Painting Flowers (A Jack Barakat fanfic)

Chapter 8

*Jack's POV*

"Are you sure about this, Jack? What if someone sees us?"

"Nobody's going to catch us. Trust me."

"Mmm... Okay Jack..."

Kathryn and I are jigging school and obviously she's never done this before. Non-stop questions and we're not even out yet. I walk up to the old wire fence and pull up the corner, revealing a hole. An opening big enough for someone to get out through. This is how the guys and I get out everytime we jig. She seems nervous, too.

"Ladies first." I offer, gesturing to the opening. Kat takes a step back, looking at the opening uneasily. She looks at me, biting her lip. I raise my eyebrows and nod towards the opening in the fence. "Jack, I don't know about this... I mean, I didn't think by skipping class, you meant ditching school completely." She says, obviously unsure. I step towards her, dropping the corner and taking her hands. I stare deeply into her big blue eyes. "Kathryn, just trust me. You trust me don't you?" I say. She stares at me for a moment, wide eyed and stammering. "Kat?" I reapeat her name. She sighs and bites her lip and looks away for a moment. I'm worried she'll bail on me before she meets my eyes once more. "O-Okay, Jack. I trust you." She agrees. I smile and rush to the fence again, opening up the fence again. She crawls through quickly and I follow. I lead her around to the front of the school, where we cross the road and head down towards the mall.

We decide to go get a snack from a nearby cafe. Kat orders an iced chocolate, like always. I order an iced coffee. By the time our drinks arrive, we're already deep into conversation.

"Kathryn Gaskarth."

"Jack Barakat."

"How are you m'dear?" I say in my awful imitation of her british accent.

She blushes and flicks some whipped cream at me. "I'm great. How about you sir?" she responds in a terrible American accent.

I laugh at her and flick some back. "Couldn't be better." I reply. But I know that's a lie.

It's a stupid thought, but I think I'd be much better if Kathryn knew how I felt towards her. She hates her dimples, but I love them. She thinks her accent is gross but in reality, it drives me crazy. In a good way. Alex and I are the only ones that know her eyes aren't naturally blue, but green like her mother's. She hates that she can't be like other girls because it's just not her, but I love it. I love the fact that she's different. Kathryn isn't afraid to wear a demonic-looking shirt to school. She isnt afraid to go a day without make-up. She isn't afraid to be Kathryn Gaskarth and that's what I love most.

Call me crazy, but I think I'm in love with Kathryn Gaskarth.

Kat's adorable laugh snaps me back to reality, as she wipes the cream from her cheek and licks it. I smile. "Jack?" She says. I look at her, my smile fading a little. She bites her lip and stirs her drink a little before taking another sip. "Yeah?" I reply, slurping at my already half-empty drink. She seems hesitant to say whatever she's going to say. "I, um... do you... I kind of..." She stammers nervously.

"Yes, Kathryn? What is it?" I press on, eager to know. She shakes her head with a reassuring smile as she takes another sip from her drink. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She says. But I know its not 'nothing' and it makes me worried. "Are you sure?" I ask in a more serious tone. She smiles and takes another sip, waving her hand in the air. "Positive." I smile at her.

"Kat, you're such a cutie." I say, pinching her cheek just as she had done to me. She whines a little. "Jaaacky! Stop!" She whines, obviously embarassed. I laugh and release her cheek. "Sorry Kathy." I smirk cheekily. She pokes her tongue out at me.