Kitty sighed as she placed the empty bottle back on the table. She had been persuaded into going on a date with a guy from school. He was called Paul and he was in her Spanish class. She hadn't spoke to Jeremy since the dance, which was nearly two weeks ago. Ryder had asked her a few times what had happened but she didn't want to tell anyone, especially not Ryder. She would die of awkwardness if he ever found out. Now here she was, at a bar outside town with Paul. He had given her some fake ID to get in with, although the doormen were pretty relaxed and didn't really care about who they let in. They were out of town because all the bars in town knew them and she also wanted to lessen the chance of running into anyone who went to their school. She had now necked her fifth beer and was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. She didn't normally drink much so she was still learning how to handle her drink. She looked around at her surroundings and took in the bar. It was a stereotypical Country bar, which looked like it could easily fit in the set of any Western film. There was a stage at one side, which usually played host to a live band but it was karaoke night tonight so there was just a television and a lone microphone stand stood on it. There were people dancing to the country music that was playing out of the speakers at one side of the room. Paul was now returning from the bar with more drinks, not that Kitty needed anymore. She picked up her new drink and felt the warm, tingly sensation flow over her as she settled back into the rather boring conversation she was having with Paul.

Ryder was playing with his phone as he heard Sam's car pull up outside. They had agreed for Sam to pick him up at 6.30pm but it was now closer to 7.30pm and Ryder was bored. He'd had nothing planned for that evening but Sam had asked him to go for a drink with him at a bar he knew out of town. It was not something they usually did but Ryder wanted to clear his head and having a night away from his usual group of friends and having a chat with Sam might be exactly what he needed. He was struggling with school, the football team wasn't doing well and he hadn't had a girlfriend for months. Sam had promised him that he wouldn't need ID to get in so he had agreed pretty quickly. He liked Sam, he was the most similar to him out of the football team. He was happy to make his own decisions unlike the mob mentality that often took over several of the team. He was also the only one who could hold a conversation about topics other than which Cheerios were hot and football tactics.

They arrived at the bar, ordered drinks and sat down in a corner booth table. They were pretty much out of sight but they still had a clear view of the dance floor and most of the bar, although Ryder had his back to it. They began to chat easily about school, football and music.

"Hey, that Kitty chick from school is here." Sam suddenly spoke up. Ryder's head snapped up and he twisted round to follow Sam's gaze. Kitty had now dragged Paul to the dance floor where they were dancing awkwardly together. "She looks so drunk" He added.

"Oh my god"

"Can I ask you something?" Sam began to speak but Ryder's eyes didn't leave Kitty.

"Sure" Ryder peeled his eyes away to look back at Sam.

"What's going on with you and her?"

"Nothing"

"Don't lie to me. I see you talking to her more than you realize and I think your head nearly fell off you turned round so fast when I said her name. I can tell your itching to turn back round and see what she's doing."

Ryder sighed. He realized he had no option but to talk about this. "Okay, I'll be honest with you. I don't actually know."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay… so I work for her dad at their ranch. We've become quite good friends through that but we've tried to keep it subtle because of Alex and all those people who don't like her for speaking her mind. I think if they found out, they'd give her hell, well even more than they do now." Sam quietly nodded along.

"Well there's clearly more to it than that."

"That's where I get stuck. We've always been friends but at the Halloween dance, she came with Jeremy and I got really angry. I don't know why or where it came from but I snapped at her for coming with Jeremy. A while later, after some people got kicked out of the dance…" Ryder paused to grin at Sam who laughed at the memory of Sue kicking the group out of the dance. "I left because I was on my own and I found Kitty sitting outside on her own. She won't tell me what happened but I drove her home and that's it. We're back to being friends but I can't help this feeling that my anger must have meant something."

"Hmmm…" Sam nodded slowly. "It does seem like it should mean something. It's not really an emotion that comes from nowhere."

"Can you keep this between us please? I'm happy to have this conversation with you… in fact I'm quite relieved to have someone to talk to about the whole thing but I'm not prepared to have it with Alex or any of that lot."

"Yeah, no problem man. I know what you mean. He just can't stand anyone who has the balls to stand up to him, especially if they're about 5 foot tall with long blonde hair."

"Do you think that guy is being a bit full on?" Ryder had allowed himself to turn back round and was eyeing up Kitty and Paul dancing. He could tell from the corner booth that she was drunk and he seemed to be using this to his advantage.

"Is that jealousy I hear? Definitely a sign" Sam laughed.

"Not jealousy! Concern…"

"I think she can handle herself… give her a chance."

Kitty was beginning to realize how drunk she was as she danced with Paul. It had originally started off as a laugh but he was getting a bit forward for her liking. She repeatedly moved his hands away from her ass and had to turn her cheek several times as he made dives for her lips.

"Come on girl, what you doing? This is meant to be a date"

"Yeah, and?"

"You're meant to do stuff" Paul grabbed her wrist as Kitty finally realized she didn't want to be here any longer. She would have gone straight home but as she glanced at the stage, the alcohol in her system told her to take a chance and be reckless. She climbed onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Hey everyone." She slurred her words. The noise levels in the bar dropped as the majority of people, including Ryder and Sam turned to face the stage. She whispered in the DJ's ear before addressing the room, "I am feeling in the mood for a song. I don't usually sing and I've never sung in public but I'm drunk and don't give a fuck."

"Kitty! Get off the stage! You're embarrassing me." Paul was now trying to convince her to get away from the microphone with little success.

"No. I will not be told what to do by you, or by anyone." Ryder couldn't help himself but smile at the fierce Kitty he knew. "In fact… this very song is for you. God bless karaoke night."

"For god's sake!" Paul finally backed off from the stage as music began playing from the speakers.

"Check it out, going out on the late night. Looking tight, feeling nice. It's a cock fight. I can tell, I just know that it's going down. Tonight. At the door we don't wait cause we know them. At the bar - six shots just beginning. That's when dick head put his hands on me but you see…" Ryder and Sam looked at each other and laughed. Sam was right… Kitty could definitely handle herself. She was slurring the words a bit but that just added to the hilarity of the scene unfolding in front of them.

"I'm not here for your entertainment, you don't really want to mess with me tonight. Just stop and take a second, I was fine before you walked into my life. Cause you know it's over, before it began. Keep your drink, just give me the money. It's just you and your hand tonight."

"She's mad." Sam whispered to Ryder as she finished the chorus.

"I've never seen her like this, it must be the alcohol" He laughed as she attempted to dance on stage. He knew she'd be totally humiliated by this if she was sober, which made it all the more amusing. Paul had now completely disappeared, which surprised no-one.

"Midnight, I'm drunk, I don't give a fuck. Wanna dance by myself, guess you're out of luck. Don't touch, back up, I'm not the one. Bye bye. Listen up, it's just not happening. You can say what you want to your boyfriends, just let me have my fun tonight." She actually had quite a nice voice, despite the fact she was hammered. Ryder clapped with the rest of the bar as she finished the song and walked off stage. She could barely walk in a straight line but she was heading for the door, and that would take her right past their table. He reached out just as she walked past, grabbed her wrist and managed to pull her down so she was sitting on his lap. "HEY! Did you not hear the song?! Don't touch me." She moaned before she looked up to see Ryder looking straight into her eyes. "Oh it's you… I suppose I'll forgive you."

"Of course you will." Sam smirked as Ryder shot him a glare.

"Oh… I mean… no… I hate you. Don't ever talk to me again." Kitty stuttered as she tried to hide their friendship from the blonde boy sitting opposite them.

"Kit… Sam knows. He's cool and he's also gonna keep it between us. Plus I think you'd get on well with him." Kitty smiled shyly at Sam.

"Guess I will have made quite an impression on you tonight." She spoke quietly.

"You can say that again."

"Did you drive here? Would I pretty please be able to get a ride home?" Kitty turned back to Ryder.

"I didn't, Sam did but I'm sure that'd be okay? Also I can tell you're drunk because you actually asked nicely" Sam nodded as Ryder spoke. "But first, you're going to sit here and talk to us for a bit. I haven't spoken to you in a while, it'll give you a chance to get to know Sam and I think you need to sober up a bit before we take you home. I really do not want to get killed by your dad for returning you wasted." As he spoke, he slid Kitty sideways so she was now sitting properly at the table and not on his lap, although he kind of missed the feeling of having her close to him. He needed to decide if it was just that he missed having a girlfriend or whether it was that he was falling for the small, fiery blonde.

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are amazing if you have time :D