Through It All // ACM

Chapter One

//Kate//
It had been such a long week, and school was absolutely killing me. On this dreadful Thursday night, I sat in my room studying, or trying to for that matter. It had just seemed that it didn't matter how many times I flipped through the flash cards, I could not remember the anatomical name for the shoulder. It had been an hour now and the frustration was killing me, so I stepped outside and sat on the front porch of my house. It wasn't long after that, that the sound of a ball bouncing echoed through the air, and a boy was next to me, rubbing small circles on my back. I lean on the boy, knowing exactly who he is and close my eyes, sighing in relief.
"What's wrong, babe?" The words rolled of his tongue as his gentle voice soothed me
I look up into the familiar eyes of my best friend since childhood, as they sympathetically stared into my tired eyes.
"I just can't study anymore. Midterms are tomorrow, and no matter how much I study, I just can't focus" I complain as he continues rubbing my back
"I'm sure you're fine Kate" he smiles, trying to lighten the mood
"No I'm not, I only have a 93 in anatomy and if I bomb this exam, it could full on ruin my grade." I pout, hugging my knees to my chest
"Do you want me to help?" He offers, as I turn my head, a small grin present on my face as he pulls me up to my bedroom, papers scattered across the bed, and a computer open on the pillow
He sits behind me as I study, encouraging and helping me for hours, it isn't until eleven o'clock when I finally pack it up and decide to go to sleep, thanking him for the help as he kisses my forehead.
"Goodnight Kate, good luck tomorrow, text me when you're done" he whispers getting ready to leave my room
"I will, goodnight Austin" my voice raspy as I'm left to my thoughts

The next morning I'm awoken by my mom, sluggishly getting out of bed and into the shower. I do my business before stepping out and drying off. For the look of the day I go simple and comfortable, a pair of Lululemon leggings and a University of Pittsburgh sweatshirt, along with some sneakers. Not bothering to look overly put together I brush my hair and put on mascara. I grab my book bag before heading downstairs, grabbing my lunch, and running to my car.
I make it to school ten minutes later and head to my first midterm block, anatomy, the test is handed out and before I know it, I'm finished, and turn it in with an uneasy stomach. For the rest of the time I text Austin letting him know I finished my first exam.
To: Austin
Good morning bestie, just finished my first exam! Only 2 more to go and I'm half way through senior year...
From: Austin
Yay! So proud of you! I don't know why you worry! You're already into college.
To: Austin
Yeah but I can't afford to fail lol
From: Austin
You're far from failing... see you when you're at home. Hope of the rest of your day is good!

The rest of my day is slow, completing a stats test and an AP Spanish test. The drive home, I think about my Christmas break, now that I can finally breath after midterms. I turn into my driveway and run into my house, dropping my bag off at the front door. I walk upstairs to my room, to unsurprisingly find Austin laying in my bed. I slowly walk over and lay my body on his, leaving a short peck on his head.
"Hi friend" I say as I can feel his breathing below me
"Hi" he groggily states
"How long have you been in my bed?" I chuckle
"Since like one, now come cuddle me" he lifts the blanket for me to crawl under and soon we're both sleeping
I wake up an hour later as my parents enter the house from work. I shake Austin awake and he stretches sitting up in my bed. We both sit in silence for a while, just checking our phones. When I'm done I rest my head on Austin's shoulder and read over his messages as he types them, seeing the name Liv at the top of the screen.
"Who's Liv?" I ask quietly
"Just a girl I've been talking to" he shrugs, a small pang of hurt washes over me
"Oh" the word escapes my mouth without me thinking
"Speaking of which, I actually have to go get ready for our date tonight" he says standing up, my head falling off of his shoulder
"oh okay" I say, confusion washing over me, at the way I feel right now
"See ya" he leaves a peck on my forehead
"Bye, have fun" I half smile

When he is gone and the door shuts, I plop down on my bed, just thinking. Why didn't he tell me? It gets to me and soon I find myself contemplating why I feel this way. When my name is called for dinner I pull myself up and down the stairs, as my family awaits me at the table. I sit down and we begin eating and talking about nothing completely significant, until my mom pulls me into a question.
"Where's Austin? I thought he was upstairs with you" she asks
"Yeah he was, um, he had a date tonight" I say rather quiet, as my family exchanges looks
"Oh, with who?" she continues
"Some girl named Liv, I don't know her, he probably goes to school with her." I finish, setting my plate in the sink before I retake my seat.
Time passes and soon I'm sat in the kitchen with only my mom, as she cleans the dinner dishes.
"What's wrong?" She questions
"I don't know, I just feel weird, and I don't know why?" I say as a question to myself
"Hm, about what?" She pries
"Austin? I don't know. Just the way he was today when we talked about this girl, it made me feel some type of way." I play with my fingers
"It's because you love him" she chuckles, as if the answer is almost obvious
"No I do not. He's my best friend and nothing more, I would never date him, let alone be jealous of him dating" I deny to her
"Okay whatever" she shrugs, leaving the conversation there, and me in an utterly confused state
I jog up the stairs to my room and shower, before changing into sweats and one of his shirts, the scent of him lingering, as I slide on my crocs and head out the front door and to the house on the left, his house. I walk in the front door, and to the kitchen where his mom sits eating what seems to be a slice of pizza.
"Hey kiddo what's up" she greets
"Nothing just thought I'd come over and wait for Austin, see if he wanted to hang out after his date" I explain
"Oh okay, why don't you just head up to his room? I was actually heading out for the night" she says as she grabs her things
"Okay, have a nice night" I say as the door closes, leaving me alone.
I go into his bedroom and undo the well made bed before sliding in and turning the TV on, watching Netflix as I casually wait for him.

Hours later the door opens and I can hear two voices linger throughout the house, I open the door and walk downstairs to find Austin, and a short girl sitting on his couch, his arm around her as they talk. He hears my footsteps behind him as they both turn to see me, my hair in a mess of a ponytail and my shorts maybe a little too short. I smile and wave as I enter the room, Austin greeting me with a smile and Liv greeting me with confusion.
"Hey" he says patting the spot next to him as I plop down sideways facing them on the couch
"Who's this Austin?" Liv's voice appears
"Oh this is my best friend, Kate" he smiles
"Oh" she sighs and I can feel the awkwardness arising as I stand up
"Hey, I'm gonna head out actually, text me later?" I say grabbing my phone
"Yeah okay" he says as I close the door, walking back to my house, feeling absolutely defeated.

About two hours later my bedroom door opens, a sliver of light entering, along with Austin. He slides his shoes off and collapses onto my bed, putting his arm around me as I lay my head on his chest.
"You okay?" He asks concerned
"Yeah I'm okay. Sorry about intruding on your date, I didn't know you'd bring her home" I mumble
"It's okay, although I don't think she really likes that there was a random girl just chilling in my room while we weren't there" he chuckles, lightening the mood
"Yeah" I say, dazed, remember the situation that only happened hours ago, feeling embarrassed. Not only did I feel embarrassed, but I felt replaced, and uncomfortable. It wasn't long before my eyelids shut and sleep overtook me.

Authors Note
Hey! Just trying something new! Hope you enjoy!