Two Worlds

By: Rhuben

Summary-Katie Knight finds out first hand just how different her life is compared to Lizzie Zevon the first time she goes to the Zevon house. [Deleted scene from Never Again, set between chapters 16 and 20.]

Katie Knight stared up at the large house in front of her as the sharp dressed man, named Maxwell, slammed the door to the shiny black Escalade she had just exited, shut. He then moved to stand next to her, removing the cap from his head, holding it in both hands in front of him, giving her a smile. It was the biggest house she had ever seen in her entire life. It looked like it could fit the whole Palm Woods, and her old home into it with room to spare.

"Miss Elizabeth is expecting you," he said, angling his head towards the vast house that towered above her. "It was a pleasure driving you, today, Miss Katherine."

"Uh, thanks," Katie replied, giving him a fleeting smile before making her way up the path towards the house, passing the three car garage.

Lush grass, alternating dark and light green stripes, gently blew in the breeze on one side, a garden filled with flowers of every color, to the right the sidewalk nestled perfectly in between. Potted plants hung from the porch covering, and a wind chime played a tinkling tune as the parts were knocked together.

There wasn't a speck of dirt on the path as Katie made her way up towards the front doors of the large house. She stepped up the stone steps, across the concrete porch, and onto the large welcome mat that sat in front of her. She looked back towards the driveway and watched as Maxwell, who had gotten back into the Escalade, drove the car into the garage.

Katie faced the front door, looking around for the doorbell. Her gaze traveled around the bright white doorframe that hugged the red door on all sides. Her eyes landed on the doorbell and she reached her finger forward, jabbing it into the button. A loud ring hit the air, causing Katie to jump, moving a hand to cover her rapidly beating heart. Seconds later, the front door opened to reveal a beautiful brunette with green eyes, and the slightest hint of a tan. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she had glasses perched on her nose.

"You must be Katie," the woman said with a slightly deep voice. "I'm Carla. Miss Elizabeth has been waiting for you." Katie watched as she turned to a white box sitting on the wall just beside the open door. She pressed a long, red finger nailed finger to the box and a short, high pitched beep hit the air. "Miss Elizabeth, your guest is here to see you."

Katie looked down at her own fingers; her light purple nail polish chipped and spotty. Her fingernails were bitten unevenly and looked dull compared to Carla's. Even Carla's hair looked as if it was just washed and styled, every hair in its perfect place. Katie reached up to grasp a lock of her straight hair, frowning.

"I'm in my room. Send her up."

A place as big as this, of course they need an intercom, Katie thought to herself, shifting her weight from foot to foot, messing with the fraying end of her shirt.

"Welcome, Miss Katherine," Carla said, stepping to the side, indicating Katie to come into the house. "I hope you've been having a wonderful weekend."

"It's, uh, Katie," Katie said, stepping into the foyer of the Zevon home and onto a large lavish rug. She glanced down at her untied, fraying shoes; the color fading at the toes, the shoelaces fraying and a dull gray, standing out against the swirls and patterns on the rug below her.

"Oh, I apologize," Carla said as she closed the door behind Katie, her voice echoing around the open foyer. Her heels clacked as she stepped down the short set of marble stairs, onto the hardwood floor.

Katie could hear the faint sounds of kitchen cutlery from where she stood, but didn't see much past a large living room to her right, glass doors at the back opening up to a back patio, which lead to the pool deck and the expansion of grass stretching beyond that. From where she was standing, she could see a hot tub, a rocky water fall, a slide, and a pool bar.

"That's…ok," she slowly replied.

"Right this way," Carla said, making her way towards the stairs that curved up towards the second floor.

Katie made her way down the short set of stairs, her shoes squeaking with each step she took. Katie could feel her face burn as she tugged her shirt sleeves down past her hands before crossing her arms over her chest, practically stuffing them into her armpits. She shoved her feet as far forward in her shoes as she could before pushing onto the balls of her feet, following Carla up the hardwood stairs.

They came to a carpeted landing and Katie followed Carla down a hall covered with elaborate paintings and pictures, following upbeat music as it poured down the hall. They came to a door with a bright pink L on the front. "Right in here Miss Katie, Elizabeth has been anxiously awaiting your arrival," Carla said with a bow, motioning towards the right in and don't hesitate to call if you need me. I'll have Celeste bring up something to eat in a little while."

"Sure," Katie replied before Carla made her way back down the hall. Katie turned back to face the cracked open door and lifted her hand, curling her fingers into fists before rapping the back of her knuckles on the door.

"Come in."

Katie pushed the door open and was met with a lot of white and a lot of pink…all in the very spacious room. She had never seen a room that big before. It was even bigger than her parents' room back at home in Minnesota.

"Hey!" Katie closed her mouth, stepping a little farther into the room as Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Zevon slapped shut the magazine she was reading on her bed before getting to her feet. She walked to the edge of her bed before jumping down onto the carpet, a dull thud emanating from the action, before she dropped the magazine down onto the dresser that sat by the door. "I'm glad you could make it, girl." Before Katie could say anything in response, Lizzie had wrapped her arms around Katie in a tight hug.

Never in her life did she ever think Katie would live somewhere like The Palm Woods, "Home of the Future Famous" let alone setting foot in the Zevon house. Nor did she ever think that she'd ever leave Minnesota, especially to go somewhere like California, but she was enjoying her time in Los Angeles, for the most part. School she didn't care too much about and doing that one commercial was awesome, but there wasn't much for her to do there.

While Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan were out running around, hanging out with their friends, making music, dancing, and hanging out with her friends…she was by herself a lot. Tyler was always hiding from his mom, often times disappearing for days at a time only to pop up in a potted plant at random times scaring the daylights out of people, and she had a few acquaintances in the Palm Woods, but no one she'd really call friends. The only time she really saw them was when they pushed for her to do most of the work for group projects.

No one said that California was all bad, though. If Kendall hadn't moved them all out to Los Angeles, she would never have met one of her favorite bands, The DarkElements, and she definitely would have never met Lizzie Zevon, the teen icon, Dak Zevon's little sister. It was really by chance she met the blonde haired green eyed girl, but ever since she had met Lizzie, Katie felt like she would finally have a friend in California. A girl friend anyway.

The same girl friend that invited her over to her place for the afternoon.

The same girl who had gotten her driver, Maxwell, to take her from the Palm Woods to her home. Shortly after getting permission from her mom to go over to the Zevon house, there had been a knock on the door to apartment 2J and when Katie had opened the door, she had found herself face to chest with a nicely dressed chauffeur. He had greeted her with a warm smile and asked for her name, before proceeding to introduce himself as Maxwell and explaining that Lizzie had sent him over to pick her up.

"Uh…my mom was going to…take me," Katie had said, blinking in surprise before jerking her thumb over her shoulder, back towards her mother who was finishing up washing dishes at the sink. They really have a driver? Katie had pressed her lips tightly together as she looked the man up and down. Dark coat? Check. Dark pants? Check. Shiny shoes? Check. Gloves? Check. Shiny hat? Check. "Are you really a driver?"

"Indeed I am," Maxwell had replied with a nod of his head, the smile never leaving his face.

"May I see your driver's license?"

"Mom," Katie had groaned, opening the door wider as Mrs. Knight had stepped up beside her, hands damp. She held one out towards Maxwell, as she used her free hand to brush he hair back.

"It's quite alright, Miss," Maxwell had replied as he reached into his pocket. "I understand her concern. You never know about people these days."

"Yeah, you could be a chainsaw wielding maniac highlighting as a maintenance man cutting jelly doughnuts here at the Palm Woods," Katie had sarcastically replied as the corners of her lips lifted up into a half smile. Mrs. Knight had gently swung out her elbow to hit Katie's shoulder.

Maxwell had chuckled as Mrs. Knight took his driver's license from him. She had looked it over before peering back up at him. "Ma'am if I may," he had said, putting a hand up into the air, before she could say anything. "I've been working for the Zevon family for fifteen years now. As I have been employed by the Zevons I have not, nor have I ever been in any traffic accidents or been pulled over by the police. As well, I have never been arrested nor drank and drove."

"Well, that is a comfort," Mrs. Knight had replied as she allowed a smile to come to her face, handing Maxwell his driver's license back. "Katie, text me when you get there and when you're on your way back."

"Moooom," Katie had groaned, putting a hand to her head.

"Katie, do it," Mrs. Knight had said as her eyes briefly shut, an edge coming to her tone. Katie had clenched her teeth together in a cringe as the corners of her lips pulled down.

"Ok, ok!" Katie had replied, putting her hands up defensively. She had then stepped out into the hall after she gave her mom a hug. She had then slapped Maxwell's back, and his eyes had flown open in surprise as a cough had burst forth from his throat. "Let's go Max."

"Maxwell," the man had corrected her before he tipped his head in Mrs. Knight's direction as he bent at the waist slightly in a bow.

"Have fun," Mrs. Knight had replied as she lifted a hand in a wave before closing the door shut behind Katie.

"We're going to have lots of fun," Lizzie said as she took a step back from Katie, clapping her hands together. She then leapt towards the side of the room before spinning once on her toes, lifting her hands above her head. She reached for the stereo mounted on the wall and turned it off. "Carla already has Chef making some popcorn for us."

"Are you going somewhere?" Katie asked, sliding her hands into her jeans pockets. "Or…did you come back from somewhere?" Katie looked down at her galaxy shirt, jeans with the hole in the knee, and her shoes before looking over at Lizzie.

She was wearing a pink off the shoulder shirt. Two blue straps hugged her shoulders, a gold heart hanging around her neck. She had on dark blue jeans shorts with frays at the end and a colorful anklet around her left ankle. Her blonde hair was curled into ringlets that framed her face. Gold earrings dangled from her earlobes.

"No, just hangin' out for a while," Lizzie replied, bobbing her head to the beat of the song, as she turned down the volume.

That's what you look like hanging out? Katie thought to herself, feeling her eyes widen. Her eyes made their way over to her open closet doors spotting hanger after hanger of clothes, ranging from dresses to skirts, to pants, to shirts, coats, scarves, all set deep into the walk in closet. She could see the white slips of price tags hanging off of some of the clothes.

Because of the sudden move, she couldn't bring a lot of her clothes, just a suitcase worth. Before the renovation of the crib, her and her mom's clothes barely fit into the closet. Heck, the two of them barely fit in the small room, or the small bed, without bumping into each other with each turn. When her brother and his friends had managed to change their apartment, they had managed to get the construction team to make a new room just for her, but that didn't compare to this.

She always thought the crib was cool with the bright colors and the slide, and the see through refrigerator, but there were more gadgets and gizmos in Lizzie's room then she had ever seen in any Radio Shack. An apple computer sat at the corner of Lizzie's bed, an iPod dock on the bedside table, and a TV was mounted in the corner of the room.

"Just hanging out?" Katie repeated to herself.

"Well…come in," Lizzie said with a small laugh, jumping back onto her bed. "Take off your shoes, make yourself comfortable."

"I just didn't know where to put them," Katie replied as she stepped on the heel of one of her shoes with her other foot. She pulled her foot out of her shoe before repeating the process."

"You can leave them anywhere, Celeste would pick it up later," Lizzie replied, waving her hand in the air. "But, if you're that worried…" She trailed off as she got back up to her feet, motioning for Katie to follow her. Katie followed Lizzie, feeling as if her feet were being molded into the carpet as she did so, before coming to one of the drawers sticking out of the wall. Lizzie grasped one of the handles near the bottom and pulled it open, revealing pair after pair of shoes: heels, flip flops, flats, ballet shoes, tap shoes, sneakers, and high tops. "You can put them in here."

"Thanks," Katie replied, setting her shoes inside. She made a face, seeing how dirty and work out they were, compared to how neat and orderly Lizzie's were. Maybe if I….Katie tucked her shoe laces into her shoes before retreating her hands, shoving them into her pockets. That works, I guess. "And, uh, thanks for inviting me over. Your house is really…."

She trailed off when she got a closer look at some of the price tags on the clothes. She had to stop herself from gasping aloud when she saw the high prices on them. What was her house like? Big? Extravagant? Expensive? Beautiful? The type of house she'd never be able to afford in her entire life? Those were the best words to describe her whole life, not just her house.

"Gigantic?" Lizzie supplied and Katie shrugged. "That's ok; it felt that way at first." She shook her head, brushing her hair back with a hand. "Actually, it feels too gigantic a lot of the time."

"How?" Katie asked before she could stop herself.

"Well, we don't really need the guest house, we don't have people that stay over that long," Lizzie explained and Katie felt her jaw drop. She willed herself to close her mouth, but she couldn't help it. Lizzie just shrugged. "Whenever the Jacksons stay over, they just hang out in my room, or Dak's, or the guest rooms."

"Do they come over here a lot?" Katie asked.

"Rhubes does more than the others, but yeah," Lizzie replied, jumping onto her bed again, patting the comforter with her hand. Katie walked over to her bed and climbed on, practically sinking into the soft mattress. "Speaking of, Pat and No are coming over around dinner if you want to stay."

What are you having? Caviar? Katie asked.

"Do you want pizza or Chinese?" Lizzie asked, pulling her phone from her pocket. She tapped at her screen with her fingers. "We can have it delivered in no time." Katie reached into her back pocket and removed her wallet. She flipped it open and quietly counted out her bills. "Don't worry about it; we can put it on my parents' account."

Of course you can, Katie thought to herself. "I don't mind," she explained. "Sorry, it's just kind of a habit. Mom always said that everyone that wants pizza, or Chinese, or something that can be ordered should chip in to pay. Basically, 'If you eat it, you bought it'." Lizzie looked up from her phone and then over at Katie and Katie felt her face heat up.

"Try telling that to my brother," Lizzie said with a laugh. "Watch, the minute he gets here, he'll grab a steal a slice or two." She then set her phone down before propping her head up with her hand. "Have you met him yet?" her eyes then widened. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You're the one who saved him from all those girls." She rolled her eyes. "It's pathetic, right?"

"Kind of," Katie agreed. "I was kind of there for the same reason. I'm not made out of stone or anything."

"Don't worry, you're not the first one to have a crush on my brother," Lizzie said, waving a hand in the air, "and you won't be the last." She gave Katie a teasing smile. "It's so weird! Dak's such a dork, but they all seem to like that about him. Just watch, it'll happen with Kendall, too."

"Ugh, great," Katie groaned, rolling her eyes before joining in with Lizzie's tinkling laughter. "My ears are still ringing from all of those screams." She then put her hand in the air as if making an oath. "But, I was definitely not acting like them."

"Good," Lizzie replied, sitting up. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, what was the brand of makeup you were wearing the other day? I've been looking for some good eye shadow and I liked the one you were wearing."

"Oh," Katie blinked in surprise. "I…I'll have to look. I don't really know, but…" She trailed off for a moment and Lizzie lifted her eyebrows, giving her a curious look. "Not going to be wearing it for a while. I'm not allowed to wear makeup until I'm eighteen and my mom caught me, so…"

"Weren't you wearing makeup when we all went to the pier?" Lizzie asked and then snapped her fingers. "Your mom was on a date with Ronan then, so she doesn't know." Katie just shrugged. "Don't worry; I have that rule, too."

"You do?" Katie asked, blinking in surprise.

"Mom'll let me wear some to events and stuff, but that's really it," Lizzie said with a roll of her eyes. "What kind of mom tells a teenager girl she can't wear make up?" She raked her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "It's, like, torture."

She then rolled onto her back before sitting up, stretching her arms over her head. "Let's go do something fun," she announced, getting to her feet. "We got some new video games in the basement if you want to check them out. Just let me change first."

Video games? Katie watched as Lizzie got up and made her way over to her dresser.

She pulled open a drawer and reached in, pulling out an elastic hair band, dragging a couple out with it, where they landed on the floor. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail before making her way into the closet. She pushed the doors open wider before turning back towards Katie. "You don't want to play or something?" she asked with what Katie could assume was a nervous laugh.

"No, I do," Katie replied, shaking her head. "I just…I didn't know…"

"You didn't think a girl like me could like video games," Lizzie supplied before stepping into the closet.

"It's not that," Katie said, feeling herself blush again. She bowed her head, scratching at the back of her neck as she heard hangars being pushed aside. "Sorry. I meant that…well…" Shirts and pants started to be thrown out of the closet where they piled up on the floor.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot," Lizzie called from inside the closet. "Whoever says girls can't be gamers have never played against me." She laughed as she stepped out of the closet, now in a t-shirt and jeans that pooled around her waist. "Dak got me into them. He can be a doofus, but he knows what games are good. Do you play?"

"Uh, yeah!" Katie replied, getting to her feet. "You have Halo or Time Splitters or something like that?" She grinned when Lizzie gave a nod of her head to both suggestions. "Cool."

"Come see what we have," Lizzie replied, leaping on the balls of her feet towards the door where she paused to stretch a hamstring. She then followed Katie's gaze towards the pile of clothes on the floor. "Just leave it; Celeste will clean it up. We'll just tell Clara to bring our popcorn to the basement."

"Sure," Katie replied, her eyebrows bunching together slightly, glancing back towards the pile of clothes on the floor.

"Race you to the basement," Lizzie shouted as she hurried towards the stairs.

"I don't even know where it is," Katie shouted, despite running after her.

"That's not my problem," Lizzie said with a laugh, throwing herself onto the banister, starting to slide down on her stomach. Katie sat down on the other side, balancing herself by keeping her hands on the banister to guider herself. She laughed as they slid down towards the ground floor. Katie hopped off the end, her feet hitting the floor at the same time Lizzie climbed off the stairs. "I win."

"You did not," Katie protested, shoving her shoulder. Lizzie shoved her back and she stumbled, nearly colliding with Carla who came out a side door with a bowl of steaming popcorn in her hands.

"Ooh, careful," Carla said, moving the bowl out of the way. "Here's your popcorn, Miss Elizabeth."

"Thanks, Carla," Lizzie said with a smile, taking the bowl from Carla. Carla gave a nod of her head before heading back in through the door she came out of. Katie caught a glimpse of a room with stainless steel appliances, before she saw a man with a white hat and uniform all before the door closed."Let's go."

"I'm coming," Katie replied.

She took another long look around her before following Lizzie to the basement knowing that while she would be spending her time in such an extravagant house, she'd be returning to the Palm Woods where everybody was their own maid.

A/N: Not a big fan of how I ended this. This originally was going to be a one-shot to answer SoccerLaaxGod25's questions at the end of Never Again, but I decided to make it a series of one-shots about Katie and Lizzie as they form their friendship with each other over the course of the series, and just in general.

-Rhuben