Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. If anything, Victorious owns me. Oh, and I don't own the song, either.

Robbie held that memory close. By now it was faded, like overexposed snapshots, but it was still shining in his mind. They were only five years old, just the two of them racing around in his backyard fighting imaginary monsters, her with magic and him with his sword.

He slashed through the hordes of shadows that were guarding the ancient treasure. Stab. Duck. Slash left, jump right. Swing!

"Robbie!"

He turned, the girl gripping her arm from an imaginary injury, letting go only to cast fire at the figures slowly closing in. He charged, flinging his sword against claws and teeth, kicking them to the side. He had to protect her! Shielding her behind him, he cut through the demons, spending his energy to make sure she was safe. Soon he was panting, lowering his invisible blade, then sheathing it.

"Okay, Cat. I think we got 'em."

"Yay Robbie! You saved me!"

She flung her arms around him, which was nothing new, but… kiss. It lasted for barely a second, but he knew she… she kissed him.

"Look, there it is!" She pointed in the distance, running to the middle of the yard and picking up the nonexistent gold coins, then started placing on jewelry only she could see.

He couldn't help but think: shouldn't there be cooties? Aren't girl kisses supposed to be gross and weird? But it's Cat and… and…

She smiled at the boy, too stunned to move, to speak. "Now it's my turn to pick what we play, right Robbie? Robbie?...bbie… ROBBIE!"

A fervent hand waving in front of his face woke him from his reverie. His eyes snapped into focus to see Cat standing there, her ruby hair spilling forward as she leaned closer, wiggling her fingers in front of his glasses as he smiled, and she returned it with a melodic giggle.

Caterina Valentine, seventeen years old. The girl he grew up with, who stole his first kiss, who lives down the street. Robbie never understood why or how or when, but he's sure that he's fallen in love with this girl. The way she laughs and smiles, how she gets so excited over the smallest of things, how she sees the world from the same magical glow she did when she was five years old. But being in love with your best friend is... complicated.

"What were you thinking about, Robbie?" Cat asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Oh, just uh, school stuff."

"But Robbie, you're supposed to be helping me! You know, with my… date."

She looked up at him with lowered lashes, swaying back and forth, before leaning down to smooth out her skirt and giving a little twirl. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you look beautiful."

Cat let out a liquid breath, her voice twinged with a slight whine. "Thank you Robbie, but you always say that! Now be honest. Do you think James will like it?"

Robbie couldn't help but think he'd be crazy not to, but he knew that wasn't the answer she was looking for. "I… liked the other outfit better."

"Really?" She looked down, studying what she was wearing, then glanced at the pile of clothes she dropped on the floor a short while ago.

"I'll show you again just to make sure!" Cat grabbed the pile and dashed out of the room, leaving Robbie to sit alone on her bed.

She drove him crazy. She always has. Good or bad crazy, it all depends, but he knew that first kiss planted something deep inside his young and childish heart, and when he finally realized what had happened, it was already too late. She had taken root deep inside of him, her branches slowly creeping, wrapping around and growing into every corner of himself until she became his best and worst thing. His greatest hopes and his deepest fears. She would star in both his dreams and his nightmares, but everyday he'd wake up the same. Nothing more than a friend.

Cat waltzed back into the room, brushing out her floral skirt, necklace dangling in front of her top as she knelt down to put on her matching heels. Taking a deep breath, she stood back up, beaming that smile at Robbie that stirred the butterflies in his stomach.

"How's this?"

"…Perfect."

Robbie watched her from his window. A tall, toned guy in a t-shirt and jeans had his arm snaked around her waist, and he could tell, even from here, that Cat was wearing the same outfit he helped pick out for her this afternoon.

"Heh heh, you're such a wimp." Rex's mocking voice taunted him.

"I know." Robbie sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"At this rate the closest you'll ever get to dating her will be staring out this here window." The plastic hand gestured to the glass that separated them from the outside.

"Well, what am I supposed to do, Rex? You've seen the guys she goes out with. And I'm just…"

"A gangly nerd?" The puppet suggested.

"Thanks for the support."

"Well it's true!"

"I know…" Robbie's eyes followed the car, its red taillights disappearing around the corner, taking with it the girl that would never be his. Then it happened, the same way it did every time she left with another guy. The butterflies resurfaced in his stomach, but it wasn't the gentle fluttering of wings. It was a torrent of wing beats, crashing and swirling inside of him, a tornado of insects that made him feel sick to his stomach.

"And here we go. Commencing the sad routine." Rex watched as Robbie trudged to his Pearpod stereo, scrolled down and pressed play, a Whitney Houston power ballad drifting from the speakers. Robbie sunk down to the floor, his back against the wall, and closed his eyes. A minute goes by before Rex speaks up again.

"Listening to her favorite songs won't bring her running back, you know."

"Yeah, but," Robbie turned to look at his small friend, "it makes me feel just a little more… okay."

"Man, I am sick and tired of this pitiful ritual. You gotta ask her out Rob."

"What if she says no? What'll happen then?"

"Then at least you'll know! Idiot." Rex shook his head before looking back up at Robbie. "You gotta put on the moves."

"What moves?" Robbie sighed, leaning his head against the wall to stare up at the ceiling. "Besides, you know how she is. Guys fall for her all the time, and what happens when they're done? She never sees or speaks of them again. I'm her best friend. I won't risk that. I can't… I can't risk that."

It happened two weeks later. Cat's relationships were never built to last. She left them or, frustrated, they abandoned her, leaving her sad, but rarely to the point she needed to cry. Robbie took pride in the fact that when the relationships she tried to build with another guy came crumbling down, he was her rock, her solid standing place to catch her.

She had texted him to come over, answering the door with sunken eyes while wearing sweats and an oversized shirt. Not a word was spoken, there was no need. They had been through this before.

Cat led him though the hallways to the living room, sitting on the couch while he took his place beside her. She always wore the same smile, soft and sad. It never left her face, it just stayed there. It's the most depressing smile he'd ever seen, and no matter how happy he was that she was single again, it tore him apart to see her this way.

"James, he… he didn't want to be with me." Her voice is barely audible, her eyes focused on her hands as they claw at each other in her lap. "We were trying to figure out what to do, and he said my ideas were too childish, and we started fighting. He… said I was stupid, then told me he didn't think we should be together anymore."

Robbie felt the fury surge through him, but it was quickly extinguished when her eyes flickered up to him with that smile, her lips starting to tremble. "Why don't they stay, Robbie? W-why do they-"

"Shhh…" He wrapped his arms around her, encircling her in his embrace as he drew her closer. He could feel her shaking, taking little sips of air as quiet sobs wracked her body, and he found himself making soft comforting noises until the shaking started to subside.

Cat's voice was muffled, her head buried into his shoulder. "You don't think I'm s-stupid, do you Robbie?"

"What? Never. You're absolutely brilliant. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He stroked her hair and she nuzzled closer into him, her hands gripping his shirt.

"I'm so scared. I'm scared of being alone."

Robbie could feel them, the words that were all there, poised on the tip of his tongue, and he wanted them to spill out like something sweet and soft and slow. But all that dripped out was: "It's all right. I'm here."

He couldn't tell her. He never could. The dark whispers in the back of his mind crept up every time, and in the end, he would always let her go. Watch her leave night after night with the same guys. He hoped that one day she would realize what he felt, that his love for her was much closer than that of friends, but she never did.

He couldn't tell her. She was under his skin, living there for so long that if she let go, distanced herself, he was sure that he'd be left naked and bruised. He'd rather be her best friend and stay this close to her than be nothing at all. And besides, she deserved a hero, a knight in shining armor, not a page boy with a puppet.

He couldn't tell her. He could never tell her.

Robbie waited, listening to the sound of her breathing as it steadied and slowed, the grip on his shirt loosening as her body fell further into him. She had fallen asleep in his arms, and he wanted nothing more than to stay this way forever. But that's not the way it's supposed to be.

He shifted, trying to position himself so he could carry her back to her room. Cat stirred, pulling away and blinking out of her half-sleep.

"Robbie?" Her face was so close to his, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat when her eyes focused on him.

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

She brushes the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "I fell asleep?"

"I think so."

"…Thank you. For being here with me."

"I'm always here for you. You know that."

Cat stared up at him, her eyes dark and wide. It was like a pause, a waiting, but what she was waiting for, Robbie wasn't sure. He decided to break the silence; after all, he wasn't needed anymore.

"It's getting late. I'd better head home."

"Oh." Cat lowered her gaze, turning her face slightly. "I… I guess so."

Robbie stood up, Cat following him to the front door. He opened the door and stepped outside, turning to see her leaning against the frame.

"Goodnight, Cat."

"Goodnight, Robbie."

She closed the door slowly, a small click sounding to let him know it was shut. Robbie sighed, turning his back to the house as he walked back home, a path he's walked many times before.

He couldn't tell her. She'd laugh in his face and think it was a joke. And when she realized it was true, she would ask him to leave. Or, she would tell him she was flattered, but it would never happen. Or, she wouldn't know what to say and he'd be forced to awkwardly leave. Or, she would-

He hammered at her door, unsure of how he wound up here. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but there she was, her slight form filling the doorway.

"Robbie? Did you forget som-"

"I-I feel sick when you're gone."

Her eyebrows are pulled down in confusion, puzzlement etched on her face.

"I stay at home and play your favorite songs. The guys you go out with never treat you right, and you never believe me when I say you're beautiful, but I think you are just as stunning in sweatpants as you are in a sundress."

He couldn't stop himself. The floodgates of his mind had opened and everything was pouring out, his mouth moving on its own.

"I love hearing the crazy dreams you have at night. The simplest things make you so happy and I can't help but get excited about them, too. And it kills me when you tell me you're afraid of being alone because you are wonderful and adorable and any guy who says otherwise is the stupid one."

There it is. The slow realization spread on her face and he knew that she knew. He blew it. He never should have told her. This was a huge mistake and now everything is going t-… kiss. Her lips pressed up against his, and it wasn't fire or electricity, the violent burst of passion he had heard about. It was like air, like he could finally breathe again. The weights in his chest had suddenly been lifted and blown away and she was the gentle breeze that caused it, that filled his lungs and made his heart feel inflated and light.

Their lips part, a soft sound escaping them, a little smile on her face as she looked up at him.

"I just never knew you felt that way. I-I've been wanting to hear you say that for so long. I'm so… happy."

He must be dreaming. He has to be. But when his hand slid onto her cheek it felt so real, her skin soft and warm. Her eyes flicker shut as he leaned closer, bringing his lips to hers once again. They matched together so well, so perfectly it seemed, that the words he had pent up for so long and the words he still haven't said were almost whispered into her lips, more purely than he could ever say them. And her thoughts and feelings filled him, the movement of her lips speaking them straight to his very core, sparking a memory he'd long forgotten. A memory she held close.

The small girl tapped her chin, thinking, her face lighting up as an idea struck her.

"I know! Let's play house!"

The boy sighed, scratching his curly hair. "Isn't that kind of a girly game?"

"So? It's my turn to pick! I'll be the wife and you be the husband."

"Wait, if I'm the husband, that means we're married. Married people can't be best friends, can they?"

"We're just playing pretend, silly! And besides," she grabbed his hand, dragging him to the playhouse, "I think we'll be best friends forever."

A/N: Well wasn't that nifty? I've been meaning to write this fic for a while, and it just kept bugging me until I actually got it down. Inspiration is a funny thing, hitting you out of nowhere. I hope you liked the story; it's based off the song "Best Friends Forever" by A Bird A Sparrow. If you like Nickelodeon kid shows, it's probably not your cup of tea, but I like it! Although I'm a bit different so...

Please review! When inspiration hit it left one heck of a bruise. Reviews are like painkillers, and I have an addictive personality.