April—Chaos
Castle sat, alone on Kate's balcony, looking over the skyscrapers at the sunset. His hair was clumped with pieces of chocolate cake, his face covered with frosting. In fact, his entire body looked like he'd been attacked by a giant birthday cake, which he had (sort of).He didn't care, though; nothing else really mattered but what had happened earlier.
X_X
Castle woke up that morning, excited for his birthday—like every year. He dressed himself in a red plaid button down over his favorite green lantern t-shirt, a pair of his favorite, and well-worn, jeans, and his red converse—which were beginning to feel too tight. He didn't care though, because it was his birthday and he couldn't be happier. His mother always made him a special breakfast on his birthday and today would be no different.
Grabbing his backpack and his old jester hat, Castle made his way out into the kitchen, where Martha sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. She didn't even look up when he walked in, so Castle decided to announce himself.
"Good morning, Mother!" Castle exclaimed, sitting down across from her. Martha glanced up at him, before going straight back to her paper.
"Good morning, Richard dear," she said, absently. Castle sat there, waiting for her to say something else, but she didn't.
"Mother?" Martha looked up. "Isn't there something you'd like to say to me?" Martha shrugged. "Like maybe…'Happy Birthday, my one and only child, whom I love so very much'?"
"Oh," Martha said, her eyes widening a fraction, "is it April 1st already?"
Castle gave her a look. "Uh, yeah!" he said. "Not quit joking! Where's my breakfast?"
"There's cereal in the cupboard," Martha replied, her eyes going straight back to her paper. Castle's face fell and he stood up, grabbing his backpack and placing his jester hat on his head.
"Never mind," he said, softly, "I'm not hungry." With that, he left.
X_X
School wasn't any better. Usually, on his birthday, Lanie and Kate would greet him at his locker with a batch of cupcakes, noisemakers hanging from their lips. But today…there was nobody. Lanie was at Esposito's locker, giggling at something he said, and Kate was…well, Castle presumed that she was with Demming, yucking it up as well.
He still thought that, maybe, they would surprise him by having put something in his locker (Kate was a master at picking locks) but there was nothing there but his history and science textbooks. Castle sighed and removed his jester hat, shoving them into his locker and slamming the door closed. He was about to turn around when he felt a pair of hands cover his eyes. They were small and slender, so there was no way they belonged to Esposito. For one fleeting moment, Castle hoped they belonged to Kate, but that hope died once he heard the voice.
"Guess who?" Kyra was horrible at disguising her voice; it was always high no matter what she tried to do with it.
"Um…Idina Menzel?" Castle jokingly guessed. "No! No! Kristin Chenoweth!"
Kyra moaned. "You are such a Broadway geek," she sighed, shaking her head. Castle turned around, grinning.
"Blame my mother," he said, pulling her in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. For some reason, Castle still didn't feel comfortable kissing Kyra on the lips; he'd rather kiss her cheeks, or her forehead on occasion, but he had yet to connect their lips. Kyra didn't seem to mind it, though. There would be plenty of time for kisses later.
"Happy birthday!" Kyra exclaimed, hugging him, tightly. Castle grinned.
"You know you're the first person to say that to me today?" he said. "My own mother forgot."
"Oh, well, she probably has a lot on her mind," Kyra defended, "but I don't. So, what do you want to do today?"
"I kind of have school, actually," Castle said, cheekily. Kyra rolled her eyes.
"After that, Silly!"
"I dunno," Castle said, "since first grade, I've always hung out with Kate, Lanie, and the boys, but I'm not sure if even they remember."
"Oh, they probably do," Kyra insisted, "they just need a little reminding is all."
"I shouldn't have to remind them," Castle huffed. "We've been friends for five years already; they should remember themselves."
"Remember what?" Javi's voice startled Castle, making him jump. He turned around to see his friend standing there with his arm around Lanie's waist, one brow lifted.
"It's a very special day," Kyra said, looking pointedly towards Castle, then back to Javier. Javier nodded.
"Yeah, I know," he said. Castle visibly relaxed, smiling. "It's April Fool's Day!" Javi continued, grinning. Castle's face fell and Javi laughed. "Relax, bro, I'm kidding; I know it's your birthday. Lanie and I were just coming over to invite you to Kate's after school."
Castle's eyes widened. "You….are you sure Kate would be alright with that?" he asked.
Javier gave him a confused look. "Yeah, man; why wouldn't she be?"
Castle shrugged. "No reason. I just…I wouldn't like somebody inviting somebody else over to my house without my permission."
"Well, it's not without her permission, actually," Javier said. "Kate told me to invite you; she also said you can bring your girl there. So, you in?" Castle glanced at Kyra, who smiled and nodded. He turned back to Javi.
"We're in."
X_X
School went by quickly after that and, before he knew it, Castle was knocking at Kate's door, Kyra hanging off his arm. When she answered, she was grinning.
"Happy birthday, Castle!" she exclaimed, stepping forward and throwing her arms around his waist, thoroughly shocking Castle. He stiffened for a moment before reciprocating; this was the most contact he'd had with Kate in over a month. He thought he felt Kyra tighten her hold on him for a moment, but that may have been his imagination.
"Thanks, Kate," he said, once they'd pulled back. They locked eyes for a moment, but Kyra cleared her throat and they both looked away, blushing.
"Come on in, Writer Boy," Kate said, "everybody's already here."
Castle thanked her and stepped inside, Kyra still holding tightly to his arm. Javi and Kevin were sitting in the living room, controllers in their hands as they played HALO, shouting insults and obscenities at each other, while shoving and literally butting heads.
"Guys, Castle's here!" Kate exclaimed.
The boys paused their game, looked up, nodded, said, "What's up?" and then went right back to their game. Castle chuckled and shook his head.
"Where's Lanie?" he asked as he glanced around, noticing that the darker-skinned girl wasn't anywhere to be found.
Suddenly, she popped out from behind the kitchen counter. "Right here!" she said, making Castle squeak. He attempted to hide it with a cough but the girls were not fooled. Lanie placed a tray of cupcakes on the counter, still unfrosted, her leg kicking the oven shut behind her. "Happy birthday, Sweetie!" she said, coming around the corner and pulling him down by the collar before she planted a smacking kiss on his cheeks, making Castle blush and worry. Javier, however, didn't even glance up and Kyra seemed not to mind in the least, which Castle thought odd but he didn't comment on it.
"So what do you guys have planned for the night?" Castle asked, looking all around at his friends.
"Well," Lanie said, "Kate and I are gonna start decorating the cupcakes and you can go play video games with the boys—BOYS, YOU BETTER LET HIM PLAY—and then we'll work on ordering dinner. What do you want, anyway?"
"Oh, well, I don't have much money so—"
"No money needed, Sweetie," Lanie said, smiling softly, "it's on us tonight, Birthday Boy."
"Oh, well, in that case I would love some lobster, some caviar, ooh filet mignon, uh some OW APPLES! APPLES!" Kate grabbed him by the ear and tugged, glaring at him and making the tall boy whimper like a pup. When she let go, he cowered behind Kyra, who laughed, shaking her head. "Oh second thought," he said, "Thai would be nice."
"Thai it is," Kate nodded, rolling her eyes. "Kyra, would you like to help with the cupcakes?"
Kyra nodded. "Definitely!" she exclaimed, smiling as she gave Castle a kiss on his cheek and joined the girls in the kitchen. Nobody but Lanie noticed the way Kate averted her gaze at the simple show of affection, but she didn't bother say anything, knowing that her friend would just deny it.
Castle, meanwhile, joined the boys on the couch, grabbing a controller and waiting to join the game.
Soon enough, all three of the boys were yelling and pushing each other, shouting curses at the characters on the screen, while the girls put the finishing touches on the cupcakes, arranging them to look like a full cake, one candle in each to symbolize each year he'd been alive. The girls had frosted them with a myriad of different colors and patterns, all locking together in a rainbow of cake and frosting.
When the 'cake' was all put together, Kate grabbed her phone to order in the Thai, remembering every person's preference and ordering extra Mee Krab for Castle; his favorite. Then she turned to ask Kyra what she preferred, the girl simply ordered fried rice.
"You don't want anything else?" Kate asked. Kyra shook her head.
"I'm not big on takeout, actually," Kyra said.
"Oh…ok," Kate said, frowning. She'd never met anybody who didn't like takeout, especially somebody so close to Castle who practically lived on takeout when he didn't have a nanny around to cook for him and his mother.
She didn't comment on it, though, and instead placed their order, before sitting down next to Lanie at the counter.
"So, Kate," Kyra asked, suddenly, "where are your parents?"
"Oh, well Mom's working late and Dad's out of town for some high-profile client," Kate answered.
"That sounds interesting," Kyra said, sweetly, "what do they do?"
"They're both lawyers," Kate replied, smiling proudly. "Good lawyers."
"Nice that Rick knows a couple of good lawyers," Kyra joked, "I have a feeling he might need them one day."
"What do you mean?" Lanie asked.
"Oh, you know Rick!" Kyra giggled. "He always has to cause mischief everywhere he goes! He's bound to get himself in trouble one of these days."
The girls laughed, nodding in agreement. They talked like that for the next half an hour until there was a knock at the door. Kate stood and grabbed her purse from the kitchen table, taking out the twenty that her mother had left her before collecting another ten from Lanie, and stepping in front of the boys' game, much to their chagrin. She stuck her hand out to them and they each rolled their eyes, pulling out their own money and shoving it at her, before looking around her at the game. Castle just laughed, shaking his head.
Kate made her way to the door, only to be stopped by Kyra, who handed her a twenty.
"Oh, you don't have to—" Kate started.
"I want to," Kyra said, interrupting her. "I was gonna take Rick out for dinner anyway; this is actually much less than I thought I was going to spend."
Kate smiled at her, thankfully, and accepted the money, before turning to the door, her smile vanishing.
X_X
They ate their dinner at the kitchen table, Kate having confiscated the boys' controllers and, with help from Lanie, pulling them towards the table to sit.
As they talked and made jokes, Kate couldn't help but glance over at where Castle sat, his arm slung around Kyra's shoulders. She tried to ignore the pang she felt in the center of her chest when one of them leaned over to kiss the other's cheek or they shared a look, but it was futile. Lanie noticed this, once again, and reached under the table, grasping her hand and giving her a sympathetic look. Kate didn't try to hide her feelings from her friend—it was useless where Lanie was concerned—and instead smiled in thanks.
Finally, they were done with dinner and Kate was able to bribe the boys into cleaning the table while she and Lanie retrieved the cupcakes and matches, placing them on the table in front of Castle, who smiled up at her in thanks. She smiled back and they shared another look, which didn't go unnoticed by Kyra, who cleared her throat quite loudly. They glanced away at that moment and Kate backed away with excuses about forgotten plates and silverware.
When she returned, Lanie and Kyra were lighting the candles and had just finished when she set everything down on the table.
"Kev, hit the lights!" Kate ordered and Kevin flicked the light switch, covering them all in darkness, but for the candles that illuminated Castle's excited face. Kate couldn't help but grin at his boyish wonder, his blue eyes made brighter by the flames.
"Happy birthday to you," the singing started around her, shocking Kate out of her thoughts as she joined in, placing one hand on Castle's shoulder…which was immediately brushed off my Kyra's more slender hand. Kate frowned but kept singing, forcing a smile. "Happy birthday to you; Happy birthday, dear Castle; Happy birthday to you!"
Castle blew out the candles as everybody clapped. Once there was nothing but smoke, Kevin flipped the lights back on and everybody began grabbing the cupcakes, handing Kate all the candles, which she placed in a plastic bag for the next birthday.
Castle noticed that she was avoiding his eyes as she did this and excused himself to follow her to the cupboard. Kyra frowned but she didn't put up a fight, allowing him to go.
Kate had just placed the candles in the cupboard and turned around, only to walk straight into Castle's chest. "Oh, sorry Castle," she mumbled, trying to step around him. Castle stopped her and she sighed. "What do you want, Castle?" She didn't even try to hide the pain in her voice this time, causing him slight alarm.
"Hey," he said, softly, lifting her chin so that she would look him in the eyes, "what's wrong?" This was the most serious she'd ever seen him, his blue eyes no longer sparkling with mirth, but searching and clouded with worry.
She shook her head, dislodging his fingers and finally got past him, striding away, not saying anything as she made her way to her room, slamming the door behind her. Lanie's eyes widened and she turned to Castle, stomping towards him.
"What in the hell did you do?" she demanded, her eyes livid. Castle's eyes widened further.
"I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed. "I just asked her what was wrong and she….I….she just….I have no idea!"
Lanie searched his eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "You really don't, do you?" she said, shaking her head as she followed Kate's trail to her bedroom, knocking on the door and gaining immediate entrance when she assured Kate that it was just her. Castle watched in confusion, before it dawned on him what was going on here. He turned back to Kyra, who seemed to have been completely oblivious to everything, but Castle knew her better than that.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, before making his way over to her. "Hey, Kyr," he said, "I think we need to talk….in private." Kyra furrowed her brow, but nodded, picking up her cupcake and following him to the balcony, while Kevin and Javier watched, shaking their heads before going back to their game (Kevin had found the controllers in the bathtub).
They were halfway through their first round of Mario Kart when they heard shouting, from Kyra's side, then Castle's yelp of surprise, and then the door sliding in as a livid Kyra stomped in, making a beeline straight for the door. She slammed it closed after her.
Kevin and Javier shared a shocked look before turning to look through the screen door at Castle, whose hair was clumped with pieces of cupcake and bits of frosting, instantly surmising what had happened. Then another door opened and they turned to see Kate and Lanie emerging from Kate's room.
"What in the hell…?" Lanie asked, looking towards the boys. They pointed to the front door, then to the balcony, where Castle was facing away from them. Kate's eyes widened.
"Is that…frosting…in his hair?" she asked, looking at the boys, who nodded solemnly.
Kate frowned, taking a deep breath, before turning to Lanie. "Do you think I should…?"
Lanie nodded, shoving her towards the balcony door. Kate took a deep breath and walked towards him, sliding open the screen door and stepping outside. Castle didn't even turn around, his shoulder drooped as he leaned on the balcony.
"Castle?" Kate said, tentatively reaching for him. She laid one hand on his shoulder, grimacing as she felt the frosting that was caked on his shirt. Castle turned to look at her over his shoulder.
"Hey," he replied, sadly, "are you okay?" His eyes were now alight with concern.
"Are you okay?" she asked, motioning towards the mess on his face and in his hair.
Castle shrugged. "I'm fine, I guess," he said, "at least I have a snack for later." Kate snorted, rolling her eyes as she nudged him.
"You're such a goof," she murmured, leaning against the railing next to him.
"No," Castle said, "not a goof; an April Fool!" he grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes again, shaking her head.
They were silent for a moment, just watching the sunset, until Kate spoke up. "So, what happened?" she asked.
"We broke up," Castle stated simply, not really wanting to go into it. Kate still pushed.
"Why?" she asked.
"You should know why," Castle grumbled back.
"How should I know?" Kate asked, exasperated. "Castle, you've been ignoring me for the past two months now, so there was no indication that—"
"You've been with Demming," Castle spit the words out like acid. "You didn't need me."
Kate sighed. "Actually," she spat back, "I broke up with Tom two weeks ago, which you would have known had you even bothered to pay attention." This shut Castle up for a few moments before he asked, "Why?"
Kate sighed. "Because we have nothing in common," she said, "and because I found out he was a liar."
"What do you mean?" Castle asked, feigning surprise. Kate lifted her brow at him, but his face didn't betray anything. She sighed.
"I know you wrote the letters, Castle," she said. "Only you can write something that beautiful and cheesy at the same time." She nudged him.
"So, then why did you go out with him?" Castle asked.
Kate shrugged. "Because," she said, "you were with Kyra; I thought you'd gotten over me and getting me together with Tom was just another sign. Also, he may have had me fooled for the first week or two. But then I realized something."
"What?" Castle asked, looking down at her.
"Tom absolutely sucks at writing," Kate groaned. Castle snorted.
"That's not surprising," he said. "He's in remedial English."
"Yeah, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner," Kate sighed, "but even after I realized that he wasn't the one who'd written all my Secret Cupid poems, I stayed with him. I figured he was better than being alone, especially now that Lanie has Espo and you have—had Kyra. I just didn't want to be the fifth wheel."
"You know Lanie and I would never let that happen," Castle assured her. "Neither would Esposito. If anything, Kevin's always been the fifth wheel." Kate punched his shoulder and he squeaked, pouting as he rubbed the offended area. "Geez!" Castle groaned. "How are those kickboxing classes going, by the way?"
Kate chuckled. "Pretty good," she answered. "I just got my greenbelt."
"Awesome," Castle said, grinning proudly. Kate smiled back, blushing slightly, before turning her head towards the skyscrapers in the distance, lit up now that the sun had disappeared over the horizon. They stood there in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's company.
Then Castle spoke. "So what happens now?" he asked.
"I think you should go home and take a shower, don't you?" Kate replied, easily, grinning up at him. Castle snorted.
"That's not what I meant," he said, a serious tone to his voice. Kate sighed, looking up into his eyes.
"We go back to being friends," Kate said, "just friends."
"But, Kate, I-"
"I know, Castle," Kate said, "but…you just broke up with Kyra and I just broke up with Tom and…and no matter why we were with them in the first place, we shouldn't really be…you know…" Castle sighed, nodding in agreement. "Hey," Kate said, catching his eye, "we're only twelve years old, Castle; we have plenty of time. For right now, just be my friend, okay?"
Castle nodded, smiling, before reaching for her and pulling her into a hug. Kate squeaked as he transferred some of the frosting on his face to hers. "Castle! Stop!" she exclaimed, but he just rubbed his face and then his hair all over hers until releasing her and running into the apartment, Kate right on his tail.
"This isn't over!" she shouted at him, chasing him through the apartment. Castle grabbed a cupcake from the table and poised to throw it at her. Kate glared at him.
"You wouldn't dare," she hissed. He grinned evilly at her.
"Try me," he challenged. Kate made a run for the kitchen, grabbing the last, unopened, squeeze tube of icing and aiming it at him like a weapon. They stared at each other for a couple of moments before Castle launched the cupcake at her, hitting Kate square in the mouth, causing her eyes to widen in shock—she hadn't expected him to actually throw it at her. Her eyes narrowed and she licked the frosting from her lips before uncapping the tube in her hand and squeezing it hard, sending a stream of red frosting right at him.
"AAGH!" Castle shouted. "I've been shot! This is war, Beckett!"
"Bring it, Rodgers!" Kate called back as they continued to pelt each other with frosting and cupcakes. It wasn't long until Lanie and the boys were joining in as well and then they were just five kids running around, making a mess and laughing their asses off in the process.
So, just a little side note. I do really treasure your input and suggestions, and some I have even been known to take but I already have everything planned out for this story in my head so I won't take things that are too drastically different but I still appreciate them, I swear. Also, with the age thing; my sister had a boyfriend from the time she was nine until she was thirteen, so relationships at this age are relatively normal. I've actually been asking her about what sixth grade was like for her and her friends as research for this because she went through it more recently and this is what came out of it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this longer than normal chapter and I hope you REVIEW!