A/N: it would mean the world to me if you guys could go show my other more recently posted fanfics some love. In the last month or so I've published:
—Daryl Dixon x fem!OC
— Finnick Odair x male!OC
— Rosalie Hale x fem!OC
— Scott MCall x fem!OC
— Isaac Lahey x fem!OC
— a Character Bank
also part one of this story is gonna be short as fuck, god damn I'm sorry about that
alsoalso I'm aware that this one is shorter than usual, but my cat scratched my eye just after Christmas and I was trying to write something for you and it started hurting so this is the best I can do

Katherine didn't know how long she'd been in the way station now.

She'd seen several people come in and reconnect with loved ones, and within hours the riders would show up and she would have to hide again; somewhere new each time. She still clung to her brother whenever she could but tried not to suffocate him, since that wasn't exactly fair on him, but she was still terrified that at some point she was going to wake up in that bed at Eichen again, and people would be telling her he wasn't a real person.

After a while the way station had become a normal sight, almost comforting; because at least when everything was in it's eerie silence she wasn't at risk of being removed from existence completely, and she could think. She mostly thought about Hayden, and what she'd say to her the next time she saw her because honestly? What could she say that could make up for what she'd done?

As far as Katherine was concerned, there was never any excuse for kissing someone else's significant other; nothing that could justify it.

The guilt of kissing Liam, whether his girlfriend knew it or not, was eating her up inside the longer she had to live with it, so she often tried to move her thoughts to Brett so she wouldn't think about Liam, but wound up feeling guilty over him too. Even though he already knew she still wasn't over Liam, which was why she had turned him down, she knew full well he wasn't expecting her to go ahead and kiss him.

Thinking about his reaction — how he would feel about it when he found out, what he'd have to say to her about it — made her want to cry as well so she wound up just thinks of Hayden all the same.

In all the time she'd been on the platform, she still wasn't sure how she would even start that conversation. What was there that she could say to ensure she wouldn't end up breaking someone's heart?

Even if she still did want to be with Liam, this wasn't how she'd intended it to happen.

Not at all.

Unfortunately, that conversation came sooner rather than later because when Katherine was leaving the radio room and saw a flash of a tall brunette with tan skin standing behind a slightly shorter dark-skinned boy, she froze. "Mason?" She whispered out softly, eyes wide.

He turned and stared at her for a moment, jaw dropped.

Then, in a flurry of tears and arms and legs his arms were wrapped around her and he was crying into her shoulder, sobbing out something about Corey. She rubbed his back comfortingly and met Hayden's gaze over her shoulder, and was almost hesitant to continue looking her in the eye. But she knew that she owed her at least that much.

To her surprise, Hayden didn't even look mad. A little bit bitter, sure, but it almost seemed to be more aimed at herself rather than aimed towards her.

He let her go to wipe his eyes, and she took that time to hug Hayden. The moment her arms were hooked around the taller girls neck, she turned her head so her mouth was next to her ear. "We need to talk," Katherine murmured to her.

Her heart broke when she felt Hayden nod. "I think we do too."

Part of her had been hoping that she hadn't been there to see her kiss Liam, so she wouldn't have to live with that image in her head, but she knew that it would make the next however many minutes just that much easier to live with.

The two of them made sure Mason was comfortable in a place to sit so he could calm himself down, since he'd been firm that he didn't want any help, and Katherine then led Hayden over to a more empty corner of the station. They sat in silence for a few minutes as she worked up the courage to say what needed to be said, before she eventually sighed and raked a hand through her tangled hair.

"Do you remember everything that happened on the lacrosse field?" She asked quietly, her brown eyes focused solely on the floor between her feet. "The night I was taken?"

"Yes," Hayden whispered back, mirroring her stance.

"Everything?"

"Yes."

Her heart sunk to her gut. She felt her eyes flood with tears as the disappointment in herself flooded her body, and every other emotion within her was overpowered by shame. "I'm so sorry, Hayden," she sniffed out, head dropping onto her bent knees. "What I did was totally unacceptable, no matter the circumstances. I need you to know that it's been eating me, alive, alright? And I need you to know that I perfectly understand if you hate me now.

"Because if our situations were reversed, and I was dating Liam and you kissed him, I'm not sure I'd be able to forgive you for that. I also need you to know that I didn't go into the friendship I've built with you intending to take your boyfriend. Honestly, I have been crushing on him all year but I really just wanted to get over him so he could've happy with you. I never wanted this to happen, and I really need you to know that."

Hayden didn't say anything for a really long time. She was sitting beside her with her head back against the wall, face completely void of any and all emotion. The only sounds were those of the people around them, and even those were few and far between.

Katherine wasn't sure how much time passed before she was given an answer, but the moment Hayden inhaled a sharp breath she was turning to look at her.

Even then, it took her a moment to piece together what she wanted to say.

"I knew what I was getting myself into, Katherine," she murmured evenly, though she sounded a little hoarse. "I remember when I first got dragged into all of this, and that night at the club where he showed me his eyes, I thought...I actually thought the two of you were already dating.

"Then on the walk home I asked him about it and he was really hesitant to answer me, and he eventually say no. It didn't take a genius to know he wished that wasn't the answer."

Katherine truly hated the fact that her heart lurched with hope at those words, but forced it away as Hayden went on.

"Then everything happened when me and him were taken, and we kissed in Theo's truck with you in the front seat. I could feel your heart break, you know. And I could feel how unsure he was about it and I knew right then and there that maybe something had happened between the two of you.

"But I think that the moment I really figured it out was...well...it was actually a bunch of little moments if I'm being honest with you. While he was holding my hand he'd been looking around the room for you, and he wouldn't relax until he saw you were okay. Whenever something funny happened, he would look for you to see if you were laughing too. How jealous he would get whenever you would hang out with Brett, even if he didn't know that was why he was in a bad mood.

"For the longest time I was wishing he would looking at me the way he was supposed to, the way he was always looking at you, but a part of me knew that he wouldn't. For some people...there's only one person they're ever going to want to be with, you know what I mean?"

Hayden was staring at her with brown eyes that looked as if they were drowning in disappointment, but there was no hate in them; that surprised her. "Yeah, I do," she whispered, deep down knowing that she was one of those people.

She smiled ruefully over at her. "Well, I think you're the one person he wants to be with. I did what Brett was patient enough to wait for; I willingly went into a relationship with someone who I knew was in love with a person that wasn't me. So as much as what you did was wrong, Katherine, I should never have gotten in the way of what you two have."

Katherine rolled her lips inwards, bottom lip trembling, and then launched herself into her friends arms. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered, her arms tight around her middle.

A warm hand rubbed her back, and she closed her eyes to avoid more tears from falling. "No hard feelings, okay?" Hayden whispered.

She could feel her chin digging into the side of her neck, but she relished it. It was enough to remind her that she hadn't been fully erased yet.

That people still knew who she was.

Katherine squeezed her tightly once before letting her go. "No hard feelings," she agreed softly. "But if there were, I'd understand."

She received a tiny smile in response, and then a small sigh. "I also appreciate the fact that you were going to tell me, even if I wasn't there to see it."

"I'd want someone to do the same if it were me."