Foolin'

Part 17

Being able to be open and authentically herself was very freeing for Kat, even if it was just with one person. She didn't have to hide herself. She was accepted, genuinely accepted. Little did she know, eventually, she would be welcomed by everyone and then some in her small circle of Hawkins friends. Firstly, however, there was the issue of being the center of Hawkins High gossip.

Without much currently going on in this small town, they were ruthless with their taunts and jabs. Back home, it was less about what you did, but who your parents were, who you were wearing, and who you did it with depending on their level of notoriety in the sense of connections, not popularity. That being said, Kat could handle everyone talking about her, but the consistency and fervency was draining, especially when she had to stand there and take it, not able to retaliate in the way she wanted to grow accustomed to. She was truly out of her element here. It was easy to turn the tables on her enemies back home with their materialistic plights. Here, it was more about a sense of reverent morality. Of course, the irony of that wasn't lost on the outcasts.

The worst was when it caught Kat off guard. She would hear whispering from the girls congregating in the bathroom. Usually, starting out with a scoff, followed by comments like "I thought she was gonna be really cool. You'd think being from L.A. she would be, but she's just a total wannabe. Such a loser freak." The energy that burned in her chest from hearing those comments that were unabashedly said as if she wasn't even there. Any sort of retort, she risked revealing the one thing about herself she had to keep hidden. If they got their hands on that, there's no telling how everyone would react.

In the halls, she had to constantly deal with quick insults much like the ones from the avalanche of notes left in her locked the day after Halloween. Those instances, she was able to have sarcastic comebacks from something as simple as "Thank you," to "It's a heavy weight to bear, but someone has to!" Often whenever Eddie talked to her at her locker they would both flip off the instigators at the same time, laughing at their similar reactions. At lunch with him, it was a lot easier to keep herself in check. If the taunt was enough to make her jolt in her seat, Eddie simply would put his hand on her arm and give her a look. Instantly, that put out her festering anger, bringing her focus to him. "Allow me," he'd say, getting up to toss a jab or two of his own. Some days, he would act like there was no one else in the cafeteria outside of those at the hellfire table. Those were the times that left Kat in awe of him and his ability to just let these things roll off his shoulders. She never could figure out how he did it.

Their usual, now flirty, banter continued while their relationship also passed the lips of the student body. For being considered such freaks, it was astounding how they cared so much if they were in fact together or not. Kat was still dealing with her fear of her own feelings and if there would be a change in their dynamic should she address that. They never brought up what happened at her house after the Halloween party. Eddie, true to his word, was patient. He knew Kat would come around when she was ready. He saw the way she melted when he would quell her urge to fight someone from his simplest of gestures.

As for her aunt, it took almost a week for their paths to cross long enough for Kat to apologize for how intensely she reacted, but not without stressing Linda's shortcomings in her opinion of Eddie. She saw how much Kat cared for him and said she was willing to meet him. Naturally, Kat suggested they plan something like a dinner for her upcoming birthday. While Linda agreed that would be a great idea, she made no plans to solidify the event. Kat didn't want to push it, and also didn't want to rock the boat between them; however, the closer it got to her birthday, the more apprehensive she got. Not the type to constantly bring up herself, she was weary at the fact that no one was mentioning anything about it at all. She tried to reassure herself that someone was probably planning on something for her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the day wouldn't go as planned.