KATHERINE DECKER DESPISED having insomnia. Well, presumably anyone with such a thing would say that but you get the point.

Being diagnosed at the age nine, one could wonder how irritated she was because she wasn't able to sleep well—or sleep at all.

Everyday since has been either; have a hard time trying to sleep, or have a hard time staying asleep. Either or was headache-inducing anyways.

But here she was now, watching the sunrise from her bay window, her knees to her chin, and arms hugging her legs. She's been doing this every morning since she moved from Philadelphia to New York. And sure, Philly had pretty sunrises like this, but something about being in the big city made moments like this feel more buoyant than ever.

Knock Knock.

Her head automatically whips to her bedroom door like it was an instinct. "Come in!" Kat exclaimed, having somewhat of a clue on who was the other side of it.

And lord and behold, her older sister; Kimberly, peeks her head inside, a small grin tugging the corners of her lips. It's already clear to Kat that she's in a good mood. "Hey, you. How long have you been awake?"

With a sigh, Kat sat up nicely. "Since early 5."

Kim hummed. "Not surprised."

Everyone in the family knew she often woke up around three to five a.m. So obviously, Kim didn't find her answer unordinary.

"But tell me, Kat, are you excited for your first day of seventh grade?" the sister asks sitting beside her, excited about the day ahead.

Kat points to her face, which conveyed the opposite. "Excited? Does anything about this face scream excitement to you at all?" If you couldn't tell already, she's being sarcastic.

Obviously not appreciative of the attitude, Kim pouted slightly. "Don't you think it's too early to be this sarcastic?"

But Kat said otherwise. "It's never too early for me, and you know it."

Which was true. It was one of the many beauties of having a sister around your age, which was also an annoying con sometimes.

"You're lucky you're my sister, you know that?"

"Oh, I know I am," Kat assured, her tone sincere at first. "Even when you annoy me too, sissy."

Kim rolled her eyes, a scoff leaving her system to emphasize her annoyance. "Anywho—how bout you get ready already, hmh? We have new schools to attend," she instructs before skipping to Kat's door.

Watching her go, Kat wondered if her sister was actually human or not, considering no sane person would ever be this excited to go back to school. Atleast not in her mind.

But that was who Kimberly Decker was; the lively, outgoing sibling out of them both. Though she and Kat were very alike in their never-ending sarcasm and constant need to overachieve in their academics.

Which, they got the first from their father, obviously.

"Oh—Hooray," Kat replied, lacking actual excitement in her tone and attitude.

Kim stopped and turned back to Kat with a challenged look. "You wanna try that again with more enthusiasm?"

The younger sister grimaced. "Oh, please don't make me," she begged, a sprinkle of dread laced into her tone. It was too early to be forced by her sister's hand to do anything.

But hearing the desperation in her sister's voice was enough for Kim to brush it off at the end, as she shook her head, leaving the room.

Wow—what a lovely start to my day. Kat thought.

Awhile after getting ready, Kat finally made her way to the kitchen, finding her father flipping pancakes by the stove.

"Morning Dad," she greeted, sitting at the table with Kim, who was devouring her plate of blueberry pancakes.

Maverick turned a shoulder and grinned noticing her come by. "Morning kid. I'm almost done with your pancakes, but while you wait-" he pauses to hand Kat her mug, "Here's your usual one packet of sugar coffee."

She sighs. "Thank you, thank you," Kat replied, taking her first sip on the spot.

She loves her father more than a lot of things in life. Well, not as much as brownies or cookie dough, but even he knew that for a fact.

He was always quite the busy man all her life, but he also wasn't a busy dad. There was a difference, and Kat always appreciated him for it.

"Did you get some sleep, Kat?"

"Sure did, but I didn't wake up that early, though. I woke up at around 5."

"The usual?"

"The usual."

Even if she tried not to be, Katherine was an early bird. She'd almost always be awake before the sun, which might've explained why she'd like to watch it rise everyday. Not that she minded it, but then again, maybe getting the extra hours of sleep would be nice.

She continued to sip her coffee to pass time, with many things clouding her mind then. One of the more pressing ones was the move from Philly to New York.

Moving away from her childhood home was nerve-racking to say the least. She knew she would miss Philly. It'd been her home her whole life. She knew it'd be hard not only to move but to get used to New York. But her family insisted that they take this new experience and try to thrive from it.

If that was even possible.

On top of that, she and Kim were now the new kids at their schools, two weeks into the new school year, and Katherine was as anxious as student would be in her situation.

"Here," Mav spoke suddenly, handing Kat her plate of chocolate chip pancakes. His and hers' favorite kind of pancakes.

She blinks her way back to reality. "Oh, thanks," Kat grinned and took the plate with ease.

As he went back by the stove, Mav asks once more, "So, did you take your meds before you came down here?"

"I did," she mumbled back, her mouth already dangerously stuffed with pancakes.

Would you believe that Kat used to hate taking it when she was younger? Well, she did, and it even got to a point where Kim was forced to watch her take it before school to make sure she wasn't lying.

She oddly doesn't mind it now, considering it helps.

Not all the time, but she's aware it does.

"Good," the father noted with a nod. "And uh, aren't you also excited to finally go to school with Riley and Maya now?"

Oh, yes. Riley Matthews and Maya Hart. Aka, Kat's only friends at the moment. Well, the only ones that haven't abandoned or left Kat. But that might've only been due to Riley's dad and hers being childhood friends back in the day, and being practically brothers now.

And Maya was Riley's best friend, who was like the Shawn Hunter of the trio. It made them, as Cory and Maverick liked to say, "Them, but girls—and not better."

"Eh," was all Kat muttered in reply.

The word by itself drives Maverick's forehead to crease. "Eh? That's all you have to say? Eh? I thought you would been ecstatic about this, Kat."

He wasn't exactly expecting her to suddenly bubble up at the reminder that she's finally going to school with her best-friends, but he thought she'd at-least put in the effort to sound the tiniest bit excited.

At his tone, her face faltered slightly.

It was nice that she was finally going to school with Riley and Maya. Don't ever get her wrong on that. I mean, all her life, she always thought of them as her sisters, and they'd always wish she would go to school with them.

But now that their wish was reality, Kat was scared of the possibility that she could lose her friendship with them too. And truthfully, Katherine Decker didn't like her odds.

"Dad, you know she's just afraid of losing them, calm down," Kim spoke in her sister's defense as she put her plate in the sink.

Knowing Kim was right in a sense, the father sighed. "Yeah, I know," he assured before attempting to lighten up the mood by moving past that. "Well—you know who's a teacher at your middle school, Kat?"

Her eyes roll at the change of topic. "Yeah. Father #2. I know already. He hasn't stopped being excited about it since we moved."

Kat had many nicknames for her godfather; aka Cory Matthews, that was just one that stuck with her since childhood. Especially because growing up, he'd always act as second-father to her and Kim. Which was both a blessing and a curse; judging by the day.

It takes a bit of effort for Maverick to hold back a chuckle to that. He knew she was right; Cory was almost, hell, even more excited about Kat starting middle school at his school just as much as her. Which was both funny but weird at the same time.

"I'll be sure to tell him later about how excited you were to finally be in his class."

Kat eats the last of her pancake. "Don't. I'll just tell him when I'm there," she assured, even though she knew she'd probably forget this part of the conversation later anyway.

He snickered softly, a sly grin on his lips. "Well, if you're done then, I think you two should get going. I wouldn't want Riley and Maya to be waiting for you guys."

"We're already here, Uncle Mav!" the family hears suddenly from the front door.

Kim and Kat share a look and soft chuckle, already knowing who the voice belonged to. The timing was just perfect.

As they snagged their bags from the couch, they went to open the door, revealing Riley and Maya themselves on the other side.

"Sup girls," Maya smirked at the sight of the two red-heads.

"Hey, Riley—Maya," Maverick greeted.

"Hi, Uncle Maverick!" Riley asserts gleefully. Her face lightens up as she peers to Kat, bearing a smile so bright it competes with the sun. "I'm so excited that you're going to school with us. I even had a dream about this last night!"

With an amused smile, Maya plops a hand on Riley's shoulder. "She did. She told me all about it on the way here."

"That's very Riley of you, Riley," Maverick noted.

"Very," Kim emphasized.

"Well, I'll leave you four to it. Bye, girls." Mav waves to his daughters from the kitchen.

"Bye Dad," both daughters exclaimed before leaving the apartment with Riley and Maya accompanying their sides.

⤵︎

THE NEW YORK SUBWAY. Such a complex thing for any newcomer of the state to understand. So many stations, so many stops, it was easily something that could get misty in someone's head.

Thankfully, the Decker siblings had Maya Hart to lead them and Riley on the way around it.

Entering the station, they were hit with the sound of drums. Only, the drums weren't drums; it was just garbage cans. Practically the same thing, though.

Noticing Maya groove along to the beat, the other three followed until it stopped. She grins at the drummer. "Dweezil!"

"Maya!" He notices the three newcomers besides her. "Who's the new chicks?"

"Chick!" Riley repeats excitedly, darting to the siblings beside her. "Did you hear that guys? Down here we're chicks!"

Kat snorts out a wheeze at her hyper best friend. "Wow, Riles. I can't believe it either," she replied, not hiding her sarcasm.

"No wonder why my parents don't want me on the Subway!"

And just like her sister, Kim wheezed as well. "Sure, Riles...sure. But come on girls, let's not get ourselves late now."

Maya tsked at the order. "Oh please. Late is my middle name." It isn't, but you get the point.

Kim tilts her head and throws her a 'seriously' look to her excuse, to which Kat also copied alongside her sister, adding to the intensity of their stares.

"Okay, fine," Maya defeatedly sighed, leading them to where they needed to go.

Soon enough, they found themselves inside the subway on the way to their schools.

Riley and Maya were standing up while Kim and Kat were sitting right in front of them.

The two girls didn't mind standing as they noticed Kat was tired. They knew since they were ten that she had insomnia. Not only because Cory told them, but because of the little things they noticed when she would visit.

Like how Riley would notice her dozing off and looking sleepy all throughout the day. And how Maya would find her sleeping on the couch sometimes, even if it was only mid-afternoon.

But there Katherine was, resting her eyes and head on Kim's shoulder, tiredly. It seemed like the coffee from earlier didn't wake her up enough, it rarely ever does anyway.

"Woah, Riley, you don't do lip gloss," Maya commented, mildly shocked by this.

"Oh! What I forgot to mention is that I'm completely reinventing myself. I ride the Subway now, I have kiwi lips now, and I'm just as cool as you now!" Riley advised, putting the lip gloss back in her pocket.

Kim chuckles at her logic. "Oh, Riley. If the way to be cool was to just put kiwi lip-gloss, I'd be the coolest person ever by now."

"But you already are, Kimmy."

"Oh, stop it," Kim jokingly threatened and swatted her hand.

"Yes, please stop it—because it's totally not true," the younger sister groaned.

Kim coughs out a gasp. "Rude."

"It's not rude if it's true, dear sis," Kat snarly assured, leaving her sister's eyes to roll.

"Well anyway, let's see how cool you can be when you look at him," Maya says, gesturing with her eyes at someone behind Riley.

She briefly spun around to see him. "Oh, wow...He's very, very, pretty."

Of course, Kat's left confused by what's she's hearing. "Huh? Who the hell is Riley talking about?" she sought to know with a lift of her head, hazily opening her eyes.

Kim chuckles again, bumping her sister's shoulder. "Pretty boy, 3 o'clock little sis."

As her vision cleared, Kat peered to see what all the fuss was about, and immediately, her heart came to an unanticipated halt.

Woah......ew. Kat thought, then grimaced.

She didn't know what it was, but Katherine already didn't like that her heart had that reaction to him. The girl didn't even know him, why did it just—do that out of nowhere?

So in true Katherine Decker fashion, she masks her uncertainty with the one thing she knows she's good at.

Quippy remarks.

"Oh come on, is that seriously what you're calling pretty, Riley? Because honey, I think you need better eyes or something," Kat spoke, distaste evident in her voice, "I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, but I'm also doubting your taste in boys right now."

Kim bumped her shoulder again this time because of her sour attitude. "Hey! Would it kill you to be nice?"

"I am nice!... Well, when I want to." Atleast she was honest about that. She adds whilst Kim shakes her head, "But for the record, he's just a stranger."

"A cute stranger," Riley emphasized, which didn't help Kat's case whatsoever, earning a quick glare from her in reply. "I can see that I'm not helping."

Maya can't help but wheeze at this interaction so far. "Hey, it's okay, Kat. You know, I can always give you some lessons on how to be nice to boys... and you know what? Let me do you the pleasure of showing you a great way of doing that."

She watches as Maya stride her way to the boy, and before she knows it, chaos ensues.

"Hi, I'm Maya. You're really cute. We should hang out sometime. You make me happy. You don't pay enough attention to me. This isn't working out. It's you, not me. We can still be friends, not really."

Without even letting him talk, Maya already leaves his side to go back by her girls. "He's available. We just broke up," she advised, her attention directly to Kat.

Instantly, Riley frowns. "Are you okay? Do we need to talk about it?" she sought out, planting a concerned hand on her shoulder.

As for Kat, her jaw was practically on the floor. "What—did you just do, Maya?"

She shrugged. "I, just showed you a true story of how love can be, Kitty-Kat. You're very welcome."

Kim was about to argue otherwise but stopped mid-thought. "You know, what?...That isn't too far off, to be honest."

Now Kat was set off. "Kim!"

"What, Katherine?! We're young and stupid. Which is exactly what Maya just showed us," Kim motions to her. "Good job, by the way."

Maya bows to her surroundings. "Thank you very much."

Kat shook her head and tiredly brought her eyes to close. This was not how she thought her morning would turn out to be. "Gosh, I'm—too tired for this."

"Then switch with Riley. You know you can't sleep standing up," Kim suggested.

"You know that I h-"

"Shh, just go, please."

Reluctantly, Kat obeyed and stood up, letting Riley take her seat beside Kim. But before she could grip the railing, the subway abruptly shook more than usual, sending Kat stumbling backwards.

"Ahhhh!" she frantically yelps out.

Mere seconds go by suddenly, a pair of arms catch her, only to find that it was the boy from earlier who Riley was talking about.

He had caught her—saved her practically.

Oh, this cannot be happening right now. Kat thought, a little shiver sinking down her spine.

"Oh—my—god, I-I am so, so sorry for falling onto your lap," Kat faltered out, trying not to stumble over her words Iike how she stumbled onto him just now.

"No, it's fine," he smiles widely, his eyes becoming all dream-like. "I'm Lucas, by the way."

And just from his actions and words, Kat knew exactly what he was doing.

She wasn't stupid. He was obviously trying to impress her. She's seen enough romantic movies (all due to her grandmothers doing) to catch onto this stuff.

But she wasn't going to let that happen. Not on her watch.

"And I'm-" Kat stops, before blurting out with a grimace, "So not interested in you."

Eagerly, she gets off his lap as his smile falls from his face. "What? I wasn't even-"

"Yeah, I don't care, bye!"

"But-"

She doesn't give him another word before rushing back to her girls, astonishment plastered all around their faces.

"As if this day couldn't get any funnier," Kim says, holding in a chuckle. "You just fell into that stranger's lap, little sis. How does it feel?"

Kat anxiously grips the railing, already white-knuckling it. "I—I think I'm going to throw up," she replied, her head already spiraling.

"Oh come on, Kitty-Kat! That was like something you see in a romantic movie! Now you two have to be together somehow," Riley assured.

Kat's eyes widen, the suggestion already horrifying her to an extent. "W-what? No, no, the only thing that him and I are meant to be is strangers, nothing more."

"Oh that's just nonsense! You two deserve to be together! I can already imagine it. Oh, the sunshine and rainbows over both of your heads...so, so beautiful." And there went Riley getting lost into her own imagination, which was a usual thing at this point.

Maya pointed out, "Riles, I think the two of them need to know each other for that to happen." She turns to Kat with mischief in her eyes. "Which is why I'm here to make sure of it."

Kat shook her head. "No, no, guys, I'm serious. I-I don't even want this, Maya."

"Sure you do, sweetie-pie. Who wouldn't want this...well, besides me of course," the blondie replied.

Kim cuts back into this. "Yeah, Kat. What's the harm in a little love in your life? I know you read so many books about it."

"I read those types of books for fun." In Kat's head, reading romance books doesn't exactly equal wanting romance itself.

"Sure...for fun," Kim rolled her eyes. She wasn't even going to try and believe that at all. "But come on, you're young! And you're bound to make mistakes, especially in love. Make them now."

Kat scrunched her face, knowing her world was turning more upside down than she wanted it to be. "God, why must I exist?" she mumbled, eyes clamped shut.

Maya shook her head. "You're going to be fine. If your true love ain't him, then I'm sure you'll find your Romeo eventually."

And though Maya's words were meant to comfort her, she also knew how that particular tale ended. "I'm pretty sure that's the last story I'll want my love life to be like, sweetie-pie."

"Yeah? Well, too bad!" Next thing Kat knew, Maya's taking her grip off the railing, sending her stumbling backward again.

Only this time, Katherine didn't fall into the hands of Lucas. Instead, it was the woman sitting next to him.

She gives Kat a stink eye before placing her onto his lap. "It's for you," she whispered, driving Kat to hide her face in shame.

Can this day get any worse?

Well, let's just hope not.

⤵︎

RILEY WAS OVERJOYED in discovering Kat's locker was right beside her and Maya's. And it was clear in the smile that was stuck on her face right now.

After getting Kat's schedule, Riley devoted the free time in between classes to cover Kat's locker with decorations and stickers. Mostly of cats, flowers, and other girly stuff, which Kat thought was amusing but nice.

"Wow, I didn't think a locker could look more like a unicorn vomited into it then—now, actually," Maya commented, her face a little scrunched at the locker before her.

"It's alright. I probably would've just left my locker looking boring," Kat assured with her her transfer slip in hand. She turned to Riley and grinned. "Thanks for decorating it."

"Anything for you, sista. I can also decorate your bag too. I was thinking of painting it a new color. Black looks too stale," Riley suggested, pointing to Kat's bag.

She shook her head. "Nope, no, I'm fine with my bag just the way it is. Thanks."

She may love Riley Matthews to her death, but her locker was enough colorful damage for the day, or for the year for that matter.

The brunette nodded. "Anyway, did you have trouble with the homework, Maya?" she queried to her while they strolled to History.

"Piece of cake," the blondie assured.

"You didn't do it, did you?"

"I don't even know where my books are."

Kat held back a laugh as Riley took out Maya's books from her bag, handing them to her. "They're here. And they're heavy," she complained slightly.

The bell rings as they enter the classroom.

"Kat, I must inform you now, though. You have to do the homework. This teacher's insane, a total nut job. I think there's something seriously wrong with him," Riley warns while they wander to the front of the class.

"Hi, honey," their teacher, aka Cory Matthews greeted his daughter.

"Hi, Daddy," Riley responded enthusiastically.

"You're late to your father's class," he states to Riley, then peers to Kat behind her. "And you're late to your first day in my class!" He pouts childishly. "How dare you?"

Kat pouts as a joke. "Oh, are you actually mad at me because of that?"

Cory waits a moment before snapping out of his facade. "Nope, because you're Kitty-Kat Decker, and everybody loves Kat," he beamed like a child. "Everybody! Wave at Kat! She's amazing."

Obeying him, everyone around the classroom starts to wave at Kat, which overwhelms her but she anxiously waves back.

She hands Cory her transfer slip as Maya reveals, "Well actually Matthews, you wrote Riley a note," grabbing said note from her pocket.

"I did?"

"You did," Maya hands it to Riley.

"You did," Riley repeats, giving it to her father.

Cory reads it out loud, "Riley's late. Deal with it." He looks back at Maya, mildly impressed. "Well, you got my signature down pretty good this time."

"Oh, it was easy. You write like a girl," Maya shrugged.

His eyes narrow at her before looking at Kat, gesturing to the table beside her. "You can sit next to Maya," he advised.

She nodded and sat down as he placed one of the class textbooks on her table.

Afterward, he went back to his table and stood tall. "Okay, let me get back to jamming some learning in your heads," Cory began. "The Civil War."

"The Civil Bore," Maya mocked.

Cory scowls at her slightly. "Thank you, future Mini-Mart employee of the month."

"Would I be making more money than you?"

He stands there silently before repeating the topic, "The Civil War!... Anybody?"

"A war we fought against ourselves," Riley answered.

"What, you actually studied it?"

"No, I'm actually living in it," she corrected, only to abruptly plop her head on the desk.

Kat drew a breath before speaking up, "It was also a war that went on for about four years."

"What were the years, Decker?"

"1861 through 1865. It ended when Robert Lee surrendered his troops to the Union."

"Woah..." someone mutters behind her. She spun around to see that it was Farkle; her and the girls' childhood friend they met years ago. "I think I think I'm falling more in love right now, Mr. Matthews."

Kat awkwardly grins at him. "Hi, Farkle. It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Darling," he smirked in reply, only to find himself frustrated, "This has become harder than it should be now!"

"What do you mean by that, Farkle?" Cory sought to know.

"I've been in love with Riley since the first grade. But I'm also equally in love with Maya. And now Kat is here and I've been in love with her too. How will I ever choose? I-It's too hard!"

Maya peers to the boy beside her and assured lowly, "You don't want this."

"Bring it on," he challenged.

She turns back to the front, slightly astonished, but not surprised.

Riley leans to her. "I always thought that he'd wind up with back-of-the-class Brenda."

All their attention veers to the girl sitting in the far back, prompting her to wave at them with a bright smile.

"Ew, yuck!" Farkle spat out, his expression contorting.

"Actually, the great mystery of the universe is how you can love two women the same who couldn't possibly be more different...and now, Kitty-Kat herself."

"We're not so different," Riley argued then.

Farkle suddenly raises his hand. "May I overstep my bounds, sir?"

"You always do," Cory says, gesturing for the boy to switch places with him.

Farkle waltzes to the front and flips over the name tag on Cory's desk, showing one side had his name imprinted on it.

Kat watches this in puzzlement. "What even..." she trails off, not having a clue on what was happening.

Farkle eased her confusion, "Don't worry, Darling. This is what I like to call—Farkle time."

Her brows raise. "And why is it called that?"

"Because it's just me being well—me!" Farkle explained. "But anyway, since I'm here by you, I shall admit, I've always loved you since I met you, Kat."

She actually remembers when they did.

It was during Halloween when she and the girls were in the first grade. He said he really liked her hair, and that she looked like she could rule the world with him someday.

Very straightforward, but that was Farkle for her.

"I know, Farkle. You're pretty obvious."

He really was, but Kat didn't really mind.

He smiles before going off on a tangent. "Okay see, Riley, is the sun. Warm and bright and lights up my whole day. Maya is the night. Dark and mysterious. And the night has always been a mystery to me. Because I go to bed at 7:30." His attention switches back to Kat. "And Kat is a mixture of both. Bright and mysterious, probably because I don't know her as well as the other two but things have changed. Kat is here to stay. She's stuck with us—forever."

She raised a finger. "I don't know about for-"

"I said what I said!" Farkle exclaimed and cuts her off. "How can I love these three different women? How can I not? Thank you, I am Farkle!" he bows before walking back to his seat, with Cory going back to his table.

"So, we were indeed trying to find out who we were, as a people." Cory flips his name tag back to his name. "Who am I? What should I be? History shows that bad things happen when you don't know who you are."

Then out of nowhere, the back door opens.

"Who are you? I don't know who you are."

Curious to see who it was, Kat twisted her head around, only for her heart to come to a sudden halt, again.

No....way. She thought.

Riley leans to Kat's direction, muttering, "Subway boy!" forcing the Decker to "shhh" her.

"I'm Lucas Friar, from Austin, Texas," he introduced himself, walking to Cory to hand him his slip.

The teacher took a moment to read the slip. "Oh. New student, Mr. Friar?"

"Yes, sir."

Cory nods. "Great. You're just in time for today's assignment. Have a seat."

He nods and sits behind Maya. Though Kat, unbeknownst to herself, was glaring at him whilst he sat down, leaving Lucas to smile at her again. "How nice it is to see you again, subway girl."

"How unpleasant it is to see you too, cowboy," Kat snarled, a glint of sarcasm in her tone.

Already, the Texan can't help but flash a phony frown at her attitude. "Somebody's clearly still sour this morning."

"Oh, and somebody's clearly still sour that a girl rejected him, hmh?"

"Hey, guys..." Cory interrupts their side conversation, giving them both discouraging looks.

They give each other one last playful glance before turning back to their new history teacher.

"So, I'd like you guys to open your books to page 48," Cory advised, and everybody obeys. "Now, I'd like you to turn to page 1....Now, I'd like you to read from page 1 to 48."

Everybody whines in despair.

"Oh, too bad on you," Cory scoffs. "Okay, so for tonight's assignment, I'd like you to write me a three-page essay on anything. Anything at all that you guys believe in so strongly, you fight for it."

"That," Maya pointedly said. "I'd fight for no homework. I come here every day; why can't you teach me everything I need to know while I'm here?"

She's got a point. Kat thought.

"Whoo!" Riley yells. But in peering back at her father, she falters at his distressed face. "Not woo!"

"He gets our days. Let's take back our nights. No homework, more freedom! Who's with me?" Maya proposed to her peers.

"No homework, more freedom! No homework, more freedom! No homework, more freedom!" she and the class start chanting, "No homework, more freedom!" with their noise swirling around the classroom.

And suddenly, it felt like the world was slowly caving in on Katherine Decker.

Only it wasn't. It was the loudness of the chanting around her that drove Kat to feel anxious, to feel overwhelmed even.

"Breathe, Breathe," she repeats in faint whispers, trying to catch her breath and get her thoughts straight.

Things like this didn't bother her most of the time. Most times, Katherine would only be annoyed at how loud some place was. But it hardly ever drove her to have a brief attack.

Then again, Kat knew that was just how life with anxiety was; random, overwhelming, and intense, and it sucked to have it, especially now.

Moments passed before the world felt less heavy, but by then, Riley and Maya had taken the rest of her classmates outside, still chanting for no homework. Leaving her, Cory, Lucas, and Farkle in the room.

Cory seemed very distraught by this, as for Farkle, he stood up frantically. "My education? Or my women? My education? Or my women? My education? Or my women?" the boy motions back and forth between the tables and Cory. "Oh, it's happening again, sir," and suddenly, he faints, leaving Cory to catch him.

Kat's eyes broadened. "Uh, Mr. Matthews..." she trails off worryingly, watching him lift Farkle towards her. "Will Farkle—be okay?"

"He's fine...I hope," Cory affirmed, stopping by her seat. "Thanks for staying though."

And to that, Kat gave him a weak smile. "Y-you're welcome, Mr. Matthews."

⤵︎

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS ended school only ten minutes before the high school did. So Kat decided to venture off to the nearest park to people-watch while waiting for her sister.

People-watching was her favorite thing to do, and it's been that way since she was seven. Watching people do ordinary things was just something that always captivated her.

Perhaps it was due to her habit of putting herself in people's shoes and imagining what their life was like. Or maybe it was because it was a hobby that always drove her out of her bad thoughts when things got gloomy.

Either way, people-watching was her go-to hobby.

Her sights were currently set on this old couple from afar, sitting on a bench like she was, with the old lady resting her head on her husband's shoulder as they were talking to one another.

Kat had no clue what they were talking about, and honestly, part of her wished she knew. It seemed like they were having a funny, heartwarming conversation judging by how much they were chuckling, and smiling at each other. One could even tell by the happiness in their eyes and laughter.

It made Katherine Decker sick.

She didn't think of herself as a "hopeless romantic" at all. If anything, she was quite the opposite.

Sure, she has read some books romance books, and sure, she enjoyed some of them, but the idea of love to her was quite obnoxious.

She knew love wasn't easy, and that's why she never grew to be obsessed with the concept and idea, unlike some people in her life.

She just didn't understand the hyper fixation in spending your life yearning for someone who might/might not break your heart in the future. It's the same mindset as going into a maze; you never know which path is the right way to go, so you spend ages going through the wrong ones before finally escaping.

And hell, maybe it's because her parents were divorced, or because she never really liked anyone (atleast a lot) in the way people do in the movies, but honestly, Kat never thought she'd ever come to understand it for herself.

It just so happens that from the corner of her eye, she sees a familiar figure suddenly stroll her way. Only to recognize that it was Lucas from her class—and the subway.

He had his book in hand, the same one she remembered he was reading earlier, looking like he was scavenging around the area.

"You have got to be kidding me," Kat seethed. As he looks her way, their eyes meet, and it provokes her to ask, "Are you stalking me, Texas?" as he comes closer to her.

The boy chuckles and smiles playfully. "Now what makes you think I'm stalking you, Red Riding Hood?"

"Well, it was either that, or the universe thought it'd be a good idea to make you ruin my afternoon by putting your presence near mine. Either or are not ideal."

He throws her a funny face before sitting beside her. "What are you doing here anyways?"

Kat slightly scowls at him. "I'm waiting for my sister, cowboy. What about you?"

"Waiting for my mom."

"Awww. Mommy's boy. I should've known."

Lucas snickered. "You're not?"

"No. And the reason why is none of your business."

His stare at her becomes peculiar by the second. "You're one of them fiery girls, aren't you?"

Again, she can't help but scowl at him. "Why are you still talking?"

"Why are you so mean?"

"You know you sound like my older sister when you ask it like that."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"Would've liked it if it was to you."

"But it's not," he assured. "I appreciate the effort. Maybe if you think of something more clever, then maybe you'll get me to cry. But I highly doubt it, red."

If Lucas Friar was trying to push her buttons, it was certainly working, but this wasn't Katherine's first rodeo with self-centered boys. She knew how to control herself. She wasn't going to let him get into her skin. Hell no.

"Well, thank god you and I are in the same history class, because I'll sure use that time tormenting you for the rest of middle school."

"Oh, I'm delighted to see you try, red."

She groans before looking back forward, grumpy, but not a noticeable amount.

They sat in tense silence before she spoke again, "So I'm assuming you don't have any siblings of your own?"

He shook his head. "No...I've always wanted one though."

She rolls her eyes another time. "Everybody says that."

If she got a quarter for the number of times someone has said that, she'd be able to buy her favorite brownies from the grocery store.

"But it's true," he argued on his behalf, "I think I'd want a younger brother."

He wants to be an older brother. That's so sweet...and boring. Kat thought bitterly.

"You wanting to be an older brother makes sense, in the way that I feel like you'd only want one to teach him your weird ways."

He scoffs. "Yeah, you could say that, I guess."

They were left with silence again, but it's cut short by Kat as she mindlessly admits, "I kind of wish I had one too."

Lucas raised a brow. "Really?"

She shrugged. "It's just been a thought I've had for a while now." She lets the idea sit with her before adding, "Just imagining me running around chasing a little me; protecting her, loving her...I can imagine that honestly."

She did that a lot; imagine scenarios like that. An alternate reality in which she had two siblings. One she could look up to, and one that would look up to her.

However, the idea of a younger sibling also kind of frightened her.

When it came down to it, Kat didn't think of herself as a role model. So to imagine a little version of her, wanting to be exactly like her, it wasn't ideal. They'd have a greater chance of making it in life looking up to Kim, not her.

"Well, minus your obnoxiously rude demeanor, I think there's a possiblity that you could probably be a great older sister," Lucas said, forcing Kat out of her thoughts.

She didn't even take in what he said at first. But when she did, Kat's gaze softened slightly, and she hated it. "You think so?"

"Yeah," he affirmed with a shrug of his shoulder.

And in that moment, her stomach went queasy. Again, not in a good way, obviously.

But still, she appreciate his words. Even if he was lying that he meant it. "Uhm, thanks? I guess...That—that means a lot." More than he, or her knew, for now anyways.

But before either could talk more, they suddenly hear Kat's name being yelled from afar. And it didn't surprise her to see that it was Kimberly herself, waving for Kat to notice her.

"So I can assume that's your sister?" Lucas asked, biting a grin.

"Mhm...Being ever so annoying," Kat nodded, hit with the urge to roll her eyes again. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then."

"I'll be there."

"I was kinda hoping you wouldn't." She really was, but she could tell he already knew that. "Bye-bye, Lucas," she waved as she went to her sister's side, watching Lucas shakes his head and wave back.

Kim spoke as her sister walks to her, "So, I see you've already made some moves on the subway boy. What can I say? You finally put your stubborn head out there. I'm proud of you, sis. It takes guts."

Kat scowls at her words. "Yeah, I really—don't want to talk about it," she groaned, hoping to just walk away from this conversation.

Unfortunately, Kat also knew better. Kimberly Decker wasn't going to let this slide so easily. "Oh, but I want you to, silly," the older sister asserted, stepping in front of her

She stares at Kim in disbelief, even if she half-expected this from her. "You're kidding. Please say you're actually kidding."

But in true Kimberly nature, she just continues to smirk. "You know I'm not."

"Yeah, I know damn well you're not," Kat scoffed. "But me and him just talked, alright. Just talked. So can we just go home, please?"

Kim stood there for a moment, pondering Kat's request before sighing. "Fine. But if anything more happens, I'm the first person you tell. You hear me?"

"That won't be a necessary. Because I promise you that nothing will happen between us, Kim. Nothing."

Kat watches her sister grow a smile, almost like she knew something she didn't. "Sure, sis...Whatever you say."

She rolls her eyes again as her sister's arm wrapped around her shoulder, dragging them out of the park to go home once more.

lani's talking

the whole book in a nutshell :))

anyways first chapters are my enemies in life ughhh

but for old readers (back when this book was called "invisible string") how are you guys liking this version? I didn't really change much about the story, except for the fact that kat and lucas are playful frenemies 😚

and for new viewers, hi! hope you all are enjoying the story so far :)

also, i usually don't write long chapters, but the way I outlined this story was I cut episodes into two chapters. kind of like how I'm doing it for my james diamond fanfic.

also i rewatched some videos of kathony videos and they heavily remind me of kat&lucas so that's why they're in the banner 😁😁

but anyways, thank you all sm for reading! I hope you guys are excited for this story, and I will see you all later, byeee <333