(althea's outfit for the first part of the chapter)

(delia's outfit for the first part of the chapter) 

Althea was walking in the hallway with Andrè and Cat one day when she noticed Tori struggling with putting a French horn into her locker. She raised her eyebrow, sharing a look with Andrè before they walked over to her.

"Tori." Andrè greeted with a smile.

"What's up?" Cat asked.

"Need some help?" Althea signed as Cat translated it for Tori. She had been teaching Tori the basics and she was slowly getting the hang of it, but Tori still didn't know much sign language though she was trying her best and that's all that mattered to Althea.

"I'm having a horn problem." Tori frowns. "Why do I have to play an instrument anyway?" She complained.

"Everyone at Hollywood Arts has to play an instrument." Cat explained.

"Okay, well, I sing." Tori shrugs. "My throat is my instrument. I'm a throat player."

"Weird." Althea signed, cringing slightly while Andrè nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that is weird." He agrees and Tori frowns. "Doesn't count." He told Tori.

"And Aly is right, it's weird. Also sounds kinda gross." Cat added.

"Why did you pick the French horn?" Andrè asked curiously.

"I don't know, I like French fries, French toast..." Tori admitted.

Cat gasps. "One time when I was eating French toast at a restaurant, I started laughing and then I started choking. So the lady who ran the restaurant made me leave." She confesses as the other three teens stare at her weirdly. Althea had gotten used to hearing weird and crazy stories from Cat and she never knew if they were real or not, but she learned not to question it. "So let's hear your horn!" Cat suggested.

"Yeah, play that funky music, white girl." Andrè grinned. Althea chuckled and rolled her eyes at him.

Tori raises her eyebrow. "You know I'm half Latina."

"Then hit it, muchacha." Andrè smirked, glancing at Althea with a fond expression when he heard her giggle.

Tori sighs, picking up her French horn. She played it for them, but the sound she made caused the other three teens to wince.

"Okay, why does is sound like a cat in pain?" Delia's voice is heard as she walks over to the group. A look of realization appears on her face at seeing Tori holding a French horn. "Ah, the French horn. My little brother plays the French horn in band. Though it sounds a lot better than that when he plays it." She added and chuckled when she noticed the look Tori gave her.

"Thanks." Tori huffed.

"Sorry." Delia shrugged.

"I think it's broken." Tori said in a defeated tone.

"Here, let me fix it." Andrè offered, taking it from her and got his hands in the correct position to play it. Althea smiled, knowing Andrè had always been a music genius with any instrument he touches. She watched as Andrè blew into the horn and made the perfect sound. It sounded much better than when Tori played it. A group of kids nearby started to gather around, enjoying the music Andrè was making.

"It's not broken!" Cat commented, grinning at Tori, who sighed. Althea chuckled a little and put her hand on Tori's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze to comfort her. She knew that Tori was probably feeling a bit embarrassed, but Althea wanted to reassure her that it was okay. Tori smiled weakly at her, appreciating the gesture. When the bell rang, everyone began to disperse and get ready for class.

"You'll get the hang of it eventually." Delia assured Tori when Andrè handed the French horn back to her.

"Yeah, maybe." Tori sighed.

"You guys ready to get to class?" Andrè questioned, walking over to them and throwing an arm around Althea, who smiled at him and leaned into his side. She had always found comfort in being near him and liked it when he did stuff like that. It was normal for them to show affection and it never bothered them.

"Yep, let's go." Delia nodded and the four friends begin walking to their classes.

****

Althea followed her friends into class and this class was stage fighting. At first Althea didn't really like this class, but she had grown to enjoy it over time. She felt like it even helped with her confidence a little. When they arrived, they were all shocked to find Tori on the back of Russ, the professional stunt man who was there to help teach them. She noticed Beck on the ground and realized they must've been practicing. And she figured this meant Tori didn't know what stage fighting was so her reaction was a bit understandable.

"Get off of me!" Russ shouts, trying to get Tori off his back. "Who is this chick?"

The teacher quickly ran over along with Andrè to get Tori off Russ and Beck had gotten up to help as well. Andrè held Tori back as the teacher stood between her and Russ. "What are you doing?" The teacher demanded.

"That guy was beating up Beck." Tori replied, her eyes wide as she pointed at Russ.

"Oh, you poor thing." Jade remarked.

"We were practicing." Beck explained, still catching his breath from practicing.

"This is Russ." The teacher pointed out.

Russ outstretches his arms, raising his voice. "I'm Russ!"

"He's a professional stunt man. I invited him here to teach the class about stage fighting." The teacher added.

"And now, Tori says, 'what's stage fighting?'" Jade commented, imitating Tori's voice in a mocking way while linking her arm with Beck's. Delia snickered a little, finding it funny and Althea grinned a little, trying not to laugh.

"I wasn't gonna say that." Tori responds defensively, but then she turns to Andrè and whispers, "What is it?"

"Fake fighting that looks real, like for a play or a movie." Andrè clarified.

"Oh." Tori calmed down at that.

"I took a class with him last summer." Beck chimed in.

"Well, it looked like he was hurting you." Tori frowned.

"Why do you care?" Jade questioned, looking at her skeptically.

"They're friends, you care about friends." Delia cut in bluntly, rolling her eyes at Jade's attitude.

"'Cause I figure, he already suffers enough pain dating you." Tori remarked.

Althea's eyes widen slightly, not expecting Tori to say that, but she couldn't help but stifle a laugh at Tori's boldness. Jade's expression darkened, and Althea held her breath, anticipating Jade's reaction.

"You wanna see pain?" Jade snapped, pulling away from Beck to head over to Tori.

Beck's eyes widen and he quickly grabs her shoulders, pulling her back. "Hey, why don't we go sit over there?" He suggested, guiding an angry Jade to go sit down in the front.

Delia watches the exchange with a raised eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by Jade's behavior. "Jade, chill out." She chided, shooting her friend a stern look. Jade rolled her eyes and huffed, but didn't say anything as she sat down by Beck. Althea and Delia were one of the few people who didn't seem too affected by Jade's outburst, knowing that it was just Jade being Jade. They also knew that deep down, Jade cared for them, they were some of the few people who Jade had a soft spot for them and would do anything to protect.

"Why does she hate me?" Tori asked, turning to Andrè with a frown.

"Maybe she heard you play the French horn." He joked, earning a snicker from Delia and a stiffened giggle from Althea. Althea had tried not to laugh because she felt bad for laughing, but she couldn't help it. Tori looked offended, and Althea immediately felt bad for laughing. She signed sorry to Tori, something she knew Tori knew what it was. Tori gave her a small smile and signed back 'don't worry about it', causing Althea's face lit up with pride. She was so happy that Tori was learning how to sign. She could tell Tori was still learning, but she appreciated Tori's efforts to try and learn more sign language.

"Well, you did also kiss her boyfriend." Delia spoke up, giving her a pointed look.

"I didn't mean to!" Tori defended, looking guilty.

"It clearly looked like you did." Delia shrugs. "I mean, on stage in front of the whole class? And don't just say it was acting or whatever, it's not that simple." She added, crossing her arms. If that was the reason Jade was angry with Tori then she had every right to be upset. But then again, it's Jade, so she could easily be mad about the littlest thing.

Tori's expression softens as she absorbed Delia's words, realizing the gravity of her actions. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Tori sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. "I should've apologized to her. I don't want her to hate me." She admitted.

"Jade hates most people." Delia shrugs. "Don't worry about it, she'll get over it eventually. We get it, it was acting, but also not, ya know? It's complicated, but we understand that, and even if Jade doesn't, I'm sure she will in time." She reassured.

"Thanks, Delia." Tori smiles gratefully. "I appreciate it."

"No problem." Delia nodded.

Althea glanced over at Jade, seeing that she was no longer looking so angry and instead had a bored look on her face. She had no idea what the girl was thinking, but she was just glad Jade was calm now. She and the others went to sit down and soon class started.

****

Russ was now showing a demonstration with Cat about how stage fighting worked. Althea had to admit it looked believable. The teacher then called out he would be pairing people up to work with Russ this week to prepare a fight. Althea was nervous and anxious about it, but she had ended up getting paired with Andrè. She was grateful to get paired with her best friend, knowing that working with him would make it easier. Andrè was her rock and always made sure to reassure her and make her feel comfortable.

She saw that Jade was paired up with Tori and she grew worried for Tori. Jade had scared Tori at the end of class which she wasn't surprised about. She had a bad feeling Jade had a plan and didn't like the look in her eyes. She hoped Jade didn't plan on hurting Tori. She had told Delia about her concerns and Delia agreed that it was a bit concerning, but she reassured Althea that Tori could handle herself. They decided to keep an eye on the situation just in case. As the class progressed, Althea focused on her own training with Andrè, trying to push away her worries about Tori and Jade.

The next few days, Althea and Andrè kept practicing their fight scene when they could, wanting to get it down right and impress their teacher and Russ. Althea was grateful for Andrè's patience and guidance as they worked through the fight scene. Despite her initial nervousness, she found herself enjoying it and was eager to see how their performance would turn out.

Currently, it was night time after the two best friends had finished practice for the day and were in her room, watching a movie and eating some popcorn. She snuggled up next to Andrè, feeling comforted by his presence. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders as they both leaned against the headboard of her bed. Althea loved moments like these.

"You know, I'm really proud of how far you've come in stage fighting," Andrè said, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "You've made a lot of progress and you're a natural." He complimented.

Althea's cheeks tinted pink, smiling bashfully at him. "Thanks, Andrè. I'm happy to be working with you, too." She replied, feeling her heart swell with happiness at his praise. She knew he always had her back, but hearing him compliment her made her feel confident in herself. She was glad that she had him and the others in her life. She didn't know what she would do without them.

"So, are you excited for our performance tomorrow?" Andrè questioned curiously.

"I am. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm looking forward to it." Althea confesses. She knew they had practiced hard and she felt confident in their abilities to perform well. Plus, she was excited to show off what they had learned together.

"I'm sure we'll knock it out of the park," Andrè says with a reassuring smile, squeezing her shoulder gently. "Just remember to breathe and stay focused. We got this." He leaned over to kiss the side of her head, making her smile brightly. She knew he was right. They could do this, and she had complete faith in them.

"I hope so." She mumbles, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her gaze went to the alarm clock on her nightstand, realizing how late it was. "You wanna stay the night?" She offered, hoping he would agree. She always liked when he stayed over. They would talk and stay up late or they would cuddle and sleep together.

"I'd love to," He smiles, reaching over and brushing her hair back. "I'll text my mom, let her know I'm staying over."

Althea grinned and nodded, sitting up so Andrè could get his phone out. She watched as he texted his mom, asking if it was okay. She had a feeling she would be fine with it. He stayed over all the time and she had stayed over at his house plenty of times too. It was a bit crazy there since his grandma had moved in and she was...Well, she was a lot. Althea liked her, but sometimes her personality could be overwhelming. She never minded staying over at his house, but she enjoyed having him over at her place more. She felt more comfortable and relaxed in her own space.

After he got the approval from his mom, he put his phone away and the two settled back against each other. This time, her head is on his chest and she could hear his heart beating. She closed her eyes, relaxing against him and feeling completely at ease. She could feel his fingers running through her hair and she smiled at that. She loved it when he did that, finding it incredibly soothing. She loved it in general when her hair was played with and Andrè knew that. He often did it whenever they cuddled, and it always made her happy.

They continued to watch the movie in content silence, enjoying each other's company and the warmth of being together. As the night progressed, they eventually drifted off to sleep, wrapped in each other's arms, feeling safe and loved. It was moments like these that Althea cherished the most, knowing that she had someone like Andrè by her side through it all.

A/N althea & andrè <3