Chapter 9

I am truely sorry for the long wait... I had some personal stuff going on, but hey here it is :) and I promise that the next chapter won`t take me so long. Viel Spaß beim Lesen eure Just ;)

Or at least I tried to, but I couldn`t really concentrate, since my eyes just kept on wandering to Cat`s lovely face…

Then I got a text message.

Jade: If u keep staring like that u r going 2 drool :P

Tori: Am not! Y don't u concentrate on Beck? Or m I more interesting ^^

Jade: u r at least way more entertaining 2 watch. Ur goofy grin is hilarious xD

I glared at her over the table, but had to restrain myself from laughing.

Jade: When do u think is the right moment?

Tori: I dunno…

Jade: Then y don't u just create 1?

Tori: What do u mean, create 1?

Jade: Ask her if she wants 2 stay over at ur house 2night, then u can tell her.

I thought about that for a while. It was actually not a bad idea. Trina was always out till way after midnight, because our parents usually don't come home from work before sunrise. They frequently had to work nightshifts. That's why we don't get to see them very often under the week. So Cat and me would be alone and no one could interrupt our conversation.

Jade: Hello! Earth 2 Vega!

Tori: Really? U r calling me Vega again?

Jade: TORI would u mind telling me what`s going on in ur head?

Tori: I think u r right. I m going to have a sleepover with Cat.

Jade: Yeah u r telling me that I m right a lot lately. But hey I m not complaining ;)

I rolled my eyes at her arrogance.

When the bell rang I grabbed Cat´s hand before she could stand up and waited for the others to be out of earshot before I talked.

"Do you want to have a sleepover again tonight? I am pretty sure that we would be alone and that means that we could have a pillow fight through the whole house." I did my best to tempt her, but that wasn`t even necessary. By the word "sleepover" her face had already lightened up and when I mentioned the pillow fight she was dancing with excitement.

"Yey! I love sleepovers!" I tell you, she practically sang it. So adorable. "But we gotta drop by at my house. I need to get something."

"What do you need to get? You already have lots of things at my place." No kidding. Cat has just about half a cupboard full of things that belong to her at my house.

"You`ll see." She smiled. Great, now I am curious as hell.

"Argh… You know I hate surprises." I pouted like a little child.

"No, you love them. I know you better than you do." Cat laughed. I loved Cat`s laugh, it always sounded like a little child was laughing. It sounded real. Some people had these awful fake laughs, but Cat didn`t. Cat never faked anything. She was the most honest person I knew.

"Ca-ha-ha-t! Please tell me!" I begged exaggeratedly.

"Not a chance." Cat grinned. "And now come on, we need to get to class." I just smiled, because she was still holding my hand, and led myself be dragged in school by my favorite little redhead.

Later in the car, Cat was bouncing up and down in her seat.
"Can we make cupcakes again?" She asked with shiny eyes.

"We can do whatever you want, Sweetie" I told her. I was going to give her anything she liked, to get her in a good mood, before I`d tell her about my feelings.

"Yey!" She called and crushed me into a tight hug. The electricity that was flowing through my body in this moment was breathtaking. Thank godthat I was a good driver.

"Cat. I`m trying to drive." I said, suppressing my smile.

"Oh, sorry." She muttered and turned her head to look out of the window to hide her blush, but I saw it anyway.

"So, here we are. Grab whatever you need to grab." I said as we drove into her driveway.

"Kay kay!" Cat squealed and hopped out of the car.

I was deep in thoughts when a light knock on the car window made me jump. I looked up and was surprised to see Mr. Valentine. I got out of the car and greeted him. "Hello… Uhm I hope you don`t mind Cat spending the night at my place again?"

"No, not at all. Caterina looks the happiest when she gets back home after she was with you. To tell the truth, a few months back she was not the cheerful girl that she is now. At least not at home. Not without reasons of course." He looked really sad as he said that. "You see, my wife is the kind of person who likes to tell what`s on her mind without really thinking that what she is saying might hurt somebody. A few years ago she and Caterina had an argument about the Hollywood Arts casting. Caterina wanted to attend this school so badly, but her mother wouldn`t let her. When she asked for the reason my wife said that she was too weak for the pressure and that she would have a hard time to find friends at a new school, because of her weird personality-."

"Cat doesn`t have a weird personality!" I screamed.

"I know," He continued calmly. "but that`s what my wife said and that practically crushed my little girl, to hear something like that from her own mother… Well, Caterina auditioned without my wife`s permission, got accepted at Hollywood Arts and also found a lot of new friends, but she never really made up with her mother and when she came home from school she would go right into her room. You could tell that she wasn`t happy in her own home."

"Not to be rude or anything… but why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because Tori, since Caterina knows you she comes home with a smile and the more she spent time with you the more her smile lasted. You gave me my happy little girl back." Mr. Valentine smiled warmly at me. I didn`t quite know what to say to all of this, but I didn`t have to. Cat was walking towards us with a big smile.

"I`m ready!" She said enthusiastically, while jumping into my arms and my heart started to beat a lot faster than it should. When Cat led go of me, there was a big smile on my face too.

"Have fun and don`t stay up too long, it`s a school night." Mr. Valentine said, but he winked, which made it not sound so strict.

"Thanks Mr. Valentine." I said smiling.

"I think I am the one who has to thank you." He winked again and Cat looked at us questioningly, but didn`t say anything.

She shrugged her shoulders and gave her Dad a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Kitty." He responded as if they were doing this every time they parted. It was really sweet. When Cat saw me grin at them she blushed a little, which was just too cute to describe.

Mr. Valentine went back into the house and left Cat and me alone in front of my car.

"So… What did you need to get?" I asked her still curious.

"I`m not going to tell you, yet." She said teasingly.

"Oh come on Cat! Just tell me! I really wanna know!" I whined and pouted just like she often did when she wanted to know something.

"Don`t be so impatient. You`re acting like a little child." She laughed. Her cuteness made me stare, but not long, because I registered what she had just said.

"Look who`s talking. Kitty!" I said and nudged her shoulder.

"Oh shut up!" She yelled, but she was still laughing.

"Maybe we should head home so we can actually start the sleepover." I suggested with a bright smile and opened the car door for her.

I hopped into the driver`s seat and in less than 10 minutes we were at my place. We were lucky that there had been little traffic. When I parked in the driveway I was glad that Trina`s car was nowhere in sight. She even left a post-it at the front door saying that she wouldn`t come home tonight and that I shouldn`t wait up on her. As if I would.

"What do you want to do first? Bake cupcakes, watch movies, have a pillow fight?" I asked my little redhead. We were lying on the couch in the living room… Well I was lying, Cat was kind of… I don`t know… She was sort of sitting… just the other way around… she had her legs stretched over the backrest and her head was pointing at the floor.

"First of all we need to get into our PJs. You can`t call it a pajama-party, if you aren`t in your pajamas." Cat stated.

"What if I call it a sleepover instead?" I laughed at her confused expression. "Okay then let`s get our PJs."

A few minutes later we were "sitting" on the couch again. I was looking at Cat, still upside down on the couch, and thought about how cute she looked in her pink cupcake top and her matching shorts and couldn`t keep myself from smiling. I was a little nervous about telling her how much I liked her, though. From what her Dad told me, there was a good chance that she liked me too, but if she didn`t, it would be horrible. Not just for me, but also for her. If she loses me as her best friend, she might become unhappy again. Maybe I should wait for some hints… My gaze wandered to her face and I blushed as I realized that she was looking at me. I could still see her grin, even though I looked away quickly. "What movies do you want to watch?" I asked to distract her, even though I already knew the answer.

"A Disney movie!" She cheered.

"Again?" I laughed when Cat moved from her side of the couch towards mine and started to pout.

"Pretty please?" She said it in her adorable childlike voice that I loved so much.

"Mmh… I don`t know…" I acted like I had to think about it. What she did next stunned me completely. She leaned in and whispered in my ear… "Pretty please." But not in the usual Cat Valentine voice, it was rough and hot and sexy… and it sent shivers down my spine…

I hope you liked it ^^
Reviews would be welcomed ;)