AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of this little story; I hope that you are all well.

As ever at this time, thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter and I'll do my best to answer some of the points that were raised.

Challenge King – yes, Jade's been pushed a little in the direction of breaking point as things start to add up.

Agent-M – I've amended the episode order. I wanted to bring Cat's New Boyfriend, for instance, forward to reunite her and Freddie a little earlier. Similarly, iParty with Victorious moved up a bit after Tori and Steven met at the end of CNB in this. Going forwards I'll probably stick to the airing order a little more but there will still be some shuffling, especially over the next few chapters.

Fanfic-Reader – yes, that's a short but accurate summary.

Darck Ben – glad that you liked it.

A little shorter than usual but hey ho, on with the story.

Chapter 33: Jade Dumps Beck

Hollywood Arts High School,

Los Angeles, CA

Monday, 14th March 2011.

"Let me?" Freddie offered as Jade struggled one-handed trying to move things in and out of her locker; she grimaced and shook her right hand, which still bore a bandage and dressing.

"I can manage," she growled.

"I never said you couldn't," he smiled, "just that it would be easier if you let someone help you." He reached in to her locker and withdrew a couple of books, creating space for the gothic teen to dump a few other things in.

"Thanks," she hissed grudgingly, dropped a couple more books in her bag and swinging it over her shoulder.

"You're welcome," he smiled. "How's the hand?" he nodded to the wounded appendage.

"It doesn't hurt anymore but the skin's still blistered and raw. I have to keep this damn thing on," she raised the hand, "for another couple of days until the skin's ready to be shed, then I should be able to take it off. Hopefully it'll be good as new by the weekend." She grinned gratefully, "thanks to you."

"Any time," he shrugged awkwardly; he never felt comfortable being cast as a hero by people. "Did you see much of Beck over the weekend?" he struggled with his attempts to not spit out his confidant's boyfriend's name.

"He was over on Saturday," she confirmed, "I thought he'd do more grovelling really; he could tell that I was pissed but all he really said was that he was staying in character – and then pointed out that I had stayed in character right after it happened too."

Freddie bit his tongue gently; he was getting increasingly annoyed with the long-haired actor's treatment of the girl he considered to be his sister and was doing his best to compartmentalise it so that it didn't cause too many issues in their friendship (not least because of the recent problems they had dealt with when they were fencing).

"You don't have to fight my battles for me," she squeezed his arm gently with her good hand. "I'll deal with Beck the way that I have to; you just make sure that you stay friends."

He nodded; things could get extremely awkward within the group otherwise.

"Oh, hey Tori," he grinned at the happy, broad-smiled brunette as she entered the school. "I'm guessing the impromptu date on Friday night went well?"

"It did, so did the more uh... promptu? Is that a word?" she asked, pulling a confused face. "Anyway, we went out again on Saturday as well and had a really good time."

"I'm glad to hear it," he was genuinely pleased for his friend, knowing that her luck hadn't been the best in that department of late.

"Yeah, the only strange thing was when he started hinting that he'd like it if I used handcuffs on him. That was a bit weird."

Freddie shrugged. "Some people find it a turn-on I guess. And he's related to Sikowitz so you know he's going to be a bit weird."

"Very true," she nodded with a smile.

Asphalt Café,

Tuesday, 15th March 2011.

Despite his talk with Jade, and his acknowledgement that she had a point, the former Seattleite was finding it difficult to put his annoyance with his friend to one side; it had spilled over into a number of subtle (and unsubtle) jibes that he fired at Beck during a scene they were improvising together in Sikowitz's class. Beck had shrugged them off and remained in character (as had Freddie, firing shots and accusations at the Canadian's part rather than him as a person) but the inferences were not lost on any of the members of the group (Robbie had, of course, also learnt the story after seeing Jade's bandaged hand the previous day).

"Alright," Beck sighed as he took a seat; Freddie sat alone reading the latest book in Richard Castle's Heat series as he waited for the girls to get out of their class and join him. "You're pissed about Friday night, I get it."

"You don't think I have a right to be?" He spared the other a glance over the top of his book before returning to it.

"No, you are right." Mildly surprised by the concession, Freddie closed his book and set it down on the table. "I put the exercise first; I should have checked on how she was, like you did. In my defence, I saw her staying in character and figured that she wanted me to do the same; I made a split-second decision and I got it wrong. Then, of course, you and Cat were seeing to her; I figured too many cooks and all that so I left you two to look after her, you took her off to the hospital and I knew she was in good hands." He looked the shorter boy in the eye. "I knew that you – and Cat – would look after her."

"Hi-iii," Cat bounced over to them; Freddie had opened his mouth to reply to Beck's comment but his girlfriend interrupted from afar. Tori and Jade were a few steps behind her and reached the table just as the redhead began to cuddle up to her man.

"Hey sweetie," he smiled, giving her a quick kiss and then waving to the other girls. "Hey, Jade, the hand's looking better," he noted as the darker-haired girl began to flex it a little.

"Yeah, it feels a bit better too," she confirmed, "I need to get some feeling back into it after it's not been moving much these last few days." She grimaced again as she continued to try and bend her fingers; Beck instantly took the hand and gently tried to manipulate the joints as far as he could without doing any damage to the hand or its protective coatings.

Jade's eyes met Freddie's and they shared a smile at her boyfriend's attentive manner.

Wednesday, 23rd March 2011.

"Jade wants me to take her to the hospital over lunch," Cat had announced to her boyfriend; he raised his eyes in surprise. He knew, of course, that, almost two weeks after the incident, today was the day that the dressings would be either changed again or possibly removed altogether but he had expected that Beck would be the one to go with her.

"Do you know why she asked you rather than, say, Beck?" he enquired lightly.

"I think they're fighting again," she said sorrowfully; things had been heading in the wrong direction for the couple over the last week or so; Jade had been reluctant to talk about it, even to Cat or Freddie (Beck had only been willing to say that they should ask Jade about it so no information was forthcoming at all) and the remainder of the group were feeling a little concerned about how the future looked for their friends as a couple.

"Oh I'll catch you up and see you in class," Freddie told Cat as he spotted their brunette friend, shoulders slumped a little, by her locker. "I just want a quick word with Tori; she was looking down yesterday too so I'll see what's up."

"It's ok," Cat smiled, "I'm not in a hurry to get to class either." She followed him back down the stairs towards the lockers.

"Hey Tori, what's up?" he asked; she looked up and a fresh spasm of pain seemed to cross her features as she eyed the contented couple.

"Hi," she forced a brave smile on to her face.

"Are you ok?" the redhead asked sympathetically; the half-Latina nodded.

"I think so; it's just... Jason moved back to his parents' place over the weekend now that they're back from holiday. It's not all that far away but since I don't have a car I can't easily go and see him. He drives but he's busy with school too so whether we'll see each other much again I really don't know."

"Have you talked about it?" Freddie pressed gently.

"We spoke on the phone a little a couple of nights ago but with him moving back we didn't see each other over the weekend and we've not made any plans to yet."

"Maybe suggest something then," Cat offered. "Try and fix something up for this weekend."

"I'll try," she promised.

Asphalt Café.

With the two girls at the hospital, Freddie found himself sat alone with Beck at a table in the Asphalt Café. Mindful of the fact that no information would be forthcoming about things with Jade, he turned his questioning to another topic; the forthcoming Spring Break, just over a week away.

"Do you guys have any plans for that week?" he asked.

"Well, I was hoping that we'd go to Cancun with my aunt and some of my family but there could be a problem."

"Oh, what kind of a problem?"

"Remember the story I told you from Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, about Jade upsetting my family?"

"Oh, during Grace?" Freddie recalled, having thought for a moment. "Yeah, I remember."

"Yeah, so does my aunt," Beck continued darkly. "She doesn't want Jade to come with us. Actually I'm not sure if she wouldn't just uninvite me if I told her that Jade was coming too, which, of course, she would be if I was going."

"So you could end up not having any plans then?"

"Possibly."

André walked up to the table to join them. "Hey guys," the songsmith greeted them. "It's a lucky day for one of you. You get a free bottle of water," he set it down on the table; they looked at him in mild surprise. "I put a dollar in the machine and two bottles came out."

"Thanks," Beck smiled, "but Freddie can have it; I don't drink water from mountain streams."

"Why not?" Freddie asked him, nodding his thanks to the musician before opening the bottle and taking a swig.

"Mountain streams are full of fish," the actor explained.

"So?" André asked him.

"Fish pee..." the dreadlocked teen still looked confused and took another sip from his bottle. "You're drinking fish pee."

André set his bottle down; he wore an uncomfortable expression as he contemplated his friend's words.

Freddie, meanwhile, shrugged and took another mouthful. "I really don't think..." he began, before another arrival interrupted him.

Tori dashed towards them. "Hey guys," she called before addressing Beck. "Dude, look what's on the Buzzfinger homepage," and she brandished her pear phone.

Freddie peered over Beck's shoulder and read the headline. "Aww, poor Jay Leno," he remarked sympathetically.

Tori's surprise at his comment morphed into a frown; she turned the phone screen back towards herself and moved the article position. "No, under that."

"That's you and Alyssa Vaughn... together," Freddie remarked; there was a small hint of suspicion in his voice as he began to wonder if he had identified the reasons behind Jade's recent funk but, at the same time, he knew how easily innocent situations could be misinterpreted.

"No way!" André looked at the phone. "That's Beck and Alyssa Vaughn, together."

"Why are you guys so impressed?" the Canadian teen asked.

"'Cause Alyssa Vaughn is famous," Tori enthused.

"And hot," André added.

"Her father's a billionaire," the half-Latina continued.

"And hot," André repeated; when all eyes turned to him he attempted to clarify, "ah, I didn't mean her father is... I drank fish pee."

"Is that why Jade has been a little moodier these last couple of days; why you two have been fighting again?" Freddie tried to sound nonchalant and keep accusation from his voice.

Beck opened his mouth to counter but Tori demanded, "Explain this."

"She's in my yoga class. Some paparazzi showed up and took that pic, but we're just friends."

"You do yoga?" Freddie asked. "Where? It was something my mom suggested I try sometime."

"Oh, it's just at the local gym I'm a member of. Your gym doesn't have classes?"

"Never mind yoga," Tori interrupted. "How did Jade react when she found out you were friends with Alyssa Vaughn?"

"Jade was cool with it..." neither Tori nor André believed him; both gave him a sceptical look. "She threw a rock at me."

"Really?" Freddie challenged. "I find that hard to believe. I mean, yeah, she'd have been unhappy and probably complained but going that far..?"

"Well, she yelled a lot and she did throw a rock," he back-pedalled. "Maybe not at me... but it didn't miss by much."

"And what did she say afterwards?" the tech wizard asked, suspecting that he already knew the answer.

In a meek tone Beck conceded, "She apologised for it, but still wasn't too happy that I hadn't mentioned it before."

"Yeah, well I'd be careful, 'cause I don't think..." Tori's warning was interrupted as flyers rained down on them and a static squeak emanated from the tannoy; she groaned at the large print "Trina!" on the flyer and the sight of her older sister on the gantry above them.

"Attention! Attention everyone!" the elder Vega called over the speaker. "Stop while I talk!" she yelled at the guy throwing flyers for her. She turned back to the microphone. "As you all know, I'm Trina Vega. Now, if you look at the flyers that just landed on you you'll see that, starting this Friday night, I will be performing my own one-woman show called Trina! - with an exclamation point."

From the table next to the juniors one of the guys shouted up, "Hey! Shut up!"

Trina ignored him, continuing, "It's a play that I wrote myself that will not only touch your heart but blow your mind. Now, if you look at these flyers, you'll see that..." she stopped talking as she dropped one of the boxes; it fell on a passing teen. As Freddie rushed over to help him up, Trina insensitively asked, "could you pass those out?"

Both Freddie and the boy he was assisting looked up at her in annoyance; Tori, meanwhile, looked embarrassed about her sister – again.

Main Hallway

It had been a rough drama class for the group. Jade, despite having full use of her hand again, had been sniping worse than usual, particularly towards Beck, and he was fast running out of patience, not understanding why she was so upset about the whole Alyssa Vaughn issue – having insisted that they were just friends. The others were torn in the dispute; Tori was trying to stay neutral; Cat was trying (and usually failing) to help Jade while Freddie had spoken to Beck but the taller teen was adamant – he had told Jade that there was nothing between him and Alyssa and that it was up to her to accept that.

"Hey, we're not done talking about this," Jade called after him.

"I am," Beck shot back and continued to walk.

"Well, I'm not," the gothic teen snapped.

"Listen, I've already told you like a million times – Alyssa Vaughn is just a friend."

"Yeah, a friend who's already sent you six text messages today." Beck's phone beeped. In an annoyed voice his girl continued, "seven…"

"You don't know that's her," he pointed out.

"Is it?" she growled.

Beck looked at his phone, pulled an uncomfortable expression and turned back to Jade. "What's your favourite tropical fruit?" he asked casually.

"The mango, and I don't like your new little relationship with Alyssa Vaughn."

"It's a text message," he attempted to calm her.

"And what does it say? Maybe, 'hi, Beck, my daddy just got richer and I got prettier. Let's make out.'"

"How many text messages do you and Freddie send each other every day? I'm not threatened by them!" Jade paused for a second; she was about to counter, to argue that her friendship with Freddie was different, given that they really were almost brother and sister, but he pressed on, "Okay, let me see if I understand you," he sighed.

"Let's see if you do," she challenged, grateful to not have to defend herself and Freddie to him.

"Because you and I date, I can't be friends with other girls."

"That's ridiculous," she charged, "you're friends with Tori and Cat, which is fine but I'd just rather you weren't friends with girls who are gorgeous socialites, who text message you a hundred times a day."

"You know, you..." he sighed and turned to see Tori, Freddie and Cat hanging back a little on the stairs. "Tori, Tori, can you come here?"

"What?" she groaned.

"If you were my girlfriend..."

"Oh, great way to start the question," Jade fired sarcastically.

"Would you be all freaked out about me being just friends with Alyssa Vaughn?"

Thinking on her own relationship issues and how she'd feel if the boy she quite liked was messaging other girls she replied, "Honestly, I wouldn't love it," much to everyone's surprise; Freddie raised his eyebrows as he and Cat looked at one another.

"How can you say that, you don't think a girlfriend should just trust her boyfriend?" he thundered.

"No, I do but..." she began to clarify; Jade interrupted her.

"Alright, you know what?"

"Tell me what," he replied.

"No, no, don't tell him what," Tori urged.

"This is the last straw; we're done." Cat gasped; Freddie just shrugged.

"Jade," Tori gawped.

"So, you're breaking up with me?"

"Yeah, I am," she confirmed.

"You're being ridiculous," he protested; the gothic teen rounded on him.

"Really?" she thundered furiously. "So you telling people there was something to Robbie's rumour-mongering, you not caring enough about me to go to the hospital when I burnt my hand, you bailing on me when that mad woman from the Chinese restaurant was screwing up my play and you not telling Alyssa that you're in a relationship and she shouldn't be texting you 24/7 is all on me, is it?" Beck's shoulders slumped a little and he sighed as she stormed off; Freddie motioned to Cat and the couple headed after her, watching that their friend encountered Trina as she walked.

"Come see my one-woman show, Friday night," the diva urged, handing her a flyer; Jade balled it up and stuffs it down her shirt as she departed.

"It starts at 8:00 sharp!" Trina called after her.

Freddie put his free hand on Trina's shoulder; the other was holding Cat's. "Yeah; I'd put her down as 'probably not'," he told the senior; his girlfriend giggled. He reluctantly released her hand and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you after class?" She nodded eagerly and they parted ways for their next classes.

Theatre History classroom

The sight that greeted Freddie as he entered the room was Robbie plastering the wall with posters for Trina's play.

"Robbie?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm putting up these posters for Trina's play."

"I see that; why?"

"She threatened to hurt me if I didn't."

Freddie just shook his head.

"Um," the ventriloquist ceased his activity and turned to the former tech producer, "so, you know how I used to write for the school newspaper?"

"Yeah," Freddie smiled slightly as he looked back on one particular memory, "I remember some kids chasing you round the Asphalt Café one day after a scathing review." He frowned a little as he recalled that Lindsey had been with them when it had happened; he felt a little concerned at the realisation that thinking of her was polluting some of his memories of what should have been happier times.

Robbie winced at the memory himself; for him there were no redeeming features to it. "Anyway," he pressed on, "so now for The Slap, especially after my blog lost popularity, I'm the person in charge of writing reviews for all the plays here at school."

"Yeah?" Freddie sighed in a get to the point voice.

"Well, I'm so busy…" the ventriloquist argued.

"You're not busy," Rex countered.

"And... and you're such a good writer, I was thinking, maybe..." he pressed on.

"I'm not writing a review for Trina's show," Freddie declined flatly.

"But what if her play is awful?"

"What if? Of course it's going to suck," he grinned.

"I know. And if I write a bad review, Trina is going to kill me."

"So you'd rather she came after me instead? Thanks," the ex-Seattle native shot sarcastically.

"You're not scared of her," Robbie protested, "plus you're all firm and developed and I'm still working on the last chapter of puberty."

"And he is a slow reader," Rex taunted.

"Robbie," Freddie sighed, "for one thing you need to man up. For a second thing I thought Trina's play opened Friday; I'd be at work anyway."

"It does," he confirmed, ignoring the other teen's first suggestion, "but I'm seeing her last dress rehearsal and I don't wanna be the only one in the audience."

"Ask André, or Tori perhaps."

"I could try I guess."

"Then again, Tori's probably heard enough of it already when Trina's been practicing at home. Hey, take Rex," his nose wrinkled at the thought that he was humouring the curly-haired boy's delusion.

"Uh uh. I'm staying home and taking a hot bath," the puppet declined.

"Look, don't panic yet. Maybe Trina's play won't be a complete disaster." Their conversation was ended at this point by the arrival of their teacher and the rest of the class.

After school finished Freddie sought out his girl; he spotted her and Tori, sitting together on the stairs by the lockers and talking.

"Hey girls," he called as he approached; the two looked up and Cat grinned broadly.

"Hi Freddie," she waved, getting up and cantering over to hug him. "We were just talking about Beck and Jade," she continued. "I can't believe it's over between them."

"It's been coming for a while," he countered thoughtfully; the red velvet-haired girl looked a little confused. "Remember the laundry list she gave him when she dumped him? The reasons were there and I guess she just snapped with the whole Alyssa Vaughn thing."

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Cat asked sadly.

"She's Jade; even if she's not fine she'll put on a brave face in public. We might see over the weekend, once it all sinks in, how she really feels," he noted.

West Residence

Freddie drove over after work; he knocked on the door and was slightly surprised when Jade herself opened it a few moments later.

"Hey Freddie, what's up?" she asked casually.

"I just thought I'd see how you're doing after what happened today," he remarked.

"I'm fine," she told him. When he looked sceptical she took a step towards him. "Freddie, I know that you care and it's great that you have my back but really - I'm fine," she insisted.

He wasn't completely convinced by her denials but felt that he had no real option but to believe her.

Asphalt Cafe,

Thursday, 24th March 2011.

Jade had been alone in her song-writing class just before lunch; consequently she was the first to reach the gang's usual lunch area. She was feeling a little down, knowing that Beck had missed the class (as they were usually in it together); she had overheard him telling one of their classmates that he was going to take an extra yoga class instead today so her mind immediately jumped to his new socialite 'friend'.

Seeing her sat alone, and knowing that she was newly single again, Sinjin and another boy attempted to sit at the same table as her.

"No," she snapped; both fled, passing Freddie and Cat, who were heading over to join her.

"Hey, Jade," Freddie smiled as they sat down at her table.

"We thought you could use some lunch buddies," the redhead added.

"Please," the mean girl was in dismissive mood.

"Well, I just thought that you were all mad, because of..." Cat began.

"I broke up with Beck, okay? I dumped him."

A car horn beeped as the vehicle, a yellow convertible, pulled into the parking lot; most of the kids gasped in admiration as they saw it.

"That is a nice car," Freddie observed; Jade glared at him. In a challenging, confident tone, he observed, "I can appreciate beauty." To emphasise his point he put an arm round Cat, who, of course, began to giggle. In spite of herself Jade smiled at their exchange.

"Is that Alyssa Vaughn?" the cupcake lover asked after she returned to a relatively calm state.

"Yeah, so?" Jade asked in annoyance.

"Nothing, she's gross," Freddie observed with a sly grin. "French fry?" he offered to his girls.

Jade smiled knowingly. "I thought you just said you appreciated beauty... look, if Beck wants to date that, I hope he has tons of fun with it... what?"

"You're hurting your burrito," Cat pointed out; Jade looked down and saw that it was, indeed, rather misshapen.

"You are amazing, you know that?" Alyssa told Beck, who was her passenger in the yellow convertible; she leaned across the car and kissed his cheek.

Jade flung her food down on her plate and stormed off angrily. "Burrito – RIP," Freddie observed in a sympathetic voice; Cat nodded sadly. "Uh-oh, this could be trouble," he commented; watching Jade leave he caught sight of Robbie sat at another table, where he had just been joined by an angry-looking Trina Vega.

"Hello, Robbie," the diva snarled.

"Hi," he tried, and failed, to sound nonchalant.

"Have you been avoiding me?" she challenged.

"Avoid? Um, no, I'm just been here having some cream of mushroom soup."

"What do you think of my show last night?"

"Your show, I thought it was uh... very..." he floundered.

"You said it stunk," Rex supplied; he covered the puppet's mouth in horror.

"What did that say?" the furious brunette demanded.

"Nothing. Um, he doesn't know what he's saying. He's on special medication."

In a muffled voice Rex countered, "I am not on medication."

"Are you gonna write a good review of my show or not?"

"Trina, see... I'm a journalist, and it's my job to write the truth, and to be candid, I didn't think that your performance was all..." she ended his argument by slamming his face into his soup.

"I'm gonna say this once, so listen… I've worked my butt off on that performance, and you're gonna write a good review. You feel me?!"

"I feel a mushroom in my nose. Aah," he wailed.

"Write a good review of my show!" she demanded.

As she followed Jade's lead in storming out of the lunch area, Freddie and Cat made their way over to Robbie.

"Her play was that bad?" the tech genius asked sympathetically as he sat down.

"So bad, it was laughable," the ventriloquist wailed.

"That's a problem," Cat conceded.

"Not if you say it was the funniest play you've ever seen," Freddie thought aloud.

"Oh, what are you talking about?"

"Review it like a comedy."

Robbie was suddenly thoughtful. "Comedy? That's brilliant," he commended.

"No problem," Freddie shrugged; he stood up to leave, as did Cat. "You've uh got a little…" he pointed to his own nose.

"I know, I feel it," the miserable ventriloquist noted.

Friday, 25th March 2011.

Perhaps fortunately for Beck, he and Jade had been in different classes during the previous afternoon so the former couple were able to avoid one another. The following day had been tense as the group attempted to adjust to the new equilibrium between them all. Jade did share a class with both Freddie and Cat for the last period before lunch, so the trio were together at their lockers afterwards as they prepared to head to the Grub Truck.

The diva confronted the bespectacled boy again; he, too, was organising his locker ahead of the impending weekend; Freddie and Cat stood by theirs and turned to the spectacle as it began. Jade had also joined them at Trina's cry.

"Curly!"

"Oh, this'll be good," the mean girl noted with glee and relish.

"Hi, Trina," he smiled brightly.

"Don't 'hi' me. I went to The Slap just now and I didn't see your review of my show yet; it opens tonight!"

"I know."

"When are you posting it?" she demanded.

"I'm just... oh, please don't..." he floundered as she continued her threatening advance.

"Your review better go up now and it better make my show sound awesome! I want people to read the review before it opens so that there's a huge crowd seeing it over the weekend." She walked angrily away.

"Still not got it done yet then?" Freddie asked.

"I haven't had time to get it finished," Robbie wailed. "I really need to do it now."

"Remember, like a comedy," Cat reminded him.

"It's not easy to forget," he grumbled, heading for the computer room; the others began to make their way out of school.

"If it's that funny then maybe I'll go and see it; I could use a laugh at the moment," Jade commented.

"Maybe we could go too on Sunday or something?" the redhead suggested to her boyfriend.

"Sure, sounds good," he agreed. "You want to come with, Jade?"

"What? Because I don't have a boyfriend you think I need to be a third wheel?" she snapped.

"No," he held his hands up in surrender. "Just that you said you were thinking of going so I figured the three of us could go as a group rather than you just sitting on your own. If you'd rather do that then fine," he shrugged, intentionally adding a trace of hurt to his voice.

"Fine, I'll go with you," she sighed theatrically, making it sound as if she was doing them a favour; both, though, had a telltale glint in their eyes, though Cat did not and looked rather confused at the exchange.

"We'll see you Sunday then," he nodded to the girl and they shared a smile as they went for lunch.

At the end of school, when the young couple were alone, Freddie turned to his girl. "Maybe you should call round and see her tomorrow," he suggested. "I know she's putting on a brave face but you saw her at lunch; I think she could use her best friend at the moment."

Cat nodded. "I'll go and see her," she promised.

"I'll call in on Beck after work and see what's going on with him and how he really feels about it all," the ex-Seattle native decided.

"Are you going to punch him?" Cat asked fearfully.

"No," he smiled. "Well, probably not. Jade dumped him, not the other way around; there's a lot that he's done wrong but hopefully he's paying for it with losing her."

Valentine Residence,

Saturday, 26th March 2011.

Having finished her homework, Cat was getting ready to go around to the West home to call on Jade; she heard a knock on the door and skipped downstairs to answer it; her best friend was standing on the other side of the door.

"Jade? Hi. I was going to go and see you tonight." Her dreamy expression dropped at the sight of her friend's face; Jade's make-up was runny and it was obvious that she'd been crying. "Are you alright?" she asked; instead of answering, Jade walked past her. "Oh, right, come in..."

"This kite is broken," she indicated the item in her hands.

"I don't follow…" As usual, Cat was confused.

"I was just walking around and I saw this kite stuck in a bush and... it's broken."

"That's so sad!" the red velvet-haired girl complained.

"Someone needs to fix it."

"Well my brother had all sorts of things in his room; I could try to fix your kite – or maybe Freddie could..." she began; Jade interrupted.

"Will you forget about the stupid kite?"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have brought it up." Cat's confusion suddenly grew as she stopped and thought. "Wait..."

"I feel so lonely without Beck," the mean girl wailed.

"But you broke up with him," Cat pointed out.

"I know; remember when I was seven and I threw away my potato patch pal but then I realised I wanted him back. But it was too late, 'cause my mother already gave it away to some greedy orphans."

"I remember," her best friend confirmed, "you made me give you mine instead."

Suddenly uncomfortable, Jade continued, "Well it's a bit like that. I made the decision; I don't regret it, not really, but I do miss being with him... and seeing him with Alyssa Vaughn already..." More photographs of them had appeared over the last couple of days; coupled with the cheek-kiss when she had given him a ride back to school, people were starting to conclude that they really were a couple. Beck had yet to confirm or deny it.

"It's hard," the redhead sympathised, "just like when I saw Freddie with Lindsey when I realised that I wanted him back. It hurt – a lot – and it took me a long time to get over it... I'm not sure I ever really did until we got back together." Jade nodded at her friend's surprisingly lucid words. "Jade, if you wanna get back together with Beck..."

"I don't," she insisted.

"Riiiiight..." Cat was far from convinced.

"Cat…." The raven-haired teen uttered menacingly.

"What?" the other girl asked innocently, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Beck's RV

Freddie parked his car at the bottom of the driveway; he walked up to the trailer and knocked on door.

Beck sighed as he opened it and saw his ex-girlfriend's confidant. "Let me guess... you're here to beat my head in?"

"No," Freddie shrugged. "Why would I?"

Beck hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he believed him, before stepping back; in a resigned voice he said, "enter."

"Thanks," Freddie passed him; with a slight grin he teased, "so, no Alyssa tonight?"

"Oh stop it," Beck retorted in a light voice, "it's not like we're joined at the hip like you and Cat usually are."

"But you are together?" the shorter teen pried.

"Would that be bad?"

"I guess not, it's just a bit... sudden; I mean, you and Jade only just broke up a couple of days ago and you're in another relationship already?"

"Like you with Lindsey?" Beck countered; Freddie looked confused. "I remember Jade ranting about how you were making out with her just after Cat broke up with you."

Freddie's confused look morphed into a slight frown as he thought on it. "Not quite," he clarified, "she'd just been dumped, I'd just been dumped so that was kind of a comfort kiss; we didn't get together until a few weeks after that. Earlier today it looked like you too were already a couple – which like I say, some might say was indecent haste on your part."

Beck sighed. "Look, I know that she's your best friend, and that I seem to have turned the page far too quickly but it's just the way it happened. I guess she was right about Alyssa anyway, that she was pursuing me. I wasn't looking for anything but once I found myself single again..."

"You didn't like the single life?" Freddie interrupted; with a grin he continued, "You didn't exactly give it a chance."

"She was there, she was willing. Would you have said no in my position?"

Showing honesty and vulnerability, Freddie observed, "If Cat and I broke up again I'd be heart-broken so I really don't know what I'd have said. I'd like to think I wouldn't be ready to just rush into something else though."

Beck was suddenly thoughtful. "I just didn't feel that at all. I guess I should have, given how long we've been together – two and a half years – but it was more of... almost a relief, given how she can act."

"I thought you just said that she did have some valid points with what she said?" Freddie challenged, ignoring for a moment his admission of a lack of feeling for the girl he'd dated for so long.

"No, you're right and she did," Beck conceded. "There were things I shouldn't have done, ways I could have acted better, but what's done is done I guess now. She got jealous – a lot."

"And you encouraged it, maybe you liked it? It made you feel wanted?" Freddie suggested.

Beck bowed his head. "Maybe it did." He brightened. "You want a drink?"

"Sure," he accepted; Beck drew a couple of bottles of soda from the fridge and tossed one to his friend. "So, you and Alyssa; do you think it's for real then?"

He shrugged. "She likes me, that's for sure; we'll see. Spring Break is coming up soon so we'll spend some time together and that will help me to know a bit more about how she is as a girlfriend, rather than viewing her as just a friend."

"I thought you were heading to Cancun with your aunt," Freddie commented. "She's not meeting the in-laws already is she?" he asked, eyes widening.

"I'm not sure. Like I say it's all new right now so we'll see how it all works out. I wasn't planning on inviting her but I've a couple of weeks yet to decide. It's good so far, though."

"You're thinking she'll be a better girlfriend than Jade was then?" A hint of irritation had crept into Freddie's voice; Beck detected it.

"Again," he sighed, "I know she's your friend and you don't like to hear criticism of her but... I'm trying hard to remember the last time she really did something nice for me. It really is tough to remember."

"As a matter of interest," the shorter boy asked, "what was the last nice thing you did for her?"

Beck stopped for a moment and thought... "I got her a nice skirt for Christmas."

"And she got you something too, didn't she?"

"Yeah, some soaps and shower gels and stuff. Dropping a hint, maybe?"

"Seriously?" Freddie was upset that Beck seemed to be jumping to the worst possible conclusion. "That's what you think her motivation was? Not, 'oh, Beck spends more time in the bathroom working on his appearance than I do so I'll get him some stuff'?"

"I guess," he conceded sheepishly.

"And wasn't it your birthday recently too?" Freddie pressed.

"Yes," Beck smiled as he spied the opportunity to reclaim some of the high ground. "She got me a can of lemonade."

The tech genius couldn't suppress a snigger. "Really? That's all that she got you?"

Beck grinned and joined in the laughter. "Yeah; I couldn't believe it. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Thinking back on some of Jade's confidences to him, Freddie stopped laughing and raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Beck turned equally serious. "Yeah. Like I say, we'd been together for over two years; I thought it would be the time that we'd..." he dropped his voice a little, "you know, take that step. It didn't happen."

"Did you outright tell her that?"

"I hinted – quite heavily I think. It wasn't like a deal-breaker; I never pressured her or threatened to dump her over it or anything but... I did want our relationship to move on from where we are."

Freddie sat there, looking thoughtful. Beck waited a few moments before breaking the silence.

"You wouldn't?" he challenged. "You don't feel that you and Cat will reach that point?"

In a guarded tone his friend replied, "It's something we'll discuss in time; I'm not in any hurry though."

Beck looked sceptical but didn't press the matter.

Valentine residence

"Freddie!" the ditzy girl cried as she opened the door to reveal her smiling boyfriend. "How did your talk with Beck go?"

"I didn't hurt him; you don't have to worry about that," he grinned. Cat giggled happily. "How about you? Did you call in on Jade? How is she?"

"Oh, she came here." Freddie raised his eyebrows again. "Yeah I was just getting ready to go around there when she showed up with a broken kite that she wanted fixing."

"I don't follow," her boyfriend said slowly.

"I didn't either. It was a bit like you said; she was putting on a brave face but I think she really wants Beck back."

"I'm not sure that's going to happen," Freddie commented sadly. "He confirmed that there is something going on with Alyssa Vaughn now, though he insists it started after Jade dumped him, so I don't think she'll get him back anytime soon – and I also remain to be convinced that he's really learned too much; he did to admit some mistakes though so I guess we'll have to see how he gets on with Alyssa to see if he really does do things differently."

Cat's face fell and she eyed the floor miserably; Freddie placed his right index finger under her chin, coaxing her to lift her head so he could kiss her.

"What was that for?" she asked curiously; a smile had crept onto her face.

"You looked unhappy; I wanted to cheer you up," he told her; her smile broadened.

"You did," she confirmed, pulling him into another kiss.

Before long the young couple found themselves upstairs, laying on Cat's bed as they kissed and cuddled. Mindful of his issues Cat hadn't attempted to push any boundaries; she was content to let Freddie set the pace of any future intimacy between them. Almost as if he could read her mind, Freddie, during a short break between their kisses, confided,

"Beck told me that he wanted him and Jade to make love."

Her attention fully seized, she turned to him.

"He says that they never did; he thought Jade was rather hesitant about it and insists that he never pressured her or threatened to break up with her over it."

"You would have punched him over that," the redhead noted; he chuckled and pulled her closer.

"Probably," he conceded, "but it also got me thinking about it all – and also thinking back on something that happened when I spoke to Robbie the other day."

"What about?" she pressed.

"Well, remember those juniors chasing him round and round the parking lot because of a suckish review that he wrote?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Lindsey was with us when it happened – and that's made it not a fun memory for me anymore. It's like the thought of her has just infected everything in my life – and I don't know how to get rid of it so that I can move on, so that we can move things on," he finished sadly, gazing into her soft, welcoming, brown eyes.

"I'm here for you, Freddie," she began thoughtfully, "but I don't know how to help you fix it all. Maybe there's really only one person who can help you fix it – Lindsey."

"What do you mean?" He had a feeling that he understood all too well.

"Did you ever forgive her for what she did to you?"

He thought; deep down, however, he already knew the answer. "No," he admitted wearily, "no, I never did. I've just avoided her and avoided dealing with her ever since I moved on from her."

"Then you haven't truly moved on," the cupcake-addict noted, "I know that you don't want anything to do with her, I know that you want me," she planted a brief, chaste kiss on his lips, "but you're not really going to be over her until you can stop her and the memory of her from hurting you."

Freddie paused again; he was astounded by the girl's insight, far removed from her usual chatter. "You might be right," he mused, "but I don't know how to forgive something like that."

"I think you have to try."

He nodded, laying there for a few moments lost in thought until he felt the gentle pressure of his girlfriend's lips on his own again.

"In the meantime," she whispered huskily, "I think we can still have some fun."

He grinned and swept her up in his arms, pulling her on top of him as they began to make out again.

Black Box theatre, Hollywood Arts High School

Sunday, 27th March 2011.

"Trina Vega's one-woman show will now begin," the announcement began as the star of the show made her way to the darkened stage. "In the beginning, there was nothing, and then, there was woman."

The lights came up; Trina stood in front of a generic cityscape backdrop. "Wow," she said, "I can't believe I'm here in the city of Chicago. Why, anything could happen to a woman like me, here in Chicago."

A music track started to play; in an off-key and flat voice the diva sang, "Chicaaaaagooooooo... Chicaaaaagooooooo... It's a city that's exciting, it's a city that's inviting, it's a city for a woman just like me.

There's a lake they call lake Michigan, I think I'm really fitting in, this city is my perfect cup of tea,

Chicaaaaagooooo... Chicaaaaagooooo... Chicaaaaagooooo... Chicaaaaagooooo..."

In the audience, Jade had already abandoned any attempts at trying not to laugh; her guffaws had set Cat off and the two were giggling merrily while Freddie smiled and attempted to maintain his composure. The boy's brain also still raced with memories of the conversation he and his girl had had the night before; as much as he may not want to admit it, or act upon what she had said, he was forming the inescapable conclusion that she was right.

"The doctor says I ain't never gonna walk again," Trina, now using a bizarre and totally unidentifiable accent, noted from her character's hospital bed, "not even on crutches. But I'm gonna tell you something, I scared. I'm a woman, in Chicago, who's scared."

"Oh my God," Jade whispered, using immense self-control to stop her laughter. "I know Robbie said this was bad but I didn't think it could possibly have been as bad as this. Look at her," she gestured to the stage, "she really has no idea just how terrible this is, does she?"

"That's kinda mean," Cat complained.

"It's true though," her friend countered.

"Yeah, but it's not her fault she's untalented."

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it," Trina had reached the final scene. "I'm a woman in Chicago, learning how to walk again, Thanks to Doc Stevens and my new plastic legs. Take that, Chicago. You're no match for a woman like me. From now on, I'm callin' this city... She-cago!"

The audience, who had been laughing throughout, launched into applause and gave the diva a standing ovation as the play came to an end.

"Yes, you're welcome," she called through the tumult. "You're all welcome. Yes, it's okay to laugh. I'm hilarious."

"That was actually really funny," Freddie commented as he, Cat and Jade made their way from the theatre.

"Yeah, too bad it wasn't meant to be a comedy," the dark-haired girl commented.

Monday, 28th March 2011.

"Hey Trina," Freddie called as he passed her at the door to the theatre; it was lunch time and she was here to check on the place ahead of the next performance of her show that evening. Freddie had just finished a class inside the theatre and was heading out to meet the rest of his friends as usual.

"Hi Freddie," she simpered.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your play; I saw it yesterday along with Jade and Cat. It certainly cheered Jade up; you know about her, Beck and Alyssa," he prompted.

"Tori said something about it but I wasn't really listening once I heard that Beck still wasn't single," she confessed. "So," she smiled, "you liked the play?"

"Jade and Cat laughed throughout," he replied guardedly; he didn't particularly want to flat-out insult her to her face.

"Well I'm glad they were happy but…" her face fell, "it really wasn't meant to be a comedy. Even though people seem to be liking it because they found it funny…" her lower lip began to quiver fractionally, "people already think that I'm a joke and this is just going to… to reinforce that view that they have of me," the first tears began to shimmer in her eyes.

The brown-haired boy bowed his head a little; he had always listened to the views of others – first Lindsey and then Tori – and allowed them to form his opinion of the girl standing in front of him; the depiction of her as untalented, arrogant and full of herself. If he was honest they were still fair criticisms of her, particularly as regards serious acting or singing… serious – the word chimed in his head and he smiled.

"Come over here," he put a hand on her arm and led her to the chairs, taking a seat himself as well. "Have you ever seen iCarly?"

"I caught a couple when Tori was watching them a few years ago," she confirmed, "it started out quite funny when the blonde girl… Sam?" he nodded confirmation, "was there; it lost something after she left. I haven't seen any recently but my sister said those two had made up?"

"Yeah, they did eventually," he told her, "and the show? It's stupid, pointless comedy – but it entertains people. The fan-mail that they get is usually pretty good; Sam forwards some of it to me every time she gets one that she thinks I'll like," he grinned at the thought of some of the stuff people wrote to the co-stars. "Do you think there's anything wrong with mindless comedy?" he challenged.

"I don't follow you," Trina wore a confused expression.

"It still takes talent, Trina, even if it's a different sort of talent. Maybe it's what you're more suited to," he suggested. "I know it's not what you want to hear but maybe you can be a talented comedienne."

"But I want to be taken seriously," she wailed. "I want to show the world how well I can sing and act."

"People act in comedy movies and sit-coms," he shrugged. "Some people are naturally, unintentionally funny… some of the things Cat says," he smirked as he thought on some of his girl's unintentional verbal faux pas that amused him, Jade and the others, "some people are naturally but intentionally funny – and maybe you could try working on that? Have people laughing with you…"

"Instead of at me?" she interrupted with a scowl.

"It would be better, wouldn't it?"

She nodded, still feeling a little miserable but just maybe with another idea germinating within her mind.

"Thanks Freddie," she muttered; he stood.

"No problem; I need to meet the others but I'll see you around?"

She nodded distractedly as he left the theatre.

AN: Thank you for reading; I hope that you enjoyed it. PD