Three days had passed since John had called her for the first time while she was in school, and Cat could safely say that she had been doing everything she could to make sure the date went well.
Since Nozu's was officially off the table, due to John's allergies, she'd looked for any restaurant she could find that would act as a nice place for dinner. Granted, it was difficult for her to find any affordable places, and she was relying entirely on the already miniscule allowance her parents gave her considering most of their focus was on her brother.
She didn't want to take him to a meager fast-food place. Even though that would be more than affordable, she honestly didn't want to come off as cheap. Cat thought it might paint a bad picture of her in John's eyes.
She'd found a few places, but she had continued looking to see if she could find anywhere better.
That didn't have any peanut oil, that is.
They'd also been keeping each other up to date on their findings for Friday. Cat had originally planned to take John out to eat and have fun, but John had been rather stubborn when it came to who would take who where.
He was fine with letting her find the place they would eat at, but he was adamant that he would choose the hang-out location. Which had led to him asking her what her favorite genre of movies were.
She nearly answered cartoons, but stopped herself when she'd realized that it might sound a bit childish. And she didn't see John as the type of person to enjoy romance films either, so she'd settled with comedy films.
That was a good enough answer. When it came to comedy, there was almost nothing Cat wouldn't laugh at. Even she knew that.
Outside of her upcoming date, or anything surrounding John really, life had pretty much continued as normal.
Well… as normal as it could be when it came to Hollywood Arts.
The school production of Moonlight Magic was coming up, which means plenty of students were going to audition for a role in the play. Cat had thought about it, but honestly, the play was the last thing she was really concerned about for her.
Perhaps she should've been more concerned about a certain someone else.
She liked Tori, she really did, but she didn't appreciate being taken advantage of.
For the last two days, Tori had been working on the Bird Scene, which was basically the Hollywood Arts acceptance exam. A student couldn't participate in any school production unless they successfully completed it.
Cat remembered her own struggles with the Bird Scene. Being ditzy and oblivious, it had been somewhat hurtful at times when she'd desperately ask people for help, only to either be harshly rebuked or completely made a fool of to deter her. It wasn't until her fifth attempt a week later that she'd passed.
She wasn't happy to admit that she'd broken down in tears when she'd been told once again that she'd failed at first, but she'd been confident in her acting abilities and had made her belief perfectly clear.
Jade had taken her out for ice cream afterwards, and she wasn't afraid to admit that was a childish aspect of her personality she would gladly indulge in.
Anyway, the whole point of the Bird Scene wasn't just an exam, but a learning experience. It was meant to teach students to have confidence in their abilities as an actor, or whichever performing art they were wanting to take. That meant that they had to entirely figure it out for herself.
Something Tori had yet to learn so far.
She'd made two failed attempts simply because she'd asked Sikowitz if she'd passed, and she was getting desperate.
Which led to Cat's current state of frustration.
Having been through the Bird Scene herself, as mentioned before, Cat understood Tori's frustration.
However, that didn't mean she was okay with what happened.
Cat was ashamed to admit that she'd honestly thought Tori was just wanting to play a game or something. In her own oblivious nature, she hadn't thought for a second that Tori would trick her like that.
She should've thought something was up when Tori pulled out the handcuffs. Even moreso when Cat found herself handcuffed to the railing.
Instead, Cat was eager when Tori pulled out what she thought was candy, and found her mouth being lit on fire in less than a second.
Because Tori wanted to know the secret to the Bird Scene.
It wasn't until Lane had found her handcuffed to the pipe and came back with bolt cutters did Cat find herself free.
Upon which, she'd immediately run to the bathroom in order to let her tears flow.
It wasn't the first time she'd been tricked like that, and Cat knew it wouldn't be the last, either. Due to her own oblivious nature, Cat knew there would be many times throughout her life that people would take advantage of her.
It was only because she wasn't as stupid as people thought that it didn't go further.
It was another thing she appreciated about John. He hadn't taken advantage of her. If anything, he'd gone overboard in making sure she really did want it.
And she honestly hoped he was the kind of person who'd never try to trick her. It's sad to say that the only people who'd never actually tried to trick her at all were her friends. Well, with the exception of Tori so far.
But she wasn't interested in any of them like that. Not in a romantic way. She saw most of them as more like siblings than possible partners.
John had been the first guy so far to not only not take advantage of her, but tolerate her issues and still like her regardless.
But still, Tori's little stunt had basically brought all of those memories back to the surface. Like a battering ram of emotions had decided to hit her head on.
Now, all she could think about was how utterly stupid she was.
Ignoring the fact that Tori's action was still over the line regardless, she couldn't have known the effect it would have on the poor redhead.
It was the only reason that Cat didn't utterly hate the latina.
When Lane had freed her from the railing, she'd immediately hightailed it to the nearest bathroom, shut herself into a stall, and immediately dropped to the ground and began sobbing her eyes out.
Why her? Why did she have to be so clueless, such an idiot? It felt like no matter how much she tried, she could never learn, never gain any intelligence.
She'd like, for once, to be able to actually see through people's tricks. To be able to understand jokes without having to ask or immediately taking it as something hurtful.
For pete's sake, her catchphrase may as well be her screaming 'What's that supposed to mean?!'
It hurt.
It hurt in a way that nobody seemed to understand. Not her parents, definitely not her brother… not even Jade, who had her own issues.
It felt like there was a hole in her head that couldn't be filled no matter what she did.
The only sounds present within the bathroom were the echoes of her own sobbing, and though she'd love to have somebody there to just talk too, she didn't feel like being a bother.
Even if some people had told her that she could talk to them if she felt the need.
"Why am I such an idiot?" Cat couldn't help but to whisper to herself between the sobs that wracked her body. Doctors had said that it could be due to the fact that her mother was a competitive breath holder while she was pregnant with Cat, but the redhead didn't have any certain idea.
She wished she did though. At least then she'd have something to blame.
Cat found her moment of self-loathing interrupted, however, by the sound of her phone ringing from within her purse.
As much as she'd rather not answer, so as to not risk bothering anyone with her own issues, she felt that would be extremely rude.
Cat found herself taking a deep breath in order to stave off any further sobs, choking a few down as she reached into her purse and easily found the ringing, vibrating device as she tried to dry her eyes as best as she could.
She didn't even look at the caller ID to see who was calling, simply swiping to answer before bringing the phone up to her ear.
"H-Hello?"
There was a moment of silence, and Cat wondered if she might've answered too late or if the person on the other side was merely pranking her.
"What happened?"
That was John's voice. And Cat couldn't help but to feel shame beginning to build up even more as she realized that he sounded concerned.
"Nothing." Cat tried to answer in an effort to assure him, but even she could hear the quiver in her voice and mentally slapped herself at her failure to quell the audible cue.
"Right, and I'm supposed to ignore that you sound like you've been crying?" Though she at least was able to realize that it was sarcasm, she noted that John's voice didn't sound harsh or annoyed, like Jade usually did whenever Cat went to her with these kinds of issues. "What I wanted to talk about can wait, what's going on?"
Cat was silent for a moment, merely mulling over her options and trying to decide whether she should try to keep her issues to herself, before eventually sniffling as the realization that this was something she'd actually wanted came over her.
"I… I did it again." Cat admitted, hugging her knees closer to her chest as she heard the audible whine in her own voice. "I was an idi-"
"Finish that sentence and I make no promises on not getting annoyed." In those words, John already sounded somewhat annoyed. But considering what Cat had been about to say, she couldn't help the giggle that broke through her sadness.
"That's sweet." Cat couldn't help but to remark, running her sleeve across her nose in order to dry up some snot that had appeared due to her crying fit.
"I wouldn't say that, but thanks anyway." Now John sounded rather amused, which Cat counted as a win. However, it wasn't going to stay that way. "Now, what happened? Something's got you in a funk."
Cat couldn't help but to sniffle as the events that had occurred in the hall less than an hour ago, feeling her anguish building up once more at the fact that Tori had tried, and somewhat succeeded, in taking advantage of her like that.
"Do you remember Tori?" Even though they hadn't met in person yet, she doubted John had forgotten her friends already due to having spoke to them over the phone a few days ago.
"She's the one Jade called 'Cheekbones', right?"
Cat couldn't help but to giggle at the mention of the nickname. It was pretty funny, and of course John would remember that.
"Yeah." Cat answered with a small sigh as her smile faded from her face. "She… she um…" She found herself struggling on where to even begin to explain. She still considered Tori her friend, so she didn't want to make the Latina out to be a bully.
But weren't her actions one of a bully?
"Cat, you don't need to feel pressured, and I'm sorry for coming off that way." John suddenly apologized, sounding genuinely remorseful as he spoke. "But I'm not stupid, and… well, no offense, but you sound like shit."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cat suddenly shouted her catchphrase, before immediately slapping herself as she realized she may have just irritated John. He was only trying to help.
Well, as best as he could from over the phone.
"It means you sound like you've been crying, Cat." John answered, his tone managing to be soft while his words were rather blunt. "Look, I'm sorry if I was pressuring you, that was a dick move. But… well, ignoring the fact that we got a date on Friday, I told you that you could talk to me if you needed to."
The sound of her own breathing was the only thing that could be heard for a moment, before Cat finally opened her mouth to answer.
"When you first start Hollywood Arts, there's an entrance exam of sorts you have to take. It's not required, but you have to pass it in order to participate in any of the school productions." Cat explained, deciding to actually give him some context, the entire story, and let him decide his own opinion. "It's called the Bird Scene. Basically, it doesn't matter how you do it, so long as you have confidence in your own abilities as a performer."
"Sounds like I'd quit the damn school before I passed." John suddenly interjected with a joke, causing Cat to giggle in amusement despite herself.
"I don't think so." Granted, she didn't know if John actually had any performance talent… but from what she knew of him, he seemed rather stubborn. "A-Anyway, because of the rules of the exam, no other student can help out. Where Tori's only been here for a week and a half, she was assigned the exam last Friday."
"She fail?"
"Twice."
"Damn… ah well, tell her I got faith in her."
"Maybe later." Cat mumbled in response, considering Tori was the source of her current funk. "I get that it's frustrating. It took me five tries, and I'm honestly not even sure if I really did pass it or if I was just that sad, because I did break down in tears on my last attempt."
"Aw, Cat… you gotta have more confidence in yourself."
"I do, believe me…"
"I'm not talking about performing, Cat." John elaborated a little further on his words, causing Cat to perk up. "You talk about yourself like you're a moron. You're a bit ditzy, sure. That just means you don't always notice things, may not pick up on the obvious. But you're not stupid."
"I'm glad you think that…" Cat muttered in response, but offered no rebuttal. Instead, she continued with her words. "Anyway, Tori's desperate… and she decided to…"
Cat honestly found herself tearing up once more, and she couldn't hold back the sob that escaped her. She'd honestly thought Tori was her friend, and a part of her still believed she was.
But that fact that a friend was the one to take advantage of her is what made it hurt so bad.
"Cat…" John sounded like his own heart was breaking, his deep voice soft even through the phone as he was forced to listen to Cat's turmoil.
"She just… S-she… I thought she wanted to play a game…" Cat couldn't help but to admit, trying to dry her tears that had started up once again, and failing miserably. "I let her handcuff me to a stair rail, and then I thought she was giving me candy, and she wouldn't give me the water bottle-!"
The whimper had returned to her voice, and she found herself close to spiraling back into yet another moment of self-hatred and loathing.
"Hey now… it'll be alright, Cat."
"She's my friend, John!" Cat couldn't help but to cry, holding her hand to her head as she poured her current thoughts out. "And she took advantage of me like everyone else does!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, with only the sound of static and her own sobbing to keep her company, before John finally spoke again.
"And here I thought I did a good job at not doing that."
That… that was so far removed from any response she was expecting. It was a simple response, told in a casual tone, meant to be a joke.
An attempt to cheer her up.
And it meant the world to Cat.
Despite everything, Cat found herself giggling between her sobs, creating a mishmash of crying and laughing in the air. If anyone had been in the bathroom to hear her, it probably would've sounded like a dying animal. In Cat's opinion, anyway.
Or a ghost. A ghost sounded better.
"Y-You haven't." Cat assured as the memories of his own tenderness and care towards her on the night they met returned. "You haven't taken advantage of me so far."
"I'd like to formally request that 'so far' be changed too 'and never will." Now, it was that same inkling that she'd gotten on the last phone call. Cat could almost hear the smile on his face from those words alone.
"Yes sir. You haven't taken advantage of me and never will."
"That makes me feel better."
"You make me feel better." The words were uttered before she could even think, and Cat found herself blushing in embarrassment as her tears began to slowly subside.
Now, it sounded like it was John's turn to be stunned, if the silence on the other end of the phone was any indication, before she could hear him letting out a cough in order to set his mind straight.
"Uh, well I… I try." Now it was Cat's turn to hear some embarrassment from John, a first so far. And if Jade were here, she'd have probably taken advantage of it.
But Cat couldn't bring herself too. She thought it was too sweet to try.
"Thanks, John."
"No problem." John assured her.
Cat was finally feeling a bit better thanks to John's efforts, and she found herself looking forward to seeing him again on Friday.
She knew the first thing she'd do was give him the biggest hug she possibly could.
"Feeling better?"
Cat couldn't hold off the smile on her face if she'd turned around and plunged into the toilet.
"Yeah." Cat said, habitually nodding her head even though he couldn't see it. "Um… not that I'm not happy, but… is there a reason you called?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" John sounded like he'd actually forgotten whatever his original intention for calling was. "Um, what time do you get out of there?"
Cat found her brow furrowing in confusion at his words. "Three thirty. Why?"
"I want to make sure I know when I can call you without bugging you at school." John answered.
Cat couldn't help but to giggle in response to that. "John, you aren't bugging me. I mean, you could show up at lunch or at the end of the day and walk right in. Nobody would say a word."
There was once again silence on the other end of the phone, and Cat found herself wondering if John was busy with something at the moment.
But when he answered, he sounded confused.
"Wait, are you serious? I could just waltz right in?"
"Yep!" Cat nodded her head, back to her usual bubbly self now that John had managed to cheer her up. "So long as you don't look suspicious, I guess, security won't even blink. You could just walk right in."
"That's… I don't even know what to say to that." Cat couldn't stop the giggles if she tried at the sound of how dumbfounded John seemed to be.
"I know, it's weird." Cat said with a shrug. She'd always found that odd compared to middle and elementary school, where the doors were locked at all times and visitors had to have prior authorization and get let in by the office staff. But at Hollywood Arts, it seemed that anyone could just walk in.
"Huh… good to know. Hey, do me a favor, alright?"
"Sure."
"Talk to Jade, alright? About what happened. Just you and her, and anyone you trust, when you get the chance." Cat's eyes widened at the request. She wasn't expecting that to be the favor.
"I don't know…" Cat couldn't help but to be somewhat hesitant at the idea. "Why Jade?"
"You told me she's your best friend. And from what you've told me, she'd fight the world for you. She just has a funny way of showing it." John answered without any sort of hesitation. "Look, you told me Tori is your friend, and I get that. if you don't want to tell Jade or anyone else, that's fine. But Tori crossed a line, and you need to be able to trust your friends. If you can't trust Jade, you can trust?"
"You?" Was Cat's response, painted more as a question than an actual answer.
"Cat, I really like you, and I do care… but you shouldn't trust me more than your best friend you've known for much longer."
"Well…" Cat found herself twisting the toe of her shoe against the floor, slightly nervous as to how to explain it to him. "Jade can be a bit mean… and violent…"
"So can I."
"Not like her."
"Cat… I really do beg to differ."
Cat found herself giggling once more, and a few seconds in, her giggling turned to full blown laughter when she could hear the boy on the other side of the phone letting laughter overtake him as well.
"I'll… think about it, alright?" Cat finally answered when the laughter had died down, in order to appease John. "But like you said earlier… I make no promises."
John let out a disappointed sigh in response, but he didn't push the issue. "Fair enough, I guess. I'll talk to you when you're out of school. Now get to class, woman!"
Cat giggled in response and gladly nodded her head, jokingly saluting to nobody as she answered. "Yes sir! Bye, John."
"See you later, Cat."
With that farewell, Cat ended the call and slipped the phone back into her purse, before standing there with a smile on her face.
A smile that slowly faded.
Jade would not be happy that she was late to class.
A few hours later
End of the school day
"So what happened?" Jade asked the redhead as she, Beck, Andre, and Cat made their way to their lockers. Sikowitz class had just ended, also signaling the end of the school day, so obviously Jade would be wanting to know why Cat had been so late. They'd stopped so Jade could get a Wahoo Punch to drink, but it stop her from questioning the redhead.
Though she'd had plenty of time to mull over John's request, Cat still wasn't entirely comfortable telling Jade about everything that had led to her being late for class.
Knowing the goth like she did, Cat was fairly certain that either the antagonizing would grow more hostile, or Jade would outright assault Tori as payback.
Neither of which were preferable outcomes.
But still… Jade had always been there for her, in her own unique way. At the very least, Cat knew she could talk to the goth about her issues.
And if she could talk to Jade about them, she could certainly talk to Andre and Beck about them as well.
"I just…" Cat was trying to think of how to word her explanation without giving away Tori's involvement. "I had a moment."
"A moment?" Andre asked, raising an eyebrow at the explanation. Cat could understand why, as it clearly didn't explain much.
"What kind of moment?" Beck pressed, showing his concern for the redhead. A moment for Cat usually hiding somewhere crying.
"Um… a bad one." Cat admitted, mumbling the words quietly as she once again felt shame bubbling up at burdening her friends with her problems.
"Did someone take advantage of you again?" Of course Jade would immediately assume that was the case. The sad part was that she was absolutely correct in that assumption, and yet, Cat couldn't help but to deny that very truthful part.
"No! No, nothing like that." Cat shouted quickly in denial, before calming and denying it in a more calm manner. "It's just… I started thinking about it out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I was hiding in the girls bathroom."
"Aw, Cat…" Beck had a sad tone in his voice at Cat's words, and he found his arm wrapping around the redhead's shoulder in an act of comfort as the group came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, just in front of the steps. "You know you can just come to us when this happens."
"I know." Cat nodded her head, she was well aware of that. But there was one little problem. "But you guys were in class. I didn't want to make a scene."
"Then go to Lane." Jade said with shake of her head. "Have him call on of us to his office. You know any of us would all be there in a second."
"But… I didn't want to bug you." Cat admitted, crossing her arms tightly together in an act of self comfort. She felt like a child being admonished once more, as if she'd done something wrong.
"You aren't bugging us with that stuff, Cat." Andre assured the redhead as he moved closer and gave the girl a gentle pat on the shoulder. "We're here for you. It bugs us more when you try to keep this stuff to yourself."
"I'm sorry…" Cat's voice was small as she found herself apologizing. It seemed like everything she did just created more trouble for her friends.
"Oh my god, it's fine!" Jade spoke up with a frustrated sigh and a look of exasperation. "We're not mad or anything, Cat. We're just trying to make sure you know we're here for you."
Cat couldn't help but to smile at her best friend's words. No matter how much she might deny it or act like she didn't care, Jade always made sure Cat knew otherwise.
If they'd have been paying attention, they might've heard the sound of the door to the entrance opening.
"Hey, I have an idea." Andre spoke up, looking at Cat with a smile as he did so. "Why don't you tell us how planning is going for your date?"
At that, Cat let out a sigh of exasperation at the reminder of her frustration. "It seems like I can't find a decent place to eat." She admitted with a sigh. "Every place I've found is either too expensive or they use peanut oil."
"I never actually thought about how many places use peanut oil." Beck couldn't help but to remark with a chuckle. "It's gotta suck to have that kind of allergy."
"I've found a few places, but they still seem a bit expensive considering the allowance I get." Cat admitted, crossing her arms in frustration. "And I don't want to take him to fast food, because that'll make me feel cheap."
"Way to make me feel bad." A new voice piped up, catching everyone's attention.
A very familiar voice.
Cat almost lost her footing from how quickly she spun, jerking to face the school's entrance where the voice had come from.
And found herself staring at a very familiar grin.
There, leaning against the wall right next to the door with one foot slumped over the other, was John Gallagher.
She couldn't have been louder if she'd tried.
"John!" Cat found herself full on sprinting at him, giving John only a second to take a step forward away from the wall before the redhead basically leapt on him, slinging her arms around his neck as she did so.
"Surprise!" John joked as he gladly returned the hug, wrapping his large arms around Cat in a gentle manner as he easily held her in the air without hurting her.
"What are you doing here?" Cat couldn't help the bubbly smile on her face as she pulled herself away from John, allowing the tall boy to place her back on her own feet. "I thought you said you were gonna call."
"Yeah." John nodded his head, confirming he had indeed said that. "I lied like a dog."
Cat found herself giggling at John's words, practically bouncing on her toes as she did so. "That's bad, you know."
"Sue me." John remarked with a small, amused grin as he looked down at the redhead. "I actually had planned on just calling, but when you told me I could waltz right in, I figured 'fuck it'." He explained as he looked down at her. "After earlier, figured this would be a better alternative."
"You didn't have to come all the way down here." Cat commented, though she smiled nonetheless at his presence. "But I won't complain."
"Good." John said as his hand came up and wrapped around Cat's shoulder, pulling the girl into his side as he did so. "Figured we didn't have to wait till Friday to see each other again. We just have plans for Friday."
Cat giggled in response to John's words as she swung her hands and hugged John's side, looking up at him with a smile.
"Cat… that's John?" Beck's voice entered their ears, and it was at that moment that Cat remembered her friends were indeed present as she turned her gaze to face them.
All three of them looked like mirrors of each other, staring at John with a look of complete shock and disbelief. Beck and Andre both had their jaws hanging open, and Jade looked like she was about to drop her Wahoo Punch in disbelief.
"Uh huh!" Cat nodded her head with a smile as she unwrapped herself from John and grabbed the hand that had been wrapped around her shoulder, tugging him in the direction of her friends.
"Nice to meet you." John spoke with a friendly tone, offering his free hand towards the three as Cat let his other hand slip from her grasp.
The three simply continued to stare at him for a moment, leaving John holding his hand awkwardly out to the three of them as they seemed to try and process the boy that Cat had talked about.
Cat couldn't help but to giggle in amusement at their shock. John was pretty big.
'Though, I'm not talking about his- and time to stop that train of thought.' Cat found her thoughts wandering for a moment before halting that path in it's tracks.
Finally, Andre was the first of the three to regain his bearings, shaking his head as he shook John's hand with a smile. Though the surprise was still present on his face. "When Cat said you were a big guy, she didn't say you were a bear." He joked in order to alleviate the very obvious tension that was present. "I'm Andre."
John chuckled at the joke, nodding his head in agreement with the joke. "Yeah, I imagine it's pretty hard to describe someone like me. Nice to meet you."
"What are you, a circus freak?" Jade suddenly piped up, looking at the boy with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, you can't be our age." The goth completely ignored the glare her best friend was giving her at those words.
"Yeah, you'd think that." John conceded her point with a small laugh. "And you must be the wonderful bundle of joy called Jade."
Jade's deadpan expression said it all, as well as the fake smile that she gave without so much as changing any other part of her face. It was reminiscent of… Cat couldn't remember the movie, but she remembered it had something to do with a cyborg.
"Which means that you're probably Beck." John said as he turned to the last man present, eliciting a smile from the fellow teen.
"Yep." Beck answered with a quick nod and a small smile as he shook John's hand. "Cat's told us a bit about you. Nice to meet you in person."
"You too." John nodded with a smile, before bringing his gaze to wander around the hall they stood in. "So, this is Hollywood Arts, huh?"
"No, it's Sesame Street." Jade responded sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.
"Alright, Count Von Count." John responded in kind, his grin broadening a little at the way Jade narrowed her eyes in his direction, before his expression changed to one of surprise. A disbelieving smile took shape in place of the grin on his face as he noticed a particular locker by the steps. "What the- is that a piano?"
The others turned their gazes towards the locker in question, and Andre smiled when he realized it was his locker he was looking at. "Kind of neat, huh? I put a lot of work into it."
"You did that?" John asked in amazement as he turned his gaze to Andre. "I'm not even gonna ask how you did it. Does it work?"
Andre simply smiled in response, before making his way over to his locker without a word.
They watched as he approached, stopping at his locker and cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect.
Cat knew of Andre's musical genius, so it was no surprise that even at the awkward angle, he managed to play a short jingle with the skill that was nothing short of professional.
"Damn…" John found himself muttering as he looked on in amazement. "That's… actually pretty fucking cool." He admitted, nodding his head along with the tune of the jingle.
"Thanks." Andre replied as he stopped playing the keyboard and made his way back over to the group. "It's a tradition at Hollywood Arts to customize your locker. As a way to express yourself."
"What would you do with your locker, John?" Cat couldn't help but to be curious. She honestly didn't know enough about John to really gauge what he'd do if he had such an opportunity.
John's expression took on one of thought for only a moment, before promptly shrugging. "Punch it."
That clearly wasn't the answer any of them were expecting, as the bewildered expressions on all of their faces made quite clear. "Well… that doesn't sound impressive."
John once again shrugged, giving a small smile. "Don't need to be. Put a dent in it, then put the initials F.A.F.O above. See how many people get it."
"Friendly advice for others?" Cat tried to guess what the acronym met, and Andre and Beck both looked confused as well.
Only Jade seemed to get it, as she actually gave John an impressed smile and nodded. "That's actually pretty clever. Wonder how many people would actually pick up on it."
"You know what it means?" Beck asked in surprise as he glanced over to his friend.
Jade simply raised an eyebrow in response, before sharing a knowing smile with a grinning John.
"What's it mean?!" Cat didn't feel like being left out, and it was honestly hard to contain her outburst, especially since John had only just met Jade and already seemed to have established a bond of some sort.
Okay… maybe she was a little bit jealous… just a lil'...
"Fuck around, find out." John and Jade both recited at the same time, causing the other's to finally get it.
"A threat?" Andre couldn't help but to ask with a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't seem too nice."
"A warning, not a threat." John clarified with a slight smile. "I'm easy to get along with. But the locker would make it clear that I have absolutely no problem getting violent if you push me."
Clearly, Beck and Andre weren't too pleased with that answer, Cat could easily see it on their face.
But the redhead herself didn't mind. It wasn't like he was actually getting violent for the heck of it. And so far, she'd never actually seen him violent like that.
"Well, I don't think the school would allow something that straightforward." Beck admitted with a shrug. "Would probably see it as too violent."
"Damn." John responded with a smile, feigning disappointment at his proposed locker idea being shot down. "Well, I guess I'd just put stickers and shit of stuff I like on it."
"But… people usually do something really thoughtful." Cat explained, turning to John with a look of confusion. "That doesn't really seem like that."
"Gotta agree with Cat on this one." Andre said, giving John a smile as he did so. "Can't say many people would see a point in decorating your locker like that."
John simply shrugged in response. "Oh well." He said, shrugging that off as he gave his own smile. "I don't need to have a deep and thoughtful locker. Let it be a hidden meaning, I guess. Express yourself how you want. If it has a deeper meaning to you, who gives a shit what others think?"
"I can agree with that logic." It seemed clear to Cat that Jade was actually getting along with John rather well. Even better, it seemed, than Beck and Andre did.
Considering how determined she was to get Cat to see him as a bad person before, it was honestly rather surprising to the redhead.
"Which one's your locker?" John suddenly asked as he turned to look at Cat. "How'd you do yours?"
Cat couldn't help the proud smile on her face at the question, and couldn't help the excitement within her as she found herself grabbing John's elbow and dragging him towards her locker. "Come on, I'll show you!" She spoke with an excited tone as John chuckled, but gladly let her drag his larger frame as the group moved over to her locker.
She'd designed her locker to reflect her own personality. Her favorite color was pink, which was what she'd painted the base of the locker, while a couple of long pieces of grass were tied to it in the middle. The plants split apart towards the top, revealing a ladybug she'd painted on as if poking through the grass,
It… honestly was sadder than it sounded. The ladybug represented her, trying to come out of her shell and express herself, while the grass represented her childish personality and her insecurities that she always seemed stuck behind.
Still, she wouldn't tell John that. Not at the moment.
And regardless, she was proud that she'd done the locker herself… well, she had borrowed a drill from Beck. But that was it.
"Tada!" Cat presented her locker proudly as she let go of John's elbow to gesture towards it, looking at him as he waited for a reaction.
John looked like he was rather surprised at what he was looking at. "You made this?"
"Yep!" Cat nodded with a smile. "What do you think?" She asked eagerly, her usual bubbly self on full display.
From what she could gather, John couldn't hold back a smile if he'd tried. "I think you got a career in art."
"Thanks!" Cat immediately thanked him, her smile growing even bigger if it was possible. "I'm glad you like it."
"No problem." John replied as he easily pulled her into a side hug with one arm.
"So, Cat tells us you've been looking for ways to occupy yourselves on Friday." Beck spoke up, catching the attention of the two as they turned their gazes towards him. "What have you come up with?"
John shrugged with a smile. "Something simple, at least. If we try and make the date perfect for one another, we're setting ourselves up for failure." The muscular teen answered with a shrug as he glanced down at Cat. "I figure a movie oughta do it, then dinner. If we have time afterwards, we'll find some way to occupy our time, I guess."
"Hmm… at least you're not stressing over it like a certain someone." Jade couldn't help but to take the chance to tease Cat, giving the redhead a knowing smile. To Cat's embarrassment.
"Jade!" Cat cried out in embarrassment, eliciting chuckles from the group (including John), at her own expense.
"Cat, you don't have to go all out." John assured, letting his arm slide off her shoulders until his hand was perched atop her opposite shoulder. "Fast food would be more than enough for me. Don't try and find some fancy place or anything like that."
"Right, I forgot you heard that." Cat admitted, her head falling slightly and her gaze facing the ground as the fading blush of embarrassment on her face returned once more.
John simply chuckled in response. "Yes I did." He freely admitted the truth they all knew, before offering her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Like I said, we're just going to have some fun. And if you're wanting romance… sometimes that's romantic in and of itself."
"You really mean that?" Cat asked, looking up at John with a smile despite her blushing face.
John simply nodded, his own smile soft and comforting as he answered. "Of course I do."
"Hey guys!" A new voice suddenly interjected into the conversation, and they all turned to look at the person approaching.
And Cat immediately found herself on edge, the conversation she'd with John over the phone coming to the forefront of her mind, as Tori Vega came to a stop next to the rest of them.
And while Tori's actions weren't gnawing at her anymore, she'd already forgiven the girl as that was just the way Cat was…
She couldn't say the same for John.
This… may not go well, Cat realized.
"What's up?" Beck greeted the latina with a smile, because like the rest of them with the exception of John, he was not aware of the-
Wait a second… Beck had been standing in the hallway talking to Tori while she'd been handcuffed to the locker.
Had he really not noticed?
"Nothing you haven't already been bugged about." Tori answered with an eye role, eliciting chuckles from almost everyone present, with the exception of a confused John and a nervous Cat.
"Bird Scene?" Andre guessed the obvious answer, to which Tori nodded.
"The Bird Scene." Tori answered.
Just like that. That was all it took for Cat's apprehension to rise. For her nervousness to skyrocket.
Because with that little bit of interaction, John realized exactly who Tori was, if the way he abruptly seemed to go tense was any indication.
John knew what Tori had done. He knew why she'd done it. He knew the effect her actions had on Cat.
And he was definitely not happy.
This… could be very bad.
A/N: Let me state right now, for the record, that I do not hate Tori. I know it may not seem that way, but I actually do like her character.
However, for me to write this story the way I plan too, little moments like this one that are played at Cat's expense are meant to have a heavier impact than just a moment for laughs. And that means that yes, the little scene where Tori tries and fails to force Cat into telling her the trick of the bird scene is going to have consequences. For both Tori and, because Cat just realized his ignorance, Beck.
So that does mean that Tori, along with Beck and Jade at different times, will have consequences to face when they take advantage of Cat. Even if it means writing from the perspective that they're complete assholes.
Remember… Cat isn't as stupid as people think in this story. She's aware of her problems. And when people take advantage of them, it only adds to her insecurities.
Anyway, that's all for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you in the next one.
