The Art Of Reputation (Patrick Verona X Reader) [COMPLETED]

the flash-forward chapter

It's been a few months since the first rumour about Michael Eckman seeing you and Patrick Verona making out in the pool hall started spreading, and since then the two of you have successfully found new ways to build up your reputations: deliberately getting caught 'doing stuff' in the janitor's closet; hanging out at the pool hall every day, pouring shots for each other and laughing; even waiting til fellow students were watching to follow a line of ducks acting like you were going to 'eat' them.

Of course, neither of you actually did these. Until a time when someone would open the door, you discussed dreams and your pasts (well, as much as you would venture as of yet); he accompanied you to work as another patron to gossip about everything and everyone under the high school sun, and only taking shots every so often; and when the students left, presumably to run off and talk about what they just witnessed to their friends, you sat by the lake together and munched on a picnic he brought from home watching the ducks bob about on the water.

You two feel more comfortable around each other than either of you ever had with anyone else. You've even told him your plans on what you're going to do after your finals this year: apply for a travelling stage production group, then as soon as you get enough money go to speech therapy to get rid of the lisp. You've never told anybody except the guidance counselor Perky that before, not even your own parents before they went to jail. He must be a pretty special friend if you want him to know your plans for the future.

As per usual, you wait for each other outside the school gates before making a show of holding hands and bursting into school together. Over the past few months you've actually gotten used to Patrick holding your hand, even if it is for show - his skin feels warm and smooth as you stride through the gaggle of wide-eyed students who part like the Red Sea when they see you coming.

You watch as he raises his hands to mock salute Joey Donner and his group of testosterone-fueled jerks, and a smirk plays on your lips as every single one of them looks down to the ground nervously. Patty Cakes certainly has improved since you started fake-dating.

As the bell rings you part for different classes. Patrick leans against the locker next to yours as you close it, and says, "So, I'm going back to Milwaukee for Christmas - I was gonna ask you to come along, if you haven't got anything planned, cuz I know your parents are in jail."
"Hmm, yeah, haven't really god anywhere to go - maybe I will," you reply, not bothering to bring up your lousy brother and his family who never invite you anyway. "What'ss your family like?"

He laughs in reminiscence, and a dreamy smile fixes on his face. Whenever he talks about his family that face pops up - it's adorable watching his expression change in an instant.

"They're pretty normal, if we're going by what this school's like, and really fun. My grandma, the one I looked after last year, she knits everyone the cutest things, although they're almost always the wrong sizes and we have to secretly swap them round while she's not looking. And there's my mother, she's the warmest person I've ever met: she makes the best food, and always has this welcoming understanding smile on. And my cousins always come round for Christmas - they're all bonkers, fresh off the plane from Australia for the holidays so they act all Aussie in front of us and act smug about it just because we don't live there anymore- y/n?"

You shake your head like you've just woken up, frown a little at how weird you just acted, and shut your locker.
"Ssorry," you reply as bright as you can, "guess I sspaced out for a moment. Anyway, I'm gonna go dalk to Perky. I hade-"

"Maths, I know you hate Maths, and note I said Maths, not Math, so you don't have to correct me this time," Patrick tells you in a brighter tone, pleased somewhat that you've stopped staring into the distance like you've forgotten something deathly important. He doesn't let on, at least not yet, but in the past few months he's really grown to like you - he just doesn't know exactly how, in just a friendship way or more. It's weird.

Little does he know, you have the exact same conundrum. How do you separate the reputation from the real feelings, and how do you know if they're real? It's like one of the questions you'd get in your acting classes. It's weird.

Both of you putting your confused feelings aside, you nod at each other that you're going and he wanders off with his hands in his back pockets to Woodshop, his favourite class. You both know each other's timetables off by heart now - it makes it easier to meet up and scare the living daylights out of other students.

You put your stuff in your bag and stroll down the halls to meet Perky, who has her door closed and is inside leaning back on her chair with her eyes closed conjuring up what to put next in her novel. Before you open the door to her office, you take time as you walk in solitude through the halls to notice how each student that looks at you seems to react with a face that expresses fear and morbid curiosity. It's still just how you like it - knowing you're harmless until provoked, but never daring to provoke you themselves.

You open the door without knocking, as usual when meeting your favourite shitty teacher, and chuckle as you watch Perky hear the door slam shut and shoot up from her resting place on the chair.
"Relax, it'ss jusst me," you say casually, and she rolls her eyes and opens up her laptop to show you her progress from last week.

You move the extra chair to beside her and read the newest chapter, and inwardly cringe a little.
"Do the people alwayss have do dink the ssame thingss?" you ask delicately, watching the teacher's eyebrows go up, "cuz, to me, and I'm an actor remember... dey sseem to alwayss only have one level, and it'ss jusst not very realisdic."

Perky's brows wobble up and down as she reads through the chapter again, and you lean back in your chair and light up a small batch of weed to smoke and offer her some.
She declines and instead says, "Oh, I can see it now. Well, if you don't get that job acting you can certainly be an English teacher. Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you..."

She trails off before she tells you whatever it was she was about to say, and it takes you pushing her shoulder and shoving a doobie in her face to get her to pay attention.
"What?"
"You were aboud do tell me ssomeding!" you huff, catching the blunt in your mouth and leaning further back to listen, and Perky snaps her fingers in remembrance and begins to scroll through her endless number of tabs.

"Ah, here it is. Next term, after Christmas, that Thomas Milbourne is coming back to the school til the end of the year. You know, Thomas? The one you lost your virginity to? Man, whenever I hear that story passed around the students it just gets wilder every time."

She chuckles and begins to work on her story anew, as you stay frozen in position, only able to blink multiple times.

You can't believe it. Thomas Milbourne is coming back? A shiver runs up your spine just thinking about it. And not a good shiver - more like ice.

Saying a brief goodbye to Perky, you walk out of the room and into Patrick's woodwork class, still smoking weed. Students look up and gasp at the audacity to smoke in class, let alone smoke weed, but you wilfully ignore them and instead find Patrick and whirl him into the supply closet. Nobody dares go after either of you.

"Whoa!" he laughs sunnily, his hands plucking out your blunt from your mouth and sticking it in his own, "What's up?"
"Can I sstay wid you in Milwaukee for Chrisstmass?" you ask desperately, eyes latching onto his and showing him you're worried.

He doesn't ask why, doesn't say anything, just nods silently and envelops you in a hug because you look like you're about to crumple - that, and he really likes hugging you.
The joint drops onto the ground as you feel his hands squeeze your sides, and your own hands rise to hug him back.

In all these months, neither of you have actually seen the other be vulnerable, but Patrick has a feeling that during the holidays he'll see that side of you properly for the first time.