Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious.

So this idea came to me recently. I was a little hesitant about posting it up at first because I don't usually like having two stories in progress at the same time. But in the end, I decided to just run with it and see what happens. I hope you guys like it!

Chapter One: Like Old Times

Tori Vega anxiously sat in her chair, stealing a glance at the clock that hung on the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last half hour. Just fifteen minutes more. With a resolute sigh, Tori pulled out her earphones and started playing some music from her new pear phone XT3. She leaned back in her chair and looked around at the other people in the room, wondering if any one of them were as nervous as she was.

This wasn't her first callback. Tori had earned coveted lead roles in several plays and musicals throughout college, and had even performed with a local band in downtown night clubs and restaurants from time to time. After graduating, she hired an agent who quickly helped her land a few roles as extras on primetime TV shows. Just last week, she got a call from her agent about a casting call for an upcoming sitcom that was to air on the major television network SceneTV. Tori promptly auditioned for the supporting role as one of the main characters' best friend in a stunning performance that apparently left the casting panel wanting more.

The song had changed. Tori smiled fondly upon recognizing it as one written by Jade West, who was beginning to make a quite name for herself as an up-and-coming singer and songwriter for the band Nevermore. It had been months since they last talked and Tori soon found herself wondering what her old high school friends were up to nowadays. She was still in constant contact with Cat and Andre, who always updated her on every major event in their lives, significant or otherwise. Just a few days ago, Cat had called Tori on the verge of tears after finding her cat, Mimi, lying in a shredded nest of her latest costume designs. But as for the rest of the gang, Tori had regrettably lost touch with them over the years, especially when everyone had started to get busy with college and, more recently, their careers.

After some time, Tori looked up to see a young intern enter the room with a clipboard in her hand.

"Tori Vega?" the intern called.

Tori shot out of her seat, barely able to contain her nerves.

"That's me!" she called back, hastily pulling the earphones out of her ears.

Tori followed the intern down a long corridor lined with promotional ads and photographs from popular shows that aired on SceneTV. The closer they got to their destination, the faster Tori's heart raced. Okay, Vega, deep breaths, she thought to herself, quickly running through the breathing exercises she had learned in a theater class in college. No matter how many times she had done this, Tori always seemed to have a horrible case of the butterflies right before an audition or major performance.

Soon enough, the intern came to a halting stop and turned to Tori with a perfunctory smile.

"Good luck," she said as she opened the door to the audition room.

Tori stepped into the room to see a panel of five people huddled before a table, discussing some important matter in hushed tones. They seemed completely unaware of her presence, leaving Tori to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room not knowing whether to speak up. Just then, the door swung open and an unexpected surprise walked into the room.

"Beck?" exclaimed Tori as genuine smile spread over her face.

"Tori?" Beck said in an equally astonished manner.

Before they knew what they were doing, the two friends quickly pulled each other into a tight embrace.

"What are you doing here?" Tori asked, trying to keep her voice down as to not disturb the panel.

Beck gave a warm smile. "I'm here for the reading."

Tori faltered. "You mean I'm doing a reading with you?"

"Yup," he replied with a nod. "I got one of the lead roles."

"Beck, that's great! Congratulations!"

It was too late by the time Tori realized how loud her display of excitement was. She and Beck had already caught the attention of the casting panel, who were all gazing at her with questioning expressions.

"Who are you?" asked a man with steely eyes and a mustache.

"Tori Vega, sir," she replied, slightly embarrassed. "I'm here for the callback."

"Oh right, Tori Vega." The man narrowed his eyes at her in a scrutinizing manner. "I remember you and those cheekbones from last week."

"Um…thanks," said Tori, though she was unsure if he actually meant to compliment her or not.

After a brief moment, the man pulled out a script and handed it to Tori. The lines for her scene were already highlighted and she was instructed to take a few minutes to review the lines before reading it aloud with Beck.

"So let me just set the scene here for you, Miss Vega," the man said as he leaned back in his chair. "You're playing Thea. She's best friends with Noah, who'll be played by our very own Beck Oliver over here. Thea is pretty much a Mother Theresa do-gooder who just came back from being in India for four months teaching kids English, and Noah is picking her up from the airport. You got all that?"

Tori glanced over at Beck before answering and the two exchanged knowing smiles.

"Yeah," she calmly replied. "I think I got it."

It was the smoothest reading Tori had done in a long time. From the get-go, Tori and Beck established chemistry between their characters that looked and felt real and natural. It was, in fact, very real and natural. For the two reunited friends, it almost felt like they were back in high school, running through a scene for Sikowitz's class. So convincing was their performance that the casting panel was rendered speechless by the end of the reading.

The man with the mustache cleared his throat and skimmed through Tori's portfolio one last time before addressing her.

"Thank you, Miss Vega," he said in an even tone. "That was an excellent performance. You'll be hearing from us in a day or two to let you know if you got the part."

"Thank you," Tori said, shaking the man's hand and retrieving her portfolio. "Hope it'll be good news."

Thinking that there was another callback after her, Tori simply waved goodbye to Beck and rushed out of the room. She had just stepped out into the hall when Beck suddenly appeared next to her and shut the door tightly behind them.

"You did great in there," he said with a broad grin.

"You too but–" Tori paused as her brow knitted in confusion. "What are you doing out here? Don't you have another reading to do?"

"I just wanted to see if you had any dinner plans tonight." He looked at her expectantly with his dark brown eyes. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, you know."

Tori laughed. "Well lucky for you, I'm completely free tonight."

"Great. How about you text me your address and I'll pick you up around seven?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Alright, I'd better get back." Beck flashed Tori a handsome smile before opening the door to the audition room. "See you tonight, Tor."

And with that, the door closed with an audible click as Tori slowly made her way down the hall, away from the audition room. She looked back on everything that had just happened in the last hour and was rather surprised to feel an unwavering sense of calm about the whole audition. Maybe it helped having a familiar face in the room. Or maybe she genuinely felt confident in her performance this time around. Whatever the reason, this was the first time Tori felt so at ease about a performance since the heated break-up with her ex-boyfriend a few months back. And now she had dinner with Beck to look forward to tonight. This is going to be a good day, Tori thought to herself with a contented sigh.

Don't hesitate to review and let me know what you think. Thanks!