Well, it's been a few chapters since I put a little fluff in, so I decided to do another cute scene sometime soon. Not too much in this one, but I can assure you, Chapter 15 will make up for it!

Disclaimer: I can't stress it enough. I do not own Edward. Tim Burton does. I do own Kate, so no stealing! xD

Chapter 14

Another week had passed by, with little to no change in Suburbia. Time was flying very fast. Old Man Winter had come calling, and Christmas was right around the corner. School was out for the holidays, though that didn't stop trouble from brewing.

It had been quite a long time since Kate last hung out with her friends at Suburbia High. Her best friend, Mary, and her boyfriend Matt had begun to worry for their friend.

She hadn't been acting like herself as of late. Everytime she had tried to call Kate, or ask her to go to a party, or study, the girl would blow her off, making up some lame excuse at the last minute.

Something was up. And it was up to the two of them to find out.

The confrontation happened at Kate's locker, on the very last day of the curriculum. The teenager was changing books, grabbing her things for Health class. However, right before she could leave, someone hand grabbed her arm.

Turning around, Kate found herself staring into a pair of sapphire blue eyes. Belonging to Mary, of course. "H-hey girl, what's up?"

A little voice in the back of her mind told Kate that this wasn't going to run smoothly.

"Why don't you tell me, Katherine Schneider?"

Man, she hated it when she was right in these types of situations.

Shaking her head, genuinely confused, she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Obviously that wasn't the answer her friend was looking for. Annoyance flashed through Mary's face.

"Oh don't give me that! You've been avoiding Matt and me like we were the plague or something! What's going on with you, Kate? Why can't you tell us?"

Oh boy…there's no way I can tell her about Edward, or about him coming back into Suburbia! I'm gonna have to play my trump card. Once again, Kate shook her head, sighing.

"Look, nothing's wrong with me. I've just had a tough time since Grandma died. I'm sure that after Christmas is done and over with, I'll be back to normal." That was a lie. How could anything truly go back to the way they were, before she had made her discovery in the house on the hill?

Mary clearly wasn't buying it. "That's just an excuse, and you know it! If you didn't want us around anymore, you should have just said so! I don't know what's gotten into you, but I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Kate had never felt so guilty in her entire life. Not even when Edward and she had gotten caught in the graveyard. Wait a second! Did Mary hear about it? News spread fast in the nosey little town, how could she have forgotten that!

"-And you lounging around the cemetery at night too! Just tell me the truth, you have a new boyfriend, don't you!"

Well, she answered that question. But seriously now, boyfriend? Edward was just a close friend, one she wanted to help as much as possible. Nothing more. Right?

"N-no, I don't-"

Mary cut her off, her anger and feelings of rejection apparent. "You ditched your friends for a guy? How low can you get? You KNOW you can still have friends and a boyfriend! Geeze!"

Kate wanted to crawl in a hole and die. The girl was jumping to the wrong conclusions. "Listen to me for once! I don't-"

Her friend wouldn't hear it. Lowering herself so that she was practically nose-to-nose with Kate, Mary snapped at her.

"Don't even try to talk to Matt or me until you can get over yourself! And don't come running to us when that dude breaks your heart!"

With that, she stormed off; leaving behind one very agitated Kate. "Heh that went well...at least no one knows about him yet…"

It certainly didn't make her feel any better though. Between her mother, Edward, and now her other friends, she was sure that her hair would be grey by the time she turned 21!

As if things couldn't get any worse, the bell began to ring. She was late for class.

That night at the dinner table, Kate told them what happened, carefully leaving out the part where Mary accused her of having a boyfriend, while Edward gingerly sliced through the meatloaf that Mrs. Schneider had cooked.

Her father, after piling meatloaf bits on his plate, leaned back, shaking his head. "Mary always was the type to take things to the extreme, Kate. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"I disagree; Mary is a bright young girl who always had your best interests at heart. You should try and make up with her." Kate's mom interjected.

John sighed as he lifted a can of Diet Coke to his lips. He knew exactly where his wife was going with that. She wanted Edward exposed as soon as possible, just so he could get kicked out of town again. Then they would be rid of him.

He was beginning to wonder if chains and duck tape would hold her down and keep her quiet.

Meanwhile, Edward munched on his food in silence. He wasn't too sure what was going on, only that Kate had lost a friend. Was it because of him?

He knew that he had been the source of all the trouble that had gone on in the last few weeks. It wasn't his intention to be such a bother. Yet he truly loved it there. He loved living in Suburbia, with a kind family (with the exception of Susan).

He loved being with Kate.

She reminded him of Kim, and he automatically liked her for that trait. However, as time moved on, he fell for her own personal qualities. Things that made Kate, Kate.

He could never admit it to her. Just like he could never truly tell Kim. His emotions could only be seen in his eyes.

Kate could see that the man was in deep thought. Something seemed to be bothering him. "Edward? Hey, Edward?"

Her voice snapped him out of his ponderings. Deep eyes turned to gaze into softer brown orbs.

Seeing that she now had his attention, the teen wasn't too sure on what to ask. Her mind scrambled for a topic. "I...umm…do you like the meatloaf?"

Mr. Schneider couldn't suppress a grin. It was a cute little scene, to see his daughter trying to communicate with the scissors man.

The same little half-smile that only Edward could ever pull off spread across his bluish lips.

"Yes, thank you."

Mrs. Schneider didn't like where this was going, for she cleared her throat, ruining the calm mood. "If you're both are done, I need a favor from you, Kate, sweetie. Could you go up to the attic and pull out the Christmas decorations? I want to get started on them tomorrow."

Twisting her head to look at her mother, Kate nodded. "Alright. I'll get started right now."

John's wife nodded, excusing her daughter from the table and getting up herself, clearing the plates away and carrying them to the kitchen. John himself flashed a warm smile at the other man, who looked a little lost. "Go on, boy. You can help her bring down some of the boxes."

Of course, he wasn't too sure how Edward would be able to carry the packaging down. It was more of an excuse to get the two kids together. The score was now John and Co.: 2, Susan: 0

"Ugh, it's so stuffy up here!"

Much to her distain, Kate had to wander around the overly insulated room on her hands and knees, looking for the boxes. It was a major pain, trying to find where the family kept all the Christmas stuff.

She hadn't been up there since her grandmother's funeral, where she grabbed the tattered dress and photo albums for Edward.

Straightening herself up, she paused in her search to reminisce the first time she had met the 'Maker of Snow'. It was funny, how fast they befriended one another.

Even after her being so afraid of him, they became close. Surely there was a little more to it that it seemed. Not that she would ever say anything about it.

"Grandma, you were right…he is the sweetest living being around…I can see why you loved him so much…"

Kate found herself staring up at the ceiling, at the little skylight window. Moonlight shone through, cascading around her in little streams.

A soft voice spoke up from behind her. "Kate…?"

Startled, the girl leapt to her feet, turning around. "Oh! Edward!"

The man gazed at her, eyes glittering in the limited light. "Did I frighten you?"

"Eh, no, just surprised me is all. What are you doing up here?"

Taking another step forward, Edward continued to stare at the teenager. "I wanted to help."

A small smile appeared. "You wanted to help me?"

Silently, he nodded once, his eyes now transfixed on the ground. Something was bugging him. It was too blatantly obvious.

Walking up to him, Kate placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He felt bad, horrible that she had lost a friend because of him. To Edward, family and companions meant everything. "I…I'm sorry…for making you lose someone close to you…"

That wasn't what she was expecting. "W…what? Oh Edward, don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. Mary is…just really immature, sometimes. Cheer up, ok?"

To prove her point, Kate brought him into a small hug. Now it was his turn to be surprised.

Dark eyes widened and shifted back up to look at the girl embracing him. She was the one wronged, and she was attempting to comfort him?

"Besides…I'd…rather spend time with you more than anyone else…any day."

Edward didn't move. Not at first. He didn't want to risk hurting her again. Yet something in his mind egged him on to return her sign of affection.

Kate felt strong arms gently wrap around her. Her smile widened. She could tell that he was attempting to keep his 'hands' as far from her as possible.

The two of them stood there for a long while, enjoying one another's company.

Down below the hatch that led up into the attic, Mr. Schneider glanced up and smiled at the two. No matter what his spouse did to keep it from happening, it still wouldn't hinder human nature. He thought it was sweet, that his daughter adored Edward, and vise versa.

Regrettably, he would have to break them apart before Mrs. Schneider found them, or all hell would break loose.

"Hey you two, did you find the ornaments yet? Need any help?"

Unfortunately, his interference worked. Edward and Kate pulled apart, the latter blushing and grinning sheepishly. "No Dad, not yet! It's too dark and dusty to see anything up here!"

Taking that as his cue, her father cautiously climbed up the rickety ladder, joining his child and his guest. "Eck, you weren't kidding. Ah well, let's look for the boxes as fast as possible. I really don't feel like facing your mother tonight."

Sighing, Kate nodded and restarted her search. Edward stood by, watching father and daughter as they moved dust covered antiques aside, causing age-old dust to billow out. He wouldn't be much help for now.

"Ha, found it!"

Mr. Schneider lifted up two medium-sized boxes with X-MAS scribbled on the cardboard. "Ok Kate, you and Edward go on down, and I'll toss these to you."

Doing as they were told, the teenager hopped down first, in case her friend needed extra help in climbing off the ladder. Pretty soon, the trio had returned from their visit to the attic, accompanied with the Christmas decorations. Susan had no trouble in giving them new chores to do. Her daughter's task was to untangle strands of tree lights. Kate seated herself on the living room sofa, mumbling about how much of a slave driver her mother was.

While coming across a particular stubborn strand, she snuck a glance over at Edward, who was currently given the responsibility of clipping wire hooks for indoor ornaments. The scene left a warm feeling in her chest.

'It will be nice, having him here to celebrate with us. Maybe this time we can show him what it really feels like to belong. He was chased out in the past. I will not let it happen to him again.'

Hopefully, this Christmas would turn out to be a very happy one. For both of them.

Aww, how cute! I couldn't help but incorporate Christmas in here. It's such a warm, cozy holiday. Plus, I want to see how things go between Kate and Edward. Next chapter will be a major turning point in this story.

Skblr: Thank you very much! You're right; every story has to have a crazy antagonist to keep the plot moving. In this case, it's Kate's mother. I'm very glad to hear that you're enjoying the story. I'm also glad that my reply made your night! Dungeon, lol, that's what I call my dorm room!

Phantomess 785: Yep, too true! Gotta have a bad guy. Doesn't change the fact that I still dislike Susan Schneider. Thank you much and I'll be sure to update soon!

Exhibit Q: Lol, yea, the mother's getting on my nerves too. It's becoming harder to resist having something bad happen to her! -Grins- I love his smiles too! Sometimes, I really wish I was either Kim or Kate! They were/are so lucky! xD I'm glad you loved the lemonade scene! I plan on having another very cute scene come up soon! -Giggles evilly- You'll just have to wait and see!

Amalthea 727: Yes, extremely evil of me! But I HAD to do it! And you're right; I would rather not even try to encounter Carrie's mom. I think it's the jealousy and sibling rivalry factor, when it comes to the books and movies about fighting brothers and sisters. My own sister can bug me, but I love her and would never let anything happen to her. As for Esmeralda and getting married…lol, well, she met a man who was just as…eccentric and obsessive over religion as she was. Even though I hate Susan's actions, I do pity her at times.

Next Chapter: A Party and Mistletoe