It was Monday and Katie was back!
Katie came to school well rested. She was walking around slowly and carefully. It didn't hurt her leg when she walked but she didn't want to possibly do something for it to hurt again. She made sure to wear comfy clothes today to help. She wore black leggings with black running shoes and a pink oversized hoodie. Her hair was styled in a high ponytail.
Speed and Lash were standing outside their first class, talking. When Lash and Speed noticed her, they waved her over.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better." She replied. "I rested all weekend."
"Good to hear." Speed gave her a small smile.
"Woah, is that a smile?" Katie teased. She was surprised.
Speed rubbed the back of his head, careful of his backwards cap. "It's not something you expected me to do, is it?"
"I'm sorry, no." Katie laughed. "Okay well, before class, I have to go to Nurse Spex's office. She's going to check out my bruise." She waved at them. "See you in class!" She walked off carefully.
Lash smacked his best friend's back. It was weird to do it to Speed. Okay, maybe he shouldn't do that. "Wow, I didn't expect that."
Speed flinched. "Okay, is that a sign for me to stop smacking you?" When Lash shook his head, he just nodded. "Well, she's been nothing but nice to us and I don't want to be an asshole anymore." He shrugged. "I know we're not friends but at least in school, I can treat her with respect."
"I understand." Lash nodded.
"Why didn't you agree to be friends with Katie?" Speed asked.
Where was this coming from? Lash wondered. "Because of Stronghold and the others." He replied. "I don't think they'd take it too kindly to me being friends with her."
Speed raised a brow. "Since when do you care what other people think?"
"I know, but I don't even think I deserve her friendship." Lash admitted. "With what happened in the past…"
"Katie is a nice girl. I don't think she'd hold a grudge. If you want to be friends, go for it." Speed told him. "And don't care what Stronghold or his friends say." He grinned. "When have you ever?"
"And you don't mind?" Lash asked.
"Why would I mind?"
Lash scoffed. "Remember you telling Katie that I don't spend enough time with you because of her?"
"You're only seeing her because of the tutoring and the fact that your dads are friends. You told me." Speed pointed out. "Other than that, there isn't a reason. So pass your damn test and we'll be able to hang out during school again."
Lash gave him a look. "Oh yes, I will try my hardest." He deadpanned.
Speed smacked Lash's back. "That's the spirit."
Lash grunted.
XX
Professor Mikelsen knocked on Principal Power's office door.
"Come in!"
Helen Powers was sitting at her desk, typing away at her computer. "Oh, Professor Mikelsen, what can I do for you?" She asked with her attention on him.
"Helen, come on. You can call me Erik. We're friends, right?" He asked.
Helen gave him a smile. "Alright."
Erik sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "I wanted to know if I can have two weeks off." He wondered. He had this whole thing planned. He would have the final test earlier and take two weeks off plus the holiday breaks to work on his machine. It would give him plenty of time.
"Of course. When?" Principal Powers got out her calendar, ready to write the dates he'll be gone. As she did this, he glanced at a picture frame on her desk. It was a picture of her at Sky High and…himself. Or Scott rather. He sucked in a breath, composing himself after."And I promise to- wait what? Really?" Surprise was written all over his face.
"Yeah, you're allowed." She replied with a smile, finally looking up at him.
"Oh…well great!" He smiled. "It would be the two weeks before holiday break and then be off for break. I plan to have the final test earlier so I could…" He paused. "See my family." He continued. Best thing he could come up with. "With your permission, of course!" He added.
Principal Powers shrugged. "I don't see a problem." She gave him a smile. "I appreciate you asking for my permission first." She marked down the weeks in her calendar.
"Yes, exactly." He was surprised on how easy that was. "Sounds great, thank you Helen." He stood up and left the room. When he was outside, his hand went to his heart. As Scott, he was dating Helen. Since he fled from the scene, he also left his life behind. He left the person he loved behind.
XX
Katie sat in the Nurse's office. Nurse Spex was going to check Katie and see if everything was okay with her leg. She sat patiently while waiting. She hoped everything was okay. During the whole week and weekend, she made sure to follow the rules, and do exactly what Nurse Spex told her to quicken the healing. She took off her leggings and put them on a chair so Nurse Spex could look at her leg easier. Her shoes and ankle socks were also off and on the chair. Her backpack was on the floor near the chair. Her crutch was leaning against the wall. It was from the nurse's office. She could leave it here if she didn't need it.
Nurse Spex entered the office. "Sorry about that, bathroom break." She excused herself. "So how was your week? Your weekend?"
"Great! I did exactly as you said and I hope everything is okay." Katie responded.
Nurse Spex inspected her thigh. "Looks good. The bruise is gone. How does it feel when you walk?"
"It doesn't hurt but I'm being careful. I don't want for it to come back or anything." Katie replied.
Nurse Spex gave her a smile. "I don't think it would, but it is best to be careful. The bruise is gone and you have been taking good care of it. Just keep being careful today and by tomorrow, everything should be fine." She eyed the crutch. "You don't need this anymore."
Katie smiled, putting on her leggings. "Thank you, Nurse Spex." She put on her socks and running shoes. "I will make sure to be careful." She put her backpack on her shoulders and walked out of the office.
XX
"Alright class, I have a question I want to ask for all of you. Listen up." Professor Mikelsen cleared his throat. "I want your opinions on something. So, how about we have our final test next week?" The students faces all changed in an instant.
Panic.
"…What?!" Speed blurted out. "That's too early!"
"Listen," Professor Mikelsen held his hands up in defense. He understood how his students felt. Usually, the students had their finals near Christmas. They usually had more time to prepare. "…I want to do the test earlier than usual." He wanted more time to work on his machine. He already had everything planned. Earlier final test. Work on machine during his two week vacation. He already had asked Principal Powers and she accepted. "Next week actually."
"Why?!" Speed blurted out in a panic. "That's too soon!" Next week? He needed more time to prepare! He needed to pass! Why am I the only one talking? He wondered.
"Would you rather have this test after the whole holiday break?" Professor Mikelsen wondered.
"No!" The class shouted.
"I'm taking two weeks off to visit family." Professor Mikelsen told the class. He was lying, but the students didn't need to know that. That's what he told Principal Powers anyway. Ironically, one member of his family was one of his students.
"Sounds good to me." Katie chimed in.
"Of course it does." Speed scoffed.
"Mr. Gardner and Mr. Langford, I will be giving you an additional test of everything you missed and have been learning with your tutors. Depending on your score, it will decide if you still need to be tutored or not." Professor Mikelsen told them.
Speed and Lash nodded.
Katie turned her body to look over at Lash. "Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other." She teased with a smile. She then turned back her attention on the professor.
Lash didn't expect that at all. It had taken a while for him to react. He felt his heart skip a beat.
"Great, we're all on board then." Professor Mikelsen clapped his hands once. "We'll be doing our test next Monday." He explained. "Then you're free to study for your exams for your other classes. One test will already be done and it's less stress for you guys. There's also the Winter Wonderland dance soon so that will bring you guys some fun and joy."
Lash glanced over at Katie when the dance was mentioned. He then looked back to the Professor.
"Any questions?"
XX
After class, Speed, Lash and Katie stood in front talking.
"Can you believe that we have a test next week?!" Speed groaned. "It's going to be harder for Lash and I because of that extra test." He sighed. "This just puts on more pressure. We need a good score so we don't have to be tutored anymore."
Lash nodded in agreement.
"That's okay! That means we have to work harder." Katie assured him. "Talk to your tutor and maybe we can have a joint session on the weekend or something? What do you think?" She asked them. Maybe a joint session will help them.
Speed shrugged. "If it will help me... why not?"
Lash nodded in agreement.
"And Lash, we can have a session each day this week if you want!" She smiled. "I'll be glad to help!"
Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other! Lash swallowed. "Yeah…"
The bell rang.
"Oh! Well, see you later guys!" Katie waved and walked off.
Lash let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.
"I think these constant sessions will be good, actually!" Speed thought about it. He started walking to his next class.
"How so?" Lash asked, following suit. "Where is this coming from? You being happy to take the sessions?" He scoffed. "I thought you hated them."
"Well, we'll be doing all these sessions, right?" Speed said. "Those will help us pass and once we pass, we don't have to go to them anymore! Remember that we can stop after getting good grades?"
"Yeah..." Lash replied. "No more sessions…" Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other! He shook those thoughts out of his head.
XX
It was finally lunchtime and Katie was walking in the cafeteria, tray in hand.
"Katie! Over here!" Layla waved, catching her attention. Will and Warren were at the table with her as well.
Katie smiled and slowly made her way over there. Some students bumped into her as they were getting past her. Katie staggered, trying to keep her balance. Once she knew she was falling, she let go of her tray and food spilled everywhere as it fell to the floor upon impact. She fell to the floor on her legs.
The impact of the tray caught the attention of Katie's friends, Speed and Lash. Lash was the first to get there, offering a hand to help her. "You okay?" He asked her.
"I don't know." Katie had a look of panic on her face. "I think it's my leg." The way she fell may have hurt her leg somehow. She hoped that wasn't the case.
"Alright, let's get you up." Speed bent down.
"Wait, Speed…" Katie blinked. He helped her whole body up. Next thing she knew, he was carrying her in his arms.
"Speed!" Katie exclaimed, arms quickly wrapped around his neck. She didn't mind being carried like this by her Dad but by Speed? She was embarrassed.
"What?" Speed wondered. He was just helping her out. It's not like she was heavy or anything. Why was she freaking out? She was quite light. Okay, he better not say that.
Lash was shocked by what he saw. But what shocked him more was how much he was upset by it. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I fell and I couldn't get up right away. I got scared because I thought it was something to do with my leg." Katie pursed her lips. She was in an awkward position. She fell silent.
At this point, Will, Warren and Layla were nearby. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I fell and I'm scared I hurt my leg again."
"Again?"
"What?! Is that why you were off school?" Layla asked. "You told us you were hurt but..."
"Who did that to you?" Will demanded. Realization hit. "Are you serious?! What did you do to her?!"
Before Speed could answer, Katie spoke up. "It's fine! He apologized. I'm fine."
"Are you?"
Flames shot up Warren's arms.
"Are you blind, Peace? Do you not see Katie in my arms? What exactly are you planning to do?"
Warren's flames died down. "Why do you care?" He wondered.
"Because maybe I hurt her, yet she still forgave me. And now I want to help her." Speed replied, defensively.
"What? Are you serious?! You expect us to believe that?"
"And that makes it okay?!"
"Guys!" Katie rose her voice, getting the attention of everyone. "I'm fine. Please take me to the Nurse's office."
Suddenly, Speed's tutor showed up. "Hey, Speed! You mentioned you wanted to talk about something?"
"Oh yeah." Speed walked over to Lash, handing Katie over him. "Can you take her?"
"Dude!" Lash reacted quickly, taking Katie from him. As Speed was handing her over, he give Lash a smirk and raised his eyebrow before walking off with his tutor. "Speed!" He exclaimed as he felt himself blush, just a little. He was very careful holding Katie.
Katie quickly wrapped her arms around Lash's neck, with her face starting to redden. "Okay, can we go now?" Her heartbeat quickened. She remembered being this close to his chest before and for it to happen a second time? She avoided eye contact with Lash.
Will and Warren looked at each other before sighing.
"Fine."
"Then take her."
Layla noticed how Katie was blushing. Maybe it was just because she was embarrassed? It was a pretty embarrassing position to be in. So she understood Katie's reasoning. But she hadn't been blushing when Speed was holding her?
Lash rolled his eyes at Warren and Will. "Oh wow, okay. Now that I got your permission, I'm taking her." He said, voice laced with sarcasm. He walked off with Katie, carrying her securely.
As Katie was holding onto Lash, she couldn't help but to wonder. Why was she alright with Speed holding her? Yet when Lash was... she blushed and her heart started beating fast.
"I'm so sorry about this..." Katie told him.
"I'm getting used to it." Lash replied, paying attention in front of him. He didn't want to look at her. His heart was racing. He was glad that she wasn't resting her head on him because then she'd hear his heartbeat.
"But..." Katie paused. How was she going to ask this? "Do you mind being a part of all this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know...carrying me."
"Just helping you out."
"Yeah but we're not friends."
Lash stopped abruptly. "Do you want me to put you down then?" He wasn't going to. He just wanted to see her reaction.
"What? Wait! I'm not sure if that's a good idea!"
Lash chuckled and kept walking. When they got to the nurse's office, he sat her down and took a seat near where she was. He looked over at her. "I don't mind. It's true that we are putting ourselves into those situations together. Out of everyone it could be, I'm glad it's you."
Katie was taken aback by his words. "...What?" Came out of her mouth in a breath.
"If I had to be stuck with anyone, I'm glad it's you." He repeated. "Out of everyone I know and that could possibly be stuck with me, I'm glad it's you."
Again, Katie was taken aback by his words. "R-Really?"
"Yes." He replied, instantly. "You have also seen me in embarrassing situations. When I stormed out of your house and we were stuck outside, seeing my mom in the hospital and having to tutor me." He chuckled. "That's what I can think of right now but..."
They locked eyes. Lash noticed her hair was pulled away from her face, showing her rosy cheeks. Her olive eyes sparkled. "You're beautiful." He said in a whisper. He raised his hand, cupping her cheek.
Katie could feel her face redden. Lash's expression wasn't something she was used to seeing. His expression was softer and more relaxed.
"Am I interrupting something, dear?"
Both teens jumped out of their seats. Katie's hands went to her cheeks. Lash's hand went to his heart. They both did this to calm down.
"Nurse Spex!"
"You're back again? What happened, dear?" Nurse Spex asked.
"J-Just a check-up." Katie replied.
Nurse Spex used her X-ray vision to check on Katie's leg. "Everything is fine, Katie. I'm sure it was just panic."
Lash sighed in relief.
"You can stand up."
Katie stood up, shaking her leg. "You're right!" She grinned.
"I am the expert." Nurse Spex smiled. "Rest assured, everything is fine. Don't worry. You can go about doing regular things."
"Thank you." Katie smiled and left the room with Lash.
"Thank god, nothing is wrong! I wanted to be sure."
Lash just nodded. What just happened in the office? He wondered. He didn't expect to have said that to her. It was true but he didn't think he'd say it easily. He was caught up in the moment.
Katie looked over at the clock. "It looks like we're still good on time. I didn't get a chance to eat."
Lash stayed silent.
"Let's make our way back there."
"Yeah, sure." Lash replied. What the hell happened in there?! This was really starting to bother him.
Katie turned to him. "You alright?"
Lash shook those thoughts out of his head and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
And they made their way to the cafeteria.