CATALINA, paul lahote

SLEEPING BEAUTY

[ alternatively : tyler, i swear to fuck !]

THEY SPENT THE NEXT FEW DAYS tending to Tyler's wounds - and by tending it was more like pestering. They'd bring him bottles of pepsi by the gallon, and snacks he could eat until his heart desired. And crowd on his sofas, arguments brewing until they finally decided what to watch on his flatscreen tv.

His house was nice - that was no secret. Cata supposed it should be given the usual absence of his parents. At least he had something to show for it.

"Pass the popcorn." Mike demanded, from where he had splayed out over the (very expensive!) sofas. Nell rolled her eyes good naturedly, passing the bowl to Jess who passed it over Cata's sleeping body to Genie, who passed it to Mike.

Catalina had woke up that morning, somehow in her bed (she figured it was Paul who had carried her up there), and her car in the driveway. The keys had been posted through the letterbox. When they had all surged through the front door, all laughter and chaos it had taken Cata no more than five minutes to curl up in Jess's lap, soft snores escaping her lips.

"Can we watch something else?" Genie asked, leaning over Mike to shovel some popcorn in her mouth. Tyler nodded in her direction, pointing his finger in a way that said 'what she said'.

"This film is a classic." Nell snapped. "No we cannot." She settled back into the sofa, her eyes glued onto the large (no scratch that. Huge) screen that was in front of her playing Forest Gump.

"My house, my rules. Where's the remote?" Tyler grinned, looking between the group - half of which moved to check beneath them and the other half fake whistling in a last ditch attempt to carry on watching the film.

"Hate to say it." Mike laughed. "I think its under Cata."

The group of seven craned their necks to look at the girl who had her cheek smushed in Jess's lap. "Bagsy not it." Genie claimed, a chorus following her of chimes as Angela was left pouting in the wake of the calls from her friends.

"But-."

"She'll be least mad at you if you wake her, Ang." Tyler encouraged her, a smug grin on his face as he settled back into the couch now that he knew it wasn't him that would have to wake her.

Angela stood, her blanket pooling at her ankles as she did. "Cata. Cata?" Angela shook her shoulder lightly. "Cata?" The brunettes eyes fluttered open, squinting at the girl who crouched in front of her. "We think the remotes under you." She smiled apologetically, as the girl lifted herself up off Jess's lap, grabbing at the remote that had been digging into her spine.