A/N: Good day! Gosh, thanks for the wonderful feedbacks! I never expected my fic to be received positively, so I'll make sure I'll do better with the next chapters! :)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Victorious and its characters. Because if I do, there would be more shirtless Robbie...just kidding. ;)

Sleepover

"Me? Why me?" Robbie asked, looking perplexed to Andre. It was already lunch break. He wanted to punch Andre but he found it really hard since the six of them were crammed sharing a single table, the majority of the seat was occupied by his keyboard. Really, he never knew the six of them would be sharing a table at lunch together. He was so used to be sitting only by himself or with Cat or Andre or sometimes Beck.

"Because I want to."

"That's not a valid reason!" He snapped furiously. "Why don't you cast Beck? Or arrange auditions."

"Sorry dude, I already got the lead role last year," he said shrugging. Robbie groaned in frustration. "And there's no time for casting calls."

"And it's time for you to shine," Tori crooned as she clapped Robbie's back for support. "Come on, you can do it!"

"Yeah, shine, whatever," he said, looking a little disappointed. "I'm just... I don't think my voice is good enough. Like, come on, they say I'm horrible. Ms. Shneebles said so."

Ms. Shneebles was their music teacher.

"Not really, Robbie. You're actually good," Cat piped in. He suddenly felt his stomach doing a somersault when her voice reached his ears. He was never used to hearing compliments from girls. They made him…queasy and other stuff. "I heard you sing down the hallway last week. I'm sure it was you, but I thought it was Rex at first… but it doesn't sound so Rex."

He let out a frustrated whimper before he gulped down his beverage. Robbie = 0, World= 1.

"Come on, please! It's going to be easy. You're a great actor," Tori whined, looking hopefully at him. He hates it when a person, especially a girl, is very persuasive. He just tends to give in.

"And a singer," Cat added vaguely, beaming at him. Then she decided to keep herself busy with her carrot cupcake. "And hey Robbie, I tried rubbing a frog's head but it jumped at me."

"Fine," he said as he held his hand up as a sign of defeat. "I'll do it. I will. I'm Robbie Shapiro, anyway: the most awesome thing that happened in here."

"That's supposed to be my line!" A familiar voice echoed. They all looked around and saw Trina Vega, her arms on her hips, looking a little offended. "I'm the awesome thing here!"

"We know that, Trina," Tori said lazily as she watched Trina fuming towards them. "Why are you here anyway? Are you supposed to be sitting with the… A-listers?"

"I'm upset," she said, her eyebrows furrowing with frustration. "They don't want to give me the lead role. I mean, hello! They're missing such great talent!"

Robbie heard a soft giggle beside him. He looked sideways and saw Cat looking down on her empty plate and laughing gently, half to herself. Strangely, his worries about the upcoming play subsided.

He stood in front of his large vintage mirror to check his reflection for one last time. It was a movie night with some of his friends and he decided to settle with a plaid polo shirt and jeans. There was no reason to groom up anyway, was there? It's not like he had a smokin' hot date or something.

"Robbie! Your girlfriend is here!"

"Girlfriend? I don't have-oh crap."

He hurriedly went downstairs and saw her mother looking at him, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. She still thought there was something going on between them. She asks him every day about her, it almost makes him sick.

"Don't do anything nasty," his mom said firmly as she walked towards the kitchen. Robbie rolled his eyes.

"She's just a friend, ma!" He sourly opened the door and found himself standing in front of a beautiful girl who was wearing black skirt paired with a lavender sweater. Her magenta hair was gently swept by the night breeze.

"I told you I'm going to fetch you," he said as he hurriedly stepped out of his house and dragged her away from it. The wind was unusually colder than usual and he could feel tingles on the back of his neck. "And I'm glad you wore a sweater tonight."

"Yeah, but my brother told me you called and you wanted me to come over here, so I tried to ask a lot of people where you exactly live," she said as she tried to keep pace with him. A frown appeared on her face. "I guess my brother fooled me again. I hate it when he does that."

"Just don't do that again, okay? It's totally dark in here; don't risk yourself by going out alone!"

"Thanks for the concern," she said brightly, squeezing his arm. "I don't know you're really that kind."

"Well, I don't know it too," he said under his breath that she could barely hear it. "Besides, my parents think there something going on between us. They think we're engaged or something."

"Your family is funny; we're just friends for goodness' sake!"

"Totally, I think it's a little hereditary because my mom and Mamaw think exactly the same." He scrunched up his nose because of the thought. She shot him a weird look. "What?"

"I hope you don't think about that too, since you said it was hereditary."

"No of course," he said laughing, as if it was the most ridiculous thing that he heard. What a liar, he thought. He sometimes thinks about it too. He can't help it, okay? Not since they've already shared a kiss. "Not ever. That's crazy."

They spent walking towards Tori's house in awkward silence. Robbie resorted himself into looking at his shoes, but sometimes he can't help but steal a glance towards her direction, curious about what she was doing. Then he suddenly remembered the time they spent a while ago. The milkshake, the sadness: he still doesn't know why she came for help to him and what the cause of her problems is. Robbie was about to open his mouth to ask her when she suddenly spoke, in a small voice.

"My hands are freezing."

"Why don't you rub them together? Everybody does that, obviously," he suggested heedlessly. She tried to put her palms together and rub them like stones. Robbie expected her to smile but she frowned instead.

"It's not working. It just makes my hands worse."

He raised his hands and realized that he wasn't wearing any gloves to offer her. Who would have thought the night would be surprisingly cold, anyway? Cat tried various ways of helping herself (including putting her left hand on her non-existent left pocket) but she failed every time, rambling under her breath. She should have bought her favorite jacket, and the thought of it made her extremely upset. Robbie spent a few minutes glancing to and fro her direction, getting increasingly distracted by her irritated expressions and occasional squeaks. He groaned; he couldn't take it anymore. It's time for the last option.

"Give me your hand," he said, slightly exasperatedly. She reached her left hand and he took it, entwining his fingers with hers. He could almost feel the piercing coldness of her hand dying against his. The feel of her touch made him realize that this wasn't bad after all. "You could put your right hand in your pocket. Is this okay?"

"Better," she said, unconsciously squeezing his hand a little harder. "Thanks. I envy your hands, they're so warm. Good thing Rex isn't here."

"Why?" he asked, curiously. He almost had forgotten about Rex, who was still carelessly stashed inside his bag back at home.

"Because he'll just make me feel bad."

He spent the rest of their little walk feeling angry at himself for making her feel awful. Let's face it, Robbie is Rex, Rex is Robbie. Being a shy and socially awkward person, he uses his ventriloquist dummy to express himself. At first, he was surprised people actually believed that Rex is a whole other persona. It actually amused him to see people making faces every time Rex says something, until now. Seeing as he actually hurt Cat for his off-handed remarks, everything about him and Rex made him want to throw up.

"Cat…" he started. She looked up; her happy brown eyes were piercing him like daggers, making it more difficult for him to tell her the truth. He opened his mouth but it felt like his tongue rolled down his throat.

"It's okay if you want your hand back now; I think we're almost near Tori's house anyway."

"It's not that," he said, shaking his head. "Just… never mind."

"Mom," he called through his phone hopefully. "I'm going to spend the night here."

"And why is that, mister?" her mother's voice sounded icy on the other line. He felt a lump in his throat when he heard a faint familiar old voice rambling loudly in the background. What the heck was Mamaw doing in there, anyway? Probably asking for technical support, he thought. One of his worst days was when Brenda told his grandmother that the cable was actually cut off and she needs to replace it. Screw Brenda and her teddy bear.

"We still need to brainstorm about the play, and I'm kind of needed." He could almost see his mother raising her eyebrows. He added for good measure, "Don't worry, the boys would be sleeping on a separate room."

There was a long pause. "Fine." Robbie let out a breath that he never thought her held. "Just… stay away from her!"

"I will, mom," he said halfheartedly before he ended the call. "I wonder why they're all so worked up about her…"

"Robbie," Tori called from the living room. She was sitting just beside Beck and Andre who appeared to be engaged in a very animated discussion. The gang was, after all, determined to finish the script and other plans for the play tomorrow morning, so that they could start rehearsals and props making during the afternoon. A while ago, they were watching snippets of high school movies and other chick flicks that didn't appeal to any of the boys. They were supposed to get some pointers from the movies they've watched, and now they had a long list of ideas to work on. "Come here."

Without missing a beat, he walked back into the living room and sat opposite her. Tori was wearing a loose shirt and a plaid pajama bottom, her hair was tied in a messy bun. Even though she didn't have any make up on, he still found her really pretty; he kind of like her because she's the polar opposite of her abrasive sister. Well, he like girls generally.

"Could you read this along with Cat?" she asked, handing him a thin pile of paper.

"You already finished the script?" he said, surprised.

"Not really. It's just a draft of the first half. Where's Cat anyway?"

"I'm here!" Cat said brightly as she walked towards them, holding a tray of cupcakes. The room suddenly smelled of strawberries. Tori looked up, her face contorted in confusion.

"What are those?"

"Strawberry cupcakes!" she said, settling the tray on the table. "I saw strawberries in your kitchen as well as flour so Jade and I decided to bake."

"But that's my aunt's strawberries!"

"We don't really care if it's your aunt's or mom's or dog's," Jade said as she took a bite from her cupcake and sat between Andre and Beck. "So how's the script goin'?"

"I think it's okay," Tori said as she handed the other script to Cat. "Could you guys try to read scene 2?"

"Okay."

Robbie inhaled deeply. "Effie, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Cat said, shaking her head vigorously. "Just reading…"

"No you're not, you're staring at him."

"What if I do?"

"You can't-"

"That sounds so wrong," Jade interrupted.

"I think it is," Beck agreed. The rest of them, except Tori, slowly nodded in agreement.

"What am I going to do?" Tori asked, looking livid. No one answered. "I think the stress getting into us. We should call it a day."

"Right," Andre said, stretching his arms. "Where's the boys' room?"

"Third room on the left upstairs-Jade!"

"What?" She asked lazily as she entwined her arms with Beck's.

"You're going to sleep with the girls!"

"Fine," Jade said indignantly as she followed Tori upstairs, and blew her boyfriend a kiss just before they disappeared. Beck and Andre followed them, leaving Robbie sitting on the carpeted floor alone.

"Aren't you going to bed?" Andre asked, stopping his tracks to face Robbie.

"Nah, I'm not sleepy."

"Okay, good night buddy," Andre said as he resumed going upstairs. Beck half-smiled at him before he followed Andre.

"Be a good boy!"

"Ugh, okay," Robbie said, rolling his eyes. Alone again, he thought. It was the best time to think about things and eat the rest of the untouched strawberry cupcakes on the table. His mind suddenly drifted away from reality as he leaned on the couch. He suddenly remembered Cat, and how her hand was clasped against his a while ago.

"What the hell," he grunted as he slapped himself. Why should he be thinking about her anyway? He never liked her. She was, like, the weirdest person he knew when he first stepped foot in Hollywood Arts. And since then, a day never passed without him trying to tease her using Rex. But things actually changed when Tori came. She actually brought the six of them closer together, something that Robbie never expected to happen. Now, they were like a nice circle of friends. Of course, the circle included Cat Valentine. He hated to admit it, but he actually found her company not really that bad. She wasn't really that weird as he assumed she was.

She was actually kind of wonderful and bubbly and… other stuff.

"Good night, Robbie," a voice said lazily just behind him. He turned and saw Cat standing sleepily. He realized that she had just emerged from the kitchen, since she was holding a tall glass of pink milk. Probably strawberry milk, he thought. The hairs on his arms surprisingly stood when she smiled at him. Her smile was so contagious that he brought his lips into an unmistakable beam.

"Sweet dreams, Cat."

A/N: Yay! Have you guys seen Robarazzi? I think Cat is really hilarious there. Robbie was a bit of an ass but at least he actually redeemed himself by doing a cooking show instead! And gosh, I'm still a bit shock because of the ending. I mean really? lol.

BTW, Reviews are love! :)