Tandre, Romance, Belgian Hot Chocolate, Rewrite of Jade Gets Crushed

Dedicated to LadyPooh

"Mmm, this hot cocoa is good."

"It's from Belgium."

"Yeah, I guess that's why, then."

~Andre and Tori in Jade Gets Crushed

Andre loved everything about hot chocolate- the way the chocolate melted into his taste buds and made him feel like the happiest guy in the world; the sugary sweetness of the tiny little marshmallows dancing on the tip of his tongue; and the warmth of the hot, delicious liquid as it slithered down his throat and left a fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He remembered when his grandmother used to make it for him in the winter before she lost her mind. She would use her own special recipe- "All you need is a dash of love and a sprinkle of care," she would say to him, but he knew the ingredients by heart anyway: bittersweet chocolate, milk, a teaspoon of sugar, and a little bit of cinnamon to give it a special, spicy flavor. All she needed to do was boil everything in a saucepan and voila! The perfect hot chocolate was ready to be engulfed by Andre's enormous sweet tooth.

However, hot chocolate became a scarcity in the Harris household once his siblings went off to college and his grandmother became more and more mentally unstable every day. Nowadays, she could barely tell the difference between dark chocolate and white chocolate! So he didn't even bother asking her to make it for him, nor did he want to waste his money on some crappy, store-made hot chocolate that probably constituted of syrup, insane amounts of sugar, and water.

But on that very day, when Tori introduced to him the magic of Belgium hot chocolate while he was freaking out about being in love with Jade, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to say that this foreign drink was the second best hot chocolate he had ever had. Even though he knew Tori had just mixed the cocoa powder with some hot water, there was something unique about it that always had him wanting more.

Hot chocolate was Tori and Andre's official "calming drink." He would make it for her whenever she was freaking out about a song she had to perform or a test she had to ace, and she would do the same thing for him. This time, it happened to be for Andre's unintentional crush on Jade. He was feeling wonky about falling in love with a girl that already had a boyfriend, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not get her out of his head. Her affectionate nature that one night stuck to him like glue and became a sweet memory mixed in with all the other things he secretly liked about her: her confident attitude, her kick-ass comebacks, and the riveting, colorful streaks in her hair.

Usually, hot chocolate calms Andre down- but not this time. For some odd reason, this time was different. It wasn't until two days later, after singing 365 Days to Jade and going out with that girl after his and Tori's duet, did he feel more relaxed.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Tori was right- he was able to get his feelings out and have Jade think nothing of the real inspiration behind the song at the same time. And Mirabelle, the girl that asked him out, took his mind off the situation once and for all.

He stopped reminiscing and sighed in frustration. Now that the whole ordeal was over, he got back to songwriting. He had the melody and the harmony all planned out but couldn't find the lyrics to go with them. He looked at his piano wordlessly and stroked his fingers over the keys, wondering when she would arrive to help him with the song.

He heard a knocking on his bedroom door behind him followed by the creak of the metal hinges. "Hey Andre!" a voice said cheerily. "How's the song going?"

She plopped down next to him on his bed. "Pretty good, I guess. Still haven't been able to think of any lyrics yet."

A sweet smell surrounded him and his mood perked up as he inhaled deeply. He knew that smell by heart. "You brought hot chocolate?"

"Uh-uh. Not just any hot chocolate. My mom finally bought that stuff from Belgium so I brought over a cup to help my co-writer finish his song." Andre turned around and saw Tori aimlessly twirling a candy cane around in the hot chocolate. Her cheeks were still flushed from the cold and her big, brown eyes twinkled with merry. "You want it?"

"Nah, I don't want to take your Belgium chocolate away from you, muchacha. But thanks for the offer."

"Andreeee," she whined. "I didn't drink out of it. I made it especially for you! I saw how preoccupied you were in Sikowitz's class today and I thought this would cheer you up."

Andre raised an eyebrow at her and felt his willpower wavering. A smile slowly turned the corners of his lips up. "Go on."

"Okay… Oh, Mr. Music Man!" She placed the coffee down on the bedside table and threw her arms up dramatically in the air. "Because of your amazing musical talents and kind, warm soul, I hereby present to you the gift of the magnificent and rare Belgian hot chocolate made especially for you by your very best friend, Tori Vega."

He snickered. "Okay, now I'm amused. Hand it over."

He took it in his hands and gulped down half of it before he could stop himself. He promised himself to save the rest for it later and savor it while it lasted. "The peppermint is a nice touch."

"Thought you'd like to try something new," she said. "The same old, same old must get boring after a while."

"Yeah, I guess the same old routine can get boring after a while, but I never get tired of this."

Upon seeing the fond look appear on his face, Tori became confused. "Are you talking about the hot chocolate or us two working together?"

"Both."

Tori's cheeks became a rosy pink color, a little lighter than the beet red color than they had turned from the cold weather and Andre couldn't tell if she was blushing or not. "Well, good because I like doing this too."

They basked in their little moment before averting their eyes awkwardly. Tori cleared her throat and picked up her notebook that she had laid on the bed. "Shall we get started?"

"Indeed we shall!"

She giggled and playfully pushed his shoulder. "You're silly."

"Indeed I am!"

"Stop talking like that!"

"Okay, so how about this for the chorus." Tori's eyes scanned the lyrics she had written across the page and started to sing. "I feel no sympathy, you live inside a cave. You barely get by the rest of us, you're trying, there's no need to apologize. I've got no time for feeling sorry."

Andre widened his eyes in awe. "Dang, girl… that was amazing."

Tori rolled her eyes. "You've said that like ten times already."

"Doesn't mean that I don't mean it every time."

"Oh, stop." By this time, there was no doubt that Tori was definitely blushing. "Remind me again why we're writing such a depressing song?"

"My teacher said we should write something out of our comfort zone, but still means a lot to us. My dad has been unemployed for three years and he still hasn't found a job. Not only that, but also he barely talks to us anymore. He's pretty much a walking zombie at this point."

He fidgeted in his place, his fingers wanting to touch something. Anything. They stopped moving when he felt Tori put a hand on his thigh. "I'm sorry, 'Dre. I never knew," she said sympathetically, her eyes meeting his.

"Thanks," he mumbled, his heart skipping a beat at her touch.

Tori glanced over to where Andre's empty, red hot chocolate mug was sitting. "Dude, you didn't eat the candy cane! That's the best part!"

Andre smirked. "You want it?"

"If you're not going to eat it, I will."

"Who said I wasn't going to eat it?"

Tori gave him the evil eye. "Don't mess with me, boy."

He grabbed the candy cane and held it just high enough that she couldn't reach it. "Jump, girl, jump!"

"What am I, a dog?!" she exclaimed, reaching out to tickle his stomach. "Give it up!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh, you're persistent." Her nimble fingers gladly took the candy cane and she nibbled on the sharp end of the stick. "You know I chewed on that part, right?"

She looked at him weirdly. "So? Why should I care?"

He sighed. "Never mind."

She continued to suck on the candy cane in content. Andre looked at her flawless frame, her cute little cheekbones, her lips maneuvering around the candy cane, and a realization hit him. "You know what? I don't even know why I fell for Jade in the first place."

Her mouth dropped open and she almost lost her candy cane. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, Andre! See?"

"Calm down, girl, you didn't let me finish. The one time she was ever nice to me was when we were writing the song."

Tori got up and stood in front of him. "Exactly! Jade is a mean, bitter girl. She's not right for you."

He smiled and stood up to meet her gaze. "Yeah, you're right. I like the exact opposite, actually. Nice, sweet…" He stepped a little closer to her. "Someone I can have fun with all the time and wouldn't insult me at every chance she got."

Tori stared at him like a deer in the headlights. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that I think I was in love with the wrong girl. I just didn't figure out my mistake until now."

He gave her a knowing look, and the implication of what he had just said clicked in her head. "Wait…" she said, her voice trembling. "You're in love with me? But what about your date with Mirabelle?"

He chuckled softly and stroked her cheek. "Let's just say that she did not have what I was looking for and leave it at that."

He started to lean in but found that he didn't have to. Surprisingly enough, Tori had already gone in for the kiss. It was short- not much longer than five seconds- but it was enough to leave them both breathless.

Andre chuckled and took her hand in his. "I'm guessing I don't have to ask you to be my girlfriend?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "Nope," she said, smiling up at him.

He kissed her again with a lot more passion. His lips tingled with a new sensation, a flavor much better and savoring than what he was used to. Peppermint and Belgian chocolate?

He could definitely get used to that.

Haha, I had fun writing this one! They really do need more moments on the show. I would've done the Rade suggestion first, but I've never seen Perks of Being a Wallflower before and I'm not allowed to go on Youtube in school, which is where I started writing this one shot. I was going to watch clips of the movie and then write it, but I couldn't. I will next time, though! Thanks for the suggestion, LadyPooh, and tell me what you think of it! Reviews are always accepted here ;)

Oh, and the lyrics I used were from "Feeling Sorry" by Paramore. Yeah, I know, completely weird and random song choice. But you know what? I made it work ;D