Chapter 4

Cat bounced down the stairs the next morning, her giddy energy taking her mother by surprise. "Geez, slow down kiddo." Willow scolded half heartedly.

"Sorry mom." She heard a car horn beep from outside and grabbed her bag. "Gotta run, see you after school." She kissed her mom lightly on the cheek and slung the bag over her shoulder before prancing out the door.

Cat couldn't explain the happiness that flooded through her that morning. Something about her friends telling her that Braden was in love with her made her feel empowered. She felt butterflies bubble within when she saw his car, the words Lisa and Heather had spoken the day before returning to her brain. A part of her was scared of the fact that she was so excited, this was Braden after all. However some part of her realized how much sense it made.

Since she had known Braden he had always been painfully shy. He'd never dated, though he'd watched her go through countless 'relationships'. Every time she started to see someone new he always told her she could do better. Eventually she would realize he was right and once again he would become the main man in her life. But all the time they'd spent together she never once thought that the object of his admiration could be her.

The more Cat's mind pondered it the more she saw that it was true, and the more she couldn't stop thinking about it. What if she were to just kiss him, right here, right now? Would that be too forward? Would he find he didn't really like her in the first place? Was she even a good kisser? She'd always been told not to ask, that made to seem insecure and insecurities are unattractive.

She pushed all of the questions from her mind as she ran for the car, Braden reached across the seat and opened the door for her. 'Always the gentlemen' she though with a smile, realizing how attractive she found that quality.

"Hey how was your night?" Braden asked as he turned the engine over and pulled out of the drive way.

"Pretty good, and you?" Cat replied, suddenly feeling more nervous than ever.

"It was good, the little sister was being a pain, but what can you expect?"

Cat had to smile thinking of the younger girls crazy antics. "That girl is going to be big trouble someday, mark my words."

Braden smiled slightly. "Coming from you, should I be afraid?"

"Very. And hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Braden laughed. "What do you think it's supposed to mean?" He asked.

"It's not my fault I have a wild heart, I was born this way." Cat defended.

"Right."

……………

Cat climbed out of the car, laughing harder than she had in a long time. Braden smiled widely as he heard her giggles fill the air.

"So Kitty Cat, what are you doing tonight?" He asked, using her old nick name.

Cat stifled her laughter. "I have no idea. Why, is there a movie night in my future?"

Braden grinned, happy that she even remembered. "Well it is tradition."

"And it's wrong to ignore tradition." She said with a smile.

"Very wrong. So I'll see you after school?" He asked, trying not to sound to hopeful.

"Like you don't see me everyday after school."

Just as the words left her lips the first bell rang and they were sent their separate ways. Thoughts of the pending movie night filling their heads.

………………

Braden sat impatiently during 4th period. His classes were taking far too long today, and he was tired of waiting. It was only the night before that he had remembered the traditional movie night, and realized that it might be his last chance to make a move before someone else did. Since they were in 3rd grade they had always had movie nights sometime during the first week of school, and they had yet to miss one. Somehow he felt this year was different though, he was different.

He remembered back when they were young, and how they'd spend the night at each others houses. Back then it wasn't weird for them to spend the night together, now though, her father wouldn't hear of it. Not that good ol' Xander would ever have a problem with Braden, the two always got along, but Cat was his baby girl after all.

The bell rang, startling him from his thoughts. He started to gather his books to leave when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He jumped a little and turned around only to find Lily standing behind him.

"Oh, hey." He said.

"So I didn't get a call from you last night." She seemed almost angry.

"Uh, yeah, I was busy." Braden couldn't figure out why she was looking at him like he had just kicked her puppy. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he?

"Oh, well if you're not too busy tonight you should give me a call."

"I can't tonight, I have plans." He said, hoping he wasn't hurting the girl's feelings.

"Ok that's fine." She told him before turning on her heal and storming away.

Braden stared after her in confusion, what had he done wrong?

…………………………….

Cat tapped her foot impatiently during 6th period; waiting was never her strong suit. She glanced at her watch for the hundredth time, 2:27 it read. Three minutes until the end of the day. Never had she been so excited for a movie night with Braden. Somehow this felt different though, she felt different.

She thought back to the days when they used to spend the night at each others houses, sneaking out in the middle of the night to cause as much trouble as possible. Normally that included buying as much candy as possible and sitting in the park incredibly sugar high, but still it always felt dangerous somehow. She laughed lightly at the memories as they continued to run through her mind.

The bell rang and she jumped a little, then quickly threw her books in her bag and ran out of the room. She dodged Jared and quickly weaved through the crowd out into the court yard. She walked as casually as she could to Braden's car and waited impatiently for him to get there. She spotted his new black jacket and a smile spread across her face. She leaned up against the car door, grinning like a fool.

'What the hell is happening to me?' She thought, but quickly pushed away the question.

Braden reached her within minutes and jogged around to unlock her door first, she smiled at him as he opened it for her. Cat had never noticed that he always opened her door for her; it was just something that he always did. But for some reason it stuck in her mind today, standing out like a soar thumb.

"What kind of movie are you up for tonight, horror, comedy?" He asked with a grin.

"The usual." She replied.

"Bloody, gory, horror flick it is then." He said, having to smile. "So you know that girl I told you about yesterday?"

"Lily?" She asked, her heart falling a little as he mentioned her.

"Yeah, she was being really weird today." Braden recounted her actions from earlier that day with puzzlement, knowing if anyone would know what to think about it, it would be Cat. "So what does that even mean?" He asked after he had told her the story.

"Wow, creepy. I'd say stay away; she seems a little… clingy." Cat replied.

"That's what I thought."

'Thank god.' Cat thought silently, a smile playing across her face once more.

A/N, sorry it took so long to post this, I've been busy getting ready to graduate and stuff. Tell me what you think!