AN: okay, I realise this is really, really short and that it's been a really, really long time since I updated – I'm sorry! I do have a bunch of excuses, which will probably take up half a page if I try to explain them all, but trust me, it's been hectic. And unless you wanted to read Katie and Freddy talking in Puritan style (we had a performance of The Crucible), you're probably better off waiting. But thanks to BlackFloyd03 for the timely reminder that I can't just drop the story. And now my english essay is out of the way I have a little time to spare for this. At least until exams start…

Anyway, hope you feel that it was worth the wait and I promise it will be longer next time!

Eleri

On Tuesday, Katie's dad arrived home from the hospital. She was more than a little nervous, and spent most of the time pacing around the apartment. She didn't have to work that day, but she wished she did. She didn't want to have to be at home when he got back. She still had trouble accepting that things would go back to the way they had been before he started drinking – when they were a close, happy family.

Greg was out again, at a friend's, and wouldn't be back until the evening. Katie knew she should be doing homework, but she couldn't bring herself to sit down and concentrate. It was already nearly five o'clock, and her mother had said they'd be home at four. Biting her lower lip, she decided to make some tea, for when they did get back, and if it went cold – oh well.

It was another twenty minutes before they got back, but the tea was (thankfully) still warm. Or lukewarm, at any rate. Damien and Sharon exchanged quick glances when their daughter brought them a cup each, then perched awkwardly on the edge of the couch. They sat in silence for maybe five minutes, then Katie got to her feet and walked over to her father.

"I'm glad you're back daddy." She told him, and kissed him on the cheek quickly, almost shyly, before hurrying to her room to do her homework. In the end though, she was awake until well after midnight before she had finished any of it, pacing her room, restlessly listening to music and wondering what would happen next.

The next day passed easily enough, as she spent most of it outside, working at the café until seven and then walking home as slowly as she could. She knew it was her night to make dinner, but she felt that, for once, her mother could wait. When she got home though, she found her mother had already cooked – actually cooked, for the first time in ages, rather than just heating up a supermarket dinner. She heated hers up and ate it quietly, then hurried into her room again. She could hear their voices floating through the door, hear them laughing at some silly game show, but she couldn't bring herself to go out and join them.

Thursday evening found her waitressing in the French café. Taking orders was easy enough, and kept her away from the curious questions of her coworkers. Anyway they were better at being discreet that her classmates – not that they didn't try to get answers when they had the chance. The worst of all was Tracy, her fellow waitress. Luckily (for Katie), she rarely had time to talk, as one or the other of them was usually taking orders. But when she did catch her…

"Katie! Wassup girl?" Katie pulled a face at her and she grinned. "Aw, come on. No need to act all snobbish and goody-two-shoe-ish. How's life? Your dad back yet?"

Katie cursed herself silently for ever letting slip that her dad was in hospital, but she knew well enough that Tracy could get anything out of anyone if she tried long enough, and often it was easier/safer to just admit it straight away. "Yeah. He is."

"Glad to hear it! How's he feeling?" It actually sounded like a fairly sincere question, so Katie smiled.

"Okay I guess. He's still in bed, and the nurse comes round every day to give him his drip."

Tracy was about to ask another question when their boss appeared and demanded to know why neither of them was working. Katie shrugged and hurriedly went to take orders, leaving Tracy watching her with an exasperated look on her face.

She managed to avoid any more questions by keeping as busy as possible and taking several trips to the bathroom when she had nothing else to do. But she was dreading the end of her shift just as much as she dreaded her colleagues' questions. Because Freddy was coming to pick her up, and they had to go to his house to work on their chemistry project.

It was hard to put her finger on exactly how she felt about Freddy. Before she left the band, they had been good friends – really good friends – and she had felt (hoped?) that it might become more. Because she really did like Freddy. He was cute, and thoughtful, though he didn't often act that way, and even if he had a knack for teasing her, she'd always found it easy to laugh with him. And there had been the drum lessons…

She had been amazed when he'd offered to teach her, amazed that he remembered their conversation. Of course, he hadn't fooled her. She knew that he only offered because he'd forgotten her birthday, but she didn't really mind. She had enjoyed the lessons, even if she never really managed to learn much about drumming.

Now it was different though. Freddy was probably angry with her for canceling like that, no explanation, no warning. Sure, Zack had said that he missed her, but how much could she really trust Zack's word? He was the kind of guy who would say something like that just to make you feel better. And then she wondered how much Zack had told Freddy. He'd seemed worried about her in chemistry class, but he hadn't asked too many questions, for which she was glad.

Sighing she picked up the plates of food for table seven and glanced at the clock on her way out. It was already 7:28. She supposed that that meant this would be her last trip. As soon has she had served the noisy family, she hurried back into the kitchen to inform her boss that she was leaving, then disappeared into the bathrooms to change out of her uniform. She didn't really fancy going to Freddy's wearing a short black skirt and thin white blouse.

Ten minutes later, she was waiting outside for Freddy to show up. Glancing at her watch every now and then, she decided she would leave by herself if he wasn't there by eight – and it was already quarter to. In the end Freddy turned up just after eight, when she had already begun walking away.

He honked at her but she ignored him at first, thinking it was just some idiot honking at any girl he passed. Freddy honked again and she spun around, irritated, before realising it was him. Freddy pulled up next to her and she yanked open the passenger door.

"You're late." She informed him coldly, and he pulled a face at her.

"I got lost. This place isn't exactly on the main road. Where were you going?"

"Home. I've been waiting for half an hour."

"Sorry." They were quiet for the rest of the drive to Freddy's. Once he had parked, Katie swung her door open quickly then stood waiting for him to join her. He was fiddling with something inside the car, and didn't even look at her until he had finished.

He glanced over the top of the car and grinned apologetically. "Car alarm. Sorry."

"You have a car alarm?" Freddy was almost startled to hear the hint of amusement in her voice, and flushed slightly. It had been a long time since she had teased him about anything, and he'd forgotten how nice it was.

"Yeah. It's a rough neighborhood, and it's a nice car."

Katie raised an eyebrow slightly and made a show of looking around at the neat lawns and big, clean houses. "Yeah, really rough neighborhood."

Freddy laughed. "Okay, okay. It's my dad's car. He won't let me borrow it without making sure the alarm is set but I turn it off when we're out." (A/N I have no idea if that's possible. Pretend it is.)

The amused look on Katie's face had gone though. The sound of Freddy's laughter and her sudden realization of just how much she was enjoying herself – like old times – had brought her back to the present. They were here to work, that was all. Freddy noticed the change and sighed inwardly.

"Katie, please tell me what's wrong. I know – I know your dad doesn't have a job yet but I'm sure there's something more. Come on, you can trust me."

Katie shot him a disbelieving glare. "Yeah? I thought I could trust Zack to keep that quiet but he still told you. That's the thing about trust, isn't it. It's only valid when the other person is around to make sure they can trust you."

"Zack told me because – "

"I don't give a shit why Zack told you." She took a deep breath to try and stop the smoke threatening to pour out of her ears. "Look, we're here to work right?" He nodded. "So let's go work."

She turned and walked up the path to the front door, then followed Freddy with her eyes as he came to join her. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door then looked at her without opening it.

She looked back at him for a few seconds then demanded, "What?"

"I'm not going to let it drop. You know that. Maybe for now I will, but I do intend to find out."

"Whatever." She looked away, cursing herself slightly because she knew it was true. And she knew that she would never intentionally tell Freddy anything about her dad or her situation. Zack was one thing, but Freddy… No. She promised herself then and there that Freddy would never find out, and that she would have a word with Zack in the morning.

Freddy watched her for a second longer then pushed open the door to let her into his house.

AN: there you go, chapter four. More...um...eventually.