Okay?... What was that? My chapters must have gotten mixed up again, sorry. Anyway, here's chapter 7, enjoy!

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Ana had been strangely quiet that day. After what happened yesterday, Cath had been expecting a flood of questions and snarky comments, but none came.

So when Ana asked her to tag along for "a hangout with a guy she'd been talking to," Cath said yes— even though she had promised herself long ago that she wouldn't meddle in Ana's love life anymore.

But she should have seen that coming.

Of course she should.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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Three hours after the disaster.

School cafeteria.

It was Wednesday and the cafeteria was packed with students and the smell of fried food.

Cath and Ana sat together at one of those circular plastic tables. Ana was her usual mess—fan bun, hot pink tube top, checkered pajama pants, smudged mascara.

Cath wasn't in a better state. Her little cousin Emily had decided that the funniest thing to do that morning would be to turn off her alarm. She had woken up with 20 minutes to catch the bus, thrown on the first clean thing she saw (which, to her bad luck, wasn't a pretty, put-together y/n outfit—guess that only works out when your mom sells you to One Direction), didn't eat breakfast, and forgot half her books on her desk. The day wasn't off to a good start.  

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"Sooo, can I ask you something?" Ana said with a suspicious tone while she popped a greasy fry into her mouth.

Cath braced herself and nodded. She still couldn't believe Ana had gone an entire morning without talking about boys and not combusting in the process.

"Well, I've been talking to this guy, and he invited me to hang out today..." Ana trailed off, pushing fries around her paper plate with a ketchup packet.

Cath, mid-bite, raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to keep going —surprised it wasn't a question about the visitor she had yesterday. 

"The thing is—he'll be with a bunch of his friends, and I don't want to be the only girl there." Ana muttered, her voice sounding almost ashamed about it.

Cath frowned, setting her sandwich down. "I don't know, An. If he can't make time to be with you alone, is he worth it?"

Ana groaned. "I'm not asking for moral advice. Just if you'll come with me." she muttered while leaning back in the seat, arms crossed.

It was the attitude that got her. Ana wasn't usually like that—she was all snark and shamelessness. Acting like that about some random guy Cath hadn't even heard about? It must be something important. So, she agreed.

By the time the final bell rang, Cath had resigned herself to whatever Ana was dragging her into. 

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After school, they stopped at Cath's house. Even though Ana's house was right next door, she'd always spent more time at Cath's. Her family had basically adopted her as "la gringuita." She had her own mug, half a closet in Cath's room, and a permanent spot at the table. Ana always said she couldn't stand how quiet her own house was after hanging out there. Both of them knew that wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't something either of them needed to say out loud. 

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"Okay, how does this look?" Ana asked on her 
fifth outfit change.

Cath lay sprawled on her bed, changed into her own clothes twenty minutes ago and already defeated. "Same as the last one. Just... different colors." She sat up. "Ana, how important can this guy be? He's probably gonna make you sit in some musty basement and watch him play video games with his friends."

Ana threw a shirt at her face.

"He's not like that, okay?" she snapped, defensive.

"Then how come I've never heard about him?" Cath asked.

Ana shrugged, buttoning up a pair of baggy jeans. She kept the same top from that morning.

"Okay. Good to go," she said with a smile.

Cath rolled off the bed with a groan.

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They slipped out of the house (not without a raised eyebrow from her grandmother) and walked. According to Ana, the guy lived close by.

"So, what's his name? Is he from school?" Cath pressed as they walked along the sunlit sidewalk.

Ana ignored every question. Which only made Cath more suspicious.

Six blocks down, they stopped in front of a two story house, it was white with blue detailings, a garage with a basketball hoop in the front, a well kept garden with two bikes laying around, a small porch with two chairs and a wooden railing, the cherry on top was the white picket fence, the picture of the American dream house, that, if it wasn't for the white car parked outside.

Cath had clocked it a block ago, that damn car was unmistakable, but she tried to rationalize, maybe they were just... passing by his house?, maybe it wasn't even his house, maybe his mom had borrowed the car and was visiting a relative? Maybe his house didn't have a garage and he just parked there instead?.

It was not that.

She turned to Ana the second they stopped walking, "Ana. No"— she said, her eyes open as wide as they could.

Ana just gave her mischievous grin as she walked to the front door "Ana yes".

"Fine, I'll leave," Cath announced, spinning on her heel.

"No, you won't." Ana grabbed her wrist. "Why is it such a big deal, anyway? Do you have a crush on him or what?"

"I don't! It's just... weird, you know? The whole play thing, and the fact he's not a jerk. God, my standards are in the Underworld." Cath muttered defensive, cheeks red.

Ana's face lit up. "Oh. My. God. You're blushing. You do like him!"

Cath scrambled for denial, but all she managed was: "No, I barely even know him!" And just as she said it, the garage door rolled open.

"Everything alright, girls?"

Chris. Soft smile, genuinely concerned tone.

"Hi!" Ana dropped Cath's wrist and waved enthusiastically before throwing her arms around his neck, despite his visible discomfort.

Chris looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. He shot Cath a helpless side-eye while Ana peeled herself off him.

They followed him inside—very much against Cath's will.

The garage wasn't huge, but perfect for a band: storage bins piled against a wall, an old couch with a small table, a workbench with an abandoned stroller beside it, a door leading into the house. Center stage: shiny drum set, bass, and a red electric guitar, all on top of a worn rug.

The place smelled better than Cath would have expected, not musty, not sweaty—just neutral and clean. Impressive, for a man cave.

Chris hovered awkwardly near the door. "Uh... the guys are grabbing snacks in the kitchen. You can sit, if you want."

Cath eyed the couch, old, colorful, patched up, it had definitely seen things but she sat on the edge anyway, Ana flopped down on it with the grace of a bulldog.

Silence stretched, broken only by Ana's occasional laugh at her phone.

Suddenly, Matt shoved the door open with his back, arms stacked high with chips, plastic cups, and a suspicious amount of Doritos. His cap was backwards, blond hair poking out the sides.

"Chris, a little help here?" he shouted.

Chris was elbow-deep in amp cables, pretending not to notice.

Seeing how frozen at the sight of the guy Ana was, Cath sighed and got up. "Fine, I'll help before you drop the national snack reserve." She stepped toward him, eyeing the wobbling tower of food.

That was her mistake.

The garage had two tiny steps down from the door to the floor, and of course she forgot about them. She reached out just as Matt spun around to face her, and in that split second—

—James appeared in the doorway.

No warning, no hello, just there. He tripped over the same step Cath had nearly missed, holding an open soda bottle of all things.

The universe did the math.

Matt twisted, Cath flinched, James stumbled forward—and the soda arced like a slow-motion fountain straight across Cath's shirt.

Cold fizz soaked through instantly, orange blotch spreading across the thin white fabric. Cath froze, staring at it in horror.

The garage fell completely silent. Matt was frozen, mid-wobble. Chris had finally looked up from the amp wires, his mouth slightly open. Ana's eyes were wide with a mixture of horror and sheer, unadulterated delight.

And James looked utterly mortified, staring at the disaster he had unleashed. His gaze flickered from the empty bottle on the floor to the expanding stain on Cath's chest, his face flushing a deep, brilliant red.

He cursed out loud, ran into the house and came back to the garage with a stack of napkins in 0.2 seconds.
"I'm so, so sorry, I'll lend you some clothes, this wasn't intentional I swear" James apologized while he tried to pat the napkins on her shirt.

Cath's brain caught up "I think I can take care of that myself" she mumbled to his horror, only then realizing where exactly he was touching.

The awkwardness was interrupted by Ana's laughter, a sharp, loud, sudden sound that filled the entire space "Well, that's one way to break the ice!" she cackled, wiping tears from her eyes. "Or get her shirt off—"

"Not helping!" Cath hissed.

"I'll lend you some clothes" James repeated, face impossibly red but looking her in the eye.

Cath only nodded, cheeks burning.

James guided her inside the house and then into his room, Cath barely registered anything, she just hovered near the door trying to covering herself with her arms while James scrambled through his drawers.

Suddenly he was standing in front of her with a bundle of clothes and a towel on his hands, pointing to a door beside his dresser "the bathroom is there, tell me if you need anything else" he mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Cath just took the bundle and ran into the bathroom, finally snapping out of the sheer mortification once the door locked shut behind her.

The bathroom was small and it so clearly belonged to a teenage boy, there was only a blue shower curtain, a blue mat on the floor, a cup with dental items on the sink and a medicine cabinet on top of it.

Cath stared into the mirror, seeing the horrible neon orange stain in her white shirt and how it revealed way more than she was comfortable with.

She quickly took it off, only to realize that, to her misfortune, her bra was soaked in soda as well, Cath took it off, grimacing at the situation, she cleaned herself with the towel and then put on the shirt James had lent her, it was black, oversized, and had the cover of "in utero" at the front, thin fabric, softened by time and wash cycles, a faint smell of laundry detergent and something else replaced the chemical smell of the soda.

The shirt also did absolutely nothing for her, it wasn't about vanity, it literally left nothing to the imagination.

Cath let out a sigh and resigned herself, "James" she called through the door, eyes closed.

A moment of silence, then footsteps "uh, yeah? You need anything?" 

Cath scrambled to find the words "hum, your shirt is kinda... thin, and well, all of my clothes are wet, so, do you have anything else?" Her eyes were still closed, as if it could somehow shield her from the embarrassment.

Silence. Then a strangled: "Oh. Right. Sorry. Yeah. One sec."

Footsteps retreated, doors opened, fabric rustled. A soft knock.

She finally opened her eyes and then cracked the door just enough for him to slip a red bundle of soft fabric in her hands.

Cath quickly put it down her head, the hoodie shallowing her whole, the distinctive smell on this one was stronger.

When she stepped back into his room, she finally let herself look around.

It was simple, a three-quarter bed and a crowded nightstand in the corner below a window, guitar accessories and a closet at the foot, a desk and a shelf full of random items and some comics below the other window, the dresser in between of the bathroom and the hallway doors, the floor was carpet and his walls were covered on different band and movie posters and some drawings, a sharp contrast to the neutral colors on the furniture.

James was standing there, not-so-subtly avoiding looking at her.

"So, uh..." Cath fidgeted with the hoodie sleeve. "Do you have a bag I can put my clothes in?"

"Oh—don't worry, I'll toss them in the wash. Or, uh, I'll ask my mom. I don't know how to get stains out." He scratched the back of his neck, clearly a nervous habit.

Cath groaned. "There's... something kinda personal in there."

James went red again. "I think I can handle a piece of fabric and metal. If you don't mind, I mean."

Cath's face turned even brighter, the over courtesy of it all was reaching comic levels. 

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Hi, sooo, I kinda disappeared for a while? Anyway, please let me know your thoughts on the chapter!