In Your Hands
Cabbie
A/N: This is my first venture into Cabbie, wish me luck. Updates will come every Friday. Based on a Prompt from the lovely, ABEDFANisRobbieShapiro.
Disclaimer: I don't own victorious or it's characters.
When someone stands out from most others around them, when they defy what is expected of them, there are only so many reactions to be faced with. There's ridicule, and there's celebration – rarely is there something in between – and Robbie Shapiro had not been so lucky to be celebrated for the things that made him stand out from the crowd, or even from his friends.
Sometimes he'd rather avoid the world that he could somehow manage to both melt into, unnoticeable when he wanted to be noticed, and under the microscope when he'd rather not. Today happened to be one of those days. Still he carried himself into the halls of Hollywood Arts because what else was there to do? Stay home and battle with his own mind?
He couldn't tell you what was wrong with Cat this time, as she ran off, lips pulled slim and brows knitted together. A clear attempt not to let the tears fall. He comes on his friends in time to hear Andre ask what's wrong with her, and then the answers that follow.
"Could be nothing." Beck says looking after the red head as she disappears around a corner. There are a few nods as Robbie looks around the group. The only person that isn't nodding is Jade, instead she wears a thin line of concern, but she doesn't speak it. Of course she wouldn't, that would mean caring about another person.
Tori sighs. "It was me." There are a few surprised glances her way, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't surprised as well. Tori, out of all of them, appeared to be the sweetest, and would often coddle Cat. Like she needs coddling. Robbie finds himself thinking.
"What, you? Miss-sally-peaches. Oh I would never." Jade mocks.
Before Tori can interject with the usual, I-don't-talk-like-that, Rex speaks up – though Robbie hadn't meant for him to; "Way to be a bitch, Tori." Her face quickly falls into guilt.
"Robbie!" It's Andre that turns a warning eye to him.
Everyone was always so quick to defend Tori, and sometimes he couldn't see why. She was no special than any of them, and yet everyone seemed to see it that way.
"What, I didn't say it. Rex, don't be mean to Tori."
"Pfft." The puppet spits out before continuing. "Well woman, what did you say to make Red run off like that." He demands, and Robbie is certain he's the only one that can see the anger on his face.
"She was rambling about her brother, and I just had a really hard morning, and I told her to shut up, that I didn't have time to hear about the stories she makes up about her crazy brother." Tori admits, the same guilt crawling over her features as it had before.
"Tori, that's awful." Beck doesn't bother to hide the shock in his voice. Do they think she can do no wrong?
"Yeah, man, not cool." Andre says rubbing the back of his neck.
Jade just shakes her head, Robbie barely notices out of the corner of his eye. "The puppet is right. Way to be a bitch." She's taking off before anyone can chastise her for speaking to Tori like that – as if it would matter to her—and Robbie envies her a little. He'd never be able to speak like that. Only Rex could.
At first it had been fun, an interesting experience, simply to see how others would react, but as time drew on he'd become reliant on something that had simply been to bring him joy. Soon Rex – a puppet he could no longer see as wood and cloth – would become the only mechanism he had to defend against the daily tortures he'd endure. His fun endeavour would merge into what his mother would call a talent, and then a sick joke. Often praising and abusing all in the same sentence.
Rex, as the years passed would become bolder and more vulgar, where Robbie himself would never dare.
"That's really not nice of you, Tori, she's really sensitive." Robbie says in his usual voice, no amount of the anger he was feeling for his friend seeped out.
"I know." Tori says with a frown, drawing out the last word. "I'll try to find her before class and apologize." To her benefit, Robbie knew that she meant it, but that didn't mean she was excused from being so hurtful in the first place.
Beck checks his watch and announces that their first class will be starting soon and that if she would like to find her she should do so quickly, and takes his leave. Andre following as Tori heads in the direction that Cat had gone minutes ago, leaving Robbie standing alone holding Rex. It hadn't been intentional, but no one – not one of them – had bothered to say good-bye. The little things hurt the most sometimes.
"Sure, leave Robbie standing here like the idiot he is." Rex teases which earns him a glare from Robbie.
"Shut up, you."
By the time that the lunch bell rings Rex has pissed off more people than usual, and Robbie has apologized for him nearly as many times. He so used to it now though, that he doesn't bother giving it a second thought sometimes. At the moment he's still concerned about Cat, still faced with that look on her face this morning as she'd taken her leave.
So, when he sees her with Jade at the lunch table without the other three a smile comes over his face. She wouldn't be so inclined to lie about her feelings without an audience.
"Hiya, Cat." his smile is wide as he sits beside her, across from Jade who doesn't bother with his presence. From her he doesn't take that as offensive, she'd barley pay attention to any of them.
"I wanted to ask you something?" Ever so subtle that he is.
"Okay, but I might not know the answer." She says picking at her salad. "It's so weird to eat leaves."
"This morning, I saw you leave upset. Tori told me what you she said."
This earns him a look from Jade that he can't quite read but he doesn't pay much attention to it.
"Oh that. I don't want talk about it. Tori already said she was sorry, so that's all I needed."
Robbie's head tilts in question. "But you were so -"
"She said she was okay, Shapiro." Jade snaps. "Drop it."
"Yeah, Robbie." Cat places a hand on his arm and it's like his whole wold comes to a stop. "I'm okay."
"Easy there, Robbie's not used to being touched by a woman." Rex comments his head jerking to the hand on Robbie's arm.
This causes nothing more than a giggle to come from Cat who pulls her hand back. Returning to inspecting her salad. "I think I want something else." She's standing a second later. "I'll be back."
Robbie never one for knowing how to approach a conversation easily jumps in. "She looked devastated this morning, then you called Tori a bitch, and now you're telling me to not see if he is okay. What's up, Jade? How can she just be okay after a friend was so mean"
"Yeah, wicked witch, what's the deal?" Rex adds on.
"Robbie, I've got no tolerance for anyone, and even less for your puppet." Jade starts. "If you'd like to keep it intact I suggest you shut him up."
"Right." He places a hand over Rex's mouth, knowing no other way to keep him quiet.
"I'm going to tell you this once, so you'd better listen." She starts once satisfied that the puppet won't be interjecting and agitating her. "I know you care about her, it's sickeningly obvious, but don't go digging and get in over your head."
What on earth could she be talking about? "But I?"
"Robbie! I mean it. She is okay, and if you bring it up again and make her not okay I swear you'll be wearing your balls as a necklace."
He cringed and beneath his hand he hears a few muffled swear words from Rex.
Of course he wants to push the matter, wants to annoy her enough to make her tell him, but then again this is Jade. Getting her to break would be a long run task that he's not sure he has enough time for.
"Hey, guys." Andre and Tori both take a seat.
"Yo." Andre says before tearing into the burrito before he's even completely seated.
"Hi, hi." Cat chirps as she re-joins them, Beck at her heels. "Look who I found."
"That would be me." Beck chuckles and takes a seat next to Andre. He'd like to be sitting with Jade, but Tori has taken that spot. Which was happening more and more frequently lately.
"What are we talking about."
Jade speaks before Robbie can fumble over a lie. "How I'd like to kill his puppet."
"Would you stop calling him that." Robbie demands.
Jade fixes him with a steady gaze, and a slight smirk. "You plan on making me?" The smirk deepens on her face when he pales.
"Oh Jade, leave him alone before he wets himself." Andre comments.
"Hey, I don't do that, anymore"
"Oh, last week means you've stopped?" Rex announces.
"Rex!"
When did his solace become his tormentor?
There's a mix of faces around the table. Tori seems to be pondering whether Rex was lying or not, which Robbie hated. How could she actually think that. Beck is just shaking his head, but the smile on his face indicates that he's found amusement in the abuse Rex offers. Andre looks disgusted, and Cat. Cat is just eating the burrito she'd gotten from the Grub Truck.
He wasn't sure which he hated more. When his friends would dismiss him and offer backhanded comments, or when Rex would outright say things to embarrass him.
"So," Tori starts in such a way it's clear she was attempting a subject change. Robbie wondered if that was for his benefit or fer hers. "I'm planning on having a party this weekend. Trina and my parents will be visiting family."
"I'm up for a party." Beck shrugs.
"Always down." Andre grins and nods.
Tori looks to Robbie and Cat across from her and they both stay quiet for a moment, Cat being the first to agree. "Sure, Tori."
"Yeah, why not. I could use from fun." Robbie adds, though after this morning he'd simply be going to assure that Cat won't be spoken to in such a way again.
"What about you Jade?" Tori looks expectant as she turns to the girl beside her.
"No." Jade, answers.
The answer shouldn't have come as a surprise considering their history, but in recent weeks they'd become friends. So eyed her. Could she still be mad about this morning?
"Awe come on, Jade." There's a hurt that passes over Tori's face as Jade sets her with a glare.
"I said no, Vega."
It's not until that evening, after hours of being locked away in his bedroom, away from his parents and little sister that the need to know more about Cat hits him so strongly that it's like the need has crawled into the pit of him and is screaming to be satisfied.
He'd like to tell you that he let the impulsive choice to go to the one person that seemed to have answers about the girl he loved, take hold, and lead him to Jade's door step long after the sun had gone down.
That isn't how he'd gotten here, with sweaty palms, and a doubt strong enough to make him turn around and descend the steps twice, only to talk himself back into going to the door once more. No, the choice had taken him over an hour to make.
"My god man, just knock!" Rex demands and he finds himself apologizing before knocking three times in quick succession, perhaps an indicator of his nerves. What if it wasn't Jade who answered the door, what would he say? What would they think about a boy showing up in the middle of the night? Should he leave now while he still could?
The door opens a moment later, expelling all other options than to deal with whoever was on the other side.
Jade is standing there, hugging her sweater close to her body with a look somewhere between confusion and you've-got-to-be-kidding-me. Of course that only lasts a beat before she's demanding to know why he's there without a word spoken.
"We need to talk about, Cat. I can handle it." He speaks with more confidence than he's ever heard in his own voice, and maybe that's why Jade just nods.
She finally speaks, her voice telling of her tiredness. "The puppet stays outside."
To be Continued.