Cat had spent the morning nervously anticipating this moment—her first music video shoot, and the first time meeting Myles. They'd managed to always just miss each other it seemed, and their parts of the song were recorded months apart. Everyone seemed to talk about him like he was already an icon. He wasn't uber-famous yet, but still had a good reputation, and people she trusted swore he was incredible to work with.
The crew was bustling around the modest studio, setting up the scenes: a hotel room set to one side and an infinity cove with balloons everywhere, a projector casting swirling lights over everything. It was simple, low-budget, but she liked that. Less intimating for her first one.
She started on her solo shots in the hotel room, just her playing around in the room, singing the lyrics. It was really nothing hard at all- she basically just pretended like she was on one of her live-streams, singing to the camera and having fun with it.
A short while later —she noticed a small stir in the room. Just as Cat changed into her second outfit — a simple black mini dress - she glanced up, and there was Myles, shuffling in with an easy, lazy gait, dressed in his usual oversized jumper and slightly rumpled jeans. His hair was a little messy, eyes sleepy as he gave her a slow smile.
"Yo, Caterina, right?" His voice was smooth and low.
"Yeah, that's me!" She flashed a small, slightly awkward smile. "I'm… really excited to work together."
"Same." Myles's eyes crinkled as he smiled back, his gaze friendly but heavy-lidded. She could tell he was probably high, just by the slow way he blinked and the slight sway in his movements. He leaned in a little closer, studying her hair. "I like the colour."
"Thank you! I love having red hair." She beamed, running a hand through it.
"Nice. It's cool. I dig it." He nodded approvingly, then slung an arm around her shoulder as they were called over to the infinity cove set for the first shot. Cat could smell a faint trace of weed and something citrusy on him. It wasn't unpleasant, just made her pause for a moment. She'd been told to expect this, it was a rapper thing. But still, there were fights happening in her mind abour it all- having grown up around her brother being an ex-addict. She shook her head to get rid of the thought. She wasn't going to let that control her mind right now. "Do you mind if I call you Cat? Caterina is, like a lot of syllables."
"Yeh thats all good!" She smiled to him, she preferred Cat really anyway.
They took their places, and the music started. Myles leaned in close, his movement lazy as he lip-synced the opening lines, his arm still around her shoulder. He seemed to be using her to steady himself a little, which made Cat giggle, and she hoped she looked natural on camera, even if her heart was pounding a little faster than usual. She didn't know what to do with herself. There had been no real brief for this scene - just dance around and lip sync, but she hadn't expected for them to be this close with it.
The director was encouraging them to lean into each other, playing up the chemistry. "Yes, just like that! Myles, keep that gaze on her—perfect! Cat, look back at him, a little playful, like there's a secret between you."
Cat followed the cues, glancing up at Myles and giving him a small, shy smile. His expression softened, and he gave her this lazy, close-mouthed grin that almost made her blush. He was a great actor—she felt like they'd known each other forever, just by the way he looked at her.
In between takes, Myles would gently bump her shoulder, giving her a sleepy grin. "First video shoot?" he asked, sensing her nervous energy.
"Yeah, you can probably tell." She laughed.
"Nah, you're good at this," he murmured, his voice mellow. "Way better than I was my first time."
She wasn't sure if he was serious, but it was nice of him to say. It helped her relax a little, and by the time they'd done a few takes, she was finding her rhythm, moving more naturally with him and letting the song's groove take over.
Myles leaned close to her again, almost a little too close, but not in a weird way—just like he didn't know where his boundaries were. She could feel him relaxing more into her, maybe a bit too comfortable, but she rolled with it. She liked the energy it gave the video, even if she wondered what people might think seeing them so close.
At one point, the director pulled them both aside with a gleam in his eye. "I love this dynamic," he said, motioning between them. "You two are killing it. Now, I've got a bit of an idea for the end shot… Let's do a kiss."
Cat blinked, surprised. She shot a quick glance at Myles, who seemed to be in his own world, just nodding along to whatever the director said. She cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks warm. "Um, I don't know about that. I don't think the song… really needs it."
The director frowned, just a bit, and then gave her a reassuring smile. "I get it. Just thought I'd throw it out there since you two have such great chemistry. But if you're not feeling it, we'll wrap with the current shots."
She nodded, grateful he dropped it so easily, and shot Myles a small smile. He just gave her an easy thumbs-up, clearly not phased either way. They got back into position, wrapping up the final shots with the same fun closeness, but she felt better knowing she'd kept it true to what she wanted.
As they wrapped up, Myles stretched, then turned to her with a slow smile. "Hey, thanks for keeping it real back there. Not every shoot has to end with, like, a big dramatic kiss, right?"
Cat laughed, relieved he got it. "Exactly. It's already got a vibe—we don't need to force anything."
"You were great, by the way," Myles added, his voice a little softer now. "You've got this thing about you, y'know? People are gonna feel that." He gave her a small nod, a compliment that felt as genuine as it was low-key.
Cat smiled, warmth filling her chest. "Thanks, Myles. Really."
As Cat left the studio, the thrill of her first music video faded into a slight, creeping anxiety. She realised with a jolt that Jade would eventually see all this—the cozy close-ups, the way Myles leaned on her, his arm draped casually over her shoulders, and the way they'd been directed to look at each other like they shared a private world. From an outsider's perspective, especially in the heavily edited final version, it might look like something it definitely wasn't.
Her fingers brushed against her phone, itching to text Jade about it right away, to explain everything in her own words before the video came out. But… what exactly would she say? 'Hey, just FYI, Myles was practically leaning on me the whole shoot because he was, you know, a little high. Don't worry, though; it was nothing.' She cringed at herself, knowing that sounded worse than what actually happened.
She sighed, kicking a stray pebble on the sidewalk. Jade trusted her—she knew that. They'd had that talk already, about what it would mean for Cat to be in the public eye, to perform songs about feelings and relationships that might not reflect real life. But this felt different. It was visual; it would be right there in front of Jade, a glossy, stylised scene designed to look like chemistry.
The whole cab ride home, she kept practicing in her mind how she'd explain it. She'd sit Jade down, tell her everything, probably laugh it off in the hopes Jade would too. But as she pulled up to their house, her stomach twisted with nerves. It was one thing to plan out an explanation, but another to actually share it.
When she finally walked in, she found Jade lounging on the couch with her usual casual coffee, scrolling through her phone. She looked up with a smile when she saw Cat, which melted a bit of her tension away.
"Hey," Jade greeted, stretching. "How'd it go?"
Cat forced a smile, sitting next to her, feeling her hands clam up just a little. "It was… interesting. They had me and Myles get really close for the shots. Like, really close. They wanted it to look like… I don't know, like we're almost together or something."
Jade's brow quirked up, a little smirk playing on her lips. "Isn't that the whole 'chemistry' angle? For the cameras and all?"
Cat chuckled, trying to stay relaxed. "Yeah, I mean, it's fine… mostly. Just, there were some shots where he was kind of… leaning on me." She hesitated, her cheeks warm. "He, um, might've been a little high."
At that, Jade rolled her eyes, not at Cat, but clearly at the situation itself. "Classic. So, what, they wanted you two to look like some star-crossed musical duo?"
"Basically," Cat admitted, her shoulders loosening a bit. "It just feels weird because it wasn't like that. It wasn't real, obviously, but… I don't know. I guess I'm worried about how it'll look when it's all edited and up online."
Jade studied her for a long moment, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Hey, I trust you. I know it's just an act. But I get it," she added, voice softening. "Remember that time I made you kiss Beck in one of those films? It was just acting- I get it." She gave Cat's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"We didn't kiss!" Cat shot out quickly, reminding herself that she stopped that at least. "Me and Myles and I mean."
"Good." Jade replied, a tiny sigh of relief leaving her. "But it would be okay if you did- it's all acting." She recovered.
Cat felt the last of her nerves melt away, grateful that Jade understood. "Thanks. I was worried you'd… I don't know, flip out or something."
Jade grinned, a bit mischievous. "Oh, I still might when I see it. But I'll take it out on Myles, not you."