Like I Do

R u ignorin me Buttercup? xx

Kat threw her cell onto her bed before flopping down next to it with a sigh.

It was Saturday once again and she sill hadn't heard from, or seen, Brian since he walked out of band practise early the previous week.

After checking her cell for the 100th time to see if he had replied she groaned, giving into her rumbling stomach she made her way downstairs.

"You're early!" Her mother exclaimed as Kat threw herself on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Laying her head down she placed her cell directly in front of her eyes "Boy trouble."

Her mom - Lucy Jacobs - nodded knowingly as she placed a bowl of cereal in front of her daughter. At 34 she was a pretty young mom to 17 year old Kat after giving birth at the exact same age her daughter was now "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Kat mumbled, attempting to spoon the cereal into her mouth without lifting her head.

"Is it Zach?"

"Mom!"

"Is that a no?"

Kat sighed, sitting up with an eyeroll "A big fat no."

Lucy chuckled as she pottered round the kitchen "Well i think I've got something that'll cheer you up."

"They arrived?!"

A smile stretched across the older woman's pretty features as she reached into one of the kitchen cupboards, waving two plane tickets in front of her daughter's face "Have you told your friends yet? We'll pick them something up from each country, Val would love..." Lucy's sentence trailed off as she noticed Kat's head was back on the table "Kat! You haven't told them?"

"It never came up."

"Well you better tell them soon sweetie," Lucy sighed, placing the tickets back into their 'safe place' before ruffling her daughter's hair affectionately "We leave the day after graduation."

Kat groaned as she got to her feet, checking her cell for the 101st time with no luck "I'm going to sort myself out," She sighed, making her way back up to her bedroom.

Slamming the door shut she allowed herself to drop back onto her bed. She fully intended on staying as such for the rest of the day.

Or until Brian got in touch...

*

When Monday morning rolled around with no word from her best friend worry began to knot back up in her stomach.

"Are you getting up darling?" Lucy asked, poking her head around her daughter's door.

Kat groaned and buried deeper beneath her bed covers, mumbling something about feeling sick, having stomach ache and suffering from a painful headache.

Lucy sighed, not used to seeing the younger girl so down "You can have today Kat but you're going tomorrow."

Light snores emitting from beneath the quilt told her the teenager underneath it was already back asleep.

*

It was the buzzing of her cell that re awoke her...

Where wer u 2day? Brianxoxo <3

A smile came to her face as she, without even thinking, pressed the 'call' button.

"Kat?" Brian answered after two rings, sounding concerned "Are you okay?"

The excitement of hearing from her best friend soon bubbled away and was replaced by slight anger "Where have you been?!"

"I- Kat- Well-" Brian sighed, falling over his words to find a suitable excuse. "Can I come over to see you?"

She frowned, no matter how angry she was with him for not getting in touch she couldn't live without her best friend "I suppose."

A sigh of relief came from the other end of the line "I'm so glad you said that, I'm kind of outside your door."

"Brian!" She exclaimed in disbelief "I'm still in my pyjamas!"

"Not like I've never seen that strappy top and shorts combo before." With that he hung up.

She groaned in annoyance, pulling one of Zach's hoodies she had stolen over her head before making her way downstairs "This better be good Haner," She joked once she swung the front door open.

"Can I come in?" He asked, his face seeming to fall when he noticed the hoodie she was hugging close to her was Zach's from the previous year's baseball team.

"Yeah," She replied, stepping aside so he could pass her "We'll go up to my room to talk."

They walked up the stairs in silence, Kat confused - she had never run out of things to say to Brian. As they entered her room, the door clicking shut behind them, Kat threw herself back onto the bed, Brian slowly perching himself at her feet.

"So what's been up with you?" She asked with a frown, sitting up so she was leant against her headboard.

"I..." He sighed, deciding to take the chicken way out "I was sick."

She raised an eyebrow, although it would tie in with his absence from both school and band practise she wasn't convinced "Why didn't you call or text?"

With this question he could at least tell the truth "Cell broke."

"Oh."

"Zach was asking where you were today," He practically forced the words out of his mouth.

Her face lit up "He was?"

"Yeah, he wanted to know why you weren't there to watch his baseball practise," Brian explained, almost with a sigh "He was picked to be team captain."

She felt pride rush through her body for her best friend before quickly putting a lid on it "That's enough about Zee anyway," She smiled, although knowing she could quite happily talk about him for hours. "I missed you!" She pouted, crawling on Brian's lap "So stop acting all weird okay? I need my Brian back."

As she looped her arms around his neck in a tight hug she felt him chuckle "I'm still your Brian Kat ," He replied, his arms going around her waist to return the hug.

"Promise to never leave me again?" She asked into his neck.

"I promise."