we're almost here again
summary: Don't let time forget me. Or, the gang after high school.
disclaimer: Victorious isn't mine, yo.
a/n: done to the style of iloveyou123's fic, called "me and you setting in a honeymoon". therefore, it is also dedicated to her. because she's amazing, and because she asked me to write this. also, this contains sexual themes, slash, and drugs.
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cat/jade
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Jade sees the red hair at an audition for a Broadway play and automatically knows it's Cat, with her electric eyes and her excited smile and her lovely body, the temple that Jade knows inside and out (even if she hasn't seen her since high school, she bets she still remembers where to touch, kiss, feel). She hasn't touched anyone like that in a long time, hasn't bothered even finding a boyfriend since she and Beck broke up in their freshman year of college.
She hums to herself, thinking. Then, Jade stands, struts to the other end of the theatre, and touches Cat's shoulders.
Cat jumps, startled. Turns around. Her mouth drops, her eyes widen; then she's screaming at the top of her lungs and tackling Jade to the floor.
Cat still smells like strawberry lip gloss. Jade feels like she's alive again.
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robbie/tori
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They see each other again at their high school reunion, after Robbie accidentally steps on Tori's foot on his way to the punch bowl.
She's in her mid-thirties and still as beautiful as ever; time treated her well. Her hair is long, shiny, and the only wrinkles Robbie can see are the ones around her eyes when she smiles. Her lips are lush, and she's a little curvier; from childbirth, no doubt.
"Hey, Robbie." She smiles at him, gesturing to the punch bowl and stepping back for him to get by.
"Hey," Robbie answers, still kind of shocked that someone like Tori Vega still remembers his name after so many years. He steps to the table, then turns, smiling, "Would you like some punch?"
She raises her brow, amused, "Yes, thank you. I'm parched."
They end up talking at a table in the back for the next three hours. Robbie learns that she's been married and divorced, has two children, and works as a realtor. And for the first time in his life, he feels like Tori Vega is somewhat in reach.
Maybe he has a chance this time.
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beck/trina
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She gives him a lap dance in the back room of some sleazy club, while he's so drugged up on cocaine that he can't walk straight.
"Come for me, baby," Trina whispers in his ear, sliding her hips over the tent in his pants, "Come on, babe." Her hands grip his shoulders; she attaches her lips to his, tastes cheap champagne and fear and maybe a little bit of loneliness.
His fingers tangle in her hair, kisses her so desperately that she almost feels bad about taking advantage of him. Once or twice, it crosses her mind that he won't remember who she is in the morning – the sister of the girl he couldn't have in high school. She'll remember, though; Beck Oliver, high, drunk, horny.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
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andré/cat
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André gets a call on Valentine's day from none other than Cat Valentine, herself.
"Happy Valentine's day!" She cries through the receiver. André blinks, then grins, imagining Cat's eyes, Cat's smile, Cat on the other end of the line.
"Hey, Little Red! You, too!" He answers once he finds his voice, tugging a piece of hair away from his face. "How have you been?"
"Pretty good. I've been calling everyone in the phonebook!" She announces, her voice crackling through the receiver.
André raises his eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because, it's Valentine's day!" Cat says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "My last name is Valentine, so it's my job to tell everyone."
"…I don't think that's how it works," André says, "You don't – "
He gets cut off, "Darn it! I'm three minutes behind schedule. Sorry André, I have to go! There are a lot of people I still have to get a hold of!"
She hangs up before André can say another word.
He'll text her later.
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jade/tori
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Turns out, Tori Vega ends up running a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan, and Jade West just happens to go inside when she's running late for work and she doesn't have time to walk an extra block away to buy a Skybucks.
When they lock eyes, they both freeze.
Then, "I don't have time for a coffee this morning."
Jade spins on her heel, pushes open the door, and walks out.
The bell tinkles cheerily behind her.
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beck/robbie
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Robbie is waiting at the end of a check-out line at Belk's when a pair of arms wraps around him from behind and a chin is placed on his shoulder. He jolts, accidentally knocking the unknown person in the chest, and earning a quick grunt as he disentangles himself from the arms around him.
"Dude, what the hell? I was trying to be friendly and you elbow me in the chest?" Beck Oliver asks, running a hand over toned muscles and looking at him with feigned hurt.
"Well, dude," Robbie says sourly, crossing his arms over his chest, "You shouldn't have scared me like that!"
"Harsh." Beck grins, stands up straight; he's still taller than Robbie, and bigger, and still twice as handsome. It's like high school all over again; a nerd standing around with the most popular guy in school. Robbie feels jealousy build up inside of him.
"Hey," Beck murmurs, softening, touching Robbie's shoulder, "I'm sorry, dude. But I saw you, and I guess I missed you." He winks; Robbie hides a smile and rolls his eyes, instead, turning around to pay for his purchases.
Beck doesn't ask him to wait for him by the door, but Robbie does, anyways, the bag hanging off of his wrist and his arms crossed. He arrives a minute later, and Robbie starts to leave, but Beck grabs his arm, holds him there without using any strength. Robbie turns. Stares.
When no one is looking, Beck kisses him square on the mouth, fingers holding Robbie's jaw steady, his other hand snaking around Robbie's waist, warming his lower back. He pulls away and licks his lower lip subconsciously. Robbie is shaking, his hands somehow fisted in Beck's shirt.
"You – You said…" Robbie can't finish his sentence. Beck leans forward, kisses him again.
"I promise it'll be different this time, Robbie." He pauses, breath hot on Robbie's mouth, the smell of peppermints tickling Robbie's nose, "I'm not scared anymore."
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cat/trina
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Tori and her husband host a New Year's Party at their place and invite everyone they know to come.
It's loud and crazy and, to be honest, Cat feels a little overwhelmed. She sneaks upstairs and searches for a place to hide, opening a door and finding an empty room. Relief washes over her, and she steps inside, shutting the door behind her and locking it.
There's a loud, retching noise from the guest bathroom; Cat freezes. Then, slowly, tiptoes towards the bathroom, where the noise is coming from, and sees none other than Trina Vega with her head in the toilet, vomiting up anything she might have had to drink that night.
"Trina?" Cat says quietly. Trina weakly sits up, turns towards Cat and then her head is back in the bowl, shoulders heaving as she empties her stomach. Cat rushes behind her, rubs her back soothingly, whispers into her ear.
When Trina is finally finished, Cat reaches for a paper cup and fills it with tap water, offering it to the Latina with a soft smile.
"You should probably get that taste out of your mouth," she says, waiting for Trina to take the cup from her hand before reaching into her pocket and pulling out some tic-tacks, "Your breath smells kind of bad, too. Here you go. They're cherry."
Trina takes them, uttering a small thank you.
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andré/tori
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He lays flowers on her grave for the first time three years after she passes away, because he can finally be there without breaking his promise.
"Hey," he says quietly, smiling at the grave and crouching down next to the stone. "It's been a while…" He trails off, closing his eyes for a moment. "I still kind of miss you, sometimes. I'm sure you know that, though."
André blinks back the water in his eyes, "You know, Tori, I thought I'd never get over you. I thought that the whole world would end when you went." He takes a deep breath, "But, you know, it didn't. I didn't. Time went on, without you, I guess. Took me with it." He glances at the ring on his finger, "I guess you know I proposed to Shannon."
He swallows, afraid to go on, the gentle breeze moving him to continue.
"You know – I wasn't going to. Until last week. I don't know if you knew this or not, but, I found these old high school yearbooks and looked through every one of them and…you know when I realized that I wasn't in love with you anymore?" André pauses, takes a deep breath, "When I looked at your picture and said, I miss you. Not I love you, or Why or anything else. Just – I miss you." André squeezes his knees, "I really do, Tori. But it's okay, you know?"
The breeze picks up, makes the leaves on the trees rustle around him.
"I just – I miss you Tori. I'll be back again next year." André holds out his pinky, smiling. "Promise."
"André, when I die, you have to stop being in love with me."
He starts to say her name, but the word gets stuck in his throat. I love you threatens to replace it.
"Promise." She holds up her pinky. He locks it with his.
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beck/jade
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"Fancy meeting you here," Jade West muses, standing in front of Beck Oliver, who is reading a newspaper on the park bench. He lowers the paper and meets her gaze, sly smile spreading over his lips.
"Same to you," he chirps, sliding over slightly, offering her to sit down without hand gestures or saying so – he uses his eyes, and she takes him up on that offer, leaving zero space between them when she's seated. "How have you been?" He returns his eyes to the newspaper, pretending like he doesn't actually care about what she has to say.
Her nose flares.
"Nothing. Landing a lot of roles in movies. Having sex. You know, I actually found out a few months ago I'm a lesbian. Fun times, right?" She pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks the time, replies to a text message that had been waiting on her.
Beck hums, "I always had a feeling you weren't completely into our sex."
Jade hits his shoulder, smiling because she can't help it. She guesses she's happier now; better than she was in high school, when she aimed to please her father, to make him understand her (she's done with that, has been for a while – she doesn't need him to understand).
"Whose your girlfriend?" Beck asks offhandedly, still looking at the newspaper.
"I don't have one," Jade answers, rolling her eyes and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She watches him out of the corner of her eye, ignores her phone when it buzzes in her hand.
"Well, my hair's getting pretty long. I could pull off being a dyke for a night," he grins, flipping the newspaper closed, "May I buy you dinner?" He holds out his hand.
Jade takes it.
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robbie/trina
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They both grab the last manicure set at the same time.
"It's mine!" Trina cries immediately, tugging it towards her, sparing only a glance at the other person, who is still focused on pulling the set away.
"No way! I grabbed it first!" Robbie screams, pulling the set towards him. They look up angrily, but when they meet each others' gaze, Robbie's grip goes slack for a moment – Trina takes the opportunity to pull the set to her, smirking.
"It's mine, Shapiro. Buzz off." She flicks him off and sprints to the checkout line. He's too shocked to even follow.
She calls him later that night and asks him to come over for manicures.
He just wonders where the hell she got his number.
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andré/beck
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"Hey, man." A hand claps down on Beck's back, and the slightly buzzed man turns, grinning when he sees André Harris, taking the stool beside him at the bar.
"Hey," Beck answers, the word only a little slurred, "What's up?"
"Eh, nothing man," André pauses, orders a drink, then looks Beck up and down, "Girl problems?"
"Jade is a bitch." Beck swallows the rest of his drink. "Such…such a bitch." The tanned man shakes his hand, pushing his fingers through his hair, "The biggest bitch ever."
"I hear ya," André answers, swallowing his shot, "Tori's starting to nag a lot."
Beck snorts, then gets a serious look on his face.
"Let's switch."
"Let's not."
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cat/tori
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Cat and Tori are signed to do a duet together for a new single called, "Drop", and afterwards, they go out for dinner.
"I got this nice new lotion," Cat says, pausing to sniff her hands and ignoring her plate of lobster, "Want to smell?" She holds her hands up at Tori, who laughs awkwardly and leans forward to smell; it's nice, it smells like watermelon and reminds her of summer.
"Mm," she says, unconsciously licking her lips and leaning back, pushing her fork into her steak. She lifts her gaze, smiles at Cat, "It smells amazing. Where did you get it?"
"Bath and Body Works." Cat smiles, almost proudly, "I have more at home if you want to stop by and get one."
Tori grins, agrees.
They start making out the moment they step through the door, Tori's hands pushing under Cat's shirt and Cat making these high-pitched whimpers that makes Tori's head spin and her stomach flip-flop. Cat tastes like strawberries and smells like watermelons and looks like an angel, and when they finally manage to break the kiss to run up to Cat's bed on the second floor, Cat's giggling and holding Tori's hand and it's so warm Tori wants to melt into a pile of goo.
She almost does, but Cat keeps her steady, sane; a strawberry and watermelon lifeline.
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andré/jade
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It's not that André isn't pissed about Tori marrying Beck, but he isn't really using Jade as revenge so much as he's using her to feel something.
That's the only reason they're in the church janitor's closet, doing things that will send them to hell in about ten seconds flat. André tugs Jade's shirt over her head and discards it on the floor somewhere; her nails rake against his arms and his chest and she bites his collarbone so hard that he's sure it bleeds.
He picks her up, slams her against the wall, and fucks her.
So, did anyone bring a shotgun to this wedding?
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cat/robbie
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They end up going to the same college which is good for Robbie, because he's still socially awkward and doesn't really know how to act around new people.
"I have to get glasses," Cat says one day, biting her lower lip and pouting, "I'm going to look so weird."
"It'll be fine," Robbie promises, smiling at her, "I have glasses, I don't look all that weird."
Cat ends up locking herself in the bathroom and crying for three hours straight.
Robbie isn't really sure if that was offensive to her, or if it was offensive to him.
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jade/trina
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"You know, I always had a feeling you'd end up in this line of business, West," Trina says from her perch on the director's chair. She gives Jade a judgmental look, like she's twice as powerful as the other girl.
Jade growls, rolls her eyes, "I don't have much of a choice. I just hope you don't have any STDs." Jade smirks at Trina's scoff, and the two girls make their way onto set, Jade's red lingerie extremely out of character for her. She prefers black, like always. Trina's is blue.
Jade sits on one end of the bed, Trina beside her.
"Action!"
"Oh baby," Trina says in a sultry voice, running her fingers up Jade's leg, stopping between her legs, "You seem so sad." Trina's lips reach her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine, "I know what will make you feel better."
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beck/tori
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When Beck walks onto set on the first day of filming, he sees none other than Tori Vega playing his opposite.
"Hey," he greets, grinning. When Tori turns, her eyes light up, her smile gets bigger.
"Beck!" She cries, running to him. He catches her in his arms and swings her around like it's a normal thing to do, like they've done it their whole life. And when he sets her down, it takes all of his willpower not to kiss her right there, have that perfect fairytale ending that she's always talked about, that he's always wanted.
They're still the prince and princess of their story. They always have been.
Only this time, there's no evil witch.
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andré/robbie
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"So, you're a musician now?" Robbie asks, tapping awkwardly on the table.
"Yeah," André answers, fiddling with the cap of his water bottle. "So, you're gay now?"
"Yeah." Robbie presses his lips together.
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beck/cat
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"I didn't know you played guitar," Cat mentions when she comes into the studio, all smiles, and sits down next to Beck, who is tuning his electric, "When they said they'd bring in a replacement, I didn't think it would be you." Cat looks happy; like life is easy and she's just taking a ride.
"Yeah, well, I was kind of shocked when they said I'd be playing for the lovely Cat Valentine." Beck grins, winks at her, and plays a G. "Still off…" He mumbles, plucking the top string and adjusting each as he goes down.
Cat beams.
"I'm not that good, Beck." She hits his shoulder playfully, then pauses, her smile fading a little. He plays through the chords, murmurs perfect under his breath.
"Play me a song?" She asks, giving him a hopeful look.
"Sure." He situates the guitar strap around his shoulders, slides to the edge of the practice stage, "Any requests?"
"Give It Up," she answers, putting her head on his shoulder.
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andré/trina
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He accidentally has too much of the spiked punch at one of Tori's infamous parties and accidentally makes out with Trina in a closet.
She tastes disgusting, like cigarette smoke and liquor and desperation and just a hint of key lime, maybe from her gum. Nothing like Tori, who tastes like hope and glitter and vanilla. And André feels like kind of a dick, because all he does is make out with other girls because Tori trusts him too much to think he'd cheat.
Maybe if Tori would stop throwing parties, he'd stop making out with her sister. He's just saying.
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jade/robbie
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She finds him on the side of road, purely by coincidence.
He's bruised, whiter than she is; his hair matted and stuck together with blood. For a terrifying moment, she thinks that he's dead. Rotting on the sidewalk, behind the dumpster.
Jade puts her hands to her chest, leans forward, whispers, "Hello? Are you…okay?" She sticks out a hand, almost touches his shoulder when he moves, groans, and causes her to yelp, jumping back three feet. The man manages to push himself off of the ground, faces her; his glasses are askew, and his left eye is swelled shut, but she knows who it is.
"Robbie…?" She whispers, her eyes widening. She jolts forward, gripping him by the shoulders to keep him from toppling over, and helps put his head in her lap.
"Just – shh, breathe, I'll call the police. Stay awake, Robbie. Stay awake."
"Funny," Robbie sighs into her clothes, "And here I thought you would have left me to die."
"I don't hate you that much."
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a/n: yay it's done! thank you for reading! :)