the buddy system / lrh 🍒

11:coffee rain

Monday came around sadly, and so did rain. Cold, annoying rain that pissed almost everyone off considering that winter was crappy and so was the month of April in Australia.

But it never bothered Katherine. Well the cold did (since she was human and could quite possibly freeze to death), but not anything else. She liked the rain and the stormy weather. The fresh smell of rain descending upon the earth was fairly comforting to her, so it wasn't a surprise to anyone that she decided to walk to school that Monday morning.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to take the bus with me?" Ashton asked for the hundredth time as they put their shoes on, making Katherine roll her eyes at her brother, well, step brother, but he felt like a brother.

"I am absolutely, positively sure that i want to walk to school," she stated, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "I'm a big kid now, Ash. I can walk myself to school."

The curly haired boy flashed her a dimpled smile and sighed, wrapping an arm around her as they both walked out into the light drizzle. "You'll always be my baby sister, y'know that? Even if you are seventeen" he said simply, making the red headed roll her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah" she responded, voice thick with fake annoyance as the two parted ways upon the sight of their usual bus stop. "I'll see you at home" Ashton announced, giving his sister one last, bone crunching hug before he ran off, probably to meet up with his best friend Jack. Katherine waved goodbye briefly, a smile on her face as she turned the other way, walking in the direction of school.

The Heally-Irwin's didn't live very far away from anything. In fact, they seemed to live smack in the middle of the city, which was convenient because it meant that Ashton and Katherine could easily just walk or take the bus to wherever they wanted to go and it wouldn't take very much time. It was also convenient considering that, ever since their dad's death, the two siblings refused to drive in fear of having the same fate as their father.

Katherine cringed at the memory and focused on walking and maneuvering through the light drizzle.

It was still dark out and, quite frankly, she wished she would've bought a thicker jacket other than the worn out grey All Time Low hoodie she was wearing. Lights still illuminated store windows and streets considering how early, 6am to be exact, it was. But Katherine didn't mind the time today, because today was different from her usual routine of "i-really-fucking-don't-want-to-get-up-its-way-too-early". Besides, she wanted to head by Cup o' Joe, the local café downtown, to get coffee before school anyway.

Shivering, the red headed girl busied herself in thoughts as she walked, and, obviously, the first thing that invaded her mind were thoughts of Luke. Katherine frowned, heat radiating more in her cheeks than anywhere else in her body. Sure, she was a bitter asshole sometimes, but she defined simplicity. And how she felt about Luke Hemmings was anything but simple. She was like gasoline and he was the flame that set her on fire, but in the best and worst way possible. Either way, he was a confusion in her life. One day she hated him and then another, she was absolutely whipped for him.

The fact that they kissed a few days ago didn't really help her situation either.

But she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed it. She wasn't really a fan of lying.

An old fashioned bell set off, the ding sounding all throughout the small café, Katherine letting out a sigh at the sudden warmth enveloping her welcomingly. Cup o' Joe was a quaint little place, a better version of Starbucks, in Katherine's opinion, and it gave off a sort of comforting feel in all its quietness. It was also the same place she befriended Calum at when they were children and her dad would take her and Ashton with him to get coffee while he bought them iced tea.