A/N: Thanks for the feedback, follows, and favorites! Hope you guys enjoy part two. As always, I'd love to hear what you think.

Think Like a Man


II. He said, just walk like a man; talk like a man; walk like a man, my son.

Trina has set it up so that she gets alerts to her PearPhone any time Cat or Robbie update their Slap! page. Every little 'ping' makes her heart skip a beat, but it's usually just Cat posting a stupid question about why certain fruits are certain colors—and what does everyone think about the fruit vs. color orange debate?

Cat is her best friend, and they have always gotten along well. They have a lot in common, even though Trina thinks she is a lot smarter than Cat. But they connect in ways most people wouldn't understand, because a lot of other people don't understand them.

Trina makes a point to ignore most of the kids in Tori's grade. Well, she makes a point to ignore most people, period, unless it's a cute guy. But not Cat…okay, unless she's telling her to stop talking, but that is completely different.

She and Cat were friends before Tori came to Hollywood Arts, and she doesn't understand why everything had to change so much once that happened.

Trina has always craved attention, and any shrink will tell you that it's because she never got it from her parents. They didn't pay much attention to her or Tori, really. They were nice and they always took care of their daughters, but when it came down to what they wanted to do or what the kids wanted to do, their own wants always came first.

So when they were younger, Tori was the one who paid attention to her. She looked up to her older sister, going to her for advice on everything from fashion to boys. Of course, that was all up until she became a superstar, herself, and now, she and her group of friends want nothing to do with Trina.

Lastly, there was Robbie. Even though she would never admit it, Trina loved the way he always showered her with affection. She always felt as though she deserved better, but for some reason, Robbie was always the one boy who noticed her for all the right reasons. But yet again, with Tori changing the entire dynamic of that group of underclassmen, even Robbie has taken his attention elsewhere.

Now, Trina pays attention to herself. Everyone seems to think it's out of vanity—not necessity. And that is exactly what she's busy doing, this morning. Because no one else will.

"Trina. Trina!" she hears, finally, and turns her head to see her red-haired friend staring at her with big eyes.

"Finally…" Cat grumbles, and Trina can tell she's frustrated, but she pretends to take no heed. "I've been looking all over for you. In fact, I've been trying to get ahold of you for the past three weeks."

"I've been busy," Trina lies, while powdering her nose. "And it's not like we've had many opportunities to hang out at school since you're always with the juniors."

"You could hang out with us!" Trina scoffs like she wouldn't want to, but the truth is that they never really want her around. "Anyway, I have something to tell you. I wanted you to be the first person I told, because I think we're still best friends…"

Cat looks like she's waiting for a response, but Trina just continues doing things in her locker.

"Robbie's officially my boyfriend!"

Instead of looking at Cat, she quickly checks her phone. Sure enough, she had been so busy tending to herself that morning that she missed the notifications.

"Can't you please be happy for me, Trina?" Cat pleads.

Trina, who has miraculously and uncharacteristically kept her face free of expression, slams her locker shut. "You're making a huge mistake, Cat," she says, before walking away from her distraught friend.

xxx

Eventually, Trina comes to her senses. Tori, always sticking her nose in other people's business, schemes for them to end up in the same room as each other to work things out. She doesn't admit it, but Trina knows deep down that it isn't fair for her to ignore Cat. And she does miss her best friend, after all.

But getting back in Cat's good graces is not going to be as easy as she had anticipated. And it sucks for Trina because while she's dreading what she has to do, she also almost wants it—and that is certainly not going to mend her friendship with Cat.

She finds Robbie in the hallway, sitting against the lockers. Actually, all she can see is that curly mop he calls hair, because he's intently staring at his PearPad, like always. It takes her an awkward moment for her to sit down beside him, because her skirt is definitely not made for casually sitting on the floor.

"So, Cat wants us to get along," he says, by the time she's settled on the ground. She's a little startled, because his eyes don't even leave the screen. Plus, she's surprised Cat said anything to Robbie. Did she really think the problem was Trina and Robbie not getting along?

Trina plays with her bangles. If he's not going to look at her, why should she look at him? Right? "Yeah, I guess so…" she murmurs.

He finally shuts off his PearPad and looks up at her. "So, truce?" He offers his hand, which Trina just stares at for a moment.

"Robbie…" she starts, disregarding his offer. "I miss the way things used to be," she says, rolling her eyes. But as hard as she tries, she can't get the sincerity out of her voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, narrowing his eyes. She knows she can't blame him for not being very fond of her anymore, but at the same time, she never expected it from Robbie, of all people.

"I just miss the way we were… The way things were between us," she says, trying to sound sweet as she makes a gesture between them. She gives him an innocent smile, but it doesn't change the almost offended expression on his face.

Robbie scoffs and Trina can hardly remember a time she's seen him so bitter. It almost pleases her that she's the one to have such a strong effect on him, but this isn't the way she wants it to be anymore. "You mean me pining after you, and you treating me like shit? Yeah, those were the days…" he mutters, rolling his eyes. Ever since Robbie stopped carrying Rex around all the time, he's been much more—well, expressive.

"Oh, come on, Robbie…" Trina struggles to keep the smile on her face as she playfully rolls her eyes. "That was just—you know, the game. It was how we worked."

Sighing gruffly, Robbie gathers up his things and stands up. Trina follows shortly after, never wanting to be below anyone. "That's the thing… It wasn't a game to me, Trina."

"I know, and I realize that now—!"

"Now that I'm with Cat?" he interjects.

She stammers, but the words don't come out right away. She never anticipated it going this far. She thought that he would be groveling as soon as she came to him.

"It's not like that… It just took me hearing about you being with someone else to realize that—that—."

"If you can't say how you feel, then you might as well not feel that way at all!" he says, storming off.

"Robbie, wait!" Trina shouts and takes a step forward, but he's already turning the corner.

"I love you…" she whispers to the empty hall.