a/n: This is a call back to the night Kate, Sophie, and Melvin spent in the 'safehouse' from Curiouser and Curiouser that may or may not have been caught by many. Let me know if you did, though.

As mentioned previously, context from the rest of the series isn't required but encouraged.

Cheers,

EQT.95


Point Rock, First Term

A small smile graced Sophie's lips as she made out the quiet whispers of Kate from across the table.

"You're doing it again."

"What? Oh, sorry."

Sophie chuckled, not looking up from her notes.

"What are you working on?" Sophie asked.

"Uh… Lit."

Sophie smirked again, as though Kate was confirming some secret.

"Why?"

"Because you only mumble when you're focusing."

"I'm always focused," Kate bluffed.

Sophie was unable to restrain her laughter, earning a glare from adjacent studiers.

"Kate, we've been studying together all term. I think I can't tell when you're actually studying and when you're making a show of it."

Kate blanched in response. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sophie glanced up from her notes and gaped at Kate's face, misinterpreting it for insult.

"You could do half of this coursework in your sleep."

"So?"

"So it's only with courses like Lit where you actually need to focus. You rarely ever need to do that for Calculus."

Kate remained thoughtfully silent for a moment, as though considering Sophie's observations.

"It's kind of a weird habit," Sophie mused, abandoning her notes, now completely distracted by Kate's peculiarities. "You did it before Point Rock, right?"

"Uh, a bit?"

"When did it start?"

Kate faltered, suddenly flustered by the question. "Uh, when I was a kid, I think."

"What's your first memory of it? Like, did it start in school?"

"I… I don't know."

"Or maybe before that. Like, you picked it up when you started learning how to read."

"Not sure."

"Yea, but when was the first time someone mentioned it?"

"Can we not talk about this?" Kate asked, and Sophie was pulled away from her thoughts and noticed how utterly uncomfortable Kate suddenly looked.

"Oh, uh, sure. I… I'm sorry if… I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I just… it's fine."

Sophie nodded, letting silence fall between them. She watched Kate's attention return to her work, and spent the next few minutes pretending to ignore the fidgeting coming from Kate's side of the table. Sophie couldn't help but wonder if she'd just made Kate self-conscious when she practically confirmed it a minute later:

"I'm gonna call it a night. I'll see you back in the dorm," Kate said suddenly, grabbing her materials together.

"Ok," Sophie replied, trying her hardest not to let on that she thought she caused Kate's calling it an early night.

Sophie arrived back to 419 a few hours later. She crept into the darkened room, not wanting to wake Kate from her sleep. She tiptoed around, slipping her bag from her shoulder to the spot next to her desk before navigating around to collect her toiletries. Once done, she quietly pulled the door open and shot a glance toward Kate's bed: she was lying on her back, tucked under her oversized comforter, one hand exposed, draped over her stomach. The pose struck Sophie as odd, a bit unfamiliar for Kate who was typically curled into a tight ball, burrowing deep under the blankets. She set the observation aside and stepped off to the bathroom.

She returned with the same stealth, setting the lock before crawling into bed, giving her phone a final check to ensure tomorrow's alarm was set.

She rolled onto her side, facing Kate's side of the room. As her eyes adjusted, she could just make out the untidiness of it. While Kate wasn't the cleanest of people, she certainly wasn't the worst plebe in the dormitory. Wilfred Hall was a whole other animal, and she couldn't help but thank whatever luck was involved that handed her Kate as a roommate.

"The therapists said it was a coping mechanism."

The voice startled Sophie. It took her half a moment to process the words Kate had just said. Instead of responding she let Kate control the silence.

"Uhm, when Beth… after Beth died, everything was suddenly so quiet. I had never… I'd never felt so much silence. The apartment was so… empty. She had always been there; she'd always been a constant. A friend, a companion, a… a playmate. And then one day she wasn't. That constant was gone."

Sophie remained quiet, taking in Kate's private confession. She'd heard that Kate's sister and her mom had died. It was first said in passing by someone in their class and confirmed that same night by Kate. A part of her knew she could easily look up the specifics, but she waited until Kate brought it up. It felt perverse to read the intimate details of Kate's childhood in the black and white print of the Gotham Gazette. The full story had recently come to pass a week or two earlier. Like tonight, Sophie let Kate guide the story in her own way at her own pace.

After a brief moment Kate continued:

"Dad noticed it first. It was maybe a month after. Then Catherine heard me one night while I was doing my homework. She told me to stop. After the third time she told me to go work from my room. Eventually she had Dad take me to a therapist, and instead of trying to get me to stop, they just diagnosed it. They said I was subconsciously trying to fill the void; that I was trying to make up for the absence of Beth."

Sophie felt her eyes sting at Kate's words. There was an attempted casualness in the way Kate narrated, but after weeks together, Sophie was beginning to pick up on the nuanced ways Kate's voice inflected emotions. There was a longing in the way Kate shared the story that made Sophie want to travel back in time and hug this younger, lonely version of Kate.

"Uh, so… I guess I never really kicked the habit," Kate said, her tone apologetic. "I'll try to… I'll try to be better about it."

"No," Sophie said instantly and instinctively. "What? Kate, no, I… I love it. I mean, I don't…" she sighed, failing to articulate her thoughts. "Can I try that again?"

"S-sure?"

"I don't love why you do it. I didn't mean it like that. I meant that it's not a habit I hate or want you to change. I like that you do it."

"Really? But you… you always say something."

"Because it's cute. You're so focused and… honestly sometimes I feel like everything comes so easily to you that whenever I hear you muttering it's like a little reminder that you're a human. I didn't mean… It's sweet and kind of soothing and…I... honestly, I kind of hope you never stop doing it."

Sophie felt her cheeks burn at the admission but felt a small reward as she watched a smile creep across Kate's silhouette. Her head turned to face Sophie with the familiar grin, and suddenly the spell was broken. Whatever discomfort had existed was gone, and in its place was her roommate again.