Kathy waited outside her Economics class, hoping Kelly would make it on time. Her friend never missed class, but she'd been running late, cramming extra homework in every available minute, and avoiding Joey like the plague.

Joey tried to avoid her, too, but it seemed that the more they tried not to see each other, the more they met by accident and were pulled into conversations that lasted hours.

Kathy's phone chimed and she pulled it out, hoping it was a text from Kelly. Donnie's name flashed on the screen. Kathy sighed and shoved the phone back in her bag without opening the text.

She knew she said they'd start over, but did that mean Donnie had to bombard her with texts containing nothing but hearts and kisses? She hadn't liked this stuff even when she was a preteen, let alone now. Was that what new couples did? She should ask Kelly. Who finally showed up, hallelujah! Closely followed by their professor.

Kathy sprinted inside the classroom, Kelly on her heals, and the two girls took their seats next to each other.

"Sorry for being late," Kelly puffed, pulling out her books. "But, on the bright side, I'm done with geography."

"That's great," Kathy responded, writing down the title of today's lesson.

Kelly sighed dramatically, writing the title down too. "Well, I did it."

Cured your unhealthy obsession with Joey? "Did what?"

"I've been trying to avoid it for weeks, but I finally went on a double date. Me and Joey and Kyle and Cecily."

Kathy's attention was drawn from the definition of GDP. "Really?" She shouldn't care, shouldn't be curious, but damn it, she was sooo curious.

She'd wonderd if she and Donnie would ever go on a double date with Kelly and Joey, but she'd avoided it, being sure Joey would take a stab at Donnie for getting drunk at the concert. And now, she and Donnie weren't actually dating anymore.

"It was horrible," Kelly said, obviously not needing more of an invitation to share.

"Why, what happened? Was Cecily mean to you?" Kathy doubted Joey or Kyle had been horrible, so Cecily was the only option.

"No." Kelly huffed, writing a few more things down in her notebook. "She was so sweet, joking around with me and the boys, tucked under Kyle's arm." She made a gagging noise.

"Then wha--"

"Honestly, all I could think of," Kelly continued, "was how she "accidentally" set fire to Lauren Silverman's hair in our freshman year just because she had beautiful curls, or how she altered Christina Thompshon's speech and she lost class president, and how she spread those rumors that Sybil Downey had STDs and was banging coach Johnson..."

"I think that last rumor was actually true," Kathy whispered. And it was the reason Sybil, the former queen bee, went down, just so Cecily could replace her.

"And it made me sick. Because no matter how nice she is to me or how sweet and considerate she is to everyone when Kyle's around, I know who she really is and what she's capable of."

Kathy wanted to argue that maybe she'd changed, but she knew it wasn't true. Cecily Howard was as mean as ever, only knew she had to hide it, because if she didn't, Kyle would dump her. At least Kathy liked to think he would.

And even if Cecily was a jerk, Kathy couldn't deny that she was smart. All those major incidents Kelly had mentioned had happened over the span of years, far apart enough to become the stuff of school legend. And Kathy wondered if Kyle actually knew all about Cecily before going out with her. She liked to think that he didn't, that he wouldn't have come anywhere near her if he knew who she really was.

Because Kyle deserved better than Cecily.

Kathy's thoughts screeched to a halt. Why did she think that? She hardly even knew him. Yes, he'd been nice to her when she'd needed it and made her laugh, but she'd hardly seen him interacting with other people. Maybe he was mean, too.

Except... After the whole jail thing, she refused to believe anything nasty about him unless she witnessed it first hand. He joked around, sure, but she liked that. Liked him. The thought came with an uncomfortable weight in her stomach which she chose to ignore.

Kelly was silent for the rest of the class and hurried to the library as soon as the bell rang. Kathy followed, hoping to get a head start on her latest English essay, grateful that she had a distraction from dissecting Kyle's relationship. She was shocked to find Joey and Kyle there and see Kelly heading for them without missing a beat.

She gave Joey a short kiss and handed him a stack of papers. "Your English homework, babe. Got my math?"

Kathy stared from one to the other and then at Kyle who was watching them amused.

"They're doing each other's homework. Joey might actually get some decent grades in English this year," he explained as Kelly slumped next to Joey and more passing around of projects ensued.

"Um, really?" Kathy asked, sitting next to Kyle warily. "Why are we still here then?"

"Make out police." Kyle winked. "Every time they get too close..."

Joey winced and pulled away from Kelly the moment Kyle kicked him under the table. Kathy giggled. She didn't think she'd have the heart to kick Kelly, but this was much better than hovering awkwardly while she and Joey kissed like true love's dream.

"You seem better," Kyle said carefully.

"I am. Thanks, but I still don't want to talk about it." Now or ever. Or even in the afterlife. She wished she had one of those Men in Black flash memory stick thingies and use it on herself.

"Okay." Kyle gave her a smile and returned to writing another kilometric essay.

Kathy looked at him for a while, trying to figure out if she'd get pissed if she were him. Yup, probably would, but Kyle wasn't her. He wasn't like anyone she knew, with his devil-may-care attitude, the weird niceness and the ability to laugh everything off. And God knew she needed to laugh.

"What?" he asked, writing on.

"How do you do that? Know that people are starting without actually looking at them?"

"I could practically feel your eyes scorching me," he started, but chuckled. "Just kidding. Peripheral vision." And even if he looked at her, he kicked Joey again under the table and he pulled away from Kelly. "Homework, Ashley."

"If you don't stop that, I swear to God--" Joey started.

"I think it's cute," Kelly said, shutting him up. "But you should definitely start calling him Scarlett."

Kyle just grinned. "Scarlett is my middle name anyway."

Kathy did a double take. "Really?"

"Of course not. But I have the sass so I'll take it. Ashley is a wuss."

Kathy giggled, but almost choked on it. Donnie had decided to join the party and was looking from her to Kyle as if Joey and Kelly weren't even there.

"This is nice and cozy," he said, his tone light, but Kathy knew him well enough to pick up the anger behind it. Apparently, Kyle detected it too, because his eyes narrowed the slightest bit.

"Mind if I join you?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled up a chair and squeezed it between Kyle and Kathy. "Why don't you answer your texts?" he asked, turning to her.

"Because I hate emojis. We're not five, Donnie," Kathy mumbled and tried focusing on her homework.

Stupid, because all she wanted to do was run and not have to face this obvious awkwardness. Donnie didn't even bother to say hi back to Kelly which earned him a well deserved glare from Joey.

"So, what are you up to?" Donnie asked in a failed attempt at flippancy.

Before Kathy could assure him that nothing was up and he didn't have to go around accusing people, Kyle said, "Relax, Donnie. We're just studying. What about you? No more death defying tricks waiting?"

Donnie smiled, but it was so fake, Kathy cringed. "Ah, so it was you there, Grant. Good to know. How's the band doing by the way? I heard it's going great."

Kyle's eyes narrowed again, but so subtly, Kathy was sure no one else had noticed. And he was much better at pretending to be civil than Donnie. "It's going really well, actually. Thanks for asking."

"Everyone is still talking about the last concert, wondering when the next one will be." Donnie let out a short laugh. "You've got a lot of groupies. I heard you banged half the school."

This time, Kyle's eyes narrowed for everyone to see, but he still smiled. "Only the half you haven't banged, Royce."

Donnie jumped off his chair, his fists clenched. Kathy stood and dug her fingers into his shoulder, squeezing until he winced.

"Sit down, Donnie," she hissed in his ear. "Or I swear to God I'm walking out and it's the last time we ever talk."

"Did I hit a nerve there, Donald?" Kyle asked, leaning back on the hind legs of his chair and grinning at him.

Donnie opened his mouth, probably to argue, but she sunk her fingers deeper in his shoulder. So he completely ignored Kyle and leaned to whisper in her ear, his voice pleading. "Please tell me you haven't slept with him."

"Why? Because I'm in that half you didn't bang?" Kathy shot back.

Donnie cringed. "You know that's not true. Please, Kathy..."

She rolled her eyes and pulled him back down in his seat. "I find it extremely annoying that I have to tell you this so many times. No, I didn't sleep with Kyle. Happy?"

"Very," Danny whispered and kissed her cheek. "What he said is not true. I haven't cheated on you after that one time with Darla, I swear."

She didn't answer or look at him, trying instead to pretend that everything was fine and she could just study. The others at least pretended the obvious awkwardness didn't exist.

Her cheeks flaming, she picked up her pen and got back to work. Maybe it would be easier to excuse herself and leave with Donnie, but she didn't want to. She liked being with her friends. She would finish her essay there.

Donnie's hand on her knee wasn't helping. Neither was the fact that he just sat there while the rest of them worked. Or her wondering if Kyle was aware that he'd very subtly implying that they'd had sex. Though he couldn't have known how Donnie would take his words. Could he?

She watched him writing away as if he didn't have a care in the world and hated that she was now thinking about sex, even if it was Donnie's damn fault for bringing it up. She'd never thought of making love to anyone but him, but now, as she looked at Kyle, her traitorous mind wondered what it would be like. Well, not between the two of them. God, no! But in general, what Kyle was like. Because even if Donnie wasn't fat, he wasn't exactly the pinnacle of fit either. Kyle looked strong enough to lift a girl off her feet with ease, and his movements were very fluid...

"Hi there."

Kathy jumped a mile as Cecily whispered in her ear. Right when she was wondering what her boyfriend was like in bed. Kathy's cheeks flamed and she dropped her pen just for a reason to dive under the table.

"What a comfy, cozy gathering," Cecily continued, her tone so sugary, Kathy thought a cavity must've instantly popped out in her mouth. "And Donnie, such a surprise to see you here!"

Kathy came out from under the table, frowning. Since when were Donnie and Cecily on speaking terms? Sure, Darla was part of Cecily's bimbo squadron, but she didn't think they would bond over that. Plus, Donnie was constantly trying to get her attention with his dumb dares.

"Just studying with my girl," he said, wrapping one arm around Kathy's shoulders and squeezing her against him.

Cecily's dark brown gaze rested on Kathy, and even if the smile was still in place, Kathy could feel the ice in it.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Donnie's girl?"

Because everyone with eyes knew. Because it was none of her damn business. Because it doesn't matter either way, you manipulative bitch. All these answers were much better than the pathetic, "It never came up," that left her mouth.

"How do you know Donnie again?" Kelly asked and Kathy was relieved someone else asked what she wanted to know.

Cecily let out a small laugh. "How could the head cheerleader not know the school's star quarterback?"

"Interesting," Kyle said, laying back in his seat. "I wasn't aware the school had a star quarterback."

Kathy aimed a kick at him under the table, which was difficult seeing as Donnie sat between them, but since he took no notice and Kyle chuckled, she guessed she'd hit her mark.

"Yeah, well, if the football team is not as successful as your basketball team, that doesn't mean we don't pull our weight around here," Donnie said with an offended huff.

Yes, it did. Every game Kathy had been at to support Donnie had been cringe worthy. They didn't just lose, they got crushed. She had no idea why the team still existed.

"If you're a star athlete, why don't you and your friends sign up for the basketball team?" Joey mumbled under his breath.

Kyle bit his lower lip to keep a straight face, while Joey sniggered to himself. Kelly threw him a reproachful look.

"Eh, basketball is not my thing, Joey," Donnie said, waving him away, though his fingers dug into Kathy's knee.

In truth, he had tried out for the basketball team, but at 5'10", he was short. Hell, Kathy was 5'11" herself, and had to be very careful about wearing heels if she didn't want to tower over Danny. Or everyone else for that matter. Joey and Kyle were both much taller.

"Didn't he try for the team though?" Kyle asked, turning to Joey with a frown.

Joey scrunched his forehead in concentration. "Oh, yeah, three years ago. I remember."

Donnie turned beet red. "You thought I wasn't tall enough to keep up."

"Nah, dude, you just sucked," Kyle said with a laugh. "I mean Pierce is about as tall as you."

"Oh, I remember your tryout," Joey said excitedly. "You did okay until Malcom charged at you. Then you dropped the ball and ran."

Cecily giggled while Kyle unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face.

"Guys," Kelly hissed, nodding towards Kathy.

Kathy stared back, wondering what her face looked like, because she felt so far removed from this conversation. It was such an obvious cock fight and she had no idea why it had started in the first place. Why were they jabbing each other like that?

Kyle cleared his throat." Anyway, you were much better than your mates. Speaking of which, where are Merri and Pippin?"

Kathy's jaw dropped. Donnie just looked confused, but she'd totally caught on.

"Who?" he asked.

"Ya know," Joey said, trying to keep a straight face. "Peter Jackson."

"Nice." Kyle said reaching out his fist, and Joey bopped it with his own.

Kathy was torn between the desire to laugh at an obviously good pun and to cringe for her clueless boyfriend.

"You mean Pete and Jackson?"

"Yeah," Joey said, "them." Though his tone showed obvious lack of interest.

"They're studying, too."

Kyle's eyes narrowed again. "Then why aren't you with them?"

Kathy aimed another kick at him under the table. He didn't even flinch this time, though she'd surely hit him.

Donnie squinted back, his mind obviously twisting all the wrong ways in which he could take Kyle's words. The bad part was that this time, there was no other way to take them. Subtlety had flown out the window for everyone.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Cecily said clapping her hands together. Well, almost everyone. "We should definitely go out, the four of us!"

"That's a great idea!" Donnie said before Kathy could stomp on his foot.

They weren't going out, but she didn't want to embarrass Donnie in public, so she nodded in acceptance. Ugh, she had to get that curious, twisted part of her under control, but she actually wondered if Cecily was going to be nice to her and what a double date would be like.

"How about tonight?" Cecily chimed as if she couldn't wait.

"Sure," Donnie answered.

It was a school night, but it didn't matter. This way, Kathy had an excuse to bail if it got too weird, so she nodded again.

"Where should we go?" Cecily asked, turning to Kyle this time.

Kyle pondered a little, his eyes fixed on Kathy as though wondering where she'd like to go. "Let's go to Verdi's. As far as I know, they have a kickass lasagna." He winked at her and Kathy had no idea if she found that sweet or annoying.

Yes, the lasagna at Verdi's was probably heavenly. But it was also very expensive. And since she and Donnie were rocky, she wanted to pay for her own meal. Maybe it was worth it just to see what Cecily wanted. Why Donnie had suddenly decided to ignore Kyle's rudeness in favor of hanging out with him and his girlfriend.

"Perfect." Cecily smiled and bent over Kyle, most likely to kiss him.

Kathy was exceptionally grateful that her chocolate waves fell like a curtain in front of them and she was spared the show. She had no idea why, but until she actually saw them kissing, she could pretend they weren't together, that Cecily was a fluke, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"See you tonight." Cecily waved and bounced away, her black skirt swaying dangerously close to her ass.

Kathy got up too, and picked up her books deciding she'd had enough awkward. "I'm heading home, too. Bye, guys."

And without giving anyone time to stop her or offer her a ride, she storde out of the library, aware that her bootcut jeans did nothing for her ass.

🧩🧩🧩

Wow, this chapter is huge, but I had so much fun writing it!

Did you get a better picture of Cecily after this? And do you like the interactions between Kyle and Donnie?

Things are going to escalate from here on out, so I'm really curious how you feel about the characters at this point, especially Kathy and Kyle.

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote, comment share, spread the word and sacrifice an alpaca to me.