Oh, Calamity

-Katherine’s POV-

“Phew, I think that was the last box.” I breathed, setting down the final box of my stuff into Alex’s guest room. I only had four boxes to take but they were heavy with my things and carrying them up the stairs was a pain in my ass. Alex helped me by grabbing two of them and I was so thankful he did because it made it that much easier for me. “Thanks for helping me out, Lex. I can take care of the rest.” I smiled at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you’re free to go.” I laughed. He nodded and went into his room. I closed the door and started unpacking some of my clothing. Isobel and Peter, Alex’s dad, had cleared out the closet and dresser in the room for me. I had told them they didn’t need to but they insisted because they wanted me to feel at home. I still couldn’t believe they were letting me stay until my mom found an apartment. I felt so bad about it; I knew I wouldn’t be able to ever repay them for this.

An hour later, I was finally getting around to hanging up some jackets in the closet. I also put some of my shoes in it as well. I didn’t have many shoes or jackets, but I needed somewhere to put them. I hung up the only dress I owned after my jackets. It was a simple white dress, knee length, and had a black belt. After I finished, I laid down on the bed, on my own pillow that I had brought with me today. I could live without my own sheets and comforter, but I needed my pillow.

“Kat? Are you done yet?” I heard Alex’s voice on the other side of the closed door.

“Yeah, come in if you want.” I watched him come in and he sat at the end of the bed.

“Tired?” He asked, looking at me. I nodded. “I am too, you know, from helping you and your mom pack your things and moving them onto the truck. Hopefully she finds a place soon for you guys.” He smiled.

“Trying to get rid of me as soon as possible, Lex?” I joked and sat up. He laughed and shook his head.

“Not at all, Kat. I just want you guys to be safe. If your dad were to somehow get out of prison then the first place he would look is your old house.” I nodded, knowing what he was saying is true.

“Yeah, I know.” I looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it read 5:00 P.M. . In seven hours it would finally be Sunday; the day of my date with Aaron. He was picking me up around three tomorrow in the afternoon and we are going to go to dinner, but first a movie. What was I going to wear? He said we were going to go to a nice restaurant, so should I wear a dress? Or should I go with a pair of jeans and a nice shirt with some nice shoes? I don’t have any nice shoes, and except for two pairs, my jeans are ripped up. All of my shirts are band shirts or regular t-shirts.

“What are you thinking about Kat?” I popped out of my thoughts and realized Alex was really close to me. His face was a few inches from mine and he had moved his body closer up the bed. My face flushed pink and I scooted away a little.

“I was just thinking about how I don’t have any nice shoes or clothing. I mean, I’m going on a date with Aaron tomorrow and I have nothing to wear. I don’t even have any make up with me.” I sounded like a complete girl right now. I mean, I am a girl, but my style has been skinny jeans and sneakers for years. I wanted to be girly though, I really wanted to.

“Well, we can go shopping right now if you want? I can drive, and if we go now we can still look at all the stores in the mall.” Alex was seriously offering to take me shopping?

“You are my life saver! Thank you Alex!” I hugged him and then frowned. I pulled back and looked at him. “I don’t have any money though.”

“I can ask my mom for some. I’m sure she’ll be okay with it.” He smiled and went downstairs before coming back up with his mom’s credit card. “She said as long as we don’t go over $250 we can go shopping.” I smiled widely and nearly tackled him.

“Awesome! I’ll have to thank her later. Let me get changed and we can go.” I got up and got a pair of jeans out, with a black t-shirt. I went into the bathroom and changed. My hair was in a ponytail from earlier so I just left it. Before heading downstairs to meet Alex, I grabbed my maroon converse and put them on. I ran downstairs and nearly bumped into Alex. “Sorry, Lex.” I laughed.

“Come on let’s go, you klutz.” He grabbed the keys to his mom’s car and we headed outside to the car. Once inside, Alex turned it on and put in a Green Day CD. We sang along to the songs as we drove to the mall.

“Where do you want to look first?” Alex asked once we were inside the mall. I shrugged. There are so many places to choose from, that I didn’t know where to start. So I just said the first thing that came to mind.

“Forever 21?” I asked, looking at Alex.

“Let’s do it.” he smiled. We walked to the Forever 21 and started looking once inside the shop. I ended up finding this really cute black dress, along with a pink one and two skirts. I had also found two shirts that could go with the skirts. Happy with what I found there, and for only a little under a hundred dollars, we headed towards Journeys to pick out some shoes for myself. I ended up with a pair of black lace up wedge heels and a pair of beige ankle boots. We ended up being under $250 because we got the shoes on sale. We decided that I was good and we drove back to Alex’s. On the way there Alex ordered a pizza, knowing his mom wouldn’t mind since we had missed dinner any way. We got back right when the pizza man got there so Alex signed and we took the bags and pizza into the house. Before going upstairs, I found Isobel and walked over to where she was sitting.

“Thank you so much for letting us shop, Isobel. I promise I will pay you back every cent.” I smiled at her and leaned down to hug her. She hugged back and told me I didn’t need to. After one more thank you, I went upstairs to Alex’s room where he was already devouring the pizza. “Slow down, Gaskarth, before you choke.” I laughed. He gave me the finger and I gave it to him right back. I set my bags down and sat next to him on his bed, stealing a slice from the box on his lap.

“You know, you never showed me what you looked like in those dresses or anything.” Alex said in between bites.

“You’ll see em eventually, Lex.” Why did he want to see me in them? That was kind of weird. Though I guess I would have been curious to what Alex would have looked like in new jeans or a shirt if the roles were reversed.

“Can I see them now? Please?” He gave me puppy dog eyes and I laughed.

“Fine. Give me a minute.” I grabbed my bags and went into the room that was now mine. I changed into the pink dress first and paired it with the ankle boots. I brushed my hair out from the ponytail before going back to Alex’s room. “This is the first one.” I said when I was in his doorway, because he wasn’t paying attention at first. He turned his head and his eyes went wide.

“Wow,” he breathed. “You’re..”

-Alex’s POV-

“You’re..” I couldn’t get out the words. She was beautiful, gorgeous, goddess like. There were no words to describe how beautiful she was in that outfit, but I guess like a goddess was the closest I would get. I got up and walked over to her. She stepped into my room and met me halfway. “You look great.” I managed to say. You look great? Damn it, I was so fucking stupid. I should have used beautiful or gorgeous, not fucking great. “I mean, um, you look beautiful, Kat.” Her face was turning pink and I swear mine was as red as a tomato.

“Really?” She asked, looking away.

“Yeah, you do.” She looked at me and her face was as pink as a flamingo. Damn she was so fucking cute.

“I-I’m going to change into my pajamas.” She stuttered. “You can see the other dress tomorrow.” She turned around and exited my room, going back to hers and closing the door. If she looked so amazing in that dress, I wonder how in awe I would be tomorrow when she comes out wearing the other one.

-Katherine’s POV-

After closing the door to my room, I sank to the floor and sat against the door. Alex had called me beautiful. His face had also turned so red it was like he was going to explode. Was I really that good looking? My face was still warm and I wondered why. It’s not like I liked him. It was probably just because of the fact he called me beautiful and not many people call me that. That had to be the reason why my face turned so pink.

After changing into my pajamas, I went back over to Alex’s room.

“Hey,” I said, still a little flustered.

“Hey,” He smiled at me. I felt my face warm up again. What the hell was going on with me? “Come help me finish this pizza.” I sat next to him and grabbed another slice. Nibbling on it, I looked at Alex from the corner of my eye. He was grabbing his acoustic guitar. Was he going to play? “I wanna play you a song.” There’s my answer. “I’ve been working on it for a while and I want some feedback. Are you cool with that?” I nodded. He started strumming and I closed my eyes to take it all in.

“Hey kid you’ve got
a lot of potential
but I think its time to move up, so go on and blow us away with your sound;
Now you're everything that we've come to love,
you taught us to move, so we'll show it off,
just drop us the beat…” His voice was beautiful and I couldn’t help but smile because his happiness while playing was contagious.

“Here's to the fast times; the times we felt alive;
to all the nights that we forgot to get back home.
Stay seventeen,
the party scene has got the best of me and you,
we've got to let this go…”

He kept singing and I was lost in the sound of the guitar and his voice. The song ended too soon and I was still smiling.

“What do you think?” He asked when he played the final chord.

“I loved it, Alex. Thank you for showing me.” He smiled at me and hugged me.

“I’ll play for you whenever you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” I smiled again and stood up from his bed.

“Well, thank you. I’m sorry to say that I’m exhausted though so I’ll have to go home early from this concert.” I laughed. “I’ll see you in the morning, Alex. Good night.”

“Good night, Kat.” I walked to my room, closed the door and got into bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while and eventually I drifted off to sleep.

-

The next morning I woke up early, like eight o’clock early. That’s not early? For you maybe, but to me, that was too early. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. After I was done, I decided to put my hair in a messy bun and go downstairs for breakfast. I noticed Alex and his parents weren’t up yet, so I decided I would make breakfast for them. I found the ingredients for pancakes and they had eggs and bacon in the fridge. I started cooking and finished everything by the time everyone woke up. Alex was down the stairs first.

“I smell bacon.” He said, rubbing his eyes.

“That’s right. Bacon, eggs and pancakes.” I said. Alex was really cute when he was sleepy and I couldn’t help but smile. Why was I still smiling over him? He was my friend and nothing more. I just needed to see Aaron. That’s it.

“Woah, you made all of this?” Alex asked, practically drooling.

“Lexy, what’s going on?” Isobel came down the stairs, Pete following shortly after. “Oh, Katherine, dear, did you make all of this?”

“Yes, ma’am. It isn’t much, but it’s a thanks for everything you’ve done for me so far. Letting me stay and everything has helped my mom and I a lot.” I smiled as I started making my plate.

“Oh honey, you didn’t have to do all this.” Isobel said as she started making her plate as well.

“It was no problem, really. Eat up, I made plenty.” I sat down at the table, next to Alex who was already stuffing his face. I rolled my eyes at him and starting eating.

“This is really good, Kat.” Alex said in between bites.

“I second that.” Peter said, after taking a few bites. Isobel nodded in agreement as she chewed.

“Thank you, I tried to make it edible.” I laughed and took some more bites of my pancakes. We all ate our first plate relatively fast and even went back for seconds. After everyone’s second plates, there was no more food and we were stuffed. Alex and I went upstairs to his room and I laid down on his bed. “I’m so full that I feel like I’m going to explode.” I groaned. Alex laughed and picked up his guitar. He started strumming and I closed my eyes and let the sound of his guitar flow through my ears. I ended up drifting to sleep because Alex was shaking me awake a while later.

“Katherine, it’s almost one-thirty. You need to get ready for your date with Aaron.” I groaned as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Then, I opened them as fast as a blink.

“It’s almost one-thirty?” I asked. Alex nodded and I jumped out of his bed and ran into my room. I grabbed my black dress, black shoes and make-up and ran into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and jumped in the minute it was warm enough for me. I shaved everything before shampooing and conditioning my hair. I got out and wrapped my hair up in a towel and dried myself off with another. I put on my dress and unwrapped my hair. I plugged in the hair dryer I had brought with me and blow dried my hair until it was just damp instead of soaking wet. Letting it air dry from then on, I moved my focus onto my make up. I put on some concealer to hide the few zits I had, then proceeded to put on silvery grey eye shadow. Over that I put on some black eye-shadow for a smokey eye effect. I put some liner on the bottom lash line, but only a little. I didn’t want to look like a racoon.

It was almost two-thirty when I finished curling my hair. I slipped on my socks and shoes and walked out of the bathroom. I walked to Alex’s room and saw he was on his bed writing in his notebook. I knocked on his open door and he looked up. The reaction I got was not what I was expecting. His eyes grew wide and his jaw literally dropped. He quickly closed his mouth and stood up.

“You look gorgeous, Kat. I mean it, you look.. wow.” He said stepping closer to me. I took the two steps into his room to meet him. I smiled and looked away.

“Thank you, Alex, it means a lot.” I was blushing and I could tell he was too. I liked that he thought I was gorgeous, but what would Aaron think is the real concern I should be having. “Um, but do you think Aaron will like it?” I felt him tense up. Was he jealous? Or did he just dislike him?

“If he doesn’t, then he is an idiot.” Alex smiled at me and I smiled back.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?

“What is it like to kiss someone? Or really, to be kissed?” I hadn’t worried about it until now, but what if Aaron tried to kiss me tonight? I have never been kissed before, so what would happen? It’d be so awkward.

“Well, I can’t explain it. I mean, someone’s lips is on yours and all of a sudden it’s a kiss.” I frowned.

“That doesn’t help. I’m scared I’m going to like, mess up if Aaron kisses me. I have no idea how it works.” I ran my fingers through my hair, suddenly feeling anxious. “I don’t want to like hit him like people do in the movies or slobber all over him or-” I was cut off by Alex. Not because he started talking, but because his lips were now on mine. He was kissing me. Alex. Alex was kissing me. He pulled away and looked at me.

“That’s how it works. You didn’t mess up or slobber on me. You passed the test.”

“Alex, you just kissed me. You just kissed me when you know in about fifteen minutes, Aaron is going to be here.” I said, flustered and frustrated. He had kissed me. I had liked it. I had butterflies in my stomach.

“I know. I shouldn’t have done that but you were freaking out about it so I thought it would help you be more confident if he does kiss you. It was wrong, I’m sorry.” Alex said, frowning and looking guilty. “You’re a good kisser, Katherine.” My face was red now and I couldn’t move. Alex reached behind me and shut his door. He cupped my face in his hands and brought his lips to mine again. This time, I kissed him back. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He pushed me against his door and I ran my fingers through his hair.

What was I doing? I was making out with Alex, while waiting for Aaron to pick me up. I didn’t want to stop though. Every kiss brought more butterflies into my stomach; so many that now it didn’t feel like butterflies. It felt like a zoo was in my stomach. I couldn’t keep doing this, so I took all of my willpower and pushed him away. He put me down and let go of me. “I’m sorry, Katherine.” He said.

“It’s okay, Alex. We just..” I bit my lip. “We just got caught up in the moment.” I opened his door and walked downstairs. The doorbell rang when I reached the last step and I went to open it.

“He- woah.” Aaron said. “You look amazing.” I smiled.

“Thank you. You look handsome.” I giggled and he smiled. I heard Alex come downstairs and I turned around to see him. “I’ll be going now, Alex.”

“Have fun, Kat. Take care of her, Aaron. If anything happens to her, I’ll kick your ass.” Alex said before heading into the kitchen.

“You ready to go?” Aaron held out his arm and I looped mine around his. Trying to block out what just happened between Alex and I, I focused my attention to Aaron.

“Yeah, let’s get going.” I shut the door behind me as we left and soon enough I wasn’t thinking about Alex.