This One's For You

“Hey stranger. You’re looking better,” Kendall said as she approached. Shoving her hair out of her face, she gave a sarcastic smile.

“Well, last time you saw me, I had no makeup, my hair looked like I have never seen a comb in my life, and I’d been crying all day. I’m pretty sure a caveman can look better than that.” Kendall laughed, guiding her through the complicated hallways and sets to his dressing room.

“It wasn’t that. I meant it’s nice to see you smiling again,” he said softly, glancing at her quickly. She bit her lip, trying to resist the rose color creeping upon her cheeks.

“So, this is where you work?” she murmured, changing the subject.

“Oh yeah. I don’t really consider it work though. It’s too much fun,” he said, smiling. She couldn’t help but smile back, stealing looks at him from the corner of her eye.

“Where are the others?” she asked, looking around his dressing room. There was a couch, a sound system, and a desk. A guitar sat perched in one corner.

“Probably shooting. They’ll be here when they’re done though,” Kendall assured her, sitting on the couch. Kate walked around, taking everything in. Pictures of family and friends decorated the walls and mirror.

“They were so nice yesterday,” Kate mumbled, casting her gaze downward. She couldn’t believe the mess she’d been yesterday. And yet, all of them were so unbelievably kind.

“How many times do I have to tell you? They love you like a sister. I mean, first you thought I kept hitting on you, and now you can’t imagine these guys wanting to be your friends. You’re an odd girl, Kate,” Kendall teased, his ocean eyes gleaming. Kate blushed again, not being able to meet his gaze.

“What about you? You’re the one who befriended the always-crying girl,” she said when she finally looked at him, cocking her head to the side.

“Hey! You weren’t crying when I met you,” he countered, and she laughed.

“No, I just accused you of hitting on me…multiple times. I still feel a little bad about that,” she admitted, finally sitting next to him.

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” he said, waving his hand. She rolled her eyes, pulling her legs to her.

“So, when we met, after I so bluntly told you I had a boyfriend, you said you just got out of a bad relationship.” She approached the subject lightly, and he looked down, then back at her.

“Yeah. I did,” he mumbled, fumbling with his gray beanie nervously. She bit her lip, debating what to say.

“If you wanna talk about it, I’m here,” she said softly. He reluctantly met her eyes, which were so soft, so understanding. “I owe you, to say the least.”

“Her name was Hanna,” he started after an internal debate. His hands were folded into fists against his knees. “I really thought I loved her; stupidly, I thought she loved me too. She was an aspiring actress, and really talented. I should’ve known,” he shut his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. Kate reached for him, both of her tiny hands encasing one fist.

“We dated for almost a year. One day, I went over to her apartment to surprise her. It was her birthday; I brought her flowers. I walked in, and she was on the couch with another guy. My friend,” he whispered, his jaw clenched. Without thinking, Kate wrapped her arms around him.

He froze for a minute, his heart rate increasing radically, and then wrapped his arms around her. He leaned his head against her shoulder. She stroked his hair softly, and he listened to her steady heartbeat. For both of them, it was as if they were the only people in the world. Kendall remembered Xavier; he didn’t want to mess anything up with them, so he reluctantly broke the embrace.

“If you ever need anything, Kendall, I’m here. Just like you were there for me,” she gave him a small smile, and all he could do was nod. The smell of her perfume was still messing with his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but her phone went off, the ring tone at a harsh volume.

“Go take it,” he encouraged her, seeing the way she looked at the caller ID. She gave an apologetic smile, walking into the attached bathroom.

“Hey Katie,” Xavier said casually. Kate seethed inside, her thin fingers running through her dark hair. She did her best not to slam the door behind her.

“Xavier,” she said curtly, leaning against the counter.

“What are you up to?” he asked, and Kate jammed her eyes closed in frustration. Did he really forget what yesterday was?

“Hanging with my friends: Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and James,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm. The reaction it was met with, however, was anything but.

“Those sound like guys names,” Xavier said carefully, and Kate rolled her eyes.
“Maybe ‘cause they are,” she snapped back. She heard a deep inhalation on the other end of the line.

“Kate. I really don’t like this,” Xavier said slowly, but even from 3000 miles away, Kate could feel his anger rising.

“You know what I don’t like? My boyfriend not even bothering to call on the anniversary of my parents’ death,” she snapped back, feeling her blood boiling throughout her tiny body.

“Katie…” Xavier said softly, realizing his mistake. Kate let out a bitter laugh, tapping her fingers against the cool surface of the granite counter top.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. So, you still wanna talk? Let’s talk about that,” she hissed. It was met with silence on the other end of the phone.

“I was at a business meeting. I completely forgot. I am so sorry, babe,” he said, his voice filled with pleading.

“Of course. Because that’s all that matters, business, right? Well, I’m done with this conversation, and maybe, just maybe, we’re done too,” she said, the fire in her tone giving way to the exhaustion she felt.

“Katie, wait,” Xavier pleaded, and Kate resisted the urge to hang up, remembering how much he had gotten her through most of their lives.

“What?” she asked, no longer angry, but confused and tired of fighting.

“Katie, you mean the world to me. Please, don’t do this. Don’t say goodbye without looking me in the eyes,” he begged. Kate’s fingertips twisted strands of hair, her mind whirling.

“Okay. We’ll talk about this later. But not now, because I’m busy,” she said, shutting her eyes. She heard a sigh of relief in the earpiece.

“Thanks Katie. We’re gonna figure this out.” Kate couldn’t tell if he was trying to reassure her, or himself.

“Bye, Xavier,” she mumbled, taking another deep breath.

“Bye Kate. I love you.” His words shocked her, and her eyes shot open. He’d caught her off guard; they’d never exchanged those three little words before. It was totally and completely uncalled for, and her reaction was automatic. She hung up the phone, then dropped it.

“You okay, Kate?” Kendall asked, knocking on the door. “I thought I heard a crash.” Kate blinked a few times, then rushed to retrieve her phone, banging her head on the counter in the process.

“Ouch,” she grumbled, standing up slowly, phone in one hand, holding her head with the other.

“Kate?” Kendall’s voice was more urgent now, a tone of worry in it. She opened the door slowly, a sheepish grin on her face. His eyes widened, and she looked at him curiously.

“I just dropped my phone,” she explained, holding it up for him to see.

“You’re kinda bleeding. Like…blood,” Kendall rambled, pointing to her forehead. She pulled her hand away, seeing the blood oozing over her fingers.

“Oh, shoot,” she groaned, returning her hand and applying pressure. She could feel it caking in her bangs and dripping slowly down her face.

“That’s a lot of blood,” Kendall said, panic filling his eyes. Kate rolled her eyes, looking for something to hold against the wound.

“Do you have a bandage, or towel, or something?” she asked, snapping his attention to fixing the problem. He nodded, handed her a towel off the counter, than searched through the cabinet to find Band-Aid. Kate hopped up on the long counter, placing the towel where her hand had been. Kendall knocked a bunch of stuff out of the cabinet, but eventually held up a bandage in success.

“Okay, move the towel, then I’ll get this for you,” he proposed, and she nodded, inhaling slowly. The blood flow had slowed, but it was still a steady pace. Kendall covered it quickly, then snatched the towel from her and began wiping the dripping red liquid from above her eyebrows.

The gash was just above her left eyebrow, but they were mainly covered by her long bangs. It wouldn’t be terribly noticeable. Once he was done, the visible blood was all gone. All that remained was the sticky, half-dry blood coating parts of her hair.

“Am I all good?” she asked, and Kendall nodded, taking her hand to help her down. She turned to see her appearance in the mirror, groaning again. She had no idea how to get the blood out of her hair, but with it in, she looked like a maniac.

“You sure you’re okay?” Kendall asked, still on edge, ready to catch her if she passed out.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, but catching his look, sighed. “Head wounds bleed a lot. It’s not even that bad of a gash.”

“If you say so,” he muttered, following her back into the main room. Both of them stopped in their tracks, seeing the guys standing inside the doorway, watching them curiously.

“What have you guys been doing?” Carlos asked curiously, his gaze going between the two. Kendall held up his hands, shaking his head.

“Kate cut her head open,” he stated, and the others stared at him, except for Kate, who held her bangs away, revealing the flesh toned bandage that covered half of her forehead.

“What were you doing that you cut her head open?” Logan asked, his voice rising, his eyes giving Kendall an accusing look.

“It’s not his fault,” Kate said quickly, walking and sitting on the couch. The others soon joined. “I dropped my phone, and when I went to get it, I attacked the counter with my face.” She turned red explaining, but not from embarrassment; instead, she was thinking of why she dropped the phone.

“You’re just full of all sorts of luck, aren’t you?” James teased, and Kate grinned a bit.

“Tons. Haven’t you heard? I’m in cahoots with the leprechauns,” she retorted.

“That would explain the height…” Logan joked, and Kate scrunched her face, hitting him with a beige throw pillow. He laughed, sticking his tongue out at her.

“Anyway, guys. I really just wanted to thank you for how great you all are, especially yesterday,” Kate said, looking each of them in the eye. They smiled at her, pulling into an awkward group hug.

“We’re here for you Kate,” Carlos said.

“Always. Like, no joke,” James added.

“You’re like our sister,” Logan murmured.

“You’re stuck with us now,” Kendall teased, and they all laughed, breaking apart. For once in Kate’s life, instead of falling apart, everything was falling together.