Disclaimer: Nothing, nothing, I own nothing. THOUGH quick poll, who thinks I should buy myself a new Juicy Purse? The rights to this show will definitely exceed the balance on my credit card.
Author's Notes: I know, there was some confusion with the last chapter and the timeline. So, Chapter five would consist of Friday Night at the Party and Saturday morning/early afternoon and then skipped to Saturday night. Chapter six would consist of Saturday Night at the Beach and then skipped to Monday morning at school. This Chapter consists of Tuesday night and then Wednesday. So, some things that are mentioned in the story are not really fully described, such as Bianca's cheerleader function nor Kat's days at school Monday or Tuesday.

Now, I will not lie to you, this chapter is chuck full of Kat/Patrick. It's sick how gushy I was feeling. And the "surprise" thing is so totally based on a concept from the, and don't stone me now, Hannah Montana movie. So, you know what, you can kiss my shiny, metal, butt! - Brownie points if you know where that's from! Anyway, open mind, lots of Kat/Patrick, a bit one sided Joey/Bianca and Cameron/Bianca. I promise I will write more about Bianca, I promise! This chapter is also like, 2,000 words longer, I guess to make up for last chapter. Possibly. ((Cheshire Smile!!))

Happy Readings! R&R! And I really hope you enjoy!

"Crap." Kat's eyes sprung open, stinging as they closed back tightly. A groaned escaped her lips, her hands covering her face. She twisted and gently opened her eyes to stare at the clock on her nightstand.

"Oh Jesus." It was twelve-seventeen, and Kat had figured she had only been sleeping for a couple of hours. "I'm going to kill her." Her voice was raspy. "I going to," she threw the blankets off to the side, swinging her legs, her feet hitting the cold floor, "kill her."

Kat walked over to her door, swinging it open to find Bianca trying to sneak to the bathroom. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal if Bianca had kept her mouth shut or if she hadn't been wearing a mini skirt and a tight sweater.

"Wouldn't boots have pulled the outfit together?" Kat leaned against her doorframe, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Oh my god, Kat! You're up!" Bianca unfroze from her position in the middle of the hallway. "Don't tell dad."

"Tell dad what? That you dress up to go the bathroom? Or that you're fully made up at twelve o'clock?" Kat crossed her arms, making a stern face. "I'm sure he'd be happy to know how dedicated you are to your personal hygiene."

"All the cheerleaders just went to Cold Stones for some ice cream." Bianca smiled, shrugging gently. "Being part of the squad is a big responsibility."

"You," Kat pointed at her, "are the mascot."

"Look, Gina told Leslie, who told Carol, who mentioned it in passing to Dawn that Michael said Joey was hoping I'd be there." Bianca shook her head. "I can't disappoint someone's expectations of me."

Kat squinted her eyes. "Bianca, you can't just sneak out of the house and get away with it because dad had an emergency delivery."

"Well, had you not woken up you would never have known." The blonde folded her arms and gave a heated look to her older sister. "I don't have to listen to you, you're lying to dad about Patrick."

Kat's mouth dropped open. "Lying about what? That I'm friends with him. Dad knows I'm friends with him."

"Friends, yeah, ok." Bianca nodded her head. "Is that why you two have been caught making out?"

"When?" Kat's arms dropped to her sides. "He wasn't in school yesterday or today, and I doubt he's going to be there tomorrow."

"Ah! You care that he wasn't there!" Bianca pointed her manicured finger in Kat's face. "I knew you cared! You've been sulking!"

"I have not been sulking!" Kat made an indignant face to go along with her indignant throat noise. "I have been living my life quite normally, thank you."

Now, this was not necessarily the truth. So what if Kat had been a little annoyed that Patrick had skipped out on school Monday? You know, he really needed to think about school and his future and what not. And who cared if he was, once again missing in action all day today, not even taking the time to stop in to see her? She didn't really care. Pf. Kat Stratford could live her life just fine whether Patrick Verona was in it or not.

"Where has he been?"

"Why would I know that?"

"You're his girlfriend! You're suppose to know where he is and who he's with and what he's doing at any given time of the day!" Kat stared at Bianca with a blank expression.

"Yes, I should know all of that information. If I was stalking him."

Without missing a beat Bianca clicked her tongue and flipped her head. "A girlfriend is a professional stalker who has needs to go undercover. Men are scum, they need watching."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, I think, in my entire life. Thank you for being apart of this Kodak moment."

Bianca narrowed his eyes and opened her mouth, only to freeze as the sound of a car pulling into the garage echoed up to them.

"Crap! Do not tell him!" Kat stared at her now panic-stricken sister. Kat rolled her eyes, put her hands up in defeat, and turned around back into her bedroom. She shut her door and walked over to her bed. Collapsing as the front door opened. At least she could go to sleep knowing that she had something on Bianca to be used at a later date.

---

Mandella sighed, turning to lean across the neighboring lockers. Kat gave her a look before returning to the usual transferring of books in and out of the metal box.

"Did he brainwash you?"

"Mandella, please." Kat gave her a look.

"It could happen Kat! He could have snuck into your brain and planted a chip or something. That's the only explanation I can come up with towards this new situation."

"What situation? He's an interesting person." Kat closed her locker door.

"Oh my god, you actually, really, care for him." Mandella blinked. "I thought you might have had some strange little crush on him because he was mean to you." Kat's eyes squinted. "But you actually like him. Oh, Kat."

"You thought I had a crush on him because he was mean to me? And I'm the one you feel sorry for?" Kat shook her head. "He's a good guy and there's just something about him." She shrugged. "I don't know to what extent I care for him."

"Obviously enough to sneak out of your house and go to the beach with him, alone, until four in the morning." Mandella's tone had changed from pitied to annoyed.

"We didn't do anything. We just sat and talked and--"

"Made out like rabbits in spring." Both girls twisted and turned to look at Patrick who had come up on the other side of them. He smirked over to Mandella, placing a possessive arm over Kat's shoulders.

"Wow, look who decided to join the learning community." Kat made a gasp. "You might be able to graduate on time."

Mandella laughed as Patrick mildly glared at her.

"I told you, I had some stuff to do." Both Mandella and Kat rolled their eyes. Mandella took the intuitive to kick off from the lockers and head towards their first period.

"I'll see you in a few Kat." Patrick gave a cheesy smile to the Goth girl, only to receive an annoyed look back.

"I think she really likes me." He moved off of Kat to lean in front of her. He held up his two fingers, moving them to wrap around each other. "We're going to be best friend's by the end of the week."

Kat scoffed, folding her arms. "Where were you?"

"Aw, you missed me." Patrick gently pushed some hair behind her ear. "I knew you would."

Kat gave him a look. She wasn't angry, really, she was just tired of everyone telling her how she was feeling. Bianca and Mandella were grating her nerves with all this Patrick crap. Sure, he was just being a jackass with his missing comments, but the damage was already done and Kat was over it. She was, obviously, loosing her ability to hide her feelings.

Not that she ever really could in front of Patrick.

"Come on, where were you?"

"Oh, you know, here and there." He smirked, looking away from her and around the crowded hallway. "What are you doing today?"

"After school?"

"No, today, right now." His smirk grew as Kat became confused. She lamely pointed down the hall.

"Going to class?"

"Please tell me you've skipped school before." Kat dragged her bottom lip into her mouth.

She had skipped school before. A few times because of doctor's appointments and a couple of times so she could attended a seminar and a rally on animal abuse and environment awareness. She had a feeling that this was not what Patrick was asking her for\ though. Patrick was asking if she had ever done something without it being premeditated, or most importantly, against her father's knowledge.

"Wow, you haven't." He laughed. "That doesn't even shock me."

"I have, on several occasions, missed school and attended environmental rallies and picket lines, and other, things." Kat didn't even believe her own lie, which is why when Patrick eyes became instantly amused, she didn't throw herself at him and throttle him.

"Well, that's very diplomatic of you." He looked down the hall one more time, before gently grabbing her hands and pulling her towards the side of the building.

"Patrick, I can't just leave. What about Bianca?"

"Bianca is a big girl and we'll be back before you have to take her home."

He pressed past student after student, his eyes set on some foreign thing that escaped Kat. It took almost five minutes but the sun hit Kat's skin instantly warming her. She squinted and looked across the grassy school yard towards his bike that was haphazardly parked.

"You trust me."

"No." Patrick laughed. He leaned close to her.

"You better start." He continued walking, her hand never leaving his, and practically sat her on his bike.

"Where are we going?" Kat's face was nothing close to amusement as Patrick gingerly dropped his extra helmet in her hands.

"It's a surprise."

"What kind of surprise?"

"A surprise that will make you trust me." He mounted the bike, smirking and placing his own helmet on. "Or at least make you like me more."

He started the bike forcing Kat to wrap her arms around him. "Trust me," she whispered to herself, her arms gently squeezing his waist as they took off down the road. "If I liked you anymore, the whole world would stop turning in disbelief."

---

Kat was getting very use to the motorcycle, which could either be construed as a good thing, since she had a feeling it would be one of her new methods of transportation, or as a bad thing because her father might just kill her and Patrick all together.

It be a very interesting twist on Romeo and Juliet. Instead of suicide, it be parental homicide, possible manslaughter. Either way, Kat thought as she gently got off the bike and took her helmet off, they both die in the end.

She stared at the landscape that laid before her, her mouth slowly dropping open.

"We're at a farm?"

"Technically you're at a ranch. Calm down." She noted there was bit of a tone in his voice, but Kat ignored it.

"Wow, so, you're a cowboy, huh?" She smirked, placing the helmet on the seat. "Where's your hat?"

Patrick shot her a look, causing Kat to shrug with an apologetic look. He sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the Victorian looking stable.

"PATRICK!" Kat jumped at the sudden voice, freezing instantly. Patrick, who was still holding her hand was jerked back by the sudden brakeage. He looked at her and then at the man heading towards them.
Kat watched as he let go of her hand, a smile on his face. Patrick took three steps stopping as the man got in front of him and grabbed him into a hug.

"I thought you said you'd be by after school. You skipped another day. Your mom is going to give you a good old fashion whooping, let me tell you." There was a warm, rural quality to the man that made Kat feel just the slightest bit less uncomfortable.

"Who would tell her though?" Patrick smirked, his hand patting the man's shoulder. "Rick this is Kat, Kat this is Rick, my uncle's best friend and care taker of the ranch."

She took a step forward, shaking the man's hand. "You're uncle works here?"

"He owns it," Rick answered, a bright smile taking up his face. "Patrick's been working here for quite some time though, haven't ya my boy?"

Kat wasn't a hundred percent sure, but she could see a blush creeping across his face.

"You should go and get Lucy. I'm sure she'd love to meet this little lady." Rick winked over to Kat. "You'll love her."

"Yeah, I'm sure she will." Patrick looked over to Kat, gave her a tight lipped smile, and then began heading to the stables.

She watched him before turning to Rick who was looking off into the distance.

"How long have you known Patrick?" She brought her hand up to cover her face from the autumn, California sun.

"All his life." Rick chuckled. "Boy's been a spitfire since he climbed out of the womb. He's a good boy though, does right by his mom and works hard."

Kat raised an eyebrow but did not further comment on Rick's opinion of Patrick. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, it was just, well, it was Patrick. It was the guy who Mandella had introduced as the cannibal. He was the quid essential bad boy of Padua High. Nothing about him suggested, hell, held a tiny sliver of a hint, that Patrick freakin' Verona was a bloody cowboy.

"You have a lot of experiences with horses?" Kat looked at Rick, only to turn in the direction he was looking. Her eyes bulged slightly as Patrick headed towards them, following him from the reigns was a giant, brown and white horse.

"Um, no."

---

Bianca rolled her eyes, placing her cheek in her hand, and allowing her eyes to glaze across the courtyard. She had been listening for almost twenty minutes to Chastity talk about her trip to Martha's Vineyard with her parents, two months ago. She noticed that Dawn and Carol were wearing similar expressions to hers, as the three other girls they were with were overly engrossed in whatever Chastity was saying.

She was slowly moving away from being Chastity's minion to that of Chastity's equal. She had figured this out last night while she and Joey played eye hockey for most of the ice cream social. She knew that Joey and Chastity were on the rocks because Joey was openly paying more attention to her and Chastity had spent an hour and a half ranting about him on the phone to Dawn and Bianca Saturday night. Chastity was also flirting with every good looking guy Sunday at the cheerleading carwash.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly what it was about Joey that made her stomach twist and her knees go weak. Sure, he was cute, but Bianca was surely not the superficial.

Or, well, at least she could pretend she wasn't that superficial.

Her eyes paused, staring at Cameron who was sitting on the grass and waving her over. She lifted her chin and looked to Chastity who was now giving fashion tips to Perri.

"I have to go see what Cameron wants." She mumbled to Dawn, who looked like she was sleeping with her eyes open.

"You're just saving yourself." Dawn whispered with an amused smile. "In two minutes, say my name so I have an excuse."

"Me too." Carol stated, eyeing the two of them. Bianca simply nodded, standing up and giving a large smile to Chastity, who was still overly absorbed in her fashion lesson.

"Hey Bianca," Cameron smiled brightly, gently patting the bit of grass next to him. "I haven't talked to you in a few days."

"You sat next to me in History and Spanish yesterday." Bianca scrunched her nose. "You basically shoved Doug Mason from his seat so you could be my lab partner."

Cameron opened his mouth, shut it, and then swallowed loudly. "But we barely talked."

"Ok then, talk." Bianca gave him a smile, leaning back on her palms, her eyes whisking back and forth over the crowd.

"Um…" It wasn't that she didn't like Cameron, because she did. He was a great friend who was, at the very least, very protective of her feelings. There was just nothing there. No spark, no chemistry, nothing that made her heart skip beats and have her body jumping in anticipation to see him.

A smile broke across her face as she thought about Kat. Now, there was a girl who was literally waist deep in like, or lust, or whatever you could be with Patrick Verona.

"What are you thinking about?" Bianca looked over to Cameron who seemed genuinely interested.

"Kat, actually."

"What about Kat, is she ok?" Cameron leaned back, leveling himself with Bianca's position.

"She use to be a lot different. She had her first boyfriend at my age and then, when they broke up, she changed. Not too much, she just seemed to become a lot more involved with all the stuff she was passionate with, and louder. Much louder and meaner. She's not as mean with Patrick around though."

"She is kind of mean." Cameron agreed. "But I think it's just her way of keeping people out."

"I think she was trying to keep certain people out." Bianca smiled. "I think she was afraid of getting hurt again." She looked over to Cameron. "I haven't changed at all."

"You never broke up with someone." Cameron offered. Bianca laughed.

"I've barely dated anyone." She sighed and then moved her hands, her eyes stared at the blue sky. "What about you Cameron? What's your track record?"

"I've never had a girlfriend. Most girls at this school went through puberty with me." Bianca looked over to him, a giggle escaping her lips.

"That's the saddest thing I've heard today." Cameron chuckled, nodding his head as his eyes wandered to the various students he had known since at least fifth grade.

"Well," he shrugged. "It's the truth."

"Wow, this is definitely a pity party." Bianca shook her head, sitting up and laughing. "At least Kat is going out with Patrick now." Her eyes began following Joey as he crossed the court yard to the football table. Cameron watched her, his eyes moving from her face to the blonde athlete's arrival. "I get to officially date someone."

Cameron sighed, this time being the one to lay in the grass and stare at the shapeless clouds.

"Congrats."

---

Patrick had the biggest, brightest, over the top smirk on his face. His head was staring down at the ground where Kat laid, sprawled out into the grass. He could feel the tears from holding his laughter.

"I swear to god, I'll have a vendetta out on your life if so much as a chuckle leaves those lips Verona."

She had attempted, not once, not twice, not three times, but rather four times to mount the horse. And every single time, all she ended up doing as laying on her back, her eyes focusing on the blue sky above them.

"I didn't laugh." Patrick stated, giggles filling his words. "Come on," he leaned down, lending a hand to the fallen brunette.

Kat pushed his hand away, standing up and dusting herself off. They had only been at the ranch for a couple of hours. She had met Lucy, which was the horse she had fallen off of multiple times and had found out that Patrick's uncle was a huge Beatles fan, hence Patrick's knowledge of the sixties band and, of course, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds over here.

"Can I help you now?" Kat gave him a dirty look. Not because she was mad at his insistence to help her, but mad that she needed so much help. It was a horse for goodness' sake. How hard could it be?

Obviously way harder then she thought. But, hello, Ohio was not known for horse back riding.

Patrick chuckled and, with almost no effort Kat thought, climbed up on to the saddle. Kat was even more so less amused.

He rolled his eyes and outstretched his arm, his hand pausing in front of her.

"If you ask me if I trust you, again, I'm going back to the bike."

"Kat, shut up and let me get you on to the damn horse." There was no malice in his voice, just playful banter.

She took a step forward and, painfully, placed her hand in his. To be honest, she didn't even register the feeling of being pulled up and seated on to the horse. All she felt was the undeniable heat that coursed through her body as he positioned her in front of him.

"Was that really so hard?" His lips grazed her ears, his voice tickling her sensitive ears.

"Some of us prefer not using animals as our slaves." Patrick chuckled, moving the reigns, hinting to Lucy that they were ready to begin their walk. Kat held on to the saddle horn with both hands tightly. "Why don't you tell anyone about this side of you? The cannibal story still hasn't gotten too old?"

"People know about this side of me." There was a seriousness to his voice. "They don't really spread it around because they know I trust them with this information."

"What information?" She looked over her shoulder. "It's no big deal, it's a part time job."

Patrick made a noise, which was completely unreadable to Kat. "It's a little more then a job, Kat, it's my home away from home." He looked down, noting that Kat's big, bambi eyes were still watching him. He sighed. "Loosen you're grip and just lean back, ok? I promise she won't go any faster then this." Kat, unsurprisingly, did not follow his orders nor look away.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. My parents got divorced when I was younger. My dad sees me when he sees me and sometimes it's hard being in a single parent home." Patrick shrugged. "I use to run away here all the time. My uncle bought Lucy for me when I was ten. He figured if I was going to run away, I should have some form of responsibility."

Kat turned her head, her eyes casted towards the saddle horn and her hands. A part of her felt a bit bitchy, while the other part felt like spinning around and kissing him.

"Your turn." Bitterness laced with his words. "I shared a secret, so you share a secret."

"I'm not a virgin." She didn't have to think about it. She wanted to tell him just to see the expression on his face. Ironically she had planned it to be during one of their playful fights, not while she was unable to look at him.

Silence seemed to take over them, causing Kat to hunch even further forward. Possibly trying to put space in between them.

It wasn't that big of a secret, or something she shouted from the roof-tops, or even something she was ashamed about. The only person who knew, besides Justin and Patrick at this point, was Bianca. And that was only because the annoying little blonde had found Kat's journal and then harassed her for days and days and days. Kat had a feeling Bianca would never tell their father because, for one she knew the man just as well as Kat did and two because she was a good sister.

Now, however, she felt stupid and embarrassed. A different kind of heat seemed to sweep across her body, her face almost touching the horse's skin.

She jumped as his arm wrapped around her stomach, pulling her upwards and towards him. It didn't even occur to her that her hands had left the horn.

"That's why I have to go slow, huh?" She could feel him nodding his head. "You're afraid I'll do what? What did that guy take with him?"

"You'll do what all of you do." She closed her eyes, her body moving with the horse and with Patrick. "Find someone better."

Her eyes bounced open as the horse came to a stop. She stared at the field of flowers that stretched across the empty land in front of them.

"I feel like I should be in a musical right now." Kat stated, causing Patrick to chuckle.

"Kat, if you think there's anyone better then you, you'd be wrong. Because I don't think I have ever met a girl half as crazy as you."

"I don't think that makes me feel any better. That might have even killed a part of me, inside." Her hands grasped the horn as Patrick moved off of Lucy. He reached his arms up helping Kat to the ground.

"That guy, in the picture, that was him. At least I'm way better looking then him." Kat laughed.

"Yeah, you're a real catch."

"I thought you might appreciate this. None of the girls I have ever came across would have." Kat looked at him, walking up to gently pat Lucy's nose.

"How many of them have you brought here?"

"Just you." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I have to admit, I have never felt more awkward or uncomfortable."

"Wow, Coyote Jack is uncomfortable. That's why you should have a hat." Kat looked back at him. "You know, you keep surprising me like this, and acting like this, I might do something stupid and get use to it." Patrick shrugged. "That means a whole lot more awkward moments for you, cowboy."

"I'll deal." He sighed and walked past Kat and Lucy, he grunted and gracefully sat on the ground. "I've been here the past few days. My uncle isn't feeling to well and my mom has been driving people up the wall for it."

"My dad was like that when my mom was sick. I wish I had been old enough to leave."

Patrick watched as she came and sat next to him, her knee touching his knee. "How old were you?"

"About nine. My dad was always a bit crazy, so, I mean, that wasn't really any kind of different. But it was hard. Remembering is hard."

Silence surround them once again, this time their bodies moving closer together then farther apart. It was several minutes before Patrick spoke his eyes smiling.

"You're dad is going to hate me being your boyfriend, isn't he?" Kat look at him.

"He wanted me to forgive you. But that was before all the kissing and touching. So, yeah, now he's just going to kill you. And to think, I fretted so much over all that apology nonsense."

Patrick gave her a look, nudging her. Kat laughed and nudged him back. They continued to nudge each other as the scent of flowers filled the air.