Jade West stares at her laptop screen as she softens the lighting on the photo she's editing, reducing the shadows and highlighting some of the model's better features in the process. She tells herself it will be the last picture she works on tonight, and then she'll give herself a break. It's almost 10:30 pm, and her roommate will be home from work soon anyways.

The two girls had met during their freshman year at NYU, when Jade was studying Photography and Imaging and Cat was studying Vocal Performance. They hadn't been roommates originally, but had lived on the same floor in the dormitories. Although they appeared to be polar opposites on the outside, Cat was bubbly and effervescent while Jade was more serious, the two soon learned that they had very similar interests and became fast friends. They opted to room together sophomore year and even now close to four years after graduation, are still roommates and best friends.

With a sigh of relief, Jade puts the finishing touches on the image and saves it to the folder with the other proofs from the same shoot. Her laptop is barely closed all the way when the door to the apartment bursts open.

"I'm mad!" Cat Valentine announces as she makes her way inside the apartment and slams the door behind her

"Really?" Jade smirks as she stands up from the couch and follows Cat into her bedroom "I couldn't tell."

Ever since the two girls had met, Cat has wanted nothing more than to be a internationally-famous singer. It's her dream to write and record her own songs, and then travel all over the world and sing them for her fans. That's all easier said than done though, and landing a recording contract is proving much harder than she had originally thought it would be. Right now she's working on Broadway, a background character in the ensemble of Wicked, while she waits for a record label to express enough interest in her to sign her. Although Cat enjoys Broadway, Jade knows that it's certainly not what her friend wants to be doing for the rest of her life. For now it pays the bills, barely, but she'll happily move on when the opportunity presents itself for her to do so.

"Remember how I mentioned that the girl who plays Elphaba is leaving the show?" Cat asks as she throws her backpack onto the floor and flops onto her bed

"Sure." Jade nods, sitting down on Cat's bed beside her

"Okay, so of course they gave her understudy the role. That makes perfect sense." Cat sighs "I'm not even mad about it, I'm actually super happy for her. But if she's filling the role, then they would need a new understudy, right?"

"Right..."

"I asked our director how I could go about auditioning for the understudy part, since the understudy is usually part of the company anyways..." Cat explains "And he told me they're doing an open call to fill her now open spot in the company and the understudy part. So none of the girls who are currently part of the company are going to get the chance to be the new understudy. I'm fucking pissed!"

"Wow, yeah...rightfully so." Jade agrees as Cat buries her head in her pillow "Honestly, Cat...you should just-"

"Quit?" Cat mumbles "I've thought about it."

"What's stopping you?"

"The fact that it's my only source of income." Cat sighs "And that I don't want to be a lounge singer or a waitress."

"Maybe there's another show out there looking for someone..."

"Maybe." Cat shrugs "I dunno...Andre thinks that if we give things another six months I might get something. Then I won't have to worry about it at all."

Andre Harris is a friend of Cat's from high school. They had both grown up in Los Angeles but moved to New York for school, Cat attending NYU and Andre attending Juilliard. He's currently working an entry-level position at a record label in Brooklyn, trying to get his foot in the door to hopefully make a name for himself as a producer as well. Cat has been working with him for years, writing songs and cutting demos, uploading them to YouTube and sending them to different labels, trying to catch the attention of someone who wants to either sign her or make music with him. There's been a few promising leads, but nothing that has panned out so far.

"Do whatever is going to make you happy, Cat." Jade tells her "Success isn't worth anything if you're not happy."

"I know, I know." Cat rolls her eyes "Thanks, Mom."

"Don't mention it." Jade smirks, climbing off the bed "Now get up, and get dressed. We're going out."

"Jaaaade!" Cat groans "It's already 10:30! I have two shows tomorrow!"

"And you need to blow off some steam." Jade adds "Come on, we'll go to that bar you like that has the open mic for comedians or whatever. You can laugh, get a little tipsy, and maybe even meet some cute boys."

"Hmm..." Cat hums, pondering her friend's offer "Alright, fine. But when they close, we're coming home. No two-in-the-morning adventure for pizza or whatever. I have to be at the theater by noon tomorrow."

"We only did that once, and you have to admit it was some of the best pizza you've ever had."

"I was so drunk you could have fed me cardboard with cheese on it and I would have told you it was the best pizza I've ever had."

"You're probably right." Jade laughs, turning to go to her own bedroom "Hurry up and get ready, we should leave by eleven."

The bar in question is only about a ten minute walk from Cat and Jade's apartment. It's the beginning of June and the weather is decent, so they don't mind making the trek on foot. Even now with the time that has passed since her conversation with the director, Cat still seems quite upset about losing the opportunity to audition for the understudy part. Jade is sympathetic and sensitive to her feelings, listening to her grievances and trying to provide a bit of guidance as they walk, but she knows that her friend will soon be in a much better mood once she has something to distract her.

A new comedian is just starting his set as the two women enter the bar. He introduces himself as Robbie Shapiro and Jade can tell just from the sudden change in her demeanor that there's something about him that Cat finds attractive. They order drinks and begin weaving their way through the crowded room, finally sitting down together at the first open table they can find.

"Tall, dark, and handsome over there is making eyes at you." Cat says casually to Jade

"Huh?"

"Look."

Jade follows Cat's gaze as she nods towards another table across the room, closer to the stage. There's a group of men around their age sitting at a table, but Jade immediately knows which one of them her friend had been referring to. Her immediate thought is how attractive he is. She can't make out too many of his features from as far away as she is, but his dark hair is longer than most guys their age and for some reason that catches her attention. He has beautiful olive-toned skin, which really pops against his white t-shirt that shows off his rather muscular arms. They make brief eye contact for a moment and he smiles at her, Jade smiles back.

"You should go for it." Cat tells her

"We'll see." Jade smirks, breaking eye contact with the man so she can take a sip of her drink

Casual hookups have never really been her thing, but that doesn't mean she hasn't had any. There were a few college parties where she made out with random boys, only to never speak to them again. That was just part of the college experience, at least for her. There have even been a couple of random one night stands here and there as well, but she's never made a habit of it. She feels like she's grown out of that though, now she feels like she's more of a relationship person than a hookup person. But then again, it's been six months since she broke up with her last boyfriend...and she has hit a bit of a dry spell. Jade reminds herself that they came out tonight for Cat's sake, not so that she could leave her for some random guy. They'll just have to see where the night takes them.

Robbie Shapiro is actually somewhat funny, much to Jade's surprise. Most of the comedians that come through the bar are just starting out and mediocre at best, but Robbie actually managed to make a decent impression on the audience. As she had expected her to, Cat makes a comment to Jade about him being cute, and spends a majority of the break between acts trying to spot him in the crowd somewhere.

"Looking for someone?" Jade chuckles

"Did I or did I not just tell you that I think he's cute?"

"You did."

"You know what they say..." Cat smirks as she scans the crowd, looking for the young comedian "Funny is forever."

"Who says that?" Jade laughs

"People..."

"Alright." Jade rolls her eyes, smiling as she takes the last sip of her drink "Oh! I see him."

"Where?"

"By the bar." Jade stands up and grabs Cat's arm "Let's go."

"Wait." Cat stops her "I-"

"Are you seriously going to chicken out?" Jade sighs "You were just blabbering on about how much you wanted to talk to him."

"I'm nervous, okay?" Cat admits "We can't all be as forward with guys as you can."

"Well good thing I'm here to be forward for you." Jade reminds her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet "Come on, I'll make the introduction. You just be yourself."

It had been a while since Cat had gotten anywhere with a boy as well. She had been in a very serious relationship for close to two years, only to be cheated on in the end and left broken-hearted. Although it had been over a year since things ended, and she claimed to be fine now, Jade knows that the breakup can still weigh heavy on her from time to time. Whenever Cat expresses any interest in a new guy, she always encourages her to pursue it. The best way to move on from heartbreak is to do just that...move on. Not to mention that a cute boy to flirt, or possibly do more, with would distract her even further from the fact that she's angry about the understudy situation.

"Excuse me?" Jade taps the man on the shoulder "It's Robbie, right?"

"That's me." Robbie says as he turns around "Oh wow, h-hi."

Based on just this very basic interaction Jade can tell that Robbie isn't usually the one to be approached, but instead does much of the approaching himself, in these environments. He seems almost taken off guard and she knows that Cat probably won't have much of a problem talking to him, especially now that she's had a drink, because he seems shyer than she had originally thought.

"Hi." Jade greets him "You were pretty funny up there tonight, my friend Cat really enjoyed your set."

"You did?" Robbie smiles, leaning past Jade to get a better look at Cat

"Yeah, I did." Cat smirks

"Not to mention she told me that she thinks you're pretty cute..." Jade adds

"Oh?"

"I mean...you are." Cat blushes "And I do have a thing for funny guys."

"Well, you're really pretty too." Robbie tells her "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Yes!" Cat exclaims "I mean...yeah, I'd like that."

"Alright, well...I think my work here is done." Jade chuckles, stepping away so Cat and Robbie can move closer to one another "You guys have fun. Cat? I'll see you at home."

"Wait." Cat grabs Jade's arm "You're leaving?"

"I mean, yeah." Jade laughs "Unless you're not into him?"

"No, I am. I am!" Cat assures her "I just feel bad."

"Don't." Jade shakes her head "We came out tonight so you could blow off some steam and get your mind off of everything. Go get your mind off of it with him. I'll be fine, I'll get an uber home."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." Jade nods "Go have fun."

"Okay!" Cat grins "Thank you!"

Moving towards the end of the bar, Jade watches Cat and Robbie for a few moments to make sure she doesn't need to swoop in and make a rescue. They're smiling and laughing, and seem to really hit it off. Deciding that her work is done for the moment, Jade turns to leave.

"Hey!" She hears a voice call out from behind her as she moves through the crowd towards the door "Wait!"

Someone grabs her arm and Jade pulls it away immediately out of instinct. Every woman her age has had at least one encounter with a creepy guy at a bar and she's not looking to add another to her already long list. Ready to insult whoever it had been that tried to stop her, Jade whirls around and is pleasantly surprised to see that it hadn't been some creepy guy...but the attractive guy that had been making eyes at her before.

"Oh..." Is all she can manage to say to him "Hi."

"Hey." He greets her "You weren't leaving, were you?"

"That depends..." She shrugs

"On?"

"On why you're asking."

"Well, I was hoping I could buy you a drink."

"I'd like that." She admits "But..."

"But?"

"I don't accept drinks from strangers." She tells him "You're going to have to tell me your name first."

"Seems fair." He smiles, and Jade can't help but take notice of what a great smile it is "I'm Beck."

"Nice to meet you, Beck. I'm Jade." She smirks "Now, how about that drink?"

I know this chapter is a bit on the shorter side, but I promise that the ones that follow are going to be longer than this. I've been working on this story for about two months now, and I'm really excited to finally have it ready to share with you guys. I hope you all enjoy what's coming next!