After her horribly embarrassing morning, Kathy didn't expect to have so much fun attempting  to produce some food using the old fashion grill on the patio.

She and Kelly laughed at the boys who spent more time poking each other with various grilling instruments than actually turning the steak over, then they all sat down for a decent lunch of leftovers and over-cooked meat.

Later that afternoon, they headed for the lake again for another swim. It turned out Kelly did have an extra swimsuit and she lent it to Kathy. The bottom fit perfectly, but the bra barely managed to cover the essentials, so she shoved a tank top over it and headed for the lake.

Joey and Kelly managed to find some old tractor tires and used them as life rafts to float peacefully next to each other. Kathy lay her towel on the short wooden pier and watched them drifting further away from the bank, both of them with their eyes closed, enjoying the sun on their faces.

Kyle was nowhere in sight, but was probably further away, swimming. Kathy closed her eyes and raised her face towards the sun. She knew her conversation with Kyle wasn't over, but maybe she'd had enough embarrassment for one day. She did however feel a tiny bit lighter, knowing at least someone on this earth didn't think her failed relationship was her doing.

And being able to laugh after all the drama, after her dumb idea... It gave her hope that her life wouldn't be all doom and gloom from then on.

The sound of footsteps had her opening her eyes and looking over her shoulder. Kyle walked toward her, wearing swimming trunks and nothing else.

Kathy stared, blinked twice, shook her head, then stared some more. "Wow," she whispered to herself.

How was it physically possible for him to be this perfect? High school boys were usually lanky and awkward or, if they were lucky, slim and muscular like Joey. Kyle wasn't slim.

His pecs were well defined, he had a six pack and deep lines on the sides, as if all he did all day was work out. He was an athlete, so obviously not on steroids. How could he be so buff?

"What?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"How much do you work out?" she spluttered before she could control herself.

Kyle laughed. "A lot. Though it's mostly basketball and combat training."

"Combat training?" She looked away from him to be able to think properly.

"Yup. Fighting, dodging, running. It's like a boot camp, actually."

She turned back to him, focusing on his face. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I've been doing it since I was a kid. It's a bit like second nature now." He nodded towards her. "I see you found a swimsuit."

"Half of one," Kathy mumbled. She eyed him again and hated herself for feeling the need to gape like an idiot. He wasn't a piece of meat!

"Your staring is very obvious. Just say what you want to say and get it out of your system."

"You look freaking photoshopped!" The moment the words were out, she slapped her mouth. An involuntary giggle escaped her lips.

Kyle laughed too, and her shoulders relaxed. If he was treating it like a joke, so would she.

"That's what Cecily said, too," he said.

Kathy's mood plummeted instantly as Cecily's ghost wrapped her arms around Kyle and hissed at her like an angry cat. Why did it bother her that he mentioned his girlfriend? Because the only reason they shared and talked and laughed together was that they were friends. Just friends. As much as he helped and took care of her, she had no claim over him. He didn't belong to her.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, gazing over the lake.

Yeah, like she would tell him that. It sounded weird and creepy even inside her own head. "What's school like?" she asked instead.

"Crappy. The whole thing was a great subject for gossip, as you can imagine. It only started dying down yesterday, but it'll probably start again once you come back." His lips twisted up in a humorless smile. "It's going to suck, but you need to remember it's just people talking."

She nodded. For some reason she felt better that he wasn't sugar-coating it. "What are they saying?"

"Mostly dissecting your relationship, making assumptions about why Donnie hit you and why I hit him back. Love triangles, drug deals gone wrong... Stupid stuff."

Kathy bit her lip and stared at her feet. Stupid stuff that would make her life so much harder. If only she could build a strong enough wall to keep everyone out. Feeling was overrated. She was better off alone, at least for a while. She pressed her hands against her eyes and let out a groan.

"Why does this have to be so hard? Why can't I just not give a damn? Like you."

Kyle glanced sideways at her. "You actually can." He twisted his entire body to face her and sat cross legged, looking like a kid. An illegally hot kid. "If you'll let me, I want to coach you."

"To what?" she asked, surprised.

"Coach you to stop caring about what everyone thinks. Help you get back on your feet. Find the person I see in you."

Her eyes widened with wonder. "Who do you see?"

"I see a strong, confident woman. Sensitive and thoughtful, smart and generous. Funny and badass. Confused, but aren't we all?" He smirked at that last remark.

It took her a moment to compute his words. "How? How can you see all that?" Even she couldn't. She'd never thought of herself as badass. She wanted to be that person he described. She wanted to be Kay, the Kay he saw and believed in.

"It's there, trust me, you just have to let it out. Here, let's start with something simple." He leaned back on his hands. "Lack of confidence is usually tied to a fear of being perceived in a certain way by others. Like, for instance, you want to say or do something, but stop yourself because it wouldn't be proper. That's bullshit."

"No, it's common courtesy."

"I'm not saying be a rude ass, though I tend to be that, but say and do more of what will make you feel better. Let's try it. Say something to me that you normally wouldn't because it's not proper or because you're afraid of what I might say or think."

She frowned. "No. There's a reason I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"If you do it, I promise I won't judge and I'll do the same."

She squinted at him. Damn him for playing on her curiosity. What would he say? And would this make her feel better? Could hardly make her feel worse.

"Okay, then. But remember you said you won't judge." Kyle nodded in encouragement and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "You're really hot."

He stared for just a second, then laughed. Kathy's shoulders lost some of the tension. It actually felt pretty good to speak her mind.

"Your tank top is see-through," he retaliated.

Her arms immediately crossed over her chest. "As a friend, that's something you should actually warn me about," she said, trying to fight the heat creeping up her cheeks.

"I just did. And don't worry, nothing is out of place. And that was not the inappropriate thing." He bit his lower lip as she stared at him curiously. "You have killer boobs. That's the inappropriate thing."

Kathy was torn between the desire to squirm in embarrassment or laugh, so she went with laughing. Kyle joined her and for a while they just let it out. God, how she'd needed a good laugh.

"Your turn. Come on, something you'd normally keep to yourself," he said.

She scratched her head, wondering what innocent tidbit to throw at him next, but found herself facing a bigger problem. Just say it. "I'm afraid that the person you see in me doesn't exist. And I wouldn't have told you that because I wouldn't want to seem weak and pathetic. Though I am."

Kyle fell silent and looked upward as if trying to come up with an answer. "You know, that's entirely up to you. You're going to be who you work to be. And I'm sure you can be much better than what I've said. Much more. Because what doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. And the harder you fall, the stronger you rise."

"How can you be this darn perfect?" Kathy asked exasperated.

Kyle laughed again, but this time, it was bitter. "Don't say darn. You sound five. Also, I'm far from perfect, trust me."

"Oh really?" She put her hands on her hips. If he wanted blunt honesty, she'd give it to him. "Let me see. Saying you're good looking would be a severe understatement, you're crazy smart, crazy talented, I even suspect you're one of those people who's good at absolutely everything they do--"

"I'm incredibly selfish," he interjected. "And rude. I just commented on your use of language as if you should care how I think you should talk."

Kathy scoffed. "Who isn't selfish? Also, yes, I've had a fear of bad language drilled into my head since I was a kid and I hate it."

He shook his head, the bitterness still there. She hated seeing him like this.

"You're not selfish," he said. "I'm talking about the real, heavy stuff. I only do what I want to do when I want to do it."

"If you're so selfish, why are you helping me?"

He huffed. "Because I want to. I didn't give you much of a choice in the matter now, did I?"

She tilted her head. Nope, he didn't look selfish from that angle either. "Let's agree to disagree on that one."

Kyle turned away from her and rested his forearms on his knees, his gaze lost over the surface of the lake.

"People aren't perfect, Kay. As much as they may seem that way. We all have our demons, our dark side."

She fought the impulse to roll her eyes. This was most likely another test and he'd burst out laughing any second now. "What's yours then?"

He hesitated, his gaze still fixed on the water glittering in the sun. "I have rage issues. Like really bad ones."

Kathy rolled her eyes this time. She'd barely seen him angry, let alone enraged. If he thought she'd buy this after the car stunt, he had another thing coming.

"Yes, okay, let me guess. You're also a vampire and you're going to start sparkling in the sun any second now."

He looked at her for just a moment before facing away again, but it was enough to freeze the blood in her veins. It wasn't another game, he meant it.

"I'm sorry, after the car thing I thought you were kidding, I... What do you mean? Sorry," she stuttered. Shut up. Now. "Do you... Um, do you want to talk about it?"

Kyle didn't answer, and after a while Kathy decided that she'd probably offended him and he was no longer talking to her. She wouldn't have if she'd wanted to share something private and important and he would've made Twilight jokes.

"I mean," he said suddenly, making her jump, "that this calm, devil-may-care attitude, my general lack of a fuck I give about irrelevant things is something I've mastered out of necessity. Because it's so easy for me to lose control." He looked to her. "And if that happens, I end up with blood on my hands."

A shiver traveled down Kathy's spine and she shuddered as she remembered the way he'd looked at Donnie for a second; like he would literally kill him. She swallowed heavily, but waved her hand to indicate that she was listening and he should go on.

Kyle sighed and looked at his hands as if he expected to see blood there. "If I lose it, I black out and end up hurting people."

"What do you mean you black out?" Kathy whispered.

"I mean I don't remember what happens. It's only happened twice so far in my entire life. The first time, I was ten. Joey and I had this bully who was twelve or thirteen, I don't remember. He'd pick on us, but we dodged him most of the time and we didn't mind much. We were the super heroes and he was the villain. We'd run circles around him, hooting with laughter.

"But one day, I missed school. I can't remember why. The thing is, the bully caught Joey alone and broke his arm. When I went back to school, I went straight for him. I didn't care he was older and taller. He'd hurt my friend. I remember his mocking, I remember pulling my fist back to punch him. I don't remember anything else."

Kyle took in a big breath, his eyes still fixed on a random point in the distance. "What I remember next is staring at his broken face while people swarmed around me. My knuckles were bruised and there was blood on my hands and I freaked out. I was suspended and forced into anger management therapy. At ten.

"Max came up with meditation instead and started teaching me how to relax and calm myself down. It worked and I never hurt anyone again."

Kathy watched him and wondered if she should ask, but since he'd actually mentioned it, she guessed it was safe. "What about the second time?" she whispered.

Kyle turned to her, his eyes strangely unfocused. Just like they'd been in the car when she'd accused him of sleeping. "The second time was when Donnie punched me."

Yup, she'd figured out that much. "But you didn't hurt him," Kathy said carefully.

"No. And the only reason I managed to control myself was because you were terrified. And when I blacked out, I could still see the fear in your eyes and I didn't want to add to that. I didn't want to scar you. So I managed to pull out of it before I hurt him."

She swallowed the sand in her throat. She'd seen it. The way her fear had calmed him down, how he'd chosen to immobilize Donnie instead of hitting him.

"But I wanted to do it," he whispered, turning his hands over. "For a second, I wanted to break him."

"But you didn't. And that's what really matters." She reached out and took his hand. Even if what he told her was frightening, she truly believed what she was saying. "Who knows about this?"

"Max. And now you."

Damning all sense and reason, Kathy flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. She wasn't sure if it was to show him that she was not afraid of him, or because he'd trusted her with a part of him no one else knew. Words weren't enough to show how much she appreciated this, how grateful she was that he'd decided to barge into her life and care about her.

He hugged her back tightly, pressing her against him, and that's when she realized she shouldn't be doing this, that they were both half naked, but it felt so right, so comfortable. His skin was hot under her palms and she tightened her hold on him and rested her forehead against his shoulder. She'd never felt safer in her life.

He pulled away, his eyes still unfocused, but he smiled at her. "Thanks. For not freaking out."

"Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me," she said and took in a big breath in hopes of calming her racing heart. "I want you to coach me."

His smile widened. "Great. But not right now. Selfish little ole me wants a swim." And with that he stood, ran to the end of the pier and threw himself in the water.

Kathy watched him swimming towards Joey and Kelly and felt lighter than she'd felt in what seemed like years. If he could fight this darkness inside him, she could fight a silly heartache, too.

From now on, she wouldn't let anyone or anything tear her down. From now on, Kathy, pathetic, sad, needy Kathy was dead. From this moment on, she was strong and would fight her way back up.

From this moment on, she was Kay.

🧩🧩🧩

Thanks so much for reading.

This chapter was really fun and really difficult to write at the same time. I'm really curious what your feelings on Kathy and Kyle are at this point and what you think about his confession. Poor boy has some issues.

Don't forget to vote, comment, share, and do check out the song, it's awesome.