So here's another update. I'm not particularly proud of this chapter, but it couldn't be put off anymore. I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to thank MaybeWolf for his contributions to this story. Now, after much delay, I present, chapter 10.

Tori found herself at school a little earlier than usual waiting for Robbie. It wasn't hard to convince Trina that spending more time in school would help her become a star. All night Tori worried that last night's talk with Robbie wasn't enough. She could still remember when she had left Sherwood, how hard it was to adjust without her friends, even though she could still see them occasionally. For Robbie who would likely never see his best friend ever again, Tori knew that she would just have to be there for him. Standing by his locker though, the minutes began to tick past. As more and more students trickled in with no sign of Robbie, her worry continued to grow.

True to his word, Tori found Robbie back at school a couple minutes later. Walking toward his locker, Robbie was surprised to see Tori standing there. Tori breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Robbie approach. It was a huge load off her mind to see Robbie walk through the door, just like every other day.

"Hey Robbie," Tori greeted enthusiastically, as he approached his locker.

"What are you doing in this corner of the lockers? Jade might show up anytime." Robbie uttered looking around fearfully. For a moment, Tori forgot why she had come to his locker in the first place. It took all of Tori's willpower not to laugh too loudly as she watched Robbie crane his neck like a meerkat.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine." Tori assured. Robbie on the other hand, was not as confident. While it was true that Jade was a lot more manageable when you outnumber her, Tori forgot to keep in mind that he probably didn't count as a full person. Robbie just had to hope that Tori would be able to hold her own against the queen of pain, should she suddenly appear next to them. Her sudden appearance, especially in the morning, would typically signal that he had entered the danger zone. Luckily for him, Jade was nowhere to be seen.

"If you say so." Robbie said skeptically, returning to his locker. Robbie was surprised to see that Tori was still by his locker. Truthfully, even Jade never stayed in this corner for long, which has saved his ass more than once. Mostly, it was just him and Rex before class, but now that Rex was no longer with him, he found that Tori was much better company than Rex ever was.

"Hey Robbie about last night..." When Jade appeared at her locker, Tori found herself catching her breath, mid conversation with Robbie. Jade's approach was filled with suspicion, which was apparent to Tori.

She could also see the panicked look in Robbie's eyes and wondered how he lasted this long next to Jade everyday. Luckily for Robbie, she seemed a lot more agreeable with Tori watching over him protectively. In this instance, agreeable meant ignoring the two friends by her locker. Maybe that was just because she wasn't trying very hard to ruin his life. It seemed like even Jade knew not to kick the dog when it's down, probably because she didn't need to stoop so low to do damage. The conversation between Tori and Robbie had come to a complete standstill thanks to Jade.

"I heard Rex is gone for good." Jade finally voiced, breaking the silence that had befallen the trio since her arrival. Tori cringed a little at Jade's bluntness. Looking to her friend, she noticed he got defensive and crossed his hands over his chest. His fingers drummed absentmindedly against his arm, almost as if his fingers refused to believe they could no longer manipulate Rex.

"Yeah. I'm sure you're glad he's gone." Robbie said bitterly. He never understood why Jade and Rex just couldn't get along. There were a couple of months before Jade met Rex when they got along without the malice that tainted them now. Back then, Robbie didn't bring Rex to school everyday and through sheer coincidence, they somehow managed to evade each other. Those were the good days, however few they were.

Jade took a moment before responding to Robbie's accusation. While it was quite true that she despised the puppet and absolutely would not miss him, she didn't want to give him any more reason to dislike her. Her attitude toward Robbie had always been a point of contention between Jade and her friends. Even Beck had given her shit for it. Hopefully, without Rex in the way, maybe he would be more tolerable. She simply shrugged and tried to be reassuring.

"Maybe now you'll finally be a real boy," was all she could manage to come up with. Tori could almost feel her blood begin boil.

"Can't you be a little sensitive?" Tori burst out. For once, Jade didn't have an immediate retort which gave Robbie just enough time to pull Tori away before a full on fight between the two began.

"Thanks Tori, but it's okay." Robbie thanked, as they walked away from his locker. "What was it you were talking about before we were interrupted?"

"I was going to say, after last night, I want you to promise me you won't disappear like that again." Tori asked looking a little frazzled. Seeing the concern in Tori's eyes made Robbie realize how much he had worried her. In truth, Tori's present was more than enough to keep his friend alive in his mind, and that's all he needed for a good night's sleep.

"Okay, I promise. Your gift last night went a long way in helping me cope. It really meant a lot to me." Robbie answered. With friends like Tori around, he didn't feel like he needed to run.

"Really Robbie, it was no problem," Tori quickly stated. Lane had told her that they only kept those because they didn't want to throw them away. After a moment, Tori asked, "Are you busy this weekend? I was thinking we could go to the beach again."

"Yeah, that could be fun. Let's do it." Robbie agreeably. He found it amusing that Tori actually asked him, as if he could say no to her. There was probably nothing that he wouldn't do if she asked him to, as Sunday's movie incident proved.

"Yes! You won't regret it Robbie," Tori said hugging her friend. "C'mon. Let's go tell the others."

Now that this chapter is done, it's off to the beach! I'm very excited for you all to read that. Thanks for your continued support. Don't forget to leave a review!