“hi Robbie, it's been too long since the last time we talked, was that in 9th grade? anyways, I wanted to tell you that I'm moving back to Hollywood. more specifically, I'm moving in with my uncle. you might remember him. his name is Erwin and he lived with my family before we moved. I'm nervous because the reason I'm moving back is that I got accepted into Hollywood Arts. Don't tell anyone but the only reason I got in is because of my uncle. he had to beg the principal because I literally can't live with my parents anymore because of how dysfunctional they are. it's gotten to the point where I can't step out of my room without them yelling at me. they even broke my pear pad, but luckily it was my old one. I was able to back it up and save the files on it. I found this one pic of us in 3rd grade, a little while before I moved. you took a pic of me kissing your cheek. I don't remember that at all, but it was still a cute pic. ill attach it to this email. back to what I was emailing you about, my flight leaves in 2 days. hopefully, we can meet up or something. Love you, stay safe!!”
“Hey, Alex!
I’m happy to be hearing from you. I checked and the last time we talked was actually in 7th grade. Crazy how time flies, right? I don’t want to surprise you, but I actually go to Hollywood Arts and your uncle is one of my teachers. I go there for stand-up comedy. When you start school, I could give you a tour and introduce you to my friends. Yeah, you read that right, I have friends here, not that any of them could even compete with you. Hopefully, we have classes together. I think you’ll really like it here. Even if you don’t have a talent figured out, there’ll be lots of opportunities for you to find something that you’re passionate about. I'm also sorry about your family issues because I can relate to an extent. Knowing your uncle, I can tell that he’ll treat you way better than your parents ever did. I only ever remember him picking you up from school or him being at your house whenever I came over, basically him being a parent to you. Interesting guy …”
See you soon!”
“I'm freaking out Robbie!! you need to share some of your jokes with me. I'm so proud of you! God, I wish I was as talented as you. I mean, I love music and all, but I'm way too shy to ever put myself out there. also, I'm flattered that you feel that way about me, even after all these years of not talking. I'm stoked to go to classes with you and yeah, my uncle told me we have his classes together. I'm kinda mad he never said u were one of his students, I would've asked to move there way quicker. my flight leaves in 2 hours and I'm in the car right now with all of my stuff. tbh I don't have that many things packed. You should come over and help me decorate my room, I need to get posters n stuff. in general, we should hang out a lot. I did make a few friends in Seattle(all of which were my apartment neighbors), but I've really missed you. sometimes I say something and I expect you to respond to what I'm saying. ok, that sounds weird, but I can't help it. anyways I gotta go to the airport. C u in 4 hours”
“Can’t wait to see you, Alex. Have a safe and comfortable flight. Take care.
-Robbie”
“Oh hey, Robbie, who are you texting?” Cat said, suddenly manifesting behind the poor boy.
“Where did you come from!?” he responded.
“Jeez Robbie, calm down. Little red was just asking.” Andre said as he sat down at their lunch table.
“Whatever, it’s just my old friend Alex. He's gonna go to this school, starting tomorrow.”
As he said that, Tori, Jade, and Beck sat down.
"We're getting another new student?" Jade and Tori exclaimed at the same time, with Tori being enthusiastic and Jade being the opposite.
Jade tucked a strand of Tori's hair behind her ear before Tori spoke.
"What's their talent?"
Robbie didn't know what to say. On the one hand (the one without Rex), he didn't want to lie to his friends. On the other hand (he just through Rex on the floor), he didn't want to embarrass Alex. By the time he had come up with something to say, the table was empty, except for Beck. The boy with flawless hair was asleep.
Robbie crept towards him and lightly shook him, "Hey, Beck, BECK!"
He lifted his head and looked up at Robbie.
"H-hey, what ... where did everyone go?"
"They all left, class is about to start. Why did you fall asleep?"
Beck sighed, "Jade kept me up all night brainstorming what to get Tori for their one-month anniversary. Even after she left, I-I just, couldn't stop thinking about how she never did anything like that for me when we dated."
Robbie hesitated for a moment before responding, "I'm sorry about that, but didn't you say you were happier now that you guys weren't dating?"
Beck started to gather his things and get up, as he rubbed his eyes, he looked tiredly at Robbie.
"I know I said that, but I'm still not over it. I guess I'm jealous that Tori and Jade are happy together and I'm just ..."
"-Sleep deprived and covered in lipstick?"
"Lipstick?"
Beck looked at his reflection in a puddle, seeing that someone had used lipstick to draw a mustache on his face.
"Cat didn't have a sharpie so ... "
Beck ran back into the school, muttering something about Jade's scissors and Cat's head.
*insert pear phone transition on the slap that says*
Tori Vega: Excited to meet the new student, and so is Sikowitz for some reason. Also, is Beck wearing lipstick or is that just me??
Mood: Pumped
The main characters are in improv class, one of the last classes of the day, and Robbie kept checking the time. His last email from Alex was sent 3 and a half hours ago, and the airport was 45 minutes away. Of course, it would take a while before Alex could leave the airport, but Sikowitz should've been leaving soon.
As if on cue, Sikowitz approached Tori and Cat and pushed them off the stage, interrupting their scene.
“Hey! We didn’t get to fin-” Tori said before Sikowitz interrupted her.
“Lovely work but we have more important matters to discuss. My dear old nephew is moving to Hollywood again and I need helpers that can carry his stuff into my house. Beck, Andre, Cat, Tori, Jade, and Robbie, thank you for volunteering. Now follow me if you will.”
The teacher lead them out to his van despite their protests, with Robbie staying silent.
“I don’t understand. Why do we have to help?” complained Tori
“Because my nephew is going to attend Hollywood Arts and he should meet some of his new peers, that’s why,” replied Sikowitz.
“Wait a damn minute … isn’t your friend also moving to Hollywood and coming to our school?” Andre said as turned to Robbie.
“What a coincidence!” exclaimed Cat.
“I guess I forgot to mention that he’s Sikowitz’s nephew.”
“Well, if you lead with that, I’d have been more enthusiastic. Maybe his craziness is genetic,” said Jade, eyeing their teacher.
Everyone then settled in for the long car ride. While Tori played music to sing along to, Robbie put on his headphones and listened to music. “Hackensack” by Fountains of Wayne began to play, and he rested his head against the car door. He thought about Alex and how he was going to look after all these years. He had looked at their profile on TheSlap a year ago at this point and at the time he thought that they were kind of cute. But he was NOT gay. That would be cringe. They were just childhood friends anyway. He’d probably end up becoming close to some other member of the group like Jade or Beck or hell, even Cat. Robbie would just become someone in the back of a group photo; that one kid you randomly remember years later and search up on the internet in your spare time. Ever since Alex moved away, his confidence had been in the gutter. That’s why he had Rex. Speaking of Rex, he hadn’t taken him to school that day. Since he was already planning on visiting Alex that day, he wanted to prepare for being without Rex for an extended period. He was scared of Alex thinking he was a weirdo for having Rex. As a kid, he had used sock puppets to communicate when he was overwhelmed, but Rex was something else. He was more than a “puppet”, he was like a parasite. He needed Robbie to exist, even if he didn’t act like it.
Before he knew it, they were at the airport.
“Boys and Robbie, come with me. The rest of you should drive up to the doors in 15 minutes.”
Robbie rolled his eyes at the hurtful remark and got out of the car. The 4 men and Robbie walked into the airport. After searching for Alex, Sikowitz finally spotted him at Starbucks, nibbling on a cheese Danish. He was wearing an iCarly t-shirt, baggy jeans, beat-up hightop converse, and headphones. He looked way cuter than he did in that picture he had seen on TheSlap.
He looked up from his food and immediately ran to Sikowutz and hugged him.
“How was the flight kiddo? See any interesting clouds up there?”
“It was alright, I saw one cloud shaped like a coconut, but that might have been from the furry pudding.”
The pair laughed and stopped hugging, Alex looked around and locked eyes with Robbie, whose face began to redden.
“Robbie?”
“Yes? I mean– hello Alex. Long time no see, huh,”
“No kidding.”