What Goes Around

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

-OR A LESSON LEARNED-

Tori rolled her eyes and picked up her phone after feeling it buzzing beside her leg. Before she could see what was going on, her mother swiped it away. "That's another thing, we are having a family meeting Victoria. We asked you to put away the phone." She smiled politely, pulling her lips away from her teeth as she turned her head to her mother.

David leaned forward, his fingers curling over the front of the armrests of his recliner. "Do you focus on your phone when you're out with your friends?" This seemed to be less of a family meeting and more of a 'criticize Tori' day. Trina, however, had escaped it by going to sleep early.

"Not usually."

"Then you should pay your family the same respect." David took the phone from Holly and held it up, his hand clutching the phone tight. "It's rude to be on your phone when someone is talking to you." Tori folded her arms across her chest and shrugged. Holly furrowed her brow as Tori's gaze fell onto her cell phone.

"Your behavior has been different for a while now; and that's why your father and I called this meeting. Just a few things that we've been noticing over time, since you started going to that school and hanging out with those kids." Her eyebrows rose slowly and she looked from her father to her mother, then back.

"What could you guys notice? You're never around." Holly's eyes closed and the woman leaned back swiftly while David's expression grew tense.

"We're around enough," David replied, "Your mother and I are both constantly on call. You know this. We see enough." He raised his hand and poked his finger forward in the air. "You need to watch the things that you do and the things that you say."

"Not like you don't fuck up either."

"That right there." His voice started to rise and he dropped his hand to the armrest. "That's what we are talking about." Her eyes drifted to the side and she rolled her head back with a groan. "Sometimes I wonder if you even know the things that come out of your mouth." He extended his hand to Holly. "You shouldn't even curse in front of your mother."

"I get it."

"No, I don't think you do." Holly raised a finger to the stairwell and narrowed her eyes. "When I came home tonight, I heard you making fun of your sister along with your friends." Her eyes opened wide and she started to grimace.

They were playing a game of poker earlier and Trina wanted to join in. Nobody wanted Trina in the room, so she followed Jade's comment about how no one ever wants Trina around by saying that all she ever did was embarrass and annoy her.

Holly came home tired and stressed from work, so Tori didn't think her mother was paying any attention when she walked past just as those comments were being said. After all, both parents had often ignored or not caught such comments in the past.

Defending herself, she pointed at the two and raised her voice. "You do the same damn thing! Trina told me how you just walked away that day she got her wisdom teeth out and those two girls were in the house." Holly and David looked at one another with a sigh. "And don't even get me started on Yerba, or the time Beck and the guys were messing around with her." She glared at David, angry and upset that she was being grilled for something they did so often. "You told her to go 'far away'."

David shut his eyes and sank a bit in his chair while Holly continued to glare at him. "I agree we've acted poorly when it comes to your sister." He exhaled and pushed himself up. "We've discussed our own behavior and have agreed to work on being better parents for the both of you; but now we're trying to get you girls on the same page."

"You've already talked to Trina?"

"Yes…" Tori pursed her lips and jerked her head back in surprise. She was astonished, and a bit upset, that they'd gone to Trina first. A look of sadness and guilt flashed before their eyes, throwing her off for a moment. "She came to us, wanting to talk. We talked about her behaviors and actions, as well as our own."

Holly nodded gently and crossed her arms. "I still think your friends are a terrible influence, Tori. The way you've acted and treated not only us, but your sister, is terrible." Her parents were right, but they didn't know the reason she acted the way she did.

Her behavior wasn't right, but her friends weren't to blame; though they could cut some of their criticism of her family down a good deal. "Sure, I'm to blame for letting them say and do the things they did; but that doesn't mean they're a bad influence."

David let out a grunt, his forehead wrinkling and jawline quivering. "Your sister told you about the puppet act your friends did that night?" She nodded in return. "Did she tell you I continued watching until they left and then went after them? I wasn't sure why they were manhandling my daughter, and I was ready to accuse them of a good deal of shit. You let your friends go too far, Tori. You need to put your foot down with them."

"If anyone needs to put their foot down, it's Trina. She lets everyone walk over her." Tori raised her hands. "The reason they treat her like that is because she lets them. She's their punching bag, they know she's not going to retaliate." She'd been going about it the wrong way for ages, but only because she thought Trina would stick up for herself. "She doesn't know how to defend herself. That's not my fault."

"No, but it is your fault for letting your friends disrespect your own family. I think it's time you considered how you're acting and behaving. Your sister may not be perfect, we may not be perfect; but you certainly aren't perfect or justified either

"I got it." She slid her hands over her knees and looked to the stairs. Whatever the case, she was done talking to her parents and eager to go up and talk to Trina. "I'll go talk to her." Tori stood up and walked to the stairs, figuring the discussion was over. Her parents were saying something as she was walking away, but she ignored them.

As she made her way up the stairs she was overcome by a strange feeling that something wasn't right. As it was nighttime, the hallway was usually dark and lit up by the moon's glow coming through the window at the end; but the light was turned on and seemingly forgotten.

She flipped off the hallway light and entered Trina's room, but was surprised to find it empty and devoid of life. Her eyebrow rose and her head leaned back slowly as her eyes drifted across the room.

The covers on the bed were neat and pulled back to the top as though just placed on a new bed. The moonlight spilled through the parted drapes and splashed onto the blankets.

The end table beside the bed was bare, save for a dragon lamp with its head and neck curved at the top and its feet standing on the round baseplate. Trina's desk at the foot of the bed was also bare, minus the table lamp.

"Trina?" Tori's voice trembled and her shaky fingers flipped on the light switch. "What the hell?" She glanced at the closet to see that many of her sister's dresses were missing.

Growing more nervous with each second, Tori rushed to the dresser and began opening the drawers. Each was completely bare. "Okay. Not good." She fell onto the foot of the bed and began running her clammy palms down her thighs. "Where are you, Tri?" She looked from side to side, staring up at all the martial arts portraits on the wall, including Trina's favorite: a poster on the ceiling of a muscle-bound karate expert posing shirtless in a fighter stance.

Within the hour Tori had all her friends over, each concerned and wanting to know what emergency there was. Tori paced the center rug, sweeping her left hand down her face and over her mouth. "I'm concerned Trina's run away guys." When she looked to her friends, they were all staring back at her in silence and without reaction, as if waiting for her to say something else.

"What's the problem?" Andre moved his hands behind his head and raised his shoulders. Tori's eyes drifted to her father's study where she knew her parents were; now that she knew they paid more attention than she first thought, she could practically feel them judging her from the other room. "She'll come back, right?"

"Guys, I need to find her and wanted your help. I can't search around by myself."

Jade scoffed, sweeping her hand through the air. "If she's run away, it's probably just a cry for attention." In her peripheral, she saw her parents peering out of the study and shaking their heads. Putting her hands on her hips, she scowled and glared at Jade, sick of being disappointed.

"Trina doesn't just run away. I agree she does act out for attention sometimes, but if she's run away-it's not for attention. Now, are you going to help me look for her or not?" Jade started laughing, which in turn made some of the others grin as if this were a big joke.

Cat was the only one that appeared to take the matter seriously. "Guys, I don't think this is funny." The redhead leaned forward, looking to those on her left and then those on her right. "If Tori says Trina's missing and doesn't think it's normal…"

She crossed her arms and looked at the study with a sigh. Just before making eye contact, her parents turned away. She was almost sure they knew something, but if they did, they weren't saying anything. "It's not normal. My sister doesn't just run away-there's got to be a reason. Now, I think we need to split up and look for her."

Jade rolled her eyes and sank back into the couch. Cat started to smile and raised her eyes up to Tori. "Where do you think she'd be?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a list of places I know she frequents…like the mall." It was well after midnight, the mall was unlikely to be open, but that didn't matter. "Though she really shouldn't, Trina likes to climb up to the roof from time to time. So she could be up there." Jade blinked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"The roof? Why would she be on the roof of the mall?"

"She likes to watch the planes fly by."

Jade started cackling. "Oh wow, she sounds like a daydreamer or something." Robbie turned his head, his forehead wrinkled and he pulled his lips back into a thin line.

"What's wrong with watching planes fly by?" He shrugged as the others glanced to him. "I like to watch them go by, and the mall is a great place to see them since the airport is right next to it. It's amazing to see how close they are."

Defeated, Jade threw up her hands and sighed. "Fine, let's check the mall then. I still think this is just an attention-ploy and she's really just hanging around somewhere."

"Jade." Tori narrowed her eyes and she began tapping her hip with her index finger. "My sister's room is empty and there isn't a note or anything. She's gone."

"She'll be back home, Vega. Quit worrying."

"Yeah," Beck replied, "She's hardly worth the energy of worrying over every little thing she does. She'll probably be home before the sun rises."

"Oh yeah?" She rolled her eyes. Anger coursed through her veins, making it hard to resist the urge to punch her friends square in the jaw. She leaned forward, glaring into Beck's eyes. "Yet she was worth the energy it took for you to fuck with her and then lie to my dad using a bunch of puppets?" Jade raised her eyebrows and turned her head to her boyfriend, who was now overcome with a bout of nervous chuckling.

Her foot began tapping the floor and she raised her head, looking up to the ceiling as an impatient growl vibrated from her throat. "So let me get this straight. If she runs away, she's not important enough to look for; but if she does or says something that irritates you then she becomes so important that you have to fuck with her and fuck with my parents." Beck stuttered and Jade slowly crossed her arms, judging him with questioning eyes. "I wonder how far you guys would go to teach her a lesson, I know my dad has already assumed the worst just because of his career."

"What?" Beck looked over his shoulder, then back, raising his voice. "What, your dad thinks we'd do something to hurt her?"

"At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me much." Tori extended her hand, motioning at the other friends. "One of you guys fucked up her harness that one time and when questioned, nobody cared. Hell, even Andre's only concern was some one time chick he wanted to go out with."

Andre opened his mouth to say something, but instead shrank under the stares of the others. "It was determined to be an accident," Robbie replied slowly, "Wasn't it?"

"No." Lane may have declared it an accident, but he wasn't the police. "Dad and Detective Malone told me it wasn't an accident, and that if something really bad happened to her as a result-like death-they would have been investigating a homicide. That metal clip or whatever had clear marks of being cut…so no, it was no accident."

Robbie swallowed hard and Andre bowed his head. "Let me be clear." Tori shook her head and walked towards the front door. "My parents don't like you guys. They pay more attention than you're aware of, so it might be a good idea to-I don't know-start being more respectful of my family maybe?"

"Since when do you care what they say?"

"Since they told me to quit letting you guys treat my family like your own personal doormats." It was hard to resist the urge to shout, given how irritated she'd become with them. Still, she knew patience was key, and being calm would be the best way to get through to them. "So, are you going to help me look for my sister?"

It was less of a question and more of a demand, but she couldn't make them do something they didn't want to. With her parents breathing down her neck, and seeing their reactions just now, their refusal could mean her having to end a friendship or two.

"Yeah we'll look," Beck replied. Jade rolled her head back and to the side, shifting her stare from her boyfriend and to Tori.

"Of course we'll help, but I'm telling you…if she comes back while we're still out there, I'm going to get pissed off."

Cat leaned sideways, causing Jade to lean away from her. "I think Tori's more pissed at the moment, Jade." Tori flared her nostrils and Cat leaned back, laughing nervously. "Um, let me call Sam and tell her not to wait up for me to come home." Cat instantly nudged Robbie, and the boy shouted that he'd join in the search while yelping in pain.

"I was supposed to meet up with Daniella," Andre muttered under his breath. He crossed his arms and bowed his head, averting his eyes from Tori's ferocious glare. "But, um, she can wait…if Trina's this important to you, then I'll help you find her…"

"Thank you guys." Tori smiled gently and opened up the door. "I just knew I could count on you."

Their first stop was the mall. Some of the group were afraid of heights, so it was Jade that joined Tori in climbing up to the roof. "I swear we're going to get arrested for this," Jade muttered. Tori flipped her hair over her shoulder and mocked Jade with a laugh.

"You? You're afraid of trespassing?" She narrowed her eyes and smirked as Jade's eyes widened and the girl began sputtering. "Trina and I do this all the time."

"I'm not afraid of trespassing, I just don't want to go to jail-that's all." Jade crossed her arms and huffed loudly. "I mean, you know…"

"Whatever Jade, you can always climb back down and wait with the others if you want." She moved along the flat roof and raised her hands around her mouth. "Trina! Trina, are you up here?" Jade gasped and immediately asked her not to shout so loudly, lest any security guards would hear them.

Tori ignored her and continued to call out for her sister, but aside from a few crows and insects, there was no sign of the girl.

After several long minutes of searching, Tori climbed back to ground level. She dusted off her shirt and looked over to see Jade panting and sighing. "I wasn't scared of anything," Jade proclaimed upon seeing Tori's inquisitive stare, "I just didn't want to be too loud and get arrested. I'm trying to go to college, not juvie!"

"Seriously Jade?" She rolled her eyes and growled. "Whatever, she's not up there."

Cat raised her hand. "I might have an idea." Tori raised an eyebrow and Cat pointed to the north. "Sam once saw her working out at the park once. Maybe she's there?" Thinking on it after a minute and remembering Trina's favorite place to train, she snapped her fingers and grinned.

"Yeah, she's always out training by the lake at the park. Good call, Cat!" Cat blushed and moved her hands behind her back, looking away as she crossed over her ankles. "Trina's got to be there."

They made their way to the park and this time it was Cat that joined her in going to the spot where Trina would likely be while the rest of the friends searched other areas of the park.

"Trina, are you here?" She pushed away a tree branch and walked out to a round alcove next to the lake that was surrounded by bushes and trees. Tori hummed and looked at the grass, but was disappointed to see that it was undisturbed.

Looking to the lake, she smiled at the bluish-green moonlight that blanketed the ocean. The stars glittered in the sky, creating an almost perfect night. "It's gorgeous out here," Cat said with a quick breath, "I can't believe she's not out here."

"Me either." This would be the perfect time for Trina, since the girl loved gazing at the stars and the moon. Hell, the girl spent many late nights here. "I remember her getting in trouble numerous times for coming home after curfew just because she wanted to stay out here…"

"Wow." Cat laughed and shook her head, catching Tori off guard. "I'm surprised."

"About?"

"You and your sister. I mean, Jade can do things that aren't technically right or legal, but most of the time she's more talk than action. Just the fact that you and Trina seem to be more okay with breaking the rules than even Jade…"

"There's a lot you guys don't really know about us." Shrugging, she walked past Cat. It was her fault mainly that her friends didn't know much about her or her family; she never gave them the chance to learn. "Maybe if you guys took the time to take an interest in my sister, but you never let her come around."

"You push her away just as much, though. If we're being totally honest." Cat moved her hands to her hips and Tori stopped walking, her back to Cat. She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. "I mean really, before you go accusing us of making her run away, you might want to think about your own actions too."

Her heart sank and she felt a brief shake of annoyance from within. Cat's words mirrored her parents, and as much as she didn't like that, she couldn't deny their truthfulness.

"I'm not saying we're not responsible, but I'm just thinking we all need to share the blame. That includes you-and even your parents."

"I know that, Cat."

"Do you?"

She leaned her head back and groaned. The rest of her friends showed up, each disappointed. "We didn't see her anywhere," Andre replied, "Also, I just got an angry text from-"

"You can leave Andre." Tori narrowed her eyes and flung her arm outwards. Andre froze and seemed to hold his breath, diminishing under her glare. "If you really don't want to help me look for my sister and would rather be with some one night stand, then you can go."

"But Tori, she's not a one night-"

"I said, you can leave!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She knew all her anger and annoyance from the night wasn't because of him; and while she wasn't trying to take it out on him, she couldn't contain it much longer. "But don't expect me to talk to you after you go, because I know I can't depend on you."

"Tori, that's not fair!"

"Is it? The one time I really need to count on my friends, you want to ditch me for some chick you're going to probably end up dumping or be dumped by within the week, all because you don't give a shit about my sister."

"Tori?"

She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. "Just leave." He frowned and let his shoulders fall. "I don't care if all of you leave, I'm going to keep looking. I know she's got to be somewhere."

Cat put her hand to Tori's shoulder and smiled gently. Her eyes were full of exhaustion, and the girl appeared ready to fall over and pass out. "We're not going to go anywhere Tori. Don't worry." Tori smiled back and took a deep breath. Cat looked at Andre, giving him a nod of respect. "She's just upset about her sister, Andre, and it sounds like her parents were getting onto her earlier…so don't worry. If you want to go be with your girlfriend, I'm sure it'll be okay."

"Yeah, but…" Andre pocketed his cell phone and looked at Tori. "Not if it means losing a friend."

She let out her breath and ran her hand over her forehead. "I'm sorry Andre, it's fine." Her hand fell to the side and she looked to him with a subtle frown. "Cat's right, I'm just getting stressed out. If you want to go you can, it'll be alright."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Andre looked at the others and sighed. "But hey, I say we check out the gym next." She raised an eyebrow and Andre poked his thumb over his shoulder. "I've seen Trina a couple times out behind the gym doing stretches. She could be there."

Jade nodded. "If she's not there, we can check out the school just in case."

Tori beamed with pride as her friends continued making suggestions, each certain of places they'd either seen Trina at or thought she might frequent. She was grateful for their help and happy they were finally getting on board with trying to find her sister.

The group went to each of these places, spending hours searching about; but never finding Trina. It was beginning to seem hopeless, if not dire. She'd even texted her parents to see if Trina had gone home, but she had never returned.

Tired and exhausted from searching all over the town, Tori was ready to call it a night. "I'm not going to give up, but you guys can go home." She leaned back against a wall, her eyes filling with tears from her frustration. The others exchanged mournful looks. "I'm sorry for keeping you guys out all night. Go home, get some sleep. I'm going to keep looking."

"We've looked everywhere," Beck remarked, "But I'm sure there's some places we haven't checked out yet."

"It's okay. I won't keep you guys any later." She folded her forearms across her stomach and turned her head sideways, gazing at the cars speeding by. "Thank you for helping me look for her, though. I appreciate it."

"You know we'll always be here for you," Jade replied, "I mean that's what friends do, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"So, you want to keep looking?"

Robbie sat on a bench nearby and sank his chin into his hands, sighing with exhaustion. "God, it was never this hard for me and my siblings." Tori shut her eyes and let the back of her head fall against the wall. "When we were younger, we'd always find each other in the treehouse out back." She smiled gently, letting her mind drift off to memories of a beach and the ocean. "If something was up, we could always find each other there, and hash out our shit."

Her head filled with childish laughter and she recalled visions of her feet running through the waves. Even as night would fall, she'd play there and fall asleep as her sister gazed up at the stars in the sky.

Growing older, they'd be there well past curfew; even sneaking out in the early hours of the morning just to catch the sunrise.

Tori's eyes flew open and she jumped up with a startled gasp. "I can't believe it!" The others looked astonished and she threw her arms around Robbie. "You genius, I could kiss you." He scratched his head and raised an eyebrow.

"I uh, I don't understand."

"I can't believe I didn't think of it. There's only one place she could possibly be. Our quiet spot. You guys go home, I know where to find her."

Filled with a new energy, she rushed for her car and left her confused friends standing behind. "Thank you for everything, guys."

She drove out to the nearby beach and found a spot to park that was close to the trail that she and Trina frequented so many times since their childhood. It had been a couple of years since she'd been out here, but she remembered the path and knew it as she knew the back of her hand.

The trail was a mile or so, and it came to a dead end near a wall of rocks. When they were kids, Trina had discovered by climbing the rocks that on the other side was a small patch of the beach in which the rocks formed a horseshoe shape around.

It was a quiet, and somewhat secret location that most of the public and tourists didn't know about; or if they did, they preferred the more popular area of the beach.

Tori grabbed ahold of the first rock and thrust herself upwards with a grunt, reaching for the next part of the rock that she could grab onto.

Upon reaching the top, she peered over and scanned the area for signs of Trina. When she saw the girl, she nearly fell off from the relief and exhaustion washing over her tense muscles.

Trina was sitting at the edge of the beach, leaning backwards. Her arms like pedestals holding her weight from behind her, Trina had her feet dipping into the waves of the ocean while her shoes rested neatly beside her. The girl's soft brown hair fell across her shoulders and back while her face was lit up by the warm glow of the sunrise.

"There you are." Tori stood up at the top of the rocky wall. "Finally." Trina turned her head partially, her hair pulled upwards and the girl's lips curved into a gentle smile. "Jesus Trina, we were looking everywhere for you."

"Mom and Dad didn't say I came out here?" Tori's eyelids fell halfway and her voice rolled across her tongue.

"What?" She was too tired to be angry. Instead, she hopped off the wall and landed with a grunt on her feet. She kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes as the soft, warm sand squished like putty between her toes.

"Been out here most of the night." Trina chuckled softly and looked back at the sky. "The stars were beautiful. You should have seen them." Tori noticed for the first time how bare Trina looked. The girl's clothes were crumpled off to the side and there was a ruffled blanket nearby.

Tori furrowed her brow and walked up to her sister, noticing the sandy bra and underwear still on her. "Okay, so what's up Trina?" She sat beside the girl, studying her sibling's hair. It was wet, but portions of it appeared to be drying up. "Have you been out swimming all night?"

"A little."

"Okay…" She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "So you weren't running away?"

"Running away? No?" Trina ran her hand over her neck and took a deep breath. "Why would I be running away? I'm old enough that I don't have to run away when I want to be alone."

"I…I tried calling your phone, even my friends did. There was never an answer." She looked at the blanket where Trina's purse was. Trina followed her gaze and raised her sun-kissed shoulders.

"My phone's been off all night. I didn't really want to be bothered. Did you call Mr. Sikowitz? He probably would have told you where I was if mom and dad didn't…I told them all I just wanted some time by myself and would be out here with my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? You-"

"I've had a boyfriend for a while now." Trina's eyelids fell halfway and she glanced at Tori with annoyance in her eyes. "I tried telling you a number of times, then stopped. We just don't talk anymore. You haven't really been interested in talking to me since you've been hanging out with your friends."

It irritated her that Trina had a boyfriend she never knew about; and moire that Trina evidently had a life that she never heard anything about. "Well I'm here now." They used to be closer than this, they used to be the first to know when the other was doing something. How had it gotten to this point? "Why don't we talk?"

"About?"

"About anything, about everything." Tori shrugged. "Like where's this boyfriend of yours?"

"He's at his place, getting stuff ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Mom and dad didn't tell you?"

"Screw that, I want to hear shit from you."

"Since when?"

"Since you're my sister!" She raised her voice and Trina looked back at the ocean with a sigh. "Trina, my friends and I have been out all night looking for you. We've been all over the place."

"A few years ago this would have been the first place you'd have checked. We've grown apart, Tori." Tori frowned, her heart sinking into her stomach. "Your friends mean more to you, simple as that."

"That's not true."

Trina gave her a skeptical look and started to chuckle. "It isn't? As much as you put me down in front of them? As much as you let them talk cruelly to me and then laugh with them whenever they make fun of me? What's up with that?"

"Look, I'm sorry." She put her hands to her chest and sighed with defeat. "I know it's wrong. I was only trying to get you to start standing up for yourself." Trina raised an eyebrow. "I mean seriously, you let them walk over you. Why let them talk to you that way? You used to stand up for yourself when we were kids; you used to stand up for me. What changed?"

"What changed was my own sister insulting me too. How am I supposed to defend myself against my own sister, huh?" Tori rolled her eyes, defeated and shamed. Trina stood up and walked over to the blanket. "But anyway, I'm glad you're here. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, but I couldn't get a word out last night when your friends were over."

Tori blinked several times, stunned and confused. She listened to the waves of the ocean splashing against the shore and the rocks. "What?" One single word rolling off her tongue, seemed to take a minute for her to say. Her heart was beating heavily in her chest and her body was paralyzed by confusion.

She and her friends had pushed her away last night, mostly because they were in the middle of a game of poker and didn't want to be disturbed.

Trina picked up her clothes and began to pull her shirt over her shoulders. "Last night, when you and your friends were calling me names and insulting me. I was trying to talk to you and wanted to get some time in private."

"We thought you were wanting to join in the game."

"Sure, that would have been nice, but I didn't really have the time."

She shook her head, finally curious when and how Trina even got her stuff out of the bedroom without her noticing. "Everything's gone from your room. When the hell did that even happen?" Trina's eyebrow rose as she adjusted the shoulders of her red shirt.

"I've been taking things out for the last week. I only had a few things left that I needed to take out last night. You were so wrapped up in your card game that you didn't notice."

"I don't understand." She moved her hand up to her head and grumbled. "What's going on? Are you moving out or something?" Trina pushed one leg into her jeans, sighing heavily as she leaned back against the rocks.

"Yeah." Tori threw up her head and studied her sister's quivering thighs with a narrow glare. "I'm moving to Texas with my boyfriend. His family's there. He actually went to college there, and I've been researching it. It has a fantastic athletic program that I just can't pass up."

She furrowed her brow and stood up. "You're moving to Texas?" Trina nodded. "Are you trying to run away from your problems or something? You know you can't just avoid your problems-you're still going to find people that are mean to you who you'll need to be able to stand up for yourself…"

"Tori, quit that. I can stick up for myself just fine." Trina pulled her pants up to her waist and narrowed her eyes while tightening and fastening her belt. "I'm not trying to run from my problems. This has little to do with you or your friends, I've been planning on attending the university there for a year now."

"But what about-"

"You'll be fine. Just give me a call if ever you need me." Trina shrugged and began pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "I'm glad to know you were worried about me, I guess." Tori's shoulders fell and she moved towards Trina, pursing her lips as tears welled up in her eyes. "It means a lot to know you care."

"I've always cared." She choked on her words. "I love you, you're my sister." Trina smiled back at her.

"I love you too, Tori."

"I'm sorry that I was so mean to you in the past, or that it seemed like I was always ignoring you or not paying attention." Trina chuckled sadly and raised her shoulders up.

"I'm sorry that I always seemed crazy or that I seemed like I was always desperate for attention. I just wanted to know you still cared about me; or at least cared more about me than you did your friends."

Trina folded up the blanket and climbed over the rocks with Tori. They walked the trail in silence, with Trina marching a few paces ahead of her. Tori glanced at her every now and then, wanting to say something but never finding the words.

She'd never felt so shy before. As the tears spilled over her cheeks, she couldn't be sure whether to be upset with herself, her friends, Trina, or her parents. She knew in her heart it was her own fault; she'd spent so much time not paying attention to Trina or letting her friends talk trash to her in attempt to get Trina to start sticking up for herself against them that she missed out on the most important moments in the life of someone that should have been-and once was-her best friend in the world.

Now she was the one on the out; it seemed everyone else knew what was going on in Trina's life. This night of searching was a lesson from her parents, she'd figured that much out. She'd even forgotten that Trina most likely would have needed to think at her favorite location. Especially if she was leaving the state, she'd want to come out to this place one final time.

"When do you leave, Trina?"

"Today. My boyfriend and I will be driving out in a couple of hours." They stopped at the parking lot and Tori noticed a car that hadn't been there before.

It was a large, silver four-door Nissan frontier with a bed cover laying on the back. Tori's heart stopped and she caught her breath in her throat as she examined the cab. Inside was a strangely familiar man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a light blue jacket hanging open over a white t-shirt.

"Don't tell me." Tori chuckled softly and crossed her arms. "Your boyfriend's James Dean, isn't he?" Trina laughed openly and Tori cracked a smirk.

"You'd be flattering him with that comment."

"When are we going to talk about him? About this university you're going to? When are we going to talk?"

Trina hoisted her purse strap further over her shoulder before giving her a hug that lasted for several seconds. Upon release, Trina walked to the truck and opened the passenger side door. Tori gasped out and furrowed her trembling brow as she watched her sister step up onto the metal step underneath the door.

"We'll talk," Trina replied with a subtle smile. Trina grabbed the hand bar on the inside and above the door and turned her eyes towards her sister, shrugging. "When I have some time."

There was a coldness to Trina's words that seemed almost to break her heart, but she understood the meaning. The warmth in Trina's eyes told her she meant them and that she would tell her everything in due time, but that talk wouldn't be right now.

"I have to finish packing, Tori. I'll give you a call later, okay?"

Tori leaned forward, extending her arm. "Promise?" Her voice broke and her fingers curled inwards. Trina sat inside the passenger seat and grabbed the door handle.

"Promise." Trina smiled reassuringly and nodded to her. "Love you, sis. Tell Mom and Dad I said hello, and tell your friends…whatever you like. Their opinion never truly mattered to me, never as much as yours or our parents." Trina shut the door and gave her boyfriend a smile while pulling her seatbelt on. The window was rolled down, so Tori could still hear her. "You ready, honey?"

"Yeah," he replied huskily, "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"If you want some time to talk to your sister…"

"Let's go. I'll call her once we're done packing. We have a deadline to keep, I can't miss orientation…we're late enough as it is. Should have left yesterday." The man started the engine and Trina looked out the window to wave goodbye.

Tori smiled through the tears that glistened on her cheeks and waved back at her sister. Once the car started to move, she felt an urge to run after it; but held back as her heart began to splinter.

It felt like a part of her was being taken away; was she not even worth a few minutes to talk to? No, this was how Trina must have felt every time she tried to talk and was shut down. For every time Tori didn't acknowledge her, or every time she didn't answer when Trina called her phone, this was just the distance that had been developing between the two of them.

"I will answer your next phone call, I promise." She bowed her head and closed her hands as the truck's engine faded in the distance. "Mom and Dad knew and didn't tell me anything. How could they?" She swallowed her anger and clenched her teeth. "Even my teacher knew? How the fuck does he deserve or get to know before I do? Unless…"

Then it hit her, the familiarity of Trina's boyfriend. Her knees buckled at the realization and her mind filled with more questions than answers.

Dropping to her knees and staring where the truck faded in the distance, Tori couldn't help but to smile through the tears dripping to the pavement. "I guess I deserve that. I wonder how long they've been together; but it doesn't matter. Trina might tell me all about it later…I just have to wait."

She bowed her head, still smiling despite the ache inside of her. Now she was in the position her sister had been, waiting for a chance to speak to her sister and hoping that she'd be able to get a single word in edgewise.

"So this is how it feels. Well done. Well done."

So that's the end of the oneshot, what are your thoughts? I leave it open ended because that felt like a good place to end it.