Chapter 8

Patrick couldn't believe his luck. He had made his way through the crowd and managed to find two cans of soda. He figured Kat would have specified if she didn't like a certain type, so he just picked the first two from the cooler. He had turned around to head back towards the stairs when someone crashed into him from his left side, causing him to drop a can. Of course, it exploded when it hit the floor, getting soda everywhere. Turning back, he saw some jock rushing through the various people in his way.

Patrick walked to the cooler and grabbed another soda, keeping a tight grip on both. Right before he got the doorway leading to the room with the stairs, he was stopped by Chastity. She said someone had seen him drop the soda, so it was her job to order him to clean it up. He tried using what Kat referred to as his Captain Intensity glare, but she refused to budge. Rolling his eyes, he walked to the table, picked up some napkins and dropped them on the floor over the soda. The floor is drenched in various liquids. Why is she making me clean up this one mess? Looking around while he dragged his boot with the napkin underneath over the puddle, he spotted Chastity talking to Joey and one of his friends. This friend, Beau, handed something over to Chastity, and she laughed.

Turning away from them, he continued on his way and finally started up the steps. Looking ahead of him, he realized Kat was no longer sitting on the bench. It made no sense to him. She knew he would be coming back with the drinks, and it's not like she had anywhere else she wanted to be. Unless she needed to be there. He hadn't noticed Bianca downstairs. But how would Kat know that fact? Unless someone came up and told her. Then it all clicked and he dropped both drinks. Thinking back, he realized the guy who had crashed into him was a water polo player. That led Patrick to realize that the reason Beau looked so familiar was because he had seen him hanging around with Jason Johnson behind the football field a few times over the years. He could have cared less if jocks were using drugs, so he ignored them.

What are the chances that I have a run in with two of Johnson's friends and a jock groupie in the ten minutes that I am away from Kat, and now she's gone? Rushing to the first door in the hallway, he opened the door. Two blondes were making out on the bed. Turning back, he headed to the next door down the hall. None of them held Kat. Even more worried, he rushed down the stairs and looked around frantically. He spotted Bianca talking to Dawn in a corner. A bit of his worry went away, knowing that at least one Stratford sister hadn't gotten into any trouble. Unfortunately, that let his worry to focus on the one girl that he had come to feel anything genuine for in a long time.

Rushing up to Bianca, he asked, "Have you seen Kat?"

Bianca turned and looked at Patrick in surprise.

"Why are you looking for my sister? She didn't hurt you again, did she? You have to excuse her; she's clumsy."

Realizing Bianca had no clue that he was Kat's date, Patrick backtracked.

"She didn't hurt me. She actually wanted to apologize, but then got sidetracked by a guy who was littering. I'll be leaving soon, but I want that apology, first."

"Oh, well I haven't seen her since we got hear. I'll let you know if I do. And if you find her first, tell her I'm so over Jason. Beau is so much cuter."

"Where is Beau?"

"He said him and a few of the guys were going to go play some pool in the game room. A guy-only event according to him."

She turned back around and continued her gossip session with the other cheerleader. Patrick started walking back towards the kitchen. He knew the game room was connected to it. Seeing the door, he tried to open it. It was locked, and he could hear something move slightly behind the door when he pushed against it. Someone put a chair under the knob. Definitely a bad sign.

"Kat, you in there?"

Hearing those words, Kat Stratford finally started crying. She had realized quite quickly when she had entered the room that the night was going to get a lot worse before it got better. The room held four occupants besides her: Jason, Beau, another water polo player she thought was named Matt, and Chastity. Before she could run for the open door that led outside, Jason wrapped his arms around her torso, trapping her arms to the sides of her body.

Chastity walked up to her and laughed.

"You should have never messed with me, Katerina."

"Don't call me Katerina, bitch."

Chastity slapped her. She had been waiting to get her revenge on her since the whole car debacle. The perfect opportunity had presented itself when Jason had told her he needed her help to pull a prank on Kat.

"You shouldn't insult me. I'm the only one with a key to all the doors in this house. You called me a bitch, so don't plan on me coming back to open the door anytime soon."

With that, she left the room via the door leading to the outside, and locked it behind her. Kat had been able to bloody Jason's nose with the back of her head and kick Matt in the stomach, but she was no match for three guys who each had about 40 pounds of muscle on her. The car ride could have taken fifteen seconds, when comparing how long she felt she had been in this room. It's almost over now, Kat. Patrick is just outside the door. Unfortunately, one of the four hands on her was covering her mouth. She hadn't tried biting it yet, since she knew it would be hard for anyone to hear her outside the room with the music so loud. But now was her chance. Biting down on the palm, she didn't even wait until his hand moved slightly before starting to scream.

Patrick could barely make out a muffled scream, but it was enough to enrage him. Taking a couple steps back, he took a large stride and planted his foot right next to the doorknob, kicking with all his might. He heard the chair fall and rammed his shoulder against the door, making it fly open and hit the wall. If rage was what he felt before, then the sight before him caused an indescribable emotion.

Jason had stood up from his spot next to the pool table and near the door, when he heard the chair fall. He had been enjoying watching Kat's humiliation continue to grow. That feeling quickly left him when he saw Patrick Verona break through the door. Before he could move, Patrick was on him with a punch to the face, followed by a kick to the groin.

One down, two to go. Not daring to look at Kat laying on the pool table, he walked straight to his next target. Beau had released Kat's feet and was ready to defend himself. Or at least he thought he was. Patrick easily ducked away from his punch before landing one squarely on Beau. Kicking his feet from under him, Patrick kicked him across the floor to land next to Jason. By this time, Matt had run for the door and was trying to unlock it. Unfortunately for him, his hands were shaking too badly to get the locks off. Thirty seconds later, he had joined the other two on the floor.

While all this was going on around her, Kat shakily fixed her clothing and sat on the pool table, staring straight ahead of her. She could hear people talking from near the door, and knew that someone would call the police after seeing Patrick take down three guys. She felt some staring at her, but ignored it. She could care less what they thought of her or what had happened. The guy standing in front of her, on the other hand, was someone whose opinion of her mattered.

Patrick put his hand gently on Kat's knee. She flinched slightly, but didn't pull away. He took in the handprint on her cheek and rumpled clothing, and had to take a minute to get himself under control. The police will deal with them. Let it go. Kat doesn't need you to be taken to the station right now. He knew that the only reason he was able to restrain himself was because of the small glimpse he had seen of Kat when he had barged in. Their aim had been to humiliate her, not physically attack her. They had rearranged her costume to make it as revealing as possible. She was completely covered again, so he didn't know if she had any bruises.

"Katerina, can you hear me? It's Patrick."

She looked into his eyes and saw only concern and lingering anger. She realized then how worried she had been that she would see pity or disgust in his eyes instead. This guy is getting past my walls, little by little. I think he's one of the good guys, so maybe that's not such a bad thing. She scooted to the edge of the table where Patrick was standing. She ignored everyone else in the room, no longer caring who knew that Kat Stratford was being friendly with Patrick Verona.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight. It would have been a lot worse, otherwise."

"I had wanted to ask you anyways, Kat. I just knew you would have said no to a date."

"After tonight, I'm not anymore ready for one."

"I know, but I've got plenty of time. You just wait, Stratford. I'll bring you over to the dark side soon enough."

She smiled slightly, glad he understood how she felt. Keeping her arms around herself, she leaned forward and let her forehead rest against his chest.

"The dark side is looking brighter and brighter every day, Verona."

AN: That's the end of this fic. Hope no one was disappointed by it. Hopefully I'll be able to start the next installment soon, but class starts in a couple of days and I need to get back into the swing of things. Thanks for reading and please review! -Erika