He hadn't gone back to sleep, too afraid of another nightmare to risk it. And he was having entirely too much fun watching her.

She had fallen asleep on her side with her back to him but as soon as he felt the rhythm of her breathing even out, he shifted and eased over until she was laying on her back. Her head rested heavily on his arm and he noticed that his bicep was tingling from having fallen asleep due to the weight but he didn't care. The damn thing could fall off and he still wouldn't move her out of his arms. This was too precious. A declawed Kat laying peacefully beside him, trusting him enough to completely let go and sleep next to him. It was a gift and there was no way he was taking it back. It fit him too well, he liked it too much.

In fact he was beginning to realized that he liked just about everything about her entirely too much. The whole thing was bordering on becoming something he hadn't planned on. To be honest it was already there. He knew that. He had known that for quite some time. Somehow she had manage to barge her way inside, get to him in a way no one else ever had. And that's exactly how she'd done it. She hadn't eased into his soul quietly. That wasn't her way. No, she had hammered down his walls and barged inside without his permission. That was her. Always so intent and determined, stubborn and proud. Everything she did, she did in the extreme. Nothing was halfway with her and he loved that about her.

He loved watching the fire light behind her mocha colored eyes when her passion flared about some cause or another. He loved watching her little hands curl into fists when she was angry. He loved the way her eyebrows shot up her forehead when she was surprised or outraged by one of his comments. He loved the blush on her cheeks when he said something nice to her. She was right about that. Saying nice things was out of his range. It wasn't something he was very comfortable with. He hadn't been given a lot of compliments in his life so giving them out was hard since he had no real frame of reference. But he loved the way she reacted to them so he made a point of trying to ease one in whenever he got the chance.

She moved suddenly in her sleep, turning so that she was facing him while wrapping her dainty hand around his arm at the same time. She made a soft mewing kind of noise as she snuggled more firmly into him and his heart literately skipped an entire beat at hearing it. It reminded him of the giggle. He knew she couldn't have been more embarrassed if it had been a fart, but for him hearing her make that sound and knowing that he was the cause of it made his chest swell. It had been the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. Kat giggled. Kat giggled because of something he had said. And the comment had been made in all honesty. Just the thought of any of the low rate, simple morons they were forced to associate with thinking she was anything less than perfect sent his blood boiling. They were all so beneath her he was surprised she even knew of their existence.

That's what she was, as far as he was concerned. A goddess among mere mortals. He would never actually tell her that, of course. That was just too cheesy to utter aloud. But it was how he felt. Her beauty alone made his insides flip. And he was very glad that most people didn't see what he saw when he looked at her. The competition would kill him. If the idiots they surrounded themselves with everyday took the time to really look at her instead of running in fear of her, there would be hell to pay. He'd never get a moments rest. He had been around plenty of girls that tried so hard to achieve what she did without giving it a second thought. Right now, laying in his arms, no make up on, hair falling unkempt around her shoulders, baggy pajamas covering her enticing frame, she was without a doubt the most exquisite thing he'd ever encountered. And it was so effortless for her. But God when she actually did try the results were beyond amazing.

His thoughts wandered back to the night of the spring dance. She wore a simple black dress. It wasn't stunning or dramatic on its own. But with her in it, it was spectacular. She had worn make up that night and her hair had been up. Closing his eyes he could still conjure up the perfect picture of her without even trying, as if his mind had realized what it was looking at and taken a picture to replay over and over again.

She shifted again and he looked up at her face to make sure she was still sleeping. He couldn't imagine her reaction if she woke to find him gawking at her like he was. Sometimes it was so hard to figure out how she would respond to things. It was like playing with a wild animal at times. One minute she was letting him get close enough to pet her while the next instant she was biting him hard enough to draw blood. Maybe that's why he liked her so much. She appealed to his love of danger, of never knowing what to expect.

He slowly raised his hand to her cheek and let his knuckles brush across her skin, the smoothness of it surreal against his rough skin. He lingered there for a moment before following the curve of her face to her ear. He took the lobe between his fingers and rub it softly, eliciting yet again sound from her. Afraid of waking her, he continued his journey to her hair, letting his fingers run through her dark colored tresses. As they slipped through his fingertips, they landed on her shoulder splaying out like a decadent waterfall of chocolate. The artist in him admired the effect.

Yes, there was an artist in him. He kept it hidden, but it was there. The soul of a poet and the heart of a lion. That's how his father had described him once. He liked that. When his nine year old self had asked what he meant, his father had replied, ' It means you aren't afraid of being a man and you appreciate the beauty in the world around you.'. He was pretty sure his father had nailed him right then. That was exactly how he saw himself. It was who he wanted to be and he tried his best to live up to that description every day. It was hard sometimes, trying to be both at the same time. Somewhere along the way he found that he had to compromise the poet part of him in order to be the lion. And that was fine with him. He'd rather be the lion on the outside. People gave him more space that way.

He let his hand drift down to Kat's shoulder. Her t-shirt had pulled down with her movements and he could just make out her collarbone in the light from the window. The ridge itself struck him as something beautiful and intriguing. He let his fingertip brush over it carefully, feeling the softness of the skin that covered the hardness of her bone. It was amazing, the contrast of the two things at once. He sighed from the effect and wondered at the same time if he would ever get a chance to do what he was doing while she was awake. He wanted to share the experience with her.

Actually, it was quickly coming to a point where he wanted to share every experience with her. He loved watching her reactions to the world around her. It was very nearly intoxicating for him.

His fingertip continued to travel down the line of her shirt, easing along the neckline gently. He paused for a handful of heartbeats at her breastbone, wanting so badly to delve his finger further downward and let it graze the valley between her breasts.

He knew he wouldn't do it. He would never betray her that way. She trusted him and it was something special to him. He would never do anything to jeopardize that trust. But the notion was beyond tempting, all the same. He wanted her. He wanted her to the point that it was becoming painful. He needed to feel as close to her as he possibly could, wanted to show her how incredibly important she was to him. But she continued to hold back and he would never ever try to push her further than she was comfortable with.

The new revelations he had learned from her had surprised him. He always just assumed she was a virgin. He had never imagined that she wasn't. It definitely didn't change how he felt about her or make him see her any differently whatsoever. But it did inspire in him a new sense of protectiveness that he wasn't prepared for. He knew the experience had hurt her. He could tell it from the tone of her voice. She was wounded and it made him feel as if, despite the fact that he hadn't even known her at the time, he had failed her somehow. It made him feel like he hadn't been where he need to be to stop any of that from happening. He knew it was ridiculous. And he knew that he would never be able to protect her from every hurt she might someday experience but he decided in that moment he was determined to try. She might not like it, but that certainly wouldn't stop him. He also knew that despite her sometimes loud protests to the contrary, Kat was in essence extremely fragile and insecure. The loss of her mother had damaged her on a deep level and he found himself wanting nothing more than to do everything in his somewhat limited power to repair that damage.

That was also a silly thought. He knew he couldn't fix her, couldn't take away her pain or make it all better. But he wanted to try.

The light from the window that he often used as a door was becoming brighter, the sky turning from the darkness of midnight blue to the gray of dawn. It was a subtle change, but the fact that he could actually make out the freckles that splattered her nose told him it was time for him to go. With a careful, slowness he eased his arm out from under her and stopped moving until she settled against her pillow. Then he gently lifted the blankets in order to slid out from under them. Getting to the foot of the bed was much harder. Every movement took the chance of waking her and he didn't want to do that. She looked entirely too peaceful to disturb.

Finally getting to his feet, he quietly went about finding first his shirt, then his boots. After dressing, he paused for a moment to reset her alarm so it wouldn't wake her so early. She could get another hours sleep out of the night since she didn't have to get him up and out before anyone found him.

Kissing her one last time, he left, closing the window behind him securely.

" I need your help." An annoying voice called from behind him. He was beginning to regret the fact that he had actually made it to school with time to spare this morning. This was exactly why he always came in at the last possible second.

Turning while trying to hide his grimace he looked up into the bright, cheerful face of Cameron James.

" What is it?" Patrick huffed impatiently.

" I need some advice."

Patrick looked him over carefully. " I'd rethink the shirt. Actually I'd rethink the entire outfit. You look like Mr. Rogers." Then he turned and started to walk away again, but Cameron fell into step with him causing Patrick to groan inwardly.

" Um, ouch. But this isn't about my style. It's about Bianca."

Patrick sighed. " Of course it is." He muttered.

" See, I know you're pretty close to her sister." Patrick cut his eyes to towards the overly tall boy and Cameron grimaced at the glare. " I was just wondering if you might put a good word in for me sometime when your hanging out and Bianca happens to be there."

Patrick stopped walking and turned to him. " Okay, first, we don't really hang out with Bianca if it can be avoided. Second, she's dating Donner. Has been for a while. She even seems pretty happy about it, though I really can't understand that. And third, Dude, she's just not that into you."

Cameron's happy expression bled away quickly and his shoulders slumped. " But I can't stop thinking about her. I've tried but nothing works."

" Buy a puppy. Maybe that will take your mind off her." Patrick suggested, trying to keep the scorn out of his voice. He really did feel bad for the guy. It was hard being as pathetic as he was, Patrick imagined anyway.

" What would you do if it was Kat that was dating someone else and she wasn't that into you ?" He asked.

Patrick's teeth involuntarily clenched at the thought, but he hid it well. " I'd get over it and move on. Bianca isn't the only chick in the world."

" Don't you get it, Man ? I love her." Cameron countered in a whiny voice that drove Patrick insane.

" Can you hear yourself ?" Patrick asked out of frustration. " She doesn't want you. This is bordering on stalking. Let it go. You aren't in love with her. You hardly know her."

" That's not true. I know everything about her. I know she loves Mocha frappuccinos. I know her least favorite class is Trig. I know she chews the ends of her pencils. I know her favorite color is pink and someday she wants to start her very own cosmetic company. I know she loves 20/20, but won't admit it out loud. I know her favorite movie of all time is Beauty and the Beast. And I know she's not really the person everyone sees when they look at her. I know there's so much more to her than that. She's a wonderful singer and an amazing dancer. She loves to watch Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and Project Runway. I know she's the most amazing girl I've ever met and I can't get her out of my head." He sighed heavily at the end of his speech and looked at Patrick with big round eyes. " Haven't you ever just known someone was right for you ? Known you could be make them so happy if they just gave you the chance ?"

Patrick looked away, casting his eyes to the floor and thinking that he knew exactly what the other boy was talking about. Then he made a decision and looked back up. " What you need to do is show her that." He said finally. " If you really think that you can make her happier than Donner, prove it."

" How ?"

" Well, doing what you're doing now clearly isn't working. Pushing her away so you can get over her is not the answer. Like you said, it isn't working anyway." He reasoned.

" Hey." Patrick heard a familiar voice call from behind him and turned around to see Kat walking up to him. She stopped beside him and all he wanted to do was get rid of Cameron and wrap her up in his arms.

" Hi," He gave her a smile.

" What's going on ?" She asked, casting her eyes briefly up to Cameron before returning them to him.

" Cameron is obsessing about your sister." He informed her.

" Why ?" Kat asked without missing a beat.

Patrick shook his head and winced. " Don't get him started again."

" She's managed to convince my father that Joey Donner is the best thing since they started slicing bread before they sell it. So good luck there." Kat rolled her eyes.

" What do I do ?" Cameron whined again.

" You'll figure it out." Patrick told him as he took Kat's hand to lead her away.

" I'm not letting this go. I need help." Cameron called after them.

" Later." Patrick told him over his shoulder.

He led them down the hall towards Kat's locker without saying anything else. When they got there, Kat turned and leaned her back against the metal and looked at him.

It was too much to resist. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. It was a chaste kiss for them, not their usual heated touch, and he hoped it would be enough to get him through the day. She was already pushing against his chest.

" What's with the PDA ?" She joked as she managed to pull him off of her.

" I couldn't help it." He shrugged.

" You left without saying goodbye." She announced, pulling her hair behind her ear.

He smiled and started to lean in again, but stopped himself just in time. " I said goodbye. You just didn't hear me. Are you feeling better today ?"

" A little." She shrugged and tried to force a smile.

" I have something special planned for today." He told her. " Just get through the day and I'll make it all better after school."

" What exactly do you have planned ?"

" You'll see. If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." He teased.

" I don't like surprises."

" You'll like this one, I promise." He assured her.

" What if I don't want to hang out with you tonight ?" She asked, completely deadpan and for a moment he believed she was being truthful. " What if I have other plans tonight ?"

His smile faded a touch. He really wanted to do something for her today of all days, but if she had plans with her family, he supposed he'd have to live with that. " It's cool. If you need to be with your family, I understand."

" Dad always works a double shift today. It's easier for me that way. And Bianca is going to Joey's tonight. He has something planned, too. So I'm kidding. I'd love to hang out." She smiled finally. " But I really don't like surprises."

The relief showed on his face as the smile returned. " You trust me, right ?"

She nodded slowly as if suddenly not so sure.

He stepped up and brushed his lips against hers again before she had a chance to protest. " Then I'll see you after school. It'll be great. I promise."

She grabbed his jacket before he could take off and held him still. " Verona, you know that today is really not the day to play with me."

" I know. I'm not playing with you. You like what I have in mind. This time you'll just have to go with it and let me be in control for once." He shrugged. " You might even find that it isn't so bad, letting someone else call the shots."

Her eyes widened. " Are you calling me a control freak ?"

He took her hand in his, more to remove it from his jacket than as a show of affection, but he squeezed it in the process. " If the shoe fits, Cinderella." He smirked. " I'll see you later."

Then he let go of her hand and dashed away without giving her a chance at the last word, something he knew drove her crazy.