Author's Note: Ayyy! How's it going? Here's another thing... written by me. It's just a fun little idea I had, for, you know... funsies. Don't take it too seriously. Unless you want to. It's different from other stuff I've done because guess what? IT'S LIGHT-HEARTED! Shocking, I know. I can barely believe it myself. Also, I'm taking this opportunity to practise not having ungodly lengthy chapters. 10, 000 words a week is too much work, man. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this thing. That I wrote. For you. Bye!
Disclaimer: There was this show called Victorious which I wrote a Fanfiction for. This is Fanfiction. Why the heck would I be writing Fanfiction if I owned the thing I'm writing Fanfiction for? Silly copyright laws.
"So Tori… I really liked your performance at the Full Moon Jam this week. It was killer." The guy gives a smile across the table at me, and I can't help but blush. He has a cute smile. His name is Jeff and he asked me out just before I went out on stage at the Full Moon Jam. Of course I said yes. He's one of the best break dancers at Hollywood Arts. If there's a guy spinning on his head on the steps near the entrance, it's probably him. Something about being so strong and double-jointed is… attractive.
"Thanks. Maybe next time you can dance on stage with me. I bet we'd make a good team." I grin, twirling a strand of hair in my fingers and trying to look attractive. Is my smile crooked? Are my eyes too squinted? Is my head too tilted? I wish I had a mirror or something to check my… everything.
"I'd like to find out." He winks. Ooh, he's as smooth with talking as he is on the dance floor.
"I thought you've done back up for Shakira. Aren't Hollywood Arts shows a little bit small time for you?" I ask.
"Maybe, but for you I'd make an exception." He smirks. "You're anything but small time."
Oh my.
I don't know what to say, so I just giggle and looking down at my sushi. This is going well. He's cute, talented, nice… definitely not a Ryder. Then again, Ryder seemed cute, talented and nice at first, too…
"So… since I'm not small time, you're not planning on using me for a good grade are you?" I ask with a small smile so he knows I'm not being completely serious. Everyone saw me call out Ryder at that concert, so he knows what I'm talking about. He holds up his hands in defense.
"Hey, they last thing I want is for you to write a song about what a jerk I am. That'd be hard to dance to." He chuckles.
"Just had to check." I assure him.
"Hey, I get it. If you ask me, that guy was a fool. You clearly have way more to offer than a good grade." He winks again. Winking can either be creepy or make me swoon. I'm swooning.
"You sure know how to talk to the ladies, don't you?" I laugh, feeling some butterflies and a faint blush.
"Am I doing well? I usually get tongue tied around the really pr-pribby-PRETTY ones." He forces out with a shy smile. Okay, do they also teach how to be extra cute in those dance classes? How was this guy possibly single?
"You're doing great, trust me." I chuckle, and he beams.
"Great. Want another order of sushi?" He asks, and I nod. He signals one of the Nozu workers over. "Could I get an order of dragon rolls, and my lovely date here would like…"
"Um, avocado cucumber roll." I answer.
"Right away." The waiter says, walking off.
"Oh chiz, I was going to order a green tea, too." I sigh.
"Got distracted?" He asks, raising his eyebrow. I flash him a smile.
"Maybe a little." I admit, looking pointedly at him.
"Well I'll be sure you get a green tea before you leave. It'll be my mission in life." Jeff declares.
"My hero." I chuckle. Suddenly we hear a commotion somewhere in Nozu's off to the side.
"Uh, excuse me Miss! You can't just take those! They're someone else's order… ah, whatever." I hear our waiter groan. That's when a familiar girl with red-velvet hair appears by our table with a tray and our sushi orders. She has her usual large smile on her face.
"Cat?" I blink at her.
"Dragon rolls and avocado cucumber rolls! I figured this was your order, Tori… The avocado cucumber rolls are your favourite." Cat grins.
"Uh, yeah… but why do you have our order?" I ask, eyeing her cautiously. "You don't work here."
"I know. I was here with Robbie, over there." Cat points at him and he waves across the restaurant. I feel a pang of… something. I've always been a little uncomfortable of where their relationship seemed to be heading. Not because I want Robbie of all people, but I just don't think they're good for each other. That's all. "They seemed to be short-handed so I offered to help out."
"But Cat, it seemed like you literally stole-"
"Here you go!" Cat places the trays down in front of us before I can finish my point. She turns to Jeff.
"Hi! I'm Cat!" She smiles.
"I know who you are. You're… that strange girl." Jeff notes. Hey. She's unique, not strange. I mean sure, her personality was not easy to get used to, but you have to appreciate someone who can always have such an innocent outlook.
"Yeah, that's me!" Cat beams. See? Got to admire it. "Are you guys on a date?"
I let out a sigh. Here we go. "Cat, what do you think?" I question. She blinks, staring at us. Then after a moment, she answers slowly.
"…Yes…?"
"That's right." I nod. "Are you on a date?" I ask, secretly hoping to hear a no. Cat looks back at Robbie, and then back at us.
"What do you think?" Cat asks, and I falter a minute. Huh, touché. I guess it's not really that obvious after all.
"Maybe?" I inquire. Cat looks back at Robbie, a slight frown on her face. It's weird to see Cat frown.
"I think he wants to think it's a date." Cat mumbles. I let out an inward sigh of relief. So they're not on a date. That's good. Not so much for Robbie, but… I know he really wants her to think of him as a boyfriend, but even though he would probably get a lot out of dating her, I'm not sure what he has to offer her other than a rude puppet. As much as I love Robbie as a friend, I'm glad she's still resisting his advances. I was a little worried for a while that she was falling for him, too. But hey, if she did, who am I to mess with true love? Even if she is my best friend…
"Oh." Is all I say. She turns back with that smile back on her face.
"Are you enjoying your date?" Cat asks. That's right! I'm on a date. A very nice one that I'd like to get back to!
"I think so." I smile at Jeff, who smiles back. Cat looks between us.
"Don't you think Tori is pretty?" Cat asks Jeff suddenly. If I had ordered my green tea and was drinking it, I probably would have spat it out.
"Uh, yeah. I do." Jeff says awkwardly.
"Me too. She's very pretty." Cat agrees. Then she slides into the booth next to me. Oh no. Not again.
"Cat." I mutter through gritted teeth.
"Did you know Tori doesn't have her license yet?" Cat inquires. I let out a big sigh.
"Well, yeah. But I drove us here so it doesn't matter." Jeff shrugs.
"I'm going to the DMV in two days, Cat." I huff.
"Really, Tori? That's great! I'm sure you'll pass." Cat grins, and then turns back to Jeff. "So you know about her car. What else?"
"Um… she has a great voice…" Jeff trails off.
"That's all?" Cat interrogates.
"Caaat…" I glare.
"Well that's the point of the date. To get to know each other." Jeff states.
"Oh! Right. I'll help! I want to make sure Tori has the best boyfriend ever." Cat insists.
"B…boyfriend?" Jeff stumbles. "I don't think we're there yet."
Cat tilts her head innocently. "That's why I'm going to tell you about her!"
"Cat, please. We were doing fine on our own." I mumble. Sometimes she's too innocent for her own good.
"But what if some things don't come up? Like… did you know Tori is really good at Hamboning?" Cat informs.
"That's a… nice skill." Jeff blinks.
"That's enough, Cat." I start lightly shoving her out the booth, but she stays solid in place and ignores me.
"And one time, I made her into a hamburger…" Cat recalls.
"Does everything with Tori have to do with a word with ham in it?" Jeff ask.
"No, no." I start waving my arms.
"Oh of course not. Tori also has big underwear! That has nothing to do with ham!" Cat exclaims. I nearly smack my head right into my soy sauce dish. I can't believe she's doing this. And maybe she can't either, because I watch her face drop into shock and she suddenly looks uncomfortable. Maybe she's realized how embarrassing she's being. "But… you probably shouldn't have found that out… at least not for a really long time!"
"Ughhh Cat!" I snap. "Jeff, I am so sorry."
"It's… okay." Jeff says, shrinking down a bit. "Listen, I just remembered that um… I had to help my mom with something. I should go. I had a nice time. Uh… call you later?" Jeff stands up, and like a blur he rushes out.
"Wait, Jeff…!" I call out, but he's long gone. I run my hands through my hair and let out a frustrated groan.
"He seems nice." Cat states happily, unaware of what she just caused. "You have to respect a guy who puts his mom first."
"Cat, he wasn't going to help his mom. He just wanted to leave." I grumble.
"Why would someone want to leave a date with you?" Cat asks. I feel my frustration rising as I push past her out of the booth.
"What do you think?!" I snap. But when I look at her and I see her conflicted face, I remember it might not be as obvious to her as it is to me. "Cat, this the third time in the last two months where you've interrupted one of my dates and scared the guy away."
"I just want to make sure you have a good date." Cat frowns, which still looks weird on her. Even though I'm mad at her, part of me wants to see her smile.
"But you keep doing the opposite. I don't need your help, Cat. I can do fine on my own." I huff. Cat stands up, her look a little more serious than I'm used to.
"But you've had bad luck with guys on your own!" She argues.
"Well it's up to me to learn from my bad choice of guys, and I thought I was doing pretty well! Jeff was one of the nicest dates I've had in a while." I state.
"Well he didn't seem much nicer than the others if he split the moment your 'strange' friend made things a little awkward." Cat huffs. I pause a moment. "If he really liked you, wouldn't you think he'd stick around a little longer?"
She has a point, and I hate it. I want to be mad at her for ruining everything, and not letting me figure out things on my own. I don't want to think about her saving me.
"I guess I'll never know now, thanks to you." I mutter. Her face falls, and her frown deepens. I think this is the deepest frown I've ever seen on her face.
"Tori… look…" Cat mumbles.
"Hey, guys, what's going on?" Robbie interrupts us, looking concerned.
"Nothing, Robbie. I was just leaving. I have to help my mom with something." I spit, turning away from Cat.
"Tori, wait! Please don't be mad at me. I was just trying to help." Cat sniffs. I stop and let out a sigh, but I don't turn to her.
"Well, don't. Don't help anymore. Just give me some space." I state, stalking off. I think that's what I need. Space. I love Cat, she's the sweetest thing ever. But it's like most sweet things… if you have too much, you'll get a tummy ache. I'm a little too overloaded on Cat right now.
She sends me some text messages that night about how sorry she is, but I don't reply. I'm committing to this Cat detox. I'm worried our friendship will end if I don't.
The next day we were in our stage crew class in the blackbox. Sikowitz is our teacher, of course. It's our second class of the day, so it's not the first time I saw Cat today. I expected her to maybe bound up to me and hug me as if nothing happened, and I had prepared to remind her I needed some space. But she didn't do that. She didn't even look at me when I came in our first class, like she usually did with a big smile. I missed out on that smile for this class, too. I'm still a little wazzed at her, but I can't help to feel a little empty without her cheerful greetings.
I guess a little withdrawal comes with every detox.
"Okay class!" Sikowitz addresses us. "As you know, one of our mainstages is slated to be put up next. As tradition, this class will take responsibility for the production of a mainstage. This is the one we are scheduled to do! We will be in charge of the set, lighting, sound, and being the stage hands for scene changes. Any questions?" Sikowitz asks. I raise my hand. "Yes, Tori?"
"What about the people who were cast in the play?" I ask. The cast list was put up this morning. I was cast, as was Cat. I hope I feel we've had enough space before we start rehearsing our scenes together.
"Excellent question. Obviously the actors in the play can't act and do crew duties at the same time. If they did, surely the universe would implode." Sikowitz states matter-of-factly. We blink at him. "Students in the play will be assigned to building sets beforehand. You can think of it as a good thing for your acting, too. You get to really build the universe your character lives in!" He exclaims. I nod in agreement. That sounds good to me. "That being said: Tori! Cat! You're both on the set above the stage. Start making wooden clouds, sun, and a moon. I want at least some clouds up on the rafters before the end of class." He announces.
Aw, chiz. It's like the universe doesn't want me to stay away from Cat.
It takes me a moment, but I realize something else about this news bothers me. It's how quiet it was after Sikowitz made the pairing. The rest of the class noticed too, and turned to look at Cat. Usually at the prospect of being paired with anyone, Cat would let out a cheerful 'yay!', but this time she's silent. Curious, I look at her, too. She seems unfazed by the news, a normal dreamy look on her face. She still doesn't look at me.
"Andre, you're on sound. Sinjin, lights. Robbie, Beck and Jade you're stage hands." Sikowitz assigns. Jade's hand shoots into the air.
"Can I be on lights?" Jade asks.
"I thought you'd rather the time on stage. Why would you want to be on lights?" Sikowitz asks.
"Because I want to make sure the spotlight is never on Tori." Jade smirks. I scoff at her. Jade tries to make me miserable on purpose. At least Cat does it by accident. Cat gets points for that.
"No. Now off to your assignments!" Sikowitz orders. Thank god. Jade rolls her eyes and shoves my chair a bit as she walks by. I get up the same time as Cat, and our eyes meet for a moment. I turn away first, heading towards the back of the stage where the wood boards for cutting into clouds are. I hear her sigh. Now's not the time to cave, Tori.
The entire class, we work slowly. We don't communicate the entire time, so often we mess up a cut and have to start over. I can see her glancing at me out of the corner of my eye every so often. So now she looks at me. And it's distracting me from getting my work done even more…
Great, the bell just rang and we only have one cloud cut out.
"Cat, Tori, let's see your progress… oh my." Sikowitz cringes.
"Sorry, Sikowitz. Slow day." I mutter.
"What's the matter with you two? You usually work very well together." Sikowitz comments.
"Not always. Sometimes I don't help very well." Cat mumbles, looking at the ground. I feel a pang of guilt.
"A partnership is both sides helping to complete a task. You both will stay during lunch and get this cloud looking like a cloud and harnessed above the stage. Do we have an understanding?" Sikowitz states.
"What? But Sikowitz…!" I whine.
"This is an important lesson for you two! Show business is on a strict schedule, and sometimes you need to take time from your personal lives to get your job done or everything can fall apart." He leans in close. "And taking a break from whatever happened in your personal life to get the job done. Understand?"
"Yes, Sikowitz." Cat and I say together.
"Excellent. I'm going to go eat a burrito." And Sikowitz prances off. I let out a long breath and look at Cat. She looks at me, and then looks away. I can't tell if she's mad at me or not. She almost seems scared of me… I didn't want that to happen.
"Let's get to work… if we're fast, we can still catch the end of lunch." I state.
"Okay." Cat nods. "We just need to make the cloud all white and then hang it up above the stage, right?"
"Right…" I let out a sigh. "I guess we'll have to use paint, but then we need to wait for the paint to dry before we can attach it to the pulleys. So much for catching the end of lunch." I mumble, heading toward the cans of paint in the corner.
"Um, wait. Tori, I have an idea. If… you'd like to hear it." Cat says in a small voice. I turn to her, and she looks shy. Okay, I know I need a break but I don't want her feeling so uneasy around me.
"Sure, Cat." I nod. She cracks a smile at me in response. That's better.
"I was thinking we could just glue cotton balls on it. It wouldn't take so long to dry, and then the clouds would be white and fluffy." Cat explains. I raise my eyebrows a bit. Cat can be random with her ideas, but sometimes they're on point. "What do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea. But where do we get the cotton balls?" I ask. Her smile widens even more.
"They're up in the storage closet. I remember seeing them when I lived in there. Come bring the cloud." Cat beckons me, a bit more of a bounce in her step.
I follow Cat up and after a minute she comes out of the closet with three large bags of cotton balls.
"That's perfect! Now we just need a way to glue them on." I ponder.
"Got that, too." Cat pulls out a bottle of Grizzly Glue. I hold up my hands, stepping away.
"Whoa, I have bad memories from that." I cringe.
"Relax, I'm not going anywhere near your face with it this time." Cat assures me. "It's just for the cotton balls."
"Okay but… be careful with that." I say cautiously. Cat giggles and takes the wooden cloud from me. Using a paint brush, she spreads a heavy coat of the glue over the cloud and then holds it up in front of me. I give her a questioning look.
"Start throwing cotton balls." Cat orders, and I can't help but smile. I open a bag and the next thing I know, we're laughing as I throw fistfuls of cotton balls at her and the cloud, bunches of them sticking to the sticky surface and others being spat out by Cat as they accidentally hit her in the mouth.
What detox?
Eventually the surface is pretty covered, and we're almost out of cotton balls anyway. Cat places it down by the railing gently.
"Let me just wipe off the ones that didn't stick and get any patches. You can grab the hook and rope, we'll hang it up and get to lunch. Deal?" Cat states.
"Sounds good to me." I smile. She smiles back fondly before turning to the cloud. I watch her as I feel for the rope. Sikowitz was right, we do work well together… when we're talking. And I really enjoyed it. I never really thought about it, but… Cat and I haven't really hung out together for a long time. I missed it, and the energy she brings. I feel really bad for wanting to spend even more time apart from her… I mean, she's nice, always has other's best interests at heart, fun to have around, really pretty…
Like, really pretty. I'm constantly surprised she doesn't have more than Robbie after her… which I'm kind of glad about. Someone as innocent as her might be tricked… I guess I understand her looking out for me on my dates, even if she's overbearing. If anyone ever hurt her, I'd… I'd…
I'm falling.
No, I'm literally falling.
At some point while admiring Cat I leaned against the railing and it gave way. I let out a yelp as I teeter over the edge, my support no longer there.
"Tori!" Cat cries out, rushing from the cloud. In a desperate attempt I twist my body to hopefully grab the ledge, but my chest hits the side of the railing and my breath blows out with a whoosh. Winded and shocked, I feel myself slip from the ledge.
My shoulder tugs painfully as a warm, soft hand is clasped in mine. I'm left dangling over the edge with Cat struggling to hold onto me from the catwalk. I have to take a minute to catch my bearings. That all happened so fast and… Cat just saved me.
"Tori? Are you okay?" Cat asks, her voice sounding strained. I look up and she's laying on the catwalk, bent over at her chest to reach me and keep from serious injury. She would have had to act extraordinarily fast in order to catch me like this.
"I… I think so." I breathe out. "You?"
"Y-yeah." Cat stutters. "You're kind of heavy."
"Hey!" I scoff in spite of myself.
"Not like that! I'm just… weak." Cat mumbles, a strangled gasp bursting from between her lips.
"Can you pull me up?" I shout.
"I'll… try." Cat states, and I hear her grunt as I'm tugged up a little, but she doesn't have enough strength to get me over the ledge. I let a yelp as she drops me down again, but she still has a firm grip of my hand. "I'm sorry, Tori!"
"Oh god." I gasp, looking at the ground. Cat's arm is beginning to tremble under my weight. I think maybe if I fell like this, I could hit the ground feet first and be fine… minus maybe a broken ankle. Or my femurs driving up through my hip bones. "Cat… Cat, this is bad. This is so bad." I whimper.
"Tori." She says firmly, and I rip my eyes from the floor to look up at her red face. "I won't let you go. I promise. I would never let you fall." Cat assures me. We stare at each other in the eyes, and I can't help but believe her.
What is this, Titanic? If it is… I'm screwed.
We hear the blackbox door open, and my heart fills with hope. Beck walks in, seeming like he's looking for something.
"Beck!" Both Cat and I yell. Beck pauses for a moment, glances around, and then spots us when he looks up.
"What the…" He gapes.
"A little help, here." I plead desperately. Beck bounds behind the stage and rushes up the rafters to us. He grabs Cat by the waist and yanks us both up, pulling me to safety. I almost kiss the metal platform once I'm up there, and I'm still clutching Cat's hand for dear life.
"What happened? Were you two just… hanging out?" Beck jokes.
"Very funny." I sigh.
"The railing broke and Tori fell." Cat explains.
"Well that's not safe… I'll be sure to tell maintenance about it so it doesn't happen again." Beck states. He pats Cat on the shoulder. "Good catch, Cat."
"Thanks. I'm just glad Tori's safe." Cat looks at me with a smile, and I smile back. My little hero. Now I feel even worse about yelling at her and shutting her out. She reaches her arm around to hug me, and I return her hug. I go to release my hand so I can give her a full hug… but Cat doesn't let my hand go. Cat pulls away slowly, a horrified look on her face.
"Um, Cat, you can let go of my hand now." I assure her, wiggling my fingers. She stares at me, her face going paler by the second.
"No, I… I can't." Cat breathes. I blink at her.
"Cat, we're fine now." I promise her.
"No, no we're not." She groans, and I feel her hand tug at mine. "I think I got some Grizzly Glue on my hand, the same hand-"
"-you used to catch me." I finish, my eyes wide. I grip her wrist with my other hand and try to pull away, but my hand doesn't move. "Oh my god."
"What? Let me see." Beck kneels down beside us and tries to run a finger between our palms, but it's solid. He tries to pry them apart, but we both just hiss in pain. He drops our hands. "Sorry, guys. It's dried. You're stuck." He sighs.
Cat and I stare at each other wide-eyed.
Well, so much for giving each other space.
Author's Note: BAM! Story concept! How do you like that? Intrigued? Like I said, I thought it'd be fun. I think there was a Family Guy episode like this... Whatever. This is the Cori version, and I hope you guys like it.
Let me know if you want more in a review! Or if you like the idea, or if you just want to say hi, or do whatever you want to do. I'm cool with it. Cat and Tori will have some... interesting experiences with this situation. They'll probably grow closer because of it, too. Maybe. I don't know, it's under the "Romance" category with "Cori" in the description so really, who knows?
Fun Fact: This story concept came to me in a dream, except in the dream it was a Sikowitz assignment where Cat and Tori had to hug all day while they went on a class trip. I tweaked the idea a little because my subconscious is strange.