A/N: First and foremost, I'd like to thank LittleMissyGalPal for encouraging me to write this story and helping me refine some plot details! You guys should all go check out her stories if you haven't already:3!
Now, this story will be Katie-centric. I hope that doesn't put you off because I have some big things in mind for this story!
Note: Any piece of dialogue that is fully italicised and in inverted commas is a text message, unless everything including the speaker is in italics, then it is a flashback:)! Also, there will be some usages of text speak, but I'll keep it to a minimum.
Prologue
It had been five years since Total Drama Island was first broadcast, but only two since the conclusion of Total Drama All-Stars, when the original cast members were told that in order to keep the show fresh, they were being shunted to the side in favour of a "fresher, more entertaining" line-up of teenagers - or so it said in the letter posted through Katie's door at the time - but that isn't what that period in her life marked the conclusion of to Katie personally.
This notice didn't really faze Katie all too much; she hadn't been on the show in years anyway, and the chances of her making a return were very slim. She and Sadie knew that, and like they always did, planned to move on with their lives, together.
However, despite vowing never to leave Sadie's side, one evening, not even forty-eight hours after being dismissed from Total Drama, Katie was called down to her dining room, where her parents informed her of their plans to move to a smaller, rural town halfway across the country; halfway across the country from Sadie.
Naturally, Katie resented this idea, but to her dismay, her parents informed her that the cogs were already in motion, and in no less than two months, she and her family would be living in their new home.
Desperately exhausting every avenue, Katie begged Sadie's mother to let her stay with their family, but alas, she was dragged across the country to their new home.
The first few weeks after the move were the hardest; Katie wasn't herself, she began to resent her parents for taking her away from Sadie and she didn't take a liking to their new home either. That was when she decided that she was going to move out...
As a temporary measure, Katie began renting out a flat in the small town her parents migrated to, using her savings. When the time was right and when she had enough money, she was going to move back to her home-town and buy a "BFFFL house" with Sadie, as described by Katie herself in her diary, within a glittery pink heart.
This plan took much longer than Katie expected it to, however. Two years later, she was still in the same apartment, ignoring calls from her parents and only making contact with them if she happened to pass them by in the street. On top of this, despite seeming like Katie's perfect job at the time of her hiring, working in a small candy store in a rather boring town was anything but eventful; she could be standing behind the cash machine for hours before a customer would walk in.
"That'll be two dollars then, Emily," Katie wore her signature smile as one of the kids of her new village handed her the money over the counter. "Thank you," She continued, slipping the money into the cash register. "Don't eat it all at once or your mom will kill me!" She chuckled as the little girl made her way out the door.
"I'll try!" She giggled, unwrapping a lollipop she had just bought as soon as she stepped out the door. "Well, after this one."
Katie smirked at the girl, shaking her head ever so slightly, until she had walked out of sight. Immediately afterwards, Katie's eyes darted up to the clock on the wall: 5.15pm. She still had another forty-five minutes left of her shift, due to the new Summer opening hours.
As nobody was around to berate her for it, Katie slipped out her mobile phone to text Sadie. "So bored! I've had five customers today and I've been working since 9am! How has your day been? x" she typed into her phone, before pressing 'send' and sitting her phone down on the counter. Moments later, her phone vibrated, prompting her to pick it up and read Sadie's reply.
"I'm sure it'll get busier when the tourists come!" It read. Katie's phone then vibrated again, another text from Sadie coming through. "I went to the mall today with my mom and I saw the cutest boy ever! Like, even cuter than Justin! x"
Katie's face lit up. "Really? Did you get a sneaky pic of him? x" She giggled to herself. *Bzzt*
"No, my mom dragged me into some store before I got the chance :/ x"
Katie shook her head, as if Sadie was able to see her reaction. "Awh, bummer! Maybe you'll see him again? x" Katie sent her third message, before putting her phone down on the counter once more. However, just then, she heard the bell chime, signalling that someone had entered the shop, prompting her to swipe her phone from the worktop and hold it behind her back.
"Mrs. Prescott!" Katie smiled. "What are you doing here?"
The woman, who looked to be in her late fifties or early sixties, responded similarly. "Oh, I was just taking a stroll for some fresh air and I thought I'd drop in to see how you were doing." She smiled. "A quiet day, I presume?"
"Very," Katie sighed. "I spent a couple of hours doing a stock-check, to save you the trouble of doing it tomorrow."
"Oh, you shouldn't have," Mrs. Prescott told her. "You really are my star employee!" She winked.
Katie chuckled. "But I'm your only employee?"
"Nevertheless," The woman wagged her finger. "Tell you what, because it's quiet and you're more than deserving, I'll let you lock up early tonight."
"Are you sure?" Katie asked, surprised. "I mean, 'cause I can, like, stick around 'til closing time, no bother."
"No, no, it's a Friday evening," Mrs. Prescott shook her head. "And I've been meaning to have a little chat, now come on, turn the lights off and grab the key."
As instructed, Katie flicked the light switch and lifted the keys from the hook behind the counter. Mrs. Prescott turned the sign on the door, to display 'Closed', before the pair exited the shop, locking the door behind them. *Bzzt* Katie's phone vibrated, causing her face to redden. However, this seemed to go unnoticed by her boss, much to her relief.
The pair walked down the side-walk for about fifty yards, neither one saying a word until Katie broke the silence. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She inquired.
"Ah yes," The older woman nodded. "I've been meaning to ask you for quite some time now - how are things with your parents? I hope you're talking to them again."
Katie sighed at the mention of her parents. "I spoke to my mom last week... And my dad a fortnight ago, but that's it really..."
"I suspected as much," Mrs. Prescott closed her eyes. "Holding a grudge for this long is never healthy, Katie," She uttered. "I really do wish you'd build bridges with them, for your sake, if nothing else."
"I-I don't think I'm ready for that yet... Not until I've met up with Sadie," Katie told the woman. "She's learning to drive, so she'll come through soon, and then... And then I might speak to my mom and dad... Properly, I mean."
"That's what I like to hear," The woman smiled. She and Katie had been walking in the direction of Katie's apartment complex, which wasn't actually that big and only consisted of four flats, one of which was vacant. "Anyway, I believe this is your stop."
Katie looked up at her apartment. "Yup," She nodded. "Thanks for letting me off early - see you on Monday!" She waved, half-running-half-walking into the building.
"Take care!"
The cheery girl ran up the stairs where she was greeted with two large men, carrying a sofa. Opposite them, standing in her doorway, was her neighbour. Keen to find out why these two men were here, she walked over to her.
"Why are they here?" Katie asked her neighbour, who had long black hair and relatively pale skin. "Did somebody rent out the spare apartment?"
"Yeah," She informed her. "Some musician dude, he came by earlier. I can't remember his name, though... He's coming back tomorrow."
"Oh, well that's nice, I love meeting new people," Katie beamed. "We should so bake him something, Danica!"
"Yeah, no." Danica rolled her eyes. "I'm not a baker."
"It was just an idea..." Katie sighed.
With that, Danica went back into her apartment, closing the door behind her. Awkwardly, Katie smiled at the two men who were currently bringing in a chest of drawers, before going into her own apartment.
Locking the door behind her, she put put her keys down on the kitchen worktop, before collapsing down on the sofa. She picked up the remote, switched on the television and began to skim through the channels. "Cooking show, teleshopping, news, cartoon, news, teleshopping," She groaned. "Ugh, nothing." She switched the television off again, before taking out her phone and reading the text she received from Sadie earlier.
"Oh well, it's not like I stood a chance with him anyway." Sadie's text read, causing Katie to frown.
"What are you talking about? Any guy would be lucky to have you! xx" She responded, before remembering that it had been a while since she received the text. "BTW, Sorry for taking so long to reply, I was talking to my boss."
As Katie expected, Sadie took a longer time to reply than previously, most likely because she'd put her phone down after not receiving a reply. "NVM. What did your boss say to you? x"
"She just said I should try to build bridges with my parents, but I told her that wouldn't happen until I'd seen you again! x"
*Bzzt* "Katie, I've told you about this before, you really need to speak to your mom and dad again! Please, Katie, it's not good for you!"
Katie rolled her eyes. "Not you too." She then put her phone down on the coffee table, ignoring Sadie's next text as she looked across the room at a photo of her and her parents. Annoyed, she got up and flicked it face down, before falling back down onto the sofa one more, staring aimlessly up at the ceiling, before drifting off...
Katie, her mother and her father were all gathered around a long dining table, with Katie sitting on the opposite side from her parents. Everyone looked upset. "I'm sorry, Katie, but we think it's best to move away from here," Katie's mother said in a sympathetic voice. "We know you don't want to leave Sadie, but it's a beautiful town, and daddy received a job offer not far from-"
Katie looked up at her mother, and then her father, tears in her eyes. "Wait, we're moving because you got a new job?!" She glared at her father.
"Only partially, sweetie-"
"Don't call me that when you're trying to tear me away from my best friend!" Katie snapped. "Just say no to the new job!"
"Darling, you know that-"
"Stop calling me things like that!" Tears began to stream down Katie's face. "I'm not leaving here! I'm not leaving Sadie!"
"Katie, our decision is final." Katie's father stated, now speaking in a stern tone. "We're moving and that is final."
A/N: Sorry that there are so many OCs, it's just to set the mood of the story - that Katie feels alone - and I can assure you that they won't play such a role in future chapters. That'll make the next chapter all the more hitting when her new neighbour moves in:3! No prizes for guessing who the "musician dude" is xD!
I hope you guys enjoyed! :D