The next morning at the Vega house
"Dad I don't want to talk to Jade, her father killed someone you worked with, she gives off a killer vibe" says Tori
"new evidence says otherwise Tori, you were sick that day, after the arrest I came home to take care of you, they forced a confession out of him, they questioned him for seven hours, without water, even the innocent would confess just to end the torture, I talked to the cops that questioned him, they gloated about making him confess to something he would never do, they just wanted the record of putting a rich person in jail on their points card, his sister was there that day, she recorded the whole thing, Jade's father tried to SAVE the cop" says David
"ok but Jade still creeps me out" says Tori as she gets a bowl and her favourite cereal out
"not if you knew what she's had to live with, she has feelings for you, she's the girl that wordlessly paid for that dress that day because that's how her father raised her, you should know that the last time she told someone how she felt they made her the school joke, they told her Jade would be better off dead than dating anyone in LA, she ate her lunch on the ground yesterday, in the kind of heat that would make anyone else faint, oh and you will be treating Cat better, she doesn't believe you actually were seriously on a date with her last year, she thought you were doing it to pity her" says David
"Robbie needs to grow up and stop trusting Sinjins judgement on what is ok, Sinjin made Robbie believe that sticking his tongue in Cat's mouth was ok to do, I'd ask you to have a talk with him but I'd rather not scare him and Cat more than I already do, you KNOW I don't mean to make it look like that, I don't qualify for Autsim, ADHD or Bipolar disorder, all three of which Cat DOES have and is why I identify so much with her, she seems normal to me most of the time, my doctor has run out of plausable disorders that I might have, nobody seems to know what's wrong with me but something HAS to be wrong with me" says Tori as she pours some cereal into her bowl
"for starters stop calling Cat the 'pity friend', make her feel welcome in the group and make room for Jade too" says David as Tori pours the milk into her bowl
"I DON'T call her that, Beck does, he likes to think that everyone in the group has a purpose in life and in the group, I'm the singer, Andre's the musician, Beck's the actor, Robbie's the comedian, Cat wants to sing be in plays, Beck sees that as a conflict as he believes each person has to have a separate purpose AND plays and that to be IN the group Cat has to choose, until then he only sees her as the person you sacrifice to save yourself, I DON'T see Cat that way, I never have and I never will, Cat's cute, occasionally funny and she always has a stash of the best candy in LA on her, you don't get that anywhere else" says Tori
"Beck really thinks that way, I wouldn't think that someone like him would be that rude and selfish" asks David
"he didn't used to be, his ex really turned him sour, especially to girls like Cat who don't always seem all there, I'm not saying she's a complete airhead, she's probably smarter than all of us but her multitude of disorders make her look less intelligent than she is and Beck no longer sees that" says Tori as she starts to feel sick talking bad about Cat
"you could always kick him out of the group" suggests David
"I'm not the one in control, Andre is, Beck and Andre were friends first, then Robbie, then me and then Cat, Andre AND Robbie would have to agree to banish Beck and they don't see things the way you do, the only thing they don't agree with him on is the whole Cat being useless thing, they acknowledge that she can sing and she is very good at making outfits and she can act, everything else they agree with him on, anyway I'm going to be late for school, we can talk later about Jade and me, anything is possible but your opinion matters to me" says Tori as she abandons her cereal bowl and heads out the door with her bag
Later that day during lunch
"Jade follow me, you're sitting at a table today and the boys can groan all they want, nobody deserves to eat on the floor" says Cat excited knowing that her dad is talking to a judge about Jade's dad being released
"I'd really rather not stirred anything up, you didn't tell Tori I like her do you" says Jade
"no but she's in a much better mood today, she called a vote to let you into the group, Beck was outvoted though you do have to prove yourself" says Cat trying to pull Jade to the table
"thanks for the offer but I'll eat on the ground again, if it wasn't unanimous for letting me into the group I'll remain outside of it" says Jade pushing Cat's hand away from her
With Tori as Cat walks over
"she refused Tori, I don't know what to do, it's like she's convinced everyone hates her" says Cat
"well try harder, it's important" says Tori
"what do you want me to do exactly, sit on her lap and kiss her, well I can't do that, besides you the only person I love is Robbie and he has to regain my trust, what I just did is all I'm willing to do at school with everyone watching, she may be my friend but that has limits to what I'm willing to do in public" says Cat
"fine, then I'm going to eat my lunch in the black box theatre, tell her meeting me there isn't optional and I want to see her immediately" says Tori as she walks off towards the school doors
With Jade
"Tori wants to see you in the black box theatre, she said attendance is mandatory and you have to go there now" says Cat
"but I just started eating and there's a breeze today" says Jade
"her rules Jade, getting her approval would change how people see you here, I'd bring your lunch with you" says Cat
"she's going to yell at me isn't she, every popular girl has, fine but our friendship is on the line" says Jade
"hey I don't know what she has planned, I just know that's where our first kiss was" says Cat
"and you're just making me nervous, please don't say anything else and if you told her about how I feel I require some of your red hair as payment" says Jade as Cat becomes visibly nervous as Jade gets up
5 minutes later as Jade enters the black box theatre
"I'm in trouble aren't I" asks Jade cowering before Tori's perceived power
"do you really think that if I wanted to make fun of you I'd do it in secret away from an audience, now get over here and eat lunch with me" says Tori
"I swear yesterday you wanted nothing to do with me yet today you go out of your way to eat with me, this feels like a trap" says Jade keeping her distance
"as if I'd use Cat as a lure for a trap, she's too innocent for that, my dad says you have feelings for me and that you are the one that selflessly paid for my dress last year, I need to know if that's true" says Tori
"yes that was me, who told your dad I had feelings for you" says Jade backing away from an advancing Tori
"I don't know how he found out, I just know that hearing that another girl had feelings for me, well it calmed me down a little" says Tori
"so you like me too" asks Jade
"if I'm being honest I don't know what I feel, after Cat's brother accused me of molesting her, which ended Cat and I's relationship by force, I haven't been able to understand my feelings, I haven't wanted to feel anything, I've been to my doctors a dozen times in the past six months, getting tests for every mental health issue he thought I might qualify for, only to find that I don't have any of them, I feel like I'm losing my mind, some days I question whether I should be in a mental health facility rather than going to school, I don't know what's wrong with me some days, I make snide comments about people without realizing it and I hate that, I've pushed Cat away without realizing what I've said mean to her" says Tori as Jade sees just how vulnerable she is and sits down with her
"what would make Cat's brother think you molested her" asks Jade
"let's just say Cat doesn't get privacy, he's not exactly stable, he sometimes calls her an evil clone, basically her and I were snuggling on her bed and she has this thing about not wearing pajamas in bed, apparently she'd promised him she would wear pajamas around me and she broke the promise, he walked in and saw her without pajama bottoms on and he lost it, he pulled me out of her bed and cut my hair before making me leave then told their parents that I'd molested her, she isn't even allowed to offer to help me study anymore, she can't help me at school and I have to sit as far away from her as I can" says Tori as she begins to cry
"have you told anyone else this" asks Jade
"who'd believe me, my own sister moved out because I tried to tell her the truth, I've had to keep it a secret since" says Tori as she slowly falls asleep on Jade's lap
"and now I see her problem, I've got to talk to Cat" says Jade enjoying being close to Tori since that first encounter at the mall
After school
"hey Cat can we talk about Tori" asks Jade
"sure, about what exactly" says Cat glad that Jade's actually talking
"I think your brother changed her" says Jade
"changed her how, they've never spoken though he definitely doesn't like her, I have no idea why" says Cat
"she told me about you and her cuddling one day, that you weren't wearing pajama bottoms and that you'd promised him you would wear them around Tori, she says he pulled her out of your room, cut a piece of her hair and claimed she molested you" says Jade
"HE WHAT, oh my God I'm going to KILL Him, I thought she didn't like the tattoo I got on my back to remember my papa by, he died two years ago, I didn't know he made her break up with me" says Cat clearly angry
"Tori opened up to me trying to show me it wasn't a trap, I thought you should know why she broke up with you, also she fell asleep on my lap, her hair is soft but more brittle than I'd imagined" says Jade
"ok just don't tell anyone what she told you, not without her permission, she kissed you didn't she" says Cat
"besides telling me her dad told her about how I felt, how he found out is beyond me, no she didn't kiss me, though I want her to, she feels confused about her feelings, she said that after 'breaking up' with you she hasn't really trusted her feelings, that she's resorted to feeling nothing because it makes things easier for her" says Jade
"that's not good, she used to be all touchy feelie, it always made me feel comfortable around her, that big of a change isn't good Jade, she should see a doctor, anyway I should be getting home, hopefully my parents can stop me from killing my brother" says Cat
"just think before you act please, you're very easy to talk to, I'd hate to lose another person to the criminal justice system" says Jade as Cat nods, riding her bike to the road and down the street as David shows up
"I see you've talked to my daughter" says David
"you here to arrest me" asks Jade
"no though I am curious about what you have to think about her mental stability, her emotions seem all over the place" says David
"a ten minute conversation over a few hours isn't long enough to see any patterns Mr. Vega, I'm not sure it would do me any good anyway, people at school think I'm corrupting her and will turn her against the law" says Jade
"progress is slow, you should know that Cat told her dad, a fellow cop about what you told her, it required us to reopen the investigation into your father" says David
"I don't want to know, reopening an investigation is never good, please tell my mom, I already have a lot on my plate given that I have no money and a prospective date on Saturday" says Jade
"that's the main reason I'm here, we cops made a mistake, in freezing his accounts the bank assumed that your bank account was actually one of his, I have a new bank card here for you, by chance is the date with my daughter" says David handing Jade a brand new debit card with her name on it
"I shouldn't have said date, Tori doesn't really know how she feels about me, it's more of a 'get to know me' lunch" says Jade
"a 'get to know you lunch' we're those her words or yours" says David
"hers why, I already told you she doesn't know how she feels about me" says Jade
"because that's how Cat convinced Tori to a date, the moment Tori realized it was a date she got worried and that's why she was getting that dress, she was worried about appearances" says David
"well as I already told Cat, her brother is the reason they broke up, he thought he caught her molesting Cat because apparently she doesn't like pajama bottoms and Cat had made a promise to wear bottoms apparently and he felt she broke the promise and pulled Tori off the bed and out of her room, cutting a piece of her hair in the process and telling their parents that Tori molested Cat, because of that she seems to rather want to feel nothing than feel something for people" says Jade as David curses
"damn the audacity of that boy, I warned him that he'd face consequences for laying a hand on Tori, boy will he face consequences" says David
"Cat already wants to kill him for it" says Jade expecting that to get David moving
"oh she'll hurt him alright though I don't see her killing her brother, for all his faults they are close" says David
"yeah I don't know about that, she seemed pretty pissed, Tori said Cat had no privacy from her brother, that scared me because my dad warned me about what happens when you don't have privacy, he said rape is the first thing that happens once someone gets comfortable" says Jade
"well your father wasn't wrong, it often is when you trust someone that much but I'm pretty sure Cat would have said something about it to her father, anyway don't be surprised if once Tori 'gets to know you' that she kisses you" says David as he leaves before Tori approaches
"ugh of course he'd show up, either way I'm glad he slowed you down, now instead of going home I can follow you home" says Tori
"why follow me home, people's impressions of me here haven't gotten any better, they think I'm corrupting you" says Jade
"I don't care what people think, all that matters is what you and my dad think" says Tori
"so you do like me, your dad was hinting that you do" says Jade confused
"like I said earlier, I don't know how I feel about dating you, that doesn't mean I can't want to spend time with you, whatever is wrong with me, it plays with my emotions, my feelings for Cat just suddenly popped up out of nowhere, I was flush with envy for how she and Robbie were extremely close, I couldn't control it, I'd only worked on an assignment once with Cat before it happened, I was at the mercy of my emotions, all of a sudden her approval mattered to me more than anything, I had dreams I wasn't comfortable with, I feel that if feelings do pop up for you that by getting to know you I might be able to control myself better, think of it like a pre 'not date' sleepover, besides my bed is very firm and its led to a lot of sleepless nights lately" says Tori basically gluing herself to Jade as they walk to Jade's house
45 minutes later as Jade arrives home with Tori in tow
"well this is unexpected" says Julia
"we're not dating mom, though she admits that the option is open if feelings show up" says Jade
"past trauma huh Tori" says Julia
"yeah….. Wait how do you know about that" says Tori taken aback
"Cat's father is one of my husbands oldest friends, let's just say Hank's instability is quite well known" says Julia
"I have a feeling her brother may have raped her" says Jade
"I mean it is possible" says Tori
"no, not really, he's protective of Cat to the extreme, paranoid delusions aside he would never rape her, not unless someone convinced him it would save her life, even then he's afraid of her hurting him" says Julia
"but it IS possible, that's what you're saying" asks Jade
"she'd have broken his arm, or at least his wrist, that's not something he could hide, the truth would get out and their dad or David would arrest him" says Julia
"how do you know any of this" asks Tori
"Tori, this is my mom, she went to California State for a psychotherapy degree and a trauma nurse style medical degree, though nobody seemed to appreciate her knowledge so for a time she had her own practice, she was pretty good at it too" says Jade
"I assume based on your knowledge of Cat's brother then that he was a patient, is he a threat to her or anyone else" says Tori
"see a brother like Hank is a double edged sword, he's super supportive of her and believes that one day she will be a world renowned popstar, however he refuses to let her do any auditions at record labels, he believes most ads, even the obviously lying ones, ironically Cat's Autism, ADHD and Bipolar disorder went under the rug until he insisted that he saw people like Cat in certain commercials, as it turned out he was right, when you gain his trust he's loyal as can be, invasively protective yes but somethings come at a cost, as far as I can tell he has never been attracted to girls so raping Cat is out of the question unless someone convinces him otherwise" says Julia
"so why would he accuse me of molesting Cat" asks Tori
"that would have less to do with what you or Cat were wearing and more to do with hand placement when he walked in and if Cat was asleep" says Julia
"we were both asleep, we'd fallen asleep after getting through half a movie and we'd eaten a lot of candy, my dad calls it a sugar coma, her brother yanked my head and dragged me by my hair out of her room, I woke up when I hit the floor, he'd never been aggressive to me before then" says Tori
"why is hand placement important" asks Jade
"because of how she likes to sleep it could be seen as non consensual touching, even if it had been consented to before falling asleep, to Hank any touching near the waist or chest is molestation, it doesn't matter what your intent was" says Julia
"so me dating Cat was a really bad idea then" asks Tori hating herself for having ZERO self control
"no, the relationship was actually quite healthy, Cat however forgot to set boundaries with her brother, that was the issue, though you couldn't have known just how Hank would have reacted and I will be having words with him about this, at least once he's out of the hospital" says Julia
"wait why is he in the hospital" asks Jade as Tori smiles
"oh Jade you know full well what you did, there wasn't an ounce of surprise in your voice" says Julia
"wait what did Jade do, I was happy a second ago now I'm worried Jade committed a crime" says Tori a waver in her voice
"oh far from it, if anything she mended a wound" says Julia
"I don't understand, which is not something I'm used to" says Tori
"her parents said nothing about her brother's involvement in breaking you two up in the hopes that he'd confess his 'sibling sin' as Cat calls it and that she would avenge you, basically because of your talk during lunch Jade told Cat the truth and she took revenge, spraining both his ankles, bending both his arms behind his back and forcing him into a 100% splits position, oh and she dislocated his left knee, he will never cross her again" says Julia
"you're certain of that because that's what I was told, that he knew the boundaries, my dad tried to make sure of that and he failed" says Tori
"oh I will make sure that he knows the consequences this time, you don't make that mistake twice, oh I forgot to mention that he's technically under arrest for assault for that instance and his parents are paying me to be his mandatory therapist going forward, yes mostly for Cat's benefit" says Julia
"what are you saying, that Cat has been his therapist or something because that doesn't sound like her, sure she's close with him but not THAT close" says Tori very confused
"more or less Cat has been his therapist yes, it has helped her understand him, though he refused to go into detail about certain things, which was good, see they have different rules, like wildly different, he doesn't get to go to school in person, it's all online, he also can't date, which by the way was against my guidance" says Julia
"ok him checking in with Cat makes a lot more sense" says Tori
"that seems very cruel, not letting someone date, like not even making it like a reward for good behavior, that's not fair to him" says Jade
"there was this one girl he'd snuggle up to while waiting for their appointments, she was always first, he always seemed brighter while she was around, the paranoia was never as bad and honestly her schizophrenia was never as bad around him, I swear it was like their worst symptoms cancelled each other out but her parents cancelled her therapy before I could finish diagnosing her, as soon as I suggested she might be schizophrenic they pulled her, so not only is she without treatment, but she's likely never going to be allowed to be anywhere near Hank because I finished his original therapy treatment, honestly since being pulled away from her he's only gone downhill, honestly reuniting them would likely solve his recent outbursts as I've heard that she's been successfully escaping from her parents house searching for him" says Julia
"if her name is Amy Glenstone my dad recently rounded her up and put her in a hospital room under a mandatory psychiatric hold" says Tori
"I'm going to lay down, this information has been a lot to take in, mom put Tori in the room across from mine when she's ready for a nap" says Jade as she heads to her room
"ok what's your real problem with calling it a date because I know it doesn't have to do with feelings because I can tell by how you watched her walk up the stairs that you want to kiss her" says Julia
"maybe you can see how I feel, I'm sure Jade can but I can not tell how I feel, ever since being ripped from Cat's arms by her brother I can't seem to process my feelings, I've had dozens of doctors appointments to try and figure it out but nobody can find anything wrong with me" says Tori
"have you considered PTSD, emotional vaccum disorder is rare but it is readily tied to C-PTSD and PTSD, being ripped from a girlfriends arms can be very painful, its something I dealt with a whole lot growing up, I'd start dating a girl, her parents would see me kiss them and suddenly I'd be kicked out of the house and they'd quickly move away, for me not being around my focus of affection helped me move on but you see Cat every day therefore you can't move on, you can't get closure on that relationship and your brain isn't letting you attach yourself to another boy or girl" says Julia as Tori notices the date on the fridge and begins to freak out
"no no no it can't be Friday, I set the date for Saturday so I'd have a day to prepare, that date has to be wrong, tell me it's wrong" says Tori as she faints
"and there it is, diagnosis confirmed, well at least I have something to report to David tomorrow" says Julia as she picks Tori up and takes her to Jade's room
In Jades room 10 minutes later
"mom I said THE ROOM ACROSS from me, wait why does Tori look like she's unconscious" says Jade suddenly super worried
"she has Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder mixed with emotional vacuum disorder" says Julia placing Tori on Jades bed
"what's that last one, I've never heard of it" says Jade
"basically it can happen when you're suddenly ripped out of a relationship like Tori was, Tori's brain can't process new emotions because of the lack of closure between her and Cat because of what Hank did, mentally she imprinted on you during lunch, that's how you got the information about Hank from her, it was involuntary, she realized you were stressed and info dumped, not as a way to get you to trust her but so that you wouldn't leave as she now essentially needs you to survive emotionally" says Julia
"so does she love me or not" asks Jade
"yes, look into her eyes when she speaks to you one on one, you'll see them looking like they're shining, unfortunately her brain won't process new emotions until she gets closure with Cat and ends that rather short chapter of her romantically interested life she will be unable to consciously acknowledge her feelings for you" says Julia
"wait that sounds familiar, is this like when you had me keep telling you that dad wasn't a criminal and made sure you ate for like a month after he was wrongly convicted" asks Jade
"yes exactly, the difference is what happened with your dad is what's considered a clean break, yes I need time to adjust to him not being here but I'd get over it as I did, the difference with Cat is that she runs into her every day at school so there is no clean break and it would be quite irresponsible to ask Cat to change schools simply because doing so would rectify Hanks actions on her brain and allow her to move forward just like Cat has" says Julia
"but Cat hasn't technically moved on, she still expresses her feelings for Tori" says Jade
"the difference is right now Cat knows Tori won't risk another encounter with her brother so all bets are off, Tori can't date you until she can process her emotions" says Julia
"but you told me to look into her eyes, that I could see that she loves me" says Jade
"that's all good for starting a relationship but a relationship can't solely be based on what you see in her eyes or her facial expressions, a successful relationship is built on love and consent, consent is the big thing here Jade, until she can process her emotions there is no consent, at least not legally, Tori would be deemed mentally handicapped and unable to consent and if you tried anything sexual or make out like you'd be arrested for assault" says Julia
"but Cat would never agree to a scenario where Cat would have one final date with Tori to end things, she thinks doing such things would spook Robbie" says Jade
"she's smarter than she looks, just explain to her what I just told you, she'll understand trust me, she deals with her brother, you don't live with someone like Hank unless you can talk them down from paranoia and understand complex things" says Julia as she leaves