Kathy was in assembly, listening to the principal explain the school's latest decision to take prom outside the school gym this year, when Kelly found her in the crowd.

"Joey asked me out," she said with bated breath.

"Really? That's awesome!" Kathy turned her attention to her best friend. It was about darn time, too. "When? Where?"

"Tonight, and he didn't say where. He said it's a surprise."

Kathy frowned. It was Wednesday. "It's a school night."

Kelly blinked as though considering this troubling oh-so-not-obvious news. "So what?"

Kathy pursed her lips. Kelly had a point. So what? She was the only one who still had a curfew and was only allowed out during the week with Donnie for protection. Kathy had always blamed William for it, for infecting their parents with his paranoia. They lived in a small town, it was safe. But the rule was so ingrained in Kathy by this point that she judged everyone who didn't abide by it. Which was dumb, really.

"I'm really glad he asked you out," she said instead of launching into a lecture. She could be cool.

Kelly smiled the brightest of smiles as the crowd started to shift. The principal was obviously done and had sent everyone off to class.

"So, you're going out with Joey, eh?" The girl in front of them turned around and Kathy recognized her as Sonia, the drummer from Uncaged. Her boyfriend was right by her side, one arm around her waist. "It means we'll be seeing a lot more of you."

Kelly blushed, but didn't answer and Sonia's eyes turned to Kathy.

"'Sup?"

"I'm good, I guess."

"Fixed your boyfriend troubles?" Sonia pressed on.

Kathy fought the impulse to stomp on Kelly's foot for making it common knowledge and nodded instead. Sonia frowned and scoffed. Which was really weird and rude.

"What?" Kathy asked, trying her best not to sound confrontational.

"I was hoping you ditched his ass. Since Kelly here is going to become an Uncaged girl, I was hoping to fill in the final spot." Sonia eyed Kathy up and down. "And you seemed like an okay fit."

Kathy just stared. What the hell was an Uncaged girl? Dustin seemed to pick up on her confusion because he grinned.

"That's what Sonia calls the girlfriends of the guys in the band. Except for me. I'm an Uncaged boy."

Sonia elbowed him in the stomach, though her expression had softened considerably. Kathy continued to stare, not sure if she should find Sonia's desire to include her rude or flattering. They hadn't even spoken before all this. How could Sonia claim Kathy was an okay fit for anything?

"So you were hoping I'd go out with the long - haired guy?"

Dustin and Kelly started laughing for some reason. Sonia just grinned as if Kathy was the most adorable toddler in the world.

"Vincent is gay, Goldilocks," she said.

"Oh." Well, that name was not dying any time soon. Besides, how the heck was she supposed to know that? But if Vincent was not available... "Then who exactly were you expecting me to hook up with?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "He who crowned you Goldilocks."

Kathy clenched her fists, trying not to stomp her foot like a child. "I told him to stop calling me that."

"He did. Doesn't mean we have to stop," Sonia said with a grin. "So cute that he actually has a nickname for you. And I couldn't help but notice that you two have really good chemistry."

Alarm bells started ringing inside Kathy's head and she instinctively looked around for Cecily before leaning towards Sonia.

"Kyle has a girlfriend already." 

A girlfriend who didn't mind his history and his rock star status. And Kathy had a boyfriend, the only person she had chemistry with.

"Sonia hates her," Dustin explained.

"I don't hate her," Sonia countered on a very unconvincing tone. "She just doesn't take the band seriously."

"Nah. She hates her."

Sonia elbowed Dustin in the stomach again and fortunately changed the subject. "So, what do you guys think about the prom thing?"

"What prom thing?" Kelly asked.

"Jesus, Kelly girl, I know Joey's hot and everything, but you need to focus." Sonia rolled her eyes dramatically while Dustin snickered by her side. "Going into the woods for the prom."

"Oh." Kelly scratched the back of her head. "It's nice, I guess. Anywhere is better than the school gym."

Sonia nodded in approval of Kelly's opinion, eyed Kathy one more time as if trying to figure out if she was good enough for Kyle, then led Dustin away from them. "See you around."

Kelly waved half-heartedly and watched them disappear in the crowd. She and Kathy then made their way towards their lockers. Kathy's head pounded, trying to make sense of the weird conversation. Why would someone randomly start claiming that she and Kyle had chemistry? Sonia hadn't even seen them together.

"She's kinda scary," Kelly whispered.

"I wouldn't say scary. More like a little intimidating," Kathy said, fighting her way through the mass of students. And crazy. Sonia was definitely crazy. "Don't they all hang out? The band I mean."

Kelly shook her head. "Not really. Joey and Kyle do because they're best friends as far as I know. They do all hang out a lot for rehearsals and stuff, but not on a day-to-day basis. They each have their own lives and schedules."

"Oh." Kathy closed her locker, thinking she'd learned enough about the members of Uncaged for one day.

She couldn't say she liked them much except maybe for Joey. Her stomach twisted with guilt as an honest little voice pointed out that she didn't dislike Kyle either, as much as she tried to. Shush, he's just interesting, that's all.

"Hi there."

Kathy's heart jumped in her throat. Cecily Howard had stopped in front of them, wearing a light pink baby-doll dress and pumps, her arms wrapped around a stack of English books. She knew Kathy had been thinking about Kyle and was there to inflict punishment. Why else would she be there?

William's paranoia was really starting to rub off on her. Her pulse eased a little when she realized Cecily had addressed Kelly and actually had an honest smile on her face.

"Hi," Kelly said cautiously.

"I heard you and Joey were going out," Cecily said with a wave of her head that sent her dark brown waves bouncing over her shoulder. "That's really cool."

"Um, thanks?" Kelly said.

Cecily's smile widened. "Joey's a good guy. And he really likes you." She winked. "Welcome to the club."

Kelly nodded, smiling back this time.

"Well, just wanted to say hi. We'll probably be seeing more of each other now. Bye, Kelly." Cecily waved and bounced down the hallway, parting the crowd with ease.

Kathy watched her walk away, her hips swinging, her toned, tanned legs showing just enough from her dress and wondered how much time she spent every morning getting ready for school. She always picked clothes that highlighted her assets, her hair was perfect and so was her minimal makeup. She didn't need much. Cecily was a beautiful girl, and she obviously knew it.

"That was totally rude," Kelly said.

Kathy's head snapped in her direction. "What do you mean? She just said hi."

"She totally ignored you!"

Kathy let out a short laugh. "Trust me, the only attention I want from Cecily Howard is no attention. It's okay. You might end up being friends."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know what Kyle sees in her."

"Have you seen her legs? Her ass or her boobs for that matter?"

"Have you seen your legs, ass and boobs? You're so much hotter than her."

Kathy blushed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Kelly shrugged and focused on getting her books. "I'm just stating facts." But the way she glanced at her proved there was something more.

Kathy bit her lip and decided to ignore it. Whatever was going on in Kelly's head sounded dangerous, so she sure hoped Sonia's craziness was not contagious.

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"I've talked to her," Cecily said, stopping in front of Kyle's locker.

"To who?" Kyle asked, trying to rearrange the overflowing content.

Something had exploded in Joey's locker – probably scraps of old food – and it was nothing but a sticky mess, so all Joey's crap was in his locker now.

"That Kelly girl Joey's going out with," she answered.

"That's nice of you." Kyle finally managed to yank out his history manual.

"She seems okay, I guess. She's pretty, if you're into blondes."

Kyle only nodded, elbowing Joey's gym bag and finally closing the damn locker. You owe me big time, Wilkes. 

"Are you into blondes?" Cecily asked.

Kyle bit back a laugh and finally focused on her. He'd never actually considered if he had a type. But for being a beautiful, popular girl, Cecily was way too insecure. "Are you a blonde?"

A smile lit her features. "No, but for you, I could be."

"Nope. I love my girls natural." He leaned over and gave her a short kiss on the lips.

Cecily dropped her books and put her hands on his face, keeping him there, kissing him back with too much enthusiasm for the school hallway. He pulled back, this time letting the laughter out.

"Not the kind of kissing to be doing in public."

"I didn't take you for a prude," she retaliated, her tone teasing.

He was not, and she knew it, but since he found unwarranted PDA annoying coming from others, he didn't want to be that guy.

Cecily straightened and took a serious air. "I just miss you. You've been so busy since you came back, we can hardly steal a second for each other."

Kyle watched her pouty lips and had to admit she had a point. He didn't mind the status quo, and had been fairly distracted since he restarted school, but she apparently wanted to spend more time with him. He looked at the history book in his hand, sighed and shoved it in his backpack. One missed class wouldn't hurt if it kept her happy.

"Let's steal 3600 seconds for each other."

Cecily instantly cheered up and took his hand. "Oh, I know the perfect place to play skivvy. It's got the best—"

Kyle put his finger on her lips. "I'm not missing history, which is one of my best classes, to go out and drink silly coffee with a fancy name or eat baguettes or something. Us time."

Cecily grinned mischievously. "Come on. I know for a fact that the art department is empty for the next two hours."

He let her pull him away, enjoying the spring in her step and honest happiness on her face. It reminded him of when they'd first started going out. "Now you're talking."

She turned around and gave him an alluring smile. "By the way, you said the L word."

What? No, he couldn't have. Because he didn't just randomly drop that word unless he meant it. And he never had so far. Not with her, not with anyone else.

"Did I now?" he teased, though deep inside, he way obsessively replaying their conversation.

Nope, he hadn't said he loved her. Because he didn't. And there was no way in hell he wanted to lead her on. She knew where they stood. They liked each other and that was that.

"Not the way I would have liked, but yes, you did."

"Cecily." He stopped and pulled her towards him. She faltered a little but turned to him with a smile. "Things haven't changed while I've been away. If they have for you, tell me."

She blinked at him, obviously taken by surprise by the seriousness in his tone. "Of course not," she finally said and gave a short laugh. "I'm just teasing you. Now come on! Each second spent talking is a wasted second in which we're not making out." She pulled his hand again, leading him towards the art department.

He smiled and followed. That he could get behind. It was the complications he didn't want or need. But he would trust that she knew what she was doing.

🧩🧩🧩

Nothing could dampen Kelly's spirit once she started going out with Joey, because the first date was followed by another, and another, and another. Kelly and Joey spent so much time together, Kathy could hardly see her best friend outside of class anymore.

She didn't mind. As a pleasant surprise, Donnie had become her new study partner. He seemed determined to prove that he could be the perfect boyfriend if he put his mind to it and only hung out with Pete and Jackson on the football field.

Unfortunately, he become bored with studying fairly quickly and spent the rest of the time bouncing his knees, fidgeting and just throwing anxious energy all around. Kathy gritted her teeth and studied on, fighting the need to tell him to sit still already. It was a minor inconvenience. She didn't know why it bothered her so much.

"Well," Donnie suddenly said, his voice a little higher and faster than usual.

Kathy jumped. The word had sounded like cannon fire in the mostly empty library.

"I'm heading out to football practice."

"But it's not for another hour," Kathy said, eying his closed books. He'd spent the past hour drumming on the table in an annoying rhythm. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he wanted to leave early.

"I know. I just wanna hang with the guys for a while. Do some running. I feel like running. It's really hot in here anyway. Is that okay?" He looked at her as if her answer would really influence his decision.

Kathy sighed. He'd been a sweetheart lately, always leaving her roses, spending time with her and not pushing her to have sex. She couldn't deny him an hour with his friends. And maybe some running would eat up some of his energy, so she nodded.

Donnie smiled lazily, bent towards her and kissed her. Kathy kissed him back, but something felt different this time. His lips were rough. hotter than usual, and his breathing a little labored.  Apparently all that fidgeting was a workout on its own. Even so, he still seemed hyperactive.

"Where are you getting all this energy?" she asked, pulling back.

"I'm trying to improve my athletic performance," he answered with a grin. "I've even lost some weight."

She squinted, taking him in properly. Yes, he had lost a bit of weight. His face looked gaunter if anything. "What are you up to? Please don't tell me you're on some energy drink diet or something."

He just laughed. "Nope. Just trying to get sexier so people would stop telling me you're out of my league."

"I'm not out of your league."

He bent over her and kissed her again. "Yes you are, beautiful. But I'm going to fix that."

Kathy couldn't help but grin back at his cheesiness. "Go on, then, before I change my mind."

Donnie pecked her lips again and strode to the door. Kathy watched him disappear and returned to her pile of English homework. The teachers were killing them in senior year. They acted as if kids didn't have lives.

Mere moments later, Kelly entered the library carrying a huge stack of books. Kathy waved to her and she made her way over. As soon as she dropped the books on the table, Kathy's mouth fell open.

"Kelly, what's wrong?" She'd never seen her friend looking so dejected.

Her eyes were glazed over as if she were staring through the table in front of her, and even her hair seemed to slump.

"Um, nothing," Kelly mumbled, twirling a blonde lock around her finger.

"Did something happen with Joey?" Kathy saw no other reason for this end-of-the-world look.

"Oh, no, of course not. We just decided to take a break for a while."

Kathy stared, then did a double take, then stared some more. "What? Already?"

Kelly's eyes widened as if she'd just realized what she'd said. "No, not like that. Just a break from going out. We're still together."

Phew. If Kelly was this distraught over a dating break, Kathy didn't think she could handle it if they broke up. "Then why the long face?"

"It's just..." Kelly bit her lip and tears pooled in her eyes. "I already miss him so much."

Controllong the massive eye roll gave Kathy a headache. Kelly needed comforting, not to her hear rage about overattachement . "Was the break thing his idea?"

"No. We both agreed on it. We're way behind on homework." Kelly indicated her mountain of manuals, but made no move to actually get started on anything. And from the look on her face, Kathy was sure she wouldn't be able to concentrate.

"Why don't we take our studying to the café again?" Kathy suggested. "All you need to get you started is a good latte."

Kelly nodded absently and Kathy prayed to God that Joey would be there.

🧩🧩🧩

So, tis the start of the Joey-Kelly romance. What did you think about Cecily after reading the chapter? How about her relationship with Kyle?

Also, what's up with Sonia and her crazy claims?

Then there's Donnie and his sudden desire for improvement... what's up with that?

And poor poor Kelly, missing her boyfriend so much 😅

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment! Your support makes writing this so much more fun!