Keffy... the most popular non-canon ship in the history of Skins fanfiction, right? Although also possibly one of the most controversial. Yes, Katie is straight. I know. And just as I would never write a gay character in a straight relationship, I should never write a straight character in a gay relationship. I'm very bad. Sorry. Sorry. (Effy, on the other hand, never has her sexuality discussed, and I think she would be the sort who would be willing to experiment, despite her only being depicted in straight relationships.)
Keffy fanfiction upset and confused me for quite some time. I'm definitely not homophobic, but I do think that straight people should be allowed to... well... be straight. But the sexual tension is palpable, and there were scenes where I was actually willing them to kiss. Teenage years are the time for experimentation, right? And some sexual confusion would have spiced up Katie's storylines. So I started reading Keffy fanfiction and thinking 'hey, you know what, Katie is (sadly) not a real person. So I can make her flexible if I like. Even with real people, sexuality is fluid, right?' And there is some really brilliant Keffy fanfiction out there. Conflict of Interest makes me cry. It's a nice ship, even if it's unrealistic, and I'm giving it a chance. Do likewise?
Tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap tap.
Katie was quite aware that the repetitive noise of her manicured fingernails hitting the desk was probably annoying the pregnant woman in front of her, but she was too anxious to care. Mrs Katherine Fitch Tomone (or Katie Fitch, as she liked to be called) was not a nervous person, but today, she had a lot more on her mind than usual. The woman sitting in front of her was pregnant – only two months in, but it was actually pretty apparent. Katie supposed that was because she was so skinny. How come a woman as thin as that can concieve a baby, but I can't?
She still felt jealous sometimes. She had been seventeen when she went through the menopause, but the sting was as sharp as if it had been yesterday. Katie would never know how it felt to hold life inside her, and surely that was the worst punishment any woman could ever find herself afflicted with? So the sight of a painfully beautiful bump of soft, warm, pregnant flesh sitting on this wisp of a girl, all blue eyes and collarbones, really fucking hurt.
'Effy' (and what a ridiculous name that was) had turned up at her door ten minutes ago, wearing a goddamned minidress, with an inexplicable smirk on her impossibly beautiful face. "Would you like to adopt my baby?" were the very first words she'd said.
Of course Katie would. She ushered her inside and sat her down on one of the leather lounge chairs. She made her peppermint tea and prepared a plate of shortbread, neither of which the girl touched. Instead she simply sat observing, still with that infuriating little smirk, as if there was nothing more amusing in the world than Katie's typical suburban living room, all creamy wallpaper and coffee coasters like any other house in the street.
She was what Katie's mother would have called common, but that wasn't really bothering Mrs Tomone at the moment. Katie very badly wanted a baby, and she had to be grateful for Effy's presence, common or otherwise – they had found each other, it turned out, via a lucky fluke. Very soon into their baffling conversation, it turned out that Katie's 'friend' (her sister's bitchy girlfriend) Naomi Campbell (another ridiculous name) had known Effy from school (you? school? Katie wanted to remark acerbically). Effy made vague gestures and told her that 'events' had led her to 'want a little reconciliation', and that Naomi had told her about Katie's burning need for a child. Curious, Katie asked to know more. Effy just smiled.
She knew straight away she was going to hate Effy. But what she didn't hate – what she was hoping she would one day adore – was the tiny baby growing inside her. And she wasn't prepared to waste a potential chance to become a mother just because she personally disliked the girl.
Because that's what she was: a girl. Probably around Katie's age, maybe a little younger, but she obviously hadn't even considered growing up. The playful smirk teasing the corners of her lips. The showy blue-grey eye make-up. The sheer amount of snowy white thigh clearly visible below the outrageous hem of her sequinned minidress. She looked like a teenager going out clubbing, not a young lady discussing very adult matters at four in the afternoon on a Sunday.
Katie, on the other hand, was a woman. She had grown up quickly. When younger, she too had been the sort to wear dresses that were, quite frankly, slutty, and smother herself in cosmetics, but now her maturity was an asset almost as proudly displayed as her tits had been back then. Everything about the young Mrs Tomone was planned, perfectly contrived. She had a feeling that Effy Stonem was quite the opposite.
"Well, it was very lovely to meet you, Ms Stonem. We'll contact you soon," Katie told her finally. Their minutes of empty silence, following one of the most awkward conversations Katie had ever partaken in, had stretched on for long enough. Effy stood up altogether too suddenly, making Katie flinch – this in turn eliciting another smirk from the girl. Katie held out her hand for Effy to shake it, but the skinny brunette simply flicked her eyes down to Katie's small, outstretched hand for a second, before dragging them upwards over her stomach, chest and neck to make eye contact again. One moment of Effy's disconcertingly penetrating gaze, and then she was gone.
Elizabeth Stonem. She was the sort of person Katie had no qualms about dismissing as a lower-class slut with a liking for pointless titillation, yet there was something... Katie had to shake off the temptation to watch her from the window as she left.
Hope you didn't despise this? I found it quite difficult to write - prose isn't my strong suit and non-canon is always harder but I wanted to add at least a little more tension to what was already between the two girls. Reviews would be lovely :)
