A/N: Here I am busily writing Glee; Harvest Moon during the week, Ginny's tale on Sundays,

when I got sick and a fever hit me. In my delirium, the writer in me dreamed this story and it has followed me to work and the grocery store so the best way to purge it is for it to be written.

Victorious is what I consider a cross between Glee and Fame so naturally its my genre.

This is the love story of Robbie and Cat and their journey and all its ups and downs .

With more than likely some Bade because I want those two stubborn people to find their way back to one another and anything is possible with Tori and Andre.

Disclaimer : Nope, nada, I don't own Victorious .

Robbie Shapiro stared at his reflection in the mirror, a thin, lean, almost gangly young man with short dark curls, brown eyes hidden behind his glasses, dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue button down shirt stared back.

He wasn't exactly handsome though he didn't think he was ugly.

He was average but with issues .

Didn't they all have some sort of issues these days ?

His puppet, Rex, whom he talked through and was possibly his best friend , was the ladies man. Rex could say things that Robbie never would or have the courage to say .

Rex was cool.

Robbie was just himself and he was tired of that. Tired of being the butt of the jokes, tired of the rejection from girls, tired of being lonely, tired of wishing the one girl he was crazy about would ever see him as more than friend .

Cat Valentine was a bubbly redhead with an effervescing, cheerful look on the everyday , very sweet , and a bit bi-polar but it was what made her who she was .

She, however, only considered him to be a friend .

So when Rex had chatted up a North Ridge girl online , hope and a new possibility opened up for Robbie . . Some flirtation occurred and he , not Rex, had a coffee date with one Roxanne Morrison in twenty minutes .

He was going to take a chance and hope for the best . If not, well, Robbie was used to rejection...He got it on a daily basis at Hollywood Arts High School.

Robbie pulled his old fixer upper car into a parking space and parked between a Volvo .

Rex turned his head ." North Ridge girls are ..FINE . Don't screw this up, you nimrod "

" Shut up, Rex " cracked Robbie as his pear phone went off . He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled when he realized the text was from Cat .

He was missing the rest of the gang who was hanging out at Tori Vega's house playing cards and watching movies . When everyone was broke, they hung out at Tori's .

It was beginning to become a new trend of every other Saturday night .

His heart leaped against his chest as he read the simple text .

Hi Robbie (:

Hope your having fun. Tell Rex hi from me .

I miss you !

Cat

" The girl wouldn't kiss you if you were the last man on earth . Now get your bony ass in there and win over some hot North Ridge babe "

Robbie frowned, picked up his puppet , and stared at it . " Sorry, Rex, but I am flying solo on this date tonight "

" Are you out of your pea brain mind ? You are goanna crash and burn so bad "

Robbie stuffed the puppet under the car seat and walked confidently into the coffeehouse .

Meanwhile at the home of Tori Vega, Cat stood up from the table , where her friends were currently in the middle of a card game , and reread Robbie's text again .

" Uh, little Red," spoke up Andre Harris ," where you goin ?"

He was a handsome , dark skinned young man with fine dreadlocks hair , a warm smile , and a coolness about him that said good guy .

" No where ," answered Cat with a small frown," I just …changed my mind about my cards. There was this time when my brother changed his mind about going to the hospital in his lizard outfit …it was sort of weird "

Tori exchanged looks with her sister , Trina, then Andre and Beck Oliver .

" Cat , focus ," smiled Tori," who is the text from ? "

" Is it from Jade ?" spoke up Beck, quietly . He was a walking ad for hot guy with a nice build, inky dark hair, soulful eyes and a calmness that reeked of cool.

Jade West was his former girlfriend and one of Cat's best friends . The break up had been bad and everyone was navigating around it .

Especially the ex couple themselves . It was tense and awkward, at times .

" No," answered Cat ," Robbie "

Tori, with her long , beautiful dark brown hair and perfect skin, took the phone from her friend , with a questioning look. " It can't be that interesting then, Cat , if its Robbie "

" He coming over for some cards or what ?" asked Andre , curiously .

" No," Cat's voice was softer than usual," he has a ..date "

" A made up date ?" this came from Andre with a laugh .

" I don't think he made her up," says Cat ," I ..didn't think he liked the North Ridge girls . I thought Rex only hit on them..cause they are mean, you know "

" Seriously ," questioned Beck, " I didn't know anything about this . Is she making this up, Tori ? Read the text….I mean, Robbie usually comes to me for advice "

Tori read the text , out loud ," Rex fixed me up with North Ridge girl he met online .

Wish me luck . Robbie " She handed Cat back her cell phone ," This can't go well "

" Doubtful but at least he's getting out there " said Andre ," has to be rough after all the rejection the dude gets from the ladies at school .."

Cat frowned and wondered why it bothered her that Robbie had a date . After all, they were just friends , okay, best friends in a way .

He just hadn't met the right type of girl but she was afraid he was dreaming if he was going out with a snobby snob from North Ridge .

" Well, we will just have to be there for him when he gets hurt again " decided Cat

" Right " said Beck, leaning back in his seat and idly wondering if he should stalk ..check Jade's page on The Slap to see what she was doing tonight .

It had only been three weeks since the break up and he found that even though he didn't miss the fighting , he still missed her . Never mind that they shared classes together , Jade was pretty much ignoring him like the plague . " So, this card game sucks . Movie ? "

" I got the new Footloose " declared Tori ," I can cook some popcorn "

" OOOh popcorn ," Cat bounced on her toes ," I love popcorn though my brother can't have it anymore …he tried to see how many kernels he could stick up his nose but he only got 29 before we had to take him to the hospital. It was gross and I haven't really …."

Tori steered her to the couch " Why don't you text Robbie and see if he wants to join us ? You know , after his date decides to dump him…"

" Tori ! That's mean ….Kay, Kay " Cat sent out a text to Robbie , eagerly .

' Just being a good friend " Tori headed into the kitchen to fix some popcorn while Andre pulled some iced cold sodas from the fridge to pass out . He slid past her , stopping briefly to enjoy the soft scent of her perfume that lingered in the air . " Andre , what are you doing ? "

" Uh, nothing ,' lied Andre ," brain freeze . It happens ….we might need something stronger than orange soda if this chick annialiates Robbie "

" I don't know why I let you people hang out with me ," Trina threw her hands up in the air in boredom ," you bring me down "

Tori leaned across her sister and gave her hair a yank. " You invited yourself. Now go away , Trina "

Trina made a disgusted face and reached for her purse . " Fine . I am so going to find a rocking hot party and go party ….without all of you losers "

" Okay " Andre waved from the couch .

" Bye " Beck called over his shoulder and settled in to watch the movie .

Trina growled under her breath and stormed out of the front door , slamming it , loudly .

" Beck seems kind of quiet ….you know , without Jade " said tori in hushed tones .

Andre hid his pain from his best friend , afraid his mask would slip and she would see that his feelings for her was more than just the best friend who was there for her 24/7.

Not to mention he couldn't tell if Tori was still crushing over Beck, now that Jade was out of the picture .

Damn !

" It's only been a couple of weeks ," surmised Andre with a shrug,' takes time . Dude was with her for like three years ….long time "

" I think we should make sure he is alright .." hedged Tori

" I think we should leave the guy alone unless Beck brings it up ," brought up Andre," let the man deal with his pain in his own way, Tor"

" Are you sure ?" asked Tori, suspiciously . He was acting weird tonight .

" Leave Beck alone …just don't do anything " stated Andre ," Cat, are you still texting , Robbie ? His date might not be too cool about another girl texting him during a date …"

Cat sent the new text and her big brown eyes widened ." It's just me, Andre "

" Exactly , Cat ," Beck took the pear phone from her ," let Rob have some peace before this rich chick dumps him. You can console him when he gets her e…."

" Console ," repeated Cat , frowning ," there isn't a console around here and I don't know what that has to do with me and Robbie , either . You guys are being mean to me !"

Andre and Beck exchanged pained expressions -Cat was super sensitive and got her feelings hurt easily .

" No, they aren't ," Tori handed her a bowl of popcorn," they just meant that you always know what to say to Robbie to make him feel better , Cat "

" That's true ," agreed Cat , " yay popcorn ! I love popcorn ..its like eating fluffy corn !"

She giggled .

" Put on the movie, Beck " Tori plopped down beside Cat ," lets cut loose …"

" Really, Tori ?" Andre lifted a brow, loving teasing her about her quirks .

She made a face at him and the opening credit of the movie began rolling across the screen.

Across town, Robbie entered the coffee shop, straightened his glasses and ran a hand through his mop of brown curls and reconsidered if this meeting was actually something he wanted to do. Without Rex bringing the cool for him, it was all on him .

However, he was tired of being the lone guy out while Cat dated one guy to the next , though she currently wasn't dating anyone now .

Andre flitted through the girlfriends left and right .

Beck could get anyone he wanted …he was that cool .

Tori was gorgeous and she was never without a boyfriend for too long .

Jade ….Robbie was still running an inner debate with himself when he noticed Jade West sitting at a table by herself , drinking coffee, and playing on her pear phone .

Her inky black hair was shot through with whirls of green, and she was dressed in typical Jade attire..black jeans , a loose white and black shirt , and black leather jacket .

He found himself approaching her table . " Jade, what a surprise "

Her eyes flickered up at him and a smirk .sneer crossed her face. " Go away, Robbie "

" Right ," Robbie was non-plussed ," I'm kind of glad I ran into you…I'm meeting someone here . It's a date ..with a North Ridge girl "

Jade heaved a disgruntled sigh and closed her phone . " Like I care "

" Where's your stupid puppet ? You gonna try to make nice with girl ..all by yourself, Robbie " Jade's tone was sharp , with the intent to maim .

" Yeah, I am ," answered Robbie ," Rex hasn't helped me at all with the ladies ..except he can talk to them. So, I am going to march over to that North Ridge girl and ..do my darndest to impress her …."

He inclined his head , motioning to a petite young woman with straight pale blonde hair , who was dressed in a very expensive blue mini -dress and white silk blouse .

" You don't stand a chance in hell " pointed out Jade, taking a sip of her coffee .

" I know but I gotta do it …." said Robbie, wiping his clammy hands on his jeans .

" What about Cat ?" asked Jade , glancing at the text from her sweet best friend .

Robbie grew thoughtful. " Cat will never want me ," informed Robbie, sadly ," I'm just her friend and I'm tired of being all by myself "

Jade was eerily quiet .

God, she missed Beck more than she ever thought was possible .

Bastard .

Robbie braced himself for rejection and made his way over to the pretty blonde .

" Roxanne, " greeted Robbie, smiling warmly at her ," Hi . I'm Robbie "

Roxanne closed her cell, sipped her latte , and checked him out. " You never mentioned your resemblance to Andy Samberg …"

He winced, tired of hearing that all of the time. " No relation ," laughed Robbie , nervously ," and honestly, I am nothing like him at all "

" You're a geek who goes to Hollywood Arts " remarked Roxanne, noting that he wasn't completely unattractive . He had nice eyes and the hair could be fixed .

After all, geeks were in this year and it might be an adventure in dating .She was open -minded enough and the prestige of having a boyfriend who went to HA would give her more points in the heiarachery of North Ridge .

" That would be me " Robbie sat down ," do you want me to leave now ?"

Roxanne sent him a mega watt smile that had his heart racing from the nerves anyway.

" No , stay ," she stated ," I think we should get to know each other better "

" Really ?"

" Really so, Robbie , does anyone ever call you Robert ?"

" Uh, no, just usually Robbie …so, would you like a muffin to go with your latte?"

Roxanne nodded ," yes, I would, Robert, and thank you . Then I want to hear how exciting it is at Hollywood arts and what exactly your talents are …so thrilling "

Robbie was so giddy he almost fell off of his chair . " Be right back "

He made a beeline pass Jade's table where the dark haired Goth girl had been watching them with mild interest and disbelief followed by boredom .

" The date is going great ! She actually likes me ..she isn't even getting up to leave " said an excited Robbie ," they always get up to leave …."

" No "

" I can be me ," declared Robbie ," I got a date and I didn't need help from Beck or Andre "

" Do you want me to cut you " threatened Jade , though her heart wasn't in it .

" Sorry …I gotta get food or Roxanne will think I deserted our date " Robbie made his way over to the counter , stopping only to wave at a few friends from school .

Jade couldn't help but think that Robbie was in way over his head .