Pulling Me

Part Three. Who is She

Kate Bishop.

The social media fiasco begun. Who is Kate Bishop? Where is she from? What does she look like? What does she do for a living?

Y/N surged through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Tumblr. A deep dive for the century. They needed to see why Mariah was so hellbent on getting them to go on a date with their friend Kate. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to see what she was talking about.

Kate's just a bit taller than the average woman it seems. Her hair is almost always done perfectly, even in the middle of her archery competitions. Somehow, she managed to keep that long, black hair shining and pinned just where it needed to be.

"You should follow her," Mariah said.

It had been a few days since she told them Kate's name. They spent days mulling over the idea of going on this date with her. It wasn't the stranger from the coffee shop, but damn is she pretty.

Y/N didn't respond, just continued flicking through the pictures on her Instagram.

"Seriously! Follow her. She knows about you. I told her that I've been trying to hook you two up forever now."

Their head flung up and over, catching eyes with their sister, "Wait what?! You told her about me already? What did you say? What does she know?"

The idea of this woman already knowing who Y/N was provoked a brewing fire of anxiety in the pit of their stomach. She is stunning and she knows what they look like. She's already willing to go on this date.

Had she done the same already? Had she searched through their entire internet presence?

"I just showed her your pictures and stuff. Told her how fun you are, when you're not riddled with anxiety," she said, cracking a smiling and picking at Y/N.

They smiled, knowing their sister just wanted the best for them. She'd tried getting them to go on dates before, but Kate was different. Mariah had never pushed as hard for anyone as she did Kate, "Just... give me some more time to think. She's really pretty, Mariah. I'm just nervous. It's been years, you know."

She got up from her seat across her living room and made her way next to Y/N where they sat on the couch. Grabbing their hand, she garnered their attention, "I know. I know it's been hard since you lost Gianna. But it's been years and you know she wouldn't want you to continue on like this."

Gianna had been caught in the crossfire of the Battle of New York. The two were just a young couple, just barely 16, but they'd been best friends since they were children. It wasn't until their freshman year of high school that they finally got together.

The rest was history. Everyone in school knew they were made for each other. Two years together and they never fought. It was clear that they were always meant to be together. Even their families were rooting for them.

"I loved Gianna too..." Mariah started again, which caused Y/N to raise their head, "I miss her all the time, so I can only imagine how you feel."

Her voice began to crack as she thought back on her friend. Though they were a year and a half apart, Mariah and Gianna were also best friends. The trio had been inseparable, even when Y/N and Gianna got together.

They grabbed her hand back and rested their head on her shoulder, allowing a few tears to fall in silence.

But they knew she was right. Gianna wouldn't want Y/N to spend the rest of their life afraid of what could happen if they fell for someone else. She'd want them to be happy, even if it wasn't with her.

An hour passed after their conversation as the two took down Mariah's Christmas decorations all around the apartment. They blared music, danced around, and finished up the cookies their mom had baked them for the holidays.

As they were finishing up, a knock bellowed from her apartment door. Y/N paid no attention, assuming it was just the guy down the hall that had been hitting on their sister for the past two months.

But as they were putting away the last of her ornaments, squealing could be heard from the door. Y/N wondered who on earth could have just shown up unannounced that would excite Mariah like that.

"Y/N! Come here!" She yelled.

They heard mumbling as their sister and whoever had showed up started talking at lightning speed to catch up. Rounding the corner, they quickly saw what had thrown their sister into an excited fit.

"Y/N, this is Kate. Kate, this is Y/N."

The two met eyes, Kate's smiling just before her mouth did. Somehow, she was even prettier in person. Her light blue eyes were captivating at first, but Y/N was quickly drawn to the small bandages taped across her face.

Before they could speak, Kate stepped over to pull them into a hug, "It's so nice to meet you. Mariah has told me so much about you!"

Y/N wrapped their arms back around her, trying their best not to be awkward as their nerves skyrocketed. Shooting their eyes at their sister, they wondered if this had all been planned before they even came over this morning. By the looks of the grin plastered across Mariah's face, they would say yes.

Stepping back, Kate thrusted up the wine she had in her and told the siblings how she'd brought some along with some Chinese food for dinner.

The three spent the rest of the evening talking over Chinese, Christmas cookies, and wine. They talked about Y/N and Mariah's childhood, what they did for work, where they went to school, and an abundance of other things. It was becoming insanely clear why Mariah wanted them to meet Kate.

She was enticing, captivating. Something about her kept them drawn in the entire night. They enjoyed being in her presence and felt as though they'd known her their entire life.

Midnight was slowly approaching and they were all now visibly intoxicated. Mariah was passed out in her recliner while Y/N and Kate were fighting sleep as their conversation continued.

"So I wanted to ask, and I hope it's not rude, but what happened to your face? Why the bandages?" They asked as they glanced over her features.

Kate did her best to hide her nervousness, but Y/N had always been good at reading body language. Before they could apologize, she answered, "Just took a hard fall last week. The ice was a lot thicker on my steps than I thought and I just went tumbling down."

Their eyebrows raised a bit, shocked at the idea of her scratching up her face that much from a fall, "Must've been a brutal fall."

The pair laughed and finally started succumbing to their bodies' urge to sleep. Just as Y/N was drifting off, a jolt from their phone woke them up slightly.

Opening their eyes just enough to read the text, they saw Brandy had messaged them.

Brandy
Coffee shop. Tomorrow morning.
9 am, don't be late.