Cat Valentine still remembers the day she met André Harris.
I still remember the day I met you.
I was skipping down the halls of Hollywood Arts, my brand new school. I decided to run my hands across the lockers I was running past. I remember that time in my life, the time when I was young and innocence, carefree and childish. I loved life and I lived it to the full just the way it should be. I was mocked and made fun of but I didn't care, it didn't actually matter.
I ran my hands against one locker, one that had a piano on it, but I didn't even give it a glance… even though a couple of seconds ago I had run mine over one with sharp scissors in it and that had hurt. It did say something about what I used to be like that I had just kept doing it. I almost trusted the lockers not to hurt me, as if they had a choice in the matter.
Suddenly the locker I was passing let out a loud noise and I winced as the notes clashed. I turned to this piano locker and stared at it curiously. On an impulse I hit a couple chords and giggled at the pretty sound it made. I hit a couple more and was shocked to see the locker simply pop open in from of me. I peered at it curiously and I saw the picture of one guy surrounded what looked like his friends. There was one tall guy with dark hair and tanned skin with his arm around this girl with her brunette hair in a ponytail…. Next to them was a slightly shorter guy with dark skin and hair in dreadlocks, can you guess who that was? They were all smiling brightly into the camera. I giggled again at the picture and started to reach into the locker to see if there were any more in there. Suddenly I heard a loud cough behind me. I spun around quickly and there was that boy with dreadlocks standing right in front of me.
It was you, if you haven't guessed that already.
You smiled at me curiously, at the girl with the bright red hair. You asked me as politely as you possible could, why I was in your locker. I am actually very impressed that you managed it and didn't just ask me why the hell I was in there.
I shrugged and you brushed past me to get your books, before telling me you had to hurry up and get home. I smiled and told you the same. It turned out we lived close and we walked home together.
To this day, that is one of my favourite memories… us walking down the road and getting to know each other. I learned who that girl with her hair in a ponytail was… she was Jade, the girl who would one day become my best friend and Beck who I would also come to know in my own right… eventually. But right now I was content with just being there next to you. We approached my door and I felt sad… I didn't want it to end, I truly wanted to stay with you forever and ever and never let you go.
I think that was went my crush on you first developed.
And we stopped at your house I giggled again and pointed to the rose bush.
"I love roses." I told you, and your learnt what was probably the fiftieth thing you learnt about me that night. I've been told that I talk about myself that night. But I learnt quite a few things about you too. I learnt about you're love of music and you're utter loyalty to your friends. I learnt about how you had to leave your family behind and stay with your grandma, who you are seriously concerned about. Just like you learnt about my brother and how I decided to die my hair red, almost just to get attention from somebody. We learnt a lot about each other that night.
So after I told you I liked roses, you ignored the thorns surrounding them and pulled one red rose out of the bush.
You gave me roses, and put one in my hair.
We were still just friends three years after that night, despite how desperately in love with you I still was. You never seemed to notice.
You had phases where you were in love with all these different girls, first you fell for Jade, then you fell for Tori. You were so nervous around them, and you thought that no one noticed… but I knew you so well, how could I possibly not notice how you looked at them. How you looked at them the way I wished that you would look at me. It was so blindingly obvious. It was so blindingly painful.
I knew I should get over it and I did try… I tried so hard, it wasn't as if I was entirely single, just wanting you to ask me out. I dated Danny and all that… I flirted with Robbie, I just tried to get you out of my head, but it was so hard. It was so hard it was impossible.
One day though, I came in to you singing, about another girl that you were desperately in love with you.
"Who are you singing for?" I asked as was amazed to see you go bright red. You stopped singing and looked at me, a smile playing on your lips.
"Nobody…" You muttered "It doesn't matter."
"How can you be talking to nobody? Do you have an imaginary friend? I had one once when I was seven… and a half? That's important; maybe our imaginary friends could date." Oh my God, why on Earth could I not just shut up? I was behaving like even more of an idiot than I was normally.
And André, you laughed out loud.
"It's fun to be around you Cat, you know that? You make everything seem a little brighter." I giggled again… not sure why I was so determined to look like an utter air head.
"So who is it for?" I asked again and you let out this loud audible gulp.
"Tori! Jade!" You called out quickly and I knew you were lying, if you weren't you wouldn't have said it like that. I had been through the Tori and Jade crushing stage, you got all despair-y, and sad.
A little bit of hope appeared inside of me, no matter how stupid it was. But you said nothing, and just stood there in silence.
I ran from the room, I guess it didn't matter anyway, but tears were starting to drip down my eyes. I ignored you for the rest of the day, and told anyone who asked me why I was crying that my pet unicorn had died. They bought it with ease, thinking 'Oh it's just Cat'. I ran out of school before you were anywhere near, not wanting to walk home with you. I'm not sure you knew what you had done wrong.
As I drew past your house I stopped by that old rose bush, and I just broke down. If I was crying before I was in hysterics now. I couldn't think about anything else than how much I wanted to be with you. I shut my eyes and just sat there. When you got home you walked right past me. You didn't even see me there.
It wasn't until half an hour later, when this big flower delivery truck stopped by your house. You came out and took a bouquet, probably for that girl you liked. That girl you liked and you couldn't tell her. You stopped just by the gate and whispered under your breath.
"André, you can do this." While you began to chant under your breath to get the confidence to ask a girl out, which did show how you were progressing, you had got nowhere near that before.
I tried to gather up the nerve to stop crying, go home and finally get over you. I joined your chanting off repeating under my breath.
"Cat, you can do this. You can do this, Cat." You turned around and stared at me, surprised.
"Cat." The word fell out of your mouth, gently and I had no idea what you were thinking at that moment. It was unnerving. I looked at that bouquet of flowers in your hand and I just had to smile. They were roses.
"André, just do it. Get your guts up and ask the girl who you like out."
"But…" You stammered.
"Just do it. If it was me, I know I'd want you to." A single tear drifted down my cheek again.
"Cat…" I forced a smile back onto my lips, no matter how much it hurt inside. "Caterina Valentine… will you go out with me?" Happiness soared through my soul, it was an unbelievable feeling, of joy and happiness and life and… you, it was the feeling that you loved me too.
You got me roses and I put them by my bed.
But all things come to an end, eventually.
It doesn't matter how much you loved it, it will end, I think you just have to hold on to what you had in the beginning.
We had held out a long time for a couple that started out in High school. That night that you told me you had something very important to tell me, I got all dressed up. I wanted myself to look absolutely perfect, flawless, and impeccable. I tried to stop myself rambling for most of that evening, not that it exactly turned out the way I had planned.
I thought you were going to propose, you know that? I thought I was going to be able to spend the rest of my life with you.
But instead you shattered my heart into a million pieces.
"Cat… I have something to tell you."
"Yeah…" This was it, I thought. This would be the moment that would change the rest of my life. Well, I wasn't exactly wrong on that front.
"Tori's pregnant."
"Oh my God, I'm so happy for her." It didn't occur to me that Tori hadn't dated anyone for months.
"I'm going to marry her." I gasped slightly, still so naïve and innocent, I thought you doing this just because she was your best friend and you wanted to be with her through this difficult time. I thought youe would only be her husband in name and we could still be together. I would be happy for Tori.
"Okay." I smiled "Why?"
I was so stupid. I was such an idiot that it hurt.
"Because Cat… I'm the baby's father." I stood up at that moment. I knew what that meant; my friends had managed to explain all of that to me. I actually felt like telling you that I was too, but it was impossible, you and I had never slept together, I was waiting until marriage. Maybe that's why you slept with Tori.
I walked out instantly tears falling down my face again. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I could hear you calling my name but what did that matter? We couldn't be anything anymore, you were going to marry Tori, and it's not as if this was some stupid fight, you had already made up your mind and there was nothing I could do to change it.
I didn't want to do anything to change it.
I put on a happy smile later for you and Tori's wedding. She wanted me to be maid of honour, as a sign that I had forgiven her and that everything was okay between her and me. It wasn't okay, nothing would ever be okay between her and me again. I refused… I wasn't going to make a fool out of myself. I wasn't even a bridesmaid.
The marriage didn't last though. Tori had a miscarriage on your honeymoon.
A year later you were divorced. You had only been in this for the baby.
Meanwhile, my life was going great. I had given Robbie another chance, and I had finally moved on. I had got a single out… and you know what, Robbie had decided to propose. I didn't need you back in my life; I didn't want you back in my life.
You were the guy I had cut out of all of my old photographs, banished from my memories.
So when you came knocking on my door, I slammed it in your face. You stayed there all night, calling my name. I couldn't sleep with you making that much noise and eventually I came out.
"What!" I called and you breathed a sigh of relief that you had finally made me talk to you. You shouldn't have felt so damn relieved yet.
"Cat. I'm sorry." You said… three little words. They meant more to me that the ones most girls dream off. But I didn't really care.
"You know what André? You can go take your apology and fuck yourself."
You looked at me, completely shocked.
"Yes, I can swear. I had to grow up a bit when you left me. It's a cruel world you know." André, you just stood there staring at me with your mouth open. You represented that innocence I used to have, and that stupidity. You represented my childhood, but I was an adult now, I had to move on. I had moved on.
You held out a bouquet, roses, and gave them to me.
"Please…" One more whisper came out of your lips.
I dropped them in a puddle and stamped on them with my high heeled shoes.
André Harris gave Cat Valentine roses.
Andre… you gave me roses… and I left them there to die.
And you know what, I don't regret it.
That is my first Candré piece... hope you enjoyed it. It's also a lot longer than most of my oneshots.
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