parachute - marshfield fanfic

.: 2 :.

Kate didn't know a bus could bring her so much anxiety. She gulped, stepping onto the vehicle and sitting down near the front. The bus started, and she kept acknowledging  over and over to herself that she was returning to Blackwell Academy by the minute. Finally, the bus stopped, and she stepped out to the place she was acquainted well with.

'Deep breaths, Kate, you still have an hour until class...just get to your dorm and prepare....like usual, right?'  Kate thought to herself, trying to relax her mind. She made her way to the girls dorm and opened the door. She noticed Brooke was chatting with Alyssa to her left.

"Oh my God...is it Kate Marsh?" Brooke exclaimed excitedly. "Nice to see you back, everyday hero!"

"Kate!" Alyssa added to the sudden high energy. 

"Oh hey Brooke, hey Alyssa, it's nice to see you both again...Brooke, how's your drone?" Kate asked politely.

"Still working nice. Why does everyone seem to ask me that when they see me? Haha, anyways, I'll be sure to let you give it a fly later." Brooke winked.

"Thanks, Brooke, I'm going to head to my room now," Kate gave a nod to dismiss herself and began heading down the hallway. It seemed like everyone else was either in the showers or in their dorms, as the usual process to get ready went.

Quietly, Kate entered her room and silently shut the door behind her. Almost instantly, Kate noticed the flowers on her bed, with a note signed by nearly all the girls in the dorm. Kate looked around some more, and where she had blocked out her mirror was a paper taped on it with signatures of people she knew with nice messages of the like of "You're beautiful" and "You're amazing."

Kate read each message multiple times, and emotions swelled inside her, and she began crying once again. Tears flooded like a river down her face as she stood there, and Kate couldn't help making small noises continuously in an attempt to stop herself. She put her hands over her face, trying to muffle the noise of her cries. 

At that moment, Max walked in. "Hey Kate! I heard you come in and I wanted to tell you I've been feeding your rabbit- Woah, Kate, are you ok?"

Max ran up and embraced her, resting her chin upon Kate's shoulder. Kate's tears only grew, and her limbs went weak, causing her to fall to the floor. Max followed her to the ground, and stayed wrapped around her as if protecting her from something. Max smiled a little, "Kate, it's so great to have you back here....Victoria actually decided to help me organize those flowers and messages....I hope you're alright with that."

"Victoria...You....You guys are so kind...a-and...and...I'm glad to be back, actually, I missed taking classes here....and...I've missed you, Max," Kate responded, a bit shyly, still in the moment and holding onto Max as if she was the only source of comfort the world had to offer.

"I've missed you too, Kate." Max grinned, and pulled back in an attempt to give Kate some space. Kate was not quite ready for her to let go and stumbled forward a bit, the hug had been way too similar to the one when she was on the roof. She had remembered the immense amount of warmth being in Max's arms, and she wasn't quite ready to give that up. "Here, oof, let me help you up.."

Max pulled Kate up to her feet, and Kate gave a small squeak as she stood up. Kate then nodded courteously, "Thank you for everything, Max, it really means a lot."

"Of course, Kate. I would never leave a good friend hanging," Max assured, and began to wave goodbye as she headed out the door. "Alright, well I've got to shower, I'll see you later. We definitely need to do that tea date!"

Kate waved her goodbye and sighed. It seemed so strange being back here so all of a sudden, especially after all that happened just about a month ago. Still, things were always changing as time progressed. She was now on medication, Mr. Jefferson was caught and arrested, and she had not heard about Nathan much. Her mind wandered to Nathan, and Kate felt nauseous thinking about him and what he did. Still, Kate could not imagine befriending him all of a sudden, yet Kate believed in redemption. She herself was redeemed, in a way, she was given a second chance at life, and it was all thanks to Super Max.