| Dialogue written with Thunder |
[font=timesnewroman]Victoria was in the middle of responding to Carolina's text to agree to meet at Jane's house instead of hers. She wasn't particularly excited to be in Jane's home, but she had watched her and Sydney get into the same car minutes earlier, so in the worst case scenario, Jane would be there, but Sydney would be as well. She only stopped texting when her phone screen lit up with Brent Barclay's name. He was calling her and as she stood up and began to walk home, she answered the call. She and Brent were as unlikely of friends as any other "normal" girl in the Upper East Side would say they were to him. She didn't buy drugs from him, wasn't interested in him romantically, and had no connections that would link them to being friends. What had led her to him during sophomore year was that he knew people's secrets. Being a drug dealer to kids who lived such posh and proper lives meant that he knew who had problems and with what. Most teenagers weren't born addicts. They had problems, be it at home, at school, or with friends, that were pushing them to the drugs, and more times than not, Brent had at least a vague idea as to why he was selling to his clients. Making up rumors on a whim or using things that she had heard through the grapevine had gotten her blog off the ground, but the real drama that Brent informed her of through his connections is what made the blog big. Fabricated stories, like the one about Charlotte were always fun but when it came down to it, posts that weren't lies, like the one about Sydney and Vincent, were the ones that made the big difference. And this phone call brought her one more of those worthwhile stories.
"Really, Tori? Charlotte and I are dating? What the fuck's wrong with you?"
"Oh, calm down, Brent. It's not like that would hurt anyone's image other than her's. You should be thanking me."
"Yeah, 'cause you threw my family into this shit and made it look like we're begging for donations? That's what I should be thanking you for?"
"No, because I made it look like you're dating one of the most lusted over girls in our class, and freaked her out enough that she's never going to bother you again unless she wants more photos of the two of you posted together. So, you should be home free if you ever want to sell at one of her lackluster events again, all thanks to me," she said, smiled proudly although he couldn't see it. Her reasoning made sense, at least to her. No one would really care about the controversy over Brent's family because it wasn't like they were anyone to begin with. The weren't a politician-actress couple like the Alvarez's, or powerful CEO's like so many of the other Upper East Side parents. They were just a couple of ordinary joes who happened to create a child like Brent who was unusually intelligent compared to their very average selves. None of the kids at Constance Billard or Saint Jude's would even bat an eye over the idea of them stealing money, especially when their son was already a criminal. Victoria was sure he was overreacting about that part, and the benefits that she listed were strong enough to outweigh even an ounce of concern that any classmates had over Brent's family. "Now, while I have you on the phone. I have a question for you."
"If it's the kind of question I think it is, you better make sure you're wallet's ready too." Victoria could sense him smirking through the phone now. Good gossip came at a price, and with Brent Barclay, it seemed to be a high one. Victoria didn't mind this though. Money was one of the few things that her father offered her in abundance and she took advantage of it. Sparing a couple hundred dollars to find out some dirt on Piper Vine, the bitch who had supposedly slept with her (ex)boyfriend, Ed, would be a worthwhile investment.
"I'll bring your payment over tonight if I get good enough information. Now, I know that you know Piper Vine, so don't try to tell me otherwise."
"She's just friends with Kelley, really. That's how I know her."
"Cut the bullshit, Brent. I've seen you talking to her with my own eyes. Anyway, your sweet little friend Piper slept with Ed at Sydney's party?"
"Who the fuck is Ed?"
"My boyfriend! Well, my ex-boyfriend.. You've met him before. He came to Emma Wilson's party last spring? I introduced him to you? He just transferred to your school...?" The silence on the other end indicated that she was getting no where with him. "That's not the point! The point is that Piper slept with him and now I need to handle her. The only way that you and her would be friends is through your 'business', so, what does she buy from you?" Tori hoped that it was something hard, maybe cocaine or meth, that would completely ruin Piper's image. If it was only marijuana, like she suspected, she would be able to work with it and spin it into something bigger, but the hard drugs would make things easy for her. She was a model, anyone. Wasn't it a 'thing' that all models did coke?
"Piper doesn't buy shit from me."
"Don't insult my intelligence, Brent."
"I'm not even playing with you. She'll come by sometimes with Jane, but it's never to buy for herself."
Tori's eyes lit up. Her original intention had been to ruin Piper, and that was something that she was going to have to do still, without a doubt, but Jane Lynch bought from Brent too? The Jane Lynch? Daughter of a billionaire, buying her way through life, dumb bitch, Jane Lynch, was a druggie? Her blog was going to be on fire this week. "Jane Lynch buys from you?" She couldn't contain her excitement as she questioned him further. "What in the world do you sell her?" Brent paused for a moment, enough for Victoria to add in, "I think this is the best tip you've ever given me. I'll double our normal rate, I just need these details, Brent."
"Just shit to lose weight. Prescription shit, you know, Adderall, Ritalin, that type of stuff."
"Perfect," she beamed. She had no real reason to hurt Jane right now, but she didn't have any real reason to hurt Charlotte either. Her problems with both of the girls were more problems with herself than anything else. She was jealous of Charlotte for being so well-liked and winning the spot of president, and jealous of Jane for being Sydney's best friend. Those deep set dislikes were enough for her to convince herself that both girls had wronged her enough for her to wrong them back, but she didn't want to take the shine away from the post about Charlotte just yet. Plus, Sienna was surely plotting her next move to get Tori to take the post down, and Victoria was smart enough to not underestimate the means that Sienna would go to to get her way. Having a little bit of collateral, some damaging information on another one of her very close friends, someone who she was expected to be even closer to with than Charlotte, would definitely serve as a good deterrent to keep Sienna from trying too much. The tides had definitely turned. Victoria hoped so, at least.
Instead of posting, after hanging up, she finished her text to Carolina and hailed a cab to take her to the hotel the Lynch's lived in. When she arrived and was buzzed in, she followed up with another text.
To: Carolina
Sure, sounds good :) OMW to your place now!
Coming up, are Charlotte and Rosie here too?