“Maggie doesn’t really care when I make comments like that, so why do you?” Kelso raised an eyebrow and held back a laugh. “Are you a protective little sister or?”
“Because.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, stop it! You’re- you’re really annoying,” she mumbled, waving a hand.
“Alright. But you could have said it nicely, couldn’t you?” Kat looked down at herself, frowning. “I don’t know, what am I doing?”
“From me, that is nicely. Besides, you should be used to mean comments having Maggie as a sister, I would guess. She’s not the nicest person,” he said, frowning slightly. “But she’s amazing. Just like you.”
Kat pursued her lips, squinting at the boy. “I’m not going to answer that,” she told him, crossing her arms. “And anyway, I- Maggie’s… she’s… don’t say that.”
“Yes you are,” he said, laughing even more. “I’m not being mean. I’m telling the truth, I suppose.” Kelso laughed and raised a brow. “Uh… What are you doing Katrina?”
“Alright. But you could have said it nicely, couldn’t you?” Kat looked down at herself, frowning. “I don’t know, what am I doing?”
“I’m not really short. You’re just freakishly tall for a fifteen year old girl,” he muttered, biting his lip. “Maggie is shorter than me. She’s like Al’s height. They’re… Small-ish people.”
Kat started giggling. “I am not!” she protested, stomping her foot. “I’m- I’m- no! Don’t be mean!” She shook her head, again and again, trying to convince him otherwise using telepathy.
“Okay…” Kelso held back a laugh and sighed. “Who’s taller, me or you?” he asked, biting his lip and laughing rather loudly. “Who’s taller, Maggie or you? Who’s taller, your dad or you? Who’s taller, your scary mum or you?”
Kat thought about it for a good twenty seconds before answering. “Moi. Moi. Dad. I think- no, I don’t know.” She smiled at him. “But that’s only because you and Maggie are really short.”
Kelso laughed a bit and nodded. “Yeah, she is. She broke my arm a few years back, but I still love her.” He shrugged and added, “It seems like everyone loves Maggie. Well, maybe besides Izzy. Considering that bitch nearly killed her,” he muttered and bit his tongue. “So you guys aren’t close?”
Kat shook her head. “Right. Yeah.” She flexed her hands, which kept trying to curl into fists, then sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose we’re, uh, you know. Friends. We don’t fight. And- and… I mean, close? I suppose. I don’t know. Stop asking complicated questions. Ask simple questions, like-” She threw up her hands. “‘Who’s taller, me or you’?”
“Yeah, I do. We spent several summers at Dan’s house together. She’s pretty awesome, just a bit fucked up,” he said, chuckling a little. Kelso noticed how Katrina brightened at the mention of her sister. “Are you two close or something?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. “Yep. My fault.”
“Oh!” She laughed a bit, looking down at the ground. “Right. She is pretty awesome.” Kat shrugged, trying to put multiple thoughts together. “I don’t- I mean, she’s- and I…” She broke off, realizing she probably wasn’t making any sense. “She’s pretty awesome,” she repeated, shrugging.
Kelso muttered something incoherent and brushed even more dirt off of the back of his pants before laughing. He looked at Katrina for a second and bit his tongue. “No problem. You’re Maggie’s little sister, right? Katrina?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling a bit. “I should’ve, uh, watched where I was going. Sorry about… that. It’s my fault, I suppose.”
Now that she was sure he was alright, she couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed by what had happened. She was looking at him oddly, chewing on her lip, but when he mentioned Maggie she immediately brightened. “Oh! You know Maggie?” She laced her hands together and beamed. “Well, of course you do. Everyone knows Maggie. Oh? Katrina, yes.” She shook her head, about to protest, but then shrugged and said, “Alright, it was your fault.”
Kelso sat by the lake, playing his guitar absently as he looked around. He was getting rather bored and for once, playing the guitar wasn’t helping. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed angrily. Putting his guitar down, he stood up and started walking towards the forest. Halfway there he bumped into someone and fell backwards, landing on his rear. “Hey, watch it!” he growled as he stood up, brushing some dirt off of his pants.
Apparently walking around with your eyes closed was dangerous. Kat didn’t believe that, naturally. Of course it wasn’t dangerous. Jumping off a cliff was dangerous, running around with scissors in your hand was dangerous. But walking- walking, not running- couldn’t possibly be dangerous. So, mainly because she was bored and didn’t have anything to do, Kat decided to try it out. She had her arms out (just in case), and was taking a hesitant step forward when- “Hey!” Her eyes fluttered open, and she took a step back. She squinted at the boy. “I’m sorry.”
