22Senior moments
By PD31
Disclaimer: I still don't own iCarly, Victorious, any of the episodes or any of the characters.
Rating: T
Pairings: Established Caddie (Cat/Freddie), Jandré (Jade/André). Friendships include Cade, Jedi and Seddie.
Summary: Sequel to A Summer In Film. The gang are back at Hollywood Arts for their senior year, looking to survive the trials and tribulations of High School and find out if their relationships will survive intact.
AN: So here we are; the last part of this tale, covering their senior year and, alas, the end of the show Victorious.
Chapter 1
Providence St Joseph Medical,
501 S Buena Vista St, Burbank.
Monday, 29th August 2011.
Marissa Benson sighed with fatigue as she trudged through the hallway; she had hoped that her elevation to Head Nurse – along with ameliorating a potentially nasty lawsuit that the parents of his son's girlfriend, Cat Valentine, had brought against the hospital – would have brought an end to her having to work night shifts but with it being the summer, and with so many of her colleagues being away on holiday, she was pressed into action. At least, she mused as she eyed the morning California sun streaming through the window, it's almost the end of my shift. The thought of getting home and crawling into bed was certainly an enticing one. The matriarch had also been hoping that she and Freddie would have had the chance to get away for a little while during the school holidays but it wasn't to be – between the programme her son's school had run the previous month and now him starting filming on two different movies he had been far too busy to be able to afford the time away (in fact he was toying with having to quit his job at the Pear Store as he was struggling to work the hours as it was; once school started again and he only had his evenings to film – not to mention his fencing classes, gym sessions with André and, most importantly in his mind, spending time with his girlfriend he felt he would find it impossible to fit everything in and, with an income from the movies, he felt the job was the easiest thing to let go) and she didn't particularly want to go away without him.
Cat… Marissa sighed again as she thought about the vivacious red-haired girl. It had troubled her to discover that the two were sexually active (or at the very least had slept together the night of her birthday) and at least a little of her hopes of a family holiday had been an effort to ensure there was no repeat. She didn't want to break them up (she knew her son really and truly loved the unusual red haired girl and how much it would hurt him if they did – and, of course, she remembered him moving out the last time she'd been caught interfering in his life and didn't want to risk it happening and him severing contact with her, especially now he was earning enough money from his acting that he could probably move somewhere easily enough if given enough of a shove) but she didn't want to encourage that side of their relationship if at all possible, so much so that she had actually declined the opportunity for a few days away in New York with her sister when she was off work, claiming that she didn't want to leave her son home alone (even though with all his activities he wasn't home that much anyway and could easily fend for himself). She was also relieved to learn that the girl was staying with her grandmother while her own parents were away visiting her brother in Idaho.
Marissa froze with a start for a moment as she spotted another familiar face in the hospital; it was Jade West, another of her son's friends (in fact, arguably his closest friend, aside from maybe Sam Puckett back in Seattle – despite the improvements in the blonde's behaviour Sam's name still tended to bring a frown to Marissa's face). She was surprised to see the black-dyed haired Jade in the hospital (the last she'd heard she was supposed to be having a sleep-over with Cat the previous night) and her mind briefly raced to various conclusions that had brought her here, though she dismissed most of them as she surveyed the girl; she was smiling. It wasn't the usual 'Jade smile' – a smirk that suggested something bad was about to befall someone who she had issues with – but a genuine, radiant smile that lit up her whole face. It was an unusual sight and may have been slightly unnerving to some people, particularly as not very many people smiled around Marissa Benson (though she had become somewhat calmer in the last couple of years) but the matriarch knew the gothic teen well enough to see beyond the intimidating exterior.
"Hello Jade," she greeted her with a warm smile of her own.
"Hi Mrs Benson," Jade returned.
"Is everything ok?" The concerned mother had to ask. "I thought you had invited Cat over to spend last night with you."
"I did," she confirmed, working hard to keep her smile in place as she… misled her friend's mother (she was going to take care not to outright lie to her), "but I had my appointment with the counsellor early this morning," she explained in slightly more hushed toned – despite Marissa knowing about her issues and, in fact, being the one to find her counselling, Jade was still reluctant to talk about it and a small blush crept through her make-up, lighting up her pale cheeks.
"So early?"
"Yeah, when I arranged it I wasn't sure if I was going to be on set with Freddie today or not," she elaborated, "as it happens I'm not working today but the appointment was set," she finished with an idle shrug.
The nurse nodded. "How's it going?" she asked pointedly; Jade's genuine smile returned in a heartbeat.
"It's great," she enthused, "in fact she officially signed me off; I won't have to have another session." The relief in her voice was palpable.
"That's good," Marissa smiled as well, "so it's all good?"
Jade nodded. "Yes; like I said I don't have to see her again. I might do so if I think it will help but there haven't been any urges or… or desires to…" she gestured awkwardly to her left forearm – a cursory glance showed nothing obvious, much to Marissa's delight. "The make-up really helps doesn't it? Cat does a great job," she neglected to mention that she'd had to apply the make-up herself this morning.
In truth Cat hadn't spent the night at the West home. She had been invited and had told 'Nona', her grandmother, that Jade invited her but, taking advantage of Marissa's work and her parents' absence, she had suggested that she and Freddie spend the night together at her own home; it was something the boy had readily agreed to, with the agreed cover story of the 'invite' that they hoped the adults would assume meant the sleep-over actually took place. Jade's mother had been a potential problem but to resolve that Freddie had joined the two girls and they'd waited until Mrs West went to bed before the couple had snuck off together. Jade's early appointment meant she had left home before her mother got up; she hoped she hadn't woken in the middle of the night and looked in to see the redhead's absence and would hopefully assume Cat left the same time that her daughter did.
Valentine residence, Hollywood Hills
Cat Valentine woke in the familiar surroundings of her own bed and her own room feeling that life couldn't get any better; her left arm tingled slightly as some of Freddie's weight was resting on it but the feeling of his body pressing against hers and his strong arms wrapped around her while he slept, breath from his nostrils tickling her neck more than made up for any discomfort. She moved her right arm to his side, sliding it down his body and enjoying the feeling of his smooth skin against her before she snuggled closer to him, swearing that a small smile crept up his face as she did. She glanced at the clock mounted on her bedroom wall; it was a little after 7:30. That's good, the girl thought, Freddie doesn't need to be at the studio until 10 today was it he said? Cat buried her face in his neck and tried to go back to sleep, smiling at the perfect way that their little scheme had come together.
The nuzzling and pleasant sensations she was eliciting in him brought Freddie from his own slumbers. He grinned as he felt the girl he loved in his arms before a sudden panicked jolt in his stomach made him fully alert. He looked frantically around the room, eyes settling on the clock and sighing with relief when he saw the time. Unfortunately his reaction and movements drew Cat's attention and roused her from her dozing.
"What smatter?" she mumbled groggily.
"It's ok," he reassured her with a quick peck to her forehead, "I just wasn't sure on the time and was worried that I'd overslept and was going to be late to the studio," he explained. "I don't need to go until around 9 I think, once the traffic starts dying down. Go back to sleep."
"Nah," she grinned, also now fully awake as her brain kicked into gear, "I can think of a much better way of spending the next hour and a half."
Freddie grinned as the girl gently manoeuvred him onto his back, looking down on him with an almost predatory gleam in her soft, brown eyes. This certainly is a great way to start the day, Freddie thought with a smile as his arms encircled his girlfriend and he gently lowered her body.
It took the couple another hour to get out of bed; Freddie reluctantly observed that he needed to shower and have something to eat before he left. Cat acquiesced, skipping around her room, smiling at the discarded black-and-pink 'Supercat' costume she'd (briefly) worn the previous evening; she pulled on her robe and headed downstairs to make a start on breakfast while her boy freshened up.
Paramore Studios
To Freddie's relief he pulled into the lot shortly after 9:45; he worried briefly that he'd be late but the traffic was mercifully light. He retrieved his ID from the glove compartment and locked up his Corolla before heading inside, greeting the security guard, flashing his ID (both joked that it wasn't really necessary, as they knew one another well enough by this stage, but rules were rules) and heading straight to the set where he was directed to costume and make-up ready for another gruelling day's filming.
It could be worse, he reasoned as he sat around with his co-stars between takes, at least this time they're all roughly my age. He thought back to his previous filming experiences; the near-disaster that had been Misfire (when Tori had wrecked and then saved the day) and his other project which he had filmed over the earlier portion of the summer (other scenes were still being filmed but the studio had done his first so that he would be able to focus on the bigger role afterwards).
"Say, Freddie," Jack, a dark-haired boy a little younger than himself spoke up, "a few of us," he glanced around the set, "are hitting one of the clubs tonight – kind of a last party before we all start school again and our schedules become crazy again… or even crazier," he gave his co-star a knowing grin; they had all traded stories of how busy they were with filming and other projects and had decided that Freddie was the 'winner' with all of his other interests.
"Sounds like a plan. Where did you have in mind?" He instantly thought of Karaoke Dokie but wasn't too sure that he wanted to go there again, especially with Cat, given what had happened on their first visit.
"We thought Arena for around nine since it's local for us all," he suggested.
"Great. Who else is going?"
"Well, all of us… hopefully; we've a couple more to ask yet," Jack gestured around at the other teens sat close by; all the kids listening nodded their assent, "you can ask Jade if she wants to come since she's part of this movie as well – and, of course, your girlfriend's welcome to join us."
"Sounds good to me, I'll give them both a call later and see if they want to come along; thanks." He nodded at the shorter teen.
The calls had to wait a couple of hours as the director informed them that the break was over and it was time for the next scene; it was a particularly arduous one for Freddie as he had a lot of dialogue and also needed to do quite a lot of running. His fitness from fencing and working at the gym threatened to cause some problems as he wasn't as out of breath as he was supposed to be (the crew remedied that by 'applying' some water to give him and his costume a sweat-soaked appearance (much to the amusement of his co-stars); he still had to work hard at gasping through his lines and taking deeper breaths than were needed but after a couple of takes he had managed to pull the scene off to the director's satisfaction.
Finally they came to shoot a scene that he wasn't involved with; Freddie headed back to the dressing room to shower and change and, having done so, took a couple of minutes to make his call. Cat, of course, was more than happy to spend time with him and jumped at the opportunity of a night at the club. When he called Jade she didn't answer immediately, but did call him back just before he was due to return to the set.
"Sorry, André and I were catching a movie; it's just finished," she explained. "What's up?"
"Not much," he replied before telling his friend about the plans for the evening and that she was invited. "I'm sure they won't mind if you bring André as well."
"I'll ask him, thanks."
"So how was your appointment? Mom said she saw you but didn't go into details."
"You've seen your mom today?" she asked in surprise.
"No," he sniggered, "but as Head Nurse she sets the timings and stuff so she's figured out when my breaks usually are. She's on nights right now so she called me before she hit the hay but if she's on days she co-ordinates my breaks with her own so she can call me and make sure I'm ok."
"Sounds like something she'd do," the gothic girl agreed in a voice that threatened to carry some amusement. "But yeah, it went well," and she told him about having been signed off.
The relief spread across his face in a smile (which, of course, Jade couldn't see). "That's really good Jade," happiness, along with relief, were clear in his tone, "do you think you'll go to any more sessions even if you don't have to?"
The line was silent for a few moments as she pondered the question; in truth she'd asked herself the same thing more than once over the last few weeks and months as she put more distance between herself and what had happened. "I told your mom that I might… I guess for now I'll carry on taking it day by day. I'm in a good place at the moment though."
"Great. Well, hopefully you guys will join us in a good place tonight," he laughed.
"I hope so too."
"Well, back to the grind," he sighed as he glanced at his watch. "Catch you later."
He rang off and left the dressing room; as he approached the set he smiled at the female crew member heading in his direction.
"I was just coming to remind you," he was told before the girl shrugged. "Should have known we didn't need to."
"Thanks though," he nodded, "a heads-up is always good."
"No problem," she returned, flipping her shoulder-length light-brown hair with a casual wave of her left hand. Normally he wouldn't have thought anything of it but Jade's slightly snide references to Tori's trademarked 'flirtatious hair flipping' sprung to mind and he suppressed a snigger, wondering if the girl was trying something similar. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and said nothing, simply walking with her back to the set before thanking her again and joining the other young actors for the next scene.
Benson residence
"Hello Freddie," Marissa greeted her son as he trudged through the door; it had ended up been an arduous day on set with the studio wanting to get as much of the movie shot as they could while the youngsters were still off school and he was beginning to regret his promise to attend the club.
"Hey mom," he sighed, kicked off his shoes, entered the living area and flopped into an arm chair, propping his elbow on one of the arms and resting his forehead on the palm of his hand.
"Are you ok?" she asked in concern; he confirmed that he was, just a little tired after a busy day, which caused his mother to bite her tongue a little as she wondered if he had too much on his plate right now. Her musings from earlier caused her to bite her tongue. "Well at least you can have a nice quiet evening – unless you're going to be seeing Cat?"
"I will be seeing her, and Jade and André," he confirmed, hoping that he could keep the where from her as he suspected that she'd urge him not to go and likely pull out all manner of stats to explain why it wasn't a good idea.
"Oh? Where?" Crap, Freddie thought, of course she would ask.
"We're going to a club with a lot of the guys from the set." Marissa opened her mouth to protest but Freddie cut her off. "It won't be a late night," he insisted, "we all, including Jade, need to be back on set in the morning – but we wanted to just have a bit of a social gathering before school starts again for us all," he explained.
"Well make sure it isn't late," she urged. "Call me when you get back; if I'm busy just leave a message."
"Yes, mom," he sighed, knowing that there was now no way that he could make it a late night, though with how he felt he didn't want it to be too late anyway.
Arena Club,
6655 Santa Monica Blvd.
A reviving shower and bite to eat had resuscitated Freddie somewhat; with her love of driving at night he and Cat had allowed Jade to chauffeur the quartet to the club. André looked around a little awkwardly as Jade and Freddie greeted their cast mates; Cat, as usual, looked deliriously happy and bubbly as she leaned against her boyfriend's arm. The dreadlocked musician's discomfort soon began to dissipate, particularly once he engaged Jack in an animated debate over musical scores. The younger actor caught up with Freddie as he took a break from the dance floor (leaving Cat moving energetically around the floor on her own but under Jade's watchful eye) and rehydrated.
"Your friend André sure loves his music," he observed humorously.
"You could say that," the former Seattle native agreed with a grin, "the guy's a genius – any instrument, any genre of music, anything – he's already got a record deal signed."
"Really?" Freddie just nodded in response and his friend let out a whistle. "Cat's having fun," Jack then noted, looking over at the cupcake lover.
"She usually does," the girl's boyfriend replied. "I am too but…"
"You're tired after filming," Jack finished for him with a knowing chuckle. "Yeah, it's been a busy few weeks and today was just crazy; a few of us were starting to wonder if this was such a good idea as we left the set today," he shrugged and gave a winning smile, "then we decided it was."
"What time do we need to be back tomorrow?"
"Around 9 I think they said."
Freddie suppressed a sigh as his girlfriend bounded over to haul him back onto the dance floor, causing his younger co-star to smirk after him.
True to his word, the group ensured that it wasn't a late finish. It was just before 1 a.m. that he called Marissa, leaving a message that he was home. He felt a little disappointed that Cat wasn't going to be with him for the night (her grandmother would certainly notice if she stayed out and they couldn't use the sleepover claim every night). Certainly his bed felt empty with only himself there but weariness meant that he didn't dwell on it, soon falling into a deep slumber (unlike his girlfriend who, after creeping back into 'Nona's' apartment to avoid waking her, found herself tossing and turning for quite a while as she got used to sleeping alone again.
AN: That's the opening chapter in the books; hopefully I'll begin updating fairly regularly but we'll see, especially over the next few weeks. Thank for reading. PD.
