A Change in the Weather

A drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together.

The shrill of the lunch bell made Kate audibly let out a sigh of relief, gathering her books quicker than she had before, and ducking out of the classroom where most of her classmates still lingered. Biology never had been her strongest subject, she tended to zone out and imagine herself running through the woods, surrounded by the type of nature she could actually touch, rather than be lectured on mammal's reproduction habits.

Lunch brought with it it's own challenge, meeting new people. Laura introduced her to a group of people, quickly rattling of their names, a little too quickly for Kate. Once they had all settled onto a table Kate could feel her attention slipping, the all familiar feeling of detachment overtook her and she began staring into space, hoping to become invisible to the group she could already feel herself struggling to identify with, she'd always had this problem, struggling to find common ground with most people, mostly she found herself pretending to like things she certainly did not, she'd been to pop concerts of bands she couldn't stand, and to book readings of authors she deemed to be terrible.

Kate mentally shook herself as she realized she wasn't staring into empty space, but directly at a dark haired boy who was getting closer and closer, as he walked closer Kate noticed that he strikingly resembled her new classmate Laura, he had the same eyes, crystal blue and incredibly striking. Kate tried not to stare as the boy walked over to Laura and started talking, he was first and foremost, absolutely beautiful. No doubt about that. His jaw was exquisitely chiselled, flawless, and serious, very serious. He was talking quietly to Laura, who was sat a few feet away from Kate.

'If you're not going to be home straight after school Derek, I told you that I need your keys. Everyone will be out and I can't sit outside my own house for hours can I?' Laura was saying, an annoyed expression looking out of the ordinary on her usually serene face.

'And I told you that I don't trust you with my keys Laura, not after you lost them last time.' The boy retorted, looking amused. Kate guessed that the teasing was a usual occurrence. The boy must have sensed her gaze because he lifted his eyes up to hers, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

'Made a new friend Laura?' Laura made a frustrated sound. 'Be sure to run when you find out how strange my little sister is' This time he directed his comment directly at Kate, leaving her incapable of speech. He stared at her unflinchingly, for perhaps a second too long, dropped a set of house keys in front of Laura, walked across the cafeteria and exited through the double doors, most of the table watched him go, the girl next to Kate giggled quietly, she actually giggled.

Kate let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was keeping in, she tried to concentrate on Laura's chatter, which had now resumed in full force, and was apparently directed at some girl called Cathy. Kate's head was whirring, she was already vainly hoping she would run into Laura's brother again, Derek she had called him.
Kate fought with herself for the rest of the day, the more impulsive part of her wanted to catch a glimpse of the beautiful boy again, whilst the rational and considerate part of her wondered why on earth she was wasting her brain energy thinking about Derek Hale, after he'd spoken to her for all of ten seconds. Kate found herself wondering about Laura and Derek's relationship, did it resemble her's with Chris, strained to say the very least, with a lot of talking, but nothing really being said.

When she got home she was greeted by her brother parked in front of the TV, her father out working late, and mass amounts of boxes in her room, they definitely needed unpacking. Kate had been putting it off for over a week now, grabbing only the essentials each day, and trying to prevent her father from seeing inside her room, and realising how little progress she had made.

'K, dad left us money for take-out, I'm thinking Chinese?' Chris shouted up the stairs, his voice travelling easily in the small house.

'Sure, whatever' Kate called back, Chris always got his own way, and when he was being really clever, he tricked you into thinking that it was your choice. Kate had been a victim of these many times, she knew she had the strength inside of her to stand up to him, to anybody really, but she never used it, life was much easier as a walking, talking, wallflower.
Despite having bits of homework to do, Kate quickly changed into her nicer pair of jeans, and a cream blouse, grabbed her car keys and shot out of the front door, before Chris could stop her, and interrogate her. On her way out she grabbed the purple jacket she'd worn to school today, and rifled in the pockets, pulling out a lined piece of paper.

The piece of paper had been given to her in fourth period, Math. Laura had written down her number for Kate, she'd assumed it was entirely to do with the assignment they'd been set, but upon handing it over, Laura had told Kate

'If you're ever bored, and want to talk, or you know meet up somewhere, chances are; I'll be available, so don't hesitate to call you hear me?'

Kate stared at her cell phone for a few seconds before she began punching numbers in, she considered the fact that Laura may have given her number in order to be polite, and hadn't really expected Kate to call, but Kate went ahead and pressed the green button anyway.

It rang a couple of times, before a voice chimed

'Hello, Laura's phone, how may I help you?' The voice was dripping with amusement, and sounded familiar.

'It's Kate, I was wondering whether or not you were busy?'

'Well hello Kate, I'm Derek Hale and I'm certainly not busy.'