Heroes of the Past and Present

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game

A/N:

Chapter 3 (Friendships in Question)

"Look, we really are sorry," Andre attempted to console Tori, who was sitting on the couch with her face buried in her hands. Her heart shattered when she saw her sister driving away in her friend's car. She assumed it was Sinjin, but she didn't really see who it was and what she did see was someone with slicked back hair. "We didn't mean any harm, really." He touched is hand to her shoulder and she slowly looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks stained with tears, and her hair had fallen in front of her face.

Andre was sitting to his right, he was tense and his eyes held a genuine sorrow. To her left was Cat, idly brushing her red ponytail with her hand, holding it over her shoulder. Jade was in the nearby recliner, glaring at her feet while Beck stood beside her with his hands in his pockets. Robbie was near the kitchen counter, speechless through the entire fight.

"I know it doesn't mean much," Jade's voice was whisper-quiet, but loud enough to obtain everyone's attention. They swamped around her like flies to a light, that's why they were all friends with her. To Tori's knowledge, the friendship started because she had no friends, and now it was like some unpledged loyalty to her. "But I really am sorry, it's my fault, I think." Tori scoffed at her and Beck glanced away from the group.

"Yeah it doesn't mean much Jade, you're the one that enjoys berating everyone."

"It's not that I enjoy it! It's just…who I am. I mean, it's like, I don't know…I feel like I either have to be in command and on top of my game, or I'm out. I had no friends when I started going to HA, not until Beck and I started dating." She knew the story of how they really came to be. Beck dated her, his best friend was Andre, so he immediately became part of the group. Robbie was working on a project with Beck at the time, and even after the project was over, he still hung out with them. He was the new guy, at the time. Cat met them when her family moved and she sort of attached herself to them. Trina was already going to Hollywood Arts and convinced Tori to try out, even going so far as to fake an allergic reaction to get Tori to go onstage.

Jade put her hands to her chest and closed her eyes, "I mean it. I started making fun of Trina back before we really got together. Trina was a couple grades ahead of me and I wanted to be superior. She was the school's popular girl at that time, and I didn't like popular girls. I tend to see them as vain, just like those girls from the karaoke place a couple years back. So…I mocked her, convinced Beck and Andre to do with me because, well, I don't know…"

"So you're saying you have a superiority complex. Is that what you're telling me?" She couldn't help but to feel a deep anger rising up, but she didn't know whether to blame Jade or to blame herself. "Even if you made fun of my sister before you met me, she's still my sister. Regardless…she's right, you should respect that…"

"We've all done some pretty stupid things," Beck lamented while running his hand through his hair. "Andre, Robbie and I all fooled Mr. Vega into thinking we were doing some sort of puppet intervention with Trina when we were really just messing around with her, trying to feign interest in her and overwhelm her with stuff…" Her muscles tensed and she swept her fingers over her forehead, moaning at Beck's admission. She heard snippets of the story from Trina, but she didn't know what really went down.

"You did what?" Her head bolted up as her father's voice echoed into the room. They looked over to see the man glaring at Beck from the stairway. As he descended the steps, his glare never once left the boys. "If any of you hurt my daughter in any way…" He took a slow, deep breath while speaking with such distinction that even Tori felt the chills of fear stabbing at her. "Emotionally, mentally, or physically…then we're going to have some issues here."

Tori rose and moved over to her dad, putting her hand to his wrist. His nostrils were flaring and his eyes had a dangerous look in them. "They were just telling me how much they screwed up, how we all screwed up."

"Yeah Mr. Vega," Robbie straightened himself up from the counter and David's fiery glare fell onto him. "We want to make things right, all of us." Tori knew her sister better than anyone, and she was well aware that there was no way Trina would easily forgive them. She understood when Trina wanted to cut ties with someone, she would, and she was very close to doing just that with all of her friends. "We don't know how to do that, though…"

"My daughter is very careful with who she trusts, and for good reason. I raised her to be that way. Now I know you guys like to joke around with her, and I may not know the extent of your teasing, but I can tell you this…If you've messed with her mentally or emotionally and you want to make things right…you'd better work hard at it."

"Dad's right guys…I have to also, because, she is my sister and I don't want to lose her. But you guys…I don't know…Trina's a girl that, well, she can either be your greatest friend or your worst enemy. She puts one hundred percent in her relationships, I kind of forgot that." It wasn't like she ever stopped needing her big sister, she always had needed her. She just lost sight of how important Trina was to her when she went to Hollywood Arts.

"Jade," she continued, "I can understand your dislike of popularity…I don't know what it is, I guess I got caught up in what you guys were doing. I was new too, didn't have many friends, so I went along with you when you mocked Trina the first couple times…I guess I went overboard, so I'm sorry."

"Sounds like you're apologizing to the wrong people," David muttered as he folded his arms over. "You can all tell each other how sorry you are for what you've done, but you should be talking to Trina." He turned to Tori and slowly shook his head at her, causing a pang of guilt to strike her. "She's your sister. Friends or not, you shouldn't have agreed with them the first time. The first time it happened, you should have stuck up for your sister. I apologize to your friends for what I'm about to say, but friends…they're temporary, they won't be here forever. Trina will always be your sister, do you understand that?"

"I do, daddy…" It brought to mind the childhood stories she used to hear all the time of her ancestor Sarah Hawke, and Sarah's sister Bethany. Her eyes closed and her heart began to escalate its incessant pounding as she recalled the story word for word. Even in the end, Sarah Hawke stood by her sister. Was she Bethany, though? Was she Bethany, were her friends the circle, and could she make that analogy? Would Trina stand by her, or was it too late to salvage their relationship? "I have to make sure…I haven't completely ruined my relationship with her…"

She could feel a deep fear growing inside of her, pulling at her heartstrings as Trina's words lashed at her mind. She put her hand to her chest and held her breath. The others remained quiet, each looking to one another. They'd all followed Jade, not wanting to upset her or lead her away from the group, but it had gone on too far now. Not only was her relationship with her sister at risk of destruction, but they'd all been responsible for sending Trina's friends away.

"I had a sister," Once again Jade's quiet voice rose over everyone else's. They acknowledged her and she slowly looked up to them. "She lives in another state with Mom. Growing up, I was always second under her. She would make me do everything for her, she'd blackmail me and get me in trouble with mom. She was the queen bee at her school and controlled everyone. She was…ten times worse than I am. Ten times as vicious, ten times as controlling…"

"So that's why you act the way you do?" Cat asked, her voice wavered between confusion and annoyance. "Trina's not like your sister, is she?"'

"Nothing like her. Thank God for that."

Tori's heart went out to Jade, but at the same time, she couldn't feel an overwhelming amount of sorrow towards her. Jade made an assumption of Trina based off of her friends and 'popularity' at the school. Trina's rise and fall was attributed to this, whether they realized it or not. "There's a lot you guys don't know about her." Her friends looked to her, each had remorse in their eyes. "If you want to make things right, you need to get to know her for who she is. She's not just my sister, she's everything to me. She's strong, she's compassionate, she loves me and I love her. There's no one I know in this world that is better than her…she's tough, but not too tough. She's amazing and you've all torn her apart. I'm ashamed to say I helped because I was afraid of losing your friendships…but dad's right…that is no excuse. You have to respect her, but you also have to respect me. If you want to make things right, you have to make things right for both of us…you have to show me that you mean it. If you don't…then, well, I guess it's over."

Their eyes widened and their bodies tensed, none of them wanted to lose her friendship. She didn't want to lose theirs either, this was hard as hell to tell them, but she saw no other choice. If they couldn't be respectful and kind to her older sister, then she wasn't going to be friends with them.

"When I was a little girl, Trina was my everything, and she still is. Even her friends were friendly with me before I went to Hollywood Arts…" She crossed her arms and met each of their gazes. They were filled with fear and concern. Jade seemed conflicted, surely even she wanted to keep Tori's friendship. As insecure as that girl was, friendship meant everything even to her."As a little girl I always said my friends were going to be hers, that we were a package deal. Now I don't know if that's what she felt, but the rule still applies to me. I-I need her, I can't lose her. So, if my friendship means anything to you…then you need to treat Trina with respect too. I'm not going to let those insults and jabs fly anymore, because it put me in a place with her that I do not want to be!"

David started to nod and pat her shoulder, "I'm proud of you, Tori."

"Thanks dad, but it might be too late…I think she hates me. Can't say I blame her…I wonder what she's doing right now, probably lamenting over how stupid we all are."

Trina was halfway across the city with Sinjin, laughing as the two toured the National Historical Museum of Las Angeles. He was making several quips about historical facts. Tori and her friends were the furthest thing from Trina's mind, just the way she liked it.

Her stress and blood pressure had decreased severely from where it had been earlier. "Trina, I bet you can't say the preamble to the Constitution without looking at that," he pointed to a framed constitution on the wall. Trina chuckled and shook her head, not daring to make that bet. She was not well versed with the constitution, or other governmental facts.

"Nope, I'm not the history major, Sinjin, you are. I'm Criminal Justice, and I'm willing to bet you can't recite the oath that the police have to recite in the academy." She stood at his side and put her arms around his neck, smirking as she leaned close, wagging her eyebrows and challenging him to try the oath. It was a relatively new oath that her father helped create for the department about five or six years ago. He was now the third in command in the police department, just beneath the Assistant Chief of Police and Chief.

"All right yeah, you got me there." She released his neck and laughed, throwing her hands up. "I'll learn it one day."

"Okay, listen to me well." She spun towards him and held up her right hand. Sinjin raised his right hand as well, locking eyes with her. "I pledge to honor, obey, serve and protect the laws of the city of Las Angeles, the state of California, and the United States of America. I will not deviate from my path, but to be strong, swift, firm, and loyal. No criminal will escape my grasp, no burglar will steal the upper hand. Loyalty, Honor, Respect, and Determination. I will uphold these qualities as I perform my civic duty to this great nation."

Sinjin recited it and slowly lowered his arm, "Yeah I'm going to have a hard time remembering it, but I bet I can learn it."

"If I can, you can."

"Trina? Sinjin? Is that you?" She tensed and glanced over her shoulder, startled by the sandy haired girl behind her. It was Lindsay! She was wearing formal clothing, and had her hair cut down to her chin, where it feathered outwards. She had a darker tan than she remembered, but overall, she still looked the same. "I can't believe you guys are here!" Lindsay moved over, hugging their necks. She was taken aback by the gesture, and Sinjin seemed just as confused. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Lindsay, you work here now?"

"Yep." She took a step back from the duo and smiled, glancing between the two of them. "Wow…so…it's been a long time."

"I'll say." Some old emotions were beginning to dredge up, but she swallowed them down and crossed her arms. "Last I remember, you were telling me you didn't want to be friends anymore." Lindsay bowed her head and lifted her shoulders up.

"Yeah…I'm sorry about that, there was a lot of stress going on back then. I never wanted to end on a bad note, I just couldn't take fighting anymore. "But how are you now Trina? Are Tori's friends still giving everyone that comes in contact with you hell?"

"No, they mind their own business where my friends are concerned." She motioned her thumb to Sinjin and her lips tugged back into a frown. "Sinjin's the only one that concerns, and they pretty much leave him alone considering he's never once left my side."

"I see, well that's good." Lindsay looked to Sinjin and chuckled once at his hairstyle, "That's a little different from the afro that I remember, Sinji."

"Thanks!" He moved his hand through his hair and beamed with pride. "I kind of like it too, I put some gel in it and let my sister talk me into trying contacts out."

"The look suits you." Lindsay turned back to Trina, breathing in deeply. "Look, I know we ended on a bad foot, but I am really sorry. I didn't want our friendship to end, we've always been close…Is it all right if I give you my number, so maybe we can really sit down and talk? I have to get back to my tours, but…I'd love to talk to you again."

She hesitated to trust her, fearing the possibility of her friendship ending again later on for whatever reason. Deciding against isolation, she pulled out her phone and pressed the 'add contact' button in the address book. "All right, Lindsay. What's your number?" The girl's eyes lit up and she instantly recited her number. With that, Trina gave her a smile and pushed the phone back into her pocket. "I'll give you a chance, I would like to catch up too…"

"Thank you! So…are you two like, a couple now?"

"Huh?" Trina and Sinjin looked to one another and her cheeks flared up. They were just incredibly close and comfortable with one another, but the possibility of being a couple? They dated once or twice, but never became an official boyfriend and girlfriend role. She didn't really feel like getting into a relationship with anyone, she felt she had severe bad luck with relationships. Though, Sinjin was the only guy who could probably handle her in this world. "We're not really there yet, I mean…"

Lindsay's boss came around the corner, asking for her to get back to work. The girl nodded to her boss and grinned at Trina. "I remember everyone in the group used to tease you and Sinjin, you were always the closest…I hope if you do hook up, that it'll work out. Anyway, I have to get back, I hope you'll consider calling me!"

"I'll think about it." Lindsay hugged her neck, then hurried off at the second prodding of her boss. Trina gazed wistfully at her friend's departing figure. She took a deep breath and turned away, looking up to Sinjin. "Maybe I'll give her a call some time…"

"She was your best friend. It's the least you could do, I suppose."

"It is."

So what are your thoughts? As I'm sure you can see I'm doing it a tad differently than I usually do with Tori's friends. They've got the work to do as well. What are your thoughts on Tori's ultimatum to them, as well as Trina's friend Lindsay showing up again?