Not My Type
Summary: Sometimes, you just don't see it coming. Tandre.
AN: I honestly never thought I'd write a Tandre fic. Like. I just…never saw them together. Like everyone else, though, the Bad Roommate made me raise my eyebrow and take a glance back at their previous interactions. Turns out, it could actually work. So here we go! Not a super interesting or original plot, but I don't have time to brainstorm on my lunch break.
Andre POV
I think I'm a rational man. I'm smart, I don't get overly emotional, and I'm quick on my feet. It's just one of the traits you pick up when you're pretty much the only one taking care of your elderly grandmother—who just happens to have severe dementia and a mild case of schizophrenia.
So that's why I'm surprised by the pounding in my chest as I watch my best friend (who just happens to be a girl) perform one of the songs I'd written for our Winter Formal. It might seem weird to most that my best friend is a girl, but it's not really something I had a lot of control over. From the moment we met we had a weird sort of connection. It wasn't attraction—though Tori's definitely a beautiful girl—it was more like we were…kindred spirits. Soul mates. I don't know how to explain it without it sounding like a cheesy romance novel, but she was the first person in my life I'd ever felt really comfortable with after exchanging only a few words.
Don't get me wrong—Beck is still my best bro, but we weren't friends right away. In fact, we practically hated each other. Back in middle school we had what had to be one of the worst (or best, depending on how you looked at it) fights of my life. I'm embarrassed to say that it was over a girl who in the end we both realized wasn't worth half the effort we were putting into one upping each other. We laughed about the whole thing over sushi, and from that day on, we were tight.
My attention is shifted from my thoughts as Tori starts in on the chorus, and without even realizing it, I'm smiling. She sings it better than I ever imagined, though I really shouldn't have expected anything less from her. From her first performance she'd been amazing, and with each new song, she gets better and better. It was almost hard to believe that she hadn't started seriously singing until last year.
"Dude, stare a little harder why don't you," a low, amused voice says from my right. I glance over to see Beck grinning at me with a knowing smile, bright blue cup of suspicious orange liquid in hand.
"I didn't know watching my friend perform was a crime," I retort, sliding my eyes back up to Tori.
"It is when you're looking at her like a piece of steak."
I laugh a little too loudly at his comment and wave him off with my hand. "She's not my type, you know that."
Beck nods and absentmindedly runs his fingers through his hair, drawing the attention of the two girls next to us. I've never told anyone, but the real reason I grew my hair out was so that I use a similar trick to pick up girls. Being black and all, my hair didn't naturally fall into gorgeous cascading waves like Beck's did, but I could at least pull off dreads or braids with fairly decent success. "So you've said. Why isn't she again?"
"I told you. She's too skinny. You know I like girls with a little meat on their bones. Plus, you know how crazy she can be. I don't know if I could handle two crazy chicks in my life."
A choked laugh escapes Beck's throat. "Really? Those are you reasons?" When I nod, he shakes his head. "First of all, Tori's already in your life. The only thing that would change is-you know," he says, smirking and raising an eyebrow. "Second, so what? Since when has tits ever mattered to you? I thought you were all about a girl's inner beauty and talent and all that."
I snort and roll my eyes, staring pointedly over Beck's shoulder at the girl stomping in our direction. "Easy for you to say. Jade always looks like she's smuggling cantaloupes."
"What are you guys talking about?" Jade asks in a tone that sounds just a little too sweet.
Beck and I exchange glances, fitting an entire conversation into one second. "Andre says the punch has pineapple in it. What do you think, babe?"
Jade practically snatches the cup out of his hand and takes a sip, eyes rolling upwards in consideration. "There's definitely pineapple in this. What's wrong with your tongue?" She pushes the cup back at her boyfriend and fully turns to face me. "Now can we get back to talking about your crush on Vega?" My face morphs into what must be shock since the dark-haired girl's smirk widens as she leans even closer. "Don't look so surprised. I could tell by the way you were staring at her. Should I serve her with a side of spinach and potatoes?"
"What is it with you two and steak? And can you just drop it? I don't like Tori."
Beck sighs with exasperation and wraps his arm around his girlfriend. "Why're you so against it?"
"Maybe because she's a troll," Jade mumbles, earning herself dual glares from me and Beck.
Fed up, I throw my hands up into the air. "I don't have a crush on Tori, alright?!"
Unfortunately, the song had just ended, so my voice carries over the entire parking lot. My eyes shoot up to Tori, and I'm unsurprised to see her gaping back at me.
Not for the first time I'm glad that my skin didn't show when I'm blushing, otherwise I'm sure I'd have been the color of a fire engine. I can hear the snickers of my classmates around me, and turning on my heel, I shove my way through the crowd. I don't particularly have a destination in mind, but I do know that I want to be as far away from everyone as possible. I just faintly hear someone calling my name, but it's hard to hear over the blood pounding in my ears.
The school is deserted for the most part, so it's easy for me to speed through the hallways towards the double front doors.
To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm so embarrassed about. I've liked plenty of girls over the years-girls arguably hotter than Tori. Hell, I've dated girls hotter than Tori. Maybe I'm embarrassed because she's different. Maybe it's because I already know everything about her and feel intimidated by how amazing she is, or maybe it's just because I don't want to lose my best friend.
I reach the doors in another couple of seconds and fling them open-only to see Tori standing directly in my path. Her arms are crossed and her eyebrow is raised in an expression I've seen far too many times since we've met, and the only sign I can see that she'd rushed to beat me here is the slight heaving of her chest.
"Tori," I mumble, eyes focusing on the poster next to her head.
"Andre."
We stand there for an awkward couple of minutes, and when it becomes apparent that I'm not going to explain myself, she sighs and takes a step closer to me. "What was that about?"
I shrug slightly and continue staring at the poster. "Nothing, just something dumb Beck and Jade were saying."
Tori tilts her head slightly, unknowingly endearing herself to me even more. "Oh yeah? What were they saying?"
A small sigh escapes my lips. I knew she'd ask, but I didn't think she'd be so straightforward about it. I have to either answer her now or spend the rest of my life running from her-or at least until she gets tired of asking, which wasn't very likely since Tori could be like a bulldog when she wanted to know something. At that moment, I know what I'm going to do. Squaring my shoulders, I turn my head to stare Tori straight in her eyes. "They were saying that...that I like you." The words come out easier than I expect, and I quickly glance away when I see her eyes widen.
The silence in the hallway is deafening, and I'm once again relieved that there's no one else around. I'm too afraid to see her expression, but at the same time, I'm dying to know what she thinks.
"Well, do you?" she asks a minute later, leaning forward by the slightest amount.
I sigh loudly and move to step around her, but she quickly blocks my path. It's almost funny since she's a hundred and five pounds with a five pound steak in her stomach, so she probably couldn't even stop a ten year old let alone a fully grown man like me. I don't want to touch her, though, so I shrug my shoulders and answer. "What do you think?" I grumble, wishing I could sink into the floor.
Tori laughs slightly, and I'm not sure whether to smile or wince. "Well, I sure hope you don't. If you do, I might actually admit that I like you too, and then we'd end up dating."
Her words take awhile to register, but once they do, I snap my head up to look at her. "Wait, what?"
Tori rolls her eyes, takes a step forward, and leans her head up just enough to press her lips against mine.
I don't mean to be overdramatic, but the kiss is everything I thought it'd be and more. I can't tell if she's an amazing kisser or if I'm just biased, but it is easily the best kiss I've ever had in my life. It was soft yet forceful, hard but gentle, full of both love and intense desire...I couldn't even explain it, to be honest. It felt like it was days-weeks-before we broke apart, both of us panting slightly as we stared at each other.
"Oh," I manage to mumble out after a few seconds, lips still tingling. My heart is hammering against my ribcage, and my legs feel like warm jello-which if you know anything about jello isn't a good thing.
She laughs slightly at my expression, which I imagine must be pretty funny. A light dusting of red is easily visible on her prominent cheekbones, and I'm suddenly struck with the urge to pinch them. "I just put myself out there and kissed you and all you can say is 'Oh'? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't-"
I don't let her finish her sentence and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. I kiss her with all of the feeling I can muster, returning her feelings and adding all of my own.
"Much better," she breathes when we break apart for the second time, eyes slightly unfocused as she smiles up at me.
I smile back, unable to believe that I'd actually kissed the girl of my dreams.
"So, what's this about me not having enough meat on my bones?"
AN: Okay, that was a lot harder to write than I thought it was going to be. 'Last time I try to do something without a plan' I say as I start the next one the exact same way.