A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!

BOOK TWO - PART ONE - CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Sam and Cat re-entered the recording room together, linked at the hands. They tried to dodge all the looks as they walked over and sat down on the couch side-by-side.

It only took a second for Bryson to make his way over. "Hey, uh, Sam? I'm really sorry about that. I was just messing around, and I had no idea—"

"It's fine," Sam sharply cut him off. Everyone was watching them, and it was making her feel even worse.

"No, it's not. I went too far. I was just trying to cheer you up, 'cause you seemed kinda down—"

"Yeah, cancer can do that," Sam snapped. "Sorry for not being the life of the party."

Bryson cringed. Some of the others did, too. "I feel really bad."

"You should," Sam responded without hesitation.

"Babe, maybe we should leave Sam and Cat alone," Robbie spoke up, pulling him away by the arm. "Come on. Let's get back to work and give everyone a chance to cool down."

For some reason, the comment struck a nerve for Sam. "Cool down? You think I need to cool down?"

"Sam…" Cat warned nervously.

"Maybe I should kick his ass and give you a real reason to say that," Sam growled out, shooting to her feet with her fists clenched.

"Sam, no." Cat grabbed her hips and pulled her back down to the couch. Sam was too weak to resist it—she hadn't been much of a threat right now, anyway. "There will be no kicking of asses here. Understood?"

"But Cat—"

"Understood?" Cat looked into her eyes.

Sam sighed heavily. "Fine! Whatever." She leaned back on the couch with her arms crossed.

Across the room, Jade whispered to Tori, "She's so whipped," which made both of them laugh.

A short while later, everything was set for the recording of Track Number Two. This one was to be sung by Cat alone. She described it as her coming out song.

Sam was intrigued to see what it was about. Their friends had been raving all day about the impressiveness of the song. She watched Cat enter the recording room, put on her headphones, and give Bryson a thumbs up.

"All set? Here we go," Bryson announced. He started with a techno-style introduction on his soundboard, then cued for Cat to begin singing.

It was an electronic pop ballad with a backing techno beat. Cat sang with confidence, repeatedly meeting Sam's eyes through the glass. The song ended with a futuristic, catchy outro, then, like before, there were a few seconds of silence. Finally Bryson said, "We got it," and everyone cheered.

"All good, Cat?" Robbie asked.

"Yes. I can't believe I'm finally doing this," Cat grinned as she exited the recording room. Everyone started talking amongst themselves again, and Cat went to Sam, who had stood up to greet her. "Hey."

"Hey," Sam replied, wrapping Cat up in her arms. No one was paying attention to them, so Sam murmured against her neck, "You are so fucking sexy."

Cat giggled. She had been enjoying the looks that Sam had been giving her during the performance—looks which were typically reserved for the bedroom. It was fun—and hot—to see her so flustered. "You liked my song?"

"Mm-hmm." The song was about more than just coming out—Cat had owned her sexuality and bravely proclaimed how she felt about Sam compared to Robbie. The little innuendos were just an added bonus. "Seriously, though; some of those high notes?" Sam bit her lip and hummed lowly, "Mmmm."

Cat whispered, "Are you horny?" She already knew she was, but she wanted to hear her say it.

"Want to stick your hand down my pants and check?" Sam responded with a smirk.

"Yes," Cat answered breathlessly. She knew it wasn't a real offer—Sam hadn't been comfortable enough to let her try that yet.

Just then, Jade walked over and separated them. "Okay, that's enough. Let's end this now before you two start fucking in the middle of the room."

Sam and Cat both blushed. Cat took a step back. "Sorry. Jeez, it's really hot. Why is it so hot in here?" She stripped her sweater off and went to stuff it in her purse.

"It's actually kind of cold in here," Jade laughed. Being around Cat when she was excited was still a shock—for so long, everyone had just acted like she didn't have a sex drive. "Do you need to step out for a minute?"

"No. Sorry, I'm okay." Cat lowered her eyes and cleared her throat. "Anyways…"

"Whoa, what the heck did you do to your arm?" Robbie asked.

"Huh? Oh." Cat glanced at the big, splotchy purple mark near her right elbow. Her eyes flashed to Sam's, and then she stammered, "Um… I, uh…"

Sam gestured silently for her to say something, but offered no help herself.

"I fell out of bed last night," Cat blurted. It was almost the truth—but it had everybody laughing, which made both Sam and Cat blush even deeper.

"What the hell were you guys doing?" Jade continued chuckling.

"It was Sam's fault." Cat knew better than to be fully truthful about the situation.

"Hey, don't try and pin it on me," Sam joked, "You know what they say about redheads."

"Can we please not talk about it?" Cat asked shyly. Jokes were fine, but no one needed to know the specific details of her and Sam's sex life. And the reality of the situation was that it wasn't even like that. "Let's get started on the next song. Lyrics?"

Tori handed Cat a sheet of paper. "That's the updated version."

Cat grabbed a pen. "Let me just finish this up."