AN: Hello everyone and welcome to this, latest chapter for A Place to Call Home. I hope that you are all well.
As ever, my thanks go out to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter.
Challenge King – Freddie isn't in the mood to take any crap from anyone, certainly not a new Principal who thinks she can just throw him out on a whim.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – yes, Trina's at something of a crossroads and it's sinking in that she can't go on the way she has been as it will never work out for her if she does.
Darck Ben – thanks.
Agent-M – I'm glad you thought so.
Guest – thanks.
TenorSax93 – thank you; I hope you feel that it has been kept up in this chapter.
KoiChoco – Trina needed the talk and Freddie is the only one who cares enough to deliver it really.
Martial Arts Student – I'm glad that you liked it. I'll have to see how things go with Trina but hopefully I can pull it off.
That's everyone so on with the next chapter. A quick content warning: Rated T – some... difficult themes contained within.
Chapter 37: Ice Cream for Ke$ha
Green Meadow Mall,
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, 3rd May 2011.
"Did you see that guy?" Cat asked curiously as she, Freddie and Jade occupied an empty table in the food court of the mall; the couple had bought smoothies while Jade had her obligatory coffee.
"What guy?" Jade snapped tersely; she had been in a foul mood with everyone for a few days now and her friends were starting to get sick of it. They had asked, of course, what the problem was and she had continued to dismiss it as 'nothing' or say that the problem was 'people asking stupid questions'. Freddie, in particular, was hurt by this, given how close the two were, how he trusted her with everything and was feeling that she, for whatever reason, wouldn't return the faith. For now he contented himself with her seeming to be in a slightly better mood today and enjoying the couple's company.
"The one at the Jet Brew stand? The one you bought your coffee from? The one flirting with you?" The redhead was getting impatient at her friend's mood and her feigning ignorance.
"Don't look!" the black-haired girl hissed as Freddie turned to see who they were talking about.
"Oh him," he remarked evenly. "Well I'm not surprised that he'd be smiling at his best customer really; nobody can drink coffee like our Jade," he reached across to give his friend a one-armed hug; she half-heartedly tried to swat his hand away although she couldn't prevent a smile creeping up her face and it suggested to the couple that she wasn't overly upset.
"So what's the story?" Cat pried.
"What makes you think there is one?" Jade huffed.
"The fact that he's still watching you and wearing a big, dumb grin?" Freddie suggested.
"You mean like you whenever you look at Cat?" Jade cleverly tried to turn the tables; Freddie didn't miss a beat.
"Exactly," he declared triumphantly, "he's looking at you the way I look at Cat. So come on…" he tapped the table a couple of times, "spill."
She groaned theatrically. "Fine. He kinda asked me out on Black Friday when I was here with Cat while you were in New York."
Cat gasped. "I don't remember that."
"You were toy shopping at the time," Jade reminded her; she gave a subdued nod, remembering the conversation they had had about acting more maturely and wondering if it was time to try that again; she threw a quick glance at Freddie, wondering if he was any further along the road to making peace with his past. She decided not to ask that question right now but made a mental note to do so privately later on. For now she consoled and amused herself with the notion that Jade seemed to be acting more juvenile than she.
"And you're hoping he'll ask again?" Freddie pried gently; Jade didn't respond but a small blush crept up her pale cheeks. "Ooh, Jadelyn's in lurrr-ve," he teased.
"Shut up," she growled but it was too late; the damage was done and Cat's eyes lit up.
"Jadey's in love, Jadey's in love," she sang in a quiet but happy voice; the gothic teen wished more than anything that the ground would open up and swallow her.
"I will kill you both," she threatened; Cat gasped and Freddie stood up. "Yeah, you'd better run Benson."
"I'm not running," he remarked casually and began to walk in the direction of the coffee stand.
"He's not…" Jade growled and rested her arms on the table, burying her head in them and groaning in embarrassment.
"Hey," Freddie reached the stand; there were no customers waiting so he had a few seconds to talk to the boy.
"Hello, what can I get you?"
"I hear you asked my friend out a few months ago," he jerked his head towards the table; Cat was looking towards them smiling broadly while Jade continued to cringe and look away.
"Yeah, she said she was already seeing someone… figures," the boy shrugged.
"Well she's available now so you could always ask again next time she comes for a coffee," he suggested. "Speaking of which I'd better get her her usual or she probably will actually kill me when I go back there," he grinned.
"One super-strong black with two sugars coming up." The employee prepared the drink and handed it to him in exchange for a couple of bills. "And thanks for the advice," he smiled gratefully.
"You're welcome; Jade's a great girl."
Mission accomplished, the smiling tech genius returned to the table.
"You are not leaving this mall alive," Jade whispered murderously.
"So are you killing me before or after you have your coffee?" He set the cup in front of the girl.
"Well, maybe you'll just be in a coma," the dark-haired teen amended with a small grin.
West residence, Hollywood Hills
The gothic girl had been able to maintain the facade of a good mood until she reached the sanctuary of her own home. She quickly exchanged a few words of greeting with her mother before retreating to her private bathroom. Jade took a seat on the edge of the tub and pulled up her left sleeve. The feelings of sadness, emptiness and loneliness that she had been experiencing of late intensified and mingled with self-disgust and self-loathing as she stared at the scars on her arm; yet somehow it just made the act easier to repeat. The girl picked up her implement of choice, closed her eyes and sighed as she carried out the act, feeling the release and the temporary euphoria that the pain provided; she felt better – if only for a little while before the disgust of her actions inevitably returned anew.
Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts High School,
Los Angeles
Monday, 4th May 2011.
Luckily for Freddie Jade had decided not to try and put him in a coma either; however things weren't going completely his way as his girlfriend had seemed a little upset with him all morning.
"Cat? Cat, come on," he urged as he took a seat next to her at the table. "You can't seriously be mad at me over something I did in your dream."
"It's what you didn't do," the cupcake lover countered.
"Well, will you at least tell me what I didn't do?" He was tired of her unusually sombre mood and just wanted the reasons for it.
"Fine! These little kids were trying to eat us and you wouldn't even try to help me. You were just yelling, 'No! No! Don't eat me! Eat her, eat her!'"
"Well you can't blame me for what your subconscious projects onto me; that's not fair!" he protested, before furnishing her with his boyish grin; Cat was thankful that she was sitting as the smile always made her go weak at the knees. "And if a bunch of little kiddie-cannibals ever really do try to eat us, I promise to protect you."
"Promise?" she pleaded.
"Promise," his smile widened; the girl grinned.
"'kay 'kay."
"I'd try and get us both out of there if I can; I want to live too, you know!" They were joined at this moment by Tori and André as the duo reached the table and sat down. "There's things I want to do," he took her hand in his, "really, really, really want to do."
"What do you really, really, really wanna do?" Tori enquired.
Freddie threw a quick glance at Cat; she understood his caution immediately. "Uh, some of them aren't a topic for lunchtime." Thankfully he was able to turn his attention to André and ignore the curious looks that Tori was giving them. "Just ice cream?" he asked the songsmith.
"Uh-huh," he confirmed.
"That's what you're gonna eat for lunch?" Cat wondered.
"Nope," he contradicted, "it's been in my locker all day, so I'm gonna drink it."
"Why?" Tori giggled.
"'cause I wanna meet Ke$ha," he explained; André drank it and removed a disc with a 'K' on it from the bottom of the carton. "Oh, dang it!"
"Ke$ha's not in there?" his friend joked; Freddie and Cat shared a grin at the brunette's line.
"No, I got another stupid 'K'," he complained before throwing the offending disc over his shoulder; it hit Sinjin.
"Oh, is this about that contest?" Cat piped up.
"What?" Tori hadn't heard about it.
"Ke$ha's doing this thing with Lichterz ice cream," Freddie explained.
"See, there's a letter at the bottom of every pint. You either to get a k, an e, an s, an h or an a. And if you find the letters that spell Ke$ha, you win a private concert," the dreadlocked teen added.
"From Ke$ha?" the brunette sought to clarify.
"I can only imagine how Jade would respond to that question," the tech genius observed dryly; his girlfriend giggled.
"Yep," André continued, "but so far this week, I've eaten eleven pints of ice cream and all I've gotten are eleven 'k's. Argh!" He threw the empty ice cream carton over his shoulder as he had the disc; it also hit Sinjin.
"Freddie let a bunch of little kids eat me," Cat commented randomly; her boyfriend got rather annoyed.
"It's not my fault if dream children find you delicious!" he snapped before getting up.
"Going somewhere?" Tori asked in surprise; Cat put on a pained expression, worrying if she'd gone too far with teasing him.
"Yeah, I'm going to go to the library," he explained. "I might try and track down Jade as well; I'm worried about her."
"You know I'm only teasing you about the dream right?" the red-head asked nervously.
"I know, sweetie, though I'd really rather not hear about it again," he said reassuringly. "And Jade – I dunno, something's just seemed off with her lately and I'm hoping to find out what."
"Do you think she's still upset about the mall yesterday?"
"I don't think so; it started before that but... I dunno, I can't quite put my finger on it which is why I want to talk to her."
"Ok, I'll see you soon," she leaned over; he swooped down and kissed her. "Bye guys." As he headed for the school he passed the senior Vega sister. "Hey, Trina."
"Oh hi Freddie," she grinned. "Not staying?"
"No, stuff to do," he replied brightly, "always busy – you know how it is."
"Uh huh," the diva didn't sound convinced but watched him go; she spied her sister and her friends and approached their table. "Hey, Tori. I need your opinion."
"On?" the younger sister prompted.
"All right. Let's say a person made a deal with someone," she began vaguely.
"What kinda deal?" André asked.
"You know, like they'd promise to do something. Should that person have to keep their word?"
"Yeah. A deal's a deal," her little sister agreed.
"Even if it was like ten years ago?" Trina pressed.
"Yes," Tori confirmed emphatically, "you have to keep your word no matter how long ago it was."
"I'm so glad you feel that way," the older girl enthused, leaping on the chance, "'cause maybe you remember this from when you were six and I was seven. Mm-hmm." She handed the singer a piece of paper; she looked at it and gasped. Interest piqued, Cat leaned over to take a look at it too.
"Oh my God. I remember this."
"Just read it," her sister instructed.
"Oh, okay. 'When I, Tori Vega, am sixteen years old, I will be married to a handsome prince and we shall live in a magic sugar castle.'"
"That didn't happen," Cat observed sadly.
"I know that didn't happen," the brunette stated flatly.
"Yeah," Trina grinned deviously, "and read what you said you'd do if it didn't happen."
"'I will be Trina's assistant and do whatever she says for a whole month,'" she concluded reading.
"That's right," Trina smiled broadly.
"So?" The younger sibling set the paper down on the table. "I wrote this when I was six."
"Yeah. And who was it who said, 'you have to keep your word no matter how long ago it was?'"
Cat piped up excitedly, "Martin Luther King!"
"No," André quietened her, "Martin Luther King gave the speech about havin' a dream."
"I had a dream," she reminded them, "kids ate me."
"Don't worry, Tori," the diva gloated, "I'm not gonna be unreasonable."
"Will you guys tell her she's being ridiculous?" she urged her friends to intercede.
"Well, you did make a deal," André reasoned.
"And you did say a person should keep her word," Cat added.
"Thank you, Tori's friends," Trina smiled. "Well, here's a list of things you need to do for me," she handed another piece of paper to her sister.
"But I don't-" she complained.
"I'll have another list for you in the morning," the elder Vega interrupted her before leaving the table. "Boo-bye!" was her parting shot.
Tori scanned the list with mounting dread. "I have to pluck her toe hair?"
Sikowitz's classroom
"Hey Jade," Freddie hadn't seen his friend during the morning and, after failing to find her when he headed to the library, finally caught up with her in class.
"Oh hi Freddie," she smiled.
"Is it too cold for you?" he asked with a grin.
"What do you mean?" she retorted in confusion.
"The long sleeves," he gestured to her arms. "Usually around this time of year you get to show off your tattoo again and you always take advantage of that."
"I decided not to today," she shrugged, "is that a crime?"
"No," he conceded, surprised at her defensiveness, "just making an observation."
"Well I'll wear short sleeves when I want to," she snapped.
"Ok, sorry I mentioned it," he held up his hands in surrender. If anything, Jade's mood worsened further now that she was sniping at one of her few, true friends.
"I noticed that too," Cat whispered from next to him; she was happy to speak to him again after talking about her dream and the brief panic of really upsetting him with her response to it. "Even during gym class she was wearing a long-sleeve shirt; not like her at all; she usually even wears short sleeves in winter."
Freddie nodded; furrowing his brow as he pondered on the girl's behaviour. He was distracted, though, as a very unhappy Tori trudged into the room.
"What's upset you?" Jade asked as the brunette, wearing a miserable expression, slumped into a seat.
"Trina," she replied simply.
"Is this still about being her assistant?" Cat asked.
"Assistant?" Freddie looked from one girl to another; Jade was equally confused, Cat was a little woebegone and Tori utterly dejected.
She explained the story; Jade grinned in amusement at what Tori was being forced to do; Freddie, however, was bewildered.
"And neither of you," he challenged his girlfriend and André, "thought her demands were crazy?"
"Well she did say a deal had to be kept," Cat insisted.
"But sweetie, Tori was six when she wrote that – and there's no such thing as a magic sugar castle; it's impossible for her to keep. Tell Trina to shove it," he told the singer.
"I can't or I'll never hear the end of it," she groaned; Freddie just shrugged.
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: André shot my nose! Hahaha!
Now... MUST FIND LETTERS TO SPELL KE$HA!
Feeling: Wild
Tuesday, 5th May 2011.
"So, why are you so keen to find all the letters now?" Freddie asked, trying to find out the story behind his friend's update; the last he'd heard Tori hadn't been too concerned about André's efforts.
"Because," the half-Latina whined, "Trina drove me crazy last night over being her assistant and the only way out of it is to get Ke$ha to come and play a concert at her house, which means having to win the concert."
"Or," he countered, "you just tell her the deal is stupid and you're not doing it anymore. What's she going to do – apart from complain?"
"I have to do this, I made a deal," she insisted. "Look, will you guys please come over and help us tonight?"
"With..." Jade prompted.
"We're going to buy a load of ice cream pints and hunt for those letters so that we can win the concert."
"It would probably be cheaper to just hire her for a concert than buy that much ice cream," Freddie pointed out.
"Will you just come and help?" she snapped in annoyance.
"Sure; I'll hit the gym and then be over after that. Pick you up on my way?" he asked Cat; the redhead grinned and nodded.
Vega residence
Tori successfully assembled the gang; André, Robbie, Jade, Freddie and Cat sat in her living room; their task for the night was simply to dump the ice cream into buckets (after they'd eaten the first pint or so each) and licking letter disc clean. Beck was absent as he had landed an audition for a large part in a forthcoming play – not least because the playwright hoped for a little patronage from his girlfriend's father.
"K," Tori raised the disc briefly before casting it aside with all the other duplicates.
"K," André did likewise.
"A," Freddie followed suit.
"K," Cat declared.
"A," Robbie muttered.
"Okay, we're never gonna spell Ke$ha," Jade complained.
"Why are there so many 'k's and 'a's?" the ventriloquist demanded to know.
"I don't know but we'd be doing great if we were trying to win a private concert from aka-aka-aka-ak," the brunette hostess joked.
"I guess they gotta make some letters hard to find or everyone could win," André reasoned.
"Well, I'm sick of this," the gothic teen lamented. "Ice cream reminds me of my childhood."
"You didn't have a happy childhood?" Robbie enquired.
"Her favourite toy was a hammer," Cat supplied.
"You finish the puzzle," Jade concluded.
"One time, she used it on my favourite dolls," the redhead recalled sombrely.
Tori was getting annoyed by the negativity. "Well you don't have to help but if we win and Ke$ha does do a private concert here, I think it's fair if the people who helped find the letters are those who get to come."
"Only the people who helped find the letters get to come," Jade employed her mocking impersonation of Tori's voice.
"I don't talk like that," she shot back.
"Does that mean I can't ask Carly and Sam if they want to come down for that weekend?" Freddie asked; he thought his two Seattleite friends would love to attend a private concert like that – and it would be a good opportunity to catch up with them and thank them in person for their help with the escape from Yerba.
"We'll see, if we win," Tori told him. She cleaned the disc she was holding and gave a loud exclamation. "Ah! E! I got an 'e'."
The teens cheered the event. "Okay, okay," André hopped up, "let's put it on the thing." He and Tori walked over to a plastic rack where a 'K' and an 'A' sat with spaces between them; Tori put the newly-found 'E' next to the 'K'.
"Yeah!" the two friends smiled at one another; they made to high-five then had second thoughts.
"Ooh," Tori looked at the state of her musician friend's hands.
"... actually- ice cream on hand," he muttered.
"Sticky," she agreed'; they settled for 'high-fiving' with their elbows instead.
"Hey, where ya goin'?" she asked Robbie; he was carrying one of the buckets full of ice cream towards door.
"I don't think we should waste all this ice cream," he explained, "so I'm gonna take it down to that playground on the corner and give it to some little kids."
"Robbie," Freddie observed, "I don't know how kids' mothers are going to feel about a strange guy handing out-"
"Let him do it," Jade interrupted in a hiss.
Freddie grinned at her. "You're a terrible influence."
"I know," she smirked back.
"Good luck," he told the ventriloquist with a shrug.
"Okay, people," André sought to refocus them, "we find an s and an h and we got us a private Ke$ha concert."
"And my freedom from Trina," Tori added.
"All right," Freddie nodded.
"Yeah," Cat cried and they resumed their quest for the missing letters.
"K," André declared.
"A," Jade disclosed.
"A," Tori echoed.
"K," Freddie found.
"A," Cat held up her disc.
Much later
The energy had left the room; the teenagers were slowly digging out their cartons now feeling that there was no end in sight to their mission.
"K," Freddie sighed.
"K," André repeated.
"A," Jade groaned.
"K," Tori grumbled.
"Okay, this is actually causing me pain and not the good kind," Jade sniped.
"Good kind?" Freddie's head snapped around to face her.
André wasn't listening; Jade was thankful as he interrupted in a loud voice. "All we need is an 's' and an 'h'. Is that so much to ask?"
"I'm out of ice cream," Freddie told his hostess, though he kept a watchful eye on Jade after her remark.
"Me too," the brunette told him.
"Cat will be back with more soon; she just nipped to the store at the bottom of the road to get all she could carry," Jade assured them.
The front door opened; Robbie had returned, but his clothes were ripped and his face bloodied. His glasses were askew and he sported a black eye.
"Robbie, what happened?" Tori asked in horror.
"I went to the playground," he slowly began to explain, "I got off my bike and I yelled, 'hey, kids, who wants some free ice cream?' And then their mothers chased me into an alley and beat me with sticks."
"Sticks?" Freddie asked in concern.
"One big mom stepped on my neck," he continued.
"You gotta love big moms," Jade smirked, before sitting up as a crestfallen Cat came through the patio doors at the rear of the house.
"Hey," she greeted them softly.
"Where's the ice cream?" André demanded.
"Yeah. Didn't you get some more?" Freddie asked.
"No; I saw Ke$ha's last update, look," she replied balefully; the teens all pulled out their phones and located her tweet. Tori read it aloud.
"Congrats to the dude in Northridge who found all the letters and spelled out Ke$ha. Thanks for playing. Ke$ha later," her voice grew steadily more miserable as she read.
"Contest over," André sighed.
"Great," Jade complained, "I spent a whole evening of my life violating pints of ice cream for nothing."
"Well, I got stick-beat by vicious mothers," Robbie reminded her.
Tori slumped to the couch. "I hate everything," she wailed.
"Don't be sad," Cat pleaded.
"I am sad. 'cause I didn't marry a prince and I don't live in a magic sugar castle and now, we can't win the Ke$ha concert which means that I gotta keep being Trina's stupid assistant for twenty-eight more days!"
"That's so sad," the childlike teen replied morosely.
"Come on, it's okay," André tried to cheer her up.
"I could try talking to her," Freddie suggested, "and hey, maybe Trina will realise how ridiculous this is and be reasonable."
"Maybe," Tori agreed.
"Anyway, I'd better be getting home," Jade got up to leave.
"Us too; I need to drive you back," he reminded Cat.
"'kay 'kay, I just need to head to the bathroom first," and she skipped off. Freddie was actually thankful for this as it gave him a chance to speak to Jade in private about something she had said.
"Jade, wait," he called as she left the Vegas' home.
"What?" she sighed.
"Roll up your sleeves," he instructed her.
"What? Why should I do that?" she asked defensively.
"Because I'm worried about you. I know from our talks that you and Beck never…" he gestured weakly before continuing, "so you talking about a good kind of pain made me wonder…"
"Fine," her annoyance and frustration had passed breaking point; she pulled her sleeves up angrily, exposing the raw, red marks on her forearms, "are you happy now?"
"Oh my God, Jade," he whispered. "Why?"
"Because I…" the softness of his voice and the shock on his face cut through her fury; her lower lip began to wobble, "even after… I uh…" she seemed incapable of forming coherent sentences at this moment. Freddie pulled her into a strong hug, robbing her of the last of her composure; she began to sob freely against him.
"It's alright," he whispered, stroking her hair gently, "Freddie's got you." He kissed the top of her head gently as she started to regain some of her self-control.
At this moment, Cat emerged from the house, ready for a ride home from her man; she stopped suddenly at the sight before her.
"What's the matter?" she asked softly, walking towards them and seeing the ugly red marks on her best friend's forearm. "Jade, what happened?"
"I... I..." she spluttered, looking from her to Freddie.
"Come on," he decided, "you're coming home with us." The brown-haired boy led her, unprotesting, to his car.
"What are you going to do?" Cat asked during their journey.
"Talk to my mom," he replied simply; Jade's head snapped up.
"Talk to her?" she asked in something akin to horror.
"She's a nurse – maybe not experienced in this but she'll know somebody that can help you," he promised, "and she won't judge you at all for it. Don't worry," he squared his jaw, "there'll be no trip to ward D."
Benson residence
"Mom, are you home?" Freddie called as he raced in; Jade was sandwiched between the couple in case she attempted to flee.
"Freddie?" Marissa was surprised at his tone. "Is everything ok? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," he insisted; despite the situation he grinned slightly at her reaction, as did Cat. They frogmarched Jade to the couch and flanked her as they sat down.
"So what's the urgency?" The matriarch slowed her pace as she moved from the kitchen to the living room. She eyed the two girls sitting with her son and her gaze froze when she spotted Jade's still-exposed forearms. The black-haired girl's head was bowed with the shame she was feeling from her actions.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table and holding her son's friends arm in hers.
"Since..." Jade refused to raise her head as she counted back, "it started at the end of Spring Break – just after getting back from Yerba. I... I missed Beck so much and he's happy with Alyssa and I just started to feel so lonely; everything began to hurt so much," her exterior crumbled and the tears began to flow. "Then," she gasped through the tears, "I caught my hand, by accident, on a nail or something..."
"... and the physical pain lessened the hurt," the nurse prompted. Jade nodded weakly without lifting her head to look at the reddish-brunette. "But it doesn't last long enough," she continued.
"Right; how do you know all this?" Jade mumbled. Cat gaped in astonishment, both from her friend's disclosure and Marissa's summary of the situation.
It was Freddie who answered. "I guess it's like any kind of drug, isn't it mom? You get the rush and then come down again – so you need to do it again."
"That's right, Freddie. And like other drugs the effect lessens as the body gets used to it."
"So you need to do it more often – and maybe worse," Cat prompted in a horror-laden voice.
Jade nodded; finally, hearing the concern and lack of judgement in the room, she was ready to look at them. "That's exactly it," she confirmed. "The pain makes me feel good for a while – then it comes back and I feel worse than before, because of what I've done."
"So it's a vicious circle," the redhead breathed.
"What can we do?" Freddie asked his mother.
"I'll make some calls now. I know some of the counsellors that work at the hospital; I'll make you an appointment," she told the girl. "It won't be an easy road back but you can get there," she insisted; Jade nodded, grateful for both the words and the lack of an empty promise that there was a quick fix.
"What do you want to do tonight? We have a spare room if you want to stay here," Freddie offered.
"Stay at mine!" Cat's eyes shone with anticipation. "Girly sleepover!" she cried happily.
Jade looked as if the idea really didn't appeal to her but Freddie spoke up. "You really shouldn't be alone right now Jade," he told her softly.
"Ok," she conceded, "I still have some things at your place, right?" she asked Cat, who nodded eagerly. "I'll call mom and let her know."
As Jade left to use her phone privately, Marissa returned having made her calls; despite the curious and impatient looks on Cat's face, she waited for the gothic teen to return.
"I've arranged for you to have an initial meeting right after school tomorrow at the hospital. I'm on duty and if you want me there I will be. If you want it to just be you and the counsellor, that's fine. She's a good listener; definitely one of the best members of staff we have."
"Thank you Mrs Benson," Jade smiled gratefully, then glanced at her watch. "I guess we'd better go," she told Cat, "since Freddie needs to drive us there and then come back, and it is getting late," she finished with a sly smile at her friend, knowing his mother's feelings on bedtime.
Mother and son made eye contact; she nodded subtly and he mouthed thanks mom to her.
"Right," he stood up, "let's go now then."
The teens drove in silence to Cat's house; Freddie got out with them as they made it towards the door. He threw his arms around Jade and held her close. "It's going to be ok," he promised her, before letting go and pulling his girl into a hug. The couple kissed, one kiss became several before Jade impatiently cleared her throat and they turned to her with identical, guilty expressions.
"Goodnight," he mumbled, giving his girlfriend one last kiss on the cheek and waving as he headed back to his car. Jade hurriedly pulled her sleeves down again to hide the marks; Cat gave her a curious look.
"Not a word about it," she ordered, "we're having a sleep-over, that's all I want them to know."
"Ok," Cat nodded and the two girls entered the house.
"Hi mom, hi dad, Jade's here for a sleep-over," the redhead announced their arrival.
"That's nice," her mother said. "Hello, Jadelyn."
"Hi Mrs Valentine," Jade smiled before following the cupcake lover upstairs.
As the two got ready for bed, Cat got another look at her friend's arms. She flung herself upon her in a tight hug. "Freddie's right," she whispered, "it will be fine."
"I know," Jade choked out, "because I have good friends."
Benson residence,
Wednesday, 6th May 2011.
"Freddie? Are you ok?" Marissa was concerned at her son's appearance over breakfast.
"Not really," he admitted, "I didn't sleep well at all last night because of… well, you know," he finished with a shrug.
"I know it's not an easy time," the nurse told him, "but she'll get the help she needs now. She will get through this and get better."
"It's not just that mom, she's pretty much my best friend and I'm supposed to be hers," he explained. "How did I not see this earlier?"
"She didn't want you to know," the matriarch explained sagely, "so she hid it from you. You said yesterday it was like a drug and that's exactly it – some addicts can hide it for years even from those closest to them. The important thing is you know now and you can help her."
While not completely convinced, Freddie nodded his understanding of his mother's words.
Hollywood Arts High School
Freddie wouldn't get a chance to talk much to Jade before class; he called Cat after speaking to Marissa (both she and Jade had insisted that the girl was ok) and obviously the two girls would be travelling to school together, though they arrived at almost the exact same time as Trina and her 'assistant' so he wasn't able to press Jade further on her well-being, not least because Tori had her own complaints to make; not only had Trina forced her to cancel a date with Jason, Sikowitz's nephew, in order to 'assist' her around the clock, which was immensely disappointing to her given how little they had seen one another recently, the actual duties were increasingly unpleasant for her.
"So you had to wash her hair while she was in the bath?" Cat repeated.
"Yeah; she was eating a pickle and applying lip gloss while in the bath so she got me to do her hair," the brunette lamented; leaning against her locker in resignation and misery.
"So then what?" the redhead prompted.
"Well, she needed to blow her nose so I was tissue-bearer!" Freddie just palmed his face and shook his head, wondering why she didn't just refuse and deal with the consequences of Trina complaining a little more than normal. "And," she continued, "I had to check the colour."
"Why?" Even Jade sounded grossed out.
"She started saying something about the doctor but I snapped. I… I almost drowned her," she finished in a whisper. "I mean it got to the point that I really thought about holding her underwater."
Cat gasped; Freddie just shrugged. "She's a martial arts expert; she'd have fought you off if it really came to it," he dismissed.
"But the thought of actually doing that to anyone – especially my sister…" she really didn't like where this was going.
"With what she's making you do you have every right to be angry," he rationalised; Tori still looked sceptical, not liking what she had thought of doing. Cat and Jade, meanwhile, were more concerned by Freddie's blasé reaction to it.
"After that, she still made me do stuff though. Do you know she sleep-sweats?"
"Sleep-sweats?" Cat asked, intrigued and disgusted in equal measures.
"Yeah, she made me go into her room last night every two hours, with a sponge. I had to lift her arms and then I had to—"
The girl herself interrupted; Trina ran up to her and thrust her ringing pear phone at her. "Tori! Hey, answer my phone."
"I don't wanna," she lamented.
"Hey, you're her assistant so do what she says," Jade pointed out with a grin; Freddie began to understand his mother's words about how the girl so easily hid her problems from the world, even from those fairly close to her.
"Thank you, Jade," the diva put an appreciative hand on the goth's arm.
"Never touch me," she growled; Trina hurriedly let go.
"Why can't you answer your own phone?" the younger sister asked.
"It's that guy, Lendle. He keeps calling me."
"Doctor Levenson's gross son?" Freddie raised his eyebrows; from the corner of his eye he spotted a group of people staring at Sinjin's pear pad near the stairs.
"Just answer it!" Trina was focussed on Tori and ignored his question; he motioned to Cat and they wandered over.
"Hello?" the singer groaned reluctantly as she answered. "No, I'm sorry. Trina's..." she looked to her for help.
"Dead," she whispered before changing her mind. "Oh, no! Say I moved to Canada."
"Uh, she moved to Canada... then died," Tori explained. "Yeah. This is her sister, Tori. No, I will not go out with you! What's—"
Trina was outraged. "Give me my phone!" She snatched it. "Hey! I'm dead for ten seconds and you're already hitting on my sister?! No, no, you listen to me, Lendle. It doesn't matter..." she walked away arguing.
Tori turned helplessly to Jade. "That's my life now. So I might as well…"
"Hey, Tori, come see this!" Cat called.
"Oh, what?" the brunette wasn't too interested in whatever was exciting her friend but she went over anyway; Jade strolled over as well.
"Play it again!" Freddie urged.
"'kay 'kay," his girlfriend took the computer from the blond teen and repeated the clip; Ke$ha had made a Splashface video.
"So it turns out the dude from Northridge who said he won the Lichterz Ice cream contest, he faked it. Yeah. Guy's a loser. Anyways, contest, back on! Get it! Ke$ha out."
Tori brightened as she realised what this meant. "I can still win the contest!" she cried.
"Run for it, Tori!" Sinjin urged. "Run straight home and don't stop 'til you get there!"
"Right!" she nodded.
"We still have a whole day of school," Freddie called as the brunette sped out of the building. "Is she going to get that much nearer on her own?" he asked his girl.
"I dunno," she shrugged.
"Well, I'll be round there after work. Pick you up?"
She nodded. "I uh…" she glanced at Jade, not wanting to say anything in a public place about her friend's problems.
"She's giving me a ride after school," Jade answered for her; Freddie nodded.
"If you're at hers after then I'll see you both there."
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: Contest BACK ON! Gotta get more ICE CREAM!
I'm RUNNING!
Feeling: Giddy
FreddieB: Is it just me that thinks broadcasting on The Slap that you're blowing off school for this is a bad idea?
CatValentine: No, not just you sweetie.
JadeWest: I wouldn't either, but then I'm not ToriVega
Valentine residence
"So how was it?" Freddie asked when he met the girls at Cat's home; they were idly fussing over the Valentines' dog, which was torn between enjoying the attention and its desire to gambol madly around the room.
"It went well," the black-dyed haired girl nodded. "It's… not going to be easy but it was a start. The counsellor said that confronting the issue and talking about it is the biggest step; maybe you should have done that a long time ago," she grinned. "The temptation's still there; it was last night as well when we were here – but I didn't cut myself or anything like that. It's going to take some time and I might be a bit of a gank for a while with it all but eventually I'll be back to my normal, happy, smiling self," she finished with a smirk.
"When you're annoyed with everyone and snarking all the time then we'll know you're good again," he joked; she laughed along with him.
Vega residence
"K," André called.
"A," Jade actually found it mildly therapeutic at the moment.
"A," Freddie had the same letter, as did Robbie.
"H," Cat called idly, not realising the significance immediately.
"K," Rex called.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Cat, what did you say?!" Tori suddenly registered the girl's announcement.
"When?" she asked.
"Just a second ago?!" her boyfriend had realised it too.
Cat's eyes lit up; she grinned teasingly at her man. "I said 'when'."
"No, before that!" Tori snapped.
In a calm voice the redhead replied, "Oh, I said 'h'," then, in an enthusiastic, cheering voice and doing a happy dance she continued, "oh yeah, that's right. Cat's got another letter!"
The rest joined in her cheer; Tori took the disc from her and placed it with the others on the makeshift board. "Here it is. Here it is!" she cried in delight.
"Yes. Keee-ha!" André cheered.
"Keee-ha!" his friends chorused.
"Okay, okay, okay," Tori focussed them. "Must find the 's' before somebody else does!"
The others agreed with calls of "Yeah," and "Let's go." They began to dig into ice cream cartons with renewed enthusiasm.
"A," Jade called.
"A," Tori repeated; Freddie and Cat found 'K's and Robbie an 'A'.
Much later
"E," Freddie sighed wearily.
"H," Tori yawned.
"K," even Cat was fatigued; the red-haired girl rested her head against her boyfriend's arm. He pulled her into a one-armed hug and they took a quick break from their task, closing their eyes and snuggling together; Jade grinned softly from across the room, though the sight reminded her of what she had lost and she subconsciously touched her left forearm. The girl cast her mind back to the meeting with the therapist earlier in the afternoon and focussed on what she had been told, trying to put the lesson into practice.
Fortunately, Tori provided a welcome distraction; the brunette began looking frantically through pint after pint in a desperate hunt for the missing letter.
"Hey, Tori. Tori, hey-," André urged.
"What," she snapped. "What, what, what, what?! I gotta find the 's'!"
"Why don't you take a little break?" the songsmith suggested.
"No. No! I gotta find the 's'," she insisted. "I don't wanna be Trina's assistant anymore. I just need the 's' To spell Ke$ha." By now she was almost sobbing. "Where is the 's'?"
"I don't know, baby. I just don't know," he pulled her into a gentle hug.
"Hey, you guys," Robbie called suddenly, looking up from his pearpad.
"'sup?" Freddie turned from watching his host in concern to the ventriloquist.
"The letter that we found the most of is 'k', right?" he continued thoughtfully.
"Yeah," they confirmed.
"And what ice cream flavours have we searched the most?" he prompted.
"Uh, Beach Bunny Blitz, Pooberry Pecan and Creamy Cowboy Crunch," Tori scanned the myriad of discarded cartons.
"Ah!" Robbie was triumphant. "Which, according to the Lichterz website, are their three most popular flavours."
"So if they put the easiest-to-find letters in the most popular flavours of ice cream, then..." Freddie got his meaning.
"…then they probably put the hardest-to-find letters—" Cat picked up the thought; Tori dashed over and began to frantically pat her arm.
"The 's'!" the brunette cried.
"The 's'," Cat repeated.
"In their least popular flavour," André concluded.
"What's the least popular flavour of Lichterz ice cream?!" Tori screamed frantically at the curly-haired teen.
"Uh, I don't like being hollered at," he complained; Tori simply glared at him and began to climb over the couch to get to him. Freddie and Jade moved to restrain her.
"Alright, alright... Tori, just calm down," the tech genius urged.
"Just tap your pear pad and tell us the least popular flavour!" she yelled at the puppeteer.
"Right, all right," he did as instructed. "It's Funky Nutblast."
Freddie looked at Cat; it seemed vaguely familiar to him from somewhere, which is more than the others could say.
"I've never even heard of that," André commented.
"Me either," Robbie admitted.
"Well it has to exist somewhere," Tori insisted.
"Oh it does," Cat confirmed. "It's my brother's favourite so my mom used to buy it for him and put his 'special medicine' in it when he lived with us."
"I thought I'd heard of it," Jade mused triumphantly; Freddie nodded his agreement.
"Well where do you buy it?" Tori asked the redhead.
"We got it at the Handy Quick in Calabasas," she replied.
"Drive me there?" she begged Freddie.
"Let's go," he nodded, feeling in his pocket for his keys.
"I'm going too," Jade decided; she needed the continued distraction at the moment.
"Can I come?" Cat pleaded.
"I don't care; just hurry," Tori snapped.
"Of course you can," Freddie grinned, offering his hand; she smiled and took it as they exited the Vega home.
Handy Quick, 5657 Las Virgenes Road,
Calabasas, CA
Much to the bewilderment of the cashier the four teens raced into the store and over to the freezer, hunting desperately through the ice cream section. Finally Tori picked up a carton and gave a triumphant cry.
"Funky Nut Blast!"
"YES!" Cat cheered.
"Go pay for it," the brunette pleaded as she opened it.
"'kay, 'kay," she skipped over to the register while her friend held the carton upside down and squeezed; the ice cream falls out, landing on the floor.
"We could have at least tried it to see if we liked that flavour," Freddie observed.
"Who cares?" Tori was possessed of her manic energy. "We just want the 'S'!"
"Is it there?" Jade looked on with baited breath as Tori scrabbled around, retrieving the disc.
She stood up and, heartbroken, turned to them. "No... it's just a dumb 'h'!" She flung the disc to the ground.
Jade stepped over to the freezer, looking through it again. "I thought there may be another pint," she explained, having closed it again a few moments later, "there isn't."
Tori groaned and slid down the freezer door, taking a seat on the floor.
"Tori!" Jade sounded sympathetic to the brunette's woes.
Cat glanced around the store and spotted something; she tapped Freddie's arm. "Hey, that boy over there is eating Funky Nut Blast," and she gestured to a long-haired boy of around 11.
Tori, instantly reenergised, raced over to him; Jade was just a step behind. The couple exchanged glanced, Freddie shook his head a little and sauntered over to join them; Cat had seized his hand again and followed him over.
"Hi," the former Seattle native greeted the boy calmly.
"Hello," Tori gasped.
The boy looked rather flustered that a gang of teens had suddenly raced over to him; in an awkward voice he returned their greeting, "hey."
"Whatcha eatin' there?" Tori tried to sound casual.
"Funky Nut Blast," he gestured to the label.
"Is it good?" Freddie asked curiously.
"Sooo good," the pre-teen confirmed with a smile.
"Can we have it?" Tori asked hopefully.
"Get outta here," he dismissed her request.
Jade, getting impatient again, shot, "we'll give you thirty bucks for it," before glancing at Freddie and grinning, "at least, the Bank of Freddie will."; the brown-haired teen rolled his eyes again as Cat let out a short laugh.
"Deal," the boy agreed.
"Yay! Now we can win the contest and meet Ke$ha!" Cat declared excitedly.
"No, Cat!" Tori was annoyed, hearing the boy would change his mind on the deal.
"Whaty?" she asked innocently.
The kid had recovered the disc by this point. "This whatcha want?" he held the "s" in front of him, showing it to them.
"Yeah," Tori confirmed desperately.
"Ah! I'll give it to you," he smiled.
"YES!" the girl was elated.
"If..." he added with a sly smile.
"What do you want?" Freddie asked in resignation, wondering how much it was going to cost him.
"To come to the private concert," was the first condition.
"Fine," Tori was happy to agree.
"Okay," Jade had no problem with it either.
"And I wanna kiss you," he pointed to the brunette.
"What?" She was less sure about this part of the deal.
"And her," he gestured to Cat, despite the fact that she was still holding Freddie's hand. "And the freaky one," he looked at Jade.
"What?" the black-haired girl snapped.
The couple traded looks; Cat looked rather dubious about the idea; Tori grabbed their arms.
"Pleeeeeease," she begged them.
Cat gave a small, reluctant nod so Freddie sighed out, "ok, but you'd better stop there."
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: We got KE$HA! No more being Trina's assistant!
Feeling: Triple-Pumped!
Apartment 8-C, Bushwell Plaza,
Seattle, WA
"Freddie?" Carly was surprised to get a video chat request at a reasonably late hour but had accepted it happily; her brown-haired friend and his red-haired girlfriend filled the screen looking tired but strangely elated.
"Hey Carls, Sam," he added as the blonde appeared next to her housemate.
"'Sup Fredward?"
"I know it's short notice but we've won a contest and get a private gig from Ke$ha," he began without preamble. The two Seattleites eyed them with disbelief but Cat nodded her head vigorously beside him, confirming it. "And I was wondering if you guys wanted to come along."
"Sure. When?" Carly asked excitedly.
"Saturday night is the concert but if you can get here tomorrow night you can come into school with us on Friday, see if you can sign up for the summer programme and spend a little more time with us."
"Blow off school on Friday?" the brunette sounded unsure.
"Mama like!" Sam was far more enthusiastic. "Come on," she urged her co-star, "it's a great opportunity, it's only one day, we get to hang with Freddie and his friends and if it really bothers you, you'll still be at a school on Friday."
Carly conceded defeat; the idea certainly appealed to her, she had to admit. "Let's do it; I'll book flights down there for tomorrow night and back on Sunday."
"Sounds good to me," Sam noted. "We'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Definitely," he smiled, "text me the time your flight gets in and I'll pick you up after my fencing class."
Hollywood Arts High School,
Thursday, 7th May 2011.
Tori was elated. Her friends were amused to see the brunette strutting around the school as if on cloud nine all day. Her sister, by contrast, walked around under a slightly disappointed cloud. True to her word she had cancelled Tori's debt of honour to her after getting confirmation of the forthcoming private Ke$ha concert but was missing the pampering and obedient service from her sister.
"To be honest," Freddie commented when the diva complained about the loss of her comforts, "you're lucky to have had as much from her as you did." When Trina looked a little surprised he elaborated, "if someone tried to use a note from when I was six against me, I'd just tell them to shove it."
Trina considered this for a moment before observing, "I guess that's why you're you and she's her."
"How are the plans for next year coming along?" he enquired.
"Still thinking," she admitted. "Mom and dad are keen for me to graduate and go off to college but this," she gestured to the surrounds, "Hollywood, showbiz, celebrity, this is what I want – so I guess what you said makes a lot of sense."
"Freddie?" The teen turned his head at the call.
"Oh hey Beck, how's it going?" he asked casually.
"Good, thanks, real good," the long-haired actor confirmed. "You know I went for a decent-sized part in one of the new plays that's coming out soon, right?" Freddie nodded. "Well I got it."
"Cool, congrats dude," his friend was genuinely pleased for him.
"Yeah, I think Alyssa – and her dad – may have had a bit to do with it but hey, a break's a break, no matter where it comes from."
"Very true. If it gets you noticed and in the public eye then it's all good," the shorter teen agreed.
"Is Jade alright?" Beck asked suddenly; Freddie turned to him with a questioning look. "I mean, she just seemed… off over the last couple of days."
"I thought so too," Freddie replied, slightly guardedly. "I spoke to her about it; she's uh… she'll be fine."
He had tried his best to not violate her confidence but Beck attempted to read between the lines. "So there is something up?" he pressed.
"If you're worried you should talk to her," he responded evenly.
"I tried, she blew me off and said everything was great."
"Then take her word for it," the ex-Seattle native suggested.
Knowing that he would get no more from the boy, Beck changed the subject.
"So, you landed a gig from Ke$ha then?"
"Yeah, we found the letters so she'll be at Tori's on Saturday night," he smiled in anticipation.
"I'm busy with Alyssa or I'd have tried to crash it. She said if I wanted she'd book her for a private gig anyway," Beck added with a grin.
"That's what I said we should do, given how much we ended up spending on ice cream anyway," Freddie pointed out. "Anyway, catch you later?" and with that he started to head for his next class; the Canadian's eyes lingered on him for a long time afterwards, watching him leave and pondering on his words about Jade.
Los Angeles International Airport,
1 World Way, Los Angeles
True to his word, Freddie was waiting at baggage claim when the two girls arrived; he had arrived straight from his fencing class so hadn't had time to collect Cat. The redhead would see them soon anyway as Carly was to stay with her family over the next few days while Sam stayed with Freddie and his mother (the Valentines had half-joked that they didn't have enough food to look after Sam for a period of days).
"So," he asked them after pleasantries were exchanged, "has anything exciting been happening in Seattle lately?"
"Not really," Sam grinned slyly, "unless you count mama finding a boyfriend."
Freddie was a little surprised at the disclosure; he noted Carly slightly forcing a smile and guessed that the brunette was still single. "Really?" he asked the blonde. "You found someone crazy enough to put up with you?"
Sam matched his grin. "You did too," she pointed out. "Cat isn't exactly the dictionary definition of normal, is she?"
"No," he smiled his agreement, "but I've always felt normal is overrated. Wait, you know what a dictionary is?" he added; Sam growled playfully as they left the airport.
Valentine residence, Hollywood Hills
As Freddie was busy all evening (with fencing and then collecting and entertaining the Seattleite duo) Cat had again invited Jade over for the evening and they were hanging in her room.
"I'm fine," the gothic teen continued to protest. "You don't need to babysit me all the time."
"I'm worried about you; Freddie is too," her friend insisted. "We just don't want you to hurt yourself again."
"I know," she managed a grateful smile, recognising how much the two cared about her. "So, homework's done, what else do you want to do?"
"We could see a movie?" the redhead suggested.
"I'm picking it," Jade decided and began to scan the cupcake-loving teen's collection; she was unsurprised to see that absolutely nothing appealed to her.
"That's no good then," she huffed. "Maybe there's something good on TV – or a few creepy clips we can watch on-line," and sat in front of Cat's computer, exploring Splash Face for likely candidates. Cat looked dubious but allowed the other girl to investigate.
"Hey, hey girls," Freddie had appeared in the doorway; Carly and Sam flanked him, both smiling at the other girls.
"Hi!" Cat flung herself on her man before giving welcoming hugs to the girls; Sam flinched a little while Carly enjoyed the enthusiastic greeting.
"That's my cue to leave then," Jade got up.
"You don't have to," the red velvet-haired girl insisted.
"No, I need to get home," she insisted and passed them in the doorway.
"Ok, take care," Freddie urged; she nodded knowingly and made her way out to her car.
Sikowitz's classroom,
Friday, 8th May 2011.
"Are you sure it's ok for us to be here?" Carly asked cautiously. Freddie had provided the pair with visitors' passes but the brunette still felt out of place at the school; it hadn't helped that so many people had tried to mob her and Sam when they spotted them – their celebrity status from the webshow was growing all the time.
"It'll be fine; besides, this is the guy you need to talk to about the summer programme," he insisted.
"Alright children," the teacher burst through the door and began to survey the room; he paused at the sight of the two newcomers sat with their friends. "Oh…" he was momentarily lost for words.
"They've come to visit," Freddie explained simply and idly.
"That's great," the eccentric clapped his hands enthusiastically, "maybe they can come up and help us with the first scene; improv seems to be something of a forte for them after all."
Sam smiled and sauntered up to the stage; Carly looked a little less certain but a firm shove from Jade saw her to her feet. She turned in annoyance to the black-haired girl; Jade just smiled back confidently so the brunette reluctantly turned to the stage and joined her co-star up there.
"Alright, choose your actors," Sikowitz told them.
"Easy; Cat, Freddie, Jade," Sam had answered before Carly could open her mouth; the recruited trio joined them on stage and began a series of ridiculous scenes that left the class laughing uproariously, though the blonde noted a slightly muted reaction from Beck and began to wonder exactly how he was feeling about life after Jade (which, of course, she had learned about from Freddie).
"Sikowitz," Freddie called as the bell tolled and both teacher and students prepared to depart; the bearded teacher turned to him expectantly. "Carly and Sam were hoping that they could register for the Summer in Film programme; I know it's only supposed to be for kids here really but…"
"Of course," he smiled, "no problem at all. Having two such accomplished performers, and having them endorse the programme and school on their show," he looked meaningfully at the comediennes, "would be… synergistic."
"That means 'yes you guys are in'," Freddie told a perplexed-looking Sam. "You just have to mention it, and the school, on iCarly."
"No problem," Carly smiled happily. "After all, you're going to be back on the show tonight, right?" she gave Freddie her sweetest look. "So we can plug the school, mention the show and how we'll be doing it from LA in the summer with some of the kids who go to school at Hollywood Arts. That'll work."
Benson residence, Hollywood Hills
"In five, four, three, two…" Freddie pointed to the girls as he trained his camera on them.
"I'm Carly," the brunette observed.
"I'm Sam," her blonde co-hostess smiled.
"I'm Cat!" the redhead jumped enthusiastically into view.
"And as you can see by that entrance this is a special edition of…" Sam kept her face straight.
"iCarly!" the three declared in unison.
"We're here in Los Angeles," Carly took up.
"Meeting our old friend Freddie," Sam supplied.
"My boyfriend!" Cat pointed out; Freddie turned the camera towards himself.
"Hi iCarly fans; it's great to be on the show again," he told them, before turning back to the girls.
"Jade, get over here," Cat motioned out of shot; the gothic girl rolled her eyes a little before putting on a smile and making up the quartet.
"Now, as Carly said," Sam explained, "we're down in LA visiting some of our super-talented friends… and Freddie," she grinned wickedly, "and we're putting on an extra-special show tonight."
The show would, when they reflected on it afterwards, go down as one of the best they had ever done; the addition of the two girls enabled a wider array of characters, some more comedic skits, particularly with Cat's enthusiasm balancing Jade's dead-pan humour. The girls also took the chance to showcase their singing talents and both hoped that a little extra public profile would help them with name recognition and future opportunities.
Vega residence,
Saturday, 9th May 2011.
A stage had been set up near the Vegas' staircase; Ke$ha, flanked by four backing dancers took centre-stage for the performance. The sisters, Freddie, Cat, Jade, Robbie and André were all present, as was the kid they had met in the grocery star and who had supplied the 's' for them.
"Back door cracked, we don't need a key," the star began her last song of the gig, "We get in for free, no VIP sleaze.
Drink that kool-aid, follow my lead,
now you're one of us, you're coming with me.
Tonight we're taking over, no one's getting out!
This place about to blow-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,
blo-oh-oh-oh. Blow." The teens (and pre-teen) danced along, as they had been for most of the evening, as she performed. Sam was happily and uproariously in her own little world of delight, though she got as close to Freddie as she could whenever Cat let him go for long enough. Carly also got an opportunity to dance with him on occasion; both Seattleite girls were thoroughly enjoying the unexpected show.
"This place about to blow,
blo-oh-oh-oh. Blow.
This place about to.
Now we're..."
"What?" the audience called back enthusiastically.
"We're taking control," she continued, "we get what we want, we do what you don't!
Dirt and glitter cover the floor,
we're pretty and sick, we're young and we're bored.
Tonight we're taking names
'cause we don't mess around!
This place about to blow, blo-oh-oh-oh. Blow,
this place about to blow, blo-oh-oh-oh. Blow,
this place about to!"
The appreciative spectators broke into enthusiastic cheering and applause as the final song ended; Freddie and Cat led the call for an encore but the star, regrettably, had to decline.
"We don't really have the time and I don't have anything else in the repertoire," she told them.
"Oh! Ke$ha, that was so great," Trina gushed, invading the stage, "it's ok that it's over; you totally rocked our home."
"Thanks," the singer accepted the praise indifferently.
"Wanna come upstairs and see my room?" the diva enthused.
"No," she declined simply; it wasn't an answer Trina was willing to accept.
"C'mon!" she urged, dragging her up the stairs.
"Uh, dude," the long-haired pre-teen sidled over to Tori.
"Uh, what?" she played innocent; it didn't work.
"You and those two chicks owe me some lips," he gestured to Cat and Jade; they were talking with Freddie, Carly and Sam. "Dang," he complained regretfully, "I wish I'd known those two would be here as well; they'd have been part of the deal too!"
"Okay," Tori smiled, gesturing the other Angeleno girls over; seeing their friend's confident smile they were willing enough to join her, "but let's go someplace more private."
The boy grinned knowingly. "Good call."
Tori shot a smirk at Freddie. "Come with me," she took the youngster's hand.
"Yes, ma'am," he agreed enthusiastically, allowing her to lead him to the patio doors.
"What's going on?" Carly asked.
"That kid had the last letter we needed," he explained, "and part of the deal for him handing it over was getting a kiss from Tori, Cat and Jade."
"You're just letting them go?" Sam was surprised that her friend was so relaxed about it; Freddie just shrugged idly.
"Tori knows what she's doing; she has a different kind of deviousness to you."
Sam chuckled at the reasoning; Carly was more melancholic. "I'd take a kiss from an eleven-year-old right now," she commented sadly, "it's been a dry spell since Steven."
The sadness in her eyes and expression tugged his heartstrings, even though he had long since overcome his crush on the brunette; Freddie swooped in and planted a peck on her cheek. Carly was surprised by the gesture but looked up and smiled appreciatively at him.
"Thanks," she told him gratefully.
"Hey, it was either me or Sam," he joked, sharing a laugh with the blonde; Carly joined them a moment later, though she touched her cheek absent-mindedly as their eyes turned to the other girls and their young would-be Casanova.
"… and now, I'll just open this door," Tori talked through the process; the boy nodded confidently at Cat and Jade.
"Cool," he stepped outside; Tori smartly closed the door and locked him out. "Hey!" he yelled.
"Kiss the shrub!" she fired at him; he punched the door frame in frustration, though the girls didn't notice as their attention was drawn to the staircase. Ke$ha walked briskly down it with Trina in hot pursuit.
"Wait! Ke$ha, wait!" the brunette senior pleaded.
"No, you're weird," she was told; Tori held her hand up to stop her sister.
"Trina!" To the star she said, "Ke$ha, I am so sorry about her."
"Is she your sister?" Ke$ha asked.
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"I'm sorry for you."
"Everyone is," Tori agreed; Trina looked askance at the exchange.
Ke$ha continued to stare at the brunette for a few moments before prodding her face gently. "Are those real cheekbones?"
"Yeah," the brunette confirmed in confusion.
Trina, meanwhile, had spotted the boy outside in the back yard. "Hey, that little boy got locked out," and she made towards the door.
Cat, Jade and Tori began to call to her in horror. "Trina! Don't! Trina! Do not open that door! Get back here. Trina!"
The diva, however, opened the door. "Oh. What's wrong, little guy?" she asked, seeing how miserable he looked.
"Those girls promised to kiss me, and didn't," he pointed at the trio.
"Oh," her eyes lit up. "Well, you can give me a little kiss."
He studied her for a moment. "Gross!" he declared, turning on his heel and walking out of the back door again.
Freddie watched as the boy left and saw Trina's shoulders slump. Sam tugged at his sleeve.
"What are you staring at? Let's party it up for the rest of the night!" she urged. "Where's the stereo around here?"
"Just give me one minute," he told her and walked over to Trina.
"Hey," he greeted her in a soft voice.
"I got shot down by an eleven-year-old," she whimpered, battling hard to keep the tears from her eyes. "At the Showcase I was told I have no talent and got rejected by all the scouts and today a little kid tells me I'm gross, despite wanting to kiss Tori, Cat and Jade!"
"Ignore him," Freddie said simply; she looked at him in surprise. "Say 'to hell with the lot of them'. I still think you're a talented comedienne and should pursue that – they'll love you for that," he insisted, "and you're a very pretty girl; if I didn't have a girlfriend then I would happily kiss you," he assured her.
Trina gave a grateful little smile. "I understand," she told him, pulling him into a quick hug, which he returned.
"Now," he grinned when she released him; Cat had come over to join them, "let's have some music; Sam wants to party it up and there are a lot of girls here that I want to dance with."
Cat looked a little put out at the statement; as a now-smiling Trina set the music going he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly. "You know you're my girl."
"Yeah," she confirmed. "It doesn't stop me getting a little jealous when you talk about dancing with other girls though."
"It would be rude not to," he protested, "at least once."
"I guess," she nodded. "It's a shame there aren't a few more guys for me to dance with," she grinned, "there's only André… oh, and Robbie."
"It's a start," he smiled. The music began to pound as Trina turned the volume up on the stereo. "First dance?" he offered his hand.
"'kay 'kay," she grinned and took it as the teens continued their party. The couple kept a watchful eye on Jade, who smiled reassuringly at them whenever she caught them doing so. The looks weren't lost on Sam, who made a mental note to ask Freddie about them later.
Los Angeles International Airport,
1 World Way, Los Angeles,
Sunday, 10th May 2011.
"So, that was short but sweet," Carly told her friends as their flight was called; she stood up and grabbed her carry-on bag as Sam continued to sit, looking slightly dazed and distracted. "Sam?" she asked in mild concern.
"One minute," the blonde told her. "You grab a couple of seats and I'll catch up."
The brunette looked a little hurt that she was going to be excluded from another conversation with Freddie and Sam but she turned to the brown-haired boy and his redheaded girl. She hugged Cat.
"Look after him," she whispered.
"I will," Cat confirmed as the girls separated and the Seattleite turned to the sole male in the small party.
"So, video chat later this week?" she asked; he nodded.
"And I'll be watching iCarly; it was fun being on the show again. Take care, Carls."
She nodded, hoisted her bag and walked towards the gate. Sam stood and faced the couple.
"What's the deal with Jade?" she fired at them. When they exchanged surprised looks she elaborated, "I saw the two of you eyeing her with concern last night. Something's obviously up."
"You're right," Freddie conceded; Cat gasped a little at the thought of him betraying a confidence like that but he quickly continued, "I obviously can't tell you what is up; I won't betray her trust but equally I won't lie to you and pretend that all is well."
Sam nodded; she felt the same way over Freddie trusting her with what had happened between him and Lindsey.
"It's good that you look out for her," the blonde noted. "See you soon?" she asked hopefully.
"I hope so," Cat smiled.
"Me too," Freddie hugged her.
Sam picked up her bag and headed for the plane, hoping to catch up with Carly; she looked back and gave the couple one last wave as she went.
AN: Thank you for reading; a somewhat controversial take on the episode, I think, but I hope that you enjoyed what I did with it. No promises on the time for the next chapter as things are getting rather busy as we approach Christmas and the New Year. Until then, please feel free to let me know what you thought of the chapter and the next one will be up as soon as I can get it done. PD