AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest instalment in this story. I hope that you are all well. Let me start, as always, by thanking everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter.

Fanfic-Reader-88 - yes it was quite an action by Sam to go down there to give Lindsey a beating. I'd argue that it wasn't so much Freddie leaving Seattle that triggered it as him being there for her when she was in Juvie and more or less abandoned by everyone else: her mum, her sister, Carly. Freddie was there for her and now she's there for him.

Challenge King - similar point re: Sam and Freddie, and yes he's still healing and coming to terms with everything that went on between him and Lindsey.

SpazzQueen15 - Jade and Sam - it would be an interesting dynamic if they had to interact for longer; I think they'd either get on well or kill one another.

Agent-M - Lindsey did rather have it coming after everything, didn't she?

pbow - yes Cat came close to spilling the beans. Freddie has his suspicions but I'm not sure even HE believes his mum is capable of doing something like that at the moment.

OneHorseShay - rooting for Sam? I can understand the dilemma having read your Freddie/Jade epic. As for her description of Lindsey's actions - as a much wiser and more talented author than me once wrote, "Sam may be book dumb but it doesn't mean she's not smart in other ways." Freddie may be using the word "seduces" but she has a different interpretation based upon what he's told her about it. Sam/Jade and Freddie/the chip I've touched on above but you are correct about his rather blase attitude to learning what Sam did; one would expect him to at least have some issues with her getting a beat-down like that, maybe the consequences of their relationship have yet to fully unravel.

That's my Jay - I'm glad you liked it. I touched on Freddie/Sam and his (non-)reaction to Sam beating up Lindsey above so I'll simply point you to that and say that you're right - we WOULD expect Freddie to be upset about it, so it's interesting that he isn't...

Ok, that's everyone, on with Chapter 4.

Chapter 4

Valentine Residence, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles

Monday 5th October 2009.

Cat hummed quietly to herself, grinning happily as she fixed her hair and a little light touch of make-up; the little red-head was almost ready to leave for school and was in a very good mood after the weekend that had just past. She and Jade had hung out together for most of it, they'd hit the mall, they'd had a sleep-over at her house on the Saturday night (the gothic girl had looked far from thrilled at the suggestion but had acquiesced) and they'd also had a good time around and about the local area the following day (going out for coffee and lunch before studying together and doing homework) though she knew that obviously Jade would never admit to having enjoyed it.

Their somewhat impromptu girly weekend had come about due to Beck having to head up to Canada to visit some of his relative; his abrupt departure on the Thursday (and consequent skipping of school on the Friday, along his Thursday evening fencing session with Freddie and André) had been a surprise to his raven-haired girlfriend so she was privately pleased that Cat had leapt into action and kept her company for the entire weekend.

Of some concern to the mean girl, however, had been the number of guys trying to chat them up at the mall, and how receptive Cat seemed to be to some of their advances (in contrast she had threatened to remove various appendages if they continued to bother her). Of course she knew that her best friend was always nice to everybody but this went beyond her intrinsic niceness to actually flirting and suggesting, or at least implying, that one or two of the boys could be in with a chance. She hadn't given her number to any of them, or accepted numbers from them, but had hinted that she'd be at the mall again soon and wouldn't mind seeing them again when she did return. Mindful of her promise to Sam she determined that she would have to take the effervescent girl to one side and see how she still felt about Freddie.

For the red velvet-haired girl's part the problem in that regard was that Freddie still wasn't showing any sign that he had any interest in her again. It had been a few weeks now since his split with Lindsey and he was, on the outside at least, looking like he was back to his old self, talking and participating in class, working hard on his assignments (particularly the song for their music class), laughing and joking with his friends and he had signed up for the lead in a small play where he would be starring opposite Jade; Cat had been a little disappointed when her best friend beat her out for the part as she'd have liked to have acted alongside him again. She was, though, happy to help him and the brunette rehearse whenever she could and she had worked on a few of Jade's lines with her over this past weekend.

The concern that the red-head had in regards to the boy was his comment, around three weeks ago now, in which he said that he was just looking for friends. The fifteen-year-old had accepted his explanation at the time; now, however (still bereft of the whole story of Freddie's and Lindsey's relationship), she was wondering just how long he was going to take before he started looking around again – and how long she should wait as well.

"Cat? Are you ready to go?" her mother called up the stairs.

"Yes mom, I'm on my way," she replied happily and bounced down the stairs, bag in hand and hair flowing around her.

"Well at least you're dressed for the weather," Mrs Valentine commented; Cat was in a long-sleeve powder blue T-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans with shin-length boots as the forecast was for a few cooler than normal days this week, something that had allowed Rex, when the forecast was commented upon the previous Friday lunchtime, to dismiss global warming as a hoax. The sophomore had noticed that the two immigrants from more northern climes (Beck and Freddie) seemed rather relieved by the prospect of some cooler weather; Beck would certainly get some over the next few days as he wasn't due back from Vancouver for a couple more days.

The two left the house and the elder Valentine drove her daughter to the school before heading for work.

Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School

Cat still wore a broad grin as she approached the table where her friends sat. Jade, complete with pink hair extensions today, cradled a foam cup from Jet Brew and took the occasional sip of her coffee while she half-listened to André and Robbie talking about something. Eli waved to the girl as she approached, causing Jade to turn her friend; she smiled genuinely at the approaching red-head in the hope that she would change the topic of conversation – whether or not that proved to be a change for the better was, of course, another matter entirely.

"Hi guys," she began brightly as she took a seat next to the black-clad girl.

"Hello," Jade replied tersely amid "hey"s and "How are you?"s from the boys.

"Have you guys seen Freddie this morning?" she enquired, looking eagerly around the table.

"I think he has his Slap meeting," the songsmith supplied.

Cat nodded, she had forgotten that Monday morning was the day that the website staff got together and caught up on whatever was going on with their project, any videos that people had uploaded that needed vetting, anything vulgar that needed removing (as a couple of the senior class had already tried to upload).

"Yeah, we'll see him in class though," Jade added.

"Oh right, we have Sikowitz first don't we?" Cat remembered with a smile, looking forward to seeing her friend in the crazy teacher's lesson.

A few minutes after the girl had sat down the bell alerted them to the fact that it was time to head to that lesson so the group made their way inside, stopping briefly at their lockers en route.

Having left the computer room, the Seattle-born tech producer was already in the acting teacher's classroom when his friends joined him.

"Freddie! Hi!" Cat called as she entered the room and spotted him. Behind her Jade rolled her eyes at the exuberant greeting, particularly as her ear had been a little too close to the brown eyed girl's mouth when she had given it. The teenager turned in his seat and wore a wide grin as he spotted the two girls, followed by some of his other friends, heading through the door.

"Cat, Jade," he greeted them before noticing André, Eli and Robbie, who he also greeted. "Did you girls have a good weekend?" He shot a sly grin at the brunette as he asked that, knowing that she and Cat had been together for most of it. His reward was a mock-scowl from the pale girl as she took a seat two chairs away from him, subtly suggesting that Cat should take the place between them. The girl took the obvious seat and Jade busied herself in her school bag as she tried to hide the grin growing on her face.

Sikowitz announced, having arrived in the classroom via the window much to his students' bewilderment, that the next few weeks would be spent on dramatic acting. They would be split into groups (Cat gripped her neighbours' forearms tellingly at the announcement) and be given a number of scenes to work on and perform in front of the class. The ex-Seattle native turned to the bubbly girl with a smile; he didn't think that this would be too much of a problem given that they had acted in three plays together. He glanced across the girl to her dark haired best friend and wordlessly they had formed a trio.

"Who gets Beck when he comes back?" Freddie wondered aloud as he and the girls studied the first scene they had been given to perform.

"I'm sure someone will find him a spot," Jade shrugged unconcernedly. "Maybe Robbie, Eli and André can work with him."

"You don't want to?" Cat was surprised.

"It's up to you guys really."

"Well I'd have no problem if we had a scene for four instead but for this one we couldn't really accommodate him," Freddie pointed out reasonably.

Cat had nothing to add so they agreed that, after this performance, they would see if he still needed a group to join.

The day had passed as uneventfully as they ever do at a school like Hollywood Arts; Freddie and Jade were working together on an assignment for their Theatre History class and he was paired with André for Stage Management. Cat missed Beck in her singing class but at the moment they were only working as soloists so it didn't matter too much from a performing or assignment standpoint. After lunch the red-head, mean girl and Tech genius would be together in Maths and, as the trio walked past the main staircase, they spotted Lindsey and her friends by the blonde junior's locker. For her former boyfriend it was the first time he had seen her since Sam's visit and it was a reunion that he hadn't been looking forward to (in fact he had spent the last few weeks purposely taking routes that would minimise the chances of him coming across her). Instantly his discomfort returned; the relaxed and jovial Freddie of recent times evaporated to be replaced by one that wore a cold, dispassionate yet slightly angry expression as he eyed the girl. Momentarily forgetting all about his two companions the boy then quickened his pace and smartly left the locker area; nobody saw the vindictive grin invade his features as he thought back on the punishment his friend had meted out to the girl.

"He's still not over her," Cat commented sadly as her shoulders sagged a little. Jade nodded in agreement, torn between giving her friend a sad, sympathetic look and the urge to fix the blonde with one that could kill.

The gothic girl settled for simply encouraging Cat to quicken her pace and the two left in pursuit of their classmate; the red-head's brain was occupied by one question – how much longer am I prepared to wait?

Lindsey had watched the exchange with sadness; the girl had been troubled ever since her encounter with Sam Puckett – it was not so much the physical wounds inflicted but the dirty-blonde's words that had bothered the junior girl more.

"You raped him." Those words still echoed down the chambers of her mind; whenever she closed her eyes now she thought back on that night. Does Freddie really think that I'm a rapist? she asked herself over and over whenever she was plagued by Sam's allegation. The look he had given her added new questions to the mix, has what he once felt for me turned into hate? Have I made him hate me?

She didn't want that; she did regret how it ended but was happy with the new guy that she was seeing. He was closer to her age and dating him had enabled her to get her friends back, so her school life had improved too. She felt that she was missing just one thing at the moment, peace with Freddie.

"So how's the new guy? Did you see him over the weekend?" Christine asked her, trying to distract her friend from the emotional turmoil that seeing her former boyfriend had clearly engendered.

"Huh?" she asked distractedly before focussing, "Oh yeah," Lindsey brightened in an instant as she began to recall some happier memories. "He drove over to our place Saturday morning, took me out for lunch, we spent the rest of the day together… it was awesome."

"So, what do you lovely ladies have planned for tonight?" Freddie asked his classmates calmly as they settled into their places in the Maths class; the two girls were sat flanking him near the front of the room.

The girls exchanged cautious glances; they wondered about his mood after the encounter with Lindsey and just how genuine his voice of calm was. Jade spoke up, "Nothing really with Beck still being away. Cat?"

"Uh, my parents want me home straight from school; they want me to keep an eye on my brother while they go out somewhere."

The boy nodded. "Want to do some studying and maybe rehearse our lines for the play?" he suggested to the gothic teen.

"Sure. Your place or mine?" Jade was happy to keep the conversation trivial but felt a pang of concern at the wall her friend seemed to be busily constructing around his emotions.

"Well, my mom's on nights this week so there'll be no-one home at my house, it would definitely be quiet."

"Fine, we'll go to yours then."

Cat was a little disappointed that she was being left out of the study session but, as she had said, she needed to be home and they would struggle to get as much done at her place with the added complication of her brother. She shuddered a little at the thought of an evening home alone with the troubled young man.

Thus it was with trepidation that the girl left school, after a successful music lesson where she and Freddie accomplished quite a bit for their song, and headed for her home. She was accompanied by her two friends some of the way, which included the almost obligatory stop at Jet Brew; Jade was thankful that her allowance had been reinstated as it meant that she could again afford to indulge in her after-school coffees. The red velvet-haired girl said a sombre goodbye to the others as she turned down the street and they continued the trip towards the Benson home.

Valentine Residence

The brown-eyed girl arrived at home just as her father was getting ready to leave; he was thankful that she had returned promptly as his wife would be picking him up any time.

"Now Cat, your brother should be fine for most of the time. There's some dinner for you in the fridge and if there are any problems, you know what to do and who to call."

She nodded timidly; the girl had the list of numbers for doctors and other assistance in dealing with the troubled boy. She really hoped that she would not to have to use them and instead would be able to spend the evening with her school work. The sound of a car horn alerted Mr Valentine to his wife's arrival. "Bye kitten," he kissed her cheek as he passed her and was out the door a moment later.

The tenth grader dropped her bag on the floor of the living room and trudged to the kitchen; she decided that she would eat before doing any work tonight. Scouring the fridge she found the made up plate and carried it carefully to the microwave, palming her forehead in sadness and frustration as the sound of switching the appliance on caused a howl from upstairs. She stood motionless in the kitchen for a few moments, thankful that his episode had subsided relatively peacefully, and opened the microwave a moment before it was due to beep to indicate that the time was up. She carried the hot plate over to the kitchen table and sat, fork in hand and raised above her meal, lost in contemplation in the silent house as she wondered about her brother, her friends, her work… and Freddie; the question she had asked herself earlier was echoing louder and louder for her.

Benson Residence, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles

After parting company with Cat the two teenagers had swiftly covered the distance to the boy's home. He unlocked the door (grinning as he thought about just how easy it was to pick it instead following Sam's tuition over the summer) and stepped back to allow his friend to enter first.

"You want something to eat?" he offered. "Or just more coffee," he suggested with a grin.

"Coffee yes, food if any of it is edible." Jade still had not forgotten about the boy's fifteenth birthday party; his uncomfortable grimace suggested that he hadn't either.

He led the way to the kitchen; the teenagers dropped their bags by the coffee table in the living room as they traversed it.

"Let's see what we've got," he muttered to himself, drumming his fingers on the open door of the fridge, "nope, nothing that looks too appetising. Plan B?" he turned to his friend with a smile and waving a takeout menu from the local pizza place.

While waiting for their pepperoni pizzas to be delivered the two worked through their Maths homework from the day's lesson; Freddie quickly finished and gave a couple of pointers to the dark-haired girl where she was stuck.

"One of the good things about being here in LA? I can actually enjoy these pizzas," he commented as he reached for another slice. In response to Jade's confused expression he elaborated, "If Carly, Sam and I were ever having pizza Sam would steal all the pepperoni from it and eat it before we could get anywhere near it." He shook his head and smiled at the memory; whether it was the time that had passed or the improved friendship that he and the blonde shared, somehow it seemed a lot funnier to him now.

"Do you miss them?" she asked curiously. "I mean, do you ever wish you'd stayed in Seattle and the three of you had still been at your old school together."

"I don't know," he admitted, setting his half-eaten morsel down in the box, "I love it here, I love Hollywood Arts and having you and the others for friends is great. I really do think that my life here is better than the one I left behind but…"

"Then there was Lindsey," Jade interjected bluntly and with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Yeah," he frowned as he thought about his ex-girlfriend. "What happened that night…" he laced his fingers and stretched is arms in front of him as he looked at the pink-streak haired girl, "I would give anything to be able to change it, to have that night not end up like that. If we'd left the Prom and I'd gone back home and she'd gone to hers then it would have been a really, really nice night – pretty much a perfect night for us. Who knows? Maybe we'd still be together or maybe we'd still have broken up – but I'm sure that it wouldn't hurt the way it does right now." He reached over to the box to retrieve his partially eaten pizza.

The girl smiled sadly at him and covered his other hand gently with her own; he looked up to meet her eyes and returned her smile. She dropped her gaze as a hint of embarrassment arose within her at how she was looking at him and removed her hand from his, under the pretence of doing so in order that she could seize another slice of her pizza. "Better eat up before it gets cold," she commented emotionlessly.

The brown-eyed boy followed her lead and carried on with his meal. Once they were done he took the boxes to the garbage outside. "Now mom need never know; it would horrify her," he laughed. "So, rehearsal?"

"Rehearsal," she echoed with a nod of her head. "How are you with it? Still from the book or are you good without?"

"No I still need the book for the last few scenes," he conceded. "I got Act One and some of the second Act but not quite all yet."

"Me too. I worked with Cat on it a bit over the weekend so I know most of it – and the timings – but I think I'll have the book to hand for after the interval."

"We're having an interval tonight?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

"We will unless you want to work right through."

"Work right through?" he smirked slightly as he raised his eyebrows, leading Jade to eye him curiously. Is he flirting, joking or just being himself? she wondered. She immediately dismissed the idea of him flirting with her, given how hurt and cut up he still clearly was over the end of his relationship with Lindsey (and the fact that Beck was one of his best friends). The pain and hurt that she remembered seeing on her friend's face through this whole saga with the older blonde girl had caused her to feel something that she seldom did; she almost had the urge to cry for him, a feeling that was threatening to return in the light of their conversation over dinner.

"Let's make a start," she snapped out of her emotional state and managed to don on her imperceptible mask again, standing and walking over to the unlit fireplace. She turned to face the former iCarly tech producer, who had also got to his feet, and delivered the opening line of the play.

They raced through their scenes; both were word-perfect for the first Act where it was just the two of them, though they improvised by reading others' lines from the books and trying to remember those lines to use as their own cues.

"So the guy says you've gotta go, blah blah blah," Jade broke from reading the script to cover her slight anxiety at what was to come. She took a deep breath, lowered the book, looked at her cast-mate and delivered her own next line. "But when will you be back?"

"I don't know," Freddie's voice was soft and he cupped her cheek tenderly; she placed her hand on his to hold it in place as a few stray tears left her eyes. The boy assumed that she was such a good actress that she could cry on demand; in truth Jade was unsure how much was an act and how much was brought on by all her thoughts about the teenager stood before her. He used the thumb of his other hand to softly wipe the tears away. "But I will be back. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, breath hitching and fresh tears falling. Then she pulled back slightly and tried to give a more casual glance as she recovered her composure. "Do you want to practise the kiss or save it for official rehearsal?"

"Oh," he uttered, dropping his hand from her face and looking towards the fireplace slightly awkwardly as her question sank in. Jade managed a genuine grin as she could take a little amusement from his awkwardness – and it distracted from her own. "I uh… I guess we could wait for rehearsal if you want but…" he shot her a sly smile, "we are supposed to be rehearsing the whole thing tonight aren't we?"

Jade's grin, if anything, broadened at his observation and expression; she relaxed slightly, anticipation beginning to replace nervousness as she thought about their forthcoming stage kiss. "So from when will you be back?"

"I don't know." He cupped her cheek again. "But I will be back. I love you."

"I love you too," and she slipped her arms around him, turning her head slightly as his hand moved from her cheek to her back. They leaned in and their lips met softly to begin with before they experimented a little with changing the pressure that each applied to the kiss. Both lost track of time while they were kissing, pulling apart – a little reluctantly – a few moments later.

"I think maybe we do need an interval," he commented as idly and casually as he could before shooting her a sly grin as he offered, "another coffee?"

"Of course," she responded with a renewed smile as she tried to surreptitiously slow and control her breathing. She eyed his retreating back while having to remind herself, almost like a mantra, it's just a stage kiss, it's just a stage kiss. The pink-streak haired girl had not forgotten her pledge to Sam, nor that Cat was her best friend and liked the boy, nor that he was still getting over his own break-up, nor indeed that she was still dating Beck and thus "off the market" – but she had to admit that she did enjoy that kiss. Still smiling she followed him to the kitchen.

Freddie surprised the girl by climbing onto the kitchen worktop and reaching for something on top of the cupboards. "My secret cookie stash," he explained in a conspiratorial manner. "Mom wouldn't approve but she doesn't know that they're there." He offered a couple to the girl and took two for himself before returning the box to its hiding place and climbing back down to ground level.

"Act two now or something else first?" the mean girl asked him as they finished their drinks.

"We could do a little bit on our Theatre History homework I guess," he suggested. Jade nodded gratefully; she was eager to do something for a little while to take her mind off the kiss that they had shared, to stop reflecting on just how good a kisser Freddie was (thanks in no small part to his older girlfriend's 'tuition' during their relationship), the mean girl's mind wandered to drawing comparisons between him and Beck… stop it, she chided herself as her brain set off down that road, but she knew it would be a bit of a battle to get her emotions back under full control; she hoped that a little time working on other things might just help with that.

The black-clad girl deliberately took a seat on the other side of the table from her friend; he eyed her in surprise at this move but refrained from commenting, simply sitting down at the table and opening his book at the appropriate page. The two discussed the questions and came to agree on some answers over the course of around half-an-hour and Freddie relaxed a little as he set his pen down.

"That's one piece of homework done then," he smiled at his friend. "Act two now or do you want another break first?"

"I'll have another coffee," Jade's answer was rather predictable; she swept a few stray hairs from her face as she responded. Freddie smiled again as he took their cups to the kitchen, returning moments later having replenished the liquid within them.

"We don't share too many scenes after the interval, do we?" he asked thoughtfully as he flicked through the script book.

"No, your character is away a lot so I get stuck with a load of girl-talk," she almost choked over the end of the sentence and Freddie laughed at her discomfort.

"Sorry," he amended when she scowled at him, but he was still unable to hide the grin from his face. His friend shook her head softly and reluctantly smiled along with him.

The two aspiring actors went through their scenes; again they rehearsed by reciting their own lines from memory while reading from the book to deliver other actors' lines as cues and prompts for one another until they reached the final scene, where their characters would be reunited.

"I knew you'd come back," the girl's voice was soft, almost breaking with the emotion of seeing her lover again. "I never doubted it."

"I promised you I'd return – and I meant it," his reply was equally heart-felt.

"Then promise me that you'll never leave me alone again," she whispered.

"I'm back for good now, nothing will keep us apart," he reassured her.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him again, marrying passion for his return with tenderness from the pain of their separation. Her co-star kissed back, putting his character's heart and soul into it before pulling away to take a breath, resisting the urge to look to the heavens in response to the kiss.

"And scene!" he declared with a huge smile as a jolt of adrenaline kicked in; he was still in the girl's arms and was making no attempt to extricate himself. "You're going to nail this on opening night Jade," the boy enthused.

"You too," she agreed, though a little distractedly, "you've got it all pretty much down now." She pulled her arms from him and suddenly, unexpectedly, glanced at her watch. "I uh… I got to go," it was something of an excuse as her curfew wasn't this early now that she was no longer grounded so she lied, "otherwise my mom will freak and I'll be grounded for another two weeks."

Freddie snorted out a short laugh; he of all people knew about overbearing and overprotective mothers. Mrs West hadn't struck him as being that sort of parent but, he reasoned, he had only met her the once and things were probably still a little tense from her daughter getting the tattoo and then sneaking out during her grounding. "Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep," she confirmed, a little unnecessarily, gathering her bag and adding her things from the table to it. "Bye Freddie," she said as she walked past him to the door and left the Benson home; the abruptness of her departure added some confusion to the boy's feelings. He shrugged and, having completed all his homework during their study session, switched the TV on, laughing at one of the ridiculous shows that were airing on the Spanish Language Channel.

Jade walked until she was just out of sight of Freddie's living room window; she leaned against the fence of the house she stood outside and sucked in a few deep breaths. Damn, that boy can kiss! was running through her head. How good would his kisses be if he was actually trying and not just acting? the brunette found herself wondering before she could stop herself. You're with Beck, Cat likes him, she forced herself to remember those two important facts and, by the time she had returned home, she had managed to put any musings about Freddie Benson out of her mind – for the time being.

"Hey mom," she called as she entered her home.

"Oh hi Jade, did you have a good time with Freddie?" the West matriarch asked.

"Huh?" Seriously, was it that obvious that she was still thinking of him?

"Your studying and rehearsing," her mother elaborated, wearing a confused expression as she was rather surprised that she had had to do so.

"Oh… yeah, we got our homework done and I think we're both just about there with the script. We should be fine for the first full cast rehearsal later this week anyway. I've eaten so I'll be in my room; I want to call Beck and see how he's surviving Canada."

"Ok," Mrs West shrugged a little at being blown off like that, but it was Jade so she was used to it.

The dark-haired teenager dropped her bag on the floor of her bedroom. With her mind and emotions still rather jumbled she didn't feel like talking to her boyfriend just yet. Glancing at her bedside clock told her that it was around 8:30. The gothic girl decided to spend half an hour on Gears of War 2 before calling him; that should give me time to relax, she reasoned.

Green Meadow Mall,

6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles

Tuesday 6th October 2009.

With André and Freddie at the gym after school Jade acquiesced to accompany Cat to the mall. Secretly the red-head was hoping that she would see one of the guys she had been chatting to recently, as she had enjoyed the attention that she had received from them. Her luck was in as she spied one of them, Martin, near the Smoothie place in the mall. She waved flirtatiously at the boy, something that caused Jade to grimace visibly. Cat giggled at her reaction and gave her arm a playful push, further annoying the gothic teen.

"Hi Cat," the black-haired boy greeted her with a big smile; the child-like girl giggled as she returned his greeting. "Do you girls," he caught himself and added Jade to the conversation, "want to go for a smoothie," gesturing to the outlet behind him.

"No," Jade was rather certain and definite in her view.

"I will," Cat piped up unexpectedly. Her friend gave her a confused look, as she assumed that they were supposed to be hanging out together.

"Ok, I guess I'll catch you later then Cat."

"Bye," she giggled and went with the boy into the shop leaving a confused and troubled Jade staring after them. With little else to do, and no stores in this mall that she particularly wanted to visit, the blue-streak haired girl headed for home, pulling out her phone to call her boyfriend as she did; she was happy to learn that he was at the airport and would be getting a flight back to LA later on that evening.

West Residence, Hollywood Hills

About an hour later, after she and her mother had shared an impromptu dinner (Mrs West wasn't expecting her home so early after being informed that she and Cat had plans) Jade was a little surprised to receive a phone call; it was from Cat.

"Hi, where are you? Are you still at the mall?" her friend asked.

"No, I went home when you went for your smoothie with that guy."

"Oh. Well we're going to catch a movie; I guess you don't wanna come then."

"Not really. Wait – are you dating him?" Jade fired in an accusing tone.

"Uh I'm not sure, maybe. We had a smoothie and now we're seeing a movie. Hello? Hello? She hung up," Cat told her new friend in a disappointed voice.

The red-head surprised her friend by having the presence and clarity of mind to call on her later that evening; even Cat could tell that all wasn't well following the abrupt ending of their conversation.

"Hey," she began softly, after knocking on Jade's bedroom door; Mrs West had let her in when she arrived at their home. "I'm sorry I left you to go hang out with Martin. I didn't think you'd get so mad at me for it."

"It's not that, Cat, it's just… are you dating him?" she asked curiously, looking up after pausing her game.

"I'm seeing him again on Friday so I guess so," she nodded.

"What about Freddie? I thought you liked him," Jade pointed out.

"I did, I do but… I don't know if he still likes me or whether he's going to like anyone with the way he is right now." Jade had to concede that point; she did so by keeping silent. "If he was still interested then maybe... but how long am I supposed to wait for him to get over Lindsey? And in the meantime, am I supposed to put my life on hold forever waiting for him to get over her?"

Jade sighed in resignation and defeat. "No, I guess not," she admitted sadly.

AN: Yes I know Elizabeth Gillies is a vegan so Jade would be very unlikely to eat a pepperoni pizza on the show. A little artistic license never hurt anyone though. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please drop me a review to let me know what you thought and I hope you call come back next week for Chapter 5.