Disclaimer: I don't own Dance Academy or its characters.
A/N: So this is my first Dance Academy fic, and it's the first Katara fic written apparently. I tried to keep the characters in character, especially Tara's OMG attitude about Christian, so...y'know...try to enjoy.
THIS IS A FEMMESLASH FIC. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE READING SAME-SEX COUPLES THEN JUST DON'T READ. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
"It's going to be just me and you, just like it was before." She smiles, her arm wrapping around mine. I can't help the warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, that her words mean more than they actually do, but I fake a smile in her direction before turning my gaze toward the water. Unfortunately she knows me too well. "Hey, what's wrong?"
It's been like this since I've known her. I haven't found a way to stop feeling like this and I can't explain it. I've tried, but no logical reason has come to mind to tell me why I shouldn't feel like this. And it feels as though I can't breathe, like I'm being strangled, that I'm going to die from asphyxiation.
I shake my head and lie. "Nothing…I'm just…I want to forget about Christian, and it's a little difficult to." It really wasn't. In a way, I'm glad we broke up, especially when he knows I don't like him as more than a friend, but the way he looks at Kat worries me.
Kat's shoulder bumps into mine and I glance at her, noticing the smirk on her face. "I know what we could do to make you forget about Christian." And my stomach flops, my brain hoping for a hidden meaning of that statement, but when Kat's fingers close around my wrist and she drags me toward the bus stop, I know we're not thinking the same thing. After all, why would Kat ever be interested in me? We're only best friends.
I can't complain when she sits as close as possible to me on the bus, or when her arm remains wrapped around mine, even when we take our exit at the beach. Something inside of me wishes that this was more, but I can't hope for that. We head for the water, noticing Sammy and Abigail sprawled on their towels in the sand. Grace and Ben are past them, wrestling in the water, as though they're trying to prove which one's stronger.
"Hey, guys," Kat greets, sitting next to Sammy and pulling me down with her. I barely catch Sammy's raised brow at my best friend's hand around my wrist, and I realize she never let go.
"Hey," Sammy reciprocates, smiling slightly before grabbing Abigail's arm and dragging her toward the edge of the sand. Kat glances at me and shrugs, kicking off her flip flops and stripping to her bathing suit. I do the same and we follow them, Kat picking me up from behind and throwing me into the water. Underwater, I grab Kat's waist and drag her under, surprising her. She rolls her eyes and kicks the sand to swim upward, laughing when she surfaces.
She wraps her arms around my neck from behind, her legs wrapped around my waist, and we both return underwater. I feel her body leave mine and turn, looking through the blue for her. When I can't find her, I go up for air and see Christian standing near the water, Kat standing a few feet from him. They're in a conversation, Kat's face annoyed, and Christian just rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. I can't hear them from here, even if I didn't have so much water in my ears.
I feel eyes on me and my eyes meet Sammy's from where he sits in the shallowest bit of water alone. He glances over his shoulder at Kat and Christian, and I happen to look in their direction as Kat kisses Christian's cheek. My stomach explodes with bees, and suddenly I feel so jealous of him. I turn away from them and swim further into the ocean, hearing Sammy's faint voice.
I feel a pull and I'm yanked underwater, caught in a current and unable to surface. I panic, trying to remain calm, but I can't. It scares me that I'm probably going to drown, all because I was a jealous idiot. I stop struggling against the rush and feel myself being dragged, holding my breath as long as possible, but the black dots in my vision do nothing to help that dreadful feeling. I close my eyes and nearly give up, until I feel calm water and arms wrapped around my waist. I'm too hazy to figure out whom they belong to, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is Christian's face.
"Damn it, Tara, open your eyes. Wake up."
I cough, feeling water bubble up from my throat, and turn onto my side before I swallow it again. Someone rubs my back, another hand pushing my hair out of my face. "She's awake," another voice announces, and I recognize it as Christian's. I don't want to hear his voice or be anywhere around him, not after he took Kat's attention.
Arms wrap around my shoulders and I'm pulled against a warm body, Kat's voice muttering "You're okay" over and over. I don't know what's going on or who's around me, but just knowing that Kat's the one holding me makes me feel better. "Damn it, Tara, don't ever scare me like that again. I thought you were going to die. That was so stupid!" I don't even care that she's yelling at me right now because she's right.
"I wasn't thinking," I manage, my throat sore from the salt water.
She glances down at me and shakes her head. "No, you weren't. Why did you even go out there, Tara? You knew there was a current!" She seems to calm down a little as she kisses my forehead and my skin burns at the contact. I look past her at Christian, who seems to be fighting something within.
"I didn't want to stand in the way of you and Christian."
Christian frowns, his brows furrowed in confusion. Kat shakes her head. "What are you talking about? Christian and I aren't…we're not together. We never will be." She raises her head and Christian shrugs, clearly agreeing with her. "You honestly thought Christian and I were…God, you were so far off-base, Tara. Christian's not the one I like, and he's obviously not the one you like either." I frown. "That conversation we were having was about you. He was asking me if I had told you how I felt."
My eyes lock with Christian's. "When we broke up, I knew you liked someone else, Tara. And the way you've been looking at Kat when you think no one else is watching, or the way you always stand close to her…it wasn't hard to figure out."
Kat smiled. "When Christian told me, I thought I'd wait a while and see if you said something, but when you didn't, he asked if I would make the first move. And I would have. I don't know if you noticed, but I've kind of been flirting with you all day." She looks unsure. "Judging by the fact that you almost killed yourself…I'm not so sure that was the right thing to do."
Before she could doubt any further actions, I reached up and tangled my fingers in her hair, bringing her head closer, my lips meeting hers. Never in a million years did I think that I would ever be kissing Kat, but it felt so damn good to finally have it out in the open. When we finally pull away from the kiss, she smiles again and threads her fingers between mine.
"So what happens now?" I ask.
She shrugs. "Well, I think we should go on a date or whatever it is normal people do these days." I cuddle against her and she kisses my forehead, her fingers holding mine. "No more hiding, Tara."