This One's For You

No one moved a muscle. Tension filled the air, and Kate bit her lip. The boys still held their ‘weapons’, and Xavier’s jaw was still set and clenched. Kate was at a loss; she was still in shock from this impromptu meeting.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming, babe,” she whispered, turning to Xavier. His lips twitched a bit, almost a partial smile.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he said finally, his voice hard. Kate’s fingers automatically pushed her bangs back. She tried to force her voice to be cheery.

“Congratulations, you succeeded,” she teased, but his stony exterior didn’t crack at all. The others looked at each other, feeling like they were just on the outside looking in. Xavier and Kate obviously had a fight coming, and none of them wanted any part of it.

“We should get going. We have to approve some things for our next single,” Kendall said quietly, and Kate nodded, giving him an apologetic look. The boys set their utensils back on the table.

“I’ll talk to you guys later,” she murmured, watching them walk away, shutting the door lightly behind them. Her full attention was turned to Xavier, whose nostrils were flaring.

“Why were they here?” he asked, his voice filled with accusations that Kate, quite frankly, didn’t like.

“Because they’re my friends. Because I invited them,” she snapped, crossing her arms.

“I don’t like it,” Xavier seethed. Kate rolled her eyes, walking towards the hallway. Xavier followed behind her closely, grabbing her arm. She whirled around to face him, rage engulfing her.

“Really, Xavier? Let go,” she hissed. Her hazel eyes were a brown color, a hint of ember in them.

“Not until you talk to me.”

“Talk? I was talking to you, when you decided to act rudely towards my friends. I tried talking, and you just want to fight.” She tore her arm away, walking into her bedroom. Xavier followed, trying to calm down.

“Katie, I’m sorry. I just hate that they’re more in your life than I am,” he said, his eyes pleading. She shook her head, slowly facing him.

“Whose fault is that? You barely call me. You never have time to even text me, not even when I’m falling to pieces.”

“So come back, Katie. Come and be with me,” he begged, and Kate’s jaw fell open, her eyes searching his, then watching the ceiling.

“Xavier, this is my dream. This is what I’ve always wanted. You really want me to give up my happiness?” she snapped, and Xavier said nothing. “Oh my gosh. You do.”

Her voice was in awe, and she didn’t know what to do or say. Xavier put his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. He stood by what he said. Kate slowly felt her world spinning, everything flying in different directions, and she couldn’t hold on to everything. No one said a word, until something caught Xavier’s eyes. A flannel shirt folded on the dresser, clearly not Kate’s.

“Kate, whose shirt is that?” His voice got louder, wavering ever so slightly. Kate turned to see what he was talking about. It was Kendall’s. The one he’d lent her two weeks earlier, when she got soaked in the rain.

“Kendall’s. A week or two ago I got soaked in the rain on my way to their apartment. He let me borrow it,” Kate said, shrugging.

“Then why do you still have it?” he growled. It was obvious he wasn’t buying her story.

“I forgot about it, honestly. Why don’t you believe me, Xavier? I have never lied to you.” Her voice was quiet and hurt, her eyes searching his. They were a cold blue.

“Come back Katherine. Just say you’ll come back, dammit!” Xavier screamed, his voice echoing against the white walls. Kate looked at him, her eyes glossing over.

“Xavier, I have never asked you to give up your dreams, so it’s not fair of you to give me this ultimatum. But since you are, you leave me no choice. You both accept that I’m happy here, and try to make this work, or you don’t. And if you don’t, well, there’s no more us,” Kate whispered, her voice surprisingly even and calm.

She lifted her chin, waiting and defiant. Xavier watched her, waiting to see if she was bluffing. She showed no signs of giving in or wavering. Slowly, she picked up her purse from the closet door, and walked. When she reached the bedroom door, she turned, pausing for a minute.

“I’m going for a walk, because honestly, I don’t think I can even look at you right now. Stay here, go home, whatever. But you’re gonna have to decide and answer me.”

With that, she left. The apartment door slammed behind her, leaving Xavier all alone. He cursed to himself, running his hand through his wheat colored ringlets. For once in his life, Xavier Scott had no plan. And the plan he did have was slowly unraveling.

Kate walked around the Valley, slowly making her way to Jesse’s house. She loved his new abode; it had a picket fence, garden, and a big lawn. She made her way up the cobblestone path, her arms crossed, a few tears making their decent down her tan skin. She wiped them away as she walked through the arched door. Jesse had made it clear she never needed to knock.

“Jesse?” she called, realizing he was still at work. It was just past noon; he’d be home any minute. He only worked until noon on Saturday. She sat on the leather sofa, pulling a book out of her purse. She’d been carrying around Fahrenheit 451 since Kendall gave it to her, reading it in between classes. She just managed to finish the chapter when Jesse strolled through the front door.

“Hey kid. What’s going on?” he asked curiously, seeing her distraught expression. She returned the book to her green canvas bag, biting her lip.

“Xavier’s here. Well, not really here. But at my place,” she rambled, her voice soft. Jesse sat down next to her, trying to follow her train of thought.

“Then why aren’t you there with him? I mean, as much as I hate the thought of you two alone together…” Jesse asked teasingly, his blue eyes like dancing waves. Kate shrugged, feeling her eyes gloss over again.

“The guys slept on my floor last night, because they accidentally picked out a horror movie and I was scared to death,” Kate started, and Jesse nodded in understanding. “It was probably around 11:30, we’d just finished breakfast. There was a knock on my door, and it was Xavier. He saw the guys, and he had a fit.

“The guys decided to give us space, and went to the studio. But Xavier freaked out. He told me I should pick up and move back. He knows this is my dream, Jesse; why did he have to ask me to give it up?” Kate’s voice cracked, and Jesse’s eyebrows were furrowed in thought. He wrapped an arm around his little sister, trying to calm her.

“Well, that sucks Katherine. But it’ll be okay,” he assured her, but she looked up at him, shaking her head.

“He accused me of cheating on him with Kendall. After he said that, I told him he had to try to make this work long distance, and if he couldn’t, we were done.”

“Maybe it’s not the worst thing, Katherine. He’s being awfully possessive. It’s not healthy.”

“I don’t know what to do, Jess,” she mumbled, wiping the spilled tears away. He gave her a supportive smile.

“You’ll figure it out. Either way, everything will work itself out. Before a rainbow, there has to be a storm,” he reasoned, and Kate managed a smile at the analogy.

“Thanks Jesse. I should probably get back though. I love you,” she said, picking herself up. She grabbed her purse, gave Jesse a hug, and headed to the door.

“No problem Kiddo. Love you too,” he called, waving out the window as she walked back down the sidewalk. It didn’t take her long to get back to her building. Most of the anger she felt had worn away. There was just the same exhaustion there always seemed to be when it came to Xavier lately; she was sick of the fights.

She opened the door, and the first thing she saw was Xavier. He was perched on her couch, his head turning as soon as he heard her come in. His eyes were bloodshot, almost as if he had been…crying? Kate walked forward tentatively, sitting next to him.

“Hey,” Xavier said, his voice raspy. He offered her a small smile, which she returned.

“Hey. So, we need to talk about this,” she said softly, motioning between them. Xavier nodded, gazing into her eyes. For the first time all day, his eyes weren’t icy; instead, more like water.

“Yeah, I know. Kate, I want this to work…” he whispered, trailing off. Kate gave a sad smile, shaking her head.

“But it’s not going to. I’m sick off all of the fighting. I’m sick of the jealousy. I’m sick of trying so hard, when you’re hardly trying at all,” she said weakly. Xavier took a deep breath; part of him saw this coming.

“I love you Kate.”

“I know. But I can’t keep reliving the same fight.”

“You don’t love me. You want to love me, but you don’t.” Both of them realized it, but Xavier had the guts to say it out loud. Now that it was in the open, there was no way to take it back.

“I love you, but I’m not in love with you. I don’t think either of us can change that,” she admitted, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder.

“I think you love the other guy. You look at him in a way you’ve never looked at me,” Xavier whispered, but there was no pain or accusations in his tone. Kate blushed, her eyes widening.

“I don’t, Xavier. This just wasn’t meant to be,” she rambled, and Xavier just nodded, standing up. Kate did the same.

“I guess this is goodbye, Kate,” he whispered, pulling her into an awkward hug.

“Bye Xavier,” she whispered, then watched as he walked out of her apartment, and out of her life. Part of her ached, but another part felt relieved. Then, there was the part of her, way in the back of her mind, wondering if he was right. Wondering if she loved Kendall.