F*ck Fate! (Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Invitation

Andy

"Whatcha writing?" Kat asked, sliding into the chair across the table from me.

I put down my pen and looked up at her. "Just editing this new story I started the other day."

Her face lit up. "Can I read it?"

"It's horror, like everything else I write. You won't like it."

"I'm sure I will. Please?"

I exhaled slowly, knowing for a fact that she wasn't going to like it. "Alright, then. Don't blame me when it scares you."

She grabbed the notebook, sliding it towards her. I then watched her face as she read, but it was void of expression. Whenever Kat would read my stories, usually the less scary ones, she never let what she thought about it show until she finished. I hated the anticipation, but I loved having her look at them just as much as she loved reading them.

"Damn, Andy," she eventually said, setting down my notebook. "I was not expecting that twist. I love it."

"Do you really?" I figured it would have terrified her. Maybe it wasn't as scary as I thought.

"Everything you write is amazing. Although... I don't understand why he chose to go back into the house, even knowing the murderer was in there. There isn't enough about him to say why he suddenly wasn't scared anymore."

I took my notebook back, grabbing my pen. "Yeah, I can fix that." On the next page, I started jotting down Kat's thoughts and potential things to add to scenes to make everything come together seamlessly and to add more of a fear factor in there. Editing was always the hardest part for me.

"So..." Kat started. "I know this is going to be against everything I've been saying for the past few weeks, but how are things going with Shawn?"

I laid my pen across the page and looked up at my best friend. "Since when are you on my side about me wanting to date him?"

Kat shrugged. "Maybe since you have been completely focused on him. You even broke up with Lance and skipped a class for this boy. Obviously you really like him."

"Okay, first off, I didn't break up with Lance for Shawn. There were a lot of reasons I ended that and you know it. Second..." I sighed, trying to find the words. "I do like him, Kat. More than I ever thought I would."

"Then why haven't you asked him out yet, Williams?" she exclaimed, slamming her hand down onto the table.

I shook my head at her sudden outburst. "Jesus, woman, calm down." I sighed. "I would, but he's very adamant against the idea of dating a guy again. I've told you this before, remember?"

Kat rolled her eyes. "I'm having my annual Halloween party on Saturday. Invite him." With that, she stood up. "I gotta go. Spread the word about the party and all. And thanks for letting me read that, Andy. I'm going to blame you when I have nightmares tonight."

I shook my head as I watched her walk away. I guess the story was scary enough after all.

And maybe Kat was right - I should ask Shawn. Except I wasn't sure he was ever going to talk to me again. Sure, I knew texting him yesterday afternoon probably wasn't the best way to talk to him, but that's why I told him to call me. I genuinely cared about him, and that included asking how his father was doing.

I understood how hard therapy could be better than most. I've spent more than my fair share of time sitting on the other side of a therapist's scrutinizing mind; more than one, actually. One helped me through learning to cope with suddenly being in a wheelchair as a thirteen year old, the other helped me after everything that happened with Eddie when I was fifteen.

With a sigh, I pushed the thoughts of him out of my head as I picked up my phone. If I was going to invite Shawn to this party, I should do it sooner, rather than later. So I pulled up his contact and started the call.

To my surprise, he answered. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"Ouch. A 'hi' would have been nice, you know."

He sighed. "Sorry. Been a long day and it's barely started."

"How's your dad doing?" I asked, curious.

"Fine, I guess. I don't know, Andy. If I wanted to talk about it, I would have called you. I did see that text, you know."

I held back a smile, picturing the face he was probably making. "That's not actually why I called. My best friend, I don't know if you've officially met each other yet, uh, Kat? Well she has this Halloween party every year at her place. Nothing big. But I wanted to see if you could come. It's on Saturday."

"You sure she's okay with you inviting me?" Shawn asked. "If it's a small thing-"

"She told me to invite someone, Shawn," I said, cutting him off. Technically, she demanded that I invite Shawn in particular, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

He was quiet for a minute, but I could hear the sounds of cars driving by, so I knew he hadn't hung up on me. Finally, he spoke. "I'll have to see if I'm not working, but sure, I'll come if I can."

I smiled wide. "That's great! Her parties are fun, so I really hope you can come."

I could almost hear a smile in his voice too as he answered, "Yeah, I hope so too." He paused for a second before he spoke again. "Listen, I gotta go to work. But, uh... let me know the details for Saturday. I'll let you know if I can make it. And thanks, you know, for inviting me."

"Of course," I said. "Have fun at work. I'll see you soon."

I was about to hang up when I heard him talk again. "Wait, does that mean you're coming by for dinner again tonight?"

I laughed. "Did you miss me that much from yesterday? But no, I have food at home that needs to be cooked. Otherwise I might have considered it."

"Yeah, sure. Right. Uh... see ya."

Then he hung up before I could get another word in. But that was okay, because he had actually answered. He also was going to try to come to Kat's party. Maybe he wasn't mad at me for texting him yesterday after all.