This chapter is based on "The Hambone King". The dialogue is taken from the
My notes for this were "Cat and tap dancing. Enough said." It was fun writing a bit of fluff based off of that. :)
...
Jade waited grimly for Trina to return with the requested item. In the interim, she watched Cat manically tap dancing wildly in Tori's living room. With the immensely annoying staccato in the background, Jade attempted to comfort Robbie (something that she could hardly believe she was doing).
When Trina returned with the requested item, asking, "Why do you guys need slippers?"
"Grab the Cat," Jade said immediately, taking the slippers.
"Yep," Andre said, just as quickly moving into action. He hoisted up the tiny tapper.
"Yay! I'm a kite!" Cat said with amusement, hardly noticing what Jade was doing - sliding the fuzzy pink slippers over Cat's tap shoes.
"Enjoy," Jade said flatly, walking away as Andre settled her back onto the floor.
"Now you can tap 'til your feet fall off," Andre said, turning back to Robbie's issue. Cat giggled and went back to practicing her dance. Beck arrived and took over the coddling of Robbie, and Cat's tapping was no longer the irritating accompaniment of the evening.
Little did Jade foresee the months of practice that Cat would later sink into performances she would do while living with her and Beck in the future. Cat would literally wear out shoes in her enthusiasm, and Jade would be worn to the edge of her patience many times. But by then, the tap dancing at least stood for something - Cat having a degree of autonomy and independence, an expression of her talents. So, in an even more unforeseen twist, Jade would grow to at least appreciate the tapping even if the noise itself was unwelcome at times.
But still ... there would be evenings when a puzzled Cat would discover her tap shoes had been silenced by various means, including slippers. Jade loved and supported her ... but everyone had a point where they had to "tap out"!