"How was your date?" Jade asked as soon as she saw Beck the next morning.
"Hi Jade how're you?" Beck asked coolly, before realising it wouldn't work to joke with her. "You couldn't wait five minutes into the school day before asking could you- I'm surprised you didn't call me last night-"
"Cat stopped me but thats not the point-" Jade narrowed her eyes.
"Ah yes, Cat, your girlfriend." Beck reminded, emphasising the last word. "Which means you don't have to worry about my love life Jade."
"Why are you being so defensive?!" Jade yelled suddenly.
"Why are you getting worked up?" Beck pried, raising an eyebrow and taking a long sip of his coffee.
"ARGH!" Jade yelled, storming away from him.
Why was she getting so worked up? He was right, Cat was right too. It wasn't her business anymore. It didn't make sense. She'd moved on from him, hadn't she? She had Cat now—a love that was raw and real in a way that grounded her. Yet, seeing him with someone else- Was it jealousy? That was too simple. Maybe it was the suddenness of realizing Beck was letting someone else in, showing parts of himself that once were only for her to see. It felt strange. Beck had always been the one person she knew so deeply, knew every look, every shift in his expression.
She had Cat now too, she had moved on. Things with Cat had happened so suddenly, but that didn't mean she hadn't moved on. She loved Cat, but maybe it was just an old habit in her mind with Beck? She hoped it was nothing, just a one time feeling, and continued to make her way to her filmmaking class.
Jade sat at the end of the classroom table, fingers drumming impatiently as she eyed the handful of classmates she'd been assigned to work with. It was supposed to be her film, her vision. She'd written the entire script over last few weeks, meticulously planning every shot, every line, down to the lighting cues. It was intense, a little dark, and exactly the sort of project that she wanted to define her time at HA. But now, the classmates assigned to work on it with her were poking holes in her choices, questioning her direction.
"Are you sure the dialogue needs to be that... aggressive?" one of them asked, cautiously.
Jade raised an eyebrow, barely concealing her irritation. "Yes, I'm sure. It's supposed to be intense. That's kind of the point."
Another classmate, who'd been eyeing her notes, added, "What about the ending? Don't you think it's too ambiguous? Maybe you should—"
"Maybe you should let me handle it," she snapped, forcing a smile that was all edge. "This is my script. And the whole point of that ending is to make people think."
A silence fell over the group. Jade could feel her irritation building with every second they wasted debating her decisions. She wanted to make something impactful, but working with people who didn't get it? Frustrating barely scratched the surface. She'd make the whole thing herself if she could.
Their teacher, sensing the tension, glanced over at her. "Jade, collaboration is part of the experience. How about you give them a bit of room for input?"
Jade's jaw tightened, but she forced a nod. She understood the theory—everyone should have a voice. But this was her project, her vision. Giving up even a sliver of control felt like compromising, something she hated. But she would play nice. For now.
"Fine," she said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "Pitch me your ideas. But they'd better be good."
Cat was swapping out her books at her locker when she heard someone clear their throat beside her. She glanced over and saw Beck, leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed, a serious look on his face.
"Hey, Cat," he said, his voice low.
"Heya, Beck!" She smiled, surprised by his sudden appearance.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, his gaze searching her face before he finally spoke. "I just wanted to ask… are you and Jade okay?"
The question caught her off guard. She blinked, her smile fading slightly as she tried to read his expression. "Uh, yeah. We're fine. Why?"
Beck let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "She seemed to have a bit of a go at me this morning." He looked down at the floor, choosing his words carefully. "About seeing me on a date- I've not seen her that intense for a little while. I just thought… maybe something was up."
Cat tilted her head, processing this. Jade had been edgy lately, but she'd chalked it up to the stress of her latest film project. "I told her not to-." She sighed, looking at the ground. Surely she was just going through something at it wasn't anything deeper than that. "But, no, we're okay." She lifted her head up again and offered him a smile.
Beck met her eyes, a flicker of protectiveness in his gaze. "I think of you like my little sister, Cat. And Jade… she can be really harsh sometimes and not realise what she's saying can be hurtful. I just want to make sure she's treating you right."
"Oh, Beck." Cat's smile softened as she shook her head. "I know Jade has her rough edges, but she's different with me. She can be so sweet, you know? She's not all… that."
Beck studied her for a long moment, and she could see he wanted to believe her. "If you say so. Just… keep me in the loop if things ever feel off. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Cat nodded, touched by his concern. "I promise. But really, Beck, Jade's a lot different when it's just us. She has this whole side… that people don't usually get to see."
Beck raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "She's not exactly the warm-and-fuzzy type."
Cat laughed, lowering her voice as she leaned in. "She's not warm and fuzzy, but… she cares. It's like, in her own way. She doesn't just put up with me, Beck—she actually wants me around. That means a lot."
Beck's serious expression finally softened into a small, reluctant smile. "Well, as long as you're happy, that's what matters. But don't hesitate to reach out if things get tough, alright?"
"Alright." Cat beamed at him, genuinely moved by his protective concern. "Thank you, Beck. Really."
"Anytime," he replied, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. He lingered a moment longer, as if making sure she really was okay.
Cat still smiled at him. Knowing Beck was looking out for her, Jade's intensity made him nervous. Her and Beck had a nice bond, he was like the big brother she lost, same with Andre and she appreciated that from them. "Oh, Andre!" She remembered, realising she was meant to be meeting him in the music rooms right now. "Bye Beck!" She skipped away, leaving Beck to shake his head and lock Cat's locker for her after she'd clearly forgotten
With their first song basically done, they were now about to start their wild-card song. They decided to leave the ballad for last due to its relative simplicity. Andre had spent the better part of last week testing various genres that they could play around with, but Cat was admitted on the doo-wop vibe, reminiscent of 1950s pop music. She didn't know what it was that drew her towards it but her music always seemed to have that kind of style within it, with her close harmony vocals and nonsense phrases. So it would fit well within their 'album' to have one that leant into it a little more.
As Cat settled into her usual spot in the middle of the music room floor with her notebook open in front of her, Andre was off to the side making sure his guitar was tuned. "So, where do we even start with this one?" he asked with a grin. "We want something that's catchy, something that'll make people want to snap their fingers and dance."
Cat nodded, her face lighting up. "How about we go for a feel-good tune? Something about love, but not the heartbreak kind. More like... that first spark of something new, you know?"
Andre chuckled, adjusting his hands on the keys as he played a lighthearted, doo-wop progression in a major key. "Got it. What do you think of this?"
Cat listened, swaying along to the beat. "Yes! It's got that timeless, dreamy feel to it. Let's make it about someone realizing they're falling for someone special."
She flipped through her notebook, landing on a page of lyric ideas she'd scribbled down. "I wrote this line last week, maybe it'll fit:
"I wanna say we're going steady
Like it's 1954
No, it doesn't have to be forever
Just as long as I'm the name
On your tattooed heart"
Andre grinned. "That's perfect! Mind if I build a melody around it?"
"Please do," Cat said, scooting closer as he started to experiment with melodies, adding in a few rhythmic staccatos that gave the song a bouncing, toe-tapping feel.
After a few minutes of tinkering, Andre landed on a tune that matched the breezy vibe of Cat's lyrics. He hummed along, testing out variations while Cat joined in, her voice warm and bright as she sang her line.
Andre nodded approvingly, his fingers dancing over the keys. "That's it. We've got something really fun here, Cat."
A/N - As you can see I'm using a lot of Ariana Grande's songs here. I was going to try to separate Cat from Ariana, but it felt weird to not use her songs. Because at the end of the day it is her voice, they were written during the mid 2010s so it lines up with the right time & youth in her voice. I'm also trying to make the songwriting timeline realistic. I've read one too many (including my own past fics) where Cat writes one of Ariana's greatest hits in the space of like 2 hours. So I hope you can forgive this for any who don't like it.