AN: Hello everyone and welcome to another little update for this story; I hope you're all still enjoying reading it and looking forward to seeing our heroes function as a couple again. Be warned that it's somewhat fluffier than recent chapters have been but there should still be something for everyone.
My thanks go to everyone who read and reviewed Chapter 15; your feedback is always appreciated.
Challenge King – I'm glad you liked the way that I did it. Of course Tori, who was still thinking of maybe making her own play for Freddie at that point, would want to cheer him up (even without any potential romantic interest she's a nice girl so it is in her nature to try and help). Jade, of course, is Freddie's go-to-girl and, again, wants to help him any way she can.
Guest – yes, at long last we have our Caddie couple together again. Tori is attracted to Freddie and probably vice versa, even though he wasn't looking for anything with her at the time he's acknowledged that she's a beautiful girl. You make some good points about Freddie and Cat and what happened last time; they will get addressed in time.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – why on earth would anyone trust Trina, you're right. Maybe they won't in future. Tori was conflicted, she was happy for her friends but sad because a part of her, at the end of the previous chapter, quite fancied having Freddie for herself. As you say, she's met a certain person that we all know.
TheQuestion23 – trouble? Well, maybe.
Pbow – it's possible that Freddie thought Marissa was exaggerating again but took the pills to keep the peace. Yes, Tori met Steven. It won't be quite 100 days from now; I think in canon they'd been dating for 100 days so there's a little more leeway in the timeline yet for everything to happen.
Thanks again for your feedback; I hope you enjoy chapter 16.
Chapter 16: Freddie's Big Break.
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre, 501 S Buena Vista St, Burbank.
Monday, 29th March 2010.
After an enjoyable few minutes of kissing the little redhead Freddie reluctantly pulled away for a little air. He saw Cat eyeing him expectantly, almost predatorily, and forced himself to look away from her – otherwise, as happy as he was to spend his time like this, the boy knew that they'd be here all day.
"I guess we should give the others the good news," he suggested.
"'kay 'kay," Cat bounced to her feet, interlaced her fingers with his and led him behind the screen that was hiding the poorly members of the Hollywood Arts 'gang'. Jade saw them and broke into as enthusiastic applause as she could muster in the circumstances; Beck and André followed and, seemingly a little reluctantly, so did Trina and Robbie a moment later. Freddie, though, turned his attention towards the Head Nurse; he gave her a questioning and cautious stare as she eyed her son holding hands with the vividly red haired girl.
"Freddie; so you two are…"
"Yes, mom, we're back together," he turned to the girl, "finally." She giggled yet again before going up on tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek. "How are these guys?"
"Well they won't be leaving here anytime soon," Nurse Benson answered brusquely. "We'll be keeping them in most of the day and maybe overnight while we check on the levels of toxins in their bloodstream and how they're responding to the drugs."
"Well we need to get back to school," her son noted, "once Tori's done with her x-rays we'll be going."
"Ok Freddie; I'll see you this evening when you get home from work. Will your friend be coming over?" she asked in a strained tone, feeling that she needed to at least show willing in an effort to keep the boy onside; the last thing she wanted was him moving out again – particularly if the dizzy girl might provide him with a sanctuary (having only met Mrs Valentine briefly over a year and a half ago, she didn't know how open-minded they might be towards providing houseroom for their daughter's boyfriend if he needed it).
The teenage couple looked at one another. "Uh sure, I'll come over when you get off work," Cat supplied.
"Great, I'll pick you up on my way home," the Seattle-born smiled warmly. "Now, we need to find Tori. See you guys later!"
A chorus of "bye"s permeated through coughs and splutters as their friends returned their farewell. The new couple followed the signs for the X-ray department and made their way towards it; Freddie pulled them to a halt, however, just outside the waiting area in a deserted hallway.
"Cat?" he began; she looked at him, a thin cloud of disappointment in her eyes as she had hoped, and expected, that they would be taking advantage of the empty corridor to start kissing again. "What exactly are we?"
When her look became no less confused he elaborated, "Are we dating? Are we officially boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Do you want us to be?" she asked; this time he could see some hope shining in her brown eyes.
"Yes I do," he confirmed softly after less than a moment's hesitation.
"Me too, so it's all good!" she cried and jumped towards him. He just managed to brace himself and use his free arm to wrap around her waist and catch her as she flung herself on him, claiming his lips again.
"I need some warning the next time you plan on doing that," he pointed out with a grin after setting her back down; she gave a brief pout before her joyous smile returned.
Tori came through the door to the waiting room at that moment. "Oh, hey guys," she greeted them in surprise. "Were you looking for me?"
"Yeah," Freddie confirmed. "Once you're all set we really should head back to school."
"Well I am all set – and I got a cute guy's number," she grinned holding up a folded piece of paper in triumph.
"Wait, what about Danny?" Cat was surprised and confused by the turn of events.
"I don't know," the brunette's happy voice dropped to a groan again. "I need to talk to him and I'm going to see him tomorrow night to figure… everything out but then I met Steven too."
"Well, at least you have options," Freddie commented reasonably, leading his girl, with their friend following just behind, out of the hospital and into the car park. He realised something as they reached his car. "How did you two get here?"
"Oh, I drove us," Cat explained.
"Then you should probably drive your car back," he suggested, letting go of her hand with great reluctance. "I'll see you when we get back to school," and he gave her a quick kiss.
"I'll go with Cat," the half-Latina volunteered and followed the redhead across the parking lot to her vehicle as Freddie got into his Corolla and began the journey back.
He was just locking the vehicle when he heard the ringtone of his phone and drew it from his pocket; the boy frowned as he didn't recognise the number.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously.
"Freddie Benson?"
"Yes," he confirmed slowly.
"My name's Matt and I'm calling from Parahill Studios. I'm one of the casting directors for a new movie called Miss Fire that we're beginning work on soon. I saw your performance in a play at your school last week and we'd like you to audition for a small role in the movie."
"Wow, that sounds… awesome," the stunned boy replied.
"Can you give me your e-mail address and I'll send you a little sample of the script for you to perform at audition on Thursday, say 4 p.m.?"
"We finish school at 3 so that should work," he confirmed and passed on his e-mail to the caller. He was just finishing the call and hanging up when the girls arrived at his side.
"Hi!" Cat called brightly, pulling him into a hug. He gave her a quick kiss in greeting.
"Who were you talking to?" Tori asked curiously as the three made their way inside the school; Freddie was just stowing his phone in his jeans again as they did.
"Just a casting director for a new movie," he shrugged casually, amusing himself as comprehension dawned on the girls' faces, with excitement following it soon after. "They saw my performance in Uptown, Downtown and they must have liked it because they want me to audition for a small role in their latest film."
Cat squealed in excitement. "That's so awesome!" she cried, hugging her boy again; Tori enthusiastically shared the sentiments.
"Well it will be if I get it," he agreed.
Benson Residence, Hollywood Hills
Much as he would have loved to have spent a couple of hours with Cat after school and before he went to work, Freddie had his reasons for not doing so. He dashed up to his room, dropped his bag by his desk and booted up his computer. Sure enough an e-mail from the casting director was there; he opened the attached file and printed off the script, giving it a quick read-through on screen as he did. His next action was to pull his phone from his pocket again and tap in a very familiar number on speed dial.
"Yo Freddie; what's up?" the bright voice of Sam Puckett answered.
"Hey Sam; you'll never guess what's been happening around here lately."
"Oh? Anything interesting?"
"Some guy's now dating a pretty little girl with red velvet-coloured hair."
"No way! You two finally got back together?"
The blonde was elated with his news, particularly with the fact that the brown-haired boy sounded genuinely happy; the first time he had seemed, to the girl's ears, really happy in a long time. Probably the last time was around when I was released last year: before the Prom, she thought. They had chatted for well over an hour, only stopping when Freddie realised that it was nearly five o'clock and he would have to hurry to avoid being late for work.
"Yeah, you can't be late; you need money to buy your girl some gifts," she teased him.
"I sure do," he agreed with a laugh. "I'll talk to you later, Sam. Oh, actually, how do you fancy coming over here for a couple of days next week while we're on Spring Break? You can hang with us all; they know you now from your trip in September."
"That sounds great; it will be cool to hang with you and Cat and the others. But, where would I stay?"
"With us," he answered nonchalantly.
"Yeah, your mom's going to love that."
"She'll agree; I'll remind her that the house survived Hurricane Sam at Thanksgiving," he laughed; so did she.
True to his word Freddie had collected his girl on the way home from work; the two were sat on the couch in the living area and in deep lip-lock, feeling that all was right again with the world. Suddenly, though, an unpleasant thought struck the tech producer.
"We've… kinda been here before, haven't we?" he asked, pulling away from her for a moment.
"Yeah, I guess," she looked around, getting his meaning immediately.
"I just…" he took a breath, "I hope that my mom won't freak out again, but if she does…"
"If she does then this time I'll deal with it better," the bubbly teen insisted. She moved her hands to his cheeks and looked him dead in the eye, "I am not letting other people break us up again; I made that mistake last time," before she swooped down and they resumed kissing; the door opened a couple of minutes later.
"Hey mom," Freddie called, separating his lips from Cat's for a few seconds.
"Hi Mrs Benson," the redhead smiled, "how are Jade and the others?"
"They uh…" the Benson matriarch was caught a little off-guard, both from the sight of his son and his girlfriend together on the couch (though she knew, of course, that the girl would be in her home) and the question, "they'll be fine. They all seem to be responding well to the treatment and their blood toxin levels have been falling steadily. We're keeping them all in overnight for observation but I'd expect them all to be back in school tomorrow afternoon."
"That's great news," Freddie's tone was relieved.
"It sure is," his girlfriend agreed, fighting the urge to kiss him again under his mother's watchful eye; he took the decision out of her hands by initiating the next kiss, just a quick one before shooting a quick sideways glance at Marissa. She looked uncomfortable at the sight of a girl in her son's arms and being kissed by him but she forced herself to swallow down her natural impulses again.
"I'm going to make some coffee; do either of you want one?" she asked as she walked briskly towards the kitchen.
"I'm good," Cat called.
"Me too," Freddie echoed. "Now," he grinned devilishly at his girl as his mother left them alone, "where were we?"
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School,
Tuesday, 30th March 2010.
True to Marissa's prediction, Trina, Beck, Jade, Robbie and André were all back in school around lunch. The elder Vega sister was far from popular with the sophomores; many of them also wanted to know why Freddie hadn't mentioned his pills to them.
"Mom got them from work; I guess she had a limited supply," he shrugged. "It's not like I knew that the fish would make people sick; mom always exaggerates these sorts of things so I assumed that she was doing so again."
"Anyway, Freddie," Tori was eager to change the subject, "any more news on your movie audition?"
This caused something of a stir among the others; they began plying the tech producer with questions and demanding details.
"I have the script pages they gave me here," he removed a slim folder from his bag and took out a few sheaves of paper.
"I'm taking your pickle," Jade smiled at Tori and helped herself to part of the other girl's lunch; the lighter brunette frowned at her.
"So, this movie?" André prompted.
"It's called Miss Fire," the Seattle-born explained. "It's about this woman cop who gets fired and then goes on this crazy rampage."
"That sounds so cool. Who plays the woman cop?" Trina demanded.
"Melinda Murray," he shrugged.
"Shut up!" the songsmith gasped.
"You're going to star With Melinda Murray in a movie?" Tori gasped.
"Well, I'll be playing waiter number one and I only have two lines; that's if I get the part," Freddie sought to downplay it a little.
"So can I read the script? I wanna read it," the younger sister babbled.
"Well, you don't get the whole script unless you get the part. They only give you a few pages to audition with, but here you go," he handed her the pages he had.
"I read through them last night with him," Cat informed the group.
"I'm surprised you kept your lips free long enough to," Jade commented with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sweetie," Freddie slipped his arm around her, "she thinks we've done nothing but kiss since we got back together. And to be honest we have done a lot of it," he grinned at her; she grinned back and, as if to prove the dark brunette's point, swooped in to give him another little peck on the lips.
Tori was particularly excited about Freddie's audition, not least because she hoped that if she was able to tag along at some point then she, too, would be recognised from the play and she might get her own small part – or at least start to build up some contacts and do a little networking.
Beck was even more relieved than the others that the worst was behind him regarding his sickness; the long-haired Canadian was putting the finishing touches to a one-act play he was writing for one of his classes (the same class Freddie had taken the previous year for Mr Allen – where he had first met Lindsey) and the deadline, the last day before Spring Break, was fast approaching. He was confident of getting it done but appreciated that some sacrifices would need to be made; he was going to miss out on fencing this week (though it was doubtful whether Freddie would be attending if he had his audition) and would have to cut back on the time he and Jade spent together outside of school, though he somewhat mollified her with the prospect of long days spent together over the Spring Break as, unusually, he wasn't going up to Canada to see relatives next week.
The former iCarly, meanwhile, had another busy evening in store. As usual on a Tuesday he would be heading to the gym with André; he had agreed to head over to Cat's home afterwards (he insisted to the girl that they would need to get some homework done while they were together, even though he was sceptical about exactly how much they'd find the time to do given how they were currently spending their time in one another's presence). He also had another task he wanted to get on with before heading to the gym; again he rushed home from school and booted up his PC, though this time he loaded up the web chat software, having earlier texted Carly to check and see if she would be on-line.
Like Sam, the Shay siblings had been thrilled when he gave them his news; Carly, especially, had been happy for him though a part of the brunette still felt a little twinge of jealousy (especially as her own relationship seemed to be fizzling out a little; she was sure that it had nothing to do with her accident – Mike wasn't that shallow, nor were her injuries that serious or permanent – but it was still disappointing for her to be looking at another relationship that ended in failure and disappointment) but she was relieved that they were, at last, back together and asked if he could call her sometime when he and Cat were together so that she could finally apologise properly to the girl for her part in their original split. Spencer was glad, though, when Carly's current boyfriend actually called, in the middle of their web chat, as it gave him a chance to talk privately with the Los Angeles-based boy, continuing the conversations that the two had been having ever since his trip up to Seattle after the web hostess's accident (from which she was slowly recovering, albeit she was still on crutches as she waited for her ankle to heal; she had her first appointment about physiotherapy and rehab later on in the week; to her regret, her recovery from injury meant that she would be unable to make it down for Spring Break. Freddie was disappointed, both because he'd liked to have seen the girl again and because he hoped to one day help reconcile her with her blonde former best friend).
"How are you getting on with… the other stuff, Freddie?" the sculptor asked.
"I've been getting better since I opened up to you; the last month has been a lot better for me," he confirmed.
"Good to know; and have you come across Lindsey since then?"
"No I haven't," he admitted, a note of caution entering his voice as he thought back on his blonde ex-girlfriend. "I guess that will be the big test – maybe even more so now that Cat and I are back together."
Valentine Residence.
The redhead in question had been, to her parents' surprise and delight, even more bouncy than usual over the past couple of days. They had expected, given her mood on the Monday morning, that she would be in low spirits for a few days so to learn that not only had she quickly shaken off the gloom but was actually happier than they had seen her in a long time was good for them to see. They had been a little surprised by the unexpected twist in their daughter's love-life but were pleased to see her bouncing off the walls again – and they always did quite like Freddie when the two were dating before. He had spoken to them briefly on his two visits to the Valentines' home the previous evening (to collect and drop off Cat after their time together at his place) and also got on well with their new puppy. The only slight wrinkle on the horizon for the couple was that they wouldn't be spending too much time together over Spring Break; something they talked about while Freddie was there that evening.
The young couple were sat together on the couch; Cat pressed herself close to her boy's side and his left arm had pulled her into a cuddle. Neither of the Valentine parents seemed unduly concerned or troubled by the teens' closeness or mutual affection (every few moments, it seemed, Cat would lean over and steal a kiss from her boyfriend – and giggle uncontrollably having done so).
"We'd just assumed that you'd want to see your brother – and, after you dumped Daniel on Sunday, maybe get out of LA for a little while – so we booked flights yesterday morning to go to Idaho and a hotel to stay there for most of the week," Mr Valentine explained.
"Oh that's ok, it will be good to see him again," Cat said with a smile. "I'll miss Freddie though," she squeezed his arm playfully and snuggled ever closer to him on the couch.
"I'm sure we can make up the lost time when you get back," he half-joked, planting a peck on her temple; she giggled yet again in response.
Hollywood Arts High School,
Wednesday, 31st March 2010.
'Making up for lost time' had happened a lot for the newly reconciled couple over the last two or three days; Cat was still taking every opportunity she could to kiss Freddie – something he had thoroughly encouraged. Unfortunately this had led to the pair getting into a little bit of trouble at school when she pounced on him and they wound up virtually making out in the middle of their Maths class, having just finished some of their work. They might have been able to get away with it, with their teacher (who liked Freddie as his best, most able and most attentive student – and who had also helped Cat along in one of her weaker subjects) turning a blind eye but for Cat's loud giggles; their teacher finally told them that he had no choice but to give the pair of them detention for their disruptive behaviour and advised them to be rather more discrete in the future, saving their affection for more appropriate times and places.
Their detentions had originally been set for the following evening, though Freddie asked if his could be moved to Friday as he had an audition to attend (to prove it he showed his teacher the e-mail from the studio on his phone). The Maths teacher had been willing to accommodate him (despite not really wanting to supervise a detention on the last evening before Spring Break) as he admitted that he felt that having the couple in the same detention would simply result in them spending their whole 'punishment' in lip-lock; voicing this drew yet another laugh from the red velvet-haired girl which seemed to confirm his suspicions.
"How was your talk with Daniel?" Freddie asked Tori when the gang met for lunch in their usual spot.
"It uh… it went," she replied, to general confusion. "We sat there and we talked, we tried to figure out what's going on with us and we… didn't really." Seeing that she had done nothing to overcome her friends' confusion with her explanation she attempted to elaborate. "I mean there were all the reasons that we broke up to begin with, y'know? So while I still had a few feelings for him somewhere I just don't know if that's enough to go chasing him again," she finished weakly.
"So where did you leave it between you two?"
"We're going on a date on Saturday," she disclosed. "We'll see how it goes and decide what we want after that."
"At least you both know where you stand," Beck nodded.
"What about this other guy, uh – Steven?" Cat asked.
"I'm going to call him tonight and talk to him," she explained. "I don't think it's going to work out with Danny – and he did give me his number so it would be rude not to use it," she finished with a smile.
Vega residence
"Hey Steven, I've been trying to call you all evening; I thought I had the number wrong," Tori was relieved, having finally been able to get through to the boy she had met in hospital a couple of days earlier.
"Oh, yeah, I was on a plane," he explained.
"Really? Where are you?"
"Seattle."
"Seattle? Why? How long for?" the brunette was bewildered by this turn of events.
"I guess I didn't get time to explain everything," his voice sounded a little weary. "See, my parents are divorced and have shared custody. I'm home-schooled by them and I spend half of my time with each of them – one month in LA then the next in Seattle. So I'm up here for the next month."
"A month?" she yelped.
"I know it's a shock – and not what you're looking for in a guy, only being there half the time. But, once I'm back, call me if you're still interested and I will happily take you out somewhere."
"Uh, ok, I'll let you know," Tori responded weakly.
Asphalt Café
Friday, 2nd April 2010.
Tori was stood at the hatch to the Grub Truck; the brunette was wafting a hand, trying to get rid of a couple of bees that were swarming around her.
"Uh, let me have a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, and a little light mayo," she requested of Festus, the truck's Yerbanian owner.
"All I got are burritos," he replied.
"You know what? I'll have a burrito," she told him.
"One burrito," he screamed into the truck; Tori peered past him in confusion as André joined her by the truck.
"What's shakin', bacon?" he greeted her.
"Oh, they don't have bacon," she answered.
"Just burritos," Festus confirmed.
"Cool. Well, I'll take a burrito," the talented musician requested.
"One burrito," the chef shouted into the truck again.
"Who's he yelling to? He's in there by himself," André observed; Tori was too preoccupied to answer.
"Get away, stupid bees," she wafted at them again.
"Don't even mention bees In front of me," her classmate lamented.
"Why, are you allergic?" she asked.
"I don't know. I've never been stung by a bee; not once in my whole life."
"And why are you so upset about that?" she pressed.
"Because I'm offended. I guess bees don't think I'm good enough for stinging."
"I could stick you with a safety pin," Tori offered.
"Nah, it wouldn't be the same," he declined.
"Okay, here you go. Turkey sandwich on wheat, lettuce, tomato, light mayo," he handed Tori her original lunch order.
"I thought you said you only had burritos," she pointed out.
"What are you, a lawyer?" he challenged her. "Burrito for you," he handed it to the songwriter.
"Thanks, man," André accepted his food.
"Oh, what is with the bees today? They're like all over me," Tori complained as they headed for their usual table.
"Must be nice," the boy's tone was wistful.
"Hey, sit," Beck called as they approached.
"Thanks," Tori took a seat.
"Cool," André sat next to her.
"Ugh. Can't we just have a lunchtime to ourselves?" Jade complained to her boyfriend.
"Just ignore her," Beck told the new arrivals calmly, giving his girl a quick cuddle. "She's just grouchy 'cause she got stung by a bee."
"See that? Everybody but me. Come on, bees, what's a guy gotta do to get stung?" André demanded; the couple looked at him in bewilderment.
"So where are Freddie and Cat? Still making out somewhere?" Tori asked her friends.
"Freddie's hiding inside so Cat's in there with him. They probably are making out," Jade confirmed with a smirk.
"Why are they hiding?" the half-Latina wondered aloud.
"Because Freddie's deathly allergic to bee stings," the darker brunette explained, "he reckons it's one of the reasons that his mom's like she is; he was stung as a young kid and went into severe anaphylactic shock. She really thought he was going to die at one point – so now he stays out of the way when bees are around."
"Wow, I never knew…"
Just then, Tori spotted her older sister walking past the table. "Oww! I just got stung by a bee," the Vega family diva complained.
"Ah, her? Really?" André gave the world a disgusted look.
After the bell brought an end to lunch the teenagers began to make their way back inside; Freddie and Cat were stood with a knot of other kids on the stairs, having finally taken eyes off each other long enough to watch a break dancer in action at foot of stairs by lockers. They smiled at the conclusion of his routine and applauded his moves with the others. Tori was heading down from left hand stairs when she finally saw them and greeted them brightly.
"Hey, hey. Look at what I got!" After her disastrous attempts to learn to play the French horn she was setting her sights somewhat lower.
"A piccolo?" Freddie asked curiously.
"It's my new instrument," she explained.
"I thought you were learning how to play the French..." Cat began before being testily interrupted.
"It didn't work out!" the brunette cried loudly. "So now I'm a piccalist."
Freddie pulled his girl even closer to him before turning to the brunette and joking, "You still like French Kissing though?"
"Yeah, if I get the chance," Tori's tone was rueful while the red head just laughed.
"I love French kissing too!" she told them playfully.
"I figured that out already," he smiled and gave her another quick kiss.
"Oh, you guys wanna hear 'Mary had a little lamb'?" Tori interrupted them.
"Oh, uh…" the couple sounded unconvinced.
"I'm playing it," the half-Latina told them in an annoyed voice.
"Fine," Cat sighed in resignation.
"Toot your pickle," Freddie tried to put his usual encouragement into his voice; he wasn't entirely successful.
Tori began playing; she stopped after a couple of bars as she saw the couple visibly wincing.
"What? Was it that bad?" The teenage couple looked awkwardly at one another as they deliberated on their responses.
"I like your skirt," Cat told her brightly.
"Man, will you slow up?" Robbie and Rex interrupted the conversation; the puppet was complaining as his handler walked rapidly through the locker area.
"No, we're late and I hate being late. Hey, any of you guys got gum?" he asked his classmates. "I didn't have time to brush my teeth this morning."
"Robbie, it's after lunch," Cat pointed out.
"I know, I missed all morning."
"Please give him some gum," Rex requested.
"Why didn't you Brush your teeth?" Tori asked.
"And why do you look all sloppy and gross and didn't show this morning?" Cat added.
"'Cause I've been having these nightmares," he told them in a low voice.
"What about?" Cat pried.
"None of your business," the ventriloquist snapped suddenly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's none of your business," he repeated, raising his voice to talk over the arguing red head; Freddie began to frown at Robbie for upsetting his girl.
"You guys..." Tori tried to intercede.
"I gotta get some gum. I'll see you guys in class," he stomped off.
"Later," Freddie called; he couldn't claim to be entirely interested in the other boy's problems as he was losing patience with his insistence on hiding behind his puppet, something Freddie felt that he needed to get over quickly.
"Wait, was my piccolo playing really that bad?" she asked them pathetically.
Cat ran a sympathetic hand through the girl's hair. "Yeah," she told her softly.
"Tori," the tech producer began; the downcast brunette turned her attention to him. "You have a really nice piano in your living room. Why not ask André for some lessons on that? He helped me out with the keyboard." Tori looked miserably at him, wondering why she hadn't thought of that before. "Oh this'll cheer you up though," Freddie added brightly. "You said you wanted to read The Miss Fire script?"
"Yeah, but I thought you said they didn't give actors the whole script unless..." Tori began, stopping as Freddie waved a huge wad of paper at her. "You got the part!" she exclaimed jubilantly.
"Shh. It's not that big a deal."
"It's a huge deal," she insisted. "You're going to be in a movie with Melinda Murray. Congrats, dude." She punched his arm playfully.
"Thanks," he smiled.
"I say we celebrate Piccolo style," she stared playing 'Mary had a Little Lamb' again; Freddie and Cat looked toward one another grimacing.
Benson residence, Hollywood Hills
Sunday, 4th April 2010.
"We're back mom!" Freddie called as he carried Sam's case through the door; the little blonde followed him a step behind.
"Samantha," Marissa welcomed her guest; the tone suggested that she'd clearly rather not be doing so.
"Hello Mrs Benson," the girl surprised everyone by mustering as polite a voice as she was capable of; Freddie smiled at her efforts.
"The guest room is all ready for you; I'm sure Freddie will help you take your bags up there," the matriarch moderated her tone slightly; Freddie wondered if she felt a little embarrassed that a girl she thought was nothing more than a common criminal had sounded more civil than she had.
"So," Sam's eyes shone as Freddie deposited her case on the floor of the guest room, "I get to see you and Cat together this week."
"Ah, I'm afraid not," he shook his head regretfully; her face fell as her mind raced at a thousand miles per hour, wondering if they'd somehow broken up again already. "She's gone to Idaho with her parents to see her brother; he's in a hospital up there. We said," he grinned widely and involuntarily, "a nice goodbye at the airport."
The blonde could barely keep the relief off her face; she matched his grin with one of her own. "But I'll hang with Jade and your other friends, right?"
"Oh yes, they'll be around this week," he confirmed, "and I know you'll be interested to meet one of them, especially." He smiled at his friend's confused look; she thought that she had already met all of his friendship group from the school. "Nope, no hints," he teased.
"You know I can still beat it out of you Fredward," she mock-threatened; he sighed.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to catch up with her a little sooner than I expected." He pulled his phone from his pocket and fired off a quick text, grinning again as he did.
Ten minutes later he was heading for the front door, having received a reply. "She doesn't drive," he explained to the curious girls in the living room, "so I'm going to pick her up and we'll be back in a few minutes. Try not to kill each other," he sighed at them; Sam and Marissa looked edgily at one another.
"Hey Tori," he greeted his brunette friend. "Thanks for this; I'm sure you had plans."
"Nope, no plans for Tori today," she half-smiled. "It'll be cool to hang with you and your friend for a bit."
"So," he began as he was driving back towards his own home, "have you decided what to do about the two boys?"
"No, and I really don't know what to do," she complained.
"Well why not… spend the next month figuring out if there is anything with Danny, while Steven's away. If there is, all well and good and if not then you can get in touch with Steven when he comes back," the boy suggested.
"Yeah, that makes a lot of sense," she nodded. "Last night went ok, though I still don't know quite what to make of it all. I guess I could see him again a few times. Thanks Freddie."
"No problem," he replied jovially. "Here we are," the Corolla pulled into the driveway. Freddie led his friend into his home.
"Whoa, no way," Sam cried as soon as she saw the girl. "You've been holding out on me Freddie; you never said you went to school with…" She took a couple of steps towards Tori as she was speaking before pausing in confusion; it was an expression mirrored on the brunette's face.
"Have we met?" Tori asked, "you looked like you recognised me and I'm sorry but I don't remember seeing you before."
"No, I just… thought you were someone else," Sam muttered.
"See, not just me who thinks you look like Shelby Marx," Freddie joked.
"You really really do, at first glance anyway," Sam agreed.
"Anyway, Sam, this is Tori. She started school with us…" he turned to the half-Latina, "just over a month ago?"
The girl nodded. "Yeah, I got a transfer to the school and," she shrugged," here I am. Freddie has made me feel so, so at home here."
"Yeah, he'll do that for you," the blonde smiled. "I met a lot of his friends in September; they're nice guys."
So, do you girls want to do something?" Freddie wondered.
"Sure, we could see what the others are doing and see if they've any plans," Sam smiled as Tori nodded beside her.
Green Meadow Mall,
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
André and Eli had arrived at the mall a little before Freddie, Sam and Tori. To the disappointment of the two ex-Seattleites neither Beck nor Jade would be joining them (they were taking advantage of the break to spend some more quality time together but promised to meet up with them later in the week before Sam left). Robbie meanwhile had claimed to be too busy to join them, though privately both Sam and Freddie suspected that he was simply terrified of the blonde girl – particularly the disdain that she had shown him and Rex on their last meeting.
"So when do you start working on the movie?" Eli asked curiously as they sat sipping smoothies; Freddie made a mental observation of how disappointed Cat would be that she missed out on this particular get-together.
"Movie?" Sam asked. "Since when are you in a movie?"
"Oh," he gave her an apologetic look, "I got the call a couple of days ago to go for an audition and they offered me a small part – a couple of lines."
"Dude it's a start!" Sam enthused.
"Tell her who's in it," André urged.
"Who?" the blonde pressed.
"Melinda Murray," he said casually.
"No way, that's awesome!" Sam exclaimed. "I can't wait to download it," bringing laughs from the rest of the table.
After Marissa had gone to bed (she was working the early shift the following week), having made the teens promise not to be up too late, Sam and Freddie sat in the living room with a supply of wahoo punch and a few DVDs.
"Have you seen Lindsey recently?" Sam asked cautiously.
"I haven't seen her in months," he replied, "but she called me just before Carly had her accident and I went up to Seattle. I talked a lot to Spencer while I was up there and he really helped me figure a way through all of this. I'm getting there with it."
"Does Cat know yet?"
"No, nobody does except you, Jade and now Spencer," he disclosed.
"Is there a reason you're keeping this a secret from her?" Sam pressed.
"I don't want to upset her – and knowing what went on would upset her."
"You're going to have to tell her one day – especially if you two eventually get to the point of thinking about… being intimate," the blonde pointed out reasonably.
Instantly the boy's mind began racing; as much as he really was getting over everything, the thought of 'intimacies' - even with a different girl - was an uncomfortable one for him. He was pleased, though, to find that he was able to avoid dwelling on the thought. It likes I really am finally getting there, he thought. "I'll cross that bridge if I come to it," he sighed. "For now, I'm happy, she's happy. I don't want to jeopardise that."
Despite not being fully convinced by his explanation, his friend nodded and turned her attention back to the screen.
Greyhound Bus Lines
1716 East 7th Street, Los Angeles
Friday, 9th April 2010.
The group, still Catless, were waiting just inside the door by the stand where Sam's Las Vegas bus was expected any time.
"I'm sorry that I missed seeing Cat," the blonde told her friend as the coach pulled in. "I'll have to catch up with you guys again over the summer."
"Definitely, you're always welcome Sam," he told her.
"Tell that to your mom," she sniggered.
"I have," he returned her smile with one of his own.
"Jade," she nodded at the dark brunette; neither were really much for hugs so they left it at nods.
"Sam, it was good to see you again." The other couple had joined their friends during the week; on Monday they had driven to the beach in a couple of cars and the next couple of days they had hit the mall again and caught some of the new movies that were out. After a week of feeding and entertaining Sam, Freddie's wallet was a lot lighter but he had thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the girl again; he just wished that he had been able to get Carly there as well. Next time, he thought.
Farewells were said and Freddie walked the blonde to the bus.
"Y'know, you didn't have to buy me a ticket; I'm happy going cargo," she smiled before it became a full laugh at his expression. "Thanks Freddie, I'll see you soon." She pulled him into a hug. "Good luck with Cat," she whispered into his ear before shocking him by kissing his cheek. Sam gave the Hollywood Arts friends one last wave through the window of the bus terminal before climbing aboard the bus.
Sikowitz's Classroom, Hollywood Arts High School
Monday, 12th April 2010.
The Slap Mobile
Tori Vega: Acting class with Sikowitz. YAY! Best acting teacher EVER. Weird, but good weird :D
Mood= Creative
The brunette was on stage; the eccentric teacher stood to her right watching while the rest of the class looked on from their seats, all apart from Freddie, who was absent, and Robbie, who was asleep on his chair.
"What did you do to my pants?" Tori asked in a demanding voice.
"Good. Now, terrified," Sikowitz instructed her.
"What did you do to my pants?" she asked, putting real fear into each syllable; her teacher ran round from her right to her left hand side.
"Falling off a cliff," he prompted.
"What did you do to my pa-a-a-a-ants?" the girl waved her arms in classic 'falling down a long drop in a movie' action.
"Excellent," Sikowitz turned to the rest of the students. "Now, as you can see, the same dialogue can evoke an infinite number of emotions, depending upon how the actor chooses to play it. Like a robot," he prompted her.
"What did you do to my pants?" she asked in a mechanical-sounding voice.
"Wrong. Robots don't wear pants. It was a trick," the teacher did a celebratory dance; Tori looked on, decidedly unimpressed. "Tori, you may sit. I suggest using a chair."
"I'll give it a shot," she took her place next to Cat; Freddie's seat on the girl's other side was still vacant.
The boy in question entered at that moment through door by the stage. "Sorry, guys," he sighed, sounding rather tired for the first day back after the break; Cat bounced to her feet and took a few steps towards him.
"Hey, babe. How was working on the movie?"
"You know," he shrugged casually, but gave her a smile that suggested that she'd get the details later.
"Freddie, you're late," observed Sikowitz.
"I'm sorry," the teen began. "We were doing this scene and there was a problem with the lighting."
"Say it like a robot," he was instructed; he gave a curious look but…
"There was a problem with the lighting. I'm very sorry," he used a traditional 'robotic' voice.
"Wrong," the balding teacher called.
"Wrong?" the boy repeated in confusion.
"You said you were sorry and everybody knows robots don't have emotion and, therefore, cannot feel regret. You kids have got to do your robot research. Freddie, sit."
"Uh, actually," he contradicted, "in Galaxy Wars and a lot of sci-fi they have androids and robots with the capability for a wide range of human emotions: fear, empathy - and regret. So a robot COULD say they were sorry."
Sikowitz's face wore an embarrassed look; he cleared his throat as Cat and Jade both smirked at Freddie's comeback. "Yes, well..." he continued awkwardly, "as we've clearly demonstrated, dialogue can impact a scene in many different ways depending upon—" he saw that nobody was listening to a word he was saying; the entire class was sat staring at the movie extra with rapt attention, "Dear Gandhi, I'm boring myself. Freddie, tell us all about the movie."
"Okay. Well, my call time was—" he was interrupted as Sikowitz dragged him onto the stage and took his seat, "Right, right. My call time was this morning at 5 a.m."
"Oh, that's early," Cat noted.
"Yeah; it's why I had to leave your place a lot earlier than we wanted to last night," the two chuckled while their classmates looked from one to the other. "Well, they did my hair and makeup and then the costume designer came to my dressing room and..."
"Wait, the costume designer was in your dressing room?" Tori asked.
"Uh-huh," he confirmed.
"Was she cute?" the brunette giggled flirtatiously, though both Jade and Cat looked annoyed with her line of questioning.
"He wasn't really my type," Freddie shrugged, drawing more giggles from his girl.
"Did you meet Melinda Murray?" André asked curiously.
"No, not yet."
"I bet she's been stung by a bee," he commented wistfully; Tori pulled a face and turned to look at him.
"I wouldn't know. If she's anything like me then hopefully not. But you can ask her yourself," he offered.
"What?" Tori thought that she was hearing things.
"The assistant director told me they need extras for a couple scenes. So if any of you guys are interested in doing it..." he tailed off as he was instantly mobbed by a mass of would-be volunteers.
The bell rang as the students were still pleading with him for inclusion in the movie. "Everybody read chapter seven for tomorrow... and study robots," Sikowitz instructed them before patting his pockets. "Good Gandhi, I left my harmonica in the men's room." He dashed off to find it.
As the class began to dissipate Cat noticed that the puppeteer was still asleep. "Robbie, Robbie, wake up," she nudged him as Freddie picked up their bags from beside her chair.
" I'm not a tissue," the curly-haired teen yelled as he was pulled from his nightmare. "Where is everyone?" he looked around the now empty room.
"Class is over. You slept through it," the redhead explained.
"You didn't miss nothin'," Rex told him.
"You didn't sleep again last night?" Freddie asked in concern.
"No. I can't stop having the disturbing nightmares," he lamented.
"Okay, you've got to talk to Lane or someone about this," Cat insisted.
"No. School guidance counsellors are bad news, trying to get all up in young people's heads," Rex argued.
"I'd agree that you talk to someone but not necessarily Lane," Freddie backed up his girl, though he still didn't trust Lane after the stunt he pulled with Tori.
"I know what he did that upset you," Cat turned to her boyfriend and pulled his fingers playfully, "but he helped me get over a lot of my emotional problems," she addressed the last part to Robbie.
"Nah, you're still a mess," Rex told her; she pouted, Freddie looked furious.
"WHAT, Robbie?" he demanded.
"Huh, I didn't say anything!" he protested his innocence.
"Yes you did and I won't let you hide behind your puppet," the muscular teen told him.
"Hey!" Rex complained.
"You will NEVER insult my girlfriend again. Is that clear?" Freddie's voice was murderous; Robbie spluttered as he attempted to respond.
"Is that clear?" the tech producer repeated.
The boy was just starting to nod and formulate an answer when Sikowitz returned to the classroom, triumphantly holding up his harmonica. "It was in the toilet," he told his charges before blowing it; he made a face. "That's a disturbing taste," he noted.
Freddie threw one last look at Robbie, took Cat's hand and together the young couple left.
Parahill Studios,
Wednesday, 14th April 2010.
The Slap Mobile.
Tori Vega: Going to be an EXTRA in a REAL MOVIE! BOOO-to-the-YAAA!
Mood= Double Pumped
The stage was set out like a restaurant; Cat, Jade and Tori were sat at one table together near the back of the set.
"Yeah, I'm in the scene we're about to shoot where Melinda Murray's character meets her former partner in the restaurant," André told a girl from the behind the scenes staff as they chatted by the refreshments table just behind the camera's position.
"Oh, that's cool. What part do you play?" she asked him with interest in her voice.
"Well, I don't have any lines, but—" he began.
"Uh," the girl scoffed and walked away. "Oh, you need to go? Okay," he waved after her and walked across the set to join his female classmates at their table.
"Hey, we saw you working that hot girl over there," Tori noted teasingly.
"Yeah, I think she's into me," the boy bragged.
"Right," Jade drawled sarcastically. "We could tell by the way she ran screaming from you."
The director interrupted with a loud call. "Okay, people. People, listen up. Melinda's on her way to set. First positions, please."
"First positions," Cat called as she did a quick run around the stage; most of the cast gave her a funny look, apart from Freddie.
"She's just trying to help," he told them quietly. "At least she's enthusiastic," he shrugged.
"She's your girlfriend isn't she?" the director guessed.
"Yeah," he confirmed with a smile. "She sure is."
The man just nodded at his young bit-part actor; Melinda Murray arrived and took her seat at a table right in front of the camera.
"All right," the cast were receiving their instructions. "Now, on 'action', Melinda and Jeff will start their dialogue and then our waiter, ah..."
"Freddie," the boy supplied.
"Freddie," the director repeated.
"My boyfriend," Cat proudly told the room.
"Her boyfriend..." the director echoed flatly before continuing in his more normal tones, "will come in, do his line, then move off to the left. Who's not ready?" When nobody would admit to it he concluded, "Good. Roll."
"Rolling," called the cameraman.
"Speed. Seventy-four apple, take one... and action."
All eyes turned to the star and the man she was sat with. "Why the disgusted look on your face?" Jeff asked.
"I'm having dinner with you," Melinda replied with disdain.
"See, that's the kind of attitude that got you fired," the co-star reasoned.
"I got fired because I was set up," she insisted.
"Good luck proving that," his sarcasm was unmissable.
"I don't have to prove anything. All I needed is..." she was interrupted by Freddie.
"I'm sorry; the chicken breast isn't available today."
Melinda broke character in an instant. "Wait, what'd you just say?" she demanded. "Cut. Can we cut so this guy can learn his line?"
"Hold," the director called. "Melinda, please. Only the director yells cuts."
"He said his line wrong," the star insisted. "He's supposed to say, 'we're out of the chicken breast.' Not, 'the chicken breast isn't available today.'"
"So let the script supervisor tell him that," the director requested.
"I'll look over my script and I'll get it right this time," Freddie promised.
"Why do you need to look over your script? Are you a moron?" she railed. "I just told you what the line was. Just do it right."
"Great, all right," the director sought to bring people's focus back. "Let's do this again. Roll."
Tori, meanwhile, had been checking her own copy of the script. "Wait, excuse me. Actually, Freddie got his line right."
"Tori... shhh," the Seattle-born teen pleaded.
"What?" the director asked, confused.
"Sit down," Jade hissed urgently.
"See? Waiter number one's line is, 'I'm sorry, the chicken breast isn't available today,'" she explained, showing the appropriate part to the crew.
"Oh, yeah. Kid, you had it right," he told Freddie casually.
"Whoa, whoa. What are you?" Melinda demanded of the half-Latina.
"Tori Vega. Background player, big fan. Hi, Melinda Murray," she enthused.
"Okay, an extra is correcting me on the set?" the star was furious.
"I'm sorry, but you yelled at my friend and he was totally right about..." Tori tried to explain.
"She's your friend?" Freddie was challenged.
"Yeah, she's..." he began.
"Go," she demanded.
"Go?" he asked.
"I want you off this movie," the diva told him.
"Melinda," the director sought to calm her.
"You want him here or me?" The Hollywood Arts kids exchanged horrified looks.
"Kid, I'm sorry," the director told Freddie.
"No. It's cool," he assured him before walking off.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Why'd you get mad at him? I'm the one who corrected you," Tori reminded Melinda.
"Good point. Bye," she told the brunette.
"But—" the girl stammered.
"Out!"
"But what if I—"
"Go!"
"Oh, that's not what I wanted to happen!" she lamented.
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School,
Thursday, 15th April 2010.
A dejected Tori was sitting with André at the table that she and her friends usually used; her songsmith friend had a portable, battery-powered keyboard with him. She had yet to see Freddie all day, not that she could blame him though she had received a couple of uncharacteristically filthy looks from Cat – along with a few more expected ones from Jade – when she had passed the girls in the corridor. She had tried apologising again to both of them but she was worried that Freddie was avoiding her, though again, she couldn't really blame him for doing so.
So it was to her surprise that she saw the boy walking towards her; to her concern, however, she was flanked by the red head and the gothic girl, both of whom still looked annoyed as they spotted her (Beck was busy rehearsing his play).
"Can we sit somewhere else?" Jade asked as Freddie made to join the pair.
"Come on," he urged her.
"I agree with Jade," Cat surprised her boyfriend by speaking up like that; she also threw Tori another look, though Freddie sat with them anyway.
"Fine, we'll sit with the girl who can't keep her mouth shut and got you fired." The two girls reluctantly flanked the brown-haired boy while André played a dramatic riff on his keyboard.
"Why?" Tori asked him, giving him a confused look.
"'Cause you know what's great about movies? The musical score. Whenever stuff happens, you always hear the perfect music to go with it. See there's drama here so…" he repeated the riff.
Tori looked balefully at him before turning with an apologetic look to the boy who had lost his job. "Freddie, I swear if there was anything I could do to make it up to you, I would."
Jade frowned for a moment, biting down a retort before saying, in an icy voice. "You know, if you really wanted to help, you wouldn't just sit there like a bag of doorknobs. You'd do something." She got up and began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Freddie asked her curiously.
"Anywhere else!" she snapped.
"Yeah, I'm suddenly not hungry either," Cat told her boyfriend. "I'll see you next class," she gave him a kiss, intending to make it a brief one but deciding to lengthen it (both hoping to cheer up her boy and maybe just annoy Tori a little bit too) before joining her best friend; Jade was waiting for her a few paces away.
André shot a glance at a concerned-looking Tori before playing another dramatic piece; Jade walked back to the table.
"Okay. Open this," she took the batteries out and pocketed them, "and that's for you." She and Cat departed.
"Wah, wah, wahhh—" he hummed.
"I'm so sorry," Tori told Freddie shamefully.
"Stop saying that," he gave her a smile.
"Don't let it get to you," the songsmith encouraged her.
"No, she's right. I should go apologise to Melinda Murray and get Freddie his job back."
"It won't work but I appreciate the thought," he told her. "Whoa," he jumped from his seat as he spotted a bee flying towards the table; it settled on André's shoulder as Sinjin walked by. The bespectacled blond slapped it.
"Ow! What was that for?" he demanded.
"There was a bee on your shoulder." Freddie lifted his head and looked nervously around him to see if there were any others in the vicinity.
"And you killed it before it could sting me? Thanks a lot, man."
"What did I do—" the confused teen asked.
"No, just go on. Get out of here," the musician snapped in disgruntlement before all eyes turned to Freddie as he leapt to his feet.
"If there are still bees around then I've got to go," he announced and rushed inside. From another table, where she and Jade were sat, Cat saw him speed off. The two girls traded quick, concerned looks before the redhead jumped to her feet and rushed off after him.
"Come on, bee, breathe. Wake up, man. Sting me," André implored it.
"André, he's gone," Tori put a sympathetic hand on his arm.
"I know," he conceded.
"Freddie, are you ok? Why did you run off like that," Cat asked her boy as she caught up with him by his locker; he was taking a steadying breath after sprinting inside, much to the confusion of the students milling around the hallway.
"A bee landed on André," he wheezed, "I had to get away from there, just in case."
His girl nodded. "Maybe we should just stay in on a lunchtime until we're certain that bee season is over," she suggested. "I'm sure we can find something to do with the time," she grinned wickedly; it was a grin he willingly matched as she closed the short distance between their lips once again.
"Oh I need to get something from my locker," she noted as the bell ended their little make out session. "You go on, I'll see you in class."
"Ok, sure, see you then," he told her and headed for their science class.
Tori had just entered the main building when she spotted the girl bending down at her locker; she walked up to the red velvet-haired girl nervously.
"Cat," she began cautiously, "I know I'm not your favourite person right now... again, but will you help me get Freddie his job back."
"Sure, what can I do?" she asked, smiling at her friend's conciliatory tone and desire to put things right.
"I need a distraction – and you're good at distracting people," the brunette explained.
"'kay 'kay, let's go," she took the other girl's wrist and they headed straight for the parking lot.
Parahill Studios.
The Slap Mobile.
Tori Vega: Going to studio to get Freddie his job back. Brought Cat. Her hair is VERY red.
Mood= Buggin'
The two girls peer around a door behind a security guard; he's stood by water cooler with his back to them, taking a drink. They nodded and split up; Cat crept behind him to the left, Tori headed to the right towards the set. He spotted the brunette trying to sneak through.
"Hey. Hey, miss." Tori stopped and turned to face him. "Hey."
Oh, hi," she noted as if she had only just seen him.
"You got some I.D.?" he challenged her.
"I.D.?" she asked.
"What's your name?" the guard tried again.
"Oh," she floundered for a few moments before reading the bottle on the water cooler. "I'm Crystal Waters. It's okay, I'm on the movie." She turned away and tried to walk off unchallenged; the guard was having none of it.
"Crystal Waters?" he consulted his name list. "I don't remember seeing the name Crystal Waters—"
Cat supplied her 'distraction' at this moment; the redhead rushed up to the guard and grabbed him. In a hysterical voice she wailed, "I can't find my mother."
"What? Who are you?" the guard was bewildered by this latest turn of events; she grabbed his arm and pleaded.
"Help me find my mother. Please." The girl started to scream. "Mom."
"Shhh," he begged.
"Mom," the girl repeated.
"Shut up. We'll find your mama," the guard surrendered; they headed off together leaving Tori free to make her way towards the set.
"Hi, I'm on the movie," she told one of the backstage people as she passed her before spying her target with her back to her in a group of people. "Hey. Excuse me, Melinda? Listen, I'm the girl you got mad at for correcting you about the waiter's line in the script? And I just wanna say I was—"
'Melinda' turned around to face her, revealing that it was actually a middle-aged male stunt-double in a blonde wig.
"Oh," she remarked.
"I'm Melinda's stunt double," he informed her, checking the girl out. "So what's your name?"
"I'm fifteen," she pointed out; his face fell.
"Later," he walked off.
Music Room, Hollywood Arts High School.
Freddie was relieved that he was in the same class as Jade for the final period; Cat never showed up for their science class and wasn't answering her phone or any texts that he'd sent; his concern was increasing by the second and he hoped that the girl's best friend would know what had happened to her. He took his seat next to the mean girl.
"Hey Jade, have you seen Cat? She wasn't in last period after she said she was just nipping to her locker before she'd meet me there," he told her with worry in his voice.
Jade's eyes flashed mischievously; she gently cupped his chin in her hand and stared at his face seriously, turning it this way and that a little for a few seconds before her resolve cracked and a small grin started to creep onto her face.
"Well she's not stuck to your lips so I don't know. Are you sure you didn't finally swallow her?" she teased.
"Stop it, I'm serious!" he told her lightly before grinning. "Are we really that bad?"
"Ohh, you're WORSE," she continued in her teasing tone before turning serious, "but it is so, so good to see you happy again Freddie."
"Thanks, Jade," he told her sincerely before checking his phone quickly. "There's nothing on her Slap page to say she's gone somewhere... oh hang on, Tori updated hers an hour or so ago... Oh my God I don't believe it," he palmed his forehead.
"What is it?" the dark brunette asked curiously; she took his wrist gently and pulled the phone towards her. "I am going to KILL her!" she exclaimed.
"Well, at least she's followed your suggestion and is trying to do something," he replied reasonably.
"I guess..." she admitted reluctantly.
"Oh hang on," Freddie's phone informed him of another change to the brunette's status, "she's updated again. Oh chizz..." he groaned. Jade looked at the device and her ire grew.
Parahill Studios.
The Slap Mobile.
Tori Vega: Ahhh! I see Melinda... wish me luck!
Mood = Double buggin'
"Alright, now," the director called as he strode the set. "When Melinda's character yells, 'get out,' Jake?" he called up to a guy outside of the camera's range; he was armed with a crossbow.
"Yo," the archer confirmed that he was listening.
"That's when you fire the crossbow, and the arrow should strike the wall right around here," he motioned to one of the pillars.
"Yeah," he confirmed his understanding. "Wait, what's my cue?"
"When Melinda yells, 'get out.'"
"Got it," he acknowledged.
"Okay, let's get ready to shoot one."
Tori had finally spotted the star. "Melinda, Melinda," she called.
"Ulch, who let you on the stage?" the diva complained.
"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have corrected you the other day..." she began.
"Michael," she called, obviously wanting security to remove the teenager.
"No, no, no. We don't need Michael. No Michael," Tori insisted loudly. "Look, I just wanna say I'm sorry but you shouldn't get mad at Freddie because he didn't even know—"
"Just go away," Melinda interrupted.
"Come on, just let Freddie have his part back," she pleaded. "It's not his fault that I—"
"Get out!" the actress yelled, pointing Tori to the exit. Jake, hearing his cue, fired an arrow, right on target. Unfortunately that was where the woman's hand was; he and Tori both gasped in shock as the arrow sailed through Melinda's hand and she screamed.
"My hand! Oh my God!" People began milling around, panicking and trying to see what was going on.
Music Room, Hollywood Arts High School.
The last period had just finished; despite feeling distracted by their concern over the girls' antics Freddie and Jade had made reasonable progress on the song that they would be performing at the Full Moon Jam this summer (he would have loved to have performed alongside Cat but they weren't in the class together this term).
"Oh, another update from Tori," Freddie commented as his phone alerted him again; he groaned a moment later as he read it.
"What's she done now," Jade asked in trepidation
"Trust me, you don't want to know," he told her; she didn't accept that, seizing his wrist again and reading his phone.
"Let me see..." she demanded; her expression darkened further still. "I really AM going to kill her," she snapped as the pair headed towards their lockers.
Parahill Studios.
The Slap Mobile.
Tori Vega: O...M...G. I just made a superstar get shot in the hand.
Mood= Freakin'
Melinda was still screaming as she lay on a gurney waiting to be wheeled to the ambulance that was standing ready to take her to the hospital. Yet again Tori found herself trying to apologise to the star.
"Melinda, I am so sorry. I never would've come-," she began before the diva cut her off angrily.
"This is your fault," she wailed. "Your fault! Ow. Will you just take me to the ambulance, please? Ow. Somebody get my ex-husband on the phone," she demanded. "Stop laughing!" she snapped at the amused onlookers.
The director, meanwhile, was talking on his cell phone. "No, I understand. No, I get it. I mean, it went right through her hand. Yeah. I'm sorry too." The call ended and he turned to his cast. "Okay, people. That was Melinda's manager. Because of the injury to her hand, we're going to have to recast her role."
Tori looked horrified at the fall-out of her actions.
"Wait," her co-star Jeff asked. "Melinda's not going to be in the movie?" he clarified.
"Nope," then he gestured towards the Hollywood Arts student with his phone. "Thanks to her."
The actors all turned to look at Tori; she quailed under their gazes. "I feel so bad about this…" she began.
"Bad?" the director interrupted in a surprised tone.
"We all hated her!" Jeff laughed and high-fived the director.
"She was a nightmare!" The teenager was stunned as all the assembled cast started to applaud her. "What is your name?"
The Security Guard she'd snuck by appeared; there was no sign of Cat. "That's Crystal waters!" he cried.
"Crystal Waters!" They took up her 'name' as a chant, hugging her, raising her arm in triumph and carrying her around on her chair while she looked on in stunned silence.
When some semblance of order was finally restored Tori approached the director in an attempt to complete her mission. "Look, I came here to apologise and to get Freddie his job back as waiter number one. Is there any chance..?"
"Sure thing now she's gone. According to Matt that kid's a great actor, it'll be good to have him back. A shame I can't rewrite and get him a few more lines," he shrugged regretfully.
Valentine residence.
Freddie had come over after his fencing class and the two teens were cuddling on the couch in the living area; Mrs Valentine had discretely retreated to the kitchen (Mr Valentine was still at work) in order to give the couple a little privacy.
"The studio called just before my fencing class," he told his girl conversationally. "I got my job back."
"That's great!" she cried, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Tori said that you would; she said she spoke to the director after Melinda Murray got shot."
Freddie had to laugh at the extraordinary turn of events; looking back it had been a crazy few weeks even by the standards of Hollywood Arts.
"She's had quite an effect on things since coming to school with us, hasn't she? Tori I mean."
"Yeah," his girlfriend agreed softly, "she lost you a job – and helped get it back again, she helped me with my make-up class which almost ruined a play, she hit Jade with a cane…"
Freddie bit his tongue for a second on that one. "She lost you a boyfriend too – though you got something of a consolation prize," he smiled.
She grinned at him before running her hand up his side to his cheek. "As I told her that morning, if I'd known that you still wanted me then she could have had Daniel." He took a few seconds to process her words.
"I wasn't sure what I wanted until I talked to her after opening night," he admitted. "You know Lindsey messed me up, I'm still figuring a few things out but I know I want this," he told her with quiet sincerity.
She pulled him towards her gently and they kissed again.
Hollywood Arts High School,
Friday, 16th April 2010.
Tori spotted Freddie at his locker at the end of first period; she rushed down the main stairs towards him.
"Hi, Freddie!" she called.
"Tori Vega," he smiled.
"That's me," she grinned.
"Are you sure you're not Crystal Waters today then?" he asked curiously.
"You got the call?" she asked in a delighted voice.
"I'm back on the movie," he confirmed.
"Yay," she flung herself on him, pulling the boy into a hug.
Cat chose that moment to walk into the locker area; she didn't need anything but wanted the opportunity to see her boy briefly between classes. Her eyes widened as she saw them.
"GROUP HUG!" she yelled, leaping onto the pair; the happy trio dissolved into laughter.
AN: Thank you so much for reading; I really hope you liked it. Please don't be shy about dropping me a review and letting me know what you thought. I hope to see you all soon for the next chapter. PD.