Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious.
Thank you so much for all the positive reviews! It always gets me pumped when you guys are as excited about the story as I am.
Also, I wanted to give everyone an idea about what inspired the story. I'm a Vavan girl at heart, and I really wanted to write something that reflected the real-life friendship of Victoria Justice and Avan Jogia.
So anyway, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Happy reading!
Chapter Two: Raise a Glass
The door burst open as Tori rushed out of the bathroom with a cloud of steam trailing behind her. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand; it was already 6:45. Beck was going to be here in fifteen minutes and she was nowhere near as ready has she had hoped to be.
"I knew I shouldn't have taken that nap," Tori vented as she slipped on a pair of dark-wash jeans and a sheer lace top.
Tori had a love-hate relationship with her afternoon naps. She love taking them; but she hated waking up from them and finding herself running late to meetings and planned outings. On the bright side, Tori was becoming quite an expert at getting ready within a twenty-minute time frame. As she hastily made her way to the standing mirror by her closet, she nearly tripped over a pair of high heels by the foot of her bed.
"Damn it," she cursed, kicking the ruby-red heels aside to clear the path. "Okay, mental note to self: clean my room this weekend."
Tori applied her make-up in the blink of an eye. And with three minutes to spare, she gathered her composure and carefully examined the contents in her purse to make sure that she had everything she needed for the evening. Lipstick, wallet, cell phone: check. The doorbell rang as if on cue just as she finished checking her purse.
She greeted Beck at the door and gestured for him to come inside. He held in hands a stunning bouquet of white roses that sat in an intricately-shaped teal vase, which he handed to Tori.
"What's this for?" Tori asked, taken aback by the thoughtful gift.
"Consider it a belated housewarming gift," Beck replied. "I saw your tweet a few months back about moving in to your new apartment. Sorry I couldn't make it to your party."
Tori waved her hand in a nonchalant manner. "Don't worry about it. I had to end it early anyway when the neighbors downstairs threatened to call the police on us."
She set the vase on the kitchen counter and then turned to Beck with a charming smile.
"Thank you. They're beautiful."
"Don't mention it," said Beck, smiling back. "Are you ready to go?"
Tori nodded and quickly grabbed her purse and pink jacket before joining Beck at the front door.
"Where are we going anyway?" she asked as they stepped out of the apartment.
"That's a surprise. You'll just have to wait until we get there."
Tori playfully narrowed her eyes at Beck. "This day just seems to be full of those, huh?"
The drive to the restaurant was much shorter than Tori had expected. The whole way there Tori and Beck had been so engrossed with listening to each other's personal stories that before she knew it, Beck was pulling into the parking lot behind the restaurant. Before getting out of the car, Beck pulled out his pear phone to make a call.
"Hey, Nick. It's Beck," he said. "Yeah, do you have that table ready? We just got here."
There was a brief pause as Tori gazed up at the illuminated sign above the building that read Del Sur.
"Great, thanks. See you in a bit."
Beck hung up and then turned to Tori, who gave him a questioning glance.
"I had to arrange for a private booth," Beck meekly explained. "Trust me. I love my fans, but it'll be hard to enjoy our dinner when there's an autograph line by our table."
Tori smiled understandingly; she was fully aware of Beck's rising star status. She found a lot of amusement in his occasional tweets about overly enthusiastic fans stopping him on the street or following him into the men's bathroom for a picture and autograph.
"So have you been here before?" asked Beck as they got out of the car.
"Nope, this is my first time," replied Tori.
"Well then, I hope you like Mexican."
Like a true gentleman, Beck held to his arm out to Tori, who laughed and encircled her arm with his. Then the two friends made their way into the restaurant through the back door for a nice evening of laughter and nostalgia.
Del Sur was an interesting mix of eclectic modernity and festive flair. The tables and chairs were of sleek contemporary design, and the walls and décor were splashed with bold colors like magenta, orange and purple. The lighting was soft and fairly dim to balance out the vibrant color scheme, while a band played lively music which evoked a warm inviting ambiance. Nick, who Beck spoke with on the phone, turned out to be their host for the evening. He led them to a secluded corner of the restaurant where a table was already set and waiting for them, careful to avoid any curious eyes of the customers up front.
"Thanks, Nick," Beck said, shaking the host's hand.
"Hey, anytime," Nick replied. He then turned to Tori with a sly smirk. "Watch out for this one. He's a charmer."
Tori faltered from the rather awkward implication. "Oh, we're just friends."
"My apologies then," Nick said, bowing slightly. "Anyway, here are your menus. I'll have a waiter come over in a little bit to take your orders."
As promised, a waiter came to their table just as Tori and Beck finished looking at their menus. He took down their orders and then came back in a matter of minutes with two glasses of ice-cold pink lemonade. While they waited, Beck turned his gaze on Tori as she took a sip of the restaurant's signature citrus drink.
"Wow," said Tori with a delightful smack of her lips. "That's fresh."
"Best lemonade in town."
Tori chuckled, remembering her friend's particular fondness for the citrus drink.
"Hey, let's make a toast," she suggested, picking up her glass. "Here's to old friends and hopefully a new hit show."
Tori and Beck clinked their glasses together. While they sipped their drinks, Beck never took his eyes off Tori and he soon found himself marveling at her beauty. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled beneath the warm glow of the pendant light that hung above their table. It had been a long time since he was awestruck by a girl like this before, much less Tori, and his mind slowly wandered back to the brief period in high school when he and Jade were broken up and he began to develop some tender feelings for Tori.
It was a couple of nights before the Platinum Music Awards. Beck had gone over to Tori's house to comfort his distressed friend and they had almost kissed. Twice, for that matter. But those feelings – whatever they were – had been short-lived and had quickly dissipated when Jade came back into his life. But tonight, within the intimate setting of the restaurant, Beck had to wonder if his feelings for Tori ever left at all.
"I think Martin was really impressed by your audition today," he said after a while, pushing aside his thoughts.
"Martin, the guy with the mustache?"
Beck nodded. "Yeah, he's the creator of the show. I've worked with him on a project before and he doesn't give out a lot of compliments. But when he does, it usually means something."
Before continuing, Beck leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
"I don't wanna get your hopes up, but I think you have pretty good shot at getting that part."
Tori blinked in disbelief. "That's sweet, Beck, but I don't wanna get my hopes up either. I'm just glad I got through the reading without choking on my lines."
"You need to give yourself more credit, Tor," Beck said with some seriousness in his tone. "How do you expect other people to believe in you if you can't believe in yourself?"
Tori was speechless. She had never thought about it that way before. Since the bitter break-up with her ex-boyfriend, Liam, her self-confidence had taken a nosedive, and Tori was just starting to pick herself back up. Sometimes she forgot just how badly she was selling herself short. Beck was right; she deserved to give herself more credit.
After some time, the waiter returned with their orders. All the food was spread out in a colorful array and the savory aroma of their meal soon wafted around the table. Beck had ordered braised pork chops topped with chipotle-wine sauce and black beans, and Tori had ordered a grilled chicken breast topped with poblano cream-sauce and yellow rice.
"So have you talked to the others in a while?" asked Beck after a few delectable bites of the pork chop.
"Cat and Andre mostly," explained Tori. "Robbie, every now and then. But I actually haven't heard from him since he went to study aboard in London."
Just then, Tori stopped cutting her chicken and looked up from her plate with an eager expression.
"Did you know that Cat and Robbie are going out?"
Beck faltered, unsure if he had hard Tori correctly. "Really? How's Rex taking it?"
Tori laughed airily, which made Beck's heart nearly skip a beat.
"I'm serious!" she exclaimed, giving him a little nudge. "It'll be their one-year anniversary next month."
Beck simply ran his hand through his hair, still unable to believe the news. Tori watched him for a moment and found herself catching her breath. His hair had gotten longer since she last saw him a year and a half ago, but it was still as gorgeous as ever. He was still as gorgeous as ever.
"What about you?" she quietly asked, mentally scolding herself for staring. "Do you still keep in touch with anyone?"
"I had lunch with Jade a few months ago when she was in town visiting."
This caught Tori by surprise. As far as she knew, Beck and Jade's tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship had ended on a very bad note the summer before they left for college. Then there was a time towards the end of their freshman year when they had decided to give it one last shot, but to no avail. At that point, Beck and Jade had realized that they had grown apart and there was no longer any room for reconciliation.
Beck grinned upon noticing the perplexed expression on Tori's face.
"It was good. It gave us a chance to talk and get closure on some things."
A sincere smile spread over Tori's lips. "Good for you guys! Does this mean no more awkward reunions?"
"Guess we'll see in the next get-together," Beck jokingly replied.
After dinner, Beck drove Tori back to her apartment and walked her to her door. He watched as she dug through her purse for her keys, feeling – to his surprise – slightly disappointed that the night was ending.
"Aha!" Tori exclaimed, jangling her keys in triumph. "It's so hard being a girl sometimes."
In one swift motion, Tori wrapped her arms around Beck's neck and pulled him into a hug. Beck gladly followed her lead and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Thanks for dinner, Beck. I had a great time."
"Don't be a stranger," he said as Tori pulled away. "I only live a few blocks away, so feel free to come by anytime."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said as she inserted her key into the lock. "Goodnight, Beck."
"Goodnight, Tori."
With a gentle smile, Tori locked eyes with Beck one last time before walking into her apartment and closing the door.
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