~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katie was awakened the next morning by Kristen's screaming. She threw her covers back, put on her robe, and went across the hall to Kristen's room, where the almost two year old was standing up her crib, red faced and screaming. "What's wrong?" Katie asked, rushing over to her sister's crib. "Dada!" The little girl screamed. "Shhhh.....shh..." Katie said, lifting her up from her crib. Kristen continued to scream as Katie walked her back and forth. "Dada!" Kristen sobbed. "He's not here, sweetie. You had a bad dream." She said, shifting the little girl on her hip. Katie bit her lip as she walked with her sister. Kristen only screamed for their father when she had had a bad dream. Katie sighed. Her sister was almost two; It had been been almost two years ago that her mother died, leaving Katie with her father. It had been almost a year ago that her father had died, leaving her with no one. Katie closed her eyes to keep her eyes from tearing. She missed her parents a lot, but she never took the time to dwell on it. It only made her feel the familliar searing pain in her chest and the tears well up in her eyes. "You okay now?" She asked her sister. The little girl nodded, blinking her large blue eyes that were still wet with tears. "Do you wanna go downstairs and get some breakfast?" She nodded again, and Katie smiled at her. "That's my girl." She opened Kristen's door and walked out into the hall, where Sandra was coming out of her room. "What's wrong witht the damn baby?" She growled, slamming her door shut. "She had a bad dream." Katie said indignantly. "What's wrong with you?" "Nothing." Sandra said, walking into the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Morgan said, coming out of her room just in time to hear the last of the conversation. "Shut up." Sandra said, scowling at her sisters. She reached for a towel to dry her face. "Whatever." Morgan said, thumping down the stairs. Sandra dried her face as Katie watched with Kristen in the hall. "What's wrong with you?" Katie asked. "Nothing." Sandra said. "Why do you always have to be so bitchy to everyone? I just want to know why my little sister is being so crabby." Katie said. "Shut up Katie. You're so nosy." "You're my sister!" "So that doesn't give you an excuse to go barging into my life!" "I just want to know what's wrong, because something obviously is!" Katie said. "No, it's not. Can't you just leave me alone? That's all I want. Stay out of my life!" Sandra said. Before she could reply, she had retreated back into her room and slammed the door. Katie stood out in the hallway, just gawking after her sister. "I wish I knew what was wrong." Katie said. "Yeah." Kristen said. Katie smiled and kissed her sister on the forhead. As far as Kristen knew, she was just cranky from waking up. But Katie had a feeling that it was something else. "So what's up with you?" "Not much." "Doesn't sound that way." Zac said, detecting the sadness in her voice. Katie shifted the phone on her shoulder as she loaded a dirty pan into the dishwasher. "Well....It's Sandra." "What about her?" Zac asked. "Well, she's just so....I don't know. She's always kinda aloof and stuff, but she's even more so lately. I cant' figure out why." "Anything major going on in her life?" "Not really, I mean, as far as I know." "Oh. School?" "Sandra's good in school, and she wouldn't be that down about school." "Oh." "She's acting really bitchy, but I can tell she's sad or upset about something. When she's sad, she just acts really mean." "Maybe it's her boyfriend." "Boyfriend?" "Yeah. Remember? You told me about that Scott guy." "Oh yeah!" Katie said, picking up the silver ware from the counter and placing it in the dishwasher basket. "Maybe something's up with him!" "But what? Didn't you say he was older?" "Yeah...she's eighth grade, so he'd half to be a freshman." "Our age?" "Well, yeah." "Oh. I don't know any Scotts." "Neither do I." Katie said. "Hm..." "I just wish I knew, Zac." Katie said. "She's so upset, and I just want to help her. She's my sister." "I know." "She yelled at me this morning and told me I was barging into her life. Was I wrong to ask?" "Nothing is wrong with wanting to help." "Yeah, and I would. I just wish she would let me." Katie said. Later that Sunday night, Katie was up in her room, finishing up her homework. She wrote down the last few answers on her biology worksheet, the closed her book. She threw the heavy book down on the floor with her bookbag, then pulled out her english assignment. She tried to start it, but her mind soon started wandering to other things. Mr. Loomis said we'd be doing a biology project soon....he said we'd be in groups. I hope Zac is in my group.... She looked around her room. I need to clean...my desk is a mess... ....Her eyes then fell on the top drawer of her desk. She slowly reached over and opened it. She reached into the back and pulled out the last few photos her mysterious follower had taken of her. The first was of her and Zac outside the dance, talking to one another. If they hadn't been taken for such a creepy reason, they would have been good pictures, she thought. She sighed and put the pictures back after flipping through them for a few minutes more. There was something she had to do. She had promised Zac that she would tell Judy that night on the phone. What if she thinks I'm crazy? What if she doesn't believe me?" Katie thought. She found Judy in the kitchen, putting away the dishes from dinner earlier that evening. "What's up, kiddo?" Judy asked, looking up. "I have something to tell you." Katie said, standing near the counter. "Okay." Judy said, putting away a stack of plates. Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I"m being stalked!" SHe said. Judy froze, then turned around. "What?" She asked. "I'm being stalked! Judy, you've gotta help me! I'm being stalked by someone crazy and obsessive!" Judy frowned. "Who's stalking you?" "I don't know!" Katie said. "And they call here and take freaky pictures of me and leave them in my locker and they're gonna get me!" Katie said. Judy held up her hands. "Slow down. Now, you think you're being....admired, shall we say?" Katie took a deep breath. "No. I'm being stalked, and I know it." Judy looked at her carefully. "I knew there was something going on with you." "Judy, I'm getting really scared. I'm afraid that someone is going to attack me someday when I'm alone, and they know where I live..." "Calm down, calm down. You said they take pictures and leave them in your locker? What kind of pictures?" "I'll go get them." Katie said. Judy followed her up to her room, and Katie grabbed them out of her drawer, shoving them into Katie's hands. "Here they are." "Is this all of them?" "Well, no." Katie bit her lip. "I tore the first ones up. But only two. These are all of them after that." "Okay." Judy said. She flipped through them, frowning. "Creepy." She muttered. "What are we going to do?" "I don't know. Is this who's been calling you?" "Yes." Katie said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure." "OKay. Well...I'm not sure what to do, but we're going to go to the police, just to be safe." Judy said. "Okay." Katie readily agreed. Judy walked through the bathroom and into Morgan's room. "Morgan?" Morgan looked up from her computer. "Yeah?" "I need you to watch the kids for awile. I gotta run an arrand with Katie." Morgan frowned. "Okay." She said. "We'll explain later." Katie said. Morgan nodded and followed them downstairs. Katie and Judy got their coats, then got into Judy's suburban and headed to the local police department. The officer propped his feet up on his desk as he flipped through the pictures. He looked at each one carefully. "Well?" Judy asked. He stared at them for a few more moments. "Well...I think we'll run a fingerprint on these just to see what comes up, but other than that, I'm not sure at this point." He leaned over towards the door of his office. "Hey Mark?" He called. Another officer poked his head into the office. "Yeah?" "Can you run a quick fingerprint check on these?" Another man entered the office and put the pictures into a plastic bag. "What are we looking for?" "Anything else on there besides mine and hers." He said. "OKie dokie. Back in a few." Mark said, leaving the office. "So what should we do?" Judy asked. "Well....with teenagers, especially girls, it's hard to say. It's most likely just an over obsessive classmate. There's not really much we can do." He said calmly. "But I'm scared. What if I'm attacked?" Katie asked. That's what she wanted to know personally. "If you keep youself in highly populated areas, lock all your doors at night, and only travel with a few friends and in the daylight, nothing should happen. We'll put a tracker on your phone for a few days, but I can't promise anything." He said. "Okay." Katie said quietly, nodding. "It's hard, because we can't tell if this person is really serious or not." "I see." Judy said. "What else would you need to catch this person?" "Oh, lots. Evidence. Fingerprints. An assult, a rape, a weapon." The officer said. He glanced at their panicked faces. "But...I'm guessing we dont' have anything really serious here." "Oh." Judy said. There was a knock at the door. "There's nothing on here, Stan. I double checked, but there's nothing on these but yours and hers." He said. The officer nodded and took the photos. "Thanks mark." "No prob." He offered them a sympathetic smile. "Like I said, not much we can do." "Not much they can do?" "That's what they said." Katie replied with a shrug. "Huh." Zac said, frowning. "Yeah. I feel safe." She said, wrapping her sweater tighter around her shoulders. "Nah, you're fine. Long as you're here." Zac said, putting his arm around her shoulders. Katie gave him a sideways glance, and they laughed. "I'm serious, we won't let anything happen to you." Zac said, rubbing her arm where his hand was. "I know." Katie said, leaning against his side on the old couch. It was Thursday night, and the two of them were in the Hanson basement, watching HBO. "Really though; you've been really good about this. All this." He said. "It's gotta be freaky." He admitted. "Yeah." She said. "And I'm freaked out even now. I'm glad I said something." "I told you it would feel better." "True. Just getting it off my shoulders feels better in itself." "Yeah, I know the feeling." He said. She looked over at him for a moment. He sensed her eyes, and turned to look at her. "What?" he asked, laughing. "Nothing...You...everything." She said. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked with a chuckle. "You've been good about this too." She said, reaching her hand up to touch his hand, which was still hanging on her shoulder. She smiled at him again, and then she looked forward again, still holding onto his hand. Zac couldn't resist. He leaned over, moving a few curly tendrils of hair out off of her cheek, then kissed her quickly on the cheek. Katie smiled and glanced at him sideways. "What was that for?" She asked with a grin. "You." He said, grinning at her. Katie laughed. "YOu crack me up." "I know." He said. They both laughed at his stupidness and their nervousness. Zac shifted his weight a little on the couch, so that he was facing her a little more. Katie kept her eyes focused on the television in front of her, not sure what to think. Zac was leaning towards her, and he had to stop every few seconds and they would both laugh nervously. He finally reached her, and Katie felt a shiver go down her spine as Zac nuzzled her ear with his nose. They both laughed again, and then Zac reached over to put his fingers on her chin and turn her head towards him. Katie studied his face; they hadn't been that close in months. They both smiled and leaned in. Katie just felt the tip of Zac's bottom lip on hers before they heard the basement door slam and jumped apart. Seconds later, Taylor came thumping down the basement stairs. They quickly moved apart on the couch, pretending to be watching TV. Taylor flopped down in the armchair across from them, grinning. "What?" Zac asked, annoyed. "Aw, I know what you two were doin'." Taylor said, grinning. Katie and Zac just turned thier flushed faces away from one another and stared down at the couch. Taylor just laughed. "Don't you have somwhere to be?" Zac asked through clenched teeth. "Nope." Taylor said smugly. "With Morgan?" "Where I came from, actually. And Katie, I need to drive you home." Taylor said. "Okay." She said. She really didn't want to leave yet. "We'll be up in a minute." Zac said when Taylor didn't move. Taylor got up slowly from the armchair, keeping his twinkling eyes on the two blushing teenagers. Once Taylor was gone, they slowly got up. "Sorry bout that." Zac said. "That's okay." Katie said. "I really should be going." She said, heading towards the stairs. "I'll go too." he said. "Oh." Katie said, smiling at him. "I don't have anything I need to do now." He said. "Okay." She said, and they walked up to the top of the steps. "Wait." He said, pulling the basement door closed. "What?" She asked, turning arounnd. "We never got our kiss." he said. "Oh really?" She challenged. "Really." He said. "It's like, a rule or something." "A rule? This one's new on me." She said. "Yeah...well, if you're alone in the basement with a pretty girl, you have to kiss her." "Really?" "Really." He said, leaning closer. Katie leaned back until she was against the coats that were hung at the top of the stairs. Meanwhile, Zac was getting closer and closer. Katie smiled at his weak attempt to kiss her, but she had to go along with it. Zac stopped inches from her face, and she could hear his quickened breathing. "I've been wanting to kiss you for so long." He said. "Oh?" "Yeah." He said. "How about you?" He asked with a smile. "Do you...wanna kiss me?" "Maybe." She said slyly. "Is that a yes or a no?" He challenged. "It's a maybe." She said, grinning. "Well I need to know." He said. "Oh." She said. "So.....?" He said, smiling. "So.....?" She said back, starting to blush. Suddenly the door flung open and they both saw Taylor standing in the doorway. "Well are you going to do it or not? If you're not going to, don't, but if you are, quit dancing around it and do it!" Taylor said. Zac and Katie looked at one another and laughed. "I guess he's right." Katie said. "Yeah." Zac said. They looked at Taylor expectantly. His hopefull look fell. "You mean I don't get to see it?" he asked. Zac grinned and slammed the door shut in his big brother's face. "Now where were we?" He asked. "Right about here." Katie said quickly, throwing her arms around his neck. "Ooooh....I like 'here'." He said. "What about here?" She mumbled, right before pressing her lips against his. Zac was in shock for a few moments, then realized what was happening. We're kissing...we're kissing....oh my god... Zac automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up against him. Katie felt the butterflies in her stomach instantly float away as her lips melted into his. This feels so good...nothing's changed...this still feels like the first time....... Meanwhile, Zac was just as elated. He had his eyes closed, and was focusing on nothing but her lips and his. Ooooh...how I have missed this. My goodness..I'd forgotten how soft those lips are...... Outside the door, Taylor had given up trying to hear what they were saying. He grinned to himself as he went to go wait in the car. He had a feeling there wasn't any conversation anymore. That was far away in the past.