Paint Me A Story

The day went by in such a haze that Kate really thought she'd imagined seeing the boy from her dreams. It was like everything was moving in slow motion around her as she walked through the halls, searching for him. She never found him.

She was walking along the sidewalk that wound through the courtyard, headed for the designated tree to wait for William and Beverly to show up for lunch when she heard his voice. Her body froze and people bumped into her and mumbled hateful words as they passed but she couldn't hear them. All the voices around her faded out into nothing but a low buzz and only his voice stood out but she couldn't understand what he was saying. It sounded like some foreign language.

She wanted to turn around, she tried to turn around but she felt heavy and stiff. She was afraid that if she moved, she was just going to fall over. Then she could have sworn that he said her name. The way it sounded, coming from him, was odd. Kate. It was such a simple, girly name. And his voice was deep and husky, she almost giggled. But the sinking feeling in her stomach returned, she almost threw up on the spot when he repeated her name and touched her shoulder.

"You're Kate, right?" Her head moved up and down involuntarily and this boy sighed out of relief and moved around to face her.

Stunned.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, like there was a heavy weight on her chest and the air was going out, but it wasn't coming back in. "Are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern as she nodded and struggled to avoid eye contact. "Tree." She mumbled, turning to the left and cutting across the grass. He ran to keep up with her and laughed as he followed.

William had been preoccupied against the lockers with Beverly when he gave directions to Mike about where they met during lunch. All he said was, "The tree outside, Kate will show you." Then his lips resumed their place on Bev's and Mike walked away. While Kate had been pointed out in first period by William, there were numerous trees in the front of the school.

He couldn't explain if he tried, the relief that washed over him upon seeing Kate. Even though he wasn't entirely sure it was her. From a distance she fit the description of jeans, turquoise hoody and dark wavy hair that he'd seen earlier as she weaved her way through the over-crowded hallways.

He studied her face as she sat down, staring straight ahead. Her eyes were captivating, even if she looked terrified out of her mind. So he didn't say anything, or move too suddenly. It had only been about a minute or two of sitting in silence when William and Beverly finally walked by.

"I see you've met Mike." Bev winked at Kate and grinned as she offered her hand and pulled Kate to her feet. She simply nodded, feeling the bile rise higher up into her throat now that she knew his name. "You okay?" Kate ignored the question and pushed past her friend, walking ahead of the others to the crosswalk.

"Uh, so... where should we eat?" William asked, and almost simultaneously, both Mike and Kate called out Subway. They both blushed and stared straight ahead the whole way there.

When they walked into the empty Subway, ordered their food and sat down, Beverly slid into a booth and pulled William down beside her. That forced her to sit next to Mike. She cringed slightly and slid into the booth, scooting as far into the wall as she could.

She didn't look at him, or anyone else as the three around her talked and ate. She just picked at her sandwich and kept as far away from Mike as possible.

"Okay, what the fuck is your problem?" Kate's head snapped up and her eyes met Bev's. She look annoyed. "I know you're shy and all, but this is getting ridiculous. You've got a gorgeous boy sitting next to you and you're acting like you'd rather have your hand put through a blender than sit by him."

Kate lowered her head again and sighed, "I-I'm sorry... I just- I need to talk to you." She mumbled, taking a quick glance at Beverly. The boys let Bev and Kate out of the booth and watched them walk outside.

"What's up?" Beverly asked, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked around at the passing cars while she waited for Kate to talk. When she finally met eyes with her she dropped her arms to her sides and then reached out, pulling Kate into a hug. "Why are you crying? What's going on Katie?"

Beverly pulled away to take a look at her best friend, she hated seeing her so upset. "M-Mike."

"Babe I don't understand... what about Mike? Did he do something?"

Kate shook her head and another wave of tears came on. "When I saw h-him I just... I got his feeling..." Bev smiled, "Well that's nothing to get so upset over, it's okay if you like him."

Kate's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No! Not like that... a bad feeling. He's the boy... the one from my dream."

For the first time in all of the years they had been best-friends, Beverly dismissed Kate's feelings and scoffed, "That's impossible. Are just doing this for attention or something?"

Kate frowned and tried to protest, but nothing came out except for an inaudible sigh. Beverly looked away and crossed her arms. "Un-fucking-believable."

Kate sniffled and reached out to touch Bev's arm. "Bev...no, I-"

Beverly shook her head and pulled away. "We'll talk about this later. Let's go back inside."