When the Moon Fell in Love with the Sun

"Dude, your friends were plastered," Brendon laughed, his groggy voice making Katelyn smile.

"Yeah.. I hate that stuff. I don't really get the point."

"Hey, sorry I fell asleep on you.."

"Nah, it's cool."
"Want to play a board game?" Bren asked out of the blue, so Katelyn went and grabbed Connect Four.

"Awesome!" he grinned.
"Geeze, you'd think you were a seven year old," she laughed and they set it up on the coffee table.

They played a few games, and then the door leading from the garage opened.

"Hey mom," Katelyn called, and Brendon looked towards the woman.

She was in her early forties, based off her tired eyes and soft wrinkles. Brendon looked between Katelyn and her mother, trying to find the similarities and differences.

"Hey hun.. and friend. Who's this?"

"Uh.." Katelyn looked between her mother and her friend, trying to find her voice.

"Hi, I'm Brendon. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Tieger."

"You too, sweetie," she smiled at him from the kitchen.

He noticed their difference in eye color and height, but their hair color was nearly identical, much like their sparkling grins. Both were slender and petite, but worked with their heights.

"I'm going to bed. It was nice to meet you, Brendon."

"Night mom, love you," Katelyn got up and hugged her mother.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Tieger," Brendon waved, watching the girls grin.

The two hung out until around one, when Brendon's dad called, telling him he was out past curfew.

"When's your curfew?"

"Midnight," he laughed as she called him a rebel and gave her a hug before he left.

Monday came quickly, and Katelyn found herself in physics yet again. She and Brendon had come in ten minutes late, laughing their heads off, ignoring their teacher's sarcastic remarks.
Lunchtime arrived, and Katelyn really didn't want to sit with Ty, Tasha and Sarah.
She made her way over to the table Brendon was at, and tapped his shoulder.

"Um, hey Bren," she smiled, shifting her feet uncomfortably.

"What'sup, Kay?"

"Could I eat lunch with you guys?" she looked to his friends; Ryan, Spencer and Brent.

The three nodded, and Brendon grinned, patting the seat next to him.
Katelyn quickly became friends with the three boys, feeling extremely comfortable around them.
They spent the entire lunch joking around and laughing.

In English, Katelyn told Brendon, "I think Spencer is in my French class."

"Seriously?" he laughed as she nodded.

"I like your friends," she smiled, and he grinned back, "Yeah, they're pretty cool."

They continued to talk as the day whizzed by, which usually never happened for Katelyn when she was with her own friends.

"Bye Brendon!" she called as she walked to her locker, and he went to his after school finally let out.

As she approached the locker, Tasha and Ty came out of nowhere, Sarah following close behind.

"Hey there," Ty said in a rather bitchy voice.

"Er.. Hi guys."

"What were you doing, sitting with those losers at lunch?" Natasha asked.

"First. They're not losers. Those guys are pretty chill," Katelyn snapped, "and second, maybe I wanted a change of scenery.."

"Yeah. Sure. What about Friday? Who was at your house?" Sarah asked, rolling her eyes in the process.

"My mom had a work friend over. Oh, and I didn't exactly appreciate the three of you showing up, drunk off your asses!"

"Well it's not our fault you don't party," Tasha spat, "or have fun at all."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Katelyn gasped, shooting the girls a glare, "Are you on crack?! Oh wait- you probably are. You seem to forget all those amazing, fun years we've been friends. It's sad that you'd drop all that because I don't do drugs or drink."

"Pfft. Everybody does it, Kate. Get with it. Why are you being such a loser?"

"Whatever, you guys. I don't care anymore. You just used me anyways,"

Katelyn turned and shut her locker, walking out to the parking lot. As soon as she sat in her old Mercedes, 'The Yacht' as she called it, she broke down. Her best friends, since fifth grade, had chosen alcohol and drugs over their friendship with her.

Not long after, Katelyn heard a light tapping on her window, so she looked up. Brendon stood there, a worried expression all over his face. She opened the door and got out, only to end up sitting on the hood of her car.

"Care to share why you're sitting in your car crying your eyes out?" Brendon asked, wiping the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Let's just say my best friends and I aren't best friends.. or even friends anymore."

"Why would they do that?" he asked, trying to make sense of things.

"They saw me at lunch with you guys.. and asked why I hung out with such losers, and I defended you all.. then they brought up the whole thing about how I'm a loser too, because I don't drink and party like they do," she told him in an exasperated voice.

"Katelyn," he tried to comfort her with a hug, and it somehow worked.

She rested her head on his shoulder, hugging him back.

"I guess I should've seen it coming," she sighed, "when I think about it, all they used me for was my grades.. and now I know who my real friends, or well, friend is."

She sat up, looking Brendon straight on, "Thanks for being here for me."

"Hey, no problem. It's what real friends do," he winked, making her smile.

"So why are you hanging around in the school parking lot?" she asked, now in a better mood.

"I was actually looking for you," he grinned playfully, sitting next to her.

"Ohh really now? How very sweet of you," she crooned, "now what do you want?"

"Woah there. Who told you I missed the bus because I couldn't take the car today?"

"You just did. You want a ride?" Katelyn offered.

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all," she laughed, hopping off the car, "Let's get going."

Inside the car, Katelyn turned the engine and stereo on, blushing as Brendon's voice suddenly filled the air. She swiftly turned it down, trying to find a way to hide her embarrassment. Brendon chuckled, turning it up and singing along as she drove.

"You're lucky I value my life," she sputtered out at a light.

"Why's that?" Brendon sounded intrigued.

"Because I'd love to drive off a cliff right now."

"Oh come on! You're getting a free show!"

"Wow.. You don't know how wrong that just sounded," she laughed.

"Yeah, but it's not awkward," and Katelyn knew he was right. She pressed down on the gas pedal as the light turned green.

Brendon was good at turning awkward situations around, and that was one of the several reasons Katelyn liked him so much. Katelyn pulled up to the suburban Las Vegas home Brendon lived in, and put the car in park.

"Thanks so much, Kaykay!" Brendon grinned, reaching over and giving her a hug.

"No problemo. You're on the way to my house, so it's not a big deal," she flushed, hugging him back.

"Call ya later, yeah?" he said quickly, hopping out of her car.

"Thanks again!" he waved, then sauntered up to his door.

Katelyn laughed, shaking her head as she watched him get inside, then went home.

"Hey mom!" Katelyn announced as she walked in the door. Today was her day off.

"Hi sweetie, how was your day?"

"Good and bad," she replied, finding her mother in the kitchen eating nachos she'd just made.

Helen asked what had happened, interested in what was going on with her daughter's life. It was definitely more interesting than her own.

"Brendon and I hung out, and I met his friends, who are really fun to be around.. But then Tasha, Ty and Sarah told me they didn't want to be friends anymore.." Katelyn continued to retell the days events and her mother listened intently.

"It sounds like you're glad they're not your friends.."

"I kinda am," she smiled, "I found better ones, who like me, and seem really trustworthy too."

"Yeah, plus it sounds like you've got a thing for that Brendon boy."

"Mom!" Katelyn yelped, her face heating up.

"Hey, I just call them like I see 'em. And I thought you two were cute together. He was polite and seemed nice," her mom gushed, now rather excited.

"Mom, please, if he comes over again, don't be too embarrassing."

"I'll try."

Katelyn's phone buzzed, and she grabbed it off the counter to answer it.

"Hey Bren," she smiled, and her mom gave her the thumbs up.

"Hey Kay. Wanna come to Spencer's for band practice?"

"Yeah, what time?"

"Uhh. Five thirty?"

"Then yeah, sounds like fun."

"Cool. So I'll pick you up around five."

"Alrighty. See ya then."

"Bye."

She hung up and quickly told her mom before starting and finishing up what little homework she had.