What if (Patrick Verona Story)

Strange ritual

  The next week passed quickly. I made myself busy with Misha and art, plus it was the last week with my father at home before he had to leave to his duties, so I had good reasons not to go out with my friends. The main reason I did not want to was because of Patrick. I didn't want to see him at all.
Back at school everything was back to normal. My popularity was gone and believe me I was happy with that. The only difference was that I was asked out constantly by random guys I didn't even know on dates, but I turned them all down. I didn't want to deal with guys at all. Patrick was missing from school for about two months, he didn't call anyone, so no one knew where he was. I was worried, but tried to focus on my studies.
   Spring break came with a blink of an eye. I spent it at my grandparents place. I never told my mum why I became so antisocial and I could tell she was worried, but I assured her it was just a period. Even if I were social I still wouldn't trade my holiday spent at my grandparents. It was an amazing time. We discussed about prom, university, future plans. They told me about their prom nights and memories of the past. My grandmother and I were very close. I felt like I could share anything with her and I did.
   Sadly, it came to an end as the spring break was over and I had to go back at school. Patrick was back and I ignored each of his attempts to speak with me. My brother tried to talk to me about how I shouldn't be so cold with him, but I didn't listen.
  Few days since the spring break was over, we were in biology class. Each of us had dead frogs at the tables and we had to do dissection on them. I was sitting beside Michael and my brother and in front of us were sitting Patrick and Scurvy.
I was focused on my frog when all of the sudden a paper ball hit my head. I looked up and saw Patrick smirking.
"Open it." He mouthed pointing at it.
I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the frog. Second later another ball of paper hit me. My brother looked at me and then at Patrick.
"Maybe he wrote something to you." Cameron said loud enough so Verona could hear him. I couldn't believe my own brother against me.
"Well even if so, I do not care." I said as loud as Cameron and hoped that this time I will be left in peace with my frog.
Patrick pulled out a butterfly knife and impaled his frog violently with it. I jumped a bit from the loud thud but didn't look at him. A minute later a third paper ball came at me but this time on my frog. The specimen water splashed on my face and anger rushed all over me. Michael and Cameron stopped working on their frog and looked at me afraid of what may happen next. Patrick on the other hand was having a hard time to not laugh at me. I grabbed the paper and burned it with the Bunsen burner in front of him and his smile faded away.
"Miss James! What is the meaning of this?" The teacher screamed in panic when she saw what was burning on my desk. "In Miss Perky office now!" I pushed myself up and started gathering my belongings.
Patrick took out a cigarette, but as he lighted it on the Bunsen burner, the teacher seized it and threw it out.
"Mr. Verona?! What is the meaning of this behavior from yours and Miss James?" I looked up as the teacher was shouting at him. Our eyes locked contact and he played with the burner instead.
"That did it! You two go in Miss Perky office!" She shoved both of us out and closed the door behind us.
"Well I guess we will spend another detention together, James?" He chuckled with a smile on his face.
I grunted in reply and started walking fast to the office with him following behind.
    Opening the door, Miss Perky was composing some racy lines from her pulp romance-novel-in-progress on her laptop. She gave us a disapproving glace before she spoke.
"Are the two of you trying to make it a ritual coming in my office together?" She looked at me and then at Patrick.
"Only so we can have these moments together."He answered with a charming smile on his face. "We were trying to lighten up, uh, the mood between us, but we didn't have candles." He said sarcastically looking down at me.
"Very clever, you two." She then paused and sat down to her laptop and started writing down something.
We raised our eyebrows at her and Patrick coughed a bit to drag her attention.
"Miss James, what can you say in your defense?" She asked with her eyes on her laptop.
"Well... if he wasn't so insistent in throwing paper balls at me, none of that would happen."I said and sent him a death glare.
"Well... if you weren't so stubborn and read the first one I wouldn't be insistent." He replied with a smirk.
That did it, he was blaming it on me!
"If you didn't bother me in first place with these stupid papers I wouldn't be stubborn!" I raised my voice at him, I expected Miss Perky to say something but she was writing down with full speed on her keyboard.
"If you weren't ignoring me every time I tried to speak with you, I wouldn't bother you with the stupid papers!" He said in a serious deep voice.
"If you knew what you want from me and didn't push me away for the second time, I wouldn't be ignoring you!" I said with my voice trembling and fighting back the tears.
He opened his mouth to say something but remained quiet. I looked away from him. We stayed in silence for few minutes with only the sound of button clicking from Miss Perky. When she realized it all got very awkward, she looked at us.
"We are transferring the trainings out to the school stadium next week. It isn't still cleaned and mown, so you two will do the job. Now go."
After we left she went back to writing her novel and I was sure we inspired her in some weird way.
At the stadium we weren't talking due to the fact I was cleaning the tribunes and he was mowing the grass. When I was done I just left him there alone and went back home.