AN: Hello everyone and welcome to part 2 of this latest portion of the story. My thanks to pbow and Challenge King for their reviews of the previous chapter – and to everyone who is reading (and hopefully enjoying) this.
I gave Tori and her mom about an hour to get back home from my dorm and to settle in after the events of the day before I called my girl to see how she was doing after the embarrassing episode at the college basketball game; I myself had had to field a few questions from my friends in the dorm, all of whom knew (because I had told them) that Tori was performing. They were (mostly) sympathetic to her woes, though a couple did find it all rather amusing; I guess had it been anyone else other than my girl then I'd have been able to see the funny side of it too.
I was a little surprised when she didn't pick up; I tried again and Trina answered, to my surprise, explaining that Tori was miserable and currently could be heard sobbing in the bathroom. The elder Vega sister tried in vain to persuade my girl to open the door and speak to me so I dashed from the dorm, still on the phone, and headed towards my friend Andy's place, giving up on talking to Tori and texting him instead as I approached. He was stood at the door as I arrived, a confused expression on his face.
"Hey dude, what's up?"
"You saw the game tonight?"
"Yeah," he nodded ruefully, "great game but I'm guessing that's not the part that you're concerned about."
"You guess right; Tori's in tears over it and locked herself in the bathroom. She wouldn't talk to me when I called just now."
"So you need..?" he prompted.
"I need to borrow your car tonight."
"Dude, you've got to get your own wheels for LA," he chided but slipped his hand in his jeans pocket and tossed me the keys.
"I know. Thanks bud," I told him sincerely and headed for his vehicle.
Twenty minutes and a number of potential traffic violations later I pulled up at the Vega residence. I knocked on the door and Mrs Vega answered, smiling in surprise as she saw me.
"Hi Freddie, I wasn't expecting you over."
"Me neither," I admitted, "but hearing that Tori was crying in the bathroom? Where else could I be?"
"Come in," she invited me graciously. "I hope you can snap her out of it."
I made my way to the second floor of the Vegas' home and knocked softly on the bathroom door.
"Go away," I heard my girl mumble through her obvious tears, accompanied by a slight splash of water.
"Tori?" I called softly, "it's Freddie. Please let me in."
I heard a larger splash and a few seconds later the door opened slightly to reveal my girlfriend's shocked face.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, wiping her eyes; they looked a little red and puffy.
"Making sure you're ok, which you're obviously not," I said softly, cupping her cheek with my hand through the crack in the door.
"Singing's my dream and tonight I was made to look a complete fool out there," she wailed as her composure completely deserted her. She stepped away from the door and I entered the room, confirming that she had just got out of the bath.
"People know you're a great singer; you wowed them at the PMAs. That's the Tori Vega that the world knows and loves, the amazing singer who is destined for superstardom. This is just a… an anecdote to look back on in years to come and a chance to, hopefully, appreciate that all publicity is good publicity," I insisted. "And as for me," I took a breath and our eyes met, my hand still on her cheek and my left forearm coming to rest on her right shoulder, "I love you no matter what. You'll always be amazing to me."
She threw her arms around me, burying her head in the crook of my neck; the impact of her body into mine caused me to push the door shut behind me as we continued to embrace. She pulled her head back and sought my lips; I was happy to oblige with as deep a kiss as she wanted (and it deepened pretty quickly).
"Oh look," she mock-observed as she pulled away from me, "I got your clothes all wet." Her eyes glinted mischievously. "You can't walk around all day in wet clothes," she continued, purring seductively.
"Maybe you're right," and I glanced over her shoulder at the large bath in the corner, "and that bubble bath does look inviting."
"It does now, doesn't it?" she commented. "It wasn't too good before but now… there's something appealing about it."
She helped me eagerly out of my clothes and took my hand in her own as we crossed the short distance to the tub. I kept hold of her hand as she clambered back into it before she tugged impatiently, urging me to join her, which I did readily. A little water slopped over the side from the combined volume of two people in the tub but neither of us noticed as we cuddled beneath the surface in the warm, relaxing waters. Tori soon turned her head to attempt to claim my lips again; I was happy to oblige and my girl soon wriggled around to find herself lying on top of me. We smiled and continued to kiss, among other things, until the water began to grow tepid.
"I see you're in a better mood," Trina drawled as her sister left the bathroom dressed in her robe. Her eyes raked over my body, covered only by a towel and she smiled at the sight.
"Easy girl, this boy's taken," Tori warned her, looping her arm inside mine and steering me towards her room; Trina worked hard to keep any look of disappointment from her face before heading for your own room.
Mrs Vega walked up the stairs at the commotion. "Oh good, you look happier," she commented before eyeing me. "I'm guessing you were able to help then," she smirked. "Goodnight kids," her smile broadened and she retreated back downstairs.
"Goodnight mom," Tori called.
"Things are a little better between you two then?" I asked as we reached the sanctuary of my girlfriend's bedroom and locked the door behind us.
"Yeah," she said with a half-smile, "we were able to talk a little on the way home about it all. Things aren't back to normal, maybe they never will be if she and dad…" she trailed off and looked away, swallowing down a lump in her throat before continuing, "but definitely they're a little better."
"I'm glad," I said sincerely, "I've not seen my dad since we left for Seattle; I've no idea where he is or what he's doing."
"You never thought of looking?" she asked curiously. It was something I'd never talked about – not to her, nor with Carly, Sam or anyone else. I knew that eventually I would open up to Tori, it wasn't that I was keeping it from her, it had never come up and she had never asked.
"When I was a kid I dreamed of him coming back and us being a happy family," I admitted, "but time passed with no word; money arrived at Christmas and birthdays but he never did. I honestly have no idea where in the world he is."
Tori bowed her head; I could tell she was suddenly fearing the worst for her own family; I took her hand gently and she, reluctantly, turned to face me.
"Hey," I whispered, "your parents are both here, you have a relationship with both and that won't change when you move out. It may need a little more work, just like if someone like Robbie, for instance, is at a different college – if you don't see people you drift apart from them inevitably, one of the reasons I try get together with Carly and Sam every now and again and talk to them regularly, especially after how things were just before I left; but if it's worth it then it's worth working at it."
She nodded with a small smile. "I think you're right," she admitted.
"I usually am," I joked, causing her to give me a slightly exasperated look for a second before smirking. She leaned in and kissed me softly before pulling away, seizing my towel and yanking it away from me and turning to run to her bed. I gave chase (it didn't take long to catch her) and soon her robe joined my towel on the floor and I took an opportunity to cheer her up a little more.
I groaned as the sun streamed through the window blinds, rousing me from a great night's sleep; Tori was curled up at my side, her hand resting on my chest. I lifted it gently and kissed the back of it, causing her to grin in her sleep but not to actually stir as I extricated myself from her and got out of the bed, wrapping the towel around me to preserve my modesty as I made the short journey to the bathroom. Once safely in there I collected my, now dry, clothes, thankful for the foresight to hang them up rather than just leaving them on the bathroom floor, and dressed before heading downstairs and helping myself to some breakfast. I checked my phone, still in my jeans pocket from overnight, and smiled at the text message from Andy wanting to know when he would get his car back. I shot back a text to let him know I'd be on my way in a few minutes and that he'd hopefully have it back soon.
True to my word I finished breakfast before sneaking back into my girlfriend's room and kissing her softly; this was enough to wake her with a smile.
"Hey, what time is it?" She looked around the room trying to wake herself up.
"Still early; it's just after 7:30 but I need to head back to UCLA and get Andy his car back."
"Oh right," she accepted, "so I'll see you this weekend?"
"Definitely. Sooner if you need me; just call and I'll be there."
"Aww, I love you," she grinned. We kissed again and I left, battling my way through the traffic and making it in time for my first class.
I called my girl over lunch to see how she was; she was still in surprisingly high spirits and explained excitedly that she was appearing on The Chris Burm Show in a couple of days' time and would have the chance to sing any song she liked.
"Do you have one in mind?"
"I do actually."
"I look forward to hearing it," I smiled down the phone, happy at the news that my girl was going to get another chance to increase her profile.
"Maybe you could tonight if you want some company?" she offered.
"I'd love some."
"Great, I'll be over after class."
And she was, arriving shortly before I left my final class of the day. We headed for dinner, ignoring the playful jokes from my friends and Andy's comments about his car (though she did thank him for letting me borrow it and come to see her last night).
We ordered our meals and sat nursing our drinks admiring the ambience of eightthirty restaurant, one of the other local restaurants to the UCLA area – and not too far from where we'd be living next year.
"We'll have to come here again a few times," I commented.
"Let's wait until we've eaten before we decide that," Tori cautioned sagely.
"Are you going to tell me what the new song is?" I challenged.
"Ok," she grinned, "it's called Bad Boys and I wrote it myself after the PMAs. Something must have inspired me."
"So when do I hear you sing it?"
"On The Chris Burm Show tomorrow night," she smirked.
"Oh, I thought you said I'd hear it tonight," I protested.
"I said maybe," she teased, giggling at the sulky face I pulled. "Oh alright, you might get a sneak preview if you're very lucky."
"Or if I find some way of persuading you?" I raised my eyebrows. She smiled over the rim of her glass as she took another sip of her soda.
I paid and we left, heading back to my dorm. The guys were all in and greeted my girlfriend happily.
"You need the room tonight?" Tom asked in a half-joking voice.
"We're good for now," she piped up, "we've both got work to do tonight so don't worry about disturbing us."
My roommate nodded and smiled a little at us and watched as we disappeared into my room.
As it happened he wouldn't need to worry about us at all; one of the guys got a call to a party that was going down that night and the guys all wanted to go. They invited us, and we considered it, but we both really did have too much work to do, particularly Tori in the run-up to graduation from High School, so we stayed in. As ever we spent plenty of time kissing and cuddling rather than just working but got pretty much everything done by a little after eleven.
"I need a shower," Tori commented, grabbing her things (she started keeping some nightwear and some 'products' here after everything went south with her parents and she decided to spend more time here) and heading for the bathroom. I made my way into the living area and started idly channel-surfing on the TV, keeping the sound down as I heard my girl singing in the shower.
"You're a bad boy, I'm a good girl and I'm gonna get my heart broken any time…" her dulcet tones filtered through the door. I smiled at the sound but frowned slightly at the words; I know it's just the words of a song but the thought of a heart-broken Tori is too much for me to bear. Baby girl, I promise you that I will never break your heart.
"Are you ok?" she asked me as she slid onto the couch next to me and pressed herself close to me.
"Hmm?" I asked distractedly before continuing, "oh yeah. Just thinking about stuff."
"Care to share?"
"Nothing exciting," I waved off.
"Ok," she said happily, pulling me ever closer and snuggling by my side. I slipped my left arm around her and we sat there in comfortable silence watching whatever was on the TV for a while before heading for bed.
Tori left early the following morning; like me the previous day she had a battle across town in traffic to make it to school on time.
"You guys have a good night?" I asked Tom as we were getting ready for the day ahead. He shrugged.
"The party was fun, the beer keg was potent," he shuddered slightly, obviously feeling the effects a little, "but no luck with the girls," he added in a disappointed tone before finishing with a grin, "unlike you."
I shrugged. "I'm just lucky like that."
"So you guys are really going to live together next year?" he asked in an intrigued tone.
"Yes," I confirmed, "me, Tori, Beck and Jade. I'm not sure you've met those two." He shook his head. "It should be good… or an experience at least," I added with a tone of uncertainty.
I received a very unexpected phone call during the afternoon; it was Beck and he sounded a little concerned.
"I'm worried about Tori's appearance on the show tonight," he began. "Chris Burm has a reputation for embarrassing his guests and I'm worried that on top of the whole Anthem fiasco…" he trailed off.
"Good point," I added with growing unease, "what can we do about it though? She wants to use the opportunity to get some of her credibility back after the show."
"Well André and I were going to be there and try and keep an eye on him but André had to pull out because he's meeting Shaun Quincy to discuss a deal with RPX. I've a spare ticket and could swing by after school to pick you up if you want to come along?"
"Sounds like a good idea," I agreed, "I'll see you around four then?"
"Sure thing, man, I'll see you then."
He arrived on time, texting me for directions to a suitable meeting place; I got there, got into his car and we made the trip to the studio, stopping for an Inside Out burger en route. My future housemate handed our tickets to the girl on the door and we made our way to the seats near the stage waiting for the show to begin.
Finally he got to Tori's part, the final segment of the evening, and invited her on-stage.
"So Tori, tell us – what the heck happened out there?" the host began. "Does that dog hate the National Anthem?"
Beck chuckled next to me before his face fell in annoyance as Tori replied, "I dunno, maybe he's Canadian."
"Well, now we're going to let you show this audience what you can really do," he told my girl; the audience, including us, applauded politely.
"I know, I'm so psyched. I'm going to sing a brand new song that I wrote called Bad Boys," she explained to wild applause and cheering.
"Yes you are but first, we've got a little surprise for you," the host noted.
"Oh my God, what is it?" Tori asked in dread but Chris told her not to get nervous before calling for the stagehands to bring out Buck, the very same dog who had dragged her around the arena, explaining that since she got a second chance to sing, he should get a second chance to listen – and that his leash would be securely tied to a table so he couldn't do it again.
Burm took the show to a commercial break as my girl left to get ready before explaining that we weren't actually at a break and instead he would be playing a prank on Tori, that the dog would be replaced by a dummy that was filled with spaghetti and a Z4 squib that would explode during the song, covering my girl in "dog guts". Beck and I really didn't like that idea and decided to do something about it; I wanted to just lay the guy out but the more rational part of my brain reminded me that it would hurt Tori to do so by distracting from her performance. Instead, Beck and I whispered conspiratorially, coming up with a plan...
Tori returned and began her song.
"All the rules you break, make me want to run but I can't escape…" she began.
We took the opportunity of a distracted studio and snuck backstage where Beck distracted the female stagehands feigning that he needed a shoulder massage; they were happy to oblige and while they were distracted I removed the detonator. Beck noticed that I had it and we retreated, me to my seat while Beck snuck behind Burm, planting the detonator under his chair and racing back to his seat. Burm pressed the detonator and was promptly despatched fifteen feet into the air where he impacted the ceiling before returning painfully to earth.
The commotion inevitably distracted Tori as she concluded her song.
"We'll be right back," she told the audience and viewers at home before the three of us made a hasty exit.
"You got to do your song, and people saw how wonderful you are again," I told her with a smile.
"I did," she returned my smile and took my hand. "Any ideas what happened to Chris at the end though?"
"No, not a one," Beck spoke up hurriedly. I shrugged as well.
"I guess we'll never know," I commented idly as we headed for the parking lot.
Thanks for reading, a special thank you to OneHorseShay for suggesting an opportunity to have Tori do something other than cry in her bathtub. I hope you all enjoyed it; please feel free to add a review and let me know.