Tori walked into Hollywood Arts 7 AM sharp. She was early, way early, but the five hours of sleep she managed to get was more than enough to charge her batteries up for the day, and she could not stand to be in her own house a minute longer than she had to be. She walked towards her locker and opened it before she placed her books for today in them. She checked her watch again and decided to head towards the Starbucks next door and grab some coffee.
As she walked outside, her eyes landed on something. A smile formed on the edge of her lips as she saw Andre and Beck talk in the parking lot next to Andre's car. Beck was seemingly explaining something while Andre listened carefully. Tori made her way towards them, hoping to find out what they are about. As she came closer, something caused a smile to form on the edge of her lips, as she saw the two friends, whose friendship she feared had been destroyed just a few days ago, shake hands and hug.
"Tell me that this is what I think it is." Tori said as she walked up to them.
"It is. We talked… he told me a couple of things and… I knew you would try to talk me into talking to him anyway." Andre said as he looked at her.
"You're right about that." Tori said before she let out a satisfied sigh. "I'm so glad about this. I really thought… I didn't want what happened to…" Tori mumbled, trying to form her thoughts into words unsuccessfully. Andre put his arm around her and pulled her to him, seeing the struggle her mind is in.
"Tori, stop putting so much pressure on yourself." Andre said. "What happened was an awful thing. We all made mistakes then. You rushed it, Beck lost control of himself and so did I the next day."
"Andre's right. The situation escalated and we all messed up badly, especially me. However, Andre and I also agreed that we should make the best of it and learn from it instead of arguing over it again and again. He told me what happened to him, the thing with his grandma and I told him the whole deal with my parents and my aunt and uncle." Beck explained.
"You two talked about all that here in the parking lot?" Tori asked.
"Not really. Beck called me yesterday after school and we met up. We talked; we agreed to make the best of it. However, I also gave him an ultimatum. And he just told me that he had done what I asked of him." Andre explained.
"What was the ultimatum?" Tori asked.
"Andre believes that we both needed to take control of all the shit from the past that keeps haunting us. So his idea is for us to go and talk to Lane and maybe go a step further if necessary. I told him that I needed to think about it, but after I left and headed home I saw Lane walk towards his place. I stopped and asked if we could talk. We did, I told him everything about what happened to me and how I snapped. I didn't go into details, don't worry." He said as he looked at Tori. "And he told me that I should seek out someone who could help me with anger issues. I did and next week is my first session." Beck finished.
"I'll go see Lane today myself. If necessary I'll go to regular therapy. Should have done so years ago, but hey… It's never too late to heal those old wounds." Andre said.
"I'm so proud of you both." Tori said. "I just wish… it could have begun under different circumstances."
"We can only make the best of what it is. But right now, I think both Andre and I can agree that this is also something that should take some pressure off of you, Tori. I understand that your problem is not something a shrink can fix. I don't think there's college class that focuses on dealing with… supernatural stuff like this." Beck said.
"Exactly. The least we, as your friends, can do is be there for you when you need us. And I don't want any guilt trip of mine get in the way of that." Andre said.
"Thank you both." Tori said, wiping a small tear away from the edge of her eye.
"Did you plan to go anywhere or did you walk out here for another reason?" Beck asked.
"I wanted to go and grab a coffee. I got here to early anyway. Want to tag along?" Tori asked.
"I could use some coffee." Andre said.
"Let's go then." Beck said.
The three of them walked into the Starbucks a minute later. To their luck, there was barely anyone in line yet, so they could immediately order. Andre and Beck went first, getting a normal sized cup each. Once both were done, she wanted to order herself a large one, since she wanted to stay awake during classes and not just doze off in the middle of the day.
"I'll take the largest cup you have. Two pieces of sugar." Tori said. The barista nodded and walked to the coffee machine. Tori looked down for a moment before a small smile formed on the edge of her lips. "Hey, make it two cups." She called after the barista. The young man behind the counter shrugged and nodded. Not too long later he handed her both large cups as she left the money on the counter. He greeted them goodbye and the three walked out of the place and headed back towards school.
"Well, we got ourselves coffee, and we still have half an hour to kill." Andre said as he looked up the time on his phone.
"I need to grab some stuff from my locker anyway. We might as well wait there." Beck said.
"Sure, why not." Andre agreed. They walked into the school and towards Beck's locker. He entered his combination and took out his two notebooks.
"You won't take your physics book?" Andre asked.
"I don't plan to pay attention in that class. I got a story to finish." He said with a smirk as he put the notebooks in his bag.
"You won't get an A with that attitude." Robbie said as he walked up to them.
"Yeah, because I can't act or write a script without knowing everything about electromagnetism." Beck said with a chuckle.
"Rob, what's up with your clothes?" Andre asked. Tori looked at Robbie, who was wearing black dress pants, black dress shoes, a white shirt, a black waistcoat and a dark tie tucked into the waistcoat.
"Today is very special for me, so I wanted to dress for the occasion." Robbie said.
"And what's the occasion?" Beck asked.
"You will see in a few minutes." Robbie said with a small smirk. Beck and Andre shrugged before Andre walked towards his locker and Beck got a message on his phone that took his attention away.
"You look so good in that." Tori said as she stepped closer to Robbie.
"Thanks. Fun thing is I got maybe a dozen of suits in my closet. I might start wearing them all the time if they suit me that well." Robbie said.
"Yeah, don't use puns. They kill your image." Tori said.
"Sorry. I just hope it will work." Robbie said nervously.
"It will. You two have known each other for years now. She'll say yes, I'm sure." Tori said.
"I've already tried so many things before, though, and she always blew me off." Robbie said.
"But you never asked her directly to go out with you?" Tori asked.
"No."
"Well, there is your problem." Tori said.
"Hi everyone!" Tori heard Cat yell from the school entrance. She saw Robbie inhale nervously.
"Now's your chance." Tori told him as she turned to see both Cat and Jade walk inside.
"I'll do it." Robbie said, his voice becoming surprisingly calm while the nervousness in his expression vanished.
Cat and Jade walked towards them while Andre came back from his locker holding two books under his arm.
"Wow, Robbie, since when do you dress like that?" Jade asked him as she stopped in front of him.
"Since this morning, Jade. After years of jeans and cheap shirts I decided to change it up a little bit." Robbie said.
"Well, it was about damn time." Jade said.
"You look great." Cat said when she saw him.
"Thanks. I'm glad you like it." Robbie said.
"But why today? Is there anything special?" Cat asked.
"Not really, but for me today is a very special day." Robbie said.
"Why's that?" Jade asked. Robbie gave her a small smile before he looked back at Cat, who was curiously waiting for him to answer.
"Cat, I want to ask you something." Robbie said.
"What is it?" She asked, looking at him confused.
"Would you like to go and grab something to eat with me tonight?" Robbie asked.
"S-Sure, but that just sounded like you asked me… out on a date." Cat said. Her confusion was reasonable. They hung out a lot together, but Robbie never made such a deal out of asking her to do that.
"It doesn't just sound like that. I'm asking you to go on a date with me." Robbie said.
"Robbie…" Cat said as her eyes grew wide at his words.
"Wait, is this really happening?" Andre uttered. "Ow." He moaned before he looked to his side to see Tori motioning him to shut up after pinching him."
"So? What's your answer?" Robbie asked. Cat bit the bottom of her lip as she looked down. Everyone around them was silent, all waiting to hear Cat's response. Cat looked back up at him, as if she was searching for an answer.
"Look, I've been in love with you for so long now, it's not even funny anymore. Also, I'm sick and tired of watching other morons break your heart time after time again. I have something different in mind, Cat. Unlike them, I'm going to make you happy every day we are together. And I'm never going to do anything to hurt you. You know that." Robbie said.
"And what if it doesn't work out?" Cat asked.
"How can we know if we don't even try? I'm just asking you to give me one chance. Trust me, I won't need more." Robbie said.
A small smile formed on Cat's lips as she nodded lightly. She looked around herself at everyone, who were still looking at her waiting for her answer.
"Okay. Pick me up at seven." Cat said. A bright smile graced Robbie's face once he heard the answer.
"Thanks. I won't be late." Robbie said.
Cat stepped closer to him and took his hand in hers before she led him away from the group, to Robbie's locker. Tori saw both stop in front of it as they continued talking.
"I didn't see that coming." Jade said.
"He finally took initiative." Tori said.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" Jade asked as she looked at the other girl.
"I just told him to ask her out directly. Everything else was his." Tori answered.
"It was a matter of time anyway. Those two are meant for each other." Beck said. The bell rang and the students made their way towards their classrooms. Beck and Andre made their way towards their respective classes while Robbie and Cat didn't seem to be in a rush.
"Hey, if our history teacher asks, tell her I'll be five minutes late." Jade said.
"Why are you going to be late?" Tori asked.
"I need to go and get my coffee. Cat was late this morning and I didn't have time to get any." Jade explained.
"Don't bother." Tori said as she handed Jade the large Styrofoam cup.
"Is that for me?" Jade asked.
"Of course. I grabbed some coffee earlier and bought another one for you. Black, two pieces of sugar." Tori said. Jade took the cup and looked back up at the other girl.
"Thanks. Uhm, now that Cat and Robbie have a date for tonight, do we still hang out tonight? You know, catch a movie or whatever you want." Jade said.
"Of course. After all, I made the offer." Tori said.
"Jade! Tori!" Both heard. They turned around to see Cat run towards them before she came to an abrupt halt right in front of them. "Guys… Robbie… Date… Seven…Clothes…" Cat said in a second.
"Cat, breathe and calm down." Tori said as she put her hand on the shorter girls shoulder. Cat inhaled once deeply before she spoke again.
"I have a date with Robbie tonight. He said he'll pick me up at seven and I have no idea what to wear. Please, help me!" Cat said.
"What's the big deal? We'll be at your place around four and then we can help you pick out what you want to wear." Jade said.
"Really?" Cat asked, looking between both her friends.
"Of course. Don't worry. You'll look good." Tori said.
"Thanks! Thank you both!" Cat said before she wrapped her arms around both girls. Jade rolled her eyes while Tori chuckled at Cat's behavior.
"No problem. Come on, we're late for class." Tori said.
"Kay!" Cat said as she ran off.
"I haven't seen her this excited in a long time." Jade said.
"I hope she and Robbie get together." Tori said.
"It's in his hands now. He got his date with her. Now he has to capitalize." Jade said.
"Do you think he will?" Tori asked her as they both walked towards their class.
"If he meant what he said earlier, then he will have no problem whatsoever." Jade said.
"We both know that he did. How long has he been in love with her?" Tori asked.
"Since seventh grade. I remember how it started. It was an innocent game of spin the bottle until she spun it and it landed on him. After they kissed, he couldn't stop thinking about her. But whenever he actually had the chance to ask her out before, he didn't, and I don't know why." Jade explained.
"I'm sure he had a good reason." Tori said. "And I'm also sure he won't make that mistake again."
"I hope so. I'm glad to see him take care of himself. I mean it's about damn time." Jade said.
"Well, let's make sure Cat wears something good for their date." Tori said as they arrived in front of the class.
"Don't forget. Four o'clock at Cat's place." Jade said.
"I won't forget, don't worry." Tori said. Both walked inside the class where the teacher had already begun her lecture. Both sat down and took out their notes. Tori glanced over at Cat, who seemed to be thinking about something else but history right now. A small smile appeared on Tori's face. If Robbie and Cat do get together, that gift of hers would have had fulfilled a purpose. She knew that she wouldn't find out until later tonight, but if the news end up being good ones, for her, it would be worth waiting for.