Katie

Chapter 17

After what felt like an extremely long morning, lunch finally arrived. Katie dropped her book bag off at her locker and slowly made her way to the cafeteria. As she drew closer, she started feeling apprehensive. She had yet to see Ben today and she wasn't sure what to do when she did. Should she sit by him at their table, like normal and pretend like nothing had happened? She was confused and more than a little nervous.

She wasn't sure how long she had been standing at the door to the cafeteria when she felt someone standing beside her. Glancing over, she smiled when she saw it was Ashley. "Hey."

Ashley lightly bumped shoulders with her. "Sooo....are we waiting for the food to magically start tasting good or what? Cause if that's the case, we'll be standing here forever. And frankly my dear, I'm starving!"

Katie chuckled, "No, of course not. Ben is in there, and well," she shrugged sheepishly.

"Ah, right." Ashley wrinkled her nose. "What's the plan?"

"There is no plan?" Katie looked at Ashley for help.

"Well, then I guess we'll improvise." Ashley winked, "Trust me?"

Katie gulped, "Uh...sure..?"

Ashley smiled, "Just follow my lead." She linked her arm with Katie's as they walked into the cafeteria.

As they walked over to wait in line for their food, Katie glanced over at their table and saw Ben surrounded by the rest of their friends. She quickly glanced away when he looked over at her. Wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, she grabbed a tray of food, not even paying attention to what she picked. She paid and then followed Ashley, not sure of where she was going, only that they were headed in the opposite direction of Ben.

They finally arrived at their destination and Katie glanced up, only to lock eyes with Logan. Frowning, she glanced over at Ashley.

"Hey guys!" Ashley said to the table, which included Shawn and Logan. "Mind if we sit here?" She didn't wait for a response before plopping her tray down and taking a seat next to some guy with red hair and freckles. He blushed and smiled at her. Ashley looked back up at Katie. "What are you waiting for? Sit." She looked pointedly at her, silently telling her not to make a scene.

Katie groaned inwardly and slowly sat down across from Logan. She avoided his eyes and stared down at her tray instead. Shocked, she realized she had grabbed a tray loaded with a burger and fries. Not her usual salad, for sure. Feeling everyone staring at her, she looked up and met Logan's smirk.

"When's the last time you had real food?" Everyone chuckled and Katie narrowed her eyes at him.

"I eat 'real' food all the time, moron." She responded.

"I don't consider rabbit food 'real'. All I've ever seen you eat in years is salads. Would hate for you to ruin your girlish figure with that greasy fatty, yet delicious burger you've got there." He said sarcastically.

She felt her face heat up with embarrassment as the other guys at the table chuckled, even Shawn. Narrowing her eyes, she defiantly picked up the burger and took a big bite. Closing her eyes, she groaned in pleasure at the juicy flavor. It really had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to eat something that wasn't considered healthy. She had gotten used to the bland, flavorless taste of most of the things she ate these days. But man, that burger sure tasted good!

When she opened her eyes, she blushed when she saw Logan grinning at her. Narrowing her eyes, she swallowed before saying, "Shut up."

"What!?" Logan asked innocently. "It's good, isn't it?" He winked.

Katie swore she was going to hit him if he made her blush even one more time today. It was not a comfortable feeling for her. She ignored him and ate another bite while the rest of the table resumed conversation.

Shawn cleared his throat and looked back and forth between the two girls. "So, what brings you both over to our table? Won't that cause problems with your friends?" He glanced up and over their shoulders. "Particularly the ones giving us the evil eye right now?"

Katie and Ashley both paused and turned to look behind them. Katie paled when she saw Ben glaring at her. Sarah was glaring just as harshly but more at Ashley than her. She slowly turned back around and swallowed the food that had stuck in her throat. She took a long sip of water to try to help.

Ashley turned her attention back to the table. "If they can't handle us branching out and making new friends then that's their problem. Personally, I'm tired of trying to fit into their perfect little molds. Besides," she glanced over at Katie, "I thought it might be good for Katie to have lunch with her brother." She smiled at Shawn while Katie choked on her water.

The red haired boy pounded her on the back. "You ok?"

Katie coughed and said, "Yeah, thanks." She looked over at Shawn, "I didn't think you had told anyone yet," then she turned to glare at Ashley.

"What?" Ashley asked innocently. "It's not like you can keep it secret forever. He's moving into your house! I don't see what the big deal is." She sniffed and went back to eating her food.

Katie was tempted to smack her on the back of the head. She looked back at Shawn questioningly. He shook his head. "I've only told Logan. You?"

Katie glanced over at Logan and noticed how quiet he had become. Quietly, she said, "I've only told Ashley. And Ben."

Shawn raised his eyebrows, "And how did that go?"

Katie looked down at her nearly empty tray. "I'd rather not discuss that right now."

"That well, huh."

The red haired boy just sat, looking back and forth between the four of them. "I'm lost. Can someone please tell me what is going on here?"

Ashley turned her attention to him and smiled. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

The boy blushed and said shyly, "Brian"

"Well, Brian, to make a long story short, Katie's dad had a secret affair years ago and Shawn was the outcome. Therefore, Shawn is Katie's half-brother."

Eyes wide, Brian just said, "Whoa. Seriously?" He looked to Shawn for confirmation.

"Yep." Shawn nodded. "That about sums it up."

After that, everyone focused on finishing up their lunch. Katie occasionally glanced over at Logan, who seemed to be in his own world. Ignoring everyone else at the table. He had been very quiet ever since Ashley had started the conversation about Katie being Shawn's sister. Katie tried not to let that bother her. She shouldn't care about how he felt about finding out that his step-brother is actually her real brother. Around her conversation began to pick up again between Shawn, Ashley and Brian. She was not in the mood to join in so she just sat quietly and waited for time to head to her next class.

Just as she was starting to gather up her trash, she felt a presence behind her at the same time that she noticed Logan look up and glare at something above her. Turning around she felt her body stiffen when she saw that it was Ben.

"To what do we owe this rare pleasure of seeing you at our table, Ben?" Logan glanced at Katie and sneered. "Could it be because your girlfriend chose to sit with us, and not you?" He glanced back up at Ben and smirked. "That would sting."

Ben ignored Logan's snarky comments and glared straight into her eyes. "We need to talk. Now!" He turned and stalked off and Katie started to stand to follow him. She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced over at Ashley, who gently squeezed and shook her head. Silently begging her not to go.

"I'll be fine." Katie whispered. She slowly removed Ashley's hand and stood. Grabbing up her tray she said bye to the others and followed after Ben, dumping her trash on her way out.

Ashley watched her go, worry clearly written all over her face.

"Everything ok, Ash?" Shawn asked.

"No. No Shawn, it's not." Ashley looked at all three boys with fear in her eyes.