AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest instalment of A Place To Call Home; I hope that you are all well and are continuing to enjoy this story. As always at this point a huge thank you to everyone who read and, particularly, reviewed chapter 18; I always value your feedback and appreciate the time you take to read my work and critique it.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – yes Freddie knows, or thinks he does, about Steven; there'll be more to come once he's sure that they are one and the same (assuming, of course, that they in fact are).
Challenge King – yes, Lindsey does, I think, regret things now; Freddie is happy and she is not so maybe that's what she regrets, or maybe there's another reason for it; perhaps we'll find out what she's thinking one day. As for Freddie not being Freddie and needing 'fixing', well he wasn't happy and was rather more vindictive than the Freddie of old; that is a concern for the girls.
Darck Ben – yes, we need a little conflict now and again to keep things interesting; I'm glad you liked it.
Agent-M – old Freddie with a new car smell? Interesting image that conjures up.
Pbow – good points on Freddie and Squires; again their issue is more that it wasn't how they'd expect him to act and that troubles them greatly.
Guest – yes, Freddie's reaction to Squires was similar to his (non-) reaction to Sam beating up Lindsey when she visited in chapter 3. That's what bothers Cat and Jade. He's a lot better than he was but something about it all still bothers him (understandable, given what happened to him). It's true that her friends didn't like the idea of her being with Freddie; would that still be the case now? Maybe but I think age differences become less of an issue as one gets older, perhaps by her senior year dating a junior would be less of a deal than a sophomore dating a freshman. Anyway it's largely irrelevant since he's with Cat. Freddie will have his way of making sure that he can prove things to Carly; I'll say no more for now. As for the other points about Cat/Cary or Carly/Sam confrontations and discussions – all in good time.
That's everyone, I think, so we'll get on with the story.
Chapter 19: A Day At The Beach With Friends… kinda.
Benson Residence, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles
Thursday, 17th June 2010.
Freddie Benson was frustrated; he was home from his fencing class, which had gone very well once again (he was one lesson away from graduating the advanced class and the studio were already in talks with him about becoming an instructor himself; he figured the extra money would come in useful) but his good mood from the class was evaporating as he attempted to do one final hunt on-line for anything that might help his friends Tori and André get their much deserved recognition for the song You're the Reason. Beyonce had recorded it and it had shot to number one in the first week of its release, much to the teens' annoyance as they were unable to get anything from its success. It seemed, from what he had discovered, that Tori handing her sister the only hard copy of the song constituted giving her the rights to it and, once Trina sold them to someone else, it ceased to be the property of any of the Vegas and became the studios' to do with as they pleased – and they now stood to profit greatly from the song's success. Annoyed, he clicked off the website and was about to log off when he scanned the list of people available to chat on-line. He saw Cat's screen-name and was a little surprised that she hadn't requested a chat; he clicked on her name and placed the call, waiting as the request continued to beep.
"Hi!" his girlfriend called, a little breathlessly as she swept her slightly damp, red hair out of her eyes and furnished him with her adorable smile. "I just switched it on and went back downstairs while it loaded up; my mom heard it beeping so I ran up to see what was happening," she explained.
"Oh, am I disturbing you?" he asked apologetically.
"No, we were just sitting downstairs by the fridge with cups of Shave Ice."
"That sounds like a great idea," the boy commended; he was, of course, well aware of the heat wave engulfing the city at the moment. "My mom doesn't believe in that sort of stuff though," he noted regretfully, "I guess I'll have to make do with bottled water from the fridge."
"Your mom's funny," Cat giggled; her face fell a moment later and she clapped her left hand over her mouth. "Oh, I didn't mean to…"
"It's ok," he reassured her, "I – of all people – know how she is; though she's been a little better since I moved out last year."
"Are you busy tonight?" the girl pried gently.
"Not really; I was looking for something to help the guys get some money from the song you performed for Trina; it looks like there's nothing we can do though," he finished sadly, "you?"
"Trying to stay cool," she sighed. "I'm sorry but think I need to head downstairs now for some more Shave Ice and to put my head in the freezer; see you tomorrow?"
"Of course," he grinned and they clicked off. Freddie sighed again and leaned back in his chair, pulling his sticky shirt away from his body; it really was hot, even with the air conditioner working to overcome some of the heat of the LA evening (it had been switched off when the boy arrived at home; he assumed Marissa was airing the house before she left for her night shift at the hospital). He decided to just discard the shirt altogether, seeing as nobody else was home, and headed down to raid the fridge for bottled water, making sure to replace the two he took with a few more from the cupboard; with the heat wave forecast to continue for several days yet he figured they would be needed.
The former iCarly tech producer did allow himself a little reflection on how things were going for his friendship group as he closed his eyes and relaxed on the couch, pressing one of the ice-cold bottles to his forehead and smiling at the sensation; his job was going well, André, having also turned sixteen, had found a job on the counter at Yotally Togurt in the Northridge mall and it occupied a few of his evenings (though, like Freddie, he kept Tuesday free for the gym and Thursday for fencing). Beck, meanwhile, was also working; he had landed a job at a local garage, given his aptitude for working on cars. He also figured it was a potential fallback option if it took his acting career a while to get off the ground (or if indeed, it never did for whatever reason). His landing a job had annoyed Jade a bit as it meant the couple had less free time together. The dark brunette was mollified, however, by Beck's point that it meant that he could buy her more coffee.
Freddie grinned at the thought of the other couple, particularly seeing Jade happy. His thoughts then turned to his own, little red-headed, girlfriend and his smile broadened. Things are going well, the boy thought; his blonde ex-girlfriend and the pain she had caused him were not even a distant memory for him at the moment.
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School
Friday, 18th June 2010.
It was lunchtime for the gang; Tori, Beck and Robbie (and Rex) were sat at one of the tables in the outdoor area. Jade, Cat and Freddie, who had been together in science before the break, were still making their way through the school.
"Oh my God! I am so hot!" the half-Latina moaned as she desperately tried to fan herself.
"Ain't that the truth," Rex piped up, eliciting a disgusted look from the light brunette; she was missing Steven while he was up in Seattle for the month, having only phone calls where they argued playfully about which one missed the other more, and being hit on by a puppet (or, worse still, Robbie via his puppet) wasn't helping her mood one bit.
"What's the temperature now?" Beck asked as casually as he could.
"Well, according to my pear pad..." Robbie began; Beck and Tori groaned as he began to tap on it, "Here in Hollywood, it is 103 degrees." The pair groaned again at the news.
"Man, I hate sweating," the Canadian actor complained.
"I know," the singer agreed. "My arms feel like warm, wet ham." In spite of the heat, Beck chuckled at her observation.
"Hi. I'm really hot, but I'm still in a good mood," Cat had arrived; the ebullient teen was dressed in a short, vibrantly patterned red, yellow and blue dress; Freddie followed just behind (sneaking more than the occasional look at his girl's bare legs as he did); he himself was dressed in khaki shorts and a penny T (dark blue with 'Clown Candy' written in yellow) while Jade wore her customary black, albeit looser-fitting and more lightweight clothing than normal; she took a seat between Tori and Beck while the couple sat together between ventriloquist and long-haired actor.
"Robbie, you done with that water?" the gothic girl asked.
"No," he seized his bottle defensively.
"Give it to me," she demanded in a threatening voice.
"Alright," he meekly surrendered the drink.
Tori stared at the new arrival in surprise; she leaned in, drawing a confused look from Jade, and rested her hands on her shoulder.
"What?" the pale girl demanded impatiently.
"You're not sweating!" Tori exclaimed in surprise.
"Uh huh," Jade confirmed. Tori began patting at her face and neck in an attempt to confirm that the girl was bone dry; Jade just smiled as she did that. Freddie looked across the table from one to the other; he pulled a questioning face before shaking his head.
"Nah", he muttered, dismissing the thought from his mind. Only Cat heard this and she gave him a curious look.
"Having fun there?" the blue-streak haired girl asked, causing her best friend to lose her train of thought; she turned her attention to her bottle of water instead.
"How can you not be sweating?" Tori panted incredulously.
"I don't sweat," she replied simply.
"Everyone sweats," her 'rival' observed reasonably.
"Not Jade," Freddie informed her.
"Jade never sweats," Beck confirmed; Cat shook her head in support of the boys.
"What do you mean she never sweats?" the surprised girl sought elaboration.
"Sweating is gross so I don't do it," she explained matter-of-factly.
"So, what, you're just like cold-blooded?" Tori pressed.
"Jade? Cold-Blooded? Hmmm, what a surprise," Rex commented. Beck chuckled, Jade opened a bottle of sunblock and squirted a copious amount over the puppet's face. Cat and Freddie laughed as Rex screamed.
"That witch got sunscreen in my eyes. Help me Rob," it begged; Freddie turned to glare at the handler who, fortunately, wasn't looking at him.
"It's okay. Don't fret. There you go," Robbie wiped his face clean with a tissue.
"Oh, now my face is gonna tan unevenly," Rex complained; Freddie palmed his face and shook his head in defeat and resignation.
"What's up amigos, amigirls?" André had joined the gathering and was wielding a fistful of dead presidents.
"What's all that money for?" Cat asked curiously.
"Me," the songsmith smiled. "I set up a kiddie pool over there and I'm charging people five bucks for five minutes." He looked over to the pool and called, "Sinjin! You got three more minutes."
"Okay." The socially awkward teen splashed happily in the water.
"Is it true that sweat and pee are like... 'cousins?'" Cat asked with a giggle.
"Technically they're not too dissimilar," Freddie began to explain to her; Jade rolled her eyes a little at the onset of 'nerd babble'. "They're both salty water secreted by the body. Pee has a few other things in it though."
"Oh, 'kay 'kay," his girlfriend smiled at his talk and took another swig of water.
"Man, how long is this heat wave gonna last?" Beck grumbled.
"They say 'til Tuesday," Tori told him.
"Why would they say that?" Cat asked in annoyance.
"Sweetie; that's the weather forecast," Freddie began patiently. "That's why they're saying that. They don't control the weather, just predict it."
"Ok, 'kay 'kay," she repeated in a slightly embarrassed tone before giggling again; the teenage couple shared a smile before his eyes began to roam up and down her bare legs. Spotting his gaze she stretched her legs out a little and gave a coy smile as she took one of his hands in hers and playfully tugged at his fingers.
"Wow, it's up to 106 in the valley," Robbie exclaimed as he studied his pear pad again; the group at the table groaned as one.
"Hey, check Venice beach," Beck suggested suddenly.
"Okay. Venice is… only 91 degrees!"
"Oh, let's go to Venice," Tori pleaded.
"You guys wanna?" Beck asked.
"What, blow off school?" Jade was surprised at the proposal.
"I can get with that," Rex agreed.
"I meant Sunday, since so many of us work on a Saturday now we can't go tomorrow. I could borrow my uncle's pickup, hook it up my RV and we could all hit the beach."
"Let's do it." "Well, that sounds really cool, man," the group gave their assent.
Unfortunately for them all, Trina happened to be walking by at that moment. "The beach? I am so in," the diva was elated.
"No, no, no, no, no." "Stay away." "No." "Wait a second..." they all began.
"I can't wait," she grinned, ignoring them and walking off.
"No one likes you!" Jade snapped at her retreating back; Freddie gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Hey! Hey, Sinjin. He's face down in the kiddie pool," Tori suddenly spotted that the boy wasn't moving.
Jade leaned around her to have a look; in an unconcerned tone she simply commented, "Yep."
"It's cool. He's still got two minutes left," the dreadlocked teen pointed out.
"No!" Tori screeched and she, Freddie and Robbie rushed over; they reached into the water and the boys turned him over onto his back. "Are you okay?" she asked; Sinjin gargled in response.
"Maybe you should give him mouth to mouth," Robbie suggested; Tori looked at the teen in the pool for a moment with an unenthusiastic expression on her face.
"He's alright," she dropped his head against the side of the pool.
The trio returned to the table for the last few minutes of lunch; after the bell rang they walked away. Freddie sidled up to Robbie briefly and addressed him in a low, menacing voice, "What I said about Cat applies to Jade as well; even if she can take care of herself." He walks off to catch up with his girl without waiting for a reply; Robbie had pulled a terrified face as he watched the more muscular teen go.
Pear Store, 189 The Grove Drive, West Hollywood
Saturday, 19th June 2010.
"Hi!" Freddie heard his girlfriend's happy voice as he stood by the brilliance bar; his back was to the store and he raised his eyebrows a little as he heard her before he turned to meet her smiling face.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked her, his own smile growing rapidly; a couple of the guys he worked with began shooting him jealous looks as the pretty girl leaned on the counter to steal a quick kiss from his lips.
"I'm here to see you, silly," she teased. "My mom sent me; she's having problems with her pear top, it made a funny whirring noise and then a couple of sparks flew out of it and then it started smoking and she thought that didn't look right."
"It's certainly not the way they're supposed to work," her boyfriend agreed, "and obviously it's a good thing to bring it here as I'm not sure I could fix it from home," he nodded approvingly.
The couple stared at one another for a few seconds; Freddie was waiting expectantly while Cat wore her usual dreamy expression.
"So, where is it?" Freddie broke the silence.
"Oh, I didn't bring it," she told him.
"So… how am I supposed to fix it then?"
"Oh my gosh, you're so right!" She turned and dashed out of the store; he wasn't the only male to watch the girl in a baby-pink T-shirt and very short Daisy Dukes leave. He smiled as he watched her go before shaking his head and getting on with his work, greeting her again at the counter (this time complete with the offending item) a few minutes later.
"It's still hot out there," she grumbled to him, fanning herself with her hand and rueing the store's 'no drinks' policy as she was feeling a little thirsty.
"Stay and browse for a little while," he suggested before dropping his voice to a whisper, "I shouldn't say this but it's not like you have to buy anything while you're in here today."
"'kay 'kay, I'll stay here for a bit then," she smiled and began to wander the store while Freddie carried his girlfriend's mother's computer to his own work area so that he could take a look at it once he finished his current job.
Sunday, 20th June 2010.
The Slap Mobile
Tori Vega: On our way to THE BEACH!
Gonna COOOOL off! So psyched! :)
Mood= Pumped
Venice Beach
Beck backed the RV into one of the parking spots by the beach; he and Jade, today wearing a black dress that stopped just short of her knees and her blue extensions in her hair, got out of cab, exchanged little smiles and opened the door to the trailer.
They were surprised to be greeted by the cupcake-loving redhead on the steps as they opened up; Cat sprinted past them chanting,
"Got to pee, got to pee, got to pee," over and over.
"Hurry back!" Beck urged her.
"'Kay 'kay!" she called back.
"She has the bladder of a squirrel," Jade observed as Freddie joined them at the door.
"Actually I'm going to go with her, make sure she's ok," he told them, slipping between the couple and heading down the steps.
"You don't trust her to go to the bathroom and back by herself?" Jade asked in surprise.
"She didn't realise there was a bathroom IN the RV," he pointed out before turning her question around. "You do?"
Jade paused for a moment before smiling and shrugging. "Go on," she waved him off and joined Beck inside the trailer.
"Who's ready for beach fun?" he asked the teens.
"Beck, this RV is so cool," Trina enthused.
"Oh, thanks!"
"And you like, live in this?" the older Vega sought to confirm.
"Yeah, well, parked in my parents' driveway," he clarified.
"Freddie stayed here for a while when he moved out of his place; it was when Beck hurt his knee fencing," Jade told the sisters.
"Freddie moved out? When? Why?" Tori was surprised to have not heard this story during her time at Hollywood Arts.
"Well..." Jade began, talking them through as much of the story as she could; André and Beck, who had been with him at the hospital that night, filled in some of the details as well.
"Ok, interesting… Oh hey, how come all these windows are tinted so dark?" the singer asked.
"'Cause my dad bought it from a rapper," Beck explained.
"All the windows are made of bullet-proof glass," Jade added.
"What rapper?" the songsmith's curiosity was piqued by this detail.
"Fat biscuit," Beck replied.
"THE fat biscuit?" Tori was surprised that they were connected, however tangentially, to one of the big names in the rap music world.
"Oh, my gosh," Robbie was equally shocked.
"Uh huh," Beck shrugged casually.
"You know, I heard he's thin now," the ventriloquist shared the gossip and rumours with them.
"Yeah, he had that stomach surgery," Tori had also heard the story.
"Aw, good for Fat Biscuit," her sister noted before a thought occurred to the younger Vega.
"Hey," she addressed the gothic teen.
"What?"
"Does it worry you that you never sweat?"
"No."
"But what if one day all your sweat, like, builds up inside and you just explode?"
Jade paused for half a second before replying in a slightly anticipatory voice, "I would love that."
"Alright, it's starting to get hot in here," the dreadlocked musician observed.
"Yeah, let's go," Tori echoed.
"Let's hit that beach!" Robbie agreed.
"This way, people," Beck pushed on the door.
"What's wrong?" his girlfriend asked as the door remained closed.
"I don't know; the door won't open." The teens all looked from one to another in concern.
Unbeknown to the teens another RV had backed into the spot next to theirs; it was so close to them that the door wouldn't open. A middle-aged guy got out, looked around him and declared,
"Man, I love the beach!"
His wife, son and daughter followed him out as he dashed down to the sands.
"You got the sunscreen for daddy?" his wife asked with a sigh; her daughter confirmed with a nod and brandished a giant bottle. "Come on," she led them down the beach.
Beck's RV
"Just open it," Jade urged as Beck leant against the door.
"Something's blocking the door," her boyfriend complained.
"Oh, man! Some idiot parked a huge R.V. right next to us," Tori had looked through the window and discovered the reason for their predicament.
"Whatever, let's just go out the back door," Trina thought she had hit upon an easy solution.
"There is no back door," Beck shot her plan down.
"Well, that's stupid," the older sister remarked.
"I'm getting very hot now," André moaned.
"Will somebody open a window?" Robbie pleaded.
"The windows are bulletproof. They don't open," Jade informed him.
"Aw, thanks a lot, Fat Biscuit," Rex complained.
"What?" Jade glared.
"I meant the rapper from whom Beck's daddy purchased this vehicle!" the puppet clarified nervously.
"I'm getting hotter," the songsmith wailed.
"Just push on the door," Tori begged Beck.
"I can't push a 7,000-Pound R.V. out of the way," he replied patiently.
The half-Latina thought for a second before urging, "Then push harder!"
Jade started nagging her boyfriend; everyone was talking at once and over one another; Beck was ignoring his girl and instead addressed the new student.
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"Alright, alright! Let's not bug out," André shouted over them.
"Dude, nobody knows we're trapped in this toaster oven," Tori observed.
"Cat and Freddie just went to the bathroom," he reasoned. "They will be back in a few minutes and then they can start Beck's truck and then pull us forward so we can get out."
"Good point," Rex congratulated him.
"Okay," Jade calmed down.
"I freaked out. I'm sorry," Beck told him as he passed the musician and took a seat.
"Come on. It's all good," his friend replied.
Venice Beach
The young couple, meanwhile, were making their way back from the bathroom block; they were strolling hand-in-hand, enjoying chatting amiably as they walked along the beach together, realising as they did that it was something they realised that they had never done together as a couple. Despite it being cooler than in the city it was still a hot day so Freddie had opted to strip to his shorts, tying his shirt loosely around his waist while Cat had also removed her shirt, draping it over her free arm and displaying her bright red bikini top. The red-haired girl kept stopping them to give her boy a quick peck on the lips; it was an activity that he was more than happy to participate in. During one of these stops they noticed a small knot of guys and girls around their age up ahead and heard some music coming from their cab.
"What song's that?" Cat asked curiously as they approached.
"I don't know. We could ask them," her boy gestured to group sat by the vehicle.
"`kay `kay," she then raised her voice to the other teenagers. "Hey."
"Hi," one of the guys greeted them smiling at the short girl.
"'Sup?" one of the girls' eyes lingered on Freddie, despite his hand being interlaced with Cat's.
"What's that song you're playing?" the red-head asked the boy.
"I'm not sure," he answered.
"Well, it's really cool," she complimented.
"Do you wanna hang out with us?" the girl asked this while eyeing Freddie with a smile; Cat spotted this and squeezed his hand a little tighter and edged closer to him.
"Oh, we can't; we need to get back to our friends," the tech wizard explained regretfully.
"Oh, come on. Just hang with us for a few minutes," the guy asked, smiling at Cat.
"Please," the girl backed him up; the couple exchanged looks before Cat smiled at them, "Okay then."
Freddie scanned the beach as they joined the small group, "I can't see the others. Do you think they're ok?" he asked his girl as she led him to where their new friends were sitting.
"I'm sure they are," she reassured him.
"Yeah, we both have our phones; they'd have called us if there was a problem," he reasoned. "You guys have anything to drink? I could do with cooling down a little." His girl nodded vigorously by his side.
"Oh, I've got something better than that," the guy grinned.
Beck's RV
"Where are they?" Tori panted; like most of the others she had stripped to her swimsuit but was still cooking merrily in the heat of the RV.
"They've been gone for 20 minutes," Robbie supplied.
"The girl only weighs 90 pounds. How much pee can she hold?" André wondered aloud.
"That's it, I'm calling her. What's Cat's number?" Trina asked her sister.
"I already tried," the gothic teen told her.
"No signal," Beck added.
"Oh man, I told you all not to get F-Mobile," the musician complained loudly.
"Well, where's your phone?" Tori wondered.
"I left it in my pants and my grandma washed it. All my contacts, gone," he complained.
"Well, can we at least turn on the air conditioning?" Robbie asked.
"The A.C. Doesn't work unless the truck is running," the long-haired actor pointed out.
"Then go start the truck," the elder Vega said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I can't get out," Beck reminded her.
"Why did you invite me here?" the diva groaned, drawing a rash of comments from the others.
"We didn't!" Tori began.
"You invited yourself!" the curly-haired ventriloquist reminded her.
"No one likes you," Jade added for good measure, causing the older girl to pull a pained face.
"I'm feeling very hot now!" the songsmith complained loudly.
Robbie, sat near the thermometer by the door, read it. "You guys, it's 102 degrees in here."
"I need a cold drink," Tori decided.
"Me too," the driver agreed.
"Where are they?" the singing star asked him.
"In the truck," the actor realised in a defeated voice.
Tori groaned again.
"What are we gonna do?" Trina wailed.
"Cat!" her sister yelled loudly.
"Freddie!" Jade joined her.
Cat screamed as Freddie's water pistol soaked her.
"Look out, look out, gonna get you," she called to her boyfriend in a sing-song voice.
"She's right behind you," Freddie's 'other girl' warned him; he had turned his attention to one of the others after dousing his girlfriend. Unfortunately he was too slow and soon his bare chest and back were absolutely drenched with ice-cold water.
"It's so cold! It's so cold!" he gasped at the laughing girl; he looked at her and grinned wickedly as she lowered her weapon. Despite the fact that she was soaked, he declared, "You're not wet enough!" and turned his water pistol on her again; the others all did the same and Cat squealed again as they all laughed at the situation.
"It is cold," she gasped as the chilly water covered her again.
Beck's RV
"It's so hot!" Tori gasped.
"Where could they be? I hope they're okay," Jade wondered; despite her own predicament she was a little concerned about what could have happened to the couple.
Having well and truly cooled down and exhausted their water pistols the teenagers sat around again listening to the music from their cab; they handed Cat and Freddie a couple of towels and they gratefully dried off before joining them as they pulled up a couple more chairs.
"Ooh, let's dance!" the girl cried as one of her favourite songs came on a few minutes later; she pulled Freddie to his feet, leading him to an empty patch of sand a few feet away. A couple of the girls got up and began dancing with them; the guys joined in shortly after. After a couple of songs one of the girls spotted a cart coming towards them and headed over it, returning soon after with several cups.
"Hey, Shaved ice," she handed a cup to Freddie as the song ended. Cat happily accepted another cup.
"Thanks," Freddie smiled at her.
"Yay, I love shaved ice. Thank you," Cat took a big mouthful before shivering and happily crying, "Ah, brain freeze!"
Their new friends all cheered at her reaction while Freddie pulled the girl close and smiled at her.
Beck's RV
"I'm extremely hot now," the dreadlocked teen panted.
"We've got to get out of this stupid R.V.," Beck shot a look at Trina after she said this, "Yeah, offense," she snapped.
"We at least have to find something to drink," Tori panted.
Jade suddenly patted her boyfriend's arm. "Hey. Hey," she pointed to the corner, "Your fish tank."
"Oh, yeah!" he smiled. "I forgot about my fish tank."
"Wait. We're gonna drink fish water?" Rex sought confirmation.
"Beats dying of thirst," the songsmith reasoned.
"When was the last time you cleaned it?" Jade asked, eyeing the murky water.
Her boy gave her a sheepish look. "You're supposed to clean it?"
The other teens all groaned. "Oh, come on! We can't drink dirty fish water," Tori complained.
Cat and Freddie had made an excuse and left the group behind for a little while; they wanted to spend a little alone-time together but promised to return, not least because the red-head had borrowed a bucket-and-spade from them.
Again Freddie was a little bothered that he couldn't see the others; again Cat commented that they would have called them if there was a problem.
"Yeah, they're probably off somewhere having fun as well," he agreed with her.
"Besides," she pointed out, "it's nice to have a little alone-time, just you and me, isn't it?" She wrapped her arms around him and gave him an unusually passionate kiss; he relaxed into it, enjoying the soft texture of her lips as they pressed against his own, shivering ever so slightly as she lightly nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth; all thoughts of the others were banished from his mind by her actions. The two stood in lip-lock for a couple of minutes, lost in their own little world, before separating for a much needed breath; Freddie exhaled wonderingly and looked briefly towards the heavens.
"Oh yay, sandcastle," she cried in excitement, slipping her free hand down to his side and taking his in it, leading him at speed down the beach to a reasonably unpopulated area. The girl flung herself down onto the sand, enjoying its warmth against her still cool skin, following its dousing during the water fight. Freddie took a seat on the sand; its heat helping counteract the cold, wet material of his trunks as he watched his girl lose herself completely in her activity; he smiled, distractedly running his right index finger over his bottom lip while he enjoyed the sight of the scantily-clad teen clearly having so much fun.
"Ok," she called happily a few minutes later, "Cat's castle is finished," she declared with a tone of satisfaction; she had put four buckets at corners (surprising herself as much as her 'tutor' with the accuracy of the distances and angles between them) and scooped up some sand, wetting it slightly to improve its support, and making some ramparts between them.
"Wow, Cat; that's a great castle," he complimented; she grinned and sat next to him on the sand, from where he was admiring her handiwork. She leaned over and kissed his cheek softly; he turned his head and they began to kiss and cuddle again.
"That was nice," he told her, swooping in to plant a quick peck on her nose; it drew an uncontrollable giggle from the girl.
"It was; I love it when we get to spend time together Freddie," she gave him a shy smile.
Freddie pushed himself to his feet and helped his girlfriend up; she looked at him in mild surprise. "We need to return their bucket-and-spade," he reminded her, "and we should probably find out what's happened to the others."
"'kay 'kay," she agreed and gathered up her tools.
"Oh, and you can tell your mom that her computer will be ready to collect tomorrow night; I don't have it finished just yet but it should be done during my shift tomorrow so if someone comes along at the end of it, it'll be good to go."
"That's great; what was the matter with it?" Cat asked.
"The power unit needed replacing and it had damaged one of the other components. I swapped them out and it seemed ok so I just need to put it all back together and make sure there's nothing else wrong once I do."
"Hey, you're back," one of the group smiled as they rejoined them. "Just in time, we're going to throw a football around for a bit; you want to join in?" he asked Freddie.
"Yeah and we're going to make a few pots," the girl who had taken a shine to Freddie chimed in, "Cat, do you want to do a little pottery?"
"I guess," she smiled and headed off with them; Freddie sighed a little, realising that they wouldn't be returning to the others just yet, before smiling at the other guys.
"Let's play some football," he told them; they cheered and raced en masse down the sand.
"Ok, just keep your hands steady," Cat was told as she sat at the wheel and began to mould the lump of clay.
"Steady," she repeated, giggling again as the cool substance coated her hands and they began to wobble as she squirmed at the sensation. Her friend took a seat behind her and helped to guide her hands a little by gently holding her wrists.
Beck's RV
Jade was lying on her boyfriend's bed; she had stripped to her bikini but the temperature was continuing to rise and her discomfort with it.
"Okay. Okay, something's dripping on me," she called out to Beck in a panicked voice. "Something's dripping on me!" she repeated nervously.
The Canadian teen walked over and held his hand above her; it stayed dry. "Nothing's dripping," he informed her.
"Yes, look on my arm. See?" she insisted. "And on my forehead. What's going on? What's happening?"
"You're sweating," he told her calmly.
"No. No, I'm not. I don't sweat," the mean girl began to freak out. "I am not sweating."
"Look at me," he saw the girl was beginning to shake so he took hold of her right arm.
"No," she wailed, her shakes intensifying.
"Look at me," he repeated and took her left arm too.
"No," she continued to shake violently.
"Look at me!" he shouted.
"What?"
"You're sweating," he tried to soothe her.
"We gotta get out of here," she cried in an unusually squeaky voice.
"Get him, get him," Freddie heard the shout as he caught the ball; he turned to face the boys charging towards him, steadied himself and threw a reasonable spiral to one of his team mates. The 'defenders' laughed and turned as best as they could on the sand, setting off in pursuit of the ball, spinning again as it sailed over their heads again and back to the former Seattle native. This time he was too slow with his delivery and the other boys caught him, wrestling him to the ground amid renewed laughter from the three of them.
"Ok, guys, your ball," he handed it to them and shook the sand from his hair; the pair took over throwing the ball while Freddie and his 'team mate' had to try and recover it.
Eventually the guys tired of their friendly scrimmage and made their way back to join the girls by the main 'camp'.
"Hey; you spun a nice pot there," Freddie complimented his girl and kissed her cheek as he admired her handiwork.
"Thanks; it was fun. They helped me spin it," she informed him.
"Later, after lunch, we'll glaze it," the girl who continued to admire him simpered.
"Thank you but we really should be getting back to our friends," Cat told her, suddenly a little more eager to depart from them.
"Oh, you can't leave now," Freddie's team mate urged them. "Paul made tuna tartare for after the game; we caught the tuna this morning."
"You gotta stay for the tuna tartare," the girl urged Freddie.
"Have some tuna," was requested of Cat.
The couple looked at one another for a moment before they shrugged, "Okay."
Beck's RV
The group of teenagers were sweating freely; all of them were lying on any surface they could find and had stripped to the bare minimum of clothing that could still be considered modest and were still far too hot. They continued to groan and lament their predicament.
"These fish mock me," Robbie growled before sitting up and staring at the tank. "I'm gonna drink that filthy water."
The others took up, with one voice, "No. No, Robbie. Robbie, don't."
"I need to do it. What choice do I have?" he argued.
"It's his call," Beck conceded but it didn't stop him in sharing the same disgusted look that the others wore as the ventriloquist dove his head into tank and started to drink from it.
"Well?" André prompted.
Robbie gagged and looked for the nearest suitable receptacle; he threw up in Trina's bag.
"Oh, no!" the diva wailed. "No, no. That's my bag."
"Don't drink the fish water," the bespectacled teen wailed mournfully.
"What do we do?" Tori sighed.
"I don't know," Beck admitted.
"Thank you for a really cool few hours," Freddie shook some of the guys' hands; Cat hovered by his side lest any of the girls wanted a goodbye kiss from the handsome teen. "The football was great and that tartare? You really found the recipe on-line?"
"Sure did," Paul smiled.
"I've got to look on that site then; it was awesome."
"Thank you for the bucket and spade – and the pot," Cat showed off her now dried and glazed item and smiled around at the gang.
"Hopefully we'll see you guys again sometime," one of the girls smiled at the couple; they waved before Freddie took his girl's hand and they headed Back towards the RV.
"You know, Cat, I'm surprised we haven't seen any of them today; the beach is pretty big but even so, I can't imagine they were all just sat in the same place all day knowing that we were out here somewhere."
"Well, let's just head to the RV and then we can go looking for them when we drop off my pot," she suggested.
"Good thinking," he congratulated his girl, "at the very least they'll have left a note or something saying where we can find them."
Beck's RV
"When I was a little boy," André began, "my grandma, before she lost her mind, she used to say to me, 'Andre, no matter how bad things get, you can always make it better by singing a song.'"
"That's so stupid," Jade panted.
Undeterred, Tori began, in a feeble voice, "You don't have to be afraid to put your dreams in action, you're never gonna fade you'll be the main attraction,"
Her friends took up the chorus with her, "Not a fantasy, just remember me when it turns out right. 'Cause you know that if you live in your..."
Outside, Cat and Freddie had just climbed the steps to the door; they exchanged looks, rather surprised to hear their friends sat inside the RV balefully singing. They opened the door.
"Hi, everyone!" Cat giggled and waved happily at them; Freddie entered just behind her, fanning himself as the wall of heat hit him.
Excited shouts greeted the teens as the group realised their freedom had arrived; the girls screamed and the couple were mobbed by their friends as they finally ran out and exited the RV. André and Beck headed straight for the truck and grabbed drinks from the cooler.
"You guys really missed us," Cat observed before turning to her best friend. "Ew, Jade, you're all sweaty."
"Never speak of it!" the gothic teen snapped.
"What happened?" Freddie was curious about the whole thing.
"We were trapped in there," Tori pointed to the offending vehicle, "for hours."
"Hope you had a nice pee," Trina snarled at them.
"Trapped? Why didn`t you just call us?" the tech producer asked, glancing at his phone with its full bars of reception.
"No phone signal," Beck explained; Freddie double-checked his and gave the teen a questioning expression followed by a shrug.
"Why didn't you guys just open the door?" Cat asked.
"'Cuz there's a gigantic R.V. parked right..." Beck gestured to the doorway before realising the lack of an obstructing vehicle. "I guess they left and we didn't even know," he added in a small voice.
"And they say Cat's the dizzy one..." Freddie muttered to himself before shaking his head.
"Who cares? It's over," the songsmith declared.
"I drank fish water," Robbie sounded horrified at his actions.
"What?" Cat looked to Jade for an explanation.
Jade began to explain; she told the couple about everything that had happened over the hours that they had been gone. How they had discovered the RV next to them blocking them in, how their only respite from the heat had been Tori's tiny battery-powered fan that soon gave out, how Trina had, unbeknown to the rest, had a bottle of water with her that a couple of them had had a tiny taste of before Robbie drank the last of it, how he had drunk from Beck's fish tank (before vomiting in Trina's bag – she might want to empty it and wash it before we do much else Freddie observed – and how they had been reduced to singing André and Tori's song from the showcase to keep their spirits up before the couple finally returned.
"I can't believe you were gone for so long," the blue-streak haired girl complained.
"Oh," Freddie looked a little embarrassed at the complaint; his girlfriend wrapped an arm around his shoulders and smiled broadly.
"We met this group of kids our age and just got talking to them and having fun. Look, I made this pot!" She brandished it proudly before heading inside the RV to set it down on the table.
"We really did get on with a group," Freddie elaborated under Jade's questioning eyebrow, "I had no idea that you were stuck in here and just figured you'd call if there was an issue. Cat borrowed a bucket and spade from them; you know how she is about 'Cat's castle'," Jade nodded wearily, "and we had a lot of fun with them…"
"Well we didn't," the dark brunette snapped, "you have no idea how bad it was stuck in that death box with Robbie and the Vega sisters."
"Tori's not that bad," Freddie told her lightly.
"I see you never said anything about the other two," Jade teased with a smirk and the discomfort grew on the boy's face caused her to laugh.
"It's alright," Tori interrupted the discussions. "Come on, guys, it's only 4:30, and there's a large Pacific ocean right over there. Let's enjoy that ocean."
Cat had just appeared at the top of the stairs as the others began to head for the sands; Freddie looked to his girl with a smile, "You want to swim first or make another sand castle?"
"SWIM!" the girl cried happily; she grabbed his hand and drags him, unprotesting, to the sea.
While his girl splashed happily with the others Freddie decided to work a little on his swimming strokes; he pushed out a reasonable distance from shore, looking back with a smile at the sight of his girl having fun with the others (although he noticed Jade knelt by the water's edge, content to run some over her still hot and sweaty skin but not actually venturing into the seas with the rest of them).
"You didn't swim," he commented later as they headed back up the beach towards the RV to go home.
"I don't go in the ocean," she said brusquely.
"Is there a reason?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to tell me?" he asked teasingly.
"Fine," she sighed, "when I was in third grade I went swimming with dolphins with my mom; one of them got a little… eager and I was suddenly panicking in the water as I got separated from my mom. I," she shuddered a little, "I really thought for a minute that I was going to drown so now I just don't go in the ocean at all. Pools are fine but not open water."
Freddie nodded, eyeing the girl with concern in his soft, brown eyes. "You miss out on a lot of fun then but it's understandable that it still freaks you out," he said reasonably; she smiled at his understanding.
"Alright," Beck called, "anyone need the bathroom before we go?" He eyed Cat in particular.
"Uh yeah, I'll go," she replied.
"Let's all wait out here until she gets back," Tori suggested. The others agreed and sat waiting, enjoying the last of the drinks from their cooler as they watched their red-haired friend skip back along the beach.
Benson residence, Hollywood Hills
"Hey mom," Freddie called as he walked through the front door; Cat followed just behind him.
"Freddie!" Marissa cried, happy to see her son. "Hello Cat," she managed to furnish his girlfriend with a surprisingly genuine-looking smile.
"How was work?"
"Busy," she complained theatrically, "you wouldn't believe the number of heat-stroke victims we've had to deal with, especially among the elderly."
"I can believe it with how hot it's been," he empathised.
"Did you have a good time at the beach?" his mother asked.
"We did, thank you Mrs Benson," Cat answered politely. "We made sand castles and swam in the ocean and all sorts of things."
"Well I'm glad you had a good day but if you've been in the ocean Freddie…"
"Mom I am not taking any sort of a bath tonight," he told her firmly, "I'll have a cool shower before bedtime to make sure I get all the salt off my body but that's it."
The matriarch bit her lip before silently admitting defeat. "Would you like a drink?" she asked the couple.
"Do you have any Shave Ice?" Cat asked.
"No, I don't keep that sort of thing in the house."
"Oh right, you said that earlier," she giggled to her boy. "Just some water then please."
"I'll get them," he patted the girl on the thigh before picking up a couple of bottles from the fridge. "Do you want one mom?" he called.
"No, I'm fine thank you Freddie," she replied, cautiously eyeing Cat as the two sat alone in the living room; the teenager giggled nervously under her stare.
"Thank you," she accepted the bottle from the boy and took a draught. "Brain freeze again," she observed with a shudder causing the Bensons to exchange looks; Freddie's was amused, Marissa's concerned.
"Will you be staying long?" the Head Nurse enquired, "it is a school night after all."
"Oh that's right," the redhead gasped, "I'd better get home soon then."
"Sure, we'll finish our drinks and I'll drive you home," her boyfriend offered.
Valentine residence
Freddie walked Cat to the front door; she turned and pulled him into a sweet kiss.
"That was a great day," she whispered happily, stealing another kiss before they stepped apart.
"Good night, Cat, I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled.
"'Night Freddie," she smiled, swooping in for one last kiss before heading inside; he watched her go with a smile before turning back to the car with a spring in his step.
AN: And we're done; I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to let me know one way or the other via the review box and I hope to see you soon for the next chapter. PD.