Chapter Text
They said that he was trouble, that he was a good for nothing bum who wrecked havoc everywhere he went. They said that he would do nothing but be a bad influence on her.
Maybe that’s why she liked him so much.
It wasn’t always like that though. Katie didn’t always have a thing for him. Sure she’d always been fascinated with him. How could you not with such a mysterious guy, all dressed in black, showing up to school each day on that cool motorcycle of his. It’s like he walked straight out of a James Dean movie. It didn’t help that no one seemed to know a thing about him. Like a living legend he strode out through the halls in silence. He never bothered to talk to anyone throughout the school day and then he left as silent as he entered.
That didn’t stop him from having a reputation however. No even quiet loners like Keith had a reputation especially when you look as intimidating as he does. In the hall groups of kids would whisper all sorts of things about him as he walked passed. Some of them were true.”
“I heard he got kicked out of his last school for beating up a bunch of freshman.”
“I heard that he’s the one robbing the convenience stores.”
“I heard he killed his birth parents.”
A lot of them weren’t.
But despite his delinquent appearance and bad reputation he still managed to be one of the top students in the senior class. While most of the teachers also seemed wary of him unlike the students they held this sort of understated respect for him. Most of the student’s figured he’s been cheating to get his good grades or intimidated an ‘actual smart kid’ to do the work for him. But for Katie it only made Keith more interesting.
Her attraction to him had started innocently enough, simply watching him from afar as he tuned his bike in the parking lot or ate his bagged lunch on the school steps alone. She’s memorized what he packs for lunch at this point. It wasn’t hard really. He brings the same thing every single day; a ham sandwich, an apple and a bottle of coca-cola. It’s a small and frankly boring lunch and Katie wonders if the only reason he eats that every day is because that’s all he can afford to eat.
He didn’t need her pity, but she still felt sorry for him.
At one point she’d made an attempt to talk to him, sitting beside him at lunch and offering to share the lunch her mother had packed her. Katie never needed all of it really. She’s not exactly a very big person and her mother always packed enough to feed five. She really only ate the peanut butter sandwich and whatever cookies her mother had packed that day.
Keith however didn’t appreciate her gesture. On the contrary he seemed repulsed by the very idea of someone trying to give him anything.
“I don’t need your pity,” he had said gruffly, rising to his feet before walking off to eat somewhere else.
Katie wasn’t offended by his rebuff of her gesture. Really if their situation had been reversed she’d would’ve done the same thing. But even after being rejected by him like that she still found herself looking for excuses to be near him, to talk to him.
Her brother Matt noticed this, and heartily disapproved. This didn’t really surprise her. He’s always been incredibly protective over her. In all honesty it’s unbearably annoying. She may be small but she’s not a kid anymore. She’s seventeen years old, nearly an adult and she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself regardless of what he thought.
This morning, he’d confronted her as she packed her bag for school.
“Katie, you shouldn’t be hanging around guys like that.”
“Matt, you’re not the boss of me.”
“Katie, I’m just trying to protect you.”
She stops, dropping her book bag before turning toward him with an irritated look across her face. She huffs, putting her hands on her hips in a very defensive matter. “Do you even know him Matt? Have you ever even talked to him, once? Or are you just being judgmental because he looks and acts a certain way.”
Matt sighs, crossing his arms over his chest, “I’ve heard things…”
“You should know better than to believe everything you hear.”
“And you should know better than to hang around people with such a bad reputation.”
She turns away, shaking her head as she roughly picks up her bag once more. “I’m not having this conversation with you, Matt. I’m gonna be late for school.” Ignoring her brother’s further protests she strides out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.
Her walk to school was peaceful enough, gave her some time to clear her head and calm down. She just didn’t understand why everyone was so inclined to judge people they’ve never even spoken to. Though maybe she’s a bit of a hypocrite in that respect since she’s been known to judge plenty of her classmates without even speaking to them. But that was different, she had reasons for disliking the obnoxious letterman clad jocks who acted like they owned the school or the snobby socs who acted like they were better than everybody. She’s a scientist at heart. She doesn’t judge by reputation and rumors. She judges by what she sees right in front of her with her very eyes. And from what she’s seen of Keith, he’s definitely not as bad as every thinks.
But not everyone is inclined to be like that. In fact most people around here get their information from rumors and gossip. Even her friends weren’t safe from this kind of thinking. No, just yesterday her friends Hunk and Lance were doing nothing but gossiping about Keith. Well, mostly Lance was doing the gossiping. Hunk mostly kept quiet save for a few comments about how scary he looked ( and to be fair he does look pretty scary ). Katie’s just chosen to tune them out at this point. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d ignored them when they were talking.
Today school went by agonizingly slow and faster than the speed of light at the same time. She’s having trouble properly concentrating in class, she has been for the last couple of weeks and her recent grades show for it. What used to be consistent A’s have now turned to B’s or god forbid a C will make its way into the mix. Now for most people that wouldn’t be much of a problem but for her it’s a significant change. It’s gotten to the point where her calculus teacher pulled her aside after class. But it’s not her fault. She didn’t ask for Keith Kogane to ride his motorcycle into her head. She didn’t ask for this.
Is this what it’s like being one of those dumb girls that can’t talk about anything but the guy she likes? She’d never wanted to be that kind of person and to be fair she’s been much more subtle about her interest than her peers may be. The first time she actually swoons or says something stupid like ‘he’s so dreamy’ she’s giving Matt full permission to lock her up in a convent.
Actually scratch that, he might actually do that.
But really while maybe she had been an unwilling participant in this whole crush thing ( does anyone actually like having a crush? that concept seems so odd to her ), but she’s accepted that it’s not going to go away any time soon so she may as well do her best not to look like an idiot.
“Katie? Hello? Earth to Katie? Anyone in there?”
Katie is pulled out of her train of thought by Lance who’s leaning over the lunch table to wave his hand frantically over her face. She slaps his hand away, an unamused expression on her face. “What?”
“Did you hear about the fight that broke out during second period?”
He’s got her attention now. She may not actively participate in gossip but she never said anything about listening in on the recent scoop. She sits up, eyebrows raised in curiosity as pulls a grape out of her lunchbox and eats it. “There was a fight?”
Lance nods, looking maybe a little too enthusiastic considering they’re discussing a fight in school. “Oh, yeah that Keith kid got in a fight with one of the socs in the middle of the hallway. Think it might have been Mr. Iverson’s kid but I don’t know. It got kinda nasty they had to get pulled off each other.”
“What? Why? Who started it?”
Lance snorts, “Does it matter? They’re both total pricks. Both of them serving each other a beating is just karma’s way of killing two birds with one stone.”
“Lance, I’ve got news for you. You’re a prick too.”
Lance rolls his eyes, reaching forward to grab one of homemade gingersnaps resting in her lunchbox. “Kitty please, you know you love me.”
“I don’t love how you can’t seem to keep your hands out of my lunch,” she replies, scowling at him as she pulls her lunchbox away, “— and I told you not to call me Kitty.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
They continue to eat, Katie absentmindedly eating her sandwich while Lance stole more of her cookies when he thought she wasn’t paying attention ( she did notice but simply chose to ignore it. She’s never really liked gingersnaps anyway ). They’re joined by Hunk not long after, talking nervously about their history exam that upcoming friday. Or at least that’s what she thought he was saying. Honestly she tuned them out again and entered dreamland again. Thankfully this time Lance wasn’t inclined to bother her.
It’s not until the bell rings for next period does she fully come back to her senses. Hunk’s already left them at this point ( he always made sure he got to class on time ) and Lance is starting to pack up his stuff. She rises to her feet, closing her checkered lunchbox and shoving it into her book bag. She’s not really paying attention as she does so, just blindly throwing things together and putting things away ( she put her chemistry in her lunchbox at one point and wasn’t aware of it until Lance teased her for it ).
Then she spots him.
Keith Kogane is walking through the courtyard, sporting a black eye and what looks to be a bloody lip. He’s walking in the opposite direction of the rest of the students, heading in the direction of the parking lot. Multiple pairs of eyes including her own seem to follow him as he strode past, Keith however seemed unfazed by this as he made his passed.
What’s he doing? Now’s not really the time to be taking a smoke break outside. He’d likely be late for class at this rate. Say what you must about Keith, but he always seemed to value his grades or at least that’s what it seemed like to her. Where could he possibly be going in the middle of the school day?
She was gonna find out.
Katie bolts after him, carelessly dropping her book bag on the ground beside the lunch tables as she goes. Lance watches her leave, an expression of bewilderment on his face. In the distance she can hear him call after her.
“Katie, what’re you doing?! We’ve gotta get to class!”
She ignores him. She’s going surprisingly fast considering her saddle shoes are nearing too small and the skirt of her emerald green dress is moving wildly in the wind. Truth be told she doesn’t really know what she’s doing or what she intends to do when she actually sees him. All she knows is that at the moment she cares far more about whatever Keith’s up to than going to whatever class she’s meant to be going to.
She’s a couple of steps into the parking lot when she stops, eyes scanning for any sigh of Keith or his shining motorcycle. She doesn’t spot him until the roar of the bike engine rings out throughout the parking lot, whipping her head round in his direction and continuing her sprint toward him.
There perched on his bike, gripping tightly on the handlebars is Keith. Now that she sees him up close Katie can see whatever went down earlier has left him clearly disheveled. Sure he’s never been someone she’d considered polished but today it’s different. His dark wash jeans have tears along his knees, exposing a rather nasty looking cut along his leg. The gel he usually wears in his hair has worn off now, his hair hanging limply over his eyes. It’s actually a pretty good look for him. But Katie wouldn’t be surprised if he looked in good in any look.
He looks like he’s about to head off when he notices her, sighing as releases his grip on his bike to brush the strands of hair out of his eyes. “What do you want?” he asks casting her a rather exasperated look.
The question catches her off guard, not simply because to the unexpectedness of it but also due to the fact is she doesn’t really know. She’d just sort of followed him on instinct, like a devoted puppy dog eager to please it’s master. The comparison isn’t that far off really. She couldn’t tell you why if you’d asked her but she’s always wanted to impress him in some way. She wouldn’t know how to even begin going about this but she still wanted to; possibly because he came off as difficult to impress and possibly because she always loved a challenge.
She pauses, biting her lip as she tries to think up some kind of excuse for following him that didn’t sound creepy and/or stalker-y. She’s got nothing.
“I…I don’t know.”
Way to impress him, Katie.
To her surprise he chuckles. It’s not a kindhearted laugh however, not like the one Matt makes when their father does something silly or the snorty laugh Hunk makes when Lance tells a joke. No Keith’s laugh is more cold, still genuine and having a trace of amusement in it. But it felt like he was laughing at her more than anything, looking down on her as some stupid little girl. To be fair she was feeling pretty stupid at the moment but it still didn’t feel good.
“Go back to class, Einstein. I’m not taking any passengers.”
That gets a reaction out of her. Sure, he may be good looking and he may have her interest but Katie’s not someone who’ll let herself get pushed around by anyone. She frowns, hands rising to her hips in a defensive matter. “Oh, you think so highly of yourself don’t you? Did it ever occur to you that my car is parked here?”
It isn’t. She doesn’t even have a car…well not yet. The one she’s putting together isn’t finished and she’d hardly consider Matt’s car hers. Not that he knows that.
Keith smirks, raising his eyebrows and giving her a sort of knowing look. “It’s not. You walked to school.”
Her eyes widen as she finds herself caught in her own lie. It’s not even the fact that she’s been caught that surprises her really but that he knew she’d walked to school that morning. Has he been watching her? No, she would know then especially considering any time he’s in her line of vision she’s watching him. Besides why would he ever watch her?
“How…”
“You walk to school everyday. You always show up five minutes early and linger by the lockers before class. You go to class. You always eat lunch with Hunk Garrett and that other guy I can’t remember the name of. You eat in the courtyard at the same table every single day. You leave school immediately after the bell and are out the door before anyone else. You’re predictable, and a little boring. ”
What the hell?
“And you’re a stalker.”
“I prefer the term observant. Besides I don’t think you’re really one to talk stalking.”
“I…”
He’s got her there.
He rolls his eyes, gripping onto the motorcycle’s handles again before starting the engine and putting his feet on the pedal. He gives her one last smug look as he rides off giving her a short sort of wave as he says, “Later.”
She’s left completely flabbergasted. Was that even real? Did that actually truly happen? Or did she fall asleep during lunch and that whole conversation was some kind of weird dream?
She doesn’t know how to process this whole thing. On one hand Keith Kogane, mysterious and cool greaser found her interesting enough to pay attention to. On the other hand it’s a bit unsettling knowing that someone is watching you and knows your daily schedule ( Not that she hasn’t done that too. The point still stands ). It certainly gave her perspective of how boring she was. To be able to be that predictable…it’s more unnerving than finding out Keith has her schedule memorized.
She’s got to do something about that.
The rest of the school day is a complete blur. If she was having trouble paying attention to class this morning it’s nothing to how she is now. Class, after class all she did was sit at her desk and thought about that conversation in the parking lot while pretending to listen to her teachers drone on about their designated subjects.
As the end of the day bell rings she lifts her eyes to look at the clock hanging on the wall. She’s going to wait five minutes before she leaves, let the rest of the class vacate the room before packing her things and leaving. She’s not going to run out of the room and begin walking home like she usually does. She’s going to do something unexpected even if it’s something as insignificant as leaving a few minutes late. She has to prove him wrong. Moreover she has to prove to herself she’s not as bland and boring as he made her out to be.
She taps her fingers on the surface of her desk as she impatiently watches the clock’s hands move. She’s never been a patient person. She’s never liked waiting around for things when she could be doing something productive with her time. It feels like such a waste to sit and wait here just to prove a point. Keith’s not even at school right now so why is she bothering to prove him wrong?
She’s only been waiting a minute and a half and honestly it feels like she’s aged a decade since the bell has rung. She could leave now right? It still classifies as late and she could add to her lateness by walking home particularly slow. It’s totally different from her usual routine to linger on her way home. She can always do that instead of waiting in her desk like an idiot.
So she rises to her feet. She picks up her book bag and gleefully leaves the room, proud of herself for finally stepping out of her own groove.
Two hours later and Katie is heading out again, now out of her dress and saddle shoes and clad in her favorite pair of pedal pushers and worn out keds. She’s never really been into wearing skirts and dresses. Some of them were okay, the soft comfortable ones that didn’t make you feel like you had to sit like a ‘lady’ but a lot of them just made her feel too prissy. She felt much more at ease when in her jeans and t-shirt. Besides her mother would kill her if she wore one of her dresses to help Hunk at the auto shop.
After school she occasionally goes over to the auto shop that Hunk works at. Coran the manager there gives her a decent sum for whatever work she helps Hunk with. It’s pretty generous considering she doesn’t actually work there…not officially at least. She really only started coming around because that’s where she’s got her half made car parked out and just helped out Hunk in her spare time. But Coran appreciated her handiwork so he was nice enough to pay her for it. So of course that just gave her more incentive to keep coming.
Hunk’s already there when she arrives, working under the hood of a blue mustang and covered in motor oil. He waves a filthy had at her when she sees her walk in, stepping away to grab a rap to wipe his hands. “Hey! You’re here early.”
She shrugs, peering over his shoulder to look at the car behind him. “I finished my homework early so I thought I’d pop in. Is Coran here?”
“Oh yeah, he’s in the back with a customer. He’ll probably be done in a second.”
Katie nods, reaching for the toolbox resting on the ground and picking it up. She walks past Hunk, eyes on the pretty mustang. “Okay, what’s wrong with this bad boy?”
“Nothing anymore. I finished working on it a couple minutes ago. I was just making some final check ups.”
She sighs, pouting in a look a feigned disappointment, “You mean you started without me?”
He laughs, “Y’know I do still work here, Katie whether or not you decide to help me out for kicks.”
“Hunk, you wound me.”
“You’ll get over it. Come on there’s a bike over here I’m sure you’d love to get your grimy little hands on.”
He points to the other side of the room and Katie swears she feels her blood run cold. It’s not just any bike resting against the back wall, it’s the bike, the bike she’s been staring at and admiring for the past two months, Keith’s bike.
Keith is here.
Oh god, she’s gonna be sick.
On any other day she’d be absolutely over the moon that not only was Keith in the auto shop but she had the opportunity to work on his motorcycle. But today, after the parking lot incident, she’d pick watching soap operas and getting manicures with Lance over being in the same room as Keith. She didn’t need to make a fool out of herself again or deal with Keith making fun of her.
She can’t let Hunk know that though. He doesn’t exactly know about the whole Keith situation and last time he found out about a crush of hers, he teased her about it for weeks. Granted this was in the 4th grade and the guy in question was later found out to be a booger eater but her point still stands. She can’t trust Hunk with this kind of information so she’s got to do her best to pretend that Keith’s presence doesn’t faze her in the slightest.
“O- Oh…uh what happened to it.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Katie practically jumps out of her skin as a new voice answers her. Eyes wide, she swiftly turns her head around to see Keith walking through the doorway from the other room, Coran following behind him. A small smirk appears on his face as he notices her look of surprise.
“Hey, I didn’t scare you did I?”
Forget everything she’s ever said to defend Keith Kogane. She hates him and she hopes his bike falls to pieces. She crosses her arm, sending a glare in his direction.
“You wish.”
Hunk frowns, nudging Katie gently with his elbow. A confused expression on his face, he whispers to her, “Dude, what’s your deal? He kick your dog or something?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she mutters, turning away from the others.
She begins to fiddle with the various tools and stray car parts scattered across the floor. Hoping to appear busy in an attempt to avoid touching that stupid bike. She manages to do this successfully for about ten minutes while Hunk, Keith and Coran discussed the motorcycle before she completely gives up.
She can’t do this. She can’t be here right now. The auto shop is her happy place and right now it was the last place she wanted to be right now. She just wants to go home and forget this whole day ever happened so she can return to school tomorrow like her usual self.
“You know what, I’ve gotta go.”
Hunk raises an eyebrow, “Already? You just got here.”
“Yeah, I just remembered I have this thing with my Dad I have to do soon and I need to change out of these clothes first.”
She drops the wrench in her hands, shoving her hands in her pockets as she begins to make her way out of the garage and into the street beyond. As soon as she passes the auto shop she breaks into a run, trying to put as much distance between herself and Keith as possible.
She ends up passing her house some minutes back. It doesn’t matter though. She still needs to clear her head and she didn’t really wanna deal with telling her family why she came home so early. She just keeps running and running until she reaches the diner a few blocks away from her house.
Food fixes everything right?
She walks in, dumping herself into the nearest available booth before laying her head exhaustedly against the tabletop surface. She sits like that for the next couple of minutes until a voice brings her back to her senses.
“You know, Katie I’d think you’d choose to nap in your own bed before camping out here.”
She lifts her head up to see Shiro, her neighbor and longtime family friend smiling down on her amusedly. He’s in his waiter’s uniform and holding up a pad of paper and a pen. Wow, finally a face that she didn’t want punch.
“Well, your table makes a surprisingly nice pillow.”
Shiro chuckles, pausing a minute to give her a once over, “You okay? You seem a little down.”
She groans, burying her face in her hands. “Just a bad day. Nothing a chocolate milkshake won’t fix.”
He raises an eyebrow, “You know, I’m no expert but I don’t think milkshakes are going to solve all your problems.”
“Yeah, well I’m too young for alcohol.”
“Katie.”
She waves her hand dismissively at him, “Yeah, I know, I know. I just need a pick me up, okay.”
“Fair enough,” he says sighing, jotting down her order on a slip of paper, “Do you want your usual with that too?”
“Yes please.”
He casts her one last sympathetic smile before turning away and heading back in the direction of the kitchen. Following Shiro’s departure Katie returns her head to the table’s surface, shutting her eyes and giving herself a moment of peace. It’s been a roller coaster of a day and quite frankly she’s feeling nauseous.
She wished she could be six again. Everything was so much easier when she was six. Schoolwork was easy and she aced everything without even blinking an eyelash. There weren’t stupid distractions like boys and romance. She could be free to do whatever her heart desired without facing such trivial obstacles and challenges.
People were more honest when she was six. These days her peers came off so plastic and fake with their plastered smiles and their false kindness. It was like the taste of artificial sweetener; it seems nice and sweet from the surface but quickly it dissolves in this pale imitation of what it’s meant to be.
She didn’t want that. She wanted something real, she wanted someone real.
Keith was real.
But that didn’t matter. While she values honesty greatly but it’s become all too clear to her that honesty had a price. In Keith’s case his price was being a jerk.
When her food arrives, she sits up, staring hungrily at the juicy cheeseburger and fries alongside her creamy chocolate milkshake. She hadn’t really eaten much at lunch, too distracted. She’s feeling ravenous really so she doesn’t hesitate to dig in, carelessly tossing Shiro a couple dollars before biting into her burger.
Katie’s so immersed in her meal that she doesn’t notice the front door swing open and a certain greaser stepping in. Keith pauses as he sees her, an expression of mixed surprise and amusement. He strides over to her, smile on his face and hands in his pockets.
“This seat taken?”
Katie groans, not even surprised at this point as she lowers her burger filled hands and turns her attention to him. “Are you actually stalking me now? Because don’t think I won’t call the police.”
He rolls his eyes, “Okay now you’re just being paranoid.”
She casts him a challenging look, just daring him to keep trying her already low patience. “Am I? You seem to show up everywhere I go.”
He shrugs, hesitating a moment before sliding into the booth opposite her. “Fair enough but I came here on my own. I always head over here for dinner just ask anyone who works here.”
“You know I didn’t say you could sit.”
“It’s a bit too late for that now.”
Katie clenches her fists, giving him a murderous look as she pushes her plate away from her. He’s getting on her last nerves. First he has to belittle her than he makes fun of her and now he won’t leave her alone. She’s completely lost her appetite now and he’s entirely to blame.
“What do you want?”
“To talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you and honestly I don’t care about anything you have to say.”
“I wanted to say...I’m sorry.”
Well scratch that she definitely cared about what he has to say now. She sits up, brows furrowed as she stares confusedly at him. “What?”
“I shouldn’t have said that stuff to you earlier or acted like an ass the other day when you offered me some of your lunch. I’m…I’m just not used to people treating me like that and I don’t really know how to handle it. Honestly you’re one of the only people at school who doesn’t seem to be scared of me and it’s — it’s just weird.”
Katie’s expression softens, looking away from him as she contemplate everything he’s just said. It’s a genuine apology, she knows that. She’s dealt with ( and told ) plenty of fake apologies to be able to spot a real one. In that respect she appreciated him. However it hardly felt like a viable excuse in her eyes so she’s still hesitant to immediately forgive him.
For a moment there’s silence between them. Katie's gaze never leaves her folded hands in her lap and Keith’s gaze never leaves her. Finally he speaks up, voice more quiet and hesitant now.
“I got suspended today. That’s why I was leaving earlier.”
She lifts her eyes from her lap, eyes wide as she looks back at him, “What?”
“Yeah, I got into a fight with Connor Iverson this morning and the principal decided to suspend me. Didn’t do anything to Iverson though, little bastard.”
“Figures. When the vice principal is your Dad you’re bound to get special treatment,” Katie replies bitterly.
Keith shrugs, “Whatever. The fat lip is I gave him is enough punishment. He looks like a defective rubber duck.”
Katie laughs, finding herself surprisingly more at ease in his presence now. Don’t be mistaken. She hasn’t forgiven him, not yet anyway. It’ll probably be a long time until he’s fully in her good graces. But in all honesty this feels better than constantly feeling anxious about him or getting all dreamy eyed and dopey around him. He’s not so much a of an arrogant jerk or a hunky mysterious motorcycle man but just a person, a rude and irritating person.
“Yeah okay but, that doesn’t explain to me why you know my school schedule. I mean I guess I’m kind of predictable but even my best friends don’t know that many details about me.”
He pauses, looking slightly embarrassed at her question. For a moment Katie swears she sees a faint blush rising to his cheeks. No way, there’s no way Keith’s blushing. It’s gotta be a trick of the light or something.
But it isn’t and the longer he sits there in silence the more flushed and embarrassed he seemed to become. It’s surprisingly endearing actually.
“Well, uh…I just notice you a lot. It’s hard to miss you. You tend to stick out in the crowds a lot. Plus I’ve uh, noticed you watching me so I just kind of got curious. You’re pretty interesting…despite your predictability.”
Now it’s her turn to blush.
It’s stupid really; especially considering that she was already made aware that he’s been watching her. But this time it’s different. It’s not a jab or a mockery of her own schedule. This time it’s more private, more personal like he’s telling her a secret. Katie really doesn’t know how to respond to it in all honesty. He’s not the only one unfamiliar with people treating them a certain way. No one’s ever been this incredibly honest with her before. It’s almost unnerving.
Katie bites her lip, gently pushing aside the remainder of her meal in his direction. “Want a fry?”
Keith gives her a grateful smile, reaching forward and grabbing one of the salty fries from her plate. Katie eats a few fries herself and not after long their sharing the last of the fries and milkshake in silence, both of them seeming a bit too embarrassed to speak or mention their previous conversation.
When they finish Keith rises from the table first, curious eyes darting between Katie and the outside of the diner. “Do you need a ride home? It’s pretty dark out and it might not be best to walk home alone.”
Oh, she hadn’t thought about that. Really Katie could use the ride. It’s not exactly a long way back to her house but she really doesn’t like walking home in the dark. She lives in a relatively safe neighborhood but nevertheless there’s something about an empty sidewalk dimly lit by lamplight that just makes you feel uneasy.
“Yeah, actually thanks but isn’t your bike in the shop?”
“It’s fixed. Turns out I just had a piece of my engine fall of. Once we replaced it Red was good to go.”
She raises an eyebrow, “Red?”
“Oh, uh yeah that’s the name of my bike.”
Katie chuckles softly, leading the way out of the diner as she walks toward the motorcycle sitting outside. “You named your motorcycle.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s just…” she casts a smile in his direction, a real genuine smile, “It’s kinda cute.”
He doesn’t respond, simply returning her grin with a shy smile. He steps onto the bike, turning his head toward her as he patted the small space of seat behind him. Katie steps onto the bike a little too excitedly. She’s never been on a motorcycle before ( Matt and her father would likely have a heart attack if they saw her on one ) and she’s looking forward to the ride.
“You’ll have to hold on tight. It goes pretty fast.”
“Oh…uh okay.”
Her face grows warm as she lowers herself onto the bike’s seat, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. “Okay ready when you are.”
Keith nods, pressing his feet onto the pedals and driving off into the street. As the bike’s speed grows faster, Katie finds herself squeezing onto him more tightly. Despite the initial uneasiness the ride is rather spectacular. The cool night air on her face and the wind rushing through her long hair. It’s one of the greatest feelings she’s ever felt.
She’d never thought she’d feel so alive just riding on a bike like this. Then again she never thought Keith would turn out the way he did. He was shy, he was funny. He was able to keep with her clever wit. He seemed to match her in every way possible.
Maybe that’s why she liked him so much.