More Or Less

by non-damsel

Kate Pierson and Adrien Mansfield have always been just friends. But this summer everything is going to change, for better or worse. Mansfield Park gone mad. Please R&R. COMPLETE

13. Kate: Tables Turned

Chapter 13
Tables Turned

To: Johnny Mansfield
From: Adrien Mansfield
Subject: FYI

I thought you'd like to know: Jess is getting married a week from Friday (to Wright, not Harrington). Don't worry, you're not expected to actually attend, but perhaps you could send your sister a card (?)

That sounded a lot more bitter than I meant it. Take care.

- - - - - -

To: Adrien Mansfield
From: Johnny Mansfield
Subject: RE: FYI

I hope you're not being too good to Kate, as I doubt that you any intention or ability to follow through, and being wonderful now will only make things worse for her later.

Cheers.

- - - - - -

To: Johnny Mansfield
From: Kate Pierson
Subject: Jerk

Johnny, I am going to kill you. Stop sending cryptic messages to Adrien. He asked me what the hell (without the "hell") the last one was supposed to mean, and what was I supposed to say? HE is not making things worse for me. YOU are.

Pissed off and not-so-yours,
Kate

P.S. He is being wonderful though… Your thoughts?

- - - - - -

To: Kate Pierson
From: Johnny
Subject: RE: Jerk (That is SO unwarranted)

I wouldn't get my hopes up, love, that's what I think. I'm sure he's being wonderful, but Kate, the mere fact that he had to ask you what that email meant proves that he's does not have the capacity to even comprehend the possibility of romantic developments between the two of you. Not right now at least. For your sake, I hope he develops that capacity someday, but I can't say I'm sure he will. Especially with Rachel Harrington on the loose. That air mattress is still in my trunk, you know.

Ready and willing to be your Plan B,
Johnny

- - - - - -

To: Johnny Mansfield
From: Adrien Mansfield
Subject: RE: FYI

Johnny, what is that even supposed to mean?

- - - - - -

To: Adrien Mansfield
From: Johnny Mansfield
Subject: RE: FYI

Tell Jess happy wedding for me.

- - - - - -

Kate

The day after Jess's wedding date became official, I had another conversation with Manda—or she had another conversation with me. I was in the basement with Adrien, who was on his laptop shopping online for airplane tickets to Europe. (Yes, it was technically Matthew Wright's job to organize his honeymoon, but Adrien was convinced he was too stupid to compare ticket prices.)

I was sitting on the couch beside him, generally trying to be distracting, which generally wasn't hard. Things had changed between us, and for the better. I'd been suddenly reinstated as his favorite person, and he seemed more interested in talking to me than anything else in the world these days. Obviously, I was very okay with that.

Anyway, Manda wandered down and plopped into one of the lazy boys. Adrien looked up from his laptop and said hey, but Manda didn't reply right away. She just sat there regarding us while I began to grow uncomfortable. I was sitting rather close to Adrien. Then abruptly she said, "So you guys know why she wants me to go, right?"

Adrien raised his eyebrows.

"Jess. On the honeymoon," Manda clarified.

I knew, but chose to remain silent. Adrien said, "I have my suspicions."

"She doesn't want to leave me here with Scott," Manda readily supply. That was what I had thought. Manda added, "If I hooked up with him while she was gone it would seriously cheapen her conquest."

Adrien winced. "Don't be mean, Manda."

Manda shrugged. "I'm not," she said. "I'm just being real. Somebody's got to be real around here." For the first time Manda looked directly at me then. I got uncomfortable again. It was like she knew something she shouldn't have known.

Adrien said, "And now you sound like Johnny."

Manda sighed and turned back to her brother. "Well, somebody's got to do that too, I guess," she joked. "Anyway, Jess doesn't having anything to be all freaking out about. Scott Harrington? Gag me." She wrinkled her nose. I realized then that her indifference wasn't put on. It wasn't just that she had lost in regards to Scott and was now trying to save face. Manda was actually just not interested. It all seemed a little strange.

Adrien propped his elbow on my shoulder. "So you don't want to go with her?" he asked slowly, with muddled confusion.

"Dude, totally not what I mean." Manda shook her head. "Somebody offers me a free trip to Italy, I'm sure as hell going to take it. Besides, Jess will be needing some company. Her and Matthew aren't exactly…" she paused, and a somewhat mischievous smiled edged onto her face. "You and Kate," she finished, and then another pause. "You know, pals," she finally added and then she was done.

I blanched. She was on to me. I wondered how I could casually remove Adrien's arm.

"Anyway," Manda continued, "I just wanted to get that one out there. I mean, we all know it so we might as well say it. Jess still likes Scott and she doesn't want me screwing around with him while she stuck on her honeymoon,"

"Our lives could so be a soap opera," I interjected, speaking for the first time.

Adrien made a vague grunt. I was sure he was morally pained by all this.

Manda asked, "Can I talk to Kate for a sec?"

Adrien snapped out of his reflection. "You are talking to her," he said.

Manda shook her head and said, "I'm talking to you."

Adrien pouted a little. "But what am I supped to do while you talk to her?" he asked.

Manda replied with a good amount of sarcasm, "Five minutes! Come on, you can bear to be separated for five friging minutes."

Adrien finally removed his arm from my shoulder to place it theatrically over his heart. "But can I?" he asked dramatically.

I grabbed a throw pillow next to me and swung it at his face. He ducked. "Just go," I said, trying hard not to laugh.

Adrien looked mournfully at his sister. "She breaks my heart," he said seriously. Manda scowled at him. "I'm going already," he grumbled, standing up and flashing me a grin on his way out. I couldn't help but smile back.

"How's Johnny?" Manda asked, once he was gone.

"Good," I answered cautiously. I wasn't sure where she was going with this. Most likely, in the spirit of being real, she was going to tell me to lay off her brothers.

But she asked, "You talked to him before he left, right? Him and Don."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Huh," she said, staring off into nothing now. I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.

"Don said he was sorry," I told her.

Her head jerked back toward me and then she started to smile. "Good enough," she said. She stood up and started to leave the room.

"He wouldn't tell me what he was sorry for," I added, still wondering and willing to try my luck.

Manda hesitated and glanced back at me. She bit her lip unsurely and scrutinized me. Then she asked, "Swear to God you won't tell Adrien orJohnny?"

I raised my eyebrows tentatively. "Neither of them?" I questioned. It seemed like a lot to ask, especially as Adrien and Johnny were really the only two people I actually talked to. I wasn't sure I could promise. Damn, what did Yates do anyway?

"Oh just do it," Manda said, her voice laced with frustration. She crossed the room and sat down across from me again. "You're good at keeping secrets, and I want to tell someone."

I sighed. My curiosity was getting the best of me. "Fine," I agreed.

She leaned forward to the edge of her chair. "Well," she began matter-of-factly, pausing for dramatic effect. "He's sorry for taking off so quickly, you know, and without saying goodbye."

I stared at her. She started to grin. I stared. I thought I understood what she was saying.

"You're…" I said, then stopped. I began again, talking slowly and haltingly. "You're…. dating… Yates?" I was dumbstruck. Back then, they seemed like such an odd match that I could barely believe it.

"Swear to God you won't tell Johnny or Adrien?" she repeated, a little threateningly. I nodded. "Then absolutely," she said, answering my question. And with that she flounced out of the room.

I climbed upstairs a bit after her, still somewhat shell-shocked from the revelation. I headed for my room where I planned to process the information, and wandered past Mr. Mansfield's study in the process. Mr. Mansfield was in there, going over some bills in the chair with its back to the door. When he heard me passing, he leaned back in the chair and asked, "Who is that? Is that Adrien?"

"It's Kate," I said. Mr. Mansfield made me nervous, but thankfully he typically left me alone. I expected to be on my way shortly.

To my surprise he said, "Kate. I've been wanting to talk to you. Come in here for a minute."

I took a moment to cringe at the prospect, gathered my courage, and stepped inside of the study. He just sat there sternly and watched me as I crossed around him to the chair facing the doorway. Mr. Mansfield was certainly an imposing figure. His silent observance made me much more uncomfortable than his elder daughter's loud derisions ever had. I gingerly sat down in the chair.

"So Adrien told me," he began, is his calm, calculated tone of voice, "you were the only member of this household who was not party to the…" He paused to clear his throat. "Gathering that took place here the night I came home."

The conversation had already taken an unexpected turn. I nervously chewed on my bottom lip and nodded my head. I made a small noise that sounded something like, "Mmm-hmm."

I didn't know at all what was coming next.

"Well," Mr. Mansfield continued, but Adrien appeared in the doorway behind him then and I lost concentration for a moment. Adrien raised his eyebrows and pointed his thumb up and then down, as if to ask me if everything was okay. I couldn't very well give him a thumbs up without giving away his position to Mr. Mansfield, so instead I offered him the slightest of smiles and refocused on his father.

"That impresses me, Kate. It does," Mr. Mansfield was saying.

In the doorway, Adrien folded his arms and grinned bemusedly. "Impressed," he mouthed, nodding slowly and with mock thoughtfulness. I tried not to laugh and tried to pay attention to Mr. Mansfield.

"I know that I—or we, as a family—haven't treated you as well as we could have. Should have. And I want to apologize for that, Kate. From now on I want you to know that you are as much a part of this family as anyone else. I want you to feel like a Mansfield, Kate," Mr. Mansfield finished, thoroughly satisfied with his speech and his delivery.

"Thank you," I said. Adrien stuck his tongue out at me.

"Alright," Mr. Mansfield said briskly, shuffling through the papers on his desk. He was done with me now. He'd done his duty. "Well. Thank you, Kate. I will certainly talk to you later." He smiled benevolently at me.

"Oh. Yes. Thank you," I repeated, and made a quick exit before I burst into a smile. I grabbed Adrien's arm on the way out and pulled him away from the study entrance. "Oh, very mature," I teased.

"Do you feel like a Mansfield?" he joked. He draped the arm I was holding around my shoulder and, making a face, modified the question. "Do you want to feel like a Mansfield? Why would anyone want to feel like a Mansfield?"

Well, if feeling like a Mansfield would mean being connected to certain persons in certain ways—as in marriage—I could see how the prospect might be agreeable.

I didn't try to shrug Adrien's arm off of me. I knew very well what Johnny thought about the situation—that Adrien and me wasn't going to happen. That if I let myself get too into it now when things were good I would only be digging myself a bigger hole to climb out of later. And I knew—deep down I knew—that he was very likely right. But it was impossible for me to let Adrien go. No matter how much I knew I should, or how much Johnny told me I should, I could not let him go.

And isn't that what love is all about? Wanting something so much that you're willing to risk everything else for it? I thought about backing things up with Adrien back then. I thought about Johnny's air mattress, let me tell you, I did. But I just couldn't. I loved Adrien too much. I'm sure I can't explain why. I don't even understand why myself. But I did, and as long as there was still a sliver of a chance for me, I wasn't going to pull out.

Instead, I accepted the half embrace and playfully grumbled, "So are you just going to follow me around all day?" As if I minded.

"That was my plan," Adrien said dryly, "but Manda already killed that one. What did she want to talk to you about anyway?"

"Nothing you want to hear about," I answered honestly. "Girl stuff."

Adrien made another face and grunted. "You got that right."

I felt a little guilty about the slight evasion, and so I changed the subject completely. "You need a haircut," I said, pushing his hair back with my right hand.

Adrien slipped his left arm from over my shoulder and grabbed my hand with his, swatting it away from his hair, but not then immediately letting go. "Hey, who's side are you on?" he asked. "Me or my hair's?"

I laughed. "What does that even mean, Adrien?"

He shrugged, then grinned teasingly down on me. I rolled my eyes and grinned back at him. And then we practically ran head long into Rachel Harrington in the hallway. She looked at us—with Adrien still essentially holding my hand—and blinked.

"Hey guys," she stuttered.

"Rachel," Adrien nodded good-naturedly. He let go of my hand, but only to swing his arm around my shoulder again. I felt suddenly possessive, and like I was definitely in the lead.

"Seen my brother?" she asked.

Adrien shrugged. I chose to remain silent.

"Right," Rachel said, and took off down the hall.

"Huh," was all that Adrien had to say on the subject of Rachel Harrington. We continued on our merry way. Merry being exactly the word I'm looking for. I was in the lead.

"You know what I like about you, Kate?" Adrien asked.

"Hmmm," I said, pretending to be thinking hard about that. "My master gardening skills?"

Adrien laughed. "Well, I was going to say pretty much everything," he said. "But that definitely is one of my favorite characteristics."

And life was good.

But unfortunately, I'd underestimated the power Rachel yielded. As good a move as Johnny had ending up being, it turned out she had the ultimate trump card after all. She had Scott Harrington. Scott, her brother. Scott who would almost break my heart.

A/N: Lol. I've come to the conclusion that Mansfield Park is pretty much all character development and very little plot. So every chapter kinda feels like filler. But anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the filler. Next chapter will be Scott again, so you have that to look forward too. Hey, as a random thing, has anybody seen Pride & Prejudice? I'm dying to see it but I just never have the time. Sigh… Love to everyone! Thanks a billion for reviewing.

Radiant: Kate is back! Sorry, I really did mean it to be a quick update but then I got so busy. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up with a little more rapidity. Lol. Adrien cracks me up too. Poor kid, he's not fooling anybody.

embracing: Yay for Kate and Adrien! They're so fun.

kirstie: I love happy ending too. I don't think I could ever write a story that didn't have a happy ending. My inner romantic just wouldn't allow it.

wild-honey-pie: Glad you liked it. Hope you liked Kate and Adrien too. I think they're cute. :o)

Rhapsody's song: Lol. Everybody was rooting for Johnny and Kate for awhile there, but I don't think I could get away with changing the story that much. Anyways, I decided Johnny could be more of Kate's pseudo big brother figure, since they can't be together. He's so much fun to write.

Elwen: Thanks! Glad you liked it. Sometimes I get a little carried away with my conversations and that ends up being all a chapter consists of… but, oh well. :o)

Huntress of the Stars: Hope that was enough Adrien and Kate to keep you rooting for them for a little longer :o) I'm glad you can sympathize with Jess. I was really trying to make her sympathetic. Poor girl.

drugged-on-chocolate: Exactly what I think :o) Hope this update was quick enough.

annie: Lol. Wow! I'm impressed, because most everybody pretty much still hates Rachel and I keep trying to make her at least a little bit sympathetic :o) She's just such a hard sell

Ladyship8686: Well… he might not send her away, per say. But she will most definitely leave. Glad you like the fic.

Auriela: It is a new reviewer! I'm sorry the typos bother you. I really do edit, just typically I'm not very good at it. But I will try extra extra hard from now on, and you are welcome to point out my stupid mistakes when I miss them. Thanks for reviewing. Oh, and sorry I didn't add that line in the Emma fic…

NotreDamegirlie: Rachel is an interesting character study. Dude, I don't even really understand her and I'm writing her. Glad you think they were both better developed in the last chapter, I was really working on that.

shokolade: Don't worry – definitely more Johnny to come. And when he's not around, he's spirit will always be with us via email :o) Ah, so many questions… the answers will all come in time. Scott's pursuit of Kate will finally begin next chapter so there's something to look forward to. It will hopefully be interesting. Adrien will definitely be reminiscing over his conversation with Jess sometime in the far away future of this story. Hey! It is kind of reminiscent of The Royal Tenenbaums, isn't it? Huh.