[Class over. Session Start.] * Katie waits for class to be dismissed, then she gathers her supplies, putting them in her satchel. She doesn't seem to be in any huge hurry as the other students rush out. * Kaede gets up slowly after collecting his books. He's been fairly quiet all day. He heads straight for the door, avoiding eye contact as he does so. * Katie picks up her notebook, slipping it back into her satchel. "Kaede." * Kaede shakes his head. "Not today." He keeps going and starts a little down the hallway. He seems to be pointedly going the opposite direction from the lockers. * Katie grabs her pen and gets to her feet, shouldering her satchel. She puts it in one of the pockets as she walks quickly after Kaede, catching him by the arm a ways down the hall. No, I think today works just fine. * Kaede pulls his arm free and looks at her. "I'm not dealing with that self- righteous pompous bitch today. Not today. If you choose to, then go ahead. Be my guest." He turns around and keeps walking. * Katie blinks, then walks after Kaede. "Haruko?" You said her name, not me. Hey, there are only so many self-righteous, pompous bitches in the world. But there are more than one. What'd she do? * Kaede just keeps walking. "Do I need to make a list?" * Katie glances back down the hall, but she keeps walking. "Maybe. You do know that I couldn't call you yesterday, don't you?" * Kaede keeps looking ahead. "Don't know anything about that..." Well, I couldn't. And it wasn't a field. Static that hurt instead. I tried again later, and *then* you picked up. I was worried about you. * Katie frowns. "I still am." You shouldn't. Shouldn't what? Worry or try? I don't know...does it matter? Yes. * Kaede sighs and stops, then swivels to look at her without a word. * Katie stops, too, head tilted a bit up to evenly meet his gaze. * Kaede speaks after a few moments of silence, turning away. "It's going to be either her or me in the end, Katie. I know it. Unless she can change...and she just seems like she'll stay the same just to spite me." Do you think so? You're not the person she's trying to move. * Kaede rolls his eyes. "Like I care. Give your friends my regards. I'm sure they're waiting for you." He walks off again. * Katie flashes her hand out and grabs Kaede's arm in a tight grip. This one will be hard to pull away from. "Me, you idiot." * Kaede looks at her evenly. "You what?" Haruko's making a play. I never *asked* to be put where I am, and if she could do the job as what she's trying to be, I wouldn't care if she took it. * Kaede snorts. "But she can't. And that's the problem." That's the problem. So, what happened? What's more is she doesn't listen to people. I don't know what world she lives in but it's definitely not Earth. * Katie nods. She blew me off, that's what. * Katie blinks. I'm sorry, Kaede, but... that's nothing really new for anyone as far as Haruko goes. * Kaede folds his arms. "It's more than that though.." * Katie lets go of Kaede's arm as he does that. * Kaede sighs. "It's hard to explain. But it was over Saori. Her attitude has got to change. She can't presume to order people around she doesn't listen to in the first place." * Katie nods. Her phone rings. "That's Taki. Give me one second. And you can blame this one on Haruko, too." * Kaede rolls his eyes again. "No, go ahead. I'm done here anyways." Oh no. You're staying right here. * Kaede turns to walk away again. * Katie grabs Kaede's arm again. Ha. * Katie also pulls out her phone and answers. "" * Kaede stops and eyes her. "This is ridiculous for the both of us, you know." * Katie grins at Kaede, but she doesn't say anything. Hi Taki. Yeah, we're doing something important. Why? * Kaede turns back towards his destination and with his elbow linked around her hand, proceeds to shuffle his feet down the hall, taking Katie with him if he has to. * Katie is dragged along! She doesn't seem to care, ear still to the phone. * Katie speaks into the phone, perfectly casually, "Being dragged away from the lockers. Does Haruko have to be at both of these places?" Right now, very important. We're not dying and you're not dying, so importance changes. Tell Haruko to call Sumire back. I mean, come on. Good. And tell her that I'll meet Sumire. And if Kaede's in, he'll go with me, not Haruko. * Kaede stops for a second and looks at Katie. * Katie looks right back, one of her fingers tapping the phone. You did? * Katie grins. "Must've gotten enough sleep, then. Okay, good. Call me back when you know what's going on, okay?" Yup. Bye. * Katie hangs up and slips the phone away. * Katie rolls her eyes. "God. Gangmates." * Kaede lets go of her arm and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Alright. But this still doesn't mean...dammit Katie, why do you have to do that?" Because I care about us living through this. You can dislike Haruko all you want, but there's more at stake than just her or you. * Kaede eyes Katie. "Then why the hell doesn't SHE realize that?" * Katie shrugs. "Because she's a better person than I am." Being the most self-centered person I've ever met makes her a better person? I'd hate to see a worse person then, Katie Andrews. * Katie shakes her head. "She's self-centered, but she's sticking to what she thinks is right. Haruko has faults... a lot of them, but she's a better person." * Kaede snorts. "You're really a fool if you believe that, Katie Andrews." Maybe I am. I don't think there's a single person we've met that would believe you. That means I'm a liar or I'm blind. But I have a question for you, Kaede. Yes? * Katie waves for Kaede to come closer. * Kaede eyes her carefully but does come a little closer. * Katie grabs Kaede by the back of his neck and pulls him down a little, even as she stands on her toes. She doesn't kiss him, though, instead turning her head to whisper quietly, extremely quietly, in his ear, one hand blocking her lips and the other side blocked by his face. "Who's trying to kill someone?" * Kaede gives Katie an even stare and tries not to blink. "And would she let you live if given the chance?" * Katie pulls away. Her voice is still hushed. "What, Haruko? She's a better person than I am, Kaede." I don't like her, but... she's a better person. No, not Haruko. * Katie blinks at him. * Kaede stands back up. "Nevermind." What? Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. He probably wouldn't either, come to think of it. Of course I am. * Katie shakes her head. "We've gotta go somewhere else." * Kaede starts to walk, then stops. "Oh?" * Katie nods. "Five o' clock. That's when I might be doing something." She starts walking. "That's in about two hours. We have time, and we're doing something important." Might be doing something? That's awful vague. Meeting Sumire. Haruko got Sumire and Remi to ask to meet her at the same time. * Katie rolls her eyes. "Honestly, I don't *want* Haruko dealing with Sumire." Nor do I. But do we really want her dealing with Remi either? Better than you or me. * Kaede snorts. "No. Because she's going to have a fit when she doesn't see me there." * Katie looks back at Kaede. "Haruko's going to take Taki. They'll live." Living's not what I'm worried about. Making Remi irritated beyond repair IS. * Katie sighs, turning to face Kaede fully and folding her arms. Okay, here's my question. Is it better if you go, if someone else goes, or if nobody goes at all? * Kaede sighs back at Katie. "You mean I have to choose?" If you were going to choose. What do you think? You're saying that this is wrong. Is there a better choice? No. And that's the problem. Right. So we take the least damaging one and go with it. There is no least damaging one. Then what's it matter? I...guess it doesn't. * Katie grabs Kaede's arm and drags him, this time. "Don't you have valuable time and energy? Why waste it?" * Kaede takes a deep breath. "I'd prefer to talk to Sumire anyhow, all told." Yeah, that's what I thought. * Kaede gets dragged. This time he doesn't stop her. So you're doing this all for me? I'm touched. * Katie hears her phone ring again. "I might not be a better person than Haruko, but I can at least be a better friend." She pulls out her phone and hits the button, putting it to her ear. "" * Kaede looks at her curiously but goes quiet. What would you want to do, Satoshi? Then come with. I'm not your boss, and neither is Kaede. Or Haruko. Yeah. Oh, and Satoshi? * Kaede mouths out "who" in the air. Tell Haruko that Kaede can't be bought. I think they'd both thank you for passing that on. * Kaede blinks at Katie for that comment. See you there. We'll meet in front of the place instead of in, so we can catch each other before the music deafens us all. Bye. * Katie hangs up. * Kaede waits for her to hang up, then responds. "What was THAT all about?" * Katie slides the phone away. "Satoshi's going with us to meet Sumire." * Kaede snorts. "That's not what I'm talking about and you know it." Haruko was trying to come up with ways to smooth things over with you. And it sounds to me like she thinks buying you something will do more than a real apology. She... * Kaede eyes her. "What are you getting at?" * Katie sighs. "Look. I don't know exactly what happened between you and Haruko, but she knows you're upset, okay?" * Kaede snorts. "And that matters how?" Look, Katie, I'll be the only one to say this. Don't meddle. I'm sorry, Kaede, but as long as we're looking out for each other, I'm *going* to look out for you and me and her, and the rest of them. * Kaede glares at her. "I don't care HOW you think you're looking out for people. You're meddling and you don't even know the situation. You're trying to twist things so that we all come out on top. It's not that easy to play with people like that. * Katie looks back at Kaede for a long moment. "Ever try?" And then she turns away. "And I'm not, actually." Not what? Playing with people? I've got news for you, Haruko's never going to change, no matter how many "hints" you give her. She doesn't give a damn about the rest of us, she thinks she does, but she doesn't. And until she changes that, we're always going to be at odds. No. I'm playing with people. I told you she's better than I am. But I'm not trying to make sure we all end up on top. We can't. And she doesn't need you telling her what I need. *YOU* don't know what I need...what gives you the right to speak for me anyway? * Katie blinks as her phone rings. She reaches for it, than it stops. Look, Kaede... can we talk about this somewhere less public? A lot less public? Whatever. What are you talking about? That's why it has to be less public. Well....where do you suggest? * Katie starts walking. "Maybe an empty classroom?" * Katie stops. * Katie turns, looking down towards the lockers. She waves. "We've been spotted. Want to go?" * Kaede turns and eyes them down the hall. "I knew it wasn't a good idea to stick around here so long." He turns and haeds off quickly. * Katie exchanges a few words with Haruko before heading after Kaede. * Katie walks after him, glancing into classrooms as she goes. What are you looking for? * Katie picks one out, almost arbitrarily, but a good way from the lockers. She grabs Kaede by the wrist and pulls him in after her. "This." * Kaede gets yanked in and curses, pulling his wrist back. "Would you stop doing that? I'm not a rag doll." He rubs his wrist. Yeah, I know. You dragged me down the hall earlier. While YOU were holding on to MY arm, I'll note. You could have let go at any time. * Katie kicks the door shut after Kaede enters. She walks to the other side of the room, having a seat at a desk near the window. I could've. But you didn't. Why? * Katie gets to her feet again. She looks to Kaede. "Because I wanted to talk to you." I told Taki that I was doing something important. I wasn't lying. And why do you care so much? You don't have to get involved. You could just leave me alone and be done with it. * Katie rolls her eyes. Kaede, why don't you like Haruko? What did you tell me? It's because she doesn't care, right? No. You told me that she doesn't care. It's because she's a fucking phony, that's why. * Katie nods. She thinks she cares. She thinks she knows what she's doing. She doesn't know what she's doing. But why do you think she doesn't care? ( Nobody ever sticks up for my characters like this ;_; ) Who said I think she doesn't care? If she's a fake, and you're listing that she thinks she cares as a reason, it follows that she doesn't. She shows it. There doesn't have to be that much thinking involved. Not really, no. And if she screws the rest of us over by pissing people like Saori off, oh well. She was rude to her anyhow. I bet she was, yeah. And if she doesn't listen to why that's a bad idea, then I have nothing left to say to her. If she thinks she can give me an outright demand after that as well... * Katie tilts her head. "So she ordered you around?" Basically...her whole personality has shown it to be selfish, and I haven't seen an instance where that fails to be true. * Katie frowns. Maybe I should talk to her. Her stupidity is going to tear us apart. And this is where I'll only tell you one more time. Stop meddling. Didn't you hear me the first time? It's not just you. * Katie waves vaguely. "I'd be meddling if it were." Why do you fucking care? * Kaede folds his arms. "Tell me. Why not just get rid of her? Why not leave her to fend for herself?" * Katie glares at Kaede. "Because I might not like her, but I care about her. I promised I'd help her, and I'm going to see that through." * Katie turns, delivering a vicious kick to the desk. She winces at the noise as it topples over. "Even if I'm the one who has to change." And just why do you care about her huh? What makes her so important? * Katie doesn't turn around. "What makes you so important? Why do I help anyone?" * Kaede sighs and shakes his head. "And you say you're the worse person?" Yeah. You're so insightful for everyone else. Why the hell are you so dense to yourself, Katie Andrews? Because I'm *not* the same person I used to be. * Katie whirls, turning her glare back to Kaede. "Can't you see that? Is everyone so fucking blind? Oh, Katie Andrews is back. Just like normal. She's not crazy anymore." * Kaede glares at her. "Who the hell said you were normal? Who the hell EVER said that?" * Kaede slams his hands on the desk in front of her. "Do I LOOK like I treat you like the same person? If I thought you were the same fucking person, I'd have thought you could have taken care of yourself!" * Katie winces, but she keeps going. "You're all *happy* I'm not crying randomly, aren't you? Admit it. You are. You think I'm getting better." And I couldn't take care of myself. That's why I ended up in the closet. That's why I should have *died*, Kaede. What? Because you didn't think anyone'd notice? Because you didn't think anyone cared? Or because you didn't think we could do anything without you? We're not as helpless as you think! * Katie leans in towards Kaede and hisses, "Then why the hell didn't you leave me there?" ( Ken noticed! ) You didn't have a clue. I should be dead. It was luck. * Kaede yells, yes yells, the next part. Screw Katie's hearing. "BECAUSE YOU'RE IMPORTANT TO US! That's why!" * Katie grimaces, shutting her eyes and covering her ears. * Kaede huffs, and huffs. "Don't you understand? Or are you so blind that you don't believe anyone could care for a wretch like you? God, get OVER yourself, Katie Andrews." * Katie must hear that through her hands, because her eyes open again, and she stares at Kaede. * Katie drops her hands, then, and snickers. This turns into a chuckle, which turns into a full laugh. * Kaede just stares at her some more. He doesn't say what. Because Katie's going to talk eventually. That or she's hysterical. Either way. * Katie laughs and laughs. She doesn't sound hysterical, just... laughing. And she collapses into a chair. * Katie wipes at one of her eyes. "" * Kaede keeps staring at her. If he thinks it's funny, he doesn't show it. That's... not the point, Kaede. That's not the point at all. I'm sorry. Then what is the point? Again, you seem to think that you're the one with all the answers. So tell us how exactly your way is the right way? My way isn't the right way. Can't you see that? Then why do you tout it as if it is? * Katie smiles sadly. "It is, but it isn't. Have a seat." I'd prefer to stand if you don't mind. I'd prefer to stand if you do mind too, but even I can be polite sometimes. * Katie shrugs. "Fine." * Katie looks up at Kaede. Do you know what happened to me? * Kaede frowns and looks at her. "Of course I do. One of the worst things imaginable. I can't even start to fathom what that's like.." I should be dead. You know that, don't you? If she didn't leave when she did, I would be. * Kaede chuckles sadly. "And that's pretty ironic, coming from me, isn't it? It isn't as if I've had exactly an easy life..." * Katie shrugs. "I had an easy life up until three months ago." So now you know what it's like to have your whole life screwed over... * Kaede sighs and shakes his head, walking way, arms folded. "Tell me one thing, Katie.." * Katie opens her mouth to say something, but at Kaede's request, she closes it for a moment, then, "What?" Do you want her to win? Haruko? * Kaede turns around and glares at her. "NO, not Haruko! Who cares about Haruko?" Then who's her? You *know* who's her. You just don't want to admit it. * Katie looks at Kaede. "Who's her?" * Kaede looks Katie square in the eyes, silently, looking for something. * Katie looks right back. Why do you have to have grey eyes, Katie Andrews? Oh. No, I don't. But in a way, she already has. Oh? Just oh? In a way? In what way hasn't she then? Do you want me to start crying, throwing things, showing how scared I am? Yes, dammit. * Katie brings her hand up to her throat. She traces a finger along the scar. "I'm terrified." What did I just say I hated most about Haruko? Don't you start pulling it too. I'm not, Kaede. I'm being honest. I'm being very honest, and you should listen to me, because it's hard. * Kaede sighs. "And that's why I'm here." * Katie tilts her head. She doesn't respond. Maybe they want you suddenly better. Maybe they want the old Katie. I don't really care. I just want Katie. I want Katie the way she is, not the way she thinks people want her to be. Kaede... * Katie closes her eyes, then opens them and looks away. "You don't know what you're asking." * Kaede looks back at her. "Maybe I don't..." But can you really live with living a complete facade? What makes you think this is fake? I never said it was. Can you understand that I'm afraid of myself? Yes. I would be too. I am. Can you understand that I don't like what I'm turning into? * Kaede glances at her. "Of course I understand that..." * Kaede turns around more fully. "Why do you think I'm always there to stop you from acting on it..." * Katie closes her eyes again, and then she rubs at one of them. "You're not." No. Maybe I'm not. But I try to be. And if I need to be more, I will be more. You can't stop me, Kaede. It doesn't matter if you stop the act. I already made the choice. * Kaede looks at Katie evenly. "Just watch me." * Katie chuckles. I'll do what I have to. Including kill me? When one of the things I want to do is make sure you live, how will killing you make that happen? * Kaede blinks a little, then his eyes soften. "Katie..." * Katie doesn't respond. She looks out the nearest window. * Kaede shakes his head. You think you're the only one who's tired of all this? * Katie doesn't respond to that, instead speaking in a dull, quiet voice. "I knew what was going to happen when you came running out. I could have gotten him off a different way. Riskier, but it might have worked. He could still be okay. She could still be okay." I'm not sorry. Scary, isn't it? I should be sorry. Three months ago, I think I would be sorry. Why? I'm not. Yeah, I guess you're not. * Kaede sighs and rubs his forehead. "I'm used to death in my family...and dying...that doesn't mean we have to like it..." But to grieve over someone like Yushiro... It's not the same, Kaede. This isn't some random thing that came by and took him away. So it was you. The thing was going horribly anyhow. Do you think that you're the only one who was angry with him? No. But Kaede? He was going after your friends, he was using his sister as a pawn in his sick game...he won't do that any more. And he's not the only one. I know. But Kaede, if I didn't know he was going to... stop, I probably would have done it. And you wouldn't have been able to stop me. * Katie looks to the boy now. "Probably then. Definitely now." That's what you're getting. * Kaede snorts. "You know what's the problem with dealing with rhetoric?" * Katie tilts her head. "What?" They never come up 99% of the time. How would you know what would happen in a situation where you have no control over it occurring? What are you talking about? * Kaede looks at her. "I mean, rhetorically, I never thought I'd be talking to anyone at school. Because people at school just aren't worth it." I don't see what you're getting at. Then I suppose you're not as bright as I give you credit for. * Kaede turns towards the door. "Shall we head out now?" * Katie gets to her feet. "Or maybe you're not. I think we were talking past each other for a while." * Katie adjusts her satchel, then heads for the door. "I think they're away from the lockers now." Good...oh, and Katie? Hm? What did Haruko want to get me? * Katie blinks, glancing at Kaede. "I thought you told me not to meddle." You're not talking to Haruko, you're talking to me. Isn't that the same thing? No. * Katie shrugs. "I guess you learn something new every day." She was considering different things. * Kaede rolls his eyes. "Fine. Don't tell. It's not that important anyway." * Katie starts walking out. "Flowers, a gift certificate, a game for you and your sister." * Kaede snorts. "That makes no sense..." * Katie shrugs. She steps out of the classroom and starts heading to the lockers. * Kaede walks and thinks a little. "She actually considered flowers?" Yeah. Satoshi shot them down. He didn't think you'd like them. * Kaede waves it off. "I don't." He continues walking. "Let's go anyways." * Katie shakes her head. "Sure." [End!]