Retrograde ➼ cth [au]

cuatro

hi hey hello long time no see ?? idk when i last updated this tbh

anyway, heads up to anyone who's been reading this: THE MAIN CHARACTER IS NO LONGER CALLED NAOMI, I HAVE CHANGED HER NAME TO KATRINA soz for any confusion

(this was under the request of kat the rat aka vocaltea on twitter)

ok enjoy

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I entered the school parking lot and made my way over to my beat up Ford Fiesta, fumbling to get my keys out of my pockets. I hoisted my backpack on my shoulder as I lent forward to unlock the doors. I flung my backpack onto the backseats and closed the door, leaning up against it.

I was nervous - it was only a school project, but it was Katrina. To say I liked her was an understatement - it was as cliche as it could get. The quiet boy on the sidelines yearns for the prettiest, most popular but sweetest girl to ever exist in high school. Now I had some sort of chance of being close to her and I wasn't about to mess it up.

I watched as students flooded out the school doors, some setting off to the buses, upperclassmen heading towards the parking lot. I swept my gaze over every single face that walked out of the building, hoping to catch Katrina's gaze. Unfortunately, Katrina wasn't the first familiar face I saw walking into the parking lot.

"Yo, Cal!" Michael bellowed across the lot, Luke in tow. "Where's ya chick?" I shoved him away as he approached me, a mischievous grin spread across his face. Luke held the same expression.

"D'you want to say that any fucking louder?" I scowled at him.

"Oh okay," Michael cleared his throat. "Katrina, Cal is-"

I cut him off before he could say any more, slapping a hand across his mouth and shoving his shoulders. "I swear to fucking god, Mikey," I began.

"Chill, dude," Luke snickered. "And I mean it, she's coming this way now."

My eyes widened as I craned my neck above Luke's shoulder - he was correct. Katrina was making her way into the parking lot, walking with her friends Katie and Tris. I rolled my eyes - I was quietly begging that her friends wouldn't ask for a lift or anything. However, knowing their standards, they wouldn't even go near my 2001 car.

"Good luck mate," Luke winked and slapped his hand on my shoulder as he walked past me. Michael cackled with approval and did the same, following Luke over to his truck. As Michael started his car and let out a not-so-encouraging howl in my direction before driving away, I realised I was standing alone and Katrina was fast approaching. I quickly flicked my hand through my hair and turned to her, pretending to only have just seen her then.

"Cal," she beamed at me, hugging her folders to her chest. Katie and Tris stood to her side and it was hard not to notice them looking me up and down - did girls really do this to guys as well? My thoughts were snapped back at the sound of her voice. "You ready to go?"

I nodded my head and smiled in return, glancing at her friends to see if they were going to leave any time soon. Luckily for me, Katie turned to Katrina and spoke.

"Kat, text me asap okay, we need to talk...about something." Did girls also think guys didn't notice them flicking their gazes towards you every damn second? Tris giggled next to her. "Get home safely, love ya."

Katrina hugged her friends as I held back the urge to roll my eyes - how did someone as sweet as Katrina end up with friends like this? I wasn't planning on being so judgmental and "girly" about all this, but my excitement to be paired with Katrina was already dying away with every second that I noticed her friends disapproving of me.

"Sure, see you tomorrow," Katrina waved her friends goodbye and turned back to face me, a smile spread across her face. She walked around to the passenger side of the car. "Let's go."

-

"What d'you mean you didn't love the book?"

Katrina was gaping at me as I stifled a laugh. We were now at her house and sitting at her dining room table discussing our project. She'd spent a good ten minutes gushing about how much she loved the book and how she respected Atwood and her writing so much, but stopped dead when I said the book was only "alright".

"Albeit, it's not her best book," she continued. "But all her works are amazing! Cat's Eye explores so many themes, such as identity and truth, loss of self, how you change as you grow up through life! It's hard not to think she touched upon her personal life through her writing, and that's what makes her work so intriguing! The Handmaid's Tale, now that is a good book-"

"Who the fuck says albeit anymore, jesus, Kat," Another voice joined the conversation and I shrunk down into my seat a little. Her older brother - half-brother - Ashton Irwin walked into the open plan kitchen, opening the fridge and retrieving some juice. To say I felt intimidated was an understatement - being intimidated by this family seemed to be something I did well.

Ashton was two years above us and used to be at the same high school - over six foot, broad shoulders and huge biceps, it was hard not to widen your eyes and gulp. I remember him back when we were back in freshman year, how one of his friends attempted to hit on Katrina and he grabbed him by the collar and held their face inches from his own. Needless to say, no other sophomores, or students, in fact, attempted to talk to Katrina when Ashton was around. He was your classic, overprotective brother.

"Shut up, Ash, shouldn't you be at Molly's house or something?" Kat rolled her eyes at him, laughing slightly. They had a cute sibling relationship, and I could only wish I had that with my little sister, but she was as stubborn as can be. I was closer to my older sister, but she moved away for university and I only see her like four times a year now.

"So, who's this?" Ashton questioned, eyeing me, as he walked towards the table and lent against the kitchen counter. "Hood, right?"

I nodded, my mouth suddenly becoming too dry to say anything. I heard Katrina give a small scoff and shake of her head - I gathered she could see that Ashton was trying to intimidate me, and was succeeding in doing so.

"Mali's little brother?" I nodded again. "I remember her, she was a few years above me, insane at singing." He nodded to himself as though he were remembering his freshman year.

"Yeah, she used to help me out with some guitar chords," I sat up and spoke, hoping to seem more confident than I actually was. I felt sick, and I wasn't too keen on staying for this project if Ashton was still here.

"Woah, you play guitar?" Katrina faced me, and I gave her a nod. Apparently nodding was all I was capable of. "That's real cool."

"Yeah, pretty cool, man," Ashton nodded his head, before turning away and walking towards the front door. "Catch you later, Hood." The front door slammed and I let out a breathe I wasn't even aware I was holding in. Katrina giggled beside me, and I turned to face her.

"Y'know, he's not that intimidating, once you get to know him." She got up from the table and went into the kitchen, opening the fridge.

"Hopefully you're the same," I mumbled to myself.

"Cal, d'you want a drink?"

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this chapter was kinda a mess tbh but i hope it gets better, for my sake too

this is dedicated to AppreciateAshton™ on twitter aka kat katie mol tris lily shann maria alex n lex

hmu on twitter: irwinftcats

~ shay xo