Sick Little Games

Katherine Murphey didn’t want to leave that party, and she hated to admit it. Alex didn’t try anything, nor did he consume very much alcohol at all, and it surprised her to say the least.

Her and Alex had civil conversations.

Her and Alex made each other laugh.

Her and Alex acted as if they were best friends, when they were far from it.

Katherine didn’t have the heart to tell him he was the father of her daughter, but she doubted that Alex even remembered she had a child at all. She was thankful for that, however; she didn’t want to answer any questions he might have.

Getting in the car with Christine, she couldn’t help but feel the anxiety build up as she thought about it more and more. Being away from Alex, the guilt was hardly evident, but being near him was a different story. It was driving her crazy that he didn’t know what she knew he deserved to know, but she didn’t want to be the one to tell him. She hated that it was her responsibility. She hated thinking about how completely pissed off Alex would be once he heard, but she knew he would be even more pissed off hearing it from someone besides her.

“So what’d you do tonight?” Christine asked, snapping Katherine out of her daze.

“Mingled a little, danced a little… and might I add I am still alcohol free!”

“I happened to see you minglin’ it up with Alex Gaskarth,” Christine smirked, wink evident in her voice. “He didn’t try anything?”

“Nope,” Katherine smiled, popping the ‘p’.

Christine knew everything about Alex and Katherine, but no matter what the circumstance between the two was, she knew he was good for her friend. The chemistry between the two could been seen from a mile away and no matter how scared Katherine was of letting him back in her life, Christine was all for it. They were good for each other. They made each other happy. And in the end, that’s all that really matters.

The two fell in a comfortable silence, their thoughts filling each of their heads. Katherine was never one to share everything; she kept a lot inside and quite frankly, she liked it that way. She was glad Christine wasn’t the type to pester her to spill every detail, because she hated it. She hated retelling stories because there was no way in hell anyone would be able to comprehend all her thoughts and completely understand how she felt.

“I told you so,” Christine smiled in a singsong voice, breaking the silence.

“Huh?”

“You had fun,” she smirked victoriously and Katherine laughed.

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

-----

Alex Gaskarth didn’t get caught up on girls. His mind fluctuated so often from girl to girl, that he wasn’t sure he could ever completely care for one with all he had. With every girl he was interested in, he wasn’t ever interested in the right things. Their lives didn’t interest him; their faces interested him. Their words didn’t interest him; their kiss interested him. With Katherine, everything interested him. To him, she was an untouchable mysterious object and Alex couldn’t stand it.

“Alex, help me clean this place up,” Jack ordered, looking over at Alex’s direction. “Dude, what the fuck is up with you and zoning out lately?”

“What?” Alex asked, snapping out of his daze.

“Who’s the girl?” Jack inquired.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, you’re out of it, thinking hard, and most importantly, not drunk, passed out, or having sex! What’s her name, brah?”

“Katherine.”

“Good, you admit you have a problem. This is progress.”

“What?” Alex laughed sitting down on the couch in Jack’s living room. “You’re just putting words in my mouth now.”

Jack just shrugged, bending down to clean up the empty beer bottles on the floor of his living room.

“And trust me,” Alex smirked, “She is not a problem.”