Trae Ventura

**Trae Ventura** (born March 30, 1999) is the main protagonist and narrator in *The Savages.* Trae is the president and founder of the school clique The Savages; he leaves his own clique in Season 2, but returns later.

He is a junior student at James A. Masters High School. In the beginning of the series, Trae appears to be the 'top dog' of the school, according to others who know him well. Many students have described him as the smartest of the school, but he's well-known for his numerous affairs with other students, like Dirty Dan Daniels. Trae meets his rival with Joe Bender in the first season when he joins to take over and destroy their dynamic.

Trae is often very intelligent and confident, but he also has a secret agenda. He is revealed, in The Beast Unleashed, to be responsible for the infamous video scandal of Brian and Viktor. His motives, in this case, was for pure revenge after Brian rejected a relationship between the two and antagonized Trae for an entire sophomore year.

Trae was originally very close friends with Sydney Prescott, who appeared to be his sidekick in The Savages, and Gina Woods, whom he personally recruited to The Savages. He becomes closer to Alex Herrera and Carl Touché, two of the original members in the clique. He also makes Zachary Foxx his protégé in the beginning, and the two develop a romantic interest in each other. Trae is openly bisexual, but many other students have believed that he is gay because of his multiple sexual encounters with other boys. In Season 2's episode The Scarlet Letters, he and Zachary begin dating.

He is portrayed by **Quincy Brown** and is based on **REBƎLReloaded**.

## Biography

Trae Ventura was born on March 30, 1998 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to hospital receptionist and fashionista Stacey Ventura and famous rock star Terrance Ventura. Stacey and Terrence were married for a year in Los Angeles and got divorced just four months before Trae was born. The two separated due to Terrence's infidelity and having another child with another woman. There were also domestic abuse allegations involved that put Terrence's reputation in jeopardy. Stacey and Trae moved back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her mother and grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

At the age of 3, Trae was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Believing that this would affect his life, Stacey tried to help Trae with his education at an early stage. Trae temporarily moved to a suburban area near Philadelphia at the age of 6, and moved back to Philadelphia at age 7. After graduating middle school, he and his mother moved to Seattle, Washington after Stacey is given a house from her grandmother's will.

This is when Trae first attends James A. Masters High School during freshman year. In his sophomore year, he was in a secret affair with Kalleb's half-brother, Brian Gustin. After Trae asked Brian out, he rejected and made a racist comment about dating a black guy. This, in particular, infuriated Trae and Brian, who joined the football team, tormented Trae for the rest of the year. The Savages came about when Rose De Vil wouldn't make the effort to defend Trae for being bullied by Brian, and instead suspended Trae for no reason. Feeling like she broke the rules, Trae became closer to Sydney Prescott, who was once a member of a different clique. She and Trae developed The Savages and teamed up with Nate, the secretary of the group, to start up the latest clique.

## Personality

Trae Ventura is an eccentric character in the series; he is witty, creative and down-to-earth. Despite his clique's lack of popularity, many people in school know of him, respect him or is aware of his reputation. During his sophomore year, he was revealed to be rather quiet and shy as he affiliated with Kalleb and Gina, but he manages to find his identity in junior year. There are times where Trae is very idealistic and determined to get what he wants, and this mainly starts when he plots to recruit more members in The Savages, start protests against the school, and confront Rose De Vil, The Jocks and The Moneybags in Season 1. Also, Trae can be very aggressive and hot-tempered when he is provoked or easily frustrated with people or inner conflicts. In The Psychological Warfare, Trae's anger management and diagnosis with Asperger's syndrome is revealed. He relies mostly on The Savages to go against the school's morals and riot.

## Series Summary

* Season 1
* Season 2
* Season 3

During Trae's junior year, he comes to the realization that The Savages' popularity has become short-lived, and he encourages the rest of the members, Alex, Sydney, Carl, and Nate, to help him recruit new members in the clique. In this season, Trae is shown to be the narrator that introduces a majority of the cliques in the school. He explains that The Savages are more than just a group, but a movement against the school. He is also convinced to join AP courses in the school because of his intelligence, despite his constant lateness to his classes, but he later rejects. In this case, he recruits Gina and helps her be and act like a 'savage' because of her appearance and innocent, prudish personality. He tentatively adds in Joe, to whom he doesn't seem to trust, and brings The Savages together when his main rival Felix, with his group The Moneybags, continue to antagonize him and his clique. (*The Mafia*)

Trae eventually becomes sympathetic towards one of the jocks who is constantly bullied by his own teammates, Zachary, who he accidentally bumped into. Trae then decides to make Zachary his protégé by convincing him to quit the team with open arms in The Savages. This act mostly overshadows his former flame, Dirty Dan, who continues to make a pass at him and convince him that they are into each other. Trae later confronts The Jocks after Zachary has an outburst during the big football game, and he, along with The Savages, defend Zachary. (*The Devil's Protégé*)

Meanwhile, Trae continues to guide Zachary when he discovers Brian and Viktor in a compromising position. He helps Zachary understand that every clique has flaws besides The Savages, and seeking revenge on Brian and Vik is the best revenge. However, this plan is overshadowed by Trae's infuriation towards principal Rose De Vil's latest policies. He is part of the school chaos that occurs in classrooms due to these rules, and he encourages The Savages to crash Rose's pep rally addressing these issues. The plan was almost successful, until a video of Brian and Viktor appears on the projector at the assembly, interrupting their performance. Because of this, Trae is the first person sent to the principal's office, when he is assumed to be responsible for the video. (*The Boomerang Effect*)

When Rose interrogates Trae and questions if he is responsible for exposing Brian and Vik, he denies it and claims that The Savages didn't have anything to do with the exposure. He warns Zachary that Rose is on to The Savages and convinces him to have an alibi so he wouldn't get in trouble. However, Zachary's anxiety forces him to blame Trae for causing it to happen. The two get into a disagreement about the situation and eventually reconcile.

Trae, later on, joins Carl and The Savages on a road trip to Portland, Oregon, skipping school and hoping for a break away from the school. Meanwhile, Trae becomes unaware of Joe's tactics, targeting him adn getting him where he wants him. Trae and Joe 'bond' with each other after getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. Trae is under the influence and gets high with Joe. The two later kiss and Zachary catches them in the act. Trae, along with the rest of the members of the group, are chased by Eli, Carl's father's drug lord, and face the police.

Concerned with Zachary's sudden ignorance towards him, Trae goes into silence after being reprimanded by his mother for lying to him about his whereabouts. Once Brian and Vik's video hits social media, Trae becomes intrigued with who is held responsible. In the end, Trae and Zachary finally break silence and reconcile, and it is clear that Trae is well aware of Zachary's romantic feelings, after asking Alex and Carl for advice. (*The Feminist Manifesto*, *The Wild Ride*, and *The School For Scandal*)

Meanwhile, Trae's anger management gets the best of him when Rose De Vil's constant rules, conflicts at home, and the video scandal gets overwhelming. After receiving a D on his essay from Mr. Baxter, he has an outburst with the teacher, forcing him to be sent to Rose's office. Meanwhile, The Savages become concerned with his aggressive behavior, especially after he physically attacks Felix for calling him a "bastard child". This occurs right after Trae comes with the plan to protest and confront Rose face to face about her unfair rules. Because of this, Rose suspends him and he faces confrontation from his mother, who grounds him and takes away his freedom with The Savages. He abides by this by sneaking into Zachary's house, concerned with his depression. He helps Zachary with a panic attack and they later ksis each other. It is later revealed that Trae is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, hence his temper tantrum after a heated argument with his mother.

Trae later on returns to school with the ultimate plan. He, along with The Savages, demand that Rose gives back their freedom, but when she refuses to, Trae warns her. Trae becomes the mastermind of a violent protest for The Savages, and orchestrates a morning riot to get their voices heard. (*The Psychological Warfare*)

In the season finale, Trae's plan to protest becomes successful through vandalism and damage. This, however, becomes the point where Trae and Joe go head to head with each other after Joe criticizes his actions and admits the Savages aren't anything special to the school. After the two fight, along with Sydney and Nate, Trae is saved by Zachary after Joe chokes him. When Joe and Zachary are in a bad position, police arrive and Trae tries to save Zachary until he is shot in the abdomen twice, leaving him unconscious. Trae is immediately sent to the hospital and put in a medically induced coma after losing a lot of blood. Trae eventually wakes up from his coma when Zachary visits him, and forgives his mother.

Later on, Sydney and Zachary discover that Trae is the main mastermind of the video scandal, after Dirty Dan was framed by Kalleb, who also recorded the video of Brian and Viktor himself. Trae appeared in an uncut clip of the incident, where Trae's face appears. (*The Beast Unleashed*)

A month after the riot, Trae recovers from his shooting during the riot. The first episode, however, explores Trae's mastermind antics in Brian and Vik's video scandal. Trae and Kalleb form a scheme to get revenge on Brian by exposing the footage by releasing it during the school's assembly. This plan coincides with the events of *The Boomerang Effect*.

While the scheme goes as planned, it instantly backfires on Trae and Kalleb whose alibis are in jeopardy when Rose catches on and Dirty Dan becomes aware. Trae and Kalleb blackmail Dirty Dan into keeping quiet, but he gets overwhelmed after Rose suspects him, so he makes himself a target. Subsequently, Trae and Kalleb frame Dirty Dan for the video scandal. The motives behind Trae's involvement stemmed from Trae's history with Brian, who he had a discreet, sexual affair with despite their rivalry. Trae developed romantic feelings for Brian, who rejected him and hinted that it wouldn't work because of Trae's race. Brian eventually bullied Trae after their affair, leaving Trae vengeful. (*The Alibi*)

A day or two later, Trae returns back to James A. Masters High School with guilt. Once Sydney and Zachary inform The Savages of Trae's involvement in the scandal, they begin an intervention to confront Trae's actions. Blindsided by the confrontation, Trae ultimately cuts ties with the clique after Sydney claims The Savages lost trust in him. However, Alex, Carl, and Gina attempt to bring him back. Rejecting them constantly, Trae reunites with Zachary and admits his intentions in the scandal were to protect Zachary. The two admit their feelings for each other and eventually begin dating after Sydney accuses Trae of harassing her with scarlet letters. (*The Scarlet Letters*)

With The Savages out of his mindset, Trae acknowledges his own commitment issues. Considering his history of romances with Dirty Dan, Brian, and others, he asks Zachary to help him understand what it takes to be in a relationship. Their relationship, however, instantly gets strained when family is involved. As Trae wants to know Zachary's family, he is forced to come out to his family in Philadelphia. During Christmas break, Trae and his mother return to Philadelphia, where they both realize why they left the city behind. Trae gets caught in a lie after telling his cousins Darrell and Rashad that he has a girlfriend. However, he receives a scarlet letter that hints of his homophobic family background. This hint comes to blows when he gets into an altercation with his uncle who berates him for being bisexual, and his cousin steals his phone to show evidence. After this, Trae and Stacey return back to Seattle for the remainder of Christmas break, and he spends his tradition with Carl during bad timing. (*The Conflict of Interest*, The Roman Holiday*)*

During Trae's holiday, he formally and awkwardly meets Eli Hawk, who attacked him and The Savages in Portland, Oregon and lives with Carl's family. Knowing the risks, Trae tries to avoid any drama, but Carl insists on getting Trae to help him find dirt on Eli. The team-up becomes strained by Carl confronting Trae for abandoning The Savages and being selfish and stubborn. When Carl realizes who Eli truly is, Trae is given a reality check and realizes they need each other more than ever. He apologizes and makes amends with The Savages, despite the fact that the clique is keeping secrets from him as well. (*The Rose That Grew From Concrete*)

Trae returns to The Savages as they try to solve the mystery behind the scarlet letters, but their reunion becomes challenged by Joe and Nate after they formed their clique The Glamouflage to compete against them. Coincidentally, Joe and Trae are forced to work together on a project, but while they both hash out their issues with each other (while stuck on the elevator), they both realize they have more in common than they thought. They agree to respect each other and their cliques, but they become conflicted with The Savages and The Glamouflage who get involved in a brawl while they're stuck. Meanwhile, Trae becomes increasingly suspicious of Zachary's unusual behavior, and realizes that he is using party drugs (MDMA) to suppress his anxiety. Trae warns Zachary of the repercussions of the drugs and gives him an ultimatum. (*The Blackout*)

Trae, now, is in a different headspace with The Savages, less willing to start conflict and well-aware of the consequences that could occur. As The Savages all manage to get suspended except for him and Sydney, he tries to keep them from fighting The Glamouflage after making a pact with Joe. Eventually, Trae starts to face his own demons after discovering a truth during a dinner with Zachary and his parents. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his shooting, and he recognizes Zachary's father as the police officer who shot him at the riot. Betrayed by Zachary, Trae abruptly leaves the dinner and breaks up with him, aware that he knew all along. Trae tells his mother about it, and claims that he isn't ready to talk about his trauma. To make matters worse, Trae witnesses The Savages getting escorted out of school grounds as they get arrested for Felix's murder. He throws up in the bathroom due to PTSD triggers with police officers.(*The Family That Preys*)

Set during the start of James A. Masters High School's senior year for the class of 2017, Trae finds himself yearning for a new leaf. At this point, he is attending group therapy for his post-traumatic stress disorder amid the events from the riot and Zachary's suicide attempt. Despite going to therapy, he still finds himself harboring many dark secrets about his life and why he feels broken. Within a session, his therapist convinces him to rid of people who may not have his best interest at heart. Upon this, he realizes that permanently cutting ties with The Savages, whom he hasn't communicated with the entire summer, may be beneficial for his success in the long run.

Considered a part of the AP Honor group, Trae faces new challenges when he is introduced to a strict, critical AP Government teacher, Mr. Davis, who gives hima hard time during the first week of class. It makes him question whether striving to go to college is worth it, but when he befriends Nemo Washington, a sophomore who takes AP classes early, and reunites with Mike Daugherty in the class, the two help him survive the course. He also realizes that Gina is in the class with him, but he continues to avoid her, along with The Savages.

Trae also faces a dilemma prior to his relationship with Zachary, who is still in the psychiatric ward, and his sexual affair with Joe. Feeling even guiltier for cheating on Zachary, he becomes defensive when Joe convinces him to move on from Zachary and accept that he has feelings for Joe.
## Songs

Solos

Duets

Solos (In a Group Number)

## Trivia

* His ringtone is "Bitch Better Have My Money" by *Rihanna*.

* Trae is the founder and the first person to join The Savages.

* Trae is the second person in The Savages, after Alex Herrera, to be originally from another state. Trae is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.