Chapter Three:

"Something real"

"That'll be fifteen bucks for thirty minutes. If you hurt yourselves it ain't my fault. Your time starts now."

I grabbed my bucket of 'paintballs' and headed towards the entrance of the small arena in which we would be using up some of our natural teenage anger on each other. I had unwillingly pulled my hair back away from my face in the hopes of preventing some casualty that may happen if I had hair in my face. Thinking that it may be unsportly of me to throw the first water balloon I let her go first. In all actual fact I think that she hurt me more than I was planning on hurting her.

"Oof!" she groaned as one of my own balloons connected with her stomach, she doubled over and I threw another one just to be mean. I knew she wouldn't mind if I played a little harder than I had originally intended. In fact I had a small inkling that if I were to go easy on her it might really piss her off. Running around the small park we soon found ourselves either side of one of the painted pipes used as mini shelters and I am sorry to say but Kat came out better from it. I wasn't going to take that, though. Pulling her to the ground, I flung off my goggles and looked at her. She was beautiful, even covered in paint. I hadn't been planning on it but I leaned down towards her anyway. She let me kiss her, opening her mouth for further entry. She even put her arm around my neck and pulled me closer, making me want to kiss her even more. This was reasonably short lived, though, as it was cut short by Kat's insatiable need to win.

After our thirty minutes was up I drove her back to her house and on the way I decided to continue in my tradition to ask her mindless questions and asked her whether or not some of the rumours I had heard about her were true. I mean, I'd kissed the girl so I felt I had earned the right to know whether or not she did own her own bondage kit. She laughed and admitted, "no, not to my knowledge."

She then asked me whether I had actually dated Marilyn Manson and I looked at her in mock outrage, "whoever told you that is a liar!" I told her heatedly before turning back to the road, "we're only friends," I finished with a grin and she burst out laughing again.

Soon the rumours were flying and some, such as the one about the five ounces of pure cocaine found in a hollowed out centre of her math book, she even looked surprised at herself.

When we got back to her house we were still swapping truths but one thing I didnt want to tell her about was my whereabouts of last year. The depressing atmosphere of hospitals and dingy houses were still fresh in my mind and I didn't feel that much like elaborating on that right now. Luckily she didnt pressure the matter.

"Tell me something real," Kat sat down next to me and looked at me in the eye.

"Something real...?" I thought for a moment about the things I could possibly tell her. That my father was currently in jail for wrongful possession of illegal cannabis? That my own sister died in a car accident when I was ten, causing my mother to leave Australia, her place of birth and the place she had all her memories simply because she couldnt stand being in a place that reminded her so much of Sarah? No, I couldn't tell her any of that, not yet. I finally settled on something safe and funny. I had been covering up my life with pathetic jokes for almost half my life, what would one more hurt?

"I hate peas," I told her with a smile. She laughed and lightly slapped my shoulder.

"No," she said obviously, "something real, something nobody else knows."

Great. More pressure. Well, Kat, I'm sorry but you aren't going to learn about little Patty's twisted childhood today. I thought of ways to make her forget all about how she wanted to know things about me that I hadn't told anyone else.

"Well," I leaned forward and brushed her hair back, lightly kissing her neck, "you're sweet..." I leaned around to her other side and did the same thing, "and sexy..." I leaned back and looked at her, "and completely hot for me."

She laughed again and out of sheer relief she didn't ask me anymore questions I leaned forward and kissed her mouth.

"You're amazingly self assured, has anyone ever told you that?" she asked me.

"I tell myself that everyday actually," I said as solomnly as I could before laughing again.

Then with a shock I remembered Donner's deal. My stomach sank as I thought of his requiring Kat to go to the prom in order for him to be able to deflower her younger sister. There was no way around it.

"Come to the prom with me," I said as nicely and (what I hoped was) romantically as I could.

"Is that a request or a command?"

"Come on, go with me," I urged her.

She stopped laughing, "no," she said after a moment.

"Why not?" I asked her, a little annoyed at she had turned me down so forcefully.

"Because I dont want to, because it's a stupid tradition," she started but I cut her off.

"People wont expect you to go," I said, hoping that may convince her to do something she so obviously didn't want to do.

She suddenly looked me in the eye, "what's in it for you?" she asked me.

It was perhaps the fact that she was so correct that I snapped at her what I did next.

"Answer the question, Patrick," she coldly ignored my statement.

"Nothing is in it for me, nothing but the pleasure of your company," for around two weeks I had been craving the cigarette I now stuck in my mouth. I know that it probably wasn't the best way to convince her to go to with me but I have never been the most practical type. So I didn't really blame her when she glared at me and snatched it out of my mouth before storming back inside.

"Good one, Verona," I berated myself for being the world's biggest prick before getting up off the Stratford's front verandah and making my way back to my car. When I got home I did something I didn't think I'd need to do. I called Cameron.

His mother picked up on the third ring, "hello?"

"Er, hi," ever the vocabulary enthusiast that was the best I could come up with, "is Cameron there?"

"Cameron?" she sounded skeptical and I realised that not many people would call her son often, "I'll just get him."

"Hello?" Cameron's slightly high pitched voice picked up the receiver a moment later, sounding curious as to who would be calling him.

"Cameron? It's Patrick. Verona," I added in case he was a little dense.

"Oh, hey," Cameron sounded faintly surprised and why wouldn't he? Last week I was attempting to drill a hole through his....well anyway, I didnt blame him, "what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if inviting Bianca to the prom is all that important to you after all," I said tiredly.

Cameron clucked his tongue, "things not going to well with the shrew?"

I took slight offense at that. I mean, if I liked her what did that make me?

"Kat doesn't want to go to the prom," I said a little testily and Cameron exhaled loudly.

"Damn. Well...I'm out of ideas sorry," Cameron sounded apologetic and I was too tired even to care.

"Join the club," I told him shortly, "I thought all girls wanted to go to the prom. It's like, weird American tradition, right?"

Cameron laughed, "not all girls. Not all guys either. Would you be going if you weren't receiving a fee?"

I thought about that before admitting, "no, I guess now. What's your point?" I asked him a little testily.

I could almost see him shurgging, "well, it's not for everyone."

I nodded absentmindedly as I eyed the half empty packet of cigarettes on my windowsill. Listening to Cameron's lecture on knowing what girl's want I tried to make the phone cord stretch to the other side of my room. Finding this impossible I slumped back downonto my bed and cut Cameron off as gently as I could.

"Yeah, I know, man. But what can I do to make her...well, at least look at me again. I don't fancy being hit with a soccer ball at top speed again." The image of the ball speeding towards me were still fresh in my mind and I shuddered to think that it could happen again.

"Well, it didn't actually hit you," Cameron logically pointed out.

"Hrmph," I huffed at him and he laughed.

"Flowers never go astray," Cameron said thoughtfully, "then again, she seems to be the sort of girl who might eat the heads off any flowers presented to her."

I couldn't help myself, I let a snort of laughter escape at the image of Kat eating roses. Cameron laughed for a moment himself before saying, "uh, I have another call coming in. Talk to you tomorrow?"

I didn't have the energy to protest that I needed his help, "sure, tomorrow," I told him wearily and hung up. Laying back down on my bed I shut my eyes and thought of how I could possibly get back on Kat's good side. The problem was, I wasn't even doing it for the money anymore and this only made it seem even more crucial that I win her back.

Ahh, don't you just love it when there are three chapters up? It makes it seem so much better than two hehe. Thanks for my reviews so far guys and I hopefully will have received more by the end of my fourth chapter glares at reviewers right??

Hehe chapter four will be up soon and hopefully it wont be as crappy as this one was. Finger's crossed!