Tuesday morning as Dana and Nicole arrive
"oh my God, Jade you're actually here again, I thought you said you'd never return to PCA after Chase made you feel like an idiot" says Nicole feeling very grateful that Jade saved them last year
"I'm here for protective reasons not as a student Nicole, though seeing you and Dana safe is a relief, I wasn't sure how Victoria British Columbia would take you being asylum seekers because of Logan, though I get the feeling you two are dating now and I feel like it's because of what I did" says Jade
"you sending us away definitely helped us find a common interest, we were at each other's throats before you got us out of here, Dana had only come back for me because Zoey demanded that someone save me, Zoey can definitely be scary when she needs to be, is there some sort of underground FBI program here or something, it feels odd that you and Zoey were as protective as you two were, not even Dana had that kind of gutsy mood" says Nicole
"it's called project Blueberry brew, it's like an underground Railroad type deal, except this time its run by the feds, Quinn was one of the participants in the program, I was another, the program is specifically designed to protect those who are abused, it doesn't matter if its sexual abuse or not, if there are credible claims against someone, the person making those claims is protected, they've been worried about Logan specifically for years because he's been ever so slowly inching towards the radical right wing extremists for a while, honestly I'm surprised he didn't start sooner" says Jade as Quinn walks over
"yeah you don't know about Isabelle do you, she was his actual first victim, Nicole was his second big victim but there were at least a dozen between Isabelle and Nicole" says Quinn
"I barely knew she existed Quinn, she was glued to you all the time, she never talked to me, how could I have known, nobody in the project knew, there were rumors that Logan had targeted some CEO'S daughter but nobody could come up with a name, everybody was busy getting the people they did know about to safety, none of our contacts outside of PCA knew about the rumors, we were told to assume it was a rumor spread by Logan, why is it that bad" says Jade
"far worse than you could imagine, he abused her, likely sexually, she didn't want to be laughed at or kicked out so she traded her silence about what he did for my safety, that he would promise to leave me alone in his conquest of the female students here" says Quinn
"have you informed Margo about this, it will take the heat off of Selena a bit, they've been basically hanging their investigation on her testimony so far and she's absolutely terrified that it will lose them the case because of how the public here sees her" says Zoey
"her dad, your uncle told her to ask Jade about project Blueberry brew, when she did Jade acted like she hadn't said a word, she wants me to tell Margo but feels she needs to ask your guys permission" says Quinn
"to be fair I didn't even hear her, Tori had fainted about a minute before she showed up, I was more focused on making sure that Tori was ok than anything else, I didn't even hear Andre trying to get my attention about Izzy until Tori woke back up, by then Izzy wasn't here and I didn't know where she would be to answer her questions, as for Margo Izzy doesn't need my permission, though Margo will require proof and someone from Project Blueberry brew to back her up, unfortunately because of her attachment to you, you won't be seen as impartial, when did the rape happen" says Jade
"it happened days after the prank wars that nearly got us kicked out of PCA, remember, three months into PCA being a co-ed school Izzy left without warning, only telling me and Rivers mere hours before, only saying that she couldn't be around Logan, she did get a rape kit done the day she was raped, luckily because of who her father is the hospital still has the results, it literally proves he raped her, to boot she's a lot like Selena, both of them are mega smart with high IQ's though Izzy's passion is in roller-coaster design, she's long studied the math and physics of roller-coasters and even predicted almost every rollercoaster failure since she was seven, at least for every theme park she knew about, honestly it caught our teachers off guard, the two times we took end of year class trips to theme parks she was never allowed to go on any rides or talk about the possible failures each ride could have, honestly it was more torture for her than anything else" says Quinn
"how dare they, she's a treasure just like Selena, unique in every way, torturing a mind like hers only leads to pain and suffering" says Zoey upset that her cousin was mistreated
"they didn't understand her, me they just saw as quirky, Izzy tended to info dump, she's likely autistic, nobody cared, they thought she was intentionally telling people the facts and dangers of roller-coasters to scare them, you can't fault teachers for not understanding her Zoey, very few people ever understood her, those teachers were more worried about the other students, classes were always too easy for Izzy, teachers were throwing words like gifted and prodigy around like water, the thing is she's neither gifted nor a prodigy" says Quinn
"how can you know that for certain" asks Dana
"because I've talked to her, very few people do talk at length with her like I do, Selena is a jack of all trades extremely gifted scientist hopeful, Izzy is super focused on theme parks and the science involved, she was experiencing burnout when Logan took advantage of her, promising her time to take her mind off things, she was questioning her sexuality and she took the bait" says Quinn
"so why target Nicole" asks Dana not seeing a pattern in Logan's actions
"don't expect to see patterns Dana, Logan craves power, while I was dating him he tried to get power over me and failed, did you give Nicole any reason to question her sexuality before he took control and raped her" says Quinn as the blood drains from Dana's face
"I promised Nicole I wouldn't speak of it after we got to Victoria in British Columbia" says Dana
"it's ok Dana, you can tell Quinn, it's important" says Nicole as Dana sighs
"she told me she liked me, that she wanted to go on a date, my parents don't really like the idea of girls liking girls, I told Nicole that I wanted her to be one hundred percent sure before we went down that road, I told her to think about it over the weekend, the next day Jade was yelling at me on my phone, I didn't even know she had my number, Jade said that Nicole was raped by logan and that we had to get out of there, twenty minutes later Jade showed up at my house with plane tickets" says Dana
"Jade is there something we haven't been told, do you know something" asks Quinn
"not a word of this leaves this room, am I understood" says Jade
"ok" says Quinn and Dana
"Dana, Nicole had been held for ransom by Logan, if your parents didn't pay on time there would be consequences, he didn't tell them what those consequences would be, they were three hours late with the payment, your parents discussed fate and love and your future, it was the last conversation my dad had with someone that wasn't family before he was falsely accused and arrested, he begged them to see that your happiness should matter more than any religion or belief, he got through to them and they sent Logan the money, Logan guaranteed Nicole's freedom, it was on your parents orders that my dad buy two plane tickets and get you and Nicole out of the country and to safety" says Jade
"what kind of work did your dad do anyway" asks Nicole
"he's a kidnap and ransom specialist, his childhood crush was kidnapped, raped and killed days after agreeing to be his prom date, her parents refused to pay the ransom under any circumstance, they thought the kidnapper was a coward and wouldn't have the heart to harm their daughter, my dad vowed that day that he would use his money and power to make sure that no family, no matter how shortsighted they may be will never have to go through what he and her parents went through, he's very good at it, near one hundred percent success, at least that's how he sees it, he hasn't been wrong once, though I'm sure his childhood crush's death factors into his equation" says Jade
"you never talk about your dad, Michael assumed its because he was 'playing' with you and you're too traumatized to talk about it" says Zoey as Jade rolls her eyes
"even if he was a perv he was too busy saving other people's kids to spend time with me, besides he has a transparency policy, that being 'if I've acted inappropriately then report me, it doesn't matter what for, I vow to learn from any mistakes I make', he's been reported for yelling at clients, for slamming his hands on tables and scaring kids but not one report of rape or molestation" says Jade
"that seems a bit odd doesn't it, it seems like a hole in someone's character to be that aggressive and not have one instance of sexual misconduct" says Quinn
"he was a wrestler in college, he's big and buff and has a slight temper but he's not evil Quinn, he's all about protecting children, girls especially, besides my moms a therapist, if he raped a client or their daughter, she'd know, she's shown no sign of distress about the likelihood that he will be found innocent, the jury just went for deliberation, they're expected to decide his fate later today or tomorrow, the trial is over, closing arguments were given this morning" says Jade
"so you've told him you're likely dating two people" asks Zoey
"where do you people get the idea that Tori and I are dating Andre exactly" says Jade
"aren't you guys though" asks Dana
"God no, Tori put limits on what she will permit from Andre, even if they are relaxed right now, those limits are still mostly intact, her grandparents on her dad's side were in a triad, they got themselves in a lot of trouble because of it so Tori's dad is a pretty firm no on polyamory, though because of the trauma Tori suffered after Ryder she doesn't trust guys in a romantic relationship with her, though Andre is proving he can be trusted to follow her lead it will take time before Tori will permit him into the relationship proper, since the whole issue involving Cat's brother and the emotional vacuum disorder, she doesn't feel safe alone, she requires someone by her side all the time" says Jade
"I don't believe that whole emotional vacuum disorder thing is real" says Dana
"oh believe me it's real, the hard part for her is over but she will be dealing with it for a while, she woke up yesterday morning, our first morning here, Andre was taking a shower, I was talking to Selena and she screamed, she thought she'd been kidnapped or she'd slept with someone and not remembered it, she didn't stop shaking for an hour, remember how you felt when you saw Nicole, shaking and scared, remember how she had a hard time believing you were there to help her, remember that" says Jade
"yeah, she had a hard time getting on the plane, told me I wasn't real, that her life was in danger, I had to kiss her to calm her down, I didn't want our first kiss to be like that but I didn't see another way, people were staring at us" says Dana
"that's Tori on a good day, though as long as Andre or I are around she can cope, though if neither of us are available, her brain slips and she doesn't understand where she is, at least temporarily" says Jade
"so Andre, he's with Tori right now…. Wait, does that explain why Nicole suddenly calmed down when I kissed her, did she remember I was safe" asks Dana
"to be fair your parents didn't think either of you would be safe in SoCal, my dad tried to tell them Nicole wouldn't be cleared for a flight so they paid my dad extra to charter a plane, charter planes have different security rules based on which company is flying, against his better judgement, he agreed to get you out of America until it was safe, the company he chose to fly charter deals with psychiatric cases, if Tori were to fly anywhere it would have to be with them, the plus side is they offer almost normal beds so it can feel safer for those they fly, Tori has two places on her bucket list, Niagara falls and Puerto Rico, it's where her dad's family is from originally, Tori's never been but Trina visited before heading to London" says Jade
"you didn't answer me, did me kissing Nicole at the airport bring her back, is she going to be ok" says Dana suddenly getting very worried about Nicole's safety
"oh right sorry, from what my mom said, unless Nicole has had tons of nightmares over the past year, tons as in almost every day, Nicole should be out of the worst of it, though my mom does want to have more conversations with her about it, she's been brought on as the case's therapist, to verify everyone's stories independently of the FBI, Margo is trying real hard to make this a solid case, since we're all in this building she's being temporarily housed here, all classes tomorrow for us will be remote learning, make time for her, Nicole, she set aside two hours to talk to you, don't be afraid to talk to her, the more you can tell her the better, even things you were hesitant to tell the feds, though only if it relates to Logan, you can ask to talk to her about stuff related to you and Dana later in the day tomorrow" says Jade
"and you trust your mom to do this" asks Nicole
"there isn't anyone better here in SoCal, especially if you consider she charges way less than most therapists here in SoCal, most here without insurance would charge at least a hundred dollars an hour, my mom is half that, sometimes even less than half" says Jade
"how does that make her better" asks Dana
"because she's good at her job, she's never been a psychiatrist because she wants the money, she does it for the patient and the family, she doesn't like the idea that therapists drain people's bank accounts because 'therapy is 'supposed to be' expensive, because of what she charges she has gotten several psycho killers who killed girls like Selena to admit to themselves that they are in the wrong, only then did the killers admit to the police that they killed the person or people they killed" says Jade
"that doesn't make her right" says Dana
"fair enough though would you rather pay a hundred dollars an hour or fifty dollars an hour for the same quality of therapy, besides your parents already talked to her, they cleared her, Tori's dad also cleared her, as did Nicole's and Selena's parents and every other victim's parents" says Jade
"I don't care what my parents think anymore, does Selena trust her, does her sister Kylie trust her" says Dana
"Selena trusts her, Kylie is getting there, you have to understand that Logan manipulated Kylie, told her that transgender people don't exist, that she was born a guy so she had to act like one, as a result of Logan's manipulation and grooming of Kylie, she doesn't trust nearly anyone, Selena, Lucy and I are basically the only ones so far that she outright trust, those directly linked to us three also earn trust" says Jade
"I never understood how people didn't see it, if people took a minute to actually look at her actions they'd have seen how uncomfortable her going into boys bathrooms made her, they'd have realized what that meant" says Dana
"to be fair, Kylie never expected anyone to pay that much attention to her behaviours before dad died, let alone after he died" says Quinn
"I didn't at first, I thought maybe she was nervous that day but after the twelfth time in a week I got suspicious and when she came out of the bathroom I asked her about it, she explained everything, though in hush tones, she never mentioned that Logan was making her do anything though I could tell from her tone that it was possible he was" says Dana
"why didn't you say anything" asks Jade
"because nobody would believe something based on a theory, it would have to have been proven true first and Kylie wasn't giving me a chance to, she likely feared for her life and that of her sister if she said anything" says Dana
"Logan had money Jade, if he weren't so sloppy he could have hidden this for many more years, Dana was right to not say anything" says Quinn as Kylie shows up
"why, it slows justice by not saying anything" asks Jade as Cat walks in and heads right for Tori's room, Robbie not far behind her
"because our dad said something to the feds about the crimes Logan was committing and he wasn't shy about it and it got him killed, Logan doesn't care who knows what he was doing, as long as they don't say anything, as much as at the time I believed what Logan was saying, I wasn't going to let more people die, the day Dana talked to me was the day after dad died, Logan told me that snitches do not deserve to live, I gave Dana enough information to be wary of Logan but not enough that she'd say anything to anyone, I could see how she looked at Nicole, I know what it meant, I couldn't risk her or Nicole's safety and he got to Nicole anyway, I want you to know that it wasn't because of me or because of you" says Kylie trying to distract herself by playing with her new dress
"do you know why he targeted me" asks Nicole
"because he thinks you're dumber than rocks and would believe anything he says, he targeted Aleina Yuan because she's an environmentalist, she believes that the world can be saved from a climate crisis, Logan said that if it were possible, his dad would have done it already, he targeted Julie Scott because her parents took out loans for her to come here, he targeted them because he wanted them to question their beliefs, he wanted them vulnerable" says Kylie
"did you tell Margo this" asks Jade
"yeah but it won't matter, either the jury finds me complicit in what Logan did because I'm in a relationship with his cousin because he made her my girlfriend or the public absolutely denies me any rights because I choose to accept that Lucy is different and is willing to work through the trauma with me, either way my life will be destroyed" says Kylie
"destroyed how exactly sis" asks Selena
"you don't know what it's like being transgender Missy, the more people that find out the more people that will want my rights taken away and things will only get worse, not just for people like me, people like Logan exist in positions of power, maybe not state wise here in California but in Washington DC, it's bad Missy and it WILL get worse" says Kylie focusing on her new dress again
"Tori get you that dress" asks Quinn changing the subject
"she handed it to me, that's all I know, it's like the stuff dad used to get me after he convinced my doctor to put me on puberty blockers, I was three months away from getting girl hormone meds so I could finally become the girl that my brain sees, now thanks to Jade's mom I start next week" says Kylie
"I got you the dress sis, Tori paid but I found it, it wasn't easy to find believe me, the brand went under two years ago, this girl bought up tons of the company's stock of clothing and made them better, the top half of that dress was altered so that it can be adjusted for when those girl hormones finally kick in, you don't have to keep buying new dresses when your chest gets bigger, someone like Cat can alter them" says Selena
"Selena, Cat's the girl who bought all that stuff, her costume making class at Hollywood arts has been altering them because she can't do it all, though not all the dresses are being altered, only sizes associated with people fifteen and older" says Jade
"how does she have the money for that" asks Zoey shocked
"she doesn't, the clothing company my aunt transferred to me because of my dad's conviction bought up the stock, Cat is the only seamstress in Los Angeles willing to work on these dresses, the fabric is notoriously hard to work with so technically Cat bought up as much as her parents could afford from that stock, she's honestly done an amazing job, as a result she's their dedicated seamstress for this material" says Jade
"but you said her class was doing it not just her" says Kylie very much still enjoying the dress as she twirls
"under her instruction, she was teacher for the week, her teacher was out sick with the flu and nobody else in the school district was willing to work with a bunch of costume nerds, Cat stepped up, requesting to be paid so she could pay the students for the work, principal Eichner only agreed because Cat explained just how hard the fabric is to sew" says Jade
"does she know from experience or something" asks Zoey as Kylie continues to twirl
"her aunt is the one that ran the company before it closed its doors, it was a Valentine family company, for all intents and purposes Cat played a part in what designs were chosen for final decisions by the master seamstress and fashion team, there was a looming internal scandal of sexual harassment that could have destroyed the company's reputation permanently, the harassers were sued by the victims but Cat's aunt felt that dissolving the company was the best option, Cat thought otherwise but then again Cat likes making stuff, she felt that dissolving the company would end that" says Jade as Andre walks toward the group
"how did Tori pay for the dress, it's been bugging me, Selena said Tori didn't tell her how it was paid for" says Zoey
"you wouldn't understand" says Andre
"and why is that, is she sleeping with Cat or something, I saw them sneak into her room, I don't like secrets" says Zoey
"Cat made a mistake" says Andre
"what kind of mistake" asks Zoey
"she's pregnant, her and Robbie broke up over it, he says he used protection as she wanted him to but because she's pregnant she doesn't believe him, Tori traded that dress for an open discussion between the three of them to sort it out, Cat is pretty smart but some things continue to confuse her, the fact that condoms can break is one of them" says Jade
"but they haven't been together that long, are you sure Robbie didn't rape her" says Zoey
"Cat doesn't take her relationships slow, she takes the fast road, it would be a surprise if she hadn't already had sex with Robbie, he is one of her core 'desires' as she puts it, we'd call it a crush, if they can't resolve this then Cat will stick to Tori like glue, get the abortion she's already scheduled for next week and get a restraining order against Robbie, as it is if Robbie's parents misunderstand the problem and accuse her of cheating on Robbie, she will hide from him forever, as well as hold a grudge against all of his family, their relationship was always going to be rocky, it was just a matter of what lit the fuse" says Andre
"what are the chances that Cat will reconcile with Robbie and get back together with him, I'd hate for her to wiggle her way into Tori's life and pushing you away from Tori as a result" asks Dana
"Tori was taken advantage of by a guy at Hollywood arts named Ryder Daniels, he used her singing talent to try and get a good grade by making her think he liked her, luckily he didn't get away with it but as a result she doesn't trust any guy to be truthful and respectful with her in a relationship, she won't let me into a relationship with her and Jade, she would honestly prefer Cat for a polyamorous relationship but her priority would be to at least try and get Cat to see that no product is perfect no matter what they claim" says Andre
"so her lack of understanding of how guys can accidentally break the condom caused that big of a problem" asks Dana sceptical that Cat is that oblivious
"like we said Cat is smart but there are things that people tend to not teach her because her mental health issues make her seem dumb so most people, teachers included feel like they'd be wasting their time explaining these things to her, it hasn't been a problem until now because she's never shown interest in sex, at least not to the people she's dated, before Robbie it was all about cuddles, I'd know, I was one of those guys" says Andre
"so it's not her fault then, wouldn't Robbie have tried to explain it to her" asks Nicole as Selena and Kylie snuggle on the couch not wanting to pay attention to the conversation
"he wouldn't be able to explain it in a way Cat would understand, she has no prior knowledge of how its supposed to work, just that the box says it does, she wouldn't understand how it could fail no matter what he says, she doesn't have the basic sex-Ed knowledge because teachers excluded her, one teacher made her wear special headphones that blocked out sound and gave her a severely basic custom textbook, like I'm talking using third grade wording in a seventh grade class setting, when I told her parents what the teacher was doing they went nuts, nearly killed the teacher because of it, there were three teachers in sixth grade that literally gave her an A plus on every test whether she deserved it or not, one time she dozed off and didn't have time to do the test so it was blank when she handed it in and she still got an A, Hollywood arts is different, I told them her past and how teachers treated her and they gave her a normal eighth grade math test after I helped her with the material, basically getting her up to speed and she passed with flying colours, all her teachers, past and present were shocked, her brain works differently, her brain soaks up information like a sponge" says Andre
"how can you explain her odd vocabulary then, she uses words like trickered instead of tricked, there are more words like that but trickered is one that stands out" says Zoey
"you can blame the teachers up to eighth grade for that, she's Italian, Italian is her first language, the teachers taught her in broken English so some words don't always sound like they're supposed to, sometimes she says tricked, sometimes she says trickered, situations that make her nervous or that confuse here are when she is more likely to use more odd words, it's not always easy for her to understand us more normal people, that's what makes it hard for her not to be nervous" says Andre
"so Cat's safe to be here, Lucy doesn't know if she can trust Cat" asks Zoey
"trust me if Logan went after Tori, he probably has his eyes set on Cat if he can manage it" says Jade
"why, she has no connection to fame or PCA, all the people he's gone after have one or the other" says Dana
"money, her family is fairly well off, as smart as Cat is she would make a pretty good hostage, mostly because of how smart she is" says Jade
"so that's why she's here, to protect her from Logan" asks Dana
"more or less, please give her the space she requires, if she wants to talk to one of us she will talk to us, right now she's trusting Tori to find a solution to her issue with Robbie, Cat suspects that Ryder is Logan's outside contact, we've kept him at arms length so far but it can be hard to keep him away forever, eventually one of us will slip, Ryder doesn't have any true interest in Cat but he's been eyeing her a lot lately, she's here to protect her and Robbie by extension, Dean Rivers already cleared them" says Jade
"fair enough but don't expect Lucy to talk to Cat even if Cat tries to talk to her, Lucy's a bit paranoid right now, she only trusts Kylie and Selena and me barely, hey Selena let's go, it's cuddle snuggle time" says Zoey as Selena jumps up
"sorry sis, love calls, we should continue this tomorrow" says Selena
