Little Bird #Wattys2015

Chapter Thirty-One - Cat

Chapter Thirty-One

Three songs in and Cat was having a blast. Every nerve that hit her before the set washed away as her body began to move along to the beat, creating moves that not even she thought she was able to do.

"Okay everyone; this is the final song," she spoke, walking around the stage. Her footsteps were slow and although Henry had chosen to speak for most of it, she wanted to close it.

This song was her song - the boys originally planned to create a rock version of Uptown Funk and although it sounded amazing, Cat was not letting her opportunity to impress Justin Timberlake slip between her fingers.

A guitar nudged her body and immediately, she let it slip across her. Henry had promised her this moment to shine, in front of the few hundred that had arrived for the televised event.

"This song is a mash up of two old school favourites," she continued with a smile on her face. Everything about the choice made her gleam in the dimmed lights. "I wonder if you know what they are."

Moving the microphone back into its assigned slot, she took a deep breath. Everything has gone well so far; she couldn't mess it up now. Her hand tapped the front of the guitar, switching the tempo to create a beat before using her other hand to strum through the strings. It was only for a short while, for Mickey picked up the beat.

Henry sung first. His voice remained low to match the melancholic tune Cat was playing as well as the bass that Jesse played. Soon enough, Aaron joined in to harmonise with him. Sometimes, it was better to hear the two of them sing together - although Cat could relax and focus on their voices, it was just mesmerising. Their voices complimented each other just like with their friendship.

Once it was Cat's turn to switch songs, she let the guitar hang loose so that Aaron and Henry could continue. Her hands felt their way through the stand to wrap themselves around her microphone.

Unlike all the other songs, this song was one of her all-time favourites. Being a Justin Timberlake fangirl from a young age made it much easier for the lyrics to leave her mouth - they were automatic, memorised since the age of seven. It was the first that grabbed her attention after such a traumatic time. Thus, she was much more confident than she had ever been to put her own twist on it.

Belting out the lyrics, all other sounds began to fade around her. She was still subconsciously aware of her surroundings, yet her mind was elsewhere. It was almost eleven years ago again; she was a struggling child, just trying to get used to the darkness that covered her eyes.

All those emotions hit her again - sorrow, hopelessness, desperation. As much as everyone had tried to console her, no one had ever been able to make her whole again.

-

Something hit the desk.

"Your food's on the desk," Henry spoke, "do you want me to give it to you?"

Like always, Cat shook her head. Her appetite had disappeared lately, whereby she would only be eating perhaps a single meal out of the recommended three.

"Are you sure?" He asked again. Everything sounded the same to her - there was no clear difference between his words. Only recently had she figured out Henry's voice from her mother's.