AN: Hello again everyone and welcome to the second chapter of this story. I hope you've all had a pleasant week and weekend. My thanks as always go to everyone who read, and especially those who reviewed, Chapter 1 – so Challenge King, EnchantingNightmares, ShadowFires51 and Fanfic-Reader-88, thank you.
As ShadowFires51 pointed out, in the interests of clarity, although the story is set in my "iAm Done" story's universe, it's set shortly after the first chapter rather than at the end of it. This Freddie has not met Kimberley.
Freddie had fired off a mass text to Tori and the other members of the Hollywood Arts friendship group inviting them to meet him, and Jade, at Karaoke Dokie around 8 p.m. He received affirmative replies from the half-Latina sisters, Cat, André and Robbie. Beck, however, had declined; the long-haired actor was clearly unwilling to spend any time he didn't have to in the company of his gothic ex-girlfriend.
After the pair finished their coffees Jade drove herself and the Seattle-born teenager to her home. Her mother greeted them pleasantly, though she made a barbed comment in the direction of her daughter about having to fix up the guest room at such short notice. Jade grinned guiltily while Freddie thanked the older West female graciously and sincerely for her hospitality.
"How many is that?" Jade smirked as Freddie's phone beeped again.
"Twenty-seven in the last hour," he sighed wearily. "And another three from my mom still complaining about me being down here."
"The bathroom's down the hallway," Mrs West pointed in its direction.
"Thank you, I'll take a shower before we head out," he informed the West girls and began to get settled in.
Karaoke Dokie
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
After freshening up the duo had chatted with Mrs West over a couple of sodas before they headed out at around 7:30 and arrived at the club a little before 8. Jade wore a black and dark blue dress for the evening and had swapped out her green hair extensions for some more dark blue for the night. She secured them a table (she managed to scare away some other patrons eyeing the free table) and the two ordered fresh sodas from a passing waitress as they sat there alone (Freddie persuaded Jade to wait until the others arrived before ordering food).
The Seattleite was a little relieved to find that he could sit here without feeling the urge to kiss the gothic girl that he had felt earlier; not because he didn't still want to and certainly not because he didn't find her attractive – she's beautiful ran continually through his head when he looked at her – but because of how awkward it could make things. The two still didn't really know each other all that well and he felt that if he tried to make some kind of move it would scupper a burgeoning friendship. Why on earth would she be interested in me? he thought sadly as he kept his gaze on his drink, something that allowed Jade to steal unusually shy glances at him without getting caught.
"Hey guys," Tori greeted them brightly, resting her left hand on Freddie's left shoulder as she stood on his right hand side. Cat bounced to Jade's side and took a seat, greeting her exuberantly and smiling at the Seattle native from across the table. Trina arrived and pressed herself close to Freddie on his left hand side, earning herself a scowl from the dark brunette sitting opposite. André sat to Tori's right, between her and Jade, leaving Robbie – and Rex – to take the seat between Trina and Cat, much to the elder Vega sister's disgust.
"I have to let you know," the Ventriloquist began nervously as he leaned in to speak to Freddie, "Rex isn't too happy that I got an invite and he didn't."
"Rex is a puppet," Freddie pointed out.
"I am not!" Rex argued, causing the Seattleite to palm his forehead and shake his head; he looked helplessly across at Jade, who merely shrugged.
The waitress who had furnished Freddie and Jade with their drinks returned to take the group's orders; they encouraged Freddie to try the Buffalo nuggets and also ordered fries, nachos and several other items to share along with a round of drinks for the newcomers.
The newcomer to the group was excited when the club's MC announced that acts were being invited to sign up to sing; he was looking forward to hearing his talented friends' voices again so he was surprised when he saw the red-headed Cat's face fall at the news.
"What's the matter?" he asked her.
"Jade and I got banned from singing here because we upset the owner's daughter," she explained sadly.
"I'm signing up anyway," Jade's tone was terse when he turned to her for confirmation or a further explanation. "Come on," she instructed her child-like friend and stood up, seizing her elbow as she did. Cat followed reluctantly a moment later as, far more eagerly did Tori and, to the group's collective horror, Trina. Freddie was confused by their reaction but kept quiet as he didn't know enough about the girl's talent (or lack thereof) to make a judgement. The two boys also signed up to sing and the group urged him to do the same.
"But you guys all do this regularly," he protested, "I'm not a singer."
"Trina has no talent and it didn't stop her from signing up," Jade argued to the older teen's fury. Freddie shrugged, he was torn between keeping the smirk of his face at the girl's irate response to the insult and feeling a little upset at the other girl for making the rather cruel barb. "Come on," she urged him this time, taking his hand and leading him to the sign-up board. Tori stared after them with a slight frown on her face; seeing Jade take his hand had annoyed the lighter brunette girl, whether or not it could be interpreted as a romantic gesture on the gothic girl's part.
Why? the singer-actress asked herself as she eyed the pair. Why does it bother me thinking that something could happen between him and Jade? She thought back to the night they first met, when she and Carly Shay found out about being played for three months by the same guy, how they had humiliated Steven live on air and then the group had bonded with the iCarlies during the party – and she had bonded with Freddie a little more than most, standing oh so close to him while Sam Puckett fought her rap battle with Rex and getting rather touchy feely with him. Her next thought was of his trip down for the weekend to see the play she was directing and how they had hung out together for a while in between visiting Trina in hospital as she recovered from the minor injuries that resulted from the damage to her harness. If Freddie was going to get with anyone at this school, she realised, I thought that it would be me. She sipped her drink and continued to observe the boy and her frienemy making their return to the table, Jade still holding his right hand with her left as they chatted casually.
"So, what are you going to sing?" she asked idly as the pair returned; Jade released his hand and made her way back to her seat on the far side of the table as he slipped back in between the two sisters.
"I have no idea," he muttered. "I'll think of something when I get up there I guess."
"We will," Jade smirked.
"I thought you were singing with Cat," Tori pointed out.
"Nobody said I can't sing twice," she returned.
"Uh, they said you couldn't sing at all," Robbie reminded her.
Jade was about to retort that that's actually what they say about Trina but she bit her tongue as their food arrived.
"Good, right?" André asked Freddie, motioning to the nuggets. The former tech producer nodded eagerly as he helped himself to a few more along with a handful of fries.
The group made short work of their food and were soon waiting eagerly (or, in Freddie's case, apprehensively) for the next portion of the evening's entertainment to begin.
"So, Freddie," Tori asked as a thought suddenly struck her, "where are you staying this weekend? I mean, last time you spent the weekend with us… if you don't have a hotel booked for the whole weekend you could do that again if you want?" She smiled sweetly at him while Trina nodded eagerly by his other shoulder.
"It's a kind offer Tori but Jade and her mom have said I can stay at their home this weekend," he informed her.
"Oh. Ok," Tori glanced across the table to meet Jade's self-satisfied smile with a guarded expression of her own. Freddie, who was taking a sip of his soda, missed the girls' non-verbal exchange.
"Who wants another drink?" Freddie asked the friends when he finished his own a few minutes later.
"I'll go with you," Jade offered when the others all decided to accept another soda.
"You know," she told him as casually as she could manage while the two waited at the bar area for their drinks to be served, "if you want to stay with Tori then that's fine… I don't want to deprive you of the chance of her company."
"I'm happy staying with you – unless you're not ok with it anymore." He gave her a cautious, uncertain look.
"Of course it's ok," she assured him.
"Well then, I look forward to enjoying tonight and having some fun for the rest of our weekend," he grinned. She returned it a little shyly, something she wasn't used to. They gathered up the group's drinks and returned with them to their table. As Tori had been called up for her turn to sing while they were gone she slipped into her rivals seat next to him, casually leaning against him as they watched the girl perform on the club's central stage. Because of the position of the table this meant they were now sat with their backs to Trina so they didn't see the elder Vega sister's look of annoyance at how comfortable the pair were beginning to look together.
Tori had elected to sing "The Joke Is On You" and won a huge round of applause from the other patrons at the end of her performance.
"Ok," the MC announced into the microphone, "our next pair is going to be Jade West and Freddie Benson." The friends applauded wildly urging a reluctant Freddie up to the stage. Jade rolled her eyes slightly and grabbed his wrist to guide him out of his seat.
"Hey, you can't sing here," a familiar and unwelcome voice called to Jade; she turned her head exasperatedly but kept hold of Freddie's wrist, remembering Hayley's attempts to hit on Beck, and his allowing her to, a couple of years earlier. "Oh, you're the cute guy from iCarly," she recognised Freddie as he turned to face her and her voice turned at once excited and flirtatious as she smiled, "what are you doing with that?" she demanded, throwing a filthy look at Jade. "Ah ah ah," she wagged her finger at the mean girl as she took a step towards me, "my dad owns the joint remember? One word from me and you and your friends are thrown out of here for good. Not you, Freddie," she restored her sweet smile as she turned back to him, "you can stay for as long as you like – we've an extra seat at our table," and she motioned to the other side of the club where her friend Tara sat. The boy looked over and the girl waved to him.
He ignored the invite, and the two girls glaring at one another. So, why can't we sing?" He emphasised the "we" and raised the arm Jade continues to hold, gesturing towards the blonde with it. He had, of course, been told the story of the girls' first visit to the club but wasn't going to be denied the chance to hear Jade, and Cat, sing if he could possibly help it.
"Oh," she looked a little embarrassed at his question and bit her lip nervously as she deliberated on how to answer him. Jade looked expectantly at her, seeing how she'd answer. "I guess you two are up next," she sighed in defeat.
"She wants a piece of you," the gothic girl muttered teasingly as the pair headed to the back of the stage.
"She can't have any of my pieces," he commented a little stiffly. Jade stifled a grin as the MC asked what they wanted to sing.
"Oh I have the perfect song," she grinned, looking across at Tori. "Time for some Beyonce…"
"Alright everyone, please give it up for Jade and a Karaoke Dokie newcomer, Freddie," the MC encouraged the gathering. "They're going to be singing a bit of Beyonce tonight – You're The Reason!"
"WHAT?" Tori yelped; André looked a little annoyed at the description of the song too while Trina turned to her drink as the two looked at her.
"I don't want to make a scene, I don't want to let you down," Jade began.
Freddie gave a nervy glance to the screen and continued to face it as he chimed in, "Trying to do my own thing and I'm starting to figure it out…"
"That it's alright, keep it together, wherever we go," Jade picked up.
"And it's alright, oh well whatever, everybody needs to know…" Freddie concluded the verse and the two began the chorus in unison.
"You might be crazy, but have I told you lately
That I love you? You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly.
And it's crazy that someone could change me,
Now no matter what it is I have to do I'm not afraid to try.
And you need to know that you're the reason why…"
Tori was drawn from her brooding about the song, Trina's ingratitude, what might have been had she been allowed to finish recording it and all the other feelings that hearing it had dredges up inside her to watch how the pair interacted, or at least behaved, during their duet; she noticed with surprise that Jade stole a number of glances towards the Seattleite during the song, usually from out of his Line of Sight and while he was checking the lyrics on the screen so that he couldn't see them, though the gothic girl did walk well into his personal space and look straight at him, and he at her, as they concluded the song with a final line of,
"And you need to know that you're the reason why."
The applause of the other teenagers in the club broke the trance that watching the singers had put her into; she joined in and clapped and cheered her friends as they, too, had their spell broken and turned away from one another to face the others in the room. Jade began to wave to the audience and Freddie followed her lead as the two left the stage and sat back down at their table. Freddie looked exhausted from his time as the centre of attention while Jade was enjoying the tail end of the familiar adrenaline-high she experienced whenever she performed.
"Nice going man," André complimented him.
"You were really good," Tori agreed, having reclaimed her seat next to him. Jade reluctantly returned to the other side of the table, leaving the brown-haired boy sandwiched between the sisters.
André sang next, followed by a "duet" by Robbie and Rex and one from Jade and Cat; the streak-haired girl was able to impress the crowds again, despite having sung earlier ("practise for my first major gig," she would later observe). Finally Trina got her turn, much to the annoyance and disappointment of the assembled teens. Being Trina she was shocked by their reaction, which she put down to jealousy on their part, and sat down to a smattering of limp applause (Freddie was one of the few who partook).
"You're clapping because it's over, right?" Jade shot across the table.
"I'm clapping because she's my friend," he fired back testily. The dark brunette bit her lip and chose to remain silent on the issue.
"Ok, that was the last act on the list tonight, so now you guys get to decide the winner by your own applause." He then proceeded to go through the list of acts; to her delight Tori was a narrow winner and accepted the congratulations of Freddie and the others. Jade looked a little sourly at her rival but was able to offer her own positive words to the lighter brunette.
With the night's entertainment over, activities at the club began to wind down. The gang finished their drinks and left together, agreeing that it had been a great night and a lot of fun.
"It was good hanging out with you," André told Freddie. "Both of you," he turned to Jade who gave him a cautious smile of acknowledgement.
"Yeah, it was fun," agreed Tori. "Do you have plans for the rest of the weekend?" she asked the two.
Jade and Freddie looked at one another. "Uh no," he answered, "we haven't made any plans yet."
"Oh, well, if you want, give us a call in the morning and we'll go hang somewhere or show you some of the sights?"
"That'd be good," he smiled before gesturing to his hostess, "I'll let you know what we have in mind and we'll take it from there."
Jade drove them home in silence; Freddie's due to fatigue at the early start and long day, hers as she was lost in her own thoughts. She led him into the house when they arrived.
"So do you want to hang with them tomorrow?" she asked as they reached the kitchen. She walked to the fridge and retrieved a couple of drinks for them; her mother was not around and Jade assumed she had already gone to bed.
"I want to hang with you," he said with a touch of finality, "so whether we meet them or not is your call. I'll be happy either way."
"Why?" she asked, genuinely curious. "Why would you want to be around me instead of them if I said I didn't want to see them."
He paused, taking a couple of sips of soda while deliberating his answer. Finally, when her look became a little more intense, "You get it," he answered.
"Get what?" His brief reply had left her even more confused.
"I blew off school, I came down here because of my life; the people in it who I thought were 'friends' but it turns out weren't. You never try to hide who you are and you're happy whether people accept you for you or not; if you really didn't want me around you'd have let me know, you wouldn't have left school early, invited me to stay and all the other stuff you've done – you didn't have to do any of it. I want to be around you because I always see the real you… and I like what I see," he finished with a casual shrug.
Jade bit her lip to keep the surprise from her face; she pondered his words briefly before deciding that she needed more time to process them.
"We'll meet up with them tomorrow. Goodnight Freddie," she told him crisply before heading upstairs.
"Goodnight Jade," he called softly after her as she left the kitchen. She paused briefly but didn't turn around before continuing her journey.