It would have been so easy to blame it on the cold, or the storm, and agree to never talk about it ever again. Easier than trying to find the words to say what it had really meant.
What it still meant, and the hopes that it had fanned into flame.
A terrified, flickering flame.
"I..."
--
"- hate you!" Katie screamed angrily, her ponytail bobbing around as she did. "Why did you have to go ahead and ruin everything!? You just had to keep your damn mouth shut!"
Will cringed, and wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground. It wasn't like she didn't have a good reason to be pissed at him for letting it slip. Not that it was all his fault, either.
"I thought you were going with Suzie." He mumbled, the half-excuse sounding hollow even to his ears.
Katie crossed her arms, "You're still a jerk."
He thought quickly, trying to come up with a way to fix things. After he'd accidentally dropped that his sister was planning on a hotel getaway to their conservative parents at his weekly visit they had realised what he hadn't, and taken away permission to use the car.
That had been yesterday.
Today, Katie had turned up at his apartment to scream and yell about not being able to shack up with her boyfriend. He did feel guilty about it, and even more guilty about feeling relieved.
Katie had always had the worst taste in guys.
If there was a jerk, leading a group of assholes around like he was some kind of gangbanger, then Katie was absolutely certain to swoon if she got any kind of attention.
Which she would.
Not just because assholes like that can smell the naive trust exuding from her, but because Katie got attention wherever she went. She was the town's claim to fame, a tennis player who had very nearly qualified for nationals, which was as close as anybody had ever got to being famous.
It meant that she was both extremely fit, and that she attracted looks wherever she went. Her decision to stay at home had been a practical one, it was easier not to attract too much attention, and she wasn't allowed to drive herself, by her contract.
Well, apart from sneaking off to see her boyfriend, apparently.
"I'll drive you."
Katie raised an eyebrow, "Um, what?"
"You're an adult. What you do on your time shouldn't be dictated by your manager or mum and dad." He shrugged, "So I'll drive you up and drop you off."
She glared at him, "Like Dad would let me go, now. He'll probably threaten to kick me out of home if I go through with it. I don't want to have to move out!"
"That and they'd both probably cut you out. Assholes." He agreed with her, "Which is why we won't tell them."
"They're not that stupid. The timing would be obvious." Katie glared at him.
He shrugged, "I'm taking you camping. To make up for your boyfriend dumping you when you said you couldn't go. Dad'll get to indulge in some self-righteous rant, and Mum will be so proud that we still get along."
"That..." She seethed, and then sighed, "I guess that might actually work. Still doesn't make up for it. I didn't even want to tell them I was dating anyone, yet. They always..."
"Ruin it?" He laughed, "Why do you think I haven't brought a girlfriend home since I moved out?"
"Because you haven't had a girlfriend in two years?" Katie said hurtfully, and absolutely honestly.
It was sort of true, on some level. He'd had a few relationships over the years. He'd been hiding them long before he left home, but his relationships had never lasted.
Sometimes it felt like everything he touched just fell apart. The girls he dated always hated him when all was said and done. Sometimes he understood why, and he tried to make himself better, but most of the time he thought he'd been the perfect gentleman for them.
His last relationship had lasted all of two weeks, and well... Her bra was still hanging from the bathroom door handle behind his sister.
He couldn't help it, the way she'd said it. He pointed, "So, what, I'm a crossdresser?"
"One night stands don't count. My loveable manslut." Katie said, raising her nose in the air, but seeming less sure of herself.
"Well, we have a plan." He moved the conversation along, "I'll turn up with a few bags of my own, you can just bring whatever. I'll call Dad, let him know my plans. So... Expect the usual from him."
"No one's ever good enough for him." It was Katie's turn to mumble.
He reached over and grabbed his sister in a hug, "Hey. Things can get better, you know? You're the star of the family. Besides, you're about to get laid."
"Gross!" She shoved off him with a laugh, "You can't say that when you're hugging someone!"
He laughed at her, "So, staying for dinner, twerp?"
Katie finally stopped her intimidating stance that was about as frightening as a kitten, and dropped onto the couch, "If you're cooking. Missed your paella."
"Well, not taking requests." He retorted and headed for the kitchen area, "Only got the ingredients for pasta, so it's that or I'll drive you home."
"Whatever. I guess I still love you." She shrugged, "Oh! I'm going to call my boyfriend. Mind tuning out?"
He picked up his headphones.
He really didn't want to listen to his sister talking about a sex weekend with her boyfriend.
He didn't need that particular image in his head, anymore than it already was.
--
Katie didn't know exactly what she'd been planning when she turned up at the apartment to yell at him, but it wasn't... That.
Why did her brother have to be such a problem solver? She came to rant and cry and... And then he had to go ahead and be so reasonable about the whole damn thing.
Only one who was.
Pretending her boyfriend had dumped her when she tried to rearrange their date wasn't going to be difficult.
He had.
She'd already got the call from him and balled her eyes out like she was a teenager all over again. She'd really hoped that he was the one who wasn't going to turn out to be trash.
But no, all he was interested in was bedding the town celebrity for bragging rights to his little wannabe asshole friends. So when it looked like she might be having second thoughts, he dumped her without hesitation.
