Serendipity | A HutchPoppe Fanfic

Chapter Three

A knock on her hotel room door made Maddie pause from playing her guitar. She looked up from her place on her soft bed.

"Come in!" She called out, and Catie flounced into the room enthusiastically, her long ginger-brown hair bouncing behind her as she did.

She perched on the edge of the bed, beside Maddie. "So," she started, twirling a strand of her hair idly, "why did you call me over so suddenly?"

Maddie sighed, stress wearing her down, "I don't have a song for tomorrow. Dad thinks that I should do an original, but I need your opinion on it."

"Sing an original!" Catie told her. "I mean, I sang two original songs on this show already. Sing at least one."

"I can't choose which one!" Maddie groaned, feeling as if all the hope in the world was lost.

Catie hummed as she thought of a solution. "Then... how about we listen to them all, then we choose what you can sing!"

Pausing from feeling hopeless, Maddie nodded thoughtfully. "Good idea." She told Catie as she postitioned her guitar correctly. The next few minutes were actually really fun; Maddie really enjoyed singing her old songs (even though she felt like repeating it over and over again because she wasn't satisfied and felt like it could be even better), and Catie thought that Maddie's songs were cool.

"Okay," The ginger said, holding up three fingers after Maddie finished the last song of her album, "I'm thinking either Don't Ever Let Your Children Grow Up, The Reason, or I Don't Care to Belong."

"Okay." Maddie murmured, thinking hard. "I really like Don't Ever Let Your Children Grow Up." She decided.

"Yeah, I think that's a good song for solo rounds." Catie agreed after a moment of thought. "I definitely like the message it brings."

"Then it's settled. I'm singing that." Maddie said, letting out a sigh of relief, and set down her guitar beside her.

The two girls sat in silence until Maddie laid back against the headboard and asked, "Do you think we'll make it to the top twenty-four?"

"I hope so." Catie shrugged. "We still have to go through tomorrow and the solo showcase plus the final judgement. But can we talk about this later? We do not need the stress, you know."

Maddie smiled, knowing that her friend was right. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"You and Caleb." The hazel-eyed girl grinned slyly. "I ship you two so much."

Rolling her eyes with a groan of mock annoyance, Maddie huffed, "For the last time, we're only friends, Catie."

"Are you suuuuure?" Catie drawled, her tone light and teasing. "Your behavior says otherwise!"

"Hahaha, no." The blonde said flatly. "He was just helping me get over my nerves, just like how you do."

"Tell me that all you want, but deep inside, you actually like him!" Catie squealed, bouncing on the bed slightly. "People are going to start shipping you."

With an amused snort, Maddie pushed herself back into a sitting position, but said nothing as she let her mind wander.

Catie poked her friend on the arm. "You good?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just thinking..."

Catie pursed her lips in an attempt not to smile, but was obviously failing. "About Caleb, maybe?"

In all honesty, Maddie had been, in fact, thinking about Caleb. Something about Catie's words made her reevaluate her feelings.

Sure, Caleb was sweet and nice, not to mention, handsome too, but Maddie just met the man days ago. Would that be enough for someone to like another person? Would it be even called love?