summary: kate flirts with you nonstop, but never actually comes clean about what she thinks of you, until finally, you ask her.
warning/s: none.
author's note: so a Kate x reader imagine was requested on my tumblr and since it's brie i thought why not. hope y'all like it and i recommend watching the film (Tanner Hall) because it's pretty funny but also has it's serious moments. Plus Brie playing a confident and cocky teen is all anyone could ask for tbh
"Find your partners, quickly, ladies!"
I suppressed my smile as I watched our dance teacher take this way too seriously. I turned to ask the nearest girl if they wanted to be partners, but before I could approach anybody, none other than Kate stepped before me with her signature smirk.
"Hey, partner," she said, holding out her hand.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I looked at her with a questioning look. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to smile at how cute she was acting.
"I never said we were partners, Kate," I said matter-of-factly.
She motioned around us. "Well, it looks like everyone else is taken, so you're stuck with me."
I looked around and realised she was right. Everybody already had a partner now, and they were beginning to line up in pairs so we could begin our lesson.
I sighed, narrowing my eyes at her playfully. "Fine. But only because you're literally the only choice I have."
"Hm, only choice you have, I like the sound of that," she said as I put my hand in hers.
I gave her a knowing look as she grinned, leading me to the line that had formed.
"I hope your practice has paid off, ladies," the teacher said proudly, since it was him who had practiced with us. "Pick a lead and begin!"
I looked to Kate with a raised eyebrow, watching as she already had a hand outstretched for me to take and an innocent yet devious smile on her lips.
I sighed, failing to hide my smile as I placed my hand in hers. She pulled me forward suddenly, our bodies pressing together, and grinned down at me, mischievousness playing in her eyes. One hand was resting on my waist as the other held mine up high.
"I take it you're the lead," I said, hoping my cheeks weren't heating up because of how close we were.
"Don't act like you don't love it," she teased, before leading me off as we began to dance.
I had no choice but to rest my other hand on her shoulder as she danced around, grinning as I tried to keep up.
"Kate, slow down!" I got out between laughter, trying to make sure I didn't trip and bring us both down on the gymnasium floor.
"No slowing down! This is perfect, ladies, keep it up!" our teacher said, only making Kate laugh louder.
"You heard the man," she said, beginning to twirl me around.
I had no choice but to follow as she pulled me close to her again, moving around in circles along with everyone else.
"You're enjoying this way too much," I said, trying to sound annoyed, but the smile on my face said otherwise.
"That I am," she said in agreement. "Am I right to assume you're enjoying this, too?"
I tried to glare at her, but she was smiling beautifully at me, all of her attention stuck on me as she kept a strong hold on my waist and danced us around the gym like idiots.
"I hate you."
She laughed, shaking her head. "No you don't."
I suppressed my smile, meeting her hazel eyes.
No, I don't.
***
I was writing down notes from the book we were studying in class, still listening to Mr. Middlewood as he spoke, when I heard my name being mentioned.
"Kate, is there something particularly interesting about Y/N that you would rather stare at her than listen to me teach?"
I widened my eyes and looked up as the class snickered quietly. I saw Mr. Middlewood looking pissed as he stared down at Kate, who was sat beside me in the front row. I followed his glare and felt my face growing warm when I saw Kate staring at me with a playful smile on her lips.
"Can you blame me? She's quite the distraction," Kate responded confidently, making me look down at my book with embarrassment.
"Eyes on me please, Kate," Mr. Middlewood said sternly.
I saw Kate look back to him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, her full attention on him now.
"If you wanted me all to yourself, Mr. Middlewood, you could have just said so," she said innocently.
I pursed my lips to hold in my laughter, as the rest of the class laughed at Mr. Middlewood's awkward expression. He avoided Kate's eyes and cleared his throat.
"Just pay attention, Kate," he mumbled, before walking to the other end of the class. "As I was saying..."
Kate leaned back into her seat with satisfaction as Mr. Middlewood continued to teach. She glanced my way, winking at me, making me look away shyly. She always did that. Flirted with me, made every effort to make me feel embarrassed and flustered. It wasn't fair.
After class ended, I was trying to head to my room when of course, Kate followed closely behind and jumped in front of me before I could go further.
"Hey," she said breathlessly, a smile on her face. "You walk fast."
I raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting someone to follow."
She chuckled. "Yeah, well, what can I say? I missed your face."
"You literally saw me a few minutes ago," I pointed out, hoping it would distract from my probably-red cheeks.
She grinned knowingly, her eyes meeting mine as if to let me know she noticed. Thankfully, she chose not to comment on it, instead opting to lean against wall beside us as she smirked at me.
"What can I say? It's a pretty face."
I sighed, shaking my head as I couldn't think what to say. This seemed to make her laugh, and she stood up straight again, watching as a pair of girls walked past us before leaving us alone in the hall again.
"Did you want something, Kate? I kind of want to go to my room," I finally spoke, finding my words again.
She shook her head, hugging her books to her chest as she watched me with a cheeky smile. "As I said, I just wanted to see you again. But yeah, I guess I'm done admiring. You can go now."
I pursed my lips, growing frustrated because she always managed to leave me stumped for words.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kate," I mumbled, before walking around her to get to my room.
"Can't wait!" she called back, and as I opened my door, I glanced at her to see her watching me with a flirtatious smile.
I ignored the butterflies in my stomach and headed into my room, glad that she wasn't there to see me stumble my way to my bed as I tried to forget what just happened and the way she made me feel.
***
"Having fun?"
I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice from behind me. I was in the library, doing some last minute homework, but it was ten 'o clock at night, so who else would come here?
I turned around in my chair, seeing none other than Kate walking towards me, except she was soaking wet and dressed up, as if she'd just gone out. But that couldn't be possible because it was a school night and nobody was allowed out on school nights.
"Kate? What are you doing here?" I asked, genuinely curious. "And why are you wet?"
Kate giggled like the immature teen she was and I rolled my eyes when I realised why. She took a seat on the desk I was sat at, leaving a wet mess on the wood and the carpet.
"I just had the most amazing night ever," she said dreamily, but she seemed a little out of it. Her eyes met mine as she grinned down at me. "I wish you were there. It would have been perfect then."
I rolled my eyes, but once again, my face started to grow warm. "Kate, what are you talking about?"
She laughed to herself as she leaned closer to me. She motioned for me to come closer, and reluctantly, I did.
"It's raining a lot outside," she whispered ever so loudly, before pulling back and laughing again.
"Kate, are you... are you high?"
It made sense now, why she was acting like that. Plus, I was sure I could smell the faint scent of weed, tobacco and alcohol combined on her clothes.
She was quick to press her forefinger to her lips. "Ssshhh! You can't say that loud or I'll get in trouble!"
She laughed to herself again and I suppressed the urge to chuckle at her.
"C'mon, Kate, I'll take you to your room," I said, standing up and grabbing her hand.
"But I wanted to tell you something," she complained as I pulled her off the desk and led her out of the library.
"You can still tell me," I said, holding in my laughter. "But tell me quietly or one of the teachers might hear you."
She giggled to herself. "You're really pretty."
"And you're really drunk," I said, hoping to take the attention off me.
"You're still pretty," she countered cheekily.
"Come on, we're here now," I said, ignoring her compliment.
"There you are!" Fern, one of Kate's friends, whisper-shouted from their doorway, before looking to me gratefully. "Thanks, Y/N, she just disappeared when we came back."
"Yeah, well she found me in the library," I said, passing Kate over to her. "Where did you guys go anyway? How did you get out?"
Fern kept ahold of Kate as she said, "It's a long story. I'll explain tomorrow. I gotta get this one to sleep somehow."
"I'm stood right here," Kate interrupted childishly.
"Yeah, yeah," Fern mumbled, before looking to me with a tired smile. "Thanks again, Y/N. I'll see you in class tomorrow?"
I chuckled because Kate was growing agitated now. "Yeah. See you tomorrow. Good luck."
"Thanks," she said, before leading Kate away from the door so she could close it.
I smiled to myself as I headed back to the library to finish up my work.
The next day, I found myself back in class, noticing Kate wasn't staring at me like she usually was. It was definitely a lot less awkward for me, but I did notice she was quiet also, probably because she was still tired from last night. Something told me that Fern and the others hadn't gotten her to sleep for a long time, since going to bed at ten wasn't exactly late.
I was still curious as to what they had all been up to last night, and how on Earth they had managed to leave without getting caught.
"You have until the end of the day to get this paper on my desk," Mr. Middlewood said as the bell rang. "If you're late, you lose marks."
Everybody got up to go and I packed away my things before heading straight to the library to finish off my paper. It was just some last minute additions and touch ups before I was finished and could hand it in, and thankfully I had no more classes for the day, so I could focus on that.
The library had a few other girls in it, some from my class who I assumed were finishing off their papers, too. I spotted my best friend, Y/BF/N, sat at a desk in the corner and joined her.
"Hey, how was class?" she asked, standing up and packing her stuff into her bag.
I pouted. "It was good, but have you got class now?"
She smiled apologetically. "Yep. I'll see you at lunch though? I know you have your paper to write."
"Yeah, I'll see you at lunch," I said, a little disheartened that she was leaving me. We had conflicting timetables today, which I guess I should have appreciated because at least I wouldn't get distracted by talking to her. Still...
"Good luck, Y/N," she sang playfully as she left.
I sighed and pulled my laptop from my bag, deciding to just focus on this so I could finish it already.
I was there for about fifteen minutes, surprisingly not procrastinating, when I felt a presence beside me. I looked up just in time to see Kate taking a seat next to me, a bright smile on her lips.
"Hey," she said, as if this was completely normal of her. She set a cup on the table, pushing it near me. "That's for you. Mint chocolate hot chocolate. Your favourite, right?"
I raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on my lips. "How do you even-"
"I have my ways," she stated, shaking her head adorably. "Anyway, it was just to say thanks for putting up with me last night."
I leaned back in my seat now, watching her curiously. She was smiling at me sweetly, her brown eyes sparkling in the sunlight that was shining through the window.
"You don't need to thank me," I finally said, before giving her a knowing look, "but since we're on the topic... I didn't know you smoked."
She waved her hand dismissively, avoiding my eyes. "It's not a big deal."
"Kate, it is – you should be careful," I said a little more seriously now. "It's bad for you."
"Thanks, mom, I'll keep that in mind," she teased, giving me a playful smirk.
I breathed out, knowing she definitely wouldn't listen to me of all people. "Never mind. Anyway, thanks for the hot chocolate, but I should do my work now."
"The paper?" she asked, leaning on her arms which were resting on the desk beside me.
I nodded, clearing my throat as if that would stop me from feeling flustered at how close she was. "Yeah. I've almost finished it. You done yours?"
"Finished it two days ago," she said, making me look at her with raised eyebrows. She laughed. "What? Just because I piss off the teachers I can't also do my work?"
"I didn't say anything," I said, chuckling, before looking back to my screen. "I should focus now anyway."
"Am I distracting you?"
I glanced at her and she was leaning in the palm of her hand, smirking at me.
"Kind of, yeah," I said with a suppressed smile.
"Okay, I won't talk then," she said, nodding to my computer screen. "Go on."
I was confused but looked back to my laptop, presuming she was going to leave, but after thirty seconds of feeling her eyes on me, I looked back to her with a questioning expression.
"Er..."
"What? I've not said anything," she said innocently, grinning at me.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked.
"No, why?"
I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You're staying?"
"If that's cool with you," she said, still grinning at me. "Unless there's some reason why you don't want me here?"
I ignored her flirtatious tone and peering eyes, instead deciding to shake my head, somewhat confidently, and sit up straight.
"No, you can stay, I guess," I said dismissively, looking back to my laptop with flaming cheeks.
It took about ten minutes for me to get used to her presence. She said nothing, as promised, but it didn't change the fact that I felt her eyes boring into the side of my head, watching my every movement with her obnoxiously beautiful smile on her lips. Eventually, I stopped feeling rigid and actually focused on my work. She even helped, once again surprising me with how much she'd been listening in class.
"This is perfect, you're definitely getting an A," Kate said encouragingly, looking up to me after reading my paper.
"You think?" I asked, smiling hopefully.
She laughed. "Are you seriously doubting yourself? This is awesome. Well, as awesome as a paper about 18th century literature can be."
"Thanks," I said appreciatively, feeling a blush forming on my face, as usual.
"C'mon, let's print it," she said, hitting print before standing up.
I followed her through the empty bookshelves, tossing the empty hot chocolate cup in the bin on the way, and stopped by the printer to collect the print-out. When it finished printing, I pulled out the several sheets of paper and stapled it together before holding it proudly in my hands.
"Looks like you're done," Kate said, and I looked up to see her leaning her back against the printer, smiling beside me.
"Yes I am," I said, smiling to myself. I met her eyes and added, "Thanks for the help, even if you kinda left me no choice but to accept it." She laughed as I continued. "And thanks for the hot chocolate."
"Anything to make a pretty girl smile," she replied confidently, staring down at me.
I breathed out, pursing my lips as I tried to remember how to speak English. She found this amusing as she laughed at my dismay, making me roll my eyes before giving her a knowing look.
"Look, I think we both know the effect your... compliments, let's say, have on me," I finally got out. "Can't you just be straightforward and say what you're thinking?"
She stood up straight, taking a step closer to me. "You want me to tell you what I'm thinking?"
I suddenly grew nervous and took a little step back, but she just kept moving forward, eventually making my back hit the bookshelf behind me, leaving me nowhere to go.
"I can tell you," she said, her eyes staring into mine, making my stomach do somersaults. "Or I can show you, if you'd prefer."
I didn't know what to say as she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and watched me with a teasing smile. She knew what she was doing as she stayed a few inches from me, eyes flickering down to my lips.
"Kate..."
Her smile faded as she met my eyes again, breathing out quietly and tickling my skin as she did.
"I've wanted to kiss you for a long time," she said in a dangerously low voice.
"Then do it," I said, searching her eyes. "I'm not stopping you."
She seemed surprised and I was, too. But I didn't really dwell on it because she had moved forward now, pressing her lips to mine as a hand rested on my waist. I closed my eyes, raising my hand to rest on her neck, and held her, whilst moving my lips against hers. I felt like fireworks were going off in my stomach as she moved closer to me, if possible, kissing me like it was all she had wanted to do.
Eventually, we had to pull away for air and I found myself submerged in her eyes as I caught my breath.
"Was that okay?" she asked, the first to speak.
I was surprised at how considerate she was, any hint of obnoxiousness or cockiness gone, instead replaced by uncertainty.
I nodded, giving her a small smile. "Yeah."
She mirrored my smile and I felt her hands lace in mine.
"Was that straightforward enough for you?" she asked, and her cocky self returned as she smirked at me.
I couldn't help but laugh as I breathed out, looking down at our intertwined fingers.
"Yes, thank you."
"We should submit your paper," she said, letting go of one of my hands to reach down and pick up the fallen paper. I didn't even realise I'd dropped it.
"Yeah," I said, still a little dazed from our kiss. It was the first kiss I'd had with anyone, let alone a girl. It was perfect.
"Hey, Y/N?"
I looked up, seeing Kate watching me with a confident smile but nervous eyes.
"Yeah?"
She licked her lips before saying, "Do you maybe want to go out with me? We could go out for dinner or something, on the weekend."
I smiled. "I'd like that."
She breathed out in relief, which, once again, surprised me because she was usually so sure of herself.
"Awesome."
"The paper," I reminded her, letting go of her hand and taking it from hers.
"Right. Paper."
I began to walk back to my desk, but I felt her pull me back quickly. As I was about to ask what she wanted, she kissed me, leaving me no room to speak. It was quick but left me dazed once again.
"What was that for?" I asked, feeling my face go warm.
She grinned. "I missed you."
I rolled my eyes playfully, at a loss for words because if she was annoyingly clingy when we weren't 'together', how would she be now?
"I hate you," I mumbled, trying to fight the urge to smile.
Her melodious laughter echoed around us as she joined my side, intertwining our fingers again. "No, you don't."
My smile broke out against my own will as she continued to laugh.
No, I don't.