Disclaimer : Nope, still don't own Victorious .

" Robbie, dude," called out Andre, glancing at Tori and Jade who were talking with Cat ," hold up a sec, man. You in a hurry or something ?"

He caught up with his friend near the stairs . " Robbie "

Robbie stopped and heaved a heavy hearted sigh," Only yet another embarrassing moment of my life , Andre "

" Say what ?" Andre sent him a dubious look.

" Never mind …." dismissed Robbie, wondering if Cat even had a reaction at all.

Probably not …she was immune to him.

" You really kissed Cat back there " brought up Andre, waiting for confirmation .

Robbie nodded. " It isn't a big deal…I got carried away and forgot that it was all an act "

He sighed, again. " Just an act cause I'm a good actor "

" Well, I think Cat got carried away with you " pointed out Andre , matter of fact.

" No, because Cat is a better actor than I am ….." said Robbie ," plus you heard her , she gets into all those romantic scenes and movies …..she loves that stuff "

" Forgetting the whole acting part ," told Andre ,' where I was sitting , Robbie , the girl looked like she was into kissing you …"

A wistful thought crossed across his face then disappeared .

" We're just friends "

" I know you like the girl " stated Andre, cause it was a fact .

" It doesn't matter anymore ," dismissed Robbie ," I shouldn't have kissed her like that in the first place . Guess I just needed to get Cat out of my system …"

" Why ?"

" Just forget about it ," told Robbie ," besides I have a classy and hot girlfriend now so I can't be thinking about Cat all of the time …I need to move on "

" Again, why?" repeated Andre, not getting his friends logic .

" Roxanne ," stressed Robbie, holding out his phone and the picture of the blonde he was dating ," she is the reason why ….see "

" You just met the girl "

" It doesn't matter ….she is my girlfriend now " insisted Robbie, strongly .

" I think you need to wait and find out what Cat has to say first " added Andre

" Look, I appreciate the support but I don't want to talk about this ," stated Robbie , changing the subject," why don't we talk about how your going to handle all of the romantic stuff between you and Tori "

Andre's eyes widened , he stole a glance at her Make It shine design on her locker, and glanced furtively around then back at his friend .

" Don't know what your talking about . Tori and I ..we're best friends .

Ain't nothing more between us "

" I'm not blind " countered Robbie, pointing to his glasses .

" Shut up "

" So every song you write isn't about Tori ?" Robbie raised a brow , curiously.

" You mind your own business ," babbled Andre ," you keep on having your Cat thoughts and leave Tori out of this "

Robbie opened his palms in a gesture and shrugged , nonchalantly . " Okay "

Lane, the schools guidance counselor , spotted them and veered over to check in with them.

" Don't you guys have some class to be getting to ?" asked Lane , sternly .

" Right " agreed Robbie and Andre and headed down the hallway to class .

" Cat ," Tori jostled her friends arm," your kind of freaking me out here "

" Oh, I'm alright , Tori ," says Cat, twirling her hair ," do you want to know something ?"

Jade and Tori exchanged hesitant expressions as one never knew with Cat where the conversation might go to..

" Sure," picked up Jade ," what is it, Cat ?"

" Robbie has muscles ," muttered Cat with a soft sigh ," I never really noticed it but when he held me …he has muscles . Not like Beck or Andre but I know I felt muscles ….it was really nice when he held me "

Tori frowned . " Oh, okay ..Cat, you've hugged Robbie hundreds of times over the years and this is what your noticing "

Jade shot Tori a filthy look. " Leave the girl alone, Tori . Let her notice what she's noticing …."

" Seriously, Jade , seriously ?" questioned a baffled Tori .

" Yeah " said Jade, " so unless you , er, need my help, Cat, I gotta go "

" Kay kay ," answered a distracted Cat ," I'm fine . You know, I just need to think ..that's what I am gonna go do….I need to think "

" Girls ," interrupted Sikowitz ," not that I'm not fascinated by your sorority but take it to the hallway and think it out there "

The girls exchanged matching looks, retrieved their bags and books and left the room .

Cat scanned the halls for Robbie but he was no where to be found . Her toes still were curly and tingly …and she wanted to see him again and see …she wasn't sure what but that kiss had knocked her upside down .

Tori opened her mouth, considered drilling Cat on the whole thing but decided against it .

Jade strode past them both and into the hall as Beck caught her arm, startling her .

" Jade "

" NO "

" I want to talk "

" I don't ..let go of my arm " ordered Jade, harshly .

He loosened his grip and pulled her in the direction of the janitors closet .

" I'm not your girlfriend anymore . You cant tell me what to do, Beck " She heaved a disgruntled sigh and avoided his soulful gaze that always got to her .

" This is ridiculous " Beck led his ex-girlfriend into the janitors closet, ignoring her protests and the fact that she looked beautiful and almost…vulnerable .

Recognizing her stubborn glare, Beck flipped the lock, in case she decided to bolt.

" you know I'm right …."

Jade crossed her arms over her chest and tried to act indifferent as if his presence didn't still affect every pore in her body , let alone her heart.

" Okay, we're here ," spoke up Jade ," what exactly do you want to talk about ?"

His voice was calm but there was a slight hint of uncertainty and she knew he was tense .

Beck was the most relaxed guy she knew but his posture said tense .

She didn't want to think about it or him.

" Are we really gonna keep avoiding each other ? Never talk again ? Make things even more uncomfortable for our friends ?"

Jade's voice was low. " I don't know …seems to be working for me "

It was a lie but she wasn't about to let him know the truth . Beck knew all of her secrets and weaknesses as it was .

" It isn't working and I don't like it , Jade ' countered beck, aggravated by her lack of emotion .

Jade rolled her eyes, upwards. " Beck doesn't like something …news alert. Here is one you should know..I don't care anymore "

Beck took another step closer and she held her ground . " There is no reason you and I can't still talk….can't still sit together with our friends at lunch, Jade "

She bit her bottom lip, tasting blood. " Maybe you can, Beckett , but I won't…now unlock the damn door before I kick it down "

" We were friends first, Jade "

" Liar ," accused Jade , fighting tears ," you know the truth "

She moved past him, their shoulders touching , she flipped the lock, and let herself back into the hallway , and the noise and activity of Hollywood Arts .

Jade swallowed the tears , reached blindly for the necklace hidden beneath her shirt , and clutched it tightly in her hand . It was the same necklace that Beck had given her for their second anniversary -he had one too- and right now it was her lifeline to not doing something drastic.

Damn you , Beck Oliver .

The Asphalt café was an outdoor café on the quad, complete with Festus's Grub Truck that served the best burritos in Hollywood, a stage on the mezzanine should any of the students feel the urge to belt out a song during lunch , and the local meeting spot .

Robbie , minus Rex, had wandered outside to the familiar table, after his last class had let out and he was the first to arrive at the gangs usual table . He nursed a soda and brooded.

Rex had been on his case non-stop since the 'Cat incident " so Robbie had just shoved him back into the locker , not in the mood to be berated today .

Though he and Cat shared pretty much the same classes , he had still done a good job of managing to avoid talking to her since the acting class .

However having had time to contemplate it, he was now afraid of what she might have to say or worse , that he had hurt her feelings .

Cat was so super sensitive and it felt as if someone was stomping on his chest even if he had accidentally hurt her feelings . It was awful.

Robbie's cell went off , alerting him of a new text.

Smiling , he realized it was from Roxanne .

Curious , Robbie opened the text, hoping for maybe something flirty or a declaration of love even though he knew it would be neither of those things .

It was much too soon .

Take me to Caruso's for supper this evening

Robbie blew out a breath and considered how much money he had to live on this month .

Probably not enough for the fancy Italian restaurant .

The woman was North Ridge and had expensive taste .

How about Nozu for sushi ?

He texted her back, hoping Roxie would agree to a compromise .

A shadow fell across the shadow and the sweet smell of vanilla as well .

" Robbie , are you mad at me ?" asked Cat, her tone clearly upset as she sat down beside him at the picnic table ," first, you kiss me in Sikowitz class then you run away . I swear , it feels like you have been avoiding me ..have you?"

" Robbie "

" I've always liked your perfume " blurted out Robbie, not thinking .

Her pink lips curved into a sweet smile . " Thanks, Robbie, that's very sweet "

Robbie wanted to hit himself over the head with a sharp object. Why did he tell her that ?

Rex was right . He was an idiot !

" No," answered Robbie ," I swear , I would never do that…not on purpose , Cat . I ..the thing is ..I am having a bad day "

Cat frowned , confused . " Kissing me made your day bad ?"

He groaned, inwardly . Why was Cat not mad at him for the kiss ? He could handle that .

Girls were always mad at him because he kissed them yet Cat wasn't acting mad .

He didn't get it .

" No, it wasn't that…it was something else " Robbie laughed , nervously ," why would I avoid you ? We had a stage kiss …got the art of that down now ..fake kiss "

Cat placed her hand over his , gently and turned her big, brown eyes up at him.

" Robbie , I've been stage kissed a lot ," says Cat, innocently," I know how a stage kiss feels …when you kissed me ..it felt ..real "

" You don't have to try to explain to me,Cat , " went on Robbie ," I wasn't gonna make anything out of it ….I know we're friends "

" I liked when you kissed me " says Cat, being honest with him. She had spent all morning trying to understand it and had come to the conclusion , that kissing Robbie had been really nice . Nice was probably not even the right word for it .

He hadn't been expecting that. " You..did ? " He looked around , for the rest of their friends ," this isn't a joke ? Your not just saying this ..then Jade will come around and slam me in the gut for being gullible and believing you ?"

Cat shook her head ," you made my toes curl "

Robbie got that this was girl speak and a good thing . " Really ?"

His cell went off and he noticed it was Roxanne ," Cat, its Roxie, just give me a minute to make our plans for supper . She wants me to take her out tonight …one minute "

Cat removed her hand ," Oh, right, I forgot you have a new girlfriend "

Maybe she was being silly to want to test things between her and Robbie . Just because she realized she was attracted to him , it didn't mean she should ask him if they could maybe see if they could be more than friends .

He had a new girlfriend and she wasn't a bad girl .

Meanwhile Beck and Jade had gotten their lunch and were heading in the directions of the table when Jade noticed what appeared to be an intense conversation with Cat and Robbie.

" Wait " Jade grabbed his arm," just give it a minute "

" Your touching my arm " Beck pointed out and she dropped it like it was on fire ," and why are ..should I wait ?"

" Cat is talking with Rob ," said Jade ," she's been quiet since the kiss this morning . Give them a few minutes to..I don't know …talk "

Surprised , Beck turned to stare at her . " You care about them ?"

Jade wouldn't meet his eyes and tried to look away . " Whatever…loook, they are ..sort of..my friends too "

Beck smiled at her admission as a bit of the real Jade seeped out for him to notice .

It was a rarity and it took him back to one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

It seemed so long ago and far away .

" nice "

" I still have new scissors " remarked Jade , taking a drink of her third coffee .

Beck ignored her ," Minutes up "

" Hey, guys ," greeted Beck, joining them at the table ," what's going on ?"

' Uh, nothing ," says Cat, a little too brightly ," Robbie is texting his new girlfriend . Isn't that nice ? "

" Your not stalking the new girlfriend , man ?" inquired Beck, noticing that Robbie seemed distracted and kept staring at Cat when she wasn't paying attention .

" Nope , learned my lesson the hard way ," answered Robbie, " actually Roxie wants me to take her out for supper tonight . She apparently is a girl who has her heart set on pasta because when I suggested I didn't have that kind of money right now, girl got pretty persistent . She's coming around to my side..I can afford Nozu right now "

" Gank " said Jade , sitting on the other side of Cat ," and I am not here because of what you said, Beck. I am here ..because Cat asked me to..have lunch with her "

Cat looked at her best friend ." I did ? Oh, goody "

Jade smiled, tersely. " Yeah, and Robbie, the gank is gonna be nothing but trouble "

" You don't even know her " accused Robbie ," and she isn't a gank "

" I have good judgement ," answered Jade , matter of fact ," look at how I called it about ..Tori . Wasn't I right ?"

" Love you too, Jade " Tori remarked , tossing her brown hair over her shoulder as she and Andre joined their friends ," am I the only one freaked over this month long acting exercise for sikowitz /? I mean, we never do something longer than maybe a week ….sometimes its two days and why does he want us to pretend romance ?"

Andre placed a hand on her arm. " Tor, relax, I think it's going to be a blast "

" I don't understand you " said Tori ," though I must say Cat and Robbie got us off to a good start with that kiss …'

" I'm not hungry " announced Cat , suddenly getting up and running inside the school .

Robbie frowned ," I think I accidentally hurt her feelings but she'll be fine "

" What did she tell you ?" asked Jade, through clenched teeth .

" Nothing ," answered a nonchalant Robbie ," so , guys , I have a date with Roxie tonight "

" We're happy for you, Robbie , and don't forget to leave the puppet at home " told Tori, not unkindly ," I am sure the North Ridge girl will like him even less than we do "

" understand " agreed Robbie , wondering briefly why Cat had taken off .

He would never understand girls .

Then Beck and Andre got discussing possible skits Sikowitz could have them perform, while Tori interjected with her own nervousness , and Jade stabbed her food , violently .

Robbie , fearful that he had managed to hurt Cat, sent her a cheerful smiley face text, and hoped things just got back to normal again .

However he needed to be positive here and he would be ..hadn't Lane been lecturing him about his confidence issues for years ?

Robbie was confident and now he had a girlfriend to show from it .

Life was good .