Flattery

Monday morning Tori woke at seven sharp. She took a shower, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and got dressed for school. She felt more than excitement when it came to returning to Hollywood Arts this year. She couldn't wait to see all of her friends again; she'd missed them terribly over the summer break. Jade and Beck were still together, barely, but she didn't have much of a clue as to what Robbie and Cat had been up to. Then there was Andre. She knew she was way too excited to see Andre than she should have been.

The rain hadn't completely gone away, but it was still drizzling outside, making it a bit chilly in California. After a bowl of cereal Tori said goodbye to her parents and left for her car. "Why is it raining so much... in L.A.?" she breathed. She opened the car door and tossed her bag inside. After closing the door she started the engine. Her phone buzzed. She looked down at the screen and saw that it was Andre. hey tor. excited fa first day. cnt wait ta c u.

Tori read the text message a few times before she was finally able to pull herself away from it. Smiling, she put her car in drive and made her way to the school. Tori usually hated Mondays; they were usually the beginning of a long, hard week, but for some reason she was overjoyed for this Monday. Maybe it was the rain, or the fact that this was the first day of her last school year. Or, maybe it was Andre. Whatever the reason, she was happy.

TORI VEGA: First day of school. Can't wait to see you too!

Mood: Anxious

Andre walked with Robbie to his locker after sending Tori the text. Every ten seconds he checked his phone, hoping he'd missed her reply. "What do you keep looking for?" Robbie asked. "Nothing" Andre replied, looking in another direction. "He texted Tori!" said Rex. Andre shot Rex, the puppet Robbie always carried, daggers. "What? I see things" Rex explained. Robbie grinned. "You've been waiting to hear back from Tori" Robbie pronounced. Andre nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess so." "She'll text you back. She's probably just driving" Robbie offered. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks Rob."

"Man whatever. Everybody knows that me and Tori have a thing going on" said Rex. Robbie laughed. "Whatever Rex" Andre said, thumping its wooden head. "OW MAN! I thought we were cool!" Robbie bore a concerned look as he began to rub Rex's head. "Get off me!" Rex spat. Andre opened his locker and put everything he'd been carrying inside. That's when his phone chirped." "Don't push up on my woman!" Rex said bitterly as Andre reached into his pocket. "See, that's probably her now" said Robbie. Andre smiled. "Yea, it is." "What did she say?" Robbie asked. "Spill it!" demanded Rex. Hi sweetie! Cnt wait to see you either!

Andre read the text aloud. Rex's jaw dropped and Robbie smiled encouragingly. Andre looked up at them. "What's up with you two?" "What's going on here!" said Rex, slapping Andre's locker. "Yea, are you and Tori, dating, or something?" Robbie asked, in voice lower than he'd intended. Andre shook his head. "What makes you say that?" he asked. "Come on Andre. Sweetie! Tori's into you, and we both know you like her too" said Robbie.

Andre had trouble coming to terms with what Robbie was saying. "Tori and I aren't like that; we're just friends" he explained. "More than just friends…BEST friends for three years. So what if she likes you? I don't see anything wrong with the most gorgeous girl at school liking you and you liking her back." Andre shook his head again. "Look, I love Tori, she's my best friend. But that's it. It's not like that—"

Tori wrapped her hands around Andre's eyes, causing him to jump. "Who is it?" Andre croaked. Robbie and Rex slowly disappeared. Tori disguised her voice. "Guess" she told him; her voice was scratchy and dry. "Um…" Andre began, but he was short on breath and decided to take one in through his nose. His insides were consumed with the smell of bananas and strawberries. His body shuddered as his face contorted into a smile. "Tori?" he whispered. She gasped. "How did you know?" she asked bubbly, letting him go. Andre turned around and met her gaze. "There's something special about when you're around. I could…feel it…I guess" he admitted. Tori smiled at him.

"That was really sweet Andre" she whispered. Tori's hands were in Andre's and he watched as she closed the distance between them. "I had a lot of fun the other day" she said. Andre shook thoughts about Tori in her night clothes from his head as she beamed at him. "Yea, it was cool. We should do it again sometime." Tori smiled. She let one of Andre's hands go and they began to walk. "So what's your first class?" she asked. Andre reached into his pocket and removed his class schedule.

Two weeks prior to starting school the students were all mailed their class schedules and other materials, giving them time to get everything squared away before the first day of class. After looking it over and putting it back into his pocket, he frowned "What's the matter?" Tori asked, concerned. "I have ballet" he admitted. Tory put her free hand over her mouth and giggled.

"I thought you got out of that class years ago" she squeaked. Andre nodded. "Yea, I did, I got put right back in. I even called over the summer to change it, but here I am, about to go and dance around with a bunch of sweaty, male ballerinas!" Tori laughed again. "Aww…" she said, noticing his misery. "It's okay Andre. If it helps…you look nice in your tutu." Tori gave Andre a flirty smile and let his hand go so that she could imitate Andre's bulky figure in a tutu. Andre gave her a small push and began to walk in the opposite direction. Tori stopped and caught up with him.

She gave him an apologetic look after making it back to his side. "Why'd you leave me?" she asked. "Class is this way, Vega ballerina" he said as he grabbed her by the waist and held her over his head. "Put me down!" she squealed. Burying laughter, Andre spun around on the spot until they both got dizzy, and he stood her back up. They shared a laugh before Tori began chasing Andre, threatening to bite him. He led her all the way to his ballerina class.

"Got you!" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Okay, okay…you win Tor" Andre breathed. Tori caught her breath and smiled. "As always." Andre grabbed her hands again and looked down into her brown eyes. "Where are you off to?" he asked. "Music theory" she replied. "Cool, I know where that is" said Andre. "You do?" "Yea, I'll meet you there after class" he offered. Tori smiled. "Okay" she replied. Her hands found themselves crawling up Andre's arms as she grew lost in her emotions. She stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. They waved bye, and she was gone.