"Can I braid your hair?" Katie asked Zac.
"What?" Zac asked, not sure if he had heard his girlfriend correctly. It was a Sunday evening, and Zac was sitting in Katie's basement, watching a movie. They were in the modernized part, and they hand a bigscreen TV with surround sound with lots of old recliners to sit in.
Katie was lounging in one, with Zac sitting in front of her on the floor.
"Can I braid your hair." She repeated.
"Uh, I guess." He said.
"Cool." She said, as she began to play with his hair. Half an hour later, Zac had his hair french braided, braided, in pigtails, and in various styles.
"You sure are...uh..creative." He said, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.
"This is fun." She said.
"Enjoy it." He said, giving her an annoyed look.
"Oh, you don't care." She said, swatting him playfully.
"You're lucky."
"Well you don't care."
"No, I don't." He said slowly.
Katie nudged him playfully.
"You're just a big teddy bear."
"I am not."
"Yes you are, you're sweet, you wouldn't do anything."
"Hey." he said, acting hurt. Zac smiled. She was right. In the past few weeks it seemed as though Katie had mellowed him out. He used to be hyper and obnoxious, but he had soon discovered from his brothers that that did NOT pay off with girls. He wasn't ready to admit to himself that Katie had him whipped, but if she wanted something, all she had to do was baisically touch him. All of Zac's friends teased him about how much he thought and talked about Katie. It was like an obsession. Yeah, he was obsessed with her. He couldn't explain it or justify it in his head, but Katie brought out a much softer side of him that he liked. He smiled when he thought of the way He would go home and wrestle with Taylor, and how he always touched Katie like she was made of glass. He knew her very well, for they had spend an incredible amount of time together, but she still managed to mystify him. He couldn't figure out her changing sides, but he was willing to stick around to get to know them. He couldnt' see himself ever tiring of things like calling her every night, kissing her soft lips, or even laying a protective hand on her back when they went somewhere. No matter how many times he kissed her, he still got butterflies every time he leaned in for one more. She made him happy and giddy and deliciously nervous at the same time.
He surprised himself when he agreed to let her play with his hair, but then again, he kept surprising himself. Now he understood what Ike and Tay had been gushing about for the last five or six years. He couldn't describe it, but Katie made him feel so warm and happy, and he never wanted to forget the feelings she gave him. He turned around to face her on his knees.
"What?" she asked.
"Come here." He said with grin. He leaned forward to kiss her. She laughed, for his hair was still in pigtails.
"Ulgh." Zac said, yanking out the scrunchies. He continued kissing her, and soon she was able to stop laughing long enough to kiss him back. Feeling bold, she opened her mouth a little wider and slid her tongue in.
Surprised that she would make a first move, Zac waited to see what she would do. He parted his lips to allow her tongue into his mouth. She ran it along his teeth teasingly, until he decided to let his tongue have some fun too.
Katie couldn't believe she was doing this; she had even made the first move, and she wasn't quite sure why. He didn't seem to mind. They had been a couple for two weeks, and Zac was a great boyfriend, always very patient with her, whether it be paying on dates or letting her put his hair into pigtails.
Zac moved up to sit on the chair with her. She raised herself enough so that he could slide underneath her and she was sitting on his lap. He let his hands wander to her hair, and he entwined his fingers in it. He started kissing her again, and soon they were back to french kisses. Katie thought to herself, 'Wow, I'm making out.'
"Oh my god." They heard a voice come from the doorway of the room.
The two broke apart. There, standing in the doorway, was Carol, Katie's stepmother.
Katie was speechless and scared still.
"Get the hell away from her now!" Carole said.
Zac jumped up, sending Katie crashing to the floor. She yelped in pain, her tailbone hitting the hard floor squarely. Zac helped her painfully back up while Carole screamed.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, grabbing katie by the arm. Zac looked over and saw Morgan and Judy standing behind Carole in the doorway with panic strickenk looks on their faces.
"Nothing bad." Katie said, her voice almost a whisper. SHe looked at her feet, not liking where this was going.
"The hell you weren't! Get out." She said to Zac. "Out! The last thing I need is one of you getting knocked up and costing me more money." Carole said.
Zac uncertainly walked to the door, not taking his eyes from Katie. He gave her a longing look before bounding up the steps and out the door. She heard the door slam behind him.
"What were you doing? What were you thinking?" She asked, looking at Katie.
"Leave her alone, they weren't doing anything." Judy said.
"Shut up, I don't want to hear anything from you." Carole said, shaking her finger at judy.
Judy closed her mouth and stepped back by Morgan.
"You are to stay away from that boy, I can't afford to have you going out and sleeping around. God knows what this weirdo has been letting you do. Now things are different." Carole said, glaring at Judy.
"You too." She added, pointing at Morgan. "The two of you aren't to see those boys. I'll slap a restraining order on the whole fucking family if I see you two together again." She said.
"No!" Katie yelled.
"Shut up." Carole said. "God knows what you were doing." She said. "That's disgusting."
"We weren't doing anything!" Katie said.
"I dont' care, you will eventually." She said.
"But-"
"I mean it." She said. "If I even see him look at you, I'll get him and trouble and I'll send you off to a boarding school, and don't think i wont'." Carole said.
Katie knew better than to talk back; she knew Carold would do anything to get one more kid out of her hair.
"I'm back and things are going to change." She said, dragging katie to the doorway.
"That goes for you two." She said, pointing to Morgan.
"You can't stop me." Morgan said, fire in her eyes.
"Don't play with me." Carole said.
"I love Taylor." Morgan said with such intensity it scared Katie.
Carole reached out faster than Katie could see and hit Morgan across the face. Morgan let out a yell and fell back against the wall.
"I'll make sure of that." Carole said, stomping up the steps.
Katie was only able to stand, frozen at the bottom of the steps with a sobbing Morgan and a speechless Judy beside her. At that moment, katie knew that her life was about to change.