AN: I feel so bad for Catherine right now. Enjoy the next chapter!

The first day of December, someone put up mistletoe above the only entrance to the school. Most kids walked by without looking up, noticing, or caring. The Nerd Squad was not included in this. Cassy was the first to notice. She smiled and gave Warrick a quick peck on the lips, then Fredy, the Nick then Archie. She skipped over Greg, but hugged Sara and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Greg crossed his arms and acted very offended.

"What about me," he complained. Sara glared at him and punched him softly on the arm.

"Hey," she said, acting equally as offended.

"Oh right," Greg said as if he had just noticed she was there. "I have you, don't I?"

Coming from anyone else, Sara would've been angry and hurt, but it was Greg. Greg who joked about absolutely everything and meant almost none of it. And this was a big joke. She smiled and started laugh, she couldn't help it. Then Greg kissed her.

Cassy looked at Greg and Sara with distinct amusement. Those two were an anomaly. Cassy had never seen anybody laugh and kiss and smile all at the same time, and in the middle of the busiest part of school no less. They were a true anomaly.

Catherine was perched on the top of the stairs. She could see the goings on in the entrance hall. She watched Cassy and the others walked in and she saw Cassy kiss Warrick. She didn't see how long, and she didn't see Cassy kiss the others. She turned away and walked up the stairs swiftly. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to consider the possibility. She wanted to shove that image in the back of her mind and forget about it forever.
Catherine held a little orange bottle in her hand. She twirled it around her fingers. Prescribed sleeping pills. Her mother's not her's. But it didn't matter, her mother would not notice them missing. Even if she did, she wouldn't care.

Catherine thought about draining the bottle, swallowing all the pills. She seriously considered this. She actually had the top screwed off and sitting on the bed next to her.

The she remembered Cassy and Fredy and the anger they directed at her. She didn't think about Warrick, refused to bring him into this. It wasn't his fault anyway, she couldn't ever blame him for anything. But she did think about Fredy and Cassy and she screwed the top of the pill bottle back on. She would keep herself alive to spite them, to see the look on their faces when she walked into school the next day, and the next. Knowing that she could be dead, but she wasn't.

She gave the little orange bottle one last look before shoving it into the back of her sock drawer. As a reminder of where she could turn. A reminder.

Catherine was sitting on a log in the forested area around lake mead. She liked it here, it was quite, empty. Almost peaceful. Well nothing was really peaceful for Catherine anymore. She crossed her legs and stared out across the lake, wishing her life could be as still as calm as those waters. Wishing things were all right again.

"Hello," came a voice. Catherine whipped around and saw a boy about her age standing there. She didn't recognize him at all. He had a bag and a net with him.

"Hi," Catherine said, looking at this boy a little confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm collecting bugs," he said, indicating his net. He seemed very happy at this, though Catherine couldn't figure out why.

"School project," she asked and the boy shook his head. "What school do you go to?"

"I go to Robinson High. Like you," he said. Catherine squinted at him as though trying to figure out if he was joking or not. She still didn't recognize him. But this boy didn't seem surprised.

"My name is Gil Grissom," he said. "I have a math class with you," he said. Now Catherine was even more shocked. The boy nodded. "I've been in you math class for since freshman year."

Catherine's eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. The boy look faintly amused. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize you."

Gil shrugged and sat down next to her. "That's okay."

She wasn't really sure why but she felt comfortable with him sitting next to her.

"You have a lot to think about, don't you," Gil stated. Catherine turned to him with a glare on her face.

"What are you talking about," she said, sounding mor aggressive then she intended.

"The thing between you and Warrick," Gil said. From his tone he could've been talking about the weather or something equally as boring and unimportant.

"Who told you," Catherine snapped. Gil wasn't phased.

"No one," he said. "I heard Frederic and Cassandra talking about it." It momentarily stunned Catherine to hear her best friends (ex- best friends) being referred to by their whole names. "They didn't notice me. No one notices me. I'm a ghost, I'm invisible. It's works to my advantage some times."

Catherine felt some sympathy for this boy. "I don't walk to talk about it," Catherine said softly.

Gil nodded. "Okay," he said simply. He reached into his bag and pulled out a worn paperback book. 'Salem's Lot. "Have you read this," he asked. Catherine looked at the book and shook her head. Gil handed her the book. "You should," he said with a small smile.

The two saw each other every so often at the lake. Catherine started to notice him in her math class, but no where else. He really was a ghost. She didn't run into him at school, but that didn't bother her, and it didn't bother him.

Catherine found herself going up to the lake in the hopes that Gil would find her there, and he often did. Gil kept Catherine's head screwed on and her feet on the ground and her hand away from the little pill bottle in the back of the sock drawer.

Gil never brought up the thing with Warrick again. He stuck to the books. Catherine finished 'Salem's Lot at the beginning of December and the two spent a long time talking about it. Catherine enjoyed talking with Gil. He never question her, never asked for an explanation of who she really was. Like he didn't want to know. Or he already did.