Halloween night at Cat's
"hey lissa" says Cat
"hey, did Robbie drop off my laptop to the feds like he said he was going to, you have this pool party planned and he offered to hand out candy, which I'm surprised you allowed since you don't like people knowing where you live" says Melissa as Cat walks over in her fairy costume
"your parents were the main reason I kept fans at bay, I didn't know who they had influence over and who they didn't, yes Robbie's on his way back, your parents won't be getting out any time soon, the feds told Robbie that the evidence was overwhelming, your parents will have a hard time finding a defence lawyer willing to help them get away with it, Ariel and Ivy have been making a killing, at least three times more than the kids label thought they'd make, they've been buying things for Ella and Savannah left and right, I believe that as the big sister you'll get the same benefit, though maybe not as often or as pricy gifts but you'll benefit all the same" says Cat
"they shouldn't have to though, I'm Ella's big sister, morally I should be the one buying them stuff" says Melissa
"they're simply very generous, they're now here basically full time and they're trying to pay rent, I told them I'd put the money towards extra snacks but I'd never allow them to pay rent" says Cat
"please tell me you're not actually accepting their money, they've worked hard for it" says Melissa
"it goes towards snacks and movies they rent on my account as well as things like dresses or laptops or whatever they want" says Cat
"I'm glad Ellie has Savannah by her side, I never thought the trauma would allow her to connect with anyone, boy or girl, though you should know Jade's been letting them push the whole 'age appropriate' activity boundary" says Melissa
"I'm well aware, Jade thought she was being sneaky but their parents said so long as sex isn't happening, a little exploration is acceptable to them" says Cat
"so it's purely exploration then" asks Melanie as Robbie walks in
"exactly, the thing about girls with the 'perv' condition is we're neglected when it comes to sex education, we're taught about boys reproductive parts but not our own, my first night sleeping in the same bed with Tori was all me exploring her body on the outside, finding out how it was different than mine, the girls are doing the exact same thing, Savannah came to me shortly after it started happening, worried that exploring would break the deal I'd made with their parents, so I explained to her what was and wasn't allowed, I explained what would be classified as sex, her response was 'oh my God, we're nowhere close to wanting that', she seemed revolted, luckily Ivy and Savannah don't have that problem, they explore but that's it" says Cat
"wait, you explained to a kid what sex was, I think that's over the line, you're not a teacher nor her parent" says Melissa
"to be fair if you were in my position, taking care of girls who are literally more sexually and emotionally mature but lack knowledge of what those kinds of words mean you'd do the same thing, the education system is failing them when it comes to their body parts, they have zero information, they thought paper cuts caused their periods, I lived sixteen years being told lies about how the female body works and I suffered because of it, they've suffered enough, so long as they're willing to learn about it I'm willing to teach them, besides my rules specifically called out sex as being an absolute no, it's clear that they didn't know what the word meant and assumed running their hands over their girlfriends was what sex was" says Cat as Ella walks over
"Andre told us no more candy, it's Halloween, I thought candy was the entire point of Halloween" says Ella sad
"you girls have had quite a bit of candy this week, you emptied your entire stash, while I do have my own massive stash of candy I won't just share it with you for free, Ivy and Ariel pride themselves on paying for stuff with the money they make" says Cat
"do they have anything left from what they gave you or do you need more" asks Ella
"how much candy are we talking here" asks Melissa
"enough for tonight, Jade promised to take us out for shopping tomorrow, which she said would include a candy haul" says Ella nervous that Ariel won't get any candy
"there's enough money for that but not much else, you girls have also been spending a lot on movies, you're going to have to learn how to budget" says Cat
"Savannah said you told her what sex was, Ivy doesn't seem to care much about that, Ariel though, she seemed interested, I'm scared you'll send me to my parents" says Ella changing the subject
"your parents are in FBI custody until trial, you live here now, as does Mel so long as she wants to" says Robbie as Ella hugs Melissa
"yay together again" squeals Ella
"I have to admit that I'm worried about Ariel putting pressure on Ellie" says Melissa picking Ella up
"the condition is getting more intense, for all of them but Ariel is feeling it the most, Savannah's feeling it almost as much, their parents taught them to listen to their emotions, to be fair though it was expected that it would intensify, when people like us are young, doctors think it's best to keep us isolated, very few doctors believe in letting them date their crushes if its mutual between them, Doctor Vega gave me guidelines, my main reason for following the advice and making this neutral ground was because of the situation you and Ella were in, I wanted her out of there, Rebecca doesn't take it well when her cousins are being abused" says Cat
"wait we're related to Tori, Trina and Selena" asks Melissa as Ella's eyes go wide in realization
"White is the British wing of the Vega family, twenty years removed from the family proper but we still consider the White's as Vega's, that's why my dad brought you here when he found you, Liv tipped him off" says Tori
"wait so is miss Liv white considered a Vega" asks Ella wanting to hope Olivia is family
"her mom was yes, Liv herself identifies more with the Valentine's though when her mom died she took her mom's last name, her fans didn't know the difference and the school didn't care, anyway go get into your costumes, it's almost time for Robbie to hand out candy" says Cat
"ok" says Ella as she runs downstairs to change
"did you do anything to her, like hypnosis or something, she's never been this easy to deal with, she's always been combative, that's why mom and dad were going to such extremes to make her easier to abuse" asks Melissa, unwilling to believe nothing was done to her sister
"you'd be surprised how much freedom to be yourself can change someone, in the beginning Ella was taking food without asking, her reasoning was that she didn't think we were going to feed her enough, as she got all the food she wanted she became less combative, she went from scared of kissing Ariel outside their bedroom to openly pecking Ariel with kisses everywhere, she's changed quite a lot, all we've done is give her snacks when she's hungry and making sure she has enough food during meals" says Cat
"is it that easy" asks Melissa
"yep, food is a good controlling mechanism for girls with the condition, your parents were so close to realizing how to control Ella it was scary, you deny her food and her will to stand up for herself literally crumbles" says Cat
"did Rebecca tell you that" asks Robbie
"no, I'd forgotten to tell Andre the rules his first night here, she came up for a snack, which I told her was ok, he told her to go back downstairs and wouldn't let her get a snack, she went from happy to some sort of trauma response, he said she literally crawled to the stairs" says Cat
"oh my God, yeah she does that around men, mom had basically convinced her that if a guy was getting mad at her that she could lay down and offer her body to him as an apology, luckily no guy has done so but that's why she crawls when yelled at by a man, why didn't you stop him" says Melissa
"I was busy in bed with Tori and Robbie, I came down an hour after it happened to get refreshments and he told me, I scolded him, told him they're MY responsibility and that if they come up for a snack that they be allowed to because I told them it was ok, he spent quite a bit of time in the living room because he insisted that he was supposed to buy stuff for the room I'm letting him stay in and he hadn't yet gotten enough money for a tv, he has a tv now" says Cat
"doesn't he know you would have told them no snacks unless they asked if that's what you wanted" asks Melissa
"it's just who he is, he thought she was abusing my hospitality by taking food without asking, he felt she should have at least asked him first so he could relay it to me, he's very protective of me, he's the only one from school that knew my condition secret" says Cat
"and you didn't even tell Tori" asks Robbie surprised
"I was afraid to, especially after how Andre reacted, him and I have been friends for almost as long as we have Robbie, Andre recoiled, he said he'd keep the secret and protect me as much as he could at school but he wouldn't trust me to work on projects with him alone, Tori and I got super close super quick, I was afraid she'd walk away if she knew" says Cat
"Tori, would you have walked away" asks Melissa, trying to get an understanding of the group dynamic
"l would have backed away to process, I'd want more time to myself so I could talk with my registered therapist uncle but I wouldn't have walked away outright, I'd still talk with her and invite her to my house but we wouldn't have had sleepovers for at least a week, see I never understood why I'd tell my doctor about what I'm experiencing, usually about my emotions and I'd get an instant diagnosis, no questions were asked, pretty quickly I just started making bingo cards that were my diagnoses and which one my doctor would give me next, last year I got another one and all the entire doctors office heard was BINGO, looking back my doctor was actually quite dumb about it, sure I understand he was trying to keep my mood up at a frustrating time in my life but at some point lying to me only hurts me, for the longest time I thought I was going nuts, I'd have preferred my doctor just say 'we know what you have but we can't legally treat it until you're sixteen', sometimes knowing you're not losing your mind is better than being lied to" says Tori
"hey Tor, you didn't invite Stella right, Melissa doesn't want her to be here" asks Cat
"I informed Liv and Mo about the situation but left it up to them, Stell's been quite lonely since moving here last year, she doesn't know anybody, based on the letters you sent her she hoped she run into you at the beach when she saw Ella, she's literally afraid of everyone here, she barely leaves her apartment, which she can only pay for because of residuals from lemonade mouth, even then she orders all her food delivered and then she inspects it for poison for an hour before putting it away" says Tori
"why move here if she doesn't like being here, it doesn't make sense" says Melissa
"that letter, her fan mail manager forged it without her knowing, oh and he only forged her handwriting because he wanted to have sex with her, he saw her as an object and you were competition, he's now in prison for what is basically life for that and other crimes, when she fled here, the fans she had from lemonade mouth, they abandoned her, except for you" says Cat
"what so you're saying she came here to be with me, that's insane, nobody is sane enough to put up with me, besides Ella's wellbeing comes first for me" says Melissa
"chances are high that Stell will be brought along to the party by either Mo or Liv, though I doubt Stell will have the confidence to talk to you, you may put Ella first but you deserve to be happy too, Stell's always wanted a little sister anyway, she was burdened with two little brainiac twin brothers who always made her feel inferior, Ella said this morning that if Stella shows up she will talk to her, likely about sandcastle building advice" says Cat
"what did Ella get as a costume, a package arrived yesterday and she wouldn't tell me what it was other than that it was a costume for Halloween" says Melissa
"it's a unicorn pair for her and Ariel, they wanted to be all matchy matchy and couldn't decide until I helped them work through possible ideas" says Cat
"isn't there like a polyamorous meaning to unicorns" asks Melissa
"yeah but I'm letting them be kids, I didn't learn the adult meaning until last week, anyway we should prepare for the party, Robbie kids should be arriving soon, prepare the candy" says Cat
"ok" says Robbie
2 hours later as Olivia, Mohini, Stella and her only friend arrive for the party
"who's that" asks Melissa, clearly jealous of whoever is standing beside Stella
"Stella's only friend post lemonade mouth break up, at least here in LA, why, you jealous" says Jade
"ugh, that girl is HOT, I have no chance, she's hot and I'm used and abused, I have nothing to offer Stella that that girl doesn't" pouts Melissa running downstairs in a fit
"hey what's wrong with Mellie she seemed fine ten minutes ago" asks Cat
"Kristine, she's hugging Stella, Mel called herself 'used and abused' and that she has nothing to offer Stella that Kristine can't" says Jade
"Kristine isn't interested in Stella romantically Jade" says Tori
"yeah I know, she's April's niece, I didn't get a chance to explain all this to Mel, she's like deeply in love with Stella, she got jealous the instant they walked through the door, she misinterpreted Kristine's facial expressions, I think she might have what her sister has" says Jade
"nah, she's just in emotional turmoil because of the things her parents did to her and Ella, she's in emotion rejection mode, basically she's setting herself up so she doesn't kill herself when Stella leaves tonight without kissing her" says Tori
"so what does Mel have then" asks Jade
"Mel's autistic, Ella too, that's why you're drawing connections" says Tori
"huh, she never said anything, I've known Mel for a long time and she never said anything to me about her or Ella being autistic" says Jade as Stella notices Melissa isn't by the pool
"that's the point, she wants to be treated like a normal person, that's the same reason Cat keeps her being autistic and Bipolar a secret" says Tori as Stella walks over
"where's Mel, I need to talk to her, I need to clear things up" says Stella
"she thinks you're dating Kristine, she fled downstairs, she'll probably be back up in a bit but give her space and distance yourself from Kristine" says Tori
"I wish I could distance myself from her but the LAPD assigned her as my personal non police force protection two days ago, something about Mel and Ella's parents targeting me, anyway the sad part is I can barely afford the apartment, I'm looking for a relationship with Mel knowing I can't afford my own needs let alone hers" says Stella
"doesn't your activism get you at least some income" asks Jade
"not as much as you think, though it probably doesn't help that I don't like to ask for financial help, given I'm here under an assumed name I can't really afford to make people suspicious, especially considering my particular brand of activism is focused on helping those who are abused, to me its not moral to ask others for assistance" says Stella as Melissa walks back up the stairs with headphones on
"ugh Mel, take those headphones off" says Jade as she takes the headphones off of Melissa
"hey, I need those, it's too loud up here" says Melissa taking the headphones back from Jade as Stella kisses her out of the blue
"I love you" says Stella
"ugh no you don't give me space please" says Melissa as she heads to the pool
"is she really convinced I don't love her" asks Stella as Ella runs over to talk to Melissa
"to be fair she's emotionally distant most of the time, Ella might just save you, she was just talking to Kristine and she ran over to Mel" says Jade
"I'm not holding out hope" says Stella
With Ella and Melissa
"you don't understand Ella, how can I trust Stella not to walk away and kiss Kristine, Krissy's a big flirt" says Melissa
"so is Ariel but a girl knows what she wants, Krissy wants Wen not Stella, Krissy is working, the police appointed her required protection after mom and dad issued threats against Stell's life because of her activism" says Ella
"you're sure of that, you're a kid, how could you possibly know, surely the trauma of what mom and dad did to us, made us do is affecting you as much as it is me" says Melissa
"I focus on the future not what happened, though I admit what mom made me do with you did open my eyes, I didn't like that it was with you but I generally enjoyed the experience, it showed me that I don't like boys, only girls, it's out of our hands now though, we have to trust April will gather more evidence, until the trial we shouldn't focus on it, so yeah it affects me but I follow my heart, don't let the pain stop you from being in love" says Ella as Melissa calms down a little
"I always forget you can use more words than most kids your age, please forgive me for judging you, I ask that you don't tell Ariel anything about what happened, I don't want her to think I'm creepy" says Melissa
"unfortunately she already knows, the guidance councillor pulled me aside last week because she'd seen the bruises dad left and asked me about it at length, never informed my teacher so I was almost marked absent, Ella insisted I was at school but with the guidance councillor, Miss Clark sent her to go get me and walked in the moment I came clean and said 'mom and dad do this to me and make me and my older sister do stuff together', Airie doesn't care, just that we're safe now, now go kiss Stella before she gives up hope" says Ella pointing to Stella, who is crying
"if this works out I owe you one" says Melissa
"just get me candy or something, I'm just trying to stop you from making a mistake by ignoring Stella" says Ella as she runs back downstairs to convince Ariel to come upstairs to the pool
With Stella 5 minutes later
"hey" says Melissa
"look, I don't know what Ella told you but I'm not dating Kristine, she's a good friend but she wants Wen pretty bad but he doesn't want her but even worse is she was assigned to be my police protection" says Stella expecting to be rejected
"Ella told me, we shouldn't judge her, she's wiser than she has any right to be, probably because the condition in her case gives her a plus four year intelligence bump, school isn't very engaging for her, she aces tests with ease, she's constantly accused of cheating but she has a photographic memory, though to her detriment it also works extremely well with audio, its less of a gift and more a tormenting plague for her" says Melissa
"you should know that you're not a failure, I don't know if you knew but the cute love letters you sent me, you'd woven in hints about your situation, about what your parents were doing, it's because of those that I became a hard core activist, I was beginning to think my activism was not having an effect, I shared the letters with the feds from my old state and they forwarded them along to the appropriate fbi location, you're the reason your parents are going down, not me" says Stella
"you shouldn't have shared them, I talked about things that could have gotten you arrested had they known you were replying" says Melissa taking Stella's hand and squeezing it so she doesn't start screaming
"I know and I almost was, until they saw the hints you were weaving through the letters and what it meant, they told me I probably shouldn't have allowed a bond to form but that by allowing a bond between us to exist, I was able to give them enough evidence to start an investigation, it was only after they started investigating that they realized that this wasn't going to be a small one, that there were massive fish to fry, anyway so are you rejecting me or not, I'd like to know if I absolutely made a fool of myself by kissing you like that" says Stella
"I mean I won't say no, however I don't have a room, I have a bed but that's it, no privacy, just how I like it honestly, so if you're staying the night I'd like to spend a few hours really getting to know the real you" says Melissa as Kristine gets suspicious but doesn't do anything yet
"I'd have to ask Kristine to stay as well, I'm not allowed to be anywhere without her until this threat is over, however long that is" says Stella
"then I guess you won't be staying the night, I can already tell she doesn't trust me simply because I'm my parents daughter, she doesn't seem to care that me and Ella were THE victims, that my sister and I were forced to go down on one another at whip point and on a few occasions at gun point, I do love you but so long as she's forced to be along with you this won't work, it's quite obvious she thinks in going to hurt you, goodbye Stella, come get me when this disaster is all over" says Melissa running back downstairs
"Kristine Breanna Kalina, get over here NOW" says Stella as Kristine walks over
"yes Miss Yamada" asks Kristine
"were you giving her dirty looks, you promised me you'd be okay with me staying the night while you stay up here by the pool, she's quite skittish because of what her parents put her and her baby sister through and her sister has a photographic memory so it's not even like Mel could one day after the trial start altering their perception of the past to make it easier on them" says Stella
"ok look its not that I don't trust her but I was in and out of the hospital as a kid, from ballet mishaps to skateboarding bone breaks, the family health insurance didn't cover surgeries back then so mom always had to get a loan for it every time, she's hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt because of me, the police are paying me well enough to put a serious dent in what she owes collections, as much as I trust you as my best friend, that paycheck means more, I can't risk it, unless I get a guarantee that you're as safe here as at your apartment I can't risk it, I'm finally making things right with my mom" says Kristine
"do you trust Melissa, it's clear that's the big issue for her, she's tried telling police for years but she wasn't believed, being trusted is important to her, since she's been here she's done everything to show she can be trusted, even if we didn't require it or ask her to" asks Jade
"boys used to call her the 'cry rape' girl, we actually went to the same school, I've always believed her, but when my dad left my mom nine years ago I couldn't do anything because I was also branded a liar, it's not about trusting her with Stella, it's about getting Ella not to hover, trauma aside Mellie and Ella are as glued at the hip as Ella and Ariel are, I have a hard time believing Ella will leave them be so they can cuddle, there is also the security problem, Stella is a target of the entire trafficking ring because she exposed them, Stell's apartment is completely secured by the police, not even the building super can get access without Stell's prior approval, Cat's fans now know where she lives, I have doubts that anyone will be safe here now, Liv and Mo's house was broken into several times last year alone because Liv was doxxed online, can you guarantee everyone's safety here going forward" says Kristine
"Ella is preoccupied at night with Ariel, they're in the 'naked visual exploration' stage of their relationship, being extremely hopped up on sugar Ella will be more preoccupied than normal so she won't be a problem, as for security Andre lives here and he's now basically Cat's on site security, Robbie has security cameras everywhere at Cat's request, by the way the cameras in the bedrooms are only accessible by the people assigned to those bedrooms unless a crime is detected" says Cally
"ok, I have to ask, are the kids having sex, I heard it's a common problem with girls with the condition" asks Kristine
"not by our definition of the word, the 'visual exploration' stage includes touch exploration but there is no insertion of fingers or tongues, you have to understand the teachers excluded them from most of the sex Ed curriculum, they were taught exclusively about the male stuff and nothing about their own bodies or what girl puberty was or what hormones do to girls, they thought running their hands over each other was sex, two of them, specifically Savannah freaked out and came running to Cat asking for security camera review to make sure that she wasn't breaking the whole 'age appropriate' rule, Ariel too was worried but less so, Cat told Savannah what sex was, I feel it was out of line but I guess if anyone was going to be forward enough to be truthful to them about what a word like sex means it would be Cat" says Cally
"ok fair enough but I don't like that Mellie doesn't have a room to herself" says Kristine accidentally letting her feelings for her show
"Mellie isn't staying here forever, she doesn't want to, the memories haunt her, she's only here for Ella, to reassure her those days are over, once she's convinced Ella isn't worried, she will try and find a place, my dad brought her here out of concern for his niece, yes Ella and Mel are related to us Vega's, even if loosely, Dad takes care of those he can, family or not" says Tori
"so it would be good for both of them if Ella saw Mellie moving forward then, not letting the trauma haunt her and all that, is Ella big on hope" asks Kristine
"Ella is all hope, it runs through her entire body, if hope were a human it would be Ella, sometimes she thinks hope will sustain all her calorie needs and yes it would help, even if she does pry herself away from Ariel it will only be for a moment and only to check up on Mel, Mel's been crying all week, kept up by the nightmares and it concerns Ella greatly, if Stella informs Ella before cuddling Mel that she's staying the night then Ella is likely to lock the main bedroom door, the bedroom has an extra door for bathroom access that only her and Ariel have access to, Savannah and Ivy have the same thing, anyway you can stay if your contract says you have to but give them space" says Selena
"unfortunately I do have to stay, though I don't have to be right there beside her if I know the building she's in is secure, so long as I get confirmation from Andre, I could be up here all night watching movies on my phone or attempting to get on Wen's good side for the hundredth time" says Kristine
"Wen can't stand you, you're borderline obsessed Kristine" says Mo from halfway across the room
"well I can't change that, he doesn't even know me, I'm way better for him than his mega cheater girlfriend, she's with seven other guys, I've tried to warn him, he doesn't care, while that hurts I can't not care about him, he deserves better, he did you wrong Liv, as perfect as you are with Mo, you can't deny that you and him could have worked things out, you're feelings for Mo just won over" says Kristine
"ugh now I have to call him, I'll be right back" says Liv giving Mo a kiss
With Olivia
"what is it Liv, you haven't called me in months, I assume Mo is dating you" says Wen
"your girlfriend isn't loyal, she doesn't care about you, just your money" says Liv
"Kristine tell you that did she, you know she's absolutely insanely obsessed with me right, she's lied to me many times before" says Wen
"she's not insane, nor obsessed, not like you think, she still believes we could have worked things out, just that Mo won me over instead, me and Mo literally happened by accident" says Liv
"you know I'm the one that screwed up, I yelled at you for caring about the kitten that I got you, I'd thought that you cared more about that kitten than you did me, I don't blame you for being with Mo" says Wen his tone suddenly softening
"I have my own evidence of Penny's cheating Wen, trust me you'll find your bank account drained soon, as crazy as Kristine is she's keeping Stella safe, Kristine feels guilty because all her injuries got her mom in massive amounts of debt and now Stella finally get that 'serpent' ring in the public eye, they're going after her, the fact that Stella is still alive shows she's not insane, Kristine deserves a chance Wen" says Liv
"you're certain Penny is going to drain my bank account" asks Wen, now suddenly worried
"yes, you'll want to have her arrested, she's already stolen fifty grand from you and lied about it, it was the whole 'I needed surgery to fix my ankle thing', she spent that money on her other boyfriends, she never needed surgery, she even boasted about it to me, said you were so damn gullible that she could get money from you simply by forging your signature on checks and then lying to you about it" says Liv
"damn, she did do that once, she told me it was a one time thing, ok fair enough, so like would Kristine agree to a date or like how would this work" asks Wen
"you'd have to admit you were wrong first, also either Stella would have to tag along with Melissa or it would be at Cat's house, Kristine is in an untrusting mood so she might reject you unless you explicitly admit you were wrong about Penny, she is being paid by the LAPD and feds to keep Stella safe until Melissa's parents trial, yes they're the head of the 'serpent' trafficking organization, they fear for her life, Kristine is a skateboarding ballet girl and most of her childhood she's been clumsy, getting hurt left and right, her mom had to take out loans to cover the surgeries because their insurance refused to pay for them, her mom is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from the medical debt Kristine incurred and now she's finally able to make a dent in it despite her having to keep Stella safe given they don't get along, the police only hired her for the job because she's security minded" says Liv
"ok but why tell me about the money issue, you know I'm likely to offer her money now that I know about it" says Wen, slightly annoyed
"because she won't accept it, she's very proud that it's HER that is paying it off" says Liv
"ok so like if I call the cops on Penny for the fraud thing, how soon can I head to LA to talk to Kristine" asks Wen, clearly looking at his options
"you'd have to guarantee she will either plead guilty or head to trial, that could be months, though there is nothing that says you can't video call her in the meantime, though if you intend to ask her out the first video chat will have to be through us, as in you call me and I add her" says Liv
"why" asks Wen
"because she doesn't believe you'd call her out of the blue for no reason, the last time you video called her you made her cry, you did nothing but yell at her, telling her she's delusional and that you were happy with Penny, she won't take a call from you directly" says Liv
"ok, I gotta go deal with Penny, I'll call you later when I know how things are going and if I have to stay in this cramped as hell city, by the way, Charlie misses you guys, he wishes you didn't up and leave when the band broke up" says Wen
"he was getting a little creepy, asking Mo all these questions about her being bisexual, I couldn't just let her deal with that, besides the label we signed with as 'independent' artists is headquartered here in California, it was easier for us to move here, besides Cat needed lots of advice once she was signed" says Liv
"what's the connection between you guys anyway, it's like you were instant friends the first time she called you and Mo" asks Wen
"Kristine is the link between our worlds, Cat and her friends are actors and singers and they go to a performing arts school, Kristine was at our school way back before the band became official, then the debt thing forced them to move, they'd gotten evicted for missing rent once, they slowly moved west, four years ago Kristine and Cat attended the same school, they're actually good friends, or were anyway, apparently they stopped talking last year, I have no idea why, maybe it had something to do with Kristine quarrelling with Stella when Stella moved here, I honestly don't know" says Liv
"fair enough, can we talk next week, should be well sorted by then to add Kristine to the call, especially given Stella wants that wellness video call made" says Wen
"sure, sounds good" says Liv as she hangs up
"you didn't call me rude did you" asks Kristine, having been partially eavesdropping
"rude, no, he didn't know she was that bad, he may be gullible but he's still a good person" says Liv
"did you know I was listening" asks Kristine
"I figured as much, keep this between us, he can't know you were listening, I assume Stella went downstairs to cuddle with Mel" says Liv
"yeah, though she's not sure Ella will approve, it would seem Ella doesn't think cuddling is 'age appropriate' for us 'old' people, I can't believe they think twenty two is old" says Kristine
"it's all the way it's spelt with Ella, for us adults it's not cuddling it's snuggling because it starts with an s, just as sushi and seafood start with s, not withstanding the fact that Ella is quite allergic to all non cooked seafood, even cooking it won't save her in some cases" says Liv
"is there some sort of letter connection I'm missing here" asks Kristine
"s words share the s with sex, anything to do with a bed that you could use an s word with, to her is adult language, for example she doesn't 'sleep with' Ariel, she 'lays in bed with' Ariel or 'sleeps next to' Ariel, because to her "sleep with' implies sex which is an adult word, snuggling to her also implies sex, cute words like 'cuddling' are kid words because to her you don't cuddle someone when you're naked" says Liv
"why do I like talking to her is a landmine, I mean I talked to her for five minutes and she got upset twice" says Kristine
"it's not easy believe me, the trauma has slightly distorted her reality but once you show you can be trusted it gets a lot easier" says Liv
"so Ella doesn't trust me" asks Kristine
"it's hard to tell sometimes, you have to understand that her photographic memory in her case means she's incapable of repressing the memories, she's forced to relive them in her dreams and nightmares, sometimes she can't even trust Ariel because of the traumatic nightmares, Cat's said some days she'll hand Ella food and get scratched in return because Ella doesn't realize she's in a safe place and Cat isn't her mother, Cat would then proceed to hug her until the haze fades away, at which point Ella apologizes" says Liv
"must be some trauma, I don't know how Ella can keep going on in life if she is forced by her brain to live that way" says Kristine
"she has an intense will to live and like Selena said Ella is full of hope, though I feel like having someone like Ariel in her life helps a fair bit, someone who understands her and that she can talk to if she's willing to, sometimes half the battle is just finding someone you can talk to" says Liv
"I can't imagine what Ella and Mellie are going through" says Kristine
"it's not easy being related to them and their parents that's for sure but I always stick up for my family when they're being abused, I've always hated their parents, had my grandma not taken me in, I'd have had to live with them, I'd have been put through the same thing" says Liv
"that's a scary thought, anyway the party is starting, Mo wants you out there" says Kristine
"in your opinion do you think. Mo and I could live together forever, like as in get married" asks Liv
"I haven't seen anyone more attached to you than Mo, your relationship reminds me of Cat and Tori and I guess now Robbie, though I'm not sure how long Robbie can hide his feelings for them in public, he might be spun away to preserve Cat and Tori's image" says Kristine
"yeah Robbie's not going anywhere, her fans already assume Robbie is in the relationship with Cat and Tori so Cat literally has nothing to fear but admitting to her fans that they're right, she doesn't like thinking that she's that easy to see through that she can't keep anything a secret" says Liv
"trust me Cat has thousands of secrets, her leaning polyamorous is only the tip of the iceberg, though I'm sworn to secrecy" says Kristine
"fair enough" says Liv