The Sweetest Goodbye
Notes and disclaimers: I don't own Victorious or these characters. I have nothing against Vancouver. This fic was inspired by a picture I found on tumblr of Matt and Ariana sitting in a car with a guitar (aka, the cutest picture ever). This is my first story and it's quite short. Any reviews and criticisms are more than welcome.
Goodbyes are the absolute worst. If Cat had to rate her top five least favorite things, goodbyes would definitely be number one. Or maybe two, after mean people. Maybe three, after mean people and melted ice cream...
True, it wasn't that bad. Cat wasn't saying goodbye forever. It was just for the summer. Her parents had a vacation home in Canada – Vancouver, to be exact – and for some reason they wanted to give up two months of California sunshine to be in... well, Vancouver.
She hadn't really told anyone she was going away for two months. While Tori spent their lunch breaks planning an epic summer road trip, she chose not to speak up, allowing her friends to dismiss her silence as a side-effect of mental vacancy. If nobody knew she was leaving, she wouldn't have to say goodbye, right? Ickiness avoided.
It was 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning as Cat stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity, brushing her cherry-colored locks carefully. She tilted her head a little and sighed. Glancing up mid-brushstroke, a picture of Ariel, her very favorite Disney princess, caught her eye. When Ariel had a problem, she didn't let herself mope. She brushed her hair, sang a song, and went to her happy place with all of her treasures. Cat smiled and decided she would do the same.
Grabbing the keys off the kitchen table, Cat headed out to her dad's white hatchback and popped the trunk. There were no gadgets and gizmos out there, unless you counted a rusty tire jack and a roll of paper towels, but it was her special place, for whatever reason. She hopped into the trunk, hugged her knees to her chest, and sighed.
"Cat?"
The doe-eyed girl turned to see Robbie Shapiro coming up the driveway. He had a guitar with him and Rex was nowhere to be found.
"Robbie? Hey!"
"Hey. Are you okay?" He looked concerned.
"Sure, why? Are you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I saw your post on The Slap this morning when I woke up to make Rex his pancake breakfast and I thought I'd come check up on you. You seemed kinda down."
"Robbie, can you keep a secret?"
"Sure, anything!" he replied, perhaps a little too eagerly. This was probably due to the fact that nobody else in the group ever trusted him with anything.
"I have to go to Vancouver with my family for two months." Cat confessed glumly.
Robbie furrowed his brow. "That's almost all summer."
"I know."
The pair sat side by side in the trunk, immersed in a silence that would be deemed awkward if it were anyone but them.
Finally, Cat spoke up. "What's the guitar for?"
"Oh, this," Robbie said, turning to face Cat and balancing the guitar on his thigh. "I brought it over to cheer you up!"
"Aw, yay! But since when do you play the guitar?"
"Since last Tuesday. My Nana is starting to think I should have a talent other than ventriloquism. Promise you won't tell Rex on me?"
"Your secret's safe with me," Cat giggled, pretending to zip her lips. "So, are you any good?"
"Well, actually I can play a few major scales and arpeggios, my favorite's the D major-"
"Robbie..."
"I can sorta kinda play 'You Are My Sunshine' and 'Happy Birthday'. Take your pick."
"Well since it's not my birthday... Oh! But you know what, it IS my cousin's birthday! Mikey. He's turning 23 today. Or maybe 33... Or-"
"'Sunshine' it is, Miss Valentine." Cat beamed. She loved being addressed as "Miss".
And with that, the brown-eyed boy began to strum a few chords for the brown-eyed girl. After he was done, he glanced up shyly and caught her smiling at him, almost laughing.
"I'm horrible, aren't I? I can't even play this one basic song."
"No! It's just that you seem so nervous! And you don't have to be, I like it when you sing. It's cute," she said reassuringly.
Robbie glowed at the compliment. "Cute?" he asked. Maybe he hadn't heard her right.
"Really cute," she said as she kissed him sweetly on the cheek. He felt the warmth in his body radiate from the spot where she kissed him and smiled. He felt kind of goofy, but figured there wasn't any other way to feel when the prettiest girl you know calls you cute and kisses you on the cheek.
Cat turned and laid her head on his shoulder. It felt perfect, sharing her favorite place with Robbie like this. Maybe goodbyes weren't so bad after all.