Serendipity

You like the 'fit?

The week goes by agonizingly slowly, but Tim stays by my side for as long as he can through it, constantly reminding me about our beach day to keep my spirits high.

Ream decides that he'll be going to Liam's party, since he won't have anything better to do that weekend anyways.

And Heather and Tai make plans to hang out at her house and play board games, so I get to tease Tai about it for the next few days, while he blushes and insists that they're just friends.

Eventually, though, the weekend comes.

I check with my dad to make sure it's okay for me to go, then call Tim while I gather my stuff.

"Hey!" He greets me, his voice cheerful.

"Hey," I say. I root through my closet to try and find my buried swim suit. "So, we cool to go today?"

"Of course!" I can almost hear his smile through the phone. "I've got my stuff ready to go, I just need to tell mom and get Kiki."

"Oh yeah, Kiki," I chuckle slightly. "I forgot about her."

"How dare you forget Miss Kiksta," he says, pretending to be aghast at such a notion.

"I'll apologize in person when we meet up," I promise, tugging at what definitely looks like a pair of swim trunks. Holding it up, I see that it is, in fact, swim trunks.

"Good..." I hear faint tapping of claws against wooden floor and the distinct jingle of tags on a collar. "Hey, gimmie a minute- I need to harness Kiki up real quick." A harness. Pretty close.

"No problem, I need to change anyway."

"Cool."

And then I put my phone down, and I think I hear Tim doing the same.

I step out of my shorts and underwear, glancing at the door to make sure it doesn't suddenly open. Once I'm covered up with my trunks, I relax.

I hear muffled sounds of struggle coming from my phone, and I imagine that Kiki is giving him a hard time with the harness.

Since I'm sure I still have some time, I take off my shirt and look at myself in the mirror.

Bad idea.

The person looking back at me is skinny and almost disheveled, and I have to force myself to look away before I want to claw out the stupid ribs I can see pressing against my skin.

With a sigh, I turn back to my closet and start looking for something I can wear on top, potentially into the water. I've finally settled on a light yellow t-shirt (one of the rare dashes of color in my possession), when I hear Tim cheer and pick up the phone.

"Alright! I'm back- sorry that took so long, Kiki doesn't like making it easy on me."

I trot over to the bed, where I'd thrown down my phone, and pick it up.

"No worries, I needed to figure out what to wear anyway."

"Well, I'm sure you look cute no matter what you're wearing," He assures me, sending a blossom of warmth spreading through my chest. I try not to doubt him, but the image in the mirror haunts me.

"What about you," I don't address his comment, since I'm not exactly sure how. "What are you wearing?"

"You'll have to find out when you get here," He tells me, his voice smiling. "Also, if you'd be alright with walking all the way over by yourself...?"

"Yeah, that's fine. When do I head out?"

"Preferably now, since Kiki will get grumpy if I make her sit around the house with her harness on."