Whoo-hoo! Okie, if you know me on aim, you may have noticed that for the last three days I've been away, and my message has merely been, "I have writer's block". So I'd like to say, in my own defense, that this writer's block is to be held culpable for the couple of pieces of crap I turned out in those few days…. Most notably Wish on Sirius, which no one, not even my beta seemed to like. Grr, y'know? But anyway, the block has been demolished (thanks to heavy amounts of dynamite and lots of new-age music), I present, for your enjoyment…chapter eight! Just approximately 2 chapters and the epilogue (the last of which I have already written) to go!
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Kate Gibbs was by no means a dumb girl when it came to boys. Years of practical experience and observation had lead her to several conclusions concerning relationships. She outlined them sometimes, when she was particularly stuck on what to do. Three days after Tom kissed her, she was in a veritable pit of quicksand-like confusion. The more she tried to work it out, the more she struggled, the deeper she sank.
We haven't really talked…why hasn't he kissed me again? I see him in the halls, say hello like normal…never mentions it…does he regret kissing me? Should I have kissed him back or something, to let him know it was okay? Probably, that's it, I didn't respond right….
"Bloody hell," Kate muttered as she came out of another wondering daydream. She was supposed to be summarizing the new immigration standards proposal with her Kopy-Kwill, which copied whatever she wrote onto all the underlying pieces of paper. In mid sentence the proposal ended, and had been (subconsciously) covered with things like "I love Tom Marvolo Riddle" and "Mrs. Katie Riddle", with plenty of hearts for effect.
A sigh of frustration escaped her as she crumpled the lot of them up and chucked the inky mess at the waste bin. This had always been her problem in school, too. Whenever she was distracted, her concentration went straight out the window.
The clock chimed five. Mr. Deidie came out of his office, donning a luridly green newsboy cap.
"Best be gettin' home, Miss Gibbs," he said, locking the door.
"I've just got to finish these proposals," Kate replied. She stayed seated at her desk, trying to determine just how long it would take and whether or not she should tell Uncle Roderick she'd be late for dinner.
"Ah, yeah," said Mr. Deidie. "We need those for tomorrow's meeting, don't we?"
Kate smiled, she appreciated his passive way of reminding her they had to be done on time. "They'll be in your mail slot when you come in in the morning."
He tipped his hat to her as he backed out the door. "Evening, Kate."
"Have a nice night!" she called after him.
The proposals took longer than expected. At six o'clock, knowing she wouldn't be done in time to join her uncle for dinner, she sent a memo up to his apartment on the seventh floor. At seven o'clock, she began singing the words of the proposals to the tune of "Jingle Bells", just to keep her mind focused. At eight o'clock, just as she was packing up, a face appeared outside the door.
"Tom!" Kate exclaimed, doing a poor job of hiding her excitement. "How are you?"
"Just fine, Katie Gibbs," Tom said. He put one arm above her on the doorjamb and leaned in for a kiss. She couldn't help smiling, her heart felt as though it was doing a cheerleading routine in her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Haha! Yesss!
"Your uncle said you were still at work," explained Tom, taking her hand and leading her down the hall. Kate could barely walk straight, let alone reply. He asked her questions about her day, and she could only nod and smile for answers, because whenever he looked at her with those big dark eyes she was totally, completely lost….
"Hello in there…snap out of it, Katie…."
She blinked, and with a jerk, reentered reality. Her cheeks turned hot and red. "Sorry."
Tom took her out for dinner again. Somewhere between the appetizer and main course, Kate found her mind and the two began to talk like old friends. She realized, later, she'd basically poured her soul out to him, telling him everything---from how she cried when she learned that her baby doll wouldn't really grow up---to how her little sister nearly died when she tried to follow Kate climbing a tree---to the day she got accepted to Hogwarts---to that night in the library, which seemed so very long ago.
He took in every word, paying such close attention. He nodded at all the right times and asked the right questions and laughed only at the things that were funny. And when she was done, he told her a much less heartwarming tale.
"My mother died," Tom began, toying with his napkin, "when I was born."
Kate gasped. "I'm so sorry…."
He shrugged. "Don't be. I didn't know her. My father left when he found out she was a witch and I ended up in the orphanage." She reached across the table to hold his hand. He merely shrugged again and continued his story of life at the orphanage, which consisted of regular crummy food and plenty of Muggle-style cleaning. "I was so glad to get my Hogwarts letter…you wouldn't believe it…."
"I never knew," Kate whispered, though she wasn't sure why. Yes, she'd known he was an orphan or something to that effect, he'd made that clear, but it was the details that broke her heart.
"I never told anyone."
The rest of their meal was finished in silence, though neither attempted to use the hand which held the other's.
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"Okay! Let's begin!" said the other side of Kate, the one she consistently wished would shut up. Whether it was reasonable or negative, she hadn't figured out, but one this was sure---it was annoying like you wouldn't believe.
"What is the number one way to scare off your boyfriend?" the voice said, entirely too perky for this late at night.
Say 'I love you' too soon, Kate thought begrudgingly.
"Good, good! And what did you do when he walked you to your door?"
Kissed him.
"Uh-uh, that's not all…."
Kate scowled and looked up at her ceiling. "Why the hell did I say that?!"
It wasn't my fault. Did you see how he kissed me? Knocked me off my feet, he did. It was like one of those kisses from the movies. It was insane.
"Still," the voice persisted, though it was losing its force. "That was incredibly stupid…."
Isn't honesty the basis of all good relationships?
"Are you saying you think you really do love him?"
Kate didn't answer herself.
"Love him like you love Carrie? That deep-down love, like you don't want anything bad to ever, ever happen to them, not just lust and off-your-feet-knocking-kisses?"
Things were so quiet. She could feel her heartbeat in her chest.
Yeah. I think so.
"That's so---so moronic---"
You're just mad because he said it back, she declared. Because he loves me, and for once, everything is perfect, and for once, you can't make me feel bad like you always do.
The trouble of trying to decide if that side of her was reasonable or negative ended. For not only did Kate realize it was her worst critic, but it shut up.
He'd said, "I love you, Katie."
He loved her.
He loves me.
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Awww, fluff be rampant. I'm starting to feel pretty unhappy about how…well, er, happy this fic seems. (Seems being the important word here.) It's kinda sweet, though, Tom in love with someone….dammit! No, must not let self succumb to the fluff bunnies that are plaguing my fic…. Oh yes, and please review, let me know if you vomited…. lol ;)