April 24, 2011

Tori walked into the outside lunch area and noticed her red headed friend sitting alone at a table, while a few tables away, the rest of their mutual friends were all sitting together, talking and laughing as usual. She approached Cat to see what was going on.

"Hey Cat, what's up? Feeling anti-social today?" she said to her friend with a warm smile, setting her backpack on the table and taking a seat next to her. Cat looked up at her from her book and Tori saw tears streaming down her face, along with loads of smeared make up. Tori's nonchalance quickly changed to concern one as she realized her friend was in dismay.

"Hey! Cat! What's wrong sweetie, why are you crying?" Tori asked her, giving her a side hug and wondering where on Earth the whole 'sweetie' thing came from. Cat had that little girl sort of personality. Maybe Tori felt protective over her? Cat sniffled and frantically wiped the tears from her face.

"Everyone ... hates ... me ..." Cat said between sobs. Tori looked at her like she had a huge bug on her face.

"What? That's crazy! Everyone doesn't hate you!" Tori reassured her, or at least tried to. Cat disconnected herself from Tori's hug and looked at her.

"Look at them! They're all over there, without me! They won't talk to me! They won't even let me sit there! Everyone hates me Tori!" Cat exclaimed, and for once, Tori didn't ignore her dramatization and brush it off as just another exaggeration.

"Well ... I don't know what's up with them but, Cat, I don't hate you. You know you're like, my second best friend after Andre." Cat sniffed and looked like she was about to start balling again.

"Even Andre won't talk to me! I must have done something really terrible for him not to speak with me!" Cat pounded her head on the table over and over, making a loud thud every 3 seconds.

"Cat! Cat, stop it! Look, you're probably just blowing this out of proportion, I mean, they're your friends. They would never hate you!" Tori tried to reassure her friend. But she only looked at her sulkily and shook her head.

"Well they obviously don't give a crap about me! They just let me sit here by myself like I'm invisible or something!" Cat pouted and Tori watched her, confused. What was going on? Why would all of them do Cat like that, when they knew how sensitive she could be? And even worse, why would they all do it, so that of course, Tori had to be the one to comfort her. Tori could expect such behavior from Jade. And sometimes maybe Andre and Beck, depending on their moods. But Robbie? What was his deal? She glanced at their usual table, writing something but laughing every once in a while nonetheless, and he looked plugged into the conversation.

It really was like Cat was invisible. She was sitting there sulking and they were all happy and dandy like she didn't even matter?

"Ugh. I have to go to tutoring. I guess I'll see you later Tori, since you're the only friend I have left ... " Cat said, slowly getting up and grabbed her backpack. Tori looked up at Cat curiously.

"Cat, since when have you had tutoring?"

"Since I started failing Geometry." Tori smiled at her friend and nodded.

"I'll talk to them, all of them. I promise."

June 17, 2008

"Hello?" Robbie yelled into his cell phone he had gotten as an early birthday present the week before. He had given all his new friends from Hollywood Arts his number, feeling totally cool for finally having his own cell phone.

"Ro-Ro-Robbie?" Sobbed a hysterical Cat into the phone. Robbie could barely hear heavy breathing over the blare of the music and the dancing people around him, but he didn't have to have it quiet to be able to tell Cat wasn't her usual happy self.

"Cat? What's wrong?"

"He-He-He left!" She said between sobs and sniffles. "He-He-He's not coming back this time, I-I-I know it!" Robbie covered the ear that wasn't attached to the phone to try and hear her better.

"Who? Who left? Who's not coming back, Cat?" He yelled. His cousin Anthony tapped him on the arm, grinning from ear to ear. Most likely buzzed on something alcoholic that he wasn't supposed to drink. Robbie sent him away with a wave of his hand.

"My dad! My dad left! He left again, just now! And I don't think he's coming back this time, Robbie! What am I gonna do?" Cat cried into the phone as loud as she could. Robbie sighed, not knowing what to do. He looked from left to right as if he would be able to find an answer. "Can you come over?" she asked quietly. Her tone of voice reminded Robbie of one of a scared little girl. He sighed exasperatedly and wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Cat, I'm in the middle of a Bar Mitzvah! My Bar Mitzvah!" As if on cue, a large group of people yelled "OPAH!" in unison. Cat swept some of her hair from her cheek and sniffled again, no longer crying but still extremely upset.

"Please, Robbie? I need you, please?" Cat begged, using her voice she used when she wanted to get her way. Cat knew that no one on Earth could say no to that voice. Robbie could practically see her doing the puppy dog face over the phone.

"I'll be your best friend!" She added enthusiastically, as if that was a bonus to showing up. He sighed again, defeated. He was such a pushover.

"Fine. I'll be there in a sec." He told her, rolling his eyes at his passive personality. Cat squealed happily and clapped her hands together. They said their goodbyes and hung up their phones.

When Robbie pulled up to her large house, he went through to the backyard and climbed the tree located next to her balcony out of habit. When her dad was home, which he almost always was, what, with losing his job every 5 minutes, he hated boys coming over, even Robbie. So he always snuck in from the backyard, as he was ironically instructed by Cat's mom.

He hopped onto her balcony, slightly panting, but not much. Cat excitedly ran up to the glass door and gestured something animatedly. Due to the thick glass, Robbie couldn't hear her.

"Cat, I can't hear you." She turned her head to the side quizzically and scrunched her nose a little, much like she always did when she was confused. Robbie mouthed the words CAN'T. HEAR. YOU. as he shook his head and pointed to his ear. Cat also shook her head and rolled her eyes, then slid the glass door open.

"Sorry, what was that Robbie? I couldn't hear you through the glass." Robbie laughed, shook his head and walked into her room. She slid the door closed after him. "Wow, Robbie, you look so nice! What's the occasion?"

Robbie looked at Cat with squinted eyes, as if to ask if she was really serious. It didn't come as a surprise to him that she was. "Um, my Bar Mitzvah? Today's my birthday, Cat."

His friend's eyes grew wide and she stood with her mouth agape. "Seriousness?"

"Yes, seriousness. You would have known that if you had accepted the invitation to my Bar Mitzvah." Robbie said, subtly trying to guilt her. But subtlety, as with sarcasm, were two languages Cat had yet to master.

"Well, my parents have been fighting all week and now ... now ... " Cat looked at her polka dot socks and tears started to fall to the ground. Robbie stood up and put his hands out in front of her, telling her to stop.

"No! No, no, no, no! No crying! I didn't come here to watch you cry! I came here to make you feel better." Cat looked at Robbie and silently thanked him. The two of them sat down on Cat's bed in comfortable silence.

"So ... I guess everybody's busy today," Robbie stated looking at Cat. Cat made her confused face and Robbie took that as his cue to elaborate. "I mean, I know I'm usually the last person you call when you need someone to talk to."

"That's not true!" Cat said, defensively. Robbie raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask, 'is it?' "Really? What's Andre doing tonight, Cat?"

"Oh, he's at the mall!" Cat answered happily.

"The mall, ay? And Jade?"

"She's not ... Taking my phone calls." Cat looked down slightly embarrassed. But then again, you can only be so embarrassed about Jade not taking your phone calls. It is Jade.

"Hmm. And Beck?" Robbie asked Cat. She was oblivious to the fact that she was unintentionally proving his point.

"With Jade. And she won't let him come to my house. But he sends best of wishes!" Cat smiled at Robbie, like Beck sending best of wishes was going to end world hunger.

"So, what were you saying about me not being the last person you called?" Cat opened her mouth like she was about to answer, but then she quickly shut it, realizing what had just happened. Robbie smirked at her and she gave him the puppy dog face. But this time, it was for personal reasons.

"Great. Now I'm a bad friend. No wonder my dad left me here ... "

"Hey! No talking like that, okay? It's cheer up time! Yay!" Robbie tried, to no avail. Cat looked up at him, looking the most gloomy he had ever seen her. She then stared at the palms of her hands. Not her nails. Her palms. She was really upset.

"Oh, so you're not gonna smile now?" Cat shook her head, her eyes closed, like a little girl defying her mother's orders. "You're just going to sit there with your lip out like that?" She nodded.

"You know, I read once in a magazine about this girl named Patty and a guy who went to the mall. They were dating, and he broke up with her that same day. She pouted and pouted all day long, and then the next day, he told her he was sorry and that he wanted her back. When she heard the news, she was so happy, she wanted to smile, but her lip was stuck! So, now, they call her Pouty Patty, because since that day, she's never. Stopped. Pouting." Robbie said dramatically, knowing it would scare a naive Cat. She quickly sucked in her bottom lip. He laughed and shook his head.

"But still no smile? After that story, still nothing?" She shook her head, her dark red locks swaying back and forth. "Alright then. Well. Since you're not going to smile anymore, I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll just have to KILL MYSELF!"

"What! No! You can't! I'm smiling, see! Please don't kill yourself, Robbie! You just can't!" Cat yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Her smile was so big, she couldn't even keep her eyes open. Robbie laughed hysterically at her, then told her he had a talk with himself and decided not to commit suicide. Relieved, Cat sighed and fell back onto her bed. Robbie stood up, and searched through her DVD collection that was on a book shelf next to her TV. Her plasma creen TV, that hung on her wall and showed even local television in High Definition. In the short months that Robbie had known Cat, he had come to realize she was a little into material things.

"So," He said, scanning the movie titles. "What'll it be? The Notebook or Titanic?" Cat looked back and forth at her two favorite movies as Robbie held them up Vanna White style. She was biting her bottom lip in consideration.

"Mmm. Pros and cons." Robbie turned his lips into a considerate frown, thinking about the perks of each movie.

"Well. Notebook: Chick flick. Titanic: Chick flick." Cat looked at Robbie telling him to be serious. He laughed and shook his head. "Okay, Okay. Notebook: You cry tears of joy and a little sadness. Titanic: You cry tears of sadness and a little bit joy."

Cat raised an eyebrow at him as if his pros and cons weren't very convincing. He considered it again and then a light bulb went off in his head. "Aha! Titanic, you'll cry much harder and you can use up all your tears on the movie, that way, you won't have any left for your dad in the morning!" Cat grinned and sprang up from her bed.

"I'll get the popcorn!" She said excitedly.

"I'll get the tissues," He said shaking his head, but still smiling. Just before leaving the room, Cat stopped in her doorway and turned back to Robbie. She looked at him as he took out the DVD from its case, and placed it in the side of her television screen. He felt her eyes on him, and turned to her.

"What?" He asked, almost blushing. Cat smiled and looked down at her shoes, embarrassed for getting caught staring.

"Nothing … Just ... happy birthday, Robbie," She said looking up at him. He smiled at her smugly, and nodded.

"Thanks."

April 22, 2011

"What made you change your mind?" Robbie asked Cat, nibbling on what was left of his ice-cream cone. Cat, who was already finished with her ice cream, shrugged.

"I don't know I just ... I stopped getting my hopes up I guess. I mean, most of those girls, they get their first kiss or their first boyfriend or the hottest guy in the world on their 16th birthday or at prom or in the summer or something. I turned 16 months ago, no one asked me to prom and ... don't even get me started on my summer."

"What's happening this summer?" Robbie asked her, curious. Cat rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly.

"Every summer since my parents have split up they've been making me go out and visit my dad in Colorado." Robbie was confused. Sure, it wasn't New York, but it wasn't Iowa or something. Why was she so bummed?

"Well, Colorado ... that sounds nice ..."

"Ha! Nice? It's cold, it's boring, he lives with my uncle who has ten billion kids so I'm stuck babysitting all the time and worst of all? It's COLD!" Robbie laughed at his friend. He finished off his cone and they started to approach the truck.

"At least you get to go somewhere for the summer. I'm stuck here every year." Robbie stated, getting into the drivers seat. Cat got into the car and shut the door behind her, laughing as she did.

"Oh yeah! Poor you! Stuck here in Los Angeles!" Robbie stopped, just before turning the key in its ignition, and looked at Cat to see if someone else had gotten into the car instead of her.

"Cat?" Robbie wanted to know, which was sort of stupid considering he knew it was her.

She smiled and raised her hand swiftly. "Present!"

"Did you just use sarcasm?" Robbie asked suspiciously. Cat turned her head at a familiar 60 degree angle. One Robbie recognized as the face she used when confused. He laughed and shook his head. She was being sarcastic without even knowing it. It seemed Cat became more adorable to Robbie every day he spent with her.

So, you might be confused, but it will all come together. I'm a procrastinator though, and started this like ... well, a really long time ago. Before the second season of Victorious, let's go with that. Probably between that episode when Robbie and Cat kissed, and when he had to help his Grandma with the internet. Yeah. Right about then. So, just stay with me here, please.