𝐂𝐚𝐭, 𝐌𝐲 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮

XV

disclaimer: i have no clue what it's like to be on a movie set, so apologies in advance for any and all inaccuracy during those scenes

I was standing at my locker, putting away the last of my notebooks and grabbing my backpack. Cat had been avoiding me all day, but I have no idea why. To make things weirder, Tori had kept giving me these smug glances every time she saw me. What's going on? I checked my phone and saw that Cat and I only had about twenty minutes until we needed to be on set for Downtown Lights.

After scouring the entire school for the redhead, I finally found her sitting in the janitor's closet by herself. "Cat?" I crouched down next to her and saw that her shoulders were shaking. "Are you crying, Kit-Cat?"

She shook her head but didn't look up. "No," she mumbled.

I obviously knew that she was lying, so I sat down in front of her and pulled her knees down so that I could see her beautiful face. "Cat," I coaxed and she looked up, eyes red and splotchy. "Do you want a hug?"

She smiled through her tears and wrapped her arms around my neck tightly, pressing her face into my neck. I smiled, rubbing circles on her back and ignoring the back of my head that started whispering you love this. You love being able to comfort her. You love her. No, I didn't. I was dating Jade. I loved Jade. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Cat let go of me and pulled away, sitting back down on the floor. She looked up at me and it hurt to see her so upset. "I-I'm late for-for my book club!" Cat shouted suddenly and stood up, running out the door faster than I could even say anything.

I frowned, leaving the janitor's closet and immediately running into Jade. "Hey," she breathed and stole a quick kiss.

"Hey." I didn't say much more; my mind was still preoccupied with Cat's strange behavior.

Jade frowned. "C'mon, we need to get to Sikowitz's." She gripped my arm and dragged me toward the classroom door. I sighed. It's like we never broke up.

"I can't."

She turned to stare at me. "And why is that?"

I swallowed. "I have to get to set for Downtown Lights."

Jade nodded. "Fine. Bring me a coffee when you come back." And she turned around, shutting the classroom door behind her.

I was shocked that she wasn't jealous about me being in a romance movie with Cat, but then again, we weren't dating when the roles were cast. I left the building and got into my car before pulling out my phone to send a text to Cat.

Me: u coming?

Kit-Cat 😽💖: ya be there soon!! ❤️❤️❤️

Kit-Cat 😽💖: wheres ur car????

Me: east wing

Kit-Cat 😽💖: kk thx!!! 😊😊

Me: np 👌

I frowned at her responses. She sounded so normal, like I didn't find her having a breakdown in the janitor's closet a few minutes ago. But regardless, I looked over to find her hopping into the front seat, smiling as usual. "Ready to go?" she nodded and I started up the car, making our way over to the Jenkins Studio Complex. Thankfully, our director cut us a little slack for the past couple of weeks, since Cat and I still had to talk to our teachers about our little 'project.'

"Beck, Cat! Good to see that you made it," the director grinned when she saw us.

I waved politely. "Hey."

The director smiled. "Now, we've already shot the bulk of the scripted stuff, as you know," she began. "All we need to do now is shoot the kissing scene at the end and the rest is up to the rest of the team!"

I saw Cat stiffen and frowned. Was she not comfortable with this? We did it in class. "Cat?" she glanced over at me. "Are you comfortable with that?"

Cat nodded. "Yeah! Nothing's wrong! I'm happy!" she exclaimed, way too loudly to be believable, but I decided to ignore that.

"Cat, if you don't want to, you can just tell me," I told her, trying to sound as open as I possibly could. She just nodded, looking over at the director, who took that as a sign to usher us toward our changing rooms.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. What was up with her? After slipping into my costume, I opened the door to see Cat halfway across the set, running over her lines. "Cat!" I rushed over to where she stood. "You look amazing." Cat smiled, glancing down at the costume she wore. It looked exactly like the dress she had worn in the production of Downtown Lights that we did at Hollywood Arts.

"You do too," she mumbled, smiling faintly. At least I got her to smile.

"Beck, Cat, get over here!" our director called from where she stood at the far end of the room. "Time for take one!" I picked Cat up bridal style, to which she just giggled quietly, and carried her over. "Okay, so Cat, you're going to be standing right here," the director pointed to a spot on the floor. "And Beck, you'll be standing here." I nodded, standing in front of Cat and grabbing her hands. They were so small compared to mine. "And, action!"

I looked down at Cat, smiling sadly. "I love you, Isabelle Rose. I think I always will. But," I sighed, looking down at our hands, "if Victor is the man that you choose, I will have to accept that."

Cat nodded. "Thank you, Noah. I-I think a piece of me might always love you, too." She looked up at me and smiled faintly.

I returned the small gesture, watching her. "Look at us," I chuckled. "I'm going back home to a family that never cared about me and you're running off with a rich man who only loves you for your beautiful face." I shook my head. "I never thought the day would come."

Cat chuckled, not denying what I'd just said and instead simply watching my expression. "Can I kiss you?" I breathed. "As a farewell."

Cat nodded and I leaned over, but before our lips touched, she pulled away. "I c-can't," she wiped her eyes, sniffling. "I-I have an appointment with-with my private cook!" she stuttered and ran through the crowds of cameras and lights to leave the set. I shot an apologetic glance at our director before rushing after her.

"Cat!" I called, finding her sitting near a large bush. "Kit-Cat," I whispered, pulling her against my chest. "What's up with you? You've been acting weird all day."

Cat sniffled, pulling away. "I-I have to tell you something." I nodded. "That day on the beach, I saw you kissing Jade. And-and I got jealous, so I," she paused, wiping her cheeks, "I kissed Robbie."

I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. But I also didn't understand why she was so upset. Because she felt guilty for kissing Robbie? She knew that I didn't really like the guy, but that shouldn't stop her from dating whoever she wants. Or was she upset because I kissed Jade? Why would she be upset about that unless... I shook my head. Cat didn't like me. She would've said something if she did. Right? No, I was dating Jade. Whether I liked Cat or not, I couldn't act on it. But you do like Cat. Shut up.

"Beck?" Cat whispered.

I shook my head, returning back to the present. "Kit-Cat, I want to tell you something." She nodded. "You shouldn't feel guilty for kissing Robbie, okay? Just because I don't like him doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to date whoever you want." I smiled and Cat nodded again.

"Thank you," she smiled, giving me a quick hug.

"Should we get back on set?" I asked, offering her a hand up. She giggled, taking my hand as we walked back inside.

I did my best to block out the small voice in the back of my head. You love her, you love her, you love her. It wouldn't even matter if I did. I was dating Jade. And even I know that it would be cruel to dump her so soon and then start dating her best friend. That is, if her best friend liked me even half as much as I liked her.

So I just smiled when I saw our director and got right back to work.