Chapter 5
The school gym had been decorated as a haunted house. The walls were covered with black trash bags and fake cobwebs. The ceiling had skeletons and mummies hanging from it at various locations. Zombies, vampires, and werewolves were strategically placed around the room in order to scare unsuspecting passersby. On each side of the buffet table and at each corner of the room were tombstones with "funny" epitaphs.
"Here lies Ted. He died at Club Med." Patrick read aloud.
"Probably made by one of the rich cheerleaders. I shudder at the thought of the average IQ of that squad."
"Your sister is in it."
"No, she's the mascot. Turns out, that doesn't count."
"Lucky for her."
"That's what I said, and she threw a fit. She obviously doesn't share our enlightened opinion."
"Definitely not."
Patrick and Kat were leaning against the far wall of the gym. They had already been on the receiving end of countless of stares when they arrived together, so they had decided standing in a back corner would give them some privacy. So far Bianca and her date had stayed at the front of the gym, near the double doors, and were chatting with Chastity, Joey, and other jock/cheerleader couples.
"I can't believe her real date is Jason Johnson. The rumors about me might be disturbing in a horror flick kind of way, but the ones about him are just disturbing."
"He's the captain of the water polo team. No other description is necessary in my mind. I've only been here a few months and I've already heard way too much about the guys on that team. I don't know how Bianca hasn't."
"Maybe she does; she looks a bit uncomfortable next to him, doesn't she? Maybe she has a specific reason for coming with him."
"Other than becoming more popular? I know being a jock's date gives you more popularity points than losing a few pounds. That statement by itself shows how screwed up high school is."
"Why don't we stop talking about your sister and just keep an eye on her for now? She can't get into much trouble with the whole faculty watching our every move in here and outside."
"It's the "much" that worries me. But yeah, ok, we can change the topic. What do you have in mind?"
Patrick looked down at his date and gave her a considering look. She was looking out into the crowd of students on the dance floor. The music had been a little too media friendly for his taste. If he had a radio on his bike, he knew that every song played so far was the usual broadcast for the station aimed at middle and upper class teens. Definitely too mainstream for him to be interested in dancing to. Besides, Kat and he had discussed their music preferences during one of their phone conversations. He knew she was probably wincing on the inside as well.
"Why don't we make a deal? No matter what song comes on next, we dance to it."
Kat looked at him in surprise. She knew he wasn't into the music any more than she was. Plus, he didn't strike her as the dancing type; it went against his bad-boy image.
"You want to dance? I didn't know cannibals had rhythm."
"Of course we do. How else would we trap unsuspecting prey at a dance?"
"I'm no one's prey, but I accept your deal. I don't think I could convince myself to go on the dance floor any other way."
Patrick leaned in close and whispered into her ear.
"Oh, I think I could convince you in other ways."
Smirking at the aghast look on her face, he started leading her to the dance floor as the current song's last notes played. Standing face to face- or rather face to chest- they waited for the next song to start. The blushing began when Kat realized the next song was a slow one, and then slowly went white when she realized what song it was.
I finally found someone
That knocks me off my feet
I finally found the one
That makes me feel complete
Patrick was amazed at his good luck. The song he picked to dance to gave him the perfect opportunity to hold Kat closely, instead of looking like an idiot trying to dance to hip hop. While Kat stood there blushing, he grabbed her left hand with his right and put his left hand lightly on her right hip. Before she could react, he pulled her towards him and gently rested their joint hands on his chest. Surprised that she hadn't made a snarky comment or tried to pull away, he looked up from his hand on her hip to her face. He found a far away look on her face. Her lips wore a small, sad smile, while her eyes looked a little too moist for his liking. Worried that he had made her uncomfortable, he started to step back, but she tightened her hold on his hand.
Kat looked at her hand held gently in Patrick's and instinctively held it tighter when he started to let go. He probably thinks he did something wrong, but he actually did something nice completely by accident. She wouldn't have had the guts to ask him to dance this song with her, and he had taken away that uncomfortable position by coming up with that deal. Wanting to reassure him, she looked up at him and smiled.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Patrick. Don't worry, I'm not going to electrocute you."
"That's a relief, but I can tell something is off. What were you just thinking about?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to play dumb. He didn't let her.
"You know exactly what I mean. Something that just happened upset you. Since you said it wasn't me, then the only other option is the song."
"The song didn't upset me; it just reminded me of something."
Considering they were swaying to a love song, he doubted the something was an object. So now the question was, who did the song make her think of? It couldn't be them, though that's the image his mind had immediately jumped to. He didn't like the thought that it might be some guy from Ohio. And then it clicked.
"Your mother."
Kat couldn't believe how intuitive he could be when he set his mind to it. She stared at his collarbone and nodded. Patrick moved their hands under her chin and lifted it up, then brought their linked hands back to his chest.
"I remember being a little girl and watching from the stairs as my parents danced in the living room. My mom loved music, and my dad would do anything for her, no matter how embarrassing. He would drag her around the room and sing to her loudly. My dad isn't the next American Idol – don't look at me like that, Bianca watches it-but, he knew she found him singing hilarious. This song, though, was their favorite. It was the first song they danced to at their wedding reception. Not the usual first dance song, I know, but they weren't the usual couple."
After revealing such a personal story to him, she couldn't look at his eyes. Deciding the best way to hide from his penetrating gaze was making it physically impossible for him to see her face, she moved closer to his body and laid her head on his shoulder. Great job, Kat! You are supposed to be a bad ass. You're dressed as Rogue for goodness sakes! His arms definitely have magic powers. You end up in them and start spewing your deepest secrets. Keep it together before you say something too revealing.
Patrick knew Kat was probably in shock at the moment. The woman scared almost every guy in the school. Showing this side of herself was foreign territory to her, relying on her wit and sharp tongue to keep others from digging too deep. He knew that strategy well; he just used a hardcore reputation as his shield instead. Not wanting to push her over the edge and back into her spitfire persona, he didn't push for more details. Letting her know how much he appreciated her opening up, he held her a little closer.
"'It's funny how from simple things/ The best things begin.' Reminds me of the night of the brushfire. I simply planned on finding you and pissing you off. Now, here we are."
"Yeah. Here we are."
AN: The song is "I Finally Found Someone" by Barbara Streisand and Bryan Adams. I had a bit of writer's block, so I hope you enjoyed it. I move back into my dorm tomorrow, so I'll be a bit busy for a couple days.
