like a kitten¹ P.H.

Chapter 4

   Patrick walked out of the back door of the cafeteria, having a clear path given to him by intimidated students. His long legs had him reach Greta in no amount of time. Imagine her surprise when she was snatched by the collar to look up at the tall, intimid boy.

"Hi, Greta." Patrick grinded his teeth, his knuckles turning white from clutching her shirt collar so hard.

"Uh- hi- hi, Patrick." Greta stammered, wide-eyed like a deer caught in headlights.

   Patrick began to walk off, dragging Greta behind him. Greta tried her best to pull away from him, but she found herself trapped in a cleaning closet. Her breaths began to quicken as Patrick locked the door behind them. Turning on the light, he released her collar and gave her a shove back.

"Don't push me." Greta tried to sound strong, but she let out a scared squeak as she spoke.

"So, here is how this is gonna go, Greta. You're going to get all of Xena's clothes down from that flagpole, and you're going to personally give them back. After that, you're going to apologize for being a ****ing **tch. Understand?" Patrick's tone was clipped, and his stare could kill her then and there.

"She burned me. She- uh- she had it coming." Greta tried to defend herself, which she regretted.

   Greta's head snapped to the side with a resounding slap. She tottered back, trying to put distance between herself and the angry boy. She wasn't far enough as he snatched her closer by the back of her neck. Greta whimpered, trying to get away from him.

"You are going to apologize to her, and if your apology comes even slightly short of sincerity, I will personally see you are properly dealt with." Patrick spoke each word with his nails digging deeper into her neck.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. I'll apologize. I'm sorry." Greta had tears dripping from her cheeks, and she tried her hardest to pull back from him.

   Suddenly, Patrick released her as she fell back a bit. He turned, unlocking the door and leaving the closet. Patrick seemed to have a skip in his step as he entered back into the cafeteria. Xena looked up, smiling a bit as he sat down.

"So, Hockstetter, when did you start being nice to people?" Henry Bowers, even as a friend, made a statement with a tone that insinuated more.

"When did it start being any of your business, Bowers?" Patrick's voice was crude for speaking to a friend. Xena lightly slapped him on the shoulder, a glare showing her disapproval for the way he was treating his friend.

"Yeah, be nice she said." Henry pointed accusingly at Patrick, who's jaw hung a bit.

"She just doesn't like people being rude. She's not telling me to be nice. Are you, kitten?" Patrick turned to Xena looking utterly dumbfounded.

   Xena let out a little giggle, nodding her head. Patrick dropped his jaw in shock. She could not be serious.

"You are telling me to be nice?" Patrick gasped, mildly insulted. He received a nod from Xena and a cheeky smile from Henry. "He's the one who needs to be nice." Patrick pointed an accusatory finger in Henry's direction, earning a gasp of shock from Henry himself.

"I am nice. Aren't I, Xena?" Henry grasped for straws, knowing Xena would say yes.

   Xena nodded, pointing to the ice cream cup she had sitting next to her juice box. Henry had given her his vanilla ice cream, much to his own chagrin. Patrick turned with a reprimanding glance at Henry.

"You gave her ice cream? What if I wanted to give her my ice cream?" Patrick was amused, but his tone was simply insulted.

   At his words, Xena reached over to grab his ice cream. Patrick gasped, going to snatch his ice cream back. Xena, however had already grabbed it. Patrick looked down at her with an even more insulted expression.

"Hey, that's mine." Patrick's voice raised a few octaves as Xena opened the ice cream and licked the top to claim it as her own.

"Did you just lick my ice cream?" Patrick pointed a finger at her in accusation.

   Xena nodded, using her spoon to take a big bite of the cold treat. Patrick made a grab for it, but Xena was already out of her seat and moving to the other side of the table to hide behind Belch and Henry. Patrick got up, heading for Xena. Xena dove under the table, eating the ice cream as fast as she could.

"Get back here." Patrick grabbed at Xena's ankle, successfully pulling her from under the table, only to see the empty ice cream cup. "You ate it all?!" His voice raised in shock and amusement.

   Xena nodded, ice cream dotted on her nose. Patrick noted the ice cream, leaning very close to Xena's face. Xena, who wasn't used to being so close to someone, made to move. However, he grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her closer. He got as close to her face as he could without touching her face just yet.

   Then, just when Xena felt butterflies creeping up her throat, he licked the ice cream on her nose, watching her face scrunch up in disgust. She wiped at her nose, getting his saliva off her skin. Patrick cackled, and his friends almost fell out of their seats from laughter. Xena tried to glare at him, but eventually began to let out little giggles as well.

   Then, as if she had been ordered to, Greta Keene approached Xena, who was still sitting on the ground letting out angelic giggles. Patrick, who had been having a good laugh, immediately deadpanned at the sight of Greta. Greta, shifted her feet uncomfortably, and Xena noticed how her mascara was running from tears.

   Xena stood, grabbing some napkins away from Belch, and began wiping up Greta's makeup. Greta looked at her with a loss for words. This girl couldn't be mean to her. She had worked so hard to make her uncomfortable and upset. How could she be kind to someone who had made her cry?

"Xena, I'm incredibly sorry that I took your clothes. It was childish and rude, and I really shouldn't have done. I just don't like it when I don't get my way, and sometimes I throw tantrums. I'm sorry." Greta had babbled a bit and looked at Xena with a sincere expression.

   Just when Greta thought that Xena would laugh in her face, Xena gave a big smile, pulling Greta into a very warm hug. Greta looked down to the girl, shocked to the core. Xena shook her head as if to ward off the apologies. No harm was done. So, Xena let go of Greta, walking to her seat and sitting down.

   Greta looked up to Patrick, who didn't look too happy. Patrick looked at Xena, who was smiling at him from her seat, and looked back at Greta. He sighed, waving his hand as if to ward Greta away. Greta smiled at Xena, and she scurried away to her friends, who's eyes were wide in an odd amount of terror.