Author's Note: My sincere apologies for delay in posting. Somewhere between draft 6 and draft 8 - I realized that I couldn't finish this story in just one more chapter (while including everything I wanted to). So I've made the executive decision to just keep writing until I'm done. Hope you don't mind ; D
-Gemma
Go on and kiss the girl
Beneath the whir of her blow-dryer, Kate Tunney angrily ran her hair bush through her lengthy locks. It wasn't bad enough that someone started a rumor about her having sex with Pogue the other day. Noooooo. After this morning she was fairly certain she was going to be branded as a whore for the remainder of her time at Spenser Academy.
Gossip travel fast. Good gossip travels at the speed of light. If she hadn't heard them talking about it with her own ears, she might not have believed it. But from the safe confines of a bathroom stall on the floor below; she, Kate Tunney, was the topic of conversation. According to some girl named Valerie – Kate not only had a threesome with Pogue Parry and Matt Hodges in the back of Matt's truck last night. She'd also (supposedly) gotten dozens of condoms from the infirmary this morning and was seen going at it with Reid Garwin in the library shortly after. Valerie then advised everyone to "keep an eye on their boyfriends" - you know because of the nymphomaniac who'd just transferred in.
When Kate had come fuming out of the stall, they'd all shut up and stared warily at her. Had she known which one Valerie was she probably would have punched the girl in the face. But she didn't know who was who and so she chose the high road; leaving without so much as a backward glance at any of them. Though as soon as she was past the door she heard someone hiss, "That was her. That was Kate Tunney!" to which someone replied "But she's black."
It took all Kate's self control not walk right back in and scream at all the ignorant bitches, that she was of mixed race (Hatian and Pakistani, respectively) and if they had any fucking manners they wouldn't bring that sort of thing up - especially when she was two seconds out the door. So that's why she was in her own bathroom, ripping at her damp hair, trying to get ready for brunch with Matt – something she really wasn't in the mood for – and cursing each and every stuck up white bitch in the entire school.
She turned the blow dryer to its lowest setting and worked on the topmost portion of her hair. She wanted to be in a better mood for going out with Matt. When they spoke on the phone, he sounded tired (he hadn't slept yet) but excited about their sort-of-date. He hadn't called it a date, but the way he talked about her meeting his friends it gave her that impression.
Over the low hum of the blow-dryer she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Can you get that?" she yelled to Kira.
After a few minutes, she heard someone knock again.
"KIRA!" she shouted once more.
When there was no response Kate snorted and shut off the dryer. She walked out of the bathroom to answer the door. A quick look at the clock told her Matt was fifteen minutes early. She almost wished he was more like Pogue, who would have probably picked her up fifteen minutes late.
"Be right there," she called, taking a second to lift an armful of clothes that she'd tried on (but decided against wearing today) from the floor and shoving them into her side of the closet (where hopefully they wouldn't wrinkle) and smoothed out her duvet before answering the door.
Standing there wasn't Matt Hodges. It was Pogue, looking rather nervous.
"Hi," Kate said as she stood in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob.
"Hi," Pogue replied, more as an exhale than an actual word.
"Did you want to come in?" Kate asked, backing up to allow him room to pass.
"Yeah. Sure."
The biker took a few steps into the room. Kate noticed his eyes darted sideways once. Then twice.
"Why is she on her head?" he asked, looking over at Kira.
"She's meditating," Kate told him. Not going into the further explanation of Kira's less than fruitful research results for her little problem. Aside from a quick hysterectomy – there really wasn't anything she could do to stop her period. So Kira decided she was going to re-invent physics (i.e. gravity) by spending the last half hour upside down in head-stand. Her face was redder than her hair but Kate didn't even try to reason with her roommate. She was having a bad enough day as it was without starting a fight with Kira. If the girl wanted to have sex with Aaron Abbot that badly – then may the Force be with her.
"Oh," Pogue replied, moving his gaze from Kira back to Kate.
"I'm sorry about the library," Kate began. When her phone rang, it brought the librarian's full attention their way. Pogue barely managed to get Reid out of the library without getting caught. "I thought I turned my phone off."
"No, it's me who's sorry about what happened," Pogue shifted side to side and looked at the floor. "Reid shouldn't have said what he said."
"He was drunk."
"Doesn't matter," Pogue looked up at her, green eyes ablaze. "He shouldn't talk to girls like that. And he definitely shouldn't talk to you like that."
"It's okay, really." Kate stood there, listening to Pogue apologize for his friend. She hadn't been upset or offended by Reid's words – though the rumors going around were another thing – and those bitches in the bathroom. But it's not like Pogue had any control over that.
He sucked his lip into his mouth, carefully planning his next words. "See, it's just that I…, uh,…well, I , uh…,"
"Knock, Knock!" A cheerful voice spoke accompanied a few light taps on the open door.
"Matt," Pogue and Kate said in unison – though their tones were opposing ends of the spectrum.
"Kate. Pogue," Matt paused peeking inside to observe Kira and raising a single eyebrow.
"Meditation," Kate explained. The ballplayer's attention drifted away from Kira and back to her. "I know I'm a few minutes early," Matt leaned on the door grinning. "But I wanted to give you this," he reached into the front pocket of his Spenser Baseball hoodie and removed a small jar candle.
"Ohhh, I love candles," Kate gushed, eagerly accepting the gift. She hadn't expected Matt to bring her anything and this was a very nice surprise, the kind of surprise that made her smile despite her mood. She looked at the front label before taking the lid off to smell it. "Mmmm, Pumpkin Spice," she cooed. It smelled just like a warm pumpkin pie baking. "You have to smell this," she shoved the jar under Pogue's nose. The long haired boy took a short polite sniff and nodded. "Thank you so much," Kate smiled at Matt, who moved in between her and Pogue, arms reaching out for a hug. Kate looped her arms around Matt's neck and gave him a quick squeeze. Matt's arms skimmed her waist, embracing her back.
From over Matt's shoulder, she noticed Pogue looked really pissed off and Kate realized that she'd let Matt completely interrupt her and Pogue's conversation – which was just rude on her part. What was her problem?
Matt noticed Pogue's reaction as well, and released Kate turning toward him. "Don't be jealous," he teased. "There's enough of me to go around."
Pogue's scowl deepened.
"Come here," Matt laughed and jokingly reached out to hug him.
"I'm good, man." Pogue ducked out of the way, essentially stepping out of the room. "I'll catch you guys later." With hands shoved deep into pockets, Pogue made his way back down the hallway.
"See you later," Kate called after him, leaning out into the corridor. Pogue looked over his shoulder and nodded to her before disappearing around the bend.
"Almost ready to go?" Matt asked draping a hand over her shoulder.
"Yeah," Kate smiled at the curly blonde haired boy, all the while wondering the heck was up with Pogue Parry?
Matt didn't give her much of a chance to think about Pogue while they drove to Penny's. He told her HIS version of what happened at the barn last night. Kate's sides hurt from laughing as Matt told the story. It seemed Tyler had left out quite a bit.
After they'd finished beer bonging the keg – the fun began. First they convinced Randy that it was his God-mother's birthday and so he called her, completely wasted and sang Happy Birthday on her voicemail. Then Josh stole Reid's phone and deleted all the phone numbers in it (well, after he added the girls' numbers to his own phone). Then April and Andie decided to mud wrestle (apparently this is something they do often) Tyler was busy taking pictures of them and Kaylee got pissed off, she went up to him to say something and instead of words coming out of her mouth – vomit did – and it wasn't pretty.
Then Hannah (before she passed out) was complaining to everyone that Reid had not "pleasured" her yet. Both Josh and Randy offered their services, which pissed off Reid and so he took Hannah over to the designated "sex" area – unfortunately they did not know that Andie had (secretly) thrown up back there. How they didn't smell it was a mystery – according to Matt. So when they were going at it and got down into the straw they both got vomit on their clothes. Apparently that put Hannah over the edge and she started throwing up. Then Reid threw up. Matt said they held hands while they both puked over the back of a bale of hay. A true love Kodak moment.
It was just after that, Tyler Simms started getting angry. He threw a fit about how they were all "acting like assholes" while waving around a pitchfork – Matt wasn't sure what the deal was with the pitchfork – but it made the whole thing pretty funny. That's when Kaylee threw up on him the second time – which Matt declared was the BEST comedic timing he'd ever seen. Needless to say, Tyler called it a night – even though it was just about 5 am – packed up "the kids" and took them home.
By this point in the story, they'd arrived at Penny's. Kate was marginally disappointed that they'd gotten there so soon. Matt was a great story teller – between his impressions and witty humor – she could have listened to him for much longer. Not to mention he was incredibly hot. Pogue Parry was slowly becoming an afterthought.
Cruising through the parking lot, Matt pulled into a spot next to a silver Mustang.
"The game must be over," he commented. "Ashley and Caleb are already here. Oh and there's Chopper right behind us."
"What game?" Kate turned looking out her window. Another pick-up truck pulled into a spot near them. Its bed full of guys in Spenser jackets with footballs and varsity letters embroidered on the back. She watched as three cheerleaders (still in uniform) trailed out of the truck's cab.
"The football game," Matt laughed. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."
Matt came around to her side of the truck, opened the door for her and helped her hop down onto the ground. She saw Caleb a few feet away wearing a Spenser State Champions Swimming windbreaker. Kate smiled wide when she saw him, relieved to see a familiar face among the crowd.
"Hi Caleb," Kate called as Matt drifted several arm lengths away to greet some of his friends.
"Kate! Hey," Caleb grinned. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Matt invited me," she replied.
"Matt…Hodges?" Caleb's voice slowed, as if there was a mistake that needed clarification.
"Hey man," Matt reached his hand out, bumping it against Caleb's in some of secret handshake. "This is my girl, Kate."
"We've met already," Kate told him.
"We have Calculus together," Caleb added, glancing over his shoulder at a blonde girl on a cell phone wearing a Spenser Marching Band jacket.
"You missed a good time last night at the barn. Too bad you're still grounded," Matt said to Caleb.
"Grounded?" Kate looked at Caleb.
"It's a long story." The dark haired boy head dangled to the side in embarrassment.
"Long story?" Matt chuckled, clapping his palm against Caleb's shoulder. "It's a GREAT story. You have to hear this one, Kate. How many people do you think can fit in that Mustang?" His index finger leading the way toward the Ford.
"Umm," Kate turned around and looked at Caleb's car. "Five?" she guessed.
"Remember - it's a convertible," Matt hinted. "Square footage increases with the top down."
"Ten?" Kate tried again.
"Close. It was eleven."
"You had eleven people in your car?" Kate looked at Caleb in astonishment.
"On Old Dell Road doing close to ninety," Matt added.
"Oh my God! Caleb!" Kate gave him a light smack on his arm.
"He's exaggerating," Caleb told Kate. "I was only going eighty-two."
"So I was off by eight," Matt shrugged. "I think I was relatively close considering I was in the trunk."
"The trunk?" Kate gasped.
"Don't be fooled by his perfect appearance," Matt slung his arm around Kate. "Outside of school, this guy is wild."
"I can see that," Kate replied as she recalled her first day Spenser when she saw them racing through the parking lot. Boys and their toys.
The groups merged and came their way, followed by a flurry of introductions as she met at least ten new people all at once. She waved hello to everyone, feeling a little self-conscious being the only one not wearing Spenser team-related attire.
"They have our tables ready," one of the cheerleaders called out to everyone. The group of them wandered inside. Penny's was your average roadside diner; a long counter with a row of seats, plus several booths along the large storefront window. There was another section of tables and chairs, behind that was a room, sectioned off with accordion doors that pulled out from the wall.
The pack of students took their seats along several tables pushed together to make one long rectangular table. Kate sat next to Matt. Caleb and a very pretty blonde girl sat across from them. The word "Sunny" was embroidered on the jacket in the spot where names usually go, underneath read "Feature Twirler."
"This is my girlfriend, Ashley," Caleb said to Kate. She said hello to the blonde, who merely nodded in reply. Kate then noticed under the veil of hair she still had her cell phone to her ear. A thick guy sat at the end of the table, causing it to tilt as the weight of his forearms came down on it.
"Where's the food?" he asked. "I'm starving."
Kate watched Ashley roll her eyes. She elbowed Caleb and they switched seats so she was no longer sitting next to the heavy-set guy.
"Kate this is Chopper. Chopper. This is Kate. She just transferred in," Matt introduced his friend.
Kate smiled and extended her hand which Chopper took in his. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the skin on the back of it.
"Nice to meet you," she told him, retracting her hand and discreetly wiping off his very wet kiss on the fabric of the chair. Beside her Matt was cracking up.
"The pleasure is all mine," Chopper said, wiggling his eyebrows. Kate was relieved when a waitress came with menus and distracted him.
"Pay no attention to Chopper," Matt whispered in her ear. "He's harmless." The blonde laid his menu on the table and placed an arm around Kate's shoulders while noting a few entrees that he'd tried and liked. Across the table Caleb was flipping through the menu while Ashley continued her phone conversation.
As Kate was narrowing down her choices, April, Randy and Josh came strolling into the room. April sat on the other side of Matt, while Randy and Josh both raced for the seat beside Ashley. Josh won.
"How's my Sunshine today?" Josh said flirtatiously.
Ashley flipped him off without so much as a glance. She then got up from her seat and walked across the room, plugging the ear opposite the phone with her finger and complaining about all the noise to the person on the other end of the call.
"Is she always that pleasant?" Kate asked.
"Why do you think we call her Sunshine?" Everyone at their end of the table laughed. Even Caleb cracked a smile.
The waitress came back for their drink orders. Everyone was willing to split pots of coffee and pitchers of orange juice. Except Chopper who wanted chocolate milk and April who ordered tomato juice.
"Tomato juice?" Randy grimaced her way
"Hair of the dog," April chirped setting a half full water bottle on the table in front of her.
"You brought your own water?" Josh asked her. "Because I'm pretty sure they have some here."
"It's not water," April smiled.
"Oh shit," Randy laughed.
"I thought you only drank Mimosas with breakfast," Matt wrapped an arm across the petite girl's shoulders.
"Kaylee finished the last bottle of champagne," April told him. "So I'm stuck with Bloody Marys."
"Tragic," Matt sympathized.
"I'm a trooper," April placed a hand over her heart.
The conversation then returned to the events of the previous night. Kate and Caleb exchanged several humored looks as more stories were told. It seemed everyone had their own version of what happened. At the other end of the table, some of the kids were telling tales with regard to the Junior's party at Marblehead.
Eventually Ashley came back to the table dragging Andie with her. The psychic appeared as though she'd survived a shipwreck. Saying she looked 'hungover' was a compliment. She sat next to April, and laid her head on the table.
"Never drinking again," she swore.
"Never say never," Josh warned Andie.
His comment was met by her middle finger.
Kate had a great time at brunch. Matt's friends were loud and funny. She talked a lot with Caleb who was sitting directly across from her. They spoke mostly about school and sports. It seemed everyone played a sport, regardless of whether or not they were any good at it. One of the things Ivy League schools demanded was a well-rounded individual, thus making athletics a must.
So the big question was, what sport was Kate Tunney going to play this year. To be honest she had no idea. Sports were never a priority for her or her parents. The focus had always been on her studies.
"You've already missed try-outs for the fall sports," Randy informed her. "The winter sports start practices around the end of October."
"What are the winter sports?" Kate asked.
"There's volleyball and basketball," Josh suggested.
Kate frowned. She wasn't tall enough for either of those sports.
"What about dance team?" one of the cheerleaders sitting next to Randy suggested.
"Dance team isn't a sport," Josh snorted. "It's an activity."
"If it's not a sport then why is it called Dance Team?" April asked him. The three of them then digressed into a debate about what is and is not a sport.
"What about swimming?" Caleb asked.
"I'm not much of a swimmer," Kate admitted. Aside from swim lessons at the Country Club, she rarely went in the water. Kate Tunney was more of a beach person.
"You could always run track," Ashley suggested.
"I'm not very fast," Kate replied, eliminating that as an option.
"Neither is April, and she's captain!" Matt nudged the girl next to him. Kate looked at April who showed off her track windbreaker the word "captain" scripted under her name. This caused an eruption of laughter.
Apparently April was terrible at sports – meaning she couldn't even catch a cold (according to Randy). Her position on Spenser's Track Team was a joke. April, herself admitted that her times were so lousy, even Provost Higgins beat her in the mile. But it was a means to get an acceptance letter from Brown – which she excitedly pulled out of her pocket to show everyone.
All side conversations stopped as the collective attention of the table went to congratulating April on getting into her dream school. Modestly April accepted the praise, as she glowed with excitement.
This brought up the discussion of college. Many of the seniors had already been accepted to schools. Randy and Josh were both going to Dartmouth. Ashley was going to Yale, which created a friendly rivalry with Caleb who planned on going to Harvard. Chopper was going to Notre Dame on a football scholarship.
"So where are you going?" Kate asked Matt who hadn't revealed his post-graduation plans yet.
"Next year I'll be playing ball for the Crimson," Matt smiled.
Kate grinned. Harvard was her first choice too. For some strange reason, in her mind she'd already fast forwarded to her visiting Matt on campus. The long haired biker was becoming a distant memory.
The time passed quickly as they ate and talked. Kate found herself getting sucked into Matt's world. Even with their quirks – Chopper eating everyone's leftovers as he drank nearly a gallon of chocolate milk – April who took down three glasses of Bloody Marys with half a piece of toast – Randy and Josh with their constant wing man routine (which despite how they acted earlier Kate could tell that the three cheerleaders were loving the attention) – Ashley and the constant ringing of her cell phone - Even Andie's unstable behavior (though right now as she drank her coffee she seemed perfectly normal) was tolerable. It was almost like being back at home with her own friends. Almost. There was still no substitute for Jessica.
While the boys settled up the bill, Kate went with April and Ashley to the bathroom. Ashley stood in the center of the mirror and touched up her lipstick. Kate stood beside her, checking her own appearance. April took the last available spot, removing a toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste from her handbag.
"Soooo, what did you get Caleb for his birthday?" April asked Ashley.
"It's Caleb's birthday?" Kate was surprised no one had mentioned that earlier.
"It's tomorrow," Ashley replied. "But we have to celebrate it tonight because dumb ass got himself grounded."
"Grounded?" April mumbled, mouth full of toothpaste.
"You haven't heard about it?" Ashley uncapped her lip gloss.
"Uh-Uh," April shook her head.
"A bunch of them went for a little joyride in the Mustang. Blew right past Melanie Higgins in her piece of shit Hyundai on Old Dell Road," Ashley said haughtily. "Then she told her uncle, who called Caleb's mother."
"Can he do that?" Kate asked.
"Higgins is a bastard," Ashley told her point blank. "He's so worried about keeping Spenser as the top rated private school in the state, that he forgets we're people and not statistics. All he really cares about are test scores and college acceptances."
That made sense to Kate. That was exactly why she was here. To learn (and compete) with the best students and earn her place in an Ivy League school.
"So anyway, Evelyn grounded him. She's only letting him out tonight because of Fall Fest," Ashley leaned in toward the mirror, blotting her lips against each other. "He's not even allowed to have a birthday party this year."
"And on the topic of birthdays," April reminded her. "What did you get him?"
"I'm not giving him anything," Ashley smiled devilishly as she admired her own reflection. "I'm taking his virginity."
April choked on her toothpaste. Kate felt the same uncomfortable feeling. Why was everyone so obsessed with sex?
"I can't believe someone as hot as Caleb Danvers has never had sex," Ashley paused, puckering her lips. "And I get to be his first," she gloated tossing her golden locks over her shoulder.
Behind them Andie entered the bathroom and headed into a stall. A moment later, she was throwing up.
"Andie, are you okay?" April asked her, voice a bit distorted from the toothbrush stuck in her cheek. Kate was just thankful for the sudden change of topic.
"Never drinking again," the girl declared just before she flushed the toilet. She came out looking even more ragged than when she first arrived.
"You need to go back to the dorms and get some rest," Ashley advised. "Otherwise you'll never make it through tonight."
"About tonight," Andie began, ripping off a paper towel and spitting into it. "I'm not going to Fall Fest."
"WHAT!" Ashley's cosmetic case clanked angrily against the counter. "Why the hell not?"
"I just don't want to go," Andie said disposing of the paper towel and reaching for a new one.
Kate looked at April, still brushing her teeth, but her eyes darted back and forth between her two friends in apprehension.
"Why?" Ashley's hands went to her hips. "Because HE wouldn't go with you?"
Andie didn't say anything, just wiped her mouth.
"You need to get over him," Ashley's hands flew into the air, palms waving in Andie's face. "In fact, if you're going to beg and plead someone for a second chance – It should be Pogue not HIM."
"I love him," Andie simply stated.
"Maybe you do; but he's clearly moved on," Ashley snapped turning her back on Andie. "I have no idea why he's dating…,"
"Ash…," April tried to interrupt, white foam trickled over her lips. "Ashley!" April exclaimed, wiping the toothpaste from her mouth. "Shut up!" The taller blonde went silent. The three of them watched the color drain from Andie's face.
"what?" the words were barely a whisper. "He's seeing someone." Tears formed at the edges of her already tired red-rimmed eyes. Her eyes went to April, who quickly spit the toothpaste into the sink so she could reply.
"I was going to tell you," April said softly, like a child muttering the truth after multiple lies. "But we were having so much fun last night…"
Andie took a step back, her body leaning against the pink stall divider for support. Two large tears raced each other down her cheeks.
"I thought you knew…," Ashley whispered. "I thought ….last night….Andie I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Andie cleared her throat. A limp hand wiped the wetness from her cheeks as she walked out of the bathroom.
"I can't fucking believe you just did that!" April hissed as she shoved her toiletries back into their case.
"Me!" Ashley snarled back. "YOU were supposed to tell her!"
Kate stood there uncomfortably as the two girls verbally attacked each other. She was fairly certain they didn't even notice her backing out of the bathroom. She walked through the diner toward the front door, where Matt was waiting for her.
"There you are," Matt smiled. "You weren't in a hurry to get back were you? I was thinking we could take a little drive."
Kate's eyebrow raised, remembering what Hannah and Kaylee had said about him and his exploits. Clearly students at Spenser had some sort of promiscuity addiction. Maybe they were putting something in the food.
"Andie's car is at the dealer," he explained. "She asked me to give her a ride out there so she could pick it up,"
Kate felt a little foolish for reading into his words.
"I promise I will have you back in more than enough time to get ready for the dance."
In truth, Kate didn't mind spending more time with Matt – it was Andie, in yet another of her mood swings, that worried her. But in the end she agreed – because quite frankly – she couldn't say 'No' to the sad puppy dog eyes he made.
Not the most exciting ending for this chapter, but there is plenty more to come...