Chapter Text
Catra dreaded the remaining months of the school year. It was the beginning of November, and everyone had just finished a two-week break. Theoretically, she ought to feel renewed, energised, or at the very least, happy, but all she experienced was a vague sense of dread at the prospect of returning. Not that her school was bad; in fact, she had made some wonderful friends. No matter how kind and forgiving her friends were, she was still experiencing doubt seeping into her thoughts whenever they showed her any indication of affection. Catra found it difficult to believe that these people genuinely appreciated and cared about her, especially because she felt she didn't deserve any of it.
Unsurprisingly, she was not at all thrilled to see the school entrance once more, which was up ahead. She chose to send Scorpia a brief text to let her know she had arrived before shutting off her phone and stuffing it in her pocket. Catra told herself that she wasn't doing it because she cared about Scorpia or anything; she was just doing it to ease her anxiety.
Catra really only did it to try to convince herself that she wasn't softening after spending so much time with Entrapta and Scorpia, two of her other close friends. She would tell herself anything to make her feel better.
It was really just because Catra wanted to believe that she wasn't becoming soft after spending so much time around Scorpia and Entrapta, who was her other close friend. Plus, she would tell herself anything to make herself feel better.
Catra noticed Scorpia approaching her at a breakneck speed before she even reached the school building. When Scorpia hugged her tightly but tenderly, her face wrinkled up as she prepared for impact. Her tail was calm, only slightly perking up at the end, indicating that she didn't absolutely detest the experience.
Of course Catra would never acknowledge that the gesture gave her a pleasant, fuzzy sensation inside—something she had never had before meeting Scorpia—and she wriggled and pushed away from the almost smothering hug.
"AGH! Scorpia put me down! It's only 8:30 and I think I could MURDER!" Catra threatened.
Scorpia, however, being the astute person she was, didn't take Catra's empty threats lying down. She merely embraced the smaller girl more tightly and fluffed her short brown hair.
"Aw I missed you too, Wildcat!"
Although Catra scoffed at the nickname, she was understanding enough to give Scorpia a tiny smile. She felt satisfied enough to release Catra after this.
She turned once more to face the school's entrance after heaving a sigh of relief. That's what really set off the nerves. Even at a distance, Scorpia could feel her body tensing, so she wrapped a comforting arm across her shoulder.
"Hey, you've got this Catra. If anyone can kick ass at this school, it's you."
They began to walk together through the double doors, "Well maybe don't actually kick someone's ass, I think that would land you in a lot of trouble with parents and teachers alike… "
Catra grinned. She didn't know how she'd managed to spend the majority of her life alone before meeting Scorpia, but she instantly felt better with her.
"I'm not making any promises. If someone messes with me, I will not hesitate to touch my feet to their butt. With a lot of force."
With that statement, Entrapta shot out from behind one of the lockers, which scared both Scorpia and Catra out of their skin.
"Scorpia! Catra! It's great to see you again!"
She had thick, long, purple hair that reached her thighs and was pulled back on both sides of her head in two ponytails. "Over the break, I had so much time to work on science! Halloween parties are ideal for social experimentation!"
The two girls lacked the courage to question about what Entrapta had learned about the other pupils at their school. They both agreed that while it would be intriguing to learn what the other pupils at their school had been up to, the chance of learning anything seriously distressing outweighed that by a considerable margin.
"Would you like to hear about the results of some of my experiments?" She asked excitedly.
Upon seeing the frightened looks on the two girls' faces, Entrapta reassured them that she wouldn't tell them anything unpleasant. Catra knew that people should definitely fear Entrapta more than they think.
"Well I suppose the only thing I know that might be interesting to you…" Entrapta began, "I heard that Adora was moving into your math class, Catra!"
Catra looked at Entrapta, confused by the statement. "Why would I care that Adora of all people is now in my math class? That just means she's almost as dumb as me!"
"You aren't even in the lowest class!" Entrapta argued, "Besides she's cute… And definitely your type!"
Immediately, Catra felt herself become flustered and embarrassed.
"So, do you really think that just because we attend the same class, she would fall head over heels in love with me and we will be together forever? Do you even know about the person you're referring to here?" To emphasise her point, she violently lifted her arms in the air. "Oh sure, the girls' football team captain, Adora, who is dedicated and possibly the most popular girl in the school, and I, Catra, who is insignificant compared to her, are definitely the power couple of the century.
She didn't realise how self-deprecating and depressing that sounded until after the fact, but she was unable to retract her comments. Also, it wasn't a lie. How could Entrapta have thought it would ever be likely to work?
Entrapta didn't quite catch on to the sarcasm of Catra's comment, as she declared, "Yes, exactly! I can certainly make it happen for you two to meet!" Before anyone had a chance to disagree, she took off, determined to finish her task.
Even Scorpia was taken aback by the encounter. She turned around to try to console Catra after they both stood there for a bit.
This time, the nickname brought her some comfort and reassurance. "Thanks Scorpia. That, uh - it means a lot."
Other than that, Catra wasn't sure what to say, but for Scorpia, it was sufficient. Her pincers were positioned over her chest, and she had a stretched-out, tooth-rotting grin on her face.
"Oh, Catra! " "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you become sappy?" she asked with eyes that were practically heart-shaped.
"I AM NOT SAPPY!" She yelled in return.
"Anything you say, Wildcat! Good luck with Adora in your math class!"
Catra breathed a sigh of relief as Scorpia separated to walk to her own class. Although that relief was short lived, when she realised that her first class was, coincidentally, math.
"Oh fuck ." Catra cursed under her breath as she approached the classroom.
Catra was terrified to find out what Entrapta might have accomplished during her absence. Even the gods are unable to predict her actions. All she could manage was to remember to breathe deeply as she entered— a lesson she had long since picked up from Scorpia. She couldn't possibly meet Adora properly for the first time while looking to be something of a nervous mess.
Although they had been gone for two weeks, not much had changed. Mostly as a result of Catra being unusually early, hardly nobody had arrived yet. She frequently took satisfaction in being "fashionably late" to this class. She quickly glanced around the room to check who had already arrived before focusing on one particular girl. Adora.
Her blonde hair was tied in its typical high ponytail, and it fell around the nape of her neck. She wore a white turtleneck, red jacket, and grey jeans. Catra knew she was attractive, but so did everyone else. She was the epitome of beautiful blue eyed blonde girls. Immediately Catra pushed that thought to the back of her mind. There was no way she would give in that easily; plus there was no way Adora would ever notice her, either.
She pulled herself away from that thought, which led her to notice something else. Adora looked scared, in a way that felt familiar to Catra. The way she sat, hugging herself, gripping her arms tightly to find any source of comfort. Under the desk, Catra noticed her feet bouncing slightly, restless. Her eyes were fixated on her pencil case, which was in front of her, on the center of her desk.
Despite how nervous Catra felt in that moment, she couldn't help but feel empathetic for Adora. The way she looked reminded her too much of herself, which she never thought she would ever say about the captain of the football team of all people. Catra almost felt guilty for seeing her so vulnerable, as though she was invading Adora's privacy only by staring.
After realising just how long she'd spent staring, she rushed to find a seat, and panicked. Before she even knew it, she was standing next to Adora, frozen.
Catra cursed under her breath to compose herself, and pulled a chair out from under the desk, but didn't sit in it. Instead, she hopped onto the table, and used the chair as a footstool. The scene she made caused Adora to loosen her grip on her arms and look up at her, and any nervousness that Catra saw before was gone. Catra's confidence faltered in that moment, only managing to squeak a "Hey, Adora."
Catra thought that maybe she had just imagined what she saw before, or Adora was just incredibly good at covering up her emotions, she couldn't tell.
Adora responded with an uncertain "Hey… Uh, Catra?"
Shit. Adora knew her name? How was she supposed to prepare herself for this?
For better or for worse, the rest of the class began to enter, most in clusters of friends, which made her wonder, did Adora actually have no friends in this class? This reignited a confident spark, and Catra decided to reluctantly move off the desk - mainly because the teacher would have her head if she was caught - but also so she could claim her place next to Adora. Was this how Entrapta felt when she was studying her experiments? Because Catra had never been more curious to get to know her than she did in that moment.
Then, embarrassingly, her mismatched eyes met with the blue of Adora's, she felt her whole body grow hot, and her face blossom with red. How long had she been staring at Adora? Or more importantly, how long had Adora noticed for and not said anything? She wanted to dig her own grave in that moment, crawl into it and hide forever. Yet at the same time, she wanted to stare at those eyes for as long as she could.
What the fuck was this feeling?