everyone_takes | (no subject)

The bookshelf keeps giving her books on drawing. It's sort of annoying, because the very last thing in the world Kate is interested in is drawing. Well, that's sort of an exaggeration. There are probably a few things she's less interested in, like walking on hot coals and shit like that, but if she's going to do anything artistic, it's going to be dancing.

Or makeup. Which she supposes is just drawing on her own face, but it's totally different.

So she's collected the books -- six in all, though the bookshelf tries to give her more -- and she's walking to Harley's place carrying all of them in a pink bag. Which, now that she's almost entirely there, she's realizing probably wasn't the best idea. They're fucking heavy and Chang isn't much of a help, trotting along beside her, occasionally sniffing himself. When she reaches Harley's hut, she's sweaty and she all but throws the bag on the ground.

"Oh, my god, I hope you're home," she groans, loud enough to be heard if he's inside. "I'm just gonna leave this shit here even if you're not."

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I snort. "I'd get fucking sick of it in two minutes." That's kind of an exaggeration, though. It probably wouldn't take even that long.

I take a long look at her, wondering if I could even begin to get her right on the page. This newest notebook is filled with sketches of Effy, but they're all fucked up, rushed. It's not like I could ask her to pose. I'd be embarrassed, just sitting there, watching her, like that.

"What was it for?"

"This stupid comic thing," Kate answers, shaking her head. She hasn't put the Princess Valhalla costume on in a long time and she knows why. She knows she isn't looking for that kind of attention anymore, latching onto anything that looked for just a second like it might be able to take her away from her crazy family.

"I was trying to collect this woman's debt and when I finally found her, she'd done all these drawings of this superhero princess and I kind of looked exactly like her," she says. "So she got me to do this stupid fucking music video and paintings and like, go to comic book stores so nerds could pay to have their picture taken with me. It was so much fun at the time."

I bark out a laugh, brow raising at her. "Shit," I say, "seriously?" It sounds pretty fucking stupid, but then, I was never into that shit. Deep down, even if it seems lame, I like the idea of anything that makes her look as cheerful as all that. She smiles more easily than anyone else I know, but it isn't the same as being happy.

I don't do too much of either, but things are different now than they used to be. These days, they aren't half bad.

"What, like with a crown and shit?"

"Uh, no. Princess Valhalla Hawkwind wore a Viking hat, okay?" Kate asks, then laughs. "I even have the costume here. I sort of showed up in it. It's totally ridiculous, these stupid red vinyl boots and shorts and plastic armor and a super long blonde and pink wig. I used to wear it to the parties sometimes, but I haven't taken it out in a long time."

The Princess seems to have been retired ever since that video of her sitting on a cake showed up on the island.

"I may have... tried to make my own business out of it," she admits. "Getting dudes to buy me stuff. So, I don't know, I'm not exactly excited about the idea of taking her back out again."

At first, it's funny. The idea of it is pretty fucking hilarious, Kate all done up like some kind of Viking superhero with some bigass wig. By the time she's done, though, I've gone tense, looking over at her and trying not to let the rage burn me up under my skin.

She made her own fucking choices and I shouldn't be pissed off, but I can't help imagining what that would entail. How easy it would be for guys to try and take advantage of her. It isn't the same thing at all, but I still think about Amber and the guys who followed her around, interchangeable assholes. I think about the couch I set on fire.

"What do you mean, business?" I ask tightly. "None of them hurt you, did they?"

"What? No. I never even met any of them," Kate said. "It was strictly an online business." That had been her intention, anyway, she hadn't actually gotten very far with it before she'd ended up on the island. "Besides," she added, "It's not like it even went beyond collecting e-mail addresses. It was still mostly in the initial planning stages and then suddenly I was here, so it's not even a thing."

And she was pretty glad that she'd come here instead. That was the sort of thing that would probably end up all over the internet and then she'd regret it, like she did with most of her weird, spontaneous ideas, and it would cause some kind of ridiculous drama.