"Okay I got a question for you today," Catra said, not skipping a beat, as she barged into Madame Razz's office and plopped down into her usual armchair.
Madame Razz looked taken aback by Catra's forwardness and placed down her cup of tea. "Well I would be glad to help you out, dearie," she said warmly. "Would you like some tea?"
"Ew. I'll pass on the hot leaf water," Catra replied quickly.
Madame Razz just shrugged and got up to close the door of the office. She then turned back to Catra and sat across from her. "What would you like to talk about?"
Catra ran a hand through her hair and resisted the urge to chew at her nails. "My friend. It uh…I don't know it seems stupid that I'm asking you, but the whole thing confuses me and I don't know what to do."
"I don't think it's stupid to ask for help, sweet child. Tell me what happened."
"Alright," Catra said, thinking back to yesterday. "Well basically I have this friend, Scorpia. And we've been friends for, like, forever. And she's mad at me now I think," Catra explained.
"What happened?" Razz asked.
"Well that's the thing is I don't even really know!" Catra exclaimed. "I mean she asked if I wanted to hang out at the Fall Formal or whatever and I said I couldn't and it really hurt her feelings for some reason. But she hasn't been talking to me and I have no idea what's going on." Catra threw her arms up in defeat and slouched back in her chair.
Razz nodded slowly. "Well it sounds to me like she was upset because of the dance. Why do you think that is?"
"No idea. I mean we hang out all the time and I've turned her down before when I'm busy or whatever and she's never reacted like this."
"Well it sounds like she really cares about this dance then. Has she been looking forward to it?"
Catra thought back. "No I don't think so. I mean I don't know. Maybe. But this was the first time she had talked to me about it."
Madame Razz scratched her chin and swirled her tea, the little spoon making clinking noises on the cup. "It sounds to me like she was really looking forward to it and just had her hopes a little too high. I think you should talk with her about it."
Catra sighed. "Well yeah I was gonna. I don't know, I just thought you'd have some wise sage advice or something that would fix it instantly."
Madame Razz chuckled raspily. "Well that is quite the compliment. But I am not a substitute for talking with others. I will gladly talk to you about anything you want and give you my opinion if you ask for it, but I can't solve every issue. You have to do that yourself."
"Figured," Catra said, visibly dissatisfied.
The rest of their meeting went as it usually did. Catra had a harder time focusing as she was still worried about how she would fix Scorpia.
She coasted through the rest of her counseling and sped out of the office the second she was dismissed. Adora had already taken her turn and Lonnie was waiting in the office. Catra didn't acknowledge her as she left the office.
She made her way to the lunch room and scanned the area for Scorpia. She saw the girl sitting alone at a table eating breakfast and immediately headed over.
"Scorpia," Catra said as she quickly pulled out a chair and sat down at the table next to the girl. "What in the world? I've been trying to get ahold of you and you keep ignoring me. What has been going on with you?"
Scorpia looked surprised to see Catra. "I...good morning," Scorpia responded and then hung her head. "Yeah sorry I didn't text you back or anything. I wasn't trying to ignore you."
"It really felt like that," Catra remarked and looked at the girl curiously. "Hey what happened at lunch yesterday?"
Scorpia sighed and started absentmindedly bending the fork she was holding. "I…you know, it was just a long day. I was really tired. It was dumb."
Catra frowned. "Well…okay. But, like, Scorpia I'm sorry about the dance thing. I just figured you wouldn't wanna go and so I just kinda planned to go with, like, a real date for once y'know?"
Catra felt weird telling Scorpia something so close to the truth. But she supposed she didn't have to tell Scorpia about Adora. For one, Catra didn't trust Scorpia to be able to keep a secret. And for two, Catra didn't even know how the whole Adora thing would play out.
Scorpia bit her lip and looked at Catra questioningly. "Uh…did you have anyone in mind for who you wanted to ask?"
"Uuuuhhhh nope," Catra replied quickly. "Not any ideas yet."
"Oh, okay," Scorpia said and Catra thought she noticed the girl become a little more animated. "Well it's coming up! Maybe someone will ask you!"
Scorpia felt a rekindling of hope. Maybe her plan hadn't gone exactly as she had planned, but now all she had to do was tell Catra that she wanted to go as a real date and then everything would work out. She just had to work up the courage to tell her before the dance. And before Catra asked anyone else, which Scorpia couldn't see her doing.
Nobody else knew Catra like Scorpia did and there wasn't anybody else that Scorpia knew of who Catra could even ask.
Catra snorted at Scorpia's idea. "Yeah I doubt it. I'm not exactly anyone's first choice. But I'll figure something out."
Scorpia wanted to tell Catra how perfect she was and how she would be a great choice for anyone, but she choked on her words and Catra continued.
"Besides, if I don't figure something out, I'll just go with you and we can buddy it up. But I'm still wearing my suit. Cuz I will take any opportunity to wear my suit," Catra said seriously.
"I know how you love that suit," Scorpia said admiringly as she smiled at Catra.
"It's my pride and joy. The love of my life," Catra said sincerely.
Scorpia giggled. "I remember when we went and had you all measured for it."
"Oh I remember it too," Catra said, thinking back. "Didn't you, like, throw up that day in my dad's car?"
"No I threw up in the grass!" Scorpia whined. "I was super sick, but I really wanted to help you with suit shopping."
Catra grinned widely at the recollection and Scorpia shook her head. "Okay I'm gonna need a hug. This is a mandatory hug time," Scorpia said, opening her arms wide.
Catra rolled her eyes and leaned in, wrapping her arms around her friend. Scorpia always gave the best hugs.
"Hey, Catra?" Scorpia asked as they hugged.
"Yeah?" The girl replied as she started to pull away from the hug.
"I…" Scorpia paused. "...I'll tell you later."
"Sounds good," Catra said, happy that they had sorted things out.
"Goooooood morning. How's everyone's favorite new kid?" Catra asked Adora jokingly as she entered their English class and sat next to her.
Adora chuckled a little. "Pretty good. How are you?"
"Oh you know, I'm making it. Hey, I really like what you did with your hair today!" Catra said, impressed.
"Oh this? It's called doing absolutely nothing," Adora said with a smile.
"You sure?" Catra asked. "Your hair floof seems floofier than normal." Catra reached up and patted her hair gently.
"Well I guess it's just a good hair day then," Adora mused as she looked the girl over. She couldn't help but feel that everything was different. Not in a bad way, but still different.
When she had figured out about what Catra had said to Frosta, she had been a little overwhelmed at first. It was a lot to take in. For one, while she had been pretty sure that Catra was interested, it was a whole different matter to have it practically confirmed. And then there was also the fact that Catra had lied to Frosta about being in a relationship with her.
Adora had felt a strange mix of betrayal and elation at first. Catra's actions seemed strange and Adora wondered why a girl who was normally so forward had taken such precautions. But she hadn't stayed upset for long. She was sure Catra had a good reason for doing her weird reconnaissance. And, honestly, the fact that she had gone out of her way and tracked down her friend only made Adora feel more excited. It felt like everything Catra did or said nowadays was tossing up her mind like a pile of stray autumn leaves.
Adora had realized late last night that she liked the attention. She liked feeling…wanted. And pursued. It made her feel special in a way that she wasn't sure anyone but Catra could.
Adora had considered confronting Catra about the whole Frosta thing, but ultimately decided that she'd wait a bit and see what happened. She didn't know what she felt for Catra, but there was a lot of it. And she needed some time to sort it all out.
All of this raced through Adora's mind as she talked with Catra, trying not to be distracted by her own thoughts or by the low cut tee that Catra was wearing. This last bit surprised Adora and she felt almost ashamed of herself.
Actually, upon further investigation, it also looked like Catra had brushed her hair back again and Adora swore she could smell the faint scent of cologne. It reminded her of the night of the football game. When they sat behind the bleachers together.
"You doing alright?" Catra asked as students trickled into the classroom before class started. "You look a little…distant."
Adora shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah. Yes. I'm...pretty tired. I didn't sleep great last night."
Catra pouted out a lip. "Well that sucks. Did you try counting? That knocks me out hard."
Adora shook her head. "I just kept thinking of things. Counting doesn't really help."
Catra frowned and rested her weight on her elbows as she studied Adora carefully. "Maybe warm milk or something? I mean, we can't have you missing out on your beauty sleep. Not like you really need it anyway with how pretty you already are," Catra said nonchalantly.
Adora couldn't keep the surprise from her face. This felt like the most blatant flirting that Catra had ever done. Or maybe it was just because she was seeing it in a different light now. Regardless, Adora was flustered and more than anything she was excited.
Catra spotted the look of surprise and panicked internally while maintaining her calm expression on the outside. "Oh my god that was so dumb," Catra scolded herself. "It was too much. And super cheesy. She hates it. She hates me. Oh gosh she's gonna call me gross I bet."
Adora, however, did none of these things. She just smiled an adorable little smile and turned her head away bashfully.
Catra raised her eyebrows at this, honestly surprised that her attempt at open flirtation had actually worked. She had spent countless hours last night Googling how to flirt and she had collected an arsenal of tips and tricks. She realized that she didn't even have to be confident, she just had to appear confident.
Adora turned back and nodded. "Thanks," she said quietly and smiled again at Catra.
"It worked!" Catra squealed internally, relishing Adora's reaction. "I'm a freaking genius! Why did I ever doubt myself? This could actually work."
Catra didn't raise her hopes too high, as she still wasn't sure what the situation was like with the other girl who knew Adora, but this felt like a definite win. Plus, Catra hadn't discarded the option that Bow's intel wasn't entirely accurate in the first place.
Class started before they could talk anymore. Adora tried to focus on her notes, but her mind was all over the place. More specifically, all over the girl sitting next to her.
Catra was in a similar state. She doodled in her notebook and scrawled a little portrait of Adora on the page. It was messy and didn't actually look much like Adora, but it captured her essence and Catra was proud of it.
Neither of the girls noticed as they both shot furtive glances at each other for the rest of class.
"So you are going to the dance with her?" Kyle asked Scorpia for clarification as she rambled through an explanation of the current situation with Catra.
"Yes!" She said enthusiastically before pursing her lips. "Well…I mean not technically. Not yet at least. But she is looking for a genuine romance date and that's definitely me!"
She said this loudly and a few people in the lunch line next to Kyle and Scorpia looked over at the over excited girl.
"Well that's a good attitude I guess," Kyle said more quietly. "But I don't know, Scorpia I feel like there's something else going on."
"What do you mean?" Scorpia turned her big, now troubled eyes to Kyle and he instantly felt bad for upsetting her.
"I don't know. It could be nothing. But just...since when has Catra ever wanted to bring an actual date to a school dance?"
Scorpia scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. "I mean…she's probably just looking to start a meaningful connection."
"Yeah I guess," Kyle said, uncertain. "I'm just saying, she somehow has no idea that you're into her at all. So if she wants a date and you're not an option…"
"Yet!" Scorpia insisted, hoisting her fist into the air.
"Well yeah, but maybe that means there are other options she's looking at. I mean you know her. She wouldn't exactly be open with us if there were."
This gave Scorpia pause and she was quiet for a moment.
"But," Kyle interluded quickly, "I could be totally wrong!" He said in an attempt to make her feel better.
"You probably are," Scorpia agreed. "You don't know Catra like I do. We tell each other everything!"
Kyle nodded, but inside he knew it wasn't true. Catra had never been one to share her thoughts with anyone. Not even Scorpia.
Honestly, Kyle had always thought that Catra and Scorpia were never meant to be more than friends. They were close, but the dynamic wasn't right. Scorpia invested all of her energy and love into Catra and there never seemed to be any in return. At least not in the same way. Kyle doubted this would change even if Catra knew how Scorpia felt about her.
However, Kyle didn't like to meddle and he didn't want to dissuade Scorpia from whatever she wanted to do. And besides, he could be totally wrong about the whole thing.
"Well then maybe you're right," Kyle admitted. "And I really hope it works out for you, man. But you better get on it and tell her!"
"I know, I know," Scorpia said distractedly. "Kyle you're smart sometimes. How do you think I should tell her? Is there like a protocol or something?"
Kyle frowned at the 'sometimes,' but answered regardless. "I think if you just be your sweet, loving self and tell her honestly then it can't go wrong."
"Aww," Scorpia crooned. "Thanks, Kyle. You're so helpful." She patted her friend on the back, causing the small boy to stumble forward.
Kyle chuckled and brushed his hair out of his face. "Yeah no problem. I'm sure everything will go great."
"Me too," Scorpia said excitedly. "Oh hey where's Rogelio?"
Kyle sighed. "He caught a fever so he's home sick."
"Aw that sucks," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "Wow our table is gonna be real empty now."
Kyle frowned. "Yeah without Rogelio and…you know."
Scorpia knew he was talking about Lonnie. "Yeah I haven't talked to her since everything. I mean after what she did to Catra's nose!" Scorpia scowled and gritted her teeth.
Kyle hadn't seen Scorpia look angry…probably ever. It looked so out of place for the normally happy-go-lucky girl.
"Yeah," Kyle said slowly. "Yeah that whole thing was crazy. And I don't really miss talking to her either cuz she was pretty mean. But…I don't know she had her moments I guess."
Scorpia nodded solemnly. "Yeah maybe she used to. But that thing at the football game was too much. I mean we can't just forgive her after that."
Kyle shook his head. "Yeah no I agree. I just kinda miss nice Lonnie y'know? She used to walk home with me and it was always real fun. Of course, that was like a couple years ago. But still…"
"Topic change!" Scorpia exclaimed and segwayed abruptly into a new conversation. She started telling Kyle about the dress she wanted to wear to the dance and Kyle just smiled and listened to all of her plans. He desperately hoped they all worked out.
Meanwhile, Adora sat with Glimmer at their lunch table. Bow hadn't gotten there yet and they just ate and talked.
"How's your battle scar?" Glimmer asked Adora, who absentmindedly put her hand up to her cheek.
"Oh it feels pretty good now. It hasn't hurt in a while. I think I can take it off this weekend," Adora replied.
"Cool," Glimmer said. "You can look like a grizzled soldier."
Adora laughed. "Yeah we'll see about that. How's your day been?"
Glimmer thought about it. "Pretty good actually! I gave my speech in public speaking!"
"Oh yeah?" Adora asked. "How'd it go?"
"Oh you know. Perfect score. No big deal," Glimmer said proudly.
"That's awesome, Glimmer," Adora said, happy for her friend. Glimmer had practiced last night and given her speech to Adora and Angella in the living room at least five times. "I still can't believe you can do that. I can hardly talk in front of one person, let alone a whole class."
"Yeah I feel you. It was a little scary at first, but now it's not a huge deal," Glimmer explained. "I actually think you'd be really good at it."
Adora shook her head fervently, but Glimmer insisted.
"No really!" She exclaimed. "You're real good with your words and stuff. And you're, like, uber smart. I bet you could write a great speech!"
"Yeah maybe write, but perform? No thanks," Adora said firmly.
"Oh I'm sure you could do it," Glimmer said encouragingly. "Anyway I meant to ask. How has Catra been? Is she still giving you trouble?"
Adora inhaled sharply at the mention of Catra. "Oh. Yeah Catra," Adora said slowly. "You know she really, uh, just hasn't said much of anything to me."
Glimmer's brow creased and she looked confused. "I still don't get that. Like, fine, maybe she just fought Lonnie off for some random reason. But why did she just stop bugging you all of a sudden?"
Adora shrugged. She uncomfortably wiped some sweat off of her brow. "Yeah who knows. She's weird. But as long as she doesn't mess with me anymore, I'm fine."
"Agreed. It still feels weird though. I just feel like there's something else going on with her," Glimmer said as she stabbed her fork around absentmindedly.
"Hmm. Maybe," Adora said quickly, eager to change the subject.
"That and she waved at me yesterday in the hallway," Glimmer recounted.
"She did?" Adora asked, honestly surprised.
"Yeah. It was super weird. Like we're supposed to be on the same page of hating one another."
Adora whistled slowly. "Yeah that whole 'hate' word is pretty strong."
Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Okay well I don't hate her, but I definitely don't like her. And she started messing with you the second you started school! Maybe just to get to me…"
Adora almost laughed aloud at the comment. Catra had definitely not pestered her just to agitate Glimmer.
Adora just nodded and thought about Catra some more.
Scorpia didn't get to see much of Catra during Culinary since they weren't cooking that day. Instead she just planned her strategy.
She decided that it would be best to do it this weekend. She'd invite Catra over to her place to hang out or somewhere else maybe and then they'd have a nice time and when it felt right she'd just straight-up tell her how she felt.
Scorpia was equal parts excited and nervous. Neither of which were good for paying attention, and she barely retained any of what they covered in class.
When the bell rang, Scorpia quickly shrugged on her jacket and hurried over to Catra, who was gathering her stuff up.
"Hey, Cat, you excited for weights?" Scorpia asked enthusiastically.
"You know what? I am," Catra answered honestly. She absolutely hated that she had to do actual workouts now and she was constantly sore, but getting to spend that time with Adora was well worth it.
Now though, it seemed that their workout group consisted of Adora, Scorpia, and herself. This meant that Catra wouldn't get her regularly scheduled Adora time and she was not happy about it.
"You know Scorpia, I was actually thinking that maybe…I don't know...we could do like how we used to do in weights?" Catra suggested slowly.
Scorpia perked up. "Like with just you and me? Adora might feel a little left out, but I'm down if you are!"
"Well," Catra said to her eager looking friend. "I meant more like, you know, when me and Adora kinda did that thing where we work out together?"
Scorpia looked immediately crestfallen and Catra pretended not to notice. "But what's wrong with just the three of us working out?" Scorpia questioned as they navigated out of the classroom and down the hall. "It went fine last time."
Catra half nodded, her hair shifting around as she moved her head. "I mean yeah it was fine and all. But Scorpia, I really like spending this time with Adora, y'know? Just like how you like spending it with me."
Scorpia wondered once again what Adora had that she didn't. Catra always seemed to be clinging to that girl. And Catra had even beat up Lonnie and risked expulsion for her.
"Would she do that for me?" Scorpia thought to herself and then immediately pushed the thought away. "Of course she would," Scorpia answered herself. Catra always had her back. Adora was just a workout buddy. They probably weren't even proper friends yet. But Scorpia and Catra were best friends. And that meant a lot more than a gym pal in Scorpia's eyes.
She glanced at Catra and realized the girl was still looking at her expectantly. Scorpia frowned deeply and replied. "Yeah I guess that works. But why just you and Adora and not the three of us?"
"I…" Catra thought of a good way to phrase her words. "I just like spending time with her…alone. Does that make sense?"
"Not really," Scorpia trailed off slowly.
"Well you know…" Catra started. She knew she should probably tell Scorpia the truth. That's what friends did. And what Madame Razz had told her to do.
"Man, maybe I do have a problem with this whole honesty thing," Catra wondered as she considered how immediate her reaction to lie was. She looked at Scorpia's hurt expression and wondered what she was thinking. From her point of view it probably looked like Catra just didn't want to hang out with her for no reason.
Catra knew she should tell Scorpia. But she couldn't. Not yet.
"...Razz said that I should try to get to know her better as part of my counseling. Since she was involved in the fight or whatever. Like resolution. So I'm trying to do that, I guess," Catra winced slightly at her own words as they left her mouth.
Scorpia tilted her head to the side. "Huh. That makes sense I guess." Scorpia hadn't even thought of that and it honestly made her feel better.
Catra breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that her friend eased up a little. But there was a gnawing sense of guilt in the back of her head that remained.
"How about we hang out this weekend?" Catra asked Adora exhaustedly as they did lunges together over the worn out exercise mats in the weights room.
Adora wasn't breathing as heavily as Catra and was able to respond easier. "I don't know I'll see. I'd have to come up with a lie for Glimmer," she said in her nervous way that Catra was all too familiar with.
"Sounds fine to me," Catra said between puffs of breath.
Adora frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't feel right. Last time we hung out nobody knew, but this time I'd have to tell a total lie to Glimmer and to my foster mom."
Catra lunged down slowly, her legs aching. She looked over at Adora and had to look away again quickly so that she wasn't caught staring. "They'll never know," Catra reasoned. "And besides I wanna hang out with you. Don't you wanna be with me?"
Catra shot a questioning gaze over at Adora. Adora looked over and saw Catra's pretty eyes staring at her and the sight threw her off balance. She tipped a little mid-lunge and almost fell over, but was able to catch herself last minute.
Catra raised her eyebrows at the sight. "Well I don't know if I should take that as a yes or a no," she said with a smirk.
Adora brushed herself off and steadied out again. "I do want to," Adora decided.
"Well then sounds good!" Catra exclaimed as she exhaled heavily and plopped down on the mat, too tired to continue.
"Well…" Adora started in objection.
"Look you don't have to lie and come and see me, but I can't promise I won't just waltz over to your place on Saturday night and start throwing rocks at your window," Catra said with a lopsided grin, hoping that she didn't look too gross covered in sweat.
Adora smiled at the thought. "I'll see what I can do. I'll text you when I figure it out." Adora stopped with her exercise as well and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and breathing steadily. Catra wondered how Adora could look so good and somehow not even tired after all those lunges.
"Well I will eagerly await your reply," Catra responded. "And, you know," Catra said slowly as she rose and stood next to Adora, "if there's any other close friends you have that would wanna come with us that'd be fine."
"Close friends?" Adora inquired.
"Yeah," Catra said casually. "You know just like any friends that aren't Bow or Glimmer that you are real, like, close with you can bring along. If you want."
"I mean, I don't have many close friends," Adora replied and Catra perked up.
"You don't have like a real great best friend that isn't Bow or Glimmer?" Catra asked quickly.
"I mean not a best friend. I have some other people I'm friends with but we don't hang out outside of school."
Catra raised her hand to bite at her nails, but caught herself and lowered it. She had been trying to get some kind of an idea of who the other person Adora was into, but now Adora was saying she didn't have any close friends. Besides, Bow and Glimmer that is.
This meant that either Adora was lying, which was unlikely, or that Bow had just been misinformed for some reason.
Catra briefly wondered if Adora was secretly into Glimmer. That would make the most sense. It would be a little weird since they lived together and everything, but it was certainly possible. And that was the one person that Catra hadn't interrogated. Catra decided to shelve the theory for now.
Adora, meanwhile, was doing some theorizing of her own. She wondered if Catra was extending this invitation as a way to figure out if Adora had anybody else she was close to. Anyone who could possibly be a little more than a friend.
Adora couldn't be sure, but now that she knew what Frosta had told her she was a step ahead of Catra. Adora's initial instinct was to assure the girl that there was nobody else in her life that she was in a budding romantic relationship with.
However, Adora didn't want to lead the girl on. At the end of the day, Adora still didn't know if she could be in a relationship. It all seemed so new and sudden.
Her growing fondness for Catra was exciting and made her feel a lot of new things, but she just couldn't convince herself that it was the right move. Adora didn't feel like she could be what Catra needed. She had no idea what Catra even saw in her.
Adora decided to keep Catra guessing for a while longer. Deep inside, a part of her even enjoyed the feeling of Catra trying harder to win her over, though she would never admit it.
"Well," Catra continued. "I am more than happy to have it just be us then!"
Adora smiled at the Catra, her old t-shirt drenched in sweat and her body rising and falling with heavy breaths. "I'm happy with just us too."
Saucy stuff! This chapter was so dialogue heavy and I loved it. I love the interactions so much and things are only gonna heat up from here. I'm starting school again so it might be a little tougher to upload but I should still be able to hit my once a week goal. It's easy to do when I love writing it so much! And I also absolutely love hearing from you. One of the comments the other day actually had me crying! Like in a good way. So thanks for all the support and I'm glad I can share this story with you all! Have a great day!