AN: Hi everyone and welcome to this chapter; I hope you are all well. As always I'll start by giving my thanks to those of you who read and reviewed the last chapter.

Challenge King – I'm glad that you enjoyed it and enjoyed their little date.

Darck Ben – I did my interpretation of why Jade doesn't want to go in the ocean; it could be completely wrong but I like the idea of her having her vulnerabilities and insecurities under her tough exterior.

Fanfic-Reader-88 – they spent their afternoon together because they wanted to. They got distracted, leading to the others being alone for hours, but Freddie wasn't just going to abandon Cat, particularly with a group of teenage guys there. You would expect the trip to be an all-day thing; we don't know how long they had been gone before the kids realised they weren't there anymore.

OneHorseShay – yes they wanted a little fun and they do deserve it after all that they have been through over the last year or so. As for eye candy, the entire show has 'Trina blinders', commenting on Jade in front of Beck would have been inappropriate and André seems to have friend-zoned Tori. It may have been self-preservation on Robbie's part as a hot, fraught Tori would probably swing on him. As for Freddie helping Jade take tentative steps back into the ocean, maybe but again it goes back to what I said to Darck Ben about her inner vulnerabilities.

Agent-M – Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. As for their conversation, that will be an on-going subplot that may last for a little while yet.

Pbow – I don't know how easy it is to remove bullet-proof windows but the ceiling vent may well have been a better option, especially with enough people around to lift one of them up to the ceiling. As for the phone signal, or lack thereof, it sounds like it was network related but yes it is odd that somewhere like that wouldn't have reception these days.

That's everyone so let's move on with the story.

Chapter 20: Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen.

Black Box Theatre, Hollywood Arts High School, Los Angeles, California

Monday, 21st June 2010.

Freddie closed his eyes as his lips softly met Tori's; it was a tender kiss that both teens brought some of the required passion to. For Tori's part some of this was born of the frustration of missing Steven while he was still up in Seattle; on Freddie's side he smirked internally at the idea that it didn't take much acting to generate a little passion with such an attractive co-star. It was no slight on Cat, of course, nor would be his kiss with Jade in a couple of days' time; it was acting, no more and no less – but he wasn't going to deny himself a little fun while he was doing his final performances of the year. Like last year there were a number of plays that had been put on as a 'final exam' for the kids' acting and performing classes. Unlike last year they now had no choice over what to appear in, or who with; the decision was taken by their teachers. So, despite being forewarned, the group were surprised when they were handed their assignments – and given such short deadlines to learn their parts. Fortunately they didn't have any tests from their other subjects today but revision for tomorrow's papers went out of the window when they realised that they would have to spend an appreciable chunk of the day learning their lines for today's performance – and Wednesday's.

Those not involved in the play had taken a little time off from their own studies to provide moral support; Cat sat in the audience smiling as she enjoyed her friends' performances – even if part of it was her boyfriend kissing another girl, she knew that this time it was simply a part of the performance, much like her own with Beck was during the movie they shot (and the one that same pair would share in tomorrow's play).

Jade, meanwhile, felt that she had drawn the short straw; she would be paired with Robbie (the thought almost nauseated her) for their play tomorrow, though she consoled herself with the thought that she had better luck in that she starred opposite Freddie the following evening.

"I love you," Tori's whispers, as she pulled her face away from the brown-haired teen but stayed held in his arms, brought the musing teens' focus back to the stage; Cat looked up from her own script and brushed a few strands of vivid red hair from in front of her eyes as she watched the action unfold.

"I love you too," Freddie replied softly and tenderly. The lighting dimmed, signalling the end of the play; Sikowitz led the applause and the two main stars looked a little embarrassed at the enthusiastic reception they received.

"Tori, Freddie, very well done," the eccentric teacher praised them, "you too Eli, Jess and Darren," he congratulated the rest of the small cast.

The brown-eyed tech producer let out a sigh of relief as he smiled around at his co-stars; it had been an understandably small script given the short preparation time and he thought they had all coped (Eli had improvised one or two lines, he thought, either that or I forgot what they really were) but they had managed to get through it and he would at least have about 48 hours to learn the lines of his next play, along with the rest of his revision. The half-Latina singer, meanwhile, would have an extra day to do her preparation as she had been cast in one of Thursday's performances.

The theatre was almost empty by the time the cast had changed back into their usual clothes; Cat had stayed behind to congratulate her boyfriend, and Tori, before they left.

"So are you heading straight home?" she asked him after giving him a quick hug and a kiss.

"I was actually going to stay here for another hour or so," he explained, "I have work at five so I figured I'd just head to the library and study for a while and then go straight there after. Will you be along or will your mom pick up her computer?" he asked his girl.

"Uh, probably mom will, I need to study for science tomorrow," she told him.

"Ok, well I'll come over after work and we can study together for a couple of hours?"

"You mean make out for a couple of hours?" Tori grinned at them.

"We'll control ourselves… maybe," he told her with a laugh.

West residence, Hollywood Hills

"So, why are we here again?" Beck muttered; he was always happy to spend time with his girl but he was unsure as to why they were spending it here, in the den of her mother's house, rather than in the seclusion that his trailer afforded them.

"Beck," Jade began, "we spent almost all of yesterday trapped in your RV, getting very hot while we were there. I just want to put some distance between myself and that memory before I go back there, ok?"

The long-haired teen gave her a questioning look; he was surprised that it had troubled her to such an extent as he had simply aired it out a little after returning it to his parents' driveway and slept in it as usual last night.

"We'd get a lot more privacy there though," he pointed out amiably.

"I don't want to go there," she hissed; from the next room her mother gave a curious and suspicious look in their direction.

He leaned in to give her a placating kiss; the look on her face suggested that he had only been partially successful with it but she accepted the affection anyway before pulling her text book onto her lap.

"We need to study," she declared with a tone of finality; he sighed but picked up his own book and they began to do their work.

Valentine residence

A short distance across town the need to study seemed a little lost on the other teenage couple. True to his word Freddie had come over after finishing his shift (Mrs Valentine had collected her newly repaired machine earlier in the evening) and the teens sat alone on the couch in the living room. Their books were open but unexamined as the two kissed softly; Cat's script for her play tomorrow was now a few pieces of crumpled paper, strewn about the area.

"So," Freddie asked with a glint in his eye as they briefly separated, "do you think you're ok for the kiss scene at the end of your play?"

"I dunno," his girlfriend adopted a mock-worried expression, "I think I could do with a little more practice," before giving him a melting, puppy-dog-eyed look.

"Well it would be a shame if you failed the class because of it," he made a show of reasoning, "and it would affect Beck too."

"Yes, we can't let our friends down!" she almost growled as she pressed her body against his again and reclaimed his lips for a somewhat more heated and frenzied kiss than usual; it left them both breathless at the end.

"Hi kids, are you alright?" Mrs Valentine came downstairs just as they had parted, taking in, with some amusement, the flustered and slightly dishevelled appearance of her daughter and her boyfriend.

"Uh yeah mom, we're fine," the red-headed girl insisted.

"How's the study coming along?" she asked with a teasing smirk, suspecting that not too much had been done given the look of the two of them and the room in general.

"I think we should maybe look at science for now," Freddie told his girl, taking the hint and also being well aware of how much work the girl needed to do to make sure that she passed, "since that's in the morning. We can do a little bit for maths over lunch right before the test and then tomorrow night maybe the stuff for theatre class?"

"Sounds good," Cat replied weakly, thinking that the science part didn't really sound too good to her.

"I know they're not your favourites," Freddie squeezed her bare thigh gently as he seemingly read the girl's mind, "but you need to do them, and pass them, so we need to study."

"I know," she conceded in disappointment and resignation and the pair gathered up their books and began to work.

"How about…" he began, after almost half-an-hour in which the girl was struggling to make headway.

"We take a break?" she interrupted brightly, "Ok!"

"No," he caught her hands in an attempt to gently restrain and settle her, "but you could maybe earn a little 'reward'," he flashed a telling grin, "for every right answer. Just a little incentive," he shrugged.

"I like the sound of that," his girl happily redoubled her efforts and soon earned her first reward from her boyfriend's lips.

Benson residence

"Freddie! You're home later than I expected!"

"Mom, what are you still doing up; you have the early shift tomorrow," her son pointed out.

"I just wanted to see how your day was and how the tests went."

"Well I only had one, an acting one, today so I had all day to prepare for it and it went pretty well; I was working with Tori, Eli and a couple of the others on it and Sikowitz thought that we all did well."

"Well that's good to hear. Are you all set for tomorrow's?"

"Yes, mom, Cat and I have been studying for science; that's why I'm late, we got through a lot of it," he omitted the other reason that he had been there so long; Marissa could guess though and nodded suspiciously.

"Well make sure you get plenty of rest since you have two tests tomorrow," she warned him.

"I will, mom, in fact I'll go to bed now," he replied pleasantly, giving her a goodnight kiss on the cheek as he passed her and headed upstairs; she shook her head as he departed, smiling a little at the boy's happiness – even though she still wasn't really sure about Cat. She thought on her son's demeanour and pulled a slightly concerned expression.

Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School

Friday, 25th June 2010.

It was the final day of the school year and the sophomore class were eagerly looking forward to their summer break. Tests seemed to have gone pretty well for them (Cat was amazed by how much she had been able to remember of the work she and Freddie had done the previous night; he suggested that they had found a way of getting her to remember the stuff that actually worked). The short plays had almost all been performed; those that had been were well received and now conversation could turn to an altogether more pleasant subject.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the summer?" Tori asked; she and her family were going to spend the following week in Cancun and possibly have another break before school came back.

"We have to go to Idaho to visit my brother," Cat informed her.

"How long will you be up there for?" Jade asked her best friend.

"Well, we go on July 1st and we'll be there for about two weeks."

"Freddie? Any plans?"

"Uh, well mom and I will have to base anything around her time off from the hospital; I guess we'll head back up to Seattle for a bit to see some of our old friends there and maybe to the east coast as well to see some family. I might just take a few extra shifts at work, though, especially while Cat's away, and earn some more cash. I'll probably hit the gym a bit more regularly as well."

"Good plan," Tori squeezed his bicep playfully and he shot her a quick grin; Cat scowled a little into her bottle of water. "Beck?"

"We're going up to Canada to visit family."

"Are you going with them?" the brunette asked Jade.

"No," she replied flatly, stabbing her salad with increased vigour; Tori looked to the girl's long-haired boyfriend for an explanation.

"They uh… they'd rather she didn't come up," he muttered with a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

"They hate me," the gothic teen snapped.

"I'm sure that's not true…" the half-Latina began.

"Oh it is," Beck contradicted her. "They still haven't forgotten about our Thanksgiving last year," he shot the girl a look.

"Is this about your dad and your cousin?" Freddie asked, wondering why that would be an issue when only the Oliver parents were actually there.

"No, Canadian Thanksgiving," the actor elaborated, "we celebrate it a couple of months earlier. Jade… "

"They asked me to say grace; they didn't like the way I said it," she shrugged, grinning a little at the memory in spite of the consequences it had caused.

"Yeah, it got you un-invited from pretty much anything my family will ever do in the future," he told her.

"How bad was it?" Cat asked.

"Have you ever seen your whole family cry?" Beck enquired of her.

"Well, one time my brother…" she began before the bell sounded; the teens around the table heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"So, anyway, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Jade asked as she fell into step with Freddie and Cat.

"I've switched my days at work so I'm working Sunday instead of tomorrow," the boy began, "which means that I can give my girl a wonderful birthday," he wrapped his arm around the red-head's shoulders and she giggled and smiled as she rested her head against him.

"Sounds great. And the party's at six?" the green-streak haired girl sought to confirm.

"Yeah, that's when my mom and dad want people to start arriving; probably food won't be until around seven though."

"Great, well I'll make sure Beck and I are there by six-thirty then; I think he's working until at least five so it might take him a while to get ready afterwards."

"Are you hanging around for the afternoon?" Freddie asked the girls, knowing that neither of them had any more tests or performances.

"I will be, I need to be here for Beck's play tonight," Jade noted.

"I'm not sure how long I'm staying," Cat added.

"Well how about we hit the rec room for one last time before the summer," he suggested; the girls nodded their agreement as he continued, "then we can decide whether to stay for the play," he addressed Cat, "or not. If I do then I'm going to struggle to make it to work on time so I may have to skip it – or sneak out before the end."

"He'll understand," the dark-haired girl observed reasonably.

"You really got banned from any of his family gatherings?" he grinned at the mean girl; she gave a slightly embarrassed smile in return.

Benson residence

Saturday, 26th June 2010.

"I'm still not happy about all this Freddie," Marissa began as he finished his breakfast.

"Mom, it's my girlfriend's birthday; you can't expect me to not spend it with her."

"I know but missing work for it?"

"I'm not missing work, I'm working tomorrow instead," he explained for the tenth time.

"On a Sunday? I didn't think you were serious about working a Sunday!"

"Mom," he countered with admirable patience, "you work some Sundays."

"I don't have a choice; it's the shift patterns. People don't stop getting sick just because it's the weekend. You have a choice and you shouldn't be working on a Sunday."

"Mom," he sighed, "it's one time and for Cat's birthday. It's already arranged. I've got to go, I'll be back after her party finishes and see you tonight if you're still awake by then." He leaned over to kiss his mother's cheek before leaving the house.

Valentine residence

"Hey, hey, happy birthday," Freddie called as he entered his girlfriend's house and greeted her with a kiss. "Are you ready to hit the mall?"

"Almost," she replied, "but first I thought that you could help me shoot a new film for The Slap. Did you bring what I asked for."

"I did, so sure," he shrugged, "no problem," he handed her the article she'd requested. In truth he was slightly relieved, given that she was dressed down in a grey hooded top and pale blue jeans; he was expecting her to dress a little more smartly for her birthday treats ahead.

"'kay 'kay, the camera's all set up in my room," she took his hand and led him upstairs; Freddie traded looks with the Valentine parents as he went and they sniggered at his confused discomfort.

Cat flopped onto her bed and groaned loudly as he filmed; she then sat up, leaning against the bed and made a few more random noises. Lastly she stood up and squealed.

"Ok, you can edit those three together," she grinned as she prepared for the main part of her new clip; Freddie just shrugged, figuring that she was doing all of this for a reason (though for the life of him he couldn't fathom what it was).

She sat back on her bed and faced the camera. "I just made silly noises into the camera because I decided that's how I should start this video," she explained before leaning into the camera. "Oodle, oodle, oodle, oodle!"

Again she was sat by the side of her bed. "Imagine if you filled an entire swimming pool with grapes and then you put on a bathing suit and just jumped into the pool and landed in like a big belly-flop on all those poor little grapes. Let's imagine that together," she closed her eyes. Behind the camera Freddie did too, desperately trying to control his laughter so as not to shake the camera; she opened her eyes a couple of seconds later and called "cut."

"Cat, this is insane," Freddie pointed out, "hilarious – but insane," he grinned.

"I know," she laughed, crawling over to give him a quick kiss before setting up the next scene.

"If you have two tomatoes," the girl held them towards the camera, "and they're like really tired, they can take a nap in…"

"I'm really not sure about this," the cameraman told her weakly as she headed to her dresser to gather a prop. The girl ignored him and set up the item at the bottom of her bed.

"A HAMMOCK BRA!" she declared as the camera began rolling again; she had strung one of her bras across an old frame, tying it in place at each end. She began giggling loudly at the idea. "I made this! Time for your nap, tomatoes," she laughed again as she set one in each cup and watched them hanging there. "I will now sing the tomatoes a sweet lullaby," she told her audience. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, Mr and Mrs Tomato, take a nap, in your hammock bra…"

For her next clip she needed the item she had borrowed; it was one of Freddie's Galaxy Wars replica communication devices. "Hey," she announced, having switched it on, "this is Cat – I mean Lieutenant Valentine," and she laughed again. "What are you doing, you know, on the… spaceship?" She shook the device and it emitted a high-pitched beep, causing her to dissolve into yet more giggles.

"Cat, Cat, settle down," he urged her as he put the camera to one side and tried to calm the giddy girl; he was slightly concerned that in her exuberance she would manage to break his collectable. It was a few minutes before Freddie had relaxed her sufficiently that they could get ready for the next scene, which again involved the communicator.

"Hey, Mr Spock," she began, "you are so Vulcan weird…" she snapped it shut and burst out laughing again as she realised what she had said, and what it sounded a little bit like. Eventually she stopped laughing and was able to continue.

"Ok, don't freak out but it's me again," she spoke into the device once again, "umm I want you to umm beam me up," she giggled again before closing the prop and facing the camera. "Ok, I'm going to do a special thing now. "Wooo," she said as she jiggled on the spot.

"And we're clear," Freddie grinned as he repeated his traditional sign-off from iCarly, "I'll do a bit of techno-wizardry on the end and have you fade out of it. Oh," he motioned for the girl to move out of the way and got a few seconds of footage of the wall of the room without the girl there. "That'll make it easier to blend from one to the other," he told her.

"Great, I can't wait until it's done," she said excitedly.

"Well I don't think we'll have time today with all the plans for your birthday," he told her reasonably.

"Oh yay, birthday plans," she grinned, all thoughts of the video instantly vanished from her mind.

"I'll give you a few minutes to get changed and meet you downstairs?" he suggested.

"'kay 'kay," she called as he exited the room, still wondering if it was such a good idea that she was showing off her bras in front of him.

"I thought we were going to the mall," she pointed out as they set out in a different direction.

"We are, later," he smiled, refusing to go into any more detail.

"Ooh a surprise!" she shouted; he rubbed his ear, hoping that she hadn't deafened him with her enthusiasm.

Sherman Oaks Castle Park

4989 Sepulveda Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA

The birthday girl squealed loudly as they approached the course. "Baby golf!" she cried happily; Freddie smiled at her reaction.

Her face fell a little for a moment. "I didn't bring my special putter," she pouted.

"Look on the back seat," he suggested; she turned to see her pink putter lying across the seat and squealed again.

"I feel like you planned all of this," she commented before furnishing him with a broad smile, nudging his arm playfully; he nodded his head with a grin as they turned into the car park.

Despite it being the girl's birthday Freddie was unable to contrive a way for her to win; she still had her habit of swinging, barely catching the ball (or sending it off in an unwanted direction) followed by a loud giggle. Again he tried to help and 'guide' her, holding her arms from behind her and helping her aim; again she used it as an excuse to lean back into his arms, treating it more as a cuddle than him trying to help her. Freddie didn't mind at all.

It was another comfortable win for the boy (not that they seriously competed, but they did record their scores on the cards that they were given) but the birthday girl thoroughly enjoyed herself; something she made a point to tell him as they returned to his car, pulling him into a kiss before they got in.

"Thank you Freddie, I had a lot of fun," she told him, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face as she did so.

"You're welcome; I want to make this birthday a really special, memorable day for you," he told her sincerely, cupping her cheek and stroking it gently with his thumb as he looked deep into her brown eyes; getting lost in them he tilted his face slightly and leaned in to capture her lips passionately. The red-headed girl eagerly threw her arms around him and intensified the kiss, for the first time opening her mouth slightly and sucking on his bottom lip.

Taking his cue from her he put into practice some of the techniques he'd learned previously, trying to push from his mind that he'd learned them from Lindsey (as he really didn't want to think too much about her at a time like this) and instead focussing solely on the beautiful girl he was currently with, mingling passion and tenderness as he put his heart into the kisses.

"Wow," she whispered as they pulled apart, "I've never had a kiss like that before."

"I hope you enjoyed it," he grinned wickedly at her.

"I definitely did," she agreed, leaning in for another peck before they got into his car.

Green Meadow Mall

6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

"Alright, here we are," Freddie smiled, leading his girl by the hand; she was surprised that they didn't go for a smoothie, which was her usual first port of call when arriving at the mall, but instead headed elsewhere; she smiled widely when they reached their destination.

"Order for Benson?" the proprietor confirmed.

"Yes, thank you," Freddie handed him some bills and took the tray from him. "Sixteen red-velvet cupcakes," he confirmed with a knowing look to the obsessed teen.

"Yay, lunch," she cried happily and picked one off the tray, sighing contentedly as she took her first bite.

"Cat, you can't eat all of them for lunch," he pointed out in a patient yet amused voice.

"Aww," she sounded disappointed at his complaint. "I'll let you have one," she bargained.

"Cat, your parents are putting on a birthday dinner for you tonight, you don't want to eat too much," he reminded her. "Besides, you can savour them for a while if you don't eat them all at once."

"I guess," she shrugged, far from convinced by his argument.

"Anyway, we need to run if we're going to make the showing of the movie." Freddie had bought tickets for a new rom-com that Cat wanted to see; the tech genius would rather not have seen it but he knew that she wanted to and, as it was her birthday, he had decided that they would see it. Within minutes of it starting he was bored and sank back in his seat, something not lost on his girlfriend; she began stealing kisses and soon they were making out in the dark cinema, the film long forgotten.

"Thank you," he said as they left the cinema hand-in-hand, "I know you wanted to see it."

"I did and I liked it," she insisted, "but it was more fun to be spending the time with you. I managed to follow what was happening, more or less, but I liked the kissing more," she admitted with a mischievous smile and a flutter of her eyelashes.

"You want to get a snack while we're passing the Food Court?" he asked, "or are you still full of cupcakes?" The girl had already demolished three of the treats.

"I'm good," she grinned.

"I might just get a quick burger then," he commented, leading her over to one of the outlets and ordering the snack.

"Oh, and some fries," his girl added; he shot her a slightly disbelieving look and she just smirked back at him, wrinkling her nose in the way he always found adorable. He just shrugged and handed over the appropriate amount of money to the vendor; they took over a table at the side of the Court and ate a quick lunch.

"So where next?" she asked curiously as he led her from the area.

"Well there's Toys For You just up there," he gestured down the corridor, "so I thought you might want to pick out a little present for yourself."

"I thought all this was my present," she was confused at the thought of getting something extra.

"It is," he confirmed, "and though the memories should be good and you'll enjoy the rest of the cupcakes, don't you want a little something to keep forever as a reminder of today?"

"Yeah," she agreed, "like my little animal that you got me two years ago."

"Just like that," he echoed with a smile.

Half an hour later they left the mall; Cat carried a small, plush tiger under her arm.

"Have you got a name for him?"

"Not yet, I'll have to think on that," she told him. "Thank you Freddie, it's been a great day."

"It's not over yet," he told her. "We still have a couple of hours before you need to get ready for your party."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he smiled before squirming and trying to bat her hands away with his right. "Cat! Don't tickle me while I'm driving," he protested, trying to keep the wheel steady as they left the car park. She pouted but relented.

Marco Marco

1641 N Las Palmas Ave

"Oh wow," she gasped as they entered the building, "look at all the costumes!"

"I know. I remember you said that you really want to take the costume design class next year so I figured we'd come here and see if you can get a couple of good ideas."

He allowed his girl to lose herself in the room, checking out a huge number of costumes that were on display while he looked at a couple himself and struck up a conversation with one of the sales assistants, herself a former Hollywood Arts student who was learning under 'the Master' and hoped to have some of her own designs on sale soon. The short teen, meanwhile, was making mental notes as she traversed the store, picking up tips that she could use in her class.

"We need to head off now," Freddie tapped Cat on the shoulder, pulling her from her reverie.

"Oh, 'kay 'kay," she sounded disappointed that their time was up but she allowed him to take her hand and lead her from the store. "I'm coming back here," she told him as they departed.

Valentine residence

The young couple returned to her home shortly before five p.m. Cat headed straight up to her room to begin getting ready while Freddie offered his services to the Valentine parents.

"No thank you Freddie, it's all under control," Mrs Valentine declined his assistance with preparing things.

"Just take a seat in the living room and have a drink, it must have been a hectic day spending all of it with Cat," her father grinned.

Freddie returned the grin with one of his own to confirm the man's supposition.

"Thank you sir, I'll have a drink and then get changed; I brought something for this evening."

"Sure, you can use my son's old room," Mr Valentine offered.

"How is he?" Freddie asked. "Cat doesn't say too much about how he is now, though she has a lot of anecdotes about his past."

Cat's father gave a tired sigh. "He's improving, that's about all we can say right now. Whether we ever really get our boy back I don't know – and I have to say I doubt it – but he's doing better there than he was here so that's a good thing. We'll see him next week and hopefully it will be ok."

Freddie nodded awkwardly; Mr Valentine cleared his throat and muttered, "If you'll excuse me…" before heading back to the kitchen to join his wife.

Tori and André arrived shortly after six; the birthday girl greeted them at the door and invited them in before returning to her boyfriend's lap, reclining against him and enjoying the feel of his strong arm around her waist. Trina, the younger sister explained, had decided that she had plans (though she had been very non-specific when pressed) and so would not be attending. The little redhead was a bit disappointed by this but put it out of her mind when she got talking to those who were present.

"So how has your day been so far?" the brunette singer asked.

"Oh it's been awesome," the newly-turned sixteen-year-old gushed and began talking about all the things that she and her boyfriend had done during the day and how much she had enjoyed them all, especially the golf and the huge tray of cupcakes.

"Are there any left?" Tori teased, knowing the girl's fondness for them.

"Some," she smiled sheepishly.

"Most of them are," Freddie corrected, "I snuck some of them out of the box to keep them safe for later," he admitted to his girl.

"Well that explains where they all went!" she exclaimed before adding with a grin, "I thought I must have eaten them without realising it."
"That wouldn't have surprised me either," he joked.

Just after six-thirty Eli, Robbie (and Rex) joined the gathering, then Jade arrived, along with Beck, and the party began in earnest; the harried parents finished off preparing the food and sat down with the teenagers to eat.

"Chicken leg?" Freddie offered his girl; she snatched one up eagerly and bit into it. Jade selected a slice of pizza to begin with while Robbie began distributing cups of punch to the rest of the group.

"Thank you," Tori accepted her cup and began to study the table to select an item. "This all looks so good, Mr and Mrs Valentine," she enthused to their happiness and they smiled at the girl.

After the plates were emptied the cake was brought in, resplendent with pink icing and topped with sixteen candles surrounding a centrepiece of yet another red velvet cupcake. The Valentines' daughter gasped in shock and delight as her father brought it through and set it down in front of her; as she was urged to make a wish she cast a sly sideways glance at her boyfriend before closing her eyes and blowing out the candles in a couple of uncharacteristically deep breaths before embracing her mother and father happily. The cake was sliced and distributed; the teens all seemed to enjoy it, even if it was a little too sweet for Jade's personal tastes.

Dinner completed, the parents retreated upstairs, fearing the chaos and carnage that could ensue when their daughter started dancing.

"Please try and make sure the house doesn't get destroyed," they urged Freddie.

"I'll do my best," he assured them.

The birthday girl switched the stereo on and the party moved into full swing; the girls sang along to some of them, something that impressed the boys immensely. Once they had had enough of dancing Cat dashed upstairs and brought down her pear box along with a few games. Tori excelled on the tennis game (she had plenty of experience playing with and against Trina on a similar game) while Freddie and Beck mastered the shooters; their reflexes and agility had been honed by the hours spent in the fencing studio.

Around eleven p.m. things began to wind down; Beck took himself and Jade home, Eli left and André drove Robbie and Tori home, leaving Freddie to say goodnight to his girlfriend before his mother began to complain too much.

"So how was your day?" he asked from the doorway as she was letting him out.

"I loved it; all of it," she enthused. "Thank you Freddie, this was the best birthday I've ever had," she smiled and kissed him tenderly.

"Good night Cat – and happy birthday," he whispered and left with a wave and a smile.

AN: Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to let me know and I hope you all come back for the next chapter soon. PD.