I am SO sorry for updating almost two weeks later than promised. My computer turned into shit a few days before school started, and even now it's really really slow and I'm scared I won't get my unfinished documents back because they won't load. :( On good news, last week I got a MAC! It's so fast, but I don't have Microsoft word so I mainly typed this on ff . net. To make up for the wait, this chapter is 2k+ words, the second longest in the story.
And god, school's really been wearing me out. I'm just so tired all the time. I can't promise when I'll update, but it'll be pretty soon. I kind of have a plan of where I'm going, although I'm thinking of combining 2 reasons into one chapter because they're kind of entwined but.. yeah. There will only be 5 or 6 more chapters, although I'm thinking of making an epilogue, which would be an extra chapter.
Anyway, thank you for the reviews! 76?! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
x.
"While Beck was out buying drugs with his daddy's money-" Robbie paled, glancing discreetly at Beck from the backseat. Had he heard? Had anyone else? Looking at Tori, it was obvious that she hadn't noticed, and focused his gaze on Jade, whose jaw was clenched tightly, driving the car because she claimed anyone else would be too 'emotional' to do it. Staring at Beck again, rather blatantly, Robbie saw bloodshot eyes and a blank face, although that wasn't too unusual for Beck, it was worrying. Had he been too out of it to realize that his best friend was a drug addict? Unbeknownst to him, Andre was doing the same thing.
When they got back to the house and the tape finished -eerily at almost the same time- the piled out of the van and started making arrangements to go back to their own homes.
"Hey, Beck, can I get a ride with you?" Robbie asked, wondering if this was the best way to go about confronting Beck.
"Sure, Rob." Beck smiled slightly, looking at Jade for confirmation. It was Jade's car, after all, Robbie thought after a second of confusion.
"Yeah, sure, both of you can sit in the backseat and gossip like schoolgirls." She said dryly. Inside, Robbie was panicking. He didn't want Jade in the car! While she probably knew about whatever Beck was going through, she'd get too defensive and he wanted to talk to Beck, not Jade.
"I'll drive them back to Beck's." Andre cut in, seeing Robbie's obviously conflicted face.
"Didn't you drive your car here?" Jade asked, moving in front of Beck as if trying to shield him.
"Yup. Which is why I'll drive them in it to Beck's, and we can all sleep over. It's been awhile since I've been with my boys." Moving closer, he added, "Could you stay with Tori? She seems jacked up about this one, and since I can't stay, it would help to know that someone can." Seeing that Jade was still protesting, he turned to Beck. "What do you think Beck? You in?"
"Considering that it's at my house, sure." Beck added, looking at Jade almost pleadingly.
"Fine. You have your boy time. Vega, can I stay with you? And are your parents ever actually at your house?" She asked, raising her voice for the last sentences. Smiling, Andre headed to his car, Beck in tow. Robbie stayed back for a second, before saying bye to Tori and retreating into the car.
"Sure!" Tori said with way too much enthusiasm. "And my parents are home at nights every few days or so, but not really after school or on the weekends. Come inside, it's getting cold." She opened the door and carefully locked it behind Jade.
"Do they even know about Trina?" She asked questioningly.
At this, Tori dimmed. "I don't know. I haven't talked to them about it really, but I think they know."
"Don't they ever ask about her?" Jade asked, surprised.
"...They're not really that kind of parents. You guys know how Trina was out a lot before." At her skeptical look, Tori blanched. "They get busy, okay!"
"Chill, Vega. It's not like you're being questioned." Jade raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it sure feels like it sometimes!" Tori glared, stomping to the kitchen.
Jade sighed. It was going to be a long night.
xx.
"So, Beck, how's life been going?" Andre asked conversationally as he started the car.
"Yeah, want to tell us anything?" Robbie jumped in.
Becoming a bit concerned, Beck raised his eyebrows. "Not really...I did get a new fish for my tank, though."
"Is that a metaphor for something?" Robbie questioned, raising his eyebrows creepily.
"...No, Rob, I really got a fish. His name's Smoke." Beck smiled, remembering his friend's social ineptness.
Robbie's eyes widened. "Is that a metaphor for something else? Such as-"
Cutting him off, Andre said, "Robbie, young grasshopper, have you ever heard of something called being discreet?"
"Hey!" Beck cut in. "I thought the whole Yoda thing was our thing, Robbie!"
"I didn't tell Andre, I swear!" Robbie looked like a deer in headlights for a second. "Anyway, it's no different than you trying to share our Full House time with Jade!"
"That was different! You didn't pick up your phone when I called during the marathon!" Beck replied.
"That's because I didn't actually have phone service!" Robbie said indignantly.
"Well-"
"Guys, shut up." Andre cut in. "We're at Beck's. And Beck- we have something we want to say to you."
xxx.
"So, Vega, what do you want to do now?" Jade asked an hour later, bored of watching reruns of Drake and Josh. "This episode was funnier the first 20 times I watched it."
Tori had calmed down enough, and Jade, wanting a quiet night, hadn't pushed about her parents, and although she really loved riling Tori up, she didn't feel like yelling.
"Well... We could watch Full House. Trina liked this episode." Tori said dubiously, flicking through channels.
"...Yeah, no." Jade replied, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. "I know, let's talk about something a little more interesting."
"What?" Tori said warily.
"Oh, I don't know... maybe two absentee parents?" Jade smirked.
"No, I don't-" Tori was cut off by her PearPhone's jingle. "Ooh, a text!" Tori looked at it for a second, frowning. "It's from Trina. There's something in her room for me."
"You do know that she isn't still - with us, right?" Jade questioned skeptically.
"You don't know that for sure! Maybe the body at the train was someone else's, you know, I went to that bar right after I healed from the car crash and they weren't there anymore." Tori said.
"Oh my god, you can't seriously believe your sister's sneaky enough to get away with that! Where, tell me, would she be staying?"
"I don't know, but she's been texting me!" Tori said desperately, grabbing at straws. "Maybe she's staying near that soup kitchen a few miles from here. She isn't that high maintenance."
Jade's mouth dropped. "Give me the phone." She said forcibly, grabbing at it. Surprised, Tori dropped it, and Jade caught it.
"Oh my god." She said, eyes wide. "Who knows who grabbed her phone at that bar? You've been texting with a total stranger!"
"Gee, if I didn't know you, I'd think you actually cared." Tori sneered. "I'm going upstairs to get that tape, and can you call Andre and ask him to come over with Robbie? I'll try Cat after coming downstairs."
Tori raced up the stairs, eager to see if this tape would be hers. If it was, would it be all over? Would Trina finally come back?
Meanwhile, Jade, using her phone, texted Andre. 'Tori's being a freak and thinks Trina isn't dead. I don't know what to do!'
Tori came down the stairs, eyes pleading, and Jade was reminded of similar brown eyes.
"Did you ask him to come over asap? Beck and Robbie are coming too, right?" Tori asked.
"Stop, Tori." Jade said finally. "Just...stop."
"Huh?" Tori asked, brows furrowed.
"Do you know what you're doing? I don't think it's fair for you to make us listen to Trina's tales of sorrow just so you can make us hurt with you! You have to move on sometime! Who knows how long this is going to last? Robbie's cried three times at or after these reasons, and Cat's practically not talking to any of us! Trina's tearing our group apart post-mortem, and you haven't even noticed! Not to mention that you. Don't. Think. She's. Even. Freaking dead! When was the last time you really saw anything but you, Tori? Sikowitz is in rehab, Andre's grandma is getting sicker, although you wouldn't know that, would you, because you're too caught up in your older sister's dramafest to actually talk to him! Did you even notice that you haven't talked about practically anything else since she died? People are starting to avoid you, and I know for a fact that you're going to Lane for counseling. It's almost the end of junior year, Tori. I'm pretty sure your grades are dropping, because I haven't seen you do any homework in at least 3 weeks, and I'm actually around you a lot, as weird as that is! Don't you want to get into a good college? Actually have fun? Look around, Tori. Opportunities are passing you by, and soon you're going to be that golden girl who broke. And nobody's gonna be there to help you up." Jade said, grabbing her purse and opening the front door. Looking back once, she said, "Goodbye, Tori." before slamming the door.
Tori frowned. They didn't really think that, did they? Turning away from the door, she remembered the CD she'd been carrying down, and pushed it into the player. It didn't matter. Trina understood her. And if this CD wasn't hers, she'd rewatch the ones that mentioned her again, to try and piece them together. She'd find out what she did wrong, and then she'd find Trina and fix it.
"Ryder Daniels. Such a unique name, for a unique guy. When I say unique, though, what I really mean is douchebag. I was the first one you played, back when we were in the same grade and I had a little problem called anorexia. Lindsay liked you, we both did, and we fawned over you the first month of school, squealing together when you smiled or winked at us. You had Sikowitz's class with me, and some singing class with Lindsay, and when you started showing an interest in me after Sikowitz assigned an acting project. I might not have been a good singer even back then, but I could act. And one day, you left your phone in Sikowitz's class and I went to give it back to you, but saw a new text from some girl and read it, finding out you were flirting with her and had told her that you just talked to me because you felt bad for me.
But, this isn't about how you hurt me, even though you did, or how you helped turn Lindsay against me after you broke up with me and got with her. This is about how you hurt every girl you touched, including my little sister Tori. Do you know what you did to her? After you got held back a grade, because face it, the only time you ever tried was when you were seducing girls, you wanted a good grade in that singing thing. So, you got the best singer in the class and tried to get with her. Namely, Tori.
She was naive, well, more naive back then, believing anything and everything. I tried to warn her, told her to check your phone, but you peed too fast, and she didn't get to see the texts that I don't doubt were on your phone. After she figured out your plan, she was hurt. Unlike me, she hadn't had her fair share of heartbreaks, and she was crying for days. The only other relationship she'd had was with Danny, and they were in an institution! And since she couldn't stand looking at you, she picked me to channel her anger. I love that girl, but she was a mess. She was mad at me for not warning her enough, furthering the channel that had started to come between us. After that, I wasn't her sister anymore. I was just somebody she was forced to live with. And it's YOUR fault."
So, did you like it? I noticed Tori wasn't really mentioned much in the last chapter or so, and even though I know I've been writing Jade a lot I just can't picture anyone else telling Tori like it is, so there's that. And Robbie and Andre are gonna confront Beck in the next chapter, while Tori'll still be in denial. That is, if Trina's really dead.
And I think that Tori distancing herself from Trina after Beggin' on your Knees is kind of true. In the next episode, we don't see Trina at all, and after that, I think Trina 'enslaves' Tori in an effort to spend more time together, kind of, and after that, Trina is really nice to Tori in Tori gets Stuck, maybe trying to make up for something?
Please review!