The Runt of the Litter

Cope

Note: hey hey my lovelies <3 thanks for being the sweetest people on the planet. 

I'm still ahead on chapters, and I'm trying to bang out as many requests as possible since I've kept everyone waiting for so long. So here ya go. Another one.

this chapter was requested by Supreme_doritos and @doesntknowwhyshehere. I tried writing from Kate's POV for the first time in this chapter, so I hope it went okay!

Anna and Kate are both fifteen.

Cope

Kate rubbed her eyes for the fifth time in a single minute. Her eyes were bleary from hours spent staring at her computer screen in an otherwise dark room. But she had to finish this paper. She was so close to the end. She just had to write a conclusion now. Conclusions were easy, right? You summarized each of your paragraphs, restated your thesis, and then celebrated the fact that you were finally done with one more homework assignment.

She made the mistake of sliding her cursor to the top of the screen to check the time before she started writing the final paragraph. "Great," she muttered. 3am. Odds were good that she wouldn't be sleeping a wink tonight.

Well, that just meant she could take a break before writing the last paragraph. She pulled out her phone and plugged her headphones in.

I'm in New York thinking of you

Wondering what you are up to

From this lonely-ass hotel room

With a pretty good-lookin' view

Kate leaned her head back and closed her sore eyes. She mouthed along to the words as the song continued to play in her ears.

I am somewhere in the states

Going somewhere on a plane

It doesn't really matter as long as I'm

Always far away

"What are you doing still up?"

Kate pulled her headphones out and set her phone on the table beside her laptop. The screen had gone dark. "I have a paper due tomorrow- er- today."

"Honey, why didn't you work on it sooner," her mom asked, setting down her handbag on the counter. She gently touched Kate's shoulder as she passed her. "You need to get some rest before you go to school."

"I'm almost done," Kate promised before her face broke out into a yawn.

"School is important, but I don't need to remind you of the medical ramifications of prolonged sleep deprivation."

"Mom, it's too early for you to talk like a nurse."

She was given a big, proud smile. "I can't help it, Honey. I just got off."

"I know," Kate sighed with her own, much smaller smile.

Her mom leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Get to bed, Baby. You can finish that paper in the morning."

"Okay," Kate said softly. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too."

Kate got up and closed her laptop. It was a good thing she only had one more paragraph to write, or else she would be unlikely to get the paper finished on time. She put her headphones back in and walked quietly down the hall to brush her teeth and wash her face before bed.

Or maybe on a bus for months straight

Shit's fun but I'm going insane

"Your shift was supposed to end at one."