AN: Hello everyone; here is the latest chapter of this story, which I hope you will all find interesting. As ever at this point my thanks go to everyone for reading and reviewing the last chapter. Fanfic-Reader-88 - there has long been the theory that the characters of the Schneiderverse each have their own superpower, maybe Jade's is her super scissors? She did get to put the play on and have her dad appreciate it so it was all good.
TenorSax93 - thanks.
Challenge King - maybe but Cat had been there earlier and then left. We all know how stoic Jade is on the outside; perhaps she blew off Beck's concern and told him that there was no need to go over there?
Darck Ben - thanks. As for Josh, maybe but he didn't really add to the story and wouldn't have interacted with Cat or Freddie. As the story is almost exclusively from their PoVs he wouldn't have done too much.
Pbow - thanks. We went into the point about the money via PM and as for Daisy's voice, it could only have been 'manipulated' if she was wearing a headset. In a small theatre they'd hear her the way she sang anyway.
Guest - thanks. Freddie/Jade is a sub-relationship but they are very important to one another in a sibling kind of way.
That's everyone but I believe since my last update One Horse Shay has added a chapter of his excellent Teddie story 'iGuess we're Roomies'; I'd recommend that you all have a read of it. Rumour has it that he also plans to conclude a couple of his older stories, but you didn't hear that from me.
Chapter 29: The Wood
Benson residence,
Hollywood Hills, California
Sunday, 30th January 2011.
"Oh for goodness sake Fredward, will you stop moping!" Marissa lamented; she had become more and more fed up with her sulking son over the last couple of days. She drew a breath to continue but he interrupted.
"I'm not moping mom, I just miss her."
Cat was away; her parents had taken a trip to Idaho to see her brother and to see for themselves what progress he was making as they attempted to correct his various issues. The redhead hadn't gone with them but, instead of staying with her Nona or some of the other Angeleno-based family she had, she had gone to San Francisco for a week to visit some family there. The girl had asked Freddie if he wanted to come with her, which he did, but Marissa had put her foot down.
"I know it's right at the start of the semester Freddie, but I don't think it's good for you to be missing school."
He nodded sadly but held his tongue, suspecting that she had another couple of reasons for why she really didn't want him to go.
"I'm still surprised that her parents have let her go," Marissa commented.
"I told you, her parents have gone to see their son so they sent her to stay with family.
"But in that environment…" his mother protested; Freddie smiled a little, feeling that she'd confirmed his suspicions.
He shrugged. "They're family and Mr and Mrs Valentine are happy for her to be around them."
"I wouldn't be happy for you to be around them," the Head Nurse told her son quietly. He lowered his gaze, knowing that, at this point in time anyway, she did have the power of veto.
The tech genius received a message on his phone; he picked the device up from the table, a little to his mother's annoyance, as she was hoping that they would have a nice evening together.
"It's Cat; she'd like to video chat," he informed her, brightening immediately as he declared this.
Marissa frowned. "Go on then," she waved dismissively. Freddie leapt to his feet and flew upstairs. Mrs Benson sighed and gave a worried look at just how much her son's mood was affected by this girl.
HappyCat was on-line when Freddie logged on to the chat software; he fired off a request and the grinning girl, in an unusual environment, filled his screen.
"Hi-iii," she cried in delight.
"Hey Cat, how's San Francisco?" he asked, smiling at her.
"It's good," she gave a slightly wan smile, "it would be better if you were here though."
"Yeah, I just wish my mom had let me go with you. How are your uncles?"
"They're good. They're both working tomorrow though so I'll be exploring the city on my own. I have a map," she picked up a small item and showed it to the camera before opening it out. "Look, it's a pop-up map!" she called happily, giggling as she opened and closed it a few times.
"That's great; just be careful out there all alone," he urged.
"I will," she promised. "So you're back at school tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we should all be there and I think we're going to have a little party for Tori to celebrate her first year here at Hollywood Arts with us."
"That will be so much fun! I wish I could be there."
"Me too, but you'll be back soon… hopefully," he smiled.
"Yeah, I hope so too."
The two chatted a little longer although Freddie, mindful of his mother's desire for them to spend a little quality time together, logged off a little earlier than he really wanted to and headed back downstairs in higher spirits. Marissa gave him a smile as he returned.
"How is she?"
"She's good. She misses me… and the others," he added quickly as his mother's face flickered a touch. The two spent the rest of the evening together discussing things like their work, his school and her sister's life in New York (Freddie was disappointed that she had had no more dealings with Castle and Beckett as he was hoping to land an autographed copy of the writer's next novel if the chance arose).
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School,
Monday 31st January 2011.
"Hey Freddie," Beck called as he and Jade joined the teen, André and Robbie at a table before school. "Where's Cat?" the Canadian actor asked curiously, noticing the red-head's absence.
"She's in San Francisco, visiting her 'uncle and uncle'," Freddie informed him.
"I told you that," his girlfriend reminded the long-haired teen before turning to her friend. "How come she didn't ask you to go with her?" Jade knew the redhead was going upstate but was surprised that she went alone, given that the couple were getting increasingly inseparable.
"Oh she asked," the former iCarly member explained before continuing a little grumpily, "but my mom said no. She didn't want me missing school, even right at the start of the semester, and she thinks staying with those two will 'corrupt my moral soul'," he air-quoted the last four words.
"Dude, no offence but your mom's weird," the mean girl pointed out, earning a reproachful look from her boyfriend.
Clearly none was taken as he replied with a small smirk, "It took you this long to realise that?"
The bell sounded and they headed to class. Jade surprised Beck by lagging behind him as he left; she fell into step with Freddie and muttered quietly, albeit with a little smirk, "I'm guessing she still doesn't know that Lindsey beat Cat's 'uncles' to it when it comes to 'corrupting' you?"
"If she was your mom, would you tell her that?" he asked.
"Good point, Benson." Jade was relieved that at least Freddie was a little more relaxed about the incident now; time, and Cat, seemed to have helped him to lay the ghosts of Lindsey to rest, though he hadn't seen the senior girl in quite a while, the brunette mused. She also recalled his reaction to her doppelganger's appearance at Karaoke Dokie the previous autumn.
"Oh, you gotta see this new thing I bought at the weekend," the ventriloquist suddenly interrupted them and addressed Freddie excitedly.
"I'm out then," Jade declared, snapping out of her thoughts and rushing to catch up with Beck as he entered the school. Robbie dug in his bag for a few seconds and retrieved a small, yellow, disc-shaped vessel, a little like a spaceship.
"Is that an Astrocraft?" Freddie asked with interest; the pair followed Beck and Jade into the hallway.
"Yep, ah ha," he spotted the Vega sisters standing near the soda machine in the locker area. He produced the remote control and began to move the craft. "Okay, now, watch as I scare the lip gloss off of Tori and Trina. Forward thrust…" The sisters stopped talking and turned in confusion as the craft hovered by the younger's right elbow. "And now," Robbie continued, "Laser assault!" he called as it fired a few beams of light at the girls; Tori looked at it in irritation before hitting it with her folder and sending it to the floor. The craft emitted a few sparks as it wobbled pathetically.
Freddie patted him on shoulder. "I think the rebels won that one."
"Hey, thanks a lot for whacking my Astrocraft!" the curly-haired teen snarled.
"It was attacking us," Tori pointed out.
"And stupid," Trina added; the sisters turned to one another and shared a laugh.
Lane, the Guidance Counsellor, was leading a film crew down the main stairs to the locker area. "We have artwork throughout the whole building, and this is kinda the main hallway," he explained.
"Get some shots of the kids on the stairs there," one of the crew instructed the cameraman as a teenage couple practiced one of their dances.
"Oh, my God, they're filming something," Trina shuffled as fast as her dress and shoes would allow her to and interjected herself between the camera and the dancers, following the camera to keep herself in shot as its operator tried to avoid her.
"That girl keeps blocking my shot," the cameraman complained.
"Hey, what's going on?" Tori enquired as she and the others joined them.
"Oh, these guys are shooting a TV show," Lane explained.
"A TV show?" Robbie was interested.
"I wanna be on a TV show," Trina begged, squeezing Lane's arm painfully.
"What show are you guys from?" her sister asked.
"It's a new one, called 'The Wood'," the producer replied.
"I wanna be on 'The Wood.' What's 'The Wood'? I wanna be on it," Trina pleaded.
"These are the producers, Kyle and...," Lane ignored her.
"Mick," the other producer introduced himself.
"Mick," the counsellor echoed.
"Oh, hi," Freddie nodded at them.
"Hi, Freddie from iCarly, right?" Kyle recognised him.
"That's me," he confirmed.
"Hey, I'm Robbie. Spelt with two bs," the ventriloquist floundered as they passed him.
"So, what's 'The Wood' about?" Freddie asked them.
"It's a reality show..." Kyle began.
"About teenagers in Hollywood," Mick took up.
"I'm a teenager, and I'm in Hollywood right now. See?" Trina wailed.
"They're here getting some shots of our school... and to look for interesting kids to feature on the show," Lane supplied.
"So, is there gonna be like a casting session?" Tori wondered.
"Uh-huh. After school, in the black box," Lane confirmed.
"I'll be there," Trina promised.
"Hey, can we get some shots of kids outside?" Kyle asked.
"Sure," Lane agreed, "let's go this way," and he led the crew away.
"So, you guys gonna try out?" Tori began.
"Yeah," Robbie enthused.
"Ah, I don't know. A reality show?" Freddie was unconvinced.
"Yeah, they can be really fun sometimes," Tori tried to convince him; Robbie tried the remote for his Astrocraft again.
"Yeah, but I did a load of crazy stuff in my iCarly days. If I want to act then I should probably move on from that kind of thing and I don't know if I really want to be involved..."
"But I thought you came here to perform…" the half-Latina argued.
"Hey, I think my Astrocraft still works," Robbie told them excitedly as it began to hover.
"I thought I killed that thing," the brunette observed.
"You may have inflicted some minor damage, but watch as I press 'return to base', and have it come right... Uh-oh!" The craft flew towards him at high speed, smacked him in the face and knocked him to the ground.
"Nerd down," Tori called.
"Be nice," Freddie smiled; he helped the bespectacled teen up. "I might be able to repair it at work; I wouldn't have the time or tools at home. If you bring it by the Pear Store tonight and I'll try and take a look at it," he promised; his friend just groaned and rubbed his nose groggily.
Music room
The Wood was the talk of the school throughout the day; most of the student body were excited at the prospect of appearing on a TV show. Some, however, were less enthusiastic.
"Are you sure about trying out for this," Ben, one of André's friends from the class, asked him.
"Yeah, of course, you mean you're not?"
"No, I'm sure that reality TV is stupid," the other replied. "And what about your music?"
"What about it?" The songsmith failed to see any connection.
"You almost lost your chance to sign with that label; you still haven't signed with them yet. Do you really want to go through that again because of this?"
"You make a good point," the musician conceded, "I'm gonna call them at break."
Black Box theatre
The Slap Mobile
Tori Vega: about to audition for The Wood.
I think Jade stole half of my coffee when I wasn't looking.
Feeling: Perky.
"Okay, next..." Kyle called.
"Hey. Tori Vega. Girl," she introduced herself.
"We can tell," Mick pointed out.
"Okay, Tori, this is a really informal audition. We're just trying to get a feel for your personality," his colleague explained.
"Got it; feel away," she invited.
"What's the worst thing you've ever done?" Kyle prompted.
"Oh, oh, wow," she thought hard for a few moments before suddenly brightening as a memory struck her. "Oh, I know. I squirted the hot cheese all over my friend and her current boyfriend, who was my ex-boyfriend, and then I kissed him right in front of her, which I felt really bad about. But then, it was okay, 'cause she punched me right in the face."
"Put a star by this girl," he whispered to Katie, a female colleague who was making notes on the various students.
André was next to audition; he had explained the situation to his contact at the label and had been assured that it shouldn't jeopardise his negotiations so long as he didn't embarrass himself badly on the show. He also fixed up an appointment to meet up with them and sign the contract, subject to them seeing the advanced copy of the show, later on in the week.
"Tell us something you love," Kyle began.
"Easy, music."
"And something you hate?"
"Brussels sprouts."
"Okay," the producer asked, "what if there was a really great song about Brussels sprouts?"
"Well, y'know, I'd probably..." he began to flounder, "I'd probably feel like... because when... it usually depends on... um, may I go to the bathroom?" He ran off.
"Okay," Trina began to dominate her audition, "picture me sitting on a pony wearing a bright purple hat. I... I was wearing the purple hat, not the pony," she clarified. "Do they even make pony hats? Anyway, I was looking faboo."
"And so, then, I realised," Beck explained, "acting is not about acting. It's about letting the emotions inside of you come out and represent moments..."
"Are you dating anyone?" Katie shouted out in interruption; Jade turned towards her with a trademarked glare on her face; Beck gave a look of polite confusion.
"Katie," Mick chided.
"I just think we should know if he has a girlfriend. Do you?" she asked again; Jade gave her man a challenging look.
"Yeah, I do," he confirmed.
"Dang it!" she yelled.
"Okay, I'm Robbie," the ventriloquist began his audition.
"I'm Rex," the puppet added.
"No," the producer called.
"Thank you for your time," Robbie retreated.
"Jerks," Rex snapped.
"Okay, Jade, what do you hate?" Mick prompted.
"Uh," she began to list, "tuna fish, flowers, giggling, the word panties, cilantro, rainbows, ducks. Man, I hate ducks. Cramps, string cheese, clocks, wet doorknobs, bras that hook in the front, the colour yellow, carpeting..."
Mick tapped Katie's shoulders and gave her a nod.
"Alright, Freddie Benson," Kyle smiled as the tech genius took a seat.
"Hello," he greeted them.
"What's a web celebrity like yourself doing here?"
"Uh well," he was a little confused at them wanting a history lesson, "my mom got a job in LA so we had to leave Seattle. I applied to this school, got in and…" he shrugged, "here I am."
The producers nodded sycophantically at the minor celebrity.
Vega Residence
Tori and her mother were putting the finishing touches to a nice spread that they had prepared for her and her friends to enjoy celebrating her first anniversary of being at the school.
Beck and Jade were the first to arrive; the gothic teen strode around the ground floor and took another admiring, envious look at the Jacuzzi sitting outside the back door.
"Nice tub," she commented admiringly.
"Excuse me?" Trina snapped, assuming that she was being insulted again.
"The hot tub," the dark brunette explained unusually patiently. "It looks good."
"Oh, right. Hey, when do you think we'll hear about 'The Wood'?" the diva asked.
"Probably tomorrow," Beck noted, "I think they want it to be running as quickly as possible so that they can get it on air."
"I can't wait," the elder sister enthused.
"So when do the others get here?" Tori wondered aloud.
"Freddie's picking up André and Robbie on his way back from work," Beck explained as he accepted a glass of lemonade from Mrs Vega with a smile and grateful nod. He took a sip before setting down on the kitchen counter. They should be here soon."
"It's a shame Cat's not going to be here," the younger Vega commented.
"Yeah, Freddie's missing her like crazy," Jade spoke sympathetically before the tub in the back yard drew her gaze again. "I really need to try out that Jacuzzi sometime," she commented.
"Well any time you're over you're more than welcome," Mrs Vega invited her.
"Thanks, I'll take you up on that," the teenager promised with a grin.
The doorbell rang and Tori opened the front door to reveal her three missing friends.
"Hey guys," she greeted them.
"Hi, are we ready to celebrate?" the tech genius asked.
"I think so," she smiled.
"Hey Tori," André took the hostess to one side as he brought up the rear, "I called the record label earlier, y'know, to try and finalise everything and to make sure they were cool with me maybe being on 'The Wood'."
"And, what did they say?"
"They're cool with it and, if they like what they see – or at least if they don't hate it – then I could maybe sign by the weekend."
"That's awesome! It would be something else to celebrate," the singer smiled, happy that things looked to be working out for her friend.
"Do you think we'll have something by the weekend? It seems an awfully fast turn-around," Freddie noted.
"Well there's quite a few of us," Beck reasoned, "and they must have accepted some of the other Hollywood Arts kids too so they can probably get a lot of footage pretty quickly, edit it together and hey presto!"
The former Seattle native nodded his agreement of the other's point. "Ok," he called, raising the drink Mrs Vega had handed him with a smile, "a toast to our good friend Tori on completing her first year with us at Hollywood Arts."
The teenagers raised their glasses and toasted the hostess; she smiled and thanked them for being the best friends she could have wanted - even Jade she added with a small smirk, which the darker brunette returned good-naturedly.
Valentine Apartment, San Francisco
Cat's mood was conflicted, rather than being her usual ebullient self. She was happy to be here with her uncles and visiting them while her parents were out of the state but she also missed her friends, and especially her boyfriend. It was something that wasn't lost on her blood relative.
"What's his name?" her uncle asked as he took a seat next to her on the couch; he set a cup of coffee down in front of his niece.
"Freddie," she smiled. "I have a picture, look," she delved into her bag and recovered her phone, finding a shot of the two of them together on the 'baby golf' course, which she proudly displayed.
"He looks nice," the man praised, "and you two look happy together."
"We are," she giggled, "I really like him. Oh, it's his birthday this weekend so I want to do something nice for him. I'll have to have a look around the city and see if I can find him a nice present."
"Sure, there's plenty of stores in the city, obviously – and like you said you have all week to find something. Any ideas what you want to get for him?"
Cat grinned. "I have a couple of ideas," she disclosed.
Asphalt Café,
Tuesday 1st February 2011.
Freddie, André, Tori, Robbie, Beck, Jade and Trina sat around their usual table chatting; most of them had their lunch already; Robbie, however, had yet to buy his but sought out Freddie, needing to speak to him.
"I meant to ask last night, did you manage to fix it?" the curly-haired teen pleaded, referring to his damaged toy.
"Just about," the technical teen confirmed, "it took me quite some time – so it's going to cost you quite a bit I'm afraid – but it's almost as good as new. I'll finish it up on Wednesday so if you call by near the end of my shift, maybe 7:30, you can have it back."
"Cool, thanks!"
"Hey, Beck," Trina was bored. "Smell my arm." She brandished the limb in the actor's face. "No perfume. That's my natural scent."
He looked to her sister for an explanation. "I have to live with her," Tori reminded them.
"Hey, you guys," Lane approached them with Kyle in tow; Robbie frowned at the memory of being rejected out of hand by the show and headed for the Grub Truck to get some food.
"Hey," "How's it goin'?" the teens greeted them.
"Kyle has some cool news for you," the counsellor informed them.
"Tori Vega, Beck Oliver, Jade West, Freddie Benson and André Harris, congratulations. You're all gonna be featured on 'The Wood'."
"Really?" "Fantastic," they enthused.
"And what about me?" Trina demanded.
"No," he shot her down.
"Why not?" she wanted to know.
"'Cause you reek of desperation."
"That's her natural scent," Beck jibed; the elder Vega glared at him and then stormed away from the table.
"Here you go," Festus handed Robbie his meal.
"Thanks, Festus," he replied politely.
"I want a tamale," Trina stomped up to the van.
"Too bad," the truck owner observed, "he got the last one."
"Give it to me," she demanded of the puppeteer.
"No, I want it," he snapped.
"Look, I am not in a good mood, and I want a tamale. So, hand it over."
"No," he declined.
"I'm not kidding around with you," she tried to snatch the snack from him.
"Hey! Stop it!" Festus yelled.
"Let go off the tamale," the diva yelled as the two engaged in a tug-of-war over it.
"It's my tamale," Robbie yanked it back.
"No fighting over tamales," Festus tried to separate them with a broom. "Aah!" he yelled as they joined forces, tugged on the broom and pulled him out of the truck.
Across the parking lot the other kids were watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment; Freddie winced as Festus went flying. He got up.
"Where are you going?" Jade asked as he made for the truck.
"My mom's a nurse, remember?" he reminded her. "I've learned a thing or two and maybe I can help out until someone qualified gets there." He walked briskly over and assessed the invalid. "Looks like a broken arm," he noted, gently taking the damaged appendage. "You two go get the nurse," he instructed Robbie and Trina. The Vega sister refused, until Robbie stormed off in search of one; he still had the tamale so Trina gave chase after him, reiterating her demands that he hand it over.
Benson residence
Freddie was relaxing at home after his evening session at the gym with André; his mother was working nights so he had the house to himself on an evening this week. He had hoped to talk to Cat but she wasn't on-line – or answering her phone; he figured that she was busy with her uncles somewhere in the city.
Instead, knowing that Beck and Jade were hanging together this evening, he called Tori for a bit of a chat; they spoke briefly before being disturbed by the crew, who had called over to get some footage from the girl's home life that they could use for the show.
"I gotta go," she told him regretfully, before adding a dark warning, "they'll be coming to pay you a visit at home soon."
"They'll be lucky," he muttered as she rang off, "mom would chase them off the second they tried to come in."
Palomino restaurant, 345 Spear Street, San Francisco.
As Freddie had suspected, Cat was indeed busy with her uncles; they had taken her out for a nice meal at one of the restaurants overlooking the bay.
"I thought it would be more golden," she observed as she looked out at the nearby bridge.
"That's not the Golden Gate bridge," her father's brother pointed out.
"But the actual Golden Gate bridge isn't really gold either," his partner added, "it's more of a reddish colour."
"Then why is it called the Golden Gate bridge?" she wondered aloud.
"It crosses the 'Golden Gate'," her uncle explained, "the bay which was the way in and out of San Francisco. During the gold rush in the 19th century it was how they got the gold out of the area and sold it internationally."
"Oh," the redhead pondered this for a moment, "they should paint it gold," she decided; her uncle smiled warmly.
"So, Cat," his partner pried, "tell us a little more about your life. I hear that you've had a boyfriend for almost a year now?"
"Yes," she confirmed, her face beginning to glow as she thought about him, "his name's Freddie and he's super awesome. He's a really good guy and he treats me like a princess."
"The way he should do," her uncle nodded.
"Yes, well, like I said it's his birthday this weekend so I'm going to go out tomorrow and get him something special for it."
"Have you decided what?"
"I think so, I just need to go out and buy it, probably tomorrow," she smiled before returning to her meal and refusing to divulge anything further, despite her uncles' mild probing and questioning.
Macy's, 170 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco
Wednesday, 2nd February 2011.
The red velvet-haired girl made her way through the store looking at a number of different items; finally, after trying on a few different items and sizes, she settled on the items she wanted to buy to give her man the birthday present that she had in mind, reaching the check-out and handing the vendor a baby pink and white chemise and matching stockings. Feeling a little self-conscious she sought to justify herself.
"It's for my boyfriend's birthday," she declared then, realising how that could be interpreted, she elaborated, "oh, he won't be wearing them, I will."
The vendor just shrugged and rang through the order. Cat handed over the money and, desperate to look anywhere but at the lady on the check-out, her eyes fell on a sign.
"Ooh, Cheesecake Warehouse!" she cried, picking up her purchases and heading for the in-store eaterie.
Hollywood Arts High School, Los Angeles
"And now I have to work the Grub Truck with Trina," Robbie complained to Freddie as they left class; it was the start of lunch, and the boy's first shift at the van, having been instructed by Lane to work there in the owner's absence.
"Well you two did injure him," the other reasoned, "and you can't expect him to miss out on his source of income while he's incapacitated."
"I know, and that's what I said to Trina… it's just, I have to work with Trina. Can you imagine how bad that will be?"
"I try not to," Freddie sympathised.
"Hey, Freddie," Jade called, striding purposefully past the lockers. "Can I have a word?" she asked; she worked well to keep the apprehensiveness out of her voice in Robbie's presence, eager to maintain her status as one of the school's alpha females, but Freddie could detect the small quiver nonetheless.
"Sure," he agreed. To Robbie he commented, "I'll catch you later – if not at lunch then at the Pear Store?"
The ventriloquist nodded, knowing that he needed to collect his Astrocraft, and headed for the Asphalt Café.
"Janitor's closet?" Freddie guessed; Jade nodded and steered him towards it. Unfortunately for the pair they were spotted by the crew from 'The Wood', who managed to get a camera shot of them walking there and entering together; they camped outside waiting for them to re-emerge.
"So what's this about?" Freddie asked quietly; he knew they would be afforded reasonable privacy in the small room but didn't want to speak in too loud a voice.
"Beck," his friend explained.
"What's he done?" Freddie's annoyance was beginning to flare.
"Oh no, he's not done anything," she sought to mollify him, then took a breath. "He's been dropping more and more hints, y'know about us…" she made an awkward gesture with her hands.
"Oh… ohh," he understood. "Is he pressuring you?" he asked in concern.
"No, nothing like that," she insisted. "It's just… I don't know what to do. We've been together for a couple of years now and I guess it's natural to expect that we'll take that step, and it's his birthday coming up soon so it would be a logical time and…"
"You don't have to give him that as a birthday present," Freddie interrupted.
"I know," she reassured him, beginning to pace around the room, "I don't know what I want. I can't say I haven't thought about it or that when I think about it that I definitely don't want to. I'm just not sure what I want."
"The only person who can answer that question is you, Jade," he replied evenly. "But what I will say, if my experience taught me anything it's that you need to want it and be ready for it. If you have even the slightest doubt then say no and he'll have to respect that – and if he doesn't and he does start to pressure you, then you let me know," he finished grimly.
"You always look out for me," she smiled, "but I can take care of myself and don't forget that I do know how to make people sorry if they cross me," the gothic teen finished with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Thanks," she grinned, pulling him into a quick hug as he stood.
"Any time, sis," he smirked back; the pair left the closet together, walking into the filming crew's ambush.
"Wow, that could be misinterpreted," the tech producer observed as they headed outside; the dark brunette just shrugged and brushed her blue hair extensions to the side figuring that it was about time Beck was the jealous one in their relationship, even if only for a little while.
Asphalt Café.
Beck meanwhile, along with André, had joined the throng of students vying for a meal while the new operators of the Grub Truck struggled under the sheer volume of demand.
"Hey," Beck called.
"Hey Robbie, we're friends," André added.
"Remember us?" Beck supplied. It didn't help. "That didn't go well," the actor added as they left empty-handed.
"You wanna pick up a pizza?" the musician suggested.
"Sure. I'll call Omar's. You got cash?"
"In my locker," the songsmith confirmed. "Back in a beat."
"Okay," he sat at a table and pulled out his phone. "Uh... hey, guys," he greeted the film crew as they arrived.
"Ignore us. Just keep doin' what you're doin'," Mick urged him.
"Alright, I'm just callin' Omar's pizza 'cause the Grub Truck..." he explained before the pizzeria owner answered. "Oh, hey, Omar. Hey, what's up? It's Beck. So, guess what I want? No, no, an extra-large pizza."
"Aww! Trina poked me with a big fork, look," Robbie rushed over to complain about her behaviour and wave his wounded hand in his friend's face.
"Poke her back," Beck suggested calmly. To Omar he said, as the ventriloquist returned to the truck, "So, what's on the Grande supreme? Oh, that sounds pretty good, except for the onions. Yeah, my girlfriend's not gonna like that. Can you leave those off? You are the best. So, can you have that ready in fifteen minutes? You make me happy. Yeah, okay, I'll be there soon. Yeah, okay. Bye."
Filming was further interrupted as a scuffle broke out between Robbie and Trina; Beck and the camera crew looked on in bemusement.
"Are you sure you don't want her on the show?" the long-haired Canadian asked them.
Thursday, 3rd February 2011.
"So how's it going?" Freddie asked a weary Robbie as he staggered away from the Grub Truck; he had just locked up the stand at the end of the lunch period and was more than ready to return to class.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it; Trina really isn't helping…"
"Why am I not surprised?" the tech genius smirked.
"It's not funny!" the ventriloquist snapped. "Her idea of helping was to work the deep fryer and fry Rex's foot! Look!" He waved the appendage at the other boy.
"Just fix my foot," the puppet instructed.
"It's not very appetising," Freddie commented with a grin; Robbie chose to ignore it.
Instead he continued, "And some people think they don't have to pay, or can pay with coupons for lady soap. Man, I can't wait for Festus to get back," he concluded grumpily.
Valentine Apartment, San Francisco
"Hi uncle," Cat greeted her father's brother; she had heard him come home so she emerged from the guest room, where she was staying and had been trying to do a little studying to make sure she didn't fall behind, particularly in maths and science which she was still finding a struggle, even with Freddie's help."
"Hey cupcake, how are you?"
"I'm good thanks, just trying to study a little," she explained.
"Well that's good," he sighed wearily.
"Uh, what are you doing?" the redhead asked curiously; even by her standards, her uncle's behaviour seemed… rather odd.
"I'm soaking my feet in chicken fat," he explained patiently.
"Why?"
"It softens them and relaxes me after a hard day."
"Oh… some of my friends used illegal pooka fish for that," Cat reminisced, "it worked and their feet were really smooth except it made most of them sick and they ended up in the hospital. "That was a good day," she smiled, looking off dreamily into space.
"It was a good day when your friends got sick?" Her uncle was confused by the little girl's statement.
"Well, not that part but you see I'd been dating this guy, Daniel, and then my friend Tori kissed him at a school party I'd invited him to – oh, he was her ex-boyfriend from her old school," she clarified. "So Tori and I were kinda fighting… and then there was some actual fighting when I punched her in the face, then we made up, I took her to the hospital to get checked out and there they all were. Tori mentioned that Freddie still liked me… he wasn't sick but he was there with them; his mom's a nurse there you see," her uncle nodded, not sure that he actually saw what she was talking about but enjoying the tale of his niece's crazy antics nonetheless, "and we talked, we kissed and we got back together," she concluded with a happy giggle.
"Well I'm glad," the older Valentine enthused, "he seems to make you happy."
"Oh he does, and I can't wait for his birthday… oh, not that I don't love being here with you, it's just.."
Her uncle cut her off with a smile. "It's ok, I get it sweetie. Hey, did you get his present?"
"Yes, it's safely wrapped and ready for him," she smiled.
"What did you get him?" he asked curiously; his niece grinned coyly.
Vega residence
The Slap
Tori Vega: Gettin' ready to sneak a peek at The Wood! Lemonade for Beck.
Feeling: Antsy.
True to Beck's prediction, the producers had pieced together the advanced copy of the first episode of the show in a little under a day, handing a copy to the teens for them to enjoy. He, André and Jade had gathered at Tori's to watch an advanced preview of the show; André was particularly excited as he would be showing it to the record label to prove that it didn't reflect negatively on him or them.
"Your lemonade, sir," the hostess handed Beck a glass.
"Thanks. Hey. Why is it pink?"
"It's pink lemonade," she shrugged.
"I've never seen any pink lemons," he argued.
"There are no pink lemons."
"So, what makes it pink?"
"Well, you know, it's... it's a..." she floundered, "shut up!"
"Hi," a miserable Trina entered through the back door; like Jade she had been taking advantage of the Vegas' Jacuzzi.
"Hey, guess what we got," her sister smiled.
"I don't care," the diva snapped.
"C'mon. We got an advance copy of 'The Wood.' First episode. Wanna watch it with us?" André tried to persuade her.
"No, they rejected me."
"I know," Tori consoled her, "but I'm in it."
"Yeah, I gotta go change a light bulb," the elder sister excused herself.
"Alright, let's view this," Beck urged.
"Crank it," André agreed.
"Wait. Don't you wanna wait for Jade to be done and Freddie before we start?"
"Yeah we really should. Where are they?" the songsmith asked.
"Freddie said he had to head home briefly after we finished fencing; I think he wanted to have a quick video chat with Cat but he'll be here soon," Beck explained. "Jade is…"
"I'm here," his girlfriend strode downstairs.
"You have a good time?" the lighter brunette smiled.
"Yes, you have a great Jacuzzi; perfect for pretending to be soup in," those who had missed the conversation at Kenan's house party were bewildered at this statement. "Thanks for letting me use it and get changed in your room."
"Any time," her friend promised her.
Jade took a seat next to her boyfriend as the teens heard a knock on the door.
"It's open," Tori called.
"Hey, hey, guys," Freddie smiled as he entered, "ready for the show?"
Tori moved a fraction to the side on the couch to make enough space for him to squeeze in next to her; Jade frowned a little at the gesture but the boy smiled appreciatively.
"Here we go," André took the remote and set the show going.
"Welcome to 'The Wood'. Hollywood," the voice-over began. "At this performing arts high school, Hollywood Arts, you can find good drama on stage. But the best drama happens off stage. Beck and Jade have been dating for two years."
"Uchh, yeah, shoot me from that angle," the mean girl groaned.
"You look great," her boyfriend complimented.
"I know," she smiled.
"But are they both getting tired of the same old thing?"
The couple looked to one another in confusion before a shot of Freddie and Jade leaving the janitor's closet smiling at one another was played; Beck frowned slightly in annoyance.
The scene cut to the Asphalt Café. "Hey, it's Beck," he spoke into his phone before it cut to the Vega home.
"Hi, baby," Tori spoke into hers.
"What's up?" the actor asked.
"My parents aren't home," she said.
"Oh, that sounds pretty good."
"I know," the half-Latina observed, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."
"So, guess what I want," he continued.
"Aw, you want me to tickle your tummy?" she suggested.
"Yeah, sure," he appeared to agree.
"You should come over," Tori invited the person she was speaking to.
"Yeah, my girlfriend's not gonna like that," he pointed out.
"I won't tell her," Tori spoke assuredly.
"Okay, I'll be there soon."
"Alright, love you, miss you," she told the person on the other end of her call.
"You make me happy," he said.
"Muaahh!" Tori blew a kiss down the phone.
"Bye," Beck completed his call.
"Later," Tori rang off.
"Man. This show is good," André praised; the other four looked from one to the other in confusion and mounting anger at the way they had been portrayed.
Black Box theatre, Hollywood Arts High School
Friday, 4th February 2011.
The quartet of teens were still far from happy with the way they had been portrayed and tracked down the producers before school in order to confront them. Jade didn't seriously believe that anything was happening between Beck and Tori (not least because she was also portrayed as cheating, with Freddie) but she was furious at the editing and demanded to know what was going on, accepting without question the claim from the other two that their separate phone calls had been edited together.
"Of course we took two separate phone calls and cut 'em together. Pretty cool, right?" Kyle conceded nonchalantly.
"Isn't 'The Wood' supposed to be a reality show?" Freddie asked.
"Yeah," Kyle agreed.
"Uh-huh," Mick confirmed.
"But the phone call you guys cut together, that wasn't real," Beck pointed out.
"So? It worked well with you guys smooching together in the closet," Kyle shrugged; Beck looked furiously at Freddie and Jade; the brown-haired teen looked equally angry at the producer's words. "And almost nothing is real in reality shows."
"Try telling that to my girlfriend," Freddie snapped, "who might start to think I'm cheating on her with her best friend."
"Look, it's entertainment," Mick argued.
"Drama," Kyle echoed.
"Our job as producers is to take the footage we get and make it into something people wanna watch."
"Yeah, we get that, but..." Jade began.
"Look," Kyle cut her off. "You guys go to this school 'cause you wanna entertain people, right?"
"Yeah," Freddie accepted slowly.
"So?" Jade shot.
"Okay," Kyle began to explain, "well, this is no different than being in a play... or a movie. It's acting."
"Just without a script," Mick finished.
"So, like improve," Beck clarified.
"Exactly. Thank you."
"Well, you could have told us that," Jade complained.
"Before springing it on us; it could have really wrecked our friendships and relationships," Freddie shot.
"A little too dramatic there?" Tori had calmed down and was starting to see the funny side of it all.
"No, you should be more dramatic," Kyle countered.
"And if you two have a girl fight about this," Mick added slyly, "could you call us first so we can get it on video?"
The two brunettes looked at one another; smiles started to creep up both of their faces as the thought was planted in their minds. "Action," Tori trilled; she and Jade began to stage fight over the 'cheating' thing as the cameras rolled; the boys tried their best to keep out of the shot.
"Unbelievable, man," André yelled at Beck as the two squared up in the locker area; first period had just ended and the two teens were taking advantage of a quick meeting between classes to provide some footage for the show.
"No, you're unbelievable, 'cause you always gotta make a big deal outta nothing," the Canadian countered.
"You trashed my beach house," the songsmith complained.
"You said I could use your beach house," he pointed out.
"I didn't say people could puke on my carpet and make soup in my toilet."
"It was a beach house party. What'd you think was gonna happen?"
"Who put my dog in a wedding dress?"
"It was hilarious."
"You know what? This friendship is over," André huffed.
"Eat a rag," Beck fired back.
"You eat two rags."
Beck turned to the camera. "You get all that?" he smiled.
"Got it, really good stuff, guys," they confirmed.
"Nice work, man," Beck shook his friend's hand.
"Well played," André agreed.
"We'll give you more stuff later," he promised the producers.
"Wow, they were great," Tori enthused; she and Jade had been watching from the half-landing.
"We can do better," the gothic teen disagreed.
"Whatcha got?" her fellow brunette pressed.
"Okay, what if mister janitor got us in trouble for something and we got so peed-off about it that we uh... maybe take our anger out on his car?"
"We can't trash the janitor's car," the half-Latina singer protested, "he got us those cute little chocolate mops for Christmas."
"We don't trash his real car," Jade snapped. "My dad's boss owns a junkyard. We get him to drop off a piece of junk car here and we wreck that one."
"And say it's the janitor's car," Tori caught on.
"Oh, wow, I wish I'd thought of that. Oh right, I did," the mean girl noted sarcastically; she then paused. "Wait, that janitor didn't give me a chocolate mop for Christmas."
"He didn't?" Tori grinned. "Ha-ha."
Jade looked daggers as the other girl made her escape.
"Freddie?" Beck caught up with him just outside Sikowitz's class. "It's alright, Sikowitz is always late."
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Freddie could guess but decided to hear it from his friend.
"I was just wondering how come you and Jade were in the janitor's closet together is all," he tried to sound as casual as he could.
"She needed to talk about some stuff," the shorter teen shrugged.
"I wish she'd come to me when she wanted to talk; I am her boyfriend after all," Beck huffed.
"Well, sometimes we all need a little different perspective. Like I told you, we're pretty much brother-and-sister and we trust one another with stuff we can't tell anyone else."
"So you have stuff that you're keeping from Cat but that you've told Jade?" he challenged.
"Yes," he confirmed without hesitation; Beck gave a suspicious look, not wanting to flat-out tell his friend that he didn't believe him.
"It was," Freddie sighed, "nothing that you need to be worried about but something that she wanted to figure out her thoughts on. I'm not going to say any more than that," he added with a tone of finality before slipping past the other and entering the classroom. Beck watched him go and shook his head quickly before following him inside.
"Freddie," the eccentric teacher called as the bell ended the lesson; the teen turned to him with a quizzical expression. Jade paused by the door to survey the scene before Beck tugged on her sleeve and urged her to join the others in vacating the room. "I wanted to talk to you," the barefoot hippy began, "because Principal Eikner spoke to me at the end of the semester about your request to change classes – and your reasons for wanting to do so."
"I'm not apologising for what I said," the former tech producer interrupted, "every word I told him was true about what you've been up to recently."
"Yes, indeed," the balding man had the decency to look embarrassed, "some of what you said was valid, I shouldn't have said what I did about Jade, even if she was being a little…", he settled for just clearing his throat as Freddie raised an eyebrow. "As for the restaurant incident, Mr Eikner has made it clear that I didn't fulfil my obligations as a teacher and that won't happen again."
"Because he's stripped you of responsibility for the team and other clubs?" the boy challenged; Sikowitz frowned, confirming it was so.
"Anyway, I hope that we can put all this behind us this semester," the teacher continued.
"I'm happy to start fresh," the boy confirmed, "but if you go after me or my friends in class again then you know I will not let you get away with it." He picked up his bag. "I hope it doesn't come to that," he left with the parting shot.
Asphalt Café.
"Wow, they really are struggling there," Jade noted unconcernedly to her boyfriend as they watched from their table seeing missiles such as burger buns and bread rolls rained down on the baying masses by the Grub Truck; it seemed that Robbie and Trina had totally lost control and were resorting to throwing the food at the crows to get it to disperse.
"Hey! Hey!" The teens turned to the source of the new, loud shout. "Hey, hey!" Festus raced towards his truck; he blew a whistle and the chaos ceased. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Oh, Festuuuuusss!" Robbie cried, racing from the Grub Truck towards him.
"Festus!" Trina followed just behind. "You're here!"
"Oh, we're so glad to see you," the ventriloquist enthused.
"We're sorry we injured you," the diva added.
"You're a nice man," Robbie was desperate to end his penance in the truck.
"What did Sikowitz want?" Jade asked as Freddie set his bag down next to her and took a seat.
"'Clearing the air' a bit," he air-quoted, "after I tried to drop his class over what he'd been doing. We're good – unless he starts again," he finished threateningly; Jade nodded, happy that her friend would still be in class with her, hopefully for a while yet.
Parking lot.
Friday, 4th February 2011.
"Where's the junker car?" Tori asked as the two girls headed across the lot after school had ended; they were ready for their little scene.
"Uh..." Jade consulted her phone, "the guy says he dropped it off in the north corner of the parking lot. There it is," she gestured to a wreck of a car.
"Sinjin! Five iron," Tori called; the dirty-blond scurried up to them holding a bag of golf clubs and wearing a pringle sweater and burberry cap.
"Five iron," he handed her the club.
"Uh..." Jade thought, "gimme a pitching wedge."
"Now, go tell the producer guys to come to the parking lot because there is good stuff about to go down," Tori instructed.
"And quit sniffing me," Jade demanded. The boy ran away to find the crew.
To pass the time, the two girls walked around the car a couple of times, inspecting it.
"He did a great job finding something that was so beaten up; I bet it needed a tow to get here," Tori complemented.
"That was the idea," Jade pointed out.
"Camera crew is here," Sinjin told the girls a few moments later.
"Let's fake some reality TV," Tori declared as the girls donned sunglasses and strode towards the car, brandishing their clubs.
"Action," Jade agreed. "This is what happens when a school janitor gets us in trouble," she told the camera.
"Janitor's car... feel the wrath," Tori announced and the two set about it, smashing the windows and producing several sizable dents in the bodywork.
The Yerbanian Grub Truck owner interrupted proceedings a few moments later; for the second time today he ran screaming towards a scene of carnage. "Hey! What are doing to my car?" he demanded.
The two girls looked at one another in horror. "Your car?" Tori asked, for the car looked a sorry state.
"What is going on here?" Lane demanded.
"Um, we were wrecking this junker car for the show... 'The Wood'," Tori explained.
"Keep going," the director urged.
"No," Lane snapped.
"Shut up, buddy," Festus agreed with the counsellor.
"This is Festus' car," Lane explained to the students; both looked stunned at the disclosure.
"You said some guy dropped off this junker car for us to whack," Tori protested to Jade.
"Yeah," she scanned the parking lot and spotted another wreck, which she pointed to. "He must have meant that one."
"Aw, man, we abused the wrong car," the lighter brunette complained.
"Alright," Lane took charge. "TV people, out."
"But we've got a show to make," they argued.
"Then go make it at another school. You all are done here," and he chased them out having taken a golf club of his own from Sinjin's bag. After returning he instructed the blond, "Go call a tow truck for Festus' car."
"Now, how am I gonna get home?" the Yerbanian wanted to know.
"Oh, don't worry, Festus. I'll get you a ride home."
"This is so slow," Festus complained.
"Oh, come on, Festus," Tori, who, along with Jade, was pushing him home in a wheelbarrow argued, "it's not that bad."
"My car has a radio," he pointed out.
"So, what do you want us to do about it?" Jade snapped.
"Sing me a song."
The girls looked at one another; in a resigned tone Tori began, "Move your body right next to mine,"
Jade joined in and together they sang, "Feel the beat and we're lost in time..."
"In Spanish," the injured man interrupted.
The girls looked at one another again. "Pon tu cuerpo cerrca del mio, en el tiempo perdamonos. Yo soy tuya y tu eres mio, por siempre baby.
Todo lo que queremos hacer, nunca te dejare ir;
Eres para mi y soy para ti, por siempre baby,"
Vega residence
"Well I got some good news," André told Tori later that night, "the executive from the record label was at school earlier. Guess who's officially signed a contract?"
"Really? Dude, that's awesome!" Tori cried.
"Sure is; he came up to me right after Sikowitz's class, said he'd tried to find me over lunch but decided to hide in his car once the food fight started."
"So when's your first trip to the studio?" she asked wearily.
"That's still to be decided; we probably won't do that much before graduation but maybe there'll be something over the summer."
"Well it's great; congrats dude."
Valentine residence
Saturday, 5th February 2011.
Freddie had managed to exchange a couple of surreptitious texts with Cat during the day while he was at work; she had messaged him early in the day to say that she was heading for the airport and again once her flight landed back in LA. Finally, shortly before his shift finished, she texted him to let him know that her parents still weren't back from Idaho (they were delayed and had decided to spend another night away from home) and that he should come straight over.
His girlfriend's home was in darkness as the soon-to-be-birthday boy arrived after work; he was looking forward to spending the evening with his girl after their week apart and thankful that with his mother on her last night shift tonight they would be having a party at the Benson home tomorrow, leaving the evening free for him to catch up with Cat.
He was surprised that when he rang the doorbell he was answered by text message. Come in, I'm upstairs was the message; he let himself in and locked the door behind him, marvelling at the lack of security consciousness that his friends seemed to display.
In fact, Cat had rushed downstairs as soon as she had seen his car turn into their street, unlocked the front door and dashed back upstairs to change into 'his present'; she quickly stripped, stuffing her clothes in her closet and pulled on the lingerie. She was almost done when the doorbell rang; she picked up her phone and fired off the text before hopping over to the mirror and straightening herself out. Happy that she looked as perfect as she could, she placed her phone on the dresser and knelt in the centre of her bed, facing the door and waiting expectantly; her heart rate went through the roof as she heard her boyfriend begin to ascend the stairs.
Freddie stopped in the doorway and his jaw dropped at the sight before him. His body betrayed him and his shock converted rapidly into a look of genuine, awed appreciation; it was one that drew a broad smile from his girlfriend.
Cat slipped off the bed and padded over to him. "Happy birthday Freddie," she whispered, pulling him into a long, deep kiss before beginning to pepper his lips and cheeks with lighter, little kisses. The boy stood, near stunned as she reached his left ear; she gently and playfully tugged the lobe briefly with her teeth before whispering, "Do you like what you see?" He nodded weakly and she grinned, taking a step back from him and running a hand sensuously up and down the front of his red Pear Store shirt. She stepped back a little further, taking his hand and pulling him towards her as she retreated further to the edge of her bed. The top of her thighs made contact with the furniture and she stopped, tugging on the ties at the top of her chemise and making to start wriggling out of it.
Something deep in the recesses of Freddie's brain suddenly snapped; his eyes widened comically and his hands, almost of their own accord, flew up to rest on top of the redhead's, preventing her from continuing her task.
"Cat, stop. You have to stop," he rushed out. She gave him a look that started as astonishment and then, as he fumbled for any more words of explanation, the look morphed into hurt that built in her eyes along with the welling of tears.
"What did I do wrong?" she wailed through her sobs as she fled for the bathroom; Freddie watched her go, sighing miserably and he slumped his shoulders in defeat. The time for the conversation he had dreaded looked to have arrived.
AN: Thanks for reading. This chapter was later than usual as the next one, hopefully understandably, follows on right after it and I needed to make sure everything worked between the two of them. I hope to have the next one up soon for you all. Also, for anyone who thinks that the timeline was rather 'condensed' and a little unrealistic, I do too but Ariana Grande's absence from the episode means that, if it's extended to a reasonable length of time, Cat is off school for quite a while and more than just the one week. Oh, and yes, Cat's outfit at the end is the cover art for Yours Truly. PD.