𝐂𝐚𝐭, 𝐌𝐲 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮

IV

We did two more performances of 'Downtown Lights' that week and Cat rocked both of them. When I walked into school on Friday, the day after our final performance, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Not sure why, though... As I was walking up to my locker, Tori rushed up to me holding her PearPhone. "Dude, guess what."

I shrugged. "What?"

Tori grinned. "Natalie Jenkins is directing a movie adaptation of 'Downtown Lights' and they're hosting auditions right down the street!"

Oh yeah! André had told me about that after school yesterday; I was psyched! "Oh yeah, André told me yesterday. I got a few pages of the script to audition with this morning. Are you auditioning?"

Tori looked at me like I was crazy. "Heck yeah I'm going to audition!"

I chuckled. "What part are you going for?"

She smiled. "Isabelle, of course! You?"

That was an easy one. "Noah."

Tori smiled, bumping my shoulder. "Very cool!"

I just nodded. "Well, we should probably get to class or Sikowitz will throw coconuts at us." Tori laughed and we walked into Sikowitz's class, where Cat and Jade were talking in the front row. I definitely didn't mean to, but I overheard some of their conversation.

"Why don't you just ask him?"

"Because I dumped him, and I don't want to seem desperate or something."

"But you love him!"

Silence.

I sat down in my usual seat between Cat and André. Cat and Jade's conversation immediately stopped and Jade turned away, completely ignoring me. Cat smiled and waved at me. "Beck! Did you hear about the movie auditions?"

I smiled, nodding. "Yeah, André told me about it! Are you going to audition for Isabelle?"

Cat giggled. "Yeah! I really liked playing her in the play we did! Are you going to audition for Noah?"

I chuckled. She was so bubbly and happy all the time. "Yeah, I am. I hope we get the parts," I added with a smile. Cat just giggled and nodded, turning her gaze to where Sikowitz was now walking through the classroom doors, late as usual.

"Good morning boys, girls, and..." Sikowitz glanced at Robbie "others." Well, he wasn't really wrong... "I'm sure you all know that auditions for the new 'Downtown Lights' movie are beginning in an hour or so a few blocks away in the Jenkins Studios complex?" A chorus of 'yes's' and 'I know's' breezed through the room. "Good! You can all go audition; I don't want to teach you rotten children today." Sikowitz turned around and walked out of the side door. Awesome; audition time!

I gave Cat, Robbie, André, Tori, and Jade a lift to the Jenkins Studios complex, and Cat looked so small sitting in the large back seats between Tori and Jade. Small and adorable. Wait, what? When we got to the complex, a really burly guy escorted us to a small room where we were supposed to wait to be called in for our auditions. The room reminded me of the waiting rooms they have at the doctor. I sat between André and Cat and while we waited, I helped Cat go over the few pages of the script she was given to audition with, and she helped me after that. Soon enough, a middle-aged lady that looked very professional and no-nonsense called Robbie's and Jade's names and they got up and followed the lady into the other room. Jade looked like she would puke at the fact of auditioning with Robbie, but she followed through the door anyway. I wondered how their audition would go. "So, what part are you auditioning for, Cat?" Tori looked over at Cat, who just smiled. Her dimples were so cute. STOP IT BECK.

"Isabelle! What about you?"

Cat smiled at Tori, who's face fell slightly when she heard Cat's answer. "Me too," Tori replied curtly.

Cat didn't seem to notice the tension and just giggled. "We're both auditioning for Isabelle!" She laughed. Tori just forced a smile. Even though Cat and Tori were best friends, it was pretty obvious to me that Tori would sacrifice that to get the role of Isabelle in the movie. Cat didn't notice, though, and just played with her hair.

The woman opened the door again and Jade stormed through the door, plopping down by André and crossing her arms. Robbie walked out and sat back down on the other side of Cat, smiling at her in more than a friendship kind of way. For some reason, that made me sort of jealous. Wait, why are you getting jealous, Beck? Cat's not your property!

"Beck Oliver and Cat Valentine, you're next." The woman smiled and Cat and I got up. Well, this is it, I guess.

Cat squeezed my hand as we were leaving the waiting room. "Good luck!" she whispered.

"Thanks Cat, you too," I smiled and we walked through the door and into an office-like room with three people sitting at a desk at the front of the room, one of them being Natalie Jenkins herself.

After going through a small introduction, we began the auditions. Cat turned toward me, holding the pages they'd been given to audition with. "I don't know."

Wow, her acting was flawless and she'd only spoken one line. "It's okay that you don't know."

"But you deserve an answer." I couldn't find a single trace of Cat in the girl in front of me. All I could find was Isabelle.

"I can wait. For you, I would wait a thousand years."

A shocked expression came over her face and Cat shook her head. "But that's so many!"

I met her gaze. "I know I'm poor. I know I don't have much to offer, but I do love you."

Cat turned and walked away a step or two, shaking her head. "Because I'm beautiful?"

I stepped toward her. "I don't love you because you're beautiful." I touched her shoulder. "You're beautiful because I love you."

Natalie Jenkins and the two others sitting at the desk began clapping and Cat and I bowed. "That was outstanding, both of you," Natalie smiled at us. "I think it's safe to say that you two are guaranteed to get the roles of Noah and Isabelle in the film."

Cat squealed and jumped up and down. I chuckled at her bubbly excitement and looked over at Natalie. "Thank you very much, Ms. Jenkins." She nodded and the lady from earlier showed us back into the waiting room and we were immediately bombarded with questions on how the audition went.

I quieted everyone down. "I think it went pretty well! They just kinda clapped politely and we came back here." I didn't want to include the guarantee of Cat and I getting the roles, since most people in this room were auditioning for those same roles.

Cat frowned, looking very confused. "But the lady said—"

I brought Cat over to the door. "Why don't we go get some frozen yogurt for everyone at the place across the street?"

Cat's face immediately brightened. "Yay, frozen yogurt!" We took orders from everyone and walked across the street to Fred's Frogurt and bought two frozen yogurts. Cat got three flavors — strawberry lemonade, banana split, and watermelon lime— with gummy bears, cookie dough pieces, mini Oreos, and chocolate rocks on top. I just got cookies n' cream with crushed Oreos on top. I got yogurts for everyone else before paying for everything.

When we got back to the main building, everyone had finished up with their auditions and Tori invited all of us over to her house. I drove everyone over and when we got there, I asked André about how he thought his audition with Tori went. While André and I talked on one of Tori's red couches, Cat and Tori were talking on the other one. I couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in her oversized pink hoodie and blue-black leggings.

Wait. What is happening to me?