~Thalia's P.O.V.~
"Shouldn't you be focusing?" Beck asks me with a sigh.
"I am." I reply from my place on the floor, not looking up from my camera as I change the settings, "You take pictures of inanimate objects and I take pictures of people."
"People, or just me?" He asks with a smirk.
"Depends on what catches my eye." I reply back with a smirk and a wink. I lean up-right against the lockers and adjust the camera to get a better angle.
We're supposed to take a pic using the rule of thirds or the slow / high speed for our Museum Studies class. Beck decided to take pictures of a replica of the robot from Drake and Josh at random places. While I decided to take pictures of people and all that. It's easier for me.
"Be honest, who looks better. Me or Jared Padalecki?" Beck asks me, flipping his hair dramatically and striking a pose. The robot he was supposed to take a picture of, long forgotten.
I let out a laugh and shake my head at him, "Well, you got the hair and the plaid." I tell him, nodding at his outfit, "But don't cross that line. You can't compete with Sam Winchester."
He lets out an offended scoff and puts a hand on his chest, gaping at me.
"Sorry, babe, just stating facts." I shrug casually, not even realizing what I just called him until it was too late. "Now, come on, don't look into the camera. Just do your thing and pay attention on the robot." I quickly change the subject, hoping he didn't hear me. Although from his smirk, that's clearly not the case.
"Okay. F-stop at two-point-eight," Beck goes back to focusing on the robot and sets his camera, "and focus."
Just as he clicks the button and the camera flashes, Cat jumps right in front of him in her new shoes. "Hiiii!!!!" Cat waves at us as she giggles.
Beck pulls the camera away from his face and stares at Cat with a blank look, "Hi." He sighs out, annoyed that his shot was ruined.
"Hey, Kit-Cat." I wave at Cat, chuckling at Beck.
"Look, I'm wearing Jupiter Boots!" Cat tells us as she excitedly points at her shoes and continues jumping. She is laughing like crazy the entire time.
"Any reason?" Beck asks, shrugging in question.
"So I can be bouncy!" Cat states simply. She doesn't give us any more explanation as she lets out a gleeful screech and then jumping away.
"Wait, Cat, stay right there for a moment." I call out to her in between laughs and she turns around. I lift up my camera and points it her way. After getting my hand to stop shaking from the laughter, I start counting. Right as I reach three, Cat jumps high and makes a heart shape with her arms while doing air-splits and I managed to get it on camera.
"Thanks, Cat!" I thank her, grinning at the result.
"See you later!" She screams out, followed by another screech.
"She's so cute." I chuckle, shaking my head at Cat jumping away. She keeps waving at people and screaming happily as she turns the corner and disappear.
Hearing the click of a camera, I turn my head to see Beck's camera is pointed at me instead of the robot. "Hey, your assignment is the robot." I remind him, raising an eyebrow.
"Well it's not my fault something else caught my eye." He replies to me with a smirk as he crosses his arms.
"Oh, aren't you charming?" I say flatly, rolling my eyes. "What did you do?"
"Why do you assume I did something?" He scoffs at me.
"Because unlike me, you are not naturally charming."
"Hey!"
"Seriously, what did you do?" I repeat the question, laughing at his offended face.
"Nothing, I swear!" He exclaims, throwing his hands to the air.
"Okay..." I jokingly squint my eyes in suspicion at him, watching as he goes back to taking pictures of the robot.
🎭
"See, this is exactly why you should do it from a long time ago." I tell André, messing around with one of the guitars in the classroom just as everyone else files out.
"Yeah, shut up." He shakes his head at me, checking the piano and the mic.
"Damn, someone's moody." I snicker, raising my hands in defense.
"Sorry." He sighs, "I just need to get this done quick. I only have two days left."
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'd be able to work something out with Jade." I assure him and go back to playing some chords on the guitar, "What happened to Tori, anyway?"
"She's cramming for the tech theater exam."
"She doesn't even take the class?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"No, but she wants to take R&B Vocals next semester. So she needs to pass this." André informs me.
"Well, good luck to her. Tech theater's a bitch." I grumble to myself.
That class is truly a bitch. I mean, I managed to pass with a 94 but still. I'd rather take cheerleading and risk breaking my bones than having to take that class again.
"Why can't you sing for me?" He pleads, sitting down on the chair in front of me.
I raise an eyebrow at him before copying his sigh, "Because we're in the same class. I'm not even supposed to be helping you with this!" I remind him.
"But, Lia...." He whines.
"André....." I imitate, whining back at him.
"Lia...."
"André...."
"Hey, man." Beck's voice stops our weird whining and I see him entering the room, pushing past some other students.
"Oh, hey." "Hey." We turn away from each other and smile at Beck.
"Jade's not here, yet?" He asks us, stopping behind my chair and messing around with the launchpad on the table beside me.
"She's on her way with Ana. They got held back in Geography." I inform him.
"Um... speaking of- about Jade." André starts, looking nervously at Beck.
"Yeah?" Beck looks at him to continue.
"Look, I know she's your friend since diapers and all. And don't take this the wrong way," André rambles on nervously before getting to the point, "but I dunno if she's the right girl to sing my song."
"Why not?" Beck furrows his eyebrows in confusion, his focus is mostly on the launchpad.
"Nothing, nothing important." André mumbles quietly while avoiding looking at Beck. I raise an eyebrow at him but he just sends me a pleading look for help.
"Jade scares him." I admit to Beck for him.
Beck stops pressing on the launchpad and looks at André in bewilderment, "Jade scares you?" He asks with a laugh.
"She scares everybody!" André exclaims defensively.
Just in time, Jade barges through the door with a pair of scissors in hand, pointed at us. "I am gonna kill him!" She screams loudly.
I hurriedly stand up from my seat and stand next to André who let out a terrified squeak. He grabs my arm and pulls me closer to the point where I am practically standing in front of him. I send him an unamused look before seeing Ana running up behind Jade with wide-eyes.
"What happened?" Beck asks calmly, also taking a step back from her and closer to André and I.
"Sinjin sat on my new scissors." Jade yells, showing us her scissors.
"Okay, babe, you need to calm down-" Ana tries to take the scissors away at André's fearful expression.
"I'm not gonna calm down!" Jade continues to yell and pulls away from Ana, "They're bent! They've lost their sizz!" She angrily flings the scissors away, impaling it straight into a poster at the other side of the room.
Ana, Beck, and I wince at that, looking at André who is silently begging us not to leave.
"I'll buy you another pair later." "You kids have fun." "Good luck." The three of us, smile at them, quickly leaving the room. I gave André a last pat on the arm before walking out.
"He's gonna have a hell of a time." I comment as we walk down the hallway.
"Yeah, tell me about it." And sighs.
"Should we go back and stay with them?" Beck asks worriedly, making us stop in our tracks.
"Or we can go to Nozu?" I suggest an alternative.
"Nozu it is." "Let's go." They nod in agreement and we continue our way out of the school.
🎭
~André's P.O.V.~
I tap my foot on the floor nervously as I stand in front of the Vega household. I sent Tori multiple texts already and now I'm just waiting for her to open the door.
This is bad. This is really, really bad.
I was about to send another text but the door was opened to reveal a messy and sleepy Tori.
"André." She whines at me in confusion, scratching her head.
"Did you get my text?!" I ask her almost immediately, not wanting to waste another second.
"Yes. Why do you think I'm standing here at three in the morning?!" She groans out.
"I'm trippin' out, Tori. I'm trippin' out!" I start freaking out, on the verge of crying.
Tori lets out a tired sigh and then stepping aside, "All right, just come in. Come in." She offers me.
I quickly pull my bike into the house, still gripping the handles very tightly. "Where is Lia? Is she here?" I ask her.
"No, she's still asleep. I can call her if-"
"No!" I cut her off in a panic, "Do not wake her up!"
She cannot know about this. Ana's her best friend. If I tell her, she'll tell Ana, and I can't let that happen.
"Now, go make me a cocoa." I beg Tori nervously, wanting something to calm me down.
"I'm not making cocoa." Tori states, closing the door. I groan out in pain and start rubbing the sides of my head.
This is bad. This is really, really bad. This is horrible.
"What is wrong with you?" Tori raises an eyebrow at me in confusion.
I open and close my mouth over and over again, trying to find a way to say it. After a while of her staring at me, I finally decide to just be out with it. "I think I'm in love with Jade." I admit, watching her eyes go wide and her mouth drops in shock.
"You're what?!" I hear a shout from the stairs.
Turning around, I see Lia standing there in her pajamas, gaping at me in surprise. Her right hand is frozen over her eye, I'm guessing she was rubbing the sleep out of it.
"You said she was asleep!" I whisper harshly to Tori.
"She was..." Tori trails off, still in shock.
"You're in love with Jade?!!" Lia asks me again, rushing down the stairs.
"No! No, you heard me wrong." I rapidly shake my head, "I said... I think, I'm in life.... with sage." I try to come up with something similar, "You know, the herb for all that health stuff." I explain to convince her more.
"That doesn't even make sense!" Lia exclaims to me.
"Yes, it does." I continue to try and convince her.
"André..." She says warningly, glaring at me.
"Okay, fine! I think I'm in love with Jade!" I repeat it, looking at her in panic.
"I'll make the cocoa." Tori whispers in shock. She walks past me to the kitchen, but not before sending me a judgemental glance.
🎭
~Thalia's P.O.V.~
I sit in the middle of the couch with my legs crossed under me. Tori is standing up at my right side while André is pacing the length of the kitchen to the living room. The three of us have a mug of cocoa in hand.
"You think you're in love with Jade?" Tori asks André again.
André thinks about it for a moment before sighing, "I think so."
"Dude..." I trail off, finding something to say. What the hell do you say to this?
"You cannot tell anyone about this!" André stops me pointedly with wide eyes, "Especially Ana!"
"Of course I won't tell her!" I exclaim in disbelief, "What the hell even happened tonight?!"
"I dunno." André whines out, "We were just working together, all night at school. And I just saw her sing, and then she just looked so... So pretty and sweet. And it was quiet, and just the two of us." He starts daydreaming.
"André!" I snap him out of his thoughts.
"Nothing! What? Nothing." He blinks at me in surprise.
"Dude, you can't love Jade." Tori tells him.
"Like I don't know that?! Ana is one of my closest friends, I would never try to move in on a friend's girl." He rants out, plopping down on the couch beside me, "I don't play that way."
"Good." Tori nods, putting her mug on the table and sitting down at my other side, "So just forget about this."
"He can't." I inform casually, letting out a yawn after sipping on my cocoa. It's three in the freaking morning. A part of me wants to sleep, but the other part wants to see how this goes.
"I can't!" André shouts stressfully again, holding his head as if it physically hurts.
"Why can't you?" Tori sighs, tilting her head at him.
"Have you met him?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow, pointing at André. He nods in agreement but Tori is just staring at us cluelessly.
"All right, see, ever since I was little, I could never keep my feelings inside. Even if I want to, I just can't." André starts to explain, "If I feel somethin', I gotta let it out, or else I get wonky in the head!" He yells the last part out and starts to sob.
"Okay, okay." "Calm down." Tori and I try to calm him down and stop him from crying again.
"Listen, I don't think you're in love with Jade." Tori tells him, stopping his cries.
"You don't?" André asks in confusion, not believing her words.
"No. You guys were just there, together, alone." Tori lists out various reasons for this confusing situation.
"Yeah, and it was late, you were tired." I add.
"Yeah...." He starts nodding in agreement, "We were tired, that's true."
"And you were writing a song, so you might've felt a bit more emotional." I continue.
"Uh-huh, I did." He looks at me as if this was a big revelation.
"And you forgot that Jade is a mean, vicious person, with deep psychological problems." Tori deadpans, staring at André.
"Yeah... I forgot those things."
"Hey, that's still my friend you're talking about!" I scoff at them.
"But by tomorrow, you'll be fine again." Tori comforts him, patting his arm.
"Yeah, you just need some rest." I advise, giving him a smile.
"Yeah, I bet." André sighs in relief, his tone more confident and calm. I bring the my mug over to my lips at the same time as Tori and André and the three of us take a loud sip simultaneously. "This cocoa is good." André compliments, pointing at his mug as he leans back on the couch.
"It's from Belgium." Tori informs him.
"That's probably why then." He nods in awe.
"Mmm-hmmm..." I reply tiredly before taking another sip.
🎭
"I'm not doing it." I shake my head at Tori, sipping on my coffee as I lean against the lockers beside hers.
Apparently Trina had borrowed something from her and refused to return it for no reason. And she needs it for her tech theater exam which is tomorrow. Since, I'm the better one at grabbing something from someone else. It's a talent I'm not proud of.... Well, maybe a little proud. But anyway, now she wants me to take it.
"Why not? Look, please...." Tori whines as she takes out the books from her locker.
"Because I don't want to." I simply state.
"I'll pay you ten bucks." She offers.
"Twenty-five and we got a deal." I negotiate, raising an eyebrow challengingly at her.
"Deal." She nods quickly, taking out the money from her wallet and handing it to me.
"Pleasure doing business with you." I smirk, slipping it into my back pocket.
"Hey, what's up?" I hear André's voice from behind me.
"Tori's paying me to steal from Trina." I tell him, smirking at Tori.
"It's not like that, you don't know the whole thing!" Tori defend herself when André turns to her with wide, judgemental eyes
"So, how you doin'?" I slowly ask André.
"You know, feeling wonky about.... Jade?" Tori elaborates, whispering the name after looking around the hallway.
André thinks about it for a second before shrugging, "Nah, I think I got my wonk under control."
"Well, just in case you don't." I say, pulling out a small spray bottle from my bag, "I got your back."
"You just randomly carry that around?" Tori asks me in confusion.
"No, I borrowed it from Cat." I shrug, looking at the pink, sparkly bottle.
"Good." André nods at me, "But I probably just need to-"
"Shh, shhh. Be cool, be cool." Tori suddenly cuts him off, glancing over his shoulder.
I lean forward from the lockers to see Ana, Jade, and Beck walking over while talking to each other. "Well, that is gonna be hard for you." I joke, smirking at Tori.
"Okay, be cool, be cool." André repeats nervously.
"I said be cool!" Tori argues with him.
"Wow, you two are so not cool." I roll my eyes at them and push myself off the lockers. I go to stand beside them instead of in between, still holding onto the spray bottle but keeping it out of Ana, Jade, and Beck's sights.
"Hey." "Hi." "What's up?" Ana, Jade, and Beck greet us cheerily.
"Hey." "Sup?" "Hello." The three of us greet them back, trying to match the cheery tone casually.
"So... can I hear the song?" Jade immediately asks André with a wide smile.
"Uh...." André trails off, "Oh yeah, I just gotta-"
"Hiii!" Cat's laughter stops him as she jumps past us, "Byeeee!!!" She waves gleefully, jumping away.
"How is she not tired?" I ask loudly, going on my tip-toes to see her jumping up the stairs.
"So the song?" Jade repeats her question.
"Hmm?" André squeaks out quietly and nervously.
Oh this is not good.
"Jade wants to hear the song you guys recorded together." Tori tells him with a nod, telling him to say something.
"Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah." André nods in realization, "I'll email it to you." He tells Jade, "Y'know, via the internet." He adds.
Oh God... I am mentally facepalming myself. He could've just stopped after "to you".
"Via?" Jade squints her eyes at him weirdly, getting confused.
"Don't you think you guys should listen to the song together?" Ana asks in the same confusion.
"No, why together? She can listen to it by herself." André brushes her off, "I didn't do anything!" He panics towards the end.
I subtly lift up the spray bottle and spray his back, wetting his shirt. I made sure that no one saw that. André looks at me with a panicked look before turning back to Ana and Jade.
"What's going on?" Beck mouths to me in confusion but I just shake my head in response.
"Okay...." Jade trails off, getting weirded out, "Email it to me." She tells him before walking away with Ana.
"Via the internet?" Ana replays the words.
"That's weird, right?" Jade asks her.
When they were a little further away, Beck looks at us in question, "Are you gonna tell me?"
"Tell what?" "Nothing." "About what?" We shake our heads, not planning on telling him.
"All right..." He furrows his eyebrows, "You coming to class?" He directs the question to me since we're the only two to have Museum Studies.
"Yeah, you go ahead. I gotta talk to Tori about something first." I gesture at Tori and André, "Just save me a seat."
"You got it." He gives me a thumbs-up and walks away.
"Thank you." I call out before turning to André, "Are you out of your mind?!" I whisper-yell to him, lifting the bottle and spraying right at his face.
"Maybe you are in love with Jade." Tori accepts, shaking her head.
"No!" I turn to whisper-yell at her, spraying the water to her face.
"Shhh, don't say that!" André pleads her, wiping the water from his face.
"But what if you are?" Tori questions, pushing my hand away.
"I am." André mumbles.
"André!" "You are?!" Tori and I exclaim.
"No! Stop it! Spray me again!" He turns to me and closes his eyes. I did as he said and after five sprays, he lets out a yell and runs off. When he turns the corner, he bumps into Robbie.
"Are you ok-?" Robbie tries to ask.
"I can't talk about it!" André only cries out before continuing to run away.
"Man, André's acting wonky." Rex comments, approaching Tori and I.
"Yeah..." Tori sighs out.
"What's his deal?" Robbie asks us.
"Ooooh, it's.... Nothing." Tori trails off.
"None of your business." I tell them bluntly, spraying them in the face once before walking off to my next class.
🎭
"Thalia, are you sure you don't want anything ?" Mom asks me as she puts on her coat.
"Yeah, no, I'm good. Thanks." I nod at her, staying in my place at the dining table.
My laptop is in front of me as I edit the pictures I've taken so far. Some of the pictures are really good, especially after cleaning it up, adjusting the balance and contrast, and sharpening it. Other pictures, are better erased.
"Okay. If you need anything just call me." She tells me.
"Got it, thanks, mom."
"Oh, hi, André. C'mon in." I hear mom say.
Looking up from my laptop, I see André walking in and waving at me. He looks confused and completely clueless. Which, is probably how he feels right now. Tori apparently had a plan on helping with André's "crush" and I'm supposed to just be there with the spray bottle.
"Thanks, Mrs. Vega. Uh, Tori asked me to come over tonight, for somethin'." André informs mom, taking a seat on the couch. "You know what about?" He turns to me in question.
"I dunno." I shrug, not having a single clue either.
"Tori! André's here to see you!" Mom yells out towards the stairs. She grabs her bag and car keys from the table as she informs André, "Well, I'm gonna head to the market. Make yourself at home."
"Ooo, make sure you pick up some more of that Belgian Cocoa." He tells her at the last minute.
Mom looks at him weirdly before glancing at me but I just hold my hands up. "All right." She nods and quickly leaves the house.
"So what exactly am I doing here?" André turns on the couch to look at me again.
"I don't know." I repeat, "All I know is that I'm supposed to be here, with this." I tell him, pointing at the spray bottle on the table.
"Okay... But-"
I hear stomps echoing down the stairs, followed by Tori's voice, weird voice, "What are you doing in my house?"
Tori walks over to André and glares at him. She is wearing clothes that look a lot like Jade's and she is wearing a wig. The wig is complete with the extensions and all that.
"What in the name of gravy?" André stands up from his seat and furrows his eyebrows.
"Something weird is happening and I'm not sure I wanna stay." I mumble to myself as I approach them, the editing long forgotten.
"Okay, here's an idea." Tori lifts a finger to us, "Say something intelligent or shut your face." She barks rudely.
"Why are you all dressed up like Jade?" André asks her after sharing a look with me.
"Yeah, this is all weirdly detailed." I add, gesturing at her outfit.
Tori doesn't answer but she hands us each a piece of paper, nodding at us to read it.
"I'm helping you. Just pretend I'm Jade, and you'll see why you don't wanna be in love with a girl like her." André reads.
"Rude much." I mutter out. When she turns to me and nods at my paper, "If André slips up, spray him." I read it while rolling my eyes.
"Congrats, you can read at a second grade level." Tori snaps at us, trying to match Jade's mannerism.
"This isn't gonna work." André sighs out. Tori pulls out another piece of paper and hands it to him, "Yes it will. C'mon, just go with it." He reads before shrugging, "All right. So, Jade." He pockets the note and looks at Tori.
"What?" Tori asks boredly, her voice sounding more like Estelle from FRIENDS than Jade.
"Less pitchy, deeper." I advise her, taking a step back and sitting on the couch.
"Nobody asked you." Tori rolls her eyes at me but fixes her voice.
"Dang girl." I raise an eyebrow at her.
André clears his throat to bring the attention to him again, "So, Jade, wanna go to a movie?"
"Sure," Tori agrees, "let's go see Death of a Kitten." She picks the worst movie in the theater.
That's not even a horrific movie, just bad effects and cinematography.
"Or maybe we should just go out and get a burger." André suggests something else.
"Beef makes me puke." Tori replies casually, rolling her eyes and looking away.
"Dang girl." André states in surprise.
Before anyone can say anything else, the door opens and dad walks in with his bag and a newspaper in one hand, and a paper bag in the other. "Tori, Lia, I got you milkshakes from In-N-Out." He shows us the bag and puts it on the coffee table, "Vanilla and chocolate, right?" He asks, pointing at Tori and then me.
"Yeah, thanks, dad." I grin at him, quickly grabbing the bag and taking out my milkshake.
"Hey, André. Sorry, I didn't know you were here." Dad smiles tightly at André.
"No problem, Mr. Vega." André waves him off.
"By the way, have you two seen my glasses?" Dad turns to me and Tori again.
I was about to answer, but Tori beats me to it, "Uh, I'm not your little find-it girl, all right?" She complains at him, "So if you lost your glasses, maybe you should lock yourself in the basement, and cry about it." She rants at him.
"Dang girl." Dad raises an eyebrow at her and shakes his head.
"You left it in the kitchen, I put it on your bedside." I inform dad, snickering at Tori's acting of Jade.
"And this is why you're my favorite." Dad smiles down at me and ruffles my hair before making his way up the stairs.
"Hmm, yeah." I let out a noise between a chuckle and a scoff, pulling my head away from him and patting down the hair.
"Uh, don't you think you were a little mean to you dad.... Jade?" André questions, looking her up and down.
"Deal with it." Tori scoffs, plopping down on the other side of the couch, "'Cuz if you and I are ever boyfriend-girlfriend, I'll be way meaner to you." She tells him in a threatening tone, leaning closer.
I see André staring at Tori closely before slowly leaning in. "Uhh- What're- Hey, now-" Tori starts stuttering and try to scramble away.
"Oh, Jade..." I hear André say and I quickly stand up with the bottle in hand.
"André!" Tori grabs a pillow from behind her and smacks his face with it, just in the same time I reach them and start spraying him.
"I- I'm- I'm sorry!" André starts apologizing.
"Yeah, you better be sorry." Tori is still in character as she hits André with the pillow again.
"Stop being mean to me or I swear to God, I'm gonna keep falling for you." André blurts out randomly.
"Ahh!" Tori shouts in panic.
"No!" I yell out, spraying him again as much as possible.
"Ahh!" André screams in protest. "What is wrong with me?!" He pushes my hand away and stands up from the couch, pacing a hole on the floor, "You just seemed so much like Jade, and I got all...."
"Wonky?" Tori finishes his sentence, taking the wig off.
"Willy wonky!" André corrects her, rubbing his head in pain.
"That's an understatement." I tell him, rolling my eyes while still keeping hold of the spray bottle.
"Man..." Tori sighs, looking at him sadly, "You're really messed up about this."
André lets out a defeated sigh before sitting back down on the end of the couch, "Y'know, last night, after- After I got home." He stops himself, grabbing a pillow and laying down on the couch with his head on my lap. He hugs the pillow close to his chest, like he's scared.
"Yeah?" I urge him to continue, looking down at him sadly.
This whole thing is really screwing with him.
"I couldn't sleep." He admits, "So I stayed up till dawn, writing a song about Jade."
"You wrote her a song? That's so sweet." Tori awes with a smile.
"It's evil!" André screams out, putting the pillow aside just as I start spraying Tori.
"Not really helping, T." I whisper to her.
"She's Ana's girlfriend." André states, staring sadly at me.
"Yeah, I know." I sigh, patting his head.
"We know, I know." Tori groans.
"Here, you can have Tori's." I reach my hand out to the coffee table and grab Tori's milkshake, giving it to him.
"Thank you." He mumbles, sitting up on the couch and drinks it. The pout is still on his face and his forehead is scrunched up in thought.
"Okay, okay." Tori suddenly says, "Wait, wait, wait, wait." She looks at us with a grin.
"What?"
"The song you wrote about her, you expressed your feelings in that song, right?" Tori asks him.
"Yeah..." André answers warily, going back to drinking the milkshake.
"So... just sing Jade that song and then you can get over her." Tori suggests.
"If I sing her the song, then she's gonna know how I feel. And then Ana will know. And then I'm a bad person!" He starts ranting, "And I promised my grandma, I'd never be a bad person! Y'know, before she lost her mind." He adds the last part quietly.
"Well, Jade doesn't have to know the song's about her." Tori tries to convince him.
"Her name's in it, like ten times. And I didn't just use Jade, I used Jadelyn. Which means there's only her!" André argues, sipping the milkshake loudly in stress.
"Not if you change all the Jadelyns into baby." I shrug pointedly.
André stops drinking his milkshake and looks at me, "Baby.... Yeah, baby could be anybody."
"Uh-huh. Then you sing your song tomorrow night at school, the Friday Night Concert." Tori recommends, "Jade'll be in the audience."
"You can sing her the your song and no one else will ever know it's for her." I tell him with a smirk.
"I don't know if I can do it." André shakes his head, "I'm feeling very emotional." He brings a hand to his face and starts to cry.
"You want us to sing it with you?" Tori asks him with a pout.
"Yes, please." André continues to cry loudler.
"Oh." I awe, putting an arm around him and rubbing his shoulder. Tori pats his hand comfortingly.
"You two are good friends, thank you." André continues to cry.
"Just don't go falling for me too." I joke, snickering to myself.
Apparently they didn't find that funny. Tori stares at me with a blank look and André lifts his hand away from his face, staring at me with teary eyes.
"No comedic timing?" I ask sheepishly, giving them a grimace smile.
🎭
~Beck's P.O.V.~
"Okay, what about this one?" I ask Lizzie, showing her the picture in my camera.
We are seated at the back of some truck in the parking lot. The entire lot is crowded with students singing and dancing together and we needed to talk about the project. So this was the quietest place here.
"That one's good." She nods, putting her chips aside. "What about the one you took at the diner? I thought the one with the sort of, lights backdrop was good."
"I don't know about that one. I tried editing it, but it didn't end well." I tell her with a wince, scrolling through the pictures.
She leans over my shoulder and looks at the picture once I found it. "Well, that's not so bad." She shrugs, "Just edit it here and there and cover some of the things with Photoshop."
"Isn't that cheating?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.
"No." She scoffs, "Okay, for this one, maybe. But it's fine." She waves me off, going back to eating her chips. I laugh at her and shake my head.
"Lia, we're up in two minutes." Tori approaches us and tells her before walking away again.
"Got it!" Lizzie yells out, covering her mouth since she was still chewing.
"I thought you weren't gonna sing tonight." I say to her, remembering that she wanted to just take some extra pictures for the project.
"Yeah, but I figured I've got enough already." She tells me nonchalantly, "Besides, I'm only singing backup. André's got this great song."
"He just wrote it?" I ask her.
"Yep." She nods, hopping down from the truck.
"And he said he had trouble for the semester project." I chuckle.
"Yeah, well, he suddenly got an inspiration." Lizzie wiggles her eyebrows, emphasizing on the last word.
"Lia, come on!" I hear André calling her from the bottom of the stairs to the PA.
"I gotta go." She tells me, gathering up the plastic cup and the bag of chips she had eaten.
"So it's about someone he likes?" I ask her with a smirk, wanting to know more about André's song.
She pauses in her actions and looks at me, "Maybe." She shrugs, "Maybe not. Maybe it's from me." She jokes, sending me a wink before running away to where André and Tori are waiting for her.
I stare at her in surprise. I kept my gaze on her as she walks up the stairs to the PA. She stops halfway through and smirks at me. Now she definitely knows that it affected me.
She was just joking. Right?
"Okay. Coming up next, we got André Harris, Thalia Vega, and Tori Vega, singing an original song, written by André. Give it up, everybody!" I hear our gym teacher announce from the PA.
Ana, Jade, and I cheer loudly for them. We are still seated at the back of a truck away from the crowd in the middle. Ana and Jade are cuddling together in the corner while I sit at the end with my feet dangling out and the camera still in my hand.
"This is a song I wrote, for uh-" André says into the mic.
"For his dog." Tori cuts him off and grabs the mic from him. I see Thalia laughing at her but doesn't say anything.
"I love my dog." André nods in agreement before they start playing the song.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
André
Monday, well baby I fell for you
Tuesday, I wrote you this song
André, Thalia, Tori
Wednesday, I'll wait outside your door
André
Even though I know it's wrong
Thalia and Tori
Seven days a week, every hour of the month
Gotta let you know where my heart is coming from
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
I see André looking over here for a second. I glance around the truck and then at Jade and Ana before seeing him again. But when he realized I was staring at him, he glances away and focuses on the guitar.
Lizzie looks at him with a smile before looking down at the crowd.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
André, Thalia, Tori
I shouldn't feel this way but I gotta say
André
Baby, gotta let you know
I will try
André, Thalia, Tori
Everything
André
To make you come
André, Thalia, Tori
Closer to me
André
Baby 'till
André, Thalia, Tori
You believe
It's not just a phase
André
How can I get
André, Thalia, Tori
It through
You're the one I can't lose
I'll try 365 days
365 ways to get to you
To get to you, you, you, baby
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
Ana managed to drag Jade to dance halfway through the song. I look at the parking lot, filled with everyone dancing as I tap my feet to the beat of the song.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
André
Every second
Every tick tick of the clock
Thalia and Tori
Tick tick of the clock
André
I want you all to myself
Thalia and Tori
All to myself
André, Thalia, Tori
Every second
Every tick tick of the clock
I just can't help myself
Feeling kinda guilty
But girl I can't stop
André
I don't want nobody else
André, Thalia, Tori
No one else
No one el-el-el-else
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
Looking around when I hear Cat's loud laugh again, my eyes stop when I see Raelynn dancing with her friends. I don't have to look up to see that Lizzie has the same smile on her face.
God, why do I care? I am screwed up.
I try to push that away and force a smile when I see Lizzie smiling down at me. That smile stopped being forced when I see her grin wider and dance around, completely carefree.
Okay, this is getting creepy....
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
André
I will try
André, Thalia, Tori
Everything
To make you come closer to me
I'll try 365 days
365 ways to get to you
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
They finish the song and I cheer loudly, clapping and shouting at them.
Lizzie sends me a smile that gives me all-kinds of feelings. The one that is making me yearn for whatever.
Yeah, I really gotta do something about this.
🎭
~Thalia's P.O.V.~
"That was amazing." "Oh my God." "You were so good." "And now it's over." Ana, Jade, Beck, Cat, Robbie, and Trey run up to us the second we got down the last step of the stairs.
We exchange hugs with each other and smiles as they keep complimenting us. I see Jade hugging André from the corner of my eye while I was hugging Beck. They pull away and André continues to gaze at her a little bit longer. Jade still gives him a smile but you can tell she's starting to get uncomfortable.
"Hey, they got spaghetti-tacos over there!" Rex calls out, thankfully breaking André's stare.
"Let's go!" "Spaghetti-tacos!" "Come on!" "Yay!" They quickly jog over to the food cart, leaving André, Tori, and I alone.
"Jade hugged you." Tori states to André.
"Yeah, she did." André sighs with a shrug.
"So... you okay now?" Tori asks him.
"You wonky?" I continue to ask.
"Not sure, it might take me a little while before I know it." He shakes his head. But he doesn't seem as sad as yesterday, so that's good.
"Well, if you ever need me to spray you again, I got your back." I pat his shoulder, nodding at him.
"Yeah, thanks." He chuckles.
"Oh my gosh, André. That song was so hot." A girl walked up to André, putting a hand on his arm.
"Yeah?" André smiles, looking at her in surprise.
"Yeah. Wanna go hang?" She asks, pointing to somewhere else.
André looks back at Tori and I with raised eyebrows and we nod at him. "I could hang." He smirks, letting her pull him away.
He stops walking and goes back to us only to say, "Jade who?" With a chuckle before going back to the girl.
"Well that was fast." Tori tells me, laughing.
"Yeah." I laugh along with her, watching André and the girl flirt, "Now, come on. I love me some spaghetti-taco." I grab her arm and pull her to where everyone else is gathered.
ヽ(^o^)丿
Thalia and Beck are starting to happen more. We're getting there, guys!
Also, tried a new pov because Lia doesn't really have much influence in the episode.
And Beck's pov was useless. In my head it was gonna be better and now it's just bad.
So I'm actually having my semester exams right now, which means, chances are I'm not gonna be updating in, like, a week or two. Probably. Sorry guys.
That's why I'm bribing you with Balia content so you guys don't get mad lol.
While I'm stressing over school work, I kinda need help...
I need some suggestions about how Beck can make Thalia trust him again. Like maybe a small gestures that might help. Cause I think that the Opening Night chapter was pretty a pretty good start. But tbh, it's definitely not enough and I am dead clueless from here on out.
Anyways, I hope you all have a great day / night!
And good luck to anyone with exams and assignments and others!
𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹: 11-29-21