Chapter Eight: Let It Go

Sawyer was happy, but suspicious when Kate walked into his bar the several nights later, dressed casually and smile free.

"Don't you have a date?" he asked suspiciously, not meeting her eyes as he expertly mixed drinks.

She shook her head, thinking of the several messages clogging her answering machine. Messages that were still calm, collected, but were developing a hint of worry, of loss.

"Nope."

"You always have a date. Does this mean you're avoiding him, Freckles?" he asked, handing the drink to a man at the bar and glaring at him when he made to turn to Kate.

"You never stopped to think that maybe he's not into me anymore?" she asked. Sawyer scoffed.

"Well, I have seen 'im look at you. Don't think it's going to happen anytime soon," he said bluntly. Sawyer watched as she smiled softly to herself. "Something happened?"

"Something happened," confirmed Kate.

Sawyer was distracted as a group came to the bar, all demanding drinks at once. He served them all, easily chatting with them as he did so.

"What happened? And now don't make me guess. I know you're all mysterious, but I'm busy," he said flatly.

"He kissed me."

Whatever Sawyer had been expecting, this was not it.

"What, for the first time?" he asked in bemusement. Kate nodded.

"Yeah."

"So what are you doing here with me?" asked Sawyer. Kate stared at him, seeing how through Jack's eyes, how she knew Jack had seen him. As a tall and attractive man, to who she was closer than any other. Intimidating, a relationship he'd always he on the outside of.

Kate saw Jack through the eyes of Sawyer: richer, more successful in terms of money and of life. Stable, infinitely so, where he was unpredictable. Equally tall, similarly handsome, a threat to his relationship with Kate, the only one with a woman he'd ever had to have any lasting value.

"It's okay, Freckles," he said, seeing the worry in her eyes. "We can avoid him together tonight."

"How come you didn't let him kiss you 'till now?" asked Sawyer. Kate looked up in surprise - they'd just closed the bar together, and had been silent for almost an hour.

"Cooper told me not to sleep with him," explained Kate shortly. Sawyer nodded.

"And he gives you shivers, does he? Is it because he's a Doctor? Chicks always dig the Doctor."

"You're gross," said Kate, smiling.

He watched her, smiling, as she overturned the chairs onto the tables and collecting coasters, a slight bounce in her step.

"He makes you happy," observed Sawyer.

"He does. But it makes me unhappy, too."

He reflected that it was surreal, that he was sitting in his bar after hours, discussing her rich, Doctor boyfriend with his best friend. Who he'd always felt the need to protect, and who was slowly needing him less.

"Is he in love with you yet?" asked Sawyer casually. Kate almost dropped the glass she was carrying.

"No. Of course not. He doesn't even know me," sputtered Kate.

"Well I know that, but I also know that he seems to like it that way," said Sawyer in surprise. He realized that Kate knew exactly how to play him but didn't even always know she was doing it. She was barely playing him at all. It was just how she was.

Kate looked down, and he realized he'd been staring at her. He quickly looked away, focusing his attention instead on wiping down the bar and locking up the register.

"Are you leaving? Don't you have a date?" she asked. Sawyer cringed at her assumption. It was so painless to her.

"Sure do. Didn't I tell you I'd be hanging out with my best girl all night? Let's play darts."

Laughing, she followed him to the dart board, knowing that there was no better way to drown sorrow or kill her time than to do it with Sawyer.

Neither of them observed the man that tried the door only to find it locked. And then peered inside and found only two figures, laughing and standing together, almost touching. One of whom was a man he barely knew and the other a woman he knew well, one who had told him; on a hurried message on his answering machine; that she was far too busy to spend the evening with him. Sighing, the man turned away again.

"Do you want to spend the night? Your house is far. And we have an extremely nice couch."

Sawyer smiled at Kate's offer. She offered quite often, even though he'd never accepted and never planned to.

"It's not that far, and you two make too much noise in the morning," he complained, even if he didn't know it was true. Kate was cut off in mid eye-roll when the door to their apartment opened and a familiar man came out, one with sun darkened skin and dark curly hair. Kate stared at him quizically for a moment before she placed him.

"Sayid?"

He nodded, moving down the hall silently. She stifled a giggle.

"I really have to go now. Thanks for hanging out with me," she said, disappearing into the apartment.

Shannon was lying on her bed, a magazine on her lap, clearly pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary. Kate folded her arms and waited for her roommate to acknowledge her.

"What?" she asked eventually, annoyance evident in her tone.

"The electrician? You surprise me sometimes."

Shannon scoffed.

"He was around."

"You like him," said Kate, enjoying the rare opportunity to taunt Shannon in return.

"I do not."

"You do. You're actually risking everything for this. Cooper would be furious," said Kate, her tone still gleeful.

"I still do my job," protested Shannon.

"Sayid isn't a job. He's what, your boyfriend? Did you tell him your real name?" asked Kate in interest. Shannon, in professional capacity, went by Grace Carlyle.

"Yeah," she said defensively. "Like you're one to talk."

Kate shrugged.

"I'm proud of you. He seems like a good guy," said Kate honestly. Shannon nodded, and finally looked up.

"I think so too. Is Cooper really going to be angry? Like, angrier than when he finds out that you're falling for Jack?" asked Shannon nervously. Kate ran to sit beside her roommate, assuring him that it would be, for both of them, and that above all it would all turn out alright.

Author's note: Sorry, when I went to post the last chapter, I accidentally posted this one instead. Hope not too many of you were confused, I tried to fix it as soon as I could. Also I'm sorry that there keep being breaks between my posts... I'll try and work on that.

Next chapter is entirely Jate focused again.