Overland Park, KS, Monday Afternoon
It had felt so weird, getting home on Sunday afternoon. Kate hadn't been back in six months, and it hit her hard, how everything was the same as it had always been.
Yeah, actually, she had been back home once after starting at Fandom High, but that didn't count, not really; she realized that now. That time, she'd taken Leto home with her, which meant she'd effectively taken Fandom home with her, too. With him there, Overland Park wasn't the same Overland Park she'd known all her life. With him there, she was looking at everything from a stranger's point of view, trying to imagine how it all seemed to him. And she couldn't even pretend her life was the same as it had always been; one look at him and she remembered all the weirdness.
And she knew it was all real.
There was nothing to do that to her now, nothing concrete to remind her Fandom wasn't just a trick of her mind. She spent all of Sunday feeling unsteady, like she was standing between two worlds, kind of unsure about everything. It was similar to what she felt during Parents' Weekend, thrown off her balance by trying to keep Fandom and her home from crashing together and screwing everything up for her.
But the feeling was fading now. Nearly 16 years spent in her hometown ensured that it was ridiculously easy to slip into that old way of being. Being who she had always been, doing the same things she always did. It was exactly why Monday afternoon found her at the mall, visiting all her favorite stores and just generally hanging out.
She was just heading for the record store and had gone past an elaborate Christmas tree and some benches when she heard a voice call out her name.
She recognized the voice instantly, and spun around before she'd even had time to think about it.
"Hey," Benjamin smirked from his seat on the bench, giving her a little wave. "I haven't seen you around for ages, where've you been?"
Kate was thrown off her game for a moment, startled by him just suddenly being there. To say she hadn't been expecting this would've been a giant understatement. She hadn't seen him in over six months, although she'd thought about him too many times, and now he was right there with his pretty face and pretty smile and pretty eyes and that awesome voice and--
She composed herself. "I moved," she told him evenly. "Hi, Benjamin."
"Oh yeah? Where? Why didn’t you tell me?" Benjamin asked, getting up and moving closer, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his skeleton-print hoodie. "I texted you."
Kate raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. "Maryland. And why didn't I tell you? Maybe because we'd broken up like months before? And you had a new girlfriend."
Benjamin flashed her a smile, shaking his head. "Yeah but you know she didn’t mean anything to me."
He got even closer. That had helped him in getting on her good side before. Getting close and smiling, and speaking softly. "I missed you, Katie-chan. And you’re still just as kawaii as ever."
You know what? No.
Kate wasn't doing this bullshit again. She took a step back, effectively getting Ben out of her personal space. He wasn't welcome there anymore.
"She dumped you, didn’t she?"
"What?" Benjamin made a face. "No! I dumped her, I dumped her for you! Baby, I love you."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You don't love me."
Benjamin tried to act sweet again. Hey, sometimes it worked.
"Yes I do, you know I do." He reached out to touch her, to brush his fingers against her cheek. "I'd even come visit you in Maryland."
It had worked. In the past. But that time was over.
Kate slapped Benjamin's hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. "You love me? If you love me, then why the fuck did you hit my mother?"
Just in case he thought she’d forgotten about that.
"Hey, she hit me first!"
Oh he had to be kidding her. "She's my mother, Ben! God!"
Benjamin held his hands up in a gesture of giving up.
"Anyway, whatever, that's not what we're talking about here. Calm down, Katie-chan. Babe, if you'd just let me explain--"
"Explain what, Ben? How you think you can just push me around? How 'texting is how you show your love'?"
Kate hadn't sounded this angry in a while. She hadn't been this angry in a while. And she hadn't realized just how much of a dick he was until now, not so completely as she did now. Calling her pet names wasn't helping him at all. It just drew Kate's attention to how his way of talking and his way of acting didn't really correspond. Nowadays, she had people who never called her anything but Kate who still managed to treat her with a lot more respect than Ben ever had.
All the crap he'd put her through came rolling back, feeding her anger. "Why you never listened to me? Why your shit is always more important than mine?"
Mitchell thought she was scary when she was pissed off? He should've seen her now.
Benjamin took a step closer, for one last try. "Baby, I'm sorry, I--"
"Bullshit. Oh my God, you are so full of crap, I have no idea what I ever saw in you."
And this was the first and only time Kate had been the one to give the first shove. She pushed him away. "Fuck you, Benjamin."
Okay, now Benjamin wasn't happy. "Well, you already have," he snarled, going to shove her back.
He wasn't about to succeed. Kate knew he was going to do that; this wasn't exactly the first time. "Don't you dare fucking touch me!" she snapped as she took a step back to avoid him.
And when she spoke again, she looked him straight in the eyes, and her voice was steady but cold. "I don't ever want to see you again, Benjamin. And if you ever come anywhere near where I live, you will get your ass kicked."
And she said it with conviction, making sure he understood that she had friends where she lived now, friends who'd be just as eager as Buck to kick his ass. It was easy to say it, because despite how much she kept the knowledge repressed somewhere in the back of her mind because she liked to pretend she could always deal with everything herself, she knew it was true. He would get his ass kicked.
Not to mention that Jaime would mock him. How had she never realized how dumb his little 'samurai knots' looked while they were still dating?
Benjamin may not have been winning any awards for intelligence, but he finally figured out he wasn't going to get anywhere with Kate.
"Whatever," he sneered, not one to actually admit defeat or fear or anything. "You're a crazy bitch with a weirdo family, anyway. See you never."
And with those as his graceful parting words, he took off in the direction of the food court.
Kate watched him walk away, then shook her head. She rummaged around her bag for her cellphone, and realized her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding and wow, was that something important that she'd done just now?
It had just felt necessary, and right.
Overland Park may have been the same as it had always been. But she wasn't.
She got her phone out and sent a mass text to her friends in Fandom.
How's things in Fandom or wherever you are? Kansas is boring.
[ooc: NFB due to distance, but open to texts and calls! If you think you got the message, you got it.
I'm around pretty much all of today, but tomorrow morning I shall flee to spend Christmas internetlessly; I'll be back on Saturday. Happy holidays, everyone!]
Yeah, actually, she had been back home once after starting at Fandom High, but that didn't count, not really; she realized that now. That time, she'd taken Leto home with her, which meant she'd effectively taken Fandom home with her, too. With him there, Overland Park wasn't the same Overland Park she'd known all her life. With him there, she was looking at everything from a stranger's point of view, trying to imagine how it all seemed to him. And she couldn't even pretend her life was the same as it had always been; one look at him and she remembered all the weirdness.
And she knew it was all real.
There was nothing to do that to her now, nothing concrete to remind her Fandom wasn't just a trick of her mind. She spent all of Sunday feeling unsteady, like she was standing between two worlds, kind of unsure about everything. It was similar to what she felt during Parents' Weekend, thrown off her balance by trying to keep Fandom and her home from crashing together and screwing everything up for her.
But the feeling was fading now. Nearly 16 years spent in her hometown ensured that it was ridiculously easy to slip into that old way of being. Being who she had always been, doing the same things she always did. It was exactly why Monday afternoon found her at the mall, visiting all her favorite stores and just generally hanging out.
She was just heading for the record store and had gone past an elaborate Christmas tree and some benches when she heard a voice call out her name.
She recognized the voice instantly, and spun around before she'd even had time to think about it.
"Hey," Benjamin smirked from his seat on the bench, giving her a little wave. "I haven't seen you around for ages, where've you been?"
Kate was thrown off her game for a moment, startled by him just suddenly being there. To say she hadn't been expecting this would've been a giant understatement. She hadn't seen him in over six months, although she'd thought about him too many times, and now he was right there with his pretty face and pretty smile and pretty eyes and that awesome voice and--
She composed herself. "I moved," she told him evenly. "Hi, Benjamin."
"Oh yeah? Where? Why didn’t you tell me?" Benjamin asked, getting up and moving closer, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his skeleton-print hoodie. "I texted you."
Kate raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. "Maryland. And why didn't I tell you? Maybe because we'd broken up like months before? And you had a new girlfriend."
Benjamin flashed her a smile, shaking his head. "Yeah but you know she didn’t mean anything to me."
He got even closer. That had helped him in getting on her good side before. Getting close and smiling, and speaking softly. "I missed you, Katie-chan. And you’re still just as kawaii as ever."
You know what? No.
Kate wasn't doing this bullshit again. She took a step back, effectively getting Ben out of her personal space. He wasn't welcome there anymore.
"She dumped you, didn’t she?"
"What?" Benjamin made a face. "No! I dumped her, I dumped her for you! Baby, I love you."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You don't love me."
Benjamin tried to act sweet again. Hey, sometimes it worked.
"Yes I do, you know I do." He reached out to touch her, to brush his fingers against her cheek. "I'd even come visit you in Maryland."
It had worked. In the past. But that time was over.
Kate slapped Benjamin's hand away and crossed her arms over her chest. "You love me? If you love me, then why the fuck did you hit my mother?"
Just in case he thought she’d forgotten about that.
"Hey, she hit me first!"
Oh he had to be kidding her. "She's my mother, Ben! God!"
Benjamin held his hands up in a gesture of giving up.
"Anyway, whatever, that's not what we're talking about here. Calm down, Katie-chan. Babe, if you'd just let me explain--"
"Explain what, Ben? How you think you can just push me around? How 'texting is how you show your love'?"
Kate hadn't sounded this angry in a while. She hadn't been this angry in a while. And she hadn't realized just how much of a dick he was until now, not so completely as she did now. Calling her pet names wasn't helping him at all. It just drew Kate's attention to how his way of talking and his way of acting didn't really correspond. Nowadays, she had people who never called her anything but Kate who still managed to treat her with a lot more respect than Ben ever had.
All the crap he'd put her through came rolling back, feeding her anger. "Why you never listened to me? Why your shit is always more important than mine?"
Mitchell thought she was scary when she was pissed off? He should've seen her now.
Benjamin took a step closer, for one last try. "Baby, I'm sorry, I--"
"Bullshit. Oh my God, you are so full of crap, I have no idea what I ever saw in you."
And this was the first and only time Kate had been the one to give the first shove. She pushed him away. "Fuck you, Benjamin."
Okay, now Benjamin wasn't happy. "Well, you already have," he snarled, going to shove her back.
He wasn't about to succeed. Kate knew he was going to do that; this wasn't exactly the first time. "Don't you dare fucking touch me!" she snapped as she took a step back to avoid him.
And when she spoke again, she looked him straight in the eyes, and her voice was steady but cold. "I don't ever want to see you again, Benjamin. And if you ever come anywhere near where I live, you will get your ass kicked."
And she said it with conviction, making sure he understood that she had friends where she lived now, friends who'd be just as eager as Buck to kick his ass. It was easy to say it, because despite how much she kept the knowledge repressed somewhere in the back of her mind because she liked to pretend she could always deal with everything herself, she knew it was true. He would get his ass kicked.
Not to mention that Jaime would mock him. How had she never realized how dumb his little 'samurai knots' looked while they were still dating?
Benjamin may not have been winning any awards for intelligence, but he finally figured out he wasn't going to get anywhere with Kate.
"Whatever," he sneered, not one to actually admit defeat or fear or anything. "You're a crazy bitch with a weirdo family, anyway. See you never."
And with those as his graceful parting words, he took off in the direction of the food court.
Kate watched him walk away, then shook her head. She rummaged around her bag for her cellphone, and realized her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding and wow, was that something important that she'd done just now?
It had just felt necessary, and right.
Overland Park may have been the same as it had always been. But she wasn't.
She got her phone out and sent a mass text to her friends in Fandom.
How's things in Fandom or wherever you are? Kansas is boring.
[ooc: NFB due to distance, but open to texts and calls! If you think you got the message, you got it.
I'm around pretty much all of today, but tomorrow morning I shall flee to spend Christmas internetlessly; I'll be back on Saturday. Happy holidays, everyone!]