Fractured World

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious or iCarly

A/N:


Chapter 7 (The Shay Experience)

Walking into the large den, the sunlight pouring in enveloped her in a gentle and soothing warmth. As she looked up to the windows, which from the inside formed more of a cross than she had seen from the outside, she thought she could feel her mother watching over her.

She turned her head to the navy-blue lazy boy and carefully took a seat, gasping in surprise at how soft and warm the chair was. Closing her eyes, she hummed for a second as the muscles in her body relaxed.

"You like the chair?" Ian's voice drew her thoughts back to the reality of the moment and she opened her eyes to see him and the two older men watching her. "They were telling me it's a pretty old chair for the shape its's in." She brought her arms on the large, puffy armrests and curled her fingers over the edge.

Tori glanced to the men on the sectional. The younger looking one she assumed was Steven Shay. He was wearing an Air Force military uniform, had a full head of combed brown hair parted on the right and seemed to be in decent shape.

The man near him was wearing round spectacles, had thinner brown hair balding around the top, was thinner in frame and had a slightly bulging belly. The wrinkles around his nose, lips and eyes indicated to her he was the older one, George.

"How old is the chair?" She inquired with intrigue lacing her tone.

Steven replied with a smile. "It was a family gift from us to the Grayson's for their living room." Excitement shot through her, and she started to sit upright. "When our kids started dating, our families grew closer too and as a sign of that, we wanted to give them something." The man pointed at the chair. "The fitting thing is your parents picked that chair out."

She raised an eyebrow, her hands hugging the puffy arms and her lips parting briefly. "They did?"

Steven gave a swift nod. "We were sitting in Mike's living room one time and our kids were going through the coupons and offers sent out. Immediately they started talking about the chair, saying how nice it was and Sasha was going on about how she recently felt like she needed something she could rest on."

Tori raised a hand towards her lips, her eyes widening as the statement processed in her mind. "Ah. So, not quite twenty years." Steven thought for a few seconds before his face started to turn a light shade of red and he bowed his head. He cleared his throat and laced his fingers between his knees.

"Well, when we brought the chair over, Sasha was the first one to flock towards it. I'm pretty sure shew used it more than anybody in that house. Whether it was playing a game, reading a book, studying; it became your mother's chair."

She couldn't help but to grin, too pleased to realize it had been the chair she herself flocked to. "Awesome." Now, she too felt like this chair was providing something more for her, her mother's chair.

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs while resting the ends of her feet on the bend of the recliner seat. "Now I'll go to sleep, if that's okay." The men laughed. She reached over the side of the chair and pulled the lever to extend the leg rest, then spread her legs out on top. "So what were you talking about, hopefully not scaring my boyfriend away."

Hearing Ian chuckle, she looked to him with a loving smile. "No," he replied, "But they were trying get details and talk to me about responsibility." Her smile faded and she rolled her eyes. She didn't want to become annoyed with any relatives before she met them, but going after her boyfriend was one quick way to accomplish that.

Even still, she did understand where they were coming from. After talking with Jenny, she also was assuming that George was quick to jump the gun where Steven may be more cautious.

"Ian and I have only been dating for a couple of years, and he knows I have no interest in sex. Especially not right now, and I think he's the same way." Ian nodded slowly.

"It isn't something we're ready for."

Footsteps clicked behind her and she turned her head to see Spencer walking up from behind. His forehead was creased and his narrowed eyes were studying his father and grandfather while his arms were slowly locking together across his chest.

"Are the two of you seriously interrogating them right now?" Steven shook his head and George looked up with rising eyebrows. "Granddad?"

"Of course not!" George exclaimed while waving his hand in the air. "I just wanted to ensure they understood the risks and would be responsible in their newfound relationship."

"They both have gone through a lot." Spencer's eyes narrowed further. Tori felt at an awkward position, so she remained quiet while slowly looking to Ian wanting to know what he was thinking. "I assure you, they are highly aware of risks, I would appreciate if you held your tongue for a little while."

"All I am saying is-"

"That's enough," Steven said as he stood up and turned towards his father, shaking his head at him. George stammered for a bit before bowing his head. "Spencer is right, this isn't the time for that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"Your intentions are well-placed, but we also don't want to alienate my granddaughter or push my son further away than he already is." Steven ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. "There's a reason my wife walked out on us after Carly was born."

"Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut then." George crossed his arms and shook his body as he grumbled.

Steven turned towards Tori, looking from her to Spencer, then Ian and finally back to her. "I apologize, we're all grieving but happy that your mother was rescued from that hellhole and you were brought back to us." Tori mustered a small smile before looking up to her grandfather.

The man brought his hand to his chest and leaned forward a bit. "We want to make you feel comfortable, get to know you and let you get to know us." The man looked at Ian. "Young man." Tori turned her attention to her boyfriend, watching close as Ian sat upright and nodded swiftly.

"Yes sir?"

"I'm sorry if my father came across too strong and caused any embarrassment for you." Tori sighed, happy that this exchange was happening but still a little uneasy now. She didn't mind Spencer's protectiveness, especially in this moment; but she could see what Aunt Jenny had been saying regarding the two men. George was almost most certainly pushy and it sounded like there was a definite distance between him and his own son.

If she had to guess anything, she'd think that George felt guilty about a number of things while Steven was most definitely fearful of losing perhaps his only family. Spencer, and Carly, already were clearly closer to the Graysons, so Tori could understand that fear if it was there.

"It's okay," Ian replied, "I don't know about Tori, but I appreciate the candor." He raised his shoulders. "I probably would choose a different time; but if I were in the same place, I might want to do the same. We want to know what we want to know."

Steven nodded and motioned to Spencer. "If Spencer trusts you, then I trust you." The man turned his head to George, who Tori watched shrink a bit further in his seat. "It would behoove us to remember we only just met our granddaughter for the first time, the timing of your questioning her relationship with her boyfriend is absolutely not appropriate. I should have said something before my son walked in on that."

Not wanting this to continue any further, Tori decided to shift the subject a little. If they wanted to get to know her and get to know Ian a little more, maybe it would help for them to understand just how their relationship even begun.

"You know something Grandpa Shay, Ian and I met when we were younger." Steven smiled for a moment and returned to his seat. Spencer slowly walked towards the sectional and sat in the corner seat between his father and his grandfather.

At the same time, Tori caught Carly standing in her peripheral. When she turned to look, Carly met her gaze and then proceeded to make her way to the cushioned rocking chair near the windows.

Tori had to wonder if Carly and if her father felt they needed to be mediators here. She wasn't as uncomfortable as when she first came, which was a bit surprising. Seeing her relatives and studying how they were acting and communicating made them more human to her and less strangers in a strange new world. She liked it.

"There were three of us actually, our best friend Courtney is…" She tensed momentarily, glancing down. "She's on her way home." A sigh fell from her lips and she closed her eyes. "She started asking questions about the Vegas and the situation I was in, and someone I thought was a friend had her kidnapped and sent off as a slave in China."

George frowned, raising a shaky hand to his mouth. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Tori. Is she related to that young man that was present at the service?"

"That's her brother, he pretty much raised her." Tori breathed in slowly and felt a sting of moisture in her eyes. Clearing her throat, she shook her head and turned to Ian. "As far as our friendship goes, Ian and I had always been close." She saw Spencer smile and his father started to speak.

"Reminds me of my son and your mother!"

Tori couldn't help but laugh and watched her boyfriend's lips turn up into a huge grin. "Definitely something like that." She looked back and her gaze drifted down. "We were spending some time together one night and, well, both of us were pretty ready to try and start dating at the time; even Courtney had been bugging us to do that. We were just shy."

She watched the older relatives lean forward, their brows furrowing while Carly and Spencer, knowing the story, each stopped smiling. "Ian went to grab something out of David's study and he saw a note or something indicating that I was not their kid; and that I was to replace my mother."

The grandparents gasped out. George's hand flew over his mouth and Steven bowed his head and started to look away.

"Ian told me later on that he didn't know how to tell me about it, and went to their daughter for advice; and that didn't turn out. He took a beating for it, and they threatened him to stay away from me."

Ian snapped his fingers and motioned in the air. "Which, I couldn't do that." There was a note of pride Tori spotted in her father's eyes when he heard those words. Tori leaned to the side, her chest was tensing and her stomach starting to churn as she recounted the tale; but somehow, it felt okay to talk about it.

"He did hide a little bit, but not for long. Courtney and I demanded to know what was going on and why he was only talking to me online. I told him that I'd seen the beating he took and was already scared enough that he was avoiding me because of that. I was angry, but not with him; with him, I was more scared of losing him."

Ian let out a heavy sigh and leaned forward, holding his hands between his legs and looking towards the floor. "So, I told her what I found." Tori remembered the shock she felt in that moment, and the disbelief. "I told her the note also said she'd be going to Hollywood Arts to be monitored, so I didn't trust anyone at that school; which by that time she'd already been sent to and made a few friends."

Tori raised her fingers, performing air quotes. "Friends. Not exactly accurate, but that's getting ahead of the point." George curled a hand under his chin and Steven stretched his arms out along the top of the couch, raising his right foot to his left knee. "Either way, Ian was still always around; just not obvious."

"I watched that damn place like a hawk." Ian crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "If anything happened, I was ready to jump if I needed to."

She saw George smile, his eyebrows started to rise. "You were trying to protect her the only way you knew how?" Ian nodded at him.

"Tori and I had begun to meet in secret, trying to figure things out because we didn't have all the answers. Courtney caught on and we told her that the Vegas were not her parents, that the school and the people she met couldn't be trusted." He sighed. "That was a mistake."

The chairs were too far for her to reach Ian, but she wanted to comfort him somehow even if she couldn't comfort herself. "She would have figured something was up one way or another, Ian."

"Probably." He closed his eyes. "She was abducted a year ago, and at that point I was frantically trying to figure out what I could do."

"Meanwhile, I didn't want them to hurt him again. Sinjin, Courtney's older brother, was working for one of the teachers at that school and left after Courtney was kidnapped. We told him what we knew, we both kept trying to be there for him and so on…"

Still, there was never a moment during the last two and a half years that she felt safe. Every moment she met with Ian or Sinjin was dangerous, because she knew it might be the last time she saw either one of them. "I was about ready to split, I needed to get out of there any way that I could."

Carly raised her hand. "I think I come in somewhere around this point." Tori smiled at her youngest aunt and Ian nodded his head.

"A few big things started happening that made me see an opening." Tori crossed her arms and shut her eyes. "Or, I should say Ian saw the opening first. He's always been the more observant one."

"Not true," Ian remarked, likely trying to make her feel better. She smirked at him and pointed to him.

"You didn't trust the couple that I knew at that damn performance arts school, yet you took a chance on them long before I did."

"That's true." At this point she wondered if George and Steven were still able to follow this tale, but they hadn't moved much and she could see the intensity on their faces that suggested they were still listening. "I saw they'd started asking questions and then I decided to take a chance and approach them, see how they reacted to me. Jade was the most curious. Then she and her fiancé started working with this detective that had been working on a gang case he felt there was a connection to Sasha's disappearance…" Ian's voice trailed and he waved his hand in the air. "There's a whole story there, I'm not going to get into all of that right here. Let's just say, when they started investigating stuff, they were causing distractions for both the Vegas and the 'friends' at the school, who were now watching them and not Tori."

This was true, and there was a moment she did feel bad for; but it had been the golden opportunity that she'd been waiting for. "Jade invited me to her place to talk about some stuff. Just before that, Ian had stumbled upon some tour that Carly was planning for her webshow and Sinjin approached Carly to see if she might help."

Her grandparents looked at Carly, who had a sheepish look on her expression. "I didn't know exactly what was going on; but they showed me a picture of Tori with the Vegas, and Spencer had a massive freakout."

Spencer growled softly. "David Vega was the one I saw that night, paying off the guy that murdered Mike and Amber."

"When that happened, I understood why they thought this girl could be in danger. So, I agreed to help. Even lied to my best friend to keep her safe because they didn't trust anybody or anyone."

"The point of all this," Tori interrupted, "Is that Ian and I have always been close and he has done everything he could to try and protect me during all this." She shook her head and raised her shoulders. "I'm not sure where I'd be right now without him. I trust him, I respect him, as he does with me."

"That's good," Spencer replied with a subtle smile. She watched her father's eyes travel to Ian. "My dad said if I trusted you he would do the same; but I hadn't been as proactive as granddad because I didn't feel the timing was right." Tori held her breath for a few seconds, watching her father's chest rise slowly and Ian gazing intensely at Spencer.

"But Carly confirms to me that when she was helping you guys, you were nothing but compassionate, protective, loving and respectful…There's clearly a strong connection with the two of you, and as long as you two respect each other, care for each other and you never cause her any undue harm."

There was a brief pause and Spencer started to chuckle. "It's still not really the time for it; but I don't want you to feel any pressure or worry, so I'll just say it." Spencer rose from his chair, looking to his father and grandfather before glancing back to Ian. "I approve of you, Ian. I have no problems with the relationship, just be respectful of each other. That's what's really important." Spencer looked at his grandfather, his voice remaining calm. "No one should be questioning the relationship you two have right now; not even myself."

George muttered under his breath before shaking his head. "I wasn't questioning, I just wanted to be sure-"

"It wasn't the right time. Be more considerate of the timing of things, Granddad."

Carly rolled her head to the right, bringing her fingertips to her forehead. "Like that time you almost took me away from Spencer because one damn project went wrong so you didn't feel like I was safe with him; and he's the only one that remembered an inhaler for my asthma, which you forgot." Carly dropped her hand. "Still, enough of this. Can we not make Tori think that her father's side of the family can't stand each other? I'd like that, Spencer would like that. Everyone in this house would like that."

"I was wrong to suggest anything," George remarked while standing up, "And I apologize if I have offended anybody. Maybe I should just leave to the hotel, it would be best."

Tori sighed and rolled her eyes as Spencer started to shake his head. "That's not necessary, Granddad. We want you to be here. We just want you to be more considerate of the situation. That's all."

"I will try." George looked at Ian with a soft smile. "Ian, you seem to be a good young man with a good head on your shoulders. I'm glad that Tori has someone like you in her life." Ian thanked the man and Tori smiled, her heart rising to warm her chest. "Now if none of you mind, I would like to go for a short walk."

As the grandparents left the room Spencer cast a sad-looking smile towards Tori. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She smiled back, shaking her head. If anything, she was intrigued. "There's a lot going on with granddad and with my father, sometimes they come together and can put things to the side, other times not."

Carly folded her hands at an angle, her knuckles touching the tip of her chin. "Dad blames Granddad for a lot of things, like Mom walking out on us. He's kind of afraid Granddad's going to cause the same problem elsewhere. Granddad is just impulsive, he speaks the first thing that comes to his mind and doesn't usually stop to think about whether or not that thought is the right thing. He just says reacts."

"It's fine." Tori pushed the leg rest back into place and hopped up from the chair. Strangely, the whole thing made her feel even more comfortable than before. Granted, she might be more annoyed in different circumstances, it was nice to know that everyone was just able to be themselves. "I didn't want to be the center of attention, just wanted to meet my new relatives as they normally are; so, it's kind of refreshing."

Carly threw her head back and laughed. "That may be, but Granddad's 'charm' might wear on you after a while."

She watched her father's eyes rise to the ceiling. The man shook his head and turned around. "I think dinner is just about ready, so I'm going to check in with John. I'm glad you like your grandparents, Tori."

"Aunt Jenny is great too."


Seems we've seen a lot about the Shay Grandparents. Nice that Tori feels a little more at ease apparently, though I think Jenny contributed to some of that. I thought I'd also point out the relevance to the house descriptions being so vivid, simply I'm basing it off my grandparents home that I was raised after my mom and brother passed away when I was 12. The blue lazy boy recliner is also inspired by the recliner in which my mother bought a few months before her passing. Enough about myself though, what are your thoughts on everything in this chapter?