Author's Note: I'd like to thank all of you that have read and those that have reviewed this story so far. I hope you continued to enjoy this story that explores the Cat/Freddie and Creddie relationships.
Chapter 8
Cat covered her mouth from her laughter and joy as they exited the planetarium. "That was so much fun!" she shouted as she looked to the brown eye boy. "All the lights and sounds and pretty pictures, I didn't realize how beautiful the universe could be. I thought it was all black. Now I think I know why you like it."
"Yeah, I think more people would appreciate it and wouldn't be so forthcoming with the jokes if they experienced it like that… thank you for the treat. I really appreciate it," he replied with a big smile plastered on his face.
She bit her lower lip for a moment before she took a step forward to invade his person space and capture his lips in a soft, short kissed. Cat grinned as she pulled back and looked to the brown eye boy. "You're welcome. So, what do you want to do next?"
Freddie raised an eyebrow and gave her his boyish smirk. "Maybe grab something to eat?"
Before she could reply, the redhead's PearPhone rang and she slipped her hand into her brown purse/backpack to pull it out. She smiled as she answered the phone, "Oh, hi Tori." She listened for a moment and nodded her head to whatever was being said on the other end. "One, sec," she replied and looked to Freddie. "Tori's invited me out for lunch. Do you want to go?"
Freddie thought about it for a moment then answered, "Sure."
She turned her attention back to her phone and asked, "Is it okay that I bring Freddie?"
She grinned as she heard the answer and replied, "Okay, we'll be there in a little while." She pressed the end call button on her phone and asked Freddie, "I forgot to ask, but do you like Chinese food?"
Wok Star Restaurant
Los Angeles, CA
Cat led Freddie into the Chinese Restaurant where Tori, André, Beck and Jade were already sitting at a table. The all nodded with hesitant, but friendly smiles as the pair took their seats with the quartet. Cat sat her stuffed giraffe in her lap. The others at the tables just exchanged looks for a moment, but decided to ignore the toy for the time being.
Tori was the first to greet them, "Hey Cat, hello Freddie."
"Tori," he replied with a friendly nod. The teenagers then exchanged some awkward greetings as apparently last night's events were still fresh on their minds.
The waiter then approached with two menus for the new pair and they quickly ordered their lunch. A few minutes later, the waiter returned to the relatively silenced table with their meals.
After a few minutes of eating, Freddie chuckled, "No awkwardness…"
"Well your friend did call Cat a 'skunkbag', whatever that is," Jade remarked with a cold smirk.
Freddie met the girl's eyes with a cold glare the same way he would Sam when she pushed too far even for her. "I'm not going to defend her because it's indefensible and… she doesn't defend me, so I don't feel any need to defend her anymore."
Jade was slightly taken aback from the look he was giving her.
"But she's your friend?" Tori asked with a raised eyebrow somewhat shocked that he would say that even if it was true.
He turned his attention towards the Caucasian/Latino descended teenager. "Not to be rude Tori, but you don't know me or Carly or Sam. You see us for half an hour once a week playing various characters. You have no idea what my life is with those two."
"So what happened last night to cause what we saw happen? If you don't mind me asking," Tori finished a little nervous wondering if she crossed a line asking a question.
Freddie let out a tired breath before answering, "I kind of went off on her after she said something about Steven."
Tori swallowed down the pain at the mention of the name. She may have enjoyed paying him back, but the pain of finding out she was being two timed was not going to go away in one day.
"We disagreed on whether I could beat him up for what he did to the both of you. She said that he would pound me silly because I was all nerdy. I wanted to originally correct her on her false assumption and one thing led to another about our friendship and I walked out on her."
Tori poked his bicep just under his rolled up sleeve then gave him a perplex look.
Freddie laughed, "I know; I don't understand it either. Rehab was very good."
"Sorry about the knee," she replied with a genuine regretful tone.
Freddie shrugged a shoulder. "You do what you have to do for the ones you love."
Beck held up his glass. "Well said."
Freddie nodded his appreciation of the gestured. He looked towards all the teenagers and continued, "I think what was the final straw was that she hit me for having the nerve to say you were good looking while she was dating Steven. I didn't realize at first how much that bothered me."
Tori was lost for words for a moment, but was finally able to ask, "She hit you?"
"I was just as shocked as you. I expect that from Sam, she does it on a regular basis."
Cat blinked and gave him a worried expression. "Wait, Sam hits you?"
Freddie looked down at the table and released a tired breath. "Yes, Sam hits me and everyone thinks it's a joke even though they see me in pain. She's a lot stronger than she looks," he replied then looked to Tori. "She was ready to beat you with her butter sock and you saw how little she cared whether she hurt you or not."
Jade asked with a raised eyebrow, "Butter sock?"
"She puts a few sticks of butter in a sock and beats people with it. It works really well."
André looked back and forth between Freddie and Cat for a moment before asking, "Aren't you exaggerating?"
"She can throw me over her shoulder and carry me. What am I suppose to do? Hit her back? Yeah like a guy hitting a girl goes over well even if she uses me for a punching bag," he shook his head in disgust.
Cat took in a deep breath before patting the side of Freddie's arm. The brown eye teenager turned to her and tried to reassure her with a brief smile. It seemed to calm her and she returned the gesture with a small smile of her own.
André's smile left his face from the serious look the Tech-Producer was giving him. "I guess not."
Tori blinked as she finally realized what Freddie had said earlier about why Carly had hit him. "Wait, Carly hit you because you said I was pretty?"
"Sam found a picture of you and Steven and I commented on you to them. Carly did like that, so she hit me with an orange. She chucked it at me pretty good. Hit me right in the spine."
Jade smirked and shook her head. "Of course you said she was pretty."
Freddie looked to Jade and narrowed his eyes on the pale teenager. "I didn't see your picture or I would have said the same thing. Are you going to argue against the fact that you're pretty?"
Jade leaned back in her seat from the question.
Freddie pointed to Beck. "I think he would agree with me."
The actor laughed then looked to his girlfriend. "I agree with him."
"Charmers, the both of you," she countered with a smirk.
Freddie laughed before replying, "I've been called worst." He then looked to Cat who quickly joined him for a brief laugh.
Beck spoke up, "Wait, if they treated you that bad, why would you be their friend for so long?"
"Because I'm… I was in love with Carly. I've been in love with her since I was in sixth grade and you do a lot of stupid stuff when you're in love. I bet you can relate."
Beck looked to Jade and smiled as he answered, "Yes I can."
Jade allowed herself a small smile and displayed a self-assured look on her face.
"Last night I finally realized that she really didn't care about me. I think she thinks she cared about me, but if she did, she wouldn't treat me the way she has over the last few years. Now my friendships are done and I have to start over, because I'm not going back to being treated that way. I'm sorry that all of you got dragged into our personal problems."
The other teenagers then looked to one another as the processed what they had heard over the last few minutes.
Freddie glanced at them for a moment or so before stating, "I'd hate to imply anything against any of you by asking, but… I'm not going to see what I just told you on the internet am I?"
Tori shook her head. "No, we're not going to repeat anything said at this table."
"Thank you, I appreciate the discretion."
After a few more minute of eating their lunch, Tori asked, "Cat, could I talk to you for a second in private?"
"Okay?" she asked unsure.
Tori got up and gestured towards the bathroom where Cat followed the brunette and surprisingly, Jade following the both of them.
Once the girls were out of earshot, Beck asked hesitantly, "So you spent the night… was that all you did?"
Freddie frowned for a moment as he eyed the Canadian born. In a chilly tone, Freddie answered, "I'm not sure how that's any of your business."
"I think it is if something happened that wasn't supposed to happen then it becomes our business. She's our friend and we don't want anything to happen to her or… anyone taking advantage of her,"
Freddie chuckled. "It's funny you put it that way, she promised she wouldn't take advantage of me and she didn't."
Beck and André looked to one anther to see if the other heard what was just said.
The brown eye boy laughed at their reactions.
As soon as the girls entered the bathroom, Tori asked, "So is he your boyfriend now?"
"Ah… we haven't discussed it. We're… just trying to have a good time and… he is a good kisser," the redhead replied with grin.
The teenage girls looked to one another and exchanged concern looks with Jade blinking once or twice and Tori trying to speak. Jade was able to find her voice first and ask, "Where did he sleep last night?"
"Oh, with me. He makes a nice teddy bear."
Jade looked worried as she asked, "Cat, don't you think maybe you're moving a little quickly? Did you two…"
"Do what?" she replied with a curious look at the pair. After a moment, she realized what Jade was asking. Cat shook her head vigorously. "No, he was a perfect gentleman. He was having a really bad night and I was just trying to comfort him. She… she really hurt him. You heard what she said to him. He didn't deserve that and now I find out what she did…" Cat frowned and started getting angry. Jade hadn't seen her look that mad since the rigging of the karaoke song a few weeks ago. "How could she be so mean to him?"
Tori let out a soft breath and frowned as she replied, "I don't know."
Cat took a deep breath and released it as she tried to calm down and continued, "I really like him."
"But Cat… he lives in Seattle and…" Tori looked to Jade for help.
The raven haired teenager sighed then continued, "We don't want you to get hurt, especially if he still has feelings for Carly even after last night. If he's really been in love with her since sixth grade, that's not going to go away overnight even after last night."
Cat looked down at the floor. "After we sung karaoke last night, I told him that he shouldn't give up even after her picking Steven, but Carly broke his heart anyway. I realized how nice and sweet he is… I didn't mean to, but…"
Tori patted her friend's shoulder. "It's alright Cat, it happens."
Jade looked more concerned. "Yeah, but he's still on the rebound even if they weren't together."
She gave them a sad look. "So you're saying I shouldn't try?"
Her sad expression hit Tori in the chest and caught her off guard, however, Jade was quicker in a reply, "Just that you should be careful."
Cat's frown turned into a small smile. "I will. Thank you for caring."
Tori grinned and replied, "You're welcome Cat."
Jade shook her head as she tried to suppress an embarrassed look on her face. "Whatever."
