DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, ALL HUSH HUSH CHARACTERS BELONG TO BECCA FITZPATRICK

I AM SO SO SO SORRY TO ALL OF YOU, I HOPE THAT YOUR HOLIDAYS WERE GOOD. I HAVE BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL AND MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL ON TOP OF SOME OTHER PERSONAL THINGS IT IS TAKING ME LONGER TO POST AND I FEEL SO SO SO BAD. I AM STILL HERE, STILL WRITING AND STILL THRILLED YOU ARE READING AND FOLLOWING! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND YOUR REVIEWS ARE PRICELESS... AND NOW ON TO THE STORY...

CHAPTER 12

HOMECOMING DATE

OH EM GEE!

I only have one thing to say... what the hell was I doing with Patch that night?! It's now Monday morning, but this has been bothering me all weekend. I was out of it, I wasn't myself that night.

I was on CRACK, I swear!

There's no way that I would ever be that nice to Patch.

Never.

I mean, what was I thinking?! Why didn't anyone stop me?! Why didn't YOU stop me?! Why didn't I stop myself?!

I hope that none of my Readers actually approved of that mushy nonsense!

- - looks around at all the innocent Readers' faces - -

Hmph, suspicious...

- - moving on - -

Great! Now he's going to think that things have changed between us and they HAVEN'T! As if I need to see more of Patch.

- - rolls eyes - -

I'm already insane, what's the next step after that?

Little Voice: Well, you could always end up in some psych ward, seeing lots of hallucinated Patch's when he's actually not even there.

- - starts to sob - -

Little Voice: Hey! Look on the bright side! At least you'll always have him literally close to your heart for the rest of your life!

- - sobs harder - -

What did I do to make God hate me so much? What was he thinking when he made me and Patch 'soul mates' as everyone calls us?!

God, this is your last time to show that you do truly love me.

"Hey, Nora," a familiar voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

It was free time during second period and Scott had taken a seat next to me, making my eyes light up. As I recalled, the last time we made contact, things didn't go so well, but now it seemed like he had forgotten it.

He was cheery and sweet, the same guy I had known before. There were no signs of hurt or disappointment on his face and it only made my mood brighten. It was like starting over, a great feeling.

"Hey, Scott!" I said, cheerily, happy as ever to see him.

Maybe God does love me after all!

"Hey, Angel," came the Devil's voice from beside me.

My eye twitched as I felt Patch's arm wrap around my waist. I didn't even have to turn around to see that Patch had sat down on the other side of me. Both boys on either side of me were practically fighting over me and, of course, I just had to end up in the middle of it.

What were the odds?!

I mean, usually the idea of two guys fighting over you is a pleasurable thought to a girl, but not in this case! Just the silence was enough to kill, but things would have been worse if either of them had said a word.

It was insanity!

Scott's eyes first looked down at Patch's arm around my waist and then up at Patch where their eyes locked. Patch was very open about his dislike for Scott as he glared directly at him. Scott held his gaze, but did not glare back; he was much more polite than Patch.

And even though Scott didn't openly reveal it, I knew that he hated Patch just as much as Patch hated him. I cleared my throat to break the heavy tension and they looked away from each other.

I let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that they wouldn't kill each other at least, and Patch turned his attention back towards me. I saw an evil glint in his eyes as he sent a quick glance towards Scott before leaning closer to me.

"I love you, Angel," he mumbled loudly against my skin so that Scott could hear as he kissed me a few inches away from my mouth.

I could see Scott's jaw tighten from beside me and I almost stopped breathing. As soon as Patch pulled away, I quickly wiped the spot where he had kissed me, trying not to look too disgusted. I knew that Patch still had that video and, until I could get a hold of it, I would just have to know my limits.

However, Scott caught me wiping my face in disgust and gave me a questioning look. He seemed suspicious, but seemed to shrug it off.

Scott, help me!

"Umm... maybe I should just... go and... leave you two alone..." Scott said awkwardly, stqarting to stand up.

"No!" I cried out desperately, grabbing onto his hand to stop him from leaving.

Scott looked back at me, kind of surprised by my sudden outburst and Patch pretended to cough from beside me, reminding me about our 'deal'. I really didn't want Scott to go; his presence was comforting.

And besides, I didn't want to be alone with Patch, God kill me.

0.o

"You don't have to leave. I'd really like you to stay," I said sweetly, ignoring the dirty looks I was getting from Patch.

I smiled up at Scott reassuringly and he smiled back, seeming beyond delighted. He stepped back towards me and sat back down in his seat, keeping his eyes on me.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "As long as it's alright with your boyfriend."

He emphasized the word 'boyfriend' bitterly and shot a glance at Patch, who turned away with an angry grunt. I felt a little embarrassed at Patch's crude behavior. He was so blunt and open about his thoughts and feelings.

Why couldn't he just be polite and at least try to act kind, like Scott? I bit my lip and gave Scott an apologetic look.

"Ummm... don't mind him," I said awkwardly. "He's still a little upset from a family loss a few weeks ago."

Okay, I lied.

But what else could I say? Patch scoffed from beside me at my little white lie. I even think Scott had a pretty good idea that I was lying. However, he seemed to understand why I had done it and he accepted the situation.

"It's alright," he said with a smile, throwing the subject off. "So, how was your weekend?"

"I... err..." I didn't know what to say.

Oh, my weekend was just GREAT! I spent it with Patch!

Lucky meeeeee!

Psyche

"Uh... good, I guess..." I said awkwardly. "What did you do this weekend?"

I had hastily turned the question back to him so I wouldn't really have to answer. He didn't hesitate in responding like I did.

"Oh, nothing much. I just helped my mom out all weekend. It was really boring, but I'm glad that things went well for you. What did you do?" he asked.

Crap.

He had bounced the question right back to me and I couldn't even think of another lie to tell him.

I almost said something stupid like 'I went shark diving.'

Pfft! Too bad we live NO WHERE near where they do that.

"Uh... well..." I struggled.

Patch had suddenly become interested with the conversation and joined in from beside me. He laced his fingers together in front of him and his eyes glistened mischievously as he stared at me.

"Yeah, Nora, tell us. What did you do this weekend?" he pressed.

"It doesn't really matter; it isn't important," I said, glaring at Patch.

"Well, I think it was," Patch said bitterly, returning my glare.

"I honestly don't care what you think!" I spat back.

Just before we got ready to slaughter each other, Scott jumped in the way of our conversation. Thank God for him. He saved me the trouble of having to dispose of a dead body.

"Uh, guys, it's alright," he said quickly. "It was just a question. You don't have to take it so seriously or fight about it."

I looked at Patch one last time before turning back to Scott. I gave him a friendly smile, acting like nothing had just happened between me and Patch.

"Don't worry about it," I said sweetly. "So, how are you and Marcie doing with the 'baby project'?"

Everyone seemed relieved that I had changed the subject except Patch, who was still set on finishing what we had started. Scott was smiling again and so was I, but Patch was frowning beside me.

Awww is wittle Patchy mad dat he not getting his wittle way?

"Well, the damn thing never stops crying," Scott said with a laugh, making me grin.

"I know how that feels," I rolled my eyes. "It took forever to get ours to calm down."

"At least we don't have to get them back this week," he said happily.

"Why not?" I asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"Because this coming Friday is Homecoming," he explained, making my eyes go wide.

How could I have forgotten about this? Why didn't anybody remind me?!

"Our teachers are laying low on the classwork to give everyone time to prepare for the dance," Scott finished.

My eyes looked down at the floor, losing myself in deep thought. I could already tell that Patch was thinking up new schemes, so I had to work fast. Homecoming. Skipping wasn't an option; I really wanted to go. I also knew that I wanted to ask Scott to be my date for that night, but I couldn't let Patch EVER learn this. I had to be sneaky about it. I had to get Scott alone so that I could explain things; Patch couldn't be anywhere around. But how could I get rid of Patch? Even if I did get away from him, it wouldn't be long before he found me. So, I had to work quickly. An idea suddenly popped up in my mind and my eyes lit up mischievously. I picked up my pencil from beside me and examined it in my hand.

Then, without warning, I sent it crashing down on my desk, watching as the tip splintered and crunched. The sound had caught both Patch and Scott's attention and they looked at me questionably.

"Oops!" I pretended to be shocked as I lifted my hand to my mouth. "That was my last pencil... Patch, can you sharpen it for me?"

"You broke it," he pointed out. "Why don't you go sharpen it?"

I mentally hit myself in the forehead. I could tell that this was going to take some convincing. I moved closer to Patch and smiled lirtatiously at him while running one of my hands through his hair. He froze in shock, not used to me 'giving in' to him. I brought my lips dangerously close to his, but teasingly refused to touch them.

"Patch..." I cooed, watching his surprised reaction. "Baby..."

I decided to stop when I saw his eyes swirling with lust. I hadn't meant to turn him on and I didn't plan to push him any further. I knew that my plan had worked when I felt his hand tighten around my pencil, pulling it out of my grip and standing up, all while never taking his eyes off of me.

Then he turned away and walked off to sharpen my pencil. Once he was gone, I pulled out a pen and notebook paper and began to scribble. I knew that it would only take Patch a few seconds to finish his task and I didn't have time to explain anything to Scott. I quickly jotted down a messy written not to Scott and shoved it into his hand right as Patch had come back.

"Here you go, Angel," Patch said, handing me a newly sharpened pencil.

I smiled in gratitude and forced myself to sit still as he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. While I kept Patch preoccupied, I stole a glance over my shoulder. Scott had unraveled the note and was reading it to himself.

Meet me at lunch. I don't have time to explain.

He looked up and nodded.

~P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N*P&N~

It had taken forever to lose Patch, but I did it. Now I just had to find Scott ans sneak him to a private place without being seen by Patch. I looked over the side of the stone pillar that I was currently hiding behind, looking like a complete idiot to anyone who just happened to be passing by.

Wow, I feel like a secret agent.

I spotted Scott walking out of a classroom, looking around for someone who was most likely me.

"Pssst! Scott!" I waved my arms at my sides. God, I'm a moron. However, I did manage to catch his attention and he began to make his way towards me. I looked around carefully, checking for Patch before turning back to Scott who was now standing right in front of me.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked curiously.

"Not here," I told him, looking around at all of the people. "Follow me."

I turned around and began to walk off, hearing his footsteps behind me. Neither of us spoke while I led him to the big oak tree in the back of the school. Once we were there, I checked around again, finally satisfied with the small amount o students around us.

"What's all this about, Grey?" Scott asked, looking confused.

"I had to get you somewhere private so that Patch wouldn't find us," I explained.

Suddenly his face turned a light shade of pink. Was he... was he blushing?! I blinked a few times as he turned his head away and cleared his throat.

"I'm not like that, Nora," he said quietly and I had no idea what he was saying.

"What are you talking about? You're not like what?" I asked, puzzled.

"Don't get me wrong; I do like you. A lot. But you're with Patch. I'm not going to help you cheat on him. I'm not that kind of guy, Nora."

I just stared at him, shocked. This time, it was my face that was turning pink.

"No, No! That's not what I meant! You've got it all wrong!" I said quickly, feeling slightly humiliated.

He looked at me for a couple of seconds and then his face turned bright red, embarrassed by his mistake.

"Oh..." he said, looking down at the ground with discomfort as an awkward silence fell between us. "So... what did you want to talk about?"

I jumped into the subject right away, willing to take anything he threw at me.

"I haven't got much time, but I want to talk to you about Homecoming," I said, making him raise an eyebrow.

"What's there to talk about? You're going with your boyfriend and I hope you have a good time. That's it," he said, slightly clenching his jaw.

"No, that's not it. I-" I paused when I saw a certain someone in the distance. "This. Can't. Be. Happening!"

"What? What is it?" Scott asked, turning around to see what had caught my eye.

There Patch was, among the many passing students, looking for me. What the hell?! I've only been with Scott for about a minute or so. How did he find us so fast?! This is ridiculous! My plan hardly seemed half the effort.

Plan B: Time to relocate!

Patch's eyes suddenly flashed towards us and he became rather annoyed as he began to stalk forward. I quickly grabbed onto Scott's hand and ran like hell, dragging him behind me. I could no longer see Patch, but I knew he would follow. Right now he's probably having a heart attack after seeing me with Scott.

Talk about possessive!

Many students looked over at us as we ran past them. I could hear Patch calling my name, but it only made me run faster and Scott struggled to keep up with me, jock or not.

"Nora, where are we going?" Scott asked me breathlessly.

"Away from Patch," I answered, a little impatiently.

I dashed past the courtyard areas, still hearing Patch calling after me. He must have been running after us the whole time. I'm not surprised.

"Nora, can you please slow down?" Scott asked desperately from behind me. "I can't keep up with you."

I turned my head around to look at him while I kept a steady pace.

"We can't stop now. Just hold on a little-" but I never got to finish.

There must have been a rock or something sticking out of the ground, because the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. I lost my balance and clumsily fell to the ground. I must have done a twist in the air, because I landed on my back with a THUD.

Klutz moment strikes again!

However, a second THUD brought a heavy weight down on top of me and I closed my eyes with a loud groan. The wind had been knocked out of me and it took me a minute to recover. Finally, I opened my eyes and looked up, suddenly blushing at what I saw.

Scott had fallen on top of me and his cheeks had turned the same bright pink shade as mine. We were in the same position that me and Patch were in on the first night we met. The only difference was that I didn't push Scott off of me, I just laid still.

He gazed down at me and I saw something flicker in his eyes. Then, very slowly, he began to lean down closer to me. My heart was pounding in my chest and my stomach began to flutter with nervous butterfly's springing loose.

He's going to kiss me!

It was like I saw it in slow motion. I could see his face closing the gap between us, his eyes scanning for signs of rejections, but I didn't have any objection. When his lips were almost on mine, I closed my eyes in blissful surrender, waiting for that perfect kiss... but it never came.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made us both freeze and look up. Patch was standing over us with his arms folded across his chest angrily.

God, I was in for it.

"I would appreciate it if you would get off my girlfriend," Patch ground out through clenched teeth.

As soon as he said that, Scott immediately got off of me, blinking in surprise and not knowing what to say. Patch could be... intimidating. I followed after him and quickly got to my feet, hating the beyond awkward silence. I fidgeted with my fingers as Patch's burning stare became directed at me.

"Uh... I'll see you later, Grey," Scott said before scurrying away.

Crap, crap, CRAP!

It was just me and Patch now and I waited quietly for him to say something. Apparently, he was too angry for words and, when I realized that he wasn't gong to answer, I quickly turned away and began to walk off.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked in irritation, running and catching up with me.

"To find Vee and Bella," I swallowed my nerves.

"No you're not. I'm not finished with you!" he barked, making me flinch.

"You haven't even started," I rolled my eyes.

"What was that back there?!" he demanded, ignoring my comment and pointing over to where the 'incident' had happened.

It was obvious that he was jealous, but not just because I had almost kissed Scott. He was jealous because he thought that Scott had replaced his memory, our memory. He though that he had made it even better.

That wasn't true...

… I mean... What am I even saying?!

"It was nothing," I answered firmly.

"Nothing?! You guys were almost locking lips!" he said angrily.

"And so what if we were?" I shot back hotly.

"You're my girlfriend! You can't go kissing other guys!"

I stopped walking and turned around to face him. This time, I answered him calmly, but my tone held a bitter edge to it.

"Patch," I began, clasping my hands together in front of me and pursing my lips together. "I've told you this a million times, but you always seem to miss the message, so I'm going to say this as simple as I can... WE ARE NOT TOGETHER! We never were and we never will be!"

"Do friends go on dates?" he suddenly asked, catching me off guard. "Do friends make out after school? Do friends sneak out at one in the morning to go make wishes under the stars?!"

"Well, n-no, but-"

"Exactly! They don't! Even as much as you want to deny it, we're together!"

"We are just FRIENDS!" I screamed.

"Would friends do this?" he asked, stepping towards me.

He grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me to him. My eyes went wide as his face came at me fast, his eyes already closed. I knew what he was going to do and I pushed away from him before his lips could touch mine.

"NO!" I cried, taking a few steps away from him. "Quit trying to kiss me! You can't force me into something that I don't want!"

It was then that I realized that we were starting to get a crowd. Lots of students had gathered around, curiously watching our argument. Embarrassed that the whole school had to witness that, I quickly turned around and hurried away.

"Nora!" a voice called.

"Go away, Patch!" I replied, aggravated.

"Nora!"

This time it was two voices. I turned around to see Vee and Bella following behind me, NOT Patch. I breathed in a sigh of relief and let them catch up with me, each of them taking a place on either side of me.

"What happened back there, Angel?" Vee asked, looking concerned.

"Just forget it," I said with a frustrated sigh.

"... Did you get into a fight with Patch?" Bella asked, sympathetic.

"... Yes," I reluctantly admitted. "I just HATE him!"

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before," Vee rolled her eyes.

"What? Are you saying that you don't believe me?!" I asked in disbelief.

Was NO ONE on my side?

"The boy is head over heals for you. He's never given you a reason to hate him," she began.

Never gave me a reason?! Oh, I could name quite a few!

"I know you better than you think, Angel. You don't hate him, you're just in denial."

"I DO HATE HIM!" My voice was filled with venom.

"... Then why is he all that you ever talk about?" Bella asked out of no where.

I opened my mouth for a comeback, but rapidly closed it when I realized that I had none. What she said had suddenly struck me and I took in the meaning of her words. At that moment, I saw everything from a different angle, a different point of view. I couldn't say anything; I was speechless.

"Let's face it, Nora. You're just as crazy about him as he is about you," Bella finished, making a though appear in my mind.

What if every word they said was true? What if I was actually falling in love with Patch?

That thought struck me HARD and I wanted to deny it soo bad. I couldn't let it be true, never. Now, I was more determined than ever to make all of the possibilities false, to prove them all wrong.

I don't love Patch, I don't!

"Hey, guys," Patch said, appearing beside us.

Why won't he go away and forget about me?!

Vee and Bella greeted him with 'hey's and friendly smiles while I simply grunted stormily and turned away.

He was doing it again.

He was acting all friendly as if nothing had just happened between us. I moved to the side, letting Bella take my place so that me and Patch were as far away as possible. He noticed this and looked at me.

"Aww, Angel, don't be like that," he teased playfully.

"Don't talk to me," I folded my arms across my chest. "I won't answer."

"You're answering right now, aren't you?" he raised his eyebrows in a questioning expression.

Damn.

I answered him with my silence and he laughed.

I hate that idiot... making me look like an idiot... what an idiot...

"So, who are you asking to Homecoming?" Vee asked Bella.

"Well," Bella began, getting little excited at the new subject. "I was going to ask Joey, but he's already got a date, so I'm planning on asking Dante tomorrow."

"Oh, nice!" Vee commented. I'm already going with Rixon. He asked me last night on the phone."

Their girl gossip died when they suddenly turned to me with expectant glances. I looked at them with nervous glances and Patch smirked.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Well? What about you, Nora? Who are you going with?" Bella asked and Vee nodded.

Patch was pointing to himself behind their backs so that only I could see and I glared at him.

"Well, I was thinking of asking Scott to go-"

"Hey, guys, I have a cool video that I've been wanting to show you-"

"-but I'd much rather go with Patch!"

Does anybody have a baseball bat that I could borrow? It sure would come in useful right about now!

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!