Cat listened to the playful banter of Andre and Tori as she sat on the edge of the stage, scrolling through the dozens of pictures of herself with Robbie , smiling, being silly, being happy , and just being in love, and resisted the urge to cry as she examined the large stack of costumes that was in a basket beside her , busy work to keep her occupied .

Jade and Beck had taken off to meet the Brooklyn lady about college and hadn't returned yet so they all hoped that this was a good sign for their friends .

Sinjin and Burf were adjusting the lighting rather than incur the wrath of Jade and Robbie still hadn't shown up though she had received a sweet apology text from him.

Tori thought that she should forgive him unless she wanted to break up with him.

After much thought , Cat knew that breaking up with Robbie wasn't something that she wanted but dread and worry settled in the pit of her stomach along with the what if he had fallen in love with Carly .

Carly was pretty and much smarter than she was -she and Robbie had things in common .

" Cat ," scolded Tori, crouching down to look at her friend ," Andre wont be able to wear that shirt if you keep sewing the arms together ….."

" Daren't ," Cat dropped the shirt on her lap as well with her pear phone ," I didn't mean to do that …..have you heard from Robbie ? Do you think he is avoiding me ?"

" I don't imagine so but Cat , you asked him to give you a couple days to think ," reminded Tori, gently ," I think he is just trying to give you what you wanted ."

" I was upset, Tori ! I don't think I really wanted that many days alone ..I have way too many thoughts to think about ! Robbie should know that ! " moaned Cat, biting her lip.

" Cat, you know he loves you " reinforced Tori, matter of fact ," this is just a rough patch . All couples have them -me and Andre and Jade and Beck ."

" I know and I know I need to talk to Carly but I'm afraid , Tori , because I don't know what I'll do ….I have never wanted to kill anyone before " says Cat, quietly .

" You weren't crazy about that North Ridge gank that Robbie dated if I recall correctly ….."

" That's because Roxanne was from North Ridge " muttered Cat , dropping the needle and thread in her sewing kit ," and we all knew she was a gank but Carly didn't start out as a gank . Or I didn't think she was a gank after my boyfriend ….I should have listened to Jade last night and just went and punched her in the face ."

Tori shook her head at her , concerned about her friends well-being ." I thought Trina and I talked you out of the violence last night , Cat ."

" Maybe a little bit ," Cat held up a smidge with her fingers ," sorry, Tori, but I just need to sike myself up or out and go tell that boyfriend stealing gank that its over and she can't have my guy ….."

Tori patted her shoulder , comforting her . " Do you want me and Andre to drive you over there ?"

" Not right now " says Cat, twisting a strand of red hair , worriedly , and not noticing Robbie slipping quietly inside the theatre and stopping beside Andre and the guys .

*************************HAF********************** *********************

" Hey ," greeted Robbie , placing a hand on Andre's shoulder ," sorry I'm late ."

" Your safe for now ," explained Andre ," Jade and Beck are at some college lunch pow wow with that New York Arts college lady they met the other night and I think that Beck has calmed her down a bit ."

" Thank goodness " Robbie breathed a sigh of relief and noticed Cat sitting on the stage ," so, I think I'm going to go talk to Cat now …."

" Wait, man, " replied Andre , hesitation in his voice ," how 'd it go with Carly ? You get your point across to the girl ?"

" It was horrible ," confessed Robbie , cringing at the confrontation of earlier ," it was worst than breaking up with Roxie in a public place . I mean, I was cool with Carly and I told her how it was …..she knows I don't love her ."

" Good , that's real good, Rob . I'm proud of you for dumping her ."

" I did so now there is a pretty redhead over there that I need to start groveling too " decided Robbie , taking a deep breath and moving forward to approach her .

" Stop ! "

Robbie rolled his eyes in exasperation . " Tori, move out of the way ! "

" No ," Tori the fierce friend was out now ," Cat was a mess last night because you were a lying skunk bag ! We were afraid that she was going to have an anxiety attack because Cat was so upset and worked up over you , Robbie ! "

Robbie held his palms up in surrender . " I know ! Believe me, I worried about Cat too ! Look , Tori, I spoke with Carly and I cleared this whole thing up so will you please move out of the way and let me try to talk to my girlfriend ."

" We're rooting for you, man " chimed in Burf, raising a fist in the air .

" Robbie and Cat ! " cried Sinjin, " what ? "

" Stay out of it , guys " suggested Andre , helpfully .

" Nerd solidarity , Andre ," explained Sinjin ," Robbie is our king nerd ."

Tori heaved a sigh and moved out of the way ." Be gentle with her , Robbie ."

" I will do my best …" said Robbie, apprehension in his tone as he moved towards the stage .

Tori moved into Andre's arms , sharing a doubtful expression on her face as she stared up at the handsome face of her own boyfriend .

" I have a bad feeling about them, Dre " Tori rested her head on his shoulder . It was still fresh the wounds and the worry of their own situation making her understanding .

" Have a little faith in them , baby " Andre dropped a light kiss against her hair .

" We should wait here and keep an eye on them " suggested nosy Tori, meaning well.

" I have binoculars " offered Burf , holding up a pair of high powered binoculars .

" Let's go ," Andre took control of the crazies ," we're not spying on Robbie and Cat . That means you too, you nerds ."

Andre led his girlfriend and the two nerdy best friends out of the theatre allowing the couple the privacy of an empty theatre and the silence surrounding them .

*********************************HAF************** *****************

" Cat "

Cat turned her head, brown eyes colliding with brown, and a weary expression flitted across her face as she played with her fingers , nervously .

" Robbie ," Cat's voice was super soft and laced with fear ," I ..I got your text ."

Robbie's heart pounded against his chest , her fragile state apparent more so now in the shy way that she averted her gaze and the thin line across her mouth .

" I know you wanted time to yourself and I respect that ," Robbie treaded careful, afraid he would set her off again ," and just say the word , sweetheart, and I will leave now ."

" I never thought you would hurt me like this , Robbie ," managed Cat , moving her hand to her heart as if she could steady it ," am I not smart enough for you ?"

Robbie had been expecting a lot of accusations from Cat but this blindsided him.

He frowned and inched closer to her , searching her face as if this was some sort of idle thought but realized she was being serious .

" I know and I hate myself for it ," swore Robbie , his voice firm ," Cat, what are you talking about ? Of course , you are plenty smart enough….I love the way that you think and your insights are always bright and inquisitive ."

" Even though I don't always understand all that journalism stuff you do ?" Her voice was tiny ," I love your writing, Robbie, but I don't always get the technical terms and stuff ."

" Cat, you're smart and funny ," declared Robbie , love in every single word and truth he uttered to her ," beautiful , talented , and I am in love with you. I'm so sorry that you ..that I made you doubt that but I don't love Carly . I never loved her ."

" I want to believe you, Robbie , but I'm a little bit afraid too " says Cat, eyes downcast .

" I understand ," replied a careful Robbie , with the slightest nod to her ," and I was wrong to put your jealousy to blame for everything between us. I had an idea that Carly was into me but I wasn't exactly sure and then I thought ..it didn't matter what I thought because I shouldn't have been . "

" Andre said you talked to Carly " Cat waited in baited breath, chewing on her bottom lip.

" I did ," Robbie straightened ," I told Carly flat out that nothing ever would happen between her and I because I love you. I was very clear and she understood ."

" It didn't stop her before , Robbie …."

" It will this time ," stated Robbie , firmly ," trust me . Trust in you and me ..and I realize that's asking a lot of you but I'll wait for as long as it takes for you to trust me again ."

He handed her a small pink bakery box and watched her eyes light up with curiosity .

" You don't have to say anything ," continued Robbie , quietly ," and I know this doesn't make up for me being horrible but I noticed these and thought of you …"

Cat lifted the lid to reveal red velvet cupcakes and couldn't help but melt a little at the thoughtfulness of the gift and the reminder of how they got together .

" You got me cupcakes "

" I know it doesn't make them breakfast cupcakes ," replied Robbie , touching her arm, " but they are your favorite so I thought you would probably enjoy them ."

" Three of them " muttered Cat , softening a little ," oh, you found a place here that makes the pink swirly icing too, Robbie ."

" Sam knows people," admitted Robbie ," she helped me out ."

" That was nice of her " acknowledged Cat , placing the box on the stage and standing up," and I love three …"

" I know that you do so…..I should touch base with the guys and see if I need to do anything before Jade comes back and kills me …." trailed Robbie,not wanting to leave her and hoping for some sort of sign from her that they were going to be alright .

Cat stared at him, wanting to say something but still feeling uncertain .

" Robbie, wait ," Cat leaned in and hugged him," thank you for the cupcakes "

" Anything for you, Cat " Robbie closed his eyes and hugged her back, savoring having her in his arms, and caressed her hair, not wanting to let go .

" I don't want to lose us either , you know " admitted Cat , under her breath ," and the cupcakes were sweet of you. I think that if we both fight for us then we're going to be just fine ….."

" Your going to fight for me ? " Robbie was touched yet concerned ," Cat, what exactly does that mean ? I mean, I know you don't like controversy anymore than I do and as long as we both want the same thing I have faith in us too ."

" Never mind what it means , I know what it means " declared Cat, twisting the ring on her finger , anxiously ," and I need to finish working on Andre's shirt before Jade gets back from the meeting thingy ."

Robbie turned and headed towards the board where he noticed his friends had resurfaced and went back to work rather than worrying and obsessing over his relationship with Cat.

It had went much better than he expected and she hadn't slapped him again so he was just going to trust that what they had was too special and too important to the both of them to just fade away . Her hug and the strange fighting comment gave him more hope .

He'd give her a little more time and show her again how much he loved her .

He won her love months ago and he would do it all again for love .

Spencer was inspired by his love for Trina as he welded the bumper onto the large medal heart that now stood in the kitchen of the apartment with a good feeling that this would be his piece de resistance , the work of art that would be his 'It' piece .

He turned off the blow torch , lifted his helmet, and grinned like a fool at the finished product .

It was pretty awesome , if he said so himself and he did .

Carly hadn't resurfaced from her room since her talk with Robbie earlier and was still refusing to talk with him about what was going on and since he hadn't seen Freddie or Sam appear , the fight was obviously still going on .

He liked it better when they were screaming at each other rather than the whole fighting and not speaking with each other . It was at times like these that he wished their mom was still alive , she would have known what to say to Carly and how to make things right again.

Spencer felt like this time he was up some creek without any paddle , if he knew how to boat , that was but still he felt helpless , which really did suck.

" Spencer ! Spencer ! Honey , oh my God ," Not waiting for him to let her in, Trina walked into the apartment , stopping when she saw his new sculpture and smiling widely at him," I have the most amazing , exciting news to tell you! Wait, is that your new sculpture ? "

Spencer caught her around the waist and held her there , proud of his work .

" It is Hit by love ," declared Spencer , showing it off ," inspired by our first meeting . I wanted to put some of a bike but I changed my mind so what do you think ?"

" I think that it is brilliant ," Trina gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth ," and so are you. See , I am dating the most wonderful artist in all of Seattle ! "

" Probably not but you can think it if you want , Trin ," grinned Spencer , " really gets the juices flowing . I'm gonna see if the guys can help me take it to my booth at the Shakespeare festival ..see if I can maybe sell it or show it off or both ."

" I don't really know art which you know ," said Trina, honestly ," you'll have to teach me but I imagine art buyers will see all of the love you put into it and have to have it as soon as they look at it . You should post it on Splash face ,too ."

" You are my muse , Trina Vega " Spencer led her over to the couch ," now tell me what exciting thing happened to you today . Didn't you have some interviews around town?"

" I had a few ," started Trina, excitedly ," which they were alright but nothing that really was me, you know . So I went into Simone's which is like my favorite store ever because its where I always get my Fizzene shoes and I overhear these business type ladies talking about the shoe market and Lea Michele so I walked myself over there and told them how knowledgeable I was when it came to Fizzene ."

" You didn't get thrown out ?" inquired Spencer, not unkindly .

He had has share of being thrown out of places and knew things like that had happened to her as well. It was another thing that they had in common with each other .

" No," Trina smacked him ," I got a job ! They took one look at how hot my feet look in the new Fizzene shoes so they sent me to go model the new line of shoes ….that's where I have been all afternoon . I had an actual photo shoot for my feet and the photographer he said I have some of the sexiest , perfect feet that he has ever seen in the business ."

" That's wonderful ! I'm happy for you " Spencer kissed her, happily .

" I know and it gets even better ,' went on Trina, who had been dying all day to tell him so that she could tell Tori, her family, and all of her friends next ," Ivy dropped by the shoot -she is like the head lady besides Isabelle Fizzene and she was even more impressed by me the second time around so I have a meeting with the Isabelle Fizzene herself in a couple of days . I may really , actually become the official feet girl of Fizzene if she likes me ! Can't you totally see me ? "

" Mom said my forty dollar feet bleaching wouldn't amount to anything but she was so wrong ," Trina beamed ," and I get paid like four hundred dollars for them taking pictures of my feet today ! This would have never happened to me if I stayed home this summer ."

" I am so happy you answered my ad " Spencer drew her into a slow kiss ," and I want to try to get my Dad on some web chat so I can tell him about us . I know I don't need his permission to have you move in with me but I do want to tell him about us ."

Trina nodded and tossed his welding helmet on the floor ." I want to call Mom and Dad too but after I tell Tori about my possible new job. I'd like to have her on my side before I break the news about us to my parents ….they listen to her more than me ."

He nodded ," I wish Carly would listen to me … I've tried but she is really furious . I'm pretty sure Robbie dumped her or laid it on the line with her and she still is into it with Freddie and Sam. "

" Do you want me to talk to her ? I know she hates my guts but maybe an older woman who has had some pretty terrible dating issues might help her a little …."

" The door is locked ," informed Spencer , touched that she still wanted to help ," and I don't think so, Trina . If this doesn't stop by tomorrow , I'm pretty sure Sam and her will duke it out and get things right between them ."

" Let's call your Dad " enthused Trina, running her hands through his hair ," then I so need to see how much closet space you have in your room ? Our room now ..I have a lot of clothes and shoes to bring when I move in ."

" Closet space ?" Spencer swallowed the lump in his throat ," we might have to make you more room. The closet isn't that big ….."

" You're so cute when your nervous , Spencer " Trina dragged him into his room , talking a mile a minute ," and did I tell you there might be commercials ? "

" Commercials " repeated Spencer , flabbergasted as she led him to his bedroom.

" Commercials ," repeated Carly, making sure the coast was clear as she made her way into the kitchen for ice cream ," I don't think I want to know ."

She padded into the kitchen in her fuzzy house slippers and found some frozen yogurt in the freezer .

" This works " She grabbed the pint of chocolate and a spoon, deliberated on hibernating on the couch and risk Spencer lecturing her again or going back upstairs to hide in her room once more .

The hiding sounded much better and she was getting good at the ignoring .

She'd set her phone on mute and ignored the 10 calls from Freddie and the two dozen texts and angry voicemails from Sam, not wanting to talk to anyone .

Robbie's denial and rejection still fresh and making her sad .

There had to be another way ..why couldn't she think of another way to get him ?

A knock on the door startled her out of her reverie but she wasn't in the mood for whoever was behind the other side . Probably Freddie wanting to make her talk to Sam.

Sam would have just barged in .

" Go away , Freddie ! I have nothing left to say to you ! " shouted Carly, taking off the lid and taking a chance to eat at the counter of the kitchen.

" I'm not Freddie and I'm not going away …." Gibby barged in, his expression dark and the inflection in his tone startling her ," I have some things I need to say to you, Carly !"

He noticed she was wearing her pajamas and red puffy eyes from crying completed the look . Why would she make herself this upset over Robbie ?

It still baffled the daylights out of him and after a lot of serious thinking he had decided that he needed to hear what he had to say whether she wanted to or not .

Carly took a bite of yogurt .

" I don't want to make up with Sam or Freddie just yet, Gibby, so you might as well just get out now so I can finish moping " stated Carly, moving to the couch .

She would take the chance of Spencer and Trina if she had too .

" They didn't send me ," he continued ," I'm part of this group too, Carly, and since your mad at them ..well, you can listen to me for a change ."

" Don't want to listen to any of you ! Leave, Gibby ! Unless you want to see Spencer but then he's probably doing who knows what gross things with the new girlfriend of his "

" Tough because I have important things that you need to hear , Carly, and I am not leaving this apartment until you hear me out " Gibby didn't know why now was the right time for him to talk to her but it felt right so here goes nothing .

" I am going to my room ! " Carly stood up and was shocked when he grabbed her arm , stopping her as their eyes locked in a way that had never happened before .

" Let go of me, Gibby ! Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to hear about it from you either ? Because guess what, I don't care what any of you have to say about who I love ! "

" Who the hell are you and what in the name of holy chizz did they do to you, Carly ? I thought I knew who you were ….who you are but this girl who manipulates people on purpose and who dresses all ..not like yourself and goes all gank on a friends boyfriend, I don't know that girl ! That isn't my friend ! "

Carly pulled her arm away and scowled angrily at him. " I am in love with Robbie and I am sorry you don't see that, Gibby ! I …I don't care what you think ..this is me ! "

" No, it isn't ," argued Gibby, deciding it was now or never ," yea, the girl in the Girly Cow pajamas and the fuzzy slippers is you but not the girl who is acting like some gank ! The girl ..my friend ..she is nice and sweet and perky …and a good person who would never deliberately set out to hurt people that she knows …."

" That girl is tired of being stepped all over and hurt all of the time ! " blurted out Carly, catching herself and clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent it again .

" Who hurt you ? What is making you act like the bad girl from all of those reality shows that Spencer watches ? Come on, talk to me, Carly …..I care about you ."

" You wouldn't understand ," managed Carly, her stomach in knots ," and ..I…I've never seen this side of you before, Gibby ."

" You only see what you want to see, Carly, and most of the time I'm cool with that ," went on Gibby, plugging ahead now that he had come this far ," but I am sick of watching you act like this when I know it's not you. You are better than this and Robbie doesn't love you …the dude loves Cat ! "

" I deserve love just as much as the next girl ! " Carly rubbed the tension around her eyes and felt some of her defenses start to crumble ," and I don't need or want you coming in here trying to make me feel better or lecturing me ! I don't ….and ….you don't know me ! "

Gibby stopped and gazed deeply into her eyes startling her in its intensity .

" I like to think that I do, Carly , but if you don't want to see that then you wont ," said a most calm Gibby ," if you continue this whole chasing Robbie thing you have going on, your just going to hurt yourself along with Cat and Robbie ."

" Are you finished yet ?" Carly crossed her arms over her chest, as a fluttery feeling took up residence within her system and she did her best to ignore it .

" I am now ," Gibby turned towards the door ," oh, and one more thing, if you happen to see the real Carly , I happen to think that she is a beautiful person ."

" W…..what ?' whispered Carly, caught off guard as he left the apartment and she sunk to the floor , more shaken than after her confrontation with Robbie earlier this morning .

Gibby thought she was beautiful ?

Carly shook her head, inwardly cringing because it was absurd and it was Gibby .

It didn't matter that Sam and Freddie had been saying the same things to her for weeks but somehow the harshness of his words had gotten through the façade that she had worked so hard to build and Carly felt them start to falter .

That couldn't happen , she didn't want to go back to the hurt and the lonely .

When …..how did Gibby know her that well ?

It was a frightening thought as were the small shiver of emotion that she felt from his passionate outburst at her but she couldn't think about that right now .

She didn't want t o go back to the lonely like that or the sadness that followed.

Dammit Gibby !

" Carly ?" Trina's voice was soft and etched with concern as she noticed the brunette curled up on the floor ," what's the matter ? Are you alright ? "

Carly wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve and avoided her ." Why wont people just leave me alone ?"

Trina took a tentative step closer ." People love you , Carly , that's why "

" Not always the right ones " muttered Carly , running upstairs , her mind a endless whirl of truths and realizations she didn't want to acknowledge but because of stupid Gibby she was actually thinking about everything that she had done and the repercussions .

She wished that she could turn back time but knew she couldn't .