waitress // lrh

36 // precious

"Sh- should we tell Calum?" Cate asked softly.

My stomach dropped at the thought. Although telling my best friend that I was romantically inclined towards his little sister would be a good idea at some point, I would rather poke out my eye with a fork.

"N- not now," I just said. "At some point, though."

"Okay," Cate murmured, turning back to her movie. She laid her head back on my lap with a contented sigh as I continued to run my fingers through her hair.

//

"Luke,"

I didn't move.

"Luke,"

I groaned, but kept my eyes shut.

"Luke!"

Soft hands shook me gently. I still didn't stir, only half-awake.

"Luke, you're crushing me."

Is that Catie?

"Catie?" I asked slowly, my voice rasping in my throat.

I opened my eyes groggily, the first thing I saw being the pillow. Adjusting my gaze, I noted that I was nearly smothering the little girl, her hands pressing on my shoulder as an attempt to move me.

"O-oh, I'm sorry, princess," I mumbled thickly, trying my best to roll off of her.

"Thank you," she mumbled, with some indignance. She started to prop herself up, taking a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly, aware of her not really looking at me.

"I'm fine," Cate nearly snapped.

Taken aback, I didn't respond.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I'm just frustrated."

"Don't worry about it," I grunted, moving to rest on my elbows. "I should be apologizing, not you."

Cate exhaled shakily, tucking her knees up to her chest. "I just have a lot of stuff on my mind. Let's- let's just forget about it."

Very different from the shy little girl I met in the break room three months ago. Her voice held no trace of timidity, and when my hand grazed against her thigh absently she didn't even blink.

I was glad she opened up to me. I think that there wasn't a version of Cate that I wasn't in love with, even the exasperated one I was with right now.

"Do you want me to get you breakfast?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to say something that would make her snap at me. I had a nasty temper when I was angry, and I didn't want to snap back at her as a reflex.

She shrugged, not really looking at me.

"Catie, I don't know how to act," I said.

Catelynn sighed heavily. "I don't know, Luke. I- I..." She trailed off, not really looking at me.

I moved to sit up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She leaned into me.

We sat like that for a few minutes, before she pulled back with a subtle whine. "L- let's go get breakfast."

We ate at a diner, not too far from my apartment. It was pretty empty on a Sunday morning, except for a few middle aged balding men who were probably divorced dads with an aquarium full of fish on their kitchen counter.

Cate had her feet in my lap under the table as we ate. She was wearing one of my sweatshirts, and her hair was in a ponytail, which looked different because of her shorter hair.