Summary: Katherine was just a normal girl until he came along. Well, until she bumped into him: literally, of course. How else would a cliché introduction start?

Chapter One: Meeting

It was a dull, dreary day, one that suited Katherine's mood. Walking down the street absentmindedly, she tried to root out the source of her melancholy. It wasn't that she was particularly un–happy Katherine decided, she was reasonably well off where money and lifestyle were concerned. It was really more that she was bored. There was nothing to challenge her, no one interesting to talk to, she thought as she crossed an intersection.

She was on the other side of the road when she walked into him. It's not like Katherine had meant to, of course, but one minute she was wandering, reminiscing on the banality of her life, and the next she was on the ground, folders and paper floating through the air like snow.

Through the mess she found herself staring into a pair of large green eyes. Well-groomed sandy blonde hair framed an expression of shock as the two just sat, staring at each other for a long moment. Their trance was broken only as eye contact was and a piece of paper landed square in the face of the emerald-eyed man.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he pulled the paper off his head and quickly scrambled to gather the rest of the scattered items he had been carrying.

"Aw crap." murmured Katherine as she rapidly grabbed papers off the street. Before long, the two of them had picked up the last of the stray files. Shuffling the papers so they were one neat stack, Katherine handed what she bad rescued back to the man. "I'm sorry."

Unbelieving wide eyes jerked up to meet her sympathetic gaze. Mouth agape, the stranger stared at her unflinchingly for so long that Katherine would have wondered if he was mute had he not already spoken.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"You- you're American? You were born here?" the heavy eye-browed man asked with a thick British accent, ignoring Katherine's question entirely.

"Yeah, I've, uh, never actually left really." she responded. "Why do you ask?"

The man tilted his head, reminding Katherine a bit of a particularly untrusting puppy. Yet again he refrained from answering her question, seemingly sifting through enough questions of his own in his head. "Will you have lunch with me sometime? Or, what is that… swill… you Americans drink? Coffee! We could get coffee if you like."

Katherine paused for a moment, considering the odd request. "Do you always ask girls you run over while crossing the street out on dates?"

"Well, so far, yes, actually." He replied, scratching at his head with a puzzled expression.

"Oh. So you run girls down all the time then?" laughed Katherine.

"Err, not in so much… Just… you, really." blushed the man. "Look, if you don't want to go..."

"I never said that." replied Katherine as she pulled herself up off the ground in one languid movement. Smiling, she reached her hand out to her companion. "I think you should probably tell me your name though, if we're going to be talking."

The man took her hand and stood, straightening his tie and pulling at his jacket quickly before reaching out his hand to her. "My name's Arthur. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Katherine."

"Katherine." He repeated, trying the name out as though to see how it felt on his tongue.

"I was actually on my way to get my morning coffee actually. I'm on break. If you want to, you may join me." She offered quizzically, doing her best to be appealing to her new acquaintance.

"I would love that. You may lead the way."

"The first date went well! We got coffee, well I got coffee, he got tea, but he was really interested in my work here as an editor and he even asked for a second date the next night! I really thought that went well as well, but I haven't heard from him since and I just…"

"Did you have sex?" ask Margarita intrusively.

"No!" yelped Katherine. " We just had dinner! Jesus Christ!"

"Well you never know! Some people are a bit more… open with their affections."

"Is that why you haven't had a boyfriend for over a year? Being 'open with your affections?' Because I've been wondering why someone left a text about contracting Gonorrhea on your cell last month."

"THAT was my aunt, for your nosy information," declared Margarita with her nose in the air. "And not everyone is as much of a prude as you are!"

"Um… Is this a bad time?" asked an intimidated Arthur as he stepped into Katherine's office.

"Arthur! Hello. Please come in." waved Katherine before shooting a particularly pointed look at her coworker. "I was just about to ask Margarita to leave."

"Ha-ha, funny." said a ruffled Margarita. Katherine just stared at her silently.

"Fine, fine, keep all the cute ones to yourself, I'm leaving now. See ya around sweetie, it was nice meeting you." she smiled at Arthur, passing closer to him than she really had to on the way out.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Katherine in an attempt to break the awkward silence that followed Margarita's departure as she shuffled papers around on her desk.

"I…" Arthur paused slightly, running his fingers through his hair again before blurting out "I live in England."

Katherine turned slowly to face him, pausing. "Okay…"

Arthur turned beet red all the way to the roots of his hair, but did not, however, look away from her gaze. "I'm going back to England tonight. I… I want you to come with me."

Katherine just stared at the lanky man in response, uncertain what the proper reaction to his request would be.

"I have a house, it's not too big, sort of… quaint. But it's large enough, you can stay there and have your own room and everything, you wouldn't have to pay for plane fees or anything, I just… please come with me. I… I'm in need of the company."

Katherine thought long and hard about what Arthur had said, ignoring her instinct to deny his request just because it was so odd. Katherine couldn't help but remember the first time she met Arthur, and how she had been so preoccupied bemoaning her banal life that she had walk right into him. Thoughts of a boring life hadn't occurred to her since then, and even though only one day had passed, that was still significant. Plus, she had been saving up some vacation time, and had enough money that she could fly back on her own with no problem. That in mind, Katherine replied. "Yes."

So, new story, a bit boring now, I know. I'm just getting started though, so I hope it will pick up dramatically!

XOXO

Cat