Thankfully for her and the rest of the Hollywood Arts student body, Jade gets her coffee before her last class of the school day. She doesn't know how different the day would have turned out if she didn't get lucky enough to find herself some coffee to help her make it through the rest of school. After the bell to signal the end of the school day rings, Jade is all too happy to leave the classroom and escape the torture that school and not getting enough sleep this morning have put her through while being at Hollywood Arts today.

After putting her books and things away in her locker, Jade is determined to get herself out of the building and leave for the day when her phone buzzes from inside her pocket. Against her better judgement, Jade pulls it out to look at it. Upon looking at it, Jade immediately feels regret start to seep in because it's a message sent to a group chat between Tori, Andre, Cat and herself.

Jade, Cat, Tori and André made a group chat a few weeks ago so they could talk more easily to each other when it comes to work for one of their few shared classes together. Andre specifically is the one who sent the text that has her wishing her phone was turned off. However, when two other messages, one from each of the other girls in the chat quickly show up on her screen, she groans in mild annoyance at the device in her hands.

Andre is asking them about their group project and if they should get started on it today. Cat and Tori tell him that neither of them really have any other pressing homework that needs to be done today and decide that it's a good idea to get a head start on their project so they don't end up falling behind when they do eventually have more pressing homework to complete. Tori also suggests that they do it at her house.

Which Jade thinks is typical because they always do it at Tori's house so she doesn't know why Tori would really have to suggest it. It's very likely that they would have ended up at Tori's house to do their work anyways. Regardless of such a fact, Jade mumbles about stupid class work under her breath and sends a similar text to the one both Cat and Tori sent to Andre, telling the rest of the group that she'll be there at the agreed upon time.

Jade will admit that it's a good idea to get ahead of the workload they have and get it done bit by bit instead of all at the last minute but that doesn't mean that she has the energy or desire to start it the same day they got it. She was looking forward to going home and relaxing. Possibly write in her journal or take a nap before doing the easy work she was assigned in other classes. Work that would take her less than two hours to finish but alas, her plans have unfortunately been ruined and replaced by other plans that are way less appealing to her.

When Jade gets to Tori's house, everyone is already there and things start out good but Jade can't help that old habits die hard. She's trying, she really is but sometimes her emotions get the best of her. This being another one of those times.

Jade's really on a roll today or at least that's how it seems because she already snapped at Tori earlier and the two of them are back at it again. However, this time Cat and Andre are sitting on the sidelines watching the exchange take place while the first was just between Jade and Tori in the almost empty hallway.

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" Tori exclaims in a tone that tells Jade she's probably frustrated with her right now. Jade can't blame Tori and that annoys her but she plays it off well.

Jade smirks teasingly and turns to look at Tori. "I thought that's what you liked about me," she answers back in a sing-song voice.

Tori huffs out a sigh and glares at Jade disapprovingly. "Just… let me see it already." Tori reaches up and tries to grab the sheet of paper from Jade but Jade moves quickly out of the way so Tori can't reach the paper.

Once successfully a few feet away from Tori so she can't grab at the paper anymore, Jade makes a face as if she's considering the comment but quickly shrugs. "No," she answers evenly a few beats later. Tori groans at Jade's behaviour and runs her hand through her hair.

"What exactly are they fighting over anyway?" Andre asks from one of the couches near the tv. Neither Jade or Tori is paying any attention to him so Cat assumes he must be directing the question at her.

Cat stares at the two girls. "I don't know," she tells André. "It looks like whatever it is has something to do with the piece of paper that Jade has but I don't know what the importance of it is."

"So how long do you think it'll be before they realise that they like each other?" Andre asks randomly.

Cat gives Andre a confused look and Andre clarifies for her. "How long do you think it'll take Jade and Tori to figure out that they like each other?"

At the clarification, Cat giggles from Andre's right before her smile fades and she shrugs her shoulders. "It's hard to say," she answers. "Jade is kind of…repressed sometimes and Tori can be really oblivious. Could be next week or ten years from now."

Andre's jaw drops, "you really think it could take them as long as ten years?"

Cat runs a hand through her hair. "It's possible. I mean, it depends how long they stay in denial about it." Andre takes in Cat's words for a moment and when he doesn't add anything, Cat continues on. "They can't act on their feelings or anything until they've first accepted that the feelings they have are real and probably not just going to go away. If that happens then who knows when they could figure it out."

The conversation between the two dies down for a few minutes and Cat goes back to watching Jade on stage. Andre sees an opening in the conversation and musters up enough courage not to freak himself out about the words he wants to say to Cat. "Speaking of feelings," Andre starts.

Cat looks away from Jade and back over to Andre, "yeah?" she questions softly.

"I think you're a really cool girl," Andre tells her. He really hopes that he doesn't mess up the chance he has to tell Cat how he feels about her. He wants this to go well.

Cat blushes slightly and twirls her hair around her finger. "Thanks," she replies gently.

Andre gains a little more confidence at seeing the blush on Cat's cheeks. "I'm not sure if you feel the same way about me, but I'd really like to take you out on a date sometime if you're interested."

Cat's face gives away nothing and it makes Andre really nervous. His leg further away from her is bouncing up and down but when Cat beams at him, he relaxes a little bit. "I'd love to," she agrees easily.

Andre tells out a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiles to himself before he remembers something he should have taken into consideration before he asked Cat out on a date. "What about you and Robbie?"

Cat looks away from Andre at the question. "Robbie and I aren't seeing each other or anything. We kind of had something going on between us but I wasn't ready for a relationship or anything when he finally asked me out and now he's dating Gabriella. Which… I was upset about it in the beginning but Jade pointed out that if I wasn't ready to be with him and Gabriella made him happy, I should do my best to support him as a friend and be happy for him. I care a lot about him and even though it was hard to see it, I'm glad that he found someone and he's happy."

Andre smiles softly at her. There's this look on his face that Cat can't read but the way he looks at her makes her feel safe regardless of that. "That's really mature of you. I know not everyone would be able to do something like that and Robbie is lucky to have you as a friend."

Cat nudges her shoulder gently and playfully against Andre's shoulder. "Thank you," she replies with a shy smile. "Most people don't see me that way because they think I'm stupid."

Andre's smile drops and he frowns. Without thinking much about it he grabs her hand and runs his thumb up and down. "I don't see you that way. Do you know how I see you?" He asks.

Cat shakes her head simply and Andre takes that as his cue to continue speaking. "I think you're funny and sweet. You're kind and you're giving. You're colourful and a little bit eccentric but everyone's a little bit weird. Like I told Tori the first day she started at Hollywood Arts, normal is boring and I like you for the way you are. You're bubbly and you do things the way you want. You do the things that make you happy even if people stare at you funny and that takes a lot of courage. Being yourself even when people don't understand you, that's what I like the most about you." Andre can feel his hands starting to sweat. He meant every word of what he said but he doesn't know how Cat is going to react to everything he said. He kind of get lost in talking about everything he likes about her.

Cat is close to tears by the time Andre is done talking and she tries to hide it from him by turning her face away but he puts his hand under her chin and delicately turns her head to look back at him. They both stare at each other for a few beats before leaning in. Their lips are touching within seconds but the kiss is short because Andre hears his name being called. Briefly he thinks about ignoring it but Cat pulls away.

When their eyes meet, Cat bites her lip. "I didn't get to tell you this earlier, but you're definitely a good kisser."

"Andre!" Jade calls and it almost makes him jump out of his skin. It brings a sense of deja vu to him since this is the second time today she's interrupted a moment between him and Cat. "Yeah?" he answers once he's calmed himself down.

Jade looks impatient when she asks, "which song do you like better, Take On Me by A-ha or Crawling Back to You?"

"Uh," Andre mumbles. "Take On Me," he answers much to Tori's dissatisfaction.

"Yes!" Jade exclaims with a bright smile. She's happy Andre chose her song choice.

Which is quickly ruined by Tori. "Wait, Cat hasn't voted yet." Tori is secretly hoping that since Cat hasn't voted yet, she'll choose the song she wants and be tied with Jade.

Jade groans loudly and Tori turns to face Cat. Cat on the other hand looks between Jade, Andre and Tori with furrowed eyebrows. Cat sets her eyes on Tori. "Voted on what?" she asks in clear confusion.

Tori gives her a patient smile. "Jade and I we're brainstorming songs for our project and we narrowed it down to two." Tori pulls out the piece of paper her and Jade were fighting over earlier and when Cat looks at it, she realises it's kind of like a set list except they only need one song. There's about twenty songs on the one piece of paper in what Cat notices is Jade's handwriting. Most of the song titles are crossed out except for two.

"We need your opinion since Jade, Andre and I have already chosen between the two songs that aren't crossed off on the list," Tori explains.

Cat shrugs, "the Backstreet Boys song is cool."

"No," Jade groans yet again. "That song isn't the best fit when it comes to our project."

Tori throws her hands up in exasperation at Jade's insistence on them doing the song Jade wants them to do. "How is it not?"

Jade does everything in her power not to work herself up at Tori's lack of seeing what Jade thinks is obvious. "Look, I know you love your boy band and blah, blah, blah but my song choice is better suited for all of our voices. The song allows more room for us to play around with it and make it our own while also keeping it close to the original. Not to mention, if we did the song I want we could create a whole atmosphere around the song and it could make a real long lasting impression if we do it right. I have a clear vision for it and that'll make things run a lot smoother since I don't think you can see the same about your idea."

Tori is already stepping in to reply to Jade and it leaves no room for Andre or Cat to give their input to what Jade said. "If you're so confident in your song, prove it."

Jade knows it's a challenge that Tori wants her to take her up on and so she does. "Oh, I will and when I'm done you won't be able to deny that my choice is the best option." Jade moves quickly and in a flash Tori's front door is closing shut behind Jade. After Jade has left, Tori, Cat and Andre exchange looks of confusion about what just happened.

An hour later there's a knock on Tori's back door which scares the hell out of her. As she walks up to the door she spots Jade. "What are you doing out there?" Tori asks as she opens the door.

Jade doesn't say anything. She just gestures to the outside of Tori's backyard like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Tori doesn't see it at first but when she steps out she's amazed at what she sees. There are white fairy lights hung up everywhere. Which creates a romantic and cosy sort of atmosphere. There's chairs set up in the middle of the yard in front of a microphone stand and an amp.

"What's all this and how did you do this?"

Jade shrugs in nonchalance. "You told me to prove that my song was better than yours so that's what I'm about to do."

Tori's face drops and she crosses her arms over her chest. "Cat and Andre already left since you were gone so long and didn't say you were coming back."

Jade smirks, "that's not a problem. I came prepared in case that happened." Jade points to something beside the microphone stand and as Tori walks from the deck and onto the grassy area Tori notices the Canon camera facing the left side of the microphone.

Tori is actually kind of surprised that Jade did all this in such a short period of time. She'll have to give Jade credit for all this one day when her ego won't become too big. "You really went all out for this, huh?"

Jade laughs, "anything to prove you wrong. Now take a seat so I can amaze you with my vision and get my way."

Tori laughs under her breath and follows Jade toward the makeshift stage that Jade created. Tori sits in her seat and watches as Jade turns on the camera and starts to record herself. Jade pulls a remote out of her pocket and presses a button while she gets herself comfortable on the stool she has in front of the mic. Tori listens as the beginning chords of the song start to play from Jade's computer.

For some reason, this feels personal. More personal than it should feel because Jade only did all this to prove a point but something about Jade singing a song for just her in such a romantic spot makes her heart flutter in a way that makes her fall just a little bit harder for Jade.

Jade starts off the first few lines with a composed confidence.

Talking away. I don't know what I'm to say. I'll say it anyway. Today's another day to find you. Shying away.

Jade and Tori make direct eye contact.

I'll be coming for your love, okay?

Once the chorus of the song comes up Jade is lost in the words of the song. She's no longer looking at Tori but at her surroundings. Jade's eyes wander from the microphone to the white lights and occasionally to the camera. Briefly Jade's eyes are downcast and watching the grass blow gently with the light wind that seems to start blowing at that moment.

It's obvious to Tori that this song is very important to Jade. The way she takes her time and the way she sings the song with ease leads Tori to believe Jade has probably sung it a hundred times. Tori lets herself get lost in Jade's stage presence. Jade always commands the stage and keeps people's attention when she sings. Tori knows that even if she weren't already in love with Jade, she wouldn't be able to take her eyes off of Jade.

She's magnetic and so beautiful while in her element. Jade is very focused on the song and Jade makes everything that goes into a performance look so easy. It looks like everything Jade is doing comes so effortlessly to her and Tori loves that about Jade. When Jade gets to the bridge of the song her blue eyes are staring intensely at Tori as she sings the words.

Oh, things that you say, yeah. Is it life or just to play my worries away? You're all the things I've got to remember. You're shying away. I'll be coming for you anyway.

Things feel so much more personal when Jade is singing a song like this while making eye contact with her. It feels almost like Jade is trying to tell her something with the words of the song and the way she's looking at her but Tori can't figure out if that's all in her head or not. She also doesn't know what Jade could be trying to tell her with the words of the song.

Against her wishes Tori's heart beats faster and faster the longer Jade looks at her. Jade has this look in her eyes and Tori can't help but feel herself drawn to the undivided attention Jade is giving her. It makes her feel almost like she's the only person in the world and something clicks in her head.

Jade was so right about her song choice and now Tori can't deny it. After this acoustic performance she can't remember why she'd even doubted Jade and wanted to do any other song other than this one. When the song is over, Tori claps loudly to tell Jade that she did an amazing job without saying it in so many words. Tori has to remind herself not to walk over to where Jade is sitting and kiss her senseless when Jade beams at her in a way that screams, "I was right."

"So," Jade starts with this newfound happiness from having just performed so well, "are we doing my song or what?"

Tori rolls her eyes playfully at Jade but admits defeat. "Fine, fine. You proved me wrong. You can do a lot with your song and you clearly can see the vision through enough to do all this in only an hour. I can only imagine what we could do with the song in even more time so, yes we can do your song."

Jade smiles brightly at Tori and Tori swears her heart melts at seeing how happy Jade looks at getting what she wanted. Jade worked quite hard to accomplish this end result and Tori decides that she'll let Jade soak up this moment for as long as she wants to because she looks so pretty when she smiles. Jade's smile brings out the bright blue in her eyes and to see that makes it worth all the gloating that Jade might be doing for the next few days.

/

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