Disclaimer: Victorious and it's characters belong to Nickelodeon and Schneider's bakery. I neither own nor profit from them in any way.
:}
The next couple of days, Tori spent in her room, only coming out for things she felt the cast needed. A day before they were set to head out to England for the next leg of the tour, the backstage crew flew out, commercial, to go over the equipment and how their trucks had been packed. Tori made a point of seeing them off at the airport, Ryder at her side. Jade was staying near Trina, helping her run errands in the local community before going back for their last night party.
That day, Trina broached a subject Jade was shocked to ever come from the girl. "You studied acting in high school?" She asked.
"Beck waned to be an actor, and I was his girl, so from fourteen until sixteen, when he dumped me like yesterdays news, we'd do these acting workshops." Jade explained. "It's amazing what you can learn in New York. And there are so many actors looking to make a buck, to pay the rent until their next big break, that you can study anything. My strengths were improvisation, and method acting. That, and singing. God, Beck and I, we studied voice from anywhere we could. Joined a chizzing acapella group and everything." The smile, as well as the warmth from her good memories, startled her. But the raven haired girl pulled herself back to look at the manager. "There a reason for these questions?'
"You're a fan of the Heathens?" Trina asked. "You know Johnny Rock has a talent for self destruction. But still, with the right manager, he could have gone a lot further. A manager does more then promote the band. I protect Tori's image, and if I felt it was necessary, I'd have torn her ego down as well. Thats the problem with Beck, he believes I should just do what he wants. Never listened to me. Thats the weakness of the manager, what makes it harder for us to help our clients, when they won't listen to us. I couldn't have helped Johnny Rock, cause he was already set in his ways by the time I was old enough to start planning peoples careers. Thats kinda what I wanted to bring up."
"So?" Jade asked. "I always admitted that they never sold out."
"You have any idea how fucking hard it is to sell out when no one is making an offer?" Trina teased, but showed a bit of frustration. "I admired Johnny's music, just not his work ethic. Tori's got talent, a hellacious work ethic, and she's willing to go along with my ideas. My biggest problem is she believes those morons, the ones who keep saying it's time for her to show us her sexy side. The same guys who're saying that a bad girl phase would help her career. No, she's the fucking girl next door. That means she's the girl everyone wants to fuck, but doesn't slut herself out so people can have an easy time imagining what she'd look like naked. I've fought this battle for a long fucking time."
"And your telling me this why?" Jade asked. 'Man, this has to be why they never instituted a swear jar.'
"Cause your her bodyguard." Trina said. "Your first priority is her life, followed by her health. Next is her reputation, then what she wants. I've done my part, for years, and she's got everything she ever wanted, but only the things she really wanted, not the shit she only thought she wanted. Now I need you to tell me you''ll do your part as well."
"You got it." Jade agreed.
"Good, now tell me, is the rumor true?" Trina smirked. "That you're a switch hitter?" She watched Jade's face, the look of surprise, just for a moment, then added. "Not that it maters, but I did want to know, assuming it was more then experimentation."
"Yes, No, and it's Beck's fault." Jade replied. "We got everything? Just asking cause the locals, the looks their giving us, they don't seem to happy with us talking about embarrassing chiz on their streets."
"Relax, we're done, but I'm not ready to head back just yet. I wanted a little girl time, mostly because I needed to know a lot more about you. Jade, your becoming part of the family. I want to make sure nothing you do reflects badly on us." The manager said.
"Meaning you don't want me snoodling with some chick and causing an incident that would hurt Tori." The blue eyed girl said.
"Girl, guy, just don't hurt the image." The manager said before adding "Then how was it Beck's fault that you didn't have a relationship with some girl?" Trina pushed. In a strange way, this was more of an interrogation then her job interview.
"I have shit piles of trust issues." Jade started. "After Beck broke my heart, I got into some dark chiz. I'm talking about underground cage fighting where you can wind up dead, paralyzed or scarred for life. I had a groupie ofter herself to me, and I was so fucking lonely I took her up on it. Afterwords, I couldn't make anything happen out of what we'd done together. I wanted more, a relationship, but couldn't trust enough to even ask."
"And did she want to be tied down to someone who might not make it back?" The Latina asked. "Or was she enjoying the excitement of sleeping with someone who could be dead the next week?"
"What are you suggesting…?" The bodyguard wanted to be angry, but the memories were far too sad.
"I know Groupies." Trina said calmly. "Did you know Tori signs boobs? Not a lot, but more this trip then on any single trip she's done. And then girls offer her more. But they offer the band more then they offer her. I've seen an eighteen year old girl, standing in front of her mother, offer to blow the guitarist Tori had hired for the tour. Trust me, I get what rock does to people."
"Oh.." Jade breathed.
"What you do on your own time is your business. Hell, one of my friends from high school was a marshal for the West Hollywood gay pride parade three years running, part of PLFAG." Trina continued. "Just, lets keep the wholesome image a bit longer, kay? For Tori."
"Got it, boss." Jade agreed. "You got it. Now, we have anything else, or am I escorting you home."
"Please, your not my type." Trina joked as they headed back to the hotel.
The flight to England was uneventful, with Tori spending the whole flight in mourning. 'Of course, it takes more then a few days to get over a breakup. Especially if the man was the guy you'd hoped to spend the rest of your life with, even if the real relationship was held together with tape and promises.' Jade observed. 'Wow, the way I worded that, maybe I should get back into writing. Mister Gradstien seemed to think I had a real talent for it.'
"Yo, Jade, a quick word." Andre called her over. "Once we hit land, I'm putting you on Tori detail. Between you and Kasey, every one of Tori's needs get taken care of. You see to her well being, and let Kasey handle taking care of whatever needs to get got. Sorry, it means your first trip to England is gonna suck, but someone needs to be near her, to listen when she bitches, and in general hold her as she cries."
"Got it." The bodyguard replied, already expecting to spend a lot of indoor time with the mourning starlet.
"But look on the bright side," He added, "Lost of room service."
Then, before she knew it, they were in London, and everyone was setting up for the tour of the British islands. "It takes time to hit everything." Trina was explaining to some of the others, dancers who were still new to the European experience. "Like a U.S. tour, where sometimes we hit multiple cities in a state, we have whole countries to entertain. It can take months to play all of Europe, and then we have Asia. Lets be honest here, we're on a world tour, followed by a quick American tour, and thats a muti-year commitment. We have months left on this tour. So, if you find you need to bow out, let me know soon, so I can have replacements trained. The show goes on."
"No wonder Beck was feeling like a third wheel." Someone said, making Jade smile.
"So, Tori, we're in London. Anything you want to see?" Jade asked the starlet.
"Yea, Beck." Tori cried. "Sorry, I know he was using me, auditioned for it and everything, but I still miss him. He could be so good when the mood struck him."
"Wait, you knew about..." The blue eyed girl was floored.
"He told me once, while playing one of his fucking mind games." Tori admitted. "He wanted me to know that I couldn't do anything without Trina, or rather that I'd need him to do anything without her. So, get your shit, cause we're going out."
"Um, you have a show tonight, so maybe later?" Jade tried.
"Yea, sure, later." Tori agreed. "But for now, I have fans waiting."
Jade sighed, and called to Andre. "Impromptu meet and greet, in fifteen."
"Try to make that thirty, kay?" The now head bodyguard called back.
"Sigh, got it." She said, then addressed Tori. "So, what does one wear to a meet and greet in London?"
Thirty minutes later, both Ron and Bill were ready for the inevitable chaos that would follow them as Tori went out to meet the fans. However, things turned out to be more reserved then expected, with the fans showing a lot of patience with both Tori and the security team. Making it even easier, the hotel worked with them, providing a room where they could shunt the fans hoping for their brief meeting with the stat, thus granting even more control of the situation. Tori, for her part, ordered a drink, and nursed it for the entire time, talking and laughing and sharing her joys with the fans.
"Two o'clock." Jade called over the radio. "More paparazzi. I swear, their like vermin."
"Yep, and by now they've heard the news about Tori and Beck breaking up, so who knows what kind of shit they have planned." Ryder called in. He was upstairs with Trina, helping coordinate things after Andre had drifted down to help with filtering the crowd. "So, we take the cameras?"
"No, we let them take pictures, and then we spin the story." Trina corrected him. "Jade, stay close to Tori, just in case."
"On it." The bodyguard said. "Oh look, someone is manufacturing a story. Ron, watch the hottie being shuttled in by the man with the camera. I think he's supposed to do something."
"On it." The big guy said, intercepting the two and talking to them. The man was allowed to get near Tori, where he made a pass at her, and then was promptly escorted out by Bill.
Jade spoke to the camera carrying man who'd brought the hot guy in. "I thought we'd told you, let her initiate contact, and keep it friendly."
"Hay, it's not our fault she was all over my friend." The paparazzi complained.
"Too bad the pictures you'll have are of her being assaulted, cause thats not the story you were sent in to get, is it?" The female bodyguard growled. "And we can use them to press charges, if we have too."
"Hay, I didn't do anything." The reported insisted.
"So you'll be pleased to know that no one is accusing you of assaulting her, but the other guy, he's going to jail." She said, smirking. "Now, if he were your buddy, you'd maybe have some desire to help him not spend the night in jail, maybe?" She taunted him. "Better get going if your gonna help him out."
The tabloid photographer stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath. "Okay, find out how many drinks that is for Tori." Jade called, knowing someone would check that for her. "I don't want her any more drunk."
"I don't know how she could be, since I've been having them send her virgin drinks and alcohol free beer." Ron called back. "Only one real drink and she doesn't know it yet, cause she's still feeling the buzz."
"We tell her, later, so if she does go drinking with friends some time in the future, she doesn't drink herself into a coma thinking she can handle it." Jade warned. Still, she was happy with the evolution of those two. Ron and Bill now had shown to be good for more then just muscle. 'Glad someone was on that.'
After a draining couple of hours, they took Tori to her sound check, and then let her have a nap. "Girls exhausted." Jade observed. "What else is on the agenda?"
"We have television appearances all this week." Trina complained. "I think we'll have to cancel."
"Most of the British hosts are understanding." Dre pointed out. "There will be some uncomfortable questions, but mostly those interview will keep her out of trouble. That is, as long as we're on top of the questions. I think talking, spinning the story and focusing on her music, it'll help."
"As long as it doesn't involve another one of those long impromptu public meetings, I'm in." Jade agreed.
The show was a little off, because Tori was feeling drained from everything she'd been through. While still a passable show, it lacked a lot of her energy. Worse, she knew the mistakes she was making, and started flailing to avoid making more, causing more and more things to go wrong. After the first act, during the long solo, Jade pulled her aside and spoke to her.
"Whatever's going on, stop it." The raven haired girl said. "Just, I don't know, take a breath, and think about how you normally do this. Relax, take each moment as the next chance to make things easy, and just do it. I know, I've seen fighters get into their own heads like this. They don't last long. So relax, and focus on just making the next part work. Everything else is done."
Tori was nodding, softly crying, as Jade tried to motivate her to go back out there and sing. "Jade, a moment." Trina said. "I need a moment with my sister." Her voice was calm, but the vibe she was giving off was anything but.
"Sure, but I've already given her a motivational speech." The bodyguard said, stepping away.
"Tori, do you want me to cancel the show?" The older girl said softly. "Maybe we come back, give them a real show when we're not hurting so much?"
"You don't think I can do it, do you?" Tori said, tears flowing even harder.
In the background, Malcolm, Trina's assistant, was heard telling the band "Add a drum solo, for the love of god, stretch."
"It's not that..." Trina tried, her voice soft and cooing. "I know you've been through a lot, and I want to give you the chance to rest, mend..."
"Jade said I should relax, just face each moment as it comes." Tori argued. Jade, still in earshot, cringed.
"Normally I'd agree with her." The older girl replied. "But I know your hurting, and I don't need you to push yourself when all your not up to it."
"Beck was right, I'm useless on my own." Tori wailed. Trina took her in her arms and held the starlet as she whispered platitudes to her.
Jade knew that unless something was done, this was the end of the show. Maybe the next couple of shows. She decided to do something. It'd be a risk, but she suspected Tori needed this win. So, as the stretched interlude was ending, she walked over to Tori and pulled the girl towards the stage. "You can give up, or you can try. If this doesn't work, we go with Trina's idea, but otherwise, give them the show they paid for, and we can take turns saying what we think about Beck after."
Tori, still in the outfit she'd worn for the first act, found herself pushed out onto the stage. For several moments, the Latina was frozen there, drying tears still on her face, as she looked out onto the London crowd. Slowly she started singing the wrong song, and Jade cringed about the disaster that was about to happen.
But the music hadn't started playing yet, and they were using a live band instead of a recorded soundtrack, since Tori preferred the live energy, so the band could catch up, play the song she'd started. The song wasn't one she usually played on tour, due to haw campy it was. Still, it was her first hit, having shot to number one on several charts. Almost immediately, the fans reacted, like they'd just heard a long lost love whispering in their ears. That song, about taking chances and becoming a star, gave her strength as she sang. It provided a basis for her to regain her footing and push forward, growing stronger with each verse.
"Okay, I need a spotlight on her NOW!" Trina was giving instructions. "Strobes, slow and sure, we want things to slowly get brighter as she goes, then I want the dancers out there to help her move to the next number. I don't care if she's in the wrong outfit, we give her a chance to shine, just like the song."
The music grew stronger, faster, and Tori shone with the best of hem. Soon, the audience was moving with her, feeling the rhythm and the power of that one song. By the time it was done, and she'd struck the pose she's used the last time she'd performed that song, her energy was much closer to normal. Jade let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Jade, you realize, normally I'd have to fire you." Trina said to the blue eyed girl.
"Yea, but it worked." Jade replied, watching Tori find her footing out there.
"No, I'm keeping you cause of the fucking motivational speech you gave her." The older girl snapped. "The fact that this stunt worked is immaterial. The fact that, with your speech, maybe she'll grow from it is whats keeping you employed."
"Yes ma'am." The tough girl was suddenly more subdued.
"As is, you're on my shit list for tossing her out there." Trina continued. "If you want off it, do a good job and impress me."
"Yes Ma'am." The bodyguard echoed.
"Now, thanks for being there for her." Trina added. "I know I sometimes baby her, and she's an adult now. Maybe I should trust her?"
"Permission to speak freely." Jade softly barked.
"Still looking for that early flight home?" The managed asked. "Okay, what the fuck is so important that you had to add so much fucking sarcasm"
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, it's just, I'm in the doghouse as is, and I didn't want to speak and find myself outta here." Jade explained. "But what I wanted to say was that Tori told me something today, and it kinda stuck. She'd mentioned that Beck had told her how much she depended on you, or him, or anyone, to take care of her. That she couldn't do anything herself. It was kinda a low blow."
"Okay, you've had your say." Trina seemed to blow her off, so Jade focused on the next part of her job. She hesitated, thinking about where she could evaluate the trip back, or if she should just check the dressing room for anything out of the ordinary. "Not saying it's not important, cause it is, but I just want you to know I've heard you." Trina added, not looking at her.
"Yes ma'am." The bodyguard said, deciding to check out the dressing room, then talk with the exit team to plan out how they'd be getting the emotionally wrought singer to the car.
After the show, Tori wanted to go out. She'd argued with the bodyguard, and her sister, the entire time she was getting cleaned up and changed in her dressing room. Trina, not wanting to fight her any more, agreed, as long as decent protection was used. But Tori continued to insist, even as she won the fight. Then, she directed Jade to the pub in question, the place she wanted to go to. Jade didn't even realize how odd it was that Tori knew exactly where she was going.
Once they walked in, Tori told her way that place. "I was told this famous guy, Andre something, loved this place. And Andre sounds like a name I could trust. So I'm here to just blend in." Tori said, smirking.
Jade's eye's were drawn to a picture of a man, a mountain of a man, standing with several other people, all of them standing in front of the bar, toasting something. "Who's that?" She asked a barmaid.
"You've never heard of Andre the Giant?" The girl asked. "He was a legend. Filmed princess Bride, wrestled, and had a heart as big as his body. I never met him, he died way back, but from what I heard, he never let anyone else pick up the check..."
"Oh..." Jade said, now sure she was in a strange place. However, as was fitting for a place a man like that would frequent, the locals gave her and Tori their space. Space the bodyguard felt was needed, because the pub wasn't that big. But it had a warm, homey feeling, with the locals talking and laughing and drinking their warm beer.
"Ug, this is awful." Tori complained as she ordered another pint of beer.
"Slow down, that chiz is potent." Jade warned. "Look, earlier, we were watering down your drinks. You didn't..."
"You what?" Tori asked, her voice more of a hiss then a shout. "How dare you? I'm in pain, real pain, and I need something to help me get through it..."
"And according to every alcoholic I know, this is a temporary answer at best." The bodyguard lectured. "Now, lets get going."
"No!" The starlet insisted. "I'm in England, in a pub, and I'm gonna do something English. Like eat some gross food, or play darts. Thats is, I'm playing darts."
"I don't see anything good coming from this." Jade groaned, following the singer to the dart board. The board showed all the trimmings of it being used all the time, except it was late, and people had left it for another day. Only the late night drinkers, the addicts and those who'd gotten off work late, were up drinking at this hour. So Tori was able to get to the board, pull out the darts, and stagger to where she could take aim. "Now watch this shot." Tori said proudly, and proceeded to miss the board entirely. Then she broke down in tears. "I can't do anything right… No wonder Beck left meeee…."
"You left him." Jade assured her. "Man, just two pints, and she's this drunk."
"That was a local premium bitter." The barmaid said, having overheard the raven haired bodyguards complaint. "Strong stuff, and she had two pints." The barmaid was carefully removing the rest of the darts from Tori's hands
Seeing that the singer wasn't getting any better, Jade decided to call it a night and called a cab. "Come on, Vega, lets get you back to the hotel." The blue eyed girl said softly, hoping to get the girl back before things got worse.
"What'd you call me?" Tori asked, suddenly angry.
"Vega, your name." Jade said, thinking quickly. "It's a star, like you."
"Oh, I like that." The singer was smiling now. "Hay, can I get one for the road?" She called out to the barkeep.
"How much do we owe?" Jade asked. A moment later, she'd paid, and they were on their way out towards the door. "Come on, lets get you to the nice taxi… God, I hope this isn't an Uber driver."
"Sorry, but they respond faster this time of night, and cost less." The barmaid said, as she helped them into the waiting vehicle. There was a moment as Jade got Trina to run a credit card, since she was going to have enough trouble getting reimbursed for that night, and then they were driving through the night.
Tori spent the entire drive whining about Beck, and why he just couldn't seem to love her. "Tori, it's okay, let go, cry if you need to. He's not worth the tear, but you may need time to feel better, so have a good cry. You can show a brave face tomorrow." Jade was trying to comfort the girl, all while worrying that their driver might decide to take some pictures and sell them to the notorious British tabloid press.
"You took her drinking?" Trina demanded as they pulled the now singing, while still crying, pop star out of the car.
"She insisted on going out, and I couldn't stop her." Jade replied. "She found a place where the locals swore she'd be safe, a place that celebrities are treated just like ordinary folk. I thought she'd be safe there. And she was. Only person there trying to hurt her was her. Girl wanted to play drunken darts."
"Okay, I get that you tried, but this isn't the answer." The manager scolded her.
"I'm kinda hoping the hangover is." Jade said. "Besides, this is to be expected, her grieving after a breakup. If someone saw, you spin it. For now, we hope that she learns from tomorrow, her impending hangover, and doesn't do it again."
"Lets hope, and I'll take care of her image." The older girl said. "But getting her ready, thats your job. I'll give you a wake up call. Till then, good night. Tori's gonna hog the pillows."
"Wait, what?" The bodyguard said, suddenly getting a bad feeling about what was happening.
"She's drunk, and I'm not leaving her here alone." The older Vega explained. "So your with her tonight. Sleep light, in case she chokes, and be here to help her get ready tomorrow. I'll be expecting her to head out a bit after noon to do some press, and I'll want her clean and in top form."
'Great, I'm being punished for being there for her.' Jade grumbled as she slipped over to her room to grab some cloths for the next day, as well as something to sleep in. By the time she was back, Tori was sleeping, curled up in a small ball, holding the spare pillow to her like her life depended on it. "Wait, shouldn't there be another pillow?" The sober girl wondered.
She found one clutched between the starlets legs, and another under her feet. 'How many pillows does one girl need?' Jade marveled at the girls pillow hogging, and snuck back to her own room to steal a pillow for herself. 'I'll just grab a couple, in case she wants to build a fort.'
Jade woke early, before the threatened wake-up call, when the last of her pillow reserve had disappeared. Her eyes focused over to the other half of the king sized bed where Tori was bunkered in, surrounded by the pillows, blankets, and most of the bodyguards self respect. "How?" She wondered aloud.
"You pulled me from the bar while I was still hurting." Tori moaned, yawning, stretching, then going back to sleep.
"She..." Jade stammered. 'She took the pillows. Not unconsciously, but deliberately, she took the chizzing pillows.' Her first reaction was to reach over and snag her pillows back. There were pillows that the other girl couldn't possibly be using. 'Just one pillow, for a few hours more sleep.'
"Touch the pillow, and face the consequences." Tori's voice was tired, and promised dire revenge on the girl if she so much as touched the cushion.
A second later, Jade had her pillow back, and Tori hadn't moved. "I didn't think so." Jade whispered, and started to drift off to sleep.
She woke with a bang a second later as a pillow slammed into her. "Oh, it's on now." The bodyguard declared, grabbing her precious pillow and starting to swing.
The fight didn't last, since the sudden movement was giving Tori a headache. The hangover she was anticipating didn't happen, as she'd never got that drunk, even though she was fairly gone at two beers. Instead the girl felt queasy, raced to the bathroom, threw up, and returned to resume the pillow war with her bodyguard. "You didn't let me get drunk enough." Tori whined. "Do you really think it only took that little alcohol to do me in. Thats two pints at what, seven percent?"
"More then enough to get your skinny ass drunk." Jade sneered. Pillow swinging.
"Genetics." Tori shot back. "Ask Trina, we burn through that shit fast. Made it weird at parties, back in school, cause Trina would get drunk and recover in time to fool dad about what we'd been doing. Also, I'm not light weight." The singer had good reflexes, and was very well versed in using hotel pillows as weapons.
"I don't recall either of you drinking the entire time I've been with you." The bodyguard stated.
"I drank.." She protested, but her angry mood soured. "With Beck. Made the weird shit he wanted to do more bearable." The now sad girl said, dropping her weapon. "You can go, I'm good."
"No, your sister expects me to watch over you." The blue eyed girl insisted.
"Then I guess your in for another show, cause I'm not letting you being here prevent me from changing." Tori said.
"Wake me when your done." Jade replied, grabbing a pillow and snuggling into bed again.
Seconds later, she felt the warmth of the singer spooning her. "What? It gives me comfort." Tori mumbled into her hair, calming the raven haired girl down. Soon, only the sound of the fan in the bathroom could be heard in the room, both girls breathing softly.
:}
Soak it up, cause there's not a lot of Jori for a bit. We still have broken Tori to deal with, and the tour goes on.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, or at least the pillow fight. I know, not a lot of details, but I leave that to your imagination. Now clean up your thoughts and put their cloths back on.
Reviews are wealcome.