Disclaimer: Victorious, despite my vigorous efforts and lamentations, continues to be not mine. Much to my sorrow. 'Cause that would be awesome.

Tori

You watch Cat as she rushes off during lunch, her face flushed. You catch a glimpse of her face as she looks back, and she looks almost... scared. You're tempted to go after her, but nobody else is moving. You don't even think they've noticed. It's not like this is the first time Cat's done this, but... you don't know, you just feel like there's something different, that lately Cat has been even more moody than usual.

All you did was explain what Cat was saying. Everyone just assumes that what Cat says is nonsense, but it's not, it's just a little harder to follow. But the way she looked at you, like you had another head or something... it's like she couldn't believe what you were saying. And then that blush had spread into her cheeks, and she'd bitten her lip.

You're worried about her. You haven't known Cat for all that long, but you've known her long enough. Her mood swings... sure, they're frequent, but they're shallow. They're gut reactions without much depth to them, only momentary feelings. But how she's been acting lately... it feels like there's something underneath it, something real, and you're sure it's one of those Cat things; those things that don't make sense at first until you twist it around and put it together. But that's the problem with Cat, it could be something, or it could be nothing at all. It's just a feeling you have.

You're still thinking about it when you get to class and Cat isn't there. It's unusual; music class is one of her favourites. You're relieved when she bounces in, looking as bright and chirpy as usual, and you start to think you were worried over nothing. You move your bag off the seat beside you, clearing a space for her, and she sits down, beaming. You want to ask her why she ran off, because something still doesn't feel right, but the teacher walks in, trilling a scale theatrically. You wait until she's done giving the class their assignments; to sing a duet. You'd forgotten about this, to be quite honest, but you know that Cat's been looking forward to it. She's practically quivering with excitement beside you. The sound of chatter fills the room, people discussing their ideas, and you turn to Cat, wanting to know what she's got planned, touching her on the shoulder lightly. She almost jumps out of her seat, like you've zapped her or something, but you figure it's just because you surprised her. She was probably just spaced out, thinking about what songs to do. It's not the first time she's had a reaction like that. You're thinking about maybe doing your duet with Andre. The two of you go well together, musically speaking, and you look around for him, patiently waiting for Cat to start her rant about what she's going to do and how excited she is to do it. It's what she normally does; she has a hard time containing her excitement, and she excites easily.

It doesn't come, and the silence catches your attention. You stop looking for Andre, focusing on Cat, and her head is bowed, her eyebrows drawn together. Her voice is soft when she speaks, and at a slower pace than usual. "Tori... did... did you wanna do a duet with me?" You're taken aback. Not that Cat would ask you, but in her tone of voice. It was hesitant, almost like she's expecting you to refuse, and she's just confusing the hell out of you today, even for Cat.

You haven't heard her sing much, but you know she can sing. You can almost tell just by her normal voice. There's a clarity in it, a power in it that you know transfers to singing, and to be quite frank, you're a little intrigued about what she might be able to do with it. You've heard Jade sing, and she's broadway all the way. You've heard Trina too, but you wouldn't call that singing. It's unusual, you realise, but you've barely heard Cat sing at all. It piques your curiosity, realising this. "Sure Cat. What song did you have in mind?"

A grin splits Cat's face, and she springs up, holding out her hand. You find yourself instinctively taking it, to your surprise, and then she's tugging you into the adjoining classroom, the one with the piano in it, and you realise she must have planned to use this room all along, must have arranged with the teacher beforehand, either earlier in the day if not yesterday. Sometimes you think too little of Cat, but she just works differently to you. You keep trying to pin her down, but she keeps changing, keeps eluding what you think she is. It's incredibly frustrating and incredibly intriguing at the same time. She lets go of your hand, sitting down at the piano. She seems nervous, wiping her hands on her skirt, and you realise that maybe there's a reason she hasn't sung in front of anyone, besides back-up. It's another surprise about her, because she's so fearless in other areas you never thought she'd be hesitant to sing.

A smile flits across her face. "I thought we could do 'Defying Gravity'."

You furrow your eyebrows. "Who's it by?"

Cat's jaw practically hits the floor. "You- you don't know? It's from Wicked!"

You stare at her blankly.

"The musical?" She frowns, sounding disappointed. "You really haven't heard of it?"

It's not that you haven't heard of it exactly. You've heard people talking about it, even if you didn't actually know it at the time. Cat looks crushed, and you realise what a huge deal this is to her. "Sing it to me." You say, trying to cheer her up.

"Really?"

You nod emphatically; you really do want to hear it. Cat fascinates you, she has so many different facets to her, and this is one you haven't seen before. You haven't seen her nervous, you haven't seen her this tense and excited before. She takes a deep breath, counting in her head and playing the opening notes. You're listening eagerly when Cat sings the first line, her voice soft but pure, and it freezes you, and all you can do is listen, stunned by her voice. She gains confidence as she goes along, and by the time she reaches the chorus her voice is soaring and raising goosebumps along your arms. You never knew she could sing like this, and you're enraptured, her voice caressing you and sending you into the heights with her, until you feel like you could defy gravity. You can't stop looking at her, your heart racing and your palms sweating, because she's amazing, and it's not what you were expecting at all. And when she hits that high note, her eyes closed, you feel your heart flutter, because it's beautiful, and it makes your voice seem rough and crude in comparison.

The last notes ring out, slowly fading to silence, and you're stunned. You feel like you should applaud, but you can't seem to get your muscles to work. Cat knows she's good, she'd have to, but she's still looking at you, a worried expression on her face. "Cat," You finally manage to say with a great effort. "That was amazing. You're... I didn't know you could sing like that!"

Cat fights a smile, looking down at the piano and playing a few notes. "You really think so? It's a good song."

"Of course I think so. Why don't you sing more?" You can't figure it out. She's probably got the best voice out of all of you, but you've never really heard it until now.

The smile fades from her face, and she glances at you quickly. "It's... it's personal. When I sing it's like..." She trails off, shifting uncomfortably, and you gesture at her to continue. "It's like I'm giving a part of myself away. I mean, by myself I'm fine, but... but when I get in front of a crowd I just can't sing by myself."

"You sang in front of me." You point out.

A smile toys at the edge of her lips. "That's different. I don't mind you having a piece of me."

Sometimes you wonder if Cat understands what she says, whether she really thinks things through or if she just speaks with her heart. You think it must be the latter, because people don't make themselves this vulnerable on purpose. She has this ability to strike you dumb, and if you were a different person you might respond with some lighthearted comment, and you'd both laugh and feel good, but you aren't. You're you, and you heard how sincere she was, and you realise; she wasn't singing in front of you, she was singing to you.

She makes you uncomfortable, because you feel like there's something you're not seeing. You don't think she sees it either, in fact, you're pretty sure she doesn't realise there's anything to see. It frustrates you, because you don't know how to deal with it. If Cat was doing something wrong, you could talk to her about it. If it was you, you could work on it, but you can't change it if you don't know what it is. All you know is there's this tension that doesn't have a reason behind it, and it makes Cat blush and act even more strangely than normal around you and leaves you confused as hell. Is this how it is with best friends? Is it supposed to be like this? Maybe it's you – you're just having trouble adjusting to having a best friend. You're not used to sharing things and trusting someone, and it unnerves you that Cat does it so easily.

You're satisfied with that. It feels like an explanation, and it's something that'll work itself out over time. Simple.

Cat's studying you, and you start to think that maybe she said something to you. You were pretty spaced out. She puts you off guard a lot. "We don't have to do that song if that's what you're worried about. We can do something else." She says anxiously, and you wish you'd paid just a little more attention. You know how easy it is for her to get upset.

"No, no. That's fine. It's a good song. I was just thinking about having to learn it." You say reassuringly before frowning. "Wait, when is this due by?"

"Friday." Cat says with a smile on her face, noticeably perkier.

"Do you wanna come by my house after school and we'll practice?" You're looking forward to hearing her sing again, and seeing if your voices go well together, though, you have to admit, you're a little afraid of being overshadowed.

Cat nods eagerly. "I'd love to!"

You talk to her a bit more before the bell chimes, Cat explaining the plot of Wicked to you and telling you how she's already seen it three times. She's chattering away quickly, and you're happy to see her so excited about the duet, and you watch her bounce away to her next class, picking your own bag up with significantly less energy.

You find yourself humming the song Cat sang on the way to class, and you're surprised at the goosebumps that raise on your arms at the sudden recollection of her voice. It's changed how you think about her, knowing she can sing like that. You understand why she's here, at this school, now. With a voice like that, she couldn't be anywhere else. You think about what she said, the pit of your stomach shivering, and you realise... you kind of like the fact that she sang to you. It makes you feel special, and you're glad she wanted to... to give herself to you. You get to class, sitting down and pulling out a bottle of water from your bag. Your mouth feels dry all of a sudden, your pulse racing. You're looking forward to this afternoon, a lot more than you should. You wish school was over, because all you want right now is to sing with her, to hear her voice again. To sing to her.

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! For the delay, that is. Unavoidable unfortunately, but we should be back to our regularly scheduled programming in a few days. I'm only managing to post this now due to a combination of magic and hallucinogenics, so I'm not actually sure I'm posting this, or if the dragon is.

Anyways! Review! It'll put a fire in my belly, and I'll spew forth fiery updates and oneshots when I get my modem in the mail!

I'll leave you with that image.

Also, am I the dragon? I got confused there. Maybe I've always been the dragon O-O