Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back again with a new chapter. Like the title hints, this story is about when Katie Ketchum tells her youngest sibling, Rey, about the things that went on with Justin Morgan when they have their brief time together following the break ups with their respective boyfriends. Or rather, this story is where Rey asks Katie questions! As you can see at the start, she's a little bit wary. But she's open enough to understand, even at 7 years old. I hope you enjoy :3
Ages:
Katie: 17
Justin: 23
Rey: 7
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
Though I was having a very enjoyable time with Rey and playing along with her little woodland toy creature house and figurines to match, from the living room I couldn't help but glance out into the hallway when I heard voices. To tell you the truth, that had become a bit of a habit as of late. Whether it was for Ash's sake and to care for his daughter or for Jayden's or just my own pure curiosity – I didn't know or really care. I just knew that it was becoming a regular thing. I was okay with it. Most of the time, I was okay with it. So I allowed my gaze to be taken up by Justin and Katie.
The deep purple haired male reached for his leather jacket on the bannister and put that over the grey hoodie that he was wearing, continuing to grin and laugh along with the orange haired female as she was leaning against the panelling on the wall before preparing to say farewell. She was chuckling as well but waited until he had untucked his growing locks from out underneath the collar of his jacket before speaking.
"Do you definitely have everything? Your jacket? Your phone? Headphones?" she made sure to check with him with a knowing look and after his hands moved from untucking his hair and they comically pointed to each of these things. Her knowing look changed to a playful one when he then smiled gratefully, nodding his head at her to show that he indeed hadn't forgotten anything. She tilted her head on one side and probed. "Your hat?"
Without a beat, Justin tilted his head on one side. After playfully looking over his shoulder and pretended to look for it before tapping the top of his head, his hand went to the side of Katie's arm and he squeezed it. He shook his head. He smiled earnestly. He went back to touching the side of her arm.
"Maybe tomorrow." He responded with a twinkle in his eye and it must have been a question that she asked regularly and it must have been a habit for him to reply with those words because Katie ducked her head and chuckled towards her feet before looking back over at him.
While Rey watched with a harder gaze than I, Justin moved his touch away from the younger female while she was laughing and folded his arms lightly over his chest, putting off reaching for the door handle. He continued that typical close mouthed smile of his, his head nodding with sincerity.
"Thank you for having me over, Katie. I had a nice time. I'd be more than happy to watch the next film next time." He began in a friendly way but as he continued his words, he couldn't stop a more mischievous smile from taking over his face. His thumbs were left from being tucked under his armpit as he continued folding his arms over his chest. "Let's hope the second instalment is better than the first.
"Uh, hey!" Katie automatically cried out and it was then that Justin decided to reach for the door handle, making a point of getting ready to leave after he had been cheeky towards her. Though Rey had seemingly gone back to playing a game with her animals and was muttering to herself, after I couldn't help but snicker out loud, it seemed to me that she quietened down once more. However, I was too occupied with Justin and Katie to see if she'd gone back to observing as well.
But then, I didn't have to observe the deep chestnut haired little girl because I observed something else. After Katie let out a light-hearted noise of disapproval and pretended to furrow her brow at Justin and his teasing, she too quietened down. It was obvious that she had looked in our direction and seen one of Rey's unreadable gazes.
Justin on the other hand, was unaffected. He continued. He pretended to put his hands up in defence, the door then swinging open.
"That's unfair of me to say. You did sit through that nearly three hour documentary with me a little bit ago. But actually-" the deep purple haired male had been in the middle of his mischievous rambling when he eventually noticed that not only had Katie quietened down but she had gained a little bit of a vacant expression, looking in our direction. He didn't hesitate to almost laugh and ask, tilting his head. "What…?"
What, indeed? When I looked back over to Rey, feeling a similar unreadable but unmistakable glance from Katie in response, the seven year old girl was seemingly playing. But when I looked a bit harder, I knew in my heart that that wasn't the case. It was true that she had two figurines in her hands. But she was pausing, her lips twitching and longing to continue muttering to herself. It was like she was merely pretending to be playing. But it was as though she was having more and more of a hard time to be pretending. I looked back over at Katie. She had started catching on.
The orange haired female didn't react for a few more seconds but after Justin stopped mucking around and used both of his hands to reach out to the sides of both Katie's arms, she came back to reality and she looked up at the older male in front of her. When she saw his curious but tiny smile and his hint of a head tilt, she couldn't help but shake her head and be honest about why she had stopped listening to him.
Following her darting her eyes in the direction of Rey and me and trying to tell him that way, she knew she had to tell him with words instead. She stopped leaning against the wall for good, pushing her side plait over onto the other shoulder. She mumbled rather secretively.
"My little sister is giving you the evil eyes again." Katie explained subtly and right away I knew that I was the only one who could hear her. I felt the dark chestnut haired girl by my side and still clutching her little toys.
Justin's eyes widened amusedly with surprise and initially, he didn't understand what the younger female's words meant. He laughed quietly and uncertainly, his brow furrowing with confusion yet twitching with curiosity as well.
"What?" he asked once again but like how it often goes down, after repeating this word, he suddenly knew what Katie was on about. With an "oh!" noise that was a little obvious, he then quietened his tone down to match the orange haired female's. He gave her a bit of a wistful smile. He shrugged. "It's okay. I really should be going anyway."
And with that, he once again made sure to check he had all of his belongings with him to make sure everything was light-hearted between them before pulling the door open a second time, intending to head out of it.
While Rey couldn't resist the urge to look up and watch those two, I continued my observations and saw the way that although Katie nodded her head, part of her was withholding a sigh – a sigh of worry that Justin had been hurt by hinting words even if he wasn't showing it. But all the deep purple haired male showed was that he got the feeling that Katie was worrying about that. He made sure to give her that friendly smile of his and turned to her all over again before exiting the Ketchum residence completely.
"We'll do this again soon? All jokes aside, I do want to watch the next film with you." He told her and it was clear that when it came to being in the presence of the eldest Morgan son, Katie didn't linger on worrisome emotions for too long. Without a moment of hesitation, she scrunched her nose up upon hearing this and laughed. Then, she nodded her head. She would certainly hold Justin to that! The deep purple haired male chuckled back and turned his full body towards her. There was a little moment where he didn't know how he was going to say goodbye to her and I knew it. When I glanced at Rey, she knew it as well!
We had different reactions as we watched Justin's eyes flicker to the top of Katie's head before dropping down to her hand. But when the orange haired female offered her hand out to him, he found himself clasping it in a half hold and half handshake. They both tried their best not to feel too awkward about it. It was early days.
They didn't let go of each other until after Justin had stepped backwards and down and over the step leading into the house and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ears, preparing to leave for good. Nevertheless, before he went he gave Katie a smile and then turned his body once again but for a different reason. He called down the hallway to the living room.
"Goodbye Pikachu. Goodbye Rey! Enjoy the rest of your day." the deep purple haired hollered to us and even though a part of me probably was watching so heavily out of loyalty to my best friend, not even a second passed before I smiled and waved in response. And in the process of doing exactly that, I turned to Rey and witnessed her response. I felt a pang when I knew that Justin and Katie saw it too.
The dark chestnut haired girl had been peeping round, her unreadable expression decorated with observing eyes that didn't give much away either. But when she heard the voice of the older male, she quickly looked away and slunk closer to her woodland creatures' playhouse, pretending to be enamoured with her game. And as she moved and she avoided, she didn't say a word. Seconds passed. She still didn't say a word. After not much time at all, Justin got the hint.
Though he didn't say anything and did his best to swiftly move on from that, focusing on waving to me and taking some more steps backwards and out of the Ketchum household, both of his eyebrows raised. Katie's expression didn't change at all but that was probably out of hurt for not only the eldest Morgan son but for her as well. It was easier for her to move past it completely.
Justin was seemingly going to avoid all memory of it as well until he stopped smiling politely and waving down the corridor at me and gave Katie a little wave, the corners of his nose scrunching up.
"Goodbye Katie." He said to her and needless to say, straight away she said it back and gave him the same tiny wave back as if it was a secret gesture between them. And after Justin hollered once more – this time up towards the window when he was outside to thank Misty's mother for letting him come over – the deep purple haired male left for good.
I took a few steps away from Rey and towards the door for a better view as Katie slowly shut the front door behind her before making her way to the living room. She and Justin had only just been there, watching the film on the screen while her little sister played with me in the corner.
The orange haired female's shoulders looked tense as she walked away from the door and the sight of Justin and I understood why. She managed to keep her loud and telling sigh in until she was back in the room with her little sister. Right away, she pushed her side plait over to her other shoulder before putting her hands on her hips, giving Rey a very revealing look. The seven year old girl was already looking up at her, expecting that very reaction.
"Well that was very rude of you, Rey." Katie didn't hold back from informing her little sister and as if she really had got every bit the reaction that she was suspecting, promptly I watched Rey's body twitch before she quickly looked away, looking down at the carpet that she was sitting on as she played. However, that reaction didn't last very long at all. The youngest Ketchum daughter soon went back to looking over at the eldest one, that unreadable yet immovable expression back on her face. The orange haired female was a highly intuitive person and she quickly caught on. She squeezed her own hips as her hands resided there, angling her head towards her little sister. She withheld another breath. "You might as well say what you want to say, mightn't you? You're going to come out with it eventually."
I looked between the two sisters. Rey paused. After wordlessly pushing her dark chestnut locks from her eyes, she evidently decided that she might as well not hold back if Katie was giving her permission. She took the time to make herself comfier and stop sitting on her legs, pulling them to her chest instead. Following that, she shrugged. She looked up at her eldest sister and responded.
"You must know that you've done something for me to question if you're thinking that I have something to say." The innocent child replied bluntly and I watched as Katie's shoulders seemed to slump yet straighten and tense in the same moment. I heard her mutter a word that sounded like "burn" or "ouch" and after Rey's flickered a little bit as she pondered if she should have said that or not, soon enough she shrugged once more. That time she was the one to breathe out. "It doesn't matter."
"Oh but it does." Katie replied and I looked up from my position by the door, my neck craning as the older female started to move and walk closer to her little sister. She hovered over her for a few moments before she casually folded her arms over her chest, sitting down on the floor with her. The orange haired female shook her head herself, trying to maintain a black expression that the two of them could be known for. But she couldn't stop a little bit of dismay dancing across her forehead. "You've been off with me and you're definitely being off with Justin. I mean what was that? That was so rude."
I couldn't help but inwardly nod my head, making my way to then sit between the two girls. It had been very unfriendly and truthfully it was very out of character for the youngest Ketchum child to act like that. And I think that she knew that. In fact she definitely knew that judging by the way that although she didn't say anything, her eyes glossed over momentarily. But soon enough and after she thought a little bit to herself, they glossed over with something else. Rey explained.
"I didn't feel like saying goodbye. I don't like this. Well, I don't know how I feel but I feel like I don't like this." The deep chestnut haired female began and Katie didn't have a chance to ponder what her little sister was getting at because she continued. Though of course, deep down the orange haired female knew exactly what she was getting at! Rey insisted - more of her quiet side taking over though she remained adamant and bewildered. "You made me keep a secret. You know how I hate that."
Because of the age of the two girls, instinctively I wanted to move closer to the younger as I heard this. I always had a huge wave of protectiveness for Rey splashing through my body. After the situation that had befallen after her birth, I always wanted to see her happy and striving and content. Of course, that wasn't always possible but if I was there, I at least wanted to make sure she didn't feel alone. I felt a twinge of disappointment at the thought that Katie might have caused that within her. But I knew that I had to be neutral and patient as well.
"But I didn't make you keep any secret." Katie looked back at her little sister when she looked down at her own knee caps, her aquamarine eyes filled with a similar wave of vulnerability and certainty. It was funny how their eyes were so alike yet most likely saw and felt very different things. The eldest Ketchum daughter furrowed her brow as she insisted, getting her truth across. "I didn't keep anything from you. I didn't lie. I didn't make you keep any secrets. I didn't… I… didn't…"
My bias was shifting once again as my eyes took in the sight of Katie trying to insist to her little sister but the more words that she added, the more that she knew that she didn't know what to say. Rey's eyes flickered a little bit when she too noticed her eldest sister struggling but she couldn't stop herself from putting her own point of view across. She sniffed out of habit.
"Justin came over one day and I had a funny feeling in my tummy and I asked you about it and you told me that I was being silly. I didn't think I was being silly then and I definitely still don't. I was right, wasn't I? I was right. I know that I was right." Rey concluded with a sniff and as she did this, Katie's fingers moved from playing with each other as she had a discussion with her little sister, switching up to rub her temples lightly instead.
She wanted to shut her eyes as she composed herself as well but she knew that that would make her seem guiltier. Well, she did feel regret in her throat after how she hadn't considered Rey after everything. But even so, she couldn't stop herself from putting her own point across.
"But what was I meant to say, Rey? I didn't even know what was going on myself. How was I meant to answer your questions when even I didn't know? You're just a little girl. You never would have under… understood anyway."
As soon as these words slipped out of Katie's mouth, they became another detail on the list of things that she regretted. Rey's eyes had been wandering between her eldest sister and various points around the room and me as well as she processed all the thoughts going around her head but after she heard this, they focused on Katie. They widened. They watered. Then they looked away. She swallowed. She felt disappointed. She might have been able to articulate that if she was writing but she was not. She looked down.
Though it could be painful at times reading people so very well, I believed that it was a good thing in that moment because when Katie watched her little sister react, the orange haired female quickly swallowed herself before looking away momentarily. But then she forced herself to look back over at Rey.
Katie could see the little girl's mind ticking. It was true that she was a little girl. But it was also true that she was incredibly thoughtful and understanding and wise and that was without her special powers.
As the dark chestnut haired girl's mind continued ticking and processing everything, I watched as after a couple more seconds, Rey's chin jutted out gently and she managed to look over at Katie. The way that the youngest Ketchum daughter looked at her, the eldest one soon enough catch on. She breathed out, out of guilt but then she breathed out, out of understanding.
The orange haired female got the message that the dark chestnut haired one was telling her that if only she got the chance to ask questions and really think about it, then she probably would understand. She knew that she was a little girl but that was no reason to act like she couldn't talk to her like they had always done.
It took a couple of seconds and me to move a bit closely between them both, giving the girls a bit of reassurance and affection with each of my cheeks but following that, Katie was able to come out with it. She nodded her head slowly. She hesitated a few more seconds. But then she spoke, exhaling out of her lips.
"Okay then, what do you want to ask me? I only hope that I can have answers for your grown-up questions." Katie uttered to her sister and it didn't take long for me to understand that that subtle compliment was her way of making it up to the younger female. Of course, Rey caught on almost as quickly as me and I was reminded that one of my favourite things about the sunny Ketchum daughter was that she was so very forgiving. Her eyes perked up a little bit. Her eyebrows rose. Her head did as well. I just hoped that that innocence, kindness and forgiveness was never taken for granted – not ever.
All over again, Rey went back to sitting with her legs tucked underneath her as she prepared the questions that she wanted to ask her eldest sister about what had gone on between her and Justin and in her words. She prepared the words and the questions in her mind and out of excitement; she didn't know which to bring up first. With gentle giddiness at Katie trying to make it up to her and not feel like she had to carry a burden on her shoulders as well as her powers, she didn't know where to begin!
But after a deep breath and after I gave her an extra reassuring nuzzle with my cheek, she calmed down a little bit. And she realised that the best place to start was with the question that came to her first. So she came out with exactly this one.
"Are you going to be with Justin now? Is he going to be your boyfriend?" Rey questioned and I couldn't help but think that this was a bold one to begin with. And in addition to this, I was amused by the way that she had stopped glancing blankly after she had been given the opportunity to express. All she needed was to feel clued in rather than weighed down and she resembled the Rey that everybody knew and loved far more.
Despite the fact that I thought that it was an intense question to begin with, soon enough when I looked over at Katie and I saw her sit with the soles of her feet on the carpet and her elbows resting behind her, I got the feeling that she felt a little more relaxed at the outright questions. Though I knew that she was probably wondering what sort of answers were going to come out, it felt pretty safe when they were directed at someone as open-minded and pure as her little sister.
Eventually, the orange haired female shook her head. It probably felt like a lifetime to Rey! And it seemingly felt like an unpredictable thing to Katie.
"Well… No. I'm rebuilding things with Jayden, you know that. And Justin likes boys mostly. He definitely loves Sammy. Those days together are all we're going to have together, I'm almost certain." Katie explained gently and it felt different to me hearing it explained in that way. I put it down to the orange haired female putting it across simply for the seven year old to understand yet possibly more truthfully than she told anyone else.
I turned my head back over to Rey as I was intrigued by how she was going to respond and got the inclination that she pushed aside a question for later when she heard one of the words out of Katie's mouth. Instead, she asked another question. She might have been highly wise and intelligent, but she was still seven!
"Did you… kiss? On the lips?" the dark chestnut haired girl prompted and her eyes widened with her innocence of it all. I felt myself softening but then I was more amused at Katie's following expression. She tilted her head as if she thought that Rey was teasing her but then it showed off that she didn't know how to react! However following that, she knew that she just had to respond with honesty. Her cheeks went a little pink as she played with her side plait and nodded her head hesitantly.
"Well… Yeah. You knew that though, didn't you?" Katie replied and she pulled a comical face to make a joke about it but it was Rey's next expression that was the truly comical one. Her nostrils had started to twitch as her eldest sister started to answer her and then by the end, her nose had properly turned upwards. Rey pulled a face. The eldest Ketchum female couldn't help but dead pan, giving the younger female a bit of a look. "Seriously? You've walked in on enough of my films. That's not the worst thing. You are such a little girl."
Katie tried to say with slight seriousness and offence but after Rey stopped scrunching her nose up and stuck her tongue out at her eldest sister instead, the orange haired female shook her head and her words seemed to change to being decorated with underlying fondness. The blue eyed young girl smiled airily along with her sister when she did so and she sat back in the same fashion as her, copying her. After that, she decided to go back to the question that she had glossed over before. She paused, as if she thought – no, she knew – that that was more of a heavy one.
"Do… Do you love him?" Rey asked Katie and my head swivelled when I heard the serious and quiet tone from coming out of the seven year old girl's mouth. And from looking at her, I heard her older sister holding her breath. I knew that Katie was pausing. I knew that Katie was hesitating. Without even looking at her, I knew that Katie was looking down. But I also knew that when the orange haired female felt little Rey looking at her with an immovable yet gentle gaze, Katie knew that she could continue in the same way as before. And just with honesty.
I looked back at Katie just in time to hear her answer and see her eyes change as well. They danced with reflectiveness. Yet most importantly, they glittered with the truth.
"Well…" the orange haired female started and I softened at the way that that was evidently how she spoke when she spoke of the deep purple haired male. Rey squinted her eyes as if she too observed this. But she was far too busy getting ready to listen. So I did as well. That was lucky because Katie was ready to talk. "If… If I didn't love him then I wouldn't have done gross kissing with him."
The eldest Ketchum female concluded momentarily to amuse Rey and instantly, the dark chestnut haired girl's nose screwed up for a different reason. After she laughed and Katie managed to laugh alongside with her, I knew it was this growing easiness and growing almost maturity between them made it easier for the orange haired female bit a bit more honest.
Katie started to not only be truthful with her little sister so she didn't feel like she was keeping any secrets but she started to be truly honest with herself as well. She shook her head though she wholeheartedly meant her words.
"Of course I care for him, he's my best friend. He's been there for me forever and he's made me laugh through everything. That's the best thing about him; he just makes me laugh and sometimes I don't even know why." Katie explained and slowly, Rey nodded her head. I saw that she could see that. And in my mind, I reflected on how whenever the orange haired female was with the deep purple haired male, they were indeed often laughing together. Katie's mind wandered further along with her words. "Jayden… Jayden I care about deeply as well though. Jayden is the one to have a future with and I know Justin is the same with Sammy. But on top of that, I know that Justin would never do anything ever again to upset his brother. That's how I know he's a good guy. They both are. They never want to lose each other. And because of that, they will never lose me. They're good ones. They really are."
I found myself breathing out and looking away for just a second to let my own mind wander and to reflect myself. Some could argue that Justin had already done a lot to upset his brother and that was partially true. He had thought about himself. Justin had thought about himself. But after years of putting his little brother first and always prompting Jayden to ask Katie out before he plucked up the courage, did that mean all of that had to be forgotten because Justin thought about himself for a couple of days? I for one hoped not.
Some could also argue that Jayden had done a bad thing by breaking up with Katie and letting her go when he wanted a future with her but grew impatient after feeling like he had been patient for years. But that was exactly it. He had been patient for years. So did that mean that everybody should hold it against him for the one time that he was a little impatient? I hoped that that wasn't the case as well.
All I knew was that things could not be judged – not really. People would have opinions. People would have points of view. They would. And they did. But at the end of the day and in my mind all that mattered was that if people made mistakes then I hoped that they would embrace the lessons that followed them. There was certainly at least one in there for everyone. And there was certainly one in there for everybody else as well.
When I finally broke away from my thoughts and looked over at Rey, I couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking similar things to me. Part of me believed that her seven year old self was surely thinking of something entirely different but when I saw the way her eyes dilated and glinted and her head tilted, I got the feeling that she was thinking similar things. Or at the very least, she was thinking equally sincere ones.
Quite a long silence followed Katie's honesty. The orange haired female was surely thinking everything through. Although some could argue that it was done and dusted – it was human nature to ponder and reflect and sometimes analyse. And in the midst of her eldest sister potentially analysing, Rey shuffled a little closer to her. She came out with one more question when Katie looked at her.
"Are you sad?" the youngest Ketchum daughter asked simply and her words could be taken to mean a variety of different things. At first it flicked through my mind that she was referring to that very moment. But when I saw Katie show off the beginning of a tiny smile, I knew that I was mistaken. I knew that Rey was asking about the situation in general.
The orange haired female couldn't help but be honest out of gratitude that Rey was being a bit more thoughtful about it all. Katie reached out and lightly stroked her little sister's hair. And she answered her. She finally shook her head, slowly. Then she nodded. She nodded slowly as well.
"I… I'm sad when I think of the people that I didn't consider. I'm sad when I think of the people that think that it was empty. And I'm sad when I think of the people that think less of him now…" Katie quietened down and as soon as she did so, Rey swallowed. She most definitely caught on. She'd have liked to have reached out and held her biggest sister's hand but she didn't have the chance. The orange haired female looked at her all over again and swallowed herself. She swallowed bravely. She smiled. She spoke quietly but even more sincerely. "But… I'm happy too. He's a lovely guy. He really is so wonderful. He's very caring. I wouldn't want to trade what I shared with him because it was special. And… it was pretty special to think that the person that I have looked up to for years without realising it could feel the same way about me."
I knew that Rey couldn't stop her eyes from smiling just a little bit when she heard those words. Though she had really disliked feeling like she was keeping a secret and almost had been lied too, she could feel the sincerity in her eldest sister's words. She trusted her. It really was lucky that they were both utterly readable at times even if they were unreadable at others. They could read each other. They knew when they were being honest. And Rey knew that what had gone on wasn't a secret anymore. But it wasn't any less magical.
And as if to tell Katie exactly this, the dark chestnut haired girl seized the opportunity of reaching for the orange haired female's hand. That put a lump in my throat. I knew that her hand was so small and soft yet dependable as well. And when Katie looked into the blue orbs of her little sister, she saw all of these qualities too. And not only that but she got the idea that Rey was telling her something.
She was looking at her with a small smile and reflective head tilt as if to say that after she had got to ask Katie lots of questions, it was surely the older female's turn. Katie smiled back. She paused. She considered. She brushed Rey's hair from her eyes softly. She wanted to ask only one thing.
"Are… Are you okay that it was Justin? You wouldn't prefer it to be someone else…?" Katie asked and although I couldn't help that she was shooting herself in the foot. After all, Rey could be blunt and children could be extremely honest! But the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't help but respect her. I had never lost that for her, I will tell you that much.
I made sure to rest my head on them both while Rey thought about it and then she shook her head. She took a couple more seconds but then she had a word-filled answer, scrunching her nose and obviously copying Katie.
"I… I'm okay that it's Justin. I don't mind it. I like him. I like the way he smiles." The dark chestnut haired girl told the orange haired one with a shrug and a nod. And then she smiled. And it was the broadest smile we had seen from her that day. She answered with the other end of the child-like spectrum. Utter sweetness! I smiled too but before Katie could almost wistfully answer the words "me too" or simply nod and press a kiss to the top of her sister's head, Rey glanced over at her. She knew that it was Katie's turn to ask some questions but she couldn't help but ask one more. And so she did. She sat further up. "Promise that we will always be friends too, though? Even if you kiss boy's on the lips. Even if I grow up and do the same? We will always be friends, won't we? Promise?"
As Rey asked, I couldn't prevent my heart from soaring and plummeting in one. I really did adore all of the Ketchum children with my whole heart. They were my whole heart. My family was my heart. And one thing that made my heart thud with even more love for them all was the love that they had for each other.
Katie looked over at Rey and although her initial reaction was to roll her eyes, when she saw her sweet and young and expectant and hopeful face, she knew that she couldn't do that to her out of fear of her misreading it.
The orange haired female paused to sit up as well. She thought about it. She thought about her words. If her friendship with Justin had only gotten stronger the more time passed and the more they went through life together then it was safe to assume that it would be the same for Katie and Rey. So the eldest Ketchum female didn't stop herself from smiling and nodding her head. Though at first, she had a teasing reaction.
"Of course we will, you silly thing." Katie took a chance by calling her the name that she had been wounded with weeks before but when she heard it in an airy way and saw the sparkle in her eye, she knew to take it than nothing less than a compliment. Because that was exactly what it was. And following that, the orange haired female reached her pinkie out to her little finger and the two Ketchum siblings locked their fingers together. Katie told her. "We will always be friends. I promise."
It was on the eldest Ketchum female's mind to add that maybe one day all three of her, Justin and Rey could all be friends together. But as I moved away from them a little bit to give them sisterly space, I knew in my heart that Katie didn't feel the need to bring that up at all. Not because it wouldn't be true, no. But because she wanted her to know that no boys or secrets or anything could come between them. They were siblings. They were friends. They were sisters. And both of them held their relationships with each other very dearly.
And as if to tell Rey this absolutely that and even more so, the eldest of the two pulled the seven year old onto her lap and she proceeded to run her fingers through her hair before styling it. It was a little thing. It truly was a little thing. But it was the little things that really mattered.
From that day on one of the many lessons that Katie would take with her would be to never make Rey feel like she had to be a secret keeper. She was wise and she was intuitive and she was bright but that didn't mean that she had to feel the burden that it presented sometimes. If she felt that she could then she would most certainly relieve that for her. Of course she would at least try. Katie would do anything for her. For Rey was everybody's sunny girl.
And the lesson that Rey in turn learned was that she didn't have to object to all secrets even if they were difficult or too exciting to keep. In time she worked out that as long as she had one special someone to share them with then she was going to be okay. She just never dreamt that the person that she would start to share things with was the person that Katie had shared her special time with!
A lot of lessons were presented. A lot of lessons were learned. But most importantly of all friendships were made – even more than the ones you know about. So many lessons. So many points of view. So many tales. And they are all still to come!
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 It would be interesting to me to write a story about Rey questioning Justin and hearing it from his side but if his answers differ from Katie's then I don't think the poor young thing would be able to handle the "secret keeping". That whole thing of Rey hating keeping secrets actually has a bit of depth to it. It all comes from through her powers always knowing that JJ Williams actually is Ash and Misty's miscarried child. She kept that secret for a while and now has a complete aversion to them! But like the ending suggests, she finds a friend in Justin through that and in the future :P This chapter was a good one because it answers questions that some people might be thinking and also shows Katie's point of view. I don't think here she really knows how much that Justin cares for her and that's almost sweet. Because she cares for him regardless :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3