Hello, hello, hello. Another week and another chapter. I hope you like it.

TenorSax93: Thanks. I hope you like this new chapter.

Agent-M-0167: It certainly got your attention, didn't it? You had mixed gender flat-mates that were secretly falling for one another? Teddie in this story is more innocent as Tori doesn't have Jade's baggage with a father that doesn't approve of her or a recovering from a +3 year relationship with a guy she was head over heels in love with. Freddie in this one isn't dealing with uprooting his life after everything he knew and love crumbled down on his head. His old life is over, but it was more of a natural progression of life and he's done a lot of that soul searching between iGoodbye and the start of this story.

darck ben: I think after Season 1 and half way into Season 2 of Victorious, he got lazy and went back to the first few seasons iCarly formula to write stories. If he would have let his other writers take the lead in writing the show as they had done for the majority of the series before S3 then you may have had that kind of development.

Fanfic-Reader-88: It could be just as bad believing the lie, but it is guilt driving Tori's decision and Jade's willing to go along with it for the moment.

Sam treating Cat badly I thought was always a fifty/fifty thing in that Sam could just continue her behavior she has towards everyone else who isn't Carly or (as the series is being written) Cat took Carly's place in the 'do not touch' category. The line about having a black spot where her heart is was taken from a scene in the series of her just screwing with Dice because she could. Other than that, she's treating him far better than expected, but then again S&C is AU to at least iCarly for a number of reasons (change in Sam's age and repeated denials that iPwV happened despite what Dan says in public).

Tori was mortified about how she woke up and if Freddie saw her… she probably would have died in embarrassment right there.

You're welcome for the plug. I hope I directed some readers to your story.

Twilight Warrior 627: Yes they are getting interesting. What is stopping Jade and Beck from falling back into old habits? Nothing happened in the series for Beck to magically change his behavior. Heck, Victoria Justice herself thinks Beck broke up with Jade after the series.

Oh when oh when will they see Lindsey again? I don't know :D What will happen when Freddie learns how 'Jade' feels? I think you meant Tori, but if you meant Jade… I'm a Jedi writer, how do you expect him to react to Jade? :P

Challenge King: Sam's not going to study and has no need to help as she's not in college. Beck perfectly knows that girls flirt with him and torments Jade with it even to this point while (washing his car with his shirt in 'The Slap Fight' being a big neon sign showing his 'ignorance' is a bunch of bullchizz instead of just being an idiot not seeing), he was only surprised that someone other than Jade pointed it out and not let him slide by as the 'innocent' boyfriend with an overly jealous girlfriend. During the series, all the other characters remained silent on the issue and by default took Beck's side in the matter when Jade was COMPLETELY right about his behavior with girls. Freddie's not really his friend yet and has no reason to take his side over Jade's.

Tori does feel guilty for lying, but her lie is to try to protect him, something that unfortunately near the end of iCarly, neither girl had any interest in doing… oh these are the times I despise Dan for turning Carly and Sam into such horrible characters.

Tori's dream… well it looks like she got the message of her primal need for him.

illusorygentleman: Thanks. The dream was to inform, not to ah… titillate. It might be a little tricky to do that on FF with the rating system. How you're still posting is beyond me. I just might have to outsource such a scene to you or that SVAD guy or girl :D I hope this chapter continues with the quality.

Speaking of illusorygentleman, he as updated his 'Learning Curves' story and… wow is all I can say. Actually there is a lot to say about it, but you should read it for yourself if you are old enough. If you like Jedi, read it. If you like another certain pairing coughTeddiecough, you should read it. I can't stress enough to you that it is an M rated story. Also, PD31 has updated 'A Place to Call Home' last Friday. I hope I didn't miss anyone in updated stories.

Rating: T

Chapter 10

Literature and Writing: Age of Enlightenment to 20th Century
350 Humanities Building, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Freddie glanced over to the distracted and near fidgeting brunette and his worry for her shot up further from this morning. He had accepted her word this morning that she was fine despite their mostly silent breakfast which also consisted of her avoiding eye contact and focusing her eyes on anything but him. He had offered to sneak in with her to her morning class as she still seemed kind of preoccupied by her 'bad' dream, but she had been quick to refuse the offer in a quite nervous manner and repeatedly insisted that she was fine.

Now they were in their shared class and she still seemed distracted even on the lesson, avoiding having any unnecessary interaction with him. The only thing he could do that was productive was to take even more detailed notes than he did during the first class so that Tori wouldn't miss anything from the lecture and try not to let anything distract him from the lecturing professor including unfortunately Tori. He noticed the lovely doctor throwing him an occasional smile as she saw that he was paying particularly close attention to her.

The hour and fifteen minutes quickly passed by and Doctor Queen finished up her last point and reminded the class of their continuing reading assignment as students were leaving the neighboring classes. She happily dismissed them and Tori nearly jumped from her seat and headed for the door, beating everyone else out of the classroom.

Freddie quickly gathered his book and shut and zipped up his three-ring binder to toss into his book bag then quickly got up to catch up with his roommate. The other three former Hollywood Arts students noticed Tori's strange actions and were soon catching up with Freddie.

The former Seattleite caught up with the brunette and called out, "Tori?"

Tori stopped, turned and looked at him while the other three caught up with them. She noticed Jade's and Cat's particular concerned expressions for her.

"I got to go; I'm going with Jade to RPX records." She leaned over and grabbed Jade by the wrist and forcefully pulled the shorter hair girl along with her before she or any of the others could utter a word.

Freddie blew out a soft breath through his nose and let his shoulders slumped while Beck put on a confused expression. Cat spoke up in equal confusion while looking at the two young men, "I thought we had lunch today?"

Beck shook his head, just as surprised from the change in plans.

Freddie forced a smile. "I thought we were too, but… I'm still up for lunch, but…" He looked to Beck. "Looks like we're need a ride."

In route to RPX Records

Jade glanced over the apprehensive brunette in the driver's seat and demanded in a sharp tone, "Okay, pull over."

The pale girl's voice snapped Tori out of her fidgety state and asked, "What?"

"Pull over. I'm not riding with you being this fidgety. You were like this all through Queen's class and I'm not eager to get into a car wreck, especially since you're not necessarily the best driver."

Tori blew out a breath and relented, knowing that Jade wouldn't quit until she had her way. She looked over to the first available parallel parking spot and pulled the vehicle over moments later to a safe parking position.

As soon as Tori turned off the ignition, the passenger door opened and Jade was out of her seat. The brunette blinked from her sudden exiting of the vehicle and walking around the back of the vehicle. The pale girl opened the door and motioned with her head for Tori to get out of the car. The inspiring musician stepped out of the car and Jade slipped inside the driver's seat after her and pulled the seatbelt over her and buckled it.

Tori took the passenger seat and closed the door then buckled up.

The lighter skinned girl asked, "Why did we ditch lunch with the others—why did you ditch out on having lunch with Freddie?"

Tori slumped in her seat and looked out of the passenger window.

Jade shook her head and started the ignition then checked the driver's mirror before pulling back out onto the road and starting back on their destination. She glanced over to Tori quickly before focusing back on the road and asked with a surprising concern tone, "Did something happen between you and Freddie over the weekend or yesterday? Did you tell him the truth?"

"No, it just… I need a little space from him."

The paler girl's worry wasn't relieved, so she pushed on further, but tried to lighten the mood, "So you're finally experiencing the downside of living together? Did your laundry get mixed up and he saw a few of your underwear? The sexier kind?"

Tori rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. "No, nothing like that that. I just… I just had a dream this morning."

The blue streaked teenager laughed out, "So?"

Tori cleared her throat then tried to answer, "It was a… an…"

Jade rolled her eyes and blew out a tired and impatient breath. "Oh spit it out Tori!"

The brunette hissed out, "I had an… erotic dream about Freddie—with Freddie. Okay?!"

Jade blinked and looked out onto the road as if she hadn't heard her correctly. "What?"

Tori bowed her head to make sure she avoided her friend's eyes as she reluctantly answered, "Just before I woke up, I was dreaming about Freddie and we were… we were being intimate—he was being intimate with me. I ah, I ah woke up with my hand… between my legs."

Jade smirked then softly started to laugh.

The darker teenager narrowed her gaze and deeply frowned. She countered the laughing with a sharp and high pitch tone, "It's not funny!"

The shorter haired girl raised a hand to cover her mouth and try to ease down her laughter while still focusing on the road. After a few seconds of feeling Tori's harsh stare, Jade was able to calm down enough to continue, "It is. Your body realizes what a hot guy he is and is telling you in a way that would really get your attention."

Tori crossed her arms under her chest and deeply frowned at her friend.

Jade raised a genuinely curious eyebrow. "You can't tell me that you haven't felt any physical attraction towards him after living with him for a week? Or before now?"

"Of course I find Freddie physically attractive. What girl wouldn't? I bet you find him attractive too." She wasn't exactly sure why she was trying to drag Jade into sharing her feelings about the former tech-producer, but she thought the attempt would keep some of her embarrassment down.

The paler girl smugly replied, "I do find him physically attractive, but I'm not single and we're not talking about me. We're talking about you—the one that is quite single and living with him at the moment. I don't see what the problem."

"That's the problem: we're living together."

"So you do like him?"

Tori softly shook her head as she looked out of the passenger window. She reluctantly admitted, "I don't—I don't know. I guess I kinda, but I could just be confusing my friendship feelings with something more—I could be mixing being physical attracted to him with those feelings. Putting those two things together doesn't make it into something real—remember what happened with Moose?"

"Freddie isn't Moose. You aren't trying to find things to lure him with faking being interested in what he's interested to justify you being only physically attracted to him."

The darker haired teenager thought for a moment as she watched the road to make sure some stupid gank wouldn't cut her off. She blew out a breath as she had to take the role of being the rational one in the group. "Okay, just set aside the fact that you two are living together for a second. We would have met up with him in class right?"

Tori knotted her brow in confusion, "Yeah, of course."

"And you and he would have caught up with your lives and we would have all started hanging out like we're doing now, right?"

Tori squinted her eyes and slowly answered, unsure where Jade was going with her questioning, "Right?"

"And if he had decided to ask you out at some point since then, what would you have said?"

She answered without a second thought, "I would have said yes."

Jade knowingly smiled.

Tori blinked in realizing what she answered then quickly countered what she thought Jade was thinking, "That doesn't mean anything. All it means is that I'm physically attracted to him like I was with Moose."

"So there's nothing about his personality you like? Like boyfriend material? Are you having to pretend to be interested in his stuff? Do you want to pretend to be interested?"

She shook her head. "No, there are plenty of things to like about him: he sweet, kind, considerate… he's funny, he's fun to be around—we have fun playing video games—we share a lot of views on life and I'm… I'm comfortable with him." She looked out of the passenger window and finished with a whispered, "And I feel safe with him."

Jade chuckled, "Yes, this sounds exactly like it was with Moose and fake caring about hockey."

Tori slumped in her seat and tried to hide her face with her falling hair, attempting to avoid seeing Jade's smirking face.

Bots Restaurant
Venice, CA

Freddie laughed to the pair sitting with him in the booth (Cat on his left and Beck sitting across from them) as the red robot, Tandy, rolled away after it brought their order and he had conversed for about a minute with the automaton, "Oh my God… the AI for them is incredible. The program to make it work…" He shook his head and softly laughed in disbelief.

Cat sitting to his left laughed and excitedly stated, "Sam and I love this place. I love the hamburgers and fries and shakes. She loves the pork fingers."

Freddie nodded along as he had practically ordered the meal he had just described then teasingly questioned, "But I thought you were a sushi girl with Jade and Tori and this place is a burgers and fries place."

The redhead knotted her brow in mild confusion and tilted her head to the side. She finally responded with a cheerful expression, "Yeah, well… this is such a fun place and Sam and I take some of the kids that we baby-sit here for dinner sometimes."

Freddie nodded along to the explanation while Beck spoke up, "You might have won Moose if this place had been open. He wouldn't have resisted these burgers."

Cat giggled, "Moose did love his hamburgers."

Freddie looked back and forth between the pair. "Moose?"

"He's a friend of mine from Canada. He came down for a visit a few months back and…" He smirked while taking a sip from his drink. "…the girls got interested in him. Cat tried to bribe him with hamburgers, Jade wore the wedding dress from 'The Scissoring' and watching the director's cut of the film, Tori pretended to like hockey and Trina just jumped on him and had to be pulled off. He wasn't interested in any of them."

"He turned down Trina, Cat, Jade and Tori?"

Beck ate a few fries then answered, "Yes."

"And he's single?"

"Yes."

The former tech-producer looked at the innocent redhead then gave Beck a confused look and asked again, "And he turned all of them down?"

The inspiring actor looked back in near equal confusion at the question then slowly answered, "Yes."

"Oh…" Freddie commented with a hint of embarrassment as he glanced at his food.

"What?"

"Ah, Beck… I don't know how to tell you this but…" He leaned over and whispered, "…he's obviously gay."

Freddie leaned back in his seat to straighten up while Beck put on an incredulous expression. "Oh come on, I think you're going a little far in saying that."

"Beck, I can see him turning one or maybe two down because she wasn't his type and Jade because she was your ex at the time, but all of them?" He gave a flirtatious smile to Cat. "Look at Cat."

The petite girl softly laughed from the attention then explained, "Moose thought I was too small, Jade was weird and didn't like that Tori having to pretend to like hockey."

"Small?" He was feeling particularly brave and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and slightly pulled her close to him in a one arm hug to reassure her, "You're perfect size for you." He let go of her while she let out a giggle then he continued, "What did you say about what he called Jade?"

"About Jade?"

Freddie knotted his brow, a little perplexed that he would be confused by the question. "He called Jade weird. I know you two were separated at the time and Moose was your friend, but… you just didn't let that slide… did you?"

Cat idly dipped a fry into some of her ketchup on the plate and softly pouted, "He didn't say anything to him. He actually called us 'freaks' for trying to get Moose."

Freddie raised an eyebrow and felt a rush of irritation. He forced most of it from slipping into his voice as he asked, "You called your single friends 'freaks' for pursuing a single guy? Any particular reason why you would call your friends that—your former girlfriend at the time such a thing?"

Cat let out a sly and soft giggle, "I think he was jealous that we were giving Moose all the attention."

Beck looked to his redheaded friend, completely flabbergasted that she would suggest such a thing. "Excuse me?"

She softly rolled her eyes and glanced away to notice the short rolling robot with the glass doomed head, Zerp, as she answered, "Well… Jade was interested in him and Tori was too… after turning you down again to go out with her the week before… you probably felt jealous that she was interested in him than you."

The inspiring actor was quick to retort, "Hey, I was not jealous. I was annoyed with André and Robbie that you ditched out on rehearsals and kept interfering with me hanging out with him. And who said I was interested in Tori?"

Cat knotted her brow and retorted with a slightly higher pitched tone, clearly showing her irritation. "Jade told me. The web-cam was still on from when I called from the Boomerang Theater and she saw you talking to Tori after André and Robbie left. She saw you trying to kiss Tori and when she turned you down, you said some very hurtful things about Jade to Tori to convince her to kiss you. You even accused Jade of 'taking' her spot at the PMAs when she didn't do any such thing. Mason asked her to be in it. It wasn't her fault that Mason fired Tori and asked her. You shouldn't have said that to Tori. And when was he supposed to hang out with you? You were busy with school then right to Karaoke Dokie to practice for the show. You couldn't have hung out with him."

Beck looked on wide eyed, completely caught off guard by veracity by the little redhead defending her friend.

Freddie looked on just as shocked at hearing dirty laundry between the couple aired out and felt of all things a sudden spike of jealousy that Beck had been interested in Tori then the overwhelming curiosity of how he got over it and got back with Jade. A third emotion emerged that he felt annoyed that Beck would call Tori such a thing just for pursuing a guy. Freddie took a calm breath then asked in the most conversational voice he could manage, "Did you ever apologize to Tori? To any of them for calling them such a thing? Don't you think that was a little far in calling them that?"

Beck's friendly disposition slightly faltered with Freddie throwing his words back up in his face. The inspiring actor answered at about the same level, "Ah, no. They're the ones that ditched on our rehearsals to hang with Moose and we had to work our show around not having them perform."

Cat responded with as a bit of a spitfire, possibly due to spending so much time with Sam, and a pointed finger to him, "Hey, we offered to rehearse all that afternoon and the evening. You turned us down, but we still showed up to sing for you."

Freddie's voice became a little flatter and a little cooler as he added, "After that, it never occurred to you that maybe you should have apologized? Maybe you should apologize to Cat… maybe pay for her meal to make it up to her?"

Beck frowned at Freddie and for the first time not liking the Seattle native.

Freddie noticed the disapproving look in the thinner teenager's eyes… and he didn't care.

The three turned back to their respective meals with a sense of somberness as Beck refused to comment on Freddie's suggestion or take the opportunity to apologize even if it would have been pretty hollow.

A few minutes later into their meal, Beck asked in a partially cautious tone, "What's wrong with Tori?"

Freddie glanced at his food and his appetite considerably lessened for a second then answered in a tired tone, "I don't know."

The taller teenager gently probed, perhaps hoping to get back on some kind of even moral ground that Freddie had cut him down in front of Cat, "Did something happen since Saturday?"

The former tech-producer glanced between the former Hollywood Arts students and answered in a tired voice, "No. We just went out for a bit to restock the kitchen then hung out. Monday classes were fine then we worked on some homework together last night, but…"

"What?"

Freddie took a slow and deep breath then licked his lips to answer, "I might have an idea, but I don't want to violate her confidence. I'm hoping that she'll talk about it with Jade." He looked to Cat and suggested, "Maybe later this afternoon you could give her a call and check up on her?"

Cat sipped from her soda and nodded her head.

Beck suggested, "Do you think it's something you did? Something you did without a second thought, but could be interpreted in a certain way because you're living together?"

"I don't know, but if it is, it won't be a problem for too much longer. They'll have to have found one of us a room by the end of the week."

Beck nodded along and took a sip from his drink as Cat randomly started talking about her friend's MMA fighter he was managing, Goomer, wining his first fight against an undefeated fighter and all the craziness that led up to it including accidentally putting tongue drop medication in his eyes.

RPX Records

Jade led Tori to the recording studio after they arrived on the proper floor, the trip having become second nature to the pale hopeful artist. They were able to sneak inside one of the recording studios to watch from the other side of the glass André finishing a take on one of his songs. The girls naturally started rocking along with the music while he poured his soul into a song. He wrapped it up song about half a minute later then saw them on the other side of the glass. He laughed as he exited the booth and quickly pulled Tori into a hug as if it had been ages since he had seen her when in fact it had only been about two weeks. He released her then turned to Jade and shared a quick hug and smile then the pair pulled apart.

The brunette laughed and eagerly spoke, "That's fantastic André. I can't wait to hear your album."

"Well you shouldn't have to wait too much longer. We're hoping for a November release. So, what's with the visit?"

Jade shrugged a shoulder. "Shawn wanted to see me after classes for some reason. I'm expecting a polite rejection."

"Rejection? I doubt it girl."

"How many more cryptic conversations are we going to have about whether or not he wants to sign me?"

André gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Girl, you got to have a little faith. He's seen how talented you."

Jade softly rolled her eyes to signal that she didn't agree with him in his assessment, but she didn't want to argue with him over the matter either.

The songsmith got the non-verbal message and continued in another direction, "So what have you been up to? How's college treating you? You get a new place to stay or has Freddie?"

The purple streaked hair girl smiled and interrupted Tori before she could answer, "No, they're still together. I'm not sure she wants either one of them to leave—she has a thing for Freddie now, but she won't admit it."

The brunette shouted in outright and slightly high pitched voice when she looked to the shorter haired girl, "Jade!"

André laughed as he got into the picking, "Oh? You do huh? Is living together steering something up? You two starting to play house?"

"André!"

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just kidding. I'm glad he's been a better roommate than I was earlier this year. He is being a good roommate?"

Tori began to answer, but Jade interrupted again with a sly tone, "He's being a great roommate to her. She feels 'comfortable' with him."

The future hit musician raised his brow and let out another laugh, "Oh, comfortable?"

"Will you two stop? Jade is just reading too much into the situation. Freddie has been a fine roommate and yes, I do feel comfortable with him there. We thought it could be a little weird with both of us there—because I'm a girl and he's a boy—but we've managed fine having to stay together. We haven't had any problems."

Jade smirked as she deviously teased, "No, I wouldn't call what you've had with Freddie as a problem."

Tori crossed her arms under her chest and deeply frowned at her fellow actress.

André shifted his eyes back and forth to the old time rivals, feeling that he was missing something in the exchange.

The quips back and forth between the girls ceased when the owner of RPX Records, Shawn Quincy walked inside the studio with a beaming smile on his face. The technicians at the soundboard took that as a signal to leave, having been discrete in trying not to overhear the three teenagers conversation. The record owner immediately started on his greetings, "Tori, this is a surprise. It's nice to see you again."

"You too Mister Quincy."

He replied with a question in a tone that suggested his was far more curious to an answer than just simple conversation, "Mason treating you right?"

"Ah… I guess."

The handsome man questioned, "Mason dragging his feet with you?"

Tori cracked a nervous smile and tried to keep the embarrassment off of her face as he had hit the nail on the head.

Jade idly answered for the brunette, "It looks like that to me."

Shawn joked, "There wouldn't be any dragging about getting your album put together if you were here."

Jade slightly frowned at seeing the record owner basically offering Tori a record deal in so many words right in front of her.

Tori politely answered, "I'm going to see Mister Thornesmith tomorrow and hopefully get everything back on track. It's been a busy time after graduation and the summer."

Shawn held out his hands to the sides, palms up and laughed off, "I had to try when the opportunity presented itself."

The brunette laughed along with the joke as he turned his bright smile to Jade.

Jade politely smiled in return as she pushed down her anger at witnessing his attempt. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I do. It's something very important and I'm going to get straight to my point: Jade, would you like to sign with RPX Records as a musician? You have a lot of talent and I think you would be a great fit here."

Jade eyes grew a little wide as she was expecting a rejection after the several noncommittal conversations they had when she had visited André.

Shawn wore a pleasant smile in seeing he had hooked her and now he was going to reel her in, "You turned down performing at the Platinum Music Awards after Mason threw a tantrum and fired Tori for not wanting to go along with his plan."

A crooked smile formed on Jade's face from the sore spot of her choice. She could have made her debut on literally a world stage, yet she gave it up to a girl that she held a lot of resentment towards. She wasn't sure if she regretted the decision or not and that indecision troubled on how she saw herself as a person, whether she was a good person or not. She shoved those thoughts aside as she had done many times then answered in a forced conversational tone, "Yes."

"That takes character and I want that kind of artist on my label."

"You really want to sign me? I'm not being asked as a second choice because Tori turned you down?"

Tori and André looked on in mild surprise at seeing she would directly challenge him in that manner.

"Yes and no, you are not a consolation prize. I've told you my reasons that I want you on my label. It's up to you if you want sign."

Jade took a deep breath and contemplated his words while trying to maintain a guarded expression.

Tori leaned over and whispered to her, "Take the deal."

Apartment 316
Venice/Barry Apartments
11811 Venice Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA

Freddie looked over his shoulder from the couch as the apartment door opened.

Tori paused at seeing the Seattle native get up from his seat from watching television and her nervousness she had shaken off since class filled her right back up. She cleared her throat and greeted him with a hint of awkwardness, "Hey."

He forced a pleasant smile to hide his troubleness from her continued nervousness. "Hi… have a good time with Jade?"

She cut through her own awkwardness and happily informed, "Yeah, but she had a better time. Jade's going to sign with RPX Records. They still have to work out all those legal details, but it's going to happen for her."

He instantly brightened. "That's great—that's fantastic."

"Yeah, it really is. I'm happy she's getting her shot, especially after she gave up singing at the PMAs for me and losing her chance to perform in front of all those people."

"Because you turned down Beck before the show?"

Tori's eyes shot open and her lips became a thin line.

He glanced away and scratched over his left eyebrow. "It randomly came up during lunch with Beck and Cat… We went to this restaurant Cat and Sam love. It's called 'Bots'. It's on the shoreline. Their hamburgers are delicious."

"Bots?"

She had avoided the main thrust of his point, but he wasn't going to pull her back to it if she was avoiding it. "It's a themed restaurant. You order your meals from PearPads and the waiters are robots. The AI for them is incredible. I would love to see the programming on how they work."

She joked while she nervously played with the ends of her fingers. "Maybe we could go to together?"

He softly teased, "I thought you were more of a sushi girl?"

The brunette raised a curious eyebrow.

He chuckled and commented, "Cat reacted the same way when I brought it up to her—that's the impression I got from Jade after I got my car and she took me to Nozu."

"I like my sushi, but I wouldn't turn down an offer from you to go get hamburgers."

"I guess something me and this Moose fellow have in common."

Tori thought her ears were playing tricks on her as she thought she heard the faintest hint of jealousy in his voice. She cleared her throat and answered in what she hoped with an idle voice, "So you know the story about Moose?"

"If you are referring to your unfortunate experience of pursuing a guy that is gay without him politely letting you know and Beck having the nerve in calling you a 'freak' for doing it because he may have been jealous that you were pursuing his friend after turning him down, then yes, I know the story."

Tori looked back at him in utter shock. "Wait, Moose is gay?"

"Beck said he wasn't, but… he turned down all four of you. I could see Jade in that he didn't want to for being his friend's ex and maybe one or two because of type, but turning down all of you? What other explanation could there be? I heard the ones he gave for Cat and they just don't seem believable to me."

She nodded, feeling a little better that it turned out that Freddie didn't think she was a complete embarrassment about the situation with Moose. She looked up with a bashful smile and probed, "So if it had been you, you would've picked one of us?"

He sucked in a sharp breath through is teeth, caught off guard by the question. "Ah… I would hope not to be in that position."

She knotted her lovely brow in an instant and quickly asked, "Why?"

He laughed off as if he was the one confused, "Why? I would have four beautiful and nice girls, each with their own style of equal beauty competing for my affection? How do you choose any one? Then you're breaking three other hearts. Sounds more like a twisted wish." He softly laughed as a thought occurred to him, "The best solution would have to have myself cloned three times so each of you could have one of me."

The brunette laughed and covered her mouth with a hand for a second. "Oh? Thinking pretty highly of yourself?"

He smirked back with his boyish grin. "Hey, the premise was that all four of you wanted me."

The pair shared another quick laugh, Tori clearly seeing his point then she asked with a soft smile and curious tone, "How did you know that Beck was interested in me?"

"Cat said she found out from Jade when she saw you turn down kissing Beck before the PMAs. She said that he said some hurtful things about Jade to convince you to kiss him—including blaming her for taking your spot for the show."

She glanced away and answered in a near embarrassing tone, "He did, but it didn't matter. I couldn't kiss him… I couldn't do that to a friend."

"You couldn't do that to a friend… so you were interested in Beck?"

She shamefully shrugged a shoulder. "Sometimes you can't help who you like, but that doesn't mean you have to act on it."

He snorted out a breath and tried to suppress a laugh which quickly earned him a glare from the brunette.

He lifted a hand in surrender and quickly continued, "I'm sorry, it just… if Sam had that same consideration as you did, I would have never dated her… and I wouldn't have learned a lot of ugly truths I learned about her and Carly. She didn't follow 'girl code'."

"Oh?" Tori answered and nodded, quickly seeing a little insight into him. He had specifically said that he learned ugly truths about Sam and Carly and she could hear the regret of finding out such truths about two people he had deeply cared about—loved at one point, each in his own way for them.

He continued on before she could speak, "If I may ask, are you still nursing something with him even if he's back with Jade?"

"Ah…"

He cleared his throat then avoided meeting her eyes while trying to question in a nonchalant voice, "I'm just naturally curious to know if any other guy would have a real shot at you. Would he be competing against Beck?"

"No. Any guy that would want to try to date me wouldn't have to worry about that. I came to peace with knowing that Beck was one of those that got away—the one I never really got a chance to try with."

Freddie nodded in sympathy, oh how he could relate to such a statement. He took a deep breath and put a smile on his face to try to cheer her up, "Well the guy that does grab your attention is going to be a very fortunate one."

She beamed with a smile from his praise and thankfully replied, "Thanks Freddie."

He nodded along and the roommates slipped into silence, each unsure what to do next. They looked at one another for a few more seconds until Freddie spoke up, "This is the first conversation we've been able to hold since this morning and you trying to avoid me."

She frowned and glanced down to the floor.

He softly asked, "Is it related to your nightmare this morning?"

Her head snapped up and frowned in confusion. "Nightmare?"

"You called it a bad dream this morning, but you were calling out my name and you've avoided looking at me all day… did your subconscious version of me try to… try to hurt you or… take advantage of you in some why?"

Tori's face fell in horror that he was suggesting such a thing.

Seeing her reaction as clear as day, Freddie assumed he had guessed right and continued with an uncomfortable tone, "If you're having that kind of dream about me, then you're clearly not comfortable with me staying with you even if you're saying it's alright." He glanced to the time display on the cable box to see that it was only a few minutes to three and finished, "They should still be there at student housing, so I could check to see if they've found a room for—"

She quickly grabbed his upper arm and gave him a panicked expression. "I was not dreaming about you hurting me or—taking advantage of me or anything like that."

"Then what was it about? I hate to pry, but I think I need to know at least some of it if my presence is upsetting you."

"Ah… it was… I was in trouble and I was calling you for help. You were yelling back to me saying you were on your way."

He gave her a doubtful expression and countered, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with me being here. You don't have to li—make up what really happened in a dream."

She opened her arms and pulled him into a tight hug. She whispered into his ear, "If I felt uncomfortable with you here, would I be doing this."

He took a few soft briefs, shocked she would do such a thing then cautiously wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to convince yourself of doing something you don't believe."

She smiled against his cheek and whispered, "I'm not lying to you or to myself. I really am safe in your arms."

Freddie closed his eyes and returned and enjoyed the embrace with the lovely brunette.

Mason Thornesmith's Office
Neutronium Records
Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The time was late afternoon when a young blonde assistant opened the door and led Tori and Freddie into the office. Mason was sitting behind his desk, apparently finishing up some last minute paperwork.

Tori smiled brightly to the record president as she entered the office and warmly greeted him, "Hello Mason."

The graying man brightly smiled and greeted her in an equally warm tone as he stood up from behind his desk, "Tori, it's fantastic to see you." He walked around it and pulled the young singer into a hug. He released her and turned his attention to the unknown, but strangely familiar looking teenager accompanying her and stated with a semi-guarded tone, "And you are? I don't recognize you as one of Tori's friends."

"I'm Freddie—I've been a…" He glanced over to Tori to see how to answer.

Tori picked up, "—a long distance friend. He's moved down to Seattle to attend UCLA this fall."

Mason nodded his head then rubbed his chin while continuing to study the young man. "You look familiar."

Tori turned and motioned over to the muscular teenager. "This is Freddie Benson. You might know him from iCarly."

Mason raised his brow while crossing his arms over his chest as he instantly placed the name. He pulled his right hand out between his bicep and chest and snapped his fingers. "Right, Freddie Benson. You jumped started Ginger Fox's career."

Freddie glanced away embarrassingly and hesitantly answered, "Yes… unfortunately."

The older gentleman rolled his eyes while lazily commenting, "More unfortunately for me than for you."

"Well I don't see her lasting much longer while you have Tori since Ginger can only lip sync her own songs and as Carly would say 'dances like a diseased elephant' and you can only tell with camera tricks, better backup dancers and a lot of smoke. She's going to crush Ginger."

Mason couldn't keep the smile off of his face at hearing the inside information about the pop singer. He happily commented, "Well I like your vote of confidence."

Tori smile and hesitantly began, "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to see when the next time I was going to schedule some studio time or some writing collaboration. I have a few songs of my own I was able to write over the summer, but I would love to get some input on them."

Mason directed an apologetic expression as he answered, "The company has been very busy this summer: recordings of other artists on their follow up albums and scheduling and managing summer tours, so I'm sorry that it looks like I've been neglectful."

Freddie idly commented, "I just hope other record companies don't see you as not being interested and might try woo her over to them in the meantime."

Tori threw a disapproving glance towards her roommate.

The graying haired gentleman raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Have you had other offers?"

Freddie calmly carried on, "I was speaking more hypothetically. She performed months ago and there hasn't been an album release date being the buzz, so naturally some might see an opportunity. I mean Jade West is rumored to be signing with RPX and she was going to sing for you at the PMAs; he might want to pick up Tori too if he thought he had a real chance at her."

"I see your point…" he appeared to be on the same page as Freddie then quickly appearing to change the subject, "Katy's here to lay down some new tracks and I'm sure she'd love to see you again. Freddie, would you like to go ahead and meet her while I finish ironing out a few things with Tori?"

"Katy?"

Tori quickly clarified for her roommate, "Katy Perry."

Freddie had to question as he didn't believe he had heard Tori correctly, "Katy Perry?"

He nodded with a knowing grin.

Freddie was caught up with the idea of meeting Katy Perry for a moment, but then quickly looking to Tori as if he needed her permission. He had a sense of concern that he was leaving her alone with him. The man had handed Tori her dreams, took them away (and only got them back due to Jade) then had been dragging his feet ever since to get her first album out.

She whispered into his ear, "I'll be fine."

His smile was not as bright as one would expect at getting the chance to meet the famous musician, seemingly concerned about something to the lovely singer.

The assistant led him out, but he threw a supportive look over his shoulder to Tori before he crossed the threshold and turned out of sight.

The brunette looked back to the record owner as he stuffed his hands in his jean pockets as he rested his rear against the edge of his desk. "I heard an interesting little rumor about you and Freddie."

"Rumor?" She knotted her brow and thumbed over her shoulder, "Wait, I thought you didn't recognize Freddie?"

"I didn't want to have this conversation in front of him, but the rumor is… is it true that you're living with him? I didn't realize you were seeing someone seriously enough to move in with them. It could hurt your imagine since you don't want to be the 'bad girl'."

She waved him off and gave him an embarrassing smile. "It's was a mix up in the housing assignment. There were too many freshmen enrolled this year and not enough dorm space. Freddie and I got one of the university apartments reserved for transferred students and ones with families. They thought I was a guy and paired me off with him. Out of habit, I wrote Tori instead of writing my name out. They're looking for another room to free up so one of us can move out."

He raised his brow, apparently relieved at the innocence happenstance then offered, "I could find you a nice little place for you—"

She quickly waved the record owner off. "No I'm fine. University housing will find Freddie or me a place very soon. I'd like to keep my living situation quiet right now. I don't want people getting the wrong idea—as you just seemed to have done."

He tilted his head to the side, seeing her point and inquiring further, "Do your parents know?"

"Yes, but Freddie's mom doesn't and we'd like to keep it that way. She would freak out and take it the wrong way."

He nodded. "Okay, we'll keep this as quiet as possible so we don't have people assuming the wrong thing about you—with the best buzz being that you're working on your album. We'll schedule studio time for next week. We'll work around your class schedule and really get going with your album. We may be able to have it ready for a Christmas release then we'll look at a Spring tour." His smile grew bigger as an idea occurred to him, "Hey, why don't we go ahead and catch up with Freddie? Maybe Katy would be interested in doing a collaboration with you?"

Her mouth dropped open and opened her eyes so wide that it looked like they were about to pop out of their respective sockets. She needed several seconds to form words before answer, "Ah… sure. I'd love to do a song with Katy."

He motioned hand and escorted her out of the office.

Apartment 316
Venice/Barry Apartments
11811 Venice Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Late that evening, the pair was respectively going through their nightly routine to head for bed. Tori could hear the sink running in the other bathroom while she headed for her room, assuming Freddie was brushing his teeth before bed.

She slipped inside her room and paused for a moment, just a few feet in her room. She glanced over her shoulder to her door and debated to leave it open or not. She had kept it partially cracked open to try to show him that she wasn't uncomfortable with his presence, but at the same time, she was worried she could have another dream about him and him rushing inside to check on her and finding her in a potentially compromising position.

She had been ecstatic throughout the night on how things were getting back on track with her music and the nice little catch up with Katy. The only hint of any downside to the afternoon was that she felt an odd prick at her heart at seeing what she thought was Katy innocently flirting with Freddie. As was expected, Freddie just rolled with it and was flattered by the attention of the musical superstar.

So with her career looking like it was back on track, Jade getting her own record deal, Beck looking like he would get the role for the pilot, André finishing his record, college classes going well and the roommates getting in a comfortable routine living in the apartment, Tori was enjoying the wave of all around happiness. She didn't think anything could bring her down.

She slipped into her chair in front of her bedroom desk and quickly pulled up a browser window to check her school email account one last time before bed. She skimmed a few as potential spam, thinking she needed to adjust the filters, but stopped and raised an eyebrow at seeing a particular sender and subject line of an email. She clicked it open and took breath as she read over the email. Her shoulders slumped and her stomach sank as she finished reading the message. She bit her bottom lip then moved the cursor from the reply button to over to the delete button and clicked it.

She quickly shut down her computer, wanting nothing more to do with it for the night, and then got out of her seat. She slipped into bed and pulled the sheet tight to her chest as she stared at the blinds to the balcony window.

She heard Freddie called out from in the hallway, "'Night Tori!"

His voice brought a soft smile to her face while at the same time a small ache to her heart. She kept that ache out and called out in return, "Goodnight Freddie!"

She snuggled her head into her pillow as she heard him shut his bedroom door.

She barely got any sleep that night.

Author's Note: I wonder what that message Tori got before she went to bed was about or why she would delete it? Oh well. The 'Bots' restaurant comes from S&C if you're curious. Hope to have the next update next Thursday. Take care.