Present Demons
Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers, they own me… at least that's what the voices are saying…
Summary: Kat's life is slowly deteriorating before her eyes, so how will interfering friends and a high school reunion help?
Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated but I've been overloaded with work so I didn't have any time to myself. Also sorry that it's short but it was the best place to leave it for the next chapter. Hope you like and please review. Thanks to PurpleLeopard for the kick up the bum I needed to update this, I especially hope it was worth the wait for you.
Kat pulled the covers over her head and tried to keep her body from shaking. It hadn't been that bad, not everyone had seen, so she shouldn't be worrying about it. But they would all hear about by tomorrow and then her day would be a living hell.
Working in such a small company meant that everyone knew each other pretty well, that people had a specific job to do and did it. It also meant everyone was very tight-knit with each other; it had been one of the more appealing aspects of the job, appealing to Kat's sense of friendship and community. Everyone worked together as a team, making the process smooth and efficient. It was why they had such a good reputation and would always have clients.
It was also why Kat knew that her latest screw-up would be broadcasted to everybody by work tomorrow morning and that the usual evils directed to her would be ten times worse.
Burying herself deeper into her duvet-made hole all Kat wanted to do was sleep and never wake up. When she was asleep Kat didn't have to think about anything or try to please anyone, her body wasn't constantly reminded of how terrible it was or of how lazy it worked. And she wouldn't have to pretend that everything was ok.
Because it wasn't.
Kat knew that, she knew that something was wrong. But she also knew that she had caused the problem in the first place, that it was all her fault. She was the one to blame as she was daily reminded; everything was Katherine Hillard's fault, whether she had anything to do with it or not.
The phone suddenly leapt to life and Kat groaned, not wanting to deal with anything right then. She just had no energy, no drive to do anything; sleep was so appealing.
The answer machine clicked to life, doing its job as Kat remained stationary underneath the covers.
A bright cheery voice sounded across Kat's apartment as the pre-recorded message played; although why she should hear the request to leave the message when she'd been the one to pre-record it always puzzled Kat.
"Hey it's Kat here, sorry I'm not in or unavailable to get to the phone but if you leave a message after the well-known beep I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
That voice wasn't hers. The voice now leaving a message didn't register at all in Kat's mind as she stared hopelessly at her answer machine from the depths of her bed. That wasn't the voice she had anymore, hers was tired all the time now, tired and placid. Had her voice really been that cheerful? It can't have been. She only recorded that message a few months ago. How could such a large part of her change within a few months and she not even notice?
The shaking started up again, Kat too terrified to even try and stop it this time. Was she being affected so much that she didn't even realise it? And what exactly was it that was changing her? Yes work was bad, and the people were sometimes nasty to her but openly, on an every day basis they were fine. There were no exact confrontations or allegations ever made against her, and snide comments and bitching were part of everyday life. So was Kat just not coping with social interactions? Her work colleagues never did want to see her outside of working hours, although they were always boasting about what a fabulous time they were going to have, doing whatever it was they had planned. And this would fit with it being a problem with her, that it was her fault, and nobody else could be blamed.
Kat sighed and managed to sit up, her shaking having subsided as her thoughts had increased. Now she knew what was wrong there was no need to be moping around in bed. Besides she knew she had lots of work to do for tomorrow, and just because she'd messed it up yesterday didn't mean she'd not be expected to do this. After all Rachel had been the one to spot her mistake and point it out to everyone in the conference room, and Rachel was the same one who said Kat had to have everything in, perfectly, the next day.
Throwing the covers off of her she stood up and walked determinedly out of her bedroom, her thoughts processing what needed to be done for tomorrow and how much time she had to do it all in. She only paused as she passed her phone, the red light blinking on the device. Who had left the message? She couldn't even remember hearing the voice let alone what the person had to say. Sighing she hit the play button, hoping it wasn't anything to drag her down even further having worked out what to do with herself.
"New message." The machine said.
"Hey Kat," Kim's voice said, although it didn't sound as cheery as it normally did "I just wanted to have a chat with you but you're obviously not in from work yet. I'd love for you to call me back, I have a bit of a dilemma you could help me with. It's no problem if you can't, we just haven't talked in ages as well. I'm in now so if you get back and you're not too tired give me a bell."
Kat bit her lip nervously as she deleted the message from the machine, unsure of what to do next. She needed to get this work finished for tomorrow but it sounded like Kim needed her help. Kat shook her head and cursed herself for even having to think about what she should do. She had made a promise to herself that moving out to London would not affect the relationships she had with her friends, and here she was deliberating when one of them had just said they needed her help. Picking up the phone she dialled Kim's number.
One ring. Two rings Three-
"Hello?"
Kat took a deep breath and then spoke, trying for some of that cheeriness that the voice on the answer machine sounded like, the voice that was hers only a few months ago. "Hey Kim."
There was a pause on the other end and Kat nervously bit her lip, it had been ages since sh'd spoken to her pink predecessor "K-Kat?"
"Yeah it's me."
She heard Kim sigh and some voices speak in the background "It is so good to hear from you!"
"I know I've been busy from work and haven't called you much," Kat began.
"If you're even thinking about apologising missy forget it, it's fine. We all get a little busy. I'm glad you called back though i really do need your help on something."
Again Kat could hear people in the background and she frowned slightly, suddenly nervous. "Um, it sounds like you have company. I can call back later if you-"
"Don't you dare," Kim interrupted "I've finally got you on the phone I'm not about to let you go just because the boys are being rude, not watching their manners by taking loudly when someone's on the phone."
"The boys?"
"Tommy and Jason."
"Oh." Kat slumped against the wall slightly, trying to fight the sudden rising tears. She was suddenly so lonely and lost, missing them too much for words to describe; she'd never had any problems with them socially. She just wanted to be there with them so badly.
"So it's ok to just leave them whilst we talk."
"Ok," Kat said, drawing a deep breath "What did you need help with? You said on the mac-"
Kat was cut off by Kim's exclaimation "Hehe! I do need your help. I already have Trini, Aisha, Tanya, Ashley and Cassie's advice but I can't make any final decisions until I've talked to you, and now I am which is good as I still can't decide!"
"Decide what?" Kat asked, her curiosity piqued.
There was a distinct groan in the background before Kat almost got her ear squealed off "What I'm going to wear at the reunion!"
A/N – I know I made Kim sound a little bit too materialistic but that's explained in the next chapter and is done so on purpose for the story, I'm not trying to write her like a bimbo airhead so please don't flame me until you're read the next chapter, if you have to at all. More coming soon.
