Jen's POV
"Yeah, neon color is great" I said, trying to force a smile.
Somehow Kate was really excited about her cast, she was telling the story of how she took the hardest decision in her life, which was to choose the color of her cast.
"Yeah, but this neon color specifically... it's like neon but like orange, it's great, isn't it?" Kate said to me, her smile wide as she faced me.
"How long do you have to keep it on?" Sofía asked, stealing glances at Kate from time to time.
"Two weeks" Kate proudly stated.
She says that her arm is not exactly broken, but that it was almost broken, so she has to keep the cast on for two weeks or so, just for precaution and to avoid getting a real fracture. The truth is that I really didn't get much about what the doctor said to her, Kate's excitement made really difficult to focus.
"So much for the lioness to be this fragile" Brianna teased, looking briefly at Kate from the rearview mirror.
"I...actually...wanted to wear a cast" Kate lied. "Lionesses are also known to make plans...like the one I did....to wear a cast...." She added, her lies obvious.
"You should have said you wanted to wear a cast; I would have helped" Brianna said smirking evilly. "You didn't even break your arm for real" Brianna said, somehow giving me the idea that she was offering to break Kate's bones?
"I- this is us starting a friendship? Because friends can joke like that with each other, strangers can't" Kate explained with a playful tone.
The doctors gave Kate pain killers, and for the way she keeps talking and talking, it was obvious that she wasn't in pain anymore, at the contrary, she and Brianna, against all odds, were the ones who weren't nervous about this ride home.
To me, and I guess to Sofía too, Brianna's car could become a crime scene at any second. Kate would only have to say a joke that Brianna finds unamusing...and it would be the end of Kate and me, because obviously Sofía is not dying.
"Who said I was joking?" Brianna replied in a very scary but calm voice.
I squirmed in my seat, and Sofía's eyes found mine, both of us were obviously tense about the situation, and Brianna and Kate's comments were making it worse.
And I guess neither of us expected them to kinda...get along...because that's what they are doing. And it's scary...and wrong.
"I-...I feel like I should be scared...but also a part of me is like 'If you befriend this lady, no one will ever do as much as say your name incorrectly because they will be afraid your bestie will turn them into stone'...so I guess I'll take my chances in dying trying to befriend you" Kate explained oddly, and Sofía got rigid once she mentioned the Medusa reference.
"I'd turn you into stone before you had the chance to befriend me" Brianna said sarcastically.
"Yeah whatever, bestie" Kate mocked while Brianna rolled her eyes, completely ignoring Kate's childish attempts of getting on her good side.
Me, on the other hand, couldn't ignore a single one of Kate's comments. I knew Kate was very talkative and tried to make a friend out of everyone, but I was used of her wanting me to be her friend and setting her undivided attention on me. Not on Brianna. Why Brianna anyways?
"I'm this close of throwing you out of my car" Brianna warned, and I don't know if it was me, but I didn't hear a single drop of amusement in her voice.
"Is this where you live Miss. Montgomery?" Sofía asked in a hurry, of course she already knew where I lived, but my guess is that she was just as uncomfortable as I was with Kate's and Brianna's chat, and she wanted to cut it short as soon as possible.
"Yeah, it's there" I said pointing out to where my house was. Kate turned to look at me sadly once she realized my house was just thirty seconds away.
"Don't leave me with the lady that offered to practically murder me" she said in a whisper, signaling to the driver's seat where Brianna was.
"You were so eager to befriend her three seconds ago" I said also in a whisper, a hint of jealousy showing in my voice.
"Yeah, because I saw in a documental that serial killers are less likely to kill you if they like you" Kate whispered, half joking and half rising her voice a little in a desperate manner.
"This is you Montgomery" Brianna announced once she parked right in front of my house, looking at me intensely.
I forced a smile and took my bag, Kate's small hand found mine and gave it a light tug. I turned a little to face her, and her eyes showed pure desperation and sadness.
"Do you want to come in?" I asked without actually thinking, but I never regrated saying it either.
I ignored Sofía and Brianna's looks as I said those words, my heart fluttering with something unknown as soon as Kate's face lit up at my question, and her grip on my hand tightened.
"What? No?"
"I'd love to!"
Sofía and Kate replied at the same time, I didn't saw Sofía's expression but I'm sure she wasn't happy with the situation, Kate on the other hand, was beaming.
"Well, see you tomorrow Sofía, Miss. Rotholo" I said looking at them briefly, and when I looked over at Brianna, I could swear that I saw almost as if she was smiling knowingly at me. Weird.
I got out of the car and then helped Kate to get out with me, Sofía's complains could be heard for the first 30 seconds, but then Brianna's voice said something inaudible, and they stopped. Sofía is so whipped.
Kate and I looked at them one last time before we got into my house, thank G-d I cleaned yesterday.
Kate started wondering around and paying attention to every little detail, I let her look around while I went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for her.
"Thanks for having me over" she said taking the glass from my hands.
"You're welcome, I couldn't live with myself if I'd let you be murdered" I said smiling at her. "You can sit here if you want, and I know it might be a dumb question...but how are you feeling? Any better? Oh, and don't lie, I know you have a thing for acting all tough...but don't do it with me" I said, taking a seat in the couch besides her.
"I feel good, I mean the painkillers are great, I don't know how I'll feel when the effect passes but, right not I'm great" Kate said after taking a sip of her water.
"Okay, then you'll stay until the effect passes so I can be here and take of you" I said resting my head on my hand, Kate's eyes light up and she looked at me intensely.
"I wasn't afraid Miss. Rotholo was going to murder me...not really" Kate started, her eyes never leaving mine. "The truth is that I really didn't want to be alone...and... not just that but I wanted to be with you. I really think of you as my friend, and I know that it upsets you or annoys you, or maybe both...but just thank you for being so nice, even to someone like me" she ended, looking at the floor when she said the last part.
Even though most of the school hated Kate and tried to intimidate her, she never showed vulnerability in front of them. So, it always amazed me how different and human she could be when she was with me, and it made me believe in the veracity of her words.
"And...I don't wanna impose, but I want you to invite me over again some day so...let me cook for you" Kate said excitedly, ending her moment of vulnerability and in an instant going back to her over-confident self.
She walked around the house as if she owned the place, she got into the kitchen and started opening every drawer to see what was there.
"You are wearing a cast, you know?" I pointed out, smiling lightly.
"And you are wearing a beautiful dress...and you also have a beautiful house" she said, getting out some ingredients from the fridge.
"For real Kate, don't worry about it...we can order pizza and watch a movie or something. I just want to make sure you are all right, you can be my personal chef some other time" I said joking, and distantly aware that I was smiling like an idiot.
"That's the point, my dear Monty, I want this to happen a second time, so I better start making a good impression" Kate ended. "Also, I'm fine, you just choose the movie and I'll start making this pasta" she said grinning, those painkillers must do wonders.
"Fine, but if you start feeling any pain, just leave everything there, I really don't mind ordering pizza or pasta or whatever you want" I said looking at her intensely while she just smiled at me, starting to work on her dish.
"Wait...did you just- did you just called me Monty?" I asked unable to hold my laugh once her last nickname for me sink in.
She fully smiled at the sound of my laugh, and I knew I should be acting very different around her. I knew I shouldn't have invited her over, I shouldn't be letting her cook for me; and I knew I shouldn't let her be this close to me after what happened with the last student I grew this attached to, but Kate was...Kate.
I felt very close to her when she told me her side of the story in her breakup with Sofía, because I've felt everything she described. Before I told Sofía I had feelings for her, I admitted feeling very small next to her and it basically sucked. So, I can't imagine what Kate must have felt while being that young, and alone.
"You know, Monty is short for Montgomery" Kate explained grinning. "You refuse telling me your first name so I guess Monty will have to do" she added fully smiling.
She was about to take a big pot, so I hurried towards her and helped her carry it; our fingers brushing lightly, making my heart race a mile per hour.
"I'm your teacher, we are not in a first name basis" I said grinning, my eyes glued to her. She told me where to put the pot and then urged me to get out of the kitchen.
"I wanna cook for you, you can't help" she said looking at me kindly yet trying to be stern. I rolled my eyes and took a seat in the counter; she shook her head but didn't say anything this time about me being in her workstation.
"Okay if we are not in a first name basis, you may call me Katerina Voigth every time you refer to me" she said crossing her arms.
I arched one of my eyebrows and smirked. "Okay...Katerina Voigth" I said, trying to say her name correctly and with a German accent...but failing miserably.
Kate turned rapidly to me and directed me a laugh, I laughed with her, and she got back to work, and for some reason I couldn't get my eyes off her.
"Nope, you're ruining my name for me Monty" she said laughing and I gave her a trying-to-look-angry-but-I-was-obviously-very-amused-look. "I thought maybe I could guess your name but what if I call you your archnemesis name...or your ex's boyfriend girlfriend name that you actually hate!" Kate half yelled in a very funny tone.
I laughed at her, and she smiled again, sometimes I think she prepared all her jokes one night before just to make me laugh, because she always tries and succeeds at it. She put the pasta in the pot with boiling water and started working on something else, I was looking at her, not at what she was doing.
"I don't have an archnemesis, or ex's boyfriend's girlfriend" I said, suddenly putting emphasis on the boyfriend's part.
"You're setting up my gaydar on fire here" she said focusing on what she was making.
"Really? What is your gaydar telling you? " I asked teasingly
She narrowed her eyes at me "That you never had gay attitudes until this very moment" she ended. "Suspicious" She added.
"Oh, come on" I said whining, standing up from the counter and grabbing a soda for me and one for Kate.
"I mean, there's not a right way to be gay...but this is not because of what I told you in the hospital? About Miss. Rotholo being...uh- a very beautiful teacher that happens to be lesbian like me?" she asked as if hinting something obvious.
I'm a lesbian femme, so the whole world thinking I was straight was a curse that I've been carrying my whole life.
"I don't need to lie to impress you, I don't even want to impress you" I lied. Of course, I want to impress the brave girl who flew across the country to win her friends forgiveness; of course, I want to impress the girl that is wearing a cast and still cooking for me.
"So, you're a lesbian Monty?" Kate asked curiously. I rolled my eyes at her, and she just smirked.
"I was going to answer that, but then I remembered that you were practically breaking up our friendship for Miss. Rotholo a second ago...very uncool of you " I said with a light tone, but deep down I was really interested in what she was going to say next.
"So, you are the jealous type, aren't you Monty?" Kate smirked.
"Be very grateful I'm not kicking you out right not" I said stealing a little of what she was making, and oh my g-d...it tasted heavenly.
"You're not kicking me out because I'm making you the best pasta you'll ever try in your entire life" Kate said, catching my amazed expression when I tried her dish.
I was still unable to form words, I didn't expect her to be such a good cook, and the dish wasn't even finished. Kate watched me with a smile on her face, and I wouldn't have gotten out of my trance if it weren't for my cat, Coco, that finally made an appearance and was snuggling against Kate's legs.
"Oh, hey there girl!" Kate said sweetly.
I watched the interaction closely, and Coco seamed to like Kate, because she didn't move from her legs.
"Is your mother a lesbian?" Kate asked Coco and I laughed lightly.
"Yes, I am" I said softly, and Kate turned to look at me with her pupils dilatated.
The air felt electric, and there was something about the way that we were looking at each other, something about the way we were smiling...something that made this moment very intimate, something more than two friends hanging out with each other.
"I think she like's me" Kate said, her eyes leaving mine for a moment so they could focus on Coco, who was still snuggling against her legs.
I smiled at them, I think Kate is right, Coco does like her. However, I couldn't help but to think...she is not the only one.
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