Foolin'

Part 4

Kat was fuming. Fuming at the fact Eddie had taken such an interest in her, at the fact he wanted to dig into her past, about how terrified she was, and about how it was looking more and more like she'd have to go to him when her supply runs dry. There had to be another way. She tried as hard as she could to focus on her classes, but their conversation kept replaying over and over. How coy he was with her, how he noticed things about her, didn't believe her, how he said he trusted her. She couldn't figure it out. Why? She kept asking herself over and over again, hoping an answer would magically pop into her mind. It wasn't until the bell rang that she snapped back into reality. Only then she realized her next class, she had to sit right next to the one person she wanted to avoid.

When she got to math, she immediately sat down and stared straight ahead. Her pen was constantly tapping against her notebook. She started doodling little circles in the margins when she got the urge to check to see if he was nearing the door. Then, she heard the chair creek next to her. Stedfast, she refused to look up.

"Those are some...pretty intense circles you got going on there," she heard him say, but didn't acknowledge. She could feel him leaning over closer to her, so no one would hear what he was about to say. "I saw you talking to Chrissy. You know, from my vantage point of your locker." He paused waiting for her to interject. "I couldn't exactly hear what you said, but from the looks of it, it sorta seemed like you were saying your goodbye to her. Pretty odd thing to do for someone who doesn't care enough to befriend anyone."

"If I was saying goodbye, then she's not a friend," Kat whispered through gritted teeth. She felt Eddie get closer.

"Not my point. My point is that you do care." She felt the low timbre of his voice go right through her. Still gritting her teeth, she turned her head slowly to glare at him. "Ah, there she is." He was smiling at her, gloating, as if he won an imaginary argument. Kat's eyes flared with anger. Her hands tightened into fists. The other students were in their respective groups, catching up with one another before class began. Completely oblivious to what was happening in the corner of the room. Eddie went back over to his desk and took out a pencil from inside his leather jacket. Kat could see it was the one she gave him on her first day, noting the Xs she carved around it out of boredom. He tossed the pencil onto the ground. He dove to grab it only to be inches away from Kat for the second time this morning on his way up. This time, however, she was flooded with the scent of cigarettes, incense, and some kind of knockoff cologne. The fact that she found it all almost intoxicating made her anger burn even hotter. "And if you didn't care, it wouldn't... upset you. So. Much." He smiled at her again, looking her directly in the eyes. She felt like he could see right through her.

The bell rang, class was about to start. Eddie jolted over to his seat, facing forward, as if nothing ever happened. Kat went numb. She couldn't even form a thought, let alone an expression. She slowly turned to face the front of the class. As she did, a realization dawned on her. She wasn't making it out of Hawkins alone.

As soon as class ended, Eddie jolted up again, tossing a folded piece of paper on Kat's desk before heading out. He didn't look back at her so Kat immediately unfolded it this time. There were doodles of circles and a bouquet of flowers. Written in the middle was an address followed by "For when Kat the Uncaring needs to refresh her bouquet. Trust me (or don't) you won't find better around here. Business is always open for you."

"That son of a bitch." Kat whispered to herself. She put this note with the other one. Trying as hard as she could to block out all the memories and thoughts she had of the morning.

When lunch rolled around, Kat had put her walkman on to help avoid... well, everything pretty much. She opted for Metallica's Ride the Lightning album. She needed something heavier to funnel her emotions into. It helped keep her nerves at bay. In her own world, she barely noticed Robin slide into the seat across from her. She smiled softly when she noticed. "Oh hey, Robin." Her headphones were around her neck, the music blaring out of them.