Never Saw Blue Like That, Part 2/2
EKHashet@hotmail.com
When we got to Will's house, his mother was standing on the
porch watering the flowers in the hanging plant.
She turned toward me, and immediately I saw where Will got
his beautiful blue eyes. "Hi, Will," she said. She was a lot
older than Adrienne, probably in her late forties or early
fifties, but still very pretty. She was short and thin, with
short reddish hair frosted with gray. She smiled at me and
shook my hand. "You must be Kaitlyn," she said.
"Yes," I said. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mulder."
"Nice to meet you, too," she replied. "It's Mrs. Scully,
actually- I go by my maiden name."
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Mrs. Scully."
Mrs. Scully looked at Will. "Back so soon? I thought you
two were going to see a movie."
That impressed me, both that she knew we were going to a
movie and noticed that we were back early.
"Yeah," replied Will gruffly, his manner changing suddenly.
He avoided her gaze. "We're watching a movie here."
I looked at him in surprise. He'd been so sweet just a minute
ago, and now he was all sullen.
"In the basement?" Mrs. Scully asked.
"Yes!" said Will, his voice amazingly annoyed.
"Okay, then," said Mrs. Scully. "We'll leave you alone."
Will rolled his eyes at me as we followed his mother into
the house. I looked at him quizzically, wondering what was
up with him.
Will's father was sitting in the living room reading the
paper, which he put down as we walked in. "Hello, Will."
He looked at me. "Hello, Kaitlyn."
"Hello, Mr. Mulder," I said. "Nice to meet you." He was a
tall, thin man with glasses and gray hair. For a man in his
early fifties, he was handsome.
"Decided not to see the movie after all?" he asked.
"No, it was really bad," I answered. "So we came back
here."
"Ah." Mr. Mulder smiled. "Have you eaten?"
"No," I said just as Will said, "Yeah."
I looked at him in confusion. He glared at me in
exasperation. Then he sighed. "No, we haven't eaten."
"Oh. Well, why don't you eat something now?" he said.
He got up and walked toward the kitchen. "Scully?" he
called. "Don't we have some leftover pizza?"
"Hold on a minute, Mulder." Mrs. Scully opened the
refrigerator and pulled out a pizza box. "Yes, we do."
How weird, I thought. His parents called each other by
their last names. That was a lot less sickening than
"honey" and "sweetie-pie," which was what Dad and
Adrienne sometimes called each other- but somehow, when
Will's parents addressed each other, there was much more
affection in their names.
"Want me to heat this up for you?" Mrs. Scully asked us.
"Fine," muttered Will. His eyes kept drifting involuntarily
toward the basement. Hoping to halt the change in attitude
he'd had ever since we'd arrived at his house, I spoke up, "Um,
Will, why don't I meet you downstairs, and I'll bring the food
down?"
Will let out a deep breath. "Fine," he said again, but a bit
more calmly. Then he turned and started for the basement.
The microwave let out a long "BEEEEP," signaling that the
pizza was done. Mrs. Scully took it out and put it on a plate.
"So, Kaitlyn," Mr. Mulder said, "where is it that you moved
from?"
"Missouri."
"Missouri?" Mrs. Scully looked at me. "I lived there once."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, when I was a kid," she answered. "My dad was in the
navy, so we moved a *lot.*" She rolled her eyes as if to
emphasize how much.
"Me, too," I said softly. "My dad's in the army."
"Really!" Mrs. Scully smiled. "You know, you look a little
like me when I was your age- same height, same hair color."
I caught sight of myself in the nearest window and
couldn't believe that. "I bet you didn't have teeth like this," I
said, pointing out the buck teeth that braces hadn't quite
fixed yet.
"Are you kidding?" Mrs. Scully laughed out loud. "I had
braces for almost three years. My brother Bill teased me to
no end about my teeth."
I smiled a little. My brothers were like that, too- they were
always calling me Rabbit or Bucky the Beaver.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters, Kaitlyn?" Mrs. Scully
asked me.
"A brother and two stepbrothers," I said, and somehow I felt
comfortable enough to add, "but we don't really get along."
She threw me a look of sympathy. "That's too bad," she said.
"It's good to get along with your siblings when you move a
lot."
"Did you?" I asked her.
"Sometimes." She gave a sad smile. "I became very close to my
sister over the years, though. She's been dead for more than
twenty years now, and I still miss her." Abruptly she turned
away and picked up the plate.
"I'm sorry," I said gently. I tried to think of something to say
next, and could only come up with, "My mother is dead, too."
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Scully handed me the plate. "You never
really get over losing a family member," she said. "I miss my
father and my sister every day." She turned away. I got the
odd feeling that she didn't usually open up this much to
people she'd just met.
"Thank you for the pizza," I said.
"You're welcome." She turned back toward me. "It was a
pleasure to meet you, Kaitlyn."
"Pleasure to meet you, too."
"There's soda down in the basement if you two want it,"
Mr. Mulder called to me as I headed downstairs. "Blue
cooler. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," I called over my shoulder.
My mind was bursting with questions as I headed down
the basement steps. Why had I just had a more meaningful
conversation with a woman I'd known for five minutes than
I'd ever had with a man I'd known for fourteen years? What
was so bad about Will's parents that Will couldn't wait to
get into the basement away from them? *Why in the world
would Will hate his parents?*
Will was sitting in front of the TV and sorting through
videos with his back to me as I came down the basement
stairs. I set the pizza down on the coffee table, and he
turned toward me. "Hey," he said to me, reaching for a
slice. "Sorry about my parents."
I stared at him, not comprehending in the least. "What do
you mean, sorry about your parents?"
"Ah, you know." He waved his hand absently. "They can be
annoying."
"They weren't annoying," I protested. "They weren't
annoying at all. I was just talking to them."
Will smiled. "Yeah, well, you don't live with them."
"Well, what are they like when you *do* live with them?"
Will exhaled. "They're just-" he paused. "They're always
*there*, you know? They never leave me alone. They know
every single little thing about me- I can't keep any secrets
from them. And I'm an only child, so they focus all their
attention on me."
I stared at him incredulously. "That's it? *That's* why you
hate your parents?"
"Well, not just that." Will sighed. "My parents are
*weird*, Kaitlyn. They may have seemed normal just now,
but believe me, they're not."
I raised my eyebrows. "How so?"
"Well." Will let out a deep breath as if he was just
beginning a long story. "Do you know what my mother
does for a living, kaitlyn?" He didn't wait for me to answer.
"She's an assistant director of the F.B.I. But do you know
what section she's in charge of?" Again, he didn't wait for me
to answer. "She's the boss of this section called the X-Files. It
investigates all these 'supernatural' cases." When he said
"supernatural" he made quotation marks with his fingers. "You
know, aliens and monsters and stuff. It's ridiculous. That's how
my parents met, actually- they were partners on the X-Files
before I was born. That's why they call each other by their
last names- don't get me started on that." Will rolled his eyes.
"But they always tell me about things that happened to them
before I was born, and the scary thing is that they actually
*believe* them."
I didn't say anything. I've always kind of half-believed in aliens
myself. I think it comes from being good at science.
"Like, supposedly," Will continued, "my dad was abducted by
aliens while my mom was pregnant with me, and when he was
returned he was dead for three months until my mom brought
him back to life. And they said when I was born my mom had to go
out to the boonies to have me because aliens with spines of steel
were trying to take me from her." He began to tick off other
abnormalities on his fingers. "They say my mom had a chip
implanted in her neck, they say my dad had an alien virus, they
say they've been trapped in a haunted house, they say they've
known a man who could squeeze through floor vents-" Will
gave me a look. "They say they were attacked by killer cats
that live in the sewer. And they believe it. Honestly, I think
they might have some mental problems."
I waited about five seconds before speaking. "So you hate your
parents because you think they're weird."
"I think they're weird and I think they're annoying," he replied.
"Weird and annoying," I repeated flatly. In spite of myself, I was
starting to get angry at him. "Will, do you know how much I
would give for my biggest problem to be that my parents are
*weird*? Do you have any idea how much I would love to hate my
parents because they *focus all their attention on me*?" My voice
rose higher and higher as I spoke until I was almost yelling.
Will looked at me, surprised. "Hey," he said softly, "Kaitlyn,
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset." He moved closer to
me. "What's so bad about your parents?"
I sighed. I really didn't feel like explaining. After all, we were
on a date. We were supposed to be having fun, not complaining
about our parents. "Oh, I don't want to talk about it," I said
finally. "Let's just watch a movie."
"Okay." We looked through the various titles in silence.
Finally, Will looked at me. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.
My face broke into a smile. Of course I wasn't- how could I
possibly be mad at someone with such an adorable puppy-dog
face? "No," I said, "I'm not mad at you."
He looked at me hopefully. "So- does that mean you'll say yes
if I ask you to the Spring Fling?"
I looked at him, speechless with shock. "What?"
"Will you-" Will looked at me uncertainly. "Will you go to the
Spring Fling with me?"
Being asked to a school dance had always been one of those
vague wouldn't-it-be-great-if dreams, like winning the lottery.
I'd always watched girls get dressed up for and discuss their
dates to school dances, while I sat quietly aside, the nerdy
new girl who no one would ever ask. Was it really happening
to me now? It seemed too much to hope for.
I realized suddenly that a long time had passed since Will had
spoken. "Yes," I breathed. "Yes, I'll go."
"Great." Will gave me his gorgeous smile. Meanwhile, my head
was spinning in ecstasy. I was going to a dance! I'd have to get
a dress, shoes, maybe get my hair done-
"Hey," said Will, "we still have to pick out a movie."
"Oh, okay." I sorted through various Disney movies, then
picked up a video tape without a label. "Hey, what's this?"
Will glanced at it and rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's *Plan Nine
From Outer Space,*" he said. "It's considered the worst movie
of all time, and my Dad's seen it like three hundred times. I told
you my parents were weird."
* * *
The Spring Fling was the freshman/sophomore end-of-the-
year dance, and took place in late June. The day before the
dance, the freshman class had an assembly where the
teachers gave out academic awards. I was sitting with Will
and some of his friends, some of whom had gotten awards. I
was congratulating them, but mostly I was trying to ignore
the stupid kids behind me who kept yelling out, "Hey, where's
*my* award?"
I wasn't expecting to win anything. After all, I hadn't been in
the school for very long, and all of the awards designated
the best student in a certain subject for the entire grade. If
I'd get anything, I thought, it would be for science. But Will
was the one who ended up with that award.
I smiled at him when he came back to his seat.
"Congratulations," I whispered.
"Thanks," he whispered back.
"And now for our final award," announced Ms. Larson, who
was acting as emcee, from the stage. "This is not an award we
give out without some serious thought. Every teacher has a
say in choosing the winner of our All-Around Academic
Achievement Award. It is given to a student who we feel has
demonstrated superior achievement in *all* areas. This year,
we all felt it was a pretty clear-cut choice. "
"Oh, it's gotta be me," said the kid behind me sarcastically.
"What makes this award all the more special," Ms. Larson
continued, "is that the recipient of this award is a transfer
student who had to spend much of her own time studying
material that she hadn't had in her old school. I am very
proud to give this year's Freshman All-Around Academic
Achievement Award to. . .Kaitlyn Taylor."
My jaw dropped as everyone around me started to
applaud. Still amazed, I made my way up to the stage. Ms.
Larson handed me a HUGE certificate and gave me a hug.
"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," she said. "Well-deserved."
When I got back to my seat, Will hugged me, too. "I knew
you'd get it," he whispered. "This is awesome."
It *was* awesome. In fact, I couldn't stop smiling as I looked
at the award in my hands. It was moments like these that
made all those hours of studying worth it. I was very proud
of myself.
At home I tacked the certificate to the wall of my room,
right above my bed.
The next night, I admired my reflection in my mirror. My long
blue dress was beautiful, my makeup was perfect, and my hair
was exquisite- done up in a mass of twists and coils. Will
would be here any minute. Since my house was within walking
distance of school and neither of us wanted our parents
driving us to the dance, he was going to walk to my house and
then walk with me.
The doorbell rang downstairs, and I ran to answer it. "Hi,
Will," I exclaimed. "Oh, my God, you look great!" And he did.
He was cute enough in regular clothes, but in a suit, with his
hair nicely combed? Dazzling.
"You look more than great," he said to me with a smile.
"You're gorgeous."
I smiled happily. "Just let me talk to my parents." I went into
the kitchen, and Will followed me.
Dad and Adrienne were yelling at Mike and Ricky to stop
chasing each other around the kitchen table. Adrienne was
swearing at them. "You SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" she screamed
as they went on running.
"Boys, you eat your dinner!" Dad was ordering them.
"Uh, Dad?" I yelled to be heard. "Dad, I'll be home by eleven,
okay?"
"Okay," he said without even looking up. "If you don't sit
down right now-"
Will chose that moment to introduce himself. "Hello, Mr.
Taylor," he said conversationally.
Dad looked at him like he'd just noticed that he was there.
"Oh, hi. . .Ed, is it?"
"Uh, Will," he corrected. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Taylor."
"Oh, nice to meet you, too," he said just as Mike and Ricky
finally sat down at the table. With nothing else to
concentrate on, Dad turned his attention to us. "So, you're
going to a dance?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Oh, good," Dad replied.
"What did you do with your award, Kaitlyn?" Will asked me
out of the blue.
I looked at him, surprised. "Uh, I put it in my room," I
answered, bewildered.
"What award?" asked Dad.
Will looked shocked. "You didn't tell them?" he asked me.
"Uh, I got an award for achievement in school yesterday,"
I told Dad and Adrienne quickly.
"Oh, isn't that nice," said Adrienne lightly. "Mike, why are
you not eating your meat?"
"Honestly, boys," added Dad, turning his attention back to
them, "we try to make you food you like."
Will's eyes had been growing wider and wider during this
conversation. "Don't you even *CARE*?!" he suddenly exploded.
Dad and Adrienne dragged their eyeballs away from the
twin terrors. Now he had their full attention.
"Your daughter got the biggest academic award that you
can *get* in our grade, and you barely look up? Do you even
care about her at all?" he went on furiously.
"Will," I said under my breath. This was getting a little
embarrassing.
But he went on. "*I* got an award- a much smaller award
than the one Kaitlyn got, and my parents put in a frame and
took me out to dinner! And *you* just go right on with your
business when your daughter gets straight A's even though
she moves all the time, and is also the sweetest person I've ever
met?"
Dad and Adrienne were staring at Will like he wasn't speaking
English. Finally, Will turned and walked out to the front
porch.
"Will!" I called, and ran after him.
When I caught up with him, he was sitting on my front step. He
turned and looked at me as I sat down next to him. "Kaitlyn, you
have just made me feel like the biggest jerk," he said softly.
I was taken aback. "Will-" I began.
"You were so right," he said. "I do have great parents." He
sighed. "My God, I have been such a spoiled brat."
"You're not a brat," I protested, putting an arm around him.
We stood up and began to walk, and he put an arm around me,
too.
"Yes, I am," he countered. Then he sighed. "Kaitlyn, how do
you put up with them?"
"Ah, you get used to them," I said lightly. I was determined
not to let my family ruin the Spring Fling for me. "And you
are *not* a jerk, Will. You are the sweetest guy I've ever
met."
He smiled at me. "And you're the sweetest girl *I've* ever
met." He took a step closer. "And the prettiest." His head
started to move closer to me. "And the. . ."
And before I knew it, his lips were touching mine in my very
first kiss.
For the rest of the night I floated on the magic of that kiss.
I couldn't tell you how the cafeteria was decorated, how
anyone else was dressed, what songs they played. The only
thought in my mind was *I love Will.*
When I came home that night (still floating), the kitchen
light was on. I took off my shoes and earrings when I got
inside, and went into the kitchen.
Then I stopped short. On the refrigerator door was my
award, surrounded by a sheet of blue construction paper.
"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," Dad said softly. He was
standing by the kitchen table.
I swallowed. "Thanks," I said uncomfortably. I had no idea
what else to say. There was a long silence. Then Dad walked
over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You know, Adrienne and I have read plenty of psychology
books," he said. "To help us figure out how to deal with
Sebastian, Mike and Ricky. They all said that children seek
negative attention." He paused. "I don't think it ever occurred
to us that one of our children might be seeking positive
attention."
There was another awkward silence. These moments where
we talked were so rare that when they occurred I never
knew what to say.
"You're a smart girl," he continued finally, "and you work
very hard, and you have a lot to put up with. We're very proud
of you for everything, and if we haven't made that clear
enough, I am truly sorry, Kaitlyn."
I looked at him. "It's okay," I said, and it was true. That was
all I had needed- him saying those words. I smiled and said it
again. "It's okay."
* * *
One day that summer, I walked to the front door of Will's
house. Before I got to the front door, I looked at the sky, and
let the tears in my eyes run backwards.
Mr. Mulder was at the door when I walked through it. "Hi,
Kaitlyn," he said to me.
"Hello, Mr. Mulder," I said to him, and without thinking, I
hugged him. A bit surprised, he hugged me back. I walked further
into the house, into the kitchen. Mrs. Scully was standing there.
I didn't even have to say anything to her- I think she could see it
in my eyes.
"Oh, no." She reached out and put her hand on my shoulder and
looked me in the eye. "Kaitlyn, I'm so sorry."
"So am I," I managed around a lump in my throat.
"Will's down in the basement," she said with a sad smile.
I made my way down the basement steps. Will was sitting on the
couch, but he got up as he saw me. I walked toward him. Maybe
he's inherited some of his mother's psychic abililty, for I could
see in his eyes that he knew before I said it that what I'd always
known could happen had happened. Nevertheless, I said it.
"I'm moving," I said, unable to contain my loud sobs as I fell into
his arms.
* * *
I wrote to Will almost as soon as I moved into my new house in
Washington. I told him about my relationship with my parents
improving, and then wrote, "I know everyone says that long-
distance relationships never last, but let's
prove them wrong. I don't want to lose you, Will."
I was afraid he wouldn't agree with me, maybe that he wouldn't
even write back. But, proving to me why I didn't want to lose him,
he did.
"I'm so glad you're getting along with your parnets better," he
wrote to me in his first letter. "Kaitlyn, I would never want to
lose you. For the rest of my life, I could never hope to meet
someone like you. I thank God I had the opportunity to know you.
I see everything so differently now. You really taught me not to
take what I have for granted. That's why I'm going to tell you
the same thing I just told my parents.
"I love you."
The End
Please, PLEASE review this story! Feedback is always important
to me, but it's more important for this one than any others for a
couple of reasons. First of all, this is a fanfic only in the
loosest definition of the word, so it lets me know how
effective I am at original characterization and plot- basically,
how good of an original writer I am. And second of all,
Kaitlyn is a character very close to my heart because she's
so much like me when I was younger. (Thankfully, my home
situation was nothing like hers, but I was smart and buck-
toothed like she was.) So, please tell me
truthfully what you think of this story. If it means being cruel,
so be it. My address is EKHashet@hotmail.com
And now, here are the lyrics to the song from which the story
gets its title. It's a beautiful song, and I just thought it worked
for this story on a number of levels.
Never Saw Blue Like That
written by Tom Kimmel, Jeff Franzel, and Mark Luna
Peformed by Shawn Colvin
Today
We took a walk
Up the street
We picked a flower
And climbed the hill above the lake
And secret thoughts
Were said aloud
We watched the faces in the clouds
Until the clouds were blown away
And were we ever somewhere else?
You know, it's hard to say
And I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that
I can't believe
A month ago
I was alone
I didn't know you
I hadn't seen you
Or heard your name
And even now
I'm so amazed
It's like a dream
It's like a rainbow
It's like the rain
And some things are the way they are
And words just can't explain
'Cause I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that before
And it feels like now
And it feels always
And it feels like coming home
I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that before
Oh I, I never saw blue like that...
EKHashet@hotmail.com
When we got to Will's house, his mother was standing on the
porch watering the flowers in the hanging plant.
She turned toward me, and immediately I saw where Will got
his beautiful blue eyes. "Hi, Will," she said. She was a lot
older than Adrienne, probably in her late forties or early
fifties, but still very pretty. She was short and thin, with
short reddish hair frosted with gray. She smiled at me and
shook my hand. "You must be Kaitlyn," she said.
"Yes," I said. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mulder."
"Nice to meet you, too," she replied. "It's Mrs. Scully,
actually- I go by my maiden name."
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Mrs. Scully."
Mrs. Scully looked at Will. "Back so soon? I thought you
two were going to see a movie."
That impressed me, both that she knew we were going to a
movie and noticed that we were back early.
"Yeah," replied Will gruffly, his manner changing suddenly.
He avoided her gaze. "We're watching a movie here."
I looked at him in surprise. He'd been so sweet just a minute
ago, and now he was all sullen.
"In the basement?" Mrs. Scully asked.
"Yes!" said Will, his voice amazingly annoyed.
"Okay, then," said Mrs. Scully. "We'll leave you alone."
Will rolled his eyes at me as we followed his mother into
the house. I looked at him quizzically, wondering what was
up with him.
Will's father was sitting in the living room reading the
paper, which he put down as we walked in. "Hello, Will."
He looked at me. "Hello, Kaitlyn."
"Hello, Mr. Mulder," I said. "Nice to meet you." He was a
tall, thin man with glasses and gray hair. For a man in his
early fifties, he was handsome.
"Decided not to see the movie after all?" he asked.
"No, it was really bad," I answered. "So we came back
here."
"Ah." Mr. Mulder smiled. "Have you eaten?"
"No," I said just as Will said, "Yeah."
I looked at him in confusion. He glared at me in
exasperation. Then he sighed. "No, we haven't eaten."
"Oh. Well, why don't you eat something now?" he said.
He got up and walked toward the kitchen. "Scully?" he
called. "Don't we have some leftover pizza?"
"Hold on a minute, Mulder." Mrs. Scully opened the
refrigerator and pulled out a pizza box. "Yes, we do."
How weird, I thought. His parents called each other by
their last names. That was a lot less sickening than
"honey" and "sweetie-pie," which was what Dad and
Adrienne sometimes called each other- but somehow, when
Will's parents addressed each other, there was much more
affection in their names.
"Want me to heat this up for you?" Mrs. Scully asked us.
"Fine," muttered Will. His eyes kept drifting involuntarily
toward the basement. Hoping to halt the change in attitude
he'd had ever since we'd arrived at his house, I spoke up, "Um,
Will, why don't I meet you downstairs, and I'll bring the food
down?"
Will let out a deep breath. "Fine," he said again, but a bit
more calmly. Then he turned and started for the basement.
The microwave let out a long "BEEEEP," signaling that the
pizza was done. Mrs. Scully took it out and put it on a plate.
"So, Kaitlyn," Mr. Mulder said, "where is it that you moved
from?"
"Missouri."
"Missouri?" Mrs. Scully looked at me. "I lived there once."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, when I was a kid," she answered. "My dad was in the
navy, so we moved a *lot.*" She rolled her eyes as if to
emphasize how much.
"Me, too," I said softly. "My dad's in the army."
"Really!" Mrs. Scully smiled. "You know, you look a little
like me when I was your age- same height, same hair color."
I caught sight of myself in the nearest window and
couldn't believe that. "I bet you didn't have teeth like this," I
said, pointing out the buck teeth that braces hadn't quite
fixed yet.
"Are you kidding?" Mrs. Scully laughed out loud. "I had
braces for almost three years. My brother Bill teased me to
no end about my teeth."
I smiled a little. My brothers were like that, too- they were
always calling me Rabbit or Bucky the Beaver.
"Do you have any brothers or sisters, Kaitlyn?" Mrs. Scully
asked me.
"A brother and two stepbrothers," I said, and somehow I felt
comfortable enough to add, "but we don't really get along."
She threw me a look of sympathy. "That's too bad," she said.
"It's good to get along with your siblings when you move a
lot."
"Did you?" I asked her.
"Sometimes." She gave a sad smile. "I became very close to my
sister over the years, though. She's been dead for more than
twenty years now, and I still miss her." Abruptly she turned
away and picked up the plate.
"I'm sorry," I said gently. I tried to think of something to say
next, and could only come up with, "My mother is dead, too."
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Scully handed me the plate. "You never
really get over losing a family member," she said. "I miss my
father and my sister every day." She turned away. I got the
odd feeling that she didn't usually open up this much to
people she'd just met.
"Thank you for the pizza," I said.
"You're welcome." She turned back toward me. "It was a
pleasure to meet you, Kaitlyn."
"Pleasure to meet you, too."
"There's soda down in the basement if you two want it,"
Mr. Mulder called to me as I headed downstairs. "Blue
cooler. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," I called over my shoulder.
My mind was bursting with questions as I headed down
the basement steps. Why had I just had a more meaningful
conversation with a woman I'd known for five minutes than
I'd ever had with a man I'd known for fourteen years? What
was so bad about Will's parents that Will couldn't wait to
get into the basement away from them? *Why in the world
would Will hate his parents?*
Will was sitting in front of the TV and sorting through
videos with his back to me as I came down the basement
stairs. I set the pizza down on the coffee table, and he
turned toward me. "Hey," he said to me, reaching for a
slice. "Sorry about my parents."
I stared at him, not comprehending in the least. "What do
you mean, sorry about your parents?"
"Ah, you know." He waved his hand absently. "They can be
annoying."
"They weren't annoying," I protested. "They weren't
annoying at all. I was just talking to them."
Will smiled. "Yeah, well, you don't live with them."
"Well, what are they like when you *do* live with them?"
Will exhaled. "They're just-" he paused. "They're always
*there*, you know? They never leave me alone. They know
every single little thing about me- I can't keep any secrets
from them. And I'm an only child, so they focus all their
attention on me."
I stared at him incredulously. "That's it? *That's* why you
hate your parents?"
"Well, not just that." Will sighed. "My parents are
*weird*, Kaitlyn. They may have seemed normal just now,
but believe me, they're not."
I raised my eyebrows. "How so?"
"Well." Will let out a deep breath as if he was just
beginning a long story. "Do you know what my mother
does for a living, kaitlyn?" He didn't wait for me to answer.
"She's an assistant director of the F.B.I. But do you know
what section she's in charge of?" Again, he didn't wait for me
to answer. "She's the boss of this section called the X-Files. It
investigates all these 'supernatural' cases." When he said
"supernatural" he made quotation marks with his fingers. "You
know, aliens and monsters and stuff. It's ridiculous. That's how
my parents met, actually- they were partners on the X-Files
before I was born. That's why they call each other by their
last names- don't get me started on that." Will rolled his eyes.
"But they always tell me about things that happened to them
before I was born, and the scary thing is that they actually
*believe* them."
I didn't say anything. I've always kind of half-believed in aliens
myself. I think it comes from being good at science.
"Like, supposedly," Will continued, "my dad was abducted by
aliens while my mom was pregnant with me, and when he was
returned he was dead for three months until my mom brought
him back to life. And they said when I was born my mom had to go
out to the boonies to have me because aliens with spines of steel
were trying to take me from her." He began to tick off other
abnormalities on his fingers. "They say my mom had a chip
implanted in her neck, they say my dad had an alien virus, they
say they've been trapped in a haunted house, they say they've
known a man who could squeeze through floor vents-" Will
gave me a look. "They say they were attacked by killer cats
that live in the sewer. And they believe it. Honestly, I think
they might have some mental problems."
I waited about five seconds before speaking. "So you hate your
parents because you think they're weird."
"I think they're weird and I think they're annoying," he replied.
"Weird and annoying," I repeated flatly. In spite of myself, I was
starting to get angry at him. "Will, do you know how much I
would give for my biggest problem to be that my parents are
*weird*? Do you have any idea how much I would love to hate my
parents because they *focus all their attention on me*?" My voice
rose higher and higher as I spoke until I was almost yelling.
Will looked at me, surprised. "Hey," he said softly, "Kaitlyn,
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset." He moved closer to
me. "What's so bad about your parents?"
I sighed. I really didn't feel like explaining. After all, we were
on a date. We were supposed to be having fun, not complaining
about our parents. "Oh, I don't want to talk about it," I said
finally. "Let's just watch a movie."
"Okay." We looked through the various titles in silence.
Finally, Will looked at me. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.
My face broke into a smile. Of course I wasn't- how could I
possibly be mad at someone with such an adorable puppy-dog
face? "No," I said, "I'm not mad at you."
He looked at me hopefully. "So- does that mean you'll say yes
if I ask you to the Spring Fling?"
I looked at him, speechless with shock. "What?"
"Will you-" Will looked at me uncertainly. "Will you go to the
Spring Fling with me?"
Being asked to a school dance had always been one of those
vague wouldn't-it-be-great-if dreams, like winning the lottery.
I'd always watched girls get dressed up for and discuss their
dates to school dances, while I sat quietly aside, the nerdy
new girl who no one would ever ask. Was it really happening
to me now? It seemed too much to hope for.
I realized suddenly that a long time had passed since Will had
spoken. "Yes," I breathed. "Yes, I'll go."
"Great." Will gave me his gorgeous smile. Meanwhile, my head
was spinning in ecstasy. I was going to a dance! I'd have to get
a dress, shoes, maybe get my hair done-
"Hey," said Will, "we still have to pick out a movie."
"Oh, okay." I sorted through various Disney movies, then
picked up a video tape without a label. "Hey, what's this?"
Will glanced at it and rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's *Plan Nine
From Outer Space,*" he said. "It's considered the worst movie
of all time, and my Dad's seen it like three hundred times. I told
you my parents were weird."
* * *
The Spring Fling was the freshman/sophomore end-of-the-
year dance, and took place in late June. The day before the
dance, the freshman class had an assembly where the
teachers gave out academic awards. I was sitting with Will
and some of his friends, some of whom had gotten awards. I
was congratulating them, but mostly I was trying to ignore
the stupid kids behind me who kept yelling out, "Hey, where's
*my* award?"
I wasn't expecting to win anything. After all, I hadn't been in
the school for very long, and all of the awards designated
the best student in a certain subject for the entire grade. If
I'd get anything, I thought, it would be for science. But Will
was the one who ended up with that award.
I smiled at him when he came back to his seat.
"Congratulations," I whispered.
"Thanks," he whispered back.
"And now for our final award," announced Ms. Larson, who
was acting as emcee, from the stage. "This is not an award we
give out without some serious thought. Every teacher has a
say in choosing the winner of our All-Around Academic
Achievement Award. It is given to a student who we feel has
demonstrated superior achievement in *all* areas. This year,
we all felt it was a pretty clear-cut choice. "
"Oh, it's gotta be me," said the kid behind me sarcastically.
"What makes this award all the more special," Ms. Larson
continued, "is that the recipient of this award is a transfer
student who had to spend much of her own time studying
material that she hadn't had in her old school. I am very
proud to give this year's Freshman All-Around Academic
Achievement Award to. . .Kaitlyn Taylor."
My jaw dropped as everyone around me started to
applaud. Still amazed, I made my way up to the stage. Ms.
Larson handed me a HUGE certificate and gave me a hug.
"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," she said. "Well-deserved."
When I got back to my seat, Will hugged me, too. "I knew
you'd get it," he whispered. "This is awesome."
It *was* awesome. In fact, I couldn't stop smiling as I looked
at the award in my hands. It was moments like these that
made all those hours of studying worth it. I was very proud
of myself.
At home I tacked the certificate to the wall of my room,
right above my bed.
The next night, I admired my reflection in my mirror. My long
blue dress was beautiful, my makeup was perfect, and my hair
was exquisite- done up in a mass of twists and coils. Will
would be here any minute. Since my house was within walking
distance of school and neither of us wanted our parents
driving us to the dance, he was going to walk to my house and
then walk with me.
The doorbell rang downstairs, and I ran to answer it. "Hi,
Will," I exclaimed. "Oh, my God, you look great!" And he did.
He was cute enough in regular clothes, but in a suit, with his
hair nicely combed? Dazzling.
"You look more than great," he said to me with a smile.
"You're gorgeous."
I smiled happily. "Just let me talk to my parents." I went into
the kitchen, and Will followed me.
Dad and Adrienne were yelling at Mike and Ricky to stop
chasing each other around the kitchen table. Adrienne was
swearing at them. "You SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" she screamed
as they went on running.
"Boys, you eat your dinner!" Dad was ordering them.
"Uh, Dad?" I yelled to be heard. "Dad, I'll be home by eleven,
okay?"
"Okay," he said without even looking up. "If you don't sit
down right now-"
Will chose that moment to introduce himself. "Hello, Mr.
Taylor," he said conversationally.
Dad looked at him like he'd just noticed that he was there.
"Oh, hi. . .Ed, is it?"
"Uh, Will," he corrected. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Taylor."
"Oh, nice to meet you, too," he said just as Mike and Ricky
finally sat down at the table. With nothing else to
concentrate on, Dad turned his attention to us. "So, you're
going to a dance?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Oh, good," Dad replied.
"What did you do with your award, Kaitlyn?" Will asked me
out of the blue.
I looked at him, surprised. "Uh, I put it in my room," I
answered, bewildered.
"What award?" asked Dad.
Will looked shocked. "You didn't tell them?" he asked me.
"Uh, I got an award for achievement in school yesterday,"
I told Dad and Adrienne quickly.
"Oh, isn't that nice," said Adrienne lightly. "Mike, why are
you not eating your meat?"
"Honestly, boys," added Dad, turning his attention back to
them, "we try to make you food you like."
Will's eyes had been growing wider and wider during this
conversation. "Don't you even *CARE*?!" he suddenly exploded.
Dad and Adrienne dragged their eyeballs away from the
twin terrors. Now he had their full attention.
"Your daughter got the biggest academic award that you
can *get* in our grade, and you barely look up? Do you even
care about her at all?" he went on furiously.
"Will," I said under my breath. This was getting a little
embarrassing.
But he went on. "*I* got an award- a much smaller award
than the one Kaitlyn got, and my parents put in a frame and
took me out to dinner! And *you* just go right on with your
business when your daughter gets straight A's even though
she moves all the time, and is also the sweetest person I've ever
met?"
Dad and Adrienne were staring at Will like he wasn't speaking
English. Finally, Will turned and walked out to the front
porch.
"Will!" I called, and ran after him.
When I caught up with him, he was sitting on my front step. He
turned and looked at me as I sat down next to him. "Kaitlyn, you
have just made me feel like the biggest jerk," he said softly.
I was taken aback. "Will-" I began.
"You were so right," he said. "I do have great parents." He
sighed. "My God, I have been such a spoiled brat."
"You're not a brat," I protested, putting an arm around him.
We stood up and began to walk, and he put an arm around me,
too.
"Yes, I am," he countered. Then he sighed. "Kaitlyn, how do
you put up with them?"
"Ah, you get used to them," I said lightly. I was determined
not to let my family ruin the Spring Fling for me. "And you
are *not* a jerk, Will. You are the sweetest guy I've ever
met."
He smiled at me. "And you're the sweetest girl *I've* ever
met." He took a step closer. "And the prettiest." His head
started to move closer to me. "And the. . ."
And before I knew it, his lips were touching mine in my very
first kiss.
For the rest of the night I floated on the magic of that kiss.
I couldn't tell you how the cafeteria was decorated, how
anyone else was dressed, what songs they played. The only
thought in my mind was *I love Will.*
When I came home that night (still floating), the kitchen
light was on. I took off my shoes and earrings when I got
inside, and went into the kitchen.
Then I stopped short. On the refrigerator door was my
award, surrounded by a sheet of blue construction paper.
"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," Dad said softly. He was
standing by the kitchen table.
I swallowed. "Thanks," I said uncomfortably. I had no idea
what else to say. There was a long silence. Then Dad walked
over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You know, Adrienne and I have read plenty of psychology
books," he said. "To help us figure out how to deal with
Sebastian, Mike and Ricky. They all said that children seek
negative attention." He paused. "I don't think it ever occurred
to us that one of our children might be seeking positive
attention."
There was another awkward silence. These moments where
we talked were so rare that when they occurred I never
knew what to say.
"You're a smart girl," he continued finally, "and you work
very hard, and you have a lot to put up with. We're very proud
of you for everything, and if we haven't made that clear
enough, I am truly sorry, Kaitlyn."
I looked at him. "It's okay," I said, and it was true. That was
all I had needed- him saying those words. I smiled and said it
again. "It's okay."
* * *
One day that summer, I walked to the front door of Will's
house. Before I got to the front door, I looked at the sky, and
let the tears in my eyes run backwards.
Mr. Mulder was at the door when I walked through it. "Hi,
Kaitlyn," he said to me.
"Hello, Mr. Mulder," I said to him, and without thinking, I
hugged him. A bit surprised, he hugged me back. I walked further
into the house, into the kitchen. Mrs. Scully was standing there.
I didn't even have to say anything to her- I think she could see it
in my eyes.
"Oh, no." She reached out and put her hand on my shoulder and
looked me in the eye. "Kaitlyn, I'm so sorry."
"So am I," I managed around a lump in my throat.
"Will's down in the basement," she said with a sad smile.
I made my way down the basement steps. Will was sitting on the
couch, but he got up as he saw me. I walked toward him. Maybe
he's inherited some of his mother's psychic abililty, for I could
see in his eyes that he knew before I said it that what I'd always
known could happen had happened. Nevertheless, I said it.
"I'm moving," I said, unable to contain my loud sobs as I fell into
his arms.
* * *
I wrote to Will almost as soon as I moved into my new house in
Washington. I told him about my relationship with my parents
improving, and then wrote, "I know everyone says that long-
distance relationships never last, but let's
prove them wrong. I don't want to lose you, Will."
I was afraid he wouldn't agree with me, maybe that he wouldn't
even write back. But, proving to me why I didn't want to lose him,
he did.
"I'm so glad you're getting along with your parnets better," he
wrote to me in his first letter. "Kaitlyn, I would never want to
lose you. For the rest of my life, I could never hope to meet
someone like you. I thank God I had the opportunity to know you.
I see everything so differently now. You really taught me not to
take what I have for granted. That's why I'm going to tell you
the same thing I just told my parents.
"I love you."
The End
Please, PLEASE review this story! Feedback is always important
to me, but it's more important for this one than any others for a
couple of reasons. First of all, this is a fanfic only in the
loosest definition of the word, so it lets me know how
effective I am at original characterization and plot- basically,
how good of an original writer I am. And second of all,
Kaitlyn is a character very close to my heart because she's
so much like me when I was younger. (Thankfully, my home
situation was nothing like hers, but I was smart and buck-
toothed like she was.) So, please tell me
truthfully what you think of this story. If it means being cruel,
so be it. My address is EKHashet@hotmail.com
And now, here are the lyrics to the song from which the story
gets its title. It's a beautiful song, and I just thought it worked
for this story on a number of levels.
Never Saw Blue Like That
written by Tom Kimmel, Jeff Franzel, and Mark Luna
Peformed by Shawn Colvin
Today
We took a walk
Up the street
We picked a flower
And climbed the hill above the lake
And secret thoughts
Were said aloud
We watched the faces in the clouds
Until the clouds were blown away
And were we ever somewhere else?
You know, it's hard to say
And I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that
I can't believe
A month ago
I was alone
I didn't know you
I hadn't seen you
Or heard your name
And even now
I'm so amazed
It's like a dream
It's like a rainbow
It's like the rain
And some things are the way they are
And words just can't explain
'Cause I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that before
And it feels like now
And it feels always
And it feels like coming home
I never saw blue like that before
Across the sky
Around the world
You're giving me all you have and more
And no one else has ever shown me how
To see the world the way I see it now
Oh I, I never saw blue like that before
Oh I, I never saw blue like that...