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Mary Trasmárta stared at her mother. “What do you mean, ‘the heat is broken’? It’s thirty degrees out!”
Catalina pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, there’s really nothing we can do about it. The landlord has a repair guy coming tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? What are we supposed to do until then?!”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Blankets exist, Mary. We can make do for the night.”
Mary crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.
Lina huffed. “Fine. Jane offered to let us stay at her place for the night.”
“Don’t her cousins live with her or something?”
“Technically, no. But they’re over often enough that they might as well. Jane has assured me she has the room though.”
Mary glanced skeptically at her mother, but sighed after a moment. “Fine. But I’m gonna at least go get a coffee and a space heater so we don’t freeze before that.”
Lina nodded, then straightened suddenly. “Oh! I almost forgot! I got you something.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “What? What is it?”
Her mother grinned and strode towards her room with a skeptical Mary following a few steps behind. “I think you’re gonna like it.” She grabbed a plain cardboard box off her bed and held it out eagerly.
She squinted suspiciously. “Is this some sort of prank? It’s October, not April.”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Just open it.”
Mary shrugged, setting the box down on the floor and pulling out her keys. She slit the top open, and folded back the flaps. Then, she reached in and pulled out something soft. “Oh! A new sweatshirt. Thanks Mom. Your sewing’s getting a lot better.”
“There’s another one in there.”
Mary reached in and pulled out another copy of the exact same sweatshirt. “…oh. Um, Mom I love you, but—“
“Not for you! For your girlfriend !” Lina explained smugly.
Mary groaned. “For the hundredth time, Anna’s not my girlfriend!”
She smirked.“I didn’t say it was Anna.”
“You didn’t have to. She’s the only girl I talk about because she’s my only friend I’ve made since we moved here 2 years ago! She’s not my girlfriend!”
“Mhm, sure she isn’t.” She winked.
Mary wished the floor would swallow her up right about now. “Seriously! We’re friends ! We were just paired together for a few group projects since we take so many of the same classes.”
Lina smiled. “Sweetheart, you don’t need to lie to me. You know I’ll accept you no matter your sexual orientation.”
“Mom? Stop. Please. I promise you, Anna is not my girlfriend, and I promise if I ever do get a girlfriend, you would be the first to know.”
She chuckled. “I appreciate the promise honey, but we both know that’s not exactly hard to do. You really should get out more.”
“Ughhhh!” Mary complained, and stomped dramatically back to the living room towards the closet. “I’m leaving. I’m stopping by Macy’s to pick up a space heater then Anna and I are meeting to work on a school assignment. I’ll be back later.”
“Oh! Why don’t you bring Anna back here? Then you can…bring me back a black tea!” She could hear the smile in her mom’s voice.
Mary glanced helplessly at the ceiling. “Lord help me,” she muttered, and turned back to Lina, “If I bring her back here, no hovering, and no comments about how you think we’re dating.”
Lina looked mildly offended. “Mary, I might tease you, but I would never embarrass you in front of someone you care about. Most of the time.”
She simply stared. “Promise no comments and no hovering?”
She nodded and kissed Mary’s hair. “I promise. And bring me back a black tea, I’ll reimburse you.”
Mary nodded, kissing her mother’s cheek, and she grabbed her coat off the hook, shoving her arms into the sleeves as she headed out.
...
Despite her warm winter coat, she shivered as she trudged down the familiar streets towards Macy’s, grumbling under her breath. Of course the heat had to go out just as the weather started to get colder. And on top of it, now they were apparently staying at her mother’s best friend’s house. Mary was convinced they were actually dating, but she refused to pry. And what was the deal with her cousins? Did they live with Jane or didn’t they? And who were her cousins?
She noticed a small group of people waiting at the corner for a green light and sighed. They clearly didn’t know the rules of New York walking--if there were no cars coming, you walked, green light or not. Cutting through the crowd, she strode into the street. Honestly? Mary hated New York. There were too many people, too much noise, and it smelled like a mix of food carts, garbage, and gasoline. Especially over the street grates.
She thought she saw a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye, but a shoe sliding against pavement caught her attention as the young woman in front of her tripped.
Without thinking, Mary reached out to steady her. Her eyes widened as she felt the rippling muscles underneath her leather jacket. Anna was muscular. Did her muscles feel like this? Anna wouldn’t wear a leather jacket though; she practically lived in blazers, which Mary did not understand. Blazers were stuffy and restricting, and they usually caused her skin to feel like ants were crawling all over it. Socks also caused her skin to crawl. Wearing ankle socks sometimes helped, and her current Mushu socks were one of her favorite pairs, but even now the seam felt like it was mildly digging into her skin. Mushu was also her favorite disney character.
“Thanks.” An accented voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she quickly removed her hand.
“Oh. Yeah, sure. No problem.” Mary smiled awkwardly, letting her eyes rest on the person’s nose. She normally preferred to look at the mouth or the chin, but the person was a good six inches taller, and she didn’t want to appear rude by not making eye contact. Well, pretending to make eye contact, at least. The stranger looked to be around Mary’s age, and was very pretty. A black beanie with fiery red and purple curls peeking out and cascading down her chest
“My name’s Bonnie. I promise I’m not usually this clumsy.” She laughed and held out a gloved hand.
Mary took it hesitantly. She didn’t want to be rude, but she wasn’t exactly fond of handshakes. “Mary. It’s nice to meet you.”
There was a loud crash across the street, with a bit of a crowd gathered. Curious, she and Bonnie glanced at each other before crossing the street. They had to fight to get through the crowd, but as most people were chuckling and looking at their phones, it wasn’t that hard.
The first thing she noticed was a large orange construction sign that hadn’t been there a few days ago. It was slightly askew, and looked like it had been knocked out of place by something. Then, she noticed the girl on the ground, and without thinking, she immediately rushed forward to help her up. “Are you okay?!”
The girl nodded, and looked up at Mary before she could avoid eye contact. And Mary froze. Those deep brown eyes captured her attention, and she couldn’t break the eye contact.
“Thanks.”
Mary barely heard her response; her sole attention was on the pair of chocolate brown eyes in front of her. Yup, she was definitely staring.
She should stop staring.
Stop fucking staring at her!
“...Excuse me? Mi--ma’am?”
That finally snapped her out of it and she quickly let go and stepped back, making sure to look just to the side of her to avoid any more eye contact disasters. “Umm. Pretty, hi. Pretty. Fuck. I- hello. Hello. Umm. You- I. Fucking--” She cut herself off, mentally scolding herself. Idiot, idiot, idiot!
The girl laughed, twisting Mary’s gut. It sent a shiver down her spine, despite her coat. “I’m Kat.”
She tucked a stray piece of her curly black hair behind her ear. She might be the spitting image of her mother in many ways, but where the fuck she got spiral black curls from, when her mother had stick straight hair, she would never know. Technically, she could’ve gotten it from her dead beat dad, but her mother had dumped his ass on the cobblestone streets of Spain only a few months after Mary had been born.
“H-hey, did you hear me?” Mary’s attention snapped back to the very pretty girl in front of her. And the pink ponytail curling over her shoulder. And the navy blue beanie that didn’t quite cover the tips of her ears, which were pink from the chilly air. And the oversize sweatshirt and flannel that she pulled off so well, it looked like it could be from a fashion magazine.
“Hi. Sorry. Umm. Pretty. Fuck. Umm, sorry. My name’s...Fuck. Sorry. Mary, I’m Mary.” Jesus Christ. Words. She knew how to speak English. Now she needed to stop acting like a total dumbass.
Kat blushed. “You didn’t happen to see...um...”
“See you? Pretty. No. Fuck! Um, no? I ju--pretty. Shit. I just came over here at the...at the crash.” Point to Mary for almost getting through an entire sentence without stumbling.
Kat chuckled, and Mary just about melted into a puddle. It was like her laughter alone warmed the air around them (which was one of the most cliche thoughts she had ever had about someone). “Cool, at least there’s one pretty girl who didn’t see me completely embarrass myself.”
It was mary’s turn to blush, and she quickly lowered her gaze; she noticed the large rips in Kat’s jeans around her knees. Truly a grunge style. This literal goddess thought she was pretty? She could barely keep her curls from becoming a tangled mess, much less remember to even brush her teeth every day. “Oh. I. Um. Yeah, no I didn’t--I just heard the crash.”
“Well then, to what do I owe the pleasure of a very pretty girl saving my clumsy ass?” Mary could hear the smile in her voice.
Mary froze. Was she wrong to step in? She didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately, the at least mild filter that normally functioned perfectly chose to break right then. “You’re really pretty!” She burst out, and immediately cringed, curling in on herself.
“...So you saw me through the crowd? I’m confused.”
“No! No, not--I just...it’s. Fuck, I can’t talk.” She took a deep breath, trying to focus on speaking actual sentences. “I ju--I heard the crash. I couldn’t-I couldn’t see you, but when I c--I ran over her at the crash and saw you on the ground and I di-I didn’t think. I just went to help you up.”
Kat raised an eyebrow. “So you helped me up because you think I’m pretty?”
“No!” Mary stomped her foot lightly in frustration.
She smirked. “So you don’t think I’m pretty?”
She simply shot her a pleading look. This was torture.
Kat burst out laughing. “Okay, okay okay. Stop looking at me like I kicked your puppy. I love puppies and would never kick one. Anyway, do you want to go get a drink or something? It’s on me.”
Mary opened her mouth to agree, but then her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She smiled apologetically and pulled it out.
Hey girl. I’m in the green room when you get to campus, Anna had said, If security gives you any issue just go around to the loading dock and I’ll let you in there.
Mary slapped her forehead. “Shit! I completely forgot I was meeting Anna!”
“Um. Who?”
She suddenly remembered there was someone else around her. Namely, a very pretty girl who looked extremely confused. “Oh. Right, s-sorry.” She started, “I was supposed to meet my friend at AMDA for a project we’re working on. I completely forgot about it.”
Kat nodded. “Hey, I have the shittiest memory in the world, I totally get it. But can I at least get your number?”
Mary blinked. “My nu..OH! Right, yeah. Sorry. Of course.” She pulled out her phone just as Kat pulled hers out. The phone case was pink and sparkly, a total contrast from the combat boots and ripped jeans she was wearing.
After trading numbers, they said their goodbyes and Mary headed towards AMDA while staring at the new contact.
Kat Howard <3
That name felt like it should be familiar…She hadn’t realized it when Kat first introduced herself, but that last name sounded really familiar.
Shaking it off, Mary focused on trying to get to AMDA before Anna sent out a search party. Besides, it was highly unlikely Kat would actually text her, or that they’d see each other again.
…
The universe had other ideas. A few hours later, Mary and her mother stood outside a modest 2 story home.
The door opened to reveal a small young woman with long black hair that was pulled into braided pigtails. “Lina!” She squealed and threw her arms around Lina, who chuckled and hugged her back.
“It’s good to see you too, Anne.” She pulled back and held Anne at arm’s length, looking over her like a mother duck. “No new broken bones or major scratches. I take it your weekend in Georgia went well?”
Anne nodded quickly. “It was a lot of fun! It was too cold to go to the beach but we went biking and explored the town.”
Lina smiled and kissed her forehead. “That sounds like an exciting weekend! I want to hear more about your trip, but it’s cold out and I don’t think Mary wants to be standing out in the cold any longer.”
The woman—Anne—smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, got a bit over excited. Come on in, both of you. Jane’s making tea and apple cider in the kitchen.”
The group made their way into the kitchen where a redhead—Jane, Mary presumed—was pouring hot water into a few mugs. She smiled brightly at their approach and set the kettle down. “Lina! Glad you could make it!” She hugged her tightly.
Lina squeezed her friend tightly. “Thanks for letting us stay the night. I called six different repair companies before I found one that could come tomorrow. All the others were booked out for at least a week.”
“Well you both are welcome as long as you need.” Jane smiled and turned to Mary. “And you must be Mary. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Linas told me so much about you!” She motioned to the woman with the pigtails. “This is my cousin, Anne. She’s over here so often I keep telling her she should just move back in.”
Anne stuck her tongue out at Jane. “I basically live here anyway, what’s the difference?” She was so small, but she didn’t look that much younger than Mary…despite the pigtails and tinkerbell sweatshirt.
“Actually contributing rent money.” Jane responded with a playful eye roll.
Anne wrapped her arms around Jane’s waist, resting her cheek against her back. “You looove me!”
Jane chuckled. “I do love you. But you should move in, or I’ll stop buying you chicken nuggets.”
Anne gasped. “Rude!” She stomped off to another part of the house.
Mary watched her leave, curious. Was Anne mad? It didn’t seem like a very intense threat, but Mary had zero social skills, as the day had already proven.
Jane shook her head with a small laugh. “Kids. I swear her and Kat will be the death of me. But it is really nice to meet you, Mary.”
Mary smiled awkwardly. “Nice to meet you as well.” Her words were a bit slow, but she was trying to keep from stuttering.
“Help yourself to tea or apple cider. I’m gonna go remind my cousins that we have guests.” Jane disappeared into the other room.
Mary grabbed a steaming mug of apple cider, one of her favorite drinks. “Jane seems nice. Anne seems…chaotic.”
Lina grinned. “Anne’s a sweetheart. And she actually buys most of the groceries, and she and Kat split utilities. Jane just pays rent. It evens out surprisingly well, especially with kat and Anne still being in school. I think you’d like them, they’re both into theatre.”
Jane reappeared with Anne…and the girl from the street. Oh no. Mary’s heart jumped into her throat. She buried her gaze in the floor.
“Mary?”
She forced herself to look up, but couldn’t quite make eye contact. Without her hat, Mary could clearly see her ombré hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. The dark brown roots matched those chocolate brown eyes that were seared into her memory. She had also disregarded her shoes and flannel, and Mary could see her mismatched socks, and the black Linkin Park sweatshirt.
“H-hi Kat.” No wonder the name had sounded familiar. Kat Howard was Jane’s cousin. Fuck.
Jane frowned. “Wait, you two know each other?”
“We met earlier today. Remember when I got home I told you about this girl who had talked to me after I crashed?”
Crashed? What did she mean? Was that the same crash Mary had heard before meeting Kat? What happened?
It was silent for a moment before Jane spoke up. “Well, Lina, you’ll be in the guest room next to my room of course so feel free to put your coat and everything in there. Mary…would you mind sharing with Anne? I figured we could set up and air mattress in there.”
“Wait why do I always end up with people in my room?” Anne complained.
Jane rolled her eyes. “Because you have the master bedroom, even though I’m the one paying rent.”
“She can stay with me.”
Mary’s head shot up, and she met Kat’s eyes. She was smirking. What did that mean? Why was Kat smirking?
“Yeah, put her with Kat! They already met earlier today and I don’t wanna share my room!”
Jane sighed. “Okay, okay, okay! Mary, would you be okay with sharing with Kat? Otherwise we can figure something else out.”
Everyone stared at her. Fuck. What was the correct answer? If she said no to Kat, would they be upset? Would Jane prefer for her to not share a room with her cousin? “Um. I-I guess…it’s-I’m fine with sharing.”
Jane nodded. “Kat, do you want to take Mary upstairs so she can put her stuff down? I’ll bring an air mattress up after dinner.”
Kat grinned at her. “Come on.”
As they headed upstairs, Mary admired just how many pictures Jane had of her and her cousins together. There was one of Anne in a graduation cap holding a high school diploma. Anne and Kat as kids playing at a beach. Anne and Kat on a stage performing. But there was one that caught her eye. It was of a young girl sitting next to a hospital bed. The girl was smiling, but even in the picture Mary could see the tear stains on her face. The woman in the bed had a small smile and her eyes were barely open. She was holding the girl’s hand.
“That’s my mom.”
Mary flinched and stepped back. “S-sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”
Kat shrugged. “You weren’t prying. You were curious. But yeah, that’s me and my mom a few weeks before she died.”
“…I’m sorry to hear that…how did she die?”
“Lyme disease, of all things. She caught it while traveling before I was born. She fought it for years, but when I was eight, it got a lot worse.”
Mary felt like she should offer comfort, but she had no idea how or what to say. She kept staring at the picture. “She’s really pretty. You look a lot like her.”
“Thanks. Jane actually took that picture.”
“Wow, you’ve really known her your entire life, then. And you two seem very close.” Mary turned to look at her.
Kat was smiling, but those chocolate brown eyes seemed dull. “Yeah. She got custody of me when I was 15. I’d been living with my step grandma for a few years and I was miserable. But living with her and Anne was almost like having my mom back. Except Jane never tried to replace my mom. She was clear about that from the beginning. Anne sometimes calls her ‘mom’, but I never have. She’s more of an older sister.” She smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, I don’t normally tell people my life story when I first meet them, I swear.”
Mary laughed. “It’s okay. I’m happy you have someone like Jane. And you all seem to get along really well.”
“Yeah, we do. I love living with them. But anyway, let’s go out your stuff down and head back before Jane jumps to the wrong conclusion.”
The wrong concl…oh. It took a minute for Mary to piece together what Kat meant as they entered Kat’s room, but she was eager to get back when she put it together. They had known each other for less than a day! Did people really do that?
…Yes. Yes they did. She answered her own question. There were plenty of people who did, but Mary refused to be one of them.
Kat’s room was modest. The walls were a light tan, with a double bed in the corner, a desk, a dresser, and a large closet. She had posters of different bands on her walls, and more pictures of the 3 cousins. Mary quickly threw her stuff in a corner, eager to go back downstairs before wrong conclusions were made…
…
The next morning, Mary stretched quietly, not wanting to wake Kat, who was still fast asleep. She had woken up very early and couldn’t seem to fall back asleep. So, to pass the time she scrolled through YouTube.
Lots of animal videos, lots of musical theatre, some dance videos, and a few completely random cooking videos. Clearly, YouTube wasn’t aware of her disastrous kitchen skills.
Then, she came across a video titled, “COMEDIC DOUBLE CRASH IN TIMES SQUARE” that had been posted an hour ago.
Curious, she tapped on it.
She had the sound off, and the video opened with a girl on a bike. Then, the person recording zoomed in, and she immediately recognized Kat. She didn’t remember a bike.
The video angle adjusted slightly, and Mary saw Kat’s shoelaces flying in every direction, occasionally seeming to get caught in a spike before flying free again. Her heart sank. She could guess what happened next.
Kat’s shoelaces got even more tangled until the front wheel suddenly stopped turning, lurching Kat off balance, and she fell off the bike. Someone came over and helped Kat untangle her shoelaces, but when Kat stood up, she accidentally stepped on one of her shoelaces, losing her balance again. She managed to stay upright for a few steps, but then she crashed into the orange construction sign. The video already had over a million views.
Mary burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it!
She heard a groan from the other side of the room. “What’s so funny?”
Surprisingly, Mary didn’t feel anxious as she stood and crossed the room, plopping down on the edge of Kat’s bed and handing her her phone. “You’re famous!”
Kat sat up and replayed the video, her face cringing more and more as she watched. “Of fucking course someone caught it on video!” She groaned again and flopped back onto her pillow. “I can never show my face in public again.”
Mary giggled and took her phone back, absentmindedly scrolling through the recommended videos. “At least it’s only one—oh never mind”
Kat eyed her. “What?!”
“There’s 10 other videos just on my recommended that are the same thing.” She went back to the homepage. “Scratch that, 100 others. And judging by the size of the crowd, yeah you’re gonna be internet famous by the end of the day!”
“ What?! How?!” Kat screeched, “I can not be the only person who’s fallen off their bike!”
“No, but I highly doubt many people fall off their bike then trip into a street sign.”
Kat froaned, burying her face in a pillow.
“You gathered quite the crowd!” Mary commented, watching another video.
Kat groaned, turning just enough to be understood. “I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”
“Nope!” Mary agreed happily, “and I bet my mom, Jane and Anne have seen it by now as well.”
“That’s it. I’m never leaving this room again.”
Mary giggled. “Well you’re gonna have to if you want food.”
Kat glanced at Mary. “Any chance I can convince you to bring me food,”
“Nope.”
“…You’re really pretty.”
Mary’s gut twisted. “…You said that yesterday.”
“And you’re funny. And smart. And you’re easy to talk to.”
…okay what alternate universe did Mary suddenly fall into? “…S-still not getting you food.”
Kat sat up. “Can I hold your hand?”
Mary’s heart beat loudly in her ears. “S-sure.”
She gently placed her hand on Mary’s. “Look, I know we’ve only known each other a day, but I really like you. I would like to ask you out, but I don’t think either of us would be super comfortable dating someone we just met.”
Mary swallowed and met Kat’s eyes. Did…did this mean Kat liked her back?
“So…I’d like to get to know you better before I officially ask you out. Is that okay with you?”
Mary nodded, probably a bit too eagerly. She didn’t trust her voice.
Kat smiled. “Great. Then I suppose we better go down to breakfast.”
Mary managed a nod. Kat’s hand was still on hers, and when they stood, she immediately interlocked their fingers, and Mary almost passed out. Kat’s hand was soft and warm, and holding her hand felt right in a way she’d never experienced before. This was definitely not what she had expected to happen when her mom had told her the heater was broken yesterday.
Did she regret it? Absofuckinlutely not.