A preface- This came out of Katie's first flashback in the RPG Heroes High 2, and I decided that the events here will be similar but diverge from Katie's backstory there. I wrote the first, pmed it to a friend or two, the gays loved it(litmus test for my fic ) and I decided to make Cute Dress a full fledged fic.

Cute Dress-

Katie Trolatoski, 17, sat in the library of her Canton,Ohio highschool, lazily looking through biology textbooks.

The place was old and musty. Katie stifled a cough so as not to disturb the tranquil environment of contemplat- and then the paper airplanes went flying.

"Ow." Katie let out a small gasp, the paper cut on her shoulder from a divebomber whizzing by. She ducked into the stacks of books, or as she'd joke "volumes of forgotten lore and such."

School sucked. Katie examined the cut on her shoulder, pressing her finger to it and seeing the little droplet of blood. She couldn't stand the sight of it back then. Nothing big though, Nurse Ratchet(for that was what they called Ms. McGill, the dictatorial and petty school nurse) wouldn't be seeing her today if Katie could help it. Katie went through the pockets of her jeans, rummaging for something to stop the small trickle of blood. Nadda, except for a bit of jean fuzz. Then came a hand through a moved copy of "The Tempest", reaching through the book racks.

Katie saw the delicate fingers holding a tissue and heard the voice- "For your cut, hon."

"Thanks. Another close call with Ratchet The Hachette."

A light and sprightly giggle came through the book stacks as the helpful stranger stepped around them and into Katie's aisle.

"The hatchet? You guys come up with the worst sounding names for her..."
"She's a nutter. Way too quick with the needles."
"She just grew up like that, is all."
"Who are you to defend her?"
"I'm Robin...McGill."

Katie's head plunged right into her hands as she leaned against the book stacks. "I'm sooo sorry, Robin."

Great, another friend opportunity killed. Never gonna fit in.

Robin brought her hand under Katie's chin and gently pushed it up, so Katie's eyes were focusing on her.

"It's fine. People...aren't usually what they seem to be. You rush to a snap judgement-meh, it's all cool."
"Meh?"
"Yeah."
"Meh."
"Yeah, meh."

The girls shared a giggle, Katie noticing things she'd never really noticed before. The way Robin's eyes would sort of pinch together in this way when she was laughing. This...cute way.

"I'm Katie, by the way...so, you're...new." Katie said, struggling a bit for words.
"Well, Dad home schooled me for a while, and then the divorce- we moved here. Apparently mom made a bit bigger impression than me."
"Hiding in book stacks with first aid equipment isn't exactly the most visible position..."
"Point."

A smile shared. Robin started down the aisle and took a right, Katie turning her head slightly to follow Robin's slender frame.

"So, why are you in the book stacks, besides the whole refugee from the great paper airplane war…thing. Err- you can tell I ramble, right?"

Katie followed the corner as from behind a head popped through an overturned copy of a Proust. "Right?"

Katie saw Robin's hair falling over her eyes, those great tear drop like eyes with that small sparkle right above the iris. Lost in them for a second, Katie quickly grabbed a book- a collection of essays by Kierkegaard, and burrowed her attention in it. She tried to play cool.

"Yeah, ramble on. Not like there's anything more interesting here. Oh, and I'm here for a book on microbes."

"I'm assuming it's not in the poetry section, right?" Came Robin, following Katie and looking up at the neatly organized corridors of books.

"Besides "ode to a eratoyke", no." Katie looked at Robin and saw no reaction. Oh, this was going badly. As was…school, life, existense, other such existential- focus, Katie!

"Umm, an eratoyke is a microbe th-"

Robin's upper teeth came from her bottom lip as she stopped stifling her laughter.

"What? I'm just…studying."

"No. I mean- yeah, studying. Jokes help with the studying and what not. Don't quit with the science humor. I think the archea is a type of fish, right?"

"You taking bio this year too?"

Robin put her hands around her throat in a mock gagging. "Mr.Quayle. No one else could make ebola boring."

Katie came out of the poetry section and into textbooks, getting the joke just then, and laughed slightly and went to adjust non-existent glasses. "Oh, and I guess I can't fiddle with my pocket protector either."

"Contacts?"

"Yeah, got them in a month ago. I still forget. But I see…" Katie's eyes had wandered back to Robin, and Robin caught her.

"Oh, you see, for sure."

"I was just- nice blouse, is all. Where'd you get it?"

"The GAP. It was- it was on sale. I like your little umm-" Robin gestured to Katie's wrist.

"Oh. You're new here. Friendship bracelets. Big thing. This one's from Kylie. So, you never answered why you want to be-"

"The bookstacks question?"

"Yah."

"Yus. That. You had a point. Counterpoint- cute girls tend to be in book sta-shit!"

Katie stepped back a little, unnerved. Off centre.

"Cute?"
"Look, just forget I said it, k?"
"No, that wasn't- "cute dress" cute. That was...something else."

Robin shifted on her short and stubby legs, resting her arm on the bookshelf.

"You have foiled my grand scheme. Huzzah." Came the dry and sardonic voice.

"I'm not a fan of sarcasm...Robin." Katie's voice hit near disdain on the last word as she turned around and headed out of the stacks. Then- a hand on an arm. Another hand on the back.

"Please. Don't."

Katie paused, a small...almost like a little electrical shock going up and down her spine. She let out a breath, trying to calm down.

"Look. I won't tell anyone you are...whatever. It's not even like- like a big deal or anything."
"I'm new here. Death sentence much? So yeah, major deal."
"Calm...calm down. I don't need an angry...girl at my throat."

Robin's face became a scowl, her breathing accelerating as she moved closer in the crowded stacks.

"I have the distinct feeling "girl" is not what you were going to say. What's your petty little insult of choice? Dyke? Freak? PERVERT?"

Robin backed up, the sudden emotion flowing through her scaring even herself as it disrupted the tranquility of the library.

"Sorry- I'm just- wow."

Katie looked behind her and saw more than a few turned heads of all varieties- jocks and nerds alike. She couldn't be involved in another...incident after her parents and...the accident, and the depression and-no. Katie tried to calm herself down, her hands fidgeting in her pockets. She spoke calmly, voice cracking a bit-

"Look, how about we talk about this somewhere a little more private, huh?"
"K..."

Robin turned around and maneuvered through the stacks like an expert.

"Huh, bookworm much?" Katie said, trying to lighten the mood.
"A bit. Mostly poetry. Which happens to be in the back. Get the lay of the land that way."

A big red exit door to the school parking lot is where they ended up, and Katie came to the door, feeling the cold handle and trying her darndest to open it. Left, right, push in- nothing worked.

"Locked. Day just keeps getting better."
"Umm...being a faculty member's kid gives you some perks...especially if you use the five fingered discount."

Robin gave a mischievous smile. At least she was smiling. As Robin fumbled through her pockets Katie looked at her. Short blonde hair that tickled and shifted around her shoulders, a face that could be described as pudgy but with a smile to outlast 'em all, and legs...legs from here to there and everywhere. Katie couldn't exactly articulate why she asked the question, but she did.

"Has anyone ever told you...that?"
"Told me what?" Robin said, a set of keys jangling in her pocket.
"That you are...cute."
"Cute dress cute or..."
"The other one."

Katie gulped. Why was she saying these things? It didn't make sense...but little of this made sense. She looked around- the stacks crowded in, no visible angle for anyone to watch. God, she was really thinking, this? Robin found a key with a bit of rust on it, and brought it up with a smile and a "eureka" look.

"That...you have a nice smile?"

Robin slowly put her hand down, the keys making a quiet sound as they went back into her pocket.

"No one's really said that about me. I'm not exactly the typical model type after all. Wait- are you?"
"No- I'm-"
"Ok. I think this is just...I'm going."

Robin started back, her heels clanking against the soft rug that made up the floor of the library. Then...

Then- a hand on an arm. Another hand on the back. And...touching. Warmth. Gentle.

"Please don't."

Then- a turn. Blonde hair swishing around in the air. A hand clenched and grasped. A head on a shoulder. Lips on a forehead. Then...lips on lips.

It only lasted a few seconds, and it was sloppy by any standard. But Katie and Robin smiled.

"Well...I guess I'm not telling anyone you're..." Katie stuttered at the last word.
"It's called being a lesbian."
"But...I also like boys."

Robin smiled.

"The reference section is Row A14, Katie. Grab the dictionary."

4 minutes later-

"Bisexual? Sounds like a..."
"Something naughty you'd do with a bike?"

Katie once again killed the quiet of the library, almost falling out of her seat at the table in uproarious laughter.


Chapter 2-Study

Robin sat on the front stoop of Katie's house, a small Victorian. She looked at the dwellings of her new...friend. They had not yet defined it as anything beyond that within the last 3 days since the kiss...and the other kisses exchanged in hidden and tucked away places.

Katie's house had a cracked finish of light blue paint, below it the original dark blue. The steps in question were granite, hard worn from years of exposure to the various elements and the footfalls upon them daily. Actually, the whole house gave the distinct impression of being lived in for quite a while, and without much maintenance. The steps, of which there were around a dozen leading up with a blue handrail, connected to it by white posts. A bit of the stone stoop had worn away, into about a pebble, and Robin delicately pushed it down the steps, watching it hop and skip the way to the road's gravel. Robin sat on the stoop, the overhanging roof, triangular almost in shape and steep, providing an overcastting shadow over her features. She took her hands and entwined them, then pulled outwards as her knuckles gave the satisfying crack of shifting air bubbles. She quickly chuckled to herself, under her breath which caused little puffs visible in the cold winter air. Very unlady like, her mother would chide such...but these middling and wandering thoughts were interrupted by a sound from behind her as Robin's hair whipped through the air, her head turning. The gray door, front entry to Katie's abode, swung open with a wind chime to signify. Robin quickly ran her hands through her hair, thinking of her looks at this most important meeting. She stood up with a bit of a crack in the back, and turned, hand in hand she shook with a firm grip. Robin saw the figure she was shaking hands with- Katie had described her mother only as "quite unhappy with me on most occasions...and those are the good days" and didn't elaborate further. She looked kind enough- reminding Robin of Katie with that long raven hair and freckle face, though the curve of the nose showed Katie's Jewish roots.

"Mrs.Trolatoski. Nice to meet you. I'm Robin, Katie's-"
"Study partner, yes, I know. Get on with it." Said Mrs. Katie, ushering Robin in and closing the door behind her.

Damn. Study partner. Well, this would have to be done...stealthily.

"Katie!" The voice echoed and boomed through the house, the fragile walls of the old structure barely containing it within the home itself. Robin's ears throbbed slightly, as she could see Katie's disdain for her mother- one did not get that great an impression from her yelling just an announcement, let alone harsh condemnations on a rebellious daughter...

"I'm on it!" The slightly agitated tone on Katie's voice from up gray shag carpeted steps made it abundantly clear she had misjudged prep time for the "studying." Katie stumbled out of the bathroom at the top of the stairs, wearing scant clothing that barely covered her. She muttered something about a lost top as Robin's expression changed markedly. The blood rushed to her face and cheeks, making them blush. Her eyes became a bit glassy of sorts, taken aback. As Katie's mother turned towards her, Robin remembered.

Study partners, damnit!

Robin turned to avoid the eyes of Mrs. Katie, and breathed quickly, shallow breaths as she stomped across the small living room they had entered into and up the stairs to Katie's room, plopping on the bed to see Katie in just a bra and tight jeans.

"Hey...study partner." Katie said, the unspoken weighing heavily on them both.

Katie leaned in towards Robin- "Oh, I usually don't take it off until the third date, but you were just so wonderfully charming-" Katie was interrupted by a playful shove from Robin.

"I couldn't think of something that toed the line between "just studying" and "date"..."

Katie gave a half-smile as Robin brought out the study books from her bag and closed the door. Robin's face was now no longer blushing, and her lips curled into a coy smile-

"Let's get studying then."


NOTE:Despite that ending, I"m keeping this PG13, folks. Sorry.

Chapter 3- Shattered Angel
Katie tossed on a stylish blue top that matched her jeans with a satisfied sigh. She sat down on her bed- like many things in the lower middle class(some might say poor) household, it looked like it should be replaced. About two sizes too small for a growing teenage girl, Katie's legs hung over the side and she swung them back and forth pendulum style, busying herself as she made idle conversation with Robin.

"Like the top?" Asked Katie, looking down over her body, craning her neck to see the blue dyed cotton fabric- one of the few things in the right size in the house.

"Yeah." Robin answered, her concentration wavering as she noticed just how small the room was for a gal Katie's age. Katie lifted up her fingers and brought the pointer and middle across each other with a "snap", snapping her fingers and directing Robin's attention back at her. Katie's face came from a smile to a neutral, slowly fading look as she pulled a bit on the top to illustrate her point-

"Wardrobe isn't exactly overflowing these days. I mean-Robin, I would have worn something nice for our first date..."

Robin tried a comforting smile, but failed miserably as she watched Katie's features sink.

Date? Date...oh my god. Date. Did she- Robin's eyebrows arched up and she responded a bit hoarsely, surprised-

"Did you say date?"

Katie looked at her, kind of confused, but with a bit of charming simplicity in her expression.

"I might be new to this, but if I invited a boy I'd kissed up to my room and closed the door for oh...I say it should take us around an hour to study, I'd call that a date..."

Robin reticently gave a nod of the head- "Guess so, but your parents wouldn't let the door stay closed if it was a boy..."

"Nah, I guess not."

A pause filled the room as they both realized what the last few sentences meant- they liked each other, but everything had to be done in secret, sneaking around behind backs and into secluded places and...

Salvage this. Think of somethin'- anythin'-umm.. Katie's thoughts, if expressed in words, would sound like that of someone with a severe speech impediment. Finally she figured out the words, trying to be clever, and failing.

"Well then, I guess that's the loss of the male variety of homo sapiens, huh?" Katie said, an arm reaching out and pulling Robin down to a seat on the bed. She put her hand over Robin's and squeezed tight, but gently.

"Right?"

Robin nodded- "Yeah, their loss." Robin's features illuminated as she gave off a slight chuckle, bright and sunny as it was- if not outside, but inside the room. Robin struggled to find a topic of conversation, to not just wrap her arms around Katie, seeing how she lived, feeling her pain at her surroundings. Then she found one and hesitantly brought it up-

"So, your mom seems...umm...nice."

"That ain't what you were going to say, Robin."

Robin squirmed a little. As much as being with Katie made her days, Katie had this annoyingly stubborn habit of making her say what she was feeling.

"I was going to say your mom seems like a witch, from all you've told me and toda-"

Robin's sentence was interrupted by Katie laughing. Bemused, Katie asked-

"A witch?"

"Yeah, a witch- wha-"

"You are about the cleanest mouthed teenage girl I've ever met, Robin McGill. I think the term you were looking for is *****, but at least it rhymed."

"No- your mom isn't-"

"I'm no hypocrite. If I can slag 'em, so can ya. Mom's a *****, Dad's a piece of **** drunk. Oh dangi-"

"Wait, what? Your Dad-"

"Imbibes a little...a lot. A lot, and isn't exactly a fun drunk."

Robin attempted to cheer the increasingly melancholy Katie up- "Who would need the bottle when they have such a wonderful daughter?"

It didn't work.

"Thanks, Robin...it's just-he loves me, he does. He loves me and mom. He...he drinks cuz we don't have money, and can't get a job cuz he drinks, so no money. Sounds simpler than it is."

Katie pressed her eyes closed, trying to keep the tears from escaping as her breathing quickened. Robin put an arm around her back and ran her fingers through that long raven hair, slowly and softly. Katie's eyes hesitantly opened, and a solitary tear dropped on the bed. She managed a half smile and a wry chuckle-

"Well, that's something to say about you and me. With most my friends I'd be in a river of tears by now. With you it's just a drizzle. Forecast sunny, maybe...wow, now I know why I'm not a poet."

They shared a chuckle as Katie moved in closer, leaning on Robin physically. She'd already done that emotionally many times over the last few days, but no act so pronounced as this. Katie's hair fell over her face as she lay her head on Robin's lap, sobbing lightly, trying not to make a sound as to tip off her parents to her turmoil. Robin carefully brushed the hair out of Katie's face and bent over, looking her right in the eyes and speaking in a calm, comforting tone-

"Katie...look. You're-you're going through hard times, I know. But I'm here. And I...care about you, ok? I really-I do."

Robin leaned over and pressed her lips to Katie's forehead, and slowly pulled back with a small kiss so delicate and tranquil it felt like what the touch of an angel was said to be, at least to the distraught Katie. Looking up through tear clouded eyes, at Robin with her flowing golden locks, Katie whispered.

"My angel..."

A bit later, the tears no longer flowing, Robin had a revolutionary idea. Cautiously she put it out there-

"Maybe during this studying session we could umm...study?" Katie let out a small giggle, and reached for the bag of books.

"First subject?" Asked Robin.

Katie smiled. Her favorite- biology.

"Let's get a'studyin'."


NOTE: DUN DUN DUN! The first hint at the Heroes universe tie-in to the end of this story is here- took 3 chapters, but it'll sure play into the ending!

I guess I will keep comments at the 101st. Cause it rocks!

EDIT:Oops, nvm.