Friday October 17th after school at the Vega home
"come in" says Trina as Andre walks in
"we need to talk about us Trina" says Andre
"Tori put you up to this didn't she, revenge for hiding the existence of her twin sister for three months, I know she hates me for hiding it but it was at Selena's request, what did she expect me to do, break a promise, there's nothing to talk about Andre, it would never work anyway, no guys like me, they never have, besides, you probably don't even like me and this is like last time, you're baiting me to make me cry, I'm going for a nap, DO NOT follow me, I'm embarrassed enough, you can leave, Tori doesn't live here anymore, she's at Cat's new place, it's one street in across from Venice Beach, the house is literally pink, you can't miss it" says Trina pushing Andre out the door then locking said door and all entrances into the house on the way to her room
"ugh, new Trina is ten times as touchy as old Trina, I thought she'd like that" says Andre as he calls Tori
"how'd it go, good I hope, you really seemed to want this to work" asks Tori
"no it went bad, real bad, she basically said I was baiting her and that you talked me into it as revenge for her keeping the truth about Selena existing from you, sure yeah I wanted it to work but if she's not going to trust me what's the point, it took me all week to get up the courage to walk over here and talk to her about how I felt, obviously she doesn't want to hear how I feel from ME, I made the effort to make the first move because I wanted to see if this new Trina was really new and not just a façade, I'll be at the house in ten minutes to work on music with you and Cat but I don't expect to be in a good mood so don't bring up Trina" says Andre as he angrily hangs up and gets in his car
With Tori
"guess it's time to sic you on Trina, you ready" asks Tori
"am I ever, I set this in motion two years ago when I pulled her to the side at the mall to talk, I'm not about to let this new Trina ruin her best chance at love because of something Andre was given incentive to participate in, by both you, Beck and Robbie, though in sure the main intention was to show her not to spread rumors about her 'dating' someone but it hurt Andre and Jade way more than it hurt Trina, JADE, start the car, we're going to VEGA town" says Selena heading to the garage as Jade follows
At the Vega home 20 minutes later
"Trina open up, I know damn well you're not sleeping, don't make me use my special weapon" says Selena as loud noises can be heard inside as Trina rushes to the door
"you have a secret weapon" asks Jade as Selena reveals her special gloves and boots that help her climb buildings
"may I ask what this is about" asks Trina as she opens the door and Selena walks in and slaps her and recoils
"I send a willing hot dude to your door and you make him feel like trash, now he's angry while working on music with Tori and Cat, do you really think Cat won't bring it up, he will hit them, Cat at the very least" says Selena continuing to push Trina back again and again
"how was I supposed to know that you sent him" asks Trina
"oh I don't know maybe look at the texts I sent, you have me as 'princesa escondida' in your contacts, maybe actually reading my texts would be helpful for once instead of leaving me unread" says Selena, clearly pissed off
"I've been busy, you know I got a job as a lifeguard when I graduated, it doesn't pay much but it lets me pay rent, dad remorgaged the house after the divorce, he can't afford the bills without me, I've had a lot of shifts this month, I've had to leave a lot of people unread, I haven't had time to respond to Tori in two days, I haven't been able to respond to dad all week, I was just about to take what time I had until my next shift to get back to as many people as I could, now I won't have time till Monday, it's my first day off in six weeks, I was going to spend it at the beach but this time not as a lifeguard but now you have me worried I've missed so many texts that I'll feel like I have to spend the entire day getting back to people, I haven't talked to Molly in three months, in person or through text" says Trina backed against the wall
"so you blowing off Andre was what then, it took him all week to just get the courage to come over here after Tori told him you had a really big crush on him" says Selena backing away a little to give Trina room
"I was a bit shocked, ok a lot shocked, maybe I should have handled it better but I'm a little strained, I almost didn't make rent this month, I've been all over the place and only just finished my period yesterday, I haven't really been thinking straight today as it is, I probably wasn't even hearing him correctly" says Trina as Andre calls Jade
"HOSPITAL NOW" says Andre with urgency
"what happened" asks Trina suddenly in the moment
"Cat had a seizure, she fell and hit the table, we're five minutes away from the hospital GET THERE" says Andre hanging up
"but I have work in half an hour… I can't afford to go" says Trina as she's ushered into Jade's car
"what's more important Trina, preventing Tori from having a seizure because she's afraid her girlfriend is dying or going to work, I guarantee that Cat will compensate you for your time if you make sure Tori stays safe" says Selena
"wait is seizures a symptom of the condition" asks Trina
"yes, it's aggravated by stress, Andre revved the engine seven times when he arrived while he waited, that alone would be enough to stress her out, with Cat and Cally it isn't hard to spook them or stress them out, Cat seems to be especially triggerable" says Selena as they turn onto the hospital road
"Tori is also quite triggerable Selena, Wednesday night Robbie kissed her on the lips, completely out of the blue, she said one minute she had her fork in her hand with a fry on it, next thing she knew she was on the floor and her neck hurt quite a bit" says Jade as they pull into the hospital parking lot as an ambulance pulls into the emergency entrance and wheel Cat in fast
In the hospital 20 minutes later, Trina officially calling in a family emergency to work
"how is she" asks Cally worried the anxiety will cause her own seizure
"stable, we're glad that Andre reacted so quickly" says Rebecca
"he had his phone out before she even dropped, I have to admit I'm impressed too" says Tori
"you know I caused this Tori, don't praise me, I saw the warning signs of a seizure the moment I raised my voice, that's why I had a fast reaction, my grandmother, as much as she annoyed me, before she passed away she began having seizures triggered by loud noises, I knew better than to tell at her" says Andre
"she won't see it that way, you warned us not to bring Trina up but Cat cares a lot about love, she wanted to know why you were so angry, she will see this as a self inflicted thing, she won't blame you and you shouldn't either" says Tori
"she hit that table pretty hard Tori, how can I not feel responsible if that fall causes a brain injury" asks Andre
"the first thing she said when she woke up was 'Andre's going to blame himself for this and he shouldn't', she's napping now but she still wants that song, she doesn't care what the topic is, happiness, sadness, hope, joy, as long as it's a bop like the songs you wrote with Tori until last Christmas" says Rebecca
"will she buy it like she said she would, because her taste is a bit different than Tori's" asks Andre
"without a doubt, though if she doesn't think it will do well she won't put it on the album but she does keep a folder on her laptop of '2nd best' songs for a possible 'outtakes' album, she doesn't yet have enough for the label to consider it an album in waiting, which the label puts at twelve, she has seven, however for her regular 'good' songs as she calls it, she's at nine but she's out of ideas and she wants to get this album out before Halloween" says Tori
"not that I don't trust you Tori but I want to hear it from Cat, her style is different than yours, writing in her style is harder than you think, I don't want to pour my soul into a song that might not see the light of day, my music is important to me, whether I write it for someone else or not, my music is my life, I quit my job because you guys was promised that I'd be paid fairly for my time and the songs I'd write, she didn't like the first two songs I wrote in her style so I never got paid, sure I never liked my job at the mall but at least I got paid for my time, I have a phone bill to pay, I can't afford to miss the payment" says Andre clearly showing why he's stressed
"I can't pay you until I release my first album and get paid by the label, Cat's picky, it's not easy but it can be done, she's assured me that once she hears a song that she feels the fans will love she will pay you for your time on those other songs, she just needs to see that you can write such a song, oh and you should forgive Trina for how she acted" says Tori
"I guess I should have known that writing music for Cat wouldn't be easy, why should I forgive Trina, she basically made me feel like my feelings weren't real" says Andre
"she just finished her period, which by the way she didn't call into work for, her periods are on the more painful side, on a scale of one to ten on average hers are a seven, mine are a three, and she continued working and even stayed after her shift at the beach to calm down a few Bipolar regulars to her part of the beach, they were a little paranoid last week, somehow her period affects her hearing the day after her body returns to normal, she can't afford a hospital visit to figure out why, I've seen her go to a beach goer thinking they asked her for help a few times, I highly suspect she thought you said something you didn't say, if you brought up your feelings or said the word love, she might have thought you meant in a strictly sexual way" says Tori
"I got a single sentence in, 'we need to talk about us' was all I could get in before she literally started pushing me to the front door and out of the house, then kicked the door as she locked it, it made me feel like maybe I shouldn't have even gone there" says Andre
"ahh, it's the 'us' that set her off, also the whole 'we need to talk' thing is never a good thing with her, people always use that phrase to break up with her or give her bad news like say 'we need to talk about your attitude' or 'we need to talk about your looks', you probably should have worded that differently since your intention was to ask her out" says Tori as yet another doctor confronts Trina about crying and making a scene
"Andre, you need to go talk to Trina right now, trust me when I say Selena put this 'new Trina' in motion, the thing is, the 'old Trina' was all her trying to cover her insecurities, mainly about her being a smidge overweight, she's as insecure as they come, Selena basically said 'be yourself, the difference will show someone that you're human', it was actually a very good idea, Selena should be proud" says Rebecca
"don't heap praise on me yet, technically I've gone rogue helping Trina be herself, not to mention I absolutely scared her because I was angry she pushed him away, I physically pushed her into the wall then nearly pushed her into the railing, sure maybe my intention was good but she's at the end of the hall crying, seven doctors have told her that she's making a scene and should leave, I don't deserve praise for that" says Selena as a nurse walks over
"Cat's asking to speak to Andre" says Nurse Kimberly Smith as Rebecca motions for Andre to go see Trina
"he's busy Kimberly, Tori and Robbie will have to do" says Rebecca
"I'm afraid she's insisting" says Kimberly
"it's not happening" says Rebecca sending Kimberly away
"may I ask what's wrong" asks Tori
"the hit she suffered to her head as altered her logic, she thinks that if Andre hadn't been there that she'd have died because you don't drive, Robbie doesn't drive, at the moment Jade and Andre are the only people in that house who actively drive, she thinks that Robbie should be replaced with Andre, but she admits that she has no romantic feelings for Andre and it would literally be a convenience thing, I informed her that that could be considered a form of abuse, Robbie really has to step up his game and prove that he deserves that spot in the relationship or she might force him out" says Rebecca
"that's not fair to either of us, Robbie can't afford a car or the insurance or he'd have a license" says Tori
"what about you, you don't seem all too interested in getting your license again, you let it expire" says Rebecca
"I tried driving, it makes me nervous, I'd honestly rather pay a chauffeur once I get my money and Andre's car is not even ever half full of gas, he quit his job because we'd assured him that we'd buy his music, to be fair Cat definitely likes to be in a submissive type role, I can see why she thinks Andre would be more of a dominant person but Robbie is definitely capable of being dominant, with me he's been firm twice and almost a third time but I asked him not to and he kissed me, like actually kissed me" says Tori
"has he done the same for Cat or is that just him acting that way towards you" asks Rebecca, beginning to see Cat's true issue with Robbie
"Cat's the one that brought him into the relationship, she said his duty was to prove to me that he was worth adding to the relationship, she's made the relationship tilted towards me instead of balanced, if she has problems with Robbie, its entirely her own fault, she gave Robbie a priority that didn't include her, though he does still dote on her but its caused Cat small seizures because of the surprise action so Robbie has since pulled back on surprise kisses on Cat to ensure the absolute minimum amount of seizures so Cat remains alive" says Tori
"I'll talk to Cat about this, where is Robbie anyway, I thought he'd be here" says Rebecca
"he has a job, not that he actually needs it anymore because Cat pays for all his monetary needs and most of his wants, he keeps the job because Andre needs a bit of money to scrape by, without it Andre couldn't afford to fill up his car at all or make a payment on his phone bill, Andre called for an ambulance to meet us halfway because he couldn't afford to use up too much gas, he'd already driven to Trina and dad's house and back, that house isn't exactly close, it is at minimum over a mile from the new house, Andre vowed to save as much gas as he could so it didn't appear like he was abusing Robbie's kindness in keeping him afloat since quitting his job" says Tori
"fair enough" says Rebecca going in to talk to Cat
Meanwhile with Andre and Trina
"I'm sorry if I appeared inconsiderate Andre, I really didn't mean for it to sound that way" says Trina unwilling to look him in the eyes out of fear
"Tori said you might not have realized what I said, what did you hear me say" says Andre sitting down across from Trina basically forcing her to look at him
"after 'we need to talk' I didn't hear anything, that phrase has never been good news for me, it usually meant someone was telling me bad news, given how I feel about you I assumed somehow you found out and assumed you were going to tell me it would never happen, what exactly did you say after the whole 'we need to talk thing' it's been bugging me ever since Selena confronted me" says Trina
"us, that's all I said after that, look, the 'old Trina' was never my type, I don't like self centered girls, even if they are hot, this new you, it intrigues me, you've saved more kids from beach related deaths than anyone I know, the old Trina wouldn't have even saved one, while I was surprised when Tori told me you had feelings for me I have to admit a Vega sister is better than no Vega sister, before you jump to conclusions about Tori forcing me to go out with you, you should know, Tuesday was the day she told me about how you feel and aside from working on music and giving me a copy of your work schedule she hasn't brought you up once, if I'm honest I'm surprised she didn't dare me to go on a date with you, she never pushed me to do anything" says Andre as Trina blushes
"I probably look so stupid, wrapped in a green blanket Jade had in her car because I don't like people seeing me in my bathing suit unless I'm at work, it's freezing in here" says Trina
"being embarrassed isn't stupid, it means you're still human, I have a question to ask, you seem to understand Cat's music style, Tori won't help me and Cat won't pay me until I can prove I can write a song in her style, Robbie's been paying my bills since I quit my job to write music for Cat and Tori full time, if I can't figure this out I'll have to forget about doing music fulltime and beg for my mall job back and I don't want to let Cat or Tori down but I can't figure out how to write music in Cat's style, you play it at the beach all the time" says Andre
"Cat's music is different, she likes to be able to dance while she sings, look back at her past songs, find out which words she emphasizes and which ones she mumbles, there will be a very specific rhythm to them, it's her signature, that's the part that matters, so long as that rhythm is kept intact" says Trina
"I've listened to all her songs, I never found a pattern or rhythm in her songs" says Andre
"that's because you don't have crippling anxiety like Cat does, ok maybe crippling is the wrong word but her anxiety runs her life, her first song is titled 'happily never after', she made the label release it as a single before she'd give them her album, it's why she's terrified that people will find out where she lives and hurt her, mainly because she fears such an action might trigger her brother, he happens to be quite protective of her, hence why the moment she could move away she did, it keeps him mostly in the dark unless something makes the news" says Trina
"ok but you know where she lives, you told me it was the pink house, you got the location right but not the color" says Andre
"it's color shifting paint, temperature and viewing angle can change the perceived color, even a single degree difference and the color will shift, honestly its pretty cool, also I didn't actually lie about it being pink, the color changing part is a second layer, the main layer is indeed pink, on really hot days the color changing layer goes transparent until it cools down, it's actually a really cool thing to have on your house, it's unique just like her" says Trina
"you know you could be a really good publicity person for Cat or Tori" says Andre sitting beside her, causing Trina to lean on him as she relaxes
"I've asked her a dozen times, she just brushes me off" says Trina
"that's not like her" says Andre
"she's worried just hiring anyone will cause people to think they can tout their talents and sip from her bank account as an employee without doing much actual work" says Trina
"you're more than qualified for the job, I've seen you boosting her music, I've seen how you interact with her fans, even the more crazy ones, you do everything a publicity person does and more, except get paid" says Andre
"she wants to do it all herself, she got in a big fight with the label publicity person they'd assigned to her back in late April and rather than lose Cat, they fired the employee and rightfully so, the fight was literally over the employee wanting to know everything about Cat's life, under the guise of using the knowledge to tell their kids who are big fans and keep her wider fans in the dark, unfortunately that employees kids told their entire school that Cat's bisexual and lots of people mocked her as a result, as much as it hurts I understand why she keeps things to herself, though I have to wonder if she'd try pot edibles, there have been studies lately about how certain strains can help reduce the severity of seizures and anxiety" says Trina
"I wouldn't bring that up with Cat if I were you, she only wants doctors telling her what medication she should or shouldn't take" says Andre
"I know for a FACT they work, Tori takes them, the only time she has anything close to a seizure is when people do things like say kiss her out of the blue like Robbie did recently or when I told her I got a job, shock is the only thing left that can trigger her seizures" says Trina
"how long has Tori actually had seizures, as long as I've known her she's never had seizures" says Andre
"her whole life, this condition is worse for people who don't eat enough, it doesn't care why, up until the hambone incident with Jarold artbeg when she was little she was eating enough, after that however was a different story, she began slowly eating less, having pretty much convinced herself she was talentless and fat, despite neither being true, she began eating less and less, until she was eating so little that she could have a seizure quite easily, it took a year to get her back to eating enough food where she was mostly safe from her seizures but that doesn't mean they didn't happen, it just meant they didn't hamper her ability to appear normal, oh and she'd lie quite often, whenever she's been 'late' arriving to school, it's been because of a seizure, though since she's been eating better they've always been minor but it trips her up enough that it takes her at least five minutes to get back on track" says Trina
"ok, I have to ask, why were you always so hard on Tori if you knew she was suffering the way she is" says Andre
"you can know how someone suffers and still make mistakes Andre, mom was a terrible influence, always finding sneaky ways to drive wedge between Tori and I, to make us unable to work together on anything, bordering on hating one another, I regret making the mistakes I made but I can't change the past to make things right" says Trina
"surely you knew how your words affected her though" asks Andre
"I thought maybe my words hurt her but mom had long told me that Tori hasn't cared about me in a long time so I should stop caring about her mental health, so for a time I did actually stop caring about if my words hurt, the shock of dad divorcing mom pulled me back to reality about how my words may hurt her" says Trina
"ok so how about we go to your house after we know if Cat's stable, you can help me figure out how to write music for Cat" says Andre
"honestly I'd rather stay in your room at Cat's, it's less expensive for me to get to work that way" says Trina
"how long have you had feelings for me, there is no spare room for you to stay in, is the issue purely a money thing, because I thought you were paying your dad rent, how can you do that if you're living with me" asks Andre
"I was hoping we could do fifty-fifty time at each house, I happen to know that the only reason Cat didn't agree to split time there and at dad's place is because she's just so in love with the location and the pool, besides Dad's finally dating again and the woman he's dating has a daughter, fifteen years old but man she's funny, she's fun to be around, she's also helped me be more comfortable as my real self, unfortunately she's also very nervous about her situation, her mom has been in four relationships over the past year and all but dad have creeped on her, resulting in her mom breaking up with them and she basically stays at dad's place full time, she's literally smaller than Cat height wise, she's terrified of anyone bigger than her, in her words 'big people want to use me as a toothpick', your size alone would absolutely scare her, she needs time to get used to the fact that dad is actually a good person and that she's safe in that house, give her a week there and she'll feel better" says Trina
"that's good to know but you didn't answer my question about how long you've had feelings for me" says Andre as he manages to get her up so they can head to the hospital cafeteria
"because I don't exactly know the answer, I always liked working with you on school projects, even if I outwardly protested or seemed upset about it, I can't determine when it went from 'huh he's actually a good partner for school projects' to 'huh, he's actually kind of hot', I just know that since I graduated I've been thinking seriously about asking you out, I just never thought you'd like me" says Trina as Tori calls them
"what's up Tori" asks Andre
"Robbie's work was part of a police stand off with an active shooter, a few of his co-workers were shot at, luckily they're stable and the shooter was caught but they're all on their way to the hospital, Robbie included, he wants to talk to you" says Tori
"is Robbie ok, I'm currently on an impromptu date with Trina, at least as good as the hospital cafeteria can classify as a date" says Andre as Trina blushes and leans into him adorably
"I guess it can wait, yeah he's fine but he's not used to having guns pointed at him, I know it's happened at least a few times to you and your family, he thinks his bad negotiation skills got his coworkers shot at" says Tori
"the only way I've found to stop someone with a gun from hurting someone in a standoff like that is to have someone with a gun in there, it sounds counterintuitive but they see you as a friend, especially conspiracy nuts, though I don't like guns so maybe don't take my advice" says Andre
"Cat's worried you're going to quit writing music for us because she misunderstood the situation about Robbie" says Tori
"I'd still write for you but the only reason I'd quit making music for Cat is because she has very strict requirements for accepting a song, Trina's going to help me this weekend at Cat's house if that's ok, but if I can't master the style then I can't make music that Cat will approve and therefore won't get paid for my time, why spend my time writing music that won't be accepted if I'm not being paid, I don't mind working on your first album without pay but Cat absolutely has extra cash, at this point I'm not asking for much, mainly just enough to fill or mostly fill my gas tank for the week, shouldn't be more than a hundred dollars at the current price, I shouldn't have to rely on Robbie to pay my bills and make sure I have gas in my car, he could absolutely be the man she wants him to be in your triad but only IF she starts taking responsibility for paying those who work for her, he feels obligated to help me because she isn't, that's literally the only reason he kept that damn job, I told him that he was likely to be targeted, he said and I quote 'someone has to make sure your bills are paid, you quit your job to work for them and Cat's not being very good about it, so I have to stand up for you', he can come talk to me in an hour, I'm spending time with Trina, I hope Cat's healing well" says Andre as he hangs up
"I'm surprised you told her, she's not used to being told about that stuff, dad kept quiet about everything, all of a sudden a lawyer served mom with divorce papers, everything changed, Selena even started talking to me more" says Trina
"I was just being honest, she's the one that told me about how you feel, it would be wrong of me to let her think I was letting you suffer when that's not the case, ever since she started at Hollywood arts I've always confided in her, I was raised to trust people, it would be foolish of me to stop trusting her now, I've told her many secrets and she's never let a single one get out" says Andre
"your skin is so soft" says Trina
"you can thank Cat for that, she found this skin care regime and uses it all the time, she told me about it and while I was skeptical at the time, in trying to prove her wrong, I ended up a believer, now let's talk us" says Andre as Trina again blushes