Tuesday October 13th at school
"I'm surprised you didn't ask for an extension Cat, you were doing way better at home, you're like six A's away from becoming the second honor student this year" says Sikowitz as he runs out of ideas for acting exercises for today
"Beck promised to try better to not offend me and there is only so much one can do at home, Tori's dad took a week off to monitor the rooms in the basement that I'm building in my new house so I have no reason to stay home" says Cat
"but Tori's not here, is she ok" asks Beck
"she couldn't sleep last night, she was having nightmares about me being kidnapped or something, she was too shaken up to explain it so she's doing school from home between naps" says Cat
"that's not like her, is she ok" asks Beck
"she has anxiety Beck, it would have been easier on her if Selena stayed behind, my new house is massive and she doesn't like being alone in it, she says she keeps hearing sounds that she can't explain" says Cat
"fair enough" says Beck
Lunchtime
"so Cat, your website doesn't say where you live, it just gives a general area and 'living with girlfriend', is your location supposed to be some kind of secret" says Beck
"where I live is supposed to be a secret yes, my website has instructions for sending fan mail, I'd rather not have creeps stalking me" says Cat
"the website doesn't even have a zip code, how are you supposed to get any mail, it just says 'Miss Catarina Valentine' in the mail to section" says Andre
"I have a deal with the post office, only bills can have my address written on it, any fan mail gets my address taped on as it's sorted, that's why the website says 'Miss Catarina Valentine' in the to box and no address, I wanted control over who knew where I lived, for safety reasons" says Cat
"that's fair I guess, you are tiny" says Andre, accidentally setting Cat off as Beck tries to walk back Andre's comments
"I'm NOT TINY, NEVER EVER CALL ME TINY, I'M LITTLE" screams Cat
"no, no he didn't mean you're tiny like that, he used the wrong word by accident Cat" says Beck, glaring at Andre
"Catarina, non fare scenate, calmati" says Cally as Cat immediately calms down, realizing people are staring
"Scusa" apologizes Cat
"ok, that's not fair, we can't understand Italian" says Andre
"Cally told Cat to calm down, not to make a scene" says Selena
"so you, Cally and Jade, is it serious" asks Beck changing subjects
"you could say that, why, you gonna try and steal her from us with your long hair or something" asks Selena, not really trusting Beck at all
"no, I messed up, she had every right to break up with me, I shouldn't have treated Cat so badly, especially with a sister like you" says Beck as Cat growls
"ok rule one, don't flirt with me, rule two, don't objectify me, both will lead to Cat hitting you so hard you'll hope your insurance pays for the surgery" says Cally
"she doesn't look the type to be violent and she certainly hasn't been" says Andre
"because she hasn't had to, Robbie complimented Cally last night, it was a pool night and Cat took it as him flirting with Cally, keep in mind Robbie was three feet from the edge of the pool, Cat was at the sliding doors and she ran at him so hard, he nearly flew to the middle of the pool and nearly fell in herself from the acceleration, it was very scary to watch and she nearly bit his hand when he got out of the pool, you might notice he's not at this table right now" says Jade
"did they have a fight, I may not agree with polyamorous relationships but I really thought it was going to work" asks Andre
"no, there wasn't a fight per se but more of a disagreement than anything else, it all happened so fast, Cat's on a hair trigger right now, she needs about a day to fully understand what happened, she'll be fine" says Cally
"may I ask about the choker she's wearing, it's not like her to wear one, honestly it's more like Jade" asks Beck as Cat finishes her lunch and goes for more now that the line is gone
"I tried to warn her people would think it's a choker, she didn't care, she read this article online about an expensive essential oil being able to repel head lice, the article said to put it on a headband you're going to wear, she just got her roots touched up and didn't want the oil to be in direct contact with her hair, she's very particular about her hair" says Cally as Cat sits down with Robbie
"wait she just sat down with Robbie, is she making up with him" asks Beck
"not likely, not this quickly, she might talk about what happened so she has his side of the story but there will be no hugging or kissing, especially here because this school doesn't have favorable views of polyamory, honestly not many people do in the entire country do, her being in a three person relationship is not public information so you better not tell anyone, helping her keep this secret will look good on you Beck, Andre you're ok but I'd be careful about what you bring up" says Cally
"what happens if she realizes she misjudged the situation" asks Beck
"it happens all the time for her, honestly Beck, remember Tori's first day, she bumped into you and got coffee all over your shirt and I walked in the classroom seeing that she was trying to rub the coffee out of that shirt without any possibility of that working, I made assumptions about her intentions and got angry, what Cat saw was the exact same thing but with Cally and Robbie instead" says Jade
"would you have flirted back Cally" asks Beck
"I'm the flirtatious type, it's become a real problem for me in this society, it's a given that I would have but I have zero interest in boys, the moment Cat invited Robbie to the house I told him how I work, that if he compliments or flirts with me I'll inevitably flirt back but my words would literally mean nothing, they would be sugar coated compliments and nothing more" says Cally
"would Selena flirt with Robbie, does Cat literally have any real reason to be paranoid about Robbie in a house full of girls" asks Andre
"I'm an action girl, I don't respond to flirting the way regular people do, the instant a boy flirts with me I'm like 'ugh I'm done with this conversation', the only people who I can stand being flirted with by are Cally or Jade and they're the only people I can flirt with without feeling icky" says Selena
"that's fair, Tori seems more reserved since starting the relationship with Cat and again after Robbie was added, right now Tori's the honor student with Cat in close second, I'd hate for her to prioritize her relationship over her school" says Beck
"she's watching her words and actions, that's all, Cat's not good with drastically new situations and she threw herself into this one, Tori's also having a hard time adjusting, the bedroom her, Cat and Robbie are sharing is twice the size of Tori's old room and more than double Cat's old room, the difference is quite jarring to them" says Jade
"oh like when I got the RV, that first month was nerve-wracking" says Beck
"yes, except Cat bought a house instead of getting an RV and she had enough saved to pay for it in full, luckily the former owner had daughters who are fans of Cat and lost her husband a year or so ago and was in debt so a lowball offer from Cat was accepted but Cat required that the mom pay her debts first before buying a smaller home" says Jade
"and I assume Cat let's the kids come over whenever" asks Andre
"yep, but they keep her address a secret, people know that's where they go but they play it off as a babysitter thing that Cat did before she was famous and the only difference is that now they can be anywhere while she babysits them, they lie and say they're blindfolded on approach to her house and when leaving" says Jade
"she doesn't actually do that though does she, her blindfolding two kid fans might not look all too good for her" asks Andre
"no, obviously not but they're massive fans of Cat and her music and if she wants to keep the location of her home a secret, they're more than willing to help her" says Jade
"is Cat like Cally and Selena, more importantly are those kids like them" asks Andre trying to find patterns in Cat's behaviour
"yes and yes" says Cally
"will Beck and I ever be allowed to visit or come over for movie nights, I know Cat loves her movie nights" asks Andre
"you can yes, Beck however would have to prove he can be trusted, if the secrets we told you about make it this week without becoming news then he'll be trusted with the location of her house and will be allowed to visit but never alone, though to be honest with you, given Cat's routines and what we all know about her, the location of the house really shouldn't be that hard to find, but I know you Beck, you'll want to actively search for it to prove that you can be trusted, my advice, don't, Cat will use it as evidence that you Can't be trusted" says Jade
"it's near Venice Beach isn't it, I know she loves a good tan centric outing on weekends" asks Beck
"yes, all I'll say is you'll likely pass it driving to the beach from here" says Jade
"why give me hints like that" asks Beck
"I only said that because I want you to know that SHE knows coincidental interactions can happen but if she thinks you're going to the beach to catch her leaving the house she won't take it well, I can't stress enough that you should avoid intentionally trying to find her house" says Jade
"I saw her website, it says not to force an interaction and that every month there will be a beach meet and greet, I promise I won't look for her house intentionally, though I know Sinjin has been" says Beck
"now that you know the general area, throw Sinjin off her scent, last year he really began to freak her out and its continued this year, he'd show up at her parents house searching for her, it was really creepy" says Jade
"fair enough, yeah Sinjin has definitely become a stalker, not just of Cat but of Tori too" says Beck
"ok that is creepy, Selena wants his head on a stake for scaring Cat the way he has been" says Jade
"that's out of context Jade, what I actually said was 'let me let my dad arrest his ass', putting his head on a stake would be the result of murder and I'm not gutsy enough to even consider it, let alone try it" says Selena as Tori texts Andre
"huh, Tori invited me over tonight to help her with music, I thought her and Cat were announced as a duo, this invite feels like she's trying to replace Robbie" says Andre
"no, they're not exactly a duo, not like that, they have a 'crossover song' deal, Tori is absolutely her own independent artist, she's actually pretty content with Robbie being the guy in the girl dominated relationship, Robbie however lacks the ability to write songs that the majority of the population would enjoy, trust me they tried last night, all the songs were corny and cute, Cat and Tori personally enjoyed them but felt that the fans wouldn't like them, Tori asked Robbie if he'd feel jealous is she asked you to work with her on music, he said no but that you should get your fair share for working with her" says Jade
"how much would that be" asks Andre
"at least ten percent, based on her talent and teaser songs she's released, mostly ones you worked on together, she's expected to rival Cat in popularity, basically a starting yearly income of a million, so you'd get at least a hundred grand, though Tori's floated the possibility of twenty percent or more as a fair share, though it all depends on how much she makes as you're not yet her official song writer to the label, she has to request it, until then she gets the money and will write you a check for likely up to thirty percent, depending on how much she makes, though she would love to have you live there" says Jade
"and you're sure she's not trying to make me replace Robbie in the relationship, asking me to live there is kind of suspicious" asks Andre
"if you're writing music with her, she'll want to have you around all the time so if neither of you can sleep you can work on music instead" says Jade
"I assume the rooms aren't sound proofed then given that Cat only just bought the house" asks Andre
"actually their room is going to be the MOST soundproofed, yesterday Cat had their entire room ripped up and they had a new type of insulation put in, it's soundproof, mold and fire proof, today the new flooring goes in on the entire top floor that adds soundproofing, it will also have that same insulation between the floor and the ceiling of the floor below, three days pay covers the majority of the work, which the company seems ok with, honestly I've never seen a more accommodating company in my life and my dad used to work for a few of the local ones, like Tori's dad he's at the house all week, because he doesn't trust the companies will do the job Cat's paying them for, surprising everyone, they actually undervalued their work, under promised and they're over delivering, I saw the quality of the products they're putting in the house and it's the best quality stuff my dad has ever seen and he worked for some of the best and most reputable companies in California" says Jade
"so your dad would know if they were taking advantage of Cat then" asks Beck, showing an interest in Cat's safety
"yep, because I'm living in her house, even though I'm paying rent and dating Cat and Tori's twin sisters, he considers them to be like family and he protects family" says Jade as the bell rings
"fair enough" says Beck
Later that day at home
"Cat, you continue to surprise me, this company is probably THE best in Southern California, I have no idea how you found them, I've been in and out of the business twenty years and I've never seen a company willing to buy top of the line products for such a big job and they're very efficient" says Daniel West
"they're a Puerto Nuevo company, they're not racist, they're an equal opportunity employer, their Mexican base is in Puerto Nuevo but their California base of operations is in San Bernardino, right now they are only certified to work in SoCal but they're getting an extended license next year to go as far north as San-Francisco, did they run into any problems Mr. West" says Cat
"a few faulty plugs and a general lack of insulation between floors and almost nothing in the attic, they finished the top floor where your bedrooms are, including the spare room as they'd accidentally bought too much, all plugs and light switches now work" says Daniel
"did they leave a bill for the extra work because I can't pay that right now, I only had budgeted for the work they were paid to do, the rest of my current income is going to the work in the basement" says Cat stressed
"the extra expense they paid for the extra material would have come out of the new employees pay if the material wasn't paid for, knowing how strict you make your budgets, I told them you didn't have spare money for the extra material but that I'd pay for it in your place" says Daniel
"how'd it happen though, they took exact measurements of the entire top floor, what happened, I don't understand how that could happen" asks Cat
"the newbie isn't as good at large number math as she thought, she carried a one when she shouldn't have, so instead of five grand in product they ended up with over six grand worth and they figured since you told them you were planning to do that room in the near future anyway and because they already had the product that matches this floor because they messed up, they figured they might as well do it now so it's easier to tie into the rest of the flooring, again I paid for the extra work, honestly I was surprised nothing went missing" says Daniel
"does stuff usually go missing" asks Cat
"at least in the companies I got hired by back when I did that work, my co-workers seemed to enjoy stealing undergarments, I'd always confront them, as well as confront the owner, after enough confrontation I'd end up fired but I was doing what was right and my parents were proud of me for it, before they arrived today I put some easily breakable tape that can't be put back in a way where you can't tell it was tampered with, when they left an hour ago, the tape was a hundred percent intact, I was surprised yet not surprised based on my interactions with them, you should be proud that you found a company that hires truly honest people, I can assure you that most companies lie in one way or another, somehow you've got two amazing companies working for you, as much as I'd like to say it's because of your social status as a fast rising popstar, it's not, your morality is what drew them in, you pay what things are worth and rarely try and bargain down a price, you giving the mailman for this route a tip is also a selling point for companies who also care about their employees" says Daniel
"the insurance company made me a personalized policy because of my status, you're wrong that my status didn't affect that one, this construction company, ok yeah maybe my good deeds to the community helped but the insurance company helped me because of my status" says Cat
"you misunderstand how that insurance company operates Cat, the CEO literally started it by putting mental health care above profit, most of the clients they have absolutely need the coverage so there isn't actually a lot of profit to be made from the majority of their clients, it's an LA based company and of their fifty thousand LA area clients, only ten thousand allow them to make profit in this area, the only part where your popstar status played a role was in getting them to notice you, they held firm to their policies when creating a special policy for you" says Daniel
"so the cheap two and a half hundred dollars a month rate I pay isn't because I'm famous" asks Cat
"exactly, though that price is helped by the fact that it's a multi person policy, the cost of the plan can be spread over multiple people, especially for a full featured 'ultimate diamond' level plan like the one they tailored for you and the others in this house, though I wonder if it would spread to Andre since you did get Robbie immediately added to the policy" says Daniel freaks out a little
"I wouldn't want him to assume anything, I don't even know if Andre wants an all inclusive insurance plan, I only added Robbie because Tor and I got attached real quick to him, I only gave Jade, Cally and Selena access because Jade is paying for it and they're living here, Andre living here isn't a given, him working with us on music isn't a given, I can't just offer something like the final slot in the policy because I want something to be true, that's not how money works, not for me, I make decisions based on sure things and Andre is far far from a sure thing living here, he and Tor haven't worked on music together in almost a year, Tori's not even certain he wants to work with her on music, ugh I need a nap, show Andre how the tv works and get him the internet password" says Cat as Tori follows her to the bedroom and Robbie lags behind them
"I assume you heard all that Andre" asks Daniel as Andre walks over from the kitchen
"I didn't know she made decisions based on logic like that, she always seemed so airheaded based on how she acts around us, I thought Tori inviting me over tonight was an effort to replace Robbie in the relationship, Tori did admit last Christmas that on some level she loves me, but that she loved Cat more, it wasn't my choice to stop making music with Tori, she wanted space to think, I respect her decision" says Andre
"do you think Robbie's a good fit for them" asks Jade
"better than Beck, Robbie's come a long way since Christmas last year, most notably getting rid of Rex all on his own, I know that Rex was one of the barriers to being with anyone, girls absolutely hated Robbie bringing rex everywhere, honestly he's become quite a hot item since getting rid of Rex, I've had girls ask about Robbie since about May, as of yesterday I've told them he's no longer single" says Andre
"but are they a good fit" asks Daniel
"I could ask the same question about Selena and Cally for Jade, in my opinion it's far too early to judge if Robbie's a good fit for them, according to Robbie they don't even actually kiss, it's just them asking him to kiss them on the cheek, getting progressively closer to their lips as the days go by" says Andre as Jade, Cally and Selena head to the pool
"what's your opinion on Jade dating Cally and Selena, I'm of two minds on that, on one hand she seems happy but on the other there's the whole 'public image' thing, I don't feel she will continue to be taken seriously if people find out she's in a poly relationship" says Daniel
"I find the people buying her play and movie scripts don't care, one even told her that she could date six young women for all they care, so long as the scripts are good and she doesn't get all flashy about landing more than one girlfriend, they said that so long as those remain true nobody buying her scripts will care what she does in her personal life, the money won't be a problem, it was all about her getting noticed that was the hard part, yesterday she was saying that she has so many orders for scripts that it will take her months to catch up, less if she didn't have to worry about school work and could focus on it full time" says Andre
"what's your personal view on the relationship, has anything changed at school, good or bad" asks Daniel as David continues to remain silent
"she's gotten a lot softer, you can tell she's less reacting as she is actually thinking about what to say and she's also defending people more, she's more approachable, you can tell she's way less insecure, even though Cally and Selena intentionally try and embarrass her, everyone can see she's not in a 'I'm going to kill you' mode even when Selena or Cally do the same things Beck would do would set her off, people are realizing that Beck wasn't right for her, the fact they it takes two doesn't really phase people, usually because one or the other is usually sleeping at her feet while the other is sitting up actually paying attention to the class or attempting to share a chair with Jade, the latter usually ends with them falling off the chair" says Andre
"I'm surprised they weren't enrolled, they seem very smart, maybe even smarter than Jade" says David, finally giving his two cents
"technically they are, they're on the online program, they just can't focus too well in a class setting so they work on it here and Jade walks them through the lessons, usually when they don't understand something, otherwise they're pretty independent, at least that's what Cat Jade says" says Andre
"then why are they in the pool and not working on school work" asks David
"they were very active today at school, they participated in Jade's classes, the same classes they take online, they were asking questions and writing things down, they're autistic, or at least Cally is diagnosed, I don't know about Selena, Cat's autistic and after a day at school she likes to decompress or take naps before doing homework, i'm sure if they acted like they normally do they'd be right to doing school work on the laptops Jade bought them, however Jade seems to be using a reward based system because they were participating in class" says Andre as Tori eavesdrops on the conversation
"if Selena is anything remotely like Tori she's definitely autistic" says David
"but Tori's not autistic, she'd have told me or Cat" says Andre
"she doesn't know, she went for the test after the whole 'hambone' incident when she was little, the doctor didn't want Tori to find out because she was making so much progress, Tori's not a wallflower or wall clinging party person like some autistics, like say Cat, Cat sticks to the outside of a party unless she's directly part of a performance or brought into the main party by her friends, Tori's more outgoing during events, the doctor didn't want her thinking she had to act a certain way because she's autistic, there's a reason she gets along so well with Cat, her having feelings for Cat is a symptom of their extremely close friendship, not the cause of her feelings" says David
"wait, her 'general anxiety', is that autism" asks Andre
"a part of it yeah, same with her depression, though she's never once asked anyone about why it affects her so much or why she takes the medication she does, which I had to clean up after I divorced her mom because she'd been sneaking Tori a few meds to produce voices in her head, which only made her anxiety worse, especially on her first day of school at Hollywood arts, she's been off it since August and I can tell she's a lot more calm" says David
"you should know she's been eavesdropping on this entire conversation, I only heard two sets of footsteps going upstairs" says Daniel as Tori attempts to sneak back upstairs
"oh no you don't Tori, we need to talk, you think I didn't know you didn't go upstairs, you're not actually that sneaky" says David
"am I really autistic, d-d-does Trina know, Robbie said something yesterday about me showing autistic traits and it set Cat off, though him complimenting Cally definitely didn't exactly help her cool down" says Tori, afraid that Trina will stop being nice to her as things have been tense since the divorce
"I don't know if Trina knows, honestly I have no idea how she graduated, her grades had been terrible so I have no idea what she knows" says David
"what are all my issues, Cat wants to know and I admit now since Robbie was right I want to know more" says Tori
"you had a lazy eye when you were little, luckily it was quickly fixed, though the glasses you wear when reading is more a preventative measure than anything and are not technically necessary but our insurance covered it so it was never really a problem, you're a lot more like Selena than you realize" says David
"oh I've noticed, we are annoyingly similar, Cat said that her mom told her that when Cally was pulled away from her after birth that Cat wouldn't stop crying, if she's like Cally and I'm like Selena, did Selena or I do the same thing, or was that a Cally/Cat thing" says Tori
"if anything you and Selena were worse, you literally came out into this world grabbing her right foot, though once all immediate procedures were done and you were separated from your mother, Selena came right up behind you and cuddled you, then your mother heard that you likely inherited the perv condition from her side of the family and decided to give Selena up, she couldn't have cared less that Rebecca said she'd pay for any medications you'd both need, even if she took on enough of her neices by the time you needed the medication that she couldn't pay for it, the thing is your mother didn't care, she only ever wanted two kids, when she found out that she was having twins, she said quite firmly that she was going to 'throw one away' even though I lied and said I could afford to raise three kids, she simply didn't care" says David
"that sure explains a lot, Cat doesn't have much information about how quickly Cally was adopted, just that it was less than a few months, for that matter how quickly was Selena adopted" says Tori
"Cally and Cat are nearly a year younger than you obviously but after failing to find Selena a home, she doubled down when she found out that the great Valentine family was having twins with the condition, she didn't even wait till Cat and Cally were born before she began looking for a foster family for either one because Cat and Cally parents were in quite a financial bind, they had only planned on one kid, it wasn't until about six months into the pregnancy that the possibility of it being twins was even floated, it got pretty hard a few hours before they were born, the insurance company they had a policy with decided to part ways, financially screwing them over, luckily Rebecca had a foster family already lined up for Cally or Cat so once the decision was made, papers were signed and after a bit of an extended time in the hospital Cally was off to her adoptive family and Selena would follow soon after, of course she spent almost a year in protective services while they tried to find a family for her, anyway I'm sure you're missing a lot of fun up in that room, we can talk about all this on the weekend" says David
"thanks dad, oh and Andre, Trina likes you, like really likes you" says Tori
"is she still calling me Andrew, because while I like how she's become a softer spoken person, that whole calling me Andrew thing makes me mad" says Andre
"she's learning Andre, it takes time, she spent all last week figuring out how to ask you out, every time she'd mispronounce your name, she'd slam the bathroom door on her hand or her foot, she's been to the hospital twice, she doesn't hurt herself for no reason Andre, she spent the first three weeks of the school year tearing herself down, calling herself all sorts of names, telling herself that she's a bad person and that's why nobody likes her or that she's terrible at everything and that nobody wants a 'useless' girlfriend, some of the things she'd say about herself literally made me feel sick to my stomach, she won't be confident enough to make the first move, you have to ask her out, please just give her a chance" says Tori
"it's worth a shot" says Andre
"ok good, if it doesn't work out at least she will know she got a chance" says Tori as she heads upstairs