And we are BACK ya'll! I won't delay anything, but I want to give you all a run down since we now approaching the final phases of this fanfic (which is bittersweet), but let's make the most of it! :D Anyway, this chapter and the next couple are going to focus on and close out the Owen and Kitty subplot that's been going on in the background off and on for a bit. Then after that, it is back to the final phase of Nemma with Noah moving to Toronto and assuming his life as an 'adult' with responsibilities with Emma helping him in doing so, but… we'll get there, so stay tuned! Haha. ;) Well, anyhow, let's get on with this update! This chapter starts on Kitty's POV with her going to try to talk to Owen about his crush on her. Hope you all enjoy it! :)

(Kitty's POV)

I was just rounding the corner to get into Owen's neighborhood to finally be able to talk to him.

Right after I talked with Emma last week and tried to think about 'whatever I was going to say' before talking to Owen, I totally blanked when I texted him to ask if he wanted to hang out when he told me he was in Vancouver doing a "Total Drama Season Aftermath Special" and also just spending the rest of the week out there to hang out with Geoff and some others from the cast.

And even though I was kind of bummed out and a little frustrated, I just wanted to talk to him and finally clear all this up.

I know I could call him too or something, but with something like this… yeah, when it comes to something like this, I need to do this in person and actually talk over this with him.

Cuz despite Emma telling me I have a slight addiction to my phone, I am not the kind of person that likes to hide behind my phone when it comes to this kind of thing.

One, it's just not a cool thing to do to anyone.

Two, to me it's just bad Karma to do something like that to a friend especially.

And three, I really had no idea what to say to Owen anyway since… I still have no idea how to feel about this whole thing.

Again, I don't feel weirded out or uncomfortable knowing that Owen likes me, or at the very least has a little crush on me.

Honestly, whatever is going on in my head right now really doesn't have anything to do with how Owen feels about me and more has to do with how I 'feel' about all of this.

I don't care who you are, trying to figure out how you feel about someone is really hard sometimes, especially when it's someone you never thought like that about until it's just all thrown at you.

Because… I really have no idea how to feel about any of this still.

But, at the same time, I do know that at a minimum I just need talk to Owen and just hear what he has to say since all I've been doing is hearing how he feels from me just 'seeing the signs' and then having my sister (who is usually the oblivious and uninterested one when it comes to guys) telling me the obvious.

So, for me… I just need to hear it from Owen so we can just talk it out and I can finally get this weight taken off my chest.

Since it was Saturday morning and I knew right about now Owen would be home having breakfast with his family, so… I figured I could go about this in the most subtle way I could possibly think of to try and talk to him.

Besides, nothing about what I'm doing is in any way totally out of left field or anything, since he comes with me on my photography walks for my portfolio all the time.

So, I got bundled up and headed out to…

Huh?

I started to slow down as to the Koch's house and saw Owen, his brothers, and his dad all loading things up into the back of his and Owen's trucks.

Finally, I parked along the street and Owen immediately saw me from inside my car and gave me a big smile and wave as he jogged up to my car.

I smiled and got out at the same time and smiled back as I tried to be as normal as possible as he started, "Hey Kitty!"

We both hugged as I responded, "Hey Owen! How was Vancouver?"

Look, am I still confused? Yeah, for sure!

But, Owen's still one of my best friends right now, and I want to make sure to keep things as 'not-weird' as possible here, ya know?

We both backed up as he started enthusiastically, "OH! It was AWESOME! I don't think I slept until Thursday since after the special we all ended up on an almost non-stop party and bar crawl for almost 3 days straight. Brody even showed up to party with us and things got CRAZY!

Brody and Geoff almost got kicked out by security when they tried to jump into a mosh pit at this club we were at off a balcony in the place. Aw, MAN was it a blast though! Haha!"

I couldn't help myself from getting a little distracted as my eyes went wide as I responded, "Wait, seriously?! What do you mean almost? Did they not end up jumping?"

Owen laughed a little before saying, "Yeah, the club security caught them before they could do it and banned them from going up to the balcony the rest of the night. It reminded me of this other time when…"

"Oh, hey Kitty! Nice seeing you again, kiddo! What brings you over?" Right then I looked over and saw Owen's dad walking up to us with a big smile on his face.

I smiled back and gave him a wave before replying, "Hey Mr. K. Nice seeing you too. Actually, I was just coming over to see if Owen wanted to hang out since he got back."

All of a sudden I heard a slight 'smack' as I looked over and saw Owen facepalming himself as he groaned, "Aw man, Kitty I'm sorry! I completely forgot to tell you I was going on a fishing trip today with my dad. We usually go on an ice fishing trip around New Year's before school starts for my brothers again and I REALLY wanna go out there. But, I should be home tomorrow if you wanna…"

All of a sudden Owen's dad cut him off as he said with a huge smile, "Owen, don't worry about it. Why don't you ask Kitty if she wants to come along and go fishing with us?"

Immediately I put my hands up as I started, feeling like I made things weird by just showing up here for some reason now, "Oh, that's okay, Mr. Koch. You don't have to feel like you need to invite me to crash your fishing trip or anything."

Owen's dad smiled and shrugged as he pretty much 'waved off' what I said as he responded, "Not at all! Everyone's always welcome to come on a Koch fishing trip! Besides, the missus was supposed to come but Cathy went south to see her sister instead today. Even if the fish aren't biting, it's always a great time! We've got plenty of food, beer, heaters, and ways to pass the time. And we'll only be up there for the day anyway, so as long as we aren't keeping you from anything else today, you're more than welcome to come along! Besides, you already have boots and a nice coat to keep you warm, so you're good to go already!"

I really didn't even know how to respond until I heard Owen let out a slightly off laugh before say, "Dad, it's okay! Kitty doesn't have to come if she doesn't want to. Besides, she has her camera so she probably wants to go somewhere in town to get pictures and stuff."

I gave Owen a confused look about why he even said something like that and wait… is Owen… embarrassed or something?

He was being really quiet right now, looked kinda red-faced, and looking at me wide-eyed and biting his lip a little which is something I'm not used to since Owen is probably the most outgoing person I know and is usually never embarrassed about anything.

I mean, I guess if either of my parents did something like this with one of my friends, I'd kind of get it.

But… I wanted to try to be cool and open about this since I didn't see what the big deal was. I just smiled and shrugged before saying, "It's okay, Owen! Actually, I may not be into ice fishing, but can I still come along to get some pics. My portfolio could really use some good nature shots. I just need to text my mom and let her know I probably won't be home for dinner and I should be all set!"

Owen looked at me shocked as his dad smiled big and responded enthusiastically, reminding me so much like how Owen usually is, "YEAH! Of course! You can do whatever you want! Hey, maybe you can ride with Owen and take one of the bulkier tents in your bench seat, and me, Johnny, and Gavin will take my truck."

(Owen's POV)

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything about Kitty wanting to come with since I like any excuse I can to hang out with her, but…. WHY IS MY DAD DOING THIS TO ME RIGHT NOW?!

It's an hour drive up north and she's the first person I've like-liked at all since Izzy and I'm just freaked out that I'm going to do or say something weird and make her feel weird about wanting to be friends with me anymore!

Again… AHHH! I CAN'T DO THIS?!

I opened my mouth to try to say something, and also felt like I was gonna hurl until Johnny raised his hand and said, "Aw, c'mon dad! I thought you said I could go in…" But, then dad just clapped him on the back and said, "Son, c'mon. Owen's got more space than I do now in his truck so he and Kitty can take the big tent. This way Owen can…"

I immediately went over to my dad and let out a nervous laugh as I asked, "Hehe! Hey, hey dad! Can I talk to you for a sec?"

I didn't want to wait for it to get worse as I immediately tried to pull my dad off to the side.

And didn't even want to try to look back at Kitty since I was way too freaked out right now.

Finally, I got us far enough away since the LAST thing I want is for Kitty to hear any of this since she still has NO idea that I have a crush on her.

Because once she knows, then she's going to ask me when I started feeling like that about her, and then since I can't lie to save my life then I'm going to have spill the beans on what happened that night when she got drunk and kissed me!

And that's NOT the good kind of beans!

Ya know, like baked beans from a can on a hot stove… with some maple syrup and…

AGH! WHY?!

I pulled my dad closer as I said through my teeth as quietly as possible even though I felt like I was about to totally freak out right now, "Dad! Why are you doing this to me right now?!"

My dad just gave me a confused look and quirked up an eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about? I thought you and Kitty were friends?"

"Well, yeah! But…" I tried to cut in until my dad just jumped right back in, "And you like her, right?"

"Well, yeah! But…" I started again until my dad cut back in, "Then what's the problem, son? She's a sweet gal and she even said she wants to go. Besides, I always let you and your brothers invite friends along on our fishing trips. Why is Kitty any different?"

I felt like I was going to explode into a panic attack, even though I was also trying to stay quiet, "Because she doesn't know I like her like that! And I don't know what she's gonna when she finds out that…" I stopped when my dad put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Owen, I think you need to relax. It's just fishing. You love fishing! And next to grandpa, you're the best fisherman in the family! So, all the more reason why she should come along. Sure she can't see you catch a fish with your bare hands in a river like in the summer, but that doesn't mean that you can't show off a little and show her what you can do!"

I was still panicking and my face felt like it was burning as I sputtered, "But, dad, I…"

He squeezed my shoulder to try and calm me down, even though it didn't work, as he said, "Owen, let me tell you something. If someone wants to go fishing with you, then that is someone you want to keep around regardless if they're a friend or more. That's one of the things that made me fall for your mom when she went fishing with me for the first time as a date. Well, that and the night I met your mom was another one. She was really throwing 'em back at that party at my old frat house! And that belch she belted out after her 10th can of beer that night? Whew! What a lady! And that was a wild night too! My frat brother Travis even kissed me after he did a kegstand! Now THAT was a great party!"

I felt like my brain couldn't even take that all in since I was still panicking about everything going on right now with Kitty. But, then my dad pulled me out of it as he started again, "Hey, try not to worry, Owen! It's supposed to be fun! And hey, don't worry, I'll try to make sure to keep Gav and John at bay from you two, eh?"

Right then, my dad just gave me a couple of pats on the back with a wink before he walked back and started to tell my brothers to help load more stuff on the trucks.

At that point I swallowed hard before looking over and saw Kitty leaning against the driver's side of my truck, her usual small smile on her face, and looking like she was probably texting her mom like she said she was going to.

Well, until I felt like I choked on my heart when she looked up and noticed me looking at her and just smiled a little more and gave me a slight wave, but looking like she was keeping her cool.

I tried to do the same back, but I still was trying to figure out what I was even going to do now that we'll be in a car together alone for the next hour.

Just me and her all alone.

Oh boy…

And cliffhanger! I apologize, but also not really. Lol. XD For real though, I was trying to devise a situation for Owen and Kitty that would make sense for the ending of this arc and the more I thought about it, a fishing trip seemed like the best option! Now, as a person who has been a part of this fandom/show since it began when I was 12, I feel like people forget about one detail about Owen that was shown literally ONCE in TDI and then never again. And that is how Owen is very good at fishing! Sure, in that same episode, he also stretched the truth to try to impress his team by saying he hunted down a bear only to be caught out for it later when Izzy scared the crap out of everyone when she dressed like a bear. Because what else would we expect from our crazy queen? Lol. But, then again, Owen was also a teenager trying to get people to like him so… we can't completely fault him too hard otherwise we'd all be total hypocrites. Haha. But, one thing that Owen can be given credit for is that Owen used his skills as a fisherman and proved himself to be an asset to the team when he caught fish as a food source for everyone. And then this was never really shown again since I loved that Owen is good at and likes fishing! Now, my personal head cannon is that Owen is a for sure queer-coded character and I personally see him as bisexual who leans more toward feeling attracted toward women but can be attracted to men too (Justin for example). And I feel like normally fishing and hunting are usually seen as hobbies for stereotypical manly, heterosexual men. So, the fact that Owen (in reference to my head cannon from the show's context clues) is into hobbies like hunting and fishing is actually something I think is pretty cool! I love when stereotypes get broken! :D In a way I was a bit upset during TDRR when the catfish-noodling challenge came up and Noah and Owen were no longer there since THAT would have been a challenge that Owen would have probably dominated! But, that's just me and my crazy head cannons though! Haha. Anyway, what will happen from here? Make your guesses friends! :) Thank you again so much for reading and constructive reviews are always very much appreciated.

Stay Classy!

Dexter1995