Disclaimer: I do not own Keith.

You're Crazy

Keith was outside bent over his truck. He straightened up, and wiped his hands off on a rag. He put the hood down and went to start the engine. He paused. Probably should have left the hood up to do that. He shrugged it off and got into the truck. He put the key into the ignition and started the engine. He sat back, satisfied, as it turned over and then came to life. It would be good for another fifty thousand miles or so, give or take a few.

He shut the engine off and got out. He threw the rag into the back of the truck. He might need it later, and headed off to the house. He pushed open the front door and was greeted by an empty house. Apparently his dad had left for work. All well, at least he had the house to himself.

He walked back to his room and dug his guitar out. He settled onto the bed, holding the guitar on his lap and playing a few chords. He paused and looked up. Across the room, tacked on the tack board, was a picture he'd snuck of Natalie the night before. Fifteen minutes to test drive a car with a cranky salesman. He smiled slightly. Crazy dreams.

He went back to playing the guitar, ignoring the phone when it rang. The phone rang again. His head snapped up. A phone. Since when did the phone work? He put his guitar aside and stood. He approached the phone in the kitchen and looked at it like it was some kind of alien device. It stopped ringing suddenly and caused him to jump. The house was silent again.

"You're crazy, Keith, that's what they keep telling you," Keith muttered. He turned away from the phone and back to his room.

Keith shut his locker the next day and slung his backpack over his shoulder. With his chemistry book in hand, he headed off to class. He nodded to Walter as he slid into his seat. Natalie turned and looked at him. He just smiled at her and glanced at the two girls sitting across from him. They looked away quickly.

"So…how was the rest of your night?" Keith asked, looking at her expectantly. She put her pen down and looked at him.

"It was good, thanks. I suppose if I don't ask how yours was, then you'll tell me anyways, right?" she asked.

"You got that right, partner. I had a lovely night, thanks for asking," he replied. She rolled her eyes and went back to writing. He peered over her shoulder.

"Can I help you?" Natalie asked, looking at him. He looked away.

"No, I suppose not," he replied. She sighed. "Unless we do something tonight. As before, it's not a date. It's strictly lab partnership. We'd...learn in the process." She stared at the paper she'd been writing on, not saying anything. "Strictly a lab partnership."

"I get it, Keith, we're just friends and everything we do is on a friendly basis," she replied, a little irritated.

"I'm just making sure. Besides, you have the lovely Raf," Keith replied. She slammed her pen down.

"Are you jealous of him or something? Everyone thinks that you're a crazy freak, Keith, and I've been trying to convince them that you aren't. You keep doing stuff on a whim like this and it's going to get a lot harder," she said under her breath. Keith wasn't fazed.

"Then why stick around, partner?" he asked. She stared at him. She'd been trying to answer the same question herself.

Natalie walked into the cafeteria and looked around. She spotted Raf, surrounded by friends, but she wasn't in the mood for socializing, really. Her conversation in chemistry with Keith had left her confused. Was Keith really crazy? Or, was he just jealous or something? She didn't understand how his mind worked. When she thought that she had just figured it out, he changed on her again and left her with another piece of the puzzle to solve.

Here eyes scanned the cafeteria and she finally found him. In the corner, by the windows, he was bent over some papers on the table. Natalie made her way through the crowd, pausing only to talk a few times. She felt Raf's eyes on her as she sat down at the table across from Keith. She wouldn't stay long, just long enough to talk. His eyes slid up to look at her and then he went back to his notes.

"We need to talk," she said in a low voice. He straightened up.

"Why are you talking so quietly? Afraid someone might spot you over here?" he asked in a normal voice. She rolled her eyes.

"Hardly. What's your deal?" she asked. He frowned. "You have no friends and yet you want to hang out with me all the time. You talk to no one else? Are you crazy?"

"That's what they tell me," Keith replied. She frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"I didn't stutter, Natalie, but I do think that you'd better go kiss your boyfriend. He's giving me the stink eye," Keith replied. She glanced at Raf, sure enough, Keith was right.

"He can wait," she replied, turning towards him. "What do you mean by 'that's what they tell me'?" He stood, gathering his things.

"Guess you'll just have to find out," he replied. She watched him retreat. She ran a hand through her hair before standing and going over to Raf. She pecked him on the lips, but couldn't stop thinking about what Keith had said.

Keith pushed open the door to that lead to the parking lot. Too close, way too close. He needed to think before he spoke. Telling Natalie would not be good. It would end up being disastrous. He needed to lay low for a few days, maybe that would help. He just had to watch what he said, think before he spoke.

He threw his bag into his truck and dug his keys out. He didn't really care about leaving school early without anyone knowing. People kind of just acted like everything was okay with him. That was alright with him. The more they pretended to be oblivious, the more crap he could get away with. He climbed in and started the engine, driving away from the school.

Open road helped him sort through his thoughts. He needed to figure out what he was going to do. Natalie was getting too close to figure him out. He couldn't let that happen. She had everything going for her, a boyfriend, scholarship, tennis, good grades, friends, everything that Keith didn't have. He didn't want to drag her down with him. Whenever he…died or whatever, he didn't want to take any more people than needed. His dad was bad enough. He wouldn't upset anyone else.