#kate lis

But you just kept marching, trying to stop the tears burning in the corners of your eyes as you felt Nathan Prescott and his gang of bullies stop chatting underneath the oak trees and turn to glare at you. You just ignored them all: the laughter of the skaters as they brushed past your arms and skidded over the edge of the railing, straight into the bush by the road (which made Justin erupt into doubling laughter), the warm sunlight that seemed to only illuminate Brooke’s drone into something even more other-worldly as it zipped past your head, the easy joy of Hayden as he lounged on the crunchy grass with the rest of the Vortex Club. The flimsy posters of Rachael Amber that still half-hang stapled to every available inch of notice board and light poles someone had obviously been so desperate to find. No, you just shield your eyes and brush off a few of the honey leaves that float down to kiss your eyes, choosing instead to move away from the open air and back to the comfort of the imposing arch windows that lined the girls’ dormitories.

Returning to the only place - to the only person in this strange, swirling, forgotten town that felt like home.

You knocked on her door, but that felt more like formality now than anything. You were the only person to ever visit Kate Marsh - the occurrence happening almost daily that she just doesn’t bother to lock her door anymore. As you slip in the door, you can’t help but find yourself smiling at the Kate has left the book you kept asking to borrow from her by the door. She’s still sitting in the same position you had left her in the morning, perched over her desk and using the slim rays from the window to pour over her favourite passage of her Bible. She hasn’t quite noticed you’ve arrived yet, her highlighter trembling in her right hand as she uses her left hand to grasp tightly on the Cross around her neck.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when you cross over the carpet and press a kiss against the side of her cheek.

‘Oh! Hey Y/n’, she whispers, turning to try and smile at you, but managing only to raise her lips into a straight line. ‘I-I’m sorry I didn’t hear you come in. I was so lost in my thoughts, but I...I’m glad you’re here now. I’m sorry I left you alone in class, I hope Victoria wasn’t too bad today.’

‘Oh don’t worry’, you murmur, stroking back a curl of hair that had stubbornly unfurled itself from her bun and tucking it back behind her ear, ‘today it was Mr. Jefferson’s time to be an asshole.’

Kate began to turn peach, the tips of her ears burning red as you shook your head and tried to stop yourself from giggling. ‘Sorry, language.’

‘It’s...it’s okay. Mr. Jefferson can be - not nice’, Kate starts, reaching up to brush her nose against your own and sigh. ‘I really am sorry I wasn’t there. I just couldn’t face the Vortex Club today.’

‘Honestly, Kate, it’s okay. I don’t blame you at all. I can’t - I never liked seeing them before this whole stupid video thing, so I can’t even imagine how you feel.’

Kate just grows quiet, the grip on her necklace growing tighter. But you don’t miss the slight wobble of her chin as she turns to look back at her Bible, before closing it slowly and scooting her chair back. Shrugging off her jacket and allowing it to fall back onto the wood, a prism of light seemed to beam through the open window and dance ethereally across her face as she rose to hug you, cupping her hand around the back of your head. Both, it seemed, desperately trying to break, in their own little ways.

‘Thank you. Y/n. You really are an angel sent to keep me happy.’

She seemed almost bashful as you wrapped your arms around your waist and squeezed, but the smile on her face gave away how much she meant her words as the two of you pulled apart for a moment. ‘And you, Kate Marsh’, you start, pressing a kiss against her nose, which scrunched up when she felt your tender lips against her skin, ‘deserve just as much praise and love as me. Now come on, I think a day like this calls for warm cups of tea and staying in, don’t you?’

Kate nods, wonder in her eyes as steps away from her desk and heads towards the bed. You wander off in the opposite direction, moving off towards the small kettle she keeps on top of her main chest of drawers. You lift the top off her fern pot of jasmine tea bags, lighting up at the way Kate has begun to hum a little melody to herself - you recognised it as the strumming caress of notes that had reverberated down from Max’s room this morning. It made you feel a little better in your heart to know that Kate, if only haunted by euphony, wasn’t wholly alone while you were away.

You walk back towards her with the two steaming cups in your hands, collapsing easily down onto the small bundle of blankets Kate has tried to arrange into a cosy little nest on her small bed. She’s sitting cross legged beside you, clutching a pillow to her chest, but she still thanks you for the drink as you hand it to her. With her free hand she reaches out to tangle her fingers within your own, resting them on her skirt as she takes a drink. For once, she seemed so calm - some kind of peace radiating from her soul and making her shine against your side as the two of you huddled together and just enjoyed the company.

There was an easy silence in the air, the only sound for a while your syncing sips, the clatter of empty mugs left orderly on her bedside table, and the scratching of a squirrel that ran across the window pane. Despite how joyous the sun seemed, how wistful the trees seemed to be as they flowed through the air and spread the light across the cold pavement below, you could feel the sadness Kate was trying to hid radiate off her skin. Her knee bumped against your own as it rested on top of your jeans, twitching in anxiety despite your presence. You know she wanted to say something, by the way she stopped looking out the cross hatched windows up at the clouds and closed her eyes, letting her head drop onto your shoulder.

‘The day shouldn’t seem so sweet,’ she finally manages to mumble out, ‘everything shouldn’t feel the same, when they’ve all been so cruel.’

‘Oh Kate’, you whisper, running your free hand down the side of her cheek, surprised to find a few tears meeting your skin. You rest your fingers gingerly against the dip of her chin, and she nudges against you in return. You can’t help but sniffle too; you’re so heartbroken for this girl sitting, leaning, desperate for love and care and the comfort she has spent her life so rightfully deserving. You felt your breath catch in your throat as you tried to speak again, choosing in that moment to give her a tight hug instead.

‘Kate... Kate, I know everything is so scary at the moment, but you’re allowed to feel it all. Life can still be happy, even when it’s strange... I just- I’ll sort this out, Kate, I promise. We’ll sort this out, together, because I love you, okay? I care about you so much, and I’m not going to leave you to go through all this alone.’

You can feel her fiddling with the bottom of your sleeve, trying to ground herself again. 

‘Plus, if it makes you feel better, Warren let me borrow his weird hard drive again, so we can stay up late watching shows again.’

‘I still have an essay due for class tomorrow’, Kate mutters, but you can hear the humour start to poke through behind her hoarse voice.

‘Kate, sweetheart, tomorrow’s Saturday.’

She finally breaks, pressing a hand to her mouth to try and stop herself from giggling through the tears. She can’t help it though, tucking her head into your neck until her chuckles tickle against your shoulder. You bunch your hand against the back of her shirt, laughing along with her until the both of you were gasping for a breath you couldn’t catch.

‘Thank you. Y/n.’ She tilts her head up until her chin is resting against the bottom of your shoulder, her blue-bells eyes glancing up at you with still new-fangled amazement. ‘Although the last few weeks have been hard... I’m so glad I came here. That I met you. I was so, so lonely before, but now I finally feel as if I’m starting to find a new path for myself. A new home, where I finally belong.’

You kiss the top of her hair, stroking back the strands and rocking the two of you gently back and forth.