At the lunch date with Andre and Tori 3 hours later
"what are you thinking about Tori, you took forever to order" asks Andre
"all we talk about is music, it annoys me that we can't talk about anything but music, I want to snuggle you in my bed but your skin is rough, I want to watch movies with you in bed but I fall asleep too quickly" says Tori avoiding the topic of sex entirely
"Beck believes that you're idea of a relationship with me is sexual in nature, is there any truth to that" asks Andre as Tori looks away
"I don't want to talk about it, especially not out in public" says Tori again looking anywhere but in Andre's direction as if she's looking for someone
"are you nervous Tori, we can always leave, I just thought a cute lunch date would be right up your alley" asks Andre
"Trina says I'm paranoid about VV, that someone might attack me trying to get to her, maybe she's right, I don't know" whispers Tori as she puts on a hoodie she kept in her bag
"I'm nervous too Tori, my dad has never approved of anyone I've dated but he seemed to be approving of you, it scares me" says Andre
"great now I just have to get my dad to agree with your dad, my dad's quite the hard sell" says Tori
"what about me doesn't he like" asks Andre
"he's a cop, his default mode is suspicion, yes it's based on the color of your skin, while it is unfortunate that he assumes that you're not a crimeless black person, his experience says that Black people get desperate a lot more than white people do, his main fear is that you're going to misread my body language and rape or otherwise hurt me" says Tori
"the only person in my family that has ever committed a crime was my grandmother but that was after the Alzheimer's or dementia or whatever the doctor said she had, she didn't realize that what she did was illegal, anyway when you invited me to stay with you she had to return to the nursing home she was in before they gave her a chance to live somewhat independently, my family has been traumatized by cops targeting us simply because we're black, my moms speedometer broke once and the cop pulled her over, she was arrested for speeding even though she was actually only five miles per hour over the speed limit, my dad fought it and won, the cop had to drive my mom's car for a day, it took him less than an hour to realize that the speedometer was malfunctioning, my dad ran out of gas half a mile from a gas station so he had me go fill a gas can, by the time I got back to the car they'd cuffed my dad for 'interrupting the flow of traffic' even though my dad had managed to pull off to the side of the road in time before the engine stalled, again the arrest was challenged and we'd won again but the trauma was already there, when it came time for me to get my license my parents and grandparents advised me not to get it, telling me that I'd be targeted by the cops, that's why I lived with my grandmother when she had the chance to live in her own house, they'd placed her in a less aggressive police neighborhood, the cops there were less aggressive, I can't believe he'd think I'd rape or hurt you" says Andre as their food arrives and he thanks the waiter
"may I ask why you talk in your sleep" asks Tori taking a bite of her chicken sandwich
"it happens when I'm nervous, my fear of your dad banishing me like he did Cat didn't help but I was scared about telling you how I felt, I was worried that if I told you that I loved your smile that you'd think I was creepy, you remember how I was temporarily wonky about Jade, it was the same about you I'd just internalized it because I knew it wasn't just a passing wonky feeling, also my skin is rough because I ran out of my exfoliating body wash and I can't seem to find it in stores where I know I can afford stuff" says Andre
"what's the brand name, VV has expensive taste in shower stuff, maybe she told me where to find it" says Tori
"African soft silk body wash, it certainly didn't look expensive, the whole wonky thing with Jade led my mom to believe that Jade dumped Beck and asked me out, she's not known for spending a lot of money on things" says Andre nearly finishing his meal
"African is an expensive brand, they specialize in Mediterranean peoples skin care, yes its expensive but they give part of their monthly profit to needy African families, they're based in Tunis so its worth it, VV uses the feminine version of their exfoliating body wash to keep her stereotypical Spanish undertone skin, she's found that regular non-specialized body washes dull her vibrant natural skin tone by whitening it, the moment she switched to the African brand it returned slowly to her natural skin tone, I can have her pick some up" says Tori
"no I should get it myself, it wouldn't be fair and her fans would make assumptions" says Andre playing along
"she already frequents the store Andre, she already picks some up for Trina, it wouldn't look off at all actually" says Tori
"well then I need to pay her back, it's not fair that she buys all this stuff for people" says Andre
"Andre, stop freaking out, Trina's job pays her basically nothing, like she's lucky to make a hundred dollars a week, she can barely afford food, VV pays for this stuff because she can, that's why she's popular, she helps those who need help, it doesn't matter what kind of help, from money to clothes, as long as it's not sexual in nature she's willing to help" says Tori finishing her food
"ok fine but my dad wouldn't forgive me if I didn't offer to pay her back, it's how I was raised" says Andre as Tori nods in agreement
Back at Tori's home 1 hour later with the shower supplies Andre needs
"so movie or what" asks Tori
"I should probably shower first, you nap or whatever, I'll come snuggle after and we can decide then" says Andre as Tori nods
25 minutes later
"hey uh I just checked up on Tori, I just had a shower, is it polite to wake her up for a movie or should I just snuggle with her" asks Andre
"how asleep is she, she's generally a light sleeper" asks Trina
"I was able to pick her up and she didn't wake up" says Andre
"I'd suggest cuddles but that's just me, when she wakes up you can watch a movie" says Trina
"you definitely have changed, where's Beck, he seems to like you" says Andre
"he left, said he had to think about things, we watched a movie and I almost kissed him, he asked why I didn't and I told him that I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, you have to understand I'm nervous by nature, getting into Hollywood arts scared me, I felt that they gave me a chance so I had to act like I belonged, it morphed into acting entitled, it bled Into every aspect of my life" says Trina
"and Cat confronting you changed all that" asks Andre
"not right away but yes, it made me realize that I'd gone way way too far, that I'd considered Tori as a lesser human that didn't deserve privacy or my concern, my ego had taken over, Cat's not the type of person that would slap someone without a really good reason, it took a lot of self reflection and therapy to return to who I should have always been, VV helped pay for all that" says Trina
"does Tori really buy you shower stuff, I mean like as VV" asks Andre
"yes, the place I work for treats me as an immigrant, meaning they pay me as little as possible, the thing is I take pride in having a job at all, right now I just need the work experience, yes its sad that I am not treated fairly but without this work experience I have no way of getting another job, I'm a cashier and any other job needs work experience to be a cashier for them, I'd work for VV if she thought it was appropriate, which she doesn't" says Trina
"I know VV is Tori, can we drop the façade, it's not like anyone in this house doesn't know one is the other, I don't see why she wouldn't want you working for her, making social media posts has been your thing lately and you've gotten a lot of attention to those posts, you could be like her public relations person or something" says Andre
"both her and her manager disagree, they say that not all attention is good attention, besides Tori doesn't want to work with me, she doesn't want a big public campaign yet, anyway you should go cuddle her, she needs someone to be with, someone she can trust" says Trina
"you're saying she can't trust you" asks Andre
"or dad, she doesn't fully trust either of us, not after dad kicked Cat out, she hasn't been trusting of us since" says Trina
"I will talk to her about this, it's not healthy for her or you guys, mistrust isn't healthy when it's misguided" says Andre
"it's not entirely misguided Andre, dad and I made a mistake, dad did what he thought was right without asking her and I backed him up, I failed to see just how close they were" says Trina
"you making a mistake regarding your judgment wasn't your fault, your dad is the adult, he's the one that's supposed to be your role model because your mother certainly wasn't, you followed his lead believing he understood the situation, I remember many times where Tori stood by your dads decision without an understanding of the situation, Tori shouldn't be angry or upset at you for that, your dad made a mistake and he has to own up for it" says Andre
"oh ok, I guess I'm not used to people standing up for me, anyway I'm serious about you going now and cuddling her, she will notice that you're not there, she paid for what you needed to shower to fix the rough skin issue, she won't understand why you didn't walk right back I to her room after your shower" says Trina
"understood, thanks for the advice" says Andre as he walks over to Tori's door
"don't be so hard on yourself, you're finally yourself again, don't push Beck away if he wants romantic time, he's a hopeless romantic, it's why he stayed with Jade as long as he did" says Andre heading inside Tori's room
"hey, what took you so long" asks Tori groggily having just woken up
"I had to talk with Trina about a few things, Beck suddenly sees her as cute and relatable, he hinted that he loves this renewed Trina, I wanted to make sure that she didn't push him away, they were watching a movie in her room and she stopped herself from kissing him because she didn't think it was a good idea" says Andre
"yeah, he's been visiting a lot lately, I haven't seen her this nervous in years, it's like she's afraid of doing something wrong and freaking him out, last week she had to pee while he was here and she held it in for two hours, she has a UTI because of that now, granted she's taking antibiotics but she hates getting UTI's, they cause her more pain than most girls get with them, she was trying to impress him, they were in the middle of a card game" says Tori
"she doesn't need to impress him, he's already impressed by how different she is now, he's noticed that she's nicer, he knows you used to never want to talk to Trina at school, let alone sit with her at lunch, he's noticed you and her are closer, though he wonders why she still comes to school because she graduated in June" says Andre
"she barely graduated, she's back at Hollywood arts trying to get her grades better, she's on half days, after lunch she heads to her job, which I'm not all that fond of her having, they treat her poorly, they pay her next to nothing, basically just less than minimum wage, which you make, essentially you make three dollars more than she does, imagine how she feels" says Tori
"if I may suggest something, I think she'd be amazing as your public relations or social media handler, you live this double life out of respect for me, everyone at school says you seem more tired and depressed than you were last year, you need someone to take some of that stress away, I don't even follow her outside of 'the slap' school website environment and I'm being recommended her posts, some of them are funny, others are about mood disorders, every comment I've seen was positive, she's a pretty big star on her non school social media page, she talks about the issues that matter, I think she'd be a perfect fit, it would take a lot of stress off your shoulders Tori" says Andre as Tori seems to cry a little
"is my depression really that obvious" asks Tori as Andre cuddles up to her
"quite obvious yes, Lane has been concerned, he's worried that you're suicidal" says Andre
"I'm depressed because Cat and I had something special, sure maybe I wasn't comfortable with how fast Cat wanted to go but I would have been able to meet her pace once I was comfortable with our relationship, Dad meddled I'm my love life, how can I forgive him for something like that" says Tori
"obviously you shouldn't forgive him, it was his mistake, it's his responsibility to apologize, he's the adult, in the family, he should have known better, at least tell me you're going to give Trina a chance" says Andre
"I'll see what I can do, I can't just hire someone, the label has someone who does that stuff, they'd have to vet Trina, she'd have to answer a lot of questions, if she can prove to them that she can handle the job and answer the questions without getting stressed or saying something jokey in response to any of the questions they might just let her take the job though I don't know what they'd pay her" says Tori enjoying the cuddles
"man you really do love cuddles huh" asks Andre
"you're warm and soft and smell like chocolate, how could I not love this" says Tori
"I don't have chocolate scented shower stuff or laundry stuff" says Andre confused
"the shampoo and conditioner from African, it has cocoa like scents to it, maybe not chocolate chocolate but it smells similar, maybe I'm imagining it I don't know, I always dreamt you smelled of chocolate" says Tori
"I don't smell like chocolate, I haven't opened those yet, I still have some of my old stuff left, I think we should take a trip to the hospital tomorrow" says Andre
"why not just torture me, I'm not going, they'll make me a zombie" says Tori clearly frightened
"you know what it is already don't you" asks Andre
"I'm not talking about it with you Andre, you nearly broke my heart, you have trust to regain before I'm ready to talk about my health with you" says Tori
"will you let your aunt tell me because I don't want your smell issues to be cancer and not get it checked out, I don't want you dying on me Missy" says Andre
"fine, if you're taking me to my auntie Sabrína then you can take me, I don't trust the other doctors, they wanted me put in a mental health care facility for several years, they didn't trust me not to try and end my life after dad broke Cat and I up, my auntie knew better" says Tori
"would you have killed yourself" asks Andre as he plays with Tori's hair
"I'm sad depressed not scared out of my mind about life depressed Andre, I'd never kill myself, not unless I felt I had no other options, I miss snuggling with Cat is all Andre" says Tori
"would you get back with her if you could" asks Andre as Tori glares at him
"that won't happen Andre, my dad would never allow it, besides Jade needs her, I made a deal with Cat to get Jade to ask her out, that's what Jade and I were talking about before the play, I was trying to get Jade to realize that Cat was more open than she realized, I can't just go back on that deal because I'm feeling a bit sad Andre, neither Cat nor Jade would forgive me, I always stand by my word Andre, now start that movie before I fall asleep again" says Tori as Andre gets up to start the movie
The next day at the hospital
"what's the issue today Hun" asks Doctor Vega
"my nose again" says Tori
"again, damn I thought the last med run fixed it, it's been what four months this time" says Doctor Vega
"five months, something set it off this week, it's been on and off, I think Festus changed ingredients or something in the option I usually get for lunch, the grub truck isn't making a lot of money so he's had to cut back on expenses" says Tori
"this is the third time Tori, we might have to actively consider getting your allergies tested to see if you have new ones" says Doctor Vega
"mind filling me in, Tori and I are dating now, I feel as her boyfriend I deserve to know if Tori's dying" says Andre
"no nothing like that, though because of her other life her health is to be kept secret and I can't share anything without her permission anyway" says Doctor Vega
"might as well tell him the basics Auntie, he can keep a secret I think" says Tori
"the smell issue is inflamed sinuses, something aggravates it and it doesn't respond to standard dose allergy meds, after a double dose and a week on them she clears right up and can stay that way for a few months" says Doctor Vega
"what about Cancer or mental health stuff, has she been tested" says Andre obviously concerned
"she doesn't have cancer, though her grandmother died of it so she is definitely due for a screening, as for mental health stuff she's clear of almost everything, though it's up to her about when to tell you, I do know that Cat knows, though that's only because Cat was absolutely terrified and wouldn't let Tori leave unless Tori told her" says Doctor Vega
"I'm guessing that plan won't work if I try it" asks Andre as Sabrína chuckles
"absolutely not, you're just not scary enough, Catrina's got you beat" says Doctor Vega
"I'm sorry Catarina Valentine is scary, I'm sorry I don't believe you" says Andre
"you weren't there Andre, believe me Catarina can be quite scary, as in unhinged scary, Catarina pours everything into a relationship, she simply refuses to let secrets destroy a relationship she's put her heart and soul into" says Doctor Vega
"how'd she do it, I'm not asking for me, if Cat is genuinely mentally unstable Jade has a right to know" says Andre
"all you need to know is she put her life on the line, Jade simply wouldn't let her get that bad, believe me, the three of us discussed this exact issue last night, that's one of the many reasons I was over there last night, to inform Jade of Cat's instability, which is a mix of her Bipolar disorder and something else, something her doctor is reluctant to diagnose her with, as long as Jade can keep her on her meds Cat is stable" says Tori
"I need to know Tori, it would hurt me if something happened to you and I couldn't help because you kept it a secret" says Andre as Tori sighs and nods to Sabrína
"Tori has a mood disorder, she's been on meds since she was six, unfortunately the medication was pulled off the shelves last month" says Doctor Vega
"why" asks Andre
"contaminated manufacturing buildings, some lunatic sent radon bombs to the main facility in Kansas City and a few other crucial facilities, they can't produce it in high enough quantity to allow doctors to prescribe it at the moment, they hope to be back in production by mid June or July, importing it from Germany is out of the question unfortunately" says Doctor Vega
"why is importing it out of the question, Tori has money" says Andre
"because VV doesn't 'have' a mood disorder, at least as far as the record company is concerned, prescribing it is one thing, having Tori's other shall we say 'personality' import it for Tori would be illegal, we can only import medication for people who are already prescribed the medication and unfortunately Tori doesn't officially have the kind of money needed to import the medication" says Doctor Vega
"so why not just prescribe the medication to VV instead" asks Andre
"because Babe the label would drop me, mood disorders is a disqualifier for shows around the country, it was right in my contract" says Tori
"but you had to be on the medication when you were signed, how wouldn't they know" says Andre
"I signed the contract as Victoria Whimsical Vega, not Tori Dawn Vega, legally there's a difference, they are ok with me as Tori taking mood stabilizers but Victoria would be forbidden from going on tour if it was known that me as Victoria had a mood disorder, legally I can't spend VV's money as Tori" says Tori
"but you've been buying second lunches at school, how doesn't that qualify as spending VV's money" asks Andre
"because VV is helping me make ends meet, just as she's helping Trina, Cat and Robbie make ends meet, me as VV sends money to people's personal accounts, at which point it stops being VV's money" says Tori
"but you as VV bought me shower stuff, loofah included, how does that work" asks Andre
"that was Victoria buying you stuff so you could be all soft and smell nice so Tori doesn't go into another depressive episode causing another weekend hospital stay, Tori only has so many of those helping you cards to play, eventually you will be expected to pay for yourself" says Doctor Vega
"I can't afford that stuff, not with the job I have, I want a better job, I've gone to interviews, most places reject me because of my age or because I'm an educated African American, I've talked to every single Record label in LA, none will take me as an individual artist, they want me as a duo with either Tori, Jade or Cat, I was trying to work up the courage last month to approach Tori but I can't possibly do that now, Tori has a music career, even if under a different name, one music career is hard enough on her, I can't ask her to help me, maybe this was a bad idea, Tori I like how last night felt but I can't afford the shower stuff I need to help you feel comfortable, I'm going to my house, you should find someone else who can afford to spend money on stuff like that" says Andre as he leaves Tori alone
"h-h-he walked away….. Now I have no one, I need him in my life aunt Sabrína I have no one else to turn to, there is nobody else that can talk to me as calmly as he does, it was just him or Cat" says Tori beginning to cry
"you do realize I can't save you this time right, they won't let me stop them from treating you this time, it will be another weekend psych hold, one you may not return from as anything close to who you were" says Sabrína
"there is no point in stopping them this time, I have no one left to love me, I'm not entirely sure I want to go to school on Monday, not anymore" says Tori feeling completely defeated