Living together was a little more difficult than either girl expected- mainly because they didn't think it would be difficult at all. Suddenly, they got to see each other every day without scheduling dates or figuring out who was going to go to whose place. They had their own world, a shared space coloured by each other's little habits.
But soon, they realised living together was more than just a series of romantic mornings. It's like uncovering an intricate dance you didn't know you'd agreed to learn. There were twists they didn't expected, moves that felt foreign, and, sometimes, they found themselves treading on each other's toes.
The first challenge was space. Despite Jade's large house, it was easy to feel like there was no room to let go of each other. Their lives became woven tightly, and that closeness, the same intimacy that once drew them in, started to feel a little overwhelming. They both began to crave pockets of solitude that just didn't exist anymore. Moments of quiet — that they used to have to sit alone and recharge after school — were now occupied by both of them in the same room, existing side by side. It took Cat a few days to get comfortable in her bedroom, and feel okay to occupy a space in Jade's house without her being there with her- but once that step was made things got a lot easier.
As all couples should, they didn't let this ruin things but instead talked about setting up boundaries — carving out pieces of time that they could claim for themselves. When Jade could have her coffee and a book, often wrapped in a sweater, lost in her thoughts. When Cat started to write music again- finally finishing a few of the scribbled lyrics in those many notebooks. She hadn't written a full song outside of school in a while - it was nice to flex that skill again.
These moments apart became little lifelines. When they came back to each other, the time felt fuller. Sharing a house meant learning how to fill it with intention and with respect. It wasn't about avoiding each other; it was bout creating a comfortble rhythm.
There were hiccups, of course. Times when one needed space, but the other wanted company, moments when the need for a personal boundary felt at odds with the closeness they cherished. But each time they came up against one of these small frictions, they talked about it. And over time, they learned how to give each other room to be alone without it feeling like we were pulling away. That was the beauty in Jade & Cat- how they were so Ying & Yang but still understood eachother fully. Cat may have been all sunshine and rainbows, but underneath she had layers of so much sadness. And Jade may have been all sharp and mystery, but inside she had all the heart in the world- caring so deeply for those she trusted. No one is ever just one note- the complexity of each personality is what makes humans so unique.
A/N - That wasn't meant to be so deep but the writing just kinda flowed there
As normal, Cat was sat on the floor in the middle of her bedroom, legs crossed and guitar rested across her lap. She'd really enjoyed learning how to play again over the last few weeks - without her voice to use as much it had really given her time to try new things. Her singing lessons made her approach teaching in a new way- to use the kids as examples to one another, getting them to learn more through self dicovery rather than just replication. She was used to being able to belt any song, but even now a few weeks had passed she could only really hum or sing softly to herself - which introduced a world of new avenues she'd not yet explored.
What Andre had said really stuck with her, that writing her emotions through song could really help her; and he was right. Andre was normally right, he had that kind of old-soul wisdom within him sometimes; but then other times he'd be running through the hallways of school dancing wildly to music that only existed in his head. Cat smiled to herself thinking about him. He really had been wonderful to her these last few weeks. She could tell how stressed he was getting about their songs with their deadline approaching. These songs were meant to be the key to his future- the ones he would send out to labels with the hopes of getting a producing apprenticeship from them. He'd already sent off the "You'll Never Know" but there was no proof anyone had even listened to it. With Cat unable too sing they worked together to really finetune the backing to it, and 'Tattoo Heart" was now basically done apart from recording some final lyrics. It was by far the best song she'd ever written, even in its unfinished state. It had that a nostalgic, classic feel while also somehow feeling new and different. Also, it was her first proper love song about Jade- so that would always be special.
For now though, they'd shifted focus to their ballad- which is what Cat was working on now- Andre also had some ideas on the go so they decided to flesh them out them both separately and regroup after. Cat had gotten a little ahead of herself and had written a full song in just a few days. It was nothing complex, only a guitar and her voice, a much softer song than she'd ever sung before. It came stemmed from how she felt since leaving home, about Matteo, and the lyrics just flowed out with ease. She didn't think it was quite right for their album but it was right for what she needed right now- to let these emotions flow through her, to let her feel them and then let them go.
As her fingers struck the familiar chords again, she let the full song flow through her, balancing the line between singing loud enough to overpower the guitar- but not too loud as to exert herself.
(A/N - Song originally the live version of Realign by Kayla Grace with a few slight lyrical changes - she also has a song called 'Glass Child' which I was condisering using here which I also recommended you listen too)
"Older
We're getting older
But you will always be a child in your mind
Shoulders
On my shoulders
But the weight became too heavy over time
I didn't sleep
I didn't sleep 'til last week
I had to leave
I had to leave to save me
You didn't mean
You didn't mean to keep me up
But I've been up all night
Hoping you're all right
It tears me up inside
You won't live a normal life
Ten years down the line
When the time is right
I hope that you'll be fine
And we can realign
We can realign
This city
This heartless city
Took you away and I don't know if you'll return
Guilty
I feel so guilty
That you'll never get the cure that you deserve
I didn't sleep
I didn't sleep 'til last week
I had to leave
I had to leave to save me
You didn't mean
You didn't mean to keep me up
But I've been up all night
Hoping you're all right
It tears me up inside
You won't live a normal life
Ten years down the line
When the time is right
I hope that you'll be fine
And we can realign
We can realign
We can realign
We can realign
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
We're cut
Cut from the same cloth
It's my fault
My fault I'm so cut off
I hope
Hope and pray in time
That we can realign
I'm so
God, I'm so selfish
And I left
I left you helpless
But I hope
Hope and pray in time
That we can realign
We can realign
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
We can realign
We can realign"
As the final notes flowed through her she felt her walls break- thinking about everything that had happened was hard. Being forced to leave home so suddenly, not even 18 years old yet, after years of surviving in said home that wasn't fit to raise her- the pain came in waves. But she was safe now, she was free now, she had Jade now.
Slowly, she forced herself to her feet and walked across the hallway to her girlfriend's room and knocked on the door. As soon as Jade opened it, she opened her arms too. This was technically within their alone time, but none of that mattered over Cat's tears. "It's okay Baby." Jade hushed, guiding Cat towards her bed and sitting down with her. "It's okay." She hoped that one day it would get easier for Cat to deal with all this pain- but for now she would continue to be there with open arms for as long as she needed.