You've Got a Friend In Me
A/N: It seemed too convenient that Levi was constantly hanging around Cath's room and wanted to date her. This is my story with an alternate Levi and a slightly spunkier Cath. I felt like she forgave Wren a little too easily. My story starts when Wren and Cath are home for Christmas vacation. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fangirl. I'm just a fangirl… of Fangirl.
Chapter 1: Calling Abel
Cath checked her phone for the tenth time in as many minutes. She was anxious. She was upset. She really needed to talk to someone. Not being able to talk to Wren felt like not having an appendage. It was like suddenly looking down and finding out that your left arm wasn't where it was supposed to be, where it had always been. Of course she didn't have any missed calls from Wren. They weren't really speaking. Cath realized that for the first time in a long time, she felt angry. She was angry at Wren. Wren was being a shitty sister. Wren knew that she was Cath's go-to person and she acted like she didn't care. Cath hadn't been angry when their mom had left. At the time she'd been too hurt, but she was angry now. All these years later, she was furious. That necklace under the tree had really sent her over the edge. What did Laura think? Did she think that a necklace made up for years of neglect? And what was wrong with Wren? Did she think that after all this time the three of them could just pick up where Laura left them? Maybe Wren could, but Cath couldn't.
Something bubbled in Cath's stomach. She felt sick. She stared up at the ceiling in the room she had always shared with Wren and fought the urge to scream. Her dad was downstairs. If she screamed, he would come up here and insist that they talk. There was nothing wrong with talking to him. He was actually a pretty good listener, but he had enough of his own shit to deal with right now. Her dad was also just one more thing that she shared with Wren. She was tired of sharing things with her. She was tired of doing all the sharing and having Wren share nothing in return. Cath still couldn't believe Wren hadn't talked to her about getting back in touch with their mother. She felt the burning sensation again in her stomach. She needed to talk to someone who belonged to only to her and not to Wren. There was only one person who came to mind.
Her dad hadn't batted an eye when she said she was borrowing the car. He'd been riveted to a documentary on frozen food. She didn't think he'd even really seen her leave. She found herself at Abel's house quicker than she'd thought possible. Now that she was parked in his driveway, she wondered if this was such a great idea. She was his ex-girlfriend, after all. She was his ex-girlfriend and she was creepily sitting in his driveway. Screw this, she thought. She didn't have anything to lose. She and Abel weren't talking. If he thought this was weird, he'd go back to school and they'd go right on not talking.
Cath had never seen Abel look so surprised when he answered the door. At least she could say she'd gotten him to change his expression.
"Cath?" he asked, knitting his thick eyebrows together until they looked like one solid mass.
"Hi," she said, not making eye contact, "I'm sorry to just drop by like this, but do you have some time to talk?"
One minute and one awkward hello to the rest of the family later, she and Abel were sitting cross legged on his double bed.
"I'm not here to tell you I love you or anything," Cath blurted. "I just wanted to put that out there right away."
Abel laughed, "Duly noted. What's on your mind, Cath? You've never just shown up at my house like this, not even when we were dating."
Cath sucked in a long breath and let go of everything she'd been holding in. She told him how nervous and uncomfortable she felt about living in a new place. She told him about how Levi was constantly hanging around and driving her crazy. She even told him about the party where she had seen him kissing another girl. She talked about how Wren had turned into an unrecognizable party girl she couldn't depend on and about her dad's break down. She even told him about her terrible grade in fiction writing. Finally, she told him about her mom's Christmas present. When everything was out, she finally stopped.
"Are you going to say anything?" she asked after what seemed like a longer pause than was comfortable.
"This is the first time I've had a chance."
"Sorry for dumping all that on you. I just really needed to talk and you were the only person who was more my friend than Wren's."
It was unexpected, but not unwelcome, when Abel reached over and took Cath's hand. "I'm still your friend, Cath. I hope you know that."
Cath fought not to tear up. That was a really good line. "I know that, Abel. I mean, I know it now. I think that's what we really were. What you said when you called me back in the fall, it was the truth. We were always more like friends than a couple. I should have told you then that I didn't want to lose that." She did tear up then and her nose started to run. Abel threw a box of tissues at her.
"You're worse than the telenovelas my grandma watches," he told her.
She laughed threw her snot. "Alberto, I have to tell you that I'm pregnant with Fabrizio's baby."
"Alberto and Fabrizio?"
"What? Those could be Spanish names."
"Are there any actual Hispanic people in Lincoln?"
Wren shrugged, "A few. I think Wren is dating a Hispanic guy."
"Is she dating him, or are they just banging?"
Wren threw a pillow at him.
"What? Your sister always had a reputation as more of a free spirit. I'm not saying it's a bad thing."
"Do you think I'm being an uptight bitch to her?"
"I think she's being a bitch to you.
"That's not fair!"
"Cath, I know you and Wren stuck together growing up, but don't make excuses for her now. She knows you're in a tough spot and she hasn't done anything to try to help you. You would never do that to her. Refusing to return your calls when she knows you don't like new places sucks, but this thing with your mom is a whole new level of shitty for her. She had to have known how upset you'd be when she put that necklace under the tree, but she did it anyway. She wasn't thinking about you'd feel. It's totally up to you if you want to talk to your mom again. Wren keeps saying that she wants the two of you to be different, but it sounds like she only wants it when it suits her. Stick to your guns on this one. It's your choice."
She blew her nose loudly. Abel smiled. He used to say that when she blew her nose it sounded like swans trumpeting. Cath scooted over and put her arm around his shoulders in a side hug. "Thanks, Abel. I've missed your no-bullshit approach to solving my problems."
"It's easy to be no bullshit about someone else's problems. How they handle them doesn't really affect your life."
"I've also missed your empathy."
"I've sincerely missed your sarcasm. How about that?"
She snorted, "Sincerely?"
Abel wiggled his eyebrows dramatically, "You'll never know."
By the time she left, Cath felt lighter than she had in weeks, maybe in months. She had at least one real friend who wasn't Wren. It wasn't much, but it was more than she'd thought she had this morning.