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Andre had a good memory but there was something he couldn't remember. Something that, of late, had begun to bother him.
He remembered the first time he rode his two-wheel bike to the park and the first time he crashed while riding down Suicide Hill without holding onto the handle bars. He remembered just about all his birthday parties, including the one where his Great Aunt Helena gave him the pink shirt with the sparkly unicorn on the front. Most of all, he remembered every single song that he'd ever written. They were all stored in his memory, safe and sound.
But he couldn't remember the single moment when he realized that he loved Tori Vega. It had been growing for some time. Sure, they were friends and spent a lot of time together, alone and with their friends, but he'd suddenly started to see her as something more. Instead of just noticing what she wore every day, he'd started to close his eyes as she walked up so he caught the first hints of her perfume. It was uniquely Tori but now it was something more. It was a scent that made his stomach rumble in anticipation. And now he pictured her in his mind when he wrote songs. Not even just love songs. No, Tori Vega was the muse for all his songs now.
He wondered if she would mind. It wasn't often that she was without a boyfriend these days so Andre didn't figure she'd take too kindly to him declaring his new affection. When he imagined what she would say, it was either accompanied by a laugh or a swift slap to the cheek. None of his daydreams in this direction were pleasant.
So Andre continued to date his way through the girls of Hollywood Arts while Tori dated her way through the boys. If anyone noticed that the two of them spent the important moments together instead of with their significant others, they never said anything. They were friends. Nothing more.
Until the moment that they weren't. Tori said something stupid and Andre retorted in kind. She slapped him after he laughed maliciously. In a matter of moments, a friendship lay in tatters at their feet. When Andre closed his eyes in an attempt to get a handle on his temper, he caught a whiff of Tori's perfume. His stomach twisted and turned uncomfortably as he thought about walking away now. Even angry, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.
And so he did. The anger had taken away all inhibitions. If she laughed, she laughed. If she slapped him, it wouldn't hurt him any more than her previous words had.
"What do you think you're doing?" She reached up to touch her hand to her lips.
"I kissed you."
She nodded slowly, her eyes unfocused. "You kissed me."
"And you... you aren't angry?" he asked, wondering when she was going to slap him. It would happen at any moment.
"I... I don't think I am. Are you going to do it again?"
This time he had to think a moment before he answered. "I think I'm going to."
Her smile was brilliant. "Good."