DISCLAIMER: KNOW WHAT I DON'T OWN? VICTORIOUS, THAT'S WHAT. BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I DO OWN A LAPTOP, MEANING I CAN CONTINUE TO WRITE THIS STORY FOR YOU ALL. HOPE YOU ENJOY.
BEFORE I BEGIN, MASSIVE THANKS TO Play Station Lover FOR YOUR REVIEW, REALLY MEANT A LOT READING THAT. AND FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION THE TWO AUTHORS YOU DID, THAT'S WHAT GOT ME TO START WRITING IN THE FIRST PLACE, READING THEIR STORIES. :)
QUICK NOTE: ANYTHING WRITTEN IN ITALIC'S IS A TEXT.
CHAPTER 2- EVERYTHING IS FINE
Talk about restless nights. I barely got any sleep at all, maybe 4-5 hours tops, and I don't function very well on not much sleep. I'm not sure any teenager does actually.
Why the restless night you ask? Well, after I realised what Cat had said to me, my brain went into overdrive. Literally. I kept thinking about any possible reason she could have to rely on me, coupled with the image of that worried look Cat had on her face earlier that evening when her mom told her she wasn't coming to pick her up. I mean me and Cat are best friends so, yes we should be able to rely on each other for more than what you would with others. Ugghhhh, see what I'm saying when I said my brain goes into overdrive. I'm probably reading too much into this anyway, and doing that typical teenage thing of over-thinking every situation and getting myself worked up. I just need a little more sleep...
*BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP* "Gooood morning all you listeners out there..." Fucking alarm, why couldn't you give me another 5 minutes.
I lean over and turn it off. Well I suppose I better get up, but I really don't want too.
"Rise and shine Tori, time to get up for school." Cat says merrily.
"Do I have too?" I groan back, still half asleep and quite groggy.
"Tori, Cat..." My mom calls up to us. "...breakfast is ready, but better get down here quick before it goes cold. Ohhh food, now that's something I can get out of bed for in the morning, although I may need a coffee or two to go with that because of the lack of sleep I had last night.
"Okay!" We both yell back.
"Well, I'm going down to get some Tori, I'll see you down there." Cat states
"Yeah, I'm going to have a quick shower and I'll be down." I reply and then off she goes.
I get out of bed and decide to have a quick shower before school. Once I'm done in the shower, I make myself presentable and go to head downstairs. You know, it's amazing that the lack of sleep didn't affect my appearance much, but pros of being a girl, you can cover a fair amount of it in makeup. However, I know it's going to affect my personality at least for the most part of the morning. Great.
As I reach the kitchen, I notice my mom has laid out a glass or orange, an omelette and some cereal for my breakfast. That was really nice of her. Remember Tori, be polite, be polite...
"Morning Tori, nice of you to join us." My mom says.
"Morning." I bluntly state. Well so much for being polite. Well done Tori, give yourself a pat on the back for that.
"Looks like someone is a little grouchy this morning. What get up on the wrong side of the bed?" My mom asks. Sarcasm is the last thing I want to hear this morning. But at least she didn't seem offended by my impoliteness, but it is my mom, so she is probably used to it, especially with Trina and me round the house.
"Not funny." I reply simply, taking my seat and getting stuck into the omelette.
Damn, that breakfast was nice. Not much more was said round the table between me, my mom and Cat. Silence is like music to my ears at the moment. And then, that silence is shattered by who? None other than Trina doing her 'vocal warm ups'...great. Remember when I said that sarcasm was the last thing I wanted to hear this morning. Yeah, well I change my mind, Trina singing is definitely the last thing I want to hear this morning. I love Trina, but singing is something she just shouldn't do.
I put my head in my hands, covering my ears until she's finished her vocal warm ups.
"Can you give me and Cat a lift today?" I ask. On second thoughts, I probably should have said please.
"But you normally get a lift with Trina..." She retorts.
"You're really going to subject me and Cat listening to..." I shudder "...that?" I question her.
"Well, since Cat is going with you, yes I will give you a lift." My mom says.
"Thank you Mrs. Vega, that's very kind of you." Cat beams a smile towards my mom.
"Yeah, thanks." I grumble. Well at least Cat is happy this morning, that's a good thing. Although I'm determined to find out what that text her mom sent her said to upset her and make her quite solemn last night.
The ride to school didn't involve much talking, especially not from me. My mom pulls into school to drop me and Cat off.
"Thanks again for the lift Mrs. Vega, we really appreciate it." Cat politely says to my mom.
"Yeah." I agree.
"Not a problem. See you later Cat. See you later grumpy guts." My mom laughs. I am definitely not amused by it in the slightest, but Cat seems to giggle. I just glare in my mom's direction and she laughs a bit harder. I know I thought it earlier, but I really don't know how my mom puts up with me and Trina. Years of practice I guess.
The first thing I do is go and get myself a coffee to try and kickstart me this morning. Cat has gone off to sort her stuff out for the first lesson of the day. Once I've grabbed my coffee, I go and do the same. By the time I reach my locker, I can already feel this coffee starting to take effect, I'm feeling a little perkier.
"Morning Tori, still okay to help me with this song at lunch?" Andre asks.
"Morning Andre..." Told you that coffee had already had an effect on me, I'm politer already. "...yeah, I'm still good to work on that song with you. How are you, feeling a little less full today?" I grin.
"Are you kidding, feel like I could eat a horse." He states
"No! Please don't do that, what has the poor horse ever done to you to?" Ahhh, the familiar high-pitch voice of Cat. Andre just rolls his eyes.
"It's just an expression Cat, I'm not actually going to eat a horse." Andre explains to her.
"Well I don't like that expression, the horse never did anything to deserve that..." She expresses her opinion. Yep, that's typical Cat reaction, but we've grown accustomed to that. "...Anyway, you guys ready for first period?" With that the bell rings.
"Yeah, let's go." I say. Luckily we had Sikowitz first, so we were all in the same class. On the way, we meet up with the rest of the gang and walk to class. I pull Cat to one side before we go in.
"Cat.." I look into her eyes. Wow, they're hypnotizing.
"Yeah Tori..." She says, but I'm lost in her eyes.
"Toriiii..." She waves a hand in front of my face, which brings me back to where I was.
"Right. Yeah, sorry, ummmm... I just wanted to apologize for this morning, I was rude, impolite and a right gank. I'm sorry." I tell her. It had been bugging me this morning since I went and got my coffee.
She pulls me into a hug and giggles. "Tori, it's okay, we all suffer from morning grouchiness every now and then, nothing to apologize for. But, if it makes you feel any better, I accept your apology. And besides, it was funny watching you this morning." I laugh at her comment, then we head into class.
"Learn your lines, I want everyone off book by the end of next week." Sikowitz says. We're learning a play for class in which a mother and father decide to take some time apart to try and rekindle their love for one another, but how will it affect the lives of their child, and when they decide to get back together, what will happen? It's actually a really interesting play. Sikowitz' class went by quickly, but it always does because you have such a good time when you're in there.
The rest of the morning consisted of music and math. Not too bad really. It's currently lunch, and I'm just grabbing something to eat whilst Andre sets up the music room ready for us to work on the ideas he had for the song.
"Hey Tori." Cat skips towards me.
"Hey Cat." I reply
"Soooooo, I have a question..." Cat says.
"Go on..." I give her an expectant look, she thinks I've forgot what I said last night. I said that we might be able to watch the rest of The Lion King tonight since we didn't finish it last night.
"Well, I was just wondering... remember you said we could maybe watch the rest of The Lion King tonight? Can we?" Cat pouts. Told you she thought I forgot. And how can you say no to Cat's pout
"Yeah Cat, that should be fine." She bounces on the spot, before pulling me into a hug.
"Yay!" She exclaims. "So, you want to come have lunch with me, Robbie, Jade and Beck?"
"I would love to, but I'm helping Andre with work on some ideas for that song we sung at the restaurant last night? I reply.
"Good, didn't want you over here anyway Vega!" Jade yells over. I roll me eyes. How the hell can she hear me over here.
"Oh, would you be able to burn me a copy of the recorded song onto a CD so I can put onto my computer and phone please?" She asks, looking down shyly.
"Of course Cat, not a problem. I better get going, don't want to keep Andre waiting. See you later Cat. Tell the others I said hi." I turn on my heels and head back towards the music room. I wonder why she wants a copy of the song. Maybe she just really likes it? Or maybe it's something else. Again with the over-thinking, I've got to stop doing that. She just really likes the song, doesn't she?
"I think that will do Tori. I will put the finishing touches to it over the weekend and get you a couple of copies burnt onto CD's for Monday." Andre states whilst packing his guitar and other bits and bobs away.
"Cheers Andre." I thank him. See, I'm usually polite, it's just when I haven't had a lot of sleep that I'm not.
We got quite a lot done actually. We managed to record several versions of it. One just like we sang back in the restaurant, an acoustic version (which sounded the best in my opinion) and a more upbeat version of the song. All in all, a good day's work as people say.
The rest of the day dragged, as all Friday afternoons do. I'm sat here in theatre history, with the faint tick tock of the clock in the background. Only 5 more minutes then the school week is over. Why does 5 minutes in the morning feel like 5 seconds, yet in the afternoon, it feels like 5 hours? Oh well, at least I get to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Cat.
*BRIIINNNGGGGGG*
YES! there goes the bell. I grab my stuff and text Cat, telling her to meet me at my locker whenever she had got all her stuff sorted. Speak of the devil, here she comes now.
"Hi Cat, ready to go?" I ask her
"Yeah. Tori, is your mom giving us a lift or are we walking back to yours?" She fires a question back at me.
"Ummm... well, unless you want to get a lift with Trina, then we're walking. That okay?" I inquire.
"I think I'll take walking with you over a car ride with Trina, especially after that time we had to go get the solvent to get the zombie makeup off your face. She terrified me, god knows how she passed her test." Cat says.
"Well, okay then, let's get going." I gesture towards the door as to say after you.
The weather is lovely and warm, with a slight breeze. Neither of us is saying anything, but it's not awkward at all. I guess now is as good as time as any to bring up what's been on my mind.
"Cat, can I ask you something?" I look over to her. She's off in her own little world
"Sure Tori." She replies, bringing herself back to reality. I wonder what it's like in her head?
"Well, last night..." I start off. Her face instantly gets a blank expression as if she knows what I'm about to ask. I knew something was wrong.
"Ohhhhh" She runs off. Yep, she's running towards the ice cream parlour. The girl loves her ice cream. "Can we get some ice cream? Pleasssseeee Tori."She pouts at me. All that glumness from seconds ago, gone. Seeing her this happy is something I don't want to ruin. Guess I'll have to wait for my answer.
"Yeah Cat, you can have whatever you want, my treat." I flash her a smile. I thought it was the least I could do after nearly upsetting her.
The rest of the walk home Cat rambled on about pretty much anything and everything. I didn't pay too much attention because honestly, as sweet and adorable as Cat is, trying to make sense of what she goes on about is near impossible. Trust me, I've tried enough times to know.
When we get to my house, I tell Cat to go and set the DVD up in my room. Meanwhile, I've gone into the kitchen for to grab a few snacks and some drinks. Luckily, the person I wanted to see is in there as well.
"Hey mom." I greet her.
"Hey sweetie. How was school?" She asks.
"Good. Listen, I just want to apologize for this morning. Thank you for what you did for me and Cat this morning." I state.
"It's okay honey. Having Trina around the house you get used to someone not appreciating what you do. But it was nice of you to apologize, so thank you." My mom says.
"Least I could do. I'll try my best to be more appreciative in the future." I state. "Oh, and Cat is here. I told her she can stay the night because she wanted to watch the rest of the film we were watching last night."
"That's fine Tori. Tell her I said hello." My mom requests.
"Will do." I make my way out of the kitchen with arms full of chips, candy and a glass of lemonade for Cat.
I reach my room and ask Cat to open the door.
"Cat, open the door please, my hands are full." No answer. So I try again.
"Cat, can you please open the door?" Still no answer.
I lean my back against the door and use my weight to open the door. No sign of Cat. Her school bag is on my bed, so where could she be?
I hear a faint noise coming from my bathroom. I walk towards it, and the faint noise sounds like someone sniffling.
"Cat, are you okay in there?" I quickly rap my knuckles on the door, worry in my voice.
"Ye...yeah, I'll...I'll be out in a minute." Her voice is muffled. It sounds like she's been crying.
When she comes out, she's already in her pyjamas, (We stopped off at her house on the way for her to grab some clothes), eyes red. She has definitely been crying.
"Cat, you sure your alright?" I ask, concern still in my voice.
She flashes a big smile my way, one that has to be fake. "I'm fine." I really want to ask her what's wrong, but now just isn't the right time. I'm her best friend, she knows she can confide anything she wants to me and I'll be here for her.
"Why are your eyes red?" I question her.
"Oh, I got an eyelash caught in one of them, so I washed my face with water and then dried them, but your towel isn't that smooth, so I ended up with red eyes." She tells me. Damn, she is a good actress. Now I see why she got into Hollywood Arts. Not only does she have an amazing voice, but she can act as well.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm just going to get changed then we will watch the film yeah?" I suggest to her.
"Kay kay." She's back to the happy Cat everyone knows, but I'm not convinced that's the real Cat.
I get changed into a tank top and pair or joggers. Not a lot is said between the two of us whilst watching the rest of The Lion King. And as if on cue, as the credits are rolling, my mom calls up to us.
"Girls, dinner is ready."
We head downstairs, and man does that smell good. It smells like...
"I hope you like lasagne Cat." My mom says. Yes! Lasagne, one of my favourites.
"Hi Mrs. Vega. Yeah, I like lasagne." Cat politely says to my mom.
"Wow mom, that smells really good." I compliment her. There is nothing better than homemade cooking. I don't care who you are, Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre-White or whoever, you cannot top a proper homemade meal.
We mainly spoke about how school was at dinner. The various assignments we have, the play for Sikowitz' class and such.
"Well I'm glad you girls are enjoying your time at school. But make the most of it because I'm telling you, those are some the best days of your life." My mom tells us.
"Uh huh." We both reply.
With that, the front door goes and my dad comes in from work.
"Hi dad." I greet him cheerily, walking over to give him a hug.
"Hi Tori, Hi Cat." He waves over to her as I let him go.
"Hi Mr. Vega, nice to see you again." Cat smiles at him.
"You too." He gives her a hug as well.
"Uh hum... I think your forgetting someone?" My mom sarcastically says to him.
"Am I?" My dad jokes, before going over to kiss mom.
"Oookay, I've seen enough. Me and Cat will be upstairs." I call over to them from the living room.
We go back into my room, and I ask Cat what she wants to do.
"What do you want to do Cat?" Please don't say homework, I really cannot be fucked to do that right now.
"Ummm... how about we get a start on our homework?" Dammit. Oh well, guess we're doing that for a bit.
"Okay." I sigh reluctantly agreeing.
We spend nearly an hour doing homework whilst Cat hums various different songs. An hour! As if 6 hours of school isn't enough. Although, I did get all my math homework done, meaning all I have to do over the weekend is learn my lines for Sikowitz' class.
"Can you pass me my laptop please Cat." I request. She's sitting at my dresser, working on some designs for her makeup class.
"Sure. Here you go." She hands me the laptop.
Cat's wellbeing is still on my mind, which is why I asked for my laptop, to help get my mind off of it. Now remember I said I would quite like to take up a sport like ping-pong. Well, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm looking up different sports I could take up. Soccer, no. Tennis, no. Golf, no. Now this looks like something I could get into, Squash. No, not the drink, the sport. Right, what do I need to play Squash? A racquet, some squash balls, a court and someone to play against. Hmmm... I'll text Andre, see if he's busy tomorrow.
Hey Andre, I know this is going to sound weird, but busy tomorrow? Wondered if you would like to have a game of squash?
In the meantime, I go online and find the nearest squash court to me and book it for tomorrow. It's at this point I notice Cat's staring at her phone.
Hey Tor. Yep, it does sound weird. But no, I'm not busy so yes I will give you a game. Anything I need?
Just a squash racquet. Can you pick me up early and we'll go to the mall to grab one and a few squash balls. Court is booked for 1:15pm tomorrow.
I think now is the time I need to talk to Cat. She's not been herself lately, and I can see tears dripping down her cheek
Okay Tor, no worries. See you tomorrow :)
"Cat..." I tentatively ask.
"Who were you texting?" She tries to sound happy, wiping her sleeve on her cheek, but she's holding back tears.
"Andre." I reply. "Cat, I need to talk to you..." The same concern in my voice that was there earlier.
"What were you texting him about?" She asks, trying not to sob.
"Not important..." I tell her. "Cat, what's wrong? And don't just say nothing and that your fine because I can see that you're not." I slowly approach her.
"Everything's fine." I can see more tears flowing down her cheeks.
"No it's not Cat. You can't just bottle it up, it's not good for you. Come on, tell me what's wrong, I'm here for you." I murmur to her.
I go to wrap my arms around her a give her a hug but out of nowhere she lashes out, pushing me off, grabbing her bag off my bed and shouting "EVERYTHING IS FINE!" as she runs out of my room, down the stairs and out the door.
I chase her down the stairs, but before I could grab hold of her, she was out the door. Way to go Tori, you've gone and done the exact thing you didn't want to do, upset her even more.
Now I'm really in for a restless night.
A/N: So, you can already see where I'm going with this story. I hadn't seen anyone do a story like it, so I thought why not give it a try. It might not be to everyone's liking, but you've got to try otherwise you'll never know. Also, this chapter is a bit longer, but hopefully I can make them even longer in the future.
Again, I'm not going to sit here and ask you to review, but any criticism that will help me improve my writing is hugely appreciated. Any grammar or spelling errors, feel free to let me know and I will try to change them.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. And have a good day.