Disclaimer: I do not own anything referred here. The characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and the ABC Studios and the music belongs to Katy Perry. No copyright infringement intended.

The One That Got Away

"Summer after high school when

we first met

We'd make out in your Mustang

to Radiohead

And on my 18th birthday

We got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor and

climb to the roof

Talk about our future like we had

a clue

Never planned that one day

I'd be losing you"

- "The One That Got Away", Katy Perry

THEN

"No, Maddie!" she just wouldn't do it. No way. No!

"Come on, Becks. Loosen up a little! It's going to be fun."

"Maddie, I'm not going to play third wheel in your date with your boyfriend. And I am not going to a party where everybody is smoking weed."

Maddie pouted beside her and kept walking to the beach, towels hanging from her arm and a purse hanging from her wrist. The sunglasses she had on occupied almost all of her face and her blond hair was falling down her shoulders in sunkissed waves.

"Why not?" she asked again, still pouting.

"Because I don't want my mom be so disappointed with me again. She did not appreciated me coming home high the other night. I promised, Maddie. Enough parties."

Maddie huffed and looked around for a good spot for them to settle. She seemed to find a decent enough, far enough from all the families and loud kids running around.

They set their towels on the floor and laid down, catching as much sun as they could.

Kate slid her sun glasses into place, preventing the sun to blind her and finally allowed herself to relax. Just relax a little.

Highschool was over now. She was going to kinda miss it. But it was over. A part of her life that she had enjoyed and would never get back to. Close one chapter and open another, right?

She was already waiting for her college letters to arrive. She applied to Harvard and Standford and NYU, just to appease her dad's mind. There was also a bunch of other universities that she had applied to, just to be safe. Just so she could have a lot of options in case Standford and Harvard didn't work out.

She took a deep breath in, smelling the ocean and the sand, the sun block and the lunch that many families were getting ready to eat. She loved it. It smelled like summer.

In that moment she felt finally relaxed and at peace.

And then Maddie was shaking her arm and getting up quickly, getting sand all over her and her towel.

"Maddie!" she complained, taking off her sunglasses and looking at Maddie that was distracted with something in the ocean. Kate shook her head and got up "What's your problem?" she asked shaking the sand off of her with a hand.

"Look a that." she said pointing to a couple of guys that were by the ocean, playing around, trying to dunk each other and laughing. "We should go over there. Dibs on the one with the blonde hair."

Kate shook her head at her. "You have a boyfriend."

"Well, yeah. But I think I need more boy friends, don't you think?" she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the water "Let's make friends Becks. A little socializing would do you good after spending all that time studying and writing applications."

Kate rolled her eyes, but let Maddie drag her.

Maybe she needed a little socializing. And it didn't hurt that both boys were cute. Very cute. Okay, yeah. They were hot!

Good thing the ocean was so cool.

Maddie, as shameless as she was, approached the boys and cleared her throat loudly, so she could be heard over the ocean waves.

The boys stopped dunking each other and looked over at them. The guy with the broad shoulders and the big blue eyes took his arm out from around the blonde guy's neck and stood a little straighter, a charming smile appearing on his face.

"Hi, there." Maddie said cheekily.

Oh, God!

Kate rolled her eyes and the guy with the brown hair turned immediately to her.

"Hi. I'm Rick. This is Mike." The guy with the brown hair introduced them, reaching out a hand to shake Maddie's and her hands.

She took his hand gracefully and he grinned at her, a little smug and a lot cute.

"I'm Maddie and this is Kate." she said simply, all smiles and charm.

"Nice to meet you." Rick said, with the charming/smug smile in place.

"Yeah, very nice." the blonde guy, Mike, said shamelessly tracing his eyes over their bodies. At least Rick had the decency of talking to their faces and not with their boobs.

Maddie giggled and she rolled her eyes, getting Maddie's elbow in he ribs as a warning.

She tended to roll her eyes a lot at guys like these.

Mike didn't seem all that fazed though. Concentrating his eyes on Maddie, but Rick was looking at her with an amused and curious look.

"We were just about to go grab something to eat, would you care to join us?" Rick offered.

Kate started shaking her head to politely deny, but Maddie's elbow in her ribs and the deeming light in Rick's eyes made her stop.

"We'd love to." Maddie said, accepting the invitation for her.

The guys took them to a nice little restaurant in the avenue with view to the sea.

It was... nice, actually. It was very nice of them.

Maddie kept elbowing her and throwing meaningful glances between her and Rick and it was seriously starting to piss her off.

They sat in a table of four, the boys in one of the sides of the table and the girls in the other. Maddie had arranged the seats so she was face to face with Rick and she was facing Mike.

The waitress came by the table with a smile and a deep cleavage that had Mike's eyes staring at her boobs while she took their orders. She just asked for a salad. She really wasn't that hungry.

Maddie ordered a salad to and the boys asked for burgers.

After the food arrived Maddie initiated an easy conversation, talking about trivial things that Kate didn't really care about. Chances were that she would never see these guys again, so why make the effort?! They were probably convinced, self-centered jackasses.

"...right, Kate?" Maddie said suddenly, making her fork stop in mid air. What were they talking about?!

Maddie looked at her with something like apprehension while Rick looked amused. Mike was still staring at Maddie's boobs.

"What?" she asked, making Maddie roll her eyes at her.

"I was just telling the boys how fun the party tonight is going to be. Right, Kate?"

Oh, right! The party she was not going.

"Yeah, sure. I'm not going, though."

"Why?" Rick asked immediately, leaning a bit forward.

"Because." she said back with a defiant glint in her eyes.

Rick leaned back again with that amused smirk. And for a minute she thought he would ask her again, but he just got back to his burger.

Maddie looked at her with a scold and shook her head slightly. She just shrugged her shoulders and got back to her salad.

After everyone had finished Rick flagged the waitress to bring them the check. The young woman did an impeccable job, hurrying back in record time. She placed the check on top of the table, batting her eyelashes at Rick.

Kate just rolled her eyes and reached for it, but Rick beat her to it and quickly paid for everyone's meal.

She lifted an eyebrow at him when the waitress left.

"What?" he asked.

"We could have split the check, you know?!"

Mike chuckled and placed an arm around Rick's shoulder, squeezing them.

"Don't worry. Rick is loaded!"

Rick stiffened a bit and his mouth became a tight line. He didn't seem that happy to be talking about money.

Maddie laughed "Did you rob a bank or something?" she asked trying to lighten up the mood.

He gave them a tight smile.

"Something like that." and he left it at that, before getting up and leading them outside.

Kate checked her watch to see that it was almost three in the afternoon.

Wow. Had they really been in that restaurant for two hours?!

"Well, it has been lovely, ladies. But I'm afraid I'll have to leave you for now."

"What?" Mike protested, glancing at Maddie.

"She has a boyfriend, dude." Rick said with a shake of his head.

"How do you know that?" Maddie said, making Mike's head fall to his chest.

Kate had to put her hand in front of her mouth to hide the smile.

"Well, it's obvious. You see that necklace of yours?!" he said pointing at the necklace Maddie's boyfriend had given her. A sea shell that he had picked up and made into a necklace in a very sweet gesture "There's only two kinds of people who wear that type of necklace. Little girls. And people with boyfriends. Or are you going to tell me that you made that yourself?" he said raising an eyebrow.

Wow. This guy was smart. Maybe not as jackass-y as she thought after all.

Maddie gave him a laugh and a smile.

"Good work, Sherlock! You should be a detective."

Rick smirked "Nah. I think I've already found my vocation."

And with that he gave them a cute little wave and left, taking Mike with him.

Maddie turned to her with a funny look.

"What?!"

"You like him." she stated with a smirk.

"I do not." she said blushing a bit and folding her arms causing Maddie to laugh at her. She huffed "Shut up, Maddison."

She gave her a little wave of her hand.

"Whatever." and walked off, expecting Kate to follow her.

She opened the door to the house her parents had rented for the month, so she and Maddie could spend the summer at the beach, and entered followed closely by Maddie.

"Hey, Katie." her dad greeted with a smile from behind the newspaper he was reading in the sinfully comfy armchair.

"Hey, dad."

"Hi, Maddison." her father said "You guys get any sun?"

"Hey, Mr. Beckett. Yeah, and we caught a couple of guys to. They bought us lunch and everything."

Jim raised an eyebrow, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Where they cute?" her mother asked, suddenly making her appearance in the doorway that led to the kitchen.

Her father choked a bit on a breath, much to Kate's delight and Maddie started nodding enthusiastically.

"Oh, yeah. There was this one with blonde hair and blue eyes and the other one with blue eyes and brown hair. Real hunks. Rick and Mike. Kate likes Rick."

"Shut up, Maddie. I do not!" she hissed.

"Which one was Rick?" her mother asked ignoring her protests.

Her dad apparently decided to get up and make himself disappear once the conversation was certainly not going his way or nowhere within is comfort zone.

"The one with the brown hair. Tall, charming, ruggedly handsome. Paid for the bill all on his one and seemed to take special interest in Becks."

Kate huffed at her again "He did not."

"Did to. He couldn't stop staring at you, even when you were distracted with your salad."

"Katie," her mother laughed at her "you were more interested in a salad then in a boy?"

Kate lifted an eyebrow "Aren't you supposed to be glad that I'm being a good girl and not making out with every guy that appears?!" she asked, raising one eyebrow at her mother.

She waved a hand at her "Live a little Katie. You know that there's a midterm. You don't have to be a wild girl nor a saint. Be something in between."

"Exactly. That's why you should come to the party tonight." Maddie piped in.

"But I don't wanna." she said in a bit of a whiny tone. Whoops.

"I agree with Maddie." her mother said.

"What?"

"Yeah. You're a smart girl and Maddie needs someone to look after her."

"Hey!" Maddie complained receiving raised eyebrows from both Becketts. She shrugged and gave them that dazzling smile. "Yeah, okay. You're right." she admitted.

"Fine!" Kate said, walking towards the stairs and leaving Maddie and her mom behind cheering.

Ugh, whatever!

She would just go and make sure Maddie didn't get too drunk or too high and then she would bring her back home.

Maddie ran to her side and threw an arm over her shoulders.

"We are going to have so much fun!"