Chapter 2 - guilty

Jack didn't know many people in college yet and so he would spend a fair amount of his weekends and evenings hanging out with them all. Katie would watch him studying Hannah's pampering and overfeeding of his older brother and had a sinking feeling as she realised that the cogs were turning in Jack's head.

"You and Hannah are so awful!" he grinned as Hannah and Daryl headed off to her place one evening, after a heavy take-out order. "Poor Daryl has no clue, does he?"

"I don't know what you mean," Katie mumbled, starting to tidy up, unable to make eye contact with Jack.

"Hannah's easy to spot as a feeder. I had to watch her all summer long, encouraging Daryl to eat and insisting that those tight clothes looked good on him," he laughed. "But I had no idea she had you helping her!" he nodded. "More beer Daryl? I can't finish my pizza Daryl, it's a shame to waste it. I have some ice cream if you want it Daryl?" Jack parroted, reminding Katie of all the things she had said, just that evening. "You're trying to help her fatten him up!"

Katie could feel her face flushing red. She thought she had been more subtle in her encouragement this evening. Apparently not. How was she supposed to respond to that?

"Not that I'm judging," Jack laughed. "Daryl has never been the brightest crayon in the box," he chuckled to himself. "It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that he's wound in a relationship with a girl like Hannah secretly growing a fat gut on him."

"Are you going to tell him?" Katie mumbled awkwardly, giving up on trying to hide her part in Daryl's weight gain.

Jack smiled, not giving anything away. "Maybe," he teased, taking the only remaining slice of pizza Hannah and Katie hadn't managed to get down Daryl's throat. "I'll have to think about it," he grinned smugly.

Katie decided not to tell Hannah that Daryl's little brother was on to her. It would only make things awkward and she wasn't even sure of what Jack planned to do about it yet. Still, it became rather more awkward keeping the secret as Jack's penetrating eyes watched the three of them together.

"Let's order some pizza!" Hannah sang as the four of them came back to Katie's room one evening after going out for ice cream. "You could get some pizza, couldn't you babe?" Hannah smiled, looking up at her pot-bellied boyfriend adoringly.

Katie watched Jack taking it all in, knowing exactly what Hannah was up to with his big brother.

"Ugh," Daryl paused, quietly burping from everything he had already eaten that night, "I don't know actually, I'm pretty stuffed," he grunted, looking more pig-like every day.

"What do you think Katie?" Hannah asked her, hoping for her support, as always.

Katie looked guiltily across at Jack who smiled at her, wondering how she was going to respond.

"Um, well, I don't know..." she squirmed, under Jack's gaze. "Maybe not tonight," she replied at last.

"Nonsense!" Jack broke in. "You were just saying all the way home how you were still starving," Jack lied, smiling at Katie. "Let's order!"

Katie turned, looking confused at Jack as he fished out his cell phone and starting ordering online.

Hannah had coaxed Daryl into a big order and somehow, Jack had managed to place a rather large order for Katie too. "We might as well get the special offer," he shrugged, "reviewing the large amount of food they had collectively put together. "I hope you can eat it all," Jack smiled at Katie as he tapped to confirm the order. "I'd hate to be disappointed."