Do You Know Me?

The Show

Jade's POV

The Asphalt Cafe is full tonight. Tables with food and drink line the perimeter of the area, a sea of chairs stands in front of the giant stage. There are people everywhere, which disgusts me, but I suppose that's the point of performances, to entertain the masses. That's not the point of my performance, however. There's only one person I hope to entertain and eventually make mine. I grab a glass of punch and socialize, pretending to care about the people I talk to.

I spot Cat talking to Andre's grandma next to the snack tables. Suddenly, the old lady starts screaming into Cat's ear. I begin to walk towards them, careful not to get too close lest I get yelled at myself. I'm about to ask them what the hell is going on, when Mrs. Harris stops yelling, and both she and Cat stand up a little straighter and begin to laugh.

"Yay! You got Mr. Butterfly out of my ear!" Cat squeals "thanks Mrs. Harris!" Andre's Grandma pats her on the back and dashes off to god knows where.

"Oh hi Jade!" Cat says, as she skips towards me. "Are you ready to sing your little song for Tori?" She gives me a little wink and pokes me with her elbow. I can't help but give her a little smirk. As crazy and as childish as that little redhead can be, I do appreciate having her around. She's my oldest friend after all, so she's gotta be something right.

"Hell yeah," I say, nudging her back "Thanks Cat. I wouldn't've been able to do this without you. I owe you one." Cat beams and jumps up and down with excitement.

"Yay! Oh, can we go to that new trampoline park down the road? It opens next Tuesday! Then we could go to the mall and grab something from that pretzel place-" She chirps "Oooooh! That reminds me! One time, my brother tried to make pretzels, and-" My gratitude and willingness to return the favour are slowly waning. I simply sigh and take a sip of my punch.

"Don't push it," I say.

"Kay-Kay!" The little redhead replies, before spotting Robbie on the other side of the cafe and skipping away to join him. I continue to mingle, when Beck approaches me.

"Hey, have you seen Meredith?" He asks.

"No, sorry," I say. I'm about to thank him for being so understanding, when both Tori and Meredith show up. Upon seeing me in Meredith's vicinity, Tori steps in front of her as if she were a human shield, eyeing me suspiciously. I roll my eyes and drink some more punch.

"I'm not going to murder Meredith," I deadpan "... Yet." I tack on the last little bit for comedic effect. The rest of the group, however, doesn't seem to find this funny. Meredith walks up to Beck and puts his arm around her.

"So, Jade," Beck's new plaything says "I hear you're performing tonight! That's exciting!" I force a smile and do my best to play nice.

"Yep! I sure am!" I reply. "Just singing a song, that's all."

"Really? That's so cool!" Tori interjects, putting her hand on my shoulder "What are you singing?"

"Just a song I wrote," I say, casually. I finish off the last of my punch, hoping the cool blue liquid will stop my face from burning up.

"A Jade original! Very nice," Tori sounds impressed. "Well, we can't wait to hear it!" Suddenly, Andre appears from behind the stage and joins us.

"Hey Jade, you're up in 5 minutes. You wanna come backstage and get ready?" He asks. I quickly turn back to the group.

"Well, it looks like you won't have to!" I remark. Tori just grins and rubs my shoulder a little before stepping back .

"You're gonna do great," she says, giving me a double thumbs up. I don't have to fake a smile this time. Hearing her say that to me gives me that extra boost of confidence I need. I follow Andre and go backstage to prepare for my song.