AN: Hello everyone and welcome to this chapter; it's another two-parter because the second part will be in Freddie's PoV as we explore the end of the episode, and a few other things as sub-plots with a bit of luck.

My thanks to those of you who read and reviewed the last part; Challenge King, glad you liked it and Freddie's message, that she should be herself, and her resolution to value him more highly than the opportunity she had – I liked that part of it.

Pbow – glad you liked it; your "what happened next" was good as well.

The Question23 – I'm not too surprised that Mason isn't a popular character really.

Jevin Watkins – I'm glad you liked it. The four sharing a house could be a lot of fun to explore. I'm not sure I really see Freddie as THAT high maintenance though, certainly compared to other characters.

Agent M – yes, things are working out well for them at the moment; long may it continue.

And here is Chapter 35 of this little story. Please enjoy.

Life at home was still difficult, one of the reasons that I was spending as little time as possible there. Trina was still miserable, sullen and withdrawn; she told me she was avoiding mom whenever she could. For my part I spent as much time as I could out of the house; weekends were spent with Freddie (obviously) while on an evening I tried to fix up "study dates" with my friends (less so with Cat than with Beck and Jade or André, admittedly) which meant I left early for school and got home late. I called dad fairly regularly (two or three times a week) and tried to see him one evening a week; he had recently found a small one-bedroomed apartment to rent rather than spending all his time in a hotel.

Dad was holding up pretty well; he hadn't spoken to mom since he left over Spring Break as he said it was just too painful. She had tried calling a couple of times in the early days but he had ignored her phone calls and she had soon given up.

"Do you think you'll ever talk to her again?" I had asked in a small voice. He took me into his arms and held me tight.

"One way or another I'll have to," I knew precisely what he meant and my heart sank further into my chest, "but whatever happens, I love you and your sister," he insisted, kissing the top of my head tenderly.

"I love you too dad," I whispered through my tears.

There had, at least, been some good news for me in recent days; following on from my performance at the Platinum Music Awards (true to his word Mason had decided not to sign me to the Neutronium Records label) as I had been approached by a couple of other labels (including Shaun Quincy's RPX; he remembered me from the song André and I sang at his daughter's birthday party and he said my performance at the PMAs helped to convince him and his colleagues that their label needed to sign me – it's nice to be wanted)and I was currently looking to enter into talks with some of them. It would require some sort of representation, something that Anthony, my music teacher at Hollywood Arts, and I had discussed. He knew a couple of guys through past students and had given me names of the ones that he trusted; I was in the process of setting up meetings with them before getting back to the record labels.

Additionally I'd received a call yesterday over lunch; Northridge College wanted me to sing the National Anthem before the St Bernards' next home basketball game. It would be televised locally and was a huge honour for me so it was something, having agreed to, that I looked forward to with slightly nervous apprehension, especially after Jade's little piece of 'advice'.

"Don't forget the words," she advised with an unnecessarily wicked grin; of course forgetting the lyrics was now my major concern.

"You'll be fine," Freddie had assured me. "You sang in front of how many millions at the PMAs and you absolutely nailed it – so much so that you have people queuing up to sign you and make you the star you deserve to be." Did I mention how sweet my guy is? "I'll be there to cheer you on and you will deliver another amazing performance."

He should be right, of course. He also reminded me of the stories we'd told him of my first performances – both singing Make It Shine to get into the school in the first place despite being an absolute mess with nerves as I was thrust onto the stage (if ever there was a time for stage fright it would surely be that one right?) and my first lead role in Uptown, Downtown – I had to learn five songs and all my lines in little over a weekend, all the while having a face like a zombie thanks to Cat and her Grizzly Glue. He was right; if I could learn songs and lines that quickly with everything else going on then the National Anthem of my country shouldn't be a problem. I was practicing like crazy just in case.

The night after I got the news my mom sought me out at home and asked if she could accompany me there to watch me perform. Despite the frostiness that her actions had engendered between us I said yes and spoke to the college about how many tickets I could get; they said they'd let me have two so Freddie and my mom would be going (Trina was upset that they didn't ask her to sing it so she said she'd settle for watching on the TV, as would my friends).

While I was between classes on the morning of the game I received a slightly surprising call from Shaun Quincy himself; he wanted to check on me, whether I'd given any more thought to which label I intended to join (of course I have!) and, he said, a general chat about how I was getting on. Mindful of what my, and my friends', plans were I told him that I intended to go to college so that I would have my education to fall back on if for some reason my career didn't take off the way we all hoped or maybe if I decided after a couple of years that I didn't like the lifestyle or there were no movie offers or any of the multitude of pitfalls that could still litter the road ahead of me. He said he understood entirely and that his company would be happy for me to attend UCLA, work for them (in terms of writing and recording my music) in my spare time or in holidays and possibly do a tour or album release over the summer breaks. He said that he would be eager to have something released, even a single but with an album well in the works, before I started college so this summer would be extremely busy, but I could understand the reasoning behind what he was saying; they, if I signed with them, wanted us all to cash in on the profile I had from my recent performance and the fame/notoriety that I had earned in the build-up to it. I suspect any other label would say the same thing about releasing stuff; the question was whether they would be as willing to let me have my college career as well and, of course, what sort of deals they were willing to offer.

Fortunately I had my music lesson with Anthony later on that day so I was able to talk to him at the end about what Shaun had said. He pulled a bit of a face at the news, feeling that they shouldn't really be contacting me directly when I'd already said that I'd be seeking representation, but he did agree that it sounded like a good and accommodating offer from their side. He encouraged me to write down as much as I could remember about what had been said and to ensure that it was used as a basis for the negotiations if and when the time came to actually hammer out a contract deal.

I had a couple of meetings with would-be agents or representatives lined up for the following week but in the meantime I had the show to get ready for. Mom would pick Freddie up en route from work and they would arrive at the college separately from me (Northridge were providing a car to make sure I was there in plenty of time). I had a change of clothes (a smarter pair of skinny jeans and a nice top and jacket) with me so that I could get ready for my performance on arrival there. The car was waiting as we left school after our last class and my friends wished me luck, told me that they'd be watching and Jade, unnecessarily, reminded me again not to forget the lyrics, with her trademark wicked smirk in place.

As I sat in the car I had a little time to breathe and take stock of everything that was going on. Something had seemed up with Cat (even more so than usual) over the last few days and I knew that it was worrying Jade; my gothic friend had commented that she saw her buying an unusually large number of Wahoo Punches from the vending machine in school and disappearing from view at regular intervals. Jade had tried to follow her but without success. I really had little to contribute in terms of thoughts as to what was going on with that girl so I hadn't said too much, trusting that she would open up when she was ready to – or that Jade would bludgeon her way to the bottom of things in time. I also knew that I would soon need to make a decision on which of the competing labels (if any) to sign up to. I was looking forward to meeting the experts next week as it would mean I could get them to field all the calls that I was still getting (despite Anthony's observation that this isn't how the companies should behave) and they would, hopefully, help me to make the decision that was best for my future. I knew that Freddie had had his own issues with contracts and deals (some shoe company a few years ago; he told me the name once but I can't remember it) so he reiterated the point of making sure that I get the best deal that I can, and dealing with someone that I think I can trust. I decided during the journey to invite him along to meet them, if he can make it, so that I can have a second opinion of the agents (twice the likelihood of alarm bells setting off if someone unscrupulous shows up) and to make it clear that we're there as something of a package; I'm going to college and living with my guy – that is non-negotiable.

Before I knew it we had arrived at Northridge College and I was being ushered through the gym complex to a small changing room, a very nice changing room. I thanked my guides as they left me alone to get ready, smirking at the thought that I wished that Freddie was here as well; we could have a little fun and relaxation with this place all to ourselves. To that end I texted him to see where he was; sadly he and my mom were stuck in traffic and hadn't yet arrived, though they were confident of being there in time for my moment in the spotlight. I was disappointed, particularly as we're not going to have the opportunity later on in the evening as we need to get Freddie back to UCLA before going back home to Hollywood (my car's at home as I knew they were sending one for me so I got a ride in with Trina, which was painful; I would be heading over to see Freddie some time tomorrow afternoon when he gets off work).

Finally my moment arrived; I got a knock on the door letting me know that they were ready for me. At that precise second my phone beeped; it was Freddie: Got here, we're in our seats. Knock 'em dead! I smiled at his message and the nerves that had been growing in my stomach seemed to dissolve again as I stepped out of the room and followed my guide to the main arena.

"And now, in honour of America – please rise for the singing of our National Anthem and welcome local high-schooler and star of the Platinum Music Awards; Tori VEGA," the tannoy announcer heralded my arrival. The crowd were on their feet applauding politely, though there were a few brief wolf-whistles from one section of the audience… college boys; thanks guys but I've already got one. Speaking of whom, I scanned the crowd, having a vague idea of where the tickets were located, and spotted my man, mom was stood next to him and both were applauding wildly. I smiled and waved in their direction, turning my wave to the rest of the attended masses as well so as not to appear to be showing any favouritism to one section over the others and took my position by the microphone.

"Oh say, can you see…" I began, any residual nerves leaving me as I began my performance; after all this is where I belong, performing on stage in front of crowds and cameras.

Jade's advice was unnecessary as I continued through the song without any trouble of its lyrics; the only problem came when I reached the closing lines. "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet…"Without warning the team mascot, Buck, the St Bernard, broke free from the cheerleader holding its leash and ran towards me, the leash tripping my and tangling around my leg as the dog ran amok, elongating the word "wave" into more of a yelp. I stuck to my task and completed the last line as the mad dog dragged me around the court; I felt a total fool but I had to do my job.

Finally, once I had finished, the dog was caught and suddenly Freddie was at my side disentangling me from its leash.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, but my pride isn't," I groaned into his arms, "I must have looked a complete idiot out there."

"You nailed the Anthem," he replied, clearly unwilling to answer my specific point; it was all the confirmation that I needed and I groaned again as he kissed the top of my head sympathetically.

Mom joined us and wrapped her arms around me from behind, obviously looking to add her own consolation into the mix; I was grateful for her action, especially with the recent awkwardness and all the chizz that had been going on between us. With the game about to start they ushered me to our seats and the three of us sat through it; Freddie seemed to quite enjoy the game, though my mind was entirely on the misery of my humiliation, something he seemed to realise as he constantly took my hand or drew me into a cuddle during the game while I tried to ignore the kids sat in front of us who kept turning around and grinning at me.

Northridge won the game 105-102; Freddie was talking excitedly about the game as we left whereas I just wanted to leave and never darken the door of the college again.

We dropped Freddie off at UCLA; he said goodnight to my mom and I got out of the car to give him a proper goodnight kiss. Sadly with mom in the car I couldn't linger; I got back in and we headed for home, until she surprised me by turning down a side street about half way there and parking the car.

"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" she asked quietly, voice laced not with impatience but with what appeared to be misery.

"What do you expect me to say? Not to worry about the fact that you cheated on dad and ripped our family apart?" I shot back; she lowered her eyes and shame crept onto her face.

"I know, sweetie, I know," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "I know exactly what I've done, and how much I hurt him – and you and Trina."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess I got flattered by the attention from Gary, the way he looked at me – like your father always did…"

"Dad still looked at you like that," I objected.

"I know but…" she trailed off. "I have no excuses for what I did. I regret it and if I could turn back the clock then I would, but I can't. I don't know if I can ever ask your father to forgive me but I hope that one day you, and Trina, can find it in your hearts to do so," she finished with a sob.

"So do I mom," I admitted, "but it's going to take some time."

She nodded, started the car and we completed the trip home. To my surprise, when we walked through the door, my friends and sister were sat on the couches.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"I invited them," mom admitted in an embarrassed tone of voice. "I wanted them all to see your moment of triumph; I didn't know that crazy dog would do what it did!"

"Oh I must have looked such an idiot!" I complained.

"Well here you can look, I have it up on the DVR," Trina commented with an evil grin; I gave her my best "death glare" which she ignored. I guess I need some more lessons from Jade, speaking of whom she was also grinning wickedly at me and looking rather too amused with the whole situation.

True to her word my evil sister called up my performance on the DVR; true to my worst fears I did look like a complete idiot out there being dragged around by the dog.

"Why didn't you just complete the song before the dog dragged you around?" Cat asked me. I gave her a hopeless look and buried my head in a cushion, leaving it there as my friends left with consoling words and pats on my back; I vaguely heard Jade say something about her and Robbie offering Cat a lift home as they left.

AN: Thanks for reading, please don't be shy about dropping a review to let me know what you thought and come back soon for part 2 of this portion of the tale. PD.