On Monday morning, Kitty closed her locker to reveal Marley standing on the other side, making her jump.

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the reaction she got. "See, it's not so fun having someone sneak up on you when you're making an innocent trip to your locker."

The blonde gave her friend an annoyed, phony smile before her face softened. "So, you're ready to talk?" Kitty asked hopefully.

Marley nodded. "I am. I have a lot to say, so what do you say we talk after school?"

Kitty let out a groan as she tossed her head back dramatically. "I can't wait that long. Can't we talk over lunch?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, "You really want to have this conversation in the cafeteria where anyone could overhear and effectively ruin our high school lives?"

"Yes, well no." Kitty rushed out before stopping and taking a deep breath and attempting to calm herself down. "Yes, I want to have this conversation as soon as possible because I won't be able to focus on anything but how terrible I'm convinced this is going to go. Obviously I don't want anyone to hear what we're talking about so I'm going to tell Coach Sylvester I want to work out over lunch and that I need to be excused for my lunch hour. You can just get a pass to go to the library during study hall and just not go. No one's going to notice you're gone because Mr. Schue actually trusts us to show up to lunch. Meet me at my car as fast as you can and we can go to the Titan Diner. The only people who go there for lunch are mechanics and plumbers who will be too busy talking shop to even notice our arrival. Plus, the guy who owns the dinner has a weird thing for anything McKinley related and tight, high ponytails so he usually buys cheerios meals and because you're not a guy, he'll probably buy yours too.

Marley had a look of mild disgust on her face at what Kitty was suggesting to just get out of paying for a meal. "Um, do we have to go there? I'm more than ok with paying for a meal if it means I don't have to worry about my safety."

Kitty's eyes went wide at how what she had said sounded. "It's not sexual or anything, he just really likes the sports teams and ponytails. But we can go wherever you want."

The brunette offered up a grateful smile. "Thanks. Would you mind going to Kewpees? I haven't been there in a really long time and they have the best burgers in town."

"Yeah, burgers sound great. I'll see you after fifth period then."

Marley had an uneasy look on her face, but nodded her agreement.

The morning dragged on like nothing Kitty had ever experienced. Even four-hour glee club rehearsals on Saturdays seemed short in comparison to the amount of mental torture she was experiencing during her third period geometry class.

When the bell finally rang to signal the end of fifth period, Kitty shot out the door and started running down the hall like one of the nerds who ran from class-to-class so they could read. To her surprise, Marley was already waiting for Kitty by her car. "Ok, my class isn't super close to the parking lot, but how did you beat me? I fucking ran!" The blonde lamented as she unlocked the doors and got in.

"Long, model legs," the brunette so casually that it made Kitty stop what she was doing and look at the other girl who had a huge, cheesy grin on her face. "Don't worry, I'm totally kidding. I know my legs are chicken legs," she said as she looked down at her lap.

The comment broke Kitty's heart, she knew that she was more than partially responsible for Marley's poor body image. "Please don't say things like that. You are so beautiful with a great body, stop putting yourself down. I know it's hard, even I struggle to not let my own overly critical eye destroy my self esteem from the inside out before 10 am."

Marley's eyes went wide in disbelief, "What do you have to be self-conscious about? Everything about you is flawless."

Kitty couldn't help but smile at the sweet compliment and she had to remind herself to set a good example in her answer. "Well thank you, that's very kind of you to say, but I am human and I do have physical and character flaws that I'm not proud of and I actively work to correct." The blonde spoke as earnestly as possible, silently praying that she would get through to the brunette.

"Yeah right, what could you possibly be self-conscious about?" Marley asked, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"You want to know what I'm insecure about?" Kitty asked for clarification.

The brunette shifted her eyes away from Kitty's, knowing that she was about to endure the other girl's wrath, but managed to nod.

"I'm five foot nothing and have an extremely fragile ego. I knew when I was 13 and hadn't grown in three years that I had to become the HBIC by emitting an air of unadulterated confidence. I wish I was tall like you with, yes, long model legs. Because you have something that I want and know I could never get it regardless of how hard I work it makes jealous and want to tear you down so you don't gain any confidence from them and become a potential threat to me. After the incident at Sectionals, I realized that I have the maturity level of a three year-old and had to back off, grow up, and deal with my own insecurities. You are so beautiful and insanely kind by nature, I'm jealous of you. So, I don't want to hear you put yourself down ever again. Do you understand?"

All a wide-eyed Marley could do was nod. Kitty gave a satisfied smile before starting the engine and took off towards the restaurant.

The car ride to Kewpees was silent as both girls looked back on the conversation they had just had, both realizing that it was a groundbreaking conversation in their friendship. It was the first time that they had talked about what happened during the play in an honest way and Kitty explaining what her mindset was at the time.

The girls were seated right away at a booth in the back and placed their orders. After a few moments, the silence became too much for Kitty to take. "We only have an hour before we have to be back for 7th period, so let's get this conversation started, shall we?"

The brunette offered a small smile as she organized her thoughts. "So I really thought about what you said and looked back on our relationship from the start until the weekend. What you said in the car only confirmed my decision. I want to try to have a romantic relationship with you."

A large, genuine smile spread across Kitty's face. "Really? After all that happened in the last year and a half you're willing to give me a chance to be your girlfriend?"

Marley reached across the table to grab the other girl's hand. "Yes I am. While the way you treated me earlier this year was concerning, I realized that everything you did was Jake motivated. At first I thought that it might be an act to try to get Jake back, but then I remembered how sweet you've been since the break up. At first, I sensed that it was Jake motivated, but then after you showed so much care in making sure I was comfortable trying on clothes, I knew it was genuine. Then when you found out about my condition and not only kept it a secret, but made me feel anything but self conscious about it for the first time in my life. I immediately started developing feelings for you that I couldn't place at first. Now I know that they're romantic."

Kitty couldn't help but let a few tears fall over what the brunette was telling her. "Marley, I can't tell you how happy I am that you've not only forgiven me and let me be a friend, but give me a chance to date you and give you the romantic love that I know you crave." Kitty reached across the table to grab Marley's hand. "I honestly can't put into words how much it means to me that you would give me the chance to be that person."

Marley squeezed Kitty's hand. "Of course, I can't wait to see the softer side of Kitty Wilde."

The blonde's face turned serious. "Oh, you have no idea. I am the master of all girlfriends. You will not be disappointed."

"I'll take your word for it because you are nothing if not brutally honest at all times." Marley lamented.

"Kitty smiled before checking the time on her phone. "Shit, we have 10 minutes left so we have to get going." The blonde said as she jumped out of her seat and threw $40 down on the table to cover the bill and the tip.

The girls made it back with three minutes to spare thanks to five green lights in a row and Kitty going 15 miles over the speed limit the whole way.

Halfway through English, Marley got a text form Kitty." I am taking you out for our first date on Saturday at 7 pm. If you have prior plans that aren't a wedding or funeral, cancel them."

The brunette couldn't help but smile at the text it perfectly captured Kitty's personality. "Can't wait, I know you have something great up your sleeve."

"You have no idea ;)" was the blonde's response.

Marley just smiled and shook her head. She wasn't sure what Kitty had planned for them, but she was excited to find out.

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Short little set up chapter. Review and let me know what you think.