Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Katie followed Grover over to a couch in the corner of the room. They were a few chairs away from the sitting area where a majority of the customers were. Grover slowly eased into the couch and motioned for Katie to sit in the seat beside him. His back was towards the register; however, Katie was facing it. She saw Juniper, in the corner of her eye, staring the two down.
Just as Katie sat down, Grover whispered, "Do not make any expressions." Immediately, her face molded into a blank stare. From the corner of her eye, she could see Juniper cross her arms.
"Juniper looks suspecting…" Katie said, her eyes still blank. Grover hastily looked over his shoulder and found Juniper staring at them. He gave a quick wave to her and turned back.
"Perhaps the blank face isn't good. Maybe… just smile. You can do that, right?" Grover asked, twiddling his fingers. Katie's face morphed into a smile. Honestly, she thought Grover was being a bit ridiculous. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his antics.
"I can do that," she confirmed. "Now, why did you drag me over here?"
"Um, we can't tell them about this," Grover whispered. Katie caught herself halfway into make a confused face. Instead, Katie kept on the happy façade and grew her smile. Katie watched as Juniper shook her head and turned away from them.
"Tell who about what?" Katie asked, finally dropping the fake smile. She massaged her cheeks as Grover hastily turned around to look at his girlfriend.
"We can't tell our friends in The Flying Shoes," Grover said, "We can't tell them about our relation to this coffee shop."
"And why not?" Katie asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. Is there some rivalry going on between the coffee shops? Katie thought. She then dismissed the thought. Please. That only happens in fiction, she told herself.
"Smile!" Grover hissed, upon seeing Juniper turn their way again. Katie rolled her eyes, but still followed his direction.
"The two coffee shops are rivals," Grover said, taking a pause- as if he was letting a big bomb drop and she needed time to process the hugeness of the situation. Okay, Katie thought, So I was right. "Do you think that two independent coffee shops in the same general area wouldn't end up competing for customers?" Grover asked. Katie looked around the coffee shop she was in. It was bustling with people. They were laughing, chatting, and some were conversing with the girl named Thalia. "The Flying Shoes despises Juniper's Tea and Coffee Shop. Obviously, since Juniper's is more popular. This coffee shop mostly thinks that The Flying Shoes is an annoyance."
"They're both trying to run each other to the ground," Katie realized. Grover nodded. "And Juniper's is awfully close to succeeding." Grover nodded again.
"If our friends find out that you work at Juniper's and that my girlfriend is Juniper… well, first off, they'd be furious. They'd see our relations as a betrayal," Grover said, wringing his hands together. Katie swore that she saw a bead of sweat trickle down the side of Grover's face. "Second, they might not be our friends for much longer. The entire group would abandon us… and I'd be on my own again," Grover whispered. Katie raised an eyebrow, noticing her slipup. She contemplated on whether or not she should confront him about it. Deciding against that, Katie shook her head.
"That's crazy! They wouldn't be that melodramatic. It's just a job! No one would be stupid enough to ruin a friendship- especially one between you and them- just because of this coffee shop," Katie protested.
"You don't know how much The Flying Shoes hates Juniper's. If you did, you would see that they would actually stop associating with us!" Grover said. Katie's mind quickly flew to the face of her apartment neighbor.
"What about Percy? He's your best friend!" Grover started playing with his rasta cap.
"I don't know about Percy! I'm fairly certain he wouldn't abandon me, but… but the others might pressure him and…" Grover's voice started shaking. Katie put a hand to his shoulder.
"What about Travis? A-And Connor, of course," Katie said.
"They're the worst," Grover simply said. Katie's hand limply fell off his shoulder and she looked down. Great, she thought. Katie couldn't understand as to why she got upset. Travis barely even knew her! She could hardly say that they were friends.
"Does Juniper know?" Katie asked. Grover nodded and Katie looked up from her hands.
"She only knows that I'm best friends with Percy. She doesn't like it, but she knows that I've been friends with Percy long before I even met her." Katie sighed and leaned back against the couch.
"Wow, this is complicated," Katie said, "I guess we agree that we'll keep this a secret." Grover used his crutches to get up from the couch.
"Agreed," he said, already heading back to his girlfriend.
Katie sat on the couch, unsure of what to do. Katie knew that she didn't want to quit this job. She also knew that her and Grover's secret wouldn't stay hidden- like most secrets don't. Would she risk her 'friendship' just for this job? I just met these people today, Katie thought, I can barely even call them my friends. Why should I risk my job for people I don't even know? Katie sighed.
The problem is that I really do want to be friends with them. And I don't want Silena to be mad at me. Out of all of them, I'd say Silena is the closest to being called a 'friend' of mine. And Travis… He's annoying. But he's pretty much my second almost-friend, too. And we're apartment neighbors-
"You alright?" a voice said, cutting off Katie's train of thought. Katie looked up to see Thalia standing in front of her. Katie smiled.
"I think I'm fine," Katie said. She then stood up. "I'm Katie Gardner, new employee here." Thalia's face lit up in recognition.
"Oh yeah! Juniper just told me that she hired someone! I'm Thalia, old employee." Katie held out her hand and Thalia shook it. Katie noticed that Thalia didn't give out her last name, Katie didn't pry though.
"So, um Thalia? What are your work hours?" Katie asked as they both started heading for the counter.
"7:00 AM to 12:30 PM," Thalia said, not missing a beat.
"Isn't that the busiest time of the day?" Katie asked, imagining how many people would be flooding into the shop in the morning, begging for their daily coffee fix.
Thalia shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so. But, morning shifts get paid the most," she said adding in a wink. Katie gave a smile and Thalia snickered. "It's really not that bad. The people here are really nice and though they can be a bit demanding, they tend to treat us well because we're the ones supplying the caffeine." Katie nodded. "Have you gotten your hours yet?" Thalia asked, setting her empty tray on the cherry wood counter.
"Not yet. I haven't even gotten my apron yet," Katie said.
"Well, if you happen to be stuck with the morning shift, it's not that much of a hassle," Thalia said as she reloaded her tray with drinks. Once she was done, she gave Katie one more smile and walked off.
Okay, Katie thought, Thalia is really nice. I like her.
"Katie!" Juniper called from the register. "Here is your apron," she said, throwing it around Katie's neck. And here is the employee rule book- basic stuff. No biggie." Katie nodded taking the booklet from Juniper's hands.
"Anything else?" she asked.
"Yes! You can start now, right?" Katie nodded. "Great! From now on, your work hours will be from 7 AM to 12:30 PM. I need you to bake fresh pastries every morning. In fact, I live just upstairs so if you want to come in earlier to start heating the oven and prepping things, that's fine with me," Juniper told Katie as she walked over to her side of the counter.
"Alright," Katie said. "I guess I should get started." She pulled open the door to the back room/kitchen and started tying the apron around her waist.
"Oh Katie! Grover is in the kitchen so if you can call him out here, that would be great," Juniper called.
Katie entered the kitchen and found Grover waiting in front of the oven. "How much longer?" she asked, causing him to jump and knock one of his crutches to the ground.
"Uh, two more minutes," he said.
"Well, I can take over from here. Juniper is asking for you," Katie told him, walking over to the kitchen counter. It was big and floured down slightly. Sitting in the corner was a big recipe book, already opened up to a page.
The kitchen had plenty of room in it. A stainless steel refrigerator stood tall and wooden cabinets containing ingredients surrounded it. In the middle of the kitchen was a big metal table. Despite being surrounded by the big, empty kitchen, Katie felt very much at home.
Katie was sure to sneak her green apron inside her bag before she entered her apartment building. After she and Thalia got off work, Thalia suggested that they go and have lunch together. They spent hours bonding and getting to know one another. Katie got home at around 4 in the afternoon, but not before making more plans to meet Thalia for dinner a few hours later.
"I'll introduce you to some of my friends," Thalia had told her. She handed Katie a small piece of paper. "Meet me at my apartment at 6:30. Maybe after dinner, we can all catch a flick."
Katie walked up to her apartment door and rustled through her bag to get her keys. She unlocked the door and threw her bag down on the kitchen counter. Walking into the living room, Katie let out a scream at what she saw.
"TRAVIS!" she shrieked, putting a hand on her heart. "How did you get into my apartment?" Travis was holding a big bowl of chips on his lap and was lounging on her couch. On the coffee table was a laptop, currently playing a movie.
"Oh! Hey Katie," Travis said, throwing another chip in his mouth. Katie stomped over to where he was sitting and put her hands on her hips, staring down at him.
"How they heck did you get into my apartment?" Katie asked, "Did you pick the lock or something? And where did you get these chips?" Katie asked, prying the bowl from his fingers. "And where did that laptop come from?"
"One question at a time," Travis told her calmly, putting his hands behind his head. "And I came in through the fire escape," Travis said, "You really shouldn't leave your window open like that. Who knows what might crawl in when you least expect it." Katie rolled her eyes exasperatedly. Travis stood up and took the bowl of chips from her hands and collapsed back onto the couch.
"Travis!" Katie protested, dropping down on her knees to pick up the chips he spilled onto the carpet.
"To answer your next questions, I brought the chips and my laptop over," Travis said, "I figured that since you don't have any friends, we could eat junk food for dinner and veg out on the couch, watching movies." Katie stood up and threw the chip crumbs away in the garbage. She walked back to Travis' side and glared at him. His proposal could've been borderline-sweet if he had just worded it correctly. The way he said it made it seem like she was a loner with nothing to do, and he was taking pity on her!
"So what do you say?" Travis asked, "Superhero movies or Disney movies?"
"Well, despite me not having any friends, I don't need your charity," Katie said, picking up his laptop from the table and shoving it into his chest. "And I actually have plans tonight anyways." She pulled Travis off of the couch and pushed him to the open window.
"Fine," Travis muttered, "I was just trying to be nice."
"Oh, how thoughtful," Katie said sarcastically, "Bye." She then slammed the window in his face.
Katie put a hand on her forehead and sighed, making her way back to the couch. Falling down, she leaned into the cushions and propped her feet up on the coffee table, avoiding the bowl of chips Travis had set down before Katie kicked him out. I can't believe him, Katie thought. She didn't like how he automatically assumed that she had no plans, or that she hadn't made any new friends. It's like he doesn't think that she's likable enough to be friends with!
Well, Katie thought after a few minutes of cooling down, I guess what he did was pretty thoughtful. He did offer to sacrifice his evening to hang out with me. I guess it was his way of trying to be friends? Katie turned back to her closed window, suddenly regretting rudely pushing Travis out of her apartment. "Oh goodness," Katie whispered. She then groaned and threw her head back. "I am a horrible person. I am… a horrible person. I-I even took his chips!" Katie said, nudging the bowl of chips with her foot. She then put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "And watching Hero movies and Disney musicals would've been really nice…"
Sighing, Katie stood up from the couch, accepting the fact that she had probably shattered the chance of her and Travis ever having a friendship. She walked to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair, getting ready from dinner with Thalia and her friends. Hopefully she wouldn't screw those friendships up too badly. Katie glanced at her phone. 5:53. She didn't know how far Thalia's apartment was from hers, so Katie decided that it was better to be early than late.
After taking a cab to Thalia's place, Katie found out that it was only about a ten minutes. She paid the cab driver and he drove away. Katie stood on the sidewalk in front of Thalia's apartment building, unsure of what to do next. She was early. Should she go inside? But what if Thalia wasn't ready? If she stayed out here, Thalia might look outside her window and wonder why Katie was sitting there on the sidewalk curb. Katie then decided that she would go inside and offer her services if Thalia wasn't ready yet.
Katie walked up to the apartment Thalia told her and knocked. There was a shuffling of feet and the door opened to reveal Thalia in her Juniper apron.
"Katie! You're early!" Thalia said, surprised. She opened up the door more so Katie could come in.
"Yeah, you see, I didn't know how far your apartment was from mine. I hailed a cab and it turns out that the trip was about four minutes in a car! I can walk to your apartment in ten minutes! Anyways, when I got here, I wasn't sure if I should just come in or if I should wait outside. I mean, if I just waited outside, that would've been weird," Katie said, her words getting faster and faster. Oh god, Katie thought, Stop talking! Katie, stop talking! "However, I was unsure if you were done setting up or cooking yet. I wasn't sure if you were one of those people who didn't like people coming early before you were ready, because I'm like that. So I guess since I came early, I will help you with whatever is left-"
"So you're here to help!" Thalia said, cutting Katie off- summing up her ramblings into one sentence.
"Yes," Katie nodded, slightly out of breath.
"That's great! Oh, just saying, you're not the only one." Thalia led Katie to the kitchen where a tall blonde boy stood over the oven, pouring batter onto a pan. "Katie, this is my good friend Luke."
The boy turned away from the oven and walked over to Katie, holding out his hand. "Hey there," he said. Katie took his hand. Luke? She thought, Where have I heard that name before? She picked her brain trying to find an answer, but found nothing. Great, Katie thought, This will haunt me for the rest of the night.
"What are you making?" Katie asked.
"Pancakes," Thalia said, "I absolutely love them."
"She does. I've known Thalia for so long and there wasn't one time when she didn't ask for pancakes," Luke said, flipping the pancake over in the pan.
"Can you help me set the table?" Thalia asked Katie. She put a stack of napkins in Katie's hands.
"Um, yeah," Katie said. Thalia led her to the dining room where they would eat.
After finishing all of the food and setting the table, Thalia's other friends started to arrive. Once everyone sat down, Thalia began to introduce everyone.
"This is my friend Zoë," Thalia said, motioning towards the girl that sat on Katie's left. She had long dark hair that was in a braid. On her head was a silver headband. She had this sharpness and regal-ness to her that made Zoë look very intimidating. "She works at Olympus Magazine," Thalia added.
"What?" Katie asked, turning to her, "You work at Olympus M?" Zoë nodded stiffly, as if she was slightly ashamed of her job choice. "That's amazing! Working at Olympus M is my dream job!" Katie gushed, "What section do you work at."
"Animals with Ms. Artemis," Zoë said. She relaxed slightly when Katie told her that she wanted to work at Olympus Magazine.
"You've already met Luke," Thalia said, moving down the line of people, "This is Bianca and her little brother Nico." Bianca had her black hair covering half her face. She was looking down at the table cloth, smiling politely.
"Hey," Katie said to her, "I'm Katie."
"Hi," Bianca said in a hushed voice.
"I'm Nico," said the boy sitting next to Bianca. He looked a lot like his sister. The only difference between them seemed to be that Nico was a lot happier and open than Bianca was.
From dinner, Katie found out a lot about Thalia's friends. She learned that Thalia and Luke moved here together for college. Bianca was currently unemployed, eager to find a job somewhere. Nico was still going to Jupiter University, the local college in Campton. The person that Katie was interested the most in was Zoë, but she clammed up. She talked the most about her job at Olympus Magazine, which Katie was happy about. However, whenever Katie brought up the topic of family, or anything beyond her job, Zoë shut up. Katie learned that Thalia and Luke both lived in the star-studded California, on the other side of the country. When Luke came here, he left his father and his crazy mother at home. Thalia said that it was only her mom that lived in California. She didn't mention her mother anymore.
"So, how are the facilities in Olympus Magazine?" Katie asked.
"It's great. There are thirteen floors, one for the twelve sections of the magazine and the top floor is reserved for only the twelve executives," Zoë informed.
"Wow," Katie mused. Oh how she so wanted to work there!
"Well," Thalia said, standing up, "I guess we're all done. Wanna go catch a movie?" She started clearing the plates off of the table. Everyone nodded. Luke stood up also and did the same.
"There is a new superhero movie out. Does that sound alright?" he asked.
"Yeah! Superheroes!" Nico cried, jumping out of his seat. A cold chill rested through Katie's stomach. Superhero movies or Disney movies? Travis' words echoed through Katie's head. I am a horrible person, she thought.
"Great," Bianca muttered, "Let's go."
"Actually," Katie said, standing abruptly in her seat, "You guys go ahead. I have something I need to fix- at home." Thalia shrugged.
"Sure. See you at work tomorrow," she said, waving goodbye.
"Yeah," Katie said, getting her things, "I will see you. It was nice meeting you all." Katie then left the apartment building and ran back home, slipping on the ice and snow two times.
When she got back to her apartment, she took the stairs, three at a time. By the time she got to her apartment, she sent a hasty glance at the Stolls' crib, praying that Connor wasn't home. She went inside and set her things down. She changed into comfortable pajamas- a T shirt and pink sweatpants. She went to the bathroom and put her hair in a ponytail and out of her face. Walking back into the living room, she found the bowl of chips on the coffee table. Holding it against her hip, Katie opened the window to her fire escape, stepping outside to the late-afternoon air.
She took a deep breath when she realized how high up she was. She shivered. Looking over to Travis' window, it was open with curtains hanging over it. She cursed under her breath when she realized that Travis' window wasn't over the fire escape. How was she supposed to get there? And most importantly, how did he do it last time?
The fire escape had a thin layer of snow on it, which covered another thin layer of ice. Katie took a deep, calming breath and climbed over the fire escape railing. Katie got a good grip of the bowl of chips and spread her legs out, propping her foot on Travis' window sill. It was cold, sinking her barefoot into the snow on Travis' window sill. Slowly, she let go of the fire escape railing and moved her hand so it was holding onto Travis' window. Katie leaned over and balanced the bowl of chips on the window sill- so she could use her other hand to help her get inside.
Once she slipped into the Stolls' dark living room, Katie retrieved the bowl of chips from the window sill and decided to look around. The lights were off in the kitchen and the bathroom. Katie started to walk down the hallway to the bedrooms.
Katie arrived to a closed door where the light coming from inside could be seen in the crack underneath. Katie slowly opened it, careful not to startle anyone inside. When the door was opened wide enough so she could slip in, Katie saw Travis laying on his bed, deeply engrossed by a movie on his laptop. In his ears were red earbuds. Katie flicked on the bedroom lights, which caused Travis to look up from his movie.
"Katie," he said, sitting up on his bed, "How did you-"
"Same way you did," Katie said, sitting down next to him, "I brought your chips back." Travis' face turned slightly pink, and Katie wasn't sure why. She looked down at what she was wearing. She wasn't showing a lot of skin or anything. In fact, Katie probably looked a lot worse than how she usually did. Travis was wearing a purple Jupiter University T shirt and plaid cotton pants.
"Thanks," Travis muttered, pausing his movie and taking out an earbud.
"Look," Katie said, putting a hand on his arm. Travis flinched. "I'm sorry for being so rude. I can be a real pain sometimes. You were just trying to be nice and I took it the wrong way."
"Yeah, I was!" Travis said. Katie ignored his cocky remark.
"Yeah. You were… and I'm sorry. I just- don't want you to hate me. Is… the invitation still open?" Katie asked, rubbing her arms from the cold. Travis turned the laptop towards her.
"Only if you like Princess and the Frog," he said, handing an earbud to her, "Connor is asleep and I don't want to wake him."
"I love Princess and the Frog," Katie said, making herself comfortable on the bed. Travis moved his blanket over to her so they could share.
"You cold, Evangeline?" Travis asked her. Katie gave a short giggle and nodded, lying down on her belly next to Travis. He got up and turned the lights off, crawling back under the blanket. He started the movie.
HEY! I'm on a roll! Three story updates in less than two days? Dang! So, I guess that means I'm out of my writer's funk. I just… LOVE WRITING!
Gosh. So while I was writing this story, I just got so many future plans that I want to do! I'm so excited! I cannot wait until I finally get to write them!
So, considering the long list of things I want to do in this story, I think this will be my next major fanfiction story I will try to focus on… including Something Beautiful and Flaws (though it's almost finished).
So… yeah. Not the last you've seen of any of these characters! Keep reading, Remember to Review, Smiles!
~ xhiddendreamx