Camera Obscura-Katrick, Rated K+ for crude language.

Summary: Kat's internship at a local newspaper throws a monkey wrench into her budding friendship with Patrick.

AN: This takes place just after the Auto Shop episode.

ABC Family owns these characters. I only dally with them on occasion.

Note: The camera obscura (English veiled chamber) is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography. The principle can be demonstrated with a box with a hole in one side (the box may be room-sized, or hangar sized). Light from a scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface where it is reproduced, in color, and upside-down. The image's perspective is accurate. The image can be projected onto paper, which when traced can produce a highly accurate representation.

1

Kat and Mandella sat in the yearbook office and laughed themselves silly over some of the photos Kat had taken in the past week. "These are the dudes from Auto Shop," Kat explained with a roll of her eyes. "Such lovely, enlightened fellows."

Mandella shook her head. "I still can't believe you went through that."

"It was a means to an end."

Her friend huddled closer and said, "Did Patrick Verona threaten you with a crow bar?"

Kat smiled tightly. "Don't I wish! That would have given me license to use excessive force on him."

"What's going on with you two? Every time I run into you, you're in each other's faces."

That was indeed a very good question. "It's kind of like this Moonlighting thing, except we loathe each other."

Mandella looked thoughtful. "Huh. Because you kind of seem like you're really into..."

A few members of the yearbook staff walked in and Kat drew a line across her throat and said gaily, "So, what cheerleading photos do you think I should use?" When the staff members turned their backs, she made a gagging motion and returned to the page of candids she had just captured.

*****
Patrick waited by her car, figuring she'd have to come this way eventually. In the past two weeks, they hadn't had a single conversation or hallway encounter. It was almost as if she'd memorized his schedule and devised a plan to avoid him. Keeping their distance was one thing, but this was ridiculous.

Kat came strolling along just after the 2:00 bell. She barely reacted at the sight of him, only raising an eyebrow slightly and saying, "You couldn't stay away, could you? Who has the obession now?"

He laughed, but there was no answering smile. "How's the car working for you?"

She tossed her backpack into the passenger seat and commented, "Like you care. You bet against me."

"What of it? So did everyone else. It was nothing personal."

Kat jumped in the car and glared at him over the top of her sunglasses. "Just like my ignoring you. It's nothing personal." She started up the car and took off without a backward glance.

Patrick kicked at the dirt with his feet and knew he completely deserved the silent treatment. Question was, what could he do to mend fences? When Mandella scurried past him, a lightbulb went off and he found himself following her, knowing he could catch her in a few easy strides.

He moved up alongside her and stopped her before she could get on the bus. "What is it?" she asked fearfully. "My flesh isn't fit for human consumption."

Patrick chuckled. "Wasn't planning on barbequeing tonight...seriously, what's going on with Kat?"

Mandella sidled closer to the side of the bus. "What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's the part where she goes out of her way to avoid seeing me?"

She shrugged. "Seems like it was your idea to keep your distance."

"I was kidding!"

Mandella held up her hands in mock surrender. "OK, whatever, I'll tell her. Just please...leave me out of it."

*****

Bianca held up a slip of paper as Kat walked through the door. "The Star-Ledger called again."

Kat frowned. "What happened to the first message?"

Bianca held up her hands. "Don't look at me. There were two messages on the machine. Did you apply for a job or something?"

"It's a paid internship, and it would be a great experience to follow a photojournalist around for a few months to get the lay of the land."

"Since when are you interested in journalism?" Bianca asked.

"Just keeping my options open." Kat thought about the hot guy from the paper who'd spoken to the yearbook and newspaper staff about learning the ropes, and was immediately rewarded with over 2 dozen applications from horny, teenage girls at the end of the session (many scrawled with phone numbers).

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that cute guy who visited the school, would it?"

Bianca was getting too clever for her own good. "Nope. Just a good opportunity to figure out what I want to do."

Her sister smiled. "If you say so."

Kat opened her laptop and stared at the wallpaper of Patrick Verona. The guy ran hot and cold, and he was driving her nuts, so maybe the best way to forget him was to put herself in the path of someone who'd appreciate her assets.

*****

Patrick dangled the photo cube and stared through the translucent blue plastic. The image of himself and his Uncle Pete was one of his favorites. Pete had dropped dead of a heart attack five years back, and now Patrick and his brother Leo lived with their Aunt Rachel in her rambling, old house. Leo had an apartment in the basement, and Patrick had a huge loft over the garage, and the arrangement worked out well for everyone.

He heard footsteps and watched Rachel dart across the room and grab a water bottle from the fridge. "Hey, how was shop today?" she asked quietly, coming over and sitting across from him. She never asked about academics, because he hated most of his classes.

"Boring." Especially since Kat Stratford had taken a right turn out of his life.

Rachel always picked up on his moods. "Why so glum?"

"It's nothing," he muttered, palming the photo and shoving it in his pocket.

His aunt smiled. "Does this nothing have a name?"

He couldn't get anything past Rachel. "It's Kat Stratford."

Rachel laughed. "As in, The Taming of the Shrew?"

"Huh?" Patrick looked at her blankly.

"Never mind, Petruchio. How can I help?" Rachel said mischievously.

"You can't. She's barely talking to me," he complained, running his fingers through his unruly curls, ones that he shared with his mother and her sister Rachel.

"But she was talking to you before?" At his nod, she added, "What changed?"

With extreme reluctance, he told her about Kat's adventures in the auto shop. "I blew it."

Rachel rested her hand on his arm for a second. "Why, because you acted like any other teenage boy? Don't beat yourself up. If the girl likes you, she'll get over it."

"You really believe that?"

She crinkled her eyes in that way that was so much like his Mom. "Try being nice. Compliment her. Try to do something nice for a change."

Patrick made a face. "She won't buy any of it."

"Not even if it's sincere?" Rachel stood up and gathered her mass of curls into a scrunchee. "Try something real. Gotta dash."

******