Prologue
Cat Valentine led a very simple life. She got good grades in school (even though most people thought she was really ditzy), she was a very nice person, and she was happy. That all changed the day she met Robbie Shapiro at her high school, Hollywood Arts. When she first started talking to him, she thought he was just an awkward boy. He was not.
It started as a simple conversation.
It would not be simple soon enough.
Cat walked up to her normal lunch table where her friends were sitting, eating and laughing. Cat's best friend, Jade West, was sitting on her boyfriend Beck Oliver's lap. Cat's "bear buddy", Andre Harris, was watching Beck tickle Jade with an amused expression on his face. Andre was also Cat's secret crush. Cat ordered her food from the Grub Truck and bounced over to their table. "Hey, Andre!" she said. "Sup, Lil Red?" Cat blushed. She loved when Andre called her that. She squeezed in between Beck and Andre as Jade fell off of Beck's lap. As the laughter died down, their friend Tori Vega walked up with a guy they'd never seen before. "Hey guys this is Robbie Shapiro. He's new at Hollywood Arts," she chirped. "Hi hi!" Cat chattered. "Whatever," Jade grumbled. "Sup," Andre said, slinging his arm around Cat's shoulders. "Yeah, I've seen him around before. You're the one with the puppet, right?" Beck smiled. Jade snickered. A dark look shadowed Robbie's face. "He's not a puppet," he spits. Cat frowned. She didn't understand why he was so rude. "Meow! You're a grumpy sourpuss, aren't you?" Jade chuckled. Tori rolled her eyes. "Jade, leave Robbie alone. He's only been here for a week and he doesn't need his entire school year ruined by the Wicked Witch of the West!" she hissed. "Guys, stop fighting! I would like to be able to eat my lunch without having to see you guys tearing each other's throats out!" Cat growled. Andre smirked. Jade, Beck, Andre and Cat all exchanged a look, then stood up. "Where are you guys going?" Tori asked, frowning. "To see if Sikowitz needs any help," Beck explains. "And anyway, Vega, it's none of your business, so wazz off!" Jade snarls. "Gank," Tori sneers. "Takes one to know one," Jade shot back, then she and the others turned and walked away.
"Sorry about that. They can be irritating sometimes," Tori said. Robbie shook his head. "It's alright. Everyone has a bad day sometimes." Tori smiled. She thought Robbie was a very nice person and wanted to get to know him better. Even though she didn't know anything about him, or his past, she wanted to look away from that and just focus on the positive side. They started talking about their hobbies and what they liked to do in their spare time when Robbie brought up the subject of bullying. "People don't understand me. They think I'm mean or disturbing but I'm really not. And that Cat girl, what's her problem? She looked at me like I was her worst nightmare." Tori rolled her eyes. "She just didn't like when you yelled at Beck. She doesn't like when people get violent." "Well, I'm going to have to change that," he said in a cryptic way, then picked up his things and went to sneakily follow Cat. Tori sat there, trying to figure what the heck had just happened, when she realized that Robbie was going to try to hurt Cat, and quickly texted Andre to warn him.
Andre never got that text.
He had no idea what Robbie was planning to do.
Cat and the others walked into Sikowitz's classroom. She was just glad to get Jade away from Tori. The tension between those two was quite noticeable. Sikowitz looked surprised to see them. "Sikowitz, this is getting so boring. Do you have any group extra credit projects we can do to keep us busy?" Jade complained. "Certainly, Miss West. But no groups. You may work alone or with a partner. What you need to do is make a short film about what goes on in your life. I will show your films in the class that you all are in. But here's the catch." Sikowitz turned to the cubby shelf and picked up an oven mitt. "It must either be due on" he glanced at one side, "Last Tuesday, or this Friday," he flipped the oven mitt over. "That only gives us four days!" Andre protested. "The you'd best start working, Mister Harris," Sikowitz chuckled. Miffed, the gang left the room. "Beck and I are working together on the project," Jade told Cat. "Kay kay! I'll probably work alone," Cat replied. Unbeknownst to her, Andre looked disappointed. Beck and Jade walked away holding hands. "So you're working alone?" Andre shuffled his feet. Cat knew what he was getting at. "Do you want to work with me, Andre?" she asked shyly. Andre broke out into a huge grin. "Of course I do."
Cat was lounging on the couch in her living room eating ice cream when the doorbell rang. Cat's heart fluttered. The sound of the doorbell echoed through the empty house. Her parents had taken her brother to his "special doctor" in Oregon and they wouldn't be back for a few days. Cat jumped up and scampered to the door. She let Andre in and closed the door and locked it. "Where are your parents?" he asked, frowning. "In Oregon with my brother. He had to see his 'special doctor'," Cat chirped. Andre collapsed on the couch and sighed. "So how are we going to do this project? Four days is such a short time!" Andre chuckled at her cute frustrated face. "Don't worry about it right now. Come sit with me, bear buddy," he patted the seat next to him. "Kay kay." she giggled. She plopped down beside him and he smiled at her. She blushed and looked away. "What's your deal, Cat? You never talk to me anymore. You just look away," Andre pouts. "Sorry. I've just been distracted with…stuff." She blushed even deeper. "Tell me," Andre leaned closed to her. "Well, there's this guy that I really like but I know he doesn't like me like that. I just wish things were a little easier, you know? I don't like not knowing what I'm really feeling." Andre was surprised. "Never heard you say so much, bear buddy." "What should I do, Andre? I feel so stupid." Andre had a lot of things he wanted to say but he wanted to make sure he knew who she was talking about. "So do I get to know the mystery guy's name?" Andre smirked, knowing Cat probably wouldn't tell him. Cat suddenly stood and hurried into the kitchen, searching for something. "What are you doing?" She held up a finger and continued searching. She finally pulled out a notepad and pen and bounced back to the couch. She scribbled something down, tore the sheet off, and handed it to Andre. He glanced down at the writing. It said "you". "What about me?" he asked. Cat rolled her eyes and scribbled some more. She tore it off and held it in front of him. It said "you know what I'm talking about". He furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. Then he grinned. Cat looked worried. "Of course I like you that way, silly girl. You're amazing," Andre breathed. Cat sighed, relief flooding her insides. Andre wrapped his arms around Cat's waist and pulled her close. She melted into his warm embrace, then suddenly pulled away. "But I thought you and Tori had a thing," she said timidly. "We're just friends, bear buddy. Don't worry about it."
Cat felt excited for school the next day. She even did her makeup differently, putting more on than she usually wears. She braided her mid-back length red hair, then went to her closet. She picked out a gray tank top with a gray form-slimming flowy top with ribbon that ties in the back, as well as black skinny jeans. She called Jade to make sure she could still give Cat a ride and went outside to wait on the front porch.
The first three periods of the school day passed quickly, and soon it was time for lunch. Cat ordered her food from the Grub Truck and headed to her table. To her surprise, Andre wasn't there. Tori, Robbie, Beck, and Jade were there, though. Cat sat down next to Jade. "Hi Jadey!" she squealed, hugging her best friend. "Hey, Kit-Kat," Jade replied tiredly. "Are you okay?" Cat said, sounding cutely worried. "Yeah, just didn't get much sleep last night." "Aww, I hope you feel better soon!" Jade couldn't help but smile at that. Cat was just so sweet. Cat glanced around the café again, finally spotting Andre. She turned back before he could see her. Before she knew it, Andre placed his hands on either side of her petite waist and squeezed. She squeaked and turned around. Her eyes lit up. "Bear buddy!" He picked her up and twirled her around. "Someone looks happy. Are you guys dating?" Tori said. Cat looked at Andre for confirmation. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. "Absolutely," he told Tori. Cat turned back to her food and was trying to eat when she noticed that Andre was staring at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she said, panicky. "Just a beautiful smile," Andre whispered. He pressed his lips to her cheek and let them linger there before pulling away.
Fourth period was Sikowitz's class, the only class Cat had with Andre this semester. She was disappointed when she found out that Robbie was going to be in their class. She didn't really like Robbie all that much. He was kind of disturbing. She walked into fourth period that day and stopped cold when she saw that someone was sitting in her seat. Robbie.
"Hi, Robbie," she said timidly. "Hello, Cat," Robbie replied coldly. "Umm, you're sitting in my seat." "It's my seat now," Robbie snapped. Cat looked around the room, almost forgetting it was empty except for her and Robbie. "Is there a problem, Cat?" "No, I'm just not used to people being mean to me," she said. "Well, get used to it!" he yelled. He abruptly stood up and walked menacingly towards her. Cat backed up slowly, frightened by what he might do. She backed away until she hit a wall. He towered over her. She pleaded, "Robbie please don't-" but she was cut off when he slapped her hard across the face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pressed her hand to her swelling cheek. Robbie spit on the ground at her feet, then turned around and marched out, shoving Andre out of his way. Andre looked from him to Cat, concerned. "Are you okay?" he said softly, but he didn't get an answer because Cat pushed past him and ran to the bathroom.
Cat stayed in the bathroom for over an hour fixing her makeup and trying to make the swelling in her cheek go down. Finally, she looked normal again, and she headed back to Sikowitz's classroom. Everyone turned to look at her when she opened the door but Sikowitz didn't stop his lecture. She slid into the seat next to Andre and tried to stop sniffling. She pulled her notebook out of her bag and wrote Andre a note telling him everything that had happened. She passed it to him while looking at Robbie, making sure he wasn't watching her.
School didn't feel so safe anymore.