Hey, guys! This is the second to the last chapter of this story, but don't worry. There's another Cat/Robbie coming up really, really soon. It'll be called "No Strings Attached." Ten virtual cookies to anyone who guesses what it's going to be about. :P Well, I do believe this is one of my best chapters, not to brag or anything, but it made me smile while I was writing. And I hope it makes you smile too. Read and review. And hopefully, smile. (:

Robbie sat on the couch at his cousin's house and stared at his cell phone. One missed call: Cat (: 1 new voicemail. He sighed and dialed his voicemail, and he listened to the simple message that she had left. "Hi, Robbie. It's Cat. Call me back when you get the chance…" He expected her to be upset by his absence, at least to care a little bit that he was gone. But she didn't seem to even know that he was gone. And if she did know, she probably didn't even care. Her life was probably better now that he wasn't around bugging her. He quickly deleted the voicemail and stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

"So, Michael, thanks for letting me stay here for a while, considering all that happened," Robbie said when his cousin walked back into the room with drinks. Robbie's mom and Michael's mom had gotten into a fight at Thanksgiving about something that happened in high school, and they hadn't spoken to each other since. No one would think to check Michael's house for Robbie, so he thought it would be best to go here.

"No problem," Michael said, waving it off. "I know you've been having a lot of problems lately." He paused as he sat down on the couch next to Robbie. "So listen, I'm having a party tonight. And there's gonna be girls there. Lots and lots of girls. So we're gonna find you another one and take your mind off of Cathy."

"Cat," Robbie corrected him. And just as he spoke, he felt his phone buzzing. He didn't want to answer, but he pulled it out and looked to see who was calling anyway. Cat (:

He held the phone in his hand, tightening his grip as it continues to vibrate, trying to resist the urge to answer. And just when he thought it was never going to end, the phone stopped making noises and sat still. He loosened his grip and watched as her named transformed into One missed call. He gulps back the desire to call her back, and then he places it back in his pocket.

"Why did you ignore that call?" Michael asked.

Robbie shook his head and got up from the couch. "It was nothing. I just don't want to talk to anyone right now." He then walked away to the guest bedroom in the apartment.

…

Cat sighed as she hung up her phone. She was directed to voicemail again, and she wasn't going to leave a message this time. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk to her. "He didn't answer," she said from the backseat of Beck's car. "What are we supposed to do? We don't know where he could be."

"Is there anywhere that we know to check? I mean, where does he like to go?" Beck asked, glancing back at Cat. She should know somewhere to check for Robbie. She probably knew him best.

Jade released an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, but I'm getting really bored. Can we just go home now?"

If Cat was a violent person, she would have hit Jade right then and there. But she didn't. Because she was sweet and innocent, and because Jade was her best friend. But she wasn't going to let her get by with the comment. "Jade, why do you have to be so mean all the time?" she yelled, louder than she had yelled in the hallway. She was feeling feisty today. "Robbie could be hurt or possibly even dead or he could be missing forever and you don't care! Robbie is supposed to be your friend. He's always been nothing but nice to you, and you act like you don't even care that he's gone?" She bit her lip to try to fight back the tears that were threatening to pool over, and then she sighed and crossed her arms.

Jade had jumped at the harsh sound of Cat's voice. It was the first time that she had ever heard Cat sound really, truly angry. She frowned, and when she knew that Cat was finished, she said, "Cat, don't be mad, okay? I don't want Robbie to be missing forever or anything like that either, but I mean…I just think that he can take care of himself." She paused and looked down at the floorboard. "Besides, the police are looking for him, and we don't even know what we're doing. It's kind of pointless to be driving around LA-"

"No, it's not," Cat argued. Her brown eyes were gleaming with anger, and her face was burning red hot. "He could be anywhere, and you don't even care." She rolled her eyes. "Just don't talk to me."

Jade unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to the backseat where she could fully face Cat. "Do you wanna know the truth, Cat? The truth is, I…" She hesitated, lowering her voice down to a whisper. "IcareaboutRobbie."

Cat raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Jade rolled her eyes and looked up at her again. "I care about Robbie, okay? He's a good friend, and all those times that I insulted him, I was just…I don't know. Sometimes I don't realize that I'm doing it, and I get annoyed easily, and-"

Cat grinned knowingly and leaned back in her seat. "I knew it. You're not as tough as you make everyone think you are."

"She really isn't," Beck said.

Jade glared at Cat for a second, trying to come up with something to say to her, and then she settled on punching Beck in the arm. "Shut up."

Cat smiled again and giggled a little to herself as she stared out the window at all the buildings passing by. And then she decided to call Robbie again. He couldn't ignore her forever.

…

Robbie stood in the corner of his cousin's apartment that night sipping on a bottle of water. All of Michael's friends that had come over for the party were all college age, like Michael, and they were all completely drunk. Robbie had never liked the taste of alcohol, so when Michael came up and offered him some tequila, he declined, preferring to drink his water instead.

Over the sound of the loud, pulsating music, Robbie felt a vibration in his pocket. At first, he didn't want to pick up, but as it continued, he sighed and pulled it out. Beck.

He rolled his eyes, but he decided to answer it. "Look, Beck, I told you yesterday that-"

"Hah! I got you! You answered!" It wasn't Beck's voice on the other line. Instead, it was Cat's shrill, excited voice. "So Robbie, listen. You need to tell us where you are because we're gonna come and rescue you-"

He hung up. He doesn't know why he did it, but he did. He loved hearing her sweet voice, but he still remembered everything that she had done to him. It still hurt just as much as it did yesterday. He stuffed the phone back in his pocket for about the fiftieth time today and looked up just in time to see a blonde girl sauntering over to him.

"Hi," she slurred, taking another sip from her cup. She smelled like she had dove into a keg. "You must be Michael's cousin. He told me all about you, but he never said anything about how cute you are." She smiled and hiccupped as she ran her hand through his hair. "So you're cute right now, and I'm incredibly drunk. You wanna make out with me?"

Any normal boy would say yes, but Robbie was far from normal. She was leaning in toward him, only inches away from his mouth, and all he could see was Cat. He sighed and pushed the girl away from him. "I think I need some fresh air," he said, and, not waiting for a response, walked out the door.

…..

It was nighttime. Beck had gotten hungry, and now they were sitting at a restaurant at the far side of LA. Cat was looking around the place like she expected to find Robbie there, and she refused to eat when the waitress came to take their orders. Instead, she settled on dialing and redialing Robbie's number from Beck's phone, even though she knew that he wasn't going to answer. She even tried calling from Jade's phone, but she knew that Robbie most definitely wouldn't answer a call from Jade.

When Beck and Jade were in the middle of their meal, Cat sighed and looked out the window of the restaurant. And she was glad that she looked up, because there was Robbie, passing by on the sidewalk and looking like he was the most miserable person in the world.

"Robbie!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and scrambling to the door. She threw it open and ran outside, looking in both directions for him. But he was nowhere to be seen. "Robbie?" she called into the night, but there was no reply.

He couldn't have gone far. She just saw him pass by, and it only took her a few seconds to get outside. She glanced at Beck and Jade, who were both giving her questioning looks from inside, and then she waved at them and walked down the street, searching for Robbie on her own.

…..

Robbie didn't know where he was walking. He didn't care. He wanted to go back home and see Cat again, no matter how much he hated her right now. He could learn to accept that she didn't love him. He could stay friends with her and date someone else…like Trina or someone. He shuddered at the thought of that. He would never fall for Trina Vega ever again.

And then he heard a soft voice call out in the night. "Robbie?" It sounded just like Cat, but it couldn't be her. She didn't know where he was. It had to be his subconscious speaking to him. So, shaking the thought of her from his head, he kept on walking.

His phone vibrated yet again, and he saw that instead of a call, it was a text. From Cat. I saw you walking down the street. How'd you get away so fast? He didn't reply, because he knew that she had found him. He hadn't been imagining her. She was there, really close by, and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Cat?" he called, his voice shaking badly as he spoke. He licked his lips and waited for a reply, but there was none. He had lost her.

…

Cat continued on down the street, listening for the slightest sound that would give away Robbie's hiding spot. But she only heard the wind and the hiss of an alley cat. She wound her way through backstreets and alleys, calling out for Robbie and never getting a reply. She texted him time and time again, and he wouldn't answer. She knew that he was avoiding her, but after sending thirty texts, she wondered if she was ever going to hear from him again.

And just as she started to feel hopeless, she regained hope again when she looked up and saw his tall, lanky body at the end of a deserted street. She grinned to herself and called out to him, and he looked up to see her running toward him, her sneakers that she never ever wore smacking against the smooth sidewalk. He smiled at her and started toward her as well, and for a second, it felt like everything was in slow motion, just like in the movies. But then Cat picked up her pace, and she ended up running right into him, sending him toppling to the ground.

"Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she said as she held out her hand and helped him up. "I was just excited to see you. You've been ignoring my calls all day, and-"

"Sorry," Robbie said, straightening his glasses and running a hand through his hair. "I didn't really want to talk to anyone today, especially you because of everything that happened…" He trailed off, not meeting her eyes.

Cat sighed and grabbed his hand. This was the moment. She had to do it now. All of those feelings that were eating her up inside were begging to come out, and she had to set them free. She smiled and gulped down all of those terrible feelings, putting the rest of the world out of her mind, and said it.

"I love you."