Innocent Bystander

Chapter Five: Karens and Crushes

AN: May I just say, Katie is VERY ahead of her time here since she calls an entitled woman a "Karen" in 2013.

Speaking of Katie, I apologize if her coming-out-as-bi scene is a bit too informal. This is similar to how my best friend came out to me, so I just went with that.

Also, while she still ends up with a guy, I have a funny feeling y'all are gonna grow to LOVE who I paired Katie with anyway ;). It's not Aaron (I made that Enemies-to-Lovers joke in Chapter Two for a reason), but the ship itself has that same "opposites-attract" effect.

But yeah, if you don't support her you can LEAVE :) Thx, enjoy.

Edit: What is this "Story Notes" thing and whY CAN'T I CLICK IT?!?!

The next day's mall excursion with Katie was honestly quite the trip. This was the first time I had ever been to the mall with a friend, and it was way more exciting than going with my family - as great as they are of course.

The mall in Beacon Hills was about five times bigger than the one in Regina. First of all, this mall had three floors. Not one, not two, three. The mall in Regina only had two. The mall in Beacon Hills was a lot shinier as well. Like, it felt cleaner and better overall than the one I'd known my whole life (It still doesn't compare to the one in Edmonton, Alberta though. That one had a waterslide. Nothing could beat that). The only thing I liked better about the mall in Regina is that, unlike the one in Beacon Hills, it had a Tim Hortons. When I found out there was no Tims in the States, It hit me like a ton of bricks that I may never get to sip on a Creamy Chocolate Chill ever again (That's the main reason why Charlie already hated living in the US. He loves those things).

Katie and I got to the mall around lunch time, so we got some McDonalds in the (massive) food court and sat at one of the free tables.

"Is there a mall as big as this in Regina?" Katie asked as we ate our lunch.

"Not that I know of," I replied, "Too bad there's no Tim Hortons here though."

"Tim Hortons?" Katie asked, "What's that?"

It was at that point that I became shocked at the fact that Katie really and truly had no clue what Tim Hortons was.

"It's like a Canadian version of Starbucks that also sells these mini donuts called Timbits," I explained.

"Mini donuts?" Katie inquired hungrily, "Please tell me Tim Hortons isn't just a Canadian thing!"

"It is. It's a shame too, considering how good those Timbits are."

As I continued my lesson on Timbits, Katie and I heard yelling coming from the other side of the food court. As we turned to see who it was, we spotted a middle-aged woman yelling furiously at a young, female Arby's employee.

The woman looked like one of those hockey moms I'd always see at my brother's hockey games back in Regina. She had highlighted blonde hair that was cut in a let-me-speak-to-the-manager kind of style. She was wearing sketchers shoes, blue mom-jeans, a white t-shirt, a black, sleeveless puffer vest and had one of those obnoxiously large pairs of sunglasses perched on her head. Behind her, she had two small kids, both looking to be around Charlie's age.

"What - Who-?" I stammered, shocked while Katie snickered at the woman.

"I don't know what that old hag is trying to accomplish," Katie joked, "But those kinds of people are who I like to call 'Karens'."

"Karens?"

"Yeah, 'Karens'. These types of people look for any little reason to be mad at you and, if you're a store employee, make said reason an excuse to ask for the manager."

"GET ME YOUR MANAGER!" I heard 'Karen' scream at the Arby's employee from across the way.

"See?" Katie reasoned as security came in and escorted 'Karen' out of the mall.

After watching 'Karen' attempt to fight the security guards while her kids watched in horror, Katie took notice of the Arby's employee.

"That Arby's girl is kinda cute," She stated as she observed the girl before realizing she had just outed herself to me, "Oh, I should probably tell you; I'm bi."

"That's great! I support you one hundred percent!" I said supportively as she smiled at me relieved. I was glad she was able to trust me enough to share that aspect of her life with me. (Remember kids; It's important to be accepting of others, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, religion, or anything else. And I say this as a Christian girl. God said to "Love thy neighbor", and that's what I intend to do.)

"Speaking of cute people," Katie started, "Has anyone caught your eye yet?"

"Well," I started. I had some trust issues because of my past friendships (You know what you did, BRITTANY!), so I still wasn't sure whether or not I could tell Katie how I felt about Nolan. That said, I decided to confess because if she trusted me enough to come out to me after only knowing me for eight days, I could certainly trust her with my secret.

"Can you promise not to say anything to anyone?" I requested.

"Of course," Katie promised, "What kind of friend would I be if I did?"

With that, I told her.

"There's this guy I met on my first day," I confessed, "He's on the lacrosse team - In fact, he just became captain last week. He's a little bit older than me, a whole lot taller... He's incredibly kind, insanely good-looking... and he's Gabe's best friend."

"Your cousin Gabe?" She asked.

"Yeah. That's why I don't want this getting out. If he knew, he'd have a fit."

"Do you know what colour this guy's ink is?"

"No. He hasn't worn short sleeves since the day I met him."

"What's his name?"

I paused for a minute before saying; "Nolan Holloway."

Katie stared at me in shock for a moment before speaking again.

"He's one of the guys who beat up Liam Dunbar the other day, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I told her, "But he came over to me to check if I was okay while I was having a panic attack... It's something in the way he looked at me that kind of - Well-"

"Turned you on?" Katie smirked with that comment.

"Depends on what you mean by 'turned on'," I responded, "Sexually, no. Romantically, yes, very."

"That's so cute!"

"You don't think he's out of my league, do you?"

"It's Nolan Holloway. The only reason why people know his name is because of the incident last week. I'm pretty sure you're fine."

"What about Gabe?"

"If you're happy, he should be too."

I smiled at Katie then. She wouldn't tell me something if it wasn't true.