Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever, though I've been reading it for years. Please let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy it. -Erika

A Night in Padua High

Chapter 1

Kat Stratford was not having a good day. Actually, today was her worst day of the year. October 16 was just an ordinary day for most, but she detested it. And now, making it even worse was the evacuation to her high school because of a brush fire.

Nature was screwing her over; after all she had done for it and love she had for it.

She had been laying on her dark purple covered bed, ignoring the world around her since waking up that morning. Her dad had knocked on the door a couple of minutes ago, telling her they had to leave immediately for the school. She picked up her comfortable black jacket and small notebook, knowing that her dad wouldn't let her stay at home. But she wouldn't be Kat Stratford is she didn't argue the point anyways. So making sure she had her favorite pencil, she headed down to the foyer, where her dad was waiting by the door.

"Dad, come on, is it really necessary to go the Padua High? I mean, being in one burning building isn't any better than being in another. We should stay in the building with the TV set and bed. There's a "Planet Earth" marathon going on tonight."

"Sorry Kat, you heard the emergency phone alert. All residents of Padua are heading to the school. We are residents; therefore to the high school we go. Come on, it will be fun. You and Bianca can introduce me to all your friends. We should make the most out of this."

"Uhh, dad," Bianca squealed as she entered the room in her PJs, "you are not gonna embarrass us, right? It's bad enough I'm wearing desert-print pjs. I don't even want to think about when Chastity sees them, and my not yet finished hair."

"Don't you guys have more important things to think about? Who cares what Miss Queen C thinks? And why would you want to socialize tonight? It's Saturday, I didn't want to have to speak to anyone today. I thought I was in luck with it being the weekend. Now, it's all messed up."

Bianca looked at her dad and gave him an eye roll and frown, followed by a small shake of her head. She knew Kat wouldn't be cooperative, especially today of all days. She wasn't in the best mood either, hence her comfort food pjs and beginnings of a make over. Unlike Kat, she was looking forward to seeing everyone. Being around her friends meant talking, which is the perfect way to get her mind off things. She didn't realize that Kat might have even more of a reason to hate this day. So with a last hair check, she headed into Padua High.

Mandela didn't know what to do or where to go. She had found an open and empty classroom an hour ago and had kept everyone else from entering it. It was her turf for the night, and she didn't want any of these losers she went to school with to come and annoy her. She figured once Kat got there they could just hang out and talk about the stupidness of this evacuation.

But now she was right outside the classroom and the door was closed against her back. She didn't know what went wrong, but one minute she was smiling at Kat and saying hello, and the next Kat was asking her if she minded leaving the room. Mandela wanted to be insulted, but Kat had really looked like she needed to be alone. She usually looked ready to kick some ass or insult some deserving diva, but when Kat had entered the class wearing her pajama pants, blue shirt, and jacket, she looked as if she had gone 5 rounds with herself and lost every time.

So she was guarding the door and giving her friend some privacy. Obviously, if she wanted to talk, she'd ask her to come back in. Sketchbook on her lap, Mandela started drawing another cartoon. Right when she was starting to accessorize her bimbo Padua high student with stiletto heels, two size 12 boots stopped right in front of her.

Looking up slowly, she stared into the dark eyes of Patrick Verona and said with a stutter, "Um, hi Mr. Verona. I hope you are having a lovely night."

Patrick Verona was not having a good night. He was supposed to be having a relaxing night, lying on his living room couch and doing some writing. Now he was back at what used to be his weekly hell. But that was before the two newest transfer students arrived. Kat Stratford was a breathe of fresh air at Padua High, and he was in the mood to take a big gulp of that breeze. After walking for a half hour searching for her or her gothic best friend, he finally found said friend sitting in front of a closed door. Considering Kat wasn't next to her, there were two possible situations. One, Kat wasn't here yet and Mandela was keeping lookout while protecting an empty room. Or two, Kat was in said room, and Mandela was protecting both the room and its occupant. Not wanting to wait to find out the answer, he went right up to Mandela and waited for her to look up. Once she got out a greeting, he went straight to the point.

"Where's Kat?"

"She's inside," Mandela responded, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, pointing to the door.

"So why are you outside?" He said, asking the obvious question.

"I have my reasons."

"And why is Kat inside?" He was getting frustrated with her short answers.

"I'm sure she has her reasons, too."

"Alright, Mandela, just spit it out. What's going on with you and Kat? Or just you? Or just Kat?" Patrick wanted into that classroom, but he needed to get her to move before that was possible.

Mandela was indecisive. She knew Kat and Patrick had been having this weird back and forth relationship that had a lot of sarcasm with a hint of friendliness built into it. Should she tell Patrick how upset Kat had looked? Maybe he could get her to tell him what was wrong.

Going with her gut, she replied, "I had been saving the classroom for the two of us when she got here. She looked pretty down, so I asked what was up, thinking her sister had done something stupid or her dad was being weird. She didn't even answer, just apologized and asked if she could have the room to herself. What was I going to say, no? So I said sure and told her I'd keep guard and make sure she was left alone. She thanked me and turned towards the chalkboard. She hasn't been out since, and she got here around 2 hours ago."

Surprised that she said so much, considering her fear of him and protectiveness of Kat, he thought a moment before replying. He knew something big had to have happened if Kat kicked out Mandela from the room. All he knew is that if a guy was the reason she was upset, he would kick his ass this time. Letting Charlie Woo go without even a threat was hard enough; he wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Let me in. I need to speak to her."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

The fact that she was willing to overcome her fear and question his words showed him how upset Kat must be.

Respecting her protectiveness, he replied, " I think she needs to talk about what ever is bothering her. There is no need to get her angry with you, and she is always pissed at me. So you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain if I can get her to let it out."

Patrick wasn't the only one surprised by this conversation. She had never heard Patrick Verona say so much at once, especially to her. Maybe all the rumors weren't true. Then again, even if only a few were, he would still be a very scary person. But Kat didn't seem to have a problem with scary. Mandella knew some of her classmates feared her as well. Yet Kat had befriended her right off the bat.

"You really care about her, huh?"

He didn't want to give too much away, but he did want to reassure her that he had Kat's best interest at heart. So he replied with a casual "what do you think?" but gave her an actual smile instead of a smirk.

Understanding what he wasn't saying, she scooted over to let Patrick get through the door and enter Kat's domain.

The next chapter should be up here later this week. It's supposed to be a short fic, but you never know. Bye!