Here's To Us

By PD31
Disclaimer: I still don't own iCarly, Victorious, any of the episodes or any of the characters.
Rating: T
Pairings: Established Teddie (Tori/Freddie) and established Bade (Beck/Jade).
Summary: Sequel to Freddie Goes To Hollywood. After the gang finish their time at Hollywood Arts they move on to new things. For Tori, Beck and Jade not only does this mean joining Freddie as UCLA but also becoming his house-mates.

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the sequel to Freddie Goes To Hollywood! I hope you are all well and are at least familiar with the original story (if not it can be found in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section).

Chapter 1

430 Dalehurst Avenue, Los Angeles, California

Thursday, 23rd August 2012.

Victoria 'Tori' Vega sighed with fatigue as she glanced around the room that she and Fredward 'Freddie' Benson would be sharing from now on. She mopped her brow with the back of her hand before drying the hand on her jeans, frowning slightly at the amount of dust her hand picked up from the fabric and silently feeling happy that she had had the foresight to wear an old, worn and faded pair for the task of moving her stuff across town.

"You ok?" her boyfriend of a little over a year asked from the doorway.

"Yeah," she confirmed wearily as she smiled over her shoulder at him, "it's just… Freddie, where did all this stuff come from? I had one room at mom and dad's, you had half a dorm room and we seem to have taken up most of the house – and that's without the others bringing their things."

'The others' in question were Beck Oliver and Jade West, who would be sharing the small house with the couple during their time at UCLA; Tori, Beck and Jade were due to start in September, while Freddie would be entering his sophomore year there. Tori was surprised by a soft laugh coming from right behind her, immediately followed by a pair of muscular arms encircling her waist from behind and a chin resting gently on her left shoulder.

"I know the feeling; I couldn't believe how much stuff I brought with me from Seattle last year and had no idea where I was going to put it all. At least I haven't really added to it over the last year – and we're not taking up too much of the house; Jade wouldn't like that," he chuckled.

"Freddie?" she asked with a hint of fear in her voice, "do you think it will all work out? The four of us living here together I mean," she elaborated; she had no doubts over taking the step to move in with the boy, she had loved every minute of the past year that she had spent with him, but living with the other couple as well threatened to be a trying experience for all concerned.

"Shh," he whispered, rubbing her stomach gently through her T-shirt in an attempt to pacify and calm her, "this is college; I was thrown together with people I didn't even know and we all work it out in time. Everything will be fine; you've got a head-start in that you already know all your housemates."

"I guess," she conceded weakly before turning her head slightly to steal a kiss from his lips. Before she knew it she had turned around completely and they stood in one another's arms trading gentle kisses.

"Quit it love-birds, there'll be time for that later," came a teasing call from the doorway; Jade stood there leaning against the frame with her arms folded across her chest and a satisfied grin on her face.

"Jade!" Tori called, rushing over to pull the girl into a reluctant hug, "we weren't expecting you guys back for a couple more days."

"Beck has an audition tomorrow so he needs to stay for a couple more days and needed time to prepare for it, so I figured I'd just head back early," she shrugged. To Freddie's eyes the gothic girl, today wearing purple hair extensions in her shoulder-length dark brown hair, seemed a little uncomfortable discussing her actor boyfriend but he kept his counsel for now, preferring to enjoy the sight of her squirming as his girlfriend engulfed her and smiling at the two former rivals.

"I love the new look," he commented approvingly.

"Thanks," the girl answered in mild surprise; her hair was a little shorter than it had been, around shoulder-length, and also a lighter brown than they were used to seeing, though she still wore the light green extensions in it. "Just you two here?" she enquired with a hint of surprise as she looked around over Tori's shoulder at the bedroom that was fast taking on the identity of its occupants as they unpacked their things, "I thought your parents would be here to help," she commented to her fellow former Hollywood Arts student.

"They're busy," Tori supplied, a little cautiously as she released the other girl. "Still trying to get everything back to normal after… what happened."

The Vega parents were talking again regularly and almost 'dating' again; Mr Vega had not yet reached a position where he felt able to move back into the family home following his wife's infidelity but they were both hopeful that they were moving towards a position where they would get back together properly. Both Tori and her older sister Trina were glad to hear the news and hoping that the full reconciliation would happen soon.

"So do you have all your stuff with you?" Tori asked her friend.

"Pretty much; obviously I can leave quite a bit at mom's for the time being and get it when I need it but I got most of it. Good to see you left me some space in the kitchen, Vega," she half-joked, causing Tori to roll her eyes a little.

"Those two are going to argue a lot over the next few weeks," Freddie commented after the newcomer had retreated to the Master bedroom, which she and Beck would be sharing.

"How come?" Tori asked curiously.

"Because I doubt either of them particularly hurries in the bathroom on a morning," he commented airily. "In fact it wouldn't surprise me if Beck spent longer grooming himself than she did," he finished with a shrug, causing Tori to chuckle at his comment.

"You could have a point; at least you don't take too long."

"And if you're taking too long," he grinned wickedly, "I've no problems about just getting in the shower with you to save time."

"I wouldn't mind that," Tori shrugged casually, "but I don't think it would end up saving much time," she finished with a laugh.

"You could well be right," he conceded and they kissed again. Jade rolled her eyes and tutted quietly when she saw that they were still kissing as she walked by the room a few minutes later as, having unpacked her first case, she heading off to collect her next box.

The dark-haired beauty didn't really mind witnessing the other couple's private and slightly intimate displays of affection; in truth she was pleased to see her friends so happy and very much in love. It did, though, make her question her own romantic situation a little, wondering about the scarcity of such displays between her and Beck in recent weeks. It was something, she resolved, that she needed to be more proactive with upon his return, either initiating a few more PDAs or at least talking about it with him.

"Hey, do you need a hand?" She turned at the sound of Freddie's voice as the boy hovered just behind her as she opened the trunk of her car.

"You got sick of making out?" she asked teasingly, casting a wicked smirk in Tori's direction as her fellow brunette watched from the house's front door; the girl had removed her glasses as they kept threatening to slide down her increasingly sweat-slicked nose.

"No, just thought that you could use some help with everything," he said airily.

"That'd be great, if you could grab one of the boxes, I'll take the other. Tori, can you shut the trunk behind us?" she called; the lighter-brunette nodded and made her way over to join them, closing and locking up the car before following them to the Master bedroom where they set the boxes down.

"You want a coffee before you unpack?" Tori offered her friend.

"Do you really need to ask," she joked; the three headed to the kitchen and began preparing their drinks. Tori, in particular, was thankful of the break as she had been busy for most of the day unloading all of her things. Freddie had moved the bulk of his stuff in earlier; the end of the previous tenants' let had coincided with the ending of his own on the UCLA campus so he had simply packed up and left most of his things in the new house, only taking clothing and a few valuable or personal items (such as his computer) with him to the Vegas' home, where he had spent the summer with his girlfriend, her sister and their mother.

"How was your summer then Jade?" he asked the black-clad girl; they hadn't seen as much of one another as they had expected due to the former Hollywood Arts students all having rather busy schedules as they sought to capitalise on their tutelage and become established in the entertainment industry.

"It's been pretty good. It started with Beck, mom and I going to Cancun for a few days just to relax after everything after sending out resumes; obviously we had cell phones with us in case anybody tried to get in touch about them."

"Any luck?" Freddie interjected.

"I got a small part in a commercial and a 'background scenery' extra part in a new sitcom. Not as much as I'd have liked but a start. André tried to help," Tori raised her head a little at this note, "he invited me to the studio and got me to sing back-up on one of the tracks he was making. They said all the right things afterwards but haven't called back."

Her fellow brunette nodded. "That's where I got lucky; obviously I'm already signed to RPX so I was down there quite a bit, sometimes working with André, sometimes with some of the other guys there while we put my album together."

"Right, it's out soon isn't it?" Jade asked, working hard to keep her voice pleasant; as pleased as she was for her friend, it was difficult to keep the resentment from her tone that Tori had made it already and she was still trying to get her foot in the door.

"Soon, yes but…" Tori's voice got a little higher and more enthusiastic at this point; the other two turned to her curiously, particularly Freddie with whom she hadn't yet discussed this, something that slightly surprised him given that he thought she would tell him everything about her career, "we still need one more song for it, they wanted a duet and I suggested you," she finished by pointing her right index finger playfully towards the other girl.

"Me?" Jade was stunned by the news.

"I wanted someone I knew I could work with, I already know that our voices work great together," both girls shuddered a little and Freddie's brow darkened as the three recalled (second-hand in his case) the night that two guys tried to hit on them when they were hanging together celebrating a successful performance in one of their school productions the previous year, "and…" she smiled, "I wanted to give my friend a chance to show the world what she can do."

Jade was almost at a loss for words. "Thank you," she managed to get out.

"You're welcome, you deserve the chance to get noticed," Tori replied sincerely.

"They're really ok with you picking an unknown?"

"They suggested a couple of people but I asked for you. André backed me up and the guys who had heard you sing back-up for him championed you as well, so they said yes." Jade smiled gratefully at the news.

"I guess Trina was disappointed that you didn't suggest her," Freddie commented playfully. His girlfriend shuddered at the thought.

"I haven't told her about this; I figured it was safer not to, leave her on the Spanish Language Channel with her comedy show and let her work on her acting."

"It's probably safer not to mention it to her then," Jade agreed. "Anything else that you guys have been doing this summer?"

"Well obviously I've been at the studio nearly all summer," Tori answered, fatigue creeping back into her voice, "trying to get this album done. Hopefully it will be done before school starts, depending on you now," she smirked at Jade who returned it with interest. "My agent called a couple of times with offers of small parts in a couple of shows and he's in negotiations with the networks about them; none of them have actually been finalised yet but hopefully they'll happen – it's all profile as we said. He even whispered something about a movie part but that would be months away with the weekend gigs and everything else planned."

"Sounds like you've got it made," her fellow brunette observed.

"I hope so, and I hope I can give you and maybe Cat, if she wants, a bit of a leg-up as well. Hey, someone's got to help so it may as well be a friend," she smiled.

"Speaking of her, what is up with Cat; I've not heard much from her at all this summer."

"Uh last time I called her she told me that she'd moved in with her grandmother before we graduated; how did I not know that?" Tori wondered aloud.

"I think you were preoccupied with the anthem and the dog," Jade reminded her, grinning wickedly.

"Right," the Platinum Music Award headliner dragged out. "Anyway she's been living there, there's no sign of her parents coming back from… Idaho?" Jade nodded her confirmation, "anytime soon. I think she's looking at getting somewhere else to live when she joins us here and is looking for a room-mate."

"Neither André nor Robbie would really be suitable," Freddie noted thoughtfully, "so it's likely to be someone she won't really know if she does go down that route."

"Well we'll be there to vet them anyway," Jade declared forcefully, "I'm not having her live with some psycho." She drained the last of her coffee, placed the mug in the sink and headed back upstairs to focus on unpacking.

"You need any help with the boxes?" Freddie offered.

"Thanks," Jade smiled gratefully, "but I'll be good from here, you two go back to what you were doing earlier," she waved them away playfully then she added in a light voice, "and lock the door just in case!"

"Jade," Tori groaned but Freddie started chuckling again.

"Sounds like good advice to me," he noted, wrapping an arm around his girl again and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Well I guess it is a new bed," his girlfriend commented, making a play of trying to rationalise things. Freddie's arm slid down her side and he interlaced his fingers with her, leading her gently out of the Master bedroom. The darker haired girl shook her head and smiled as the couple left; the smile dropped just a fraction as she heard the lock click on the room next door, followed by a tell-tale giggle from her one-time rival. She crossed the room to put as much distance between herself and their room as she could, sitting on the bed and swallowing down her frustration; again it wasn't that she was upset that Tori and Freddie were so happy, she just couldn't help but compare their relationship to her own with Beck – and was coming rapidly to the conclusion that they compared rather unfavourably at this moment in time. She sighed as she tried to put her concerns out of her mind, returned to the task in hand, opened the first box and looked around her new home.

Maybe it's just that we've been together longer, she speculated. Some of the spark's died down a bit; we just need to work on it and get it back – starting when he comes back and moves in here.

Friday, 24th August 2012.

The three sat around the table having a late breakfast; for Freddie and Tori their late rising had been due to them enjoying spending a lazy morning kissing and cuddling in bed, secure in the knowledge that they had nowhere to be particularly urgently (Tori and Jade would be heading to the studio after lunch to go over the details of their duet, Freddie had an afternoon shift at the Pear Store; he had been signing up for as many as he could while Tori was busy working too). For Jade it had been a bit of a different story; the darker brunette had had difficulty in getting to sleep, tossing and turning a little with the thoughts of her boyfriend and their relationship. She had been expecting a call from him the previous evening with news of how his audition had gone so she had been upset, and a little worried, by the fact that she had not heard from him at all wither last night or this morning.

So it was a surprise to the girl, and her new house-mates, when a rattle of a key in the front door lock was accompanied by it opening and a familiar voice calling out, "Hey guys!"

"Beck!" Jade called, smiling at the sound of him. "We're in here," she informed him.

"Hey," he repeated when he entered the kitchen and saw the three sat at the table. Both Freddie and Tori were a little surprised at his appearance; his hair was a little longer even than it had been in his High School days, it was slightly slicked back as well.

"How did it go? I thought you'd call me," his girlfriend gabbled, standing and pulling him into a hug.

"Sorry, the audition overran and after they took me out to celebrate, we got in late then I had the early flight this morning and – what?" he finished curiously at the broad smile on her face.

"Celebrate? You got the part? That's awesome!" she enthused, planting a kiss on his lips and hugging him again.

"Yes, yes it is," he agreed a little too cautiously as the other two added their own congratulations.

"What's the problem?" Freddie asked in surprise.

"The series is filmed in Vancouver," he explained patiently, "it means that I'll have to be up there regularly over the next few months; I'm not going to be around much on weekends – fly up Friday lunchtime and fly back Monday on the red-eye after an intense weekend of filming." He eyed Jade regretfully. "It means we won't get too much time together with school and whatever else is going on."

The girl nodded; it was disappointing for her to learn that they would get even less time together, especially when she'd have to live with a very happy couple in Freddie and Tori, but he couldn't be expected to turn down such a great opportunity to star in his own series fresh from High School. Jade pulled back from him a little to gaze into his eyes. "I'm proud of you," she told her boyfriend.

"Thanks," he smiled back before casting his eye over the three teenagers. "Ok, I called by the RV and my parents' place and picked up my stuff; is there any room for it all in here?" he asked lightly.

"I think we saved you a corner somewhere," Freddie joked back.

"I'll get moved in then," the actor replied, heading back out to get his things.

AN: Ok that's the first chapter of this story; I hope you enjoyed it. Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought and I'll see you soon for the next chapter.