With deadline day only a few away, Andre and Cat were finally finished with all 3 songs and were showing them off to Tori- to see if a new set of ears could hear anything they missed. She'd played her songs to them last week- they were all brilliant but her ballad was absolutely the stand out. Her songwriting partner was about to go off to Juilliard for piano and it made a piece that was just magical to listen to.
As the last notes of Cat and Andre's newest song filled the room, hanging in the air long after the last chord faded. Tori stood, speechless, her face glowing with a mix of awe and disbelief. Andre leaned back on his chair, watching her reaction, while Cat bounced excitedly, her wide-eyed smile as bright as ever.
"Holy jalapenos, you guys!" Tori finally exclaimed, hands still clasped together like she'd just seen a miracle. "I thought the first one was amazing- but they just kept getting better! I wouldn't think twice if I heard any of them on the radio they just-." She paused her ramblings. "You've smashed it guys. How on Earth did you two possible get even better?"
Cat, always happy to answer, chirped up. "Andre always just starts playing a tune, and it just…poof! We make songs." She clapped her hands, as if that single sound could capture all the inspiration behind their songs.
Andre chuckled, shaking his head. "It was a little more than a poof, Cat. But yeah, we've been hitting a vibe lately. I think we're both just on the same brain wave all the time. Put it all together, and the songs practically write themselves."
Tori nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. She looked at Cat and Andre with a newfound appreciation. They'd written songs before, but this time it was a whole new level of amazing. They'd been able to really commit the time Andre wanted, and Cat's voice was just so phenomenal "Are you going to send them off to labels?" Tori asked, looking at Andre.
"I'm gonna try everything with these." He replied, "I'll send discs through their letter boxes, spam the email addresses of every producer I can find- hell I might even stand outside the headquarters with a speaker." He really did want an internship - he didn't even care if it was paid or not at this point, he just wanted in.
"Let me know when you're doing that so I can avoid it." Cat laughed, "I think I've heard these songs enough for a lifetime. My brain is 90% song lyrics."
"I'm surprised you've had any time for your other class projects with how much work you've put into this." Tori added, in genuine awe. The last 2 weeks had been all hands on deck for Cat and Andre, they'd recorded take after take, changing lyrics, recording different variations- comping together different takes for every other word it felt like. But you couldn't tell in the final song- everything within them it just flowed with ease.
"I'm almost sure I'll have to sit overnight finishing my piece for fashion design." Cat sighed, she'd done more than enough to get an A across the board there already- but finishing her final outfit was still something she wanted to do.
"Make sure you get a day off for your birthday." Tori reminded.
"EEEeee" Cat squealed suddenly, bouncing up and down. "4 days to go!" As her birthday approached, she could barely contain her excitement—she was finally turning 18. Adulthood felt like a wide-open door, one she was more than ready to walk through. Living away from her parents already gave her a taste of independence, but being a legal adult meant she could take control of her life even more. Decisions that once seemed out of reach were now hers to make, and the thought filled her with a thrill she hadn't felt before. In just a few days, she'd step into this new chapter with open arms, ready for whatever came her way.
Cat woke up on her 18th birthday surrounded by more balloons then she was sure she'd ever seen before in her life, all in shades of pink, red & white. Some had floated up the the ceiling, some laid on the floor and a handful were on strings stood upright. She squinted in the sunlight streaming through her window, still half-dreaming, trying to remember if she had somehow fallen asleep in a craft store. Then, it hit her. It was her birthday
With a squeal, Cat leaped out of bed. "I'm finally eighteen!" she cheered to herself, a little dance of joy following. She hurried to her closet, rifling through her clothes to find the perfect birthday outfit when a knock on her door interrupted her.
"Happy Birthday Babe." Jade walked into the room.
"Thank you thank you!" Cat squealed, dodging past the various balloons before jumping onto her girlfriend's arms for an almighty hug. "Is this why you wanted me to sleep in my room last night?" She asked, stepping back to pick up one of the many balloons.
"I didn't do this." Jade replied, a furrow on her brow.
"Oh then who-"
"I'm kidding of course I did." Jade smirked, enjoying the momentary confusion on Cat's face. "I think I brought every balloon within two miles. I'm shocked you slept through me bringing them all in here." She laughed, it had been quite funny watching Cat sleep as she'd brought them all in. She'd been very tempted to tie one of them to her- but didn't want to scare her awake my accident.
Her phone buzzed in her hand, snapping her back to the moment. It was a message from Tori.
Incase Jade forgets to tell you meet me at the front steps of school, ASAP! And don't ask why, just trust me!
"But it's like" Cat checked the time, "6:30am."
"Yeh I was meant to have woken you half an hour ago but I overslept." Jade told her. "Get ready quickly or else the others will be annoyed at the waiting."
"Kay kay!" Cat replied, confused but feeling excitement bubble up again as she turned to get ready as quick as she could.
When they arrived at Hollywood Arts, she didn't find Tori alone on the steps. Instead, there stood all her friends: Tori, Beck, Andre, and Robbie, each wearing a silly party hat in a different colour. They held a big homemade banner reading, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAT!"
"Surprise!" they shouted in unison.
Cat's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! You guys are the best!" She gasped, running up the steps and pulling them all into a hug, as Jade followed behind with a lot less speed & excitement.
"You excited for two hours of Cat party before school?" Tori asked, laughing as she threw an arm around Cat.
"All Jade's idea of course," Beck added.
Jade rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself. "Yeah, yeah. The only person I'd get up early for."
"2 hours- but school starts at-"
"And our first class today is with Sikowitz, he was happy to let us skip this once." Jade interrupted, "Come on I've spent ages planning this I want you to see it." She put her hands out to heard the group through the doors of the school. It was weirdly quiet this early in the morning, and the whole group had been there late enough the night before, either finishing a costume (Cat) or decorating-
Cat bounced on her toes, unable to contain her excitement as they led her into the Black Box Theater, which had been decorated from floor to ceiling with balloons, streamers, and a photo collage of her favourite moments with each of them. On the centre table was a cake - red velvet of course, topped with a little sugar kitten.
Cat squealed with joy as she skipped around the room, noting every inch if her friends (and girlfriends) hard work.
They started off with a karaoke roulette season- as always, with the bonus of Robbie's lighting skills really bring the party vibe together fully. After the performances, they played a few party games, whiched ended with them sitting and chatting as a group- really taking in that this would be one of their last silly in-school hangouts as the summer break continued to approach.
Finally, it was time for gifts. Tori gave her a scrapbook to capture all their memories, Andre gave her a book detailing all of the iconic Vogue outfits of all time, Beck got her a friendship bracelet kit, and Robbie got her a shopping gift card- worried he'd buy something she didn't like. Jade got her some new headphones- proper ones that would go over her ears and let her blast her songs to herself- with the promise of her bigger gift coming later that day.
Cat put them on, jumping up and down with excitement. "Oh, these are all sooo amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She pulled everyone into a big group hug once again.
For the rest of the day there was nothing that would take the smile off of Cat's face- not that she ever didn't smile at school, but this was more than that. It wasn't just the decorations, the cake, or the balloons. It was the care, the time, the way they'd looked at her with a sense of pride and excitement, as if celebrating her was as important to them as it was to her. And that was something she'd rarely had.
For her, birthdays were always this peculiar day of fleeting attention, almost like her yearly allowance of her parents' focus. A day they'd pat her on the back, take a few pictures, say how much she was growing up – but only in the in-between moments. There was always something her brother needed, always a need or a priority that nudged her day out of focus. And she'd learned to accept that.
But with her friends, each birthday they were hers, completely and entirely, laughing at her jokes, gasping with delight when she opened her gifts, hugging her like she was their favourite person in the world. For once, she was in the spotlight, no interruptions, no divided glances.
It was something they'd probably never understand, something she'd likely never be able to put into words. She wanted to tell them, to make them understand how much it meant to her, but words felt too small. How could she explain what it was like to finally feel, fully, like she belonged in a moment made just for her?
So instead, she laughed a little louder, held her friends a little tighter, using that to thank them for giving her a wonderful birthday.
That evening, still riding on the high of the day, Jade had one more thing for her. Her fingers tapped nervously on the box she was carrying. She'd chosen the perfect wrapping paper, the kind with just enough sparkle to catch the light but not so much that it looked overdone. She'd even gone for a satin red ribbon, tied with a bit of flair – an homage to the girl she was surprising, who had an eye for anything beautifully crafted.
Jade took a deep breath, feeling a spark of excitement as she walked into Cat's room and handed it to her.
Cat beamed at her. "Oh my God, another present?" She said, her eyes wide as she noticed the box.
Jade smirked. "You have to open it to find out."
Cat's hands moved tentatively, untying the ribbon first, then delicately peeling back the paper. She lifted the lid of the box, and when her eyes landed on the sleek, sewing machine inside, she froze.
Cat covered her mouth, her fingers trembling as she blinked back tears. "This is...Jade, this is too much! I can't believe you did this. You know this is...like my ultimate dream machine?"
"I know," Jade whispered, feeling her heart swell. "I wanted you to have the best." She'd seen Cat sew on her little starter machine for long enough. She'd long outgrown it, this is exactly what she needed for College.
Cat stared at her, looking both overwhelmed and overjoyed. "I don't even know what to say," she murmured. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
But Jade wasn't done. "There's one more thing," she said, trying to hide a smirk. She pulled a small envelope from her jacket pocket and handed it to Cat.
Cat took it, furrowing her brow as she carefully opened it. Inside, she found two tickets to Milan. The dates matched up with women's fashion week, one of the busiest, most prestigious fashion events in the world. Her jaw dropped as she read the details, the tickets trembling in her hands.
"Milan...Fashion Week?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "Jade, are we...are we actually going?"
Jade nodded, grinning. "Yes, Cat. You and me, Milan Fashion Week. I booked us a little apartment right in the city, so we'll have time to explore the markets, visit some fabric stores, see all the shows you've dreamed about."
Cat's hand flew to her chest, and for a moment, Jade thought she might cry. Instead, she let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob and then threw her arms around Jade, pulling her into the tightest hug.
"This is...you're really something else," Cat whispered, pressing herself closer into Jade. "I don't even know how to thank you."
"You already have," Jade murmured, holding her close. "I like to spoil you just to see you happy."
For the next few hours, they stayed in, testing out the new sewing machine as if it were a priceless artifact. Cat was mesmerized by the sleek touch screen, scrolling through options and experimenting with stitches as Jade watched, grinning each time Cat's eyes lit up at a new feature.
They shared ideas and joked about how Cat wanted to start her own clothing line someday, she was already dreaming up designs for what she might make for their Milan trip. The room filled with the low hum of the machine, punctuated by their laughter and Cat's exclamations of delight as she tried out each new stitch and setting on loose pieces of fabric from her pile.
And as they lay together that night, Cat nestled in Jade's arms, her fingers tracing patterns on Jade's palm, she was happier than she'd been in a long long time. Moving away from home was the hardest thing she'd had to do, but being able to move in with her girlfriend made it all worth it.