A/N: I do not own these people, nor do I mean to bash anyone, nor do I believe they're "in character" per se, nor do I believe this is happening/will happen. It's a work of fiction for a reason.

His hand rested securely on her hip, and slowly but surely he slid it down her supple thigh. Accordingly, she inhaled deeply, suppressing the beginnings of a moan. Her voice came out like a whisper. "A-avan… come on, we've got to go soon. We have to arrive separately a-and everything."

"Just five more minutes," Avan whispered into her ear, his breath hot against her skin, making her shiver. "Come on. It's not like anyone will notice."

His fingers felt so warm and electric against her skin, and just the feeling of his lips on hers was enough to practically bring her to her knees, but with a lot of self-restraint she managed to tear herself away. "You know we have to go, Avan." When he made a pouty face in return and kissed the top of her head with feather-light lips, she rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like a four-year-old. You agreed to this, remember? It's the only way our relationship would work."

"I know," Avan groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Believe me, I remember. There's no way I can forget when I'm forced to pretend I'm dating… someone else."

"It's just for publicity, publicity that she desperately needs," she reminded him with a small shake of her head. "And it's only until… until we know for sure that this will work out between us, I guess. Just give it some time, all right?"

"It's hard when every time I see you all I wanna do is rip your clothes off," Avan said darkly, and he scowled as she laughed softly.

"You'll survive."

"Hardly." He smiled now as well, pressing another soft kiss to her forehead. "Fine, I'll go get ready and I guess I'll see you there. Just know, though, I'll only have eyes for you the whole night."

She smirked at him. "Go get ready, Jogia." And as she swatted him out the door, laughing as he attempted to kiss her again, she couldn't help but feel a bit chagrined that she couldn't take her adorable boyfriend with her. No, he would be with another girl – and though it had originally been her idea, she regretted it with a passion. The separation, though only momentary, was painful – and she wished she could tell her fans about it as well, about how wonderful Avan was to her and about how happy he made her, but no, for all they knew, he was dating Zoey and Liz Gillies was, to him, nothing more than a simple ex-cast mate.

.

By the time she arrived, the red carpet was packed with all sorts of celebrities, some of them even A-list, but despite the inherent power they held Liz was only interested in one person, and he was nowhere to be found. She glanced around from under her lengthened eyelashes as Ariana bounded over to her.

"Liz," Ariana said with a sly grin. "You've got, um, a red place on your neck. I'm guessing your makeup artist didn't catch that one." Her gaze was heavy with implications.

Immediately, Liz's face went beet red. "Shut up," she hissed under her breath.

"Seems like someone's got a new beau and didn't tell me," Ariana said, raising an eyebrow at Liz.

"Yeah, well, I'll tell you about him as soon as you catch me up on you and Jai," Liz remarked back. "Besides, I shouldn't be anywhere near you – you've got paparazzi swarming about you like gnats on a carcass. It's disgusting."

Apparently used to Liz's remarks, Ariana just laughed. "It's actually really annoying. They'll say whatever they can to provoke me – to make me angry or sad or whatever. And you'd better watch out, or they'll get on you as well, what with your new show coming out soon and all."

"I'm not quite on that level yet," Liz replied dryly. She glanced around again, her eyes finally landing on her destination, and she watched as Avan wrapped an arm around Zoey's waist, jealousy flowing through her veins and poisoning her bloodstream like lead.

As she turned back to Ariana, she noticed that the other girl was following her gaze pointedly. Liz blushed. "Sorry, I got distracted."

"I could tell," Ariana said with a smirk. "Come on now, before someone catches you staring and realizes that something's up."

She cast one last forlorn glance back at the couple, where Avan had her close to his body and was whispering something in her ear, and she bit her lip. Might as well just keep going – there was nothing else to be done.

.

The afterparty was buzzing, and Liz found herself weaving her way through a stream of bodies to an empty corner where she could at least breathe. She leaned against the wall, lifting her eyes up to the ceiling and praying for an empty moment, when she was interrupted by a hand pressing against her face. She was prepared to fight off the intruder, hands lifted in combat style, when she realized that the person was someone all-too-familiar and exhaled in relief.

"You know, you should probably stop sneaking up on people," she reprimanded her secret boyfriend.

He grinned sheepishly. "It's too much fun, seeing that expression on your face. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you looked beautiful tonight. Is that a crime?"

"Maybe," Liz said, and then, leaning a bit closer, "in front of all these people, though? Aren't you supposed to be here with Zoey?"

"No one's paying attention to us, anyway," Avan replied, motioning to the sea of dancing bodies. "And anyway, that doesn't matter anymore because I dumped her."

Immediately, Liz recoiled – partially in shock and partially in delight because, as much as she hated to admit it, she'd been hoping for this for a while now. "You – what? You dumped her? You're not even dating! How can you dump her? It was supposed to lead people away from – you and me, you know!"

"Chill, Liz," Avan whispered softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead so gently that she could practically feel her body relax. "I decided that I'm through hiding this – us – whatever this is. I want to be with you, and not in secret, but all the time. I don't care who knows anymore, okay? And I hope you feel the same, because I don't want you to think I'm ashamed of you, and I don't want to be led to think you're ashamed of me."

"Of course I'm not." She glanced up at him uncertainly. "I just wanted to be sure we would work."

"And I know we will," he answered confidently, "because I have faith in you and I have faith in us, and what else is there?"

And he leaned down to kiss her then, pressing his lips against hers, gently at first, but gradually more passionately, and she let him because she had a feeling then that this thing might just work out.

And it did.

.

Sex, Drugs, & Rock & Roll Star Liz Gillies Spotted with Hot New Beau, Twisted's Avan Jogia!

The two were spotted kissing at an afterparty last night. View exclusive pics of the two here!

This hot new couple played lovers on Nickelodeon's hit show Victorious! What do you think about their relationship? And what about Avan's recent breakup with Vampire Academy star Zoey Deutch?

Whatever the case, these two are officially an adorable new couple!

View tweets about this couple:

lizmcgillz jlkJKDLGJLDS ELJ IASDJGLKASG IMAZJ CYRINAG! ELA VANOIM GOMG