one of those...' A noise brought her out of her thoughts.
"Yay, road trip." Cat exclaimed. "I'm. Going. on. a. secret. Trip. to. my. Friend. Robbie's. house." She said, each word spoken slowly as she typed on her phone.
Tori whipped her head around and stared at the redhead in the back seat. "Your not posting that, are you?" Tori asked.
"Maybe? Why?" Cat said, her face showing she didn't know what was wrong with the post.
"Robbie follows you. He'll know were coming." Trina said. A look of understanding crossed cat's face.
"Delete. Post." Cat said.
"Did you send it?" Tori asked.
"No, I wasn't done typing yet." Cat said, defending herself.
"Give me your phone." Tori requested. Cat did, and the young Latina checked her history. Luckily, Cat hadn't sent it yet, but only because she liked to proof read in case auto correct made her look stupid.
Soon the group were at a small hole in the wall restaurant near Castle Royal, and the three girls found themselves having an after school desert. When they'd arrived, Tori had argued that stopping for a snack wasn't a good idea. Still Trina insisted, saying "We need to keep up our strength if were gonna make it into Castle Royal." So the three girls wound up sitting there, eating pie and talking about what they were doing, who was probably doing what to whom, and whatever else came up for a good twenty minutes until Trina got a text. "Okay girls, the way in is now open. Lets go." The older girl announced.
"KK" Cat said as they paid and left. Tori wondered at how sneaky her sister had become in the last few months. Trina always thought of herself as stealthy, but up until now her plans were often as bad as Robbie's. Tori didn't have long to think before they arrived at the front gate.
"This is your plan?" Tori asked. "The front gate?"
"Hush." Trina said, rolling down her window. "Trina Vega. I'm here to look at a house." She told the guard.
"I.D." The guard replied. Trina pulled out her Drivers license.
"Here you go." She said. Then pointing at the other girls. "They're with me."
The guard hardly looked, instead swiping Trina's license and checking his Pearpad. "Looks good." he announced. "Do you need directions?"
"Thanks, but I've downloaded the communities map to my phone." Trina said happily.
The guard pushed the button on his pad that opened the gate, adding "Have a nice day."
"You too." Trina chirped. The whole thing took maybe thirty seconds.
Tori was left dumbfounded. 'They just let us in? I thought.. I mean, the security.. now I'm babbling in my head!' She was brought out of her thoughts by Trina's voice.
"Okay, this is where we split up. Tori, you and Cat gather information while I take a tour of a multimillion dollar house. I'll drop you off as close as I can get. I'll forward a copy of the community map to your phones so you can find your way, and meet up with me when your done." Trina said.
"How'd you..' Tori started. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to know how Trina had pulled this off.
"I'm looking at the house for one of the producers of my hit show,.." Trina didn't get to finish before Cat and Tori were out of the car and ruining across the park that was built next to and around the community center. The older girl just shrugged and drove to her destination.
The two girls managed to get to Robbie's home fairly quickly, walking most of the distance. It was still over half a mile, but neither minded. They enjoyed the walk through the planned, gated community. The trees were well taken care of, and the houses were all so nice. Even the sidewalk was designed with walkers in mind. It was a pleasant walk, each girl pointing out features of the houses they liked. That was, until they got to the neighborhood they were going to, where all the houses were behind locked gates. Once they arrived, they took the moment to admire the home. It was huge, at least four stories tall and covering a fair amount of property. They had to get past the gate around the home, so Cat decided to just ring the bell and wait for someone on the intercom. Of course, she didn't bother to tell Tori before doing that.
"Hello?" Came the voice on the intercom. It was male, and to Tori, it rang of a distant familiarity. Not sure where or when she'd heard it before, Tori immediately hid from the camera.
"Hi, I'm, uh, Cece." Cat said. Trying to sound like the girl Robbie was dating. While not quite the mimic Jade was, Cat's ability to alter her voice was truly astonishing.
"Oh, really? Aren't you supposed to be meeting Robbie at the Day Spa? It's in the community center, if your wondering." Came the reply.
"We'll, I got lost, and wound up here. And since I was here anyways. I was thinking that maybe I could meet his parents." Cat said. Tori was surprised that Cat could come up with any of this. She'd mentioned that Cece was on a date with the boy, but for Cat to remember the name was almost amazing. Cat could be so vacant sometimes.
"You should go meet up with him." Came the reply.
"Are you his father?" Cat asked, and Tori face-palmed. She couldn't believe what Cat was doing. Still, it was sticking to the narrative. And then there was that voice. That voice, the male voice that answered the intercom. That voice worried her, making Tori check again and make sure she was hidden from any cameras that might possibly see her. Tori just knew she didn't want that voice to know she was there.
Tori still had question, however, and since Cat had already opened the dialogue, she decided to push their luck even further. The voice hadn't answered Cat, as if he was trying to figure something out. But Tori wanted to put a face to the voice, and end the mystery of Robbie's family. After all, with as much as they knew about the nerdy boy, no one had ever met his parents. Tori decided to go for broke as she pulled her phone and compact out. She then texted Cat.
"I'm his father." The voice finally said. "You can call me Mister Shapiro."
Cat (From Tori) – See if you can get him to come here so we can see his face.
The redhead's phone honked, so she looked at it briefly, reading the message. Then she looked back at the camera. "I want to see your face." Cat said. Even she knew it was an odd request, but didn't stop to think. Tori, for her part, was thinking of how to make a quick escape. That request was just too sudden, too strange. But a second later, a panel opened next to the intercom, reveling a flat screen. A picture appeared as the screen came to life, revealing the man Cat had been speaking to. Tori used her compact to see what the man looked like while Cat shot a none too discreet picture with her phone. Somehow, to the camera, it looked like she was checking her phone.
"You look familiar." The Mister Shapiro said. "Have we met before?"
Tori froze. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she took what felt like forever, but probably wasn't any longer then usual to pull out her phone and pull up a picture. It was a face she hadn't seen in over a year. Taking the time Mister Shapiro was using to scrutinize Cat's face, Tori was able to find the picture and compare it with the image she saw from around the corner. There was no longer any doubt in her mind, and suddenly Jade living here made perfect sense. Thomas Shapiro was Jade's father.
"Hi Cat." a female voice said. Using the mirror on her compact again, Tori looked to find the source of the new voice. She saw an older woman, probably late thirties to maybe forty at the oldest, who looked a bit like Jade, standing in the open doorway in the background. She was holding a tray, probably bringing mister Shapiro something. "What're you doing here?"
"Hi misses West. How's Jade doing?" Cat replied. The man looked at Cat for another second, then picked up the phone
"Security, I have an unauthorized visitor at my front gate." He said.
"Run" Tori screamed, and the two took off.
"He he he he" Cat giggled as they ran. After a short while, Tori saw that they were near the community center, so she looked around for a place to hide until Trina was done. Going into an open door, they found themselves in the office area of the center. Tori led Cat into a back room. The two were panting, both a little winded from the sprint. "Um, Tori, why were we running?" Cat asked.
"My god, this is bad. That man, the guy who said he was Robbie's father." Tori said. "I think he's Jade's father too."
"What makes you think that?" Cat asked.
"Look at this picture of her father I have from when he went to see her play." Tori said showing Cat the picture. Cat took Tori's phone to take a closer look, then took her own phone after it honked. "Did you sent yourself the picture?" Tori asked.
"Yea, but don't worry. I just needed it to do a side by side comparison." Cat replied, smiling as she handed Tori her phone back.
Tori didn't have a good feeling about that, it just didn't sound right, but let it drop for a second. She had other things on her mind, like Jade being Robbie's sister. It wasn't the last thing she'd have expected, but only because she'd never have believed it if someone had told her. No, the freakout was only being held back because they still had security looking for them, and she couldn't afford to be caught. Realizing Cat had been looking at the picture for over a minute, the Latina finally asked. "Well?"
"I think they have a freezy queen next to the day spa." Cat replied.
"What about the pictures?" Tori asked, trying hard not to scream.
"I kinda see it. Let me do some research." Cat said.
"No research. We can't let anyone know about this until we talk to Robbie." Tori said, "Come on, we need to find him."
"Who?" Cat asked.
"Robbie." Tori replied, leading Cat through the building to the front desk. "Excuse me, were friends of Robbie Shapero, and we're trying to find him. It's kinda important. Can you direct us to him?" She gave the lady her best smile.
"Let me check." The lady said, typing something on her computer. "Ah, here it is. He and his lady friend just finished their scheduled massages and have reservations in the tanning salon. It's in building G."
"Thank you." Tori replied, then led Cat to a map of the buildings that made up the community center. They found the salon, and quickly made their way to where their friends were tanning. It took a bit of sneaking, but they managed to get into the back where the tanning area was. From there, a clipboard pointed them to the right beds. Or bed, since Robbie wasn't tanning. He was sitting by Cece's bed, playing his guitar. He saw the girls as they entered the tanning area, and moved to block their progress.
"Tori!" He whisper yelled. "You shouldn't be here!" He gestured as he tried to motion for them to leave. "Wait, how'd you get past the gate? I mean, you shouldn't even be here." He reached for his phone as he spoke.
"You don't need to call anyone, we're just here to ask a few questions about Jade." Tori started. Luckily, Robbie had a hard time staying mad at Cat.
"Wasn't gonna call anyone. Now that I'm not playing my guitar, I thought I'd check the slap, maybe see what was in some of the alerts I missed. Go ahead and tell me what you came her to..." Robbie paled as he looked at his phone. Tori didn't like his reactions.
"What is it?" Tori asked. She looked over his shoulder and saw the two pictures of Jade's father next to each other with the Tag "Jade's father on the right, Robbie's on the left. Who thinks these are the same person? Tori wants to know."
"Cat!" Tori screamed. The ditzy girl jumped. "Why did you post the pictures?"
"I wasn't sure if they were the same man. I needed a second opinion." The smaller girl said as she clutched her phone.
"Were dead." Tori said, sitting down hard.
"Of course there the same guy. If they're not, then their twins, and I can tell you my dad doesn't...I mean, of course there not the same person." Robbie said, in a near panic. "Oh who am I kidding. Jade's gonna be so fucking pissed." Robbie said, pacing almost in place.
"You swore" Came from the tanning bed. Tori recognized the voice as Cece's.
"Why?" Tori said again, looking at Cat.
Followers (From Cat) - Tori's mad at me, please ignore that Jade and Robbie have the same father, even though it means that they probably didn't sleep together. :)
A beep and a glance later, and Tori was beside herself. "Cat, we need to get this taken down. I think that's the reason Jade didn't want anyone to know where she lived." Tori explained.
"I agree." Came Cece's voice from the tanning bed. "Now someone fill me in."
Robbie moved over to the tanning bed and quickly informed his date about what had just been discovered. "Okay, so Jade's your sister. That makes me feel so much safer. Robbie, I'm beginning to think, maybe, were not right for each other."
"Your breaking up with me because Jade's my sister?" He asked.
"Well, it makes you less hot if she's not your Ex. Still, I'm willing to sleep with you. I just don't think we'll work out as a couple." Cece told him.
Robbie's phone beeped again.
Followers (From Cat) – Robbie's girlfriend is a slut. Offered him breakup sex once she found out he didn't do it with Jade. After that, they're broken up.
"Cat!" Came from both Tori and Robbie.
"What? It's true." The short girl said.
"But we don't need to tell the world." Robbie said.
"Hold on, I'm going to find out where Trina is." Tori said. A quick exchange of texts later, "She's still looking at the house. Robbie, sorry about invading your privacy. Cat and I will just find a place to hang until Trina's done. Just one favor little favor please."
"What?" The boy replied, frustrated.
"Try and calm Jade down." Tori gave her best smile. The nerdy boy was obviously wavering when his phone beeped again.
Followers (From Cat) – Tori's trying to charm Robbie into calming Jade down. Is everyone after my guy? It would work better if Tori was willing to show some skin. #amateur.
Robbie read his phone, and groaned. "Cat, you have to stop posting everything thats happening." He said, showing Tori the post.
"We'll be at the Freezy Queen." Tori said, leading Cat out of there. Cat gave a happy squeal, while Robbie slid down into his seat.
A short time later, Tori was safely on her way home. Well, as safe as could be expected. She was worried that any moment Jade would show up and rip her apart. Her only saving grace was, from past experience, Jade didn't follow Cat on the slap. That meant that they had a window to make their escape before Jade hunted them down like animals. While Tori was having traumatic flashes at every pair of scissors she saw, Trina was gushing about the house she'd looked at. Trina had been talking about the place the whole drive. She felt that it would be a perfect place to live once she makes some serious money. "And the best part, Amanda Rothschild owns a house in the community. We'd be neighbors." Trina said.
"Can we worry about my impending demise?' Tori finally asked. The stress had been adding up, and now Tori needed assurance that she would live to see another school day.
"Don't over react. Jade might not kill you. Maybe she'll be happy that the secrecy is over?" Trina said. "Or maybe Sikowitz will be happy that she's back to her angry self again. You said he needed people afraid of her."
"I'm going to die, and you're making jokes. Trina, this isn't funny. Jade endured a lot of slut shaming just to keep this secret. She'll kill us for sure." Tori moaned. "Cut us up and bury us in the desert, maybe even alive. I mean, This was her big secret."
"Okay, How'd they afford to live there?" Trina asked. "I think there's a lot more going on then just family drama. Like, where's Robbie's mom? No way that guy has both families there. Just, think about it. There has to be more that their hiding. I'll bet even Robbie doesn't know what."
Tori didn't bother to try to answer. She just looked out the window and worried about what might happen. And her worries didn't lesson as they dropped Cat off with her roommate. Part of it was overhearing Trina talking with Cat's roommate, Sam. It seemed the ICarly alum wasn't going to protect Cat from the consequences of pissing Jade off. Trina did get her to agree to talk to Jade, maybe calm her down, but only if the goth showed up at the apartment. Sam had no intention of invading Jade's home. "I mean, what kind of person does that?" Sam had asked. It was the best they could get.
Tori got home without hearing anything from Robbie or Jade, and her paranoia was building. She wanted her father to check her room for Jade, or explosives, or whatever fiendish thing Jade would come up with to extract her revenge. Of course, her father was working, investigation a case, while her mother was planning another trip to visit family.
Holly Vega worked, but even Tori had no idea what her mother did to earn money, while the Vega matriarch seemed to have a very eclectic schedule that had her working when Tori needed her, or out doing whatever. Tori pined for the days when her family would sit and eat dinner together. Those warm memories were part of why Family Pot Pie was such a treat. It was a meal shared by her family, something that brought them all together. Pushing past her nostalgia and the warm feelings it brought, Tori managed to get Trina to check her room, including the closet and under the bed.
"I can tell you right now, Jade's not here. The monster under your bed swears he'd book it if she slipped under there, while the psychotic killer in your closet admits he's scared of her. Neither would be here if she was." Trina assured her.
"Thanks." Tori didn't need the sarcasm. Jade was going to end her life, and her sister was making jokes. Tori finished her evening routine and settled in for a long, sleepless night. Despite her fears, and guilt, she did get some sleep, but was exhausted when her alarm startled her in the morning. Tori started her day by falling out of bed.
"Trina, I don't feel so well. Maybe I should stay home." Tori said.
"Right, because you'd rather be here, all alone, when Jade decides to talk to you. Personally, I'd at least want witnesses." Trina said. Somehow Trina's words failed to bolster Tori's confidence.
:}
Okay, don't hate. I did drop a few clues as to Jade's relationship with Robbie along the way. Let me know if you want a recap. But Trina's right, there's more mystery ahead. Just not as big, or as deep. There's also the consequences of this revelation. Yes, more to come.
So what did you think? Questions? Comments? Really good oatmeal cookie recopies. I'll take it all.
Next time, the fallout begins. I know you're already guessing at what that entails.