"I have to pee!" I whine loudly and Sarah smacks my arm for the thousandth time in the last ten minutes.
"Kat, we literally have half an hour, can't you wait?" Hailey says from the driver's seat. She looks at me in the small mirror as I hold onto my stomach.
"I've been dealing with your weak ass bladder for years. Stop the car, Hails." I warn and Jessica lets out a loud laugh, slapping herself while doing so. I see my cousin growl before she harshly pulls beside the road.
I practically jump out of the car, my mouth forming a string of curses. I spot a bush and jog over to it, already unzipping my pants.
I haven't been to the bathroom this morning and the others were pushing me to get ready faster which is why I couldn't wait to have an opportunity to free myself. I close my eyes and enjoy not having a full bladder anymore.
"Katherine, damn it!" I hear Wes's voice from the distance and it sounds like he's impatient.
"I'm coming!" I make it clear for them while standing up and raising my shorts up my legs. I hate travelling. I absolutely hate having to sit in a car or a plane for hours while you wait for your destination. I can't wait for teleporting to become a thing. I rush over to the car and see that the boys have obviously pulled over as well. I can't avoid Wes's smirk as he watches me while I make long strides in order to get to the vehicles.
"Your zipper, Kat." Carter chuckles, flicking off his used cigarette. The boys must've been bored in the car and got out to have a smoke.
I glance down and pull up my zipper, embarrassed.
"Let's just go." I mumble and throw myself in the backseat of Hailey's car. Just like she said, we only had thirty minutes to the house.
Once we reach the tall building Hailey slows down in front of it and when I look closer to see why she's slowed down I see her face light up as she quickly jumps out of the car after stopping it fully. Sarah and Jessica follow quickly and I just stupidly open my door and lean against the car. They all let out excitement noises as my cousin crashes into a tall blonde girl standing in front of the house. My cousin jumps up happily as she says something to the girl while Jessica and Sarah hug her as well. I hear footsteps behind me and turn my head around to see the boys approaching, but as they get closer I see their faces turn into a frown.
"Man, what the fuck?" Wes throws his hands up in the air, turning to his friends.
"Ellie's back." He announces and I see Carter lift his sunglasses. He squints his bright eyes before a groan escapes his throat.
"Fucking great." Dylan mutters and I can't help but laugh at the opposite welcomes for this girl called Ellie. I nod at Carter when I catch his eye.
"Who is she?" I ask, crossing my hands over my chest.
"This crazy chick your cousin hangs out with. She's been gone for two years and now would you look at that?" He sarcastically remarks, putting his attention back to the four girls squealing over one another. I've never seen Carter annoyed so this is an interesting new situation.
"Let's just go out the back." Wes suggests and I see the other boys agreeing with him with their heads nodding.
"Kat! Come here!" My cousin yells to me with a wide smile on her face. She beckons me to come to them and I detach myself from the car.
"Good luck, sugar." Carter tells me while shaking his head in desperation before he follows the boys, who are already walking towards the back of the house.
I shrug and walk over to the four girls. The blonde girl focuses on me as her eyes look me up and down before she looks back at my face and greets me with a warm smile. Her fresh face and soft hair makes me assume she is in the modeling world, she must be.
"Kat, this is Ellie." Hailey drags out her name and provides me with the information I already know. Despite that, I extend my hand to the girl and she happily returns the gesture.
"So you're the cousin?" She says, making the sentence sound more affirmative rather than being a question.
"That's me." I attempt a small giggle as I respond. I find it funny how everyone know me by being Hailey's cousin. Not that I mind, it's just interesting how it comes up everytime I meet someone new.
"Ellie used to come here every year." Hailey starts, probably explaining how they know each other. "But she moved to England two years ago and stopped coming here. And now she's here again!"
"Yeah, well, finally found some free time." She looks down at her feet and her hair falls over her shoulder. How the hell can someone have such long hair? I'm constantly annoyed by mine being over my face so she must be experiencing nerve wracking situations.
"They added so much stuff to the place, you have to see it." Jessica exclaims and grabs Ellie's hand.
They start walking inside the building while I look around myself dumbfounded. Hailey's car is still standing in the driveway of the house.
"Hails, the car." I call out to my cousin and she spins around before slapping her forehead. I wait for her while she parks her car.
The girls walk through the lobby with Ellie, making sure to show her every possible new thing that has been added while she was gone. I wouldn't know, since I'm here for the first time. They stop every five seconds and I can't help but raise an eyebrow whenever Ellie would place her palm over her mouth in shock. The girls squeal around her until we reach the poolside.
"I've missed you guys." Ellie says while testing the temperature in the pool, her feet dipping on the surface of the water. "I can't wait to go out again. I miss clubbing."
"We know you do." Jess replies, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. "There's this new club as well."
"I'm sure you guys are tired after your trip. Where were you again?" Ellie asks, tilting her head to the side.
"Miami." I answer shortly.
"Right. Well then, we can go tomorrow so you can rest. I'll drive so don't worry about that." She turns to my cousin, who places her hand on her chest.
"That would be amazing, sweetheart." Hailey says.
Sweetheart? Is she alright?
"No problem." Ellie waves her off. "I'm going to take my stuff upstairs and text you guys later."
She turns on her heel and waves to us as she walks inside again. I can't help but wonder why the boys had such a terrible reaction to seeing this girl while the girls behaved as if a movie star just arrived.
"So, uh, now what?" I look at my friends and they all shrug. I really wish we stayed in Miami, there was no rush to come back.
"Isn't Peeta's birthday today?" Sarah looks at Hailey and Jessica, expecting an answer from them.
"I wouldn't know." Jessica answers but I see Hailey thinking it through.
"I think so. We'll see tonight." She says.
"I'll go change and take a walk. I'm kind of exhausted." I tell them and they nod at me before I leave for the room so I can change my outfit and go to the park.
I like to have me times, when I can just relax and think. I often can't stand being around people for a long time. I don't get annoyed or anything but I simply can't be around others all the time. I like laying in my bed or walking around parks like the one I'm currently in. That's how I stay sane, after all.
When my mom fell into a coma, I felt like the whole world was destined to be the worst. That my life is never going to get better. Even though I had and still have my entire family with me, it's hard to think correctly. If a single thing reminds me of the situation my family is in, I lose it. That's why I separate myself from time to time. I'd rather be away than throw tantrums around those who don't even know. I'm only suspecting that Hailey didn't tell her friends but even if she did, they're doing a good job at not asking me anything about that.
I sit down on one of the benches and cross my legs. Not many people are around, everyone is probably drinking and partying in their rooms and by the pool. I look down at the ground until a single tear falls down in my palm. For me, crying is unimportant. It's an act of emotion that occurs unintentionally. When my mind starts spinning my thoughts connected to my mom, it triggers my feelings, so I obviously start to cry. But despite being emotional, I don't like having breakdowns, I wouldn't be able to stop myself.
"Hello there."
I quickly wipe away my tear stained cheek and look up to find the source of the voice. The person sits beside me and it takes me a while to react. My reaction is normal, scooting away to the other end of the bench.
"Come on." Damon rolls his eyes. "I'm not gonna try anything."
"I doubt that." I scoff.
"I just wanna talk." He tells me, running a hand through his hair, making it spike up a little bit.
"Sure you do."
"Katherine." He says and I wrinkle my nose at the sound of my full name coming from his lips. "I just like you, why is that so wrong?"
I part my lips to say something but he stops me by raising his hand.
"Truth is, I did want just a hookup with you, but you've attracted me differently." He explains and I can't help but groan with a laugh.
"I'm not into you, Damon. Give up." I tell him simply, but he ignores my remark.
"Why are you here all alone?" He asks and I raise an eyebrow.
"Because I want to?" I say. I don't understand what's so wrong and weird about people being somewhere alone. Lately it feels like it's socially unacceptable to be alone without being surrounded with people.
"Just asking." He raises his hands before placing them around the bench. "I was planning on jogging but honestly, I can't force myself to do it."
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I almost sigh in relief because I did not come out here to have a small talk with Damon. Seems like everytime I want to have some free time someone barges in and stops me. I unlock my phone to view the message I received.
Unknown
Come to my room -W
I roll my eyes, just a tiny little bit, before saving the number and shoving my phone back into my pocket. I can feel Damon's gaze on me so I stand up and fake a smile.
"Hailey is calling me. Bye." I wave and quickly walk away. For once I am glad for Wes's intrusion. I've never escaped a conversation so fast. I did not see Damon's face but I can only guess it was confused.
When I get to Wes's apartment I open the door without knocking but then I realise that and stop in my tracks, looking around to makesure there's nobody inside. The place is empty and I hear some shuffling coming from the door where Wes's room is. I pad over to his room and once again open the door without knocking. I have to get rid of that habit before it's too late. I step inside and close the door behind me. He didn't inform me on why I have to come up but I definitely did not expect what I'm seeing right now.
My eyes are glued to Wes's body which is wrapped in the suit he bought as his feet are adorned by incredibly polished shoes. He is currently trying to put his bow tie on and I see him struggling, but I can't seem to get myself to move.
"Um, help?" He sarcastically mutters and I look up to him raising an eyebrow at me. I glare at him before stepping over his laptop to get to him. My fingers swat his own away as I start fixing that damned bow tie. I hear him scoff and look above me and as much as I wish that doesn't distract me, it does.
"What?" I mumble, my eyes focused on the tie.
"Deja vu." He says and I roll my eyes just as I finish. I step away from him and look at him fully.
"So I came just to put that on you?" I try to sound annoyed but I can't help but take in the way he looks in that suit, so professional and mature.
"Well you could put yourself on me." He grabs a shirt and starts folding it in a really boyish way. You know, just fold one side and then the other one, who cares if it's wrinkled, right?
"Not in the mood." I tell him and move over to the bed.
"I know." He says, surprising me. "Mel told me he saw you with Damon."
He places the shirt in his closet and grabs his jeans, not sparing a glance my way. I don't respond, instead I wait for him to finish 'cleaning' his room. It doesn't take long and he doesn't bother to grab the three water bottles from the nightstand. He moves his laptop to the side before taking his phone. I almost chuckle when he takes a quick picture in the mirror. He then removes the tie and the suit and the shoes and to my horror, throws it all on the bed.
"No." I whine and instantly stand up, grabbing the nearest hanger to hang his suit. I know how sensitive this stuff is, my dad always panics before any formal night.
Once I'm done Wes is already on the bed, only in his sweatpants. His tattoos are decorating his skin and I have to look away before jumping back on the bed.
"Was that for Sophia?" I ask curiously, seeing that he's texting the picture to someone. He only nods, still typing some words so his eyes are trained on the screen. Eventually he locks his phone and raises his head to look at me.
"What's with Damon?" He asks all of a sudden and I can't help but roll my eyes again.
"He's a pain in the ass." I say.
"Why is he so persistent?" He wonders, more to himself but he's still looking at me.
"I don't know, damn, I'm such a turn off." I push my shoudlers down and grumble sarcastically. Wes snickers as a smirk forms on his lips. He lifts one of his knees and rests his hand on it.
"You're boring." He simply states.
"But." He exclaims and scoots closer to me very fast. A sharp intake of breath is heard from my lungs as his face appears only millimeters from mine.
"You shouldn't get too touchy with him. Wouldn't wanna break our deal." He smirks devilishly and I tilt my head.
"So that's another condition? Commitment?" I almost frown until he shakes his head slowly.
"Not exactly commitment." He looks away from me."More like a bond."
"Like a brother and sister bond?" I bite my lip to stop myself from bursting into laughter. He is far too engrossed in this it's impossible not to find it funny. The second I say that he groans.
"If you're into that shit we can stop right now." He says grumpily and I release a giggle.
"You'll never find out then." I pretend to pout.
"Katherine, damn it." He slaps my thigh and I yelp, jumping a little. "Just don't do anything with Damon, or any other guy."
"The same goes for you." I point my finger at him and he chuckles before grabbing my perfectly manicured finger and pulls me closer, making me instantly feel the heat radiating from his body.
"Don't worry. I'm not into guys." He says and I roll my eyes, again.
"Try girls and I'll make sure your plane crashes while you're leaving for New York."
A low laugh comes from his throat as he releases my finger only to grab at my waist, connecting my body with his. His touch sends shivers down my spine and suddenly I'm all loose. I run my hand over his biceps until my hair falls in front of my face. I feel his hand grab that strand of my hair as he pushes it behind my back. His eyes find mine before he slowly leans in and kisses my lips, making my every cell flame up.
-
I'll be giving dedications and shoutouts for the most creative comment ;)
Love, M.