Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, or any of it's characters. I merely manipulate them for my own amusement.

Chapter 9

Lunch was awkward, to say the least. Beck was kind of surprised when Jade sat down at the table next to Cat. No one really said anything until everyone was seated and even then it was just superficial conversation, the main participants being Cat and Robbie and Rex, and even Jade snuck in a few comments Cat's way, although Cat would mainly direct her chatter toward Robbie. Beck settled for studying Cat. She seemed really animated and into her conversation with Robbie, but when Jade would say something to her she'd get unnerved and politely smile and nod before looking away. She angled her body away from Jade and mainly tried to focus on talking with Robbie and being offended by Rex. She was all but completely ignoring Jade. Beck was baffled when he saw a discouraged look on Jade's face and the corners of her mouth turn down, but then she caught him staring and glared at him until he looked away. Andre was silent the whole time and focused intensely on eating his pasta from the Grub Truck. Beck glanced at Tori, who had sat next to him, and she had a look on her face as if she was deep in thought. She was sitting equal distance away from him and Andre this time.

He's hit with the sudden urge to spend time with her. He never really gets to talk with her or be alone. And maybe it'd be good for the both of them, he guesses. Especially after the shit Andre and he pulled in class. Thankfully, she was in the dark about how the last half of their scene between bickering roommates Johnny and Sampson was not acting, whatsoever. He remembers Saturday and how he considered calling her and hanging up after he heard her. He's such a chick these days. And then he remembers Cat never called him back when he tried to get in touch with her.

"Hey, Cat?" He interrupts whatever they were talking about and everyone looks at him because it's the first he's spoken.

"Yeah?" She smiles and he can't help but smile back.

"I called you Saturday morning and you never answered. Where were you?" He asks.

"Oh! I was with Tori." Cat smiles at the brunette next to him and Tori smiles back. Beck catches the glare Jade shoots her way and smirks when she realizes he caught her, again.

Cat then turns to him once more. "Yeah, we were having girl talk," She smiles devilishly, as if she knows something he doesn't.

He looks at Tori and is surprised to see her a little pink in the cheeks. "Cat!" She hisses.

Cat giggles and looks at him, ignoring Tori. "What'd you need, anyways?"

"Oh, uh, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out." He could tell Jade was trying to seem nonchalant but the tight grip she had on her water bottle didn't go unnoticed by him. He glances at Andre and he looks like he wants to say something. "But I hung out with Robbie instead." He doesn't like having to explain himself.

"We saw a movie." Robbie adds.

"Most action he's seen in years," Rex quips.

"Rex!"

Andre laughs once. "Amazing. He's already moved on to lil' red; record time, too…" He mumbles.

His eyes narrow. Shit is about to go down.

"It isn't like that, Andre." He hears Cat defend him in a firm, decidedly, un-Catlike tone before he could say anything.

Andre scoffs and looks disbelieving.

"Yeah, Andre. We're just friends." He says, challenging him to say otherwise.

He looked like he was about to say something else, until Tori looked at him. "Andre." They had a silent conversation with their eyes and he kept his mouth shut. Whipped, much?

He looked at Cat who was staring at Andre and Tori intensely. He glanced over to Jade and could tell for whatever reason she looked on the edge of explosion. Beck waited until she looked at him. She rolled her eyes when she saw him looking again. He guesses she was embarrassed that he kept catching her at her worst moments.

The weird tension from before came back and the table fell silent. Everyone just kind of gave up.

He takes the opportunity to think things over. Obviously, he and Andre had some beef now; that much was clear. When he suddenly went off script with the whole girlfriend thing, Beck just ran with it in the hopes of actually telling him how he felt. He didn't know he had that much animosity built up towards him until they were in each other's faces and oh the things he was saying. He doesn't know if Andre really meant it or was it was just improv. She'd never go for you, you're nothing? Did he mean that? And he called Tori his girlfriend? Does he really think of her as his? If so, that's just sad. And it pisses him off. He's the one who loves her. Andre doesn't own Tori.

Oh, yeah, he let that cat out of the bag. It was sort of a relief to say it aloud, that he loves her, although the only one who knew it wasn't part of the scene was Andre. And Sikowitz, he guesses, but he was probably zonked out on coconuts and probably wouldn't even remember.

He really needs to talk to Tori. If anything, he really does want to spend time with her. And why shouldn't he? Because he was in denial of how he feels? He realizes that now.

The way everyone looks at him now is kind of sad. He can't even convince people that he doesn't care, that nothing is going on, he's not interested.

Because it's all lies.

He told the whole class that he loves her. And they were completely unsuspecting.

Oh, and what was with the way Cat looked at him when she mentioned she was with Tori Saturday and the way Tori got nervous, like she was going to spill something she really shouldn't? Did they talk about him during their 'girl talk'? He doesn't know. He could find that out when he talks to Tori. Because that's really what he needs to do. Talk to the girl that was at the root of all of this. Maybe he'll ask her to hang out after school? Yeah, he devises, he'll ask Tori after school.

He's startled out of his trance by Robbie hitting his shoulder. He looks around and everyone is getting up. Lunch is over.

He spends all day thinking about what to do with Tori. Where to go. What to wear? When would they go, today? Tomorrow? The weekend? He gets nervous as the last bell of the day rings and he stands up and books it to the parking lot. He knows she usually rides with Trina so he looks around for either of them.

He stands in the middle of the lot, looking in every direction.

"Looking for someone?" He turns around and his face falls. Jade.

"I can't talk right now." He says as he looks over her head for any sign of one of the Vega sisters. Preferably, the one he was in love with and definitely not the crazy narcissistic one.

"Who, Vega? I passed her in the hall. She's coming out now." She says.

He finally looks at her. "She is?"

"Look, we need to talk. You obviously saw some things at lunch that you probably misinterpreted. And I—" He cuts her off.

"I'd be glad to have this conversation with you some other time, but not now. I have to ask her something." He finally spots her walking in the other direction. "Gotta go." He touches Jade's shoulder as he makes his way to catch up with Tori as she heads towards Trina's car.

He doesn't look back as he runs after her. "Tori!" He shouts.

She turns around at the sound of her name and seems surprised to see him making his way toward her. "Beck?"

He reaches her and draws in a breath. "Areyoubusythisweek?" He blurts.

"Um…" She blinks. "I have a dance class after school on Wednesday, but other than that, no."

"Well, uh. I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out sometime. And talk," He adds trying as much as he can to make it not sound like date.

She doesn't say anything for a moment and he's facepalming repeatedly. "Or, you know, whatever. Maybe not... that's okay." He sys, waiting for her rejection.

"Sure! I'd love to hang out with you!" She smiles. His heart falters.

"Um, when?" He smiles a little, trying not to sound overexcited.

"I'm free right now… or we could go tomorrow if you want?" She seems a little nervous. So is he.

"How about tomorrow?" He asks. I'm so gonna need time to calm the fuck down.

"It's a…plan." She smiles sheepishly. Beck knows she was going to say date.

"Sure is. We can go straight after school."

"Okay." She's still smiling. She seems happy about this. And shoo, who's he fooling, so is he.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. Something to look forward too," He murmurs.

She grins even wider, if that were possible.

They just stand there, grinning at each other for a while.

"Tori!" He hears Trina screech. "The sale is ending!"

"Well, uh, I should go. Trina might blow a gasket and then I'd have to clean it up." She smiles and backs away a little.

"Okay. See you later." He says and with one last look, she turns around and makes her way to Trina's impatiently waiting car.

He sighs and watches her go. So he's got a non-date with Tori. Cool.

He notices the lot is emptying out and makes his way over to his car, feeling lighthearted. It was like his mood was the complete polar opposite from when he started the day. He doesn't even have time to feel pissed off at Andre or wonder about Cat or Ja—

"That was cute."

Speak of the devil. She's leaning on the side of his car.

"Jade! Just the person I didn't want to see. What do you want?" He jibes as he unlocks the door but doesn't get in.

He leans next to her. "You totally bailed when I had something to say. Although, I will admit it was pretty entertaining watching you and Vega bumble like idiots at each other for like five minutes." She smirks at him.

He rolls his eyes. "Is that what you want? To make fun? I thought you were past that." He asks.

"Oh, Oliver, I'm never past that." She says. "But seriously, it was kind of… cute. I guess?" She wrinkles her nose. He knows that's the closest he'll get to her saying something nice about them. He takes it.

"Alright. What did you want to say earlier?" He asks as he jangles his keys and wonders why he has so many of them. He only uses like two. He'd have to sort them.

"So…about lunch. What you think you saw, you didn't." She says firmly.

He laughs. "What do I think I saw?"

"You know." She tries to glare at him but fails.

"You just pretty much cornered yourself there. I could have not seen anything at all." He smirks.

Jade rolls her eyes. "But I know you did."

"Fine. I know I saw you look disappointed when Cat was giving you the cold shoulder and I know I saw you look jealous when she mentioned that she hung with Tori and I definitely know I saw you try to act normal but you were about to explode when Andre tried to pull that shit with me and Cat. Explode with what, I don't know. Jealousy?" He challenges.

He has her there, and she knows it. "She did not give me the cold shoulder." She grumbles and looks uncomfortable.

"Well, at least she was polite about it."

She says nothing.

"Besides, I have my own theories for why you felt the way you did. I notice things," He says nonchalantly.

She snaps her head up to look him in the eyes. He's still playing with his keys so she takes them from his hands and throws them down onto the pavement.

"What do you know, Beckett?" She grits out through closed teeth and grips the front of his shirt in her fist, much like an elementary school bully would do.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, chill out. I said theories." He clarifies as he pushes her hand away and smoothes out his shirt. Bipolar much? "But now I'm curious. What's going on with you, Jade? And Cat for that matter? What's going on between the two of you?" He asks, pretty damn curious now. They were acting beyond weird, now that he thought of it.

"Nothing is going on between me and Cat." She answers, a little too quickly.

"Hmm." He says simply as he purses his lips and furrows his brow. AKA, his classic Deep Thinking Face.

"I should go before you make your brain explode." She pats his forehead and moves away. "Oh, and have fun on your date." She calls over her shoulder, never looking back.

"How did you…" He starts but shrugs it off. She can put two and two together. "It's not a date!" He calls out after her but she just keeps going.

Geez. He lets out a sigh as he retrieves his keys from the ground. He pulls away from Hollywood Arts as his mind is turning. Operation Find-Out-What-Alien-Force-Has-Taken-Over-Jade-and-Cat is now moved to number two on his to-do list.

Number one? Stress about his date with Tori.

Non-date, he mentally chastises himself.

A/N: Oh, Jade. You're so transparent. Surprisingly, I really enjoy writing interactions between Beck and Jade! All of the sarcasm and teasing, probably. :) So, We're going to be delving deeper into the Cat/Jade thing while Beck realizes his want to spend time with Tori, thus kicking off the start of Bori. For the next few chapters the Cat/Jade debacle is sort of put on the back burner for a little bit because it's going to start focusing on Beck and Tori's growing relationship (and the drama that comes with it). Exciting.

*Chapter 10: A day at school; Cat's behaviors being increasingly questionable, Beck awaits his non-date with Tori, more Andre drama, and of course, another painfully awkward lunch.

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