AN: Hello everyone, welcome to the latest part of this story; I hope you're all well. It's been a… challenging week here but things are ok – better than Oklahoma and Woolwich anyway, please keep those poor people in your thoughts and prayers.

As ever a huge thank you to everyone who read, enjoyed and reviewed the last chapter.

Challenge King – Marissa 'chose' not to interfere; she may not have too many options since she knows Freddie will move out again if she pushes him too far – and she fears him potentially moving in with Cat (like the red-head she doesn't know what happened on his Prom night or the morning after). Freddie wasn't upset with Tori because they're friends and she was sticking up for him; he can appreciate that even if her actions had unintended consequences.

Fanfic-Reader-88 – A nice week for Freddie. I think why they were upset with Tori was that she ignored (or didn't know) the Golden Rule; the star is always right. You're right that Freddie will not take any mess from anyone, particularly where his girl is involved. As for Carly and Sam reconciling at some point… we'll see what the future holds for them.

Pbow – as I said to FR88, golden rule of Hollywood; the star is harder to replace than a two-line extra, especially if all the promotion and marketing trades on her name. As for Crystal – that gets addressed.

Agent-M – thanks, I'm glad you like it and hope you enjoy a little more Caddie this time around.

Darck Ben – thanks.

Nightmare Sired Muse – I'm glad that you love it. Like you I hope that Cat and Freddie stay together this time.

Guest – Cat regretted breaking up with him the first time and missing her chance to get him back; she's not going to do that again in a hurry. I think you may have misunderstood with regards to Lindsey; they didn't have any contact in that chapter – he was referring to the call she made about the Showcase in chapter 11 (Cat was there when he took it) and my other reference to her was simply to explain which class Beck was working on. As for Carly; she will get a chance to say something soon enough and will see them at some point. And, as I said above, maybe Freddie will get the chance at some point to help her and Sam reconcile.

In case you've not seen it yet, OneHorseShay wrote an alternative conclusion to chapter 15 (iComfort); it's located in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section and is well worth a read. He's also updated We Love Each Other recently.

I think that's everything so here's the next chapter.

Chapter 17: The Birthweek Song

John Anson Ford Theatres, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd E, Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, 21st April 2010.

Freddie had finally given in. Cat had spent the last couple of weeks trying to persuade her boyfriend to go to the theatre with her rather than just the movies, which they quite often did on a date. It wasn't that the red haired girl had anything against movies – on the contrary she loved the hours that the two of them spent together in the darkened cinemas of the Green Meadow Mall (and not just because they could kiss and cuddle in peace during the 'boring bits' as she phrased the plot-building scenes, much to the tech producer's delighted amusement) but she also appreciated and enjoyed live theatre (it was something that she was thinking of pursuing rather than just being either a singer or a television or movie actress after graduation), having been introduced to it as a younger child by her 'Nona'. For this reason she was particularly enjoying the theatre class that they were doing this semester. A report was due the following week on a play that they had seen so Freddie felt that that he should, at last, go and see a play (otherwise he had planned to write a review of the play he himself had put on at school the previous year; thinking of that, though, led him to thoughts of Lindsey and down a road he'd still rather not take). He told André that he had to skip their weekly gym session this week and instead accompanied his girl to the show.

The boy enjoyed the production; he had expected to but he still felt that the lack of special effects or camera-work that a movie provided meant that the overall experience was different – not necessarily worse but, as a technically-minded person, the effects and camera usage were the things he enjoyed analysing after watching a movie. If we went to a different show then it would, he mused, allow him to see how they coped on a stage in delivering some sort of magic that computers meant a TV audience could take for granted - and possibly allow him to mine it for ideas for his own future classes and productions.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Cat teased as they left.

"No, it was great," he agreed. "I thought that it would be and the acting was really good. It could have done with a few more explosions though!"

"It was a love story," she swatted his chest playfully with her free right hand; her left was interlaced with his right, "not everything needs an explosion you know."

"I know," he grinned back in mock-surrender. "It's still early, or at least mom's not calling in a freaked-out panic yet, do you want to grab a smoothie?" He suspected he knew what the answer would be.

"Sure, a smoothie sounds great," her voice was filled with excitement at the prospect.

"Oh, that looks interesting," he commented a few minutes later as they drove towards a mall where they could get their treats.

"What is it?" the curious Cat asked. "'Glow-in-the-dark-miniature-golf'," she read the sign advertising the place.

"Sounds like fun, maybe we should play one evening. Sherman Oaks isn't that far from Hollywood."

"What is it?" Cat repeated; she wasn't familiar with the term.

"Well, you see," he explained, "it's like a golf course only a lot smaller, kind of on carpet instead of grass, they have scenery and obstacles instead of bunkers and water hazards – oh and you only use one club, the putter."

"Oh so it's baby golf? That sounds so cute!"

Freddie chuckled; her enthusiasm, and the term, sounded sweet to him.

Vega residence, Hollywood Hills

Thursday, 23rd April 2010.

Tori was alone in her bedroom; the brunette's pear phone was pressed to her ear and she was deep in conversation.

"Yeah, sure, uh huh," she continued to pace the room, slipping her free hand subconsciously into her pocket as she walked, "no, I think you're right," she conceded, "I guess so. Uh huh, yeah, hopefully, ok, bye."

She rang off and huffed out a breath in frustration before throwing her phone into her pillow and turning to fall backwards onto her bed, letting out a groan of annoyance.

The half-Latina and her ex-boyfriend, Danny, had finally decided, after trying for the last couple of weeks, that there was nothing worth pursuing between them; it was a decision that deep down she knew was right, though it was a regrettable decision for her as it meant that she was, once again, between boys. Her mind thought about, and lingered on, Steven, the guy she had met in hospital recently; he was still in Seattle but had promised to take her out if she wanted him to once he returned. She stretched her left hand above her head and groped around for her phone; having finally located it she fired off a text to the dark haired boy.

Benson residence

A couple of miles away Freddie and Cat had no such worries; on the contrary they were enjoying having the house to themselves as Marissa Benson had been required to work some overtime after her shift should have ended and there was nobody to trouble the teens after Freddie picked up his girl on the way home after his fencing class – well, not in person anyway.

"Oh," Freddie commented as he felt his own pear phone G5 vibrating in his pocket; he wriggled out from under his giggling girlfriend and pulled himself into a sitting position on the couch. Cat instantly latched onto his free arm and pressed herself against his side, nuzzling at his neck and enjoying the fact that he was squirming against her as he tried to focus on his phone. "It's a text from Carly asking for a video-chat; want to talk to her?" he asked the girl, turning his head towards hers just far enough for her to claim his lips again.

"I guess," she shrugged after their kiss; the girl was still not entirely sure that she wanted to talk to the Seattle-based brunette after her part in breaking them up a year or so ago.

"It's up to you," he told her, softly and sincerely. "She has said that she wants to talk to us together - to talk to you - but if you don't want to then I can tell her that we're busy – or at a movie or something."

Cat didn't want to be responsible for him lying to his friend. "No, we can talk," she commented before restoring her now familiar predatory smile, "in a minute," she whispered huskily before attacking his lips once again.

A few minutes later Freddie had fired off a reply to Carly; he dashed upstairs to collect his computer and glanced in the mirror. He hurriedly tried to smooth his hair down with his hand in an effort to look a little less flustered by the time he spoke to his Seattle-based friend; the gesture was partially successful though it couldn't hide the flush in his cheeks from their activities. He set the device down on the coffee table and switched it on before leaning back on the couch; he opened his arms allowing Cat to slip onto his lap and linked his hands in front of her waist so that he could hold her steady.

"Hey Carls," he greeted her as her face and bedroom appeared on-screen through the video chat software.

"Hey," she replied; with difficulty she suppressed a look of surprise at seeing her friend with the red-haired girl in his lap.

"Hi Carly," Cat gave the girl a quick wave before her hand returned to Freddie's side.

"Hello Cat," the brunette smiled, trying her best to make it a genuine one as she swallowed down the pangs of jealousy she felt from seeing the two so happily together. "I guess I'll come right out and say it to start with then," she strengthened her tone, "I'm sorry," she told them genuinely. "I really do regret that I played some part in you two breaking up. It's… it's good that you're back together and obviously happy," she finished quietly, staring at her keyboard as she said this.

"Thanks Carls," Freddie could detect that his friend was still rather conflicted in what she was saying but didn't feel like it was time to press the matter; he changed the subject instead. "So how are you getting on? How's the leg?"

"Oh it's still there," she smiled goofily, pulling up the leg on her jeans as she waved the limb and her bare foot in the web camera's direction; her scar was still visible but the ankle was far less swollen than it had been when she first returned home from the hospital. "Physio is going quite well; I actually met a guy while I was at the hospital for one of my sessions. You know Mike and I broke up?" she prompted.

"I didn't," Freddie's reply was cautious, "I know you said you were having difficulties and that you thought it was heading that way but I didn't realise you'd actually finished with him."

"Yeah," the web-star's tone was a little melancholic, "but then I met Steven and got talking to him and we seemed to hit it off a bit.

"Cool, what's he like?" the boy was genuinely curious; Cat was pleased with the news too as she felt that it meant she was less likely to have to deal with the other girl trying anything again. Remembering that she had the advantage of proximity the redhead grinned internally as she thought of a way that she could keep her boyfriend's focus solely on her.

"Well," Carly began; her eyes lit up as she began to describe the new guy in her life.

Hollywood Arts High School, Los Angeles

Friday, 24th April 2010.

"So we take the data that we put in the table," Freddie explained; he and Cat were writing up part of their science project before school started (it wasn't due until the following week but they had arranged to meet before school and try and get some of it done, given how busy Freddie's evenings in particular were and the fact that neither was too keen to be doing school work while they were together outside of the place), "and we plot it on our graph… here, here and here," he pointed to where the redhead should mark the paper, "draw a line through the dots and we're done."

"Awesome," she smiled happily, throwing her arms around him in celebration. Cat had, only slightly inadvertently, almost sabotaged the plan with her outfit today, a grey top over a pink, frilly undershirt, her dark blue skinny jeans and thigh length boots; it had certainly had the desired effect of garnering her boy's full, undivided attention (a little too much; he was having to work hard to keep his focus on their work), which was something she was revelling in.

"Ok, we still have about ten minutes before first period," he observed, "want to run for some iced coffee before Sikowitz's class?"

"Sure, let's go!" She threw her things into her bag and grabbed his arm. He laughed as he wrestled his own things, far more methodically, into his bag one-handed before allowing the voracious little girl to lead him from the library.

It was still a few minutes before first period; Tori was sat on the half-landing up the main staircase, just above the lockers. Her knees were drawn up almost to her body and she cradled her laptop on her thighs. The brunette frowned as she tapped away at some of the keys and stared at the screen. "No, no, no! Ugh, no." She pulled a face before smiling. "Hey," she said brightly before the smile dropped. "No," she declared flatly.

Cat and Freddie, as usual hand-in-hand, spotted their friend as they made their way down the staircase that led up to the right.

"Hey Tori," the little redhead called. The couple stopped a couple of steps above the half-Latina and Freddie slipped his right arm around his girlfriend's slender waist.

"Hi," he called to her.

"Yeah. Hey, hi," she uttered a distracted greeting.

"What are you doing?" Cat enquired curiously.

"Thanks," she told them, utterly distracted by her mission.

The teenage couple exchange confused glances; Cat shrugged, lifting the palm of her free right-hand as she looked at her boy, who responded to her questioning look by just stealing a quick kiss – this drew a broad smile from the girl as her musings were forgotten.

"So what's up Tori," the Seattle-born sixteen-year-old asked lightly, "you're not talking to us anymore?"

André arrived through the main door and looked to the trio. "Hey, what goes on?" he asked them.

"We're going to get some iced coffee," Freddie informed him.

"Oh, you mean you're going somewhere to make out for a while before class?" he teased gently.

"We're REALLY going for iced coffee," the cupcake loving teen insisted.

"Though we might make out a bit while we're there," Freddie admitted. Cat started giggling again and leant against him.

"Oh, a massage helmet! A stylish helmet that massages your head. That sounds fun, right?" Tori asked, as if noticing their presence for the first time.

"It could be," Cat supplied weakly.

"Uh, sure," Freddie shrugged equally unenthusiastically.

"No, it's awful," the stressed girl snapped in a high and frustrated voice.

"I hate helmets," Cat instantly observed.

"That's not good of an idea," her boyfriend supported her.

"It's a bad thing," André agreed.

"Oh," the brunette groaned, head almost touching the keyboard as she leaned forward in annoyance.

Cat reluctantly slipped out of Freddie's grip and took a seat next to her friend; she rested an arm on the other girl's shoulder.

"Why is she all..." André began to ask the couple; Tori interrupted hotly.

"'Cause it's only three days until Trina's birthweek."

"Her birth week?" Cat asked, confused once again.

"Don't you mean her birthday?" Freddie corrected.

"Yeah, you don't know my sister. She thinks one day isn't enough celebration so she calls it her birthweek. Now if I don't get her an amazing present, I'm gonna have to listen to her complain about it for the next six months."

"Alright, chill down. We'll help you through this," André told her.

"Totally," Cat enthused.

"Yeah," Freddie completed. He took a seat on his girl's other side while the musician sat a couple of steps lower down.

"Okay," Tori's mood was a little brighter.

"The perfect present for Trina," Cat pondered.

"Something amazing," André agreed.

Freddie, meanwhile, was distracted from the conversation as he stole another admiring look at his girlfriend. He was still surreptitiously sweeping his gaze up and down her when she raised her head; their eyes met and there was a big, playful smile on her face.

"Caught you looking," she teased lightly.

"Isn't that a boyfriend's right?" he wondered with a grin; she giggled once again and pulled him closer.

"Ok you two; you know what that gives me?" Tori interrupted. "Nothing!" she snapped irritably as her own problems overwhelmed her again; she still had no idea about a suitable gift for her sister. Freddie and Cat just continued to grin at one another.

"Oh, we need to go if we're to get the iced coffees," Freddie reminded his girl with a fresh grin, "we'll see you in Sikowitz's class," he took her hand and helped her to her feet; Tori looked at the couple with a slightly disappointed expression, "and then we'll see you and the others at lunchtime too; let's see if any of them have any ideas?"

"Yeah; maybe someone can help," Tori moaned.

"Don't pretend you didn't want me to be looking at you," he whispered conspiratorially to Cat as they left; she didn't reply but her renewed giggles seemed to confirm his theory.

Asphalt Café.

Tori, André, Robbie, Cat, Freddie, Jade and Sinjin were sat together at their usual table; Beck was busy overseeing a rehearsal of his one-act play (in which Eli was acting). Sinjin was sitting uncomfortably close to Jade and staring dreamily at her, much to her growing annoyance; she tried to ignore him by busying herself with her phone.

"Suggestions for birthweek presents for Trina," Tori prompted the group. "Okay, André, start us off."

"Cheese," the songsmith volunteered; every eye turned to him with Cat looking particularly surprised at the proposal. Tori's look was one of pure disdain at the idea. "Let's not do cheese," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"Robbie?"

"Lotion or various lotions," the puppeteer suggested; Jade looked briefly up from her phone to give him an incredulous stare.

"Gross; Cat?" the brunette swiftly dismissed his idea.

"Well, for my last birthday," she began, "I thought my parents were going to get me a bike, but when I got home from school my brother was trying to cut off his hair so my mom started yelling at..."

"Jade?" the half-Latina interrupted swiftly the girl's latest random anecdote about her brother.

"I thought your last birthday was on the day of the summer kick back last year," Freddie observed, looking at his girl in mild confusion of his own.

"Oh it was; this was the day before when it happened; we had a small family party that night because I'd be at school for the kick back on the actual day," she explained.

"You should have said something to us; we'd have all tried to make things better for you." Cat smiled softly at her sweet guy and leaned into a cuddle with him.

"Jade," Tori repeated.

The mean girl continued to tap on her phone. "Yeah?" she asked in a disinterested voice.

"What should I get Trina?" Tori asked.

"Talent," she shot back; the others, minus Tori, sniggered their agreement.

"Oh, Jade is so pretty," the curly-haired blond boy sighed dreamily next to her.

"3, 2, 1," she counted down in annoyance; Sinjin ran away quickly while Freddie shook his head in disgust at the boy's behaviour.

"Does anyone have a good idea about a present for Trina?" Tori was almost begging at this point. "Freddie, any ideas?"

"Well, what does she like?" he prompted before the shrill tones of a pear phone disturbed the group.

Robbie groaned, "It's my grandmother again."

"Who else would call you?" Rex jibed at his handler.

"Shh," the ventriloquist urged before answering the phone. "Hi, Mammaw. Ugh, another computer problem?" Cat giggled into her drink at his reaction. "No, Mammaw, I was not being sarcastic. Mammaw, don't...what? Mammaw, don't hang up on me."

"What's your grandmother bugging about?" André enquired.

"She bought a stupid computer and she can't figure out how to work it, so she calls me like every four minutes for tech support," he lamented.

"Oh, that's cute," the musician laughed.

"It's not cute. I was at her place for three hours last night and I have to go back again tonight."

Tired of the discussion and still at a loss for a present Tori snapped out, "Ok, what am I going to get Trina for her birthweek?"

Sinjin returned to the table; this time he stood behind the younger Vega sister. "How about a bobble head that looks like me?" he suggested, brandishing the offending item.

"My dad's a cop," the girl responded flatly.

"Moving on," the blond retreated again.

The final bell had recently sounded; Freddie was standing by his open locker, swapping a few items in and out. A few feet away Cat was doing likewise while also throwing brief, smoky glances in his direction. She was a little surprised to see Robbie approach him; the curly-haired boy cleared his throat nervously.

"Uh, Freddie?" he began. The tech producer closed his locker and eyed the teen; he still didn't feel too kindly towards him after his (Freddie refused to let him attribute it to Rex) recent crack about Cat's mental health. The girl in question, having finished at her own locker, sidled over to join them.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," he turned to Cat, "about what Rex…" Freddie coughed meaningfully, "about the joke about your emotional problems."

"That's ok," the forgiving girl shrugged and gave him a soft smile. He turned nervously to Freddie, whose disposition looked a little less friendly.

"Cat may have decided that all is forgiven – but my warning still stands," he observed neutrally.

"Right but… could I ask a favour," he requested timidly. "I could do with some help with my grandma's computer; she might actually listen to someone else and you know what you're doing with them so I thought…" he trailed off, giving his friend a hopeful look. Freddie shot a glance at his girlfriend; she was giving him an encouraging smile so he sighed in resignation.

"I guess I can go with you but we'll need to be quick; I have work at five and then Cat and I are playing glow-in-the-dark-minigolf afterwards." He had intended to surprise his girlfriend with the news and figured now was as good a time as any to let her know.

"Yay! Baby golf!" the cupcake lover cried; she flung herself on Freddie from behind and hugged him. He noted with renewed concern that Robbie didn't look too pleased with her affectionate gesture.

"But before we go there, I should warn you," the puppeteer continued cautiously.

"About?" the tech producer prompted.

"My grandmother. She can be… critical."

"You've met my mother," Freddie pointed out. "She can't be any worse."

"I guess not," Robbie conceded.

"What are you going to do before I get off work then?" the Seattleite asked the redhead.

"Oh she can help me," Tori joined the gathering, striding purposefully towards them. "I really need to go and visit a few places to find a present for my sister. Please help me," she begged the shorter teen.

"'kay 'kay," Cat smiled genuinely.

Mrs Shapiro's apartment, Apartment 327, 1627 N Fuller Ave, Los Angeles

Robbie and Freddie arrived outside apartment 327; Robbie knocked on the door.

"I have a gun!" a female voice called angrily from inside.

"Mammaw, it's Robbie," the ventriloquist sighed; Freddie gave him a slightly cautious look.

She opened the door to greet her grandson. "Hello, Robbie," she said warmly.

"Hi, Mammaw," he gave her a hug before gesturing to his colleague. "This is my friend, Freddie; he's really good with computers and he's going to help you sort everything out."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Shapiro," the tech producer said politely.

"You too, sonny. Come in. Come in, the computer's through there," she beckoned them; Freddie went on ahead towards the machine but she caught Robbie's arm as he passed her.

"He's your boyfriend?" she asked in a low voice; the bespectacled teen was horrified at the suggestion.

"What? No!" he gasped, scandalised at the thought.

"Good, you can do better," she told him.

"I'm not into boys!" he hissed out in exasperation to the elderly lady; she wasn't listening so he just followed his grandmother inside.

"No, Mrs Shapiro. Look, you just click twice on that little picture to open a window," Freddie explained.

"I don't want to open a window. It's already too cold in here," the lady complained.

"Not a window in this room," he explained patiently, "one on the screen."

"Maury, turn up the heat," she called to her husband.

"No," he snapped back from another room.

"Mammaw, a window is just this little..." Robbie began but was interrupted.

"So how do I e-mail this to my doctor?" she asked.

"Those are your system preferences; they're no good to your doctor," Freddie's voice stayed calm. "You need to open up your mail programme – like I showed you – and then find the right file."

"Maury, turn up the heat," she yelled again.

"No," he fired back; Robbie's grandmother hit the desk in response.

"Why does he do that to me?" she demanded.

Robbie buried his face in his hands at the thought of them arguing in front of a guest like this; Freddie, meanwhile, reflected that somehow his own family now seemed a little bit less insane.

Vega residence.

The Slap. Tori Vega: OMG - I finally found a GREAT birthday prez for Trina. Yeee-HOOO!

Mood = relieved.

With Freddie helping Robbie out and then heading to work, Cat had acted as chauffeur for their brunette friend as she raced around the local area trying to find her sister a suitable gift. The little red-head had seemed even more distracted and dizzy than usual; Tori suspected that she was just excited about playing miniature golf with Freddie later on, something the pink-handled putter on the back seat of the car seemed to support. After finally finding a gift she felt was suitably good for her sister the excited girl had called André over to see it. The songsmith arrived a few minutes after the girls got back to the Vega home, having first stopped at the Valentine house so Cat could change ahead of her date; she now wore a cream-coloured top top and a short flower-patterned skirt with red, high-heeled shoes (again she was looking to get her boy's attention with the outfit). They were sipping wahoo punches on the living room couches when the musician arrived.

"Thanks for today Cat; I am so, so grateful," Tori enthused.

"It's ok, it was fun hanging with you," she replied genuinely.

"Oh, that'll be André," the hostess commented at the sound of the doorbell; she opened it to reveal their friend. "Ok, I got the present, come with me," she slipped behind him and put her hands over his eyes, guiding him into the house. With unusual presence of mind, Cat closed the door behind them as Tori steered the boy into the kitchen. "Are you ready for this?" she asked brightly as they reached the kitchen table; Cat was grinning happily beside them.

"I don't know. I can't see," he pointed out. Tori uncovered his eyes.

"Look at them," she cried.

"Shoes?" he asked, feeling disappointed after such a build-up.

The two girls traded offended looks. "Boots!" Cat snapped in exasperation as Tori swatted his head.

"Fazzini boots," the half-Latina elaborated. "Trina has been dying for these. I had to go to eleven different stores before I could..."

She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening; she and Cat moved to shield the gift from view as the elder Vega sister entered the family home.

"Hello," she called jovially.

"Hey," Tori greeted her, equally happy now that her present dilemma was over.

"Hi," Cat chorused.

"What's up, Trina?" the musician asked.

"Okay," the brunette's eyes were shining. "What has two thumbs," she raised them in a triumphant gesture, "and is already having a fantastic birthweek?" She used her thumbs to gesture towards herself and declared, "This girl! Check out my kicks."

The soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old climbed onto the coffee table to show off her footwear. "Fazzini boots. Got 'em at Simone's – on sale." Seeing her little sister's face slump she added, "Oh, don't be sad. You could borrow 'em..." before sniggering, "after I'm dead." She jumped down from the table and shouted as she dashed upstairs. "Mom, I got Fazzini boots! Mom. Mom!"

"You're going to have to come up with another present," Cat pointed out unnecessarily as the older girl departed.

"I know that!" the younger sister snapped.

"I've got a cheese guy that could put together..." André began.

"I'm not giving her cheese," Tori shouted decisively. "Maybe I should just give up and accept the fact that I'm not going to find anything good and Trina is going to hate me for the next six months." She turned in desperation to her two friends and begged, "Help me."

"All right - uhh…" Cat began.

"How about a song?" André suggested.

"A song? As a present for Trina?"

"Yeah. You can write it, perform it yourself, you know, do it up real big," he was warming to his theme.

"That's a cool idea," Cat enthused; she turned to Tori, "I'll sing back-up if you like!"

"That is..." Tori began before pausing; her face fell again. "I don't know how to write a song," she complained.

"Think, what has two thumbs and knows how to help a friend write a song?" the musician prompted.

"Ok, is it someone we go to school with?" Cat asked; he sighed.

"This guy!" he gestured to himself with his thumbs.

The doorbell chimed again; Tori answered it to admit Freddie. "Hey," he smiled at them before addressing his girlfriend, "Are you ready for some 'baby golf'?"

Cat squealed and dashed towards him. "We'll catch you later, bye," she called excitedly.

"Uh, bye," Tori waved as the red-head left. Freddie gave her a smile before following his girl into the California evening.

Sherman Oaks Castle Park

4989 Sepulveda Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA

Night had fallen on Los Angeles by the time the teens arrived (hence the 'glow-in-the-dark' concept). Freddie paid for them both to play a round and borrowed a fluorescent yellow ball and a putter from the desk. Cat had her own pink putter and selected a matching ball for her round.

The couple followed the path to the first hole; the starting area and hole were illuminated but the rest of the course was in darkness, making it tricky to identify the obstacles as anything more than rough shapes on the course. They could see small illuminated areas which Freddie assumed to be the other holes' start and end points, along with silhouettes of other kids around their age who were also playing. He, however, was relieved by the darkness as he felt that it would help him to focus more on his game; otherwise he suspected he would end up spending more time admiring his girl's shapely legs than he did concentrating on his putts. He did, however, suggest that in future she wore more appropriate shoes; in fact the course managers had refused to allow her on the course wearing them so she had to play the round bare-footed.

The tech producer took his first shot; the ball seemed to be sailing serenely towards the hole when it broke to the right, rolled into something and bounced back a few inches before coming to a halt about ten feet from the hole. His girlfriend clapped excitedly at the shot.

"It wasn't bad," he shrugged, "better if it hadn't gone off line like that at the end though."

Cat nodded and set her own ball down. She seized her putter and swung wildly at it, missing it and giggling at the fact. She repeated the action, with the same result, before her boyfriend intervened.

"Stop, stop," he said softly. "Try it like this." He stepped behind her and placed his hands over her wrists; the grinning girl couldn't resist leaning gently back into him, causing him to feel rather uncomfortable as he tried to focus on the task in hand. He gently swung the girls' arms, and her putter, back and forth. "So now try it with the ball there," he guided her into position and gave a small backswing before pushing gently through the ball; it rolled down the path heading just to the left of the hole, passing it before bouncing off the back perimeter of the hole and straight into it for a hole in one.

"Yay! I like this game," she cried, turning around and pulling the boy into a hug; she gave him a little kiss before taking his hand and leading him to where his own ball was waiting for the next shot.

Without his 'assistance' the girl's game didn't go quite so well; she was a number of shots behind her boyfriend as they started on the eighteenth and final hole. Cat didn't mind; she was enjoying just spending time with Freddie and really loved the game. He, meanwhile, was still trying to coach her on occasion. It didn't help when every shot, good or bad, had her dissolving into laughter, however.

"Ok," he smiled, walking into a floodlit area as the red velvet-haired girl finally sank her last putt, "so that's 44 for me – uh… five over for the round and – oh dear," his face fell a little as he counted up Cat's.

"What? How bad was it?" she grinned.

"Fifty-seven. You kinda lost it in the middle of the round with some bad holes," he gave her a sympathetic look; she just smiled back happily.

"It's ok; I had a lot of fun. We should come here again soon," as she laced her fingers with his and they walked back to reception to return his putter (their golf balls had been taken down a chute at the end of the hole and were currently in a bucket by the side of the course waiting for the staff to retrieve them).

"We really should; I've never played it in the dark like this before. It was really good fun." The two walked to his car. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm helping André and Tori with Trina's present in the afternoon; nothing after that though."

"How about a movie at the mall when I get off work?"

"Sure. Pick me up at Tori's again?"

He nodded his confirmation before driving the girl back there to collect her own car; they kissed goodnight and made their ways separately back to their own homes.

Vega residence

Saturday, April 25th 2010.

Tori had recruited Cat and André to come over again; the red velvet-haired girl agreed given that her boyfriend was at work so she wouldn't be seeing him until later. The half-Latina was lying on one of the couches; her torso was on the seat with her legs above them resting her thighs on the back rest of the furniture. Her frustration with the task in hand had been growing by the minute as she struggled with the song that she hoped to perform for Trina. André was hunched over his keyboard on the other couch while Cat was in the kitchen, helping herself to a soda.

"Okay, how about this?" the musician suggested, playing a few bars of music for them.

Cat clapped excitedly. "I love that," she cried.

"Me too," Tori agreed, "but you really think we're gonna be able to have a whole song ready by Trina's birthday?"

"No worries," he reassured her. "And I'll get a banging band here, some girls to help Cat back you up, lights, it'll be the chizz."

"What is chizz anyway?" Cat asked, confused as to exactly what the term meant.

"I think it's a German sausage," André supplied; Cat smiled her acknowledgement. "Let's get back to the lyrics," he prompted the brunette.

"No. I can't write lyrics. Just play more stuff on your thingy," she urged him.

"I'll help you," the songsmith offered. "Just tell me some of your favourite things about Trina."

Tori looked genuinely stumped as she thought. From the kitchen Cat assumed she just hadn't been listening. "Tori, André wants you to tell him some of your..." she began to prompt.

"I heard him!" the brunette informed her.

"Come on, dig deep," the dreadlocked teen urged her.

"Okay. Okay," then she brightened as inspiration hit her. "Oh, how about she's the whole reason why I got in to Hollywood Arts?"

"Now you're digging," he complemented.

"Yay, I'm diggy," she replied with a happy smile.

"All right now, when you think of Trina, what's the first word that pops in your head?" he asked her.

"Crazy," Cat nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Crazy," the boy echoed.

"But, I love her," Tori mitigated.

"Have you told her that lately?" he asked.

"No," she replied thoughtfully. "Wait, are you sure this stuff is gonna help us write a song?"

"Let's see," he smiled, set his pad and pen down and returned to the keyboard. "You might be crazy but have I told you lately that I love you and that you're the reason that I dah duh dah duh dahuh."

The two girls traded approving glances. "You're good," the half-Latina complimented her male friend.

Sunday, April 26th 2010.

The Slap

Tori Vega: Ahhh! André, Cat and I are writing SUCH A COOL SONG. This will be the best present Trina EVER GOT!

Mood= PSYCHED.

The trio, plus a small band were preparing to perform Tori's new song, You're the Reason, when the elder sister returned home from an afternoon out.

"Hello," she greeted her parents as she entered the kitchen through the back door.

"Happy birthweek!" they chorused.

She hugged her parents before turning her attention to the birthday cake on the table; the girl made a wish and extinguished the candles.

"Where's Tori?" the diva asked, seeing no sign of her little sister.

"Over there," Mrs Vega supplied, steering her elder daughter towards the living area.

"She's got a very special surprise," Mr Vega added, sitting the girl in a wheeled chair and manoeuvring her into the spacious area.

André, Cat and the others (minus Tori) stood up from behind the piano, where they were hidden from view, and got into position.

"What is going on?" the birthweek girl asked.

"Just relax," the songsmith pushed a button setting a dry ice machine in action; it spewed smoke across the room creating a haze. Tori took that as her cue to emerge from the upper floor of the house; Trina smiled as she saw her.

"I don't want to make a scene, I don't want to let you down," the youngest Vega began, as did the music, "trying to do my own thing and I'm starting to figure it out – that it's alright, keep it together, wherever we go; and it's alright oh well whatever, everybody needs to know.

You might be crazy but have I told you lately that I love you? You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly.

And it's crazy that someone could change me; now no matter what it is I have to do I'm not afraid to try. And you need to know that you're the reason… why!"

The guest of honour was enjoying every moment of the show; Cat and the other girl were dancing and singing back-up for Tori and the little red-head was having almost as much fun as Trina was.

"I don't even care when they say you're a little bit off," Trina looked a little shocked at the suggestion that some people would say such a thing about her. "Look them in the eye I'd say I could never get enough, 'cause it's alright keep it together where ever we go; and it's alright oh well whatever; everybody needs to know.

You might be crazy but have I told you lately that I love you? You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly, and it's crazy that someone could change me. Now no matter what it is I have to do I'm not afraid to try. And you need to know that you're the reason… why!

If it was raining you would yell at the sun, pick up the pieces when the damage is done. You say it's just another day in the shade. Look at what a mess we made…

You might be crazy, have I told you lately that I love you? You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly.

You might be crazy but have I told you lately that I love you? You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly.

And it's crazy that someone could change me, now no matter what it is I have to do I'm not afraid to try. And you need to know that you're the reason why!"

Trina wore a broad smile, along with her party hat, when they finished.

"Happy birthweek Trina," Tori hugged her.

"Thanks!" the girl declared happily before asking her sister, "So where's my present?"

The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant and the temperature seemed to drop about fifteen degrees.

"Are you kidding me?" Tori snapped.

"No, where's my birthweek present?" Trina demanded.

"Mom, dad, could you please take everyone outside?" André palmed his face behind the older sister.

"But it's raining," Mrs Vega pointed out.

"Here's an umbrella," her daughter handed her one.

"This way everyone!" Mr Vega called. The parents and guests trudged outside. "Don't break anything," he urged his youngest offspring.

"No promises," she fired back as they left.

Outside the others were huddling under the pink umbrella, peering through the windows as the two sisters argued.

"Oh, I gotta go meet Freddie," Cat noted. "Bye!" and she shot off into the rainy night, still in her short, red dress that she had worn for the performance.

"She's going to be the death of him with those outfits," the musician muttered, shaking his head.

Theatre Class, Hollywood Arts High School

Monday, April 27th 2010.

"But the most surprising part of the play happened at the end when the monster gouged out Pricilla's eyes which, for whatever reason, I found really funny. Questions?" Jade asked tersely as she finished her review; the dark brunette girl looked out to the class, flashing a brief smile at Cat and Freddie, sat together in the centre of the room. Robbie was sat off to one side with Sinjin in the back row; Jade took care to avoid looking at either.

"I have two questions," Sinjin raised his hand; Jade ignored him.

"Okay, no questions. Great, I'm done," she sat down.

"Thank you, Jade, for that disturbing report," the female teacher told her; the gothic teen smirked as she retook her seat just in front of Cat and Freddie. "Robbie, you're up."

"Right. Hello, everybody," he greeted them as he set up his laptop computer and hooked it up to the big screen in the classroom.

"Hi," Cat's voice was bright and she waved enthusiastically at her friend. Jade and some others turned to look at her; she sank back into her chair looking rather uncomfortable before smiling again as her boyfriend gave her a quick, consoling cuddle.

"My report is on Vaudeville," Robbie began. "Now, if you all look at... Oh, my God," he groaned as the screen flashed up that he had a chat request.

"Aww, your grandmother wants to chat," Cat piped up happily.

"Robbie, Robbie, Can you see me now?" the lady called. Jade and most of their classmates could barely contain their laughter at his growing discomfort. Freddie gave him a regretful look.

"Hi, Mammaw," he sighed. "Is this important 'cause I'm kinda in the middle of..."

"How do I open the internet?" she interrupted. The entire class, including the teacher, burst out laughing; Cat held her head in her hands and Freddie grit his teeth in an effort to control his shaking as giggles wracked through his body.

"Grandma, grandma, you're on the internet. We couldn't be video-chatting if you weren't on..." he began.

"Hey, Robbie, I see your puppet. Are you still taking your puppet to school?"

"Rex is not a puppet," the teen snapped.

"Oh my God, he ACTUALLY believes that," Freddie whispered to his girlfriend. "We have GOT to snap him out of this..." She nodded beside him as she tried to control her own laughter; it wasn't helped by Robbie's grandmother's next comment.

"Maury, Robbie still plays with his puppet!" By now the whole class was laughing hysterically at Robbie; Cat and Freddie looked at one another, no longer bothering to suppress their own sniggers.

"I'm in the bathroom," her husband bellowed, doubling the mirth of the class.

"Doing what?" the lady demanded; if possible this increased the kids' amusement even further. Robbie, meanwhile, groaned in total embarrassment as the sound of a toilet flushing transmitted across cyberspace and the classroom; Jade, in particular, was loving every second of his humiliation. "Robbie, Robbie, Robbie," his grandmother called; he just curled up into a ball and lay there on the floor.

"Freddie," the teacher gasped before composing herself as the tech producer gave her an inquisitive look, "maybe we should hear your report now." She disconnected Robbie's machine and handed it to him as he reluctantly got to his feet.

The Seattle-born boy nodded and made his way to the front, sliding a flash drive into the computer and bringing up his work.

"My report is on In the Moonlight; it's a play I took my girlfriend to last week," and he shot a smile at Cat; she giggled happily and gave him a little wave.

"You two are getting insufferable!" Jade complained lightly, though with a slight, detectable edge to her voice; it was one that the couple both missed.

Tuesday, April 28th 2010.

The Slap Mobile

Tori Vega: Still MAD at Trina. U reading this Trina? Hope so!

Mood= IRKED

The brunette was stood by her locker between periods as Freddie and Cat walked by; Cat was laughing at whatever Freddie had just said (which, frankly, could have been almost anything).

"Hey Tori," the red haired girl waved.

"Hi," she returned flatly.

"What's your sister done now to get you all mad at her?" Freddie asked sympathetically.

"You know the song we wrote for her?"

"Yeah, Cat said it was really good and you all performed it really well," he observed; the redhead grinned at his praise.

"We did but Trina… well she didn't think it qualified as a present because I didn't spend money on it," Tori explained; Freddie nodded sympathetically.

"I can see why that would wazz you off," he commented.

"Say Freddie," she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard from the studio recently? I was hoping they'd have called for me to do the scene by now."

"Tori," he explained patiently, "the lead role got re-cast. They have to hold auditions, short-listing, see how people work together, after… last time, and then start reshooting once they've settled on whoever they want to play the lead. Once that's all done then we'll get our calls and they'll shoot our scenes."

"Ok, that makes sense I guess."

"That's what they told me when I got my job back anyway. Oh and they do know that your name isn't really Crystal Waters, right?"

"Yeah… I think so," the girl felt a little worry growing in her stomach as she really wasn't too sure whether they did or not.

"We've got to go soon," Cat reminded her boyfriend; she squeezed his hand and tugged his arm gently.

"Right, yeah, science and our report's due. See you at lunch?"

"Yeah, sure," the brunette waved them off weakly before opening her locker.

"Hey, Vega!" Jade called from across the hallway; Tori ignored her and continued to load things into her locker. "Tori," the dark brunette amended with a sigh.

The lighter-haired girl turned to her with annoyed look. "What?" she demanded.

"Try this coffee and tell me what it tastes like."

She accepted it and took a sip. "Hazelnut?"

Jade grinned evilly. "I don't know, I found it in the garbage." Tori spat it out but any further argument curtailed by Trina's arrival; the elder Vega was wearing a new, black, sparkly hat.

"Hey, Tori. Hey, Tori's friend," she greeted them.

"Yeah, I'm not really her friend," Jade walked off; Tori rolled her eyes at the other girl's intransigence despite them starting to bond a little after the whole 'Stage Fighting' thing.

"So listen..." the deluded diva began.

"I'm not buying you a present," Tori declared.

"Ah, you already did. This hat," she gestured to it.

"I didn't buy you that hat," the younger girl contradicted.

"Did too," her sister insisted. "Well, indirectly. See, I sold the song and used the money to buy the hat. I know most girls can't pull off the whole hat look, but my head has a perfect shape, you know, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tori cut her off before realising what she had said. "Wait - what do you mean you sold the song I gave you?"

"Well, you know my friend Molly?"

"Little feet, big thighs?"

"Mm-Hmm," Trina confirmed. "Her uncle is one of the main dudes at Devolution records. I played the song for him and he, like, freaked over it."

"The song I sang for your birthday?" Tori sought final confirmation.

"Yeah. He gave me 500 bucks for the rights. And get this: He wants me to record it professionally."

"You? You're gonna sing it?" Tori was stunned.

"Of course; he thinks it could be a hit. I turned your terrible present into a new hat and a great opportunity."

"But wait. But, but, but, but," she floundered, "does he know that I was the one singing the song and not you?"

"You know, that did not come up," Trina noted thoughtfully.

"Trina, how can you just do that? You can't..." Tori was stunned and incensed.

"Got to scamper. Hey, are you gonna finish your coffee?"

"No. Jade found this in the..." then she paused as an idea hit her with a slight grin. "You can have it." She handed her sister the cup, watches as she walked off and scowling. "That's right, drink the garbage coffee."

Thursday, April 30th 2010.

André and Tori sat on the staircase as students passed them by, heading to and from their lockers; both teens looked decidedly unhappy.

"Hey guys," Freddie was smiling broadly as he and Cat approached them, though his smile dropped a little at their long faces.

"Hi," the ebullient red-head echoed, letting go of his hand so that she could slip an arm around his waist; he matched the gesture.

"What's up?" Cat asked, seeing their unhappy friends.

"Trina," the songsmith snapped.

"What's she done now?" Freddie sighed.

"You know the song we wrote?" The couple nodded. "Well she sold it to a producer and tried to sing it," Tori began. "Only she, y'know, can't sing so they wanted to give it up as a bad idea. Then she finally admitted that I was the one who sang it so André and I went down there…"

"They get such good coffee from the local Jet Brew," the musician added wistfully.

"Yeah," she gave him a funny look; Freddie made a mental note to ask him which one it was so that he could pas the information on to Jade (assuming it was one that she hadn't already discovered, of course). "Anyway, I was singing when suddenly they got a call. One of their guys played it for Beyoncé," Freddie and Cat looked at one another in amazement, "and now she's going to record it instead."

"Well that's good isn't it," Cat piped up; the teens on the stairs gave her a quailing look but, secure in her boyfriend's presence, she continued, "I mean if she sings it then it'll be a hit so you'll get some great royalties and why are you looking like you wanna kill me now?" she tailed off at their glares as their moods continued to darken.

"Trina sold the song," Tori repeated.

"That means the Devolution guys own it – so we'll get nothing," André explained sadly.

"There's nothing you can do?" Freddie asked; the pair shook their heads. "We need to get to the computer lab," he told his girl.

"Why?" she asked.

"So I can read up on IP law; there has to be something we can do about this…"

He slipped from her embrace, catching her hand in his en route and led her away from their friends at top speed.

"Iced coffee?" the singer suggested dejectedly.

"Lead the way," her friend agreed.

They rose from the stairs and headed out of the school.

AN: Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it. Feel free to add a review and let me know either way. I hope to see you all next week for the next chapter. PD.