I'm ba-ack! Sorry I've been away but my hard drive was fried so I had to get it fixed =/. But I'm back and I've got a good one for you. Enjoy!
December—Remy's
"I'm telling you, man," Kevin said, shaking his head as he and Javier led the group into Remy's, "nuns are scarier than Freddy Krueger!"
"They can't be that bad, bro," Javi retorted, rolling his eyes. "They're just broads in veils, right? What can they do to you?"
"They're married to God!" Kevin squeaked. "They can send me straight to hell if they want!"
"You're overreacting," Javi said, brushing him off as he removed his coat and hung it on one of the coat racks next to the door with his scarf.
"Yeah? Well, we'll see who's where after we die, won't we?" Kevin shot back, hanging his coat up next to Javi's.
Kate walked past, arm in arm with Lanie, and rolled her eyes, shooting her friend a look as they sat down. Castle ambled after them, sitting across from the girls in the corner booth. Javi and Kevin followed, sitting down next to him as they waited for the waiter.
"So what's everybody doing for vacation this year?" Castle asked, looking around the table.
"Mama's takin' us all down to St. Louis to visit Nan and Pop and all my annoying little cousins. You?" Lanie answered.
"Mother is going to be in a production of A Christmas Carol, so I'll be spending most of my vacation either backstage, schooling her cast mates in poker, or with whichever nanny she manages to hire for the week. Fun," he added sarcastically.
"I ain't goin' nowhere," Javi said.
"You are not going anywhere," Castle corrected. Javi shot him a glare.
"Anyway," he grumbled, "my aunties are coming to visit with their little ankle-biters. I'll probably be spending the entire week off at the Y, playing basketball and all that. Gotta work on making Varsity next year."
"Gonna have to work hard, Skinny," Kate joked. Javi frowned at her.
"Who you callin' skinny?" he asked, frowning.
"Just the thing with noodle arms in front of me," Kate teased. She laughed as Javi stuck his tongue out at her.
"So what are you doing for break, Miss Beckett?" Javi asked.
"Same thing we do every year," Kate replied, "going up to the cabin with my grandparents. Nothing special. What about you, Kev?" Kate asked, turning to her youngest and, still, smallest friend.
He shrugged. "Molly's coming back from college with her boyfriend, Darren, and Megan invited her friend, Lucy, and her parents over so things might get interesting." Kevin had told everyone else about her sister's ambiguous friend, and about how he'd caught them cuddling on the couch one day when he got home from school and they'd jumped apart like they were doing something bad. Megan hadn't confirmed it yet, but Kevin already knew what was bound to come.
"So everybody's having a more or less normal holiday, some better than others," Castle said, nodding. "Now that that's settled, let's see if we can get the waiter over here. Garçon!" A waiter nearby walked over, flipping open his notepad.
"What can I get you?"
After everybody had ordered, Kate's eyes widened and she stood up. "We'll be right back," she said, dragging Lanie along behind her. The boys didn't notice anything weird about this; the girls always visited the bathroom together.
A couple of minutes later, Lanie came out of the bathroom. "Can I borrow some money?" she asked, looking around the table. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can, but I need some right now."
"Why?" Javier asked, reaching into his pocket for some cash.
"I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you, and then Kate would still kill me," Lanie replied, rolling her eyes. "Let's just say it's an emergency and leave it at that." Suddenly both Kevin and Castle's eyes widened.
"Ohhhhh," they echoed, grimacing. Javier glanced between them.
"What?" he asked. "What is it?"
Castle shook his head, giving him a look that said, 'you don't want to know' and stood up, pulling his backpack with him as he pulled Lanie aside.
"What does she need?" Castle asked, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a few feminine products. "Does she know how to use either of these?" He held up a pad and a tampon, shielding both with his body so that the boys, and everybody else, wouldn't be able to see what he was holding.
Lanie's eyes widened at him. "Why do you have these?" she asked, baffled.
"I grew up with a single mother and a bunch of other actresses who used to stock these by the pound in their dressing rooms. My mother always made sure that we were equipped," he explained, shrugging. "I also have some ibuprofen if she needs it and some migraine medication," he offered up the two small baggies of pills he kept with him. Lanie just grinned, taking a pad and the baggie of ibuprofen from him and running past him into the bathroom.
When she came back out, Kate was on her heel, looking paler than usual and completely miserable. Lanie handed Castle back his pain killers and Javi back his money before sliding in next to her friend.
Kate looked at Castle and gave him a small, grateful smile; her cheeks tinged a light pink. Javi looked between them, still confused. "Okay," he said, "what isn't everybody telling me?"
"Shut it, Javi," Kate growled, shocking even herself. She didn't feel like apologizing, though, and almost felt bad for it. Almost.
"What did I—" Kevin gave him a warning nudge in the side, shaking his head once he'd gotten his attention. Javier got the message and shut his mouth before he was punched by the annoyed-looking Kate.
Less than two minutes later, the waiter arrived with their food, placing everything down in front of them. The kids smiled gratefully before digging in; some more enthusiastically than others.
"Geez, Kate!" Javi exclaimed. "Slow down and breathe a while, why don't ya!"
Kate looked up at him, her mouth full of burger, a death glare fixed on her face. Lanie shook her head.
"Boy, if she don't smack you, I'm gonna," she warned. "Now shut your big mouth and eat your food."
Javi did as he was told as the two other boys snickered into their own food. He glared at them but they ignored him.
When they were all done eating, Javier practically ran to retrieve Lanie's coat, helping her into it when he returned. Kevin made a whipping sound and Castle snickered, stopping at Javi's death glare.
He got into his own coat and didn't dare help Kate with hers, just staying out of her way as they made their way towards the door behind their friends. Suddenly, when they had just reached the doorway, Kate turned and grabbed Castle by the collar, pulling him down to her level and laying her lips over his, catching the much taller boy by surprise. Castle's eyes widened comically before closing as he fell into the kiss. But, as soon as it had started, it ended.
Castle had a dazed expression on his face when Kate pulled away and although her smile was victorious, Kate's cheeks were once again tinged an attractive pink, her braces catching the light and seeming to sparkle as she grinned, one eyebrow raised.
"Wh-what was that about?" Castle asked, his eyes wide.
Kate pointed up. "Mistletoe," she said as Castle's eyes latched onto the sprig above the doorway. "It's not a big deal, Castle," she said, winking at him as she walked out, leaving Castle standing there, dumbfounded.
What he doesn't know, however, is that the second Kate was outside, she put her fingers to her lips, feeling them tingle with sensation that she'd never felt before. She had no idea what it was about but she assumed it was just due to the fact that she'd just had her first kiss. That must've been it.
Right?
So, what do you think?
Also, please follow hazel_ventura on Twitter. She's a good friend of mine and she's awesome!