"You're kidding!" Kate practically squealed as she grabbed Thorne's hand.
He winced when she squeezed a little too firmly on his splinted fingers.
"Whoops. Sorry." She looked abashed, but when Thorne gave her a reassuring smile that he was okay, she reached for her sketchbook excitedly.
Thorne leaned over her shoulder to try and catch what she was drawing, but she blocked his view and nudged him away with her elbow.
"I'll let you see in a minute."
Thorne righted himself and tapped his splint on the counter.
"That's not helping." Kate eyed him for a second before returning to her sketchbook, hunching even further.
Thorne let out a soft chuckle and slipped off of the stool he was sitting on. He made a slow lap around the bookshop, straightening book spines on the shelves as he passed by. It was the fourth day that week he had accompanied Kate to the bookstore after school. He had found that his loneliness was much more bearable when he wasn't actually alone.
When he got to the poetry section, he couldn't help but linger. He knew exactly where the K's were and ran his thumb against the spine of the last copy of Complete Poems of John Keats. He knew it was silly to pine after Cress, especially when he was the one avoiding her, but he just couldn't bring himself to face her. It was still all too raw, too painful.
He had been successful avoiding her and her friends that first Monday back until the last period bell rang. He had known it was going to be difficult to make it out of the school without passing Cress's locker, but when he finally saw her standing there in the hallway, he couldn't have predicted how tight his chest was going to feel or how quickly the heat would rise up his neck.
He shoved his books into his backpack and tried to blend into the crowd as he made his way down the hall. He kept his head down and his eyes fixed on his shoes, but even then, he was nearly six inches taller than most of the crowd shuffling towards the parking lot and slouching would only do so much. When he neared her locker, he noticed that Cress wasn't talking to her friends. In fact, she was standing a few feet away from them, clutching one of her textbooks, and looking for someone.
When he passed by her, he thought she had called his name, but he buried his face even lower and pretended to look for something in his backpack. He walked by without saying a single word or even acknowledging that he saw her. He hated himself for being so cruel, but before he could get out of earshot, a deep voice spoke up from behind him.
"Hey, Cress."
"Hi Kinney," she replied.
Thorne nodded his head in resignation. That was all the confirmation he needed. She wasn't looking for him and even if she were, how could he compete with the school's quarterback? Thorne had already been rejected once; he didn't think he could live through another one. He definitely couldn't face her then, and maybe not ever again.
He must have looked completely pathetic walking to his car because when he ran into Kate in the parking lot, she invited him to come to the bookshop with her. She worked evenings there and insisted it was a perfect place to get their homework done since it was usually quiet. Grateful again for Kate's friendship, Thorne agreed.
"Okay! You can come see now!" Kate called out from the front.
Thorne made his way over to her and found her clutching her sketchbook to her chest, a large beaming smile across her face. Thorne couldn't help but smile too.
"Ready?"
Thorne nodded.
"Tada!" Kate pushed the sketchbook into Thorne's hands and he looked down.
The two of them had been brainstorming all week on a new window display for the bookstore but nothing had come close to topping Kate's hot air balloon display. They had been talking about it all afternoon and when Kate brought up books about shipwrecks and the high seas, Thorne told her about the Rampion. Looking down at her drawing, it seems as though Kate had really liked the idea.
"I think I can build a curved and tiered bookshelf to line books on and make it look like a splashing wave. We'll cover a pedestal for the Rampion to make it look like it's navigating the high seas." Her voice got higher and higher as she got more excited. "Oh! And we can turn books into sea creatures!"
Thorne rubbed the back of his neck, slightly hesitant. "I dunno Kate, it's just that…that ship is really important and…"
"Oh, come on. Please?"
Thorne knit his eyebrows as Kate drew out her plea.
"I promise it'll be safe." Kate's eager brown eyes met his and she looked so excited that he couldn't say no.
He sighed. "Okay…but it's missing something."
Kate was practically dancing, but stopped to consider him. "What?"
Thorne tapped his thumb against his lips as he looked at Kate's drawings and it dawned on him. "You can't navigate the high seas without the stars."
The next day was a Friday and Thorne stood at his locker when the last bell rang, stuffing books into his backpack as usual, when someone walked up to him.
"Just give me a second, Kate," he said with his head buried in his locker.
"It's not Kate," came a familiar female voice.
Thorne turned around slowly and rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding the girl's gaze. "Hey Cinder."
"Hey yourself." She crossed her arms over her chest and Thorne took an instinctive step backwards, but jumped when he hit his locker.
"Um…what's up?" he asked, avoiding her steely gaze.
Cinder sighed and let her arms fall. "Are you okay?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Thorne finally met her eyes and he was surprised to see genuine concern.
"Well, we know what happened and you've been avoiding all of us."
Thorne nodded, but when he didn't say anything, Cinder pushed on.
"We really meant it, you know. When we said we're you're friends. You don't have to avoid us. Cress…Cress doesn't want you to avoid us."
"Cress doesn't want a lot of things." He hated that he sounded so bitter just then.
Cinder paused a moment. "Well, Cress does want to be your friend, and so do we. I get it, I do, but you don't have to shut us out. We don't want you to."
Cinder was right of course; Cress did want to be his friend. She had texted him Monday night to thank him for returning her hair pin and to see how he was doing. He had replied, telling her that he was busy with homework and when she followed up with a encouragement, he couldn't bring himself to answer. He had half-hoped that she would say goodnight, but was disappointed when she didn't. He knew he had only himself to blame for that.
Cress had continued to greet him in the hallways when she saw him at school, but Thorne had not been able to manage anything more than a nod or a simple hi in return and never met her eyes. By Thursday afternoon she had stopped any attempts to talk to him. He thought that was what he wanted, to be able to forget about her, but it had only made him feel worse.
He knew he was being unfair. Cress was being nothing but nice to him after everything, but his heart was still broken and he selfishly thought that if he could finally get over her, then he would have to resign himself to the fact that she wouldn't love him. He wasn't ready for that yet, but seeing Cinder stand in front of him now, he realized that he was also being unfair to her and the rest of the group. They had continued to be friendly towards him, but their association to Cress was just too hard for him to ignore. He didn't feel right giving them the cold shoulder, but it was the only way he was able to manage the ache in his heart.
Thorne nodded, deciding that it was time for him to stop avoiding the Rampion crew. "Thanks."
"You should come to the football game with us tonight. Pizza at Maha's afterwards too. You're always welcome."
"Thanks, but…I already have plans." He wondered if Cinder really believed him or if it just sounded like an excuse. Just then, Kate walked up.
"Hey Thorne, you ready?"
Cinder gave Kate a look. It wasn't unfriendly, but Thorne could tell that she was sizing her up. For what? Thorne didn't know, but he instantly felt uncomfortable again.
"Hi Cinder," Kate said.
"Hey. Kate, right?"
Kate nodded and smiled, then turned to Thorne with a raised eyebrow.
Thorne cleared his throat. "Right. Thanks Cinder, I'll see you around."
"Okay. Just…think about what I said."
Thorne gave Cinder a weak wave as she turned around and made her way back to her locker. Thankfully only Kai was there and Thorne wondered if he had witnessed their conversation.
"You ready?" Kate asked again, bringing Thorne's attention back to her.
"Yeah." He slammed his locker shut and they made their way towards his Jeep and to their brainstorming session on how to build the ambitious new window display.
The next morning, Thorne woke up at 6:00 A.M. to pick Kate up so they could go shopping for all of the supplies on Kate's detailed shopping list. She had also insisted that they needed to meet up early for a hearty breakfast at the diner across from the hardware store.
After filling up on way too many waffles drenched in syrup, they made their way across the street to pick up their supplies. Thorne was glad that Kate knew exactly what type of wood they needed to build her structures and was more than happy to let her do the talking as he pushed their flat cart around. When they were in the art supply store, he liked looking at all the different tubes of paint and marveled at all the different kinds of brushes. Thorne usually bought his supplies at the model shop and was amazed at the variety in front of him. Kate had to physically pull him away from the pen section as he examined pens imported from Japan. He made a mental note to return some day.
By the time they made it back to the bookstore, it was well past noon and Thorne was glad that Kate had forced him to share that second serving of waffles with her. They took a quick sandwich break and Thorne was offended to learn that Kate liked chunky peanut butter. He refused to listen to her reasons and they laughed until they were both gasping for air.
When it was time to build their wood structure, Thorne pulled his Jeep into the back alley behind the bookstore and they unloaded all their supplies. Thorne began to feel useless when he stood by and watched as Kate used a hand-saw to cut the 2x4's and the particle board needed for the bookshelves. With his hand still in a splint, all he could do was hold down the lumber while Kate operated the machinery. He silently thought it was probably the best move since it was obvious she knew what she was doing.
While Kate worked on nailing the structure together and giving it a coat of blue paint, Thorne was relegated to punching stars out of silver glitter card stock with a fancy star-shaped hole puncher that they had gotten at the art supply store. He also strung them with lengths of thin silver ribbon and he mused again about Kate's mysterious ribbon supply.
After they had finished their tasks and as they waited for the paint to dry on Kate's shelves, they made a trip back to Thorne's house to retrieve the Rampion. He appreciated how delicate Kate was being with the model ship as she helped him carry it out of the garage and loaded it into his Jeep.
As Thorne strapped the Rampion into it's harness, he thought about how odd it was that just two months ago, he had spent all of his free time alone with his model ship. It wasn't until his chance meeting with Cress at the park that he had swapped time with the Rampion with time with actual friends. He had decided the night before, after his conversation with Cinder, that he couldn't avoid the Rampion crew any longer and he had began to miss their company. It almost made him laugh out loud when he realized that most of his friends were pretty girls. He glanced over at Kate who smiled back at him.
He hadn't thought about it much up to that point, but looking at her now, he did find her attractive. Kate was taller than most of the girls at school, definitely taller than Cress and maybe even an inch or two taller than Cinder. She had thick, dark brown hair that she usually clipped back with a pin or pulled into a ponytail which made it impossible not to notice her warm brown eyes. She had olive skin and a small dimple in her chin that Thorne found quite charming. She was the complete opposite of Cress and Thorne didn't know what to make of it.
"Ready?" Thorne asked her when he was done strapping the Rampion in. She nodded, flashing him a bright smile.
They made their way back to the bookstore to finish their display.
It must have been the hundredth star he hung to the ceiling and Thorne's arm was getting sore. He and Kate had worked furiously to get the display set up for all the Saturday evening strollers that liked to wander the main street. It had taken some impressive maneuvering between them to get the Rampion positioned just right, but even Thorne was impressed at how nice it looked against the backdrop that Kate had built. They were now hanging the last of the stars and the more they added, the more excited Kate got.
There had already been a couple of people that evening that had come by and tapped on the window as they worked, giving approving nods and thumbs up. A lot of those people Thorne had recognized from school and he returned their waves, still not used to the attention he had been getting. He had expected to be the laughing stock of the school after the date with Cress, but there was no word of it. He had wondered if Cress had anything to do with the lack of gossip and was grateful for it either way.
When Thorne hung the last star, he clapped his hands excitedly and turned to Kate, hoping for one last squeal of excitement. She had been working behind him, perched on a ladder and adjusting the stars she was hanging, but instead of looking happy, she looked concerned.
Thorne realized she was looking past him and slowly turned around to look out of the bay window and on to the street. He didn't hear Kate's attempt to stop him before it was too late. His smile froze on his face when he met Cress's eyes looking back at him.
The combination of the street lamp outside, the window and the lights inside made Cress's face glow and the stars that hung above his head reflected back at him, making it look like Cress was surrounded by them. The memory of seeing that framed photo of a baby Cress asleep under glittering stars flashed in Thorne's head for a moment and his heart began to race.
Cress blinked and Thorne snapped out of his trance. She tilted her head upwards and someone leaned in to say something to her. Thorne's stomach plummeted when he saw that it was Kinney. They weren't holding hands, but it was evident that they were on a date. Cress was wearing a soft pink dress underneath a jean jacket and Kinney's fingers were hovering close to her wrist.
Thorne watched as Cress's gaze fell first onto Kate, then lingered on the Rampion, and then turned back up towards him. She gave him a small smile and a wave and her smile turned into a wide, genuine grin that revealed her dimples when Thorne waved back. The sight made his heart tense, but ease immediately.
It was the first time since the night of their date that he had really looked at her and it made his cheeks flush. Along with deciding he couldn't avoid Cinder, Kai, Wolf, and Scarlet forever, he knew that he couldn't avoid Cress forever either. Seeing her standing in front of him with Kinney, he realized that there was nothing he could do. She had decided to move on, and now he had to too. He wasn't entirely sure he could do it—his heart still raced when she saw her—but he had to try.
Cress gave him another small wave before turning to walk away. Thorne took a deep breath to steady himself, hopped off of the window display platform and jogged outside to catch up with her.
"Cress! Cress, wait."
Cress turned around, almost surprised to see him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hi, Thorne."
"Hey, man," Kinney greeted him.
"Hi," Thorne replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Um, Cress, can I talk to you for a second?" He turned to Kinney apologetically. "This will only take a moment."
Cress nodded and turned to Kinney.
"Sure. I'll just be over there…" Kinney gestured with his thumb and walked to the end of the block to give them some privacy.
Cress opened her mouth to say something, but Thorne interrupted her. "Cress, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I'm sorry I've been avoiding Cinder and Kai and Wolf and Scarlet. I really want us to still be friends, if you still want to."
Cress reached for his hand, but stopped herself. "Of course I want to. I'm sorry too, you know, about everything. But you don't have to apologize. I know things have been difficult. They have been for me too, but…" Her voice trailed as though she was trying to find the right words.
"We both have to move on," Thorne offered.
It took her a minute to look him in the eye. "Right." She glanced at the window display behind Thorne. "The display looks beautiful. The Rampion looks really great in there."
"I'm glad my quartermaster approves."
A grin spread across Cress's lips. "We missed you yesterday—at the football game and at Maha's. She asked about you."
"I never thought I'd say this, but I missed going to the football games with you guys too." Thorne rubbed the back of his neck.
Cress let out her tinkling laugh. "You should come with us next week. To Homecoming. To the game and the…dance. You and Kate." She gestured towards the window.
Thorne glanced back and saw Kate, still up on the ladder, adjusting a star that was hanging a bit too low. He suspected that she was watching them out of the corner of her eye. "Umm…yeah. Sure. I mean, I'll have to double check with her, but I'll let you know."
Cress nodded. "Of course. I better get back to Kinney."
"Right. Enjoy the rest of your date." Thorne thought he saw Cress bite her bottom lip, but when she smiled and waved bye to him, he decided it was just a trick of the light. He watched as Cress caught up with Kinney and had to turn away when Kinney took her hand.
Thorne slowly made his way back inside the bookstore and even though Kate was busying herself with the display, he knew she was dying to know what had happened. He told her about Cress's invite and she pondered it for a moment.
"That could be fun." She smiled, then sat up straight. "I mean, if you wanted to go."
Thorne had not thought about going to Homecoming with Kate. He had not thought about going to Homecoming, period, but seeing the smile on Kate's face, now, the idea didn't seem so absurd.
"Sure. I mean…if you do." A warmth began to crawl up Thorne's neck and he had to rub the back of it to keep the blush at bay. Was he really asking Kate to Homecoming?
Kate threw her head back in a laugh and Thorne was afraid she was going to topple off the ladder. When she righted herself, she smirked. "Okay."
AN: Thanks as always to lettered for being my beta.
