Of Avoidance, Plans and Butterflies…4/5
Title: Of Avoidance, Plans and Butterflies…4/5
Author: KourtTears
Pairings/Characters: Kat/Patrick; Michael Bernstein, Bianca, Cameron, Mandella
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: 10 Things I Hate About You is not mine. I’m going to borrow it for a bit though.
Spoilers: Up to 1.5
Summary: “Verona, just shut up, kiss me and I’ll owe you one.”
Part One Part Two Part Three
Kat sat at the picnic table in the courtyard waiting for Mikey, also known as twerp, jerk or loser, to show up. It was lunch hour on Friday and Kat was finally ready to get her revenge. Mandella was in position on the other side of the courtyard, Cameron was in place at the table behind her and Patrick was lounging on the benches to her left. Yes, all was ready. Kat was a little sad that she’d had to resort to such extremes but it couldn’t be helped.
She had confronted Mikey Wednesday afternoon, right after school, to get him to confess. She’d told him there wouldn’t be any hard feelings, she would let it go and never mention it to anyone. Not usually her style but she would felt like a hypocrite if she didn’t at least give him a chance to back out (she was against animal testing and Mikey still reminded her of a puppy). Mikey refused to own up to the plan however so Kat had spent Wednesday night coming up with a plan and all day Thursday recruiting and getting everything set up.
Mandella was to make sure Mikey didn’t escape and was more than willing to help. She’d even offered to give Mikey a black eye but Kat refused (she also finally understood Patrick’s reaction when she had confronted after the Charlie Woo incident).
Cameron was the decoy and had been harder to convince. Kat appreciated his loyalty to his friend but when she explained the situation he had agreed. Mentioning that Bianca would never speak to him again when she found out he was involved in the plan to humiliate his sister had probably been a bigger factor in his agreement. The fact that he hadn’t been involved with Mikey’s plan didn’t mean anything to the rumor mill. Kat would never do something so horrible as spread rumors but Cameron didn’t need to know that. Actually she was rooting for the guy. Why everyone thought he was gay was beyond her since he was obviously pining after her sister. Kat just hoped her sister would realize what was right in front of her before it was too late.
Patrick wasn’t really involved but Kat was glad he was present. She believed he deserved a front row seat since he had warned her. She thought he would approve of her plan and wondered what his reaction would be.
Kat snuck another glance at Patrick before returning her attention to doors leading from the cafeteria. Mikey should be walking into the courtyard any minute now. He thought he was meeting Cameron to offer advice on how to get Bianca (like the little twerp’s advice ever worked) and wouldn’t little Mikey be surprised when he ended up meeting Kat instead?
And there he was, right on schedule. He took a quick glance around before he spotted Cameron and made his way over. She was a little surprised that he didn’t notice her as he walked by but apparently he was too focused on getting to his friend. That was just fine by her though since she had the perfect way to get his attention.
She waited a few moments for him to get settled, nodded to Mandella, glanced over to make sure Patrick was still there, and took a deep breath. It was time to put her plan into action.
“Michael! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Did you forget we had a lunch date today?” Kat spoke loudly enough to get most of the courtyard’s attention and moved to sit down next to Mikey. Kat was hoping that Mikey would use any opportunity to boost his popularity even if he knew she was out to get him. Popularity over common sense…at least he was predictable.
He looked confused for a moment before he looked around and saw the surprised (and impressed) stares of his peers. He smirked before he managed to hide it and Kat’s skin crawled. He really didn’t have the face to make a smirk look attractive (not like a certain someone she knew).
“Of course I didn’t forget. I just needed to speak to my friend before I met you. Can you forgive me for making you wait?”
Kat wanted to roll her eyes but kept up the charade. “Of course I can Michael. It’s just that I have something really important to discuss with you. Alone.” Cameron understood that was his cue and shuffled away from the table with barely a ‘goodbye’ for his friend. As soon as Cameron made his exit Mandella moved closer to play out her part.
“What did you need to speak with me about darling?”
Kat inwardly cringed but managed a smile as she answered him, loud enough for everyone to hear, “There’s a terrible rumor going around about you.”
“And what’s that my sweet?”
Kat was sure she was going to gag if he called her one more pet name but, somehow, managed to stay in character. “Everyone was saying you were only dating me to up your street cred. Isn’t that just awful?” She really hoped she sounded more convincing to her audience than she did to herself.
Mikey got a little red in the face but managed to answer, “Oh, yeah…that is awful.”
“I mean, what kind of guy would do that? You would have to be really pathetic to do something like that?”
“Yeah…yeah you would.”
“Oh I’m so glad you agree with me Michael.”
“Oh my sweet, why wouldn’t I agree with you?”
“Why because it’s true,” and Kat finally got to drop her act.
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about…” Mikey cowered away from the angry brunette and looked to see if anyone was paying attention which, since it was high school, everyone was watching the action hoping for bloodshed (either figuratively or literally).
“Oh, Mikey of course you do. I mean, didn’t you brag to your friends that you would date me then dump me and become popular overnight?”
“I…um…think I need to go.” And there was Mandella doing her part by pushing the little twerp back in his seat and holding him there.
Kat stood up to loom over him before she continued with his public humiliation. “Oh no, you’re going to sit right there until I’m finished with you. Did you know that I let you chase after me for weeks because I thought you were a semi-nice guy? I didn’t want to hurt your feelings so I did everything I could to avoid you. I thought after a while you’d get the hint and find someone else to chase. Too bad I didn’t realize you were as bad as the rest of the guys in this school or we could have had this conversation ages ago. Oh well, at least it’s all out in the open now, right?”
Kat had walked around to the other side of the table and was trying not to laugh at the way Mikey cringed from her every time she leaned toward him or raised her voice.
“Right Mikey?”
“Um…right.”
“Great, I’m glad we agree. Now you are going to repeat after me.” When Mikey nodded she continued.
“I am a jerk.”
“I am a jerk.”
“I am a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
“I am a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
“I will never do anything like this ever again.”
“I will never do anything like this ever again.”
Kat nodded then walked around the table to collect her bag.
“Very good Mikey, now one more thing,” and she waved Mandella off as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. “If I ever find out you ever treat another woman like you treated me, well let’s just say that Patrick Verona won’t be the only person in this school with the reputation as a homicidal maniac. Do we understand each other?”
Mikey nodded and Kat took a step back, “Good. Mandella, shall we?”
With Mikey’s reputation bleeding on the ground behind her she walked through the crowd that had gathered and made her way into the school with Mandella following. They made it all the way to the girls’ restroom before they broke out into laughter.
“Did you see the look on his face?”
“I know, it was classic. That was a perfect plan to teach him a lesson. Especially the homicidal maniac bit. Where did you come up with that?”
Kat caught her breath long enough to answer her friend, “What can I say? I was inspired.”
The girls laughed for a few more moments before deciding to head to class. As they were leaving Kat turned to Mandella, “Hey, I’ll meet you in class. I’ve got to take care of something real quick.”
“Sure, see ya there.” Mandella waved as she moved off down the hall and Kat headed in the other direction. It took her almost the rest of the lunch break but she finally found Patrick hanging out between the gym and the auto shop. She was hesitant to approach him but she knew she needed to thank him for warning her about Mikey.
“Patrick, you got a second?”
He only glanced at her before going back to staring at the ground.
“Um…okay,” she was a little taken aback that he didn’t tease her for seeking him out but she continued. “Listen I just wanted to talk to you about this whole thing with Mikey. I-”
“You don’t have say anything. I understand.”
“Understand what?”
“You and Mikey, I get it.”
“Me and Mikey? Since when is there a ‘me and Mikey’?”
“Listen, I’m not an idiot. It’s obvious you guys are together. You don’t have to break it to me gently or anything.”
“Patrick, what are you talking about?”
“I saw you all over him in the courtyard.”
“Patrick…”
“Kat, it’s obvious you aren’t the girl I thought you were. You’re just like the rest. You want a guy to fawn all over you. Apparently any guy who wants to get with you needs to be completely spineless and I’m not that guy. So, Kat, now would be a good time for you to go…better yet, I’ll go.”
Kat stood in shock as Patrick stalked off. What the hell was he talking about? She stood there until the bell rang then she hurried to class (where she got another detention for being late) and waited for the class to end so she could talk with Mandella. When the bell finally rang she grabbed Mandella’s arm and dragged her to the restroom.
“Mandella, did you see Patrick in the courtyard at lunch?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Did you notice when left?”
“Yeah…he left as soon as you sat down next to Mikey and started in on that bullshit about having a lunch date.”
“He didn’t stay for the rest?”
“No…Kat what’s wrong?” Mandella sounded more than a little worried since Kat had leaned against the wall and looked like she was about to either laugh, cry or have a hysterical fit. Or possibly all three.
“Oh God, he’s so stupid. How the hell could he think I would believe Mikey over him?”
When she started pacing and mumbling to herself Mandella leaned against the door to prevent anyone from coming in and settled in to wait out the storm. When Kat finally came to a halt in the middle of the floor Mandella moved closer hoping for an explanation. She was a bit surprised when Kat suddenly turned and practically ran out of the bathroom saying, “I’ve got to find him!”
Kat was halfway down the hall before she remembered Mandella but didn’t go back to explain. She vowed she’d call her friend that night but right now she had to track down the idiot known as Patrick Verona and knock some sense into him.
“Mikey over him? God, what a moron!”
A/N: I know I said it would be a few more days until this was up but work was slow today and I got it finished. As always this has not been beta-ed so please excuse any mistakes. There’s only one chapter left and the epilogue but they won’t be posted until the weekend. I didn’t mean to leave you on a cliffhanger but my Praxis exam is on Friday and I’ve got to get some serious studying in before then. So, I hope you like this installment and all will be explained in the next chapter (mainly why Patrick is being just an idiot). Please let me know what you think!
And thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your favorites, story alerts, etc. Y’all don’t know how much I appreciate it.
Author: KourtTears
Pairings/Characters: Kat/Patrick; Michael Bernstein, Bianca, Cameron, Mandella
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: 10 Things I Hate About You is not mine. I’m going to borrow it for a bit though.
Spoilers: Up to 1.5
Summary: “Verona, just shut up, kiss me and I’ll owe you one.”
Part One Part Two Part Three
Kat sat at the picnic table in the courtyard waiting for Mikey, also known as twerp, jerk or loser, to show up. It was lunch hour on Friday and Kat was finally ready to get her revenge. Mandella was in position on the other side of the courtyard, Cameron was in place at the table behind her and Patrick was lounging on the benches to her left. Yes, all was ready. Kat was a little sad that she’d had to resort to such extremes but it couldn’t be helped.
She had confronted Mikey Wednesday afternoon, right after school, to get him to confess. She’d told him there wouldn’t be any hard feelings, she would let it go and never mention it to anyone. Not usually her style but she would felt like a hypocrite if she didn’t at least give him a chance to back out (she was against animal testing and Mikey still reminded her of a puppy). Mikey refused to own up to the plan however so Kat had spent Wednesday night coming up with a plan and all day Thursday recruiting and getting everything set up.
Mandella was to make sure Mikey didn’t escape and was more than willing to help. She’d even offered to give Mikey a black eye but Kat refused (she also finally understood Patrick’s reaction when she had confronted after the Charlie Woo incident).
Cameron was the decoy and had been harder to convince. Kat appreciated his loyalty to his friend but when she explained the situation he had agreed. Mentioning that Bianca would never speak to him again when she found out he was involved in the plan to humiliate his sister had probably been a bigger factor in his agreement. The fact that he hadn’t been involved with Mikey’s plan didn’t mean anything to the rumor mill. Kat would never do something so horrible as spread rumors but Cameron didn’t need to know that. Actually she was rooting for the guy. Why everyone thought he was gay was beyond her since he was obviously pining after her sister. Kat just hoped her sister would realize what was right in front of her before it was too late.
Patrick wasn’t really involved but Kat was glad he was present. She believed he deserved a front row seat since he had warned her. She thought he would approve of her plan and wondered what his reaction would be.
Kat snuck another glance at Patrick before returning her attention to doors leading from the cafeteria. Mikey should be walking into the courtyard any minute now. He thought he was meeting Cameron to offer advice on how to get Bianca (like the little twerp’s advice ever worked) and wouldn’t little Mikey be surprised when he ended up meeting Kat instead?
And there he was, right on schedule. He took a quick glance around before he spotted Cameron and made his way over. She was a little surprised that he didn’t notice her as he walked by but apparently he was too focused on getting to his friend. That was just fine by her though since she had the perfect way to get his attention.
She waited a few moments for him to get settled, nodded to Mandella, glanced over to make sure Patrick was still there, and took a deep breath. It was time to put her plan into action.
“Michael! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Did you forget we had a lunch date today?” Kat spoke loudly enough to get most of the courtyard’s attention and moved to sit down next to Mikey. Kat was hoping that Mikey would use any opportunity to boost his popularity even if he knew she was out to get him. Popularity over common sense…at least he was predictable.
He looked confused for a moment before he looked around and saw the surprised (and impressed) stares of his peers. He smirked before he managed to hide it and Kat’s skin crawled. He really didn’t have the face to make a smirk look attractive (not like a certain someone she knew).
“Of course I didn’t forget. I just needed to speak to my friend before I met you. Can you forgive me for making you wait?”
Kat wanted to roll her eyes but kept up the charade. “Of course I can Michael. It’s just that I have something really important to discuss with you. Alone.” Cameron understood that was his cue and shuffled away from the table with barely a ‘goodbye’ for his friend. As soon as Cameron made his exit Mandella moved closer to play out her part.
“What did you need to speak with me about darling?”
Kat inwardly cringed but managed a smile as she answered him, loud enough for everyone to hear, “There’s a terrible rumor going around about you.”
“And what’s that my sweet?”
Kat was sure she was going to gag if he called her one more pet name but, somehow, managed to stay in character. “Everyone was saying you were only dating me to up your street cred. Isn’t that just awful?” She really hoped she sounded more convincing to her audience than she did to herself.
Mikey got a little red in the face but managed to answer, “Oh, yeah…that is awful.”
“I mean, what kind of guy would do that? You would have to be really pathetic to do something like that?”
“Yeah…yeah you would.”
“Oh I’m so glad you agree with me Michael.”
“Oh my sweet, why wouldn’t I agree with you?”
“Why because it’s true,” and Kat finally got to drop her act.
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about…” Mikey cowered away from the angry brunette and looked to see if anyone was paying attention which, since it was high school, everyone was watching the action hoping for bloodshed (either figuratively or literally).
“Oh, Mikey of course you do. I mean, didn’t you brag to your friends that you would date me then dump me and become popular overnight?”
“I…um…think I need to go.” And there was Mandella doing her part by pushing the little twerp back in his seat and holding him there.
Kat stood up to loom over him before she continued with his public humiliation. “Oh no, you’re going to sit right there until I’m finished with you. Did you know that I let you chase after me for weeks because I thought you were a semi-nice guy? I didn’t want to hurt your feelings so I did everything I could to avoid you. I thought after a while you’d get the hint and find someone else to chase. Too bad I didn’t realize you were as bad as the rest of the guys in this school or we could have had this conversation ages ago. Oh well, at least it’s all out in the open now, right?”
Kat had walked around to the other side of the table and was trying not to laugh at the way Mikey cringed from her every time she leaned toward him or raised her voice.
“Right Mikey?”
“Um…right.”
“Great, I’m glad we agree. Now you are going to repeat after me.” When Mikey nodded she continued.
“I am a jerk.”
“I am a jerk.”
“I am a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
“I am a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
“I will never do anything like this ever again.”
“I will never do anything like this ever again.”
Kat nodded then walked around the table to collect her bag.
“Very good Mikey, now one more thing,” and she waved Mandella off as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. “If I ever find out you ever treat another woman like you treated me, well let’s just say that Patrick Verona won’t be the only person in this school with the reputation as a homicidal maniac. Do we understand each other?”
Mikey nodded and Kat took a step back, “Good. Mandella, shall we?”
With Mikey’s reputation bleeding on the ground behind her she walked through the crowd that had gathered and made her way into the school with Mandella following. They made it all the way to the girls’ restroom before they broke out into laughter.
“Did you see the look on his face?”
“I know, it was classic. That was a perfect plan to teach him a lesson. Especially the homicidal maniac bit. Where did you come up with that?”
Kat caught her breath long enough to answer her friend, “What can I say? I was inspired.”
The girls laughed for a few more moments before deciding to head to class. As they were leaving Kat turned to Mandella, “Hey, I’ll meet you in class. I’ve got to take care of something real quick.”
“Sure, see ya there.” Mandella waved as she moved off down the hall and Kat headed in the other direction. It took her almost the rest of the lunch break but she finally found Patrick hanging out between the gym and the auto shop. She was hesitant to approach him but she knew she needed to thank him for warning her about Mikey.
“Patrick, you got a second?”
He only glanced at her before going back to staring at the ground.
“Um…okay,” she was a little taken aback that he didn’t tease her for seeking him out but she continued. “Listen I just wanted to talk to you about this whole thing with Mikey. I-”
“You don’t have say anything. I understand.”
“Understand what?”
“You and Mikey, I get it.”
“Me and Mikey? Since when is there a ‘me and Mikey’?”
“Listen, I’m not an idiot. It’s obvious you guys are together. You don’t have to break it to me gently or anything.”
“Patrick, what are you talking about?”
“I saw you all over him in the courtyard.”
“Patrick…”
“Kat, it’s obvious you aren’t the girl I thought you were. You’re just like the rest. You want a guy to fawn all over you. Apparently any guy who wants to get with you needs to be completely spineless and I’m not that guy. So, Kat, now would be a good time for you to go…better yet, I’ll go.”
Kat stood in shock as Patrick stalked off. What the hell was he talking about? She stood there until the bell rang then she hurried to class (where she got another detention for being late) and waited for the class to end so she could talk with Mandella. When the bell finally rang she grabbed Mandella’s arm and dragged her to the restroom.
“Mandella, did you see Patrick in the courtyard at lunch?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Did you notice when left?”
“Yeah…he left as soon as you sat down next to Mikey and started in on that bullshit about having a lunch date.”
“He didn’t stay for the rest?”
“No…Kat what’s wrong?” Mandella sounded more than a little worried since Kat had leaned against the wall and looked like she was about to either laugh, cry or have a hysterical fit. Or possibly all three.
“Oh God, he’s so stupid. How the hell could he think I would believe Mikey over him?”
When she started pacing and mumbling to herself Mandella leaned against the door to prevent anyone from coming in and settled in to wait out the storm. When Kat finally came to a halt in the middle of the floor Mandella moved closer hoping for an explanation. She was a bit surprised when Kat suddenly turned and practically ran out of the bathroom saying, “I’ve got to find him!”
Kat was halfway down the hall before she remembered Mandella but didn’t go back to explain. She vowed she’d call her friend that night but right now she had to track down the idiot known as Patrick Verona and knock some sense into him.
“Mikey over him? God, what a moron!”
A/N: I know I said it would be a few more days until this was up but work was slow today and I got it finished. As always this has not been beta-ed so please excuse any mistakes. There’s only one chapter left and the epilogue but they won’t be posted until the weekend. I didn’t mean to leave you on a cliffhanger but my Praxis exam is on Friday and I’ve got to get some serious studying in before then. So, I hope you like this installment and all will be explained in the next chapter (mainly why Patrick is being just an idiot). Please let me know what you think!
And thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your favorites, story alerts, etc. Y’all don’t know how much I appreciate it.