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-NINE
Tori had a strange look on her face when she re-entered the studio. "Well, I found 'em," she told everyone else, trying not to think about it.
"Really? Where?" Robbie asked curiously.
"They were, um… they were having sex in the girls' bathroom," Tori explained uncomfortably.
Everyone laughed. Once they all quieted down, Robbie said, "No, seriously. Where are they? We really need to get started on this next track."
"No, I'm being totally serious, you guys," Tori chuckled nervously. "They were in a bathroom stall together."
"They were probably just, like, making out or something," Jade guessed, laughing. "There's no way they were actually having sex. Cat wouldn't do something like that in public."
Tori shook her head adamantly. "They were having sex. Trust me."
"How do you know?" Robbie asked tentatively.
Tori calmly stated, "Well, Cat's panties were around her ankles and Sam was on her knees, so…" she trailed off, cringing, and muttered, "Okay, can we please just not talk about it?"
Jade whistled lowly, chuckling. "Oh, Cat has some major explaining to do." She was grinning. "What'd they say when you interrupted them?"
"Um, not a lot. Cat freaked out, and Sam got pissed off," Tori explained. "They just kept yelling at me to get out."
"They know we're waiting for them, right?" Bryson checked.
"I told them, yeah," Tori answered.
Just then, Cat re-entered the room. She was blushing and avoiding everyone's eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to Tori, but didn't say anything to anyone else.
Tori forced a smile and waved it off. "It's okay. Sorry for, um… interrupting."
Cat bit her lip and quietly said, "Yeah… you have really, really bad timing."
Jade erupted with laughter.
"Shut up," Cat muttered, feeling her face burning. She was embarrassed and frustrated and all she wanted to do was take Sam home to finish what they started.
"Well, what the hell are you thinking, doing that at work anyways? In a public bathroom stall? Are you kidding me?" Jade questioned.
Tori rolled her eyes. "Oh, leave her alone. You know you've done so much worse."
Bryson looked at Jade. "Where's the craziest place you've had sex?" he asked her, almost daringly.
Put on the spot, Jade stuck her tongue in her cheek. "Well, we weren't talking about me."
"No, it's only fair. You have to tell us," Cat stated seriously. She was desperate to take some of the attention off herself.
Jade seemed to consider it for several seconds. Finally, she said, "Alright, there's been quite a few notable ones, but… probably the loft of a church, behind a giant Jesus statue." She received shocked looks from everyone, then quietly added, "…during Sunday service."
"And you're making fun of Cat for doing it in the bathroom?" Tori scoffed, chuckling in disbelief.
"At least church lofts don't have toilets," Jade argued. "What about you, huh? You've probably never even done it outside the bedroom."
"Okay, that is entirely untrue," Tori stated firmly. "I've done it on the beach. Twice. And once in a movie theater."
Jade was unimpressed. She looked at Bryson and Robbie. "What about you guys?"
The two men shared a nervous look. "The craziest? Well…" Robbie began.
"The set of Fairyfighters, on the roof of the Butterfly-Mobile," Bryson supplied.
"Or the dean's office at Oxnard University," Robbie added.
Bryson nodded, smirking. "Oh, yeah, that was a good one."
Just then, Sam opened the door and walked in. Everyone was looking at her. She took her place beside Cat and said, "What are you guys talking about?"
"The craziest places we've had sex. What's yours?" Jade asked.
Sam's eyebrows shot up. She was usually pretty private regarding her sex life except with very close friends.
Cat nudged her with her elbow. "It's okay. Go ahead." She also really wanted to know.
Sam bit her lip. "Uh… well, I had sex with a guard in a prison watchtower once," she admitted. "While she was on the clock. Does that count?"
"That's actually pretty badass," Jade laughed. "How did that happen?"
"Well, in lockup I had a reputation for being really good at, um…" Sam trailed off, then shook her head and tried again. "Just—the guards were really corrupt. They would give me stuff if I provided certain… services. That's all."
"What kind of stuff?" Cat wondered.
"Drugs, mostly." Sam was clearly uncomfortable talking about it. "Anyways, uh… sorry for holding everyone up. Should we get started?"
"Yes. We've got the lyrics right here," Bryson said, passing out sheets of paper to both Sam and Cat. Sam's handwritten lyrics had been typed up and printed out. "Here's how we're gonna do it—we're just gonna have you sing it through once, and we'll freestyle backup along with you. Cat's on guitar—acoustic—and I've got my keyboard. It'll be a lot more stripped down than all the other ones. Once we finish it, we can go back and smooth out the rough parts. Don't feel like you need to get it perfect the first time."
"C'mon, Sam." Cat grabbed Sam's arm and led her into the recording room. They each put on a pair of headphones and positioned themselves in front of their microphones. Cat strapped on her guitar. "Okay, are we ready?"
Sam had expended what little energy she had left having sex with Cat. She tried to stay in front of her microphone, but she was swaying slightly. Cat quickly steadied her, but she was already panting with exertion. There was no way she was going to be able to sing like this.
"Um, can we get a chair or something in here so Sam can sit down?" Cat asked the others.
"I'm fine," Sam blurted, embarrassed.
"Does this work?" Robbie brought in a wooden stool and set it down.
Cat took Sam's hand and helped her sit down, then adjusted her microphone into place. "There. Are you comfortable like that?"
"If I start feeling dizzy, I'm gonna have to stop," Sam mumbled.
"That's okay. You don't need to push yourself," Cat quietly told her, then pecked her on the lips. "Just do what you can. We'll take breaks if we need to. Do you feel okay enough to sing?"
Everyone was staring at her expectantly, so Sam had no other choice than to say, "Yeah. Let's go." She just had to keep reminding herself it would all be worth it later. Opening up and putting her true feelings on display for several other people wasn't something she'd ever done before. But she would do it for Cat.
"Perfect. Cat, you're singing the last line of the first three choruses, then the full fourth chorus," Bryson told her, "And after the third chorus we'll go into an instrumental break. Everybody clear?"
"Are you ready, Sam?" Cat asked her.
"As I'll ever be, I guess," Sam shrugged.
"Start on my cue," Bryson told them. Then he signaled, four, three, two, one…