See previous parts for disclaimer...

Part 21

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"So what was with the receiver off the hook last night, Singer?" Tad asked nudging Katie lecherously as he grinned over at her. He'd been fairly pissed off at her for a couple of days, and then unimpressed with her for a couple more days, but after she'd come over to his house giving him the puppy dog eyes, things had pretty much gone back to normal. In fact as he asked this, she was dismounting from his back after the piggyback ride he'd just given her through the hallways. He figured that he had no chance with Jessie so he could as well live vicariously through his friend.

"Shut up Tad," Katie responded slapping him on the shoulder, though she was smiling widely.

"Sup?" Russell asked coming up behind them wrapping his arm around Katie's neck playfully. Katie yanked off his hat and pulled it over her head, nodding at him with a slight pout on her lips, completely thugged out.

"Katie's phone was off the hook last night, while Jessie was over and her parents were out," Tad responded grinning, smiling even brighter at the look of pure venom Katie shot him as Russell 'oooooh'ed in her ear, using the opportunity to also steal his hat back.

"Hey," they heard from the side, all three of them turning to see Sarah Grasser standing beside them.

"What'd you want?" Tad asked contemptuously, standing up to his full height. He'd never liked Sarah much; she always acted like something had crawled up to ass to everyone but Katie. It had pissed him off, how she'd been able to dupe his friend for so long. Even now, Katie still isn't insisted that she wasn't always a complete bitch, but Tad knew better. Sarah was just letting Katie see it now too.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sarah asked ignoring Tad and looking straight at Katie.

"I don't know that we have anything to talk about," Katie replied as Russell and Tad glared at Sarah for her, allowing her to remain looking nonchalant.

"Please," Sarah said ignoring Katie's entourage. "Just for a minute," she continued her voice slightly pleading.

"Fine," Katie said not really wanting to see her grovel in the middle of the hallway. "Over here," she said nodding to a quieter place down the hall.

"Desperate's her colour don't you think?" Russell asked as they watched to two girls make their way down the hall.

"Nah, I'd go with black, to match her soul," Tad replied smiling.





"Hey Sammler, you have GOT to call me," Brian Jones called out as Jessie and Grace made their way through the halls.

"Cool, I'll pencil you in right after pigs fly," Jessie called back winking at him before pushing on.

"Nice," Grace commented, thinking that was a smoothly delivered comeback. She would have to give that one a grade of at least 9.7.

"You know what they say about practice," Jessie responded absently, shaking her head. They could at least try and come up with some original material.

"How often do you get that?" Grace asked thinking that while Jessie had always been able to hold her own in verbal sparring match, one-line zingers had never been her specialty.

"Oh, just about a million times everyday," Jessie, muttered rolling her eyes.

"Hmmm, soon you'll be able to insult in a single bound," Grace commented, pleased to see Jessie smirk at the comment, but a little disoriented when she saw her stepsister's face cloud over a second later. Turning her head to follow Jessie's Grace saw Katie and Sarah Grasser standing off in a quiet corner just down the hallway.

Jessie took a step forwards as if she were going to head over but then stopped. It was ridiculous, she had a class to get to, and Katie could talk to whomever she wanted. She wasn't going to be one of those jealous girlfriends who like video taped every move their significant other made. It was stupid.

"You're not going over there?" Grace asked having seen Jessie's move forward and then her abrupt stop.

"No," Jessie replied even though she really wanted to.

"Why? You obviously want to," Grace asked.

"Because I'm not going to give Sarah the satisfaction of knowing that she actually makes me jealous, so she can just take her conniving and suck on it REAL hard," Jessie muttered before turning down the hallway that led to her class leaving Grace alone to observe the scene. Grace shook her head in sympathy for the bitch fest that Katie was bound to be gobsmacked with later for her egregious break in dating etiquette then headed for her own class.

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"What is it?" Katie asked boredly leaning against a nearby locker as Sarah stopped in front of her looking down at her shoes doing her best humility impression.

"Do you have to be so hostile?" Sarah asked quietly looking up at Katie as she spoke.

"Just following your lead," Katie replied not looking at Sarah, knowing that if she did she'd feel bad for snapping at the girl even though she deserved it and not wanting that to happen. She'd tried, when she'd realized that she'd hurt Sarah, she'd tried to talk to her, tried to make her realize that they could still be friends even if everything else had to end, but Sarah hadn't wanted to hear it, hadn't been able to hear. She'd made Katie choose and then she'd gotten mad and bitchy when Katie chose Jessie. It was Sarah's problem to deal with now, not hers. She'd tried.

"I deserve that," Sarah said with a sigh, glancing over at Katie.

"Yeah, you really do," Katie, replied, her stance loosening nonetheless now that she was fairly confident that they were about to have a civil conversation instead of the usual spitting contest.

"I'm sorry you know," Sarah said seeing Katie relax slightly. "About how I acted after … about how I acted. I was just hurt, and I know you didn't mean to," she added quickly seeing Katie tense in preparation to respond. "Really I do. It's just you know, sometimes teenage plus girl equals unimaginable bitch," she continued adding to herself that when you added love to the equation the bitch just got bigger. "I should've been happy for you, and I am. Now," she pushed on seeing Katie watching her with interest. "And you said, before that we could still we friends, and you know, if that offers still on the table I'd like to accept it this time. I miss you."

Katie looked at Sarah intensely for a moment before sighing and letting her gaze drift around the crowded hallway. After things had gone bad between them, she'd been filled with so much guilt, and she'd wished for so long that the day would come when Sarah would realize that she hadn't meant any harm and they could just go back to the way things had been before. But that had been a wish she'd long since given up on, and now that she had heard the words she'd longed to hear for so long, she just felt sad, hollow. She realized she didn't really care anymore, that while Sarah may have missed her she didn't miss Sarah all that much. But, she also remembered when things had been good between them, fun. Sarah had never touched her deep down inside like Jessie did, she never felt Sarah's presence with her even when she wasn't around like she did Jessie, and they didn't have that age old friendship that tied them together tighter than either of them realized like she did with Tad. Sarah was just fun, but fun had been really good.

"I don't know," Katie said quietly her gaze drifting back to Sarah. "It's not that I don't want to be friends, it's just that with everything that's happened it'd be really complicated."

"And by complicated you mean Jessie doesn't like me and if we start hanging out again she won't let you in the ballpark let alone near any of her bases," Sarah replied darkly, having sensed Katie on the edge of giving her a chance.

"So we're back to this are we?" Katie asked tiredly looking over at Sarah sadly. "I'd like to accept your offer, really I would. But I don't believe you, and you're not helping yourself with shit like that. Jessie's my girlfriend, and I'm not going to risk hurting her by hanging out with you if all you're gonna do is insult our relationship and piss and moan about how life done you wrong," Katie continued beginning to pick up speed. "Sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. Deal with it. You're not special. You're problems aren't any more of a tragedy than anyone else's," she went on pushing off the locker. "So yeah, we can be friends again … when you stop taking behavioral tips from you're three year old sister," she finished starting down the hallway.

"Wait," Sarah said reaching out for her and grasping her around the arm stopping her from moving. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you keep saying that, and yet…" Katie replied removing Sarah's hand from her arm.

"Please, just give me a chance," Sarah continued moving to stand in front of Katie looking up at her through her eyelashes as innocent as could be. "I promise, no more digs. Let's just hang out, and if it's cool then it's cool, and if you find my company unbearable than I swear I won't bug you again."

Katie looked over at Sarah's pleading face, and sad hopeful eyes and sighed. The offer sounded reasonable, and it couldn't really hurt anything. "Fine. What'd you have in mind?"

"How about a study session?" Sarah suggested trying to remain calm. She hadn't expected Katie to give in so easily, but she was delighted that she had. Maybe Katie missed her to and was just too proud to admit it. "You help me with math, I'll help you with geography and we can top off by making fun of Mauray Povich."

"Alright," Katie said brightening at the suggestion of Mauray Povich. Jessie refused to watch it with her, even though she insisted they would only watch to mock him endlessly. She had so much daytime TV hate bottled up and would now be able to release it constructively.

"Great. How about after school then?" Sarah asked. "I mean unless you already have plans," she continued uncertainly images of Jessie floating around her mind mocking her.

"After school's fine," Katie responded. Jessie had a doctor's appointment and was going out to dinner with her mom afterwards so they hadn't made any plans. "I'll drop by your locker. We can do it at my house, mom's likely to be upstairs grouting something so we won't have to worry about her."

"Cool, see you then," Sarah said backing up and turning around not wanting to stick around and give Katie a chance to change her mind.

"Yeah, later," Katie replied absently as Sarah headed off down the hallway, sighing once the girl was out of sight. She suddenly felt like someone had just strapped a medium sized planet to her back. Intellectually, she couldn't see what was wrong with trying to get along with Sarah again; lord knew her life was easier when the other girl didn't actively hate her. Yet, despite this line of reasoning, she couldn't help but feel she'd just made a serious mistake. Sighing again she shook her head, there was nothing she could do about it now; she'd given Sarah her word, and it was only one night.

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