Caught

Author's Note: AU. Another piece written for the novel that I ended up quitting. Probably going to end up being a two-shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

"I just feel so hurt by her, Beck. I try so hard to not let things affect me, but I'm only so strong." Tears flowed from her hazel-toned brown eyes like drops from a rainstorm. She had encumbered herself within his grasp, willingly accepting his comfort. The process was often far more stressful than it needed to be, admittedly because of Queen Jade. The burden fell onto one youthful girl who simply wasn't prepared to deal with the mood swings, color schemes, and crazy schedules. Her entire life was put on hold because of this wedding and now, she began to regret the moment Beck asked for her best friend's hand in marriage.

Cat knew Jade saw Tori as a threat for a reason; she could spot Beck's stares at her from a mile away. Cat was no threat, so she and Beck were free to be as close as possible without consequences. However, that became her biggest mistake. As the maid of honor and the groom planned the wedding together, certain feelings crept up. Beck was just so secure in himself, and Cat quite obviously wasn't. He was a strong pillar for her to lean on.

He soothingly rubbed his large hand up and down her back, allowing her to bury herself in his black shirt while the two sat on the bed in the guest bedroom of Beck and Jade's apartment. Cat had made the trip out to Chicago just to help with the wedding. She had planned on staying in a hotel until Jade's ice blue eyes pierced into her brown ones as the former masked her considerate offer of letting Cat live with her and her fiancé behind a threat.

The beige and brown comforter was now creased with the indentations of their seats, but everything else in the room was immaculately spotless to perfection. Jade was consumed with books in the library, desperately trying to catch up on work from missing days and acquire some form of knowledge from her 'imbecile of a tutor'. The past few weeks had grown into a beautiful friendship for Beck and Cat, the two seeking solace from Jade's wrath in each other.

Thankfully, the almost in-laws and parents had yet to arrive. Once their planes landed in Chicago, the apartment was expected to be turned upside down to keep up with Jade's fury. Even without that added stress, her cheeks flushed bright, pungent red and irises glazed with a clear patina. He wondered what the last few days before the ceremony be comprised of. Wars? Death threats? Food fights?

Cat laughed at the last one, although Beck was too involved with his stressful thoughts to comprehend the fact that he made those complaints clear out loud. "We'll be okay, kiddo," he said.

"I'm not a kid!" Cat grunted, punching her fists into the mattress.

"Can we pretend to be? It seems much easier," the suave boy said. If only escaping reality was that easy.

Cat's childish shield couldn't be wielded this time around. Not with Beck. He had this unnaturally fantastic talent of delving into the core of each person he acquainted himself with. It could have been due to his casual nature, or his calm rationale, but probably was due to his ability to listen without reaction. He tried extremely hard not to hurt anyone he talked to, unlike his "better" half.

"Why do you love her?" Cat asked him one day amidst stuffing a chocolate pastry into her system while finalizing centerpieces with Beck at the hotel. The pudgy events manager for the Lafayette Hotel had left the two alone to explore the collection, seeing the weariness on their faces and the resignation in their speech as they refused to endorse Jade's complaints over the navy vs. indigo match she was fighting with the creative designer.

His fingers trailed a collection of clichéd roses. "I know what a difference I make in her life. I break down that wall that no one else can. She has an endearing side, is hardworking and passionate, and accepts me for who I am."

Beck's mood had completely changed. The bags on his eyelids had been replaced with wrinkles from his smile, and at that moment, Cat learned what love was. It was that expression that comes only for that one special person, who manages to make you smile even if it's been a horrible day. Just knowing this person is awaiting you is enough of a driving force through every hurdle and every moment.

Beck looked up from staring at the oddly colorful tablecloth, completely inappropriate for a wedding he might add, to Cat's resilient face. "Hey, it'll happen. You deserve to have it happen to you."

Cat brought her attention back to the notepad she had secured on a translucent blue clipboard. It had been filled with her rounded letters and hearts, but the centerpieces page merely had a title. She hadn't paid attention to a single arrangement Beck had discussed. His ability to recognize her mind's thought process was intriguing and allowed her to begin to piece herself back together. He was right; she would find someone.

She ran the back of her hand down the turquoise lace on her dress. It grazed over her waist, which had been inducing worry in her as it was steadily increasing in size courtesy food tastings that Jade had decided she had no need to go to. Cat had gone from the maid of honor to a substitute Jade instantly. The unenthusiastic girl hardly ever attended any meetings, and oftentimes, people mistook Beck and Cat for the to-be-married couple.

Beck became restless after reflecting on it even two years later. He tossed and turned, but all he could recall was his memories of betraying Jade. Even at the time, he was aware of his mistake. However, marriage was flung at him like a baseball. He hadn't realizing it at the time, but he was far too immature to get married. He never regretted the marriage itself, but the fact that he believed marriage was a solution to his insecurities and their families' opposition towards their relationship. Beck was accustomed to dealing with Jade's moods and general unhappiness, but dealing with it every minute of every day was so unusual, and even his patience took a turn for the worst.

He had stumbled upon Cat in the middle of Chicago a year after the successful wedding. She had just entered town that day to search for a job as a fourth grade teacher after disliking the administration she had dealt with in the school she worked at in L.A. during the previous year. He had just hung up on Jade after another tumultuous argument with her complaining about something else he did wrong. Beck had stopped listening a long time ago, another oene of her complaints.

The unexpected meeting turned into Beck and Cat relishing childhood memories over coffee. Soon, Beck found himself hiding his meetings with Cat, who hadn't told Jade about being in Chicago. The first few days were merely innocent conversations, but one day, Jade had yelled at him for not folding a shirt correctly and he lost it. The disgruntled man drew himself into the comfort of Cat's arms in her hotel room and lost his self-control from there on out. His shirt and her dress flew off in seconds, with Cat's secret year-long crush on Beck and his frustration over his wife.

Beck had learned to relish smiles. Not that he was teeth-bearing all day long, but high school had taught him to love exuberance from the inclusion of Cat and Tori in his life. Beck had been almost taken aback by Cat's ever-present smile, even as countless principals rejected her because she was 'too immature'. She would occasionally cry, thinking that her education went to waste. Beck would rub his hands against her hard hair and let her rest against his shoulder. Cat would calm down and giggle slightly as Beck would kiss her lightly on her glossed lips.

It was silly and wrong, but they were both so sick of rejection that it didn't seem to be a problem.

Jade caught them in the house one day. Cat was making frosted cookies one night, while Beck refrained from trying to help the expert baker and instead sat at the kitchen table, working on the monthly bills. They were both aware that Jade was scheduled to be at a conference until at least eleven at night and took advantage of the excess in time they had together.

Cat came over to him with the plastic spatula coated with vanilla frosting and stuck it in Beck's face for him to taste. He poked her stomach as he licked the spoon clean. She giggled and defensively shielded her body.

"Good?" she looked down at him excitedly.

He nodded, reached his arm up to wrap around her neck, and pulled her head down towards his own. "Very good," he said before intensely pressing her lips with his.

Suddenly, they heard someone trying to unlock the door. They immediately broke apart, terrified that Jade was about to walk in on them. Beck could hear the squeaks of the doorknob and then the ring of the doorbell.

"Cat, don't panic," he instructed. "There's no point in hiding, but let me see who it is first, okay?"

She bit her lip and nodded nervously, taking his seat after he went to open the door.

"Jade!" he exclaimed. "Weren't you supposed to be at some conference for work?"

"Yeah, but thanks to the wonders of corporate America, I ended up getting out early," she spat out sarcastically. She made an exaggerated sniffing motion while taking the black pumps off of her feet. "Why do I smell dessert? You don't cook."

Beck's eyes bugged out in surprise. He tried to act nonchalant as she stood up straight to make eye contact with him. Jade stared at him expectantly. "Um, um," he was suddenly struck by an idea. "Actually, I have a surprise for you," he smiled. "Come on out!" he called out.

He and Cat hadn't confirmed stories, but they would be able to piece something together. After all, neither one had mentioned the unexpected reunion to anyone, and only her family knew that she was in Chicago. Cat didn't feel too confident about telling others, worried that they would jinx her chances of getting a new job, so she temporarily cut off all social contact with friends other than letting them know that she was out of town if they incessantly messaged her.

Cat took a deep breath and smoothed out her pale pink lace dress as she walked out with an apprehensive smile on her face. Jade screamed in surprise and threw her briefcase on the ground as she ran to hug her best friend.

"What are you doing here?" Jade asked after releasing Cat from the embrace.

"I'm looking for a job," she responded. It was so nice to know that her best friend was still excited to see her, but it also made her wonder how she could justify not having told her that she had been here for the past month.

"What happened to the job you had?"

"The administration was a total mess, and a lot of teachers quit in the middle of the year because they were trying to punish us for the kids not scoring well on state exams."

Jade clicked her tongue sympathetically. "So, when did you get here?" she asked while motioning for Cat to come sit beside her on the couch.

Beck interrupted from behind them. "She's been here for a week, but we bumped into each other, like, two days ago maybe."

The raven-haired beauty yelled at both of them angrily. "AND YOU BOTH DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME?"

Cat cringed in fear, but Beck came around to sit beside his wife and take control of the story. "She wanted to surprise you, but I told her you'd be busy until tomorrow. Since the both of us were going to be alone for the night, we decided to just hang out and talk. I asked Cat to make me something, since I haven't had her addictive mini-desserts in a long time."

Jade seemed to accept the story wholeheartedly and headed into the kitchen, stating how happy she was that she ended up coming home early. Beck placed his hand on Cat's shoulder as the two of them followed, reassuring her that they were safe.

They couldn't always be that lucky, though. The musical success, Andre Harris, came to Chicago to meet up with a writer who he was interested in working with. He walked through the crowded airport, trying to coordinate a lunch date with Beck and Jade via a phone call to Jade, only to find out that Cat was also in town. The four had lunch together, the cracks in Jade and Beck's marriage beginning to show as the two bickered throughout.

Cat and Andre had both thrown sympathetic glances towards Beck. He smiled and took them in, not backing down, but telling Jade to calm down and not make mountains out of molehills. He chuckled and kissed her head, indicating their momentary peace to Andre and Cat. The two were left staring in awe – surely Beck had to be a magician; how was he able to deal with Jade so well?

Later that day, Cat cancelled her plans to take Andre to see the Chicago Art Center because of a phone call to schedule an unexpected interview that afternoon itself. Andre brushed it off, relishing the opportunity to take a relaxing walk on his own downtown.

Cat, shielding her body from the breeze with a beige trench coat, ran into the elementary school at 3:30, almost missing her interview time. This one went alright, but again, her red velvet hair and desire to treat the kids as kids and not score-producing machines did not bode over well with the principal and 4th grade head. The optimistic woman came outside the office to see Beck sitting in one of the waiting chairs.

"Beck!" she exclaimed happily, hugging him as he got up. The tan-skinned man, unchanged from his lunch outfit earlier that day of a dark red dress shirt and black slacks, greeted her with a long kiss. "Hehe, we match," Cat chuckled, pointing to her hair and his shirt after the kiss. Beck shook his head at her antics. "What are you doing here" she asked curiously.

Beck kept his arm around her waist as he led her out. "Jade's not the only one in the family who gets off work early. I thought I'd come see you." He rubbed his hand against her waist as he explained, "You, my dear, left your phone with me last night, and I have an urgent phone call to deliver to you that I couldn't say in front of everyone else, you know, without getting them suspicious."

Cat stopped and stared at him expectantly. The excitement in her eyes glinted even amongst the dreary weather and Beck whispered to her, "You got the job at Keane Lake Elementary."

"Eek! Yippee!" Cat yelped. She jumped into his arms, and he spun her around. He placed her down on the ground and gifted her with another kiss. She grabbed onto his black coat as they continued walking. "I am so excited! Beck, I'll be living here and I'll have a job teaching kids. I'll be here with you."

Beck grinned and then turned his expression more serious. "But Cat, they want you to teach kindergarten. The guy who left the message said that he thought you'd be more suited to younger kids."

Cat nodded. "I don't care. I don't care! Everything worked out just as I wanted it to."

The two stopped in front of an intersection and held onto each other tightly, unaware that Andre was at the intersection across the street and had spotted Cat's bright hair. As the light turned green, Beck and Cat walked across the street while Andre remained motionless in shock. The two's touch was far too intimate to just be one of friends.

Beck was the one who spotted Andre first. He turned his head forward after laughing at Cat's zealousness and suddenly stopped. Cat stared at him, confused, before realigning her vision with his. Her face was left with a deadpanned expression. They removed their hands from each other and ran up to Andre.

"Andre! This isn't what it looks like," Beck yelled desperately. He grabbed him by his shoulders as he began walking away in shock. The three of them were standing on the sidewalk, earning plenty of curious glares from the passersby. Andre was still too taken aback to utter a word.

Cat started crying, "Jade's going to kill us."

Andre looked up at Cat disbelievingly, "I wouldn't blame her," he muttered. "How could you both?" Beck breathed heavily listening to Andre's criticism of their actions. "You're parading each other around town, making excuses to get out of plans, and hurting the girl who only trusts you two. Wow, guys."

Beck quickly responded, "This is nothing," pointing to himself and Cat. The naive girl felt a jolt of hurt hearing such a harsh statement come from someone she had released her heart to.

"Jerk," Andre retorted.

"Would you just shut up?" Beck sighed. "Give us a chance to explain."

The furious man folded his arms across his chest. "No explanation could ever be good enough." He left the two standing where they were, clearly broken up by the speed at which things had escalated. They were done for.