I was in state of procrastination so… Update :)
The next morning was awful. Robbie woke up with a headache although he didn't even drink that much. During his drive to school he alternately cursed the bright sunlight and his stupid friends who convinced him to go to a club on a weekday. And it was still only Wednesday!
As he was getting his books, he saw a grumpy Beck with a black eye going down the hallway. Well, he was surprised. He didn't expect Danny or Beck to show up at school that day. Instinctively he reached up to touch his nose. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be broken but it was a little swollen and still hurt a bit. He shook his head and went to his first class.
Inside the classroom he saw Moose sitting at one of the desks. He sat down next to him and greeted. "Morning. How's your nose?" Moose smirked at him. "Very funny. It still hurts like a bitch, thanks for asking" Moose chuckled loudly. "Have you seen one of the trouble twins?" "Yeah, Beck was in the hallway earlier. He has a nice black eye and seemed quite moody" Moose snorted. "If someone has the right to be moody it's me … and you I guess. I need my sleep after a game. I have history with Danny second period. Let's see if he'll show up as well" After that their conversation was cut short by the teacher's entrance.
At lunchtime, Robbie was on his way to the courtyard. He was about to pass the janitor's closet when suddenly the door opened and someone pulled him inside. Robbie panicked slightly until he saw who pulled him inside. It was Jade.
"Uhm … Hi?" Jade raised an eyebrow and stared intently at him. Robbie started sweating. The girl was really intimidating. "So … why did you uhm … pull me in here?" "What's the deal with you and your friends?" Robbie looked at her questioningly. "Excuse me?" She rolled her eyes. "You and your little group of wannabe-machos! All of a sudden you're everywhere. At Cat's party the one with the hair nearly picked a fight with Ryder. Yesterday, that Danny guy tried to flirt with me and got into a fight with Ryder. And you're always with them. Shoot!" Robbie was perplexed. "Uhm … I don't know. I think you're missing the common thread which is Ryder. Maybe you should reconsider your choice of boyfriends before you criticize my friends' behavior?"
As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. Was he out of his mind to tell something like that to Jade West? Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened for a nasty retort. Instead, she regained her composure and smirked at him. "You know what? You're right. But just so we're clear – I'm so not into your friends" With that she left the janitor's closet and Robbie was once more left speechless by the girl.
When he arrived at their usual table, only Moose was there. "Where are the others?" He asked while slicing his food. Moose rolled his eyes. "Danny went to the bathroom during history and didn't come back for a while. The teacher sent me after him and I found him puking his guts out. The nurse sent him home. And Beck is acting like a little girl and eating in the library"
Robbie sighed. "Should we do something? I mean … did they ever have such a huge fight?" Moose shook his head. "Nah. They're both very high-mettled but they never got into a fist fight. I guess we'll just have to sit this one out and wait 'til one of them apologizes. Which could take some time since they're both stubborn pricks"
Well, that sucked. Robbie hoped that one of them would man-up and apologize.
In the evening, Robbie was zapping through the TV-channels with his laptop by his side. He was chatting with Tori, who was sick that day and slightly panicking because their project wasn't finished yet.
"Relax. We have to hand it in on Tuesday. We can still work on the weekend when you're well again" …."But it still needs so much work! Are you sure we'll finish it on time?" … "Absolutely. I'm a nerd, remember? When should we meet?" … "Haha, you're funny . Okay, I have to be at home on the weekend, my sister's visiting. How about you drop by at my house on Saturday about 10 a.m.? My parents have to pick up Trina from the airport so we'll have enough time until they come back" … "Sounds good" … "Okay, great. I'll send you the address later, have to get some rest. Byeee"
Robbie shook his head. So he would visit the Vega house this weekend. He could bet on it being a huge-ass house like Danny's or Cat's. Speaking of the cute redhead, he got a friend's request from her just about an hour ago.
At first he couldn't believe his eyes but he was sure she didn't add him by accident. Her profile was as adorable as she was. Many pictures of her and Jade, her and other friends, kitties, ponies, parties and one of her and a guy who looked a few years older than her. They looked quite similar and the photo seemed to date back a few years so he assumed (and hoped) that it was her brother. Her profile picture showed her at the beach during sunset. She looked gorgeous.
He was jolted out of his daydreams when the "Hot Gossip" function of the website was updated. Seriously, this school was like some soap opera. He clicked on the notification. "Heartbreak ALERT! According to confidental sources, Jade West DUMPED Ryder Daniels. That's right, people. The it-couple of HAES called it quits just a few hours ago. More soon to come."
Robbie couldn't believe it. So Jade really broke up with Ryder? He couldn't help but wonder if she had planned to do so for a while or if it had anything to do with their talk. He shook his head. Bullshit. As if Jade West would decide to break up with her eye candy just because some new kid suggested it.
The remainder of the week went by quite eventless. Well, for Robbie at least. Beck and Danny still weren't talking to each other but proceeded to acknowledge Robbie's and Moose's existence. Danny even apologized for accidentally punching Robbie the other day. At least that mystery was solved.
The rest of the school however was buzzing with rumors on why Jade dumped Ryder and you could practically feel an underlying tension in the whole school, especially during lunch on Thursday.
Robbie was waiting in line to get his food when he heard two girls behind him whispering. "I'm curious where Ryder will sit. Jade and her clique are at their table already but he's nowhere in sight. Do you think she'll allow him to sit with them?" - "Nah, I don't think so. I still can't believe they really broke up. If it's on 'Spotted' it's so over" – "Maybe we should invite Ryder to sit with us? He totally eye-fucked me during Spanish last week" – "And risk Jade's wrath? Are you fucking insane? She'd ruin you completely and ME as well. I've worked way too hard for my social status for it to be destroyed for a cheating-ass like Daniels!" – "You really think he cheated on her?" – "Maybe. I heard he tried to hook up with Tori but she didn't want to because obvious reasons" – "You really think Vega would miss an opportunity to mess with Jade?" – "I think she does have some sort of pride and wouldn't hook up with her worst rival's boyfriend. Who likes sloppy seconds?" – "True. But isn't it weird that ….". Robbie felt the urge to slam his head into the wall right next to him. Once again attending Hollywood Arts felt like he was sharing space with the Kardashians. Yes, he now knew who they were and felt sorry for his pour soul.
He couldn't believe that the people at the school were that invested in the lives of their peers. Finally, he got his food and went to their usual table. He greeted Moose who was feasting away on his hamburger. All of a sudden the chatting around them stopped and everything was quiet. Robbie looked around to see what caused the uncomfortable silence. Sure enough, Ryder Daniels was approaching Jade's table. Fine, as much as he was judging his fellow students for the gossiping he sure wanted to know how this would end.
Ryder stood in front of the table which was fully occupied and Jade didn't even as much as look at him. "Guys, come on. Are you really all taking her side in this?" Ryder stood there, his confident and cocky exterior crumbling slowly as he was fully aware that he was looking like an idiot. Everybody ignored him until Cat relented. "It's better for you to go Ryder. Don't make a scene". "I am making a scene? Who's acting like a fucking ice queen here?" Silence. "Whatever, I don't need this shit" While walking away he yelled "This is not over, Jade!"
The girl in question still hadn't looked up and it was as if the whole yard was holding their breath. Even the people at Tori's table were quiet. Suddenly, Jade looked up. "Hey Brooke, pass me the salt please" And with that everything went back to normal and people started talking again. Although it was pretty obvious what they were talking about.
SATURDAY
"Hey Robbie. Come on in!" Tori smiled at him. He had to admit he was a little surprised. The ever perfect looking popular girl welcomed him wearing sweatpants and a tank top, glasses and hair up in a bun. Of course, she still looked amazing. The interior of her house was as spectacular as the exterior. He was sure that if his mother could create her dream house it would look like the Vega's residence. The house was even bigger then Danny's and Cat's …maybe even bigger than both combined.
Tori led him through the foyer in a huge backyard which featured a pool – of course – with not one but two Jacuzzis. "I thought we should finish the project outside since the weather is so nice" Robbie didn't protest although there wasn't a single day since he moved to California that the sun was not shining. And it was mid-September!
The morning went very smoothly. They finished their project until noon and there was only fine-tuning left to do. Before that an Asian lady came outside and informed Tori that lunch was ready. "Thank you, Suki. I hope you like Spaghetti, Robbie. I didn't know if you were a vegetarian or something so I asked Suki to make a regular tomato-sauce" – "I'm not but I definitely appreciate a good tomato-sauce" "Awesome! You'll love her Spaghetti, she's the best cook. And she makes everything fresh and on her own, no flavor enhancers with her" Tori smiled and led him into the dining room which could seat at least a dozen people. He still couldn't believe how nice Tori was to him. He felt ashamed for his previous prejudices. His fear that he would have to do the project all by himself was unnecessary since Tori was more than active during their work.
They sat down and Suki brought them their plates. It was weird for him to be served while not being in a restaurant but he could definitely get used to the woman's cooking skills. Those were some legit Spaghetti and he was pretty sure that if he'd travel to Italy, he wouldn't find any better.
"I think if I would get Suki's food everyday I'd be at least four times bigger than now. Nothing against my mom's cooking skills but this is insane" Tori laughed loudly. "I'll let her know. She always likes to hear when people appreciate her food. Wait 'til you taste the dessert!" Robbie grinned widely at the prospect of a dessert of this deliciousness.
"So, have you heard about the big West/Daniels incident?" Tori asked casually. "Uhm … I guess it was hard to ignore. The whole school knew about it on the same day. What's with that gossip-column on 'Spotted' anyway? Isn't that a little too much?" Robbie laughed and Tori smirked. "Well, my sister came up with the idea junior year. She thought the and I quote 'miserable average people should know about our glamorous life'" Tori shook her head smiling. "Oh … I didn't know … I mean … I didn't want to offend … it's actually pretty impressive …" Tori's laugh cut him off and he was relieved that she didn't seem mad. "Chill, Robbie. I thought it was stupid as well but the people at school like it" She shrugged and they continued eating in silence.
Suddenly they heard the front door open. Tori cursed under her breath and got up. A man and a woman entered the dining room and he assumed they were Tori's parents. The woman definitely had the same cheekbones as Tori and the man was also very tan and had brown hair.
"Mum, Dad. I thought you would take Trina shopping after picking her up?" Ms Vega answered. "We wanted to but your dear sister is a little tired from her flight" Tori's shoulders sunk. Finally, Mr Vega saw him but before he could ask who Robbie was, a tall brunette in very, very high heels entered the room. The famous Trina Vega.
Beauty obviously ran in the family. He had seen Trina on Tori's photos on 'Spotted' already but it was different to see her in person. She was a little taller than Tori and a tad curvier. Just like Tori, she emitted confidence but she seemed to lack Tori's sweetness. Trina was more intimidating than charming. "Little sister!" Trina went right past him and hugged Tori lightly who had a very forced smile on her face. "Hey Trina. How was San Francisco?" "Oh, it was amazing, Tor! The people at the magazine loved me … well, not like anybody would expect otherwise. They even offered me a full-time job with loads of responsibility" Tori rose her eyebrows. "Wow, that's great. But I thought mum and dad said you could make an internship but you have to finish college?" She looked at her dad since her mother had left the room. He just shrugged and went outside to take a call.
"Sis, if you're this important and talented, you don't have time to sit around in dusty lecture halls. You wouldn't know how that is" She tapped Tori on the head like a stupid puppy and Robbie's jaw dropped. What a lovely and caring sister that girl was.
Tori had closed her eyes and after a few seconds she took a deep breath and opened them again, a wide smile on her face. "That's Robbie, by the way. We're working on a school project together" Trina turned around to look at him and he nearly jumped at her intense stare. It didn't take her too long to roll her eyes at him and then she turned back to Tori. She registered the Spaghetti and sighed. "Victoria Vega, carbs, really? What about that low-carb diet I told you to stick to? Do you really want to go back to 6th grade Tubby-Tori?"
Trina shook her head disapprovingly, told her she'd take a nap and left the room. Robbie stared after her and couldn't help but think that she rivaled his father in rudeness. He turned to look back at Tori who was staring after her sister as well with a sad look in her eyes. He felt bad for the seemingly perfect girl. Growing up with these nasty comments? No wonder she identified over her popularity.
When Tori saw that Robbie was looking at her she composed herself and smiled weakly at him. "Well … you were just graced with the presence of the infamous Trina Vega. Sorry for her bad manners … is it okay if we finish the details Monday during lunch?" Robbie nodded silently. She smiled a grateful smile and led him to the door. They said goodbye and Robbie drove home in silence.
Tuesday came around and Robbie and Tori aced their history presentation. "We should celebrate! You could join my friends and me at lunch today" Tori was about to go to her next class and waited for his answer. "Uhm …sure. If that's okay" "Great! See you later". Robbie went to his class, shaking his head. So he would sit with some super-popular kids at lunch. No biggie, right?
Later he met Beck on his way to the yard. "Hey Beck. Where are you going?" "Out. The 'Nozu' is not far away and they have some great fried noodles" He waved at Robbie and was gone. The bespectacled boy sighed. This new routine was starting to annoy him. Beck would leave school during lunch break and go eat at various restaurants and Danny would get his food and sit with the stoners at a table far away from their regular one. Moose still insisted that they should resolve their fight themselves but he could tell that he was more unnerved by their behavior as he led on.
While getting his food he informed Moose that Tori invited him to eat with her and proposed for Moose to come along as well. "No thanks, buddy. I have to deal with those jocks during practice already, I don't need them during lunch" He winked at him and went to their table. Robbie gulped. He slowly made his way to Tori and her friends earning glances here and there. When he got nearer, André Harris next to Tori looked at him and raised a curious eyebrow. Tori followed his gaze and her face lit up. "Hey Robbie! Take a seat. Guys, I told you about my history project and I thought it would be nice to have lunch with my partner today" The people eyed him suspiciously but made room for him anyway.
It was quiet for a while but then the basketballer started talking. "I'm André Harris. Nice to meet you. You're the new kid, right?" Yet again Robbie was surprised by the friendly tone in André's voice. "Yeah, moved here from Chicago" "Awesome! So, have you tried out for any sport or something?" Robbie started getting nervous. "Not really. I'm not that much of a sports person. I prefer watching it" André nodded and continued eating.
"Aaaanyway …" the girl next to Tori started talking. "I heard some interesting things about West and Daniels' split". Tori rolled her eyes. "Really, Taylor? That story's so yesterday. Why are people still talking about it?" "Come on, Tor, you're as curious as we all are!" André rolled his eyes and muttered 'Girls' under his breath.
The girl, Taylor, ignored him and continued. "So, Becca went to this new club after the big game. She told me that she saw Jade West flirting and dancing with one of Moose Anderson's friends. You know, the guy who always wears a leather jacket. Anyway, as they were dancing Ryder showed up and they got into a fight and shortly after one of his other friends, the guy with the great hair, joined the fight. That's when Ryder left and some other guy was pulled into the fight. Becca saw Jade storm to the VIP area and then out of the club" Taylor looked around as if waiting for someone to compliment her on her huge gossip knowledge.
Tori looked thoughtful for a moment. "Robbie, aren't those guys your friends? Were you at the club as well?" Robbie sighed. He thought he could finally stop talking about that fateful night. But since he was sitting with them already and all eyes were on him, he didn't really have a chance. "Yep. I'm 'some other guy who was pulled into the fight'" André laughed at his comment but the others were still staring at him inquiringly. Taylor looked at him eagerly. "And? Did you see anything else? Why did Jade start dancing with that dude?"
Before Robbie could answer (not that he would've told them the truth) the blonde sitting next to him spoke up. "She's a slut. Do you need more reasons? I'm still not sure why guys are so crazy about her. She's not even that pretty" André snorted "Yeah right. You're just jealous that Daniels chose her over you" Robbie's eyes grew wide. Okay, shit was about to hit the fan. "André! Don't start that in front of the nerd!" The blonde shrieked, making several people from other tables look at her. Great, what a lovely lunch break. Tori came to his defense. "Oh, shut up and leave Robbie alone, Chelsea! And as much as I hate to admit it, André's right. Ryder never showed any interest in you. Get over it!"
The table fell silent and the Chelsea-girl pouted but continued eating her salad. The people were quiet for a while until Tori broke the silence once again.
"Let's change the subject. Dré, how was your assessment test?" André sighed. "Bad topic. You know calculus and I ain't the best of friends. Actually, I think she hates me. No idea what I did to her. Mr Walters said I might fail because I don't understand the basics from last year or whatever. And if I fail, no football for good old André" The boy poked forcefully at his fries and Tori patted his back sympathetically.
Suddenly, her face lit up. "Robbie! Aren't you in AP calculus?" Robbie nearly choked on his burger because of the sudden question. "Yeah …" Tori smiled widely. "Well, great! Would you mind tutoring André?" Both of the boys looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't need any tutoring. No offense, Robster" "Duh, of course you do! You just said you don't want to stop playing football. What better way of preventing class failure than tutoring? Don't be stubborn, Dré! You know you need him"
She winked at her friend and he sighed. "Fine. Would it be okay for you?" André and Tori looked at him expectantly. Did he really have a choice? "Yeah, sure. When do you want to start?"
Phew. That was a long one. For the O.C. fans out there (if there still are some anyway): I imagine Tori living in Summer Roberts' house in my story. It just fits perfectly and it is so beautiful.
Thanks for reading and tell me what you think. :)