Fortunately, her dad was in town for the state prelims at the Nadatorium, so she was thrilled. They didn't make it to the Finals, but she didn't expect them to. She was honestly pleased with just getting there. She knew you didn't have to win everything to be happy. You just had to have realistic goals and be happy when you achieved them through hard work.
Nonetheless, Tori's mom went from bitchy to downright psycho. The physical abuse that ended in childhood was starting up again. The difference was now that Tori was taller and much stronger than her mom, but also not crazy, so she didn't get violent. She just wasted energy fighting her off, telling the bro to NOT join in when the mother told him to start hitting his sister (he, of course, listened to the sister over the mother), and almost ran away from home. Her bro followed her out in the snow and grabbed her legs, not letting her walk anywhere.
Tori finally got sick of things and warned her mom to let go or she'd fight back. Her mom was holding onto her hair and pulling so hard that Tori couldn't wrestle her hands free. She'd never made a threat she didn't follow through with, but her mom laughed at her anyway. While her mom was still laughing, Tori kicked her mom in the knee. It wasn't too hard, so she was ready to strike again. Fortunately, it was strong enough to get her mom to release her. Her mommy started crying, and Tori left the room.
Her mom never laid a hand on her again, but she remained psycho. She wouldn't let her eat dinner one night - not even a snack. When Tori tried to go to the mall with some friends, she followed her out to the friend's car and said if she leaved, she'd call the cops and report her as a runaway. She told Tori her friends were using her for her car - most of them had cars of their own. Tori rarely had friends over to the house because of her mom's outbursts, but the ones that were allowed over were warned far in advance. Her friends were sympathetic and would ignore her mom when she started putting her down at the dinner table - they thought it was ridiculous. She also said Tori was jealous of her because she got to fuck her dad and Tori wanted to. She threw temper tantrums to get attention where she cried about wanting to commit suicide or got herself so worked up over nothing she'd hyperventilate. Tori went outside to shoot hoops. Later, the mother would complain she could've died. Tori said, "My bro was in here watching you - he's 13, he can call 911 or run outside if he needs me." Tori didn't play her mind games or act as a co-dependent like everyone else. Afterall, she attended enough counseling that she knew how to handle her mom in the best way possible for her. Once she graduated HS, they spoke only a handful of times.
When he got to high school, Ben was riding her bus, and he and his friends yelled up at her on the first day that they loved her. At a football game, she was chilling with some friends and he came up to talk to her. His friend was making kissy noises right behind them. She then saw him at a swim meet. His x-girlfriend from elementary school pointed him out and also recognized his dad. Tori admitted they kissed once over a year ago. Since the swim team usually had morning practices, he didn't expect her to be on the bus. The coach let them off because they kicked total ass. Ben announced to his best friend, "I went to Tori's swim meet last night." Tori spoke up, "Oh yeah - so that was you? We thought so." Ben yelled at his friend, "Why didn't you tell me she was on the bus? Shit - you have to tell me these things!" She told the x-girlfriend he was there to see her, too.
So he teased her a lot, but everytime they sat together on the bus, he'd end up hitting on her and wanting to come over or have her come over. So she'd call him occasionally to talk to him, and they made out a few times.
Their relationship was interesting but very intense. He was one of very few who congratulated on her going to state, and it meant a lot he was at a meet of hers. Hell, she went to a single player's tennis match because it was announced that the entire team had to be there, but she didn't want to seem desperate, so she didn't talk to him. Her parents didn't approve of Ben, so she couldn't ask him to the Christmas dance like she wanted. She asked someone else she hardly knew through a friend, and he rejected her because they didn't really know each other. She understood - they later had a class together and he was cool, so she didn't feel awkward about it. A year later (after shit hit the fan with Ben), she was complaining to a friend in their class how she still loved Ben, and she felt stupid for it because everyone hated him and it wasn't logical. The guy who wouldn't date her passed the message along, which she thought was cool as hell. Afterall, he probably knew there was history and feelings between Ben and Tori and didn't want to interfere. A few months later, an older friend of Ben's put him in his senior will, and the thing he willed Ben was Tori. He used their initials so the entire school wouldn't know, but Tori knew what it meant. And years later, she knew he was the guy she loved more than any guy she didn't have sex with. Hell, she loved him more than many guys she did have sex with.