I Wish I could Fight you, but I can't

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Tori's POV

I step inside my dressing room and shut the door behind me. I worked out for about an hour, dipping into fifth period. But hey, I can make it back in time. I open a hatch in the wall and toss the towel down the laundry chute. I lean my back against the wall and close my eyes, slowing my breathing. That's when I hear it. A whisper, short and illegible. My eyes snap open and I look around my room. I spot a pair of shoes poking out from the side of my couch and my heart rate quickens. Someone broke into my dressing room? Sh*t. Slowly, I pick up a notepad resting on a table then lob it over the back of the couch. "Owie!" Crap crap crap crap crap. I know that voice. It's Robbie. DIOS MIO! WHY IS HE IN SHELBY MARX'S DRESSING ROOM????? I swallow, I have to keep my cool, act like I don't know him.

"You have three seconds to come out of there before I come find you myself" I say, making my voice low and menacing to scare him. I hear a little squeak and Robbie's head pop's up. "P-please don't hurt me!" He stammers, pushing his glasses up. I raise an eyebrow at him. "You're Shelby, not Tori" I quickly remind my self. "I-it, it was even my idea to come back here! It was there's, PLEASE DON'T KICK ME!" He cries out. I frown. "There's? You're not alone?" I asks cautiously, craning my neck. Two familiar faces join Robbie's. "Damnit man" Andre mutters, looking at me nervously. I bite my tongue to keep from saying his name. Then I look at the third face, a face I know and love. Beck. He avoids my gaze and clenches his teeth. "Uh...wha-"

"We're really sorry!" Andre says quickly. "We don't want trouble, we're just-"

"Fans!" Beck adds. "And, we uh...wanted to meet you...but we'll leave" They all rise to their full heights, Rex draping over Robbie's arm. I swallow and change my expression. "It's okay" I say, making my tone cool and suave. "You boys didn't cause any trouble" I reassure them and they all sigh with relief. Beck is looking at my stomach with a puzzled expression. "So, you're not mad we kinda broke into your dressing room?" Andre says confusedly, shifting from foot to foot. I laugh. "Uh no, because you were never here" I say with a grin. Andre and Beck catch on and return my smile. Robbie however, doesn't. "Yes we were, we were having lunch then we came here and we saw-"

"You idiot!" Rex snaps. "The girl's letting us go!" Robbie pauses, then he realises. "Oooh, well uh...thanks...Shelby" He says nervously, face reddening. Oh god...Robbie has a crush on me. Well, Shelby, but still, gross. "Thanks so much" Andre says gratefully. "Hey, no problem, just uh, maybe don't come here again" I warn and Beck nods. "We won't, promise" He says in a calm and gentle voice. I smile at him and he runs a hand through his hair. Andre makes note of the flirty eye contact and grabs Beck's jacket, tugging him towards the door. "Well um, it was nice meeting you, thanks for not bashing our heads in but, we gotta get back to school" I break my gaze with Beck and nod to him. "Yeah and I mean this in a good way, but I hope I don't see you guys again" I grin mischievously. Beck laughs, his eyes crinkling. "No problem" He smiles. I love that smile. We lock eyes again. Andre pulls him out the door just after Beck gives a little wave. And with that, they were gone.

I exhale and open my locker. That was possibly one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced. I tug off my sweaty gym clothes and have a quick shower. Wolfing down a protein bar for lunch; I change back into my jeans, a white tank top and my bottle green army jacket. I tug on my knee length boots, then shoot Juan a wave. He grins back at me through the window of his office and I exit the gym.

It's times like this where I wish I had my drivers license. I jog back to school (which my tired, post workout body is not too happy about) and hurry up the stairs to my science class. My teacher Mr Cumerford gives me a side eye. "Tori, you're fifteen minutes late, any explanation?" My whole class is looking up at me, Jade smirking; clearly enjoying my moment of panic. "Girl problems?" I say cautiously. Thank goodness I have a male teacher. He coughs and motions for me to sit down. My class laughs at his reaction and I take my seat. The chair next to me is empty as Cat's still in San Diego. "Right, so moving on" Mr Cumerford continues his lecture. I open up my exercise book and grab a pen. I look up, only to be met with the green eyes of a certain Jade West. "Girl problems Vega, that's your excuse?" She smirks. I roll my eyes. "It's not an excuse Jade, you can't tell me you've never had girl problems?" "Oh why of course not! I just keep mine to myself" Jade mocks me with a southern accent. "I don't talk like that!" I hiss. She grins evilly and spins back around in her seat. I huff and try to listen to what my teacher is saying.

5th and 6th period are over fast and before I know it, I'm heading over to the black box theatre. I push open the double doors. The set for our movie is already put together: a grand party hall with a big fake marble staircase. Sinjin and Burf are on the catwalk, fiddling with the sound machine. I spot Robbie adjusting his video camera. "Hey Robbie" I say. He spins to look at me excitedly. "Tori, you'll never guess what happened at lunch" I raise an eyebrow at him, tossing my bag to the side. "What?" I ask. He opens his mouth but is cut off by the sound of Andre and Jade entering. "So she just let you go?" Jade asks, taking a sip of coffee. "Yeah, she was really cool about it" He sees me and jogs over. "Hey Tor, you'll never guess what happened at lunch" I smirk at his choice of words. "I was just about to tell her!" Robbie grins. They're both silent and I flick my eyes between them. "Someone tell me?" I laugh, even though I know what they're going to say.

"We met..." Andre pauses for dramatic effect. I blink. "Shelby Marx!" Be cool Tori. "That CFC fighter, how, why, where?" I ask. Andre tells me his story. How they were having pizza and then Robbie spotted my gym. How they went through the back door (I told Juan he should start locking it!) and then they went into my dressing room and saw me. How I threw a book at Robbie, then I just let them go. "Really" I say, trying to sound nonchalant. "Yeah, and she was totally checking out Beck" Andre adds and I stiffen. Jade notices. "Ooh, is someone a little jealous" She jeers. I whip around to look at her. "Come off it Jade, you know that's not true" She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth, probably to mock me like a movie star from the 1940's. But luckily she's stopped by Beck entering the theatre in a hurry.

"Hey you guys" He says quickly, squaring his shoulders and sifting a hand through his hair. Jade smirks at me and I glare at her. "What's the rush?" Andre asks, crossing his arms. "So I'm pretty sure Tori and Jade have been updated on what happened at lunch" He looks to us for confirmation and I nod. "Yeah well, when we were hiding behind Shelby's couch, I sorta found something" I gulp. Oh god. Beck reaches into his back pocket and pulls something out. He hands it to Andre, whose mouth hangs open, I quickly run over to look over his shoulder. I feel all the colour drain from my face. Mierda. Mierda MIERDA. In Andre's palm sits a printed photo of all 6 of us at the beach. The photo from my locker. Of Tori. And them. Mierda.