Title: Homemade Always Says It Best
Rating: This chapter is somewhere between PG and PG-13 for some slight sexual content.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine...I cannot claim them. They all belong to the hardworking people involved with Once and Again. Well, minus Devon.
Feedback: Yes please, I want to know what everyone thinks of this story so far.
Summary: This will be a J/K or Jessie and Katie story eventually. It's just my take on another way that the girls could have ended up discovering their feelings for each other.
Author's Note: I do love getting reviews…and I really appreciate them, thank you. Also, I do have other stories to update; I realize this, but I just had a good idea for this chapter, and I couldn't wait to type it up. So, it got to be updated again before I updated the other stories. Enjoy.
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It was Friday, and it had been a week since Katie had gone on a date with a guy. Actually, that meant that it had been a week since Katie had a bad date. Devon had called her a few times that week, clueless. She tried to make a few more jokes, give him a bit of a chance at friendship, but he failed miserably. He got caught up whenever she tried to make a joke, and he didn't understand them.
Sarah, however, did understand them. Katie hadn't seen her since Sunday, but she had talked to her three times that week on the phone. They had another date that night, a double-date to be exact, with Tad and Jessie. Tad was still trying to get the inside scoop on Katie and Sarah, but nothing had happened physically yet, minus the handholding. He was sweet about their going out anyway, though, slightly too interested…as most straight guys were when it came to girls dating other girls.
As for Jessie, she had been supportive of Katie, but she seemed distant whenever Sarah was mentioned. And because of the distant Jessie that would appear then, Katie made a habit out of not mentioning her girlfriend around her best friend. That worked out just fine, and things were back to normal, whatever normal was in their friendship. They were close, and talked every single day, but Katie didn't understand Jessie when it came to certain things. Then again, Jessie didn't understand herself sometimes either, not that she'd ever want to admit that.
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"Jess?" Katie had gone to Jessie's house after school again, waiting until seven for the date.
"Huh?" The two were lying on Jessie's bed, lounging about. The younger girl was lying on her back, facing the ceiling, with the older girl lying on her side, facing her. Katie was drawing circles on Jessie's arm with her finger.
"Remember when we talked about where we wanna live?" The circles were still being drawn invisibly. It almost tickled, but Jessie wasn't annoyed.
"Yeah," the blonde tilted her head to the side, to look at the other girl.
"Do you think they can have ranches near London?" That had bothered Katie since they had talked about it originally. They couldn't live in separate countries. It just didn't seem right.
Jessie smiled, "Only if they can have a city named London filled with lofts with ranches outside of it."
"We could start a new kind of town." They both knew they were being silly now, but it frightened both girls to think of being that far from their best friend.
Katie drew another circle lightly. "In London or over here?" The circle became a 'J' and soon Katie was tracing the blonde's own name on her arm.
"Both," Katie replied easily. Jessie smiled again, noting the change of the shape of the letters, but still not minding.
"I like that."
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The door to the attic slammed suddenly as Grace walked up the stairs two at a time. Guiltily, both girls rushed away from one another. "God, you two are jumpy."
"Hi Grace," Jessie answered smoothly, ignoring her step-sister's curious glance. They hadn't been doing anything. Innocent until proven guilty.
"They're here." 'They' being Sarah and Tad, of course.
"Thanks Grace," Jessie smiled again, quickly brushing by her step-sister.
"Bye Grace," Katie looked just as guilty as Grace's younger step-sister as she rushed by, but Grace decided to let it go. She planned on going downstairs for a while. She and Eli were the only two home again.
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"How come we only go on double-dates, Jess?" That was Tad. They had settled down into their seats at the movie theatre again, this time it was a romantic comedy. Amazingly, Tad had agreed to go to it. Then again, it was him against three girls, and last time it was a horror movie…So, he had lost that round.
Jessie thought for a moment. "We went on that walk last weekend and ate breakfast."
"It was brunch." Tad pointed this out. Not that Jessie cared, of course. She simply shrugged.
"It was waffles and pancakes. Breakfast. All-day breakfast."
"True, but we still ended up being with Sarah and Katie." He glanced at the other girls, around Jessie. It was him, Jessie, Katie, then Sarah, in the seating. "No offense." They didn't hear him anyway, because they had their own conversation going on.
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"Do you always go on a double-date with them to the movies?" Sarah glanced at the other two, on their own date and in their own conversation.
"Yeah," Katie chuckled at Sarah's expression. "It's a good thing that movies change every week." Another chuckle. "I was kidding. We do go to movies a lot, but we go bowling and stuff to. We're not that boring."
Sarah smiled. "I never said you were boring. You could never be boring." Katie blushed. Flattery could get you anywhere and everywhere.
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"Are you cold?" Tad had glanced at his girlfriend, only to see her flinch. He thought it was about the cold theatre, not knowing it was of Katie and Sarah's conversation.
"A little," she admitted, and then suddenly Tad's arm was wrapped around her shoulders, warming her.
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"I bet that it's really going to be the guy's friend in bed with her. He wouldn't cheat on her." Katie was whispering to Sarah the events that were going to happen in the movie…just like she had done a week earlier to Jessie. That struck a cord within the young blonde who happened to hear it.
"Yeah right," Sarah rolled her eyes, only to take back her words a few minutes later. "Oh wow. You're good."
Jessie wormed her way into the conversation, still whispering. "You do romantic comedies too?"
Katie glanced at Jessie and flashed a grin. "I do all movies. I'm just amazing."
"You are amazing." Sarah mumbled, and both other girls stared at her. "I mean," she scrambled furiously for words. "You do other kinds of movies too?"
"Oh yeah, horror movies…" Katie nodded solemnly.
"I'm so bringing you to a horror movie." Jessie had to suppress a rolling of her eyes at that. Sarah was just too flirtatious for her liking with Katie.
Katie winked at her girlfriend. "I'm glad I'm good for something." Sickeningly sweet. But, they were silenced, thankfully, by Tad and the usher who glared at the three of them.
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"I have to use the bathroom." Jessie whispered to Tad. And he relinquished her from under his arm. Katie and Sarah immediately listened in to their whispers.
"Jess, you okay?" Tad didn't want his girlfriend going home sick again. The truth was, she couldn't stand watching Katie and Sarah anymore. They had just started to hold hands again.
"It's just the bathroom, Tad." He looked at her curiously. "I'll be right back."
"Actually," Katie paused to look at her girlfriend and to quietly let go of her hand. "I'll go with you. I have to go to the bathroom too." Sarah knew that they were best friends, but it seemed like Katie only liked her until Jessie had to leave. Katie was almost too eager to follow. "I'll be back," she promised.
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"Billie, what's wrong?" The girls had been quiet until they reached the bathroom. Neither girl actually had to go to the bathroom, but Jessie ran some water and washed her hands.
Jessie glanced at her, trying to look menacing. "What are you Tad now?"
"Jess! You know Tad would never call you Billie." It may work on Tad, but Katie saw right through Jess when she tried to be angry and scare people away. She didn't like to talk about things out loud sometimes. "Now what's wrong?"
"Nothing," the blonde washed her hands a second time.
"Is it about me?" Katie pestered her while Jessie dried her hands on a paper towel.
"No," Jessie promised, but for some reason she had the childish urge to cross her fingers as she said this.
"And my dating Sarah?" Katie hopped onto the counter top, next to a sink after deciding that it was clean there. She sat there, still talking to Jessie, asking her the same kind of questions. She had to admit it sometime. There was something wrong.
"No," Jessie glanced at Katie and dropped her paper towel into the garbage. Katie was so self-centered, thinking Jessie's problems were always about her. Not that there was a problem.
"Are you sure?" The older girl quirked an eyebrow at her best friend.
Jessie crossed her arms uncomfortably. "Why are you trying to be a therapist? I already have one of those. I don't need any more of them."
"Billie, come on." Jessie was biting out her words, but Katie easily saw through them. She knew that something was going on more than ever now. That's why Jessie was so defensive.
"I just," the blonde looked at the other girl, desperately trying to avoid the thoughts that were running though her mind. "Katie," Jessie knew that the little syrup man would be glaring at her for rambling if he was there. "I don't want you to date Sarah."
"Why not?" Katie didn't expect that one. Well, at least not like that. "Did she say something to you?"
"No, she's fine. She's great. She really likes you." Jessie rolled her eyes, embarrassed and rambling and starting to feel a bit sorry for herself. She was in a miserable state of mind at this point.
Katie furrowed her eyebrows, a bit confused. "Is it about Tad?"
"No, Tad's fine. He, well, he really likes me." Jessie was trying not to lie. Though, she was also trying not to ramble, and Katie was just sitting there on the counter looking at her. Katie was biting her lip a bit nervously even, and it was all Jessie could do to not run her finger along it, to get the girl to release her bite. It wasn't good for her lips, to bite them like that.
"It's not about Tad, I promise." And then Jessie's feet had a mind of their own, walking over to Katie. They placed her strategically between Katie's legs. She had moved them a bit apart because she had been swinging them. The swinging stopped as soon as the blonde stood there. Jessie's finger seemed to team up with her feet because it was suddenly running itself along Katie's lip, and Katie looked a bit curious, but the biting stopped, and it was almost better. "It's about," but it wasn't quite there yet. So, Jessie allowed herself to indulge in the moment and her lips were pressing forward against Katie's for a moment. "It's about us." She whispered the sentence and then Katie and Jessie found themselves pressing closer again, kissing again.
"You have a boyfriend." Katie didn't want to break the moment, but it was true.
"I know," Jessie whispered, and she knew that it would have been the perfect time to break away. They could easily say that nothing had happened, just avoid talking of that kiss, and eventually it may turn into something they could laugh about when they lived in London on a ranch together. Together. It sounded so nice, and Jessie couldn't ignore the moment that was quickly passing between herself and Katie. She wanted to indulge some more. Katie didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Perhaps her lips had a mind of their own as well, because they were pressing back against Jessie's fervently.
"I have a girlfriend." A breathless Katie was still shocked at what had just happened. She didn't think that she would ever wind up kissing Jessie, let alone kissing her in a bathroom while she a date in the movie theatre.
"I know," Jessie whispered back, and she did know. She hadn't thought that moment would ever come either. Now that it had, she wasn't sure what to do about it. Not that they had much of a choice in the matter of what to do. Their dates were waiting, and their movie was still playing.