"God fucking dammit!"
Scott woke up when he heard Katie cursing and knew that she was trying to make bacon again in a frying pan. He couldn't help but laugh. "We need to get her some longer tongs so she stops being so close to the pan and having the grease burn her hand," he said to himself. He got up, put on a shirt and walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen area. "You know you don't have to make everyone breakfast every Saturday morning."
Katie turned her head and glared at him. "I guess you don't want any bacon then."
Scott shook his head. "I never said that."
"Then don't antagonize the cook making the bacon," Steve said from the living room. "Out of the four of us, she is the only one that really knows how to cook anything."
"Like making bacon is that hard," Scott challenged.
Katie took the strips of bacon out of the pan and put them onto a plate. "Well, last time you tried to make bacon, you burnt them to a crisp and the time before that you uncooked them."
"And I learned..."
"You will never even attempt to make bacon again," Liz said coming out of her bedroom, "unless Katie is supervising you."
Scott felt ganged up on, but he couldn't admit that they were right either. Then again, he was just happy that his parents agreed to him living in an apartment with Steve, Liz and Katie during the summer and for their sophomore year of college. After his suicide attempt, he felt like he needed better support and life in the dorms felt too chaotic. While summer was much quieter, he was already starting to feel calmer in the apartment. He kept busy by working at a local fast food place and taking a summer class. His parents mandated the summer class otherwise they would have not paid for the rent for the summer.
It was easy for him to agree to have Liz and Steve as his roommates, but much harder for him to agree to let Katie be a roommate. Liz had to beg him to agree to it and remind him that Katie already understood him better than a stranger would. The fact she knew how to cook was a big bonus as well that eventually swayed him, even though he still had his reservations.
"OK, OK, I won't cook anything without someone watching me."
"Except for pancakes," Katie said putting more slices of bacon into the pan. "Those you can make anytime because you're good at it."
"Is that your way of telling me..."
"Yes," Katie interrupted him so she could keep on watching the bacon.
Scott got the electric griddle out that Liz's parents had donated to them and started heating it up. Once that was done, he got a bowl and the pancake mix out. After half an hour he had made several small pancakes for everyone to eat and Katie had finished making the rest of the bacon. "Let's eat," Scott said seeing that all the food was cooked. Everyone sat down at the table and started eating their breakfast.
"So do you two want to join Steve and me for a run once we're done?" Liz asked.
Both Scott and Katie shook their heads no. "I need to work on my speech for class on Monday," said Scott.
"How is that going?" Steve asked after swallowing a mouthful of pancake.
"Well I figured out the topic of the speech. I just need to figure out what to say in five minutes."
"What topic did you choose?" Liz asked.
"What it is like to be autistic."
Both Steve and Liz knew then what Scott's dilemma was. "So do you have any idea of how you are going to put that crate of information into a five minute speech?" Steve asked.
"Not one clue," Scott said, feeling depressed and overwhelmed by the task.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," Steve said trying to encourage him.
They continued to eat until all the pancakes and bacon were gone. Scott and Katie cleaned up the mess while Steve and Liz changed into their running clothes. They left a few minutes later leaving Scott and Katie alone in the apartment.
"So, do you have to work today?" Scott asked.
Katie nodded her head. "Yep. Another fun day working at Chili's. I'm just glad they are finally letting me work a dinner shift so I can make some good tips."
"I'm sure you have to bat the guys away all the time," Scott said with a wry smile.
Katie laughed. "Actually, lately it's been the women who have been more handsy than I would like."
"Well what's not to like?"
"True, but sometimes I wished I wasn't just viewed as a sex object." She turned her head to look at Scott. "That's one thing I loved about dating you. You never made me feel like a sex object."
"Yeah," Scott commented remembering those times.
They finished doing the dishes and Scott went into his room trying to work on his speech while Katie went into her room and read a book.
Scott worked for an hour on a rough draft of his speech, but kept thinking he needed to add more, but then worried that he was just rambling on about one aspect of autism. Growing frustrated, he banged his hand on the desk. The bang made Katie jump and she went to go check on Scott. "Everything OK?" she asked concerned.
"No," Scott admitted, feeling frustrated. "There is just so much to tell and say that...I don't know what is most important to say and keep it under five minutes."
Katie leaned against the doorframe of Scott and Steve's room and began to think. "Why not narrow the scope of your speech?"
Scott looked up at her with a questioning look, still feeling frustrated. "And how would I do that?"
"Instead of trying do a speech about being autistic, why not do a speech about how best to help someone who is autistic?"
Scott thought about what Katie said and it made sense. "I could do that. And it narrows my thought process." He didn't even finish his sentence before he started typing away on his laptop. Satisfied that he was on the right path, Katie went back to her room to read her book and relax.
However, she had a hard time focusing on reading as her thoughts went to how much she wanted Scott to view her as more than a friend and roommate. After he told her that he wanted to be friends with her, she had a hard time coming to grips with that reality. But slowly over the rest of their freshman year they made it work, even though her feelings for Scott were still there. She knew not to push him into a relationship because that is not what he wanted. It killed her inside but there was nothing she could do about it.
The only thing that did keep her sane was the fact that he didn't try to date anyone. If he had started to date another woman she would have become extremely jealous and probably ruin their friendship. She wanted to get over Scott and move on, but she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.
*****************************************
"Thank the fucking Lord this night is over with," Katie said out loud as she came into the apartment.
"Night from hell?" Scott asked from the living room.
"Do you remember that term our parents told us about for women who just bitched and moaned and wanted their way?"
"Yeah, I think they called them 'Karens'."
Katie nodded her head. "I had a table full of 'Karens' and three other tables with a 'Karen' at each."
"I'm sorry you had a rough night," Scott said as he got up from the sectional, "but I do have something that will make your night better."
Katie glared at him. "I don't think there is anything you have that could make my night better."
Scott went to the freeze and pulled out a carton of ice cream. "I'm sure mister mint chocolate chip here would say otherwise."
Katie looked back and forth between the carton of ice cream and Scott. "When did you get that?"
"I went and got it a few minutes after you left for work. I wanted to thank you for helping me with my speech and Liz told me before this is the only ice cream flavor you eat."
Katie smiled, not expecting this from Scott. "Thank you Scottie."
"Scottie?" Scott said in shock. "You haven't called me that in...a long time."
Katie's face turned red in embarrassment. "Umm, yeah. It has been a while."
Scott then smiled when he thought about it. "I've missed you calling me that. It makes me feel...good."
Katie blushed. "Well I'm going to change into some more comfortable clothes and scoop myself some ice cream."
"Go change," said Scott pushing her towards her bedroom. "I'll scoop the ice cream into a bowl that is also in the freezer."
Katie happily went into her room, changed into her favorite pajamas and left her room seeing Scott standing in the kitchen facing her with a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream in his extended hands. She happily received the bowl, took a spoon full, placed it in her mouth and let out a relaxing moan. "Thank you so much Scott."
"You're welcome. Now go sit on that couch and hit play on the TV."
Katie did as she was told and was happy to see 'Gilmore Girls' on the TV. "You really are going overboard for me just for helping you with your speech assignment."
"The ice cream was the thank you. 'Gilmore Girls' is because you had a shitty day at work, and you need something else to make you happy."
Katie smiled again and realized she hadn't smiled this much in a long time. "You're a great friend Scott." She sat down on the sectional and hit play. Scott surprised her by sitting down next to her. "You don't have to watch 'Gilmore Girls' with me."
"I know, but who else is going to get you ice cream when you want another bowl? Steve and Liz are out seeing a movie and I want to help make your night better." Katie's smile never left her face as she ate three bowls of ice cream and watched the 'Gilmore Girls'. She knew Scott didn't care for the show that much, but he was willing to make her night better at whatever cost to him. After the third episode finished, she backed out of the series and scrolled through the anime genre until she came across 'Gundam Wing'. "Why are you choosing to watch this?"
