Chapter 33: At School - e. Only the Lonely

Walking the halls of Carson High School on this insane day, ignored and unspoken to, Kaitlyn Dove was hardly a girl at peace. Staring straight ahead, hands jammed in her pullover's pockets, she was nearly stooped over by the weight of her book bag. There was no expression on her face; only her eyes betrayed her inner turmoil.

Big, brown soulful eyes. Normally they were her most attractive feature, but at this moment they held a steely "don't fuck with me" glare. But she was still occasionally jostled in the crowded hall as a certain kind of chaos was spreading like wildfire. But as she replayed her morning in her head, she scarcely noticed that many of her classmates were behaving oddly.

First, there was a fight – her fight – on the school bus that had her put off only a couple of blocks from her house. That led directly to a screaming argument with her mother and a shoving match with her older sister that led directly to her being dumped more than a mile from the school. Having to trudge the distance with her backpack meant she was marked as being tardy without excuse.

What she did not tell anyone was that she had run out of her lithium. Her bipolar condition was 100 percent better since it was, finally, diagnosed accurately, but her foster parents often let her prescription slide as they spent heavily on their own drunken pursuits. Her older stepsister, Sabrina, loved her, but had a blind spot in accepting her illness as an incurable condition. Shit, she'd accepted that years ago, when she woke up from her first (and most serious) suicide attempt.

The one saving grace since beginning high school was finding a close friend and confidant in Connie Dycus. Connie, who looked so tough and bitchy, was actually a softie and always had a shoulder to cry on. But Connie had disappeared without a trace.

Kaitlyn had gotten her sister to drive her over to her home. But the double-wide had been removed and a shiny new, unoccupied trailer awaited a new owner. No one seemed to know what exactly had transpired; one neighbor had seen Connie's parents head out one day on her dad's motorcycle, but they never saw them return.

Kaitlyn glanced at her reflection in a hallway trophy case.

Raven hair, long legs, perfect butt. She'd already done some modeling locally. But her temper, unchecked, stood in the way of any long-term job.

"Fuck you," she told her reflection. She wasn't sure what stared back at her in the glass, but it damn sure wasn't her definition of beauty.

She was angry. She was confused. She hated life, her stupid boyfriend "Joseph" and his stupid family, her condition, her inability to express love or even affection as she shuttled between foster families and cities.

Kaitlyn stopped and screamed. Not a scream of distress, but one of rage, frustration, pent-up hatred at her mother (and father?) dumping her in the system and – oh, yeah – sexual tension. Michael's Kool-Ade cocktail wound up affecting her bipolar DNA differently. If Meredith was an Alpha female, then Kaitlyn was an A-plus. In the first days, her lithium also served to control and contain his impact on her; she would serve him if her indifference allowed her to accept it. But Kaitlyn Dove was not a slave to anything other than her own demons.

She didn't want to fuck. She didn't was to suck cock or eat pussy. Kaitlyn wanted to kick God's ass for making her feel like this.

She arrived at her geography classroom. NO CLASS TODAY was the hastily posted note by Mr. Spencer. No instructions where to go or what to do; no wonder so many people were wandering aimlessly in the halls. She turned to retrace her angry steps to her locker, when to her shock she nearly trampled a very naked Katie Woods.

"Katie? What the fuck?" she blurted. She glance past her and noticed several other Carson students – and their librarian, Ms. Flemester! – huddled up as a group in various stages of undress.

"It's okay, Kaitlyn," Katie said, serene smile on her face. Of course, that only served to piss off Kaitlyn even more.

"Way to call attention to yourself," she sneered. "Is this some kind of flash mob bullshit?"

"Guess the 'flash' part is right," Katie said, smiling but not giggling as she normally would. This served to further creep out the already edgy girl.

"So ... why are you here like that? Get mugged in the locker room?" Kaitlyn asked warily.

"Nah. I'm done with clothes is all," Katie said, shrugging, "thanks to my Mistress. Done with clothes, done with guys, done with worrying about what people think."

"So if I thought you were crazy..." Kaitlyn began.

" ... I wouldn't care," Katie said, her smile unrelenting.

"And if I said your were a menace to traffic..." Katelyn continued, edging closer.

"I wouldn't care," Katie said more softly.

"And if I said you were kind of cute naked," Kaitlyn whispered.

"I'd say, 'Thank you.' You're kind of cute, too," Katie replied, touching her. The bond was sealed.

"Wow. That's quite a touch," Kaitlyn said, feeling the change begin. But Kaitlyn's faulty wiring troubled Katie.

Meredith find me now. Please, she thought urgently.

Meredith was actually finding her clothes when Katie entered her mind. She instinctively knew where to head and was by her side within moments. But by now, Kaitlyn's disorder had transformed Katie, who was sobbing in a fetal position; Kaitlyn, Kimber and a very mothering Zoe were trying to tend to her.

Taking Katie into her arms, it only took a moment for Meredith to understand that someone more powerful than she had entered the mix. She put her hand to Kaitlyn's cheek, and immediately had to draw back due to the raw energy coming out of the troubled teen. Her contact with Katie had triggered the long-dormant energy, but it would take the focus and strength of Meredith to harness it.

Just then, Kaitlyn got up and attempted to run away. Fortunately, Meredith had a half-dozen willing hands who were able to grab her and hold her without she hurting them or vice versa. But if she had time to regroup, that would change.

"Listen, Kaitlyn," she said urgently. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but you're going to have to trust me. If I'm right, you'll be fine. I swear."

Kaitlyn, panicked, struggled to get free, but nodded.

"Undress her," she directed her servants. "Lay Katie on top of her."

Meredith pulled off her top and slipped out of her scavenged gym shorts and pressed herself down on top of the two distressed girls. Katie looked at her wide-eyed, but had sense of the moment enough to press her mouth against Meredith's in an all-encompassing kiss.

Breaking the seal after a moment, Meredith addressed her counterpart.

"Kaitlyn! I know you realize it if you look inside yourself, but you're stronger than me!" she said hurriedly. "Concentrate. Send your energy out to me, through Katie. Touch her, enter her with your fingers."

Nodding, the girl reached up and found a sopping wet pussy, and entered two fingers effortlessly. She began kissing the back of Katie's neck and Katie's shoulders because she could feel the energy passing between them with every touch. She and Katie were beginning to build a bond stronger than the one between Katie and Meredith – and Meredith knew it, even as she completed the circuit of energy that was actually helping stabilize the other two.

She had one shot at keeping her beloved.

"Kaitlyn! Is there someone here who can help you? Someone you trust?" Meredith asked.

"No. She's gone," Kaitlyn said, thinking of Connie. "No. wait ... there is someone else."

"Okay?" Meredith said impatiently.

"My next-door neighbor. Her name is Tanner," Kaitlyn gasped.

"Help me find her," Meredith said. "Call out for her in your head. I'll do the same."

Tanner Mason, one year older than Kaitlyn, was very much her childhood friend and poolside tanning buddy until a couple of years ago, when the then-13-year-old Tanner discovered sex with boys right about the same time Kaitlyn was starting to understand her attraction to girls.

The double-barreled summons hit Tanner while she was at her locker, and threw her for a loop. Literally swept off her feet and into the row of lockers, she was dazed but generally unhurt. But as she lay there, a recollection of the good times she and Kaitlyn once shared played back through her head like a high-def movie.

It was the previous summer, almost eight months ago, and the next-door neighbors were taking their daily power walk through Carson Mall. Both had their dark hair back in a ponytail, but their similarities ended there. Tanner was much more fashion conscious, wearing a beige and white bodysuit with matching sneakers. Kaitlyn settled for a tank top and running shorts, both Kelly green.

"Your parents let you use the pool table?" Tanner asked incredulously. "Wasn't that long ago that your dad didn't even let you in that room."

"My last growth spurt," the soon-to-be freshman grinned. "I can try all the shots now."

"You're at least half-a-head taller than me now," her friend said, looking her up and down. "If you had boobs, you'd be able to pass yourself off as an upperclassman."

"Pfft. I might be able to pass myself off as an adult, you mean," she replied, glancing down at her nubs without breaking stride.

"If you had a nice golden tan, you couldn't pass yourself off as older, no prob," Tanner goaded.

"Don't start. You know you've spent as much time laying out by our pool as I have, Miss No Tan Lines."

Tanner blushed through her tan, and Kaitlyn's awareness of her friend's blossoming giving her a private thrill. Tanner, however, was bound on changing the subject.

"If I had to choose between a pool table and a learner's permit, I'd take the permit every time," Tanner said.

"We'll both be driving soon enough," Kaitlyn said, her stride perfectly matching her friend's. "Driving to games, driving to eat out, even drive to dates."