Sorry for the really long delay. I'm entering college now and I'm having a difficult time adjusting. I'm gonna finish this I promise!

Some Girl

There were no noise in the room except for the uneven breathing of a curly-haired boy and the little strums from his old guitar. Robbie went to the Auditorium for some alone time; he felt as if his mind was going to explode with all the 'stress' he was having. The upcoming play and the fact that he was the lead were making him unusually nervous. He didn't know why; he's used to acting in front of a large audience with much gusto and confidence. But this, he thought, was different. Maybe the fact that Cat Valentine will play as his love interest and his weird new-found feelings isn't much of a help to calm his nerves.

He wished to step down from the responsibility and play a supporting role instead; maybe a farmer or a tree swaying at the back. But no, it was wrong. There's something- he can't point his finger to it- that tells to go on with the flow and leave it be. So he decided to accept the role, and all of its responsibilities, anyway. Some girls might notice his manly charm during the play and he might score some dates afterwards. Hmmm, he thought it was a very nice plan.

"Who has two thumbs up and is a genius? Me!" He said to an invisible audience in front of him. He didn't care; being alone was nice and easy for once in a while. It was kind of relaxing to be alone and strumming with his guitar. He might come up with a new song. The smile on his face was unmistakably silly and large.

"Who has two thumbs up and is a red head? Me!" A giddy voice echoed from the door that made his heart thump a little loudly. His smile faltered when he realized that Cat was already walking towards him, a grin was plastered in her face. He wanted to be away from people, especially from her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked fretfully, but that didn't stop him from staring at her bubbly face. It made him feel like sinking and flying at the same time. Is that even possible? No. Stupid Robbie.

She was wearing a purple dress that reminded him of the dresses he passes by every time his mother drags him with her at Macy's. Cat may not have a model's figure but sure as hell that dress looked good on her, he thought. Her ruby red hair was cascading down her shoulders rather gracefully. He never actually thought about it before but Cat is actually a pretty young woman, not some bipolar girlie he would like to make fun of every now and then. She was altogether a pleasant thing to look at. She doesn't look annoying and crazy anymore.

"Tori told me to rehearse the lines with you. I already have your script!" She giddily sat opposite him, handing him a green clear book. "It's already finished. They decided to make a modern version of Some Kind of Wonderful."

"That movie of John Hughes? That's nice," he responded absently, the proximity of her was actually making him a little uncomfortable. The auditorium seemed warmer and smaller than before. She smelled of strawberries, the kind that makes him want to crave for strawberry soy cupcakes. But mostly, it wants to make him crave for her…

What the flippin' hell? Get a grip, Robbie.

"Okay, let's try this scene," she said thoughtfully as she flipped the pages of her clear book. She was as clueless as a window of what she could do to the boy in front of her. God, he was even clueless himself. But she's a friend, and he's being a professional. He must wave these hormones off and practice with her. "Robbie, go to page twenty-seven. In one…two…three…"

"Emily," he said, trying to sound as manly as possible, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you think Shelly's going to meet you here?" She asked, trying to project sadness and anxiety in her eyes. "She's going to bail on you."

"How did you know? You're not her. You don't know her."

"She won't love you, Daniel."

"What is up with you?" He was already standing, imitating her. They were in the middle of the stage, reading their lines. It's as if people were watching them. He cannot see Emily, the boyish best friend of Daniel who was secretly in love with him. All he can see was Cat, her red hair, brown eyes, and pretty face. But no, he doesn't want to end up like Sybil Vane. He must concentrate. "You come here in this club to tell me she doesn't love me? That's very nice of you then."

"Do you miss me, Daniel? Do you miss being around me?"

"But this is not third grade anymore. Emily, we're grown ups."

"I don't think we should see each other, Daniel," she said, taking a step forward. Her eyes were looking alternately on the script and him. "I think it's best we shouldn't hang out anymore."

"Why?"

She took a step further. She was so close that he could already reach her with his hands.

"Because I'm driving you crazy and you're driving me crazy… and I can't afford to have you hate me, Daniel. All I care about in this world is me, my drums, and you."

There were tears on her eyes. It was amazing how she was in character so easily. That's what Sikowitz love about her best. He says that she really suits characters full of sadness and pathos, which she took as an insult of course.

He took another step forward, just as the script was telling him to do so. She should walk away, but no, she stayed frozen on the spot. She must have been carried away by the emotions. He reached to cup her face (and no, it's not on the script either) and looked at her quite swollen eyes. There was some sort of invisible force that made him lean forward to kiss her…

"I don't think it's part of the script, Robbie…" she said slowly, her breath was hot against his. He pulled his hand away from her, shaking from the fact that she pointed him out.

"I…I thought…" and he was backing away from her, speechless and mortified. What excuse should he say? This is totally embarrassing. "I think I misread it. Now that I remember, I have ballet classes. Good bye, Cat!"

And he strapped his guitar on his side and ran away as fast as he can, his heart sinking at the fact that he almost kissed Cat Valentine. The hallway seemed empty at that moment, and all he could hear were the sound of his shoes and hitching of his breath. Where's Rex when you need him? Oh right, he left him at home, tucked in his bed. He almost forgot about the little fellow now that someone's already infecting his mind. He shook his head at the realization as he turned to the left, towards the lockers. Little did he know that Andre was standing right in front of his locker and he bumped in to him.

"Whoa, what are you in the rush for? We dropped out ballet classes, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Robbie said breathlessly. "I'm sorry, Andre. I'm such a mess. I couldn't…ahhh." And he collapsed beside the lockers, looking defeated.

"Seriously, man up. What's wrong?" Andre sat beside his best friend.

"I'm not Robbie anymore…" he wheezed as he stopped twisting and turning on the floor, just like he always does when he was clueless and helpless. "And I don't know what to do with Ca-this girl!"

"Who's 'THE GIRL'?"

"She doesn't go here," he lied. Admitting that he's afraid of Cat would be the end of his social life. He couldn't afford anyone knowing this, especially Jade. He had to hide this even from Andre, for extra measure. "I met her in a comic convention."

"Oh," Andre said. "So what's up with her?"

"She's a friend, you see. And I like her, but I can't like her. She's like the last person I should like 'because she's weird and my family would surely don't like her."

"That sounded like Cat Valentine."

"No, not Cat Valentine. Andre, are you kidding me?"

"Sorry," he said, "I thought you like Cat. But fine, I believe you. Tell you what, if you like a girl, you like a girl. I've had the same thing with this girl, and well…I tried not acting like a little child and I have her now."

"Wait, you have a girlfriend?" Robbie sat up, looking confused. "How did I miss that piece of information…is that Tori?"

"Tori's my best friend, you know that," Andre said, looking down at his shoes. Robbie thought he sensed a trace of sadness in his voice. "That girl, well…we're not really together yet but we hang out a lot and she said she likes me."

"That's nice of you then, Andre. So are you saying that I have to man up or something? I think I can do that."

"Of course you can. This is like the first time I saw you really scared of a girl. You're usually the one who's being too front about everything!"

"I guess she's not just some girl." he said with a sigh, more like to himself.