EIGHT LETTERS || Liam Dunbar [2]

NINETEEN

Her afternoon classes all passed by quickly and easily and before Katherine knew it, the end of the day had come. Everyone filed out of the physics room and she grabbed her bag, tossing her hair over her shoulder, sparing a glance at the open door. She couldn't help but smile when she realized Liam was waiting for her.

The moment she stepped out the door, he began chattering away at something that happened during his math block. "Anyway," he huffed, after hardly breathing through a two and a half minute rant. "Tonight, you me and Mason are going—"

"—I can't, actually," Katherine cut him off without being fully aware that the words had left her mouth. The moment she realized that they had, she cringed; visibly. "Sorry, I mean I'm busy tonight."

Curiously, Liam raised his brows. "Doing what?" He frowned. "Scott normally asks me to go with you if he's got you out doing something."

"It's not for Scott," she explained poorly, mumbling a quiet thank you as he held the front door open for her. "It's — I'm going out for dinner...tonight."

"With who?"

The dreaded question.

With a small grimace, Katherine ruffled the hair on top of her head to give it a messier appearance before pulling it up into a loose and quick ponytail. "Well, I haven't seen him since I got back and I had to postpone it once already, but Brett asked me if we could have dinner." An irritated look appeared on Liam's face, whatever trace of relief that had been there when he first saw her vanishing, and she rushed to add that Lori would be there too.

She wanted to be sure he knew it wasn't a date.

"Do you know where you're going?" Liam asked carefully, a guardedness taking over his voice.

Katherine merely shrugged in response, though she could feel her heart twinge with nervousness. "Not a clue," she murmured. "A diner out in Devonford, I think. He didn't say, just that...just that it was a really early dinner type thing."

"Oh." Liam pauses for a moment, and Katherine could feel something twist in the pit of her stomach. "Well um, then text me if plans change then, okay?"

"Alright," she nodded quietly. Before she could say anything else, he was stalking down the hallway.

Katherine stood in the hallway for a moment, a slight grimace on her face as she processed the conversation. Got dammit Brett, she thought to herself as she raked a hand through her hair. Why did you have to go and make him hate you so much. Then her phone buzzed in her pocket and Shen she pulled it out, she sighed. "Speak of the devil," she muttered while unlocking it.

BRETT
I'm waiting in the parking
lot, so move your short butt
faster

I've been here for, like,
five minutes already

She rolled her eyes at him, muttering incoherently about smug prep-school dumb-asses while she hurriedly typed her response.

KAT
whatever pretty boy, I'll
be there in a sec

Wait, "I'm"???

Not we???

BRETT
Nah, Lori got a better
offer and went to her friends house instead

She says hi, though

And pretty boy???