Chapter 4:
Vega Residence
Tori Vega:
Trina is driving me crazy right now!
Feeling: Annoyed
"Trina I don't understand why you need all of this stuff. We are going to the beach for the day not moving there!" Tori exclaimed, seeing the pile of miscellaneous items near the door.
The older Vega sister rolled her eyes as she set down her make-up kit and looked at her sister, "Oh Tori. My naive little sister, you have so much to learn." The girl pinched her cheeks much to the younger Vega's irritation. A knock at the door diverted their attention.
"It's open!" Tori shouted as she swatted Trina's hands away from her face. The door opened to reveal the tech wiz, "Hey Freddie!" Tori greeted as the boy walked inside the house.
"Hey Tori, I was just checking to see if - what is all this?" He asked, pointing to the pile of Trina's items.
"Trina." The songstress simply replied as Freddie's mouth made an 'O' face. She looked back at the boy and asked, "So how is your hand?
"A little sore, but I'll live." He flashed his boyish grin as he clenched and unclenched his fist, "Nothing some ice couldn't fix."
"Okay that's the last of it!" Trina exclaimed, dropping a bag on the ground next to the feet of the brunette boy. She glanced at the pair who were giving her confused looks, "What?"
"It's just... do you really need all this?" Freddie asked, his eyes looking around at all the scattered items, "I really don't think all of this will fit in my car."
"Last time I got trapped in an RV for hours!" She pointed out, "I am not going to go to the beach without proper preparation this time. Who knows what might happen!" The pair lacked any response knowing it would be useless to argue with her as the older Vega sister smiled and put on her sun glasses, "Great! Now who is ready to hit the beach?"
Freddie and Tori looked at each other as Trina exited the house.
"Please tell me we aren't taking all of this stuff?" The former tech producer groaned as he picked up a hair straightener, "I mean why would she need this for the beach?" Tori simply shook her head not really knowing how to describe to Freddie that this was Trina's regular behaviour.
The songstress stared at the pile surrounding them and suggested, "Let's just grab the essentials and leave everything else."
"Fine by me." The boy replied as the pair began to sift through the pile of items in search of anything that was even remotely useful for their trip to the beach. After a couple of minutes of scavenging, the pair grabbed the items and loaded them into the trunk. Freddie took a seat in his car as Tori sat in the front with him.
"Are we ready to go girls?" Freddie asked, placing the key in the ignition.
"No, wait!" Tori exclaimed, digging into her bag and grabbing her Pear pod. She plugged the device into the car's audio port and smiled, "Okay now we are ready to go." Freddie smiled as he put on his sunglasses and turned the key to start the car as the girl turned up the volume and hit play.
"Venice Beach here we come!" Tori shouted as her sister and Freddie cheered. The car rolled out of the driveway as it made it's way towards its destination.
"Are we there yet?" Trina whined as the car stopped at a signal.
"We just left!" Tori retorted. She looked at Freddie who just gave an amused smile and chuckled as his eyes went back on the road. The girl simply turned up the volume of the music even more to try and drown out Trina's whining for the remainder of the trip.
Venice Beach
Freddie pulled into an open parking spot as he looked at the back-seat to see the older Vega sister sound asleep. He tapped Tori on the shoulder and motioned his head towards the sleeping girl.
"I was wondering why it got quiet after a quarter way through." Tori said, slightly amused at the way her sister was sleeping. Her head rested on the window of the car with her feet sprawled out on the rest of the seat. The pair giggled a little as the older girl began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened as she saw the two teens staring at her trying to suppress their laughter. Freddie couldn't help but remember the way Sam used to sprawl out on the Shay's couch and how closely it resembled Trina's sleeping position.
"Are we there yet?" Trina asked, still groggy from her nap.
"Yes, Trina." Freddie replied, letting out a soft chuckle, "We are finally here!" The older Vega stared out the window as she saw the sand and the waves crashing down on the shore. She squealed excitedly as she got of the car leaving the two teens behind. They simply laughed as they got of the car themselves and saw a familiar RV pull into a parking spot near them. Similar to Trina, the moment the RV parked all the teens quickly exited the vehicle. Freddie chalked it off to them probably fearing that they would end up trapped inside there again.
"Hey guys!" The redhead greeted excitedly as she gave them both a quick hug.
"Hey Cat." The boy replied as Tori and him exchanged greetings with the rest of the teens. Jade gave her half-brother a smile as they made their way towards the beach. The group sat down some chairs and the cooler as they the took time to soak in the warmth the sun was providing along with the sight of the sparkling water.
"So how was the ride here?" Jade asked, wearing a wicked smile as she looked at her frenemy, "Riding with Trina must have been a very... relaxing experience." Tori glared at the girl and ignored the remark as she took a seat on the chair next to Freddie. André, Cat, and Robbie decided to go into the waters, leaving Freddie, Tori, Beck, and Jade behind. A group of girls walked by the group a few minutes later giving the two boys flirtatious smiles. Freddie ignored them as he was busy talking to Tori and wasn't really interested in the girls. Beck however smiled making one of them giggle as they made their way past them. Jade took notice of this and simply gave a low growl. The girls looked at the pale girl who gave them a harsh glare and quickly ran off.
"Why did you do that?" Beck asked, slightly annoyed, "They were just being friendly."
Jade glared at her boyfriend and snapped, "That girl was flirting with you and you just smiled back."
Beck sighed as he got up for his seat, "I wasn't flirting with her if that is what you are implying. Why don't you just trust me?"
"I do-" She replied as Beck rolled his eyes and muttered, "Not enough." The long haired boy didn't give the girl time to respond as he exclaimed, "I am going to go for a swim."
Jade watched the boy walk away as she whispered finishing her sentence, "I just don't trust them." Jade looked at Freddie who gave her a sad smile as she looked back at Beck in the far distance. He sighed as he took a seat beside the girl while Tori went to go find her sister who she spotted hanging out with the lifeguard to give the pair some privacy.
The former iCarly member glanced at the girl before asking concerned, "Are you okay?"
The pale girl snorted out a laugh, "Yeah... Just another fight in the Beck and Jade relationship."
Freddie arched a brow as he looked at Jade unsure of what she said, "So you mean this has happened before?" The girl nodded her head in confirmation, "Have you tried talking to Beck about it?"
"He just assumes I am getting jealous for no reason." She explained, glancing at the boy, "Sure I get jealous, but it's because seeing girls just carelessly flirt with him as if I am not beside him gets on my nerves. It makes it worse that he doesn't believe me when I tell him they are trying to go out with him." Freddie narrowed his eyes on Beck who had seemed to go back the group of girls and apologize for his girlfriend's 'uncalled for behaviour' as he put it.
"Maybe I should have a talk with him?" Freddie suggested out loud. Jade looked at the boy curiously as he continued, "If he doesn't believe you then maybe he has to hear it from someone else."
The girl just shook her head, "I appreciate it what you are trying to do, but I think this is something Beck and I have to figure out." She chuckled a little as she point out, "Besides, don't you think Beck will find it a little weird that you are suddenly defending my honour once again? He might get the wrong idea."
Freddie shrugged his shoulders, "Let him. You and I know the truth." He noted, "Besides, I'm not going to stand by and watch him walk away from you like everything is your fault. He is in a relationship with you and he should respect you enough to realize when something is bothering you. He needs to understand that whether he wants to accept it or not." Jade opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when she realized the boy was right.
The pair sat in silence before Jade broke it shortly after. "Thanks, Freddie. For listening to me." The girl whispered, warmly as she gazed at their friends playing in the water, "You should go and join them. I don't want you to be stuck with your younger sister complaining to you about her relationship problems for the rest of the day." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Freddie frowned slightly at his half-sister, "What about you?"
She shook her head and muttered, "I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" The boy questioned, wondering why she was so reluctant.
Jade bowed her head as she took a deep breath, "Long story short, I had an incident with a dolphin when I was in the third grade. Since then I don't like going into the water." The green streaked girl explained, "It sounds kind of strange, but as a little kid that incident left me terrified." She dug her feet into the warm sand as she glanced at the waves crashing down.
Freddie looked at his half-sister, "Have you ever tried going back into the water since then?"
"Not really, aside from walking near the shoreline I tend to keep my distance. People think I am just overreacting, but they weren't there. I thought I was going to die that day." Jade admitted, closing her eyes as she remembered nearly drowning, "My mom shouted for help and a lifeguard pulled me out. They had to perform CPR on me. Apparently, the dolphin somehow got too close to land and struck me accidentally on the side of my waist and it caused me to become winded. I don't really remember it all, it was pretty blurry now that I look back on it."
Freddie felt a chill run down his spine from the story. If Jade hadn't survived that day he would have never had the chance to meet her. It was a scary thought and one he was relieved to not have to go through in reality.
"I'm sorry." He stated, "I just wish I-"
"This isn't your fault." She dismissed and let out a soft chuckle realizing he would always try and assume responsibility for things out of his hand, "We never knew either of us even existed back then remember?"
Freddie nodded, understanding her point, "But how about now? Wouldn't it be my fault now if I didn't try to help you get over your fear of the water?"
"Why do you always have to be so noble?" She questioned, faking an annoyed tone. The boy smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
"What can I say? It's just the Freddie Benson way." He rhymed as the girl snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes. He let out a small smile before asking in a more serious tone, "So what do you think?"
"I don't know if I'm ready." She replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"No one is ready to face their fears, but sometimes you just have to go out there and try." Jade looked at the boy reluctantly as he assured, "I promise I will be there every step of the way." He offered his hand as he awaited Jade's reaction. The pale girl stared into the boy's eyes and felt the trust and comfort that they radiated. She blew out a calming breather as she took his hand and lifted herself off her feet. She looked at her half-brother who smiled and guided her towards the water. They reached the shoreline and stopped as Jade looked at the water with a nervous expression as the memory of that day flashed in her head. The group gave the pair a strange look as they were not used to seeing Jade act so vulnerable, but also because Freddie was holding her hand.
"You can do this." Freddie whispered to her, "One step at a time." The girl nodded as they inched closer and closer to the water.
"Come on Jade!" Cat cheered, realizing what Freddie was trying to do while the group slowly started to figure out what was going on. The girl looked at her best friend and smiled as she gained confidence. It took a minute, but Jade finally managed to get into the water. The redhead cheered and ran to her friend.
"I did it." Jade beamed in disbelief as Freddie let go of her hand.
"You see, all you had to do was try." The boy replied proudly. The girl hugged the boy as she saw Beck walk away from the group in the corner of her eye. Her attention was diverted however as she felt water splash onto her back. She snapped her head to find the guilty party only to see Cat giggling with a mischievous look on her face.
"Oh it's on!" She shouted as even Tori, André, and Robbie joined in the water fight. Freddie played with them for a little bit before sneaking off and making his way back to the chairs they had set up. He looked to see Beck sipping on some soda and watching his girlfriend have fun.
"Hey." Freddie stated, taking a seat next to the boy. The long haired teen eyed the boy and took another sip of his drink.
"I haven't seen Jade ever go into the water before." He noted, watching the girl laugh as André splashed water on her, "She always said she was too scared and didn't want to go. Something about an incident with a dolphin."
"Yeah that must have been rough on her." Freddie pointed out, "I know when I got hit by that taco truck I was afraid to cross the road before looking left and right a million times. It took a while to snap out of that funk, but with Jade she always had it in her. I'm sure you already know this, but she is a strong girl."
Beck nodded in agreement as he pointed out, "She doesn't really like new faces, but she seems to really be close to you."
Freddie glanced at the long haired boy, "I just try and be someone that she can talk to. I know what it's like to not have anyone that you can talk to, to get things off your chest."
"I just wish she would do the same with me. I always try talking to her, but she never seems to tell me these things." Beck replied, frustrated.
"Maybe you should let her do the talking and just listen. From what I can tell, Jade wants to talk to you about things, but she feels you don't listen to her. Kind of like today."
"Come on." Beck exclaimed, "You can't tell me that she wasn't overreacting with those girls."
Freddie clenched his jaw before responding in a neutral tone, "You didn't let her finish what she was going to say. Instead you walked away and even went to talk to those same girls."
"She just said she trusts me, but whenever I am around a girl not her she starts getting jealous and I don't understand why!" The long haired teen explained.
"She does trust you even if you might not believe it. However she doesn't trust the girls that swarm around you. Jade is scared of losing you Beck and maybe the way she shows that is by scaring away the girls, but that doesn't take away from the fact that she cares about you."
"I don't want her to be afraid though. I love Jade and no girl can ever replace her." Beck pointed out. Freddie let out a small smile at the teen's words of affection.
"Then tell her that." Freddie simply pointed out, "And show her by not allowing those girls to flirt with you." Beck didn't get a chance to respond as the group made their way back.
"Hey, how was the water fight?" Freddie asked, looking at the drenched teens in front him.
"I won." Jade claimed triumphantly as Freddie smiled.
"It was totally a tie." Tori argued, grabbing a towel and drying her hair.
"Whatever... I'm starving!" André noted. His stomach grumbled backing up his claim. The group laughed before they went to grab food from a vendor. They sat on the chairs and ate as Trina shortly joined them with a very happy look on her face.
"Uh.. Are you feeling okay Trina?" Tori asked not used to seeing her sister smile.
The older Vega glared at the girl before stating excitedly, "Ok, so I am pretty sure you all are aware of my famous relationships during my time at Hollywood Arts?"
"Famous?" Beck asked.
"You were in a relationship?" Rex added.
"Anyway!" The girl interrupted. Trina waited to make sure that they all had their focus on her before continuing, "So you see that lifeguard over there?" The group turned to see a fairly tanned and muscular older teen observing the water.
"I don't see him." Cat exclaimed as she looked around, using her hands as binoculars. Jade rolled her eyes and rotated the girl so she could see who Trina was talking about, "Oh I see him now."
"His name is Matt and he happens to find me smoking hot. His words by the way." Trina explained, "And he asked me out on a date."
"That guy?" Beck pointed, unsure of whether he was believing what the girl was saying.
"Asked you out on a date?" Jade added, making sure to enunciate the word 'you'. Freddie shook his head as he was annoyed by the group's lack of happiness for the girl.
"I think it's great." Freddie supportively said.
"Thanks Freddie!" The older Vega sister replied, pleased that at least one person cared that she was happy.
"No problem, just make sure to tell me if he hurts you so I can kick his ass." The former tech producer added, earning him a couple of surprised looks. He simply shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Jade with a smirk, "Comes with being noble I guess."
The pale girl smirked herself as she took a bite of her food. The rest of the group followed suit and continued talking to each other, sharing stories of their past some rather memorable and some rather embarrassing for certain individuals like Robbie. The sun began to set as the group decided to sit or go for one last swim while Freddie and Tori went for a walk as did Beck and Jade, both pairs going separate ways.
"Listen Jade." The long haired boy started as the pair walked along the shoreline. The pale girl looked at her boyfriend as he continued, "I just wanted to say-"
"I'm sorry." She interrupted, "I know you may think I don't trust, but I do. It's just I see those other girls and.. It just bothers me you know."
"I get it, but that doesn't mean you have to worry about them." He paused as he took the girl's hand and looked at her eyes, "I love you Jade and no girl is going to take that away."
The pale girl looked at her boyfriend and cracked a small smile. It felt like a wave of relief washed over her even though she knew Beck always did since they were young. Beck was always a very laid back person so hearing him give her reassurance was all the better for the girl. She slowly closed the distance between them as she gave him a soft kiss. They broke a part a few minutes later to catch their breath. Beck took Jade's hand as they continued to walk along the beach.
"You know..." Beck exclaimed, "It just occurred to me that you didn't say it back."
"Say what?" She asked, raising her pierced brow.
"I love you."
She rolled her eyes playfully and mumbled as if it was obvious, "You know I love you."
"What was that?" He asked, placing a hand on his ear to enunciate that he pretended to not have heard her.
"I said I love you!" She shouted, giving him a playful smack in the chest, "Are you happy now?"
"Very." He whispered as he gave the girl another kiss.
Meanwhile Freddie and Tori took a seat a little more isolated from the group as they looked at the pretty view of the sun setting over the calm waters.
"So you and Jade seem pretty close." Tori exclaimed, keeping her eyes on the water.
"I guess you can say that, but still not as much as I would like to be." Tori raised her brow at the boy's response as a teasing grin formed on her face.
"Sounds like someone has got a crush." She teased. The boy looked for a second at the girl before bursting out laughing.
"Okay what's so funny?" She asked, standing up and putting a hand on her hip. The boy continued to laugh as Tori exclaimed, "Freddie!"
"I'm sorry.. It's just.." He said in between breaths as he stood up trying to recollect himself. The boy paused as he realized he couldn't really explain the absurdness of her statement as Jade and him had yet to tell anyone about them being siblings. He looked as Tori impatiently awaited a response, "Jade is my friend and I wouldn't look at her any other way not only out of respect for her and Beck's relationship, but because that is the only way I see her."
The songstress seemed to buy his explanation as she questioned, "So who do you like?"
Freddie frowned a little as he whispered, "I used to love Carly... Since we were kids too, but I guess that ship sank before it even made it out of the port."
Tori instantly felt guilty as she inadvertently brought up the boy's old wounds, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He dismissed, giving her a look that showed he understood she meant no harm, "It is something that I am slowly moving on from. It may take time, but I want to be sure that it remains the past before I even think of trying to date a girl."
"I understand." She replied feeling a tad bit disappointed the boys words, "I may not have ever fallen in love before, but I know it must be hard to move on from someone you've spent so long loving." The girl looked down sadly as she realized her dating life had pretty much been a string of failures. From the manipulative Ryder and her ex-boyfriend at Northridge, she really couldn't find a guy that wanted to really be with her.
Freddie noted her look of disappointment and took her hand softly, "Hey." He whispered, drawing the girl's eyes to his, "Me still being in love with Carly doesn't mean that I stop feeling attracted to beautiful and talented girls. I just want to be able to be the kind of guy they can count on and can give them the care and affection that they deserve." Tori looked at boy and cracked a small smile and blushed slightly trying to avoid eye contact. The boy let out a smile of his own before a thought crossed his mind.
"Hey, how about we take picture?" He suggested, pulling out his phone, "It will be a great way to remember today." The brunette agreed and moved closer into Freddie while resting her head on his shoulder. The boy slipped a hand around her waist and the paired smiled as he snapped a photo of them.
"Hey lovebirds!" André shouted. The pair turned to see the rest of the group staring at the pair, "Are you coming with us or are we leaving you two standing their holding hands?" The rest of the group chuckled as the pair looked away slightly flustered and gave each other some distance. They made their way back to their vehicles as they shared goodbyes with the rest of the group before they would go their separate ways.
"See you in school." Beck said as he gave Freddie a one armed hug before saying more quietly, "Thanks by the way. For the whole Ryder incident and what you said to me today, it worked."
The boy gave a knowing look as he looked at Jade who stood back and watched the exchange. The girl gave him a quick hug as did Cat before the boy took a seat in his car. The RV pulled out of the parking lot as Freddie pulled out a minute after. The rest of the drive was rather quiet as both the Vega girls fell asleep. Freddie smiled seeing the two girls sleeping as he continued driving.
The rental finally pulled up on the Vega's driveway as the stars lit the sky. Freddie put the car in park and killed the ignition. He turned to see the girls still sleeping and smiled.
"We're here girls." He said as softly as he could to not wake them up abruptly. The sisters eyes opened as Trina let out a soft yawn.
"Night Freddie." The older Vega noted opening the door of the car, "Thank you for giving us a ride."
"It was my pleasure. Just promise me you won't fall asleep next time so we can get to know each other some more. Maybe we can get some lunch at school one day." Freddie offered. The girl smiled and nodded her head in agreement as she made her way inside.
The boy turned back to see Tori let out a small yawn as she looked at the boy.
"Thank you." He said, giving her a soft smile, "Today was one of the best days of my life after a while and I don't think I'll ever forget it."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She replied. The songstress reached over in her seat and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, "Goodnight Freddie." Tori whispered as she got out of the car and closed the door. The boy smiled as he gave a wave to the girl who walked inside. He sat in the car for a couple of minutes before turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the driveway. Tori watched from her bedroom window as she saw the boy leave. She blew out a soft breath and laid down on her bed. His heart was broken and she was determined to help him pick up the pieces.
AN: And that is the end of the chapter! Thank you all for reading. Please feel free to leave any feedback or comment and I will respond to you in the following chapter. I apologize in advance if it takes me a bit longer than usual to post the next chapter as I am a bit busy currently. Thanks for your understanding and thank you all for your continued support for this story. Let me also know if there is a character that you would like to see more of in the coming chapters and I will try to give them a bigger role.
Challenge King: Thank you for your review. Freddie's protecting nature is something that he's had before he knew Jade. From him saving Carly and putting himself at risk, showed he is willing to do whatever to protect those he cares about. With Jade he will obviously take the extra mile and even Tori as they continue to get closer in the coming chapters. With regards to Tori, I actually quite enjoyed writing that part. I felt it was a interesting side of Tori and one where she has shown she can be very good at.
epuresoul: Thank you for your review. You are absolutely right. As you can see from this chapter, the group is starting to get curious about why Freddie and Jade seem so close despite knowing each other for a short time. So far they have been able to avoid giving them an answer, but they will have to do so otherwise they will allow people to think the worst which will make their problems that much more difficult. With regards to Carly and Sam, expect to see them soon. Not saying the next chapter, but at some point where Freddie leasts expects it. Carly wants Freddie back and even if Sam doesn't really care, she is still going to help Carly if it will make her best friend happy. The confrontation is not going to be pretty that's for sure.
Thank you all for reading once again and stay tuned for the next chapter!