The next day at lunch at school
"Cat you've been avoiding Robbie all day, what's going on" says Jade concerned
"it's just I've never been with a guy before, I don't know what he expects a relationship would look like, the movies always depict the guy expecting sex, I'm afraid that that's all he really wants" says Cat
"you're worried about what Paige will think don't you" asks Tori
"that too, I still feel connected to her, what she did, scratching me, it wasn't her choice, nobody seems to understand that, the lawyer the Court chose to defend me, he treated her as if she'd attempted to kill me, even though that's not at all what happened, she's never had what you and I would call free will, not mentally, she has moments of clarity, she's more than just Bipolar, her main issue is that when she gets an idea even if it is not possible in reality she will believe it until someone talks her down from it, there were some days where she couldn't remember her own name or who I was" says Cat
"you don't want to date Robbie do you" asks Jade
"I never said that, because of how my mind works I need to fully understand what my choices mean, I need to know without a doubt what his plans would be for a relationship, I need to know what he would expect me to do, if it's just sex then I'll look somewhere else for love, Andre seems friendly enough, he was definitely flirting with me" says Cat
"do you want me to ask him" asks Jade
"please" says Cat
"ok I'll let you know" says Jade as she heads to Robbie
10 minutes later with Jade
"she doesn't want to be with me does she" asks Robbie
"that's not the impression I was getting from her, it's also not what she said, it would seem she's watched a lot of movies where the guy picks up a girl and they only have sex, having never been with a guy before, her biggest fear is that you guys are just as the movies portray you guys, she still has a strong connection to Paige, oh and Andre seems to be flirting with her, what would your expectations be for the relationship" says Jade
"she was one of the only girls at that science camp and the only one actually interested in the science, the other girls only wanted what you'd call 'a summer fling', I had to tell the person running the camp who Cat's mom was, when he heard that Valerie was the LAPD police chief he ordered that nobody try and sex Cat up, though to be fair Cat's bathing suits absolutely sexualized her and I had thought about doing what the other less science inclined campers do to the other girls with Cat, I was amazed by her love of science, she even managed to teach me a few things about our planet, while I would love to have sex with her someday, I'm more intrigued by her mind and songs she writes than her body, besides I would never do anything without her permission or consent, though if she'd rather be with Andre he's definitely the better man, he's more responsible than I am and he's smarter than I am and most importantly he's stronger than I am, just knowing there have been kidnap threats scares me that someday someone might actually try, I can't keep her safe from someone like that, heck I can't even thumb wrestle without getting hurt, she needs to be with someone who can protect her, I'm not that guy, I've never been that guy" says Robbie
"you would really give Cat up, the girl you've clearly wanted for years, just so that she can be safe" asks Jade shocked
"her safety means more to me than you know Jade, like I said I can't even thumb wrestle without getting hurt, people would expect me to be able to protect her, the only thing my noodle arms can do is lift her up, if it came to a fight where me losing meant they could kidnap her, I would lose in a heartbeat, not matter how hard I would try, I'm simply too weak to keep her safe Jade, it's fact that I'm unable to protect anyone, not even my family, they don't trust me with anything" says Robbie
"I don't think she'll be happy hearing this information, she really seemed to want this to work" says Jade
"I would rather know she's safe than get to date her while she lives in fear of being kidnapped, I simply have no choice" says Robbie
"there is always a choice Robbie" says Jade as she leaves to go inform Cat
With Cat
"he really wants to give up……. I guess if that's what he wants, that's what he'll get but I don't have to like it" says Cat deleting a list on her phone
"he said your safety was more important than him being happy… what was that list you just deleted, it looked important" says Jade
"it's not important, not anymore, they were science date ideas, they're pointless without Robbie, nobody shares my interest in science like Robbie, guess I better make plans with Andre before he chases another girl" says Cat
Hey Andre, it's Cat do you want to go for ice-cream after school – Cat
I thought you were going to be with Robbie – Andre
So did I, I guess not, so ice-cream date? – Cat
Sure, how's the ice-cream down the street – Andre
Not great, you pick me up from the parking lot here and I'll tell you where to go – Cat
Deal – Andre
"why do I feel like I just sold my soul" says Cat feeling depressed
"Andre's a good man Cat, admittedly he's not Robbie but he would gladly entertain your science interests" says Jade
"but I WANT Robbie, now I have to settle with Andre" says Cat
Later that day with Cat and Andre
"so Robbie's afraid of the kidnapping threats and gave up because he doesn't think he's strong enough to defend you" asks Andre as Cat licks her ice-cream
"yup, so do you really like me or was that flirting just a joke" says Cat
"I think you're cute, you're definitely no Northridge girl I'll give you that, I like that you're smart" says Andre
"smart with the memory of a goldfish, I have to make lists for everything, what to do when I wake up, what to do in the bathroom, stuff like that, I appear super smart because I write basically everything down, if I don't I might as well forget it, how far would you take a relationship with me" says Cat
"as far as you're comfortable going Cat and if Robbie ever gets the courage to defend you, you can always go back to him" says Andre
"he won't do that, once I'm officially in your arms he won't fuss about my heart, he made that clear, you'd have to break up with me before he felt he could swing by and win me back, he won't come by in my time of need and save me if I'm not his, he can be weird like that, I always thought of it as a sense of honour" says Cat continuing to lick her ice-cream
"I heard this morning that Paige was released, that's why Sikowitz wasn't here today, are you sure you don't want to go back to her, I heard you two were dating" asks Andre beginning to eat his ice-cream
"the state won't let her get back together with me because she was accused of attempting to kill me, she's mentally unstable, my mom isn't actually my mom, she's my aunt, my real mom died in a car crash when I was six, my whole family died, I somehow survived, as a result I'm constantly afraid that every time I see someone will be the last time I see them, I hugged my 'brother' in a way that scared her, she went to grab my arm to pull me away to 'save' me from making a big mistake, the big rule was 'never lay a hand on Cat in anger', the moment she grabbed my arm she realized how it might look and pulled away, her nails tend to be a tad sharp so she scratched me, it was a complete accident, my mom understood that but her co-workers at the time did not, next thing we knew state police came with a warrant for her arrest and they'd appointed a lawyer to defend me based on lies and assumptions, she's supposed to be in prison for four more years, why'd they release her, I mean I'm happy but why" says Cat
"something about an assault against her, it proved that she has no intent of fighting back or hurting anyone, the judge waived the rest of her sentence but she has to stay in the custody of an adult for remaining time that she was supposed to be in jail for and that she get court ordered therapy and treatment" says Andre
"she got in that mess because doctors refused to take her conditions seriously other than a Bipolar diagnosis they ignored all her other symptoms, they couldn't have cared less about her mental health, I have a feeling even court ordered stuff will lead nowhere and she won't be able to get better" says Cat
"I could see doctors evading a local or state judges Court order to make something up but her release was ordered by a federal judge and he asked for updates on her health and possible diagnosis information, he's not standing idly by hoping the doctors comply with his order, he's actively involved, his public reason for ordering her release was that he had been notified about evidence showing that the evidence against her was faked, he said he wanted to get to the bottom of the issue, several doctors from Sacramento are coming down to personally see to assessing her mental stability" says Andre
"I hope that's true, I'd love to see her again, even if only as friends, I doubt the state would ever let us date so let's just talk about us and our future" says Cat finishing her ice-cream
"she clearly means a lot to you, she was cleared of the crimes federally Cat, if you could, would you be her girlfriend again" says Andre
"IF I could yes, unfortunately even IF the state let her date me again on the state level she still has that criminal record, police would check her for any possible weapons, living in fear is not a good thing and I would never wish that upon her, on top of that I doubt she would actually trust anyone to not see her as an attempted murder, they played her trial on prime time, if she hasn't been changed by prison she will have asked for a pair of cuffs to keep on her so she can feel like the criminal she knows everyone will accuse her of being, she may be free now but she won't trust anyone but Sikowitz right now and maybe ever, she probably won't ever leave the house, now seriously let's talk about us, what's your plan for tonight" says Cat
"I was thinking about watching a movie with you at Tori's, just you and me, I hear you're a world class cuddler" says Andre
"you really mean that or are you just trying to get me to have sex" asks Cat dead serious
"I'm not that kind of person Cat, I write songs about how I feel, I put real emotions I to each song, Robbie didn't rape you did he" says Andre seriously concerned
"no, I guess my only real knowledge about guys comes from movies and that camp, ugh never again, they were all creeps, except for Robbie, I thought that camp actually cared about teaching science, all the girls cared about was having fun in bed with the guys, it was gross, meeting Robbie was the only good thing about it" says Cat as she leans into Andre
"since tomorrow is Saturday, how about we go to the beach, we can cuddle while we tan" suggests Andre
"I like that idea however I need new bathing suits, Robbie said the reason he had to protect me at that camp was because of my bathing suit suggesting I want to have bed fun, which is absolutely not the case, not until I'm ready and absolutely not with people I don't know and don't trust, I need bathing suits that scream 'if you touch me you could be arrested' yet still look super cute, clearly I don't know how to do that" says Cat
"Jade definitely knows, her bathing suits scream 'I'm a walking lawsuit, touch me you die', it's actually pretty effective" says Andre pulling Cat closer
"yeah I actually like talking to people, I just don't want them touching me" says Cat
"let's see how it goes first, you clearly wanted those bathing suits, you clearly like them, you need to remember as long as you're my girlfriend I won't let anyone hurt you in any way, shape or form, now let's go to Tori's and watch that movie" says Andre, picking Cat up and carrying her to his car
At Tori's half an hour later
"well she certainly seems to have had fun, wait is she actually sleeping in your arms" says Tori
"we talked about Paige getting released, about how she's staying with Sikowitz, apparently it tires her out" says Andre setting Cat softly down on the couch
"which is why I specifically told you NOT to tell her about Paige getting released" says Tori
"they were in love Tori, I couldn't be her boyfriend and NOT tell her, I felt she had a right to know that her wrongly convicted ex-girlfriend was cleared, plus I don't like keeping secrets, I certainly didn't with you" says Andre
"you may not have kept secrets from me but you made darn sure I was a secret from your family" says Tori
"my mom didn't like you and my grandmother is nuts, I didn't want my grandmother finding out through my mom that I was dating you, my mom might have lied and my grandmother constantly talks to the cops, I'm just glad I got her to stop calling me, honestly Tori I'm just glad to have been a part of your sexuality searching journey" says Andre
"ANYway, what's your plans for tomorrow, I swear I'm not being nosy, I have to know if it involves Cat, Valerie wants a daily update" says Tori
"Cat and I are going to the beach, though we're stopping at her place first so she can grab a few things, including a bathing suit and several towels" says Andre
"you actually managed to get her to agree to wear one of her own bathing suits, she told me she was going to burn them after Robbie told her what guys think she wants when she wears them" says Tori
"she said to me that she wants to talk to people she just doesn't want them touching her, I told her that as long as she's my girlfriend I won't let anyone hurt her in any shape or form, I have friends at the beach that kept you safe from creeps, two of them are lifeguards, I told them Cat was dating me and she needs to be kept safe, I 'reserved' a portion of the beach, by that I mean they're putting up the fence, like when you and I would go" says Andre
"oh so that's what that's for, that makes more sense, I never understood why they put six foot fences up for you when we'd go, does it cost anything" says Tori
"fifty dollars but it's so worth it, you got to feel safe and you had beach access without anyone spying on you, Cat will enjoy the same security" says Andre as Tori shakes her head
"she might act like she's enjoying the privacy but she might feel like you have sexual plans and that's why you got the fences put up, she won't believe that you did it simply so she can feel safe, that little bit of crazy that Paige has, believing things too easily, Cat has a hard time believing people" says Tori
"so I've noticed, so should I tell them no fence then" asks Andre
"no, keep the fence but explain to her why they put up the fence, she might need some convincing but snuggling with you on the beach, she might just love that" says Tori
"I know you certainly liked snuggling with me on the beach, remember the time you fell asleep and got severe sunburn" says Andre
"yeah I had to go to the hospital to treat that, my dad wasn't too happy with me, 'use sunscreen' he said, we were there for six hours, I ran out of sunscreen after three hours, they don't have a sunscreen seller anywhere close anywhere close to the beach, what did he expect me to do" says Tori
"obviously he expected you to be what Beck is now, someone who takes their RV everywhere and has loads of sunscreen, anyway Cat had asked me to stay the night, so she can feel what it's like to wake up beside me, we agreed on the couch, it won't be an every day thing, more than likely once or twice during the week and all weekend, depending on how Cat is feeling" says Andre
"so you two are officially dating then" asks Tori
"no not 'officially' officially, she doesn't want that many people to know, right now just you, Jade and her family, my family isn't to know until she knows it's safe to tell them" says Andre
"are you going to tell Cat not to tell your family like you didn't tell them about me" asks Tori
"it is an unfortunate fact that my family has better views of girls of Italians descent than anyone of Spanish descent, they were robbed by a Spanish street gang when they lived north of Malibu before I was born, they've hated all people of any Spanish descent ever since, with some exceptions" says Andre
"oh great so they're the kind of people that want to send me and Trina back to places we've never lived in" says Tori
"not exactly, they aren't racist by nature, just by experience, your dad for example has gained their trust as a no nonsense cop on the force, a cop that follows the evidence, though it is true they don't like Trina's attitude one bit, my dad has been the negotiator in the family, settling disputes ever since I was little, he would have dealt with anything that came up had our relationship gotten serious, my family likes you as a person they're just not sure how much they'd have liked you as my girlfriend, you having problems getting a job and all, their biggest fear would have been you relying on me for money, anyway I should get ready to nap with Cat" says Andre
"sleep tight, she's a hugger, also don't be surprised if you wake up and she's laying on you" says Tori
"aww just like you" says Andre
"yeah, I don't get to do that much anymore, your chest is flat, Jade isn't, like not at all, they are soft though" says Tori as she heads upstairs
"Remember safety first Victoria" says Andre as Tori rolls her eyes