Closer to the Ground (Kidge One Shots)

Chapter 4: The Punk and the Nerd

     "Katie?" Keith said as he knelt down next to her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

      "Why would you care!" Katie spat, turning away from him.

       "Look, I know I was rude to you before. I know that I was putting my anger in false blame. But I also worry when a close friend to my family starts running off into the woods for no reason." Keith said.

     "It wasn't for no reason..." Katie mumbled as she looked down at her lap.

      "What?" Keith asked.

      "I said it wasn't for no reason," Katie said holding up her brother's phone.

        "Is that-?" Keith asked holding the phone.

        "My brother's phone. He kept it on him w-when the a-accident h-happened and---" Katie said, breaking into sobs. She tried to finish her sentence and to stop crying but she couldn't.

       "Hey, hey. It's okay. We will find them, it's going to be okay," Keith said, bringing Katie into his arms. Lance and Hunk came through the clearing and after seeing Katie in tears, rushing over and tried to comfort her as well.

      "My goodness, Matt leaves his stuff all over the place, now where did he leave his dang phone." Someone said. The group looked up to see Shiro talking to himself on the other side of the clearing, looking for Matt's phone.

    "Shiro?" Keith said. Shiro looked up, his eyes shocked. "Shiro!" Keith let go of Katie and ran towards his brother, enveloping him in a hug. "I thought you were gone!" The brothers held onto one another tightly, but Katie was left behind, tears coming back all over again. Why this isn't fair! How come Keith's brother, Keith the guy who blamed me, who didn't even try to find his brother, how come he finds his family. How is this fair at all?

    "Keith, I am so happy to see you, but how did you find me?" Shiro asked, hugging Keith back.

    "I didn't, Katie made a tracker on-wait Katie, where's Matt?" Keith said.

     "He's back at camp, I can take you guys to him if you'd like," Shiro said, Keith nodded and he and his brother walked over to the others. Katie was still crying, looking down at the phone on her lap. Shiro knelt down in front of her. "Hey, you found Matt's phone, he's been looking for it everywhere, we should probably get it back to him. Shouldn't we."

    Katie looked up, she was still mad at him, at Keith, at everything that she was boiling.

    "Is he even alive, or are you just playing with me." Katie snapped. She looked at Shiro with anger and sadness in her eyes, and even Shiro himself looked taken aback.

    "Katie, he is alive.  He is at camp in that direction. Why would I lie to you?" Shiro said. Katie stood up and walked in the direction that Shiro had pointed in.

     "I don't know. Why would you lie to me." Katie fired. She stomped over in the direction of the camp and the others quickly followed suit. 

    Katie finally got to the camp, which was a small cave with the plane ruins scattered and a fire pit just outside of the opening. Matt stood there, tending to the fire, not looking up.

    "I don't know why we need my phone, Shiro. It's pointless, but did you find it anyway?" Matt asked without looking up. Katie stomped up to him.

     "MATTEW HOLT HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!" Katie shouted at him. Matt looked up at her with happiness, shock, fear, and a jumble of many other emotions. "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SENT ME A MESSAGE THAT YOU WERE OKAY! BUT NO! I GOT NOTHING! I DO'T EVEN HAVE MOM ANYMORE! SHE TRIED TO KILL HERSELF OVER THIS AND HAD TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL!!"

       "K-Katie?" Matt stuttered, now backing away from her. At this point, the others had caught up with and they silently watched the fray.

        "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD YOU IDOIT!" Katie shouted. "I thought I-I h-had l-lost you!" Katie broke into tears and tackled Matt, burying her face into his chest.

        "Katie, I am so sorry. I missed you so so much. I thought I'd never see you again." Matt said holding his sister. "Dad will be back in camp soon. So what happened to Mom?"

        "S-she tried to kill herself a couple of times. After the second they took her to the home for the depressed." Katie said. Keith's eye's widened. I treated her like that, after all she had been through. She lost her whole family.

       "Katie?" Samuel said. He rushed and hugged his daughter tight. "I missed you so much!"

       "Dad, Katie said mom tried to kill herself," Matt said. Samuel looked at Katie who nodded and both Samuel and Katie cried in one another's arms.

        "How did you find us!" Matt asked.

         "Hunk, Lance, I made a phone tracker that would work on dead phones so I tracked Matt's phone. I found it in the meadow, that's when Shiro appeared." Katie said. The group talked as they left the forest. It was evening now and while Matt, Samuel, and Shiro said goodbye, Keith walked up to Katie.

       "Katie I am so sorry, I had no idea what had happened to you and I let my anger got out of hand and--," Keith stopped short, looking down at Katie was wrapped around his torso.

      "I forgive you. I'd forgive you a thousand times over." Katie said. Keith smiled and hugged her back, the world feeling almost right.