AN: Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers.
Has it really been so long since I updated this? I suppose it must have been. Anyway, I hope this is just about worth the wait and that you enjoy this little chapter.
As always, thank you to everyone who read, enjoyed and reviewed last time around, particularly the comments about Gibby's continued entrapment at chez Derschlitz. As I say, it requires more than a little artistic license, but I think most people found it amusing at least.
Twilight Warrior – I think the best way to describe the various girls' feelings towards Freddie is that Carly wishes she did love him, Sam wishes she didn't and Melanie wishes he loved her (and, of course, One Horse Shay wished he loved Jade instead/as well!)
Fanfic-Reader – I don't think anybody could blame him.
Pbow – would Guppy miss him? He described him as the world's worst babysitter towards the end of iCarly, if memory serves.
Challenge King – thanks.
Sora – as I say, artistic license.
Consort of Chaos – Gibby's never been the brightest of characters; I, too, love cruelty to Gibbies.
Lushcoltrane – thanks, I'm glad that you like it – even with the criminal cuteness in the house :)
Chapter 11
430 Dalehurst Avenue, Los Angeles
Friday, 28th December 2012.
It was a little after mid-day before Tori surfaced; she ventured downstairs wearing only her robe and was immediately greeted, on arrival in the living area, by a smiling Jade West.
"Wow," she smirked, "you guys really missed one another last week."
"Like you have room to talk," the lighter brunette teased back; Jade raised her hands in mock surrender.
"Hey, just saying – and at least we have more of an excuse; Beck is usually gone for weeks on end not just a few days."
"It felt like weeks to me," the half-Latina confided; Jade nodded sympathetically, then grinned.
"It seems like Freddie felt the same way too!"
"I'm going to get some coffee," was all Tori would say.
"Get me some," Jade instructed, holding out her empty cup; her housemate rolled her eyes a little but took it and headed for the kitchen.
The gothic teen raised a pierced eyebrow as the singer returned with just a single cup, which she set before her before bustling back to the kitchen.
"You're not staying?" she pried as the girl and two steaming cups headed for the staircase.
"No, I've left my man unattended long enough," she grinned; Jade shook her head and smiled into her cup.
Freddie was sitting upright in bed, his back leaning against the headboard, when his girlfriend returned with their reviving beverages. The sophomore set his phone back on his bedside table and smiled as Tori set one of the cups down next to his device.
"Anything interesting?" she enquired as she casually sauntered around their bed to her own side.
"Just a couple of messages; mom seeing if everything's fine – you know what she's like," Tori nodded, knowing all too well what her mother-in-law-to-be was like, "and one from Carly complaining about Sam driving her crazy," he shook his head.
"Nothing from Melanie hitting on you?" the svelte half-Latina pried with raised eyebrows.
"Not this morning," he teased back wickedly. "She behaved, mostly," he clarified, "and she knows that I'm insanely happy with the girl I'm already involved with."
"Good to know," Tori grinned; having reached her side of the bed she deposited her cup on her nightstand, locked eyes with her man and slowly, deliberately unbelted the robe. She pushed back her shoulders and allowed the fabric to slide off them and fall to the floor before slipping back under the covers and cuddling up next to Freddie.
"Freddie! So you really are back!" Beck joked as the quartet were reunited; the actor had just returned home from meeting a studio executive about a couple of forthcoming opportunities (thankfully for him and his girlfriend, this time the roles would be based in LA).
For their part, the girls had almost finished preparing dinner for the household; Jade, almost physically, threw Freddie out of the kitchen when he offered to help as his methodical preparation drove her to annoyance, much to Tori's amusement. The lighter haired girl joked that it was a plan on Freddie's part to get out of cooking duties, though he pointed out that it would be just as easy for Jade to walk out of the room as to kick him out.
"Yeah, sorry I missed you earlier dude but uh… we had some catching up to do."
Beck smiled. "I was away for weeks, I hear you bud."
"So, Jade tells me you're planning a New Year's party here. She also claims that you haven't given her any of the details," he gave a searching, questioning and slightly disbelieving look to his housemate.
"The party plan is true, the claim that she doesn't know anything about it is true to a point. I told her I wanted to plan it so she's left me to it; if she'd asked I'd have told her."
"So who's going to be here?"
"Just the usual suspects really," he smiled, "Robbie, Cat and her roommate – Melanie?" Freddie nodded his confirmation – Beck, after all, hadn't had too many dealings with the blonde, "André, Trina," he winced slightly, "and a couple of my co-stars from the series I've been filming."
"Male or female?" the shorter teen asked cautiously.
"Female," he confirmed.
"Does Jade know?"
"I've mentioned them; she's cool with it… I think."
"Alright, dinner is ready," Tori called, urging the boys to join them in the kitchen as she and Jade set the meal on the table.
"So," Freddie asked as they sat down to their meal, the girls had cooked some chicken, rice and mixed vegetables, "what's happening over the next few days?"
"I've got another meeting with the studio next Wednesday," Beck noted. "Then the Sunday after it's back up to Canada to film the rest of the series."
"How many episodes?" he asked.
"I think we've another four to do," the long-haired male frowned in concentration, "so that might take another two to three weeks depending on how it all goes, then I'm finally back here for a while."
"And hopefully landing a part that will keep you here for a long time," his girlfriend added with a smile.
"That would be good."
"You said your co-stars are around here too, right?" Freddie prompted; from the corner of his eye he could see Jade's expression darken fractionally. Clearly, he thought, she wasn't completely comfortable with her boyfriend's fellow actors being around him.
"Jade?" he prompted. "Anything coming up for you?"
"Right now? We're 'between seasons' as they say," she smirked slightly, "filming went well on the show and the first season is wrapped up but, while we have a provisional green light for season 2 and I've even got the first script for a read-through, they're not going to start filming until the network actually gives the nod – which won't come until it starts airing."
"And that's in the spring, right?" he sought confirmation.
"It was," she half-smiled, "but the network's been doing pretty badly lately so they're actually going to start airing it early next month in a hope to kick-start their ratings. Hopefully it will pick them up so that they give the nod to the show."
"They should do," Tori piped up, "I mean, it's not like they have much else to show is it? Right now it's just a bunch of re-runs."
"So my show is going to get good ratings because there's nothing else to watch?" Jade was joking but kept the sarcastic tone in her voice along with the smirk on her face. "Thanks Tori."
"Oh you know what I mean," she shot back with a smile of her own.
"How about you, Freddie? Anything new for you?" Beck loudly brought the girls' light squabble to an end.
"I talked to my manager before Christmas about taking on some more responsibility there – with a view to getting a supervisor position so I can maybe go straight into that sort of seniority if I landed a job with Pear after college. I didn't mention the last part to him, obviously, but I think he can put two and two together easily enough. He seemed receptive to the idea so hopefully there'll be a little promotion coming soon."
"And a few extra bucks?" Jade asked.
"I hope so. I've got to try and keep pace with this one for a while," he laughed, gesturing to Tori but knowing full well that her earnings would far outstrip his own over the next few years. "Speaking of which," he turned back to the shorter-haired girl, "will you be getting an improved contract for the new season, now that they want your character to be a bigger part of it?"
"Yes," she confirmed, "we haven't talked numbers yet, not until we actually get the go-ahead for more episodes, but they have said that they'd offer me more money this time around."
"Good," Beck smiled, "I know it was a first contract but you were really underpaid in it."
"You have a position of strength now though," Tori spoke up in support of her friend, "they like your character and obviously only you can play her…"
"Unless they hire Heather Fox," Jade joked.
"Yeah, like she'd come any cheaper," Beck commented.
"Anyway, they want you so you have the power to get a better deal than when you were an unknown quantity. And if the viewers love your character then you can really cash in on the third contract – whether it's with them or you look to do something else to avoid any danger of being type-cast early on."
"Some good points Tori, thanks," the young actress nodded, "definitely plenty to think about."
Monday, 31st December 2012.
The teens' party was in full swing; a few of their guests had arrived (Robbie and André were the first to do so). The songsmith had agreed to provide the music for the event, which included some of the stuff he had been working on for RPX recently ('a little sneak peak' he called it) and the assembled guests were either dancing in the living area or retreating to the kitchen to talk quietly and rehydrate between danced.
"Hi-iii," Cat called through the din as she approached Tori. "Oh hey Freddie," she waved before flinging herself on the boy and pulling him tightly into a hug. "I missed you over Christmas," she complained.
"It's great to see you too, Cat," he told her, smiling as he looked over her shoulder at his surprised girlfriend. The redhead then proceeded to strike up a conversation with the brunette as if nothing had happened.
"It's amazing how she does that," the higher-pitched Puckett twin's voice pierced the music and chatter as she sidled up to his side. "She's a great roomie and a really nice girl but sometimes…" she shook her head weakly.
"That just about sums up Cat," he agreed with a smile. "Have you heard from Sam or your mom since we got back?"
"No, why would I want to?" she snapped hotly.
"Well they are your family," he reasoned.
"Family who hate me," Melanie complained; Freddie turned to face her and could see the sadness and vulnerability in her eyes. His heart bled a little for the girl and he could appreciate what had drawn her to someone like Cat. He placed a consoling hand on the blonde's shoulder and gave her a sad smile; she lowered her eyes in response and allowed him to steer her towards the kitchen so that he could fix her a drink.
"I heard from Carly," he told her as quietly as he could whilst still making himself heard, "she said that Sam was driving her crazy – so I guess some things will never change."
"What about this time?" the good twin asked curiously.
"Just Sam being Sam I think," he shrugged. "She didn't go into details and I wasn't interested enough to ask," he admitted, a little to Melanie's surprise.
"I thought you'd still want to know what was going on with them," she commented conversationally.
"I dunno," he shrugged, "I guess it could be because my life is here now rather than up there. We're still friends but I see so little of them that their day-to-day lives don't really affect me anymore – unlike Tori, Jade, Beck and their friends."
Melanie nodded her understanding; she had to admit that she felt the same way about her sister's life, though deep down it did disappoint her that it was the case.
"Freddie!" Beck called; he turned in response to see his housemate approaching the kitchen and flanked by two girls of roughly their age; one had blonde, wavy hair, the other was darker skinned and had black, straight hair. "These are two of my co-stars, Maddie and Kylie."
"Hey," he smiled at and shook hands with both girls. "So how are you finding filming with him?" he grinned.
"It's good," Maddie, the blonde, commented. "Beck's a cool guy."
Kylie nodded her agreement. "It's made some of the scenes easier to do, certainly."
"Oh?" The tech genius raised his eyebrows.
"Three teenagers – can anyone say love triangle?" Maddie laughed. Freddie rolled his eyes slightly, thinking back on his former life and how the phrase had often been applied to it, particularly by the hordes at Webicon.
"Yeah," Beck took up. "Maddie's character likes mine but he's with Kylie's… kinda," the co-stars shared an awkward look. "Ok, we don't want to spoil the show for you – assuming you're going to watch it," he finished with a smile.
"I think Jade would hurt me if I didn't," the muscular teen joked.
"I sure would," the gothic girl, tonight sporting her purple hair extensions, "interjected, throwing an arm around Beck's shoulders.
"You must be Jade," Maddie guessed, smiling at the girl. "He never stops talking about you."
"Any of it good?" she raised a pierced eyebrow and mock-accused her boy.
"Some of it," he joked back, mollifying her with a kiss.
"André!" Freddie spotted their dreadlocked friend walking away from the music decks in order to take a break from his duties; his head was down and he was hunched a little over his glass of pink lemonade (which Beck and Jade had spiked). "How's it going buddy?" He made his way over to him.
"I'm ok thanks, Freddie," he replied unconvincingly, "how was Seattle?"
"Same as always," he shrugged. "I saw my mom, Carly, Sam and a couple of others so yeah, it was a good week. I missed Tori though," he added idly; André nodded.
"That's good," he commented distractedly.
"Your grandma's still not good?" Freddie guessed sympathetically; the other teen shrugged.
"About the same. I guess we're really just waiting now," he conceded then, in response to his friend's uncomfortable expression, he made a deliberate attempt to brighten. "Anyway, let's try and forget the bad stuff for one night shall we? See if we can just enjoy the party?" He threw back the pink lemonade and helped himself to another glass, sipping it before commenting, "it still tastes a bit different to how I remember it."
"I'm sure there's a reason for that; no doubt Jade will explain it," Freddie grinned, sipping it himself. "He could taste the vodka in it, having sampled some from a bottle Beck had 'liberated' from his parents' house when the housemates had celebrated his return over the weekend.
"Whatever," the young musician shrugged and began to drain his second glass.
Freddie moved quickly over to his dark brunette housemate, who was talking to her boyfriend and his co-stars.
"I think we should tell André to go easy on the 'pink lemonade'," he told her in a low voice. "He's nearly finished two cups already. At this rate he'll be in no fit state to do anything later."
The girl looked across at their friend; he was engaging Cat in a conversation. "Ah, let him enjoy tonight. If he gets any worse I'll steal his car keys and he can sleep here tonight. I won't let him drive drunk," she insisted. Freddie smiled and nodded; he still didn't much like the idea of the teenager getting too drunk but he figured that it might do him good to have the pain of his life numbed, if only for one night.
True to her word, while André was refilling his cup for the third time, Jade began talking to him; she slipped her hand stealthily into his jacket pocket and withdrew his car keys, pushing them into her own jeans pocket before her friend had even realised that they were gone. 'Mission accomplished' she mouthed to Freddie as the dreadlocked star-to-be took the first sip of his latest drink.
"So Cat, how are you?" Freddie asked as he took a seat next to the happy redhead; she smiled and set her drink down on the table before turning to him.
"I'm good, thanks Freddie. Our run of Wicked finished over Christmas so I'm looking for something new now," she disclosed.
"And what about away from the stage?" he probed gently. "How is your brother getting on up in Idaho?"
"He's ok, or so my mom and dad said when they called. I really missed them all over Christmas but at least I saw my Nona."
"Wasn't there enough time for you to go up there and see them?" he wondered aloud.
"No," she replied and, for the first time, sadness darkened her features. "With my performances I couldn't go in time for Christmas and then afterwards..." she shrugged, "we're back at school soon and I have some other things that I want to audition for and then I'm talking to Tori's friend Shaun about maybe doing some singing soon too. So I'm going to be busy but I do miss them."
"I guess it was even quieter with Melanie being away for the week."
"Yeah," she agreed, "but I saw my Nona and I had Tori, Beck and Jade to talk to as well so I was ok," she concluded, smile back in place.
"Good to know," he patted her knee and they shared a smile.
"Have you spoken to André?" she asked softly; he confirmed that he had. "I think he's really worried about his grandma," she commented. "I just wish that there was something we could do."
Freddie looked over to the musician, stood by his deck with yet another glass of Jade's spiked lemonade and wholeheartedly agreed with her sentiments.
Trina bustled over to join them; she squeezed uncomfortably close to the brown-haired sophomore on the couch and gave him a flirtatious smile.
"Hi, Freddie," she greeted him. "Sorry we haven't had a chance to talk yet."
"Oh hey Trina," he shuffled a couple of inches closer to Cat to give the girl some room; the brunette diva responded by nudging closer to him again. "How's Divertisimo?"
"I'm still the star of the show," she declared immodestly. "They're renewing for another season and it's a huge hit in Mexico."
"I'm glad," he told her genuinely, "you deserve the success." She smile warmly at his encouragement. "Anything else you have planned? An English-speaking role perhaps?"
"Not at the moment," she revealed sadly, "I'm still trying hard, trying to get auditions but the roles aren't coming."
"Well keep trying," he encouraged with a smile, "the perfect role is out there for you; you'll get it in time."
"Thanks Freddie," she smiled. "So what about you?" and he filled her in on what was happening in his world.
Finally the witching hour approached; André had fallen asleep around half an hour earlier so Freddie had worked out how to operate the music. He set a soft tune going and, after checking the clock on his phone, urged the assembled group to join him in counting down to the New Year. As they reached five he crossed the room to join his girlfriend; they looked over to see Beck stood beside Jade with his arm around her. The group reached one before a general declaration of "Happy New Year!" was called. Freddie and Tori turned to one another and kissed deeply.
"I love you, Tori," he told his girl.
"I love you too Freddie," she replied, and they kissed again. "It's going to be a great New Year," she promised; he smiled his agreement.
AN: Thanks for reading; I hope that the next chapter won't be so long in coming. PD.
