Disclaimer: Victorious. Once upon a time, I slew the dragon of copyright protection, and for a brief time, Victorious was mine, and was shared throughout the land of Public Domain. But no longer, no longer.

Tori

She kissed you. Cat... Cat kissed you. You... you were just singing and then... and then she was kissing you. She kissed you. That's all you can think, over and over in a loop, because what else are you supposed to think? You're... you're shocked. Of all the things you expected, this was not one of them. It wasn't even close to being anything like...

You can't even begin to process this. She... she kissed you. Her lips... You remember to take a breath... her lips touched yours. It wasn't an accident... she kissed you, and she meant to, and she wanted to. It was a kiss. You know it wasn't anything else. You know what a kiss is, and that was a kiss. You're just... your mind is boggling. One moment, you were singing, enjoying the way you and Cat's voices entwined together, and then she was kissing you, her eyes shut tight and her hands on your thighs. And then she was gone.

Maybe... maybe she didn't mean to. You saw how she sprang back, just as surprised as you, covering her mouth like she expected it to betray her again. How she ran out without even saying goodbye. You frown, noticing something. She ran out so quickly she left her bag behind. And then you wonder how is it that you can even think that. How can you not still be thinking that Cat kissed you?

You put your fingers to your lips, involuntarily recalling it. One moment and she was just there, lips on yours, the scent of her perfume strong in your nose, the sound of her breathing, the feel of her breath on your cheek. And then she was gone, while you were still frozen, still trying to process... still trying to realise that Cat had just kissed you.

How are you supposed to react? How are you supposed to feel? You're still in shock, just... just baffled. How can everything change so quickly? Did it even happen? But you can still taste her lip gloss. It happened.

You know you should be running after her, making sure she's okay, trying to figure out what just happened, but you can't seem to move. Your eyes flick to your phone. It's still playing the instrumental of 'Defying Gravity' and you stop it. That's one thing you can do at least.

You don't understand. It makes zero sense to you. Why would Cat kiss you? Does... does Cat... does she like you that way? She's never said anything. She seemed as shocked by it as you.

You sigh, your muscles finally working again. You stand... you need to be alone, in your room... you need to figure this thing out. You need to believe it, because it still doesn't feel real. You hesitate at the foot of the stairs, glancing back. You cross back to the sofa, taking Cat's bag. You don't want Trina rifling through it and taking Cat's stuff.

You had some vague idea that once you were here, alone in your room, that your mind would start ticking, start figuring everything out. That as soon as you closed the door, your brain would kick into gear and give you an answer, provided you did enough pacing. But it's not working. All you can think about is the kiss, your mind just constantly repeating it in your head. It fills your mind so that all you can think about is the fact that Cat kissed you, and you can't move past it to work out why she'd do it in the first place.

You shake your head, sitting on your bed. You almost sit on Cat's bag, shifting it to your left. Okay. Does Cat like you? That's the first thing you have to establish. You think hard, think about how she acts around you. The problem is, it's hard to tell which behaviour is indicative, and which is just normal Cat oddness. She always seems to get flustered around you... she jumps when you touch her sometimes, and there are times when it seems like she always has to be in contact with you, and times when it's like she can't bear to touch you. But does it mean anything? You've heard her breath hitch when you hug her, but you always thought that was because you were hugging her too tight. She's always the first to volunteer whenever you ask everyone to do something, but that might just be because Cat's nice. Sometimes... sometimes it seems like she's flirting with you, but you don't know enough about flirting to tell. You never thought she was serious, and you're pretty sure she didn't think so either. It'd be so much easier if you had someone to compare this with. You have Andre, but he's far too different from Cat to be any sort of comparison. If only Cat wasn't so different, maybe you'd be able to tell.

She kissed you. That's a fact. Ergo, she likes you. You nod. You could sit there and think of everything she's ever done, and read into it whatever you liked, but the fact remains that she kissed you. And you don't kiss someone unless you like them.

Okay. That's sorted. You're sort of proud at how mature you're being. Well, now. You might have been freaking out a bit before, but you were just completely perplexed.

So Cat likes you. Second thing, does she know? You're pretty sure she doesn't... judging from the way she reacted. But how can she not know? Then again, this is Cat you're talking about. You're guessing that Cat might realise it now though. You wonder, how does Cat feel, realising she likes you?

A muscle under your eye twitches. Cat likes you. How do you feel? In all this postulating about Cat, it somehow never occurred to you that Cat liked you. Crap. Cat likes you. What are you supposed to do? You're freaking out again. You're not mature, why did you ever think you were mature? You're a baby, a crying baby, and you just want someone to pat you on the back and burp you. You love Cat, sure... she's the sweetest thing ever, but... do you love her like that?

Your brain... it's telling you 'No!' over and over. You can't, it's impossible, it's Cat! But your heart... it's not fighting against your brain exactly, but it's doubtful. It's telling you that you shouldn't be so sure, that you should think about this, because that 'No!' isn't as confident as it should be.

It always comes down to Cat being different. If she was normal, you could tell. But what are you saying? This is about how you feel about her. It's dependent on you. If you'd had a real friend before, a real girl friend, maybe you'd know. There's something about Cat, about her uniqueness that intrigues you, that's alluring to you. You don't know if it's natural curiosity or not. The way she acts... she puts you off balance. It's no surprise you don't know how to feel. But you don't think she knows either. And if Cat could be so oblivious to liking you, how can you be so sure you don't like her?

Your heart is slowly silencing your brain, and that 'No!'? It's becoming a thoughtful 'Maybe'.

A/N: This is only a short one, I'm afraid. Next chap will be longer.

Please to for review? I'll hug you!

In your sleep... once I get this ankle bracelet off and can leave my property. Yeah, then I'll come hug you real good.

I know what it sounds like, but I was never actually convicted. That's an important difference.

Sunshine and rainbows! ^_^