Disclaimer: I don't own victorious or any of it's characters. I just like to think about "What if."
:}
A short while before the date, Jade went to her garage and picked out which car she was going to drive. Most days it was simple choice, with her usually taking the hybrid SUV. But today, when every choice, even small things, could make a huge difference, she found herself debating which of the half dozen car's she owned should she take. The electric car screamed environmentally aware, but was kinda small. The Porsche screamed money, but Jade never drove it. Honestly, it was a gift from one of the first Studio's to believe in her, and she would've felt bad giving it away. Then she had the car she'd owned since high school. Jade drove it quite a bit, so much that Cory had to take it for servicing and upkeep while she was out making movies. But her most common form of travel in the city was by town car.
She chose her old car, mostly for the familiarity, but also because she'd had the windows tinted. While it wasn't much, it was enough to help foil the camera's of the paparazzi. The last thing she wanted was them snapping a bunch of pictures of her tonight. Tonight with Tori. 'Not tonight. She's mine tonight.' The director thought as she sat down and started up the car. The downside was the car was too old to have a built in blue tooth system for her phone, but the goth would make due with what she had. 'Plus, I doubt anyone's gonna call me in the ten minutes between here and Tori's place.'
Naturally, it was on the way to Trina's place when she got the call from Stan. After a short comedy of errors trying to pull her phone out and put it on speaker, the pale girl asked "Yo, Stan, whats up."
"Turns out that one of the guys I worked with back in the day, at the time one of the uniformed officer who often helped us out, was later Lieutenant Vega's partner. Still is, kinda, now that they work directly for the chief. They track details, do background checks, talk to other precincts where a recruit might have worked before, that kind of chiz. They also pick up prisoners being shipped here. Lots of travel. And this David guy, apparently he's second in command of that unit now." Stan informed her. "Everyone seems to think he's a good cop, so I'm okay with you dating his daughter."
"Thanks, I didn't know I needed your permission." The goth said dryly.
"And yet you asked for it this very afternoon." He said back, not the least bit phased.
"So do you think he'll do a check on me?" The director asked.
"Another one?" The ex cop asked back. "I doubt it, but it would be a good idea."
"What do you mean, another one?" Jade didn't quite understand. 'What did he mean another...'.
"Apparently he did checks on all of his daughters close friends." The manager said.
"And she dated such losers." The pale girl commented.
"Well, you had to be in her life for a minimum of three months for the check to be worth while. None of the guys either of his girls dated back then lasted that long." Stan told her. "But her friends, the people who went through school with her, those people were around for years. Of course he checked."
"Isn't that a bit of a violation of our civil rights?" The director asked.
"Depends on how deep a check." Stan told her. "Legally, people have checks done on them every day. There are services, for those who can afford it, for private citizens to check up on people, do background checks, etc. No one is hired for any job without some level of check. But officer Vega had access to a much deeper check." There was silence on the line for a few moments. "Look on the bright side, you passed."
"That doesn't make me feel any better." Jade complained.
"Well, this Tori girl didn't do it, so don't let what her father did interfere with you having a good time." Stan reminded her. "Personally, I kinda like him. I'm sure we'll get along famously."
"I'm sure you will." The director said. "I'm hanging up now. Bye."
Seconds later, she walked past the gate and up to Trina's front door. After she rang the doorbell, Thomas answered the door. "For the record, Tori has her own entrance. I'll show you." He stepped out of the house and guided Jade to a metal staircase along the side of the house. "Up there. I believe she's waiting."
"Thanks." The goth said.
"And Miss West," Tom continued, "Have her back at a respectable hour." he did his best intimidating look.
"Really?" The pale girl asked. "You're playing dad? Her father's a cop, has a gun and everything, and you're playing dad?"
"Technically, male relative, but it's all the same." Tom said casually.
"Well, you tell her." The writer replied. "Whatever curfew she has, I'll try to get her back, but she's more interested in hanky panky then I am, so I can't make any guarantees."
"Can you blame her?" Thomas said. "But don't sweat it, I understand, she's an adult. Just, be gentle. She's had a rough couple of years."
"So have I, Tom." The now nervous girl said. "So have I."
One flight of stairs later, and Jade was knocking on Tori' door. "One minute, I'm not dressed." Came drifted through the door.
"Great, but you'll still have to sign for your package." Jade joked. 'How can she not be ready?' Jade wondered.
"You realize I saw you talking to Tom, right Jade?" Tori asked, still through the door.
"Then why aren't you ready yet?" The director asked back.
"I'm not ready yet because I needed to see how you were dressed so I could adjust." The tanned girl told her.
"I'm dressed almost the exact same way I was this morning." The actress complained.
"And I'm not going to be out sexied again." Tori replied. "Now, I'm almost done, so just hold your horses."
A second later, the door opened and Tori was standing there in a summer dress. It was simple, understated, but at the same time it set off her skin tone and eyes beautifully. "Okay, I'm ready." The Latina said. "So how do I look?"
"Beautiful." The other girl said. "Absolutely stunning."
"Okay, I need to be sure of my mix here." Tori said, not yet moving from the doorway. "Am I just shy of 'screw diner I'm taking her right now' sexy, or do I need another outfit."
"I have a lot more self control then that." Jade told her.
"Okay, give me a moment to change." Tori teased.
Jade didn't bother with any more verbal banter, grabbing her date by the wrist and dragging the other girl down the stairs and out to her car. Along the way, they passed Trina and the children, who were watching the spectacle. "Bye, don't stay up." Jade called to them as she passed.
"By" Cameron called back. "You have fun now." The others just waived
"So," Tori asked as she sat down in the passengers seat. "Haven't seen this car in years. Look, this is the same seat belt I undid to roll out of your car back when we were up in that desert. You remember, Shadow of Death park."
"Shadow Creek park." The goth corrected her. "Yea, cars not that old, and I still like to drive to that park. But not tonight. Tonight we're going out for dinner, and then maybe some music."
"Oh, I love that." Tori smiled, her eyes lighting up at the thought of some entertainment. "So where are we going, or is it a surprise?"
"I was going to take us to Maestro's, you know, for old times sake, but you didn't want to dress up for dinner." The writer told her. "So I'm taking you to some place called Original Tony's."
"The restaurant or the pizza place?" Tori asked.
"Apparently it's both." The goth replied.
"Both?" Tori asked. Not waiting for a rteply, the teacher pulled out her phone, and looked it up. "Okay, here it is. Original Tony's Family Style Restaurant and New York Style Pizza." She looked at the listing for several moments. "They didn't need the second style. They just could have called it new york pizza."
"Are you really complaining about that?" The director asked.
"It's just wrong." The English teacher said. "Here I am, trying to seduce you, and they have one too many uses of the word 'style.' I can't have anything distract from you looking into my eyes. One little thing like this can throw everything off."
"You want me to cancel the reservations, go someplace else?" The pale girl asked.
"No, it's okay. Just, things like that bug me sometimes." The educator said.
"You weren't like that back in school." Jade noted. "I remember how bad some of the things you wrote were." Then quickly adding "But that's okay, we all can't be great at writing. Some of us act, or teach, or whatever."
"Jade, it's okay." The Latina reassured her. "I know I'm not the best writer out there, but I do know my syntax, and I get fussy about some things. However, I've heard good things about this place, so lets go eat."
"That's the idea, beautiful." The goth said. "We're almost there." she was too busy driving to see how Tori lit up for a second at being called beautiful again.
Despite the reservations, they had to wait at the bar for their table. It wasn't a long wait, just a few minutes, long enough for each of therm to get a drink. Tori got a strawberry Daiquiri, while Jade got some lemonade. "Not drinking?" Tori asked.
"I'd have some wine, but I'm driving." The director replied. "But don't let that stop you. How's the daiquiri?"
"Sweet." The teacher replied. "I like sweet drinks." They were making small talk, but Tori wasn't having it. "Look, I know I've been a little forward, but I'm not against taking things slowly. Us, We need to be careful, cause I suspect we're both in danger of getting swept up in our feelings."
"Cat told me she knew what I was missing." Jade said, not seeming to follow the line of conversation. "I suspect she was thinking of love. But her life, it was so janked up."
"We can say fucked up." The Latina commented. "We're adults now. We say fucked up."
The goth glared at her companion for a second, then continued. "Her life was so janked up, with her trying to recapture her youth. But she, and Robbie, they're parents now. They have little ones who need them. I know what it's like to have a parent who doesn't want you."
"So here we go, blaming the parents again." The educator said. "You said it, we're adults. How long are you going to keep blaming your parents?"
The director was stunned. She looked at her date, not sure what to say, when the waiter came and brought them to their table. They sat in silence, looking at their menus, mostly because Jade really didn't want that comment to be the end of their date. Inside, she was spinning, hurt by what Tori had said. 'When have I blamed my dad?' She thought. 'I did everything despite him. Not once, in all the time we've talked, did I blame my dad, my mom, or anyone.'
"Um, Jade?" Tori questioned. "I just, I mean, I think I went a bit overboard there."
"You think." The writers voice was a cold front, forming a barrier between the two.
"It's just, I thought you blamed your dad." Tori continued. "Back in school, I always kinda blamed him for you being so distant. I guess I didn't realize..." Tori was having trouble choosing her next words.
"I think you're trying to apologize." Jade said. "I'll chalk it up to one too many students blaming their behaviors on their parents." She was still distant, but wanted this date to go well.
"That's not it." Tori shot back. "I blamed him. I blamed him, and my mom for having an affair and not being there when I realized that music wasn't for me. My dad, he was the greatest. Supported me, my decision, everything, but my mom couldn't seem to be happy in their marriage, and had an affair. The real surprise was that Gary, who admitted to liking my mom, he never touched her. No, she went and had an affair with some guy she met at a lunch place. A fucking sandwich place."
"Okay, I'm thinking this isn't about me any more." The pale girl said.
"I guess what I'm saying is that I don't..." Again the Latina was ahead of herself. "I don't want us to be hurt by what our parents did. My mom, your dad, we shouldn't blame them for our own screwing up."
"Tori, listen." Jade spoke, taking the other girls hand. "I had to work really hard not to blame you for what you said. Never, not in all the time we've known each other, have I blamed anything I did on my father. Now, I've got people in my life, people who love and care about me, who blame him. They hate everything he did to me. But I've never let that get in my way. I may feel empty, unloved, and desperate to have someone to hold me at night, but I don't, haven't, and will not blame him. You may have some unresolved mommy issues, I wouldn't blame you if you did, but don't accuse me of hiding behind anyone else actions."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Tori gushed, near tears. "I guess I projected my feelings, my assumptions, on you. And I've ruined out date."
"Not quite." The director replied. "We still have dinner to get through, and maybe, if we don't ignore what you said, we can have a pleasant evening."
"Don't you mean ignore what I said?" The tanned girl asked, calming down a little.
"No." The goth replied. "For one of the stories I wrote, I did some research on dying, and found that the old elephant in the room stories, they emphasized not ignoring it. You acknowledged the elephant, then moved on."
Jade motioned for the waiter to come back later, then continued. "Our elephant is how you feel about me, what I did to you, in high school. Even your excuse about your mother, it sounded like an excuse. Not discounting it. It happened. But clearly you wrote your own version of my life, my back story, and blamed it for why I was such a bitch. Guess what, you could be right. But that doesn't matter. What mattered is, after all this time, you still carry a lot of anger towards me." Jade looked Tori in the eyes, emphasizing her point with a challenging look.
"Tori, if we're going to do this, we need to be honest. Is this anger going to get in the way of us dating?" The pale girl asked. "If it is, we may need to talk about it, decide if this is the right thing to do. If not, then we push forward, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. I'm willing to face your anger, if your willing to."
"Oh my chiz, when did you grow up?" The teacher asked, clearly amazed. "Sorry, that wasn't appropriate."
"Last couple of weeks." The director answered. "I think I've been building up the knowledge part, little sayings, stuff I researched, but it's all kinda snapping together now. Also, I really want this to work out. I mean, you deserve this, my life, so much more then I do."
"And there's the guilt." Tori said dryly. "Jade, I walked away, remember. I wanted the life I'm trying to have. I may not be able to afford your house, but I can afford a nice place. I can go to the parties, get wasted, wake up next to famous people, and regret every moment of it. Or I can teach."
It was the tanned girls turn to take her dates pale hand, and amber eyes bore into teal. "You do deserve the life you have. It's your work, your talent, that got you where you are."
"And one of the luckiest managerial choices ever in the history of entertainment." The goth replied.
"Sorry, what?" Tori asked.
"My manager, Stan, used to be a police officer, financial crimes. He knew so much about investing. I mean, he made me a LOT of money. He took the money I made, and tripled it." The director admitted.
"He was a retired officer, looking to make some extra cash, trying his hand at security, and we got to talking. I hired him as my manager, hoping he could do some calls for me, cause a lot of people respect you more if you have a manager." The writer continued. "But he turned out to be so much better then that. He negotiated contracts for me, held his own with the big boys at the studios. And given a chance to invest, lots of money, he was amazing. And his wife, Marge, she became his secretary, and they both look out for me."
"They care about you." The teacher said. "They blame your father for how damaged he left you, cause you wouldn't. And they held you when you needed to cry. Sounds like you got the perfect parents now."
"I'd love for you to meet them." Jade blurted.
"Now who's moving to fast?" Tori smiled. "But this is nice. Tell me, anyone else in your surrogate family?"
"Cory." Jade couldn't help but smile. "He started as an impulse hire, a beach comber and drug dealer trying to get away from that lifestyle. I hired him as my personal assistant, back when I was living in a one bedroom apartment barely half the size of the place Robbie and Cat live. Cory slept on my couch, made appointments for me, screened who was allowed to talk to me. Lots of eligible men made it through, yet he was one of the best things I ever did. But in the end, I moved into my new place, and he became the groundskeeper."
Tori burst out laughing. "The guy with the date?" As the pale girl nodded, Tori tried to pull herself together. In that moment, they'd partially forgiven each other for what they'd said earlier. They would talk, each letting the other know a little more about themselves, for the rest of the evening. The danger of Tori's old anger was past, for now.
They ate in peace, making small talk, until Jade was ready to take a risk. "So tell me about Lisa."
:}
Not my best work, but it gets the job done. Tori stepped on Jade's issues, and her own, and yet they pushed forward anyways. I think there's more desire to see where this goes than hurt. Funny, Jade being that forgiving. But when your goal in life is to be forgiven...
So, next time, we find out if Tori answers that question. And the thing about the elephant, it's true.
Reviews are welcomed. Questions answered, comments taken, that kind of chiz. So review.