Well I hope everybody enjoyed that last chapter, here's another :)
Tori's POV:
It's the perfect ending to a perfect night.
We pull into my driveway and finally there are signs of life in my home. Slivers of light shimmer through the curtains and send ribbons of light across our front yard. I twist in my seat, waiting expectantly for a goodnight kiss. Robbie's slow to catch on and so with a roll of my eyes, I caress his cheek and tilt his head towards me. I hold his gaze and draw him ever closer, grinning against his lips as he eagerly returns my embrace.
"I'll see you before school next week, right?" He utters breathlessly, after we break apart. His fingers lace in front of his and he nervously fidgets with his thumb. Beneath the suit, beneath the contact lenses and away from the searing passion of his kisses, he's still the same introverted kid that made friends with an inanimate object.
"Count on it." I answer, noticing just how low my voice is. It's just above a rumble as I reach across the center of the car and find his hand. Entwining my fingers through his, I'm loath to leave him. This is the kind of night that holds you in its embrace, making you happier then you ever though possible, making you wish it would never end.
"I better go. I'm two minutes away from curfew." I mumble unhappily, holding Robbie's gaze. His lips purse and I know he's just as opposed to this night ending as I am. My eyes catch his own and I almost lose myself in them, hidden behind his glasses; I'd never noticed the flecks of gold in them, the depth in his irises.
"Goodnight Tori." Robbie's voice sweeps into my thoughts and draws me back into reality, just in time for me to feel his lips come crashing over mine.
"Goodnight Robbie." I mumble breathlessly into his lips, when we break apart. My grin threatens to split my face apart as I climb out of the car. With one foot out of the door, I linger in the process of sliding fully out of the car, a shiver shooting up my spine as I wonder if he's watching me as I leave. Spinning around momentarily and noticing him twisting in his seat, a red flourish on his cheeks, I know the answer is a resounding yes.
Smirking at him as I close the door, I bounce towards my house, feeling as though I'm walking on air. When I look back, Robbie's eyes have returned to me and he's grinning just as widely as I am. Grinning like a kid on Christmas, I raise an arm and wiggle my fingers at him, trying to imprint this moment in my mind before he reignites the car and flies out of my driveway.
"To-" I jump at click of the door and the sound of my Dad's voice shattering our moment. I know he was about to yell at me for being late, but the words die on his lips as he sees me on the porch and Robbie pulling out of the driveway. With a mournful gaze, he steps aside and lets me inside. I almost feel bad for dad; I think he was looking forward to catching me out past curfew for the first time.
"Night guys." My parents both blink slowly as they watch me flounce up the stairs and towards my room. Leaving them in my wake, I know they're both baffled that I'm willingly going to bed this early on a Friday night. Even when I had been out on dates in the past, I'd usually stay up and watch a movie in the living room. The difference between then and now is that I was trying to forget those dates, this one I want to remember, I want to bask in the afterglow.
My shower is quick, not enough to wash the memories of tonight off.
I crawl into bed, laying on my back and staring at the ceiling, imagining that Robbie's here, that we're face to face. I remember the look on his face when I kissed him, when I smiled at him. He's so fragile and yet I have this urge to touch him, in spite of the chance he'll break. I don't let the thought linger in my mind for long enough to worry, instead I reach across my bed and pick up my Pear Phone.
Tori Vega:
Just got home from THE BEST DATE EVER.
Mood: Bouncy :-{D
My eyelids flutter shut and memories of the nights events ignite a fire within me. The flames flutter across my body, from the bottom of my toes, to the top of my forehead. Suppressing the urge to call Robbie, to hear his voice, I fall into a slumber, smiling all the while.
In the dark I hear a tapping at my window.
Through the blackness I can see a familiar silhouette against the moonlight. Brushing a wisp of dark hair away from my eyes and suppressing the urge to yawn, I haul myself out of bed and towards the window. A cold gust of wind burst through the window with my visitor, making me even more thankful that I'm wearing a shirt and pajama bottoms instead of something less modest.
"Tori, I need help." He groans, tumbling onto my computer chair with all of the grace of somebody that seems to have downed a few too many beers. Shaking my head at the crumbled form in front of me, I flop down on my bed, seeing two unfocused pupils across the room from where I am.
"So, what seems to be the problem Beck?" my eyelids are heavy and as I stare at the flashing numbers on my clock, I really wish people wouldn't drop by when it's after 2am. First it was Andre, now it's Beck. It have a sneaking suspicion that the same two words that were behind Andre's problem, are also behind whatever has Beck in this state.
"Jaaaade." He slurs, falling even deeper into my chair. Taking a deep breath, I resist the urge to kick him out and tell him to come back tomorrow. Though, as I watch him slumped over, arms now wrapped tightly across his chest, I know that it's just not an option to make him leave. Resigning myself to this fate, I drag myself to my feet once again and tug Beck towards the door to my room.
Getting Beck down the stairs is easer said than done. He's a loose assortment of limbs, none of which seem to be interested in co-operating with the other. With one last painful step, I deposit him on the couch, where he flops down and lands face first. Rolling my eyes, I spin away from him and turn the jug on. If we're going to talk about this, I'm going to try and sober him up at least somewhat.
The jug bubbles and hums in the background as I reach down onto the couch and drag and unsuspecting Beck to his feet. His usually perfectly coifed hair is in an utter state of disarray and his eyes struggle to focus on anything. I navigate him towards the dining table and deposit him on a seat at the head of the table before stepping back into the kitchen and pouring his coffee.
"Drink this, then we'll talk." I state, nodding forward and indicating that he should take the cup I'm pushing towards him. It's black, but that shouldn't matter, I'm almost sure his taste buds have already drowned in alcohol.
"Kay…" He mumbles, swaying uncertainly in his seat and dragging the cup to his lips. My eyes skitter away from Beck and back to my phone. There's a new screensaver on it, Robbie and I smile brightly back at me. We're standing in front of the table where we ate and hamming it up for the camera. While I wait for Beck to sober up, my hand swipes across the screen and I scroll through the various pictures of us that I insisted on taking during our date.
"Hey Tori, you ready to talk yet?" Beck's voice shudders through the formerly quiet ambience of the room and wrenching me away from my memories. Beck's eyes have cleared and he's no longer swaying from side to side, so I place my phone on the table and slide my chin onto my palm. Propped up and resisting the urge to yawn, I give Beck my full attention, which he takes as his cue to press on.
"Jade's been acting really weird lately." My eyes blow wide open and suddenly thoughts of sleep are vanish from my mind. I'm frozen completely, my tongue resting heavily in the bottom of my mouth and no words coming from my mind. To my surprise, Beck chuckles slightly at my reaction.
"Relax, I know about Jade kissing you. I'm not blaming you." The mirth slides off his face as it becomes clear just whom he's blaming. My stomach lurches as I'm reminded of all the misery that a few seconds of physical contact can bring about.
"So you're angry with Jade for cheating on you?" The words reach his ears and he shakes his head slowly. My brow crinkles in confusion as I try to discern just exactly what Beck's problem is. The dynamic between those two is one of the last things I want to be trying to wrap my brain around this time of day.
"It's just…she did it to try and hurt me." He states, swallowing and take a deep, stuttering breath. I shake my head slightly, burying it into my palm with a sigh. I peer up at Beck through brown tendrils of hair; he's chewing on his lip, lost in thought again.
"Beck, since she cheated on you, it probably means she's not happy." His eyes shoot open and whatever impairment the alcohol had on his senses disappears. His eyebrows draw together, crashing down over his eyes and he whips his head back and forth.
"She didn't cheat. We're not exclusive anymore. I'm not worried about her kissing somebody. I'm worried about why she kissed somebody." Beck's voice remains impassive, as even as ever at a surface level. Though I can see the cracks appear in his words by peering a little deeper, he's worried, he's upset and I think he's more than a little heartbroken. My brow creases in absolute confusion, the revelations behind his words not fully sinking in.
"Uh…" My jaw hangs limply and nothing resembling an intelligent response stutters forth. Beck's eyebrows shoot upwards when I abandon my attempts at trying to speak and simply stare at him in silence. His jaw twitches and I know Beck's about to expand on this statement, about to send me spiraling further into this mire of confusion.
"Jade kissed you because she thought I wanted to, well at least that's what I think anyway." Beck's falls fall away from me at his admission and he stares into the black abyss of his coffee. I chew the inside of my cheek, trying to force my mind to string a few words together.
"Do you want to? Kiss me I mean." I ask, falling back into my seat and away from Beck. I tent my fingers and drum them nervously; a slight pink tinge finding it's way onto my cheeks. I'd give anything for somebody to come bursting through the front door. Peering over at Beck, I'm not at all sure what sort of response I should be hoping for. On one hand, up until recently I had been harboring a minor crush on him, so it would be nice to know it had been reciprocated. On the other hand, those feelings have faded away, Beck's place in my heart wiped out of existence by new and more powerful feelings for Robbie.
"No. Er, well you're pretty and all but…fuck. This isn't coming out right." Beck fumbles through his sentence and I think it's the first time I've ever seen him caught wrong footed verbally. An irritated huff blasts through his lips and he slams himself against the backrest of his chair.
"Calm down Mr. Oliver don't get all broody mcbrood on me." In spite of our situation, Beck's frustration is a rare occurrence so I can't resist taunting him slightly. The frown on his lips creaks and withers, a slight smile crossing his lips.
"I think you need to talk to her about this and let her know you have a problem. Don't say you've tried, because I know you. I know you'd rather bottle it up until you end up drunk and climbing through my window after midnight." Beck's mouth flails open and shut a few times as I speak, like he was going to protest before realizing his lack of argument. Crossing my arms over my chest, my lips twitch and I find them pulling into a smirk. Across the table from me, Beck's eyebrows drop down once more, a look of worry written deeply within his features.
"What if she dumps me?" He croaks out, finally allowing the façade to drop away and baring his emotions to me. He seeps down even further into his seat, staring down at the table in front of us and avoiding my gaze, avoiding the fact that things aren't going to get better at this rate.
"Beck, she always dumps you. You know why that is right? The same reason that she tried to kiss me, she just wants attention. She just wants to know that what she does matters to you." My head spins with a sense of déjà vu, I'm sure that I've given this speech to Beck before. Trying not to glare at him, I realize that speaking to guys is really quite like banging your head against a brick well sometimes.
"I…" Beck fumbles his words once again, this time giving up with a whimper and not a bang. If it's possible he slumps into his chair even further, his gaze dipping into his lap and shadows coming over his eyes. I chew on the inside of my lip, wonder whether or not I should be the one to break the silence between us.
"So, my Uncle's got a cabin we could all go to this weekend. I figure maybe we could all use the break?" The change of subject is jarring and Beck's face suddenly lights up. Pushing a stray lock of hair from my eyes, I mull over his idea in my mind. Sure, it would mean a weekend with Jade, but it would also mean getting out of the city with Robbie. Pursing my lips, I try to organize my thoughts into something resembling a logical thought pattern.
"As long as I'm not bunking with Jade, lets do it." Despite the abrupt turn of our conversation, I can't fight the twinge of excitement building within me. Beck laughs at my words, the sound fluttering through the air and washing away the tension that had settled over us. I know we haven't even begun to cover his issues, but I know that if he takes my advice, our conversation will have been more than worthwhile.
"Nah, we've got three rooms. You can room with whoever you want, I'll room with Jade and whoever is left can have the other room." The words hang in the air for a long time, I can feel my thoughts splitting, multiplying and swirling around in my mind. There's a hitch in my throat, as I think about the possibility of Robbie and I in the same bed together. We've slept next to each other before, but not as boyfriend and girlfriend. My mind is swirling with all of the possibilities, so much so, that I barely catch Beck standing up out of the corner of my eye.
"So, I'm gunna go. Come over at around lunchtime, we'll all leave from my place." Beck barely gives his words the chance to reach my ears before he's whirling around and heading towards the front door. I push myself into a standing position and charge towards the door he's heading for.
"Thanks for being a friends." A with those words, he pushes through the door and is already rounding the corner. My tongue flails uselessly in the bottom of my mouth, so I wave towards his retreating form. I linger in the doorway before a cold gust of wind slices through the nights air and chills me to the bone.
Shoving the door closed and twisting the lock, I lean against the hard wood for a brief moment. I tumble away from the doorframe after taking stock of the events from my late night visitor, still reeling. Shoving my legs one before the other, I amble towards my room lost in a jumble of thoughts but with the intention of managing at least a small amount of sleep.
The sun tumbles over the horizon.
My morning doesn't being with the gentle caress of dawn's light. I find myself shaken away from the sweet embrace of sleep by the collision of a foreign body and my bed. Like a newborn kitten, I'm halfway between forcing my eyes open and trying to get my limbs to co-operate with me. The blinding light coming through the window casts a familiar silhouette and I find my irritation melting away.
"Morning sleeping beauty." He chides, sitting at the edge of my bed. My cheeks heat up at his comment; I probably have the worst bed hair and look like Frankenstein's daughter. I search his kind eyes for any trace of a lie, but find only golden flecks of sincerity.
"Morning Shapiro." I grumble, trying in vain to plaster a frown to my face and voice my displeasure. Robbie's laughter filters through my bad mood and by the time I've propped myself up on my elbows, he's radiating happiness.
"We're probably going to be late if you haven't packed." He notes absentmindedly, skating his finger through a lock of my messy hair. The last remnants of sleep clatter on the ground at his words and before he can move, I'm leaping out of bed. His fingers get caught in the crossfire and brush against my chest as I rush past him. Biting down a moan, I ignore the searing sensation welling up within me and suppress the urge to explore that feeling further with Robbie. Being alone with Robbie like playing like dynamite, I wonder when exactly I became such a creep.
"How did you know we're going anywhere?" I ask between clouded thoughts as I wrench my suitcase from under my bed. Walking over to my draws and bending over slightly at the waist I begin the task of packing. I blame the ever shifting thoughts in my mind for distracting me as I peer down at my suitcase and notice several racy pairs of panties already laying in it. Whipping my head over to Robbie, I find him absently scrolling through something on his phone.
"Hey man. We're all going to my uncle's cabin for the long weekend. If you're coming be at mine around 12 today." Robbie's voice lowers to a pitch resembling Beck's and I realize Beck must have sent everybody a text sometime after leaving here. I shake my head slightly and spin around, chuckling at Robbie's impression. Circling him like a wild animal would stalk their prey, I close the distance between Robbie and myself.
"So Robbie…" I whisper breathlessly into his ear, allowing my hand linger on his hip. Feeling his muscles tense and seeing his eyes blow widen open, I pepper his neck his kisses, enjoying the way he squirms beneath me.
"…You gotta go. I need to change." His expression is priceless, lost somewhere between lust, disappointment and terror. Biting down on the smile that's threatening to stretch across my face, I gently shoo him from my bed.
"I'll be in the living room." Robbie mumbles, his bottom lip sticking out in an exaggerated pout. I can't hold it in any longer and giggle happily, my throat tingling all the while. Robbie's lips contort into a lopsided smile, before he turns away from me and disappears into the hallway.
My hands decide to make it up to him as they shuffle through my closet. I can't hide from the feeling that after this weekend, things are never going to be the same. I think of the way that Robbie's lips feel and the sensation of his fingers skating across my back last night.
The temperature shoots through the roof.
So updates will be a little slower now, since classes are starting up. I'm hard at work on finishing this fic though.
As always, review after you've read and let me know what you think. Even if it's just a quick "Good stuff."