By Jeremy Ray Logsdon
Billy sighed deeply as he watched Kimberly's plane taxi down the runway, taking her out of his life. He knew that Kimberly would never be his, but he couldn't help but love her. He had loved her for a long time, but didn't realize it until she and Tommy started dating. He knew it was love when he didn't feel the jealousy he had always felt when Kimberly went out on dates. Kimberly was happy, and that was all he wanted for her.
He would have liked it to be him she loved. He would have liked it to have been his arms wrapped around her the first time she made love to a man, and he would have liked it for her first child to be his. But it wasn't going to happen. "Farewell, Kimberly," he whispered. "I'll be sure to keep Tommy in line for you."
Katherine looked at the small photograph in her hands. "They are happy together," she admitted, although it nearly broke her heart. She wanted it to be her in the picture. She wanted it to be her hand Tommy held so tightly. She wanted it to be her with the wide smile across her face, so deeply in love that not even the continual threats of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa could bring a frown.
When she had been evil, she wanted to break Tommy and Kimberly up at any costs. Even if it had meant Kimberly's death. But now that the spell was gone, she knew that it wasn't going to happen. Kimberly was her friend, and she swore to herself that she would not do anything to betray her trust. Tommy was her forbidden fruit, and even if she did have the chance, she wouldn't do anything to hurt Kimberly.
Neither Katherine or Billy had ever considered themselves easy. Never, under any circumstances, would they sleep with someone that they had only known for a few weeks. Nor would they sleep with someone who had only a few minutes before admitted to having a crush on. Or so they thought.
"Oh, Billy," Kat mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Kat," Billy said hurriedly. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"It's okay," Kat said. She and Billy both stooped down to pick up her books that they had sent flying, and in the process, gave each other a hard crack on the forehead.
"I'm sorry again," Billy said, sitting down with a hard thump. Kat laughed and sat down as well.
"You look as distracted as I do," Kat said with a warm smile.
"I'm just a little ... I've been thinking, is all."
"Me too," Katherine admitted with a heavy sigh. "Wanna ... go somewhere and talk?"
"Yeah," Billy said sheepishly, a beet red color rising to his cheeks. "I would."
Does he always get this embarrassed talking to girls? "We can go to my house," Katherine said. "There's nobody there but me right now. It'll be nice and quiet."
Once Billy started talking, he just poured his entire heart and soul out. Katherine found herself nearly moved to tears at Billy's moving story of how his love had grown for Kimberly. He told of how he realized he was in love with Kimberly when he wasn't jealous of Tommy, because Tommy made Kimberly happy.
"Billy, that's beautiful," Katherine sighed deeply.
"Kimberly didn't think so," Billy said unhappily.
She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Some people just aren't meant to be together."
"You and Tommy?"
"Yeah. Wait a minute? You knew?" Billy nodded slowly. "Did everyone?"
"I don't think so," Billy said. "I just - happened to find out."
"How so?"
"Well, even though I was in love with Kimberly, that doesn't mean I didn't notice other ... girls." Billy was dark red by this point, but he felt he had revealed too much to just stop. "I guess I kind of had a crush on you, too, and... I noticed things about you that I guess other people didn't. Like the way you stared at Tommy."
"You had a crush on me?" Katherine asked, her mouth falling open in awe. To the best of her knowledge, no one had ever had a crush on her. "That... I don't know what to say. Wow." She smiled as a sudden memory from her brief feline days came back to her.
"What's the smile for?" Billy asked as a grin spread across his face. "You look like the kat who got the canary."
Katherine was quite literally grinning from ear to ear. "If I tell you, promise not to think it's weird, or to tell anybody."
"I promise," Billy said, tracing his pinkie finger across his chest in a cross.
"Well, you know that window at the top of the men's shower room in the Juice Bar. The little bitty one that's all crudded over?"
"Yeah," Billy said, when the sudden realization hit him. "You-?"
"I was a cat," she told him, "under Rita's control. And I hopped up on that window with the intent of seeing Tommy. Instead, I saw you and Rocky."
"Oh?"
"I'm sorry," Katherine said hurriedly. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's all right," Billy said, shocked to learn that he actually wasn't that bothered with her admission. "That doesn't really explain why you were smiling, though."
Katherine's wide smile immediately returned. "Well... I'd be lying if I said I didn't like what I saw."
"Me or-?"
"Both of you, but right now I'm talking about you."
Billy sighed deeply and smiled. He began to laugh nervously. "Uhm, I don't -..."
Katherine leaned close to Billy and kissed him, very tenderly. When she pulled away, she scanned his face for any type of reaction. She found nothing. "Oh God, Billy. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done anything. It's just... when you said you had a crush on me, I-"
Billy's stupefied expression quickly changed into a near-goofy grin. He silenced Katherine by kissing her again.
"Billy, I don't know what happened," Katherine admitted.
"Me neither. Are you sorry?"
"No," she assured him, planting a tiny kiss on his lips. "Not at all. I'm just - I'm not like this. Ever."
Billy pulled Katherine closer and sighed. "I think it's pretty safe to assume that this was both of our first time." Katherine smiled in agreement. "We just needed somebody to help us forget, I guess."
"I don't think Angel Grove is going to be so bad after all," Kat grinned.
"I can't wait to tell Kimberly. She'll be happy for us."
"Us," Katherine said, trying out the word. "Us. I like that."
Billy moaned in delight and pulled Katherine closer still. For the first time since he was six years old, he didn't mind that Kimberly wasn't going to be his. Billy was happy, absolutely ecstatic that he had found someone who loved him as much as he loved her. "I love you, Katherine."
"I love you, Billy."