Disclaimer: I do not own 10 Things I Hate About You or any of the characters, settings, etc.

A/N: I think this may end up being longer than I originally planned. There's a lot going on, but hopefully this'll work out well...I am such a nervous writer! Oh, and I have to give myself a pat on the back for probably the most obscure, bizarre chapter title imaginable. I'm very devoted to using only song titles for these stories, and when I saw this song title in my collection, I knew I HAD to use it. It's from a CD called "Strong Bad Sings And Other Type Hits" and if you are familiar with Homestar Runner, you may have heard of this CD. Anyway, it cracks me up. I know no one else cares, but I had to mention it. On to the chapter...

Chapter 2-Somebody Told Me (Now I Believe Them)

Finally getting the offensive scrawl off the locker, Patrick stood back to admire his work. You could still tell that something had been written there, but at least Kat wouldn't have to read those idiot's opinions of her after every class. As he threw his paper towels in the trash, he saw Cameron walking down the hall. Well, hobbling down the hall might be a more proper term. He had a cast on his right leg and was using crutches to make his way through the hall, which was now starting to get packed with students.

"Skydiving accident?" Patrick asked when Cameron finally limped within earshot.

Cameron either missed the sarcasm or chose to ignore it. "Nothing like that," he said. "See, Michael convinced me to try LARPing over the spring break-"

"What's...LARPing?" Patrick asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Live action role playing. It was pretty intense-" Cameron continued on with his story, but Patrick was distracted when he saw Kat enter the building. She had a grim face on. No wonder too, with the way she was being treated. Some kids were throwing wadded up balls of paper at her, others were giving her the finger, and still others were shouting at her as she passed them. Kat's face was one of determination, but Patrick could tell she was upset. She ducked into the bathroom, and Patrick turned his attention back to Cameron, who was still telling his story.

"And then he challenged me to a duel, but I stumbled backwards-"

"Great story, Spoink. Really. But," Patrick stopped. He didn't have much time to think. He wanted—no, he needed to help Kat. And the only thing he could think of that might help was to use his reputation. "Okay, listen. Cameron, I need a favor. Normally I don't encourage the stupid rumors people spread about me, but I'm going to make an exception, and you're going to help. Make sure people know that if they mess with Kat, they're going to have to deal with me. Okay?"

Cameron looked, as he usually did when he talked to Patrick, slightly terrified. He just nodded. "I should, um," he jerked his head towards his class, "I should get to class." He started the difficult trek on his crutches, but Patrick put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

He wasn't sure this was a good idea. Kat was very independent; she would probably be pissed if she knew what he was doing. But, he had to do something. So he leaned in a little closer to Cameron, and growled, "If Kat finds out about this discussion, you'll have a matching cast for your other leg. Got it?"

Again, Cameron just nodded, and took off down the hall with record speed for someone with only one good leg.

"Bianca!" Cameron cried as he nearly mowed the blonde down. "Bianca! I need your help."

"Cameron, I'm a little busy right now. Kat's being dumped on by the whole school. My already pathetic popularity status is not helped by being the sister of the most hated girl in school. I need to do something to help her, which will in turn help me."

"But, that's what I need help with."

"What do you mean?"

"Patrick Verona said that he wants people to know that if they mess with Kat, he'll beat them up. He said it with bloodlust in his eyes, Bianca! And he said if Kat finds out what he said, he'll break my legs!"

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Please, Cameron. Aren't you being a little dramatic? I mean, I know Patrick has a bad reputation and all, but trust me, he spent last week in my house helping my sister take care of a baby doll. He's not the type of guy to go around busting kneecaps."

"You...you think?"

"I know. But..." Bianca smiled as she sensed a brilliant plan being hatched. She looked at Cameron's busted leg. "As long as he wants us to start a rumor about him, we may as well make it good. How did you say your broke your leg?"

"LARPing," Cameron answered. "From now on, I'll fight my battles in front of the computer screen. The Enter key never left me with a cast."

"No," Bianca corrected him, "You didn't break your leg larfing-"

"LARPing."

"Whatever. You didn't break your leg doing that." She pulled Cameron over to where a large group of kids were standing. Just within earshot of them, she raised her voice as she said, "Oh my god, Cameron, are you kidding me? Patrick Verona beat you up for talking bad about my sister, Kat Stratford? God, if he broke your leg for that, there's no telling what he'll do next! Anyone who says or does anything to mess with Kat had better watch their back!"

The group obviously took notice, because they immediately pulled out their cell phones and starting texting the newest gossip. Satisfied, Bianca and Cameron went on their way. Once they were out of earshot, Cameron stopped. "Why did you do that? I don't want people thinking I got beat up!"

"Trust me, Cameron, that's much better for your popularity than the truth. And besides, we're helping Kat. Now, we can focus on step 2 of fixing Kat's life."

"What's step 2?"

"We have to prove what a lying, backstabbing, two-faced weasel Tabitha Cooke is. Then the school will hate her so much they'll forget about hating Kat. And I'll stop getting treated like a leper for having an evil sister." Bianca nodded resolutely. Now, if only she knew how to accomplish Step 2...