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

AN: I reworked Chapter 19, so if you didn't read the rewrite, please do so. It contains a different plot twist than before. Thanks. This is a transitional chapter, and I expect only 1 or 2 more to end this piece.

20

Patrick and Kat sat outside her house, repeating all the one-liners from Spinal Tap. When they ran out of jokes, she looked at her watch and saw they only had 5 minutes left. "I had a good time," she said, surprising herself by realizing it was the truth.

"Don't sound so shocked." He touched her cheek and wiped something off. "Hot chocolate," he explained with a smile.

He'd been a perfect gentleman all night, which would please her father to no end. "I'm not."

"Then what is it?" Patrick came around the front of the car and opened her door for her.

"Nothing. Thanks for putting up with me."

His laughter rumbled his chest and she was close enough to feel the vibration. "It was my pleasure," he exclaimed.

Kat leaned over to kiss his cheek and at the last second, he turned and she caught his mouth instead. Patrick kept it gentle and sweet and he finished with a final kiss to her forehead. "See you on Monday."

She watched his car leave and felt a vague feeling of disappointment. Patrick was everything he was supposed to be, and the date had been a lot of fun. So why was she left with this uneasiness that it wasn't meant to be, or that he was putting on a performance in order to impress her? With a sigh, she unlocked the front door and nodded to her father before going up the stairs, glad he didn't try to grill her for details.

No, that ordeal would be waiting at the top of the stairs in the form of Miss Nosy Parker. Indeed, when she opened her door, Bianca was half lying on her bed with one of her teen magazines. "There you are. How was it?"

Kat wasn't good at hiding her feelings. She shrugged and said, "I enjoyed myself, but I'm not sure about Patrick."

"Why would you say that? He's crazy about you."

"Maybe. How did it go with Cameron?"

Bianca was only too happy to start babbling about her own night and turn the focus back on herself. "It was wonderful, and Cameron is a riot. And he's a surprisingly good dancer."

"You going out with him again?"

"Maybe. How about you and Patrick?"

Kat admitted, "I think it was a one-time deal. There's something about dates at gunpoint that don't fly too well with guys."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "He seemed pretty eager to me."

And what would their next date entail, a lot of groping and sexual frustration when he discovered that she kept her legs locked tighter than Fort Knox? Because they would come to that eventually, and she would have to shut him down. It was better to cut the cord now, before someone got hurt. His first reaction would be disbelief, because their mutual attraction was palpable. But it always started that way with guys; she kissed like an old pro and then she got scared and ran, because that was easier than giving in to intimacy. That had happened once in her life, and she'd been dumped so hard and fast that it still soured her on relationships in general.

Kat suddenly remembered her closely guarded video and smiled at her sister, who cowered a little at her expression. "I hate that creepy look. Let me guess, you want to know if I talked to Joey Donner."

"Got it in one." Bianca was surprisingly perceptive for someone who often played the dumb blonde.

"Joey doesn't know anything, Kat. He didn't shoot the video, and he didn't post it. When I asked if other people had access to his computer, he said lots of people did."

"Including Chastity?"

"Why do you have it in for her? She's really nice when you get to know her."

"So are sharks. Is it possible she used Joey's laptop?"

Bianca sighed. "Yes. Are you happy now?"

Her smile was bittersweet. "As a pig in shit. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to crash."

*****

Jess showed up early on Saturday morning and made his way out to the garage where Patrick was working on one of Leo's cars. "Hey, how did it go?" The new Engineers album was blasting in the background and Patrick would much rather listen to tunes than talk about last night.

Patrick had mixed feelings about the whole night. "It went OK."

His friend pretended to inspect him for damage. "I see you came through intact."

"Yeah. It didn't feel like a date. It was more like hanging out with you." This was hard to admit, but it was the truth.

Jess urged him on. "Do tell."

"I followed everyone's advice. Rachel told me to mind my tongue, so I kept the sarcasm to a minimum. And her Dad is kind of like Sauron, so I barely kissed her goodnight."

"Swell. That was your first mistake. A girl like that expects more, right out of the starting gate."

"I did the whole respect thing, and treated her with kid gloves all night."

"Dude, she's not a piece of porcelain, she's a person. Maybe if you tried talking to her, you'd figure out how you should proceed."

He made an adjustment to the transmission. "Talking usually ends in an argument, or I end up saying the wrong thing."

Jess laughed at this admission. "True enough. Look, you can always try again. Ask her out and see where it goes."

Patrick had intended to do that all along, but he was stuck on the whole intimacy thing and how far to take it. The date had gone well, and he'd really enjoyed her company, but it didn't feel natural. "I'll do that. Did you hook up with Suzanne?"

Jess replied, "Did I ever. She sang like a canary."

"So was it a set-up, or am I completely paranoid?"

"Not completely. Her and Chastity go way back, and Chastity called in a favor. One of Suzanne's friends recorded the vid and Suzanne tried to hook up with you to humiliate Kat Stratford."

And Kat had completely turned the tables on Chastity. With a chuckle, Patrick said, "Thanks for tapping that source."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Jess chortled. "Just as long as we're clear that I'm tapping that source again."

"She's all yours."

"As for your source…"

"Stop right there. Whatever happens is between her and me."

"OK, I'm just saying…"

Patrick finished up his work for Leo. "I know every chapter and verse, and I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"Whatever you say, dude. You up for some pool? We could earn a lot of money beating the asses of those Torrey Pines snobs."

"You got it. Give me ten minutes to clean up and I'll meet you out front."