AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter; I hope you are all well. A little reminder that I'm going to be slightly re-working the order of Series 1 episodes of Victorious for this story as and when I feel that I need to.
My thanks as always go to everyone who read and reviewed chapter 13.
Challenge King – yes, Freddie has a huge loyalty to Jade and ranks that above all else at this moment in time. She's pretty much the only person he would be prepared to sacrifice his ideals of right and wrong for.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – I'm not too sure on Cat's brother but I think was in Terror On Cupcake Street that she said he wasn't allowed to be in parades, or around horses so I assume there's an animal-related story there somewhere. Freddie might have wanted Jade to own up but it was up to her to do so and, as I said to Challenge King, his bond with her is so strong that he isn't going to force her to drop herself in it. As for talking to Cat, it was about Lane double-crossing Tori; he advised her not to see the Guidance Counsellor anymore.
Agent-M – thanks; here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Pbow – yes, I think beneath her exterior Jade has her vulnerabilities (she showed as much to Tori in Jade Dumps Beck in canon). Beck certainly plays on her fears for whatever reason.
Guest – thank you. As you can tell this isn't a Thursday update; hopefully the next one will be but no promises. Given that Cat and Freddie haven't discussed the possibility of getting back together then I think he'd simply assume that she's no longer interested when he finds out about her and Danny.
Lastly, OneHorseShay updated his excellent We Love Each Other earlier in the week; you should check it out. If we bug him enough then hopefully he'll update iGuess We're Roomies soon too.
And now on with the story…
Chapter 14: Tori The Zombie
Hollywood Arts High School, Los Angeles.
Monday, 15th March 2010.
The sophomore class were gathering eagerly around the noticeboard in the main hallway; Marty, one of the acting teachers, had just pinned up the cast list for the forthcoming production of Uptown, Downtown and the students had raced from Sikowitz's class to find out who had landed what part. To Jade's substantial disappointment and frustration she had not won the lead; she would be playing pretty much the second most-important female character instead.
Tori was a little surprised, and extremely delighted, to have won the lead role; she had impressed the faculty with her performance in Moonlight Magic the previous week, having been allowed to perform after Jade's intervention lifted the ban that Lane had imposed on her. Jade's subsequent talk with Principal Eikner had removed the remaining punishments from the new girl too, though the gothic girl had been able to avoid talking herself into trouble.
The two rival girls had talked, and bonded, a little when Jade arrived to replace Tori in her detention in the Black Box theatre; she had finally been weighed down by guilt over pretending to be hurt by the half-Latina and, reassured by Freddie that their friendship was sacrosanct, the gothic girl had pledged to tell the whole truth to their principal. Tori, however, was concerned about how that would be perceived, and just how much trouble Jade could get into for faking the whole thing and then not owning up sooner, so the two had agreed to see him together. In front of him Tori had apologised to Jade for unintentionally hitting her and Jade had accepted it, recognising that it had just been an accident; as such they left his office safe in the knowledge that there would be no further punishment for either girl. Meanwhile, following Tori's comment about Lane handing down the punishment when she conceded that she may have accidentally hit the other girl, the principal had spoken severely to his Guidance Counsellor about the perceived betrayal of trust; it was something Freddie also encouraged Cat to mention to him as a reason for no longer seeing Lane; Mr Eikner warned him about his future conduct regarding his dealings with the students.
Hopes for totally harmonious relations between the pair had been dashed somewhat, however, when they immediately found themselves in competition for the role of Penny in Uptown, Downtown. Tori had won out, leading to Jade lightly – and, in her mind anyway, good-naturedly – sniping at her afterwards; it was something that annoyed Beck, particularly as Jade's natural tone tends to disguise 'good natured'.
"Can you just give her a break?" he asked in exasperation after one of Sikowitz's classes, where he felt his girlfriend had overstepped the boundaries a little too much.
"What's the problem? She knows I don't really mean it," Jade kept her voice calm but inside she was simmering with annoyance at the way she saw her boy taking the other girls side – a complete contrast to the way Freddie acted over the whole Stage Fighting thing crossed the girl's mind more than once.
The tech producer, meanwhile, had won the male lead in the production and was looking forward to acting opposite a different girl; as much as he had enjoyed playing roles with both Cat and Jade the chance to have a new leading lady appealed to him (Beck had landed the second biggest male role with Robbie having a small part as well). It was one of the reasons that he wasn't able to totally share Jade's disappointment that she had been beaten to the part, though he did make sure to tell her how much he'd have enjoyed starring opposite her again, as he had done the previous semester.
"I'm sure we'll get the chance again at some point," he tried to assure her as they discussed it in Theatre History class, "it's not like it's a rare occurrence for them to put a play on here," he added with a chuckle.
"I just expected to win the lead, you know?" she complained a little as she could allow him to see her frustration, knowing that he wouldn't judge her for it.
"Maybe they wanted to give Tori the chance to boost her resumé," he suggested, "since she's just started her and the rest of us have been here a year and a half already," or maybe hers really was the best audition, he thought but didn't say, for fear of offending his confidant, "and you still got a pretty major part in it anyway."
Jade nodded; it was a logical explanation to give a newcomer some experience and the chance to put something else on her resumé, though it didn't lessen her disappointment.
Cat, meanwhile, was enjoying life. Her home life was great, having fallen into a routine with the new family pet. Meanwhile she and Danny were continuing to date; in fact he had asked her over the previous weekend, right after a nice meal at Orangebee's Steakhouse, to be his girlfriend officially –and it was something that she had readily agreed to.
Black Box Theatre.
"Ready?" Marty, the class's oft-nervous acting teacher called as they prepared for the latest scene that they'd be rehearsing; it was one of the final scenes of the play. "Action." Spot lights illuminated Tori and Beck on stage; Freddie was stood in darkness on Tori's left hand side.
"I don't know," the girl told Beck, who was stood with her on-stage; both teens read from their scripts for now.
"Oh, come on!" he snapped. "Why can't you admit that you're in love with me?" the long-haired actor demanded.
"Why are you in love with me?" she countered.
"Because you're beautiful," he replied; his voice was naturally a little softer than the role demanded and he was having difficulty hardening it sufficiently. "Look at your face in the moonlight."
"I can't."
"You can."
"No, a person can't look at their own face, it's impossible."
Cat giggled at this while Marty grinned appreciatively.
"Then marry me and I'll buy you a thousand mirrors," Beck insisted; with effort he sharpened his tone again.
"But that's so many," the half-Latina gasped.
"My father's a billionaire," he reminded her in a more insistent voice than normal. "I can give you everything you've ever wanted and I'm very good looking," he concluded as if to seal the deal.
"Yeah," she agreed with an involuntary grin; Jade was unable to prevent herself from narrowing her eyes momentarily in her seat. She wasn't a part of this particular scene.
"Think," he ordered, pointing at her before he turned away; Jade relaxed again a little.
The spotlight over Beck's head dimmed as Marty called out, "And lights go…" One appeared above Freddie, illuminating the Seattle-born sixteen-year-old.
"I don't know," she said again.
"It's okay that you don't know," he assured her in a gentle voice, stepping towards her and smiling softly.
"But you deserve an answer," she argued.
"I can wait. For you, I would wait a thousand years," he insisted, sincerity in every syllable.
"But that's so many!" she yelped again. Jade rolled her eyes and tapped away on her pearphone from the audience.
"I know I'm poor. I know I don't have much to offer, but I do love you."
Tori turned away from him. "Because I'm beautiful?" she asked in resignation.
"I don't love you, because you're beautiful." He called after her before stepping towards her and gently taking her upper arm, causing her to turn back to him. He dropped his arm back to her side and, looking straight into the girl's eyes, told her, "You're beautiful because I love you."
"Whoa," she whispered softly. Jade sighed in mild nausea before her attention was distracted when she received an e-mail through her phone; the sender's identity piqued her interest and she quickly called it up.
The ambience was spoiled as the lighting in the theatre began flashing and an upbeat tune started to play. Freddie and Tori looked up at the gantry in confusion, to where Sinjin was operating the controls.
Jade was far less subtle in her questioning, having been interrupted just as she was about to read the note. "What up with the disco?" she fired.
"I'm sorry. I hit the wrong thing," the bespectacled teen apologised.
"No, fifteen years ago your mother gave birth to the wrong thing!" she snapped. He gave her a panicked look as she sat down.
"All right why don't we take a break?" Marty suggested. "Tori, Freddie, Beck, you guys were great. Really nice stuff."
"Thanks," the three chorused.
"Guys, guys, everyone shut up a second," Jade had finished reading the e-mail.
"Whatcha got?" Freddie asked, making his way over to her.
"An e-mail from Principal Eikner."
"That says?" Tori prompted; Jade shot her a contemptuous look but began to read it; the girls may be on better terms these days but the gothic teen was still not above treating her with a little disdain when she felt the situation called for it.
"To all students involved in our school's production of Uptown Downtown, Sofia Michelle will be in Los Angeles from the 19th and will be personally attending your opening night performance."
A number of the students began to chatter excitedly, though Tori looked around in more than a little bemusement.
"Oh, my God!" Marty's panic was rising.
"Who's Sofia Michelle?" Tori asked Freddie.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Jade was scandalised; she took Beck's hand and they took a pair of seats.
"What?"
Jade palmed her face. "You get to be the lead and you don't even know who Sofia Michelle is?" she was a little incredulous.
"Well she is still new to all this," Freddie reasoned; Tori shot him a grateful glance before a thought struck her.
"Wait, is she the lady who does those infomercials with the vibrating hairbrush?" she asked the boy.
"I love that hairbrush," Sinjin added; it earned him confused looks from the assembled students.
"No; look at the cover of your script," Freddie explained kindly.
"Oh, Sofia Michelle wrote the play we're doing."
"Yeah, she's like the biggest playwright on Broadway," Jade enlightened her in a forcibly kinder tone.
"All right, you guys we knew we had to be great. Now, we have to be perfect. We are not going to disappoint Sofia Michelle," Marty insisted to his charges; they nodded determinedly.
Sinjin again altered the mood by starting up the lights and music again.
"Will you kill the disco?" Jade demanded.
"No one can kill disco!" he shot back and began dancing with his vibrating hairbrush, much to the bemusement of the watching teens. Jade and Freddie exchanged looks and simultaneously shook their heads.
Vega Residence, Hollywood Hills.
Tori and Trina entered their home; the elder sister, as always, had driven them and spent most of the journey talking about herself.
"Hi girls, how was your day?" their mother called from the kitchen. Trina immediately took the opportunity to repeat most of what she had told Tori.
"How about you?" Mrs Vega asked her younger daughter when the elder finally paused for breath.
"It was really good, thanks. We just had rehearsal for the play we're doing that starts this weekend. I won the lead and the other guys have been really great about keeping my nerves in check and helping me try to learn my lines, especially Freddie," she grinned a little at the thought of the boy she seemed to be drawing closer and closer to as she settled into school life.
The tell-tale grin wasn't lost on her mother. "So you like this Freddie guy then?" she pried in an amused tone; Tori gave her an embarrassed look.
"He's been really, really nice to me – especially when I had some difficulties just after I started and again last week with another of my classmates; he seemed to be the only one who would actually support me… and now we're both leads in this play," she finished with a smile.
"You're dating him, aren't you?" Mrs Vega asked a little suspiciously, picking up on some of her daughter's mannerisms.
"No, no, we're not," she insisted, though at the same time she couldn't deny to herself that the thought did appeal to her as it fleetingly crossed her mind. "I've actually never heard him mention a girlfriend at all," she continued thoughtfully, "or appear particularly interested, even when I was smiling and trying to flirt a little with him," he tone was now laced with a small hint of disappointment. "I wonder what the deal is with him," the younger Vega mused, staring off into the distance.
"I wouldn't worry about it, sister," Trina drawled, "he's obviously gay."
"What makes you say that?" Tori asked in surprise, snapped back to the here-and-now.
"Because," she began knowingly, "I've been smiling at him and flirting with him too ever since I first came across him just after you started school with us and he's shown no interest at all in me, so he must be gay," the older sister concluded with an air of finality; Tori and the girls' mother just exchanged resigned looks.
Make Up room, Hollywood Arts High School
Thursday, 18th March 2010.
The week had gone quickly – far too quickly – for Tori's liking so far; she was beginning to get a little nervous again ahead of opening night the following evening. The brunette had tried to enlist Freddie to help with her rehearsals but between his job (Monday and Wednesday night) and his gym session with André on the Tuesday he hadn't had too much time, merely going over his own lines when he got home for the most part – usually persuading Marissa to help him with them on a night; for once the brown-haired teen was glad that his mother was working days and was there when he got home. She had also asked Trina; unsurprisingly her elder sister had been rather too self-absorbed to really help out, though her mother had been able to provide a little assistance when she was home. Despite this she felt that she had most of them by heart and so she had switched attention to the songs and spent a little time singing them to herself this morning. Tonight, however, she would need to put in quite a bit of work in order to get everything down.
"Cat? Cat?" the lead actress called; it was almost lunch time and she was hoping that her friend would join her in a bite to eat. The red haired girl was sitting at one of the stations working with Eli; he was the "willing" model on her latest assignment. The class hadn't been going too well for her so far as, despite it being historically one of her better subjects, she was really struggling with the latest task; so much so that two models had already refused to sit for her anymore. She did ask Freddie but he was too busy outside of school to be able to help her out – at least, that was the excuse he gave her. "Hey, have you seen Cat?" she enquired of a male student who stood with his back to her; she yelped as he turned around and she saw his disfigured and badly burned features.
"It's just special effects makeup," he assured her.
"Oh, well, that is special... and I have been affected," she informed him. She then spied her quarry at the station behind the boy busily working on her latest model; she had been hidden by the mirrors that separated the banks of booths.
"Yo, Cat," she called.
The teen, wearing one of her habitually short dresses, purple today with a red, floral patterned light jacket over it, turned to her.
"Oh, hey, Tori!"
"Are we doing lunch?"
"Yeah, just a sec. I'm almost finished with my assignment."
"Oh, what's the assignment?" Tori had yet to sign up for this class.
"To transform a human face into a terrifying monster. Want to see?" the redhead offered.
"Terrify me," the brunette encouraged her.
Cat spun her model's swivel chair around so he faced the half-Latina and pulled a delighted face. "Isn't he scary?" she prompted.
"No, he's kind of adorable," Tori replied, for the boy had a bright orange face, pink nose and huge eyebrows.
"Ah man, you made me cute!" he lamented. "You're the worst," he told Cat before walking off.
"Well, let me try again after school," she begged.
"No, no, no, I'm done with you."
"No, wait," she pleaded.
"Done with you!" he repeated and left the room.
"Oh, that's the third model who's quit on me," she complained to her friend. "I'm going to get an 'F'... in make-up." The thought appalled her.
"Aww, that bites. Let's go get an 'A' in lunch," Tori urged, seizing the red-head's wrist to lead her from the room.
"Wait!" Cat dragged her heels as an idea hit her.
"No!" Tori was definite as she immediately cottoned on to the plan.
"I just need..." she began.
"I am not going to be your monster make-up model."
"But if I don't transform someone's face into a hideous monster by Monday, I'm going to fail this class." She was desperately trying to play on the taller girl's sympathies.
"And if I don't cram a turkey sandwich down my throat, I'm going to fail not starving to death," she retorted, turning to leave the room.
"Oh, come on." Cat raced around her to intercept. "We can do it tonight, tomorrow night, whenever you want," The bubbly girl was desperate.
"I'm in a huge play. I have to learn all my lines and five songs," she reminded her.
"Tori!" the cupcake loving teen wailed.
"Cat!" she responded in kind.
The two squabbled for a few moments before the new student caved.
"Alright, fine, I'll do it," she relented reluctantly.
"Yay", Cat celebrated, opening her arms as if to hug the girl.
"But you're buying my lunch."
"Aw," she complained.
"Let's go," Tori seized her wrist again and led her from the room.
Asphalt Café.
Freddie and Jade sat at their usual table; they had arrived before the others as their previous lesson had taken place in a room very close to the café.
"So, how are things between you and Tori?" he enquired amiably. Jade smirked.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she pried with a teasing grin.
"What do you mean?" He was genuinely curious.
"Oh come on," she was exasperated. "You can't have failed to notice her smiling and flirting at you every chance she gets. Don't say she's just being friendly; you know that it's got to be more than that."
He smiled softly but shrugged as he reflected quickly on the brunette's behaviour around him. "Maybe you're right; it doesn't mean anything's going on between us though."
"You're not interested?" she pressed, a little surprised; even she had to admit that the new student was a very pretty girl. Freddie sighed.
"I haven't really been looking," he conceded. "Things are better for me and I'm finally really moving on from Lindsey and what happened to me but I haven't been on the look-out for a new relationship or anything like that. Yeah, Tori's a nice girl but if there's been flirting then it's all been one way," he turned back to his lunch.
Jade bit her tongue a little; fortunately any further talk on the subject was postponed due to the arrival of Beck and André.
"Hey babe," the Canadian actor greeted his girl with a cheek kiss as he passed her to take a seat on her left. "Freddie," he nodded across the table to his co-star.
"Hey Beck; are we still on for fencing tonight?"
"Definitely; I can't wait," he enthused at the thought of pursuing one of his hobbies; it was always one of the highlights of the week for the guys. "André?"
"Nah, I can't, I'm going over to Tori's to help her learn her songs for tomorrow."
"You'd hope that she'd know them all by now with us being so close to opening night," Jade commented in concern; she may not have the lead but it would reflect badly on all of them – and the school – if the lead actress floundered on opening night, especially in front of the playwright responsible. "How about you guys? Good to go?"
Beck nodded as did Freddie, though he was a little less committal. "I'm pretty much there; I just need to try and keep them in my head and have room for all the tech theatre stuff. I can't believe they scheduled my exam in it for tomorrow!"
"You haven't even taken the class," André pointed out, "how are you doing the exam?"
"I know most of it inside and out from doing iCarly," he explained calmly.
"Awesome, you can help me out; I'm going to take it first semester next year," the songsmith piped up.
"No problem," his friend smiled before continuing with his explanation. "There were one or two things that I've needed to practice and cram – and obviously I've gone through the text book and one or two of the past exams so I know pretty much what I need to do. I just wish they'd put it on a different day, but they can only schedule it when the theatre isn't in use I guess."
Cat and Tori joined them at this point; the red-haired girl was, as usual, bubbling over with enthusiasm.
"Hey, Cat, you seem happy," Freddie smiled.
"And you really, really don't," Jade observed, eyeing Tori. Beck scowled slightly at the vindictive pleasure he thought he could detect in his girlfriend's voice.
"Tori's going to be my make-up model tonight!" Cat exclaimed happily. The others exchanged slightly horrified glances.
"Tonight? Our play opens tomorrow," Jade reminded her. "Are you going to have enough time to do that, along with learning your lines, songs and everything."
"Yeah, sure," Tori insisted, though her voice lacked confidence. "André and I are going over to mine straight after school; we'll have a few hours to get everything done before Cat shows up."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Freddie muttered to Jade; she nodded her agreement.
Swordplay Fencing Studio, 416 S Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA
The two teenagers had finished their respective classes (Beck was just about done with the beginners' course now while Freddie was working his way rapidly through the advanced lessons, earning praise from the instructors for being their 'star pupil') and were enjoying a light spar as a warm-down. As always when they had a friendly 'battle' Freddie was going easy on his friend but was still much, much too good for him. Finally Beck pleaded fatigue, along with a desire to go over his lines a couple of times this evening with the play opening the next night (a sentiment that Freddie shared), and the two sat on one of the benches, retrieving bottles of water from their equipment bags.
"That was great; you're really coming on well with it," Freddie complemented the taller teen.
"Thanks; I'm still nowhere near as good as you," Beck replied.
"Well you're not descended from a Master fencer," he shrugged, grinning at the other.
"Freddie," Beck began cautiously, "is everything alright between Jade and Tori? I mean, I know that you two are close and… I was just wondering if she'd said anything to you. One minute she's got a black eye from Tori hitting her, the next they seem to be almost friendly; and you and I both know that is not like Jade."
Freddie quickly deliberated on how to respond; he didn't want to say or suggest anything that might make things awkward for the dark brunette.
"Dude, she's your girlfriend; why don't you ask her?" he suggested.
"I did; she just said that they'd reached an understanding and things were fine."
"Shouldn't you take her at her word then?" Freddie suggested with a patient grin.
"It's just that… you know Jade; the whole 'if you cross me I will get you back in a way that makes you sorry for a long time' of hers. It could be very awkward if she starts on Tori with that sort of chizz, given we're all in so many classes together."
"They both seem fine with one another so we should probably leave it at that for now and let them sort things out between themselves," Freddie commented evenly. "Anyway, I'd better go," he added, having glanced at a wall-mounted clock, "I have to learn the last few of my lines and finish studying for my tech theatre exam tomorrow afternoon."
"Dude, why are you bugging? You know more about it than the teacher does – that's why you didn't have to take the class."
"You should be right, but I still want to be prepared for it."
"I guess," Beck agreed with a shrug and they headed for the locker room.
Vega Residence
The Slap
Tori Vega: Turkey sandwich = YAY! Monster makeup = WHY?!
Mood = Anxious
After chatting on the phone with Danny and making plans to see him after watching the play the next night, Cat set out for her friend's house; arrived there just before 8, armed with her make-up supplies and rang the doorbell to be admitted.
"Make-up time!" she smiled with a quick raise of her eyebrows as Tori opened the door.
"Hey Cat," her reluctant brunette model greeted her.
"Where should I set up?" she asked her; Tori suggested the kitchen table.
"Oh I love kitchens!" she cried happily. "Hey André," she greeted the songsmith as she scampered merrily through the house; as he had told the guys over lunch he was here helping Tori rehearse the songs for her play; they seemed fairly confident that she was going to be ok with them.
"What's up Little Red?" he asked distractedly.
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she yelped, spinning to face him.
"I don't know… Little Red – you're little and you've got red hair?" he suggested.
"Oh that's so creative; do Tori now," she urged him with an excited clap.
"Can we just get this whole monster makeup thing over with?" Tori pleaded.
"Sure, let's get started. Hey, can André be my assistant?"
"You can ask him," the other girl suggested.
"Hey André, do you want to help me put monster makeup on Tori's face?"
"Bye," he shot out of the door, ostensibly to fetch a pizza for himself and Tori. The two girls looked at one another.
"Maybe he had to use the bathroom," Cat speculated.
"In my front yard?" Tori was bewildered by the suggestion.
"Well sometimes my brother…" she began.
"Make-up time!" Tori interrupted, not in the mood for one of the girl's anecdotes; Cat spent the next half-hour or so feverishly working to apply make-up to her friend; she was unrecognisable by the time the girl was done.
Cat rushed to her friend holding a mirror with the reflective surface to her chest.
"Are you ready?" she enquired.
"Yep, show me me," the singer-actress agreed. To her amazement she looked like a zombie, with a grey, wrinkled face.
"Wow, look at me, I'm hideous," she failed to keep the surprise from her voice.
"Oh, you really think so?" Cat was delighted with the feedback.
"Yeah, I totally look like a zombie," Tori enthused.
"Yay, I'm not a failure," she was even more giddy than usual with relief.
"Let's go scare my sister," Tori whispered evilly. Cat agreed and they rushed to the foot of the stairs. "Trina, come see something," she called up.
"Is it for me?" the elder Vega drawled.
"Yeah, sure," Tori muttered, standing out of sight of anyone coming down the stair case.
Trina jogged down the stairs, where she only saw Cat.
"Where's Tori? Oh, did they deliver my vibrating hairbrush?" Cat pulled a perplexed face in response.
Tori leapt out, growling at the older girl who stood there calmly, merely looking confused as to why her sister was made up in such a fashion
"Oh come on; how could you not be scared by this?" the younger sibling asked in exasperation.
"I've seen our grandmother naked," Trina explained. "Nothing scares me anymore."
"Come on, let me get some pics of your face," Cat urged.
"Ok," Tori made to join the girl in the kitchen again.
"I want some apple juice," Trina noted.
"Then go get some," Tori suggested.
"Fine, I'll do it myself," she groaned theatrically and left the other two girls, one posing, one photographing until she happened across something that drew her attention. "Uh, what is this for?" she held up a small bottle.
"Oh that's glue," Cat was nonchalant.
"Yeah but why is it with your make-up supplies," she pressed.
"What's the problem?" Tori asked.
"This is Grizzly Glue," Trina explained, "it's like an industrial cement."
"Huh?" Tori's tone was flat but worried.
"Cat, tell me you didn't use this on Tori's face," Trina pleaded with her as Tori raced across the living area to her sister's side.
"Give me that. For industrial use only. Caution: Avoid contact with skin. Cat!" she wailed.
"Why didn't you use dermaglue?" Trina demanded, wondering why someone wouldn't use the specially designed make-up adhesive.
"I ran out, so I got that out of my dad's toolbox." Cat admitted sheepishly.
"Are you insane?!" the older sister fired at her.
"Will it come off?" Tori asked in worry.
"I don't know," her sister conceded.
"Why didn't you read the label?" she rounded on the red velvet-haired girl.
"'Cause I got distracted by the picture of the cute grizzly bear. I mean, look at him, he's like a fuzzy little..." Cat began to gush.
"Hey!" Tori interrupted her musings.
"I'm sorry," she apologised.
"Now what do we do?" the frustrated actress wondered.
After a few seconds of attempting to remove it with standard make-up remover they conceded that it wasn't going to work. André had returned in mid-argument and fled unnoticed.
"I'll call Doctor Doty," Trina took charge. "Cat, you call Grizzly Industries – maybe they have a solvent that will get it off of her."
"'kay 'kay." The two girls went for their phones while Tori buried her head in her hands.
Ten minutes later Trina rung off with the doctor; he had been unable to provide her with any ideas for removing the make-up from her sister's face. Cat, meanwhile, was still talking as the increasingly nervous sisters eavesdropped on her side of the conversation.
"Really? You do?" Cat asked in excited tones.
"They do? They do what? What do they do?" Tori pressed, hopeful that there may just be some good news.
"They make a solvent that's safe for skin."
"Well, where do we get it?" she pressed.
"I dunno," Cat shrugged.
"Ask the man!"
"It's a lady," she whispered.
"Ask her," Tori's exasperation was growing again.
"Hi, Gail, it's Cat, yeah. Where can I buy the solvent? Uh huh, uh huh, okay, bye."
Ignoring the expectant Vegas the red-haired girl sat lost in her own little world after hanging up.
"Well?" Tori demanded.
"Oh, they don't sell it in stores."
"But...well, then..." the zombie-faced girl stammered.
"We just have to drive to Grizzly Industries and get it there," she calmly informed her.
"Okay, so where's Grizzly?"
"Bakersfield," Cat replied.
"Bakersfield?" Tori repeated.
"Relax, that's only like two hours from here. I could drive you there tomorrow," Trina offered.
"When?" her little sister demanded. "I have school until 3:00, then I have final rehearsal and then I have to do the play."
"Calm down," Cat urged. "After school, I'll go with Trina to Bakersfield, pick up the solvent, drive back and get the makeup off your face before the play starts."
"Okay, okay, that sounds..." Tori was interrupted by the doorbell. "Augh, who's that?" she wondered. "What?!" She opened the door to two girl sprouts who were selling cookies door-to-door; the little girls screamed and ran away.
"Wait, I want cookies," she pleaded.
Asphalt Café.
Friday, 19th March 2010.
Again Freddie and Jade found themselves alone at a table waiting for their friends.
"Can you believe what happened to Tori?" Jade shook her head.
"Unfortunately, with it being Cat, I can," he chuckled darkly. Jade shrugged a little, forced to concede his point. "What I don't understand is why she didn't just blow off school this morning, get the solvent, get it all sorted out and then come back for the play; that's what I'd have done."
"You wouldn't have let Cat do that in the first place," she grinned at him. He chuckled again, a bit more lightly this time.
"Very true; I gave her every excuse under the sun to get out of being her make-up model this week. How did you get out of it without hurting her feelings?" He knew Jade was Cat's best friend; she was the obvious first choice.
"Cat has known me for years," the dark brunette smirked. "She's learnt not to ask me for things like that." They laughed again. "So anyway, are you all set for the play?" the gothic girl asked him.
"I will be; I just have the tech theatre exam to get through first then I can kick that all out of my brain and focus on the play. You?"
"Oh yes," she replied confidently. "I even have Tori's lines down too, just in case she can't go on with her face like that. Of course, I hope it won't come to that," she concluded unconvincingly; Freddie grinned at her again.
"How are things between the two of you? Do you think you'll ever actually be friends?"
"Real friends? I don't know," the gothic girl's tone was thoughtful as she brushed her pink hair extensions to one side, "but we get on fine now and she hasn't held a grudge over the whole Stage Fighting thing – which is probably more than I deserve," she admitted quietly.
"And what about you and Beck? He spoke to me yesterday after we'd been fencing, you know; he's a little concerned about the you-and-Tori thing too. I suggested he actually speak to you about it," Freddie added with a boyish smirk well in place.
"That would make sense," she agreed with a laugh. "Things with us are good, I think. I just wish he'd overtly take my side a bit more often."
"I can't do much about that – except suggest that you tell him that; I'm glad to hear that things are generally good though," Freddie nodded and they returned to their lunch as the others began to arrive.
Black Box Theatre
School had ended and the kids were just completing their final rehearsal ahead of the opening performance of the play in a couple of hours' time.
"Suddenly I can see what I didn't before – and I don't care what they say anymore 'cause I'm falling, falling, finally falling, falling," the cast, led by Tori, sang to conclude the last song.
"5...6...7...8," Lane finished; he was choreographing for them.
"That was dynamite," Marty enthused. "Now, everyone, go get some water, hydrate and rest up for the show. Tori," he turned to his leading lady.
"Yeah, what's up?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Your face; it's still hideous."
"I know, but my sister and Cat are already on their way back here from Bakersfield with the solvent," she assured her teacher.
"You're sure?" He wanted confirmation.
"Uh...totally, yes," she hoped to convince him.
"All right," he left her to check on the others; Freddie was far less convinced. He was in high spirits after feeling that he had aced the tech theatre exam earlier in the day but seeing Tori's face still made up the way it was concerned him.
"Tori, I don't mean to insult your sister…" the Seattle-born actor began cautiously.
"Oh no, please do!" the zombie-faced teen interrupted in a frustrated voice; she was feeling rather annoyed with the pair of them at the moment as they had been a little late setting off due to Trina gossiping with her friends right after school.
"Well," he continued, "it's just that she's… well, she's Trina." He could think of no better way of putting it. "And don't get me wrong, I love Cat – you know we used to date, briefly?" Tori gave a curt nod, having learned this little nugget of information during her weeks at Hollywood Arts. "She's not the most reliable of girls," he continued delicately, "so do you really trust those two to deliver the solvent here on time?"
"Oh chizz," the girl groaned as she palmed her forehead. She brooded for a few moments before turning to him with as much of a smile as she could muster under the monster make-up. "So you love Cat then?" She nudged his arm gently with her elbow.
"I meant as a friend," he responded awkwardly.
"Yeah, right," she said lightly and playfully bumped his shoulder. "I'd better call my sister," she changed the subject and reached for her phone; as they had done a dress rehearsal this meant dashing to the changing rooms.
Trina's car, en route to Grizzly Industries, Bakersfield.
"Oh, I think that's your phone." Cat told Trina as the ringtone sounded; the two girls were making slow progress to Bakersfield as Trina was spending more time applying her make-up than watching the road, to the chagrin of other road users.
"I know, find it," the elder Vega instructed. Cat began to hunt for the device. "Come on, come on! Look under the seat."
"You're bossy," the younger girl complained.
"Ow, watch the girls," the driver lamented as the other wriggled under the seat, the consequence being her feet were dangerously close to the older girl's breasts.
"Found your phone," the red-head raised it in triumph.
"Then answer it," Trina urged.
"Hi, Trina's phone," Cat received the call.
"Are you on your way back with the solvent? Tell me you're on the way back," Tori pleaded as she walked back onto the stage; she was now only a couple of feet away from Freddie, who listened with interest and concern.
"Who's calling?" Cat feigned innocence.
"It's Tori," the girl stated obviously and in mounting frustration.
"Oh, hey Tori," Cat greeted her.
"Oh, put her on speaker," Trina requested.
"Kay-Kay. Tori, you're on speaker. Trina is also in the car."
"Where are you guys?" she demanded.
"Relax, we're almost at the factory."
"The fact... You're not even there yet? The show starts in like two hours," she complained. By her shoulder Freddie palmed his face.
"We'll make it," Trina insisted.
"Oh, punch buggy blue," Cat called, punching her friend's arm.
"Ow, Dude," she punched her back.
"Listen to me. If you two morons aren't back here before the play starts and I have to go on stage looking like a zombie, I'm gonna punch both your buggies. Do you understand?" She rang off huffily. "What?" she snapped at the grinning Freddie.
"I'm just amused," he shrugged. "You called Cat and your sister 'you two morons' and neither of them even thought of disputing it with it."
Even the annoyed girl had to laugh along with this, despite her steadily mounting anxiety. However there was another matter that she wanted to discuss; she was actually glad about it as it meant she could have a distraction from her own troubles. "Freddie," she began in a questioning tone as they took seats backstage, bottles of water in hand, "how come you don't have a girlfriend?"
The boy looked at her in confusion at the apparently random and certainly personal question.
"I mean, you're a really cute guy," she persisted, "you're really sweet and most of the girls here seem to swoon over you… especially my sister." Tori said the last three words with a hint of regretful disgust in her voice. "So why are you single – you have been since I got here over a month ago; hard to think a catch like you would be on the market this long and not show interest in somebody here… or anywhere else, yet you never mention a special girl at all."
The brown-haired boy took a deep breath as he pondered exactly how much of an answer he was prepared to give his new friend. He decided to open up to her and began to recount some of the events surrounding his relationship with Lindsey, though he kept the blonde's name out of it and merely talked about being in an eight month long relationship with a girl – not Cat, he went to lengths to clarify – and spoke of how it was his first really serious relationship (again, he didn't say just how serious) and how it ended badly, the reasons she gave that he soon suspected were just excuses, how it still hurt when she called him with the news about the Showcase, how he still aimed to avoid her around school when possible, how he had had to process everything that happened with them, how it was only very recently that in talking to an adult friend he was starting to really get over it and how it had really shaken his trust in romantic relationships in general.
"It's been six months?" he asked rhetorically. "The night before school started last September, and I still haven't found myself able to put my trust in another person; some of the scars just refuse to heal."
"She hurt you bad," Tori whispered in sympathy, taking his hand gently.
"She didn't so much break my heart as take a sledgehammer to it, shatter it and leave the pieces strewn around Hollywood," he whispered sadly, then brightened a little. "So how about you? How come there's no boyfriend for Tori?" he was eager to change the subject and turned things around on her.
"Because I look like a zombie, remember?" she pointed to her face and laughed; she was keen to dodge that particular point as she was in the middle of a frustratingly lengthy 'dry spell' of her own. He joined in a brief chuckle before turning to face her with a small smile.
"And beautiful is all I see," he sang softly but sincerely, causing the brunette to nervously try to laugh it off.
"Does Cat know that you love her?" Tori was persistent with this.
"No," he sighed in resignation, realising that she wasn't going to believe his denials. "I'm not sure that I'm ready to put myself out there again and it wouldn't be fair to drop it on her if I'm not sure that I'm prepared to follow it through."
She slipped her arm around his waist and pulled him close. The two sat in comfortable silence; though their problems were vastly different, right now they both centred on the little girl with vivid red hair.
The Slap
Mobile
Tori Vega: Never send Trina and Cat to do ANYTHING!
Mood= Desperate
The auditorium was beginning to fill up with people as curtain call approached; there was still no sign of Cat, Trina or solvent and Tori was getting more and more nervous – so, too, was Marty. However he had something else to distract him as the evening's VIP entered the theatre.
"Hi, Miss Michelle. I'm Marty, the director. Pleasure to meet you," he greeted her.
"Sophia," she replied.
"Oh, I'm Lane, big fan," the Guidance Counsellor was also in attendance and met the playwright.
"Well there she is," Freddie peered through the curtains as the writer took a seat in the front row.
"Oh, my God, It's Sofia Michelle," Beck whispered.
"Tori?" Marty wailed at his female star.
"I know, but they're still not back with the solvent," she explained weakly.
"Well, we're on in two minutes and you still look disgusting."
"I know it's not ideal but I could play the lead if it comes to it," Jade offered.
"No, we don't have anyone else to play your part," he declined.
"You never cast any understudies?" Freddie was surprised by the short-sightedness of such an experienced acting teacher.
"Do something," he ignored the boy's question and focused on the made-up girl.
"But what do you want me...?" she groaned and called her sister again.
Trina's Car, en route to Hollywood Arts.
"Hi, Tori," Cat answered in bubbly tones.
"Where are you?! Where's my solvent?!" she pressed.
"Ah, we have it right here," the girl was holding it and waved it at the phone, not that there was any point as they weren't video-chatting.
"Put her on speaker," Trina commanded. "What's up sister?" she asked when Cat had done. Both girls held ice creams.
"The curtain's going to be up in 90 seconds and I'm still freaky in the face. Why aren't you here?" she demanded; the two exchanged guilty looks.
"We had a little bit of an emergency," Trina explained.
"What kind of emergency?" Tori demanded.
"A creamy delicious one?" was the best Cat could improvise.
"You stopped for ice cream?" the younger sister was incredulous at their decision, knowing that time was of the essence.
"We had to. There was a Freezie Queen in Bakersfield," Cat said, as if it explained and justified their decision.
"Then how far away are you?"
"Just like 40 minutes," Trina assured before a police siren was heard; the two girls in the car turned to look at one another.
"You, in the red vehicle..." a policeman called over his speaker.
"Maybe an hour?" she amended weakly as the two looked nervously at one another again.
"Pull over to the side of the road," the cop ordered.
On the other end of the phone Tori closed her eyes and slumped against the wall in resignation; Freddie watched sympathetically from across the backstage area before palming his forehead and shaking his head in resignation; he wondered how on earth this play was going to unfold, particularly in front of its author, with the leading lady looking like she did.
"So I'm on my private jet almost half way to Barcelona," Beck was regaling one of his character's lackeys (played by Robbie) with a tale of his wealthy indulgences, "When I say to the pilot, I've changed my mind, take a left; we're going to Prague."
The curly-haired ventriloquist laughed sycophantically. "You're too much."
"Aren't I?" Beck retorted smugly as Freddie, dressed as a bellboy, picked up the cases left by the two other actors' chairs.
"Hey, hey, hey, you there," Beck began in scolding tones.
"Yes, sir?" Freddie responded politely.
"That luggage is very expensive. Don't just toss it around like a monkey," he complained.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Beck's friend distracted him. "Check out the girl coming this way."
"Oh, my God, she's gorgeous," Beck revelled.
"She's beautiful," Freddie whispered as Tori, still in zombie make-up, entered the scene; the audience, including the celebrity playwright, gasped as one at her appearance. Backstage and out of sight, Jade was torn between amusement at the girl's predicament and embarrassment for its reflection on the rest of them and the school.
Trina's Car, en route to Hollywood Arts.
Having dealt with the cop, and had to accept a ticket, Trina and Cat were back on their way to the school; they sang along with the radio in surprisingly high spirits given that they had just been ticketed, along with urgency of the situation that Trina's little sister found herself in. They were making slow but serene progress back to school.
"Just say you'll marry me," Beck demanded hotly of Tori.
"Excuse me, but most women don't want to be screamed at when they're being proposed to," she replied argumentatively.
"I'm rich, I'm handsome, I have nine boats!" he snapped as if it was the be-all and end-all. "Stop acting like a stupid girl!"
"Wait, you got a little something right there," she interrupted.
"What?"
"This," she swung and, making sure that she definitely missed this time, pretended to deliver a blow to Beck's jaw. He slumped to the ground and the spotlights illuminated her and Freddie.
"Suddenly my choice is clear," she began, turning to her co-star, "I knew when only you and I were standing here."
"And beautiful is all I see," he continued before she joined him and together they sang, "It's only you, I know it's true, it has to be."
Tori continued to sing while her co-stars danced around them until Jade spotted Trina and Cat in the wings; they were gesticulating wildly in their friends' direction. She caught Freddie's eye and he pointed them out subtly to Tori. She managed to dance off the stage, having first encouraged André and the band to play an instrumental interlude to cover her absence.
"We brought you Freezie Queen," Cat offered the ice cream to her; she slapped it away.
"Just get this muck off my face," she demanded.
"Get it off her face," Lane echoed.
"Okay!" Cat squealed.
"Hurry; I'm missing the song," she urged.
"It's coming, it's coming," the girls had almost cleared her face.
Finally she was ready to go back on stage, looking once more like Tori Vega, to loud cheers from the audience, particularly Lane and Marty.
"I don't need all the finer things; diamond rings are nothing so show me something,"
She turned to Freddie, took his hand and continued, "'Cause love is all I need, all I ever wanted and now I've got it. My friends are wondering what you're thinking – and your friends, they probably think the same thing. Well it doesn't matter if we change their minds.
Suddenly I can see what I didn't before, and I don't care what they say anymore 'cause I'm falling, falling, finally falling, falling."
The song ended with the leads holding hands and their faces only a couple of inches apart; Tori was unable to prevent herself going off script and leaning in to plant a quick peck on Freddie's lips. Tumultuous applause, however, prevented any further processing of the event, though Freddie was looking curiously from the corner of his eye at the girl; she was shyly avoiding his gaze.
The cast retreated behind the curtain after taking their bow; once the auditorium was cleared the VIP playwright joined them on-stage.
"Well, that was an interesting performance. When I wrote that play, I certainly never pictured Penny as a freakish zombie during most of it," Sophia began.
"Oh, man, I'm out of pills," Marty complained quietly as the teens looked sheepishly around at one another.
"Look, I can explain," Tori began.
"You don't need to explain. I totally got it," the playwright smiled.
"You did? You do? She got it," Tori declared happily to her co-stars. "What did you get?" she turned back to their guest.
"The whole commentary on what's really beautiful. Having these two young men feel true love for a girl with a hideous face really emphasised the whole point of the play which is substance over beauty; the beauty within."
"Right," the students agreed weakly.
"Well, we're really glad you liked it," Freddie smiled at her.
"And the kiss at the end; not what I wrote but I definitely think it sealed the deal," she smiled broadly at the two young stars.
Tori looked uncomfortable; she tried to avoid Freddie's eye again (and those of everyone else) for a few moments. "Actually that was more me running on adrenaline and emotion after getting through opening night," she muttered.
"Well I thought it worked," Sofia enthused before checking her watch. "Oh, I have a late meeting that I need to run to but I hope to see another performance of it before I go back to New York next week. So for now, bye," she smiled at them and took her leave.
"Congratulations everyone. Now, before we go just a couple of..." began Marty before Sinjin set the disco lights and music going again.
"Don't fight it," he urged. The teens shrugged and shared a celebratory dance.
"Ok guys, get changed then there'll be a little after-party in my classroom," Marty informed them.
Marty's Classroom
Tori was still concerned about her friend's love-life, or lack thereof. She gathered a handful of nuts and nibbles, along with a wahoo punch, and tracked him down as he sat on his own with his own food and drink after sharing a quick dance with Jade (she was now dancing with Beck).
"You know, maybe the only way that you're ever going to really heal the scars is by going through another relationship," the girl suggested as the party moved into full swing. She motioned to Cat, stood across the room laughing with Trina. "You should tell her," she urged. Freddie sat there uncertainly for a moment before nodding his head and squaring his jaw.
"You're right; it's finally time to put my heart out there again," he agreed with soft voice and stiff resolve. He rose to his feet in response to the brunette's encouraging nod. "Thanks," he whispered, giving her a gentle tap on the shoulder as he made to start across the room.
"Ooh," the girl in question piped up suddenly as her phone beeped. She drew the device from her pocket and looked at the message she had received, "it's from Daniel."
"Daniel?" Trina asked as Jade stopped dancing, turned to the red head and raised her pierced brow in interest. Freddie, having stood up, sank back to his seat again as Tori looked between her friends in abject dismay.
"You know, my boyfriend?" she said to Jade, looking surprised at her gothic friend's confusion. "The guy I met a few weeks ago while I was staying at my Nona's?" When this still yielded no sign of comprehension from the others the little red-head just persisted, "we're going out tonight and he's here to pick me up. See you Monday. Bye!" The girl was exuberant and dashed off without looking back.
"Freddie I'm sorry," Tori whispered as she took in the look on his face. "I wanted to make things better but I made them ten times worse for you!"
"No Tori," he contradicted firmly, forcing himself to smile at her a little, "you encouraged me and you were right about it all. I can't just stay shut up on my own forever. Maybe now it won't be Cat but I do need to start looking again, rather than just letting the past colour my view on love for the rest of my life. There's got to be some girl out there worth me taking a chance on; I just need to find her," he finished with a small grin directed at her as he got to his feet again. "Want to dance?"
Tori returned the smile at his words and offered her hand, allowing him to lead them into a vacant patch in the middle of the classroom; she hoped that everything would turn out for the best for her new friend and a part of her, she realised (contrary to what she had told her mother and sister), wouldn't object to being the girl that he decided he should take a chance on.
AN: Ok, I hope you all enjoyed that. It followed the episode mostly, given that Cat was in a lot of the scenes it had to really to keep it going. I hope the small changes and additional scenes have helped the story along somewhat. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you liked or didn't like and I hope to be back to my usual Thursday updates for next week; no promises though as next week's chapter is quite an important one. PD.