AN: Hello everyone and thank you for visiting this latest chapter of my story; I hope you are all well and enjoyed the previous chapter.
A huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter; some excellent points were made, which I'd like to take a few moments to address.
Challenge King – maybe going to the Prom was a step forwards for Freddie or maybe, like he said, it was simply separating the event from the aftermath. Either way, the couple had a nice evening together there. Tori and Jade did both want to make peace by the end so they managed to sort things out between them without any further issues.
Fanfic-Reader-88 – yes, everything got settled. I think Freddie did just about manage to find the balance you were talking about; he wasn't afraid to tell Jade when he thought she needed to drop things but also made it clear that his loyalty to her outweighed any he may have to Tori.
Guest – thank you.
Darck Ben – thanks, I'm glad you like the drama. There should be a little more towards the end of this chapter.
OneHorseShay – I suppose it comes down to, as Sikowitz once pointed out, Robbie can't help who he is. He was stupid but not malicious, whereas Jade had been waging something of a campaign against her for days over the performance and her reaction to Sikowitz's favouritism.
As for putting Lindsey and the rape behind him, that's a very good point, though there is a school of thought that thinks victims meeting offenders and explaining how their actions have affected them can be beneficial to them. I suppose it comes down to individual cases and Jade is desperate to find something that will actually work and the girl is running out of ideas so desperate times call for desperate measures.
Finding someone brave enough to take Jade out? Hmm, in canon Brandon wet himself asking for his notes back from her, Sinjin does so on a regular basis when she snaps at him. The only other guy, outside of the group, that even seemed close to not being afraid of her was Eli – and he vanished from canon after the Pilot.
As for three girls and a Freddie in the closet – I think a different writer should try that particular AU one-shot.
Beverlie4055 – thanks.
Martial Arts Student – thank you for the suggestion. I don't think the closet is the best place for the conversation but the dialogue is certainly along the lines of what will be explored.
AprilBaby95 – at the moment with Bade I'm seeing where the story takes me.
SeddieHeartLand – yes Freddie took Cat, even though he didn't really want to go to a Prom, and yes Jade found herself a date.
Pbow – good point on Jade's attitude potentially being an issue; someone probably will need to have a quiet word if it goes unchecked for much longer. As for Marikowitz (I think you're the first and so far only shipper of that pairing) drama certainly; I doubt she would do though, knowing how her son feels about the teacher.
Ok, on with the story.
Chapter 40: Beggin' on Your Knees
West residence, Hollywood Hills,
Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, 24th May 2011.
"Hi-iii," Cat greeted her best friend happily as she answered the door.
"Hey Cat; not that I'm not pleased to see you but… why are you here?" Jade returned.
"I thought you wanted to talk about Freddie," the redhead pointed out. "Y'know, about," she dropped her voice despite the area being pretty much deserted, "him and Lindsey."
"Yes," she confirmed, "but now isn't a great time – he's here," she concluded in her own whisper.
"Really?" the cupcake-loving teen was surprised by the disclosure.
"Yeah, we have our script for Gradstein's class due in a few days so we're working on it. He got here after his and André's gym session earlier today."
"Oh, well I won't stay long then. Maybe I'll just say hi to him," she followed the dark-haired girl through the house to the den, where they found the boy typing furiously on his pear top.
"Hey, lookie what I found," Jade called from the doorway in a light tone; he looked up and smiled at his grinning girlfriend.
"Hey Cat," he frowned in thought, "I tried calling you earlier on the new number you gave me but it didn't go through to you; it went to some roadside rescue company."
"Northstar?" she asked as something seemed to fall into place for her.
"Yeah," he nodded, "that was it."
"Right, 'cause I got a couple of calls looking for them and had to say no – then they were calling me right back and still insisting that it was that number."
"Hmm, have you tried calling them yourself?" Jade asked.
"No, I'd never heard of them before all this started happening," she explained, "and it worries me because… what if something serious has happened and they really need help?"
"I guess you'd just take the details and then call 9-1-1 or something," Freddie shrugged.
"Yeah but she shouldn't have to be in this sort of situation," Jade argued.
"I know," he agreed, "but what other choice is there if someone's life is on the line?"
Cat gasped at the prospect of having such a responsibility thrust upon her.
"This all happened since you got that new phone, right?" Jade asked.
"Yeah, the new GX; look at it, it's a cute little pear shape," she giggled, taking the pink device from her back pocket and waving it at them.
"No, I don't want to look at that!" her boyfriend covered his eyes. "Sorry," he continued, correctly imagining the pout on the red haired girl's face, "it's just that with these new phones it was insane at work yesterday with the launch; they pulled us all off the brilliance bar and onto the shop floor to help with sales."
"So is that why you still have the old G5?" Jade asked; she had been surprised that he hadn't upgraded immediately, given his tech savviness and obsession with gadgetry.
"Well, to begin with, that was it," he began, "they're only just out and I'm already sick of the sight of them. Then there's all the problems – like with Cat's number and, from what I heard today, both from my friends at work and on a couple of message boards, they're a lot flimsier than the old G5. Some people have already broken them and the bar was inundated today with people wanting them fixing or replacing."
Jade looked at her own new phone. "Well I've not had any problems yet; the new number's been just fine and I've not dropped it yet."
"Try and keep it that way," he pleaded, "it sounds like I'll be busy enough without you giving me any more work."
Jade just laughed. "Ok," she said, "we really need to get on with this script. Cat, wanna help?"
"No, I was just saying hi, so I'll leave you to it and see you tomorrow," she kissed her boyfriend and headed for home.
"Oh well," he shrugged when the two were alone again; he was surprised that the girl would make a trip over just to say hello but took her at her word, "let's carry on. So, we need a plot twist…"
Jade nodded, though she was a little distracted as she thought on Cat's greeting – and that she really did need to try and engineer something between Freddie and Lindsey before the girl finished school for good.
Main Hallway, Hollywood Arts High School,
Wednesday, 25th May 2011.
Jade had surprised Cat by arriving early at her house in the morning and offering her a ride to school. In reality, it was because she wanted the two to try and discuss ideas and make plans for how to get Freddie and his ex-girlfriend talking in an effort to help him finally and completely move on from what had happened between them.
"There's the janitor's closet," Cat suggested, "that's where we normally have these private talks."
"Yeah, but locking up a rapist and her victim in such a small space? Bad idea," Jade shook her raven locks. "And how do we even get Lindsey wherever in the first place? It's High School; enough gossip has gone around that most people know that Freddie and Lindsey dated and it ended badly; I think if I tried to drag her somewhere against her will that teachers or her friends would intervene."
"So how do we do it?" the redhead asked softly; she was at a loss for ideas.
"I still need to figure that out," Jade conceded.
Singing class
The class, which included Tori, Robbie and Ryder Daniels was going through a few vocal exercises to wind down at the end of the lesson.
"Hold up, hold up," Anthony, the class's teacher complained. "Someone was off key."
"Yeah," Tori agreed, "who was it?"
"Two hints:" Rex offered, "Robbie and Shapiro."
"My singing was not off," his handler argued.
"Man, your whole life is off," the puppet goaded.
"Well," he sought to defend himself, "I think maybe Tori was off key."
"Well!" the half-Latina huffed in annoyance at the accusation.
"Tori wasn't off," Ryder spoke up; he then turned to the girl. "You were perfect. Really nice tone."
"Handsome boy thinks I was perfect," she jibed at the curly-haired ventriloquist; further discussion was prevented by the sounding of the bell.
"Uh-uh! Not so fast," Anthony called the students back as they made to leave. "Let's talk about your homework assignment."
"For the 'New Moon Jam'?" Rex asked.
"Mm-hmm," the music teacher confirmed. "You all have to do a song and your performance will count as one-third of your semester grade."
"We have to sing a solo?" Ryder asked in mild alarm.
"It can be a solo, or you can pair up with someone in this class and sing a duet. But just solos and duets," he decreed firmly.
A quartet of male students sang, in perfect harmonics, "What about us?"
"No!" Anthony shot back at them. "No quartets."
"Aw," they complained as one.
Robbie sidled up to his brunette friend. "So, Tori, what should we sing together?"
"I call Tori," one of their female classmates spoke up, heralding another dispute.
"I already called Tori," the ventriloquist argued.
"Oh my gosh," the object of the argument complained.
"You've worked with her in the last project," one of the other girls in the class pointed out.
The singer had had enough. "Hey, hey, hey! You guys can't just call me. I am not the front seat in your mom's minivan."
"I never had a mom..." Rex sighed, burying his face in Robbie's chest. "Oh," he groaned.
"I'm singing a solo, okay?" Tori decided flatly and left the room.
This encouraged the remainder of the class to make their own departure, "Yeah. Come on. Let's go," the students agreed, leaving Robbie stood on his own in the classroom.
"Like the wolf... She walks alone," Rex observed; he and then Robbie both howled like wolves.
"Off key," the wild haired puppet laughed.
Asphalt café
"You left early this morning," Freddie observed as he joined his girl at their usual spot for lunch; she was sitting with Jade and, again, the two girls were trying to think of ways to bring about the meeting they were looking for.
"Oh, uh," she began evasively.
"I gave her a ride," Jade shrugged. "I was ready to go early so I called round and picked her up. Sorry if I spoiled your morning," she added with a grin.
"The answer is no, Robbie," Tori reiterated as the pair, along with André and Beck, took seats at the table; the long-haired actor was surprised but gratified by a genuine-looking smile of greeting from his former girlfriend and returned it as he sat next to her.
"What answer is no?" Jade slightly mocked, causing Tori to glower at her a little.
"We can sing solos or duets in class for the Jam," the ventriloquist explained, "and Tori wants to sing a solo rather than singing a duet with me."
"Because the girl's smart," Rex commented, "she doesn't want you dragging her down, man."
"I wouldn't!" he shot back at his puppet in outrage.
The others had long since ceased paying attention and simply left the unusual double act to argue amongst themselves while they ate lunch.
Locker area, Main Hallway
André and Tori had both called in at their lockers before the next class. A dark haired senior finally managed to track the girl down. "Tori," he called.
"Oh. Hi," she smiled at him.
"Ryder," he prompted when she didn't name-check him.
"I know your name," she grinned, then, simpering a little, she added, "Ryder."
"So I was wondering if maybe you..." he began; she cut him off.
"Well, I really can't sing a duet with you."
"No, that's not what I was gonna ask you," he insisted.
"It's not?" she asked in surprise.
"I was gonna see if maybe you wanted to, you know, go out, or I should probably just..." He turned to leave, looking embarrassed and defeated.
"No! Wait," she called after him and caught his arm. "I'd love to go out sometime, and, wow, your arm is hard!"
"Thanks," he looked relieved. "So we'll grab sushi or something?" he suggested.
"Yes!" she enthused, then calmed herself a little. "I mean, yes. Yes. I want to do that."
Anthony walked past them at that point, still pursued by the male quartet from his class. "All right! Fine!" he snapped in defeat. "The four of you can sing as a quartet."
"Yay!" they sang.
"Now leave me alone," he pleaded.
The boys turned in Tori's direction. "Hey, hey, Tori Vega, won't you be our very special..."
"No!" she declined firmly; they turned in André's direction.
"Hey, hey, André Harris…"
"No!" He also rejected their request.
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: Today = awesome. And I love my NEW PHONE!
Feeling: Tingly-ish.
FreddieB: I prefer the old G5. Indestructible!
JadeWest: Are you supposed to be dissing your employer's new products?
FreddieB: Probably not! :p
CatValentine: I got my GX too – and a new number!
FreddieB: Yeah, have they got it working properly yet?
CatValentine: No :-(
Pear Store, 189 The Grove Drive, West Hollywood.
As he had feared, it turned out that Freddie would spend most of his shift dealing with a lot of annoyed customers and damaged phones. He and his colleagues were a little at a loss for what to do, given how new the devices were and the consequent lack of any training in how to repair them. Fortunately the internal workings were sufficiently similar to the old G5 that he was able to fix a few of them, giving satisfaction to some of the shoppers, though other, more badly damaged, devices would have to be sent away for repair.
"Have you had any problems with your new GX?" one of his colleagues asked while they sat in the break room.
"I don't have one," he replied and explained the reasoning behind his decision to her.
"Hmm," she pondered his points, "maybe I'm just lucky; it's been working perfectly for me. Oh…" she received a call, "my boyfriend – gotta take this," she grinned happily and scampered to a quiet corner to talk.
Talking to his significant other sounded like an appealing idea to the boy; he pulled out his phone and, more in hope than expectation, punched in his girl's new number and sighing as a male voice on the other end answered, "Northstar, how may I assist you?"
"Sorry sir," he replied, "wrong number again. I'm trying to call my girlfriend and I keep getting you instead."
"Can I put you through to our IT department?" he was asked. "This sounds like quite a serious issue that could affect our customers."
"Sure, it really does need fixing," Freddie agreed and was soon discussing it with someone who, he hoped, would sort out the problem for them.
Thursday, 26th May 2011.
Robbie stood on the half-landing between the main and upper levels of the school, pacing nervously. He brightened as a brunette girl walked down towards him.
"Hey, Sadie. Hi," he greeted her optimistically.
"Oh! Hey, Tommy," she replied politely.
"Uh-oh. This didn't take long to go bad," Rex observed.
"I'm Robbie. Remember, I was in your jazz dance class?"
"Oh, yeah," she thought back. "You're the kid who got kicked in the groin."
"Yes," he agreed in embarrassment, "uh, but I've healed. Anyway, I was just wondering if maybe you'd wanna get dinner with me this Saturday night at the Olive Bargain?"
"Look," she explained with a hint of sympathy, "I would go out with you, but I'd really rather just stay home and do nothing." And she walked off as he drooped his head sadly.
"I failed again," he complained.
"Aw. Who's inadequate?" Rex teased; his handler spotted a knot of his friends by their lockers and walked over to talk with André, Beck, Cat, Freddie and Jade; the Pear employee was busy relating tales of his shift at work the previous night; he had earlier spoken to Cat in class and passed on his hope that they would soon fix her phone number issues.
"Hey. What's wrong with me?" he asked them; they all began to talk at once.
"There's a bunch of things," André began.
"You're cheap," Cat added.
"You smell like a baby," Jade observed.
"You're a little awkward," Freddie was a bit more sympathetic, seeing some of his younger self and forlorn pursuit of Carly in the boy.
"You're irritating," Beck supplied.
"You guys, it's not funny," he complained.
"Oh. Oh. And you're not funny," Jade finished with a grin.
Cat turned to her phone as she received a call. "Oh, yay!" She then answered. "Northstar. How can I assist you?"
"They haven't fixed it yet then," Freddie noted; Cat was too busy focussing on the call.
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Are you injured? And your location is?" She mouthed to her boy for a pen and paper; he provided them and the redhead began to scribble some stuff down. "Okay," she concluded the call, "help is on the way. Thanks for calling Northstar."
"What was that about?" Beck asked in bewilderment.
"You know the new phone number I just got?"
"Uh-huh," he confirmed.
"Well, there must be a glitch or something 'cause lots of people who have Northstar keep calling me."
"Wait," André recognised the name from somewhere, "I've heard of Northstar. Isn't that, um..."
"An emergency service for people who've just had car accidents. It's nervy but so exciting; I get to help people who need me," she smiled.
"Now you just need to call the paramedics," Freddie reminded her; she gasped, realising that he was right and she needed to do that, and scurried away a few paces to find a slightly quieter area from which to make the call.
Tori walked over to her friends; she was smiling broadly. "Hey," she greeted them.
"Oh, someone's all happy about something," Freddie teased her.
"Yeah, "Jade grinned, "it's making me sick." Tori frowned slightly at her but Jade just carried on smiling so the other brunette shrugged, figuring that she didn't really mean it.
"Hey," Robbie asked the newcomer, "is there a reason why girls don't wanna go out with me?"
"You mean, like, one reason that stands out of all the other reasons?" she prompted, causing Rex to laugh at his owner.
"So why are you happy?" Freddie pressed; Cat, having just made her call, hung up and rejoined them.
"'Cause," Tori smiled even more happily, "Ryder Daniels asked me out yesterday." Freddie looked to Jade in surprise and then to Cat; the two girls wore slightly worried expressions as they thought back on the guy who, in some ways, had set everything in motion between Freddie and Lindsey. Tori blinked and then gave the trio a questioning look; her feeling of being out of the loop on something intensified and it looked like her new guy had something to do with it. She made a mental note to find out exactly what had gone on.
"Ooh. He's hot," Rex spoke up; the atmosphere relaxed a little as all eyes turned to the puppet. "Stare all you want," he challenged, "I'm secure."
"I don't trust that Ryder guy," Jade commented.
"Oh, you just hate the idea of anything good happening for me," Tori snapped.
"Believe that if you want," the other girl sighed, "I'm just saying," she continued delicately, "any dude that hot and that perfect has to be hiding something."
Tori, feeling that this was the perfect opening to get herself in the loop, turned to Cat and asked, in a light voice, "so, what's Freddie hiding?"
Cat turned to her boy, noting he wore a slightly awkward smile; flicking her eyes towards her best friend she observed that Jade wore an equally uncomfortable look, one that, had she looked in a mirror, the red-haired girl would have known that she was sharing.
"Yeah, we're really not gonna go there," Jade dismissed the question.
"Alright, something's going on here that I don't know about," the lighter brunette teen complained as she looked from one to another, suddenly recalling the boy's discussion of his bad break-up when they had bonded during the time they were acting together in "Uptown, Downtown". Her feeling of being kept in the dark increased as she got the distinct impression that there was more to the story than he had told her; she just couldn't see how Ryder could be involved.
"Ryder dated my ex-girlfriend – before she and I dated," he explained. "It ended pretty badly between them and that sort of brought about us getting together."
"What does that have to do with you hiding something?" she pressed.
"Like Jade said, we're not going there; not now," he told her in a surprisingly firm voice; she frowned at the trio.
"We need to get to class," Jade noted, "talk later?" she asked Beck, who nodded and she, Cat and Freddie headed for their Science class.
"So this Ryder guy," Robbie asked, providing a distraction for the pouting Tori (and the others, who were equally unaware of the whole story), "he just asked you out and you said sure?"
"Aah, yeah, pretty much," she confirmed.
"And he didn't give you a present or money?"
"No," Tori was confused by the question.
"Well, I just don't understand," the bespectacled teen complained. "Wait," an idea struck him. "This date, when and where?"
"Friday night, my house."
"Can I come?" he asked hopefully.
"What... no! Why?"
"'Cause," he explained, "I wanna learn from Ryder. Look, I wanna be the kind of guy who can walk up to a girl, ask her out and not get laughed at... or sprayed."
"You can't observe my first date with Ryder."
"He won't even know I'm there. I'll hide in that bush on your patio," Robbie offered.
"He'll see you," Tori pointed out.
"You never have," the boy argued.
"I know. But... what?" the admission both shocked and horrified her.
Vega residence, Hollywood Hills
Friday, 27th May 2011.
Tori stood in the kitchen, battling with an appreciable quantity of tuna as she prepared sushi for her date; the singer had been in something of a mood all day, knowing for certain that she was out of the loop on something and nobody was willing to tell her what. Beck, Robbie and André swore they knew nothing about it, while the other three had refused to divulge anything and she didn't want to come across as too insistent or intrusive, though she felt both hurt and annoyed that her friends were refusing to tell her something, especially as in some way it affected her new beau.
Trina walked in through the back door and her sister smiled, hoping that she would have some help (you'd think she'd know better having lived with the girl for almost seventeen years).
"Oh!" Tori complained as her tuna ball slipped from her grasp; she pounced on it before it could roll away.
"Ooh," Trina was strutting around the dining area, stretching her legs.
"Trina, will you please help me?" her little sister begged.
"Busy," the diva dismissed the request. "Are you making sushi?" She looked over at what the other girl was doing.
"Yeah. Will you just read me the directions that are right over..."
"Look," the elder Vega interrupted, "I just got these jeans and I gotta stretch 'em out." She perched her backside on the edge of the dining table as she continued stretching.
"You know," Tori was rather disgusted, "we eat on that table."
"Sorry, my butt's gotta breathe," Trina replied. "And why make sushi?"
"I'm gonna surprise my date, Ryder Daniels," she dropped the boy's name.
"Ryder, senior guy, super hot?" Her sister was surprised.
"Yeah," Tori confirmed.
"Be careful," she was warned.
"Why?"
"He dates lots of girls. You know my friend Lindsey?"
"Lindsey doesn't like you," Tori pointed out, remembering some of the story she'd been told of the girl's reaction to her sister learning of her showcase partner. A spark lit in her brain as she put a couple of pieces together – Lindsey must be the ex-girlfriend Freddie had talked about, that had previously dated Ryder. She was still groping in the dark but at least a couple of things were starting to come together for her.
"So? I know her," Trina shot back, ignoring the slightly glazed look Tori was adopting as she lost herself in thought. "Anyway, she went out with Ryder a couple of years ago and he really, really hurt her."
"He dumped her?" She remembered Freddie commenting on a bad end between them but he hadn't elaborated.
"Like with no warning, just, boom, over."
"Freddie hinted at something like that about him and a girl that he dated afterwards but," she shrugged, choosing to see the best in her new man, "well, maybe he had a good reason."
Jeans sufficiently stretched, Trina inspected her sister's preparation. "What is that?" she asked in a disgusted voice.
"It's a spicy tuna… ball," her younger sibling explained weakly.
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: I just made tuna into balls. They are spicy.
Feeling: Hungry.
Pear Store, 189 The Grove Drive, West Hollywood.
Freddie checked his phone and read the girl's update; he was on break from a shift spent in the training room as the company tried to bring its staff up to speed on their new product; they had provided a few 'dummy' units for them to work on ('a little late', Freddie thought, 'given that we've been working on real ones all week) and he felt more comfortable with them than he had done earlier.
"Good luck Tori," he muttered, hoping for the best between her and the guy who had treated both Lindsey and Christine quite badly (the blonde had told him, during their relationship, about how she and the dancer bonded over their mutual woes and he hoped that his friend would fare better). However much he hoped for the best, he feared for the worst.
Vega residence
"So how's your spicy tuna ball?" Tori prompted her date.
"I've never had sushi like this before," he replied evasively.
"Uh. Thank you?" she wasn't sure how to take his reply. "So listen."
"Mm-hmm," he confirmed that he was, indeed, listening.
"I gotta ask you something."
"Hit me."
"Okay. So we've been on the same class all year," she began.
"Uh-huh," he agreed.
"And we've like never even talked or anything and then you just ask me out."
"All true," he accepted.
"Why?" she pressed, thinking he would at least have laid some groundwork before asking her something like that.
"I don't know," he looked uncomfortable. "I guess I was nervous to talk to you."
"But that's insane," she protested. "You're all hot and stuff, Mr. Hard muscles." She poked his arm, smiling as she recalled the way she'd flirtatiously done the same thing to Freddie on occasion and equating the physique of the two a little. A small blush crept into her cheeks as she realised that she was in danger of having a thing for another of Cat's boyfriends, at the same time that she was taking fledgling steps in a relationship of her own.
"What about you, Ms. Cheekbones?" he teased straight back, breaking the tension that was threatening to mount for the girl.
"Stop," she laughed him off.
"No, I mean, come on, you're pretty. You're an amazing singer. You can make..." he lost momentum as he looked at his meal, "whatever this is. Oh hey, do you have a bathroom?"
"Yeah," she gestured in its direction, "through there, first door on your left."
"Thanks," he got up to use it, leaving his phone on the couch.
"Sure," she waved him off.
"Hey," Trina sprung up from behind the couch Ryder had been sitting on.
"Where did you come from?" Tori jumped a little. "Have you been eavesdropping?"
"Yes," she confirmed, without a hint of shame. "Check his phone."
"What?" The younger Vega was surprised at the suggestion.
"Shh. You don't have much time," her sister urged. "Boys pee fast. Check his phone."
"For what?" Tori still couldn't figure out why she'd want to do that.
"You can always find out a person's secrets by checking their phone," Trina explained.
"But..." she protested.
"Hurry," the senior girl urged.
"I don't want... Oh," she sighed as Trina retreated upstairs to her room; overcome with curiosity, now that the seed was planted, Tori picked up the device and began to thumb through it. It was the scene that greeted Ryder on his return.
"Help you find something?" he offered; she jumped slightly.
"Wow, you guys do pee fast," she complimented.
"Were you reading my text messages?"
"No," she lied; the phone beeped and she looked at it involuntarily.
"Dude!" he complained.
"I'm sorry. Okay. I was snooping," she admitted.
"Wow, we've been going out for like forty-six minutes and you already don't trust me," he observed.
"No, no. I'm not like that," she insisted.
"Are you sure?" he countered. "'Cause I think maybe you're exactly like that," and he got up to leave.
"No, don't pick up your jacket," she pleaded.
"I gotta go," he opened the front door.
"But what about your spicy tuna balls?" she called; he just walked out and closed the door in reply; she held her head in her hands before something in her peripheral vision caught her attention. "Did that bush just waddle? Robbie Shapiro!" She yelled and stormed to the back of the house.
"Yes?" he revealed himself.
"You're invading my privacy," she argued.
"Hey, at least I didn't snoop through Ryder's phone," he countered.
"Go!" she demanded.
Green Meadow Mall,
6801 Hollywood Blvd
Sunday, 29th May 2011.
"Ooh look, it's Tori! Hey Tori!" Cat yelled excitedly as she spotted her friend; the redhead and Freddie were enjoying a little date to the mall, hoping to catch a movie and, in Cat's case, stock up on red velvet cupcakes again. That the girl was very much alone was not lost on Freddie; he wondered just how things had gone on the girl's date.
"Hey, guys," she forced a smile as they walked over to her.
"How did Friday night go? I want deets," the ebullient teen insisted.
"Oh, it… it went," the singer began uncomfortably. "Actually, I screwed the whole thing up," she admitted.
"How come?"
"'Cause Trina appeared when he went to the bathroom and told me to check his phone to see what he's hiding – and like an idiot I did… and I got caught – so he left," she concluded miserably.
Cat gave her a sympathetic smile; Freddie matched it, though he also observed, "In all this time, you've not learnt to just ignore your sister when she's giving advice?"
"I know, I really should," the half-Latina agreed, "it's just the whole 'hot guys keeping secrets' thing planted a seed in my head and," she eyed him closely but his face gave nothing away so she continued, "and then after he left I saw Robbie hiding outside on the patio and even he was making comments about me invading people's privacy…" Tori trailed off and buried her head in her hands.
"He did what?" Freddie asked in amazement. "Seriously, he was spying on a cop's daughter, on a cop's property? Dude's lucky your dad didn't catch him and just shoot him on sight."
"You think he would?" Cat asked in concern; Freddie shrugged.
"Someone's spying on his teenage daughter; I think he'd get away with judging it a risk to his family's safety. Put it this way – I wouldn't see them being interested in investigating it that fully."
"I never thought of it that way," Tori also gasped a little at the potential consequences of the ventriloquist's actions, "I guess I need a quiet word with him – especially as he admitted it wasn't the first time he's done it."
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Cat asked, wanting a change to a happier subject. "I mean, we're going to see a movie so if you wanted to come along…" she invited graciously; Tori shook her head.
"Thanks but I really don't wanna be a third wheel after Friday night. I'm gonna hit a few more stores and then head home. See you tomorrow?"
The couple confirmed that she would and they went their separate ways. Cat really wanted to see the new animated movie that people had been raving about and her boy acquiesced, figuring that, if the plot didn't interest him, at least he could focus on the animation and technical side of it and see if he could glean any ideas.
"Thank you," Cat kissed him as they left; he put on an innocent air that didn't fool even her. "You know what I mean," she poked his midriff playfully, "I know you didn't care too much about that movie but you took me because I wanted to see it," she kissed his cheek softly before capturing his lips a couple of times.
"I love spending time with you Cat. I don't care what we're doing… within reason," he added as a caveat; she looked at him, wondering exactly what he meant by that.
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: Looking for a certain boy. My donut tastes weird.
Feeling: Searchy.
Main Hall, Hollywood Arts High School,
Monday, 30th May 2011.
Tori walked into school, feeling desperate; she had been texting Ryder all weekend, trying to apologise but had not heard from him – looking around the hallway, she asked some of the kids, "Hey, you guys seen Ryder Daniels?"
"Not today. You mean the hottie?" were among the replies she received.
The brunette looked over towards the lockers and caught sight of a familiar-looking boy talking to two girls. "Ha," she cried triumphantly, "I see him," and she walked over. "Ryder, listen," she began.
The boy turned around; it wasn't Ryder, it was Robbie. "Yes," he smiled.
"Eew, Robbie. What did you do?" she asked in shock.
"I realised that a guy like Ryder gets girls because of his looks and his attitude," the puppeteer explained, "so I make-overed myself."
"Your ear is bleeding," her friend noted.
"I know. I tried to pierce it like Ryder's."
"Ryder doesn't have a pierced ear," she pointed out; a scandalised Robbie turned to Rex.
"You said you were sure his ear was pierced," he charged.
"Yeah, I was kidding," the puppet laughed.
"Hi," Cat greeted them brightly as she and Freddie walked over to them, hand-in-hand.
"Hey, Cat, Freddie," Tori smiled.
"I hope he's apologising to you and asking you not to set your dad on him," Freddie noted; Robbie looked uncomfortable.
"Hey, after school do you guys wanna like..." Cat began before her phone rang. "Oh yay, another one. Northstar, how may I assist you?"
"Another car accident?" her boyfriend asked, following her to a quieter part of the hallway. "I was hoping they'd have fixed that thing by now after I called them last Wednesday."
"Yeah," she murmured, distracted by the call. "I'm sorry, sir. Can you say that again? I can't understand you. You need an ambulance? I'm sorry. I can't hear too well," she told the injured party.
"Who is she talking to?" Robbie wondered before something else caught his eye. "Ooh, pretty girl. Wait." He left in pursuit of her, calling, "Miss, have you noticed my new appearance? Ma'am, wait!"
Finally Tori's luck was in as she saw Ryder walking in her direction. "Ryder," she began awkwardly.
"Hey," his tone was flat.
"Hey, did you get my text messages?"
"Yeah... you wanna check my phone to make sure I'm not lying?" he challenged her.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I was so wrong to snoop on your phone and if you'll just give me another chance, I promise, I will trust you and I will never ever, ever give you spicy tuna balls ever again."
"I kinda liked the spicy tuna balls," he smiled.
"So you wanna come over tonight?" she asked hopefully.
"I can't. I gotta pick a song for the Jam. I gotta start rehearsing it…" he sounded panicked.
"Aw," she sighed sadly; Freddie sidled back over to them, leaving Cat to deal with the call now that she had the location jotted down.
"I gotta," the senior teen insisted, "and I don't even know what song I'm gonna do yet."
Freddie eyed him suspiciously, given what he knew of the guy from his directing class as a freshman his sudden lack of confidence seemed fake.
"You don't?" Tori was far more sympathetic.
"No. I just... I get so scared to sing alone," he laid it on as thickly as he could.
"Really?" Freddie asked disbelievingly. "You had no problems performing in the play I directed a couple of years ago; you had plenty of confidence and self-belief for that."
"Shut up Freddie!" Tori demanded through gritted teeth, spotting an opportunity to win her new man around again. She turned to him. "Well, maybe we could do a song together, a little duet action," she suggested.
"That sounds nice. You make me feel safe."
They shared a smile as Freddie fought to suppress the urge to vomit; Cat came to his rescue as she scampered over.
"Hey, do you guys know if it's possible for a man to perform CPR on himself?"
"I don't think so," he told her.
"I doubt it," Tori agreed.
"Yeah, me too," she nodded, turning back to her phone and uncovering the speaker.
"Sweetie, get an ambulance to him now," Freddie insisted.
"Sir, I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long but my supervisor," she playfully poked Freddie's middle, "says it's impossible for you to give yourself CPR. Okay? Hello? Hello?"
"Get the ambulance there NOW!" he repeated urgently.
"'kay 'kay," the girl hung up and called 9-1-1.
Asphalt Café
"So," Tori joined Freddie at the table; he had arrived first and was waiting for the others to show.
"So?" he prompted, raising his eyebrows.
"Look, I don't want to pry but I am curious about whatever this is that you, Jade and Cat all know but I don't. And I figure that Ryder's somehow involved which kinda makes me involved."
"Tori," his voice was unusually firm, "some things are deeply personal – which is why we don't go around broadcasting them. It's not a slight on you but there are things I'm choosing not to share," he added with a tone of finality.
"Ok," she relented, though she wanted confirmation on one thing, "but just tell me – this ex-girlfriend you and Ryder have in common, who is she?"
"Her name's Lindsey; she's a blonde senior," he figured that much at least wouldn't hurt. "You'll have seen her around, she looks a lot like that Tara girl from Karaoke Dokie. Ryder dumped her, really, really hurt her, Cat and I broke up around the same time, we kinda had a moment then got together after Christmas that year."
"Do you know why Ryder dumped her?"
"No, but it was pretty sudden; it happened right after they both starred in my first play here as a director," he smiled at the memory of how well received the performance had been, the unusually packed theatre, people still saw him as 'Freddie from iCarly' at the time and that had generated interest in the production. "It was totally out of the blue, so I think you should be a little cautious around him."
"Yeah, look where not trusting him got me!" she fired back sarcastically.
"I'm not saying go to those lengths but be a little wary of his motives," the boy returned evenly.
"Thanks for the advice but I was the one who messed up; he's giving me a second chance. I'm going to take it."
Freddie admitted defeat with a nod of his head, hoping, again, that it would work out for the girl.
Music room
"Shelter my eyes from the sun and wait for the birds to fly by,
deep in my head now, it's like I'm dreaming," Tori and Ryder sang together.
"That was fantastic!" she enthused.
"You're fantastic," the eighteen-year-old leaned towards her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," she backed up a touch.
"What?" he asked in surprise.
"Are you about to kiss me?"
"Yeah," he confirmed.
Tori smiled happily. "Okay."
They kissed but, unfortunately, caught the music board that sat between them; it began to play loudly and they jumped.
"Sorry," she apologised.
"It's cool," he felt his mouth.
"Did I bite your lip?" she asked in concern.
"Little bit," he confirmed.
Black box theatre,
Tuesday, 31st May 2011.
"Hey, Christine. Wait up," Robbie arrived after his last class and was continuing his quest for a date.
"Hi. Uh, Robbie?"
"Right. Right, yeah. I'm in your Spanish class."
"You look different," the dancer observed.
"I know. Try to relax," he attempted to put on the charm; unfortunately, being Robbie, there was a glaring problem with it.
"You know," she remarked thoughtfully, "you kinda look like this guy I used to date."
"Who?"
"Ryder Daniels," she supplied.
"Oh, you dated him?" Robbie feigned ignorance.
"Well, I thought I was dating him, then I found out his little game after talking to Lindsey who also thought she dated him."
"Keep going," he encouraged.
"Okay. So Ryder talked me into dancing with him for a class project, you know, 'cause I'm a good dancer, and then right after I helped him get an 'A' he never called me again," she explained.
"Oh, you must have felt so dirty," he noted sympathetically.
"Nah, he does it to a lot of girls – as I said, there was my friend Lindsey, before she dated your friend Freddie. He uses them to get a good grade, then see ya," she made a waving gesture, "but I should have known. No guys ever ask me out. I just sit home alone. So depressing."
Robbie spied his opening. "Well, uh, do you wanna go out with me?"
Christine thought for half a second. "No," the brunette declined and walked off.
Main Hallway
Robbie, having collected his thoughts, sprinted through the school, hoping to find the half-Latina before she left and tip her off about her beau's nefarious schemes. He came across Freddie, Cat, André and Jade but the girl he sought wasn't with them.
"Hey, have you guys seen Tori?" he asked breathlessly.
"No," Jade was typically terse.
"I think she's rehearsing a song with Ryder for the Jam tomorrow night," Cat supplied.
"Oh," the ventriloquist sighed, "because it's about that jerk," and he relayed all that the brunette dancer had just told him about the boy.
"We'll go over there later on tonight and let her know," Freddie suggested to the others once the curly-haired teen had left (presumably to try his luck with another girl). "Head over after our gym session?" he asked André, who nodded. "I'll pick you girls up en route," he offered to Cat and Jade.
"Yeah, we're hanging at mine after school so just come there," Jade told him; it was news to Cat but she happily accepted the bit of girl time with her best friend.
Vega residence
"And then Robbie told us," Freddie concluded regretfully, having explained the ventriloquist's story to his friend.
"So we checked it out with some of the other girls Ryder's gone out with," André added.
"And it's true," Cat finished sympathetically; the good-hearted redhead looked close to tears at having to break the news to Tori.
"Well we knew it was the case with Lindsey, didn't we?" Jade snapped.
Freddie glumly nodded his agreement. "Yeah, they acted together in my play and then he ended things with her once they got their credit for it."
"So, you're sure he's just using me to get a good grade?" Tori clung to a last glimmer of hope that it wasn't so; she was to be disappointed.
"Sorry, Tori," Freddie slipped an arm around her consolingly; Cat did likewise on her other side.
Jade smiled maybe a little too much at the brunette's woe. "I guess you must feel pretty embarrassed right now," she pointed out.
Tori frowned at her in annoyance; even Freddie and Cat looked a little exasperated with her jibe.
Still smiling, she amended, "Sorry… but at least you're not the first one he's done this to… and, you do, right?" she finished with a wicked grin.
Tori chose to ignore her, mindful of their still slightly rocky friendship. "So what do I do now?"
"Well, you're not still gonna sing a duet with that jerk, right?" André checked.
"No way!" she insisted.
"So he'll likely fail the class for this semester, losing that third of his grade; that'll teach him something," Freddie reasoned.
"Yeah, but I don't wanna fail too," Tori spotted the problem with that plan.
"So what are you gonna sing?" the musician asked her.
"A song," Tori was possessed of manic energy as an idea hit her, "a really cool song that you're gonna help me write tonight."
"I can't," her friend complained.
"You have to," she insisted.
"But I got to go..." he gestured to the door; the others didn't like his refusal.
"Come on, André," they urged.
"All right," he conceded defeat. "I'll just celebrate my ninety-seven-year-old great-grandpa's birthday with him next year, possibly." He walked to the piano as his friends looked awkwardly at one another, not realising why he was unwilling to help out. "Well, come on," he demanded.
"Freddie?" Jade asked as they, and Cat, left once the song was done.
"Yeah?"
"Can you drop us both off at mine; we've a couple of things to finish."
"Sure, no problem. Freddie's taxi is at your service," he joked; Cat pulled a surprised face as she turned to her raven-haired friend; Jade put a finger to her lips and Cat bit her tongue.
West residence
"So, what do we need to finish?" Cat was bursting with curiosity and asked the question once her boyfriend had left and the two girls were safely ensconced in the den again.
"I love it when a plan comes together," Jade smiled in satisfaction. When Cat still looked bewildered she elaborated, "we now have an excuse to talk to Lindsey. Look, Tori's gonna humiliate Ryder on stage. Who better to have as backing dancers for her song than all the girls that he's done this to?"
"Oh right and then once she's there we can get her to talk to Freddie," the shorter teen saw the plan at once.
"Uh huh, I know I'm a genius," Jade grinned.
The Slap Mobile
ToriVega: Sometimes it's nice to forgive people. And other times, revenge rocks.
Feeling: Feisty.
Main Hallway, Hollywood Arts High School,
Wednesday, 1st June 2011.
The hard part looked like it would be actually cornering Lindsey; fortunately Robbie was to provide the key to it as his stalkerish tendencies had led to him memorising Christine's schedule to figure out the best time to talk to her. It was easy for Jade to extract the information from him and make the girl her first target, finding her by her locker.
"Hey Christine."
"Jade?" she began cautiously, knowing the girl only by her formidable reputation.
"Yep," she smirked, casually leaning against the locker. "Fancy having some fun at the Jam tonight?"
"Go on," the dancer invited; Jade explained the plan, one that appealed to the jilted girl, and she readily disclosed Lindsey's whereabouts, along with those, and the names, of some of the boy's other conquests.
"Thanks," Jade strode off in search of the blonde, finding her just outside one of the English classrooms (the same one inside which Sam had beaten her up the previous year).
"Hello Lindsey," she began, trying but failing to adopt a friendly tone.
"What do you want?" The blonde assumed that no good would come from the meeting.
"Aw, don't be like that," Jade grinned wickedly, "I just want a favour."
"What could you possibly want from me?"
"Help us get revenge on Ryder."
This got the girl's attention; she, too, agreed to be a part of it.
"Y'know, I was sure that this would be about Freddie," she noted at the end of the conversation; Jade noted the softness with which she uttered the boy's name and raised her eyebrows a little as it sounded like the girl maybe had some feelings left over for him – or at the very least some regrets.
"There is one thing I want you to do for him too," she admitted.
"Oh yes?" the blonde sighed. "What is it? You want to get a video this time of his friend beating me up? Yeah, I know who she is – especially now she's back on iCarly."
"Sam's not going to be here – maybe lucky for you," Jade grinned quickly before dropping it; she needed the blonde pliant. "I just want you two to talk, that's all."
"What about?" This had really thrown the senior girl for a loop.
"You two, Prom night, everything."
"Why?"
"Because he needs to talk it through – and nobody else has been able to help him with what happened." The girl looked confused so Jade elaborated, "Lindsey, he thinks you raped him – hell, so do I and all of his friends, including Sam," she dropped the other blonde's name in there to ratchet up the pressure on the girl; it worked. "I want you to talk to him and explain it all from your perspective and see if you can help him finally put what happened behind him – because it's still affecting him badly."
"I doubt he'll want to talk to me but alright," she acquiesced.
"Good," Jade smirked again. "Now, any more of Ryder's exes we can track down for tonight?"
Asphalt Cafe,
"Goodbye, my Coney isle," the male quartet were finishing their piece. "Goodbye, my Coney isle. Goodbye, my Coney isle."
"I haven't missed them have I?" Freddie asked as he arrived straight from work and took the seat next to Beck, who had saved it for him; the long-haired actor shook his head.
"No, they're up next though so you only just got here."
Freddie smiled with relief and then looked over to Cat, Jade and Trina sitting together; he waved at the girls and they grinned back in anticipation of what was about to unfold.
Ryder, stood backstage waiting for his cue and wearing his habitual black leather jacket and dark blue jeans was handed a headset by one of the guys assisting behind the scenes.
"I got your mic for you," he was told.
"Just put it on me," he demanded dismissively; the other teen did so.
"Sure. So congrats, man," he attempted to make a little conversation.
"About what?"
"I hear you're going out with Tori."
"Yeah," the player confirmed, "for like five more minutes, then you can have her."
"Really?"
Most unfortunately for him, Tori, dressed in a fancy dark blue shirt, blue skinny jeans and almost knee-length black boots, overheard; she frowned darkly as she adjusted her own headset.
"Okay," Anthony, who was MCing the event announced from the stage, "up next, we have, singing a duet, Tori Vega and Ryder Daniels."
Beck tapped Freddie on the shoulder. "Come on," he urged.
"Show time," the fencer grinned.
"Hey, you guys," Tori waved at the crowd as she took the stage.
"Hi," Ryder, stood next to her, added; he pulled a face as realised that his mic wasn't not on.
"Okay," the brunette continued, "this is a little song for the ladies, especially for the ones who know my friend, Ryder."
"My mic is not working," her 'co-star' told her.
"Bummer," she mock-consoled him then turned to the back of the stage, hidden by a curtain. "Let's go André," she clapped.
"André?" he asked in confusion as the screen parted revealing the musician, a small band and a number of Ryder's former 'girlfriends', including Lindsey.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Freddie growled at the sight of the blonde; only Beck heard him and he shrugged, as he was unaware that the girl was to be a party to proceedings.
"I guess Jade invited her as one of Ryder's exes," he reasoned; Freddie privately doubted that, thinking Jade would be pretty much the last person, other than maybe Sam, to reach out to his rapist.
"Oh... what song is this?" Ryder asked Tori.
"Just listen," she smiled, "I think you'll hate it!" She tapped his side playfully and began.
"You had it all the day you told me told me you want me."
At this point Ryder had an idea that it wasn't going to turn out well for him and decided to make his escape; unfortunately for the skunkbag he walked towards Lindsey and she gave him a firm push back into the middle of the stage.
"I had it all," Tori 'guided' him across stage into the clutches of Christine and a couple of other girls,"but let you fool me fool me completely.
Yeah, I was so stupid to give you all my attention," He had turned to the other side of the stage, where Freddie and Beck stood, perhaps hoping that fellow males would take pity on him; he was to be disappointed as the actor caught him and spun him around, sending him back on to the stage for further torment."'cause the way you played me exposed your true intention.
And one day," the girls started dancing energetically around the stage, "I'll have you begging on your knees for me,
one day I'll have you crawling like a centipede.
You messed with me and messed with her," Sinjin turned the spotlight on the object of her scorn; Ryder gave the dirty-blond a pleading look,"so I'll make sure you get what you deserve;
one day you'll be begging on your knees for me.
So watch your back," he attempted to cross the stage again, helped by a push from Freddie,"cause you don't know where or when I could get you." Ryder thought he had a chance of escape, unfortunately Anthony stood blocking his exit from the other end of the stage; the spotlight fell on him again.
I set the trap and when I am done you will know what I have been through." He tried to slip past Freddie, but failed.
"Oh, mister player do you feel like the man now," she turned to him in annoyance,"and I bet that you are nervous cause this song makes you freak out…
and one day I'll have you begging on your knees for me," she walked right up to Ryder and poked him in the chest as she sang.
"One day I'll have you crawling like a centipede.
You messed with me and messed with her so I'll make sure you get what you deserve,
one day you'll be begging on your knees for me.
I know I'm being bitter but I'm gonna drive you under
cause you just don't, don't deserve a happy ever after
For you did to me after you told me you never felt that way and it's only just a game," he tried to retreat again; again Beck wouldn't let him.
"And one day...
And one day I'll have you begging on your knees for me,
and one day, I'll have you crawling like a centipede.
You mess with me and mess with her," she pushed him in the chest again,"so I'll make sure you get what you deserve, one day you'll begging on your knees for me."
André played the last few notes and she turned to Ryder with a scathing, dismissive look on her face.
"Ouch," Beck smiled as he finally let the boy leave the stage down the steps by the side of it; this took him past the quartet who had performed earlier.
"You just got burned," they informed him.
Tori took her bow with the girls and André; Jade had another objective in mind. The gothic teen rushed up to the stage, Cat in tow, and caught Lindsey before she could leave; they practically frogmarched the girl over to Freddie, who seemed stunned that his confidant and girlfriend were, after all, behind her appearance.
"What is she doing here?" the boy demanded.
"You two are gonna talk," Jade remarked casually.
"WHAT?"
"I think you need to," Cat noted softly, slipping her hand into his.
"I don't want to hear anything she has to say," Lindsey winced at the coldness of his tone and his words.
"Fine," Jade shrugged, "then tell her how you feel instead… but not here." All eyes turned to her. "What?" she shrugged. "I want some coffee."
Jet Brew,
1001 N San Fernando Blvd
Freddie still looked mutinous but Cat had refused to release his hand until they were inside the café. She made to join him at the table but Jade caught the back of her shirt and steered her to a neighbouring one.
"They need some space," she told her best friend, "we'll be here to keep an eye on them though."
A server came over and took orders from the quartet; a painful silence descended on the area as Lindsey watched Freddie nervously; he tried to look anywhere but at her.
"So, how are things with Cat?" the blonde asked warily, trying to break the awkward atmosphere; Freddie outright glared at her.
"Why are you here?" he snapped.
"I don't know really," she sighed, "Jade said she needed you to talk to me about… about stuff that went on between us…"
"You mean about you raping me?" he shot back; tears immediately pricked the blonde's green eyes.
"Is that what you tell everyone?"
"I've only told one person that," he clarified. "Everybody else figured it out for themselves," he thought of how Jade, Sam and Spencer had all come to that conclusion unaided.
"So you do think I'm a rapist?" She tired to put fire into her voice but worry and uncertainty won the day.
"Lindsey, I was fifteen. You got me so drunk that I couldn't consent – we never talked about it and then you forced yourself on me – twice. Whether the law would call it rape or not I don't know but you raped me."
The tears were now rolling down the blonde's cheeks; her breath hitched. "I… I thought it was something very special that we shared," she began; he cut her off again.
"How could it be when I didn't even get a say in the matter?" he demanded; she bowed her head.
"I just…" she sighed, "you came back from Spring Break and you were talking about Carly, about Sam, Cat, Jade, all these girls who weren't me and I got scared. I wanted…" she took a rasping breath to try and steady her voice, "I wanted you to be mine and I decided to make you mine."
"Without ever asking me? Or talking to me? Or anything like that?" he challenged.
"I thought you'd want it but I needed to be sure."
"Well I didn't want it; I would have said no because I wasn't ready for that; I was still a boy! And you stole my childhood, my innocence from me that night and I can never have it back. I don't know if I can ever get over it," he added, tears filling his own eyes now.
"What do you mean?" she asked in surprise.
"I can't make love to my girlfriend," he informed her; her eyebrows rose further up her forehead at the thought of that ever being an issue where the childlike redhead was concerned. She glanced across to the neighbouring table and saw that the girl wore an unexpectedly serious expression on her face. For the first time she wondered if she had misjudged the cupcake lover. "She wanted us to, she surprised me, set the evening up really nicely but when it came to it… I just couldn't do it. I had to stop her from starting anything because after two years sex still means being violated to me – a legacy of that night and the morning after."
I… I never…" the blonde was at a loss for words. "I never meant to do that to you," she admitted, sadness seeping through her tone. "All I wanted was for us to have a special and memorable time – and for us to become closer as I felt us moving apart."
"Well, this is the reality of what you did," he pointed out flatly, "and right now I don't know if I can ever get over it or past it."
"I'm sorry," she began to weep. "I know it won't change anything or… or make up for anything but I really am sorry; I never meant to do that to you. You were my first, my first serious boyfriend – and a way better one than that jerk Ryder even before he started his little games – and I really did care a lot about you…"
"So much so that you kicked me to the kerb so that you could get your friends back," he reminded her bitterly; she looked up and stared into his harsh, brown eyes.
"It wasn't like that," she insisted. "I fell for someone else and that's why I broke up with you. Getting my friends back – well it was a side-effect, a bonus, I guess - and I learnt the hard way that the grass wasn't greener. Please believe me, Freddie, that I never wanted to hurt you and you really were special to me, you always will be."
He looked at her as her words churned around his insides; he wanted to keep his grip on the anger, the hatred that he felt towards her, for everything that she did to him and took from him – yet some small glimmer within him could remember how happy they had been together earlier in their relationship and that small part of him really wanted to believe her.
"I don't know," he admitted weakly, "I really don't know how I feel about all of this." He stood up and headed to the café's bathroom; Jade glared at the blonde as her eyes darted towards the exit and she surrendered, turning her attention instead to her cooling coffee.
Around a minute later, Jade walked over to the bathrooms; she intercepted Freddie as he emerged.
"What did you hope to achieve?" he snapped; the dark-haired girl stood her ground confidently.
"I wanted you to have a chance to yell, to rant, to get everything out in the open," she explained, "you wouldn't talk to a counsellor, you did talk to me, Spencer, Sam and Cat but none of us could help you. I just thought, maybe laying it on the line to her, showing her what she did to you, maybe that would help you. And maybe if she told you why she acted like she did, maybe you could finally be at peace over it."
"I don't know if that will ever happen, Jade," he whispered in a defeated tone, "but I did tell her everything… no, I told her a lot. Maybe I need to finish this. Thanks," he smiled genuinely at the girl and hugged her before returning to his table and the middle of an unusual stare-off between his current and former girlfriends.
"Anything else you want to tell me?" he asked the blonde.
"I don't know," she whispered, "I didn't exactly come with a list to check off."
"Me neither," he conceded, "so I'll just say this. I dated a girl in Seattle, Valerie, for maybe a week, then Cat for little longer than that, then you. You said I was your first serious boyfriend? You were definitely the first girl I did anything beyond a couple of stolen kisses with. We had some good times – dates, movies, your 'tuition'," he allowed himself a small smile, thinking back on how the girl had taught him to kiss; she smiled herself as they both went back to a happier time. "I really liked you, I might even have loved you if I'd known enough to know what love was by then, but you hurt me Linds, you hurt me so badly – both after the Prom and then again when you dumped me. And more than anything I wish that night had never happened."
"And yet it was the happiest night of my life," she noted, "a night where I shared something magical with a wonderful man… boy, I'm sorry, you're right," she lowered her eyes again, "I… I did seduce you and I did push you into something you weren't ready for. I'm sorry Freddie; I hope that, one day, you can forgive me for what I did to you."
"I do too," she was surprised at his disclosure. "Otherwise, maybe Jade's right and I can never move past it and have the relationship Cat and I want to have one day."
"Please know that I never meant to do that to you," she begged. They sat in silence for the longest minute of her lives before she stood up. "I'll pay for these coffees," she told him and walked to the counter, returning a few moments later; Freddie stood up and faced her.
"I don't know what else to say," she told him.
"I've told you how I felt, how what y… what happened," he amended and the girl had to suppress a smile at him trying not to blame her, "affected me; that's what Jade wanted me to do. I guess I haven't got anything else to say right now either."
"Well you still have my number if you want to talk?" she asked hopefully, then offered him her hand; he shook it. "Goodbye Freddie – and good luck," she wished him sincerely.
"'Bye Linds," and with that the blonde disappeared into the night.
"Well?" Jade appeared at his shoulder. "Did it help?"
"I… I don't know," his knees had begun to shake and he slumped back down into his chair; Cat was by his side in an instant, squeezing into the booth next to him and wrapping her arms around him. He gave his girl a quick kiss before turning back to his raven-haired friend. "I guess I need to sleep on this and work out what it all means," he admitted.
"'kay 'kay, let's go home then," the redhead got to her feet, took his hand and helped him out of the booth. She led him, still slightly dazed, back to the school car park (Jade followed them a pace behind and eyed them carefully).
"Are you up to driving?" Jade asked, "or do you need a ride home and then back in the morning?"
"That might help," he smiled, "thanks Jade."
The trio piled into the gothic girl's car and she taxied them home, first dropping off Cat and then pulling up outside the Benson home.
"I'll see you in the morning," she gave him a quick hug.
"Thanks Jade, goodnight," he smiled at her and got out of the car.
"Oh Freddie," Marissa greeted him as he entered the house, "you're back. Did you have a good day? Wait, why's the car going?"
"Jade drove me home. My car's fine," he insisted, calming her panicked look, "I just didn't feel up to driving tonight – it's been a long, draining day with school, work, the Jam and everything," he explained, skating around the real emotional drama, "so I left my car at school. Jade will drive me there in the morning and I can drive home – or straight to fencing, afterwards."
"Are you sure you're alright Freddie?" she asked in concern, mother and nurse mingling. "Is there anything you need?"
"Maybe just a warm milk drink," he suggested with a tired smile, "and then a hot bath – without tick lotion."
"Ok," his mother smiled. "You start running the bath, I'll warm some milk for you."
As the seventeen-year-old reclined in the soothing waters he played the conversations of the night back over and over in his mind, wondering about them, about what he'd said, about how Lindsey had responded. He still blamed her over what had happened between them, and he figured that he always would, but hearing her attempted justifications and finally being able to tell her exactly what she'd done… the boy felt liberated and a little more at peace. He smiled and tried to think of something more pleasant, his thoughts landing on a girl with vibrant red hair. As her face became clearer and clearer in his mind, a thought crashed through like a thunderbolt.
"I think I might be ready," he gasped, surprising even himself.
AN: That's the end of this chapter; I hope that you all liked it. Feel free to let me know what you thought and I hope to see you next time. PD.