.:Chapter Eleven:.
Katie was starting to understand what her brother felt like on a daily basis. The closer it got to the start of her show, the first day where they would be on camera, the more she had to do. There were interviews; on camera, off camera, for newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, radio, she even did one for a podcast about child stars. (Which was strange, not just because she was marked as a child star, but because she hadn't done anything more than a commercial or two before then).
She met up with the on-set stylists that decided what her character's wardrobe, met with the on-set makeup artists that had multiple rounds of makeup on her face to figure out the best look. Ended up in multiple promotional photoshoots for the promotion of the show. Did lots of little videos that would end up on various YouTube channels for PopTiger, TeenBlast, and Sixteen magazine.
Among that, she spent time with her mom and dad (separately, they still didn't seem to be able to get along for more than five minutes), with Patrick, Noah, and Lizzie, having routine phone calls and video chats with her brother and his friends, she was busy at school, working on her homework, practicing poker, talking to her business friends online, and working to figure out how to start her career as a talent agent (she hadn't forgotten that James had signed her contract saying she'd manage her career when he went solo).
So much so that she didn't have much time to think about Regular and the fact that she was, kind of, sort of avoiding him. There were days where she would respond to his message quickly, but there were days that she would let the time between messages slip by. It wasn't as important as everything she was trying to get finished. She had to focus on the start of her career—even if it wasn't moving quite in the direction she wanted it to go—and having fun for once.
Just because her brother was in a band didn't mean that she had to have all her fun and entertainment come from torturing them. She spent a lot of time torturing Bitters and the Palm Woods housekeeping staff with her consistent wins at their weekly poker night and thinking up new get-rich-quick schemes that popped up around the Palm Woods. (She should've realized sooner that she could sucker her classmates at the Palm Woods school out by getting them to buy pre-written papers).
So when she finally got some time, weeks later, to sit down and respond to Regular, she hesitated. Not because it'd been so long because of the last time they'd talked. But because she wasn't sure what to say, or what he was going to say. Was she supposed to apologize? Was he supposed to apologize? Were they going to ignore everything and just start talking again?
The last time she'd ignored him a bit, he had become very upset.
It's not your responsibility to deal with him being upset, Katie reminded herself. Her mother had taught her that when she was young, that it wasn't her responsibility how people chose to react to things. It was only her responsibility if she directly did something to offend or hurt someone in some way. And…not responding to messages wasn't her directly trying to offend or hurt Regular, was it?
He insulted your boyfriend, insulted you, made you seem like you were some sort of a slut…none of that was your fault, Katie reminded herself. She sucked in a deep breath, laying back on her bed, holding her phone above her face as she scrolled through her messages and texts. She went to her account on her photo hosting site and smiled to herself, seeing the pictures of herself, her mom, her dad, her friends, and her boyfriend that she'd recently posted all from their recent trip to the beach.
The Jacksons had decided to go for a long weekend, renting a beach house, and invited their friends along—changing it to be a celebration of Katie's part on her TV show. (Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James had all been jealous when they found out, which was part of the reason she posted so many photos, to rub it into them a little bit. A little payback for leaving). There were pictures of her with her arms thrown around her friends, of herself lounging with the girls—it had been fun to reconnect with Riley, Rhuben, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie as she'd been so busy she hadn't hung out with the a lot, a picture of her and her dad, of her and her mom, plenty of her and Lizzie, a few of her and Patrick…it had been a fun day.
The memories of it made her smile as she scrolled through them…all until another message from Regular popped up on her phone.
Regular: I can see you're online, why are you ignoring me?
Regular: Don't make me angry, Katie. You woudn't like me when I'm angry
Regular: I'm sorry. I just miss talking to you.
Regular: What have you been up to?
Spending time away from you, Katie thought with a light roll of her eyes. Nevertheless, she clicked into the messages and started to read them. Read all the ones that had been sent to her that she'd been ignoring. Katie twisted her mouth to the side, feeling a stabbing feeling of guilt in her stomach. You have nothing to be guilty about, she reminded herself. You haven't done anything wrong.
Katie took her eyes away from her phone when she heard a light knock on her door. Her mother walked in, dressed in sweats, hair pulled back in a ponytail. Either she was going to the gym or wanted to spend a comfy night in with Katie. Of which…Katie wasn't so fond of doing. Especially because her mom thought boardgames were the best way for them to bond and Katie hated board games. The reason why in the title, they made her bored. But Mrs. Knight had banned poker in the house so…
"Hey sweetie," Mrs. Knight said, giving her daughter a tiny smile. She sat on the end of Katie's bed, placing her hands in her lap. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You're not," Katie reassured her. Her mom was probably helping her, by talking to her as it was. Sitting up, Katie dropped her hands and phone to her lap. "What's up, mom?"
"Well, I was just thinking that since it's the first time we've had a quiet night at home by ourselves, we could just hang out. Maybe play some Scrabble. Or any other board game and spent some time together." Mrs. Knight shrugged.
Katie grimaced. Scrabble was the one game she hated the most. Whenever they had to have family game nights, it was one of the games that Logan insisted they play, because he always won. And it was irritating how he always won. Just because he wanted to be a doctor and was a genius and knew so many big and long words to get the most points—including the short words to get the most points—didn't mean he had to gloat so much.
On principle, she avoided it like the plague.
Playing it with her mom when she'd rather do…anything else was even worse.
"Maybe later, mom," Katie said. "I have a lot of…" Her eyes trailed over to the desk beside her, filled with textbooks and loose papers. "Homework! I have a lot of homework I need to catch up on."
Mrs. Knight's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Don't you have an on-set tutor to help you out with the things you miss? To keep you caught up?"
"Well yeah, but Miss. Collins is really piling it on lately. And you know education is important."
"Sweetie…you haven't cared about your education since you knew you had to go to kindergarten instead of being able to scheme against Kendall and his friends all day."
"Yeah…" Katie smiled fondly. "Those were some of my best ideas if I do say so myself." She shrugged. "But I do have a lot to do."
"Okay." Mrs. Knight leaned over and kissed her daughter on the side of the head. "Have a nice night, sweetie. Let me know if you need any help." Katie nodded, waiting for her mom to leave. She almost jumped when her phone vibrated, signaling another message and saw her mom stop as well.
She turned back, as if to say something, then stopped. Instead, she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
Katie looked at her phone, sighed heavily, and pulled up Regular's message. More questions marks. Gritting her teeth, Katie quickly thumbed out a response.
Katie: Not that it's any of your business, but I've been really busy. I'm playing a game with my mom!
It didn't take long for her to see the little dots come up on screen, indicating Regular was typing in response. She knew Regular had been sitting on his computer or phone just waiting for her. It was nice, in a way, but also very…
Regular: What do you mean none of my business? Of course what you're up to is my business. You're my business. I thought we were friends! More than that!
Katie: Well, you haven't been around when I've tried to respond!
Almost like he was trying his best to punish her. Or make her feel like she was the problem. If she messaged him first he would respond in seconds and have a good conversation. But if he messaged first and it took some time for her to respond, it was like talking to a wall.
Regular: So you did miss me!
Katie: I guess
Regular: A lot?
Katie: *rolls eyes* maybe
Regular: Even when you're making out with Porcupine
Katie: *laughs* that's what my dad calls him, too. Sometimes he calls Patrick 'Pincushion' because of all his piercings and tattoos.
Regular: Does your dad like him?
Katie: I don't know, I guess. Sometimes I don't think so.
Regular: Probably because he's your dad and he knows you're making out with this guy. Dad's get weird about that sort of thing.
Yeah, but he had no right to be mad. It was one of the harder things to get through, with the way their relationship was. Did he have any right to comment on any parts of her life when he wasn't in it for the longest time? He was still her father but…
Regular: So your dad gets it. Did you miss me when you were making out with Porcupine?
Katie: *Snorts* Yeah, even then /s
Regular: I feel better already. Want to make me feel even better?
Katie: How?
Regular: Tell me you're my girl
Katie snorted out loud that time. What the hell was that supposed to mean? And why did it make her feel so…guilty but so happy at the same time? If Patrick had ever said anything like that to her, she would've teased him mercilessly then told him in no uncertain terms that it wasn't happening. If Kendall had said it to Riley, she would've teased him mercifully and…probably wouldn't done it because he'd make it sound romantic. Logan would try and receive a slap from Camille. James and Jo would probably get into a fight. Carlos and Stephanie already referred to each other that way. Dak had referred to Rhuben that way before they'd even started dating…
It worked for some people, didn't for others and Katie…was stuck.
Katie: Oh please
Regular: What?
Katie: That's some weird, possessive stuff. Not even Lizzie talks like that with her boyfriend
Regular: Oh yeah, she's the boy crazy one
Katie felt herself bristling with indignation. Lizzie wasn't just boy crazy. She was athletic, smart, a dancer, a surfer, a soccer player. She was caring, kind of…well, Katie would never call Lizzie stupid, but privileged. Katie's jaw dropped the first time Lizzie mentioned she didn't know how to mop, was fascinated when Katie showed her, and even found it to be fun later. Yeah, privileged was definitely the word and the Zevons were the poster-children of their parents wanting them to focus on their careers from such a young age.
But that didn't mean Regular could make comments like that about her best friend!
Regular: I don't know why you're friends with her
Katie: She's my best friend
Regular: Why?
Katie: *rolls eyes* Well, I don't have much to go off of with friends out here. Everyone in this town are easily manipulated, I couldn't be friends with people like that
Regular: Like what?
Katie: Potential customers
Regular: LOL
Regular: So if you hadn't had met, if your boyfriends weren't brothers, you probably wouldn't be friends?
Katie: Idk
Regular: Good. That makes me happy. You know who your real friends are
Katie: And you're my real friend?
Regular: I'm the most real friend you have. I know everything about you. I understand you. I understand this. No one else does.
Katie: You're right
Regular: Good. I'm glad. I love you.
Katie paused. She hadn't said that to anyone but her family and her boyfriend. And it was big when Patrick had said it to her, so much so that they'd never mentioned it other than a few times here and there, when the situation called for it. But you could say 'I love you' to your friends, right? She said it to Lizzie all the time. Was it considered cheating if you were in a relationship and you said it to your guy friend?
She did really care about him…
Katie: I love you, too
Regular: Cool! God, I was freaking out to say that
Katie: Well, you are kind of a freak *laughs*
Regular: *laughs* Guess so. But that makes me happy.
Katie: :)
Regular: I have to go soon, but you know what'd really make me happy?
Katie: What?
Regular: A pic of you
Katie: Just look on the internet, there are dozens of them
Regular: No.
Regular: A pic of you.
Regular: Topless.
Katie paused. Her eyes widened. Her cheeks flushed. Her mind raced a mile a minute, short-circuited. Worked hard to figure out how to react. What to say. What to do! No one had seen her topless save for her mom, the women in the store who was measuring her for a bra, the girls when they were changing in the same room. Kendall and the others had, but she was a baby, a toddler, long before puberty. Not even Patrick had…
The thought made her blush harder.
Regular: It'll make me less jealous of Porcupine.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It'd make things easier, in a way. More relaxed. Regular did care about her. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. And they'd both delete it right away. No one else would have to know. And, it'd keep him from freaking out again, right?
Katie: I…guess
Regular: Baby, you made me the happiest guy alive
Katie rolled her eyes. She sat up straight, holding her phone in front of her, trying to figure out the best way to hold her phone, to angle it toward her. When she got it, she used her free hand to reach down and lift her shirt and bra, quickly snapped the photo, brought her clothing back down, and sent it before she could stop herself.
Regular: God. You look gorgeous.
Katie smiled.
Regular: You won't believe how hard I am right now, looking at you.
Her smile instantly dropped.
Regular: My cock could tear right through my pants.
Katie: I gotta go
She sent the message, deleted her photo, turned off her phone, and curled up in her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest. It was the most exhilarating…screwed up thing she'd ever done in her life. His comments were the same, exhilarating, screwed up, flattering, scary…
Everything all at once and making her feel more worried, scared, insecure, courageous than she'd ever have. Katie wasn't sure how long she laid in her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest. But, eventually, Katie concluded she didn't want to be alone. Alone with her thoughts, alone with what she'd just done. Playing Scrabble with her mom was better than being alone.
With that, Katie slid off her bed and went to the living room, where her mom was sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine. "Hey mom, I changed my mind. Let's play Scrabble." She situated herself onto the couch as her mom tossed the magazine aside and hurried to the game closer to get the game out.
Katie set her phone aside, ignoring the texts that continued to come through her phone. She smiled at her mom as Mrs. Knight eagerly set up the board and started the first few pieces of a word, before surreptitiously checking her phone.
Regular: What happened? Did I say something wrong?
Regular: Oh, did your mom come in?
Regular: Are you playing a game with your mom?
Katie quickly typed back.
Katie: Yes, please stop messaging me
Regular: Okay, have fun
Katie: Thanks
With a heavy sigh, Katie set her phone aside and started studying her own pieces. She frowned, more vowels than anything else. But she could at least make a few tiny words that could be made. Looks like Logan was good for something, she thought with a wry smile. The game went on for a few minutes before more vibrations came through Katie's phone. Despite focusing on the game, with only two people in the apartment and a lack of the boys' noise coming from all four walls of the room, Mrs. Knight couldn't help but notice it.
"Who's texting you this late?" She asked, her gaze flickering from her daughter to her daughter's phone and back again.
"Lizzie." The lie easily rolled off Katie's tongue. "She was watching a movie with Dak and wants to know what I'm doing."
"This late?"
"You know Lizzie."
Mrs. Knight smiled fondly. But there was a light suspicious gleam in her eyes. Katie recognized it because it was the same one Katie had, that Kendall had whenever he came up with some sort of plan or scheme to get himself and the boys out of trouble. "Nevertheless, you know you're not allowed to text this late."
Katie's nose wrinkled. "It's Saturday."
"I don't care." Mrs. Knight nodded toward the phone. "Lizzie will understand."
"Okay." That was fine with her, it'd give Regular the chance to back off for a little while. For an actual reason this time. "I'll tell her now."
Katie grabbed her phone and quickly messaged Regular once more. When the message sent through, she put her phone under her leg. It buzzed again. Katie ignored it. It buzzed again, a few seconds later. Katie hummed, trying to cover the noise, noticing her mother glance at her once more. It buzzed again.
Mrs. Knight sat up straight. "Give me your phone."
"What?" Katie blinked.
"Give it to me."
"No." Katie shook her head.
Eyebrows rising at the obvious act of defiance, Mrs. Knight stuck out her hand. Katie didn't move. "Katie, you've been glued to your phone for months." Katie's face screwed up. It couldn't have been months, the guys were only supposed to be gone for a month and a half, two tops. There's no way they were about to come back soon, it hadn't had been that long. And she wasn't acting glued to her phone, was she? "And you've been acting differently, preferring to be on there instead of talking to the rest of us, instead of being with your friends. You've been moody…you're spending too much time on your phone and I think you need to take a break from it."
Katie froze.
Mrs. Knight reached for the phone when Katie didn't move, then moved to pull Katie out of the way. Katie pushed it further under her butt. Blood pounded in her ears. Her face flushed, this time with trepidation.
"Give it to me!" Mrs. Knight snapped.
"No!" Katie cried feebly, trying to continue laying on top of her phone. Tried to keep her mom and Regular separate. "Mom!"
Mrs. Knight, finally, pushed past Katie's attempts to block her and grabbed her phone. Katie started to shake when she heard it vibrate again. "No!" Katie struggled to grab it back. "Stop!" She yelled it both to her mom and Regular. He needed to stop texting her.
"Give me the phone, Katie!"
"Mom—"
"KATIE, GIVE ME THE PHONE!" Mrs. screamed the same way she had when she wanted Katie to donate her posters from the boys' first concert. With as much force and ferocity that only a mother could work from the depths of her beings and expel in intimidation.
Katie blanched. "No," she whispered.
"Now!" Mrs. Knight hissed. "Don't test me, Katie. I will get that phone even if I have to take it from you by force."
Katie dropped her hands, shaking. She'd never seen her mom so angry. And saw her become angrier the second Mrs. Knight brought her phone up to her face and saw all of the messages she'd missed from Regular. "Who the hell is Regular and how do I see the message he just sent you?" She demanded. Katie started to respond, then closed her mouth, shrugging feebly. It didn't take long for her mother to figure out how to open the phone then read through all the past messages….that she hadn't deleted…."Who is he?"
"A friend," Katie whispered.
"What friend?"
"A friend I met online."
"And you don't know him?"
"I know him….he's a fan"
"In person?" Her voice rose in pitch, cheeks flushing. Katie's cell phone buzzed again, making Mrs. Knight jump in surprise. Then her eyes narrowed once more. "You've met him in person?"
"No."
Mrs. Knight sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. She opened and closed her mouth, gaping at her Katie. No sound came out. Katie would've preferred her yelling over the disappointed silence that filled 2J. Finally, Mrs. Knight walked to the counter at the kitchen and grabbed her own phone.
Katie scurried after her, watching. "What are you doing?"
"Calling the police." Mrs. Knight paused then turned her attention back to Katie's phone, when it vibrated again. With a sharp sigh through her nose, Mrs. Knight started to jab her thumbs into Katie's phone.
"What are you typing?" Katie tried to see, but Mrs. Knight leaned out of her daughter's way. Anger and frustration blazed through Katie. "What did you type?"
Mrs. Knight rounded on him, eyes blazing with a cold fury Katie's never seen before. Not even when the boys hadn't listened to her order of staying home, went out into a snowstorm, got lost, and nearly froze to death. "I told him the text was from your mom and you're just sixteen and that if he tried to contact you again, I'd call the police."
Katie's eyes widened. Her heart dropped to her feet. Her body went cold. "What did he say?" Then she noticed her mom go back onto her phone and started punching in a number. "Who are you calling?"
"Your father."
"What? Why?" Katie closed her eyes as tightly as she could, trying to imagine what her father would say, what his face would look like when he found out…"Mom! No! You don't have to—"
"-Don't!" Mrs. Knight interrupted. "Don't talk! You…you…" she sucked in a deep breath, trying to figure out what to say. Her voice trembled when she collected herself, shaking almost as hard as her ponytail was as she shook her head. As if trying to shake off what was happening in front of her. "You talked to this guy, this stranger for weeks! You have no idea who this guy is or what he's capable of."
"He's not a complete stranger," Katie whispered. She swallowed hard, gaining some confidence. If she could explain things, her mom would see it wasn't as bad as she was making it sound.
"He has your number! He knows where you are and where you live! He's older than you-"
"-He hasn't done anything wrong."
"Have you sent him any pictures?"
"Yes." It caught her off-guard, her mom's question. It was the only reason why Katie admitted anything. That she had sent a picture at all. But it wasn't like Regular didn't already know what she looked like. Her picture was everywhere online, because of her brother being in a band. People wanted to know everything about her. It was a shock when the paparazzi started to follow her around, the bigger they got. But she got used to it…especially when using it to her advantage of getting pictures sold to her. "Nothing bad."
"What? I…you…" Mrs. Knight sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "Have you talked about sex with him?"
"Mom…"
"If you think this is embarrassing you don't know how worse it's going to get. Have you?"
"Not really."
"Have you ever agreed to meet with him?"
"No!"
At that, Mrs. Knight nodded, seemingly glad about her answer. Her shoulders dropped in relief. Katie slowly inched toward the room they shared, wanting nothing more than to leap into her bed and getting the covers pulled over her head. No, she wanted to snuggle up in her mom's arms and be told that everything was going to be okay.
"I'm going to bed."
Mrs. Knight glared at her. "Sit down!" She snapped, pointing toward the couch. Katie paused. "You're not leaving my sight for the rest of the night. Go to bed on the couch. It's late." She waved her hand. "I can't talk about this anymore."
Katie kept her gaze toward her feet. "Can I have my phone back?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Well, when can I have it back?"
"Never. Don't ask again. Go to bed." Katie did as she was told, shuffling over to the closet to get the extra blankets and pillows that were stashed there. She thought of going to her room to get the stuffed animal her dad had gotten for her birthday, but decided not to. She didn't deserve it. Katie went back to the couch and started to make her bed for the night, unable to look anywhere than at her hands, the Scrabble board taunting her out the corner of her eye.
Katie had just settled down onto the couch and pulled the blanket to her chin when she heard her mom's final words on the matter.
"I can't believe you would do something like this, Katie."
Closing her eyes, Katie silently cried.
A/N: A review asking for me to update the story as well as starting my re-watch of BTR from the very beginning inspired me to update this story and here we are! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll have another update to you all soon!
Cheers,
-Riles