PLEASE READ: So… this was actually the first chapter I ever wrote for this fiction. Hence, the characters (Cough Beck Cough) might seem OOC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I've tried to edit it a bit so it makes more sense in the general context of the story, but yeah… sorry.
The table goes silent as they spot Robbie approaching the following day. Robbie dejectedly notes that Jade hasn't arrived yet which means he's going to have to sit through an awkward conversation alone.
"Hey." He murmurs uneasily, slipping down next to Andre who was half-heartedly trying to finish homework from his music class.
"Robbie." Tori pipes up brightly. He thinks he now understands why Jade brings those huge black sunnies to school. "We want to talk to you." She continues in an over happily tone.
"Yeah." Beck spits out almost venomously, and Tori shoots him a reproachable glare.
"This isn't an intervention." Cat assured him before giggling to herself while the table groaned. Robbie felt his heart rate pick up. Holy Moses, what had he done now to concern his nosey and over interested friends in his personal life?
"We're just a little, concerned about you." Tori states gently, beginning to rub his shoulder in what he assumes is meant to be a soothing manner, but she's kind of tense and he feels uncomfortable and lightly shrugs her off.
He wishes he could just scream like Jade for them to all bugger (well Jade would probably use a more vulgar word) off, but instead he replies shakily, "What do you mean? I'm cool, totally fine."
"Why are you hanging out with Jade so much then?" Beck cuts in, and he almost sounds a little jealous which sort of makes Robbie feel a bit more confident.
"You know we've been working on a project." He exclaims breezily and hopes that will end the discussion. It doesn't.
"Yeah, but you two are getting close, right? Like reeallly close!" Tori emphasises her point by squeezing two fingers together. "And we're just a bit curious about what's going on."
"I'm not." Andre intervenes, and Robbie thinks to himself that Andre's a pretty cool dude, something he's about to voice when Tori brushes him off and continues,
"You see, we've noticed you driving her home and well, err, Cat's even said you've driven her TO school an awful lot these last few weeks." Cat giggles happily at the mention of her name and nods her head eagerly in agreement. "Not to mention you're doing really coupley things with her recently like walking her to class and buying her coffee and taking her to the movies."
Besides the fact that Robbie's deeply concerned about just how Tori got her hands on this information, he also wants to defend himself because come on, Jade's brother was with them at the movies, and yeah, so what if he spends his afternoons (and a few nights) at her house. They're friends. The only problem was that there's also a small part of him that's tearing away at his insides because, well maybe he does sort of like Jade in more than a friend kind of way. And okay, maybe he has spent the last two nights creating scenarios where he miraculously transforms into a radical stud overnight that sweeps Jade off her feet and gets to take her to the showcase next Friday.
Robbie lets out a squeak in response to Tori's accusation and Andre's eyebrows actually shoot up a little. Beck, on the other hand, looks like if he were a cartoon character, there'd be steam shooting out from his ears.
"Oh Robbie, you like her don't you!" Tori beams while Cat laughs gleefully beside her as she begins singing that ever so annoying song about him and Jade sitting in a tree.
"No! I mean well maybe. Yeah, I like her. As a friend. IS IT OBVIOUS?" He's beginning to panic and reaches for his inhaler, but Tori's let out a squeal and begins to hug him tightly. Really she's not making it any easier for him to breathe right now.
"I KNEW IT!" Tori yells satisfied. "So why haven't you asked her out yet officially?"
"Yeah, Robbie. Why don't you take her to the upcoming Kick Back? No one has asked her yet. Well at least no one who she actually deems acceptable according to her." Cat exclaims cheerily.
Robbie's turned beetroot red and Andre sympathetically hands him a bottle of water. "Tori will you please be quiet!" he shushes her, glancing frantically around the school to make sure no one has overheard their little conversation. "And Cat, I can't just ask Jade out. She'll say no and then positively MURDER me."
"You won't know unless you try." Tori pouts. "Come on Robbie, you need to tell her. I'll MAKE you tell her." She threatens, and she has this sort of psycho glint in her eye that she gets when she's really serious about something, so Robbie knows he's in trouble.
"NO! You stay away from her." Beck states menacingly, finally butting into the conversation while shoving an accusing finger in Robbie's face. "You're not allowed to date her. It's totally against the bro code."
Andre groans silently, rubbing his temples.
Cat squeals and hides her face in her hands. She mutters something about being under her bed.
Tori looks absolutely outraged and actually jumps up in anger
Robbie simply sighs, he knew there had to be a bro-code somewhere in this world.
"You-you ASS Beckett James Oliver." Tori declares. Beck sulks like a child being reprimanded by an angry mother. "Robbie has every right to go out with Jade. You do not OWN her."
"But that's weird." He whines. "There's no point in pretending anymore, I still have feelings for her."
"Really?" Andre asks sarcastically.
Though Tori's fighting off a smirk and Cat's laughing again, Robbie actually feels slightly bad for Beck, and he slightly bows his head ashamedly.
"Why can't Robbie date someone else, like Cat?" Beck continues. Cat squeals eww in response and Robbie feels himself shrinking a bit more into his seat.
"Beck, you should be supporting Robbie. He's your friend." Tori scolds.
As much as Tori is trying to help, Robbie would prefer it if she would just shut up. Beck glares furiously at him, but seeing Robbie's now quivering form, softens slightly and mutters,
"Look, she's still my ex, and Robbie's my best friend. Imagine if they started to date? How would I be able to sit with Rob and listen to him tell me about all the dirty things he and Jade get up to when they're behind closed doors… or in public, cause I think Jade might have a thing for the thrill of getting caught."
Robbie forgets how to breathe.
"I mean-" continues Beck, oblivious to Andre's fake retching across the table and Tori look of horror, "That's an important part of a man's life, and I won't be able to share it with Robbie. I can't give him relationship advice or tell him where to lay one on a girl to make them-"
"ENOUGH" Tori screeches, and Robbie's pretty sure he can hear dogs across the state whining in response. Jade chooses this prime moment to strut up the group with a lazy smirk across her face. Robbie groans into his hands in despair.
"What's up." Jade snickers, "I could hear Tori's shrilly bat voice from across the school. Hell-okay-HECK, Cat - fucking China probably heard you, Vega." Cat cries out and slaps her hand over her ears. Tori glares at Jade.
"Nothing Jade, nothing's up. We were simply discussing how Robbie wants to get a bow tie but Beck's telling him not to, and how Beck cannot dictate other people's decisions in their lives." Tori states in her falsely sweet voice, Beck glares at her and Andre covers his laugh with a cough.
Jade simply rolls her eyes. "Wow, Tori. Bravo. I can totally see how Sikowitz keeps giving you the lead roles since you're such a great actress." Robbie bites back a smile and uses the lack of focus on him to try and subtly slip away, but Jade using her super peripheral vision grabs him by the collar and pulls him to a stop. "Shapiro." She demands. "Tell me what Tori was yelling at Beck about."
And now everyone's eyes are back on him again. Beck's grinning evilly to himself and Robbie agrees with Jade's previous assertions that he has a stupid face. Tori's looking at him expectantly and mouthing, "ask her" but she sort of just looks like a dying fish. He'll probably tell that to Jade later. Maybe it'll distract her from killing him too quickly. Andre rolls his eyes in a very Jade like manner, and Cat simply watches them with wide brown eyes.
"It's really nothing, Jade." Tori interrupts him with a hacking cough. "Okay… I just… well, this is stupid. I just wanted to ask what you're doing next Saturday night."
Jade's eyes go round in shock as realisation dawns on her. "Fuck." She mutters. "Robbie, please think about what you're trying to ask me." She warns, and Robbie's kind of shocked that she actually said please, but her grip is tightening on his collar so he's pretty sure she wasn't intentionally trying to be polite.
"I just thought- you know- maybe we could..." He doesn't get to finish the sentence because Jade's let go of him and grabs Cat's soda from beside her and literally flings it at Robbie. As an afterthought, she takes Andre's drink too and pours it on Beck. She then runs away so quickly that Robbie thinks to himself that she should really join the athletics team. Then he becomes conscious of his soaking body and slinks down onto the table in agony.
"Well, at least she didn't exactly say no." Tori chimes in helpfully. Cat actually looks thoughtful before gently patting his head and announcing that she had better go and find Jade. Andre decides the conversation isn't interesting anymore and returns to his Music report. Beck glares again, his usual fluffy hair drooping sadly with liquid.
"She's not going to date you." Beck announces, but even Robbie can notice the uncertainty in his voice. "Come on Rob, let it go. Bros before hoes, yeah?"
Robbie's truly grateful for the slap Tori lays on him. "Jade's not a hoe." Is all he manages to snarl before he staggers away to find a hole to die in. He can faintly hear Beck screaming out that he didn't mean it like that, but he chooses to ignore him.
Please do leave me a review… especially if you've been liking this fic. I'll be sure to update more frequently if I feel like enough people are actually enjoying this story. :) Also, if you're a BADE fan (and I promise... there may or may not be a kiss coming up), please go check out my other fics.