because all i saw was you
by:TuesdayTerrible
Summary: The only thing is, she's not his princess- and that a thousand watt grin isnt for her
A/N: Because I finally figured out the perfect way for me to match up, my favorite crack pairing. 3
Cat Valentine can count each reason she likes him on each one of her rainbow painted fingernails. His smile is bright like diamonds and she thinks he's worth so much more than his thousand watt grin. Everything about him is so genuine- she wonders if he just decided to pop out of one of her storybooks one day.
The only thing is, she's not his princess- and that a thousand watt grin isn't for her.
/
'Hope' she knows 'is a powerful thing'
But it's not enough. Not really.
/
She watches him sometimes when they're all piled in the ping pong room. Jade strung across Beck's lap, black hair splaying out over his thighs. Robbie sits at Becks feet with Rex by his side. The air is warm from all of their bodies piled so closely together, but everyone's too comfortable to move.
This. She thinks. Is what love is.
His fingers tap soothingly against her arm, his head resting tiredly in between her thighs and he pretends like he's playing the piano, like she's his beautiful instrument, and there's no one else in the room. When he pulls away to greet Tori, even hours later she can still feel his touch.
And he doesn't have the slightest idea.
/
He calls her "little red"
She tells him she thinks she's having a heart attack.
He laughs, and it sounds like music.
/
He comes over to her house one day to drop off her strawberry scented notebook she let him borrow for History. Her mother leads him to the backyard where she sits on one of three swings, feet planted firmly on the ground.
"Hey little red." He says holding the notebook in the air, as if it's all the explanation she needs.
"Hey Andre!" she says, her ever present smile locked firmly on her face. "Will you push me?"
He shrugs and makes his way over behind her, his large copper hands cover her small pale ones as he gently glides her backwards and pushes her forward. He watches as her white laced dress with a cherry pattern flies back and forth with her, red hair flying left and right in their self-created wind.
He thinks she looks beautiful, but he doesn't tell her so.
"Do you love her?" She says finally her voice all crumpled.
"Who?" Andre says pulling the swing to a stop.
"Never mind." Cat says cheerily, like she never said anything at all- and in one swoop she hops off the swing and picks up a strawberry scented notebook off of the ground. "Thanks for returning this!"
And she's gone in a red velvet blur.
/
She cuts herself late one night, and prays when she opens her eyes that it'll be glitter instead of blood, so maybe he'll love her instead of Tori.
/
Jade finds her at school the next day, like she has a knack for kicking people when they're down. Cat's not afraid though when Jade comes up behind her and gently put a hand on her shoulders.
"How are you hanging kid?"
Cat doesn't have the energy to tell her that her brother threw spaghetti and their mom last night and proceeded to announce that his lifelong ambition is to become a male stripper. So she just nods.
"Is that an I'm fine? Because a nod doesn't really suffice here."
She stares towards her and blinks a few times, "Oh yeah, Im fine just a little tired I didn't really sleep last night after the argument my brother and I had during dinner he…"
and she tells the story anyway- because she also has a part to play. She doesn't mean to, but she asks Jade anyway..
"Do you think he loves her?" Cat says as if Jade knows exactly who she's talking about.
"Do I think who loves who?" jade says raising an eyebrow, her blue eyes slightly threatening, because Beck loves her and nobody else.
"Andre." Cat manages to squeak out before clamping her mouth shut as if she's just told her biggest deepest darkest secret. And maybe she has. She loves one of her best friends in the special I want to hold hands with you, kiss you under the moon and never let you go kind of way.
Jade stares towards her, and chews on her bottom lip. "Maybe. I don't know. Ask him."
/
He notices the gauze beneath her HK bracelet as they exit the school together and gives her a very point concerned look.
"Something happen little Red?"
"Just looking for glitter."
He frowns and offers her a ride home, she takes it but they end up going to get ice-cream instead.
His finger brushes her lips to wipe away some extra vanilla ice-cream. He pauses just a second to long and her lips tremble just ever so slightly. She yearns to say kiss me, but the words are lodged in her throat- and it's really not supposed to be this way anyway.
She turns her head away and the moment is broken, lost in a sea of what never was and when he drops her off at her house, she barely manages to make it until he drives away before she bursts into tears.
/
She calls Jade when there's no glitter in her blood.
/
It's the first time Cats seen Jade's blue eyes so wide with shock, her hands are trembling as she rolling a beige bandage around Cats red, red, red arm. She watches Jade fight between anger, confusion, hurt and anger again.
Cat watches her eyes glaze with tears and she's kind of sorry she called her.
"Why?" Jade says slashing her arm out to the side- the rest of the bandages rolling across the floor before hitting the wall with a dull thump.
She knows it's a stupid thing to do but she shrugs. "I…just wanted to see if there was magic in me too." She knows that sounds stupid, and the confession has her hand trembling ever so slightly, her eyes blurry with tears.
Than she's crying, and she thinks Jade's crying too and there's arms wrapped around arms and she somewhere in the darkness of her bedroom- they find safety.
/
She whispers I love you when he turns his back.
He doesn't hear her.
/
They're at graduation and his fingers slide between hers as they wait for their names to be called.
"It's now or never little red."
Her lips form the words, but they're already calling his name and his hands are already untwining from hers to receive his diploma.
"Andre!" she calls, but her voice is drowning in the sea of applause. He turns over his shoulder to look at her, a smile on his face as he raises his diploma in the air.
She smiles back and…at least she has this moment...where his eyes found hers.
/
He proposes to Tori, 3 years to the day later.
Tori calls her squealing and begging her to be her maid of honor. She tells Cat how romantic he was, and how beautiful the ring.
She didn't even know they were dating.
/
He finds her, kind of like he always has, at a park- but instead of sitting on a swing or sliding down a slide- she's standing on a bridge overlooking the water. The sky is dark, and they can both sense the rain coming.
He doesn't have a chance to say hi, before her brown eyes are staring at him big and wide and so full of an emotion he cant put his finger on.
"You know." She says turning her head up to the dark clouds in the sky, a wave of thunder crashing over the two of them. "Back at Hollywood Arts….you know…I loved you right? I loved you." She pauses taking a breath, the clouds breaking and a torrential downpour is brought down upon them in one foul swoop.
Her red hair sticks to her neck and her lilac dress clings to her curves in a subtle flattering way. She raises her voice, because she will no longer be drowned out by anything anymore.
"I loved you…so much."
He doesn't say anything, the water cascading over his copper flesh. His shirt and jeans are clinging to him in the most uncomfortable manner…but there's only one thing on his mind. Her.
"Cat….will you dance with me?"
"here?" she laughs and a roll of thunder crashes somewhere in the background. "right now?"
"yes!" he says taking a step towards her, holding his hand out. "dance with me."
They dance until the rain stops and they're a complete mess of sniffles, laughter, and wet clothes.
/
"Your bachelor party" Cat says damp hair clinging to damp skin and damp clothes, as Andre passes her a cup of hot chocolate. "don't spend it with Beck and Robbie." Her eyes are pleading.
"What would I do instead?" He says taking a seat across from her, moving a dark wet braid out of his eyes, his Frappuccino in hand.
"Spend it with me." She whispers her eyes dancing with mischief. "Be my boyfriend…for that one night. Please?"
She doesn't say before I lose you forever, but the words are there in the silence of the café as they sip their warm beverages.
"Yeah…ok" he says and he smiles that warm cinnamon smile, and she feels a little warmer.
Or maybe that's just the coco.
/
She calls Jade to tell her the good news, but Beck answers the phone. She hears Jade in the background "Who is it? Get off and come finish what you started."
Beck laughs loud and whole heartedly into the phone and tells Cat to hold on, she's a little tied up right now and she'll call her back in a few minutes.
Cat giggles when she hears the dial tone.
Love is such a beautiful thing.
/
His hand is laced with Cat's when he calls Tori.
"I'm going to Vegas with the boys." He says. "I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."
She says ok have fun, but he can barely hear her over the music in the background.
"Where are we going?" Cat muses, fluttering big doe like eyes up at him.
"I don't know yet." He says a smile on his face as they park the car at the airport.
"First flight out of here." Andre says. The female lady behind the counter smiles, and shakes her head. "Fifteen minutes- looks like you two are off to Chicago."
Cat smiles and stares up at Andre knowing that for tonight she is his, and that's all she's ever wanted. She wonders if Tori knows how lucky she is.
/
They sleep together.
But, they don't have sex.
His lips press against hers in the dark, and fireworks shoot their way up and down her spines.
No, they don't have sex.
What they had was much closer.
/
He whispers
"I loved you too"
as she watches him tie his tie from his dressing room.
She doesn't hear, and she doesn't see.
She just offers him a smile, and takes her place in the wedding lineup.
/
The preacher asks do you take this man to be your husband, to have and to hold as long as you both shall live.
Cat bites her tongue to keep the "no!" from clawing its way up her throat and hurtling past her lips.
Tori looks down, "I…"
/
The rain begins to fall.
The end.