Kit Kat & Katie Did

by Lauren T. Hart

  KF: Absolutely!

  D?: Before you wholeheartedly agree…

  D?: Full disclosure…

  D?: I think you’re a great person. I’m not always the best judge of character, but from what little I know about you, you seem pretty fucking awesome. But… you could also be a serial killer, for all I know??? Anyway, my therapist says I need to find people other than him that I can talk to. He’s not wrong, but most of my friends are assholes. Yes, my trust issues run deep, but people talk and gossip happens, especially where I am. You being a complete stranger, I figure, it doesn’t really matter if you talk, since we don’t know the same people.

  As I was typing up my response he sent:

  D?: Totally cool if you don’t want to.

  I sent my response:

  KF: Absolutely, Dominic.

  KF: I’m not a big fan of gossip. Sure, it’s interesting and sometimes important to know what’s going on in other people’s lives but talking about people just to have something to talk about is kind of lame.

  D?: Thank you, Kat. For some reason I find it easier to talk to you than most other people so this means a lot to me. Maybe it’s because we don’t really know each other. You’re basically just words on a screen, but you’re real to me, if that makes sense? Genuine.

  Genuine. That was exactly what I liked best about him too. Everything between us was just us.

  KF: Genuine. Yes! That’s the perfect word for it. I feel that way about you too. It’s kind of weird? Or maybe it’s just unconventional. I like it. I’m not exactly the open book type, but I haven’t felt like I couldn’t just say what I’m thinking with you. That’s rare. I say we grab hold and see where it takes us.

  D?: I say that sounds like a plan.

  “Is that your stalker?” Kimber asked.

  “He doesn’t know me, Kims. Promise.”

  Kimber lifted a doubtful brow. “You say that now, but your tune will change butt-crack quick when he shows up at the house with sparkles in his hair, half a dozen silver painted hula-hoops, and a very real death threat.”

  I was speechless trying to figure out where her brain comes up with these things. “Okay,” I surrendered as I composed my next text.

  KF: Small thing. Weird thing. Are you sure you don’t know me?

  D?: How do you mean? IRL? Not as far as I know. I do know a couple girls named Kat but one is practically illiterate, and the other one has my number so she would have known it was me texting, and she hates being called Kat, so I doubt you’re her. Why?

  “He doesn’t know me Kims, can we chill on the stalking theory?”

  Kimber shrugged and gave something that resembled a nod. “Does she end up with the blond guy or the vampire?”

  She was talking about the book she was reading. “Spoilers?”

  She shrugged. “This is important, Kat.”

  “I’m not answering that. Have you even got to the part with the black wolf?”

  “Gray wolf,” she corrected.

  “No, black wolf.”

  “There’s a black wolf?”

  “Oh yeah. You’re gonna like the black wolf. He’s naked a lot.”

  Kimber returned to the book with renewed interest and I remembered the black wolf doesn’t actually show up until the next book. Oh well.

  KF: A concerned third party has this theory that you might be a stalker. I perform, publicly, and she has a really active imagination.

  D?: Are you saying you’re famous?

  KF: No. People paying to see me — and others — perform, is totally not the same as famous.

  D?: I see… So… What kind of thing do you perform, publicly, exactly?

  D?: No judgements, I swear.

  D?: I play sports, publicly, so…

  Holy balls, he thought I was a stripper.

  KF: Yeah, see, now if I say I’m a dancer, it totally makes me sound like a stripper!

  D?: LOL! No judgements here, but yeah, it kind of does. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  KF: Aww, now you’re going to be disappointed if I say I’m not a stripper!

  D?: HAHAHAHA! I seriously haven’t laughed this hard in ages. No disappointment either way, I promise.

  KF: Oh good, well then, you’re gonna love this. I dance, professionally, and a big chunk of metal is pivotal to the performances. I’m just going to send you the YouTube channel. It’s so much easier than trying to explain that I spin in circles with hoops and silks.

  KF: This is one of my favorites. It’s from our last tour…

  I sent the link and waited. It was only about a three minute video but he didn’t text back for about 15 minutes. He was probably just watching some of the other videos.

  D?: Katarina Franks? That’s you?

  Or he was reading… I’d sort of forgotten our names are on our performances. Not that it was a big deal. A lot of people knew my name.

  KF: That’s me.

  D?: You’re fucking amazing! I’ve never seen anything like that. That was so cool. I’d never heard of a Cyr Wheel. I had to google it.

  KF: Thanks. Yeah, a lot of people have never heard of a Cyr, even if they’ve seen one they usually don’t know what they’re called.

  D?: I’m glad I do now. I feel like I’ve discovered one of the coolest things ever! How do you not get dizzy?

  KF: Practice. I’ve been doing it for a very long time.

  D?: It’s kind of weird for me to see what you look like. I’d envisioned you as older, like way older. I’m talking gray hair, travels a lot, reads a lot.

  KF: LOL. Nailed it! It’s all the layers of make-up and centrifugal force that keep me looking so young. Ha! For reals, I’m wearing so much make-up in all those. It looks good during a performance, but up close it’s total clown. I’ve had people not recognize me out of costume and make-up, for reals, it’s that thick. I do travel a lot, mostly during the summer.

  A picture of a framed photo of a guy with tanned skin and light blond hair, squinting and grinning from the bright sunlight popped up on my screen. He was wearing a grey football uniform, pads and all, that said PANTHERS across the front of it.

  KF: Is this you?

  D?: Yeah. From last year.

  The picture was small, and not 100% in focus, but from what I could see, dude was hot. If I were flirting, I’d tell him just that, but he needed a friend, not an ogler, he probably had plenty of those already.

  KF: You look happy.

  D?: That day, I was. I’d just made varsity, Lindsay and I still liked each other. I’d almost convinced myself that everything was going to work out okay. LOL. I was so fucking wrong it’s hilarious. But that’s life, right?

  KF: Is it really that much worse? You still play football, and you’re no longer with a cheater… I hope.

  D?: Good point. I guess it just feels foolish to be optimistic.

  KF: Who says you have to be optimistic?

  D?: I don’t know. What about positive thinking and all that?

  KF: So annoying. Personally, I prefer to think realistically.

  D?: You don’t think it’s realistic to be happy?

  KF: Not all the time, no. It’s like flowers. Yeah, they’re pretty, but when the only thing being acknowledged is the bloom, it’s like completely missing the point. It’s denying all the dirt and shovels full of shit that went into it. It’s also implying that the bloom is the most important thing. And yet, just by existing that plant is making oxygen, cleaning the air, water and soil. That’s real. That’s practical. It’s also dirty and smelly and messy. I’d rather focus there, personally. I think the trick is to not get so caught up and overwhelmed by the practical, messy, crap that you dismiss the bloom.

  D?: I like that. Most days I feel like I’m just trying to make it through the day, the week, the month, the year… hoping for something good, working for it, waiting.

  KF: Yeah. That’s very real. Don’t dismiss your efforts.

  D?: I think you might be a better therapist than my actual therapist. LOL. />
  KF: Well, the guy did tell you to find someone you could talk to.

  D?: Touche’.

  D?: Totally changing subjects here…

  D?: Is the guy you do Cyr with, Julian Romero, is he your boyfriend, or?

  KF: No. Julian and I are close, like really close, and obviously we kiss and stuff, but we’re not together like that. Julian loves romance and eroticism, so that comes across in most of our performances, but he’s also very gay.

  D?: Well, you have amazing chemistry.

  KF: Yeah, we do.

  D?: …and stuff?

  KF: Not that kind of stuff.

  D?: Would you if he were into it?

  KF: Have sex with him? I just want to make sure we’re working with the same innuendo here.

  D?: Yeah.

  KF: I don’t know. I’ve known Julian my whole life. Okay, this is going to sound weird and is probably way too much info… When I think about it, it’s like Julian is like another part of me, so why wouldn’t I? But he’s not me, and he’s not into that, so it’s never come up, so we don’t do it.

  KF: And I probably shouldn’t have said any of that. Super embarrassed now.

  D?: Don’t sweat it. I’ll always keep you and me between you and me, I promise.

  KF: Thank you. Same.

  D?: You’re lucky to have each other. I guess that means I’m lucky to know you too.

  KF: Aww, that’s very sweet of you to say. I feel lucky to have met you too. Seriously, what are the odds? But I like that we’re just talking and getting to know each other. Most guys I know are either gay or are more interested in getting into my pants than getting to know who I am.

  D?: Their loss. I’m really enjoying getting to know you.

  KF: Me too.

  KF: You said you play sports, publicly?

  D?: Football right now, later Baseball. I also run track.

  KF: Confession…

  KF: I know practically nothing about football or baseball or track. But I love that you play. I know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

  D?: It does. I’m hoping it’ll get me a scholarship. If not, I’ll probably wind up stocking shelves for the rest of forever. Not the worst thing, but not what I want to do with my life. Our first game is this Friday. It’s a team of snobby rich kids. We kick their butts every year. It’s almost not fair. Canyon Crest Cougars. Of Cedarville. Tell me that doesn’t sound snobbish.

  KF: LOL. I went there! Not everyone is a snob, but it’s definitely fair to say most. I dated this guy who felt bad for me because my car wasn’t expensive and new. And worse, it was a hand-me-down from my mom when she got a new car. Poor, sad, me.

  D?: Wow. I really know how to put my foot in it, don’t I?

  KF: Don’t sweat it. I moved there in Jr. High when me and my mom moved in with her boyfriend, now husband. I didn’t come from money.

  D?: Where did you come from?

  KF: Outer space.

  KF: Not really. But the truth is just as lame.

  D?: Tell me. I want to hear it.

  KF: Basically, I’m from here, but I was born in NY.

  D?: That’s it? I thought there was going to be more to it. Like, your whole story maybe? I’ll wait.

  KF: What? You really want to know that stuff?

  D?: Hell yes I do. And today is a rare day off for me, so I have the all the time. Spill. And don’t spare the gory details. I want to know all about this kidnapping grandma of yours and why you travel so much.

  I considered. Not a lot of people knew my origins story. People I’d known my whole life, sure, but I never really talked about it now. On the rare occasion people asked, I either said I didn’t like talking about it or stuck to the absolute basics.

  KF: Okay, but give me a minute, I need to find a phone charger.

  D?: Like I said, I got all day.

  Chapter 6

  It wasn’t a total lie. My phone was at 20% but mostly I wanted to be alone. Dredging through my past had a tendency to make me moody. I’m sugar coating it. Julian once used the term, Bitcharella. I stretched and faked a yawn. “Well, this has been fun and sunny and all, but I think I’m going to go take a nap.”

  “Okay,” Kimber turned to look at me. “Liar.”

  I gasped at her insinuation — her way to accurate assumption.

  “Are you going to call him?”

  The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Until just then. But even so. “What? No.”

  She raised her brows at me.

  I let out an exasperated sigh, “My phone’s going to die, and my bed is infinitely more comfortable than a towel on the ground.”

  “Okay then,” Kimber held up the book she’d been reading. “Where’s the black wolf?”

  “He’s in the next book. Sorry. That’s my bad.”

  She cocked her head and rolled her eyes. “Nothing bad happens to the vampire guy, though right? I mean the James guy just vowed to kill him or die trying.”

  I stood and picked up my towel, shaking my head at her.

  “Please,” Kimber stood and grabbed her own towel. “Please? I have to know.”

  “You can’t just read the book and find out?”

  “No! It’s killing me.” She put her hand over her face. “I am legit stressed out by this right now, Kats. Help me!”

  “Okay. They become friends.”

  She cocked her head again. “Really?”

  She was going to be pissed so at me. They really do become best friends but they also kill each other. Several times. It’s just one of those kinds of stories. “Yeah. It’s them against the black wolf guy at some point.”

  “Eeeeee!” Kimber squealed and hurried off to the house, snagging a bag of chips and a handful of cookies on her way.

  So much for being alone, I thought. But my worry was unfounded, Kimber just wanted to change into something more lounge-around and grab the rest of the books in the series. I changed too. Yoga pants and Julian’s T-Shirt, the one he’d given me the day Erik proposed. That was months ago so, I think we both knew it was my shirt now.

  “I’ll be in Mom’s office,” Kimber said. “Don’t tell anyone where I am unless it’s some kind of emergency, `kay?”

  “Absolutely.” I gave her two thumbs up.

  She grinned and hurried out of the room with her arms full of books, and her pilfered goodies. I plugged in my phone and snuggled up on my bed under the window. All the chatter and music of Kayley’s impromptu party was filtering through, but I kind of liked how the dampened noise sounded against the quiet of the room.

  As I was typing up my response to Dominic, I got a text from my mom.

  AH: Hey sweetie, everything okay? Josie says you’re not feeling well, and that you’re fighting with Kimber?

  Are you freaking kidding me? This is exactly why I never tell Kimber or Kayley, or Aunt Josie, anything.

  KF: I’m fine, Mom. It’s been a long week, settling in to a new school, I have roommates now, Kayley snores. I just came in to take a nap. And Kimber and I aren’t fighting, she just wants me to tell her how the book she’s reading ends, and I won’t do it. But I guess I know where Kims and Kay get their overly dramatic ways from now… Geez.

  AH: Yeah. That sounds about right. I’m 7 hours ahead of you, so I’m just headed for bed. Glad you’re doing okay. Love you Kats! Miss you tons!

  KF: Love you and miss you too. Sleep well!

  There was no way I could just let this kind of behavior continue. I’d be insane before Thanksgiving. I sent off a quick text to Aunt Josie.

  KF: Thanks for worrying about me, Auntie JoJo. Kims and I are snug as ever. I’m feeling fine, just napping off a long week and Kimber is binge reading in your office if you need anything.