Never Answer The Door Without Asking Who It Is

Kat Landers threw an orange at Jenn and laughed when it thudded on her chest. "Ouch." Jenn muttered and began peeling the orange. She was seated in an oversized arm chair that felt like a marshmallow. It was her favorite chair in Kat's house.

"So you guys... actually... egged Hanson?" Kat's other favorite person in the world asked from her side of the living room. Milo Setsky had everything that Kat had ever wanted, beautiful dark hair, dark eyes, a life without caring about what everybody else thought of her, and a house secluded from the world. Kat, however, was stuck with blonde hair, bright eyes, and a house surrounded by the people she hated.

Kat plopped onto the couch and dropped her head onto Milo's lap. Her long, black, sleeveless dress wrapped around her ankles when she laid down. She closed her eyes and tried to disappear again. It was her goal in life. One of these days she'd grow the powers to close her eyes and be invisible.

"I don't get you, Kattie." Milo shook her head and petted her friends hair.

"What don't you get?" She asked with her eyes still closed.

Milo sighed and looked down at her friend. She didn't understand any of it. Kat spent her entire life dreaming about being invisible, about disappearing to never be seen again, yet she spent 23 hours a day plotting things that would get her into trouble. And everytime she got into trouble she was dragged into the public eye. She'd been in the news paper 3 times, twice for shoplifting, and once for beating the crap out of a 13 year old in downtown Tulsa.

Kat opened her eyes. "What don't you get?" She repeated.

"Why would you choose the most famous people in the city to egg?"

Jenn growled from her chair. "And why wouldn't you freakin tell me who we were egging."

Kat smiled at Jenn. "If I would have told you, would you have helped me?"

Jenn shook her head. She was a fan. She had been for longer than four years. She'd been to the Mayfests, she'd supported them at parties and small gatherings where they sang a capella. She didn't know where they lived though because she vowed she would never invade on their private life. She was furious with Kat, though. She couldn't believe Kat lived a block away from them and never told her, and made her an accomplice to vandalizing their beautiful house.

Kat mumbled to herself when she heard the doorbell ring. She knew it was probably one of her brother's friends. "LARS GET THE DOOR!" He didn't answer. He wasn't home. "Dammit. GO AWAY! WE'RE NAKED!" She yelled at the door hoping whoever was there would leave.

Whoever it was, knocked again, louder this time, more persistant.

"Son of a bitch." She yelled and threw herself off of the couch. She pulled the front door open and glared at the person standing on her doorstep. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Katerina Inise Lilly Landers. Did you know your initials spell out KILL?"

Jenn rolled over and fell off of the armchair, recognizing the voice. She landed with a thump on the ground and stared at Taylor with her mouth open.

"Hi." He smiled at her, trying not to laugh.

She nodded, not able to find any words. She kicked herself. Say something, Jenn. Say anything. It's Taylor Hanson. Say "hi". "I'm wearing shiny pants!" She muttered, referring to her navy blue vinyl pants. Then, she closed her eyes and sat back in the chair, feeling like a fool.

Taylor nodded and gave her a strange look, then he turned his attention back to Kat. He held out a thin silver chain that held a small silver music note on it. "I found this in the bushes. I figured it was yours."

"Give me that!" Kat yelled and grabbed the bracelet from his long, repulsive, musical fingers. How dare he assume the bracelet was hers.

"It is yours right?" He asked, appearing to have read her mind.

"Yes. Are you finished now?"

"Yes." He sighed and gave her a look that she didn't quite understand. "Look, it just... it looked like it was important to somebody and I figured since you were there... it was yours."

"What makes you think I was in your bushes?"

He smiled and she glared at him again. Then he shrugged. "I don't know. Vandalists tend to hide in shrubbery. You're really tall." He looked her up and down and she could hear Jenn whispering death threats to her from the other side of the room.

"Look, you should go. You don't want your family to see you convening with the criminal." She silently, to herself, thanked him for bringing her bracelet back, and slammed the door in his face.

"How could talk to him like that?!" Jenn yelled at her.

Kat jumped. Jenn was yelling. Jenn never yelled. At least, Jenn never yelled at Kat.

"Kattie talks to everybody like that." Milo laughed.

"Well she shouldn't. He's a perfectly nice guy bringing her something that means more to her than freakin air and she slams the door in his face." She shouted, referring to the bracelet that Kat hadn't taken off for ten years.

Kat rolled her eyes and shrugged. "You don't know that he's a perfectly nice guy. You just met him."

"No. I didn't meet him. You didn't introduce me. Instead, you let me make a fool of myself."

Kat smiled. "I personally liked the shiny pants comment." Then she let out a quiet scream when somebody knocked on the door again. She threw it open to see the same face. He hadn't moved an inch.

"Why are you such a bitch?" He glared at her.

"What?" She matched his death stare, magnifying it by fifty.

"You treat people like shit when they treat you like you're freakin God. We didn't have to bail you out of jail. We didn't have to let you off easy. And I didn't have to bring your stupid little charm back when I found it in my bushes. Are you always this mean to people who are nothing but nice to you?"

Milo smiled and nodded. "She really is."

Taylor smiled. "Hi."

"Hi."

Once again, Jenn sighed. This time, she covered her face with a pillow and tried desperately to stop her breathing. It never worked.

Kat rolled her eyes at Taylor. "Well if you're finished hitting on my friend, I think it's time for you to go home."

"Right. Back to my perfect existence?"

Milo laughed.

"SHUT UP MIFUCKINLO!" Kat yelled. "YOU AREN"T HELPING."

"Oh, I get it." Taylor nodded. "When your friends don't take your side and don't go along with your schemes, you swear at them?" He glanced at Jenn.

Jenn blushed.

"So what happens when you're with one of these girls and you get caught and they get in trouble for what you did?"

"That won't happen?"

"Why? Because you push them off into the woods?" He gave Jenn a sympathetic glance. "That won't always work."

"I wasn't going to let her get into trouble! Besides, it's none of your damn business."

"It is now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You screwed up when you targeted us. I don't give up. I'm just as stubborn as you are and that, is going to be your downfall."

"Is that a threat?" She asked, continuing to stare him down.

"I don't make threats. I do, however, keep all of my promises."

"Right. And I'd like to take this time right now to let you know that I'm really scared of you. But mostly I'm utterly repulsed by your flaming presence on my front porch. Now get your ass away from my house before I throw eggs at you"

Taylor looked at her with the same look as he did before. He shrugged and left, heading back to his house. He wasn't going to give up. He knew her name and that was all he needed for now.

Kat slammed the door and let out a frustrated scream. "Damn him." She plopped back down onto the couch.

Milo laughed. "I gotta hand it to that boy."

"What?"

"He's the only person with the ability to stare you down like that. Other people melt under your eyes but... he's good."

"He's a prick."

"He's gonna wear you down."

"Not in this lifetime."

Jenn threw a pillow at Kat and sat up straight. "How could you let me tell him I have shiny pants?"

Kat and Milo laughed. "Cause it was classic. Besides, the way he looked at you made up for it." Milo grinned.

"You mean the way he looked at you."

She shook her head. "Jenn, don't be so dense. He said 'hi' to me. He gave you sympathetic glances. He was into you."

Jenn rolled her eyes. "Right. And next week I'll grow wings out of my ass and fly away."

Kat ignored them as she twirled the music note charm between her index finger and thumb. Her bracelet... he brought back her bracelet...

Never Again
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