Even though I really don't need to be writing anymore oneshots, here I am…writing another one.
So, I've been kinda irritated with the way Tori and Andre's relationship has been shown in the past few episodes. I mean, I get that in TGP Beck had to discover Tori was faking instead of Andre for the purposes of the plot, but it still bugged me. And then they just didn't seem as close as usual in "Crazy Ponnie." So, I created my own explanation for it in the form of this oneshot:) Please leave a review to let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious.
Rating: T
Pairing: Tori/Andre
Word Count: 3,475
Summary: Tori has felt distant from Andre for a while, and when he proposes a trip to the movies, she eagerly agrees, believing it will help them reconnect. But will the night they spend together bring other feelings to the surface? Tandre! Oneshot.
"Hey, Tor."
The voice that spoke those words could have made Tori's head snap up immediately once upon a time, eager to hear what he had to say. Now, however, she barely glanced up from her textbook as she answered. "Oh, hey Andre."
He sat down next to her at the Asphalt Café and lightly put his hand over hers, so she could pull away if she wanted to. "What are you doing?"
"Studyin' for the test I've got in Theatre History tomorrow," she mumbled, flipping a page and hurriedly scanning it in an attempt to appear busy. The first theater in London was created in 1596…
"Yeah, that's a tough subject. Lots of material to know." Andre nodded awkwardly, unsure of how to lead the conversation to where he wanted it to go. "So, listen, I was uh, wondering if you wanted to do something tonight?"
"Like what?" Her voice grew fainter and her cheeks flushed as she leaned closer to the textbook.
"I dunno," said Andre, withdrawing his hand. "We could go see that movie I know you want to see. Yeah, we can see Revenge of the High Heels in Northridge, and then we could go to Skybucks."
"I'm not sure I'll have time tonight."
"Tori, it's a Friday night, and I know that Jade, Beck, Cat, and Robbie are going to Karaoke Dokie together and that you have nothing else to do. Why don't you wanna go to the movies with me?"
"Because…" Tori sighed and shut A History to Theatre. If she did not know the material by now, she probably never would. "I-I...I've felt kinda distant from you lately."
Andre cringed slightly. He had been afraid of that answer. There had been an underlying tension between them for almost a month now. They snapped at each other more easily and hung out less. The easy friendship that they had miraculously maintained for nearly two and a half years was faltering, and neither of them knew a way to prevent it. Hesitantly, he grabbed her slim hand in both of his large, warm, guitar-player hands. "I know what you mean. It's felt the same for me. I just want to have a fun night out, okay?"
Finally, he saw a hint of warmth in her smile. "Okay. I've missed being able to hang out with you."
"Me too. I've gotta get going to my keyboarding class. I'll pick you up 'round 7:30, alright?"
"That works." Tori quickly kissed his cheek and squeezed his hands. "Bye."
"Bye, baby."
XXX
Andre was never on time, Tori knew. When she had first met him she had nagged him almost constantly about it, but after a while, she accepted it as a rather irritating aspect of his personality. So, that was why she was sitting on the couch eating a slice of pizza in torn sweats at 7:20 while watching Celebrities Underwater.
"Mm," she mumbled to herself as she realized what time it was, "I better get ready. I wanna look hot for Northridge." She chuckled to herself (the idea that she needed to look decent for Northridge was laughable), stood up, and stretched. "What am I gonna wear? Andre likes that red top; I'll wear that red top." Tori trekked up the stairs and got ready at a leisurely pace. Despite her frustration with Andre's recent behavior, the optimistic part of her believed this would be a good night to improve things, and a smile enlightened her face. While she was in the midst of applying her eyeliner carefully, the doorbell rang.
"Trina!" she yelled. "Trina, will you get the door? I think it's Andre and I need you to stall him! I'm not ready!"
"Ugh, I'm painting my nails!" was the muffled response, but nonetheless Tori heard the door open downstairs, along with the murmur of voices.
"Oh chizz…" She raced around the room ungracefully, fastening her earrings, fixing her makeup, and tugging on her boots. One final glance in the mirror revealed a reasonably well put together person, and Tori grabbed her purse and went downstairs, feeling guilty for leaving Andre alone with Trina for so long.
"So, Amy Winters twisted her ankle, and that means she won't be able to do the musical. So, I'm hoping that means I'll get her lead role, because obviously I'm the best –"
"Hey, Andre!" interrupted Tori. She rushed towards him and gave him a tight hug. She whispered in his ear, "Sorry, I left you alone with her," and when she pulled away he was smiling.
"So, let's get going," he said, gesturing towards the door. "Good luck with your play, Trina."
"I don't need luck," she scoffed.
"Sorry I took so long," said Tori as they walked to his car. "I was kinda counting on you being late."
Andre laughed. "The one time I'm on time is the one time you're running late."
Tori joined in on his amusement. "It's funny how the world works, huh?"
The twenty-minute drive to the theater was filled with much laughter and few pauses. Both talked with almost too much excitement, as if they were saying everything they could think of to avoid having an awkward silence, or worse, a discussion of the still palpable tension.
"When was the last time we were in Northridge?" wondered Tori.
"I think it was for Sinjin's game show," said Andre, turning the volume on the radio down slightly.
"Oh, right. When Beck and Jade broke up. And Robbie kept on calling me his girlfriend." Tori laughed and Andre joined in freely.
"I remember being partnered with Cat was the easiest thing. She kept on saying the answers out loud."
"Oh, I remember that…I always thought it was weird Cat and Robbie didn't partner up together. They both have crushes on each other."
"Yeah, I know. Maybe that was why they didn't. They didn't want something awkward, y'know?"
"Mhm, I know what you mean. I wish you and I had partnered up for that. We would've so won that thing."
"I know!" Andre lowered his voice to that of a game show host's voice. "Andre, what is Tori's favorite food?" His voice returned to his normal level as he said, "Belgium cocoa with extra whipped cream!"
"Correct!" exclaimed Tori, stretching out the word. "Tori, what is Andre's favorite ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain? The ninja ride, even though it's all old and creaky now."
"It's still a fun time," defended Andre through his laughter. "What does Tori claim to be her favorite color? Easy, purple. What is actually her favorite color? Black."
"You know that?" Tori slapped his arm lightly. "I'm getting back at you for that!" What is Andre's biggest fear? Kittens! You think they're two-faced!"
"Anything that sweet has to have an ulterior motive!"
"Really? So what's Cat's ulterior motive?"
"She's going to take over the world one day, I swear…"
They both laughed. Andre nearly missed the exit for Northridge, but managed to escape the highway at the last second. His abrupt turn caused Tori to slam into his shoulder. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed laughingly as she pulled away.
"Sorry…"
"It's fine. Gosh, we would have won that trivia game, though."
"Mhm. It wouldn't wreck our relationship like Beck and Jade."
"Although technically, we're not in a relationship."
"Yeah, but y'know what I mean. Our friendship." Andre flushed nonetheless and directed his gaze out the window at the dilapidated In 'N Out Burger they drove past.
"Oh, right…so, what do you think this movie's gonna be like?"
"I'm not sure what to expect. I missed out on Attack of the Wedges, so I don't really know what happened."
"It's pretty easy to follow. There's been a rivalry between wedges and heels for nearly thirty years, and it escalates when a local shopping mall stocks only heels because they think it's more fashionable. Then, the wedges sabotage Vague Magazine and write an article claiming wedges will be the "it" item that season." Tori caught sight of Andre's face. "Yeah, it's boring."
"So why do you want to see it?"
"Because if you approach the whole thing as a comedy instead of a serious drama, it's hilarious."
"So we're going to be the freaks in the back of the theater that everyone hates 'cause they keep cracking up during the dramatic moments."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Great," he said, and he meant it. "Here we are." His sleek car pulled up to the curb of the theater, attracting stares from jealous Northridgers who snapped their gum and glared, undoubtedly planning ways to slash the tires and scratch its paint job in their twisted minds.
"Are you sure your car is safe here?"
"No, not really. C'mon, let's go see the movie." Andre turned off the car and crossed over to Tori's door to open it for her before she had even collected her cell phone and purse.
"Thanks," she said quietly, feeling slightly tense once again. She wrapped her arm through his (for the purposes of warmth only, of course) and walked with him up the stairs to the dingy theater's ticket stand.
"Two for Revenge of the High Heels." Andre barely got the movie's title out without laughing. Tori elbowed him lightly, although she offered him a smile to show she did not mind.
"That'll be $14.00," said the blond girl in the booth with multiple piercings in a bored tone, emanating death glares from her dark eyes framed with eyeliner.
Tori hastily took out her wallet, but Andre waved his hand at her. "I got it. I'm taking you out, remember?"
"Actually no, I don't."
"Right, I guess I never actually said that," said Andre as he handed the girl the money.
"That will be theater number five. It's to your right. Have a Northridge evening."
"Northridge evening?" muttered Tori as they walked away.
"I know."
Despite the film's terrible premise, a large number of people were crammed within the small theater, and Tori and Andre struggled to secure four seats: two for them to sit in, and two in front of those to prop their feet upon. "Oh, we need popcorn!" realized Andre as the first trailer began to play. "I knew I was forgetting something."
"No, it's okay," whispered Tori, grabbing his wrist as he began to stand. "I don't like popcorn anyways."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Now sit down, you're going to miss the beginning of the movie."
Andre did as Tori said, and they soon found themselves caught up in the terrible movie. Just as Tori had claimed, approaching it as a comedy made it as funny as Sikowitz's attempts to be a serious teacher. The film integrated almost every cliché possible, from the large red button that released deadly water harmful to the wedges' leather, a car chase scene with shoeboxes substituted in, and the supreme wedge that gave away its evil ploy and allowed the high heels to be set free. Laughter rang from their corner of the theater the whole time, despite glares and a couple of annoyed "Shut up's!" from the front row. But their amusement from the movie was not enough to quell their boredom that eventually sunk in, particularly during the dry scenes where the wedges lay in their boxes, envying the heels in the luxurious mall. Over the course of the two and a half hour long movie, Tori wound up draping her legs in Andre's lap and resting her head against his shoulder, stifling an occasional yawn or two against him. Andre, for his part, wrapped an arm around her and tugged her closer in the safe dark of the theater.
Revenge of the High Heels concluded on a satisfying note, with the pink wedges convincing the mall owner to stock them as well in a tactful letter. As the lights abruptly came on, causing Tori to blink rapidly from the sudden change in lighting, three Northridge girls in the front broke into applause, beaming at the screen, which now rolled the credits.
Tori yawned and turned to face Andre. "Are you ready to go to Skybucks?"
"Yeah." He moved to stand up, but realized she still had her legs in his lap. "Um, Tori."
"Oh God, sorry." Mortified, she stood up quickly. How could she be so foolish as to wind up in a compromising position like that?
"It's fine. So, what'd you think?"
"It was good, actually. That pair of blue wedges had great comedic timing. I was really blown away by the way he delivered, 'If you're going to not stock them, you're not going to stock me, either.' I don't know how he managed to keep a straight face!"
"And what about the black pair of high heels? That was some great physical comedy when they fell off the Empire State Building."
"I know, they oughtta teach a class 'bout that at Hollywood Arts." As they analyzed the movie, they walked out of the theater and to the Skybucks down the street. Its small building had a line extending to the door despite the fact that it was nearly ten o'clock, and a silly, shallow part of Tori rejoiced over its lengthiness. It meant more time she could spend talking to Andre.
The tension that had been between them during the car ride dissipated entirely. Tori didn't know if it was because of the movie, or if something had just clicked, but she was grateful for it. The conversation easily glided from the movie to projects for school, and then to fake talent agencies they had encountered. Naturally, talk of talent agents led to mentioning the Platinum Music Awards.
"I still can't believe you were on that, Tor," said Andre with a clear note of pride in his voice. They were now in line to place their coffee order, having both decided on caramel frappes. "12 million people saw you. A real talent agent's gonna be signing you any day now."
Tori shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know…I'm not sure if it was my best performance. I mean, being kinda thrown out on stage was okay, 'cause the performance high kicked in, but beforehand…" Tori trailed off, realizing that she was about to broach a topic that Andre was blissfully in the dark of.
"Beforehand what?"
"I-"
Tori's explanation was cut off by the server. "Hi, what can I get you?" he asked warmly.
"Two caramel frappes," said Andre to him quickly.
"Coming right up. Hey, I can't help but notice, aren't you the girl who sang the opening number at the Platinum Music Awards?" asked the server.
Tori blushed. "Yeah, I am."
"You were great! My girlfriend and I were both really impressed. She's a keeper," he said to Andre, winking.
Andre nodded at him with a slight smile on his face, before realizing what the implications of his sentence were. "Oh, we're not dating," he said quickly.
"Oh, sorry! I just assumed…um, anyways, here are your frappes. That'll be $6.95."
Andre hurriedly paid, handed Tori her drink, and then guided her over to a semi-secluded table for two. "Alright, so what was going on before the PMAs?"
Tori sighed. "Andre, it's really nothing. It was silly of me to even mention it."
"Tell me!"
"Fine. So, two days before it, Beck came over. He basically confronted me and said that he knew I was faking the diva attitude."
"Tori, we all knew," said Andre in a low, gentle voice that Tori had never heard from him before. To be honest, she liked it.
"Y-You all knew before I quit? Why didn't you talk to me?"
Andre shrugged. "I figured you knew we knew, and I didn't want you to get in trouble for us knowing."
"Oh… well, the thing is that I didn't know you knew. And Beck told me he knew I was faking it, and I was just so glad to have someone on my side and I was so tired and confused and hurt that you thought I would actually do something like that…we almost kissed, but my mom interrupted us at the last second."
Andre nodded curtly, knowing from Tori's tone that there was more to the story, although he longed to punch Beck squarely in the nose internally.
"So, the next night, after you and Robbie left, Beck and I were talking again. And he almost kissed me. Well, technically, he did, but it was just for a second. But I told him I couldn't do that to Jade…Then, the next night, Jade just gives me her spot at the PMAs, even though she totally earned it. So, needless to say, there was other stuff going through my head while I was performing."
He sighed, unsure of where to begin. "Tori, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I should have been."
"It's not your fault, Andre. You're not supposed to pick up on all of this stuff. It's not like it's your job."
"But still. I'm your best friend, and you should be able to talk to me whenever you have a problem, and I should know beforehand that something's buggin' you. That's why it's been awkward for the past few weeks, hasn't it? That's why we haven't hung out as often and you won't talk to me. It's 'cause you're still mad about the PMAs, even if you don't want to admit it, even to yourself." His voice regained the tenderness it had spoken with a few minutes ago.
"Andre…" Tori opened her mouth, prepared to explain all of her actions to him. "C'mon, let's go outside and walk around. I have to pace when I talk 'bout this stuff."
They walked out the door, Andre holding the door open for Tori like a gentleman. Once again, she held onto his arm for warmth, and they wore tracks in the small shopping center with their relentless footsteps. "Okay…I was mad at you. No, not mad, I was freakin' pissed. You're right, you were supposed to be there and understand all of this. You're my absolute best friend, and I thought you of all people would be there. I didn't think I'd have to rely on Beck to comfort me. He's not nearly as good as you are, y'know."
"I'm so sorry…I don't know why I didn't see this."
"Andre, do you think we're growing apart?" The question was blunt, especially when compared to her rambling sentences up until this point.
"No," he answered immediately.
"Don't just answer reflexively, think 'bout it for a minute. Are we losing touch? Are we the same way we were when we were sixteen?"
"Of course we're not the same when we were sixteen," he scoffed. "We're better than that now. We've matured some, and now we understand ourselves better."
"Are you sure? Then why can't we act as relaxed as we used to? Why don't we have the easy connection that we used to? Why aren't we on the same wavelength?"
Andre walked in silence for a moment, stumped. "I don't know," he whispered hoarsely. "But we're still best friends, Tor. Just like in the car ride, I know everything about you. Ask me anything, I know it."
"Okay…" She stopped walking and looked him in the eye. It was difficult to see his face through the darkness, but she knew it so well her mind filled in the blanks. "Who…Who am I in love with?" She looked unblinkingly at him, daring herself to be bolder than she ever had before.
Andre's breath was taken away for a moment, as his hopes rose and his head struggled to lower his impractical expectations. "I don't know."
"You, Andre." Tori didn't speak in the jubilant way of a confessing, eager lover. Instead, she sounded almost heartbroken. "I'm in love with you, and you don't notice it, and we're losing our connection. Oh, God dammit, and I thought tonight was a date…" She hid her face, and Andre heard a sniffle.
"Tori, stop it." He grasped both of her elbows and forced her to come to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. "Do you want to know why I've been distant? Why things have been different?" His voice once again became sweet and tender, and Tori felt something frighteningly happy rush through her entire body. "It's because I-I'm completely and totally in love with you, and I didn't know what to do. Until now."
"When?" she gasped, not daring to look away from his glowing face.
"Since we sang together at Nozu. Tori, I should have been there for you. And I definitely should have done this sooner."
He cupped her face gently, and the pressed his warm lips against hers.
"I should've told you I loved you sooner," breathed Tori as they pulled apart, trembling in his gentle hold.
"At least it's not too late."
So, what did you think? Please leave a review and let me know! I appreciate all of the feedback I receive. I'll try to write more Tandre stuff soon. I really like writing them because I feel like they have a great dynamic and lots more depth than the show explores. Once again, please leave review!:)