The morning of Graduation was a weird one. Not because of the closing of a chapter, or having to find an outfit that worked with a cap and gown but, that Cat was stood in her childhood home once again. It had been untouched for months, and there wasn't an ounce of furniture left in it- but it was still the foundations of her home. Her parents had slept there the night prior, and she'd walked over to meet them before the ceremony began. The house was due to be handed to the new owners at the end of the week - but until then it was still her parent's house.

And it was still the house where she'd been knocked unconscious and had her ribs broken. It was still the house she'd had a glass smashed over her head. But. It was still the house she'd taken her first steps in. And said her first words. And sang her first song at. It was a house of mixed emotions.

Currently, it was the house where she was a stood on the ground floor, her parents doting over her as she stood before them in full cap and gown, gushing over how proud they were of her. It had been God knows how long since they'd both been there for something for her. But they were here now.

"Sweetheart, you look… all grown up," her mom said softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of red hair behind Cat's ear.

Cat blushed, smiling a little as she hugged her mother tightly, then her father. It was strange, seeing them in person after so long apart. Though she'd missed them, there was a subtle newness, an unfamiliarity between them that she couldn't ignore. She'd spent so long at a distance, and now her parents were here, close but somehow feeling miles away. For a moment, they simply held each other, the familiar comfort a little bittersweet.

"We're proud of you, Cat. For getting here, for everything. And… we're sorry. We're sorry for being away, for making you feel like you weren't enough. Those years… with Matteo… they were hard on all of us. And it wasn't fair to you." Cassandra added. This time away with Matteo had allowed her some time for healing. This facility worked differently to others, limiting patient outside access rather than encouraging it, meaning she couldn't be with her son every second. At first it had been hard to adjust, but with time she learnt that it was for the best. It meant she could have time to herself, to understand her own needs and to finally live her own life again and reflect on what had happened before.

Cat's eyes filled with tears as she nodded, feeling the words settle over her like a weight finally acknowledged. "I know. I know it was hard for all of us. And… I was really hurt, for a long time."

Her mom's eyes filled with fresh regret, her voice cracking. "If we could go back, if we could do things differently…"

"It's okay," Cat interrupted gently. She took a shaky breath, glancing down, then back up at her parents with an expression of quiet strength. "It's okay. I just… want you both to be there for Matteo now. To help him however he needs."

"We will," her father promised, his hand resting on her shoulder. "We're trying to give him all the support he needs now."

They all stood there in silence, the weight of the years before finally settling and, in a way, letting them breathe. Her mother took a deep breath and looked at her, a new softness in her gaze.

"You've grown into a beautiful, strong young woman, Cat," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "We're so proud of you. And we'll be here—whenever you need us."

Cat reached out, holding both of her parents' hands, and gave them a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."

As they let go, her father had one more piece to say. "Cat… we were thinking—if you wanted to, you could come stay with us this summer. Just for a little while, before you head to New York. We'd love to have you back with us for a bit."

Cat's heart leapt for a moment. Without needing to go to school, there was really no reason why she had to be in LA. Apart from Jade. But they would live together in College so maybe she should go to her parents- see what their new house is like. But also; she'd moved already once this year, with another coming up soon. Did she really want a third?

"Thank you," she said softly. "I… I can't, though. I have this whole summer planned with my friends here, and I don't want to miss it. I'll come visit every break from College, though—really, I promise I will. But I think my life is here still."

Her parents exchanged a glance, a mixture of understanding and quiet sadness passing between them. Her father nodded slowly, his smile fading just a little.

"We understand," he said gently, though there was a trace of disappointment in his voice. "It's just… things are settled over there now. We miss having you around, honey."

"I miss you guys too," Cat replied, her voice almost a whisper. But she took a steadying breath, her gaze unwavering. "It's just… I'm settled here. I can't just… leave my friends. Not this summer."

They both nodded, and her mom's hand slipped down, squeezing her own as she bit her lip, clearly holding back tears.

The sun beamed warmly down at Hollywood Arts High School as the Seniors and their families all started to arrive; animated conversations about summer plans and the uncertain, exhilarating future that awaited them. Each of them, true to their unique Hollywood Arts style, had personalised their robes with sequins, paint, or patches that reflected their personalities. Jade's was a smoky black with hints of dark purple, with a few patches of skulls sewn on. Beck's was a clean-cut navy blue, though he had spray-painted a 'B' on the back of it. Tori Vega's gown, a pop of electric pink, shimmered under the sun with rhinestones she'd spent the night gluing on.

"Would be hard to miss you Vega!" Jade's sharp voice cut through as she spotted Tori in her bright gown.

"Look at you," Tori teased, grinning. "Actually celebrating graduation?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Don't get sentimental, Vega. I'm just here because they finally want us gone."

The announcement came for students to take their seats, and they filed into the auditorium in a chattering, boisterous crowd. Hollywood Arts wasn't a particularly large school, and thus the ceremony was held in the Blackbox Theatre. Tori and Jade sat in their respective alphabetically order seats, Vega being next to West.

"Where's Cat?" Tori asked Jade, noting the empty seat to her left.

"She left before me this morning, to go to her parents." Jade summaries quickly, pulling her phone out of her robe pocket to try and see where Cat was.

"Her parents are coming?" Tori asked, genuinely shocked. In all of the school events at HA she'd never once seen either of Cat's parents, and especially with them moving away she had very much doubted that they would come.

"Sorry. Sorry!" They heard as the doors at the back opened and the 3 Valentines walked in, lucky that had just got in before the speeches began. Her parents found seats at the back while Cat skipped by the to the graduates block and shuffled past Jade and Tori into her seat. Luckily they were the last 3 graduates of their year so were at the final row anyway.

"Thought you wouldn't make it." Jade whispered leaning forward to travel her voice past Tori, "Was everything okay?"

"Mom and I had a heart to heart." Cat smiled back, letting out a sigh of relief she didn't realise she was holding, very lucky to make it in time.

The ceremony began with Principal Helen, who wasted no time diving into a theatrical, hilarious speech about the unique—her word was "ridiculous"—student body that Hollywood Arts had fostered over the years. Cheers erupted from the audience as she poked fun at some of the more outlandish performances and experiments that had taken place on the school's stage. Next there was an impromptu comedy bit from Sikowitz, who was, predictably, barefoot and wearing a toga. He rattled on about the importance of artistic expression and of embracing their uniqueness, ending with, "Remember, my children, to always carry a coconut with you. It's good for, well…just about everything!" He pulled out a coconut from behind the podium and bowed. The students laughed, rolling their eyes lovingly. Many of the parents murmured with concern, a lot of them realising in the moment that their children's stories about this man were concerningly true.

After the speech, students were called up one by one to receive their diplomas. Andre was the first of the group, receiving a very loud cheer- or yell- mainly from his Grandmother, but seemed completely unflustered. Next was Beck, the only person who could possible style out the long robes in a way that looked natural. There was a while between him and when Robbie's name was announced. As he crossed the stage, he waved a bit awkwardly, but always kept one food in front of the other and didn't trip- which was more than could be said for Sinjin. Cat bounced up after, beaming as if she were lighting up the room herself. When she turned back toward the audience, her face broke into an even wider grin as she remembered her parents were there. Her father had an arm around her mother's shoulder, and they waved, their expressions full of love and relief.

Cat bounded back to her seat, eyes wide with happy tears. In the time it had taken her sit down Tori had already walked, but she just managed to just catch Jade as the final graduate of the Class of 2014, looking regal and unflustered as she walked across the stage.

As the ceremony wrapped up, students, parents, and teachers spilled out of the theatre into the courtyard, where a buffet of snacks and drinks had been set up. Cat tugged Jade's hand, guiding her through the crowd toward her parents. They turned as she approached, her mom immediately pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Cat," her mother whispered, her voice trembling. "Oh, you did it."

Cat clung to her, voice muffled. "Thank you for being here."

Jade watched with an uncertain, almost shy expression as Cat's dad gave her a small nod. The last time she'd seen Cat's mother was when she'd just connected the dots on the girl's relationship; and clearly she'd told Leo too. He didn't seem upset with it, just taken aback at seeing it before his eyes. He studied her for a moment, then gave a small smile and extended his hand. Jade took it, returning the handshake firmly. He nodded approvingly, and Cat's mom put a gentle hand on Jade's shoulder.

"Thank you for being so good to our Cat." Cassandra smiled at her. "We've had a lot of time, Leo and I, to think about how we put her in an impossible position. Thank you for looking after her."

Jade had also had time to think recently. Initially she had been blinded with rage at Cat's parents- how they could possibly just get up and leave their daughter. And she still wasn't really over it. But now was certainly not the time to express that. "She's alright." She settled on as a reply, not acknowledging their thanks, whilst also leaving it on something lighthearted and jokey.

Cat laughed, prodding Jade in the side. "I'm better than alright!"

Jade smiled back at her, "I'm going to find my Dad now, come get me if you need me Babe." She leant down and kissed Cat on the forehead, wanting to leave some sort of subtle message to Cat's parents before she walked way.

"You're happy with her aren't you?" Cassandra asked her daughter.

"Mhmm." Cat nodded quickly, avoiding eye contact. She never came out to her parents, she never wanted to- it felt too awkward. But this had been the natural way- they knew now and they seemed okay with it. That was all she wanted it to be.

"Good." Her mom smiled, letting her know that it was absolutely 100% okay with them. "Now shall we get some family pictures before I start crying again at how grown up you are?"

The next hour or so was spent navigating a fine balance between spending time with both friends and family, making sure to get photos with everyone they wanted. Eventually, the group of teens managed to get away all at once for their group photos. There was the typical hat throws, and the fake cheesy prom photos too, the group all pairing up to see who could get the most cringeworthy one. Beck and Robbie's was perfectly awful.

As the group laughed at this, Andre's phone buzzed in his pocket. The chatter was so loud he almost missed it, but something told him to check. When he saw the caller ID—a number he didn't recognise but somehow felt significant—he stepped away, ducking past his classmates and to somewhere quieter.

"Hello?" he answered, a bit cautiously.

"Hi, Andre Harris? This is Melissa Garcia from Radius Records. We got your CD, and USB, and emails, and I could see your eagerness. We don't normally listen to things we get sent but, I think you're incredibly talented."

Andre's heart pounded in his chest as she continued.

"We'd love to bring you in for a meeting, get to know you, hear more of your songs in person. And there's something else, actually... The girl who sings on a few of your tracks, she's fantastic. We'd like to meet her too."

Andre's breath caught for a second. Cat? They wanted to meet Cat? It made sense, of course—it was her voice on some of his best tracks. "Of course of course." He replied quickly, knowing it would be better to answer now and ask Cat later. "When would you like us to come by?"

"Next Tuesday at 3 if that works? It'll message you the details and what to say to our security when you arrive." She replied quickly. "See you then!" And the call ended before Andre could confirm if he was free. It didn't matter if he was- he certainly would be now.

As soon as the call ended, he raced back inside and found the group again. "Cat!" Andre said, breathless. "I need to talk to you. Right now."

"What's up?" She tilted her head, her big brown eyes blinking up at him, clearly a little confused but curious.

"I just got off the phone with Radius Records. They…they wanna meet with me!" He could barely get the words out, still in shock.

Her eyes lit up as she threw her arms around him. "Andre! That's amazing!"

"Thanks, but there's more," he said, trying to calm his racing heart. "They want to meet you too. They heard your voice on my songs, and they think you're amazing!"

Cat pulled back, her eyes widening. Then, just as quickly, she shook her head. "No, no way. I mean, you totally deserve this, Andre, but...but I'm not good enough for that."

Andre frowned, surprised. "What? Cat, your voice makes the songs!"

"No." Cat's voice softened as she looked away, her cheeks tinged pink. "I know I'm good, like...for fun stuff. But record labels? They're serious, Andre. I don't think I can do this. I'm not...I'm not you. Take Tori instead! Say she sung them."

"No no don't make me try and replicate what you can sing Cat." Tori interjected, as much as it sounded amazing to meet a record label, this wasn't her moment.

Andre opened his mouth to respond, but Jade stepped in, giving Cat a pointed look.

"Oh, come on, Cat. Don't you think you're underselling yourself?" Jade's voice was calm but firm, her arms crossed. "You'd be mental to not at least speak to them. Are you really just gonna let that go?"

"But, Jade—"

"No 'buts,'" Jade interrupted. "We all know you have something special, Cat. You sing circles around half the people who even try to get a shot like this. Stop talking yourself down." She paused, giving Cat an almost softer look. "Besides, it's only a meeting, you can always just say no after hearing what they say."

Andre nodded, looking at Cat with pleading eyes. "Cat, please. I know it's scary, but this could be my chance too. I can't just walk into the meeting and say, 'Sorry, the girl with the amazing voice couldn't make it.' They'd probably end the meeting there and then."

Cat hesitated, her fingers twisting the end of her robe sleeve as she thought about it. She looked between her two friends, then finally back at Andre. He was watching her with that hopeful look, the kind that said he really believed in her.

"Okay," she finally whispered, nodding slowly. "Okay. I'll do it…for you."

Andre's face broke into a huge grin, and he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Cat. You're gonna kill it. I promise."

Cat laughed nervously, hugging him back. "Yeah. I…I hope you're right."