Kate's p.o.v.
I stood in front of my mirror, not exactly liking the reflection staring back at me. Tonight was the Christmas dance, and I wasn't exactly trying that hard to look festive. A pair of black jeans and a red sweater would suffice just fine.
I knew that Chase and Hunter had both wanted to take me to the dance, and part of me was hoping that they were there tonight. I was still furious at them for the incident in the hallway at school a few days ago. I had purposely ignored them the rest of the week, although they had both tried to talk to me a few times. There was something off about the whole situation. It wasn't like them to pick fights. But, then again, it wasn't like Chase to completely lie about who I was to his 'friends.'
I straightened my gold scarf, making sure it was even. The scarf was covered in cat hair. Like, cat hair was poking out everywhere, and it was itching the back of my neck. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
"Kate! Come on! It's almost time for you to go!" Dad's voice echoed up the stairs. I literally took hardly anything for him to be heard. He sounded like a fog horn.
"Coming." I shouted back down, snatching my phone of my bedside table. My alarm clock tumbled to the floor in the process; the bell hit me on my pinkie toe and rolled across the floor before falling, sadly, over on it's face.
I drew in a deep breath through my noise, plenty of colorful words rising to the top of my mind. "Fingernails," I muttered. That was the nicest one I could come up with. I limped to my door and wrenched it open, my toe absolutely throbbing.
Dad was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his face a mix of concern and resignation. "What did you drop this time?"
"My clock. And then it fell on my toe and now it hurts." I pouted.
"Well, what do you want me to do? Kiss it?" he raised an eyebrow, amused.
I glared playfully at him, when I noticed him holding a crumpled up piece of paper in his hand. "What's that?" I gestured to the paper.
He looked confused for a moment, before realizing what I was pointing to. "Oh, uh...It's a note from Hunter. What's going on with you two anyways?"
I wouldn't meet his eyes. I knew that Hunter would get fired as soon as dad found out about what happened at school the other day, and, for some odd reason, I wanted to postpone that as long as possible. I didn't want Hunter to go. There was something still drawing me to him, even though I was still so mad at him. "Nothing happened."
"I thought he'd be taking you to the dance like last time," realization dawned on his face. "Wait. You aren't going with that... Chate... boy, are you?" He looked at me warily, as if I would attack him if he made the wrong move.
I sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "No. I'm not going with him. And his name's Chase."
I could visibly see him relax, like my words were soothing. "Okay, well. See you tonight then." He handed me the note and walked to the door. He grabbed his hat off the peg and winked at me before heading outside.
Using the edge of the fridge, I smoothed out the scrap of paper before unfolding it and reading.
Kate,
I'm sorry for what you saw at the school. I didn't want you to see me like that. I know you're probably still really mad at me. I can't apologize on Chase's behalf, but I can apologize on mine. I'm really sorry. Maybe I'll see you at the dance tonight. Please forgive me at some point, Kate.
~Hunter
His writing was hurried and messy, and there were scribbled-out words frequenting the note. (A/N: I can't do fancy fonts on wattpad, and I can't make scribbled words here either. Use your imaginations...haha)
If he really was sorry, why didn't he come say it to my face?
You would have slapped him...
Shut-up, inner conscience.
I walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped out, throwing the note in the trash as I went.
Hunter's p.o.v.
I shut off my truck's diesel engine but didn't get out. I sat in the driver's seat, fiddling with the keys in my palm. I wanted to see Kate so bad. To give her the note in person. But I couldn't. I couldn't face her after what happened in the hallway that day. I had never wanted her to see that side of me. The side of me that got violent at the littlest things. The side the hurt people because he could. She deserved better than that.
The porch lights flickered on, even though it was only dusk. I saw my mom's face in the window, staring at me. She was most likely wondering if my door was stuck or something. I lifted one hand in a little waving gesture, before opening my door and getting out.
As I was stomping my boots on the rug in the entryway, my little sister, Hannah, began firing questions at me. "Does mom need to go help Kate again? She is going to the dance, right? Are you taking her? Is she your girlfriend yet?"
The last question hurt a bit. "No. Probably not. No, and no." I brushed past her and walked into the kitchen, searching the refrigerator for some sort of food. My eyes landed on a box of Pop Tarts stuffed in the back recesses of the second shelf. "What are they doing there?" I muttered to myself, under my breath. I pulled the box out and took one out of it's shiny paper packaging.
"Hey! Those are mine!" Hannah rounded the corner, and if looks could kill, I would be six feet under.
"Yeah? And this one's mine. So deal with it." I took a bite out of the corner, and it fell apart in my mouth. Definitely stale.
She dove at me, reaching for the Pop Tart. I held my right arm out and she was stuck there flailing her arms and yelling at me. "That's. No. FAIR!!!!" She grunted after every word, but my arm was not moving.
"Hannah. Leave your brother alone. Let him eat in peace." Mom glided into the kitchen, not sparing us a glance.
"But Mom! They're my Pop Tarts!" Hannah was whining, not noticing that I had almost finished eating the Pop Tart in my hand.
"I didn't see your name written on them. We'll get you new ones next time we go into town."
This seemed to settle her down a little bit. She kept glaring at me as she stalked away, probably going to sulk in her room.
I glanced at the clock above the stove. I had ten minutes to be ready and out the door if I wanted to make it to the dance in time. I crammed the remainder of the Pop Tart in my mouth and sprinted to my room. My mom had laid an outfit on the bed, probably knowing that I would lose track of time.
I dressed quickly and sprayed on some cologne. In my haste, I sprayed on a little bit too much cologne. The air in front of me quickly became fogged up and I ran out, coughing. Mom was standing next to the door, holding my keys out to me. I thanked her and grabbed them, pulling the door open. As it slammed shut behind me, I heard her yell: "You might want to pray for it to rain on you. Take it easy on the cologne next time!"
I pulled into the school parking lot, and I could hear the bass of the music. It was pounding, reverberating off the inside of my skull. Through the windows I could see the lights. They cast strange reflections through pools of water on the pavement.
I forced myself to get out of the truck and face the music.
Literally.
Inside was worse. So much worse. The lights were flashing around, bouncing off walls and making it look like a unicorn threw up. People were trying to talk over the sound of the music, which only made the din louder. I wove my way through the teenagers, trying to find a relatively empty corner where I could sit and wait for the end of the dance. I scanned the room for Kate, but she was no where to be found. If she decided not to come, I'm going to be seriously ticked. My eyes landed on a group of kids standing across the room. It was like a small pool of black. They all looked like vampires, and there, standing in the middle of the group, was Chase. He hadn't dressed any differently for this occasion, except he might have combed his hair.
Two boys were facing him, their arms crossed, looking identical. They scowled down at him, as if he had told some stupid dad joke. They were both quite muscled, and one even had a beard. He looked nothing like a high-schooler.
There were three girls standing by them, talking to each other over the boys. One had blonde hair, and the other two had black hair. It was all styled the exact same way: parted to the side and feathered. They each wore dark makeup around their eyes, which made them resemble a raccoon, to be honest.
Chase suddenly turned his gaze to the left, obviously annoying the two men. They tried to get his attention back, but it wasn't working. I followed where he was looking, and saw exactly what had captivated him.
It captivated me as well. Kate had walked in the double doors and was standing in the entryway, talking to a friend. She was wearing a simple outfit and neutral makeup, and yet she outshone every girl in the room. I shifted back towards Chase, and saw that he was staring at me too, a glare plastered across his face. The man with the beard grabbed Chase's shoulder roughly, turning the dark haired boy back to face him.
The girl who had been talking to Kate sidled away through the crowd, and Kate was left alone again. She looked around the room, oblivious to the stares she was recieving from Chase and I.
Again, I glanced at Chase. He had gone back to talking to the two men, and none of them looked happy. In fact, their conversation seemed to be getting a little heated. The man without the beard threw his hands up in desperation and stalked away, disappearing in the crowd.
Kate was staring down at her phone, her right arm crossed across her stomach, an intent look on her face. Before I let my conscience get the better of me, I began walking over to her. There was still plenty of time for me to turn around and act like I didn't even see her. But I couldn't do that. I needed to talk to her, whether she liked it or not.
Finally, I reached her. I stood next to her for a few moments neither of us saying anything. it was almost as if she didn't even know I was there. Either that, or she could hold one heck of a grudge. "Hey."
Nothing. She didn't even look up from her phone.
"Can we talk?"
Slowly, she lifted her head and stared at me, scowling. Somehow, she made a scowl look cute. "Fine. What do you want to talk about?" She shoved her phone in her back pocket, an incredulous look on her face.
"Not here. Come on." I grabbed her wrist and led her away, through the double doors leading out of the gymnasium. She wasn't necessarily protesting, but she wasn't going willingly either.
I led her through the dimly lit hallway, until I found an empty, unlocked classroom. I pushed the door open and pulled her through, shutting it behind us. Turning, I put my back against the door, blocking her exit. "Here."
Her expression remained blank and unreadable. Much different to the girl I had seen so many times. The happy girl, who loved life. The girl who was broken down to almost nothing, and yet still managed to put a smile on every morning. Still managed to light up every single day that I was around her.
She raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to say something.
But I couldn't. I was perfectly content to just look at her. To marvel at her.
"You asked to talk to me. Why aren't you saying anything?" She crossed her arms, looking slightly uncomfortable, but mostly defiant.
"I'm sorry for what you saw the other day. I didn't want you to see me like that. I lost it. Chase started saying things, and I just lost it. I'm sorry." I sighed in relief now that a certain weight was off my chest.
She simply stated, "I got your note."
"Yeah, but I needed to tell you in person."
"Okay. Can I go now?"
I didn't really know what to say. "Why are you so mad at me, exactly?"
Her face slowly began turning red and her glare deepened. "Why am I mad at you?" Her voice began as a whisper, filled with venom. "Oh, I don't know. I walk in to see my two best friends trying to tear each other's faces off, and then only one of them apologizes, and the other one is an insensitive jerk. They both are. Why would I be mad?" Her voice had risen a few octaves, and she was almost shouting.
"We're your best friends?" My brain was still trying to process it. I hadn't known that.
She ducked her head and stared at the floor, a blush creeping up her neck."I don't know, Hunter. I've never felt this way before. No one ever goes out of their way to be my friend, and then, all of a sudden, you guys just waltz into my life. I don't know about anything anymore." Her voice was small and timid, and she was showing me her vulnerable side again; a privilege unbeknownst to most ordinary people.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" That was the wrong thing for me to say. Her head shot up and her brown eyes bored into mine like searchlights. Her glare was actually a tad bit scary, to be completely honest. She started walking towards me until my back was flush with the door, her eyes flashing. She didn't stop walking until we were chest-to-chest.
"Overreacting? I thought I could trust you. Just one more mistake on my part," A small look of disappointment crossed her face, but she quickly masked it with a blank expression. One that I had come to be able to read straight through. "Move please."
"No."
"Move."
I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest.
Her walls were breaking down and I could see her eyes getting red around the rims. She was holding back tears, and it physically hurt to see. She balled up her fists and began punching my chest, wanting to get through. It hardly hurt so I could tell that she was only doing it halfheartedly. I uncrossed my arms and grabbed her biceps, pulling her closer to me. She struggled at first, but eventually stilled. I wrapped my arms around her, smoothing down her hair. She didn't return it, but she wasn't rejecting it either. She was just standing there, not letting her tears fall.
"Kate. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." I promise I will never be the reason for your tears again.
"I doksdmfbgh." She mumbled something against my chest, but the words were jumbled around and I couldn't make them out.
"What?"
"I don't want to trust you, Hunter."
That stung a little. "Why?"
It took a few moments for her to answer. It could have even been minutes. When she finally did answer, her voice was so low, I had to strain to hear it. "I don't want you to hurt me."
I pulled back and cradled her face in my hands. Her eyes were red and rimmed with unshed tears. "I never want to hurt you. And I promise, I never will. Friends again?" I held a hand out for her to shake. She looked at it for a second, before finally grasping it. My hand enveloped hers. I lifted it and kissed the back of her knuckles. She giggled and pulled away, a small smile on her face.
I grinned back and motioned my head towards the door. I held it open for her and we headed back to the dance together.
A/N: Well, I am a complete and utter failure. This was the second time in a row that I forgot to update on Saturday. I'm so sorry, guys. Seriously. In my defense though, School just started up again, so I haven't even been working ahead in this book. No book really. So, now that I'm getting back into the swing of things with school, I will do my absolute best to get back to updating regularly, and working ahead so I have something for you guys.
Anyway, what's going on with Hunter and Kate?? Aren't they just adorable??
And what about Chase? He's acting really weird in my opinion.
Well, don't be silent readers. Be sure to leave a vote, and a comment!!!!
<3<3<3<3
~~Austin