"How's the paperwork coming along, Trina?" Tori asked her sister.
"Wait, where's Trina?" Jade glanced at her side of the deck, nobody sitting at the chair.
"Here!" Trina struggled to lift a heavy stack of papers, slamming them on the desk.
"Whoa baby, is that the report?" Cat went wide-eyed.
"You bet it is. Only took three grueling days, but I'm almost done."
"Almost? Seriously, it's not finished yet?" Jade questioned.
The girls stayed late in the station, using the conference room table to finish their paperwork.
"Nope."
"Well how much more do you got to do? We can help," Jade offered.
"Sure," Trina pulled out a sheet of paper. She signed and dated it, placed the paper on the top of the stack, capped her pen and placed it on the table. She looked up at the girls and smiled. "Done."
"Really? You didn't need our help then," Tori giggled.
"Done," Trina repeated. "With part one."
"What?" Jade asked dully.
"All the paperwork is finished," Trina said, "but I've got to go back and read everything to make sure it's all right. So, take a group and start reading ladies."
A murmur of groans and sighs came from the girls. They each took a pile and went to reading.
"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Smith, that's all we have for today."
"Who's that?" Tori wondered. The four girls looking up from their work.
"I think it's daddy," Trina guessed. Being the closest to the door, she tilted her chair to get a better view of the hallway. "He's taking Evan from the interrogation room back to his cell."
"I thought everyone was done for the night," Jade said.
"I guess not," Trina said. "Hey Daddy," she waved at her father after he left the holding cell. Officer Vega walked over to the conference room.
"Good evening ladies," he greeted them. "What are you girls still doing here?"
"Just finishing up the paperwork," Tori said. "Are you guys done questioning the suspects?"
Yes but we're still keeping them here over night, then in the morning, to the big house," he explained. "I'm going to head out before your mother nags me again for coming home late. You ladies have a nice evening," he kissed the top of Trina's head and waved at Tori.
"Bye Mr. Vega," Jade and Cat said.
"Bye daddy," Tori and Trina waved.
After a few minutes of lingering silence, Cat decided her focus wouldn't come back.
"Hey um, I'll be right back." She got up from her seat.
"Hey if you're going to the kitchen, you mind grabbing me a cup of coffee?" Trina asked.
"Sure."
Cat walked out of the room and into the hallway.
"Cat," Jade caught up to her. "Where you going?"
"Just wanted to take a little break," she told her.
"You weren't thinking of seeing Evan, were you?"
"Don't tell me it's a bad idea or anything. I just need to talk to him. I want answers. Please understand that."
"Just be careful," Jade told her.
"Thanks."
She walked down the corridor until she reached the cells.
There he was, sitting in a fetal position, face buried in between his knees, hands furiously grabbing his hair.
She cleared her throat.
He looked up, startled, yet relieved to see who it was.
"Cat," he got up, dusting himself off trying to look somewhat presentable.
"Hi Evan."
She grabbed the chair from a nearby desk and sat a good distance from the cell. He walked up to the bars getting as close to her as he could.
"Listen, Cat –"
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you do it?"
"Because it's my job."
"No. Not the heist. Why did you lie to me?"
"Because I told you I'd stop and then I started again. I'm sorry, Cat. I really am."
She sighed deeply. "Then why date me if you knew I was a cop?"
"You told me you were just a cop. I didn't know you did field work."
"And if I told you, would you have broken up with me?"
"Would that even matter?"
"Of course it would."
"No, what I mean is, it wouldn't matter if I broke up with you or not because you never loved me, or even liked me for that matter, the same way I did," he told her. She quivered her lips, about to say something, but held back. So he continued.
"Look, I appreciate you giving me the chance to date you, but you and I both know who you would rather choose. I went for you because I thought you're amazing and beautiful. And you still are. The police thing was a bit difficult, but I got over it. I figured since my boys and I were able to get away 7 times, this 8th time would be nothing, and I'd get a nice relationship out of it too. My uncle left us in Texas, every man for himself. He didn't want to get caught, but he'd sacrifice his own nephew and son, Tony, to the feds. Tony and I promised to finish the mission together once we found out his dad got caught. I liked you Cat, that wasn't a lie. But I did have to choose my boys over you. Everyone else in my life had left, but Tony, he never did. He's my only family left."
"What would make you think I'd leave you?" Cat questioned. "We were in a relationship, Evan. And you know I'm faithful."
"You are, I know that. That's why if you left, it wouldn't hurt because you were never mine. You're faithful to that nerd, Robbie. I don't know what you see in him but your heart was the one thing I could never steal. It's why it hurt less to sneak behind your back. I'm sorry, Cat."
"Did you ever stop to think how that would affect me? Finding out your true colors?"
"Shocked, maybe. But upset, no. That's why you're not heartbroken over me. You're heartbroken over the fact that Robbie's hurt."
"Can we not talk about Robbie for one second?"
"How can we not? He was the reason for our insecurities."
"No he wasn't. Robbie's just a friend. He'll always be a friend. I'll always be just a friend…"
"Cat, you ever stop to think that Robbie only put you in the friend zone because you put him in the friend zone first?"
"But how would I know I put him there? And I don't think it was intentional."
"Maybe he was thinking you're way out of his league. So he'd never have a chance with you."
"Oh…" Evan actually made sense for once and Cat was stumped.
"Look, I get it, Cat. You love him. No hard feelings. And I'm sorry for shooting him, threatening to shoot you or anything. You know I'd never shoot you."
"I'm sorry too, Evan. For not being faithful to you."
"It's alright," he sadly chuckled. "Better to have love then lost than to never have loved at all, right?"
"Right," she softly smiled.
She got up and pushed the chair in the desk.
"Good luck," she told him and headed for the door.
"Cat?" Evan called once again.
"Yeah?" She turned around.
"Robbie may be smart, but he's just as afraid as you, maybe more. Don't wait for him for die before you regret not being able to tell him."
"Thanks, Evan," she genuinely smiled. "Thanks for everything."
"Goodbye, Cat."
"Goodbye, Evan."
"I would just like to thank chief officer Vega and the Central Street Division for taking on this case and making sure Los Angeles was the last place they'd ever want to be. Thank you, David."
"Thanks Mayor Garcetti. But I seriously couldn't have done it without the help of my six-sigma crew. Guys, please stand for everyone to recognize you," officer Vega ordered them.
The gang, sitting in the front row, stood up and turned around, waving at everyone in the station and accepting their applauses.
"Los Angeles will always be a bit safer with you guys around," he concluded.
The mayor of Los Angeles and the police department held a press conference to formally thank the team for completing the heist. The gang was attacked with praise and honor from much of the media, public figures and their colleagues. It was nice to be recognized.
Once the press had left, it was just another hush day in the office.
"Man, that was a very detailed dream," Andre remarked after Robbie finished describing his night at the hospital.
"Yeah, I woke up in a cold sweat. Cat was asleep in the room. It terrified me and I started crying."
"Doesn't that mean something?" Trina asked. "You know those dream interpretations?"
"Of course it does, it means Robbie's being an idiot sitting here like he always does instead of talking to Cat."
"That's a little harsh, Jade."
"Is it?" she challenged them. "He passed up so many chances before, and now that he has this other chance, Robbie's not asking it. This time he's a scared because of his dream."
"That was a nightmare," Robbie corrected her.
"Newsflash Robbie, the bigger nightmare is happening right now. You're awake. It's not lucid - it's real. What are you waiting for? Another guy to get her or to die?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said anything about dying?" Andre said.
"You know what I mean, 'Dre," Jade said. "I know we shouldn't jump to conclusions, but if you look at Robbie's track record with Cat, he's always on the sidelines."
"She's kind of right," Trina agreed.
"I know I am. Ok? You don't have to remind me," Robbie said annoyingly.
"No need to be grumpy, Rob. If you can't handle the truth and all, then do something about it," Jade told him.
"I'm working on it."
"Are you really?" Trina quipped an eyebrow.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"What's stopping you, bro?" Andre wondered.
"I still think that I'm not good enough for her."
"What makes you think you're not? For some sick, twisted reason Cat cares about you," Jade informed him.
"And I care about her. But I can't stand to see her hurt like this. Like what Evan did to her. I'm too afraid to hurt her."
"Then don't hurt her."
"Let's be real, Jade. Even if I'm the harmless person you've met, everyone gets hurt."
"But are you ok with being her friend for the rest of your life?"
"I'd rather be just a friend than nothing at all."
"Whatever, Robbie. Suit yourself. But don't complain if you know you can change it. Anyway, all this Dr. Phil chizz is making me hungry. Trina, want to grab a bite to eat?"
"Sure, Jade. See ya, boys!"
Once the girls left, Andre slumped on the chair beside Robbie and they continued working.
"I never thought I'd side with him, but Evan's right. She belongs to you," he said out of the blue.
"How do you know she does?" Robbie asked.
"How do you know she doesn't?"
"I don't know…"
"Robbie, you know that game we play in our stakeouts?" Andre asked.
"Yeah."
"Remember that question Tori stumped us with?"
"Not really."
"Well she asked would you rather always lose or never play?"
"Aren't I considered in the always lose category?" Robbie joked.
"Nah, I think you haven't even stepped foot on the playing field. Think about it this way. Stop waiting for what you think would be the right time. Waiting does absolutely nothing to help. Don't wait for love. If you wait too long, someone else might steal it from you. Another Evan might take Cat away."
"But she and I are such good friends. Would I risk what we've been through for something like happiness?"
"Robbie, Love and happiness are not the same thing. Love is a risk, happiness is a choice. Which one will you choose, man?"
After a light day of fieldwork, Tori, Beck and Cat arrived back at the station.
"You know, after that heist, nothing seems exhilarating anymore," Beck chuckled.
"Just give that heist buzz some time to wear down. No one's going to do anything drastic yet."
"Tori's right. Give it a month or two, we'll have another huge case, Beck."
"I guess," he fake pouted.
"Hey babe, how was the field?" Jade said, coming out of the conference room with Trina.
"Boring," he said before kissing his girlfriend.
"Beck's just mad that the case wasn't difficult. You know how boys are," Tori laughed.
"All we did was chase a guy down Front street. He wasn't armed or anything. Just didn't want to get caught," Cat explained.
"But the car he jacked was so low on gas that he didn't even go three miles before stopping," Tori finished.
"That was the highlight of our evening," Beck said.
"Anyways, we're heading out. Tori, you want a ride to Dad's family dinner tonight."
"Sure, Tri. Thanks."
"Where are Andre and Rob?" Beck asked.
"I think he and Robbie are either still in the lab or they left. Wait, is Andre going to dinner tonight?" Trina asked her sister.
"Yeah, he's going to the house whenever he gets off because neither of us knew when we'd be done for the day."
"Cool, let's go."
"We're going to head out too," Jade said. "Cat, you coming?"
"I'm going to see if the boys are still here. My walkie-talkie was acting up earlier tonight. If not I'll leave too."
"Hey if Andre is here tell him I'm already heading to my dad's."
"Sure thing, Tori. See you guys tomorrow."
"Night, Cat."
"Bye!"
Making her way to the lab, Cat let out an exhausted sigh. She went to the office to drop off a few things and change into her civilian clothes. As she locked up the office and conference room, she heard a faint noise from down the hall. She walked over; a bit cautious because Trina and Jade said nobody would be around. The noise was coming from the lab. Strange, she thought. Robbie and Andre's lockers were empty. She was about to grab the door handle when it swung open before her.
"Ahhh!" they both screamed.
"Chizz Andre, you scared me," Cat grabbed her chest.
"For a little girl, you scared me too, Lil' Red," he chuckled, helping her up.
"What are you still doing here?"
"We were just cleaning up some equipment from that heist."
"Oh, well Tori was actually looking for you."
"Yeah, got a family dinner to go to and I'm already super late so I'll see you tomorrow, Cat. Can you tell Robbie to double lock the doors for me?"
"Robbie's still here?"
"Yeah he's inside. Bye, Red!"
"Bye, Andre!"
Cat peeped inside the lab and lo and behold, Robbie was at a monitor, the radio was on (the noise she heard) and focusing on a piece of equipment he was cleaning.
"Hey. You're here late," she said walking in. He looked up from his focus.
"Is that a surprise?" he chuckled.
"No, but you really need to get some rest."
"I'm not doing anything too strenuous, I think I'll be fine. What are you still doing here?"
"Just got back from field work, everyone left but I needed to wind down for a bit so I relaxed in the office."
"Well if you've still got some energy left in you, I've got a bunch more gadgets that need to be cleaned. Andre had to leave early so it's just me," he held out a microfiber cloth.
"Sure, I've got time," she smiled.
For a few seldom minutes, they sat in comfortable silence enjoying each other's company and listening the songs on the radio. They both thought things were going well until the next song that played definitely brought them back to reality.
I'm on a journey Yeah, I'm on a roll
Sometimes gotta close my eyes Just to open my soul
And tonight is the night…
"So, um. Are you ok?" he brought up.
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" she played dumb.
"You know with the whole Evan thing. I know people have probably brought it up a million times and I'm sorry for bringing it up again. But I just want to make sure you're ok."
"Oh. Yeah I think so," she replied softly.
"I'm sorry, Cat. I know he meant a lot to you."
"I-I'm sorry too, Robbie…" she frailly replied.
"Cat, you have nothing to be sorry about."
"Then why do I feel so horrible?"
He was cut short, hitching to catch a breath. This was all too familiar. The words. The situation. He was terrified. It's déjà vu, Robbie, his mind told him.
"D-did you t-talk to Evan?" he was now nervous, hoping his nightmare wouldn't come true.
"Yeah, I did earlier today actually," she calmly replied.
"O-oh. W-what d-did-" he stuttered, but struggled to finish his thought.
"Robbie are you ok? You look kind of pale."
"I-I-I'm fine, Cat," he cleared his throat. "Um, what did you guys talk about?"
"Everything pretty much," she sighed.
He closed his eyes. Please don't tell me you're getting back with him, hethought to himself.
"Of course not. Why would I ever get back with Evan?" she replied.
Guess he didn't say that in his head.
"Oh… Um, what did you guys talk about?" A part of him wanted to know, but a part of him didn't.
"Me. Him. His past. You."
"Me?" Robbie was caught off guard.
"Evan was always jealous of you."
"You're kidding, right?" Robbie joked.
"I'm serious," she giggled. "You and I are close, but Evan thought there was more."
"Is there more?"
"I don't know…" she shrugged. "Before his 'trip', he even tried making an ultimatum. Either to stick with him and break all contact with you other than work, or he'd break up with me. I guess I didn't really need to make that decision since all of this happened, right?" she sadly chuckled.
"Right," Robbie chuckled as well. "So um, I guess you're stuck with me then," he kidded.
"Well, I wouldn't mind being stuck with you," she answered truthfully.
"What?" he was taken aback.
"Robbie, I l-… I l-… I'm such a coward," she sighed. She couldn't even get it out of her to say those words.
"You're not a coward," he told her.
"Fine, I'm scared," she said frailly.
"I'm scared too, Cat. I'm scared of you," he softly replied.
"Y-you're scared of me?"
"But…"
"There's always a 'but', isn't there?" she giggled.
"Yeah, butt…" they both chuckled. All too soon, it became serious again. "But maybe this time I'm not scared of you. I'm more scared of losing you."
He found some courage to put his gadget down and turned to face her. He grabbed a hold of her hand and continued. "I'm not going anywhere. Not anymore. And I'm not going to sit around and not go for what I want. I lost you once, I'm not going to lose you again."
She stared deep into his eyes. Could this be really happening? Was Robbie confessing his feelings to her? Did they really have the same feelings for one another? Instead of answering back, she decided to do something else. She picked up the equipment she was cleaning, a pair of handcuffs, and latched one side to his right wrist.
"What are you doing?" he chuckled.
Once she linked the other side to her left wrist, she looked up at him and smiled.
"Well, you got me," she giggled.
He looked at her, chuckling in confusion. "That I do," he smiled.
"What are you going to do about it?" she smiled flirtatiously.
Ohhh, he said in his mind. Finally he got the hint. She loved him back and was willing to take a chance. It wasn't the most romantic setting, nor in the circumstances was this moment right, but Robbie learned that he couldn't wait for the perfect moment anymore because with Cat, any moment could be made perfect.
Starting with this one.
He smiled back, leaned in, and sealed their lips with a kiss.
The End
Song List: 21 Guns– Green Day; Don't Charge Me For The Crime– Jonas Brothers; Guns and Rose– TI ft Pink; Too Afraid To Love You– The Black Keys; I'm Alright– Taylor Swift; Don't Wanna Be Torn– Hannah Montana; Love the Way You Lie–Eminem ft Rihanna; Lost, Broken, Confused- Mest; A Boy And A Girl- The Specktators; You Got Me– Colbie Caillat; Song on radio: Rest of My Life - Ludacris ft Usher & David Guetta.
A/N: We play these mind games with one another whether or not we know we're doing it. Sometimes you develop feelings for people unintentionally, other times you knew you'd fall into this game for fools from the start. Sometimes we're bold enough to admit our feelings, other times we're in denial. What if we're waiting for the other person to speak up first like Cat was with Robbie? Or what if we're Robbie, admiring from afar, always doubting that Cat would like him back? Are we going to waste our lives waiting, cowering in fear of hurt and rejection? Or will we put ourselves out there and take a risk? Say what you need to say before it's too late.
So with all those remarks you guys have made about Robbie and Cat's actions – how they should stop being idiots and put themselves out there and just confess how they feel – well I enjoyed you mentally slapping me in the face lol No hard feelings.
I'm not proud of this story. Granted, I got my message across, but there was no surprise twist. I don't know why you guys still read my stuff. It's predictable. I'm predictable. I have nothing left in me to develop anything remotely entertaining. Anyways, I'm off to my non-Victorious fics. Fret not, I'm still publishing my one-shots. As for Cabbie, I'm all dried out for now. I do have a Victorious fic that I would love to publish, but I'm not even close to finished, there's nothing interesting about it, and as much as I need to rise above it, let's just say I get how some people can get discouraged because of others. Sorry guys.
*BIG NEWS* I am happy to announce that I am collaborating with Jmags-WriterOfAwesomeness ;D She and I are writing a story called "Where's Robbie". It's basically a branch-off of Wanko's Warehouse. What if Robbie didn't escape from the thieves? I haven't uploaded it yet, but I know she has on her account so when you get the chance, go check it out!
Wherever you're spending your summer, hope you have fun! And I hope your weather is a great as California's ;)
-AM
