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

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Tori's POV

I used to think the cutest thing in the world was a baby and a Labrador puppy surrounded by ducklings. Now, I know for a fact that the cutest thing is the world is Beck Oliver trying to speak Spanish. The way he scrunches up his face with concentration and yet the words come out so wonky and wrong: I wish I'd filmed it.

"Shelby? You still with us?" A voice snaps me out of my thoughts. The photographer from pink bull peeks out from behind his camera. "Yeah, sorry Scott" I reply quickly, adjusting the jet black sports bra on my chest. "Okay, now really flex those abs this time yeah?" He says casually. I bite my tongue to keep myself from shooting out a sarcastic comment and sharply nod. I place a hand on my side and tense my stomach, flashing a winning smile towards the camera. "Good, good very nice, now cross your arms a- perfect! Okay now gimme a fighting scowl yeah?" Scott rambles on other instructions and I comply. This is why I hate photoshoots. Juan is standing in the corner of the room, scrolling through his phone. He momentarily looks up and I shoot him a "Save me look". He clears his throat and steps forward.

"Uh Shelby," He says, before quickly switching to Spanish. "¿Estas listo para rescatar?" You ready to bail?

"Estaba listo para pagar la fianza cuando empezamos Juan. Esto es estúpido y estoy cansado. ¿Podemos ir a casa ahora? ¿Por favor? I was ready to bail when we started. This is stupid and I'm tired. Can we go home now? Please? I reply.

"bien, bien, no te quejes de mí niña!" Alright alright, don't get all whiny on me girl! He holds up his hands defensively. "What're you guys chattin about?" Our photographer Scott butts into our conversation. Juan looks to him. "Shelby was just reminding me that we have plans and that this shoot has run overtime. We'll be heading off now" Scott frowns and looks down at his clipboard. "But we still have 10 minutes?" Juan cock's his head to the side and crosses his arms; his incredibly large biceps flexing. Scott looks to me and I subtly flex my own muscles, giving him a smirk. The man goes white as a ghost. "Um...you know I think we've got enough for today...you m-may go" He runs out of the room with his camera.

Juan and I wait until he's out of earshot to burst out laughing. "Dios mio, did you see his face?" I laugh, wiping my eyes. Juan imitates it and I start laughing again. He sighs. "Silly man" He shakes his head jokingly. "Get changed niña" He motions towards the curtain at the back of the room. I nod and duck behind it. I tug off the pink bull sports bra and compression shorts, folding them in a neat little pile back on the stool. I then put my light denim jeans, light grey hoodie and leather jacket back on. I tie up the laces on my vans and then adjust Shelby's signature side bangs (They also help partially hide my face). "Ay a yay Shelby, How long does it take to pull off some active wear?" Juan groans and I pull back the curtain to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Calm down Juan that was like two minutes" I roll my eyes. He grins and we exit the building.

"So, what're you up to tonight niña?" Juan asks as we drive along the freeway. I lean back against the seat of his range rover. "I'm hanging out with my friend Beck" I reply. He frowns. "Is that a girl's name or a guys name?" I cringe and burst out laughing. "Why does it matter to you?" I grin. Juan looks at me as if I'm stupid. "Because if it's a boy then it's probably a date and you know that you're not allowed to date because-"

"I know I know Juan" I cut him off. "I've had the lecture from Rod" I sigh. Juan keeps his eyes on the road and reaches over to pat my arm. "It's for the best Tori" He gives a little smile. I force a smile back. "I know" is all I can manage. An awkward silence falls over the car and Juan switches on the sound system. He hands me his white pearphone. "Pick a song niña" He smiles. I unlock his phone and scroll through his music, before selecting Nirvana's Come as you are. Juan laughs. "Perfecto!" He turns the dial up all the way so the music's blasting. I grin and sing along. We know all the words and we sing the whole song. This is why I love Juan, he's like my super cool dad/big brother/ trainer/ occasional victim to my very long teenage girl rants.

Juan drops me at home and reminds me about training tomorrow. I wave as he drives off, then walk up the driveway. Trina's on the couch as I open the front door. "Hey Treen, I'm back, do you know if-"

"Shush Tori!" Trina huffs. "I'm watching Celebrities Underwater!" I roll my eyes and choose not to continue our conversation. I kick of my shoes and head to the kitchen. It's six thirty. I grab a glass of water and head up to my room to get ready. First I jump in the shower to freshen up. Then I recurl my hair so it falls into beach waves and add a light sprinkle of makeup to my face. I look into my closet, thinking hard. Beck once told me he liked it when I wore casual clothes, so I pull out some white jeggings, and a light blue tank top. I add my name necklace and a monochrome blue chevron bracelet to my wrist. Should I pack pajamas? I mean, we're just hanging out so probably not. I'm pushing my silver mini hoop earrings through my ears when my phone starts to ring. I reach over and slide my index finger across the screen to accept Cat's Facetime request. "Hey Cat, what's up?" I ask, placing my phone against my mirror.

"Hiiii!" She squeals. "I'm back home now!" She gestures to her bedroom, but I already recognised its bright pink walls. "I see that, how was San Diego" I ask, fixing my mascara. "Boring" She huffs. "I had to sit in the court room for three hours!" I shoot her a smile. "What did your brother even do anyway?" She grabs her favourite stuffed animal (a purple giraffe) and plops it in her lap. "He was doing community service because he jumped out of a moving van last Tuesday" She sighs. I raise an eyebrow. "And they were picking up trash on the side of the Los Angeles freeway. Apparently he ran across all eight lanes and caused a major traffic jam" I choke on my sip of water. "That was him?" I wipe my mouth and she nods. I give a little laugh. "Anyway, I'm booored, do you wanna come over?" Cat asks hopefully. I stick out my lower lip. "Sorry kitten, but I have plans tonight, maybe tomorrow" Cat pouts, then eyes me suspiciously. "What plans?" Then she gasps excitedly. "A date?" I laugh nervously. "No no, I'm just hanging out with Beck" Her mouth drops into an o and she covers it giggling. "Stop" I groan. "It's not what you're thinking, just hanging out" Cat smirks at me. "Then why are you putting lip gloss on" I freeze with the gloss brush still pressed against my lower lip. I turn bright red. "Bye Cat!" I say quickly. I hang up the phone just in time to hear Cat yell. "You're in denial!" I lean back onto my chair. Am I?

I pop my head through the door of my Mom and Dad's conjoined office. "I'm heading out guys". Dad looks around his computer screen, pulls off his reading glasses and folds the arms together. "Where to sweetie?" I shift my weight from foot to foot. "Oh, I'm just hanging out with Beck" Mom stops typing and looks up at me frowning. "The Canadian boy with the incredible hair?" I smile at her description and nod. Dad laces his fingers. "What will you two be doing exactly?" He puts on his interrogation voice and I groan loudly. "Just watching a movie Dad, no kissing, no drinking, no drugs, no partying, no smoking, no illegal stuff, just two friends hanging out" I reassure. He exhales. "Fine, but just make sure he knows I'm a cop" He whips out his badge and I roll my eyes. "Bye dad, bye Mom" Mum gives a light laugh, her eyes crinkling like mine do. "Have fun baby" I blow them both a kiss, then shut the study door.

Beck's house is a short walk from mine. I feel butterflies appear as I approach his RV. I can see the light on inside. I ring the door bell and run a hand through my hair. Be cool Tori, be cool. I remind myself. The door swings open and I feel my heart do a little tap dance. Beck leans against the door frame, a playful smile on his lips. His kind brown eyes scan over my face and his hair looks perfect as always. He's wearing a navy Holly Wood arts hoodie and grey sweatpants and somehow manages to make them look hot. "Tori Vega" He grins, slowly saying my name. "Right on time" I shrug coyly. "Wouldn't want to keep you waiting señor" I smile back. He steps the side and gestures dramatically. "Enter senorita". His pronunciation of the word isn't too bad this time! I walk up the makeshift steps and into his RV.

He's already popped popcorn and his laptop is open on the coffee table. Some blankets are tossed onto the couch and two bottles of Blue Dog Soda are on the arms of the couch. "Someone likes to be prepared" I say, looking around the small room. "Hey, I'm a man of many talents" He jokes and I laugh at the little quip. He claps his hands. "So, I downloaded a couple movies because I wasn't sure what you'd like" He rubs the back of his neck the way he does when he's nervous and I smile. "Aw, you're sweet" All of a sudden, a large bang cuts Beck off mid-sentence, scaring me so bad that I jump into his arms. All the lights go out.