I always thought Kendall and Katie's relationship was the sweetest thing ever. No sibling rivalry. Katie actually looks up to him and Kendall has no problem showing how much he loves her. It's a nice change from the big brother who believes it's his duty to torment his sister (I still have a lump on my head from when he randomly hit me with a giant piece of wood). When Katie mentioned how he would sing to her when she couldn't sleep at night, I just HAD to write a story about it. So if you can't stand sentimantal glop, then it's probably not a good idea to read this. XD

Oh, this takes place before the series started. Maybe a year or so. Just to clarify things.

Stone

Katie wasn't considered an outcast by anyone that knew her. She was never the last one picked. No one ever tripped her in the hallway or called her names. She was never blamed for something she didn't do. Save a teacher or two, everyone actually seemed to like her. To everyone, Katie Knight was a strong, tough, clever, determined, and altogether admirable girl. She was probably even comsidered one of the cool kids. And yet for some reason, she sat alone at lunch every single day.

Nothing else about Katie's life even suggested that she might suffer isolation. It was just that one thing. No one who real friends had to sit alone like that. Not every day. Not enough times for the person to wonder why it had to be this way. But Katie was always left sitting there, confused. And today was no different. She didn't have any food left to pick at, so as always, she had to try to look busy to make things less awkward. She'd taken to bringing a little notebook to doodle in, but well, she wasn't much of an artist. Photo editing was more her thing. But the point was she looked busy.

Did people not notice that Katie was just left there?

It was pretty much the only question that she ever had in life. Sometimes she liked to be alone, but not now. Not this way. She realized that she came off as a bit of a loner. After all, she was only ten years old and hadn't needed anyone since she learned how to play online poker. That probably affected people's opininons. But still... Everyone needed a friend. Didn't they know that?

The term "saved by the bell" was never so true for anyone. Katie was relieved to go to class and out of this nightmare. Claustrophobics were driven insane in small places. Katie was driven insane in the cafeteria. She picked up her notebook full of her pathetic drawings and left her big empty table. She'd always have to fight her way through the huge crowd – every kid in the school was walking through one doorway. It was going to be a bit of a struggle. But it was just a daily routine for Katie, so it wasn't that big of a deal. She'd bump into a few people, but she'd make it out alive.

After that was over, Katie went up to the water fountain and waited for the girl in front of her to finish. But when the girl pressed the button, the water didn't come out. Suddenly, Katie remembered that this one was busted. That slight hesitation gave her just enough time to use her notebook as a shield before the water sprayed her.

The water fountain girl turned around and gasped when she saw Katie there.

"I'm sorry!" the girl squeaked, "I- the thing just-"

"It's fine," Katie reassured her, "I shielded myself."

"But I just ruined your notebook!"

"You didn't know it was broken."

"I can buy you a new one if you want!"

Katie looked at the soaking pages. "Just some doodles," she decided, "They were ugly anyway..."

"I'm so sorry, Katie..." the girl said again, looking white as a sheet.

"It's fine," Katie insisted.

"Okay," said the water fountain girl, and then ran to her classroom like a lightning bolt.

That was just plain weird, Katie thought. That was her initial reaction, anyway. As the day pressed on, she couldn't get that insanity out of her head. That girl was in what, second grade? She couldn't be any older than seven. They'd never met before, but apparently the girl knew her name. That wasn't too much of a shock to Katie in and of itself, but... She couldn't help but think she'd scared the living daylights out of her. The girl had been scarred for life, it seemed. It was all so strange at first, but the more Katie thought about it, the more she wondered...

...It made sense now...

People weren't just trying not to bother Katie. They were afraid of her.

They were afraid of her...

"You're home late," Mrs. Knight remarked as soon as Katie got home, "It's almost 5."

"I stayed after in math and missed the bus," Katie explained.

"Did you find a ride?"

"No, I walked."

Mrs. Knight's eyes bulged. "It's under 20 degrees out!" she exclaimed, then reached out and felt Katie's forehead.

"Mom, I'm fine," Katie insisted, "A cold is a virus. You don't get it from being outside when it's cold."

"Have you been talking to Logan?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Speaking of Logan," said Katie, "Are the guys coming over tonight?"

"Not tonight," Mrs. Knight replied, "It's just you, me, and Kendall. You must be starving after that walk, though. Are fish sticks gonna be enough?"

"Actually, I'm just really tired," said Katie, "Do you mind if I just go crash in my room? I'll eat later."

"What about your homework?"

"I have the weekend."

Mrs. Knight nodded. "Go ahead," she said, "Get some rest."

Katie dropped her backpack in the corner and went upstairs. As she walked into her room, she could hear Kendall across the hallway screaming, "NOOOOOOOO!" She chuckled. There was a hockey game on. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was sprawled across the floor with his hands on the TV, begging the powers-that-be for a miracle.

Katie shut the door and collapsed on her bed. She'd lied to her mother. She didn't stay late and miss the bus. She'd just decided to walk home. It gave her time to think about what had happened.

A little girl ran away from her with a look on her face like the living dead. And what about the people in her class? Were they afraid of her, too? They must have been... That was her reputation. That was why that little girl knew her name. That was why they all avoided her like that. They admired her, she knew. But it wasn't worth being feared. At first she wasn't sure what was so frightening about her. In the past few hours, though, she came to realize just what kind of a person she was seen as. Someone who was strong-willed and clever. Someone who could handle anything. Someone who wouldn't let anyone stand in her way. Someone who'd push people down to get where she wanted. And sometimes that was true. In many ways, Katie was a winner. That was just who she was, and she couldn't change that. She didn't want to. But all those things that people saw... It made them afraid of her. It blinded them to the fact that she still wanted someone to walk with her along the way. She could also be kind and helpful and encouraging and loyal... If someone would just let her.

Some people were loners. But no one wanted to be alone.

Kendall turned off the TV and looked at his watch. It was after 8. Katie hadn't come down for dinner yet. She'd been in her room for 3 hours now. This wasn't normal for her, even when she was plotting and scheming. Something was wrong.

"Mom," Kendall called.

"Hmm?"

"When Katie came home," he said, "Was she okay?"

"She seemed fine," said Mrs. Knight, "But I'm starting to have second thoughts."

Kendall got up from the couch and walked up to his mother.

"Have you heard about anything going on with her lately?" he asked.

"Do you really think she'd tell me if there was anything?" Mrs. Knight asked.

Kendall paused. Knowing Katie, probably not.

"You know what?" Mrs. Knight thought out loud, "I'm gonna go check on her."

"Actually," Kendall interuppted before she left, "Mom... Do you mind if I go talk to her?"

Mrs. Knight smiled. "Of course not."

Kendall went upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Katie?"

No answer. Either she was asleep or she didn't want anyone to see her.

"Katie, it's me... Can you open the door?"

Still no answer.

"Come on, please?"

Kendall waited a little longer, but clearly Katie wasn't going to respond.

"Katie, if you don't say anything, I'm coming in."

After a few more seconds, Kendall opened the door. The lights were turned off and Katie had buried herself under the covers. For a moment, Kendall thought she was asleep. But just as he was about to leave the room, he heard a soft sob, muffled under the blankets. He smiled sadly, and sat down on the bed next to her. He pulled back the blankets where Katie's head was. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Hey," Kendall said softly, "What's the matter?"

"It's stupid," Katie murmured, not looking up.

"You're never like this over something stupid. Now please, just tell me what's wrong."

Katie sniffled. She was silent for a moment. But finally she answered.

"They're scared of me."

"What do you mean?" Kendall asked, no demand in his tone of voice.

"At school... That's why people avoid me." Katie's sat up, though still not making eye contact. Her voice grew uneasier with every word. "It's not that they don't like me, but for some reason they're just so intimidated by me that they don't want to come too close to me because they think they'll bother me and that I'll end up doing something to hurt them. But don't they know that I'm a real person with feelings and that I'm lonely and sad and just want a friend? No one wants to live like this, without someone there with them..."

Katie finally looked up at Kendall. "I..." she sobbed, "I'm not made of stone..."

For so long now, Katie had been the one looking out for Kendall. But there were times when Kendall had to remember that no matter how independent this girl was, she was still his little sister. Right now, she was lost and confused and hurt. And all she wanted to know was that no matter what, she would never be unloved. It was times like these that Kendall realized that she needed him just as much as he needed her. What she said was true: she wasn't made of stone. She was a little girl who just wanted to be loved.

Kendall took Katie in his arms, letting her know it was okay to cry. She didn't cry like other children would. She didn't wail as if she wanted attention. She just sat there, her face buried in Kendall's shoulder, sobbing brokenly.

"I know..." Kendall whispered, for at times like these this was all someone could say, "I know... But whatever happens... However alone you feel... I'm here..."

That was all he could promise. But he knew that having a brother wasn't quite the same as having a friend. Family loves you unconditionally. A friend loves you for who you are. A friend would prove to you that you were really worth loving. And while family should show you that, too, it just didn't feel the same. Kendall had James and Carlos and Logan. Katie had no one. All Kendall wanted was to give her someone; to make the hurt go away.

Katie's sobbing quieted down, and finally she spoke.

"I love you, Kendall," she whispered.

Kendall smiled and kissed her on the forehead. So he was enough for her.

"Love you, too, baby sister."

Katie was still crying silenty. Sometimes it's just hard to stop. And so to help her go to sleep, Kendall began to sing to her.

"Oh... Why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes... Come on and come to me now. Don't be ashamed to cry... Let me see you through, 'cause I've seen a dark side, too... When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do, nothing you confess could make me love you less... I'll stand by you... I'll stand by you... Won't let nobody hurt you... I'll stand by you..."

The End

That song was on a mix CD that a couple gave people at their wedding. It was really fancy. There was live music and a fancy dinner and foreign food. I always loved that song. Don't know who it is, sadly. But I couldn't imagine Kendall singing anything else to Katie. I've been trying to figure out why she was so sad forever, but this little scene at the end was in my head from the very beginning. I managed to get some funny in this thing, too (broken water fountain - classic Scott Fellows). Yay for me! :D

It's 11:00. I needs to sleep now... This is the life of a writer :P