this is another sloppy one. _ i'm sorry..

but i wanted to keep things going ahaha..

have fun.

-throws confetti and leaves-

The sight wasn't one you'd see every day.

A skinny boy with a messy crown of curly hair and a ventriloquist dummy, accompanied by an exuberated girl with hair the color of cherry Kool-Aid. Coincidentally, the drink was being clutched in her hand, and it spilled over her alabaster fingers as she skipped alongside the boy. Still, she seemed happy, and just sucked the juice off of her hand with every few steps.

Robbie hadn't gotten to see much of anybody that summer, with Cat as an exception. She bugged him at least once a week to get out of the house, and secretly, he loved that a girl still cared about him that much. And the heartbreak of Ivory getting with another guy still hurt immensely, but less so as the minutes passed with Cat. Of course, he would never see Cat as anything but a little sister, but her company was still very much appreciated, and he showed it to her by buying her the Kool-Aid.

The duo had just finished their dinner at B.F. Wang's, and were now strolling up and down Sunset Boulevard in boredom. Robbie looked over at Cat, who had stopped her skipping and was now moving her feet in such a way that they didn't touch any cracks on the sidewalk. He could almost smell the stares of bystanders angled at her, but he was used to it, having been her friend ever since his first year at Hollywood Arts.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked. It was probably about 8:30, and the sun was just beginning to go down. There was still time left in the evening.

Cat stopped fidgeting long enough to stand pointedly in front of Robbie and proclaim, "I wanna go see the fireworks."

It was already a few days after the Fourth of July, and all the major pyrotechnics had tapered off even before then, but people still stood around at amusement parks or Venice Beach and shot off some as they pleased. Personally, they made Robbie nervous, but he knew that if he didn't get Cat to the fireworks, she'd throw a fit until she saw a picture of a baby bunny.

"Alright," Robbie decided, and they changed directions to go back to Robbie's car.

Cat was much like Ivory in more ways than one. They were both immensely bubbly, and their voices struck thoughts of a baby's laughter or a basket full of kittens and puppies. The fact that they were pretty much soul sisters was another. But the remembrance of Ivory just worsened his heartache, which further complicated spending time with Cat. And it wasn't like Cat was a doorway back to his relationship with Ivory.

But he knew that if he didn't get out of the house sometime, he never would. And so he was thankful for Cat Valentine and her persistence to make all of her friends happy, even Jade, who, in short, didn't think of anybody as a friend. But she didn't seem to hate Cat quite as much, mainly because Cat was more annoying when sad than happy, and the spectacle was quite a sweet one.

On the other had, the thought of spending the whole summer with Cat wasn't one he liked to entertain. It sent a message- that he wasn't popular enough to do anything but spend time with someone who insisted that they do, that he was too pathetic to do anything but wait for someone to invite him along. But then again, what choice did he have? Andre was spending the summer with his fear-plagued grandmother, and hanging out with Beck was out of the question. He supposed there was Tori, who had all but forgotten about the Robarazzi incident, but she and her family were vacationing in Puerto Rico to visit some cousins of theirs.

So basically, that left Cat and Rex.

Cat's family was in Idaho right now, and Cat had spent a week holed up being more than just a little bit sad about missing a vacation in the home of her favorite food, but ever since her family forgot her on the side of the road during another vacation, she was paranoid that she'd wind up being abandoned again.

"Robbie! Robbie! There it is! Pull over!"

Robbie snapped out of his thoughts at the excited voice the redhead, and pulled into a parking spot. Cat barely waited for it stop as she shoved the door open and jumped out. Robbie joined her on the other side to make sure she was safe, then escorted her to the beach shore to watch the fireworks.

He watched the fireworks for about a minute before he started to get clammy. He turned to Cat then, watching her face glow as the colors dancing on her face differed. Each time a firework changed, her face dimmed for a second before lighting up with another color. It was enough for even Jade to exclaim in pleasure.

Cat smiled and turned to Robbie. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Robbie slowly reached out and took Cat's hand in his. "Yes," he murmured.

Cat looked down at their intertwined hands, gaping a little. "Robbie-"

Robbie cut her off by leaning in and kissing her.