#004 . kate wallis ❪ threads ❫

[lcstpaths]

THE PARTY WAS RAGING, loud and crowded, and while before Kate would have hated something like this... Now? Now, being alone made her feel like she was suffocating, so her mom and dad having a weekend away in the city meant that she'd jumped at the opportunity to fill her house with living, breathing bodies. Something other than flashbacks. She hadn't been blind to the look of shock on her friend's faces when she'd told them she was throwing a party that weekend, but it also hadn't stopped her.

SHE'S LINGERING ON THE OUTSKIRTS of the crowd around the keg, a grin teasing the edges of her lips when she notices them all cheering Billy on. It hasn't taken him long to integrate himself into her friend group, and it's kind of refreshing. He is, after all, the one person who doesn't know who she was before. "You know, if you keep that up, the keg's going to empty before the party's over," she teases lightly, stepping up to him as the next person goes to take their turn. Sure, there was another - and it's not like she was drinking the beer anyway - but she liked to tease.

@hargrove got a starter from kate !

[lcstpaths]

@irrcdeemable liked for a kate wallis starter!

"YOU SEEM PRETTY COMPETITIVE OUT THERE ON THE COURT." Kate's discerning gaze drifts over Billy as he exits the boy's locker room, her shoulders pressed back against the lockers on the wall behind her. "Is basketball kind of your thing, or is it something else?" She'd been preoccupied since he'd moved to Hawkins - and the predicament of last year had quieted her desire to roll out the welcome wagon - but as she slowly reacclimated to her life, she figured introducing herself to Hawkins' most popular new kid would do bring more normalcy. "I've always been more of a football girl myself."

[lcstpaths]

tag drop.

[lcstpaths]

"You sure about that, princess?" Billy teased her, looking down at the small blonde. "Kinda seems like you're jealous." He was absolutely a flirt at the best of times but he liked Kate and when he liked someone, a rare thing, he was loyal. "You have nothing to worry about." He reached out a hand and gently brushed her hair back. "You have my attention. Not some random chick."

HER LOWER LIP JUTS OUT just a touch, stomach curling with nerves before, just like that, that knot unfurls, body leaning into him. Kate is no stranger to having people's attention - but in a way, she can't quite wrap around the idea that Billy actually liked her. The real her. He saw her ugly parts - because she knew they at times brought out the worst in each other - and he didn't run. "Well," the word escaped her on a sigh, before her hands come up to rest lightly against his chest. "Okay... I believe you." He wasn't the problem, after all - it was more... how the other girl was looking at him.

@popularmxnster continued from here.

[lcstpaths]

HER BEST SMILE SPREADS OVER HER LIPS, perfectly practiced just like it'd always been before the incident. She was nothing if not incredible at being charming, and though she was rusty at it, still working at coming back out of her shell, those instincts hadn't gone away. "I'm Kate," she offers, and though her manners make her want to tack on her last name to that, she leaves it out. Having someone recognize the Wallis name is the last thing she needs when they're not bringing it up themselves. "Think you chose to show up in the wrong kind'a town - nothing ever happens around here. Think our biggest claim to fame is the fact that a retired professional football player lives here." Oh, and his daughter who was kidnapped and killed someone, but hey, she loved the man who had claimed him as his own, so she wouldn't complain about the fact that this is where he'd chosen to settle down.

📞 ───── he stepped back some and took her in. he was practically gauging how much of an issue this could be if he lingered. once upon a time, even now, his face remained wanted and on screens. wanted for murder. not a great look but hell he’d almost gotten away with it. that was what truly irritated him, fucking sidney prescott. he reminded himself to focus as he turned his attention back upon kate wallis and raised his brow. “yeah guess i am.” he spoke as he shifted his jaw, “brand new.” he added. he had considered a fake name, but this place was … off the grid that and something about her suggested he didn’t need to be quite that careful. not like he’d be here long, he’d be an idiot to stay in one place too long for people to ask too many questions and figure things out. “billy….” he offered as his introduction.

@lcstpaths

[lcstpaths]

AS THINGS SLOWLY WORKED THEIR WAY BACK TO NORMAL, some of Kate's old habits were resurfacing. She was still prone to bouts of rage and depression, or anxiety, but her sharper edges? They were softening once again. It's the instinctive, "I'm sorry," that leaves her lips when they nearly collide, despite the fact that she's fairly sure this isn't her fault. "I'm pretty short. Easy to miss when I slip through the cracks." There'd been a time where she hardly walked anywhere without all eyes on her - she'd been the kind of girl people noticed. But that's what had gotten her into trouble. And almost on instinct, she'd withdrawn. "You... new around here? I don't think I've seen you." And she knew most people in town, back from before. Was this someone who didn't know? She could only hope.

📞 ───── honestly, for the most part billy kept to himself, was the smart choice when he had taken stu’s television incident as a moment to realize; they failed. he’d run. so laying low kept him alive and out of jail. which is how he ended up here in this town to keep himself low and unseen, no one would think to find him here. he paused as he nearly turned into her completely. "jesus." he grunted but trying to keep the rudeness out of his tone as he raised his hands. laying low to avoid jail for murder ... kind of sucked. "excuse you." because of course it would be her fault.

@lcstpaths ♥ for a starter from billy loomis for kate wallis