As summer flowed through in full force, the whole group was officially back in LA. First year of College was completed for Jade, Tori & Robbie - and Beck had finally fulfilled every stop in his road trip. He was still deciding on what to do next, but it would likely be working in a coffee shop or something while auditioning for any acting roles in he could find in LA. Andre had started looking around for different music producer roles, somewhere smaller than Radius where he could get more hands on. As much as Cat had been advocating for him, now that her second album was nearing completion- the chances of him being able to work on her 3rd was slim. She was getting help from the best producers Radius could offer now - not a 19 year old intern. But he was okay with the move- somewhere else could be nice and with a year under his belt at a world-known label, he'd for sure be able to find somewhere. But above all, breaking that news to Cat had been hard.
Andre sat on the edge of the studio couch, spinning a pen between his fingers as he glanced at the mixing board. Cat, perched on a stool nearby, watched him carefully. There were 3 producers playing around with the instrumental of her final song in the room too- all arguing with each other about how it should sound, rather than consulting Cat. She didn't mind, once they all finish fighting she'll change it to how she wants anyway.
"Are you really going to leave?" she asked, her tone soft but tinged with disappointment.
Andre sighed, leaning back. "I don't know, Cat. It's just... this isn't what I signed up for, you know? I wanted to be in the thick of it—hands-on. But now, with you working with these big-time producers, there's not much for me to do. I'm just the guy grabbing coffee half the time."
Cat frowned, her fingers toying with the strings of her hoodie. "But you're good at this, Andre. You've always been good at this. You're the reason I even started writing songs in the first place."
He smiled at that, a flicker of pride in his eyes. "I appreciate that, but it's different now. Radius is pushing you hard—you're their golden ticket. And I'm... not really a part of it anymore."
"That's not true," Cat said quickly, her voice rising slightly. "You're still a part of this. You're my friend. I need you."
Andre shook his head gently. "You don't, Cat. Not like you used to. Look, I'm proud of you—so proud—but I need to figure out what's next for me. Something where I can actually make stuff happen, not just sit on the sidelines while someone else runs the show."
Cat opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. She couldn't deny the truth in his words. Radius was pouring everything into her second album—big-name producers, A-list songwriters, the state-of-the-art studios. It was everything she'd dreamed of, but it left little room for the collaborative, scrappy process she and Andre had started with.
"I just... I don't want things to change," she said quietly.
Andre reached over, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "They already have, Cat. That's not a bad thing—it just means we're growing. You're killing it, and you're going to keep killing it. But I've got to do the same for myself."
She nodded reluctantly, her chest tightening. Change was inevitable, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.
On the other side of LA; Beck, Jade, Tori and Robbie were driving to the beach, collectively loosing their minds about how Cat's new single, 'Bang Bang', happened to be playing on the radio when Tori swapped stations.
"Oh my god, it's her!" she exclaimed, pointing at the dashboard like it was some sort of cosmic coincidence.
Robbie leaned forward from the backseat, grinning. "Turn it up! We need the full effect."
"Do we, though?" Jade drawled, but she didn't protest as the volume dial went up.
"Wait a minute, let me take you there. Wait a minute 'til you (ah, hey)" Robbie and Beck started, in complete unison as they caught what part of the song it was on.
"She might've let you hold her hand in school but I'ma show you how to graduate" Jade and Tori finished off, adding a vocal flare just as Cat did.
The car erupted into laughter as the song continued to blast through the speakers, full of energy and power.
Beck, lounging in the drivers seat, "I feel like I've heard it 100 times and its only been out 2 days,"
"It's aggressively catchy," Robbie added, swaying dramatically to the beat, much to Jade's annoyance. "Like, I don't even want to like it, but here we are."
Tori was giggling uncontrollably now, clapping along. "It's like an earworm on steroids!"
Jade rolled her eyes, though a small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Singing about being a 'bad girl'. She's still too scared to jaywalk," she muttered, but there was an undeniable trace of pride in her voice.
"I mean, it's everywhere though," Beck said, gesturing grandly at the stereo. "It's kind of a big deal, even if it's... this."
The four of them dissolved into laughter, mocking the over-the-top production and Cat's exaggerated vocal runs. But beneath the teasing was a shared affection—because no matter how pop-heavy or intense the song was, they all knew they were witnessing something extraordinary: their friend taking over the airwaves.
"It's Myx Moscato, it's frizz in a bottle, It's Nicki Full Throttle, it's oh, oh-" Robbie started to attempt the rap before Jade promptly leant over and covered his mouth with her hand.
"No." She replied lowly, and the boy promptly finished rapping there and then.