Chapter 3

Kat was so confused right now. She had no idea how she even left school and got home, but all she knew was that she desperately wanted to cry. They could have flown home for all she knew. She was that much of a daze. When they had arrived home, her father finally exploded.

"That's it! You're going back to Ohio"

"What!" both girls screamed at the idea.

"You heard me. Kat, you're going to live with your Uncle Jimmy. I talked to him this morning, and he is more than glad to let you stay with him." The weight of his words was crashing down on her, but she couldn't believe it was true.

"So that's it? I screw things up, and you decide you can't handle me. Is that how it's going to be?" Kat was beyond furious that her rage allowed her to climb the stairs two by two.

"Bianca, I'm hungry. Let's have dinner" Walter announced, seemingly unmoved by his eldest daughter's behaviour.

Bianca couldn't believe what transpired between her father and sister. The words didn't seem come from her mouth, so she followed her father orders. His treatment of her sister was infuriating to the point that she even started to play the game Chastity taught her: "Find 10 Ways To Seriously Injure Your Father." By the time Bianca was on number four, she felt nauseous. This wasn't right. She couldn't imagine life without Kat. Who would make fun of her? Who would she make fun of in return? Even if they couldn't stand to be in the same room sometimes, Kat was still her best friend.

She stood up and said without hesitation, "May I be excused?"

"Ok." Walter eyed her warily, but even he had had enough fighting for the day.

Bianca grabbed her cell-phone off the counter and went upstairs. As she walked down the hall, she hear Kat crying. Cautiously, Bianca entered the room and found her sister wrapped up in the arms of her soul mate. Even if Kat didn't want to admit it, they were cute in their own freak, scary way.

"Sorry," she apologized when she saw them. "I thought you might need a hug."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Patrick asked laughing.

"Shut up. My dad might hear you, and I'm guessing if he found us this time, you would be seriously injured or short a limb." Kat's own arrogant smirk rooted itself in place.

"As much as I hate to ruin the moment, Patrick being here is a really bad idea after what happened today. Sorry, Patrick, but you should probably leave. I can take care of her, and I promise to make her eat since she hasn't eaten properly since yesterday," Bianca promised, looking a little like a Girl Scout.

"I don't need to be taking care of. I can take care of myself," Kat said offended.

"Kat, I would normally agree with you, but a little bit of company and food isn't that bad, right?" Patrick pleaded with his tamed shrew.

"Ok, but go. If you want me taken care of, then it's my decision, too, and if my dad sees you again, he will kill you. Patrick, we'll find a way," Kat said, her eyes revealing her determination.

"Bianca, who do you think told your father where to find us?" Patrick asked.

"I don't know. It could be anyone at school. I mean, everyone hates Kat right now." Bianca hesitated to answer since it was the first time Patrick had ever talked to her directly.

"See? It can't to be Ms. Tharp," said Kat. "She was nice to me this morning, and she even said you're cute."

"You should believe me. I have close to a PhD in evil stepparents," Patrick challenged.

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter anymore now that I'm being shipped back to Ohio," Kat said.

"Before you leave, I really need to tell you something. Do you think I can see you tomorrow?" Patrick asked her before climbing out her window.

"I hope so. Wait," Kat called to him. Patrick froze, waiting. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"Sorry." Patrick's smile replaced his momentary panic.

In no time, Patrick and Kat were kissing, and Bianca wanted to throw up. When did her sister become so corny? After what seemed like hours of torture for Bianca, the couple broke apart.

"Good night. I'll text you when I get home," Patrick said and disappeared into the night.

When the two sisters were left alone, a silence fell between them until Bianca's ringing cell-phone snapped them back to reality.

Glancing down at her phone, she recognized it immediately. "It's Joey"

"You haven't talked to him, have you?" Kat asked.

"I'm afraid he wants to break up, and I'm sure if he does I won't be available to tell him everything he deserves to hear," Bianca said desperately.

"Ok, Bianca, I'll be here with you. I can tell you what to say," Kat promised.

Kat went to her desk, grabbed a notebook and sat next to Bianca. Breathing deeply, Bianca answered the phone.

"Bianca, I've been trying to reach you all day? Did a teacher take your phone?" Joey said. He seemed honestly concerned.

Bianca and Kat looked puzzled. He was kidding, right? Kat swiftly lifted her pen and wrote with an anger that Bianca thought might burn right through the paper. Finished with her furious scribing, Kat handed the notebook to her sister.

"Say it in a sarcastic tone," Kat whispered in Bianca's ear.

"Oh, no. I didn't lose my cell-phone. Unlike you, I don't like to mess up, especially with somebody else's boyfriend."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in such an innocent voice that Kat realised irony was overshooting Joey's intelligence. Kat wrote again in the notebook.

"Let me refresh your memory: you, a hot model, a steamy hot tub, and a kiss that was far from innocent." Kat didn't need to tell her sister how to say this one. "I might be a virgin, but I'm not stupid. You let her kiss you."

"Baby, it's not like that... I'm..." Joey attempted an explanation, but Kat wrote faster.

"You're a moron, a jerk, a liar, and dishonest, or even better, you're all of them combined?" Bianca retorted.

"Bianca, I'm a model now. I need to win this." Joey said. Kat could see her sister was on the verge of tears.

"Right, I forgot that you're so stupid that the only thing you can do is look good in pictures. I can't believe I was stupid enough to forget that you're only in love with yourself," Bianca read again.

"That was harsh. You know I love you. I love your eyes, and the way I look in them..."

Kat's mouth fell open. Joey must be crazy, but how could Bianca date this bastard? He made Patrick's offensive comments look like compliments, so she wrote down the worst insult that came to mind.

"See that's the problem. I want someone to love me as a person. What I don't need is a jerk that sees me only as a mirror and needs me to make him feel good about himself," Bianca read as the tears started to form in her eyes but continued. "Joey, this is over. Please don't call me again. Hope you have a nice life."

Joey didn't quite understand what was happening, but as he was easily confused, it didn't really matter. As Bianca ended the call, the tears came pouring out, and without encouragement, Kat pulled her into a hug.

"Bianca, how did you honestly control yourself? I would have probably killed him," Kat questioned, glancing at her sobbing sister.

"I focused on the good, blocking out the bad. You should try it sometime. It's not as bad as you think."

As Bianca let her emotions flow out, the silence returned until Bianca said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I don't want you to leave."

"That makes two of us," Kat replied as her stomach growled in protest "Weren't you suppose to feed me?"

"Oh, right. What about ice-cream?"

"You know how I feel about processed sugar," Kat argued, sneering at the delicious processed substance.

"Kat, it might be our last week together. Besides, sugar has been proven to ward off depression," Bianca teased.

"You're lying through your teeth, and I'm not depressed, just worried."

"It's close enough. Come on"

Bianca dragged her sister downstairs and began grabbing anything they could get their hands on: ice cream, cookies, some leftovers, juice, bread, tofu. Lounging across in Kat's bed, they made a feast. There was no purpose or order to what they ate, allowing their emotions to dictate their need. Kat was the worst. Having eaten barely anything since yesterday, she would take a nutritious bite of salad with some tofu to follow only to finish it off with a cookie. With their stomachs finally full, they passed out on Kat's bed surrounded by food.

The next morning came too soon. As expected, Miss Tharp was waiting for them. Her big smile plastered innocently on her face. Still feeling uncomfortable with the new woman, Bianca claimed the backseat. Kat seated herself faithfully next to Darlene.

"Oh Kat, I'm so sorry about what happened," said Darlene the moment they were alone in the car, away from their father's prying ears.

"Thanks," Kat replied, smiling at her kindness.

"Kat, remember I'm here to listen with open ears and open eyes," offered Miss Tharp, smiling her most sincere smile.

Kat thought it was impossible for Darlene, or Miss Tharp, to be what Patrick believed her to be. The issue of Ms. Tharp was inconsequential to a more pressing issue. Kat was still the most hated person in the entire school. Yesterday, she had cared how people treated her because she thought she would be there for another 18 months. Now, she only had to make it through the rest of the week before she was gone. With that promising opportunity in front of her, she decided to make Patrick and Bianca proud and achieve the worst reputation she could. By the end of the week, she would be a ghost anyway.

The moment she walked in the door Brad insulted her. He should've thought twice. Placing him under her furious gaze, she responded her most menacing voice, "You have 5 seconds to leave before I start ripping off appendages or at least severely damage them."

"You wouldn't dare," he challenged, refusing to take her seriously.

Narrowing her eyes, she replied, "You asked for it"

Using the self-defence she learned in her "Victim No More" class, Kat went straight for prize. For the sake of propriety, she kicked him in a way that may or may not have resulted in his inability to ever have a family. As he moaned in pain, a self-satisfied smirk appeared at finally taking him down a notch. Nobody had any right to treat her like shit.

"You'll pay for it" he squealed out, his voice an octave higher.

"I couldn't care less," Kat answered as she turned away and left.

As Kat continued walking down the hall, she spotted Patrick. Like almost everyday, he defined a new level of handsome. Not that she would ever admit it in front of him but she was seriously dating the hottest guy in school. Patrick saw her and smiled. Kat couldn't help doing the same, feeling almost like a stupid school girl. Her day was definitely better now. At least, it was until she collided with the British pond scum known as Blank.

"Sorry," Blank apologized.

"Is that for destroying Meatless Mondays, that horrible disaster of a date, or your unethical editing of my campaign video?"

"Kat, I swear I didn't have anything to do with the video. I'm as surprised as you are," he defended, but she knew he was the last person on Earth that she should trust.

"Oh, right. You know what I don't care. I'm leaving California for good, so I have no need to waste my time on unpleasant issues like you. I have more agreeable things in mind." Patrick immediately appeared in her mind, but Blank didn't need to know that.

"Like that motorcycle chap, I presume." His comment was more biting than she expected, but she was glad because it meant she had gotten under his skin.

"You can bet on it," she replied. "Consider this your lucky day that I'm not even going to mangle you like Brad. Sadly, you don't even deserve that."

Not waiting for his response, Kat left Blank, staring dumbfounded at her retreating form. Moments later, she felt her cell-phone vibrate in her pocket. It was a text from Patrick.

"You look hot when you defend yourself"

She couldn't resist smiling, and her world made sense once again.

Bianca was having her own problems that day. Somehow everyone in school had found out about her breakup with Joey. Unbeknownst to her, the producers had put it on the actual show. She felt weird that everyone knew exactly what he told her and how she had answered. It felt like an invasion of privacy.

Some girls from her math class told her, "We didn't know you had that in you."

Bianca didn't know how to respond. She wasn't quite sure if it was an insult or a compliment, but she had a feeling it was probably a combination of the two. Sitting down in her seat, she began to realize that maybe she could make this work for her. It might give her back a chance at being popular. Now, she just needed to find Dawn and Cameron immediately, so instead of paying to her not so handsome math teacher, she started planning her return to the popular crowd.

Cameron wasn't as optimistic as Bianca. Nothing ever went according to plan, and his life was a prime example. He liked Dawn and might possibly love her, but with Bianca available again, he wasn't feeling so sure anymore. If his romantic problems weren't enough, he had the guilt over Kat's botched campaign video to deal with. He was positive that he had given Tabitha Cook the right video.

As he was passing what he thought was an empty classroom, he heard Tabitha's voice. Anyone would recognise that annoying voice of hers anywhere. She was talking to someone else, and as he heard the British accent, he knew it had to be Blank.

"Why are you so mad about this?" Tabitha argued.

Cameron pulled out his cell-phone and began recording. He wasn't sure why but he felt like James Bond.

"Because I didn't want to win this way. I wanted to win fairly against Kat."

"I didn't know you knew how to be honest. You were the one who asked me to spy on her campaign, or am I mistaken?" Tabitha sounded more than a little hysterical.

"No." Blank's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Good. Now, stop being such a stupid prat, and give me the prom like we agreed. You owe me, remember? By changing that video, I handed you the election on a silver platter."

Cameron left, knowing he had recorded enough. He considered going to Patrick for advice, but he decided against it. Patrick had enough troubles and, quite frankly, still scared Cameron senseless. Besides, he wanted to break the rules for once.

Kat was in the middle of her physics class when Principal Holland called her name over the loudspeaker.

"Kat Stratford, come to my office."

Figuring Brad had went crying to the principal, she left feeling more than a little self-confident. Granted kicking Brad wasn't the responsible thing to do, it did the trick though. People would think twice about crossing paths with her. She did feel a twinge of guilt when she heard someone say that Brad actually had to go to the hospital and have surgery, so when she arrived at the principal's office and Brad wasn't there, she wasn't too surprised.

Principal Holland didn't wait for her to have a seat before jumping to the matter at hand. "Kat, you seriously injured Brad."

"So?"

"That's all you have to say. I'm afraid I will have to suspend you. Again," Holland warned.

"I'm getting suspended for defending myself?" Kat asked "Look, I know I shouldn't have done what I did. After what I went through yesterday, I needed to. School was hell for me. Everyone insulted me and trashed my car. Sorry, I had enough. I didn't see you stopping them, so I had to. If you suspend me, you should consider suspending the rest of the school, too."

"It's not my fault you made that stupid video," Principal Holland started laughing. "The worst part is that I completely agree with you."

"Do you honestly think I would do something that idiotic? I wanted to win for president, not social reject of the year. Blank tricked me or something cunning and devious. Besides, Principal Holland, I'm leaving in three days. You don't need to suspend me," Kat explained.

"Ok, Kat, you've made your case. I'll let you go, but try not to kill anyone."

"Thanks. I promise that it will be like I'm not even here," Kat said, getting up from her chair.

As she was leaving, the Principal called to her, "Kat, I'm sorry. You were right. I should have stopped them."

It was lunch time, and Patrick was on the roof, waiting for her. Opening his bag, he looked again to make sure he still had it. His file was there inside his backpack. He had to tell Kat, but he couldn't get why this was the moment he wanted to tell her the truth. He heard the door open and pretended to be at ease.

"You think someone is going to look for us here?" Patrick asked.

"Of course, this would be the last place my Dad would look. He'll think we found a new place to hide," She explained, moving to sit next to him.

"Unless Miss Tharp tells him." Patrick still couldn't find any reason to trust that woman.

"I'm not so sure about Miss Tharp," Kat said. "Now, what do you wanted to tell me?"

"You asked me not to break your heart, so I have a favour to ask." He knew the moment he said it that she would probably panic.

"What? You're making me nervous."

"Don't give up on me" Patrick looked vulnerable, and Kat couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"I won't." She kissed him softly before whispering, "I don't think I could even if I tried."

The happy couple remained there, enjoying the bliss of being so far away from the world. Kat didn't want to remind herself that she only had 72 hours left with Patrick.

In the meantime, Bianca was having lunch with Cameron and Dawn. She refused to admit it out loud, but the whole third wheel thing was making her sick. She didn't even have the opportunity to tell them about her "Return to Popular" plan. The problem she was having was the fact that if she hadn't been so shallow, she would probably have fallen for Cameron, not Joey, and Cameron would never have done what Joey did. She was starting to feel depressed when a sexy accent interrupted her dark thoughts.

"Hi, do you mind if I sit here, or am I interrupting?" He flashed her a gorgeous smile.

"Be my guest. I'm trying to decide who is more pathetic. Me for watching them or them for showing off?" She knew she shouldn't be flirting with the guy that betrayed her sister, but he was hard guy to resist.

"Sorry to say it, but I think it is quite possibly you. Perhaps, you should be looking for someone to kiss yourself."

"You're right," Bianca said and smiled despite herself.

"By the way, I'm Blank." He offered his hand.

Shaking it gently, she replied, "I know, I didn't vote for you, I'm..."

"Bianca," he said with a smile. "I know who you are."

"So?" She was beginning to understand better why her sister didn't trust him.

"So? I wanted to ask you if you would like to be a part of my team. I need someone who can take care of planning the prom," He asked, bemused by the smile practically leaping off her face.

Bianca found the answer to her prayers. The new Student Council president was handing her a golden opportunity to make sure she was popular again. It's not like Kat would care. She was only going to be here for another three days anyways.