cadnis oneshots so i can get some f*cking sleep

i'd write this in the sky

hello my darlings happiest wednesday to you all i hope it's been wonderful !! welcome to, once again, the longest oneshot i've ever written. for context, those of you who read the advent books in 2021? this is longer than one of those. and apparently is long enough to count as a proper novel instead of a novella according to a single google search. so. buckle up.

this is a christmas present for my dear friend jamie so big shouts to her. and she was unwittingly my main source of information for this so a big thank you for answering all my weird questions :)

i'd also like to say a big thanks to áine (@/onthelasttrain (ao3)/@/sprnklersplashes (tumblr)) for also answering a bunch of questions i asked anonymously i think multiple years ago at this point?? so uh haha that was me if you remember and thank you for the help lol

and to my love, thank you for writing that one scene i just could not work out for me and all the emotional support. you'll never read this but ily :DD

alrighty!!
tw forrrrrr
small age gap/power imbalance
slightly unhealthy dynamics (beginning only)
long distance relationships
breakups
general light angst
mentioned rape threats
mentioned death threats
mentioned bomb/shooting threats
bullying
illness (the flu, no tummy stuff)
self esteem issues
discussions of consent
and i think that's it!! i swear on my life that this is happy it's just a longun lol. and as always if there's something missing please let me know so i can add it :)

and becauuuuuse it is a popstar au (spoilers lol oopsies) i made playlists!! they'll be in a comment since wattpad doesn't like links :) the spotify versions are pre-shuffled since apparently capitalism has progressed so far that that is not free! (yes i shuffled my own playlists by hand. yes i put them in a randomized wheel and yes it took four hours. what of it.) but if you listen on youtube you'll wanna shuffle em yourself for the most part. enjoy!

(and bonus for any swifties out there: count the references! by my count there are 11 that i put in on purpose so see if you can see what they are!! hint: they're the really obvious ones. there's also so many that were completely accidental that i actually had a small breakdown lol. so see how many you can find and let me know at the end!!)

FINALLY!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!

originally drafted on january 24, 2023

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"Oh my god, Cady, I'm so excited for you! Your first ever concert," Gretchen squeals for the umpteenth time. Cady smiles at her in the bathroom mirror.

Regina, Gretchen, Cady, and Karen are all standing in a row in Regina's bathroom, getting ready for Cady's latest American first. This time, a live concert. Her friends are all rich and pooled to get them tickets close-ish to the stage. Cady obviously chipped in, but nowhere near as much.

They've been so excited that they bought a special calendar just to mark off the months and weeks and days until they finally get to see Jay Starr live in all her beautiful glory.

Cady doesn't totally get it. She's heard her music on the radio a couple of times and thought it was good, but she's nowhere near the level of her friends. Karen already has her favorite album blasting as their backing track for getting ready, Gretchen shaved everything from the neck down just in case, whatever that means, and even Regina dances around the bathroom as she swipes on her lipstick. Their excitement is infectious, and Cady finds herself starting to bop along and smile at her reflection in the mirror.

"Gretch, can I borrow your blush?" Karen asks. Gretchen passes the palette down the row until it gets to her. "Thanks."

"Oh, god," Cady huffs to herself as she picks up the hair tinsel she's supposed to put in and immediately ties her fingers together.