


Twisted Fates

by DarkSeddieShipper



Category: iCarly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-11-22
Updated: 2009-11-25
Packaged: 2013-09-26 11:39:41
Rating: T
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,580
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5526769/1/
Author URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2150492/DarkSeddieShipper
Summary: A rising kid celebrity, a not-too-common fan... an unexpected event that changed their lives forever... what could be the outcome to this story? a new friendship? or a sadistic tradegy?





	1. Prolouge

**PROLOUGE:**

**Nathan's POV:**

I though we're done for, Jennette and I…

We were in an alleyway… Two guys had held me on each arm, two more held Jennette back in a distance. The leader of the thugs held out a knife on my throat, ready to slice the life out of me…

"Any last words?" huh… such typical lines… but I couldn't respond anymore. My face is swollen and my lip already popped from the punch he gave me...

"I thought so… Don't worry; we'll take care of your girl for yah…" he said to me as he swung his hand…

I closed my eyes, just waiting for the pain to sear in on me… A loud thunder suddenly roared in the sky… but to my surprise, there was no pain… instead…

"What the-?!" I heard the leader suddenly shout out in front of me. I suddenly opened my eyes to see what was going on… we weren't alone anymore…

A man, wearing a black hooded jacket was stopping the leader's hand from striking me… He had baggy pants and shoes, most peculiar… somehow; I've seen those shoes before. But I just can't remember where…

One shoe had a design of flaming skulls… a slip-on… the other, frozen skulls… they were a bit worn out… I lift my head just too see who it was who just saved my life. But his hood was on; I was only able to see the lower part of his face. His lips were stern and serious…

"Who the hell-"the leader spoke out, but the hooded man cuts him off…

"I've always been looking for a fight long enough… I think the lot of you will do…" he said and an evil grin suddenly curled his lips.

A lightning suddenly struck near where we stood… and it happened so fast… all that I could hear were screams of pain, I don't know who belonged to whom… my vision was a blur… the rain helped me blur what I was about to witness.

In just one minute, I could hear groans and mumbles around me. Then it struck me… Jennette…

I gathered all my strength that I could gather and somehow, I was relieved… and scared at the same time…

The hooded man carried Jennette in his arms, unconscious I hoped… Bodies of the thugs were scattered along the alleyway, beaten up and no one was left standing. Then he approached me. He stood there, looking down at me like I was a pup, so helpless and weak… I hate it when someone looks down at me like that…

"Be careful next time, Mr. Kress… Given a chance, I would like to be the one who will BEAT you up soon…" he said to me… Why does he call me by my last name? Out for respect? Insult? And he emphasized on the word BEAT… who was he to bear grudge on me? What did I do? Do I even know him?

He placed Jennette down in front of me, thankful that she just lost consciousness… I held her close to me and looked up to the hooded man again. I couldn't say any word at all…

He stared down again at me like he was studying me, savoring every moment that I cringed at the pain I feel on my ribs as I breathe.

"Who-"I tried to ask but a sudden chill struck my spine… under his hooded face, I could feel like he's grinning at me. Lightning struck above us that gave me a chance to see his face under the hood… but it scared me right through my soul.

His face was like a mad man, grinning down at me… his teeth somehow looked so sharp… like shark's teeth. But his eyes… his eyes what's scared me the most… one was black, the other, was white…

Lightning flashed us like a camera flashed into my face… I was blinded by the light… when I gained my focus, he was gone… Police were at the end of the alleyway, running towards us… I looked around, we were all alone…

Just who was this hooded man? What does he want from me? I fear, that I will meet him again… soon enough…


	2. Aboard The Cruise

**Chapter 1: Aboard the Cruise**

_8 months later…_

It was that time again where NICK gets to invite the fans to join with the stars of their shows for a week of trips and interaction. It's the event that Nathan always looks forward to since he became a major star in iCarly. And every year when this event had come, his fans grew more in numbers, new friends are met and bonds have been formed. But on one specific character he didn't expect to meet, came on board and somehow, changed everything in his life.

**Nathan's POV:**

"Hey Nate, your bag?!" Andrew yelled at me when I came running towards the door. I kinda got excited when I'm going for another cruise tour with everyone. I even forgot my bag at the scanning machine.

"Oh… Sorry!" I turned back and about to get my bag. But my brother suddenly threw it at me, knocking the winds off my chest…

"Yeah, sure… thanks…" I muttered while my brother muffled my hair. Don't get me wrong, I like my brother. But sometimes, he really pisses me off…

"No problem… Shotgun on the top bunk!!" he yelled as he suddenly ran away from me…

"Hey! No shotguns yet till we get there!" I shouted back, at the same time, came running after him.

My family always enjoys this kind of activities, let's thank NICK for that. But for me, spending more time with my friends and co-stars is what I've always enjoyed so much. Not to mention Jennette, she's always cool to hang around. Ever since that incident happened, I've grown closer to her. Like I'm responsible for her safety. I never wanted her to get hurt again. Not while I'm around…

We got into our rooms and as always, my brother always gets the top bunk. My parents got a different room since they wanted so 'privacy'. And I'm glad that they did. My dad snores too loud!

After settling in, me and my brother ran towards the lobby just to meet everyone else on board. Of course, being 'Fredward' that the fans knew me of, couldn't help but to get in my way and ask for my autograph and a picture. Who am I to reject, right? Besides, I kinda like it being mobbed by girls…

Just when I got out of the crowd, a familiar voice called me from behind.

"Nathan!"

Jennette… she came to me and gave me a friendly hug…

"Hey! How are yah?! Did you get your rooms already?" I asked her as she parted from me.

"Yeah, everything's settled… And you won't guess who's finally coming on board!"

"Really? Who?!"

"C'mon! Guess!" she said as she lightly punched my shoulder… I guess her character 'Sam' is finally rubbing in on her…

"Ok, uhmm… Keke?"

"You know she'll be here… c'mon! Guess again!"

"Ok ok! Umm… Victoria…"

"Nope" ugh… I'm not that good at guessing games…

"Umm… Miranda?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" someone shouted behind me… It WAS Miranda. And believe it or not, Jerry was there too.

"GUYS?! HEY!! You're coming along?!" why do I even have to ask… isn't it obvious? They're right here ON the ship…

"Oh no, we're just here to visit…" Jerry said to me…

"Really?"

"No…" such a joker he is...

"Hey Nate!" Miranda's turn to greet me and also, gave me a hug…

"Hey! I never thought you'd be here! What made you come?" I asked…

"Dan really wanted me to go, same as Jerry. Since we got nothing to do, we decided to give it a shot! Parents are kinda busy so they let Jerry look after me."

"That's so cool! iCarly cast on one cruise ship! Better be ready for the fans here, some of them are really…" I don't want to finish that sentence… of course, it's true. Some are really crazy… but true… I won't deny that…

"How 'bout you give us a tour on the ship? Seems you know your way around…" Jerry asked us. Since Jennette and me are the ones who know the way around, we toured them on parts of the ship…

While we went around, some of the fans can't help but to mob us again. Even Jerry has a lot of fans here who are at the same age as him. Some are even younger and, would you believe it? Had a crush on him? Well, that's Jerry for you!

As we came back to the main lobby, I noticed someone out from the crowd. When I looked at this person, somehow, something sparked behind my brain. Like a memory… like I've seen this person before.

Asian… stands around 5'7… a med-built guy who wears glasses, guessing at the age of 24, and his jacket… somewhat familiar… he had earphones in his ears, always listening to his iPod. He glanced around the lobby but he somehow didn't even seem to find the whole ship, amusing… like he didn't even care that a beautiful lobby was there to greet them. He still had his bag with him so I presumed he just got in to the ship. He was then later joined by a red haired girl, American I presume, to join him and glance around the ship's lobby. At the back of my head, it's telling me that I know him… but I was too embarrassed to approach this guy and ask him. He seems kinda mean…

As I stared at him a bit more, my world suddenly went to a slow motion… what just happened? Why is everyone moving so slow? There I noticed something else. The guy whom I'm looking at… is staring back at me…

That crept me out and wanted to move my eyes away from him. But I can't… my head won't turn! My heart pounded so fast, I wanted to run… He kept looking back at me… he really scares me… as he turned his head away from me, my world suddenly went back on its normal phase. At the same time, someone tapped my shoulder…

"Hey, you ok?" Jerry called out to me. I got spooked when he called me. He noticed that I was blank…

"Y-Yeah, sorry…" I replied to him… and just walked ahead of him.

Just who was that guy?! What did he just did?! Did he do that trick?! The crowd of this year's cruise… They're getting creepier and creepier by the minute…


	3. His Name Is

**Chapter 2: His name is…**

**Red-Hair's POV:**

I can't believe what just happened. A total stranger to my family, a common friend in Twitter, was able to 'charm' my parents to let me come with 'him' on the NICK cruise ship. Not that I doubt him… he's been very open to me all this time. He never said anything wrong about himself; he's always been a true friend since we've met online (Note: be careful who you meet on the internet. Take precautions as always... I know, I know… Why didn't I took precautions… well, let me explain…)

Of course, I took precautions on meeting him. Never gave any exact details as to where I live or give away any personal details to him just for my own safety. He just said that he'll be visiting L.A. one day and he would like to meet me. I brought my sister with me and met him at Universal Studios, where it has always been crowded. He was there… He was very polite to my sister. Such a gentleman… He kept visiting me and from then on, we became great friends… But let's get back to the story, shall we? That's not important…

But like I said, I got an invitation from 'him' to come to the cruise! I couldn't believe it! I've always wanted to go since I found out that Nathan and Jennette will be there. I've been begging my mom (even though I know it's a long shot…) to let me go but as you know me, no such luck… Since 'he' has proven himself trustworthy to my parents, and promised that he'll take care of all the expenses of the trip, they've finally agreed that I could go! And now, here I am… I feel like a million bucks ever since I stepped inside the ship.

I joined 'him' while he looked around the lobby(Why am I not mentioning 'his' name? I dunno… you tell me! But just read the chapter and you'll find out..)… I scanned the whole lobby by twirling in my place. It's so huge, I'm speechless… I was so excited. But when I looked at him, he was just.. Plain calm…

"Aren't you excited at all?" I asked 'him', also raising an eyebrow…

"Well, not really… I've been to a lot of cruise trips in my entire life. What's the difference with this one?" he said to me but I could see a smile on 'his' face.

"What's the difference?!" I asked… "What's the difference?!?! You invite me to come to this cruise and you ask me what's the DIFFERENCE?!... You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"Yes…" he said back to me and I gave him a slap at the back of his head. He just laughed it off..

"You're such a weirdo… But you're ok…" I told him and he just smiled back… Did I tell you that he's older than me? Yeah, he was…

"You're ok too…" he told me back…

As I scan the room, I finally noticed the faces that I've always been looking for. Nathan and Jennette.. I've always been a very big fan of those two and I'm finally meeting them... So I grabbed 'his' hand and pulled him towards the crowd. Just to let you know, he was a Seddie shipper too.

'He' just let me drag him but I knew, 'he' wasn't that comfortable to begin with. He's always been shy and always precautious with his moves when meeting people. But I guess, since this is what I've wanted, and I want 'him' to meet Nathan too, 'he' just let me do whatever I want…

"Hey Nathan!" I called out and he noticed me. He gave me a warm smile… oh how I love his smile… but then, when he saw that I was pulling 'him' behind me, his face got scared of a sudden…

"Uhm… something wrong?" I asked Nathan…

"O-oh nothing… sorry 'bout that! Hey!"

"Is it ok if I could get your autograph and a picture with Jennette? Both me and my friend here…"

"Sure! We'd love that!" Jennette's turn to answer..

I was so delighted… I ran towards Nathan's side while 'he' went to Jennette. I've asked a crew of the ship to take the picture of us and he took at least two. I was satisfied. Meeting Nathan and Jennette was my dream came true.

"Thanks! Umm…" Nathan told me, also his way of asking _'what's your name?'_

"Oh! Sorry, it's Liz… name's Liz" yep, that's my name. Liz…

"Nice meeting you, Liz! First time here on cruise?" was he trying to make a conversation?!

"Yeah! My first time! My friend here has been to a lot of trips like this so…" I said but that sounded like I'm putting a bad word on 'him' so I didn't find to finish that sentence…

I noticed Nathan, looking at 'him' with a worried/scared look. He can't keep a cool poise while 'he' is around.. I've been wondering why… But I never got any chance to ask him that… That would be very awkward…

"I-I hope you enjoy your stay here! Let's get together soon, o-ok?" he did kind of stuttered…

"Yeah! I'd love that! Promise me!" I told him…

"S-sure…" he said with a nervous voice… now I'm really beginning to doubt why…

**Nathan's POV:**

I was so nervous… like the aura around 'this' guy could tear me into pieces! There's something in him that really bothered me and I really don't want to know. With a stunt he did to me (the one with the slow-motion moment), even with his calm face, I know he keeps something sinister inside him.

I tried not to look but I could feel like he's looking back at me. It was piercing right trough me! I wanted to leave… But I couldn't leave without making Liz wonder why I'm in such a hurry. Better calm down and just be myself…

**Liz's POV:**

How I really wanted him to stay even more. But with the looks he's giving to 'him', he's really not that comfortable at all. Oh well, there's one week of fun anyway, might as well leave the fun some other time. Besides, we still haven't been to our rooms yet…

"Ok! I guess we'll be on our way for now! We still haven't checked our room yet and carrying this bag around isn't so cool at all." I told them then carried my bag on my shoulder. 'He' took my bag and carried it for me.. I tried to take it back but 'he' insisted that he should carry it for me.

"Ok! I guess we'll see you then! Come to the programs here in the ship ok, Liz? I'll be looking for you!" Nathan told me that really made me smile. But then, I noticed it again. He looked at 'him' with so much discomfort, I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to hang out with Nathan with 'him' around! Too bad, I really wanted them to hang out both at the same time. But maybe, it could be resolved since it's just the first day of the cruise. So, I just have to let it be.

"Sure! I'll be there! See yah!" and then me and 'him' waved back to Nathan, bid him bye for now. 'He' was ahead of me when suddenly, I felt a hand grabbed my arm. I turned to see Nathan, now with a bit of cold sweats in his forehead.

"Why? What's wrong? Are you ok?" I asked but he didn't answer my questions. Instead, he asked me a question.

"Who's your friend? Sorry to say this but… He creeps me out…" he nervously said that to me… I can't blame him. When I first saw 'him' at Universal Studios, I never think he's a cool guy. Truthfully, I find him scary. But maybe that is his way of first impressions. 'He' really likes to spook people…

"Oh don't worry, he tends to be that way. Sorry if he creeps you out though… but he's cool. Don't worry…" I assured him that. Before I could leave, he asked me another question.

"What's his name?"

I turned to him as I walk away…

"''His' name is PJ…"

"PJ?" he asked…

"Those are his initials… ask him for his real name…" I told him and ran towards PJ's direction…


	4. The Hooded Man

**Chapter 3: The Hooded Man…**

**Nathan's POV:**

Around 12pm, the ship started to set sail. Everyone on board waved to those who were left behind and a little tug boat guided our ship away from the dock. The whole open deck was packed filled with people, young and old. We're in the stage, welcoming everyone who came. Everyone was delighted. Even me…

But I just can't help but to feel… that strange guy is somewhere in this crowd, staring at me…

A tap on the shoulder made me jump…

"Hey Nate, you've been so jumpy since you went back to the room! Something wrong?" it was my brother, Andrew…

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok... It's just that…" I drifted from my sentence… Jennette got to finish it for me…

"It's just that ever since he met Liz's friend, he started to get too jumpy and scared!"

"Scared? What, another weird fan of yours? You know you get that a lot. Still haven't got used to that?" he joked around… but he doesn't know how WEIRD this guy is… He's like… Evil…

"You don't know what this guy could do! He's like a… sinister, masked murderer with just a smile to cover his true colors! He slowed my time!!!" uh-oh… looks like wrong set of words… that made me look like I'm crazy…

"*Laughs* Sinister, masked murderer?! Oh c'mon, Nate… Your exaggerating it… who would want to kill you?!" he joked around that made me remember something…

"How 'bout that hooded guy months ago?"

He fell silent… Jennette remembered that incident as well. Ever since that dark event happened with the two of us, she never wanted to talk about it again.

"C'mon Nate, Let it go… The police never found anyone there with you except Jennette and there's no record of that guy being around…" Andrew reminded me that…

But I know what I saw… but they just couldn't believe me…

"That's because he suddenly vanished, ok?!" how I wanted to change the topic now…

"Let's just drop it, ok? And get over it… There's no hooded guy and nobody wants to kill you… well, maybe those people you haven't replied on Twitter…" he added as I punched him on his shoulder. He dodged it quite quickly and ran the other direction…

"I believe he's real though…"

It was Jennette. She believes me. She saw him, saving us from the thugs that night. But she got so scared what she just witnessed that she passed out. She never said anything to the police because she thought that no one would believe her either. But I believe her… We believe in each other…

"Thanks Jen… Don't worry… I think we'll be fine now. I won't let him get near you again."

"Thanks Nate… I'll be fine. So could you stop being so jumpy now? There are a lot of people here and my hands are gonna be sore with every autograph we're gonna do…" she smiled and tapped my shoulder. I just smiled and held her hand…

As we greeted more fans and signed more autographs, I saw Liz coming from a distance. I got nervous again when I saw her, fearing that his WEIRD friend is around too. But to my surprise, she's all alone.

"Hey Nathan! Hey Jennette!" she greeted us with her smile. Again, no FREAKY friend around.

"Hey Liz! What's going on?" I asked her…

"Oh nothing… PJ went somewhere else. I think he's looking for the Rock Band Theater. He said that he wants to play something… He told me to look around so… here I am!"

"Oh yeah? That's in the back side of the ship. I didn't know he's into Rock Band…"

"He is kind of a childish guy… he tends to think childish at times and he's such a gamer. One time, he tweeted every game that he loves and he won't get over it until he finished the game." She described him as a kid who just loves to play games. Does she know him very well?

"Really? I bet he's rocking the whole theater now that he's alone back there."

"You won't believe what that guy could do though…"

What does she mean by that? Does she know?!

"What do you mean?" I asked her…

"He literally knows the people inside the Rock Band game that he requested them to produce some J-Pop songs for him…" what-?! Is he that… famous?!

"He what?!" I heard Jennette said in surprise…

"Yeah… He even gave me a PS3 for a gift. Reason: nothing… he just wants to give me one."

"He's rich?!"

"He told me that his family is a business tycoon. He owns a lot of businesses in his country."

Wow… All I can say is… wow…

"But he has to take care all of it by himself now…"

Wait, what again?

"What do you mean?" I heard Jennette asked her again.

"Oh… I'm sorry! I can't tell! It's his personal life. I can't betray him by saying anything private. Sorry… forget I said that…" she suddenly excused herself in giving away too many details. I guess I understand her… I wouldn't tell anyone about my friend's private matters.

"That's ok… We understand…" I finally said… Now, I kind of pitied the guy. Something must have happened to his family before that Liz isn't allowed to tell anyone. I feel bad for myself for thinking such things to him. Maybe it was just all my imagination, the one where he slowed my time. I guess I was just tired after all… I wanted to apologize. I have to see him.

"Hey Liz, is it ok if I meet PJ now? I wanted to say sorry to him."

"Sorry? For what?" I could see she's confused…

"I… uh… thought something terrible to him… and… I just wanted to apologize…" I was so ashamed when I said this to her. She might have hate me now that I have thinks something bad about her friend.

"Umm… sure! I don't think he'll mind anyway. Looks like you're sincere so, I guess it's ok… is it? I'm sorry, I'm just confused." She replied… whew! Thank goodness she didn't get mad.

Me, Jennette and Liz was about to leave the open deck when suddenly, Jerry came running towards me and has big news to tell…

"Nathan! Quick! Some guy is playing Rock Band and you won't believe what you're going to see!!! C'mon!!!" Jerry nearly tugged my arm out but I finally caught up with the pace. Jennette and Liz were right beside us, also keeping the pace. But as we were on our way, I heard Liz muttered something…

"Patrick…" she said…

Was that PJ's name?

We got to the theater were some people are watching the big screen and some are watching the guy who was playing the Rock Band. I heard the music he's playing but… I can't understand any words of the song!

**(Song: "Golden Time Lover" by Sukima Switch)**

I remember what Liz told us earlier…

"_He requested them to produce some J-Pop songs for him"_

It must be PJ…

When I got there, I suddenly took a look at the big screen. It REALLY surprised me to what I just saw…

I was there, in the video clip, included on the song. Jennette was there too. Miranda, Jerry… Even David Archuleta! What the hell was going on?! The clip shows that we're in some battle with someone… and it shocked me what I suddenly saw in between the clip.

It was the hooded man… The man who I saw 8 months ago… he was there, like he was the enemy I'm battling in. He has a huge sword holding in one hand, I too was holding a sword… Wait, what?! It's like an anime clip! I can't believe this! This is crazy!

I was confused… Why did PJ has that clip with the hooded guy in it? What does he know that I don't?! And why does he like J-Pop music?!

The song ended… Suddenly, a roar of applause and cheers erupted the whole theater. I noticed PJ got surprised by the cheers, he didn't knew that he's not alone anymore. He slowly turned around to see the whole crowd cheering him on. He lightly scratched the back of his head and slightly, took a bow with a bit of embarrassment on his face. Liz also cheered him on…

"YEAH!!! WAY TO GO, PJ!!! WOOHOO!!!!!" she shouted that made PJ notice her…

He also noticed me around… But just as soon as he saw me, his face suddenly became nervous. He was shocked that I was there. I wasn't meant to see the clip but I did… He knows something…

"HEY!!!" I called out on the top of my voice. PJ slowly backed away… he's making an escape. He took off the guitar and gave it to the staff of the ship and suddenly, dashed away from me. That finally hit me… I ran after him…

"Nathan! Wait!" I heard Liz called out but I could feel that she's giving chase after me too. Jerry, Jennette and Miranda were behind me as well. I bet their confused what had just happened and what is happening now. All that they could do is give chase and to find out what is going on along the way. I don't have any intention in stopping now.

I found a piece to my past… and it's very crucial… I won't miss this…

As I gave chase to PJ, I noticed something in him. For a chubby guy, he knows how to run fast! I could barely catch up with him! He dodged every people that get in his way like he's some kind of a wisp or a ghost! No effort on bumping into the people around him! This guy has talent… but a scary one on that note.

Finally, I got him cornered. We were at the ice skating ring and there's only one way out of this place. I got it covered. He has nowhere else to go.

"Hold it, PJ!! You can't run anywhere!" I warned him. Jennette, Liz, Miranda and Jerry were at the exit, blocking the path.

Liz went inside to give a worried look on his friend, PJ. I could see that she's scared of what could happen here. I heard her muttered something again…

"Oh no… Patrick…"

So his name is Patrick…

I got him to go inside the ice skating ring and to my surprise, he could skate… but without any skates on! He glided through the ice with such grace, I don't even know if this is even a good idea or area to corner him. I stepped inside the ring to feel like we're in a room. Only me and him were inside the ring. He turned his back to me, maybe looking for an escape. I kept my distance as so I won't agitate him.

"PJ… or… Patrick…" I called out and that made him stop in looking a way out. He still kept his back at me.

"So, you finally know my name. Looks like those big ears of yours are meant to be big like a bat." Is he trying to make me mad?!

"SHUT UP!" I yelled. He fell silent…

"I just have one question and answer me truthfully…" I said, nearly choking on a little gulp of bile… "Do you know that hooded man on that clip?"

He didn't answer… instead, I heard him laughing…

"What's so funny?!" he's finally getting into my nerves. But somehow, I can't shake the feeling that I should be scared… Finally, he spoke to me…

"What's so funny? I'll tell you… it's because you don't remember me at all…" now, he's very confusing… I take it back. This guy is definitely a FREAK…

He suddenly turned to me with an evil grin on his face. His grin… I've seen it somewhere before… Then I started to notice many things now. His jacket; black. Baggy pants… and his shoes… flaming and frozen… skulls… my eyes widened with fear…

"Remember what I told you before? That you should be careful? Given a chance, I would like to be the one who will BEAT you up…"

Those words gave me a sharp pain all over my body… I still can't believe it… Finally, with one more move, the past had finally caught up with me… He raised his hood on his jacket… over his head… covering the upper part of his face…

"Now do you remember?" he told me again with a sinister voice…

It suddenly hit me… PJ and the Hooded Man… is just one person…


	5. The Elementalist

**Chapter 4: The 'Elementalist'**

**Nathan's POV:**

_3 days later…_

What am I still doing here? How can I still be alive? Why did he spare me? I should have been left bruised and battered days ago but… not even a single scratch! (Well, my butt just hurts a little now…)

It was all too confusing… why would he spare me when he had THAT chance?

_3 days earlier…_

"You…" I said to the man who stood before me. The man from my horrible past again stood only few feet away. His hood is up; I can't see his face again. His crooked smile still chills me to the core…

"Yeah, me…" he said in reply.

"So… you've come to beat me up then?" I said without even thinking anything… I guess that's a great way to remind someone who's about to kill you… Great Nathan, just great… Me and my big mouth… I was surprised when Jerry suddenly came to my side and protected me.

"You ok, buddy?! Go, I'll take care of him…" Jerry shoved me away as I nearly slipped from my balance. I tried to back away, still looking at PJ. He just stood there. I manage to glide through the ice, out of the ring but I was about to face the exit, I was shocked of what stood before me… or should I say, who…

PJ was standing at the exit, blocking my way…

I gasped, nearly out balanced from the ice. I stood my ground again, unable to move. Jerry was surprised how this guy moves. But just like I've seen him before, this guy could move like lightning… in just one blink of an eye.

I just blinked for another second and in an instant, he stood before me, nearly face-to-face. I fell back and I hurt my butt when I crashed and sat on cold ice. (Oh that explains the butt pain…)

"NATHAN!!" I heard Jennette, Miranda, Jerry and even Liz when I fell. PJ took another step, looking down at me. The incident in the alleyway flashed before me. I remembered his demonic face. Will he show it to me again?

Jerry rushed towards me, tried to save me and I saw PJ did something that I still couldn't even believe. He just tapped his frozen skull shoe twice on the ice and I heard a loud, cracking noise and made Jerry yelled in pain. I turned to him and I was shocked again… Jerry's feet were frozen and like the ice have crawled up on his feet. He can't budge, he can't move an inch…

"Patrick! That's enough!! Stop it!!" Liz yelled as she tried to get into the ice. She staggered through the entrance of the ring.

I thought even if she made it to me, I would have been punched in the face by then. Patrick leaned in toward me as I sat from the ice. I heard Jennette and Miranda yelped from where they stood. I used my hands to block and closed my eyes just in case he hurts me badly. I took a big gasp and prepared for the worst… but nothing happened.

I waited a bit longer but… no pain… I slowly looked towards him and to my surprise, Patrick's hand was offered to me… helping me to get up. I tried to back away but the ice stings my palms. My legs won't move. I could still see his smile under his hood, his hand still gestured of helping me up. I took my chances and took his hand. He slowly helped me up…

When I got up from my feet again and tried to back away, he backed away from me slowly and stood there, without even a sign of attacking. I was totally confused…

"W-what do you want?" I managed to ask but PJ still stood there, smiling… he somehow managed to reply too…

"Nothing… You're the one who chased me… I was the one who's keeping distance. So if I were you, I'd keep my distance and just let me be…"

After that, he completely backed away and turned towards the exit. I saw Liz, holding a rolled newspaper… looked thick. I was surprised again when she suddenly hammered the rolled newspaper on Patrick's head.

"OW!!! What the-?!" Patrick suddenly took off his hood and rubbed his head.

"You PUNK!! (_Hehe…_) how dare you scare Nathan like that?! Are you insane?!" Liz argued with Patrick like she was his older sister.

"What!? I just did that to scare him a bit!" Patrick replied that made Liz hammered the newspaper again on his head. "OOOWWWW!!!!"

Honestly, this whole thing just became comedy to me… Only a girl with a newspaper could tame a mad man down…

"AND YOU'RE BEING A COMPLETE JERK, YOU KNOW THAT?! Is that how you want to make an impression to people?!" she said with a bit of angry voice.

"Hey! It's my way of making an impression! Besides, he remembered me now, didn't he?! Well that or he won't notice me at all! He doesn't even notice me on twitter; why not make it a wild one now that this is my chance to be known?!" he said in his most outrageous way of explaining… Somehow, I didn't understand one bit of it…

"W-what?!" Liz said… see? Even Liz didn't get it…

"Ugh! FORGET IT! I'm heading back to the room…" Pat said with no point getting at Liz. He tapped his frozen skull shoe again on the ice and the ice crawled down from Jerry's feet, freeing him from the frost. Another tap and the ice crawled up on Patrick, covering his whole body completely. A finger snap echoed through the whole ring and the iced suddenly burst and fell down to the ring… Patrick completely vanished…

Liz apologized to everyone, even to me mostly… She was so ashamed that her friend acted that way and she just can't find the words to explain it. I asked her one thing about what he really is. She was stunned when I asked her that… But she gave me an answer that made me confused and scared at the same time…

"He calls himself… as 'The Elementalist'…"

_Back to present…_

"Elemental-ist? Is there even such a word for it?" Jerry asked as he even made a face out of it. Everyone was there, even Liz who's now welcome in our group. I don't mind if she hangs out with us. She's cool with me… It's that Patrick that I'm worried about…

"That's what he calls himself. Elementalist… That's because he could control every elements on this planet and use it at his own will." Liz explained again.

"But how did he able to do such things? Is he a magician or what?" Miranda asked as Liz is kind of having a hard time to explain.

"No… He said to me that he discovered his powers a few years ago. He was freaked out at first, yes but he managed to control it, use it as his own. Now, that why he's that ALL-POWERFUL because he learned AND mastered every single element that he could control… Well, not that well on 'Darkness' and 'Light'…"

"H-He could control those too?!" Jerry asked in surprise. Liz just nods.

"Man… with a guy like that as a walking battery/windmill/faucet/charcoal, he probably be wanted by the government and use him as a secret weapon…" Jerry told us and somehow, Liz finds it offensive. She glared at Jerry and made him notice her. "S-Sorry…"

"Give the guy some credit… He didn't want any of it and he's not letting the government 'use' him as a weapon… he's just a person… mostly feared by everyone for what he could do. But deep inside, he's just a guy who's just trying to help others the way he could…"

Yeah right… deep inside, he's just a person… I find that hard to believe…

"But why does he want to beat me up? Did I did something wrong to him that made him hate me? Was it because I didn't reply to him on Twitter?" I asked. Liz shook her head…

"Well, he's kind of a 'weird' guy… He keeps telling everyone on Twitter that he's the 'Dark Seddie Shipper'. The guy who would want to test Freddie if he really likes Sam…"

In my head, it goes like 'what?!'

"You know how it is… Seddie/Creddie teams? Where one team votes for Carly and Freddie while the other votes for Freddie and Sam? Creddie/Seddie? He's a Seddie…"

I'm still confused as to why he hates me…

"Ok, my point: He's a big fan of yours, Nathan. So big, that even the negative seems like a good thing to him. He adores you, or should I say 'idolize' you so much, he wants to beat you up. Get it?"

Oh wow… a fan that's a freak as well… literally…

"Great, do I have to deal with him now? Looks like he's one tough fan to boot!"

"Well…" Liz hesitated… "He's NOT that BAD… for me, he's cool. He maybe weird but, that's the way he is! And that's how we get along. Not that I'm a freak, ok? But… his way of being himself and how he expresses himself is quite amusing, I find as a good friend. Just, give him a chance to get to know him. Like I said, he's weird but it's just as first… when you get to know him, you'll find him as normal as he could be… He's just trying to stay cool for you guys…"

Every one of us was left speechless until I was called out to host a program game on the deck.

"Nathan! You're ready?" the producer called out to me when I was still chatting with Liz.

"Yeah! Just a sec!" I called out and turned to everyone. "Hey, I'll be back as soon as I can. Ok?"

At the same time, I noticed Liz looking at someone by the upper deck. I followed her gaze and it didn't surprise me to whom she was looking at. In a chair, on the side of the railing on the upper deck sat Patrick, reading a book in hand.

"I'm gonna go for a while… I'll just see what Patrick is up to… Sorry…" then she left the rest and went to Patrick. For once, I never thought I could encounter such a weird/freaky guy like him. But right now, I have some show to do…

**PJ's POV:**

As I read through my book, I could feel his gaze when he stepped up on the stage and got ready to host his show. Everyone was cheering him on but I could also sense three more gazes, locked up on me. Jennette, Miranda and Jerry just sat there… Looking at me sternly… I didn't even bother to look. But as I sensed Jennette from where she sat, I could feel that she's having a chill when she's looking at me. I could feel her fear… But I don't have any intention of hurting anyone. I came here to relax.

I felt a presence came by behind me. It was Liz. Somehow, we kind of got things cooled down. I let her be what she wanted to do even hanging out with Nathan. As long as she's having fun, I don't mind what she does on the ship.

"Hey Pat, how are yah?" she asked me. I just kept on reading my book. But I was able to reply to her.

"Good… Nothing much though… I'm pretty tired of doing such _strenuous _activities on this ship, I just wanted to read my book." I continued to read my 'City of Glass'.

"Strenuous? The last thing that we did something strenuous was when we got out of the ship and went to the cost of Cozumel…" (Reference to Nathan's pictures on Myspace: Nick Cruise…)

"Well, I just… wanted to relax, ok? *sighs* Reading my book is MY way to relax… I don't wanna bother anyone else right now, especially on you-know who…" I said as I gestured my head on Nathan…

"Well, it's your fault you did what you did… Now, everyone's hot gazes are on you. Even some of the people on board are scared of you. News spread fast on ships, you know… Especially to him…"

"Look, I don't wanna argue with that anymore… Ok? Let them think what they wanna think, it's not my THOUGHT on how they see me. It's their way of thinking… Not mine…" I said as I finally closed my book, unable to concentrate anymore.

Ugh, did you ever had that feeling when you did something stupid at first but you don't regret it coz it just felt right… but sooner you regret doing it? I felt that right away when I had that conversation with Liz. All that I could do is sigh it out and don't mind the people around me. I hate that kind of feeling… Lesson: Think before you act…

But me, I never took that advice by heart. Never learned from it…

"Hey…"

I was surprised when I heard that voice behind me. I never expected them to come to me while I was busy chatting with Liz. It was Jennette, Miranda and Jerry. I turned to them with a cautious look. Even Liz was surprised when they came up to us.

"Guys… Uh… well, you know Pat, right?" I heard Liz trying to break some ice between us. I noticed them nod their heads at me. I nodded back just for respect. Maybe that time, I never wanted to feel that 'bad' at them.

"Y-yeah… Hi…" Jennette greeted me again. I stood up that made them stepped back a little. They are pretty scared, I know… But I offered them a chair on my table, giving them a seat on each. Jerry didn't sit at all. I sat back down and the awkward moment filled our table. Liz looked at me, gesturing her head to them saying that I should at least talk. I didn't know what to say… so Liz kicked me on my leg, under the table…

"Ouch… (I looked at Liz with my bulging eyes… she glared back at me…) W-well… uhm… I uh… well…" were the words that I could say. Talk about being articulate…

"Thank you… for your help… on the alleyway…" Jennette suddenly blurted that out of the blue. I was kind of shocked when she brought that up.

"I-It was nothing… Don't mention it…" I said feeling so stupid…

"Oh… ok…" then she fell silent again.

"No, not that I mean to not mention it but… *sigh* I'm sorry… if I ever made a bad impression. I thought I was still being cool that time." I suddenly blurted that one out. Was it the right time for me to apologize?!

"That's ok! Don't apologize… if it wasn't for you, we could have been hurt until now. I'm… kind of glad that you did come to save us…"

"Like I said, it's nothing… but… I'm glad that you're ok…" I was able to set that conversation straight… I think…

As the three sat with me and Liz, somehow the barriers and the fears suddenly began to fade. They were comfortable with me as I chatted along. Liz was happy what was happening on that table. Even though I'm not a 'mingle' type of person, I really wanted to chat with the people I look up to. For me, that was enough. Enough to be noticed…

But one person noticed us and even went lost to his hosting on the game. Nathan couldn't believe what was happening. I know coz I could hear him getting lost in words. He just can't quite focus on what was happening. He saw me, and Jennette, talking like anybody else. He sometimes ends up just looking at us, almost forgetting that he's hosting a show.

But a turn of events suddenly shifted on Nathan's… A satellite tower behind him fell and was about to collapse on him. I heard the people panicked. I heard people scream. It happened so fast. I saw Jennette suddenly stood from her seat and called out to Nathan.

"NATE!!! LOOK OUT!!!"

I saw him tripped down and covered himself with his arms. He's gonna get hurt… I have to do something.

With one wave of my hand, I aimed at the tower and used my 'Metal' element to stop the tower from collapsing. It did stop… but the weight of the tower was like lifting a 50 lbs. dumbbell with one finger! I focused myself on bringing that tower back up, made sure that the footing was secured and made the metal more stable.

Everyone was shocked from what they just witnessed. Jennette was more surprised… All eyes were on me again, I didn't like that too much attention. It pisses me off… Not only that… I was also pissed as to why Nathan got so scared that he couldn't even move away from the falling tower. A nerve busts on my head and shouted something that somehow, gave everyone there a big surprise…

"WILL YOU GET THAT TOWER FIXED?! FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, YOU WOULDN'T WANT AN **'IDIOT' **TO GET KILLED BY THAT STUPID THING?!"

Everyone was shocked… Nathan was furious that I called him an 'idiot'. I knew I was a bit harsh and my choice of words really caught everyone's attention. Great, now I've done it… Again, Lesson: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT…

This is NOT gonna be pretty…


	6. A Display Of Power

**Chapter 5: A Display of Power**

**Nathan's POV:**

What did he just call me?! **IDIOT?!** I was so furious that he has the guts to tell me that. He has no right at all to call me that… I WAS THE ONE WHO WAS IN DANGER AND HE HAS THE GUTS TO CALL ME THAT?! Heck, I was furious… No matter how mysterious or powerful he maybe, he can't just call me an 'IDIOT'!

I stood up and I saw him just plopped down on his seat. The people are still looking at him, some are in disbelief, some are amused, some are disgusted… but I see him like brat that had filled my patience long enough. I nearly sprinted towards them and I couldn't even care whoever comes in my way. My gaze was on him and I just wanted to hurt him.

I didn't do anything wrong with this guy and HE has the audacity to call me an idiot?! I just wish I could just smack him in the face, JUST ONCE!!

I went up the stairs and I noticed in the corner of my eye, Jerry blocked my way and tried to calm me down, he even tried to stop me… but I was a bit surprised when I just pushed him away. Like I didn't know my own strength. He tried to pull me away but my hands just kept slipping from his grip. Jennette also tried to stop me, Miranda also tried to calm me down. I heard Liz called out to Patrick and somehow, I heard him say something back at her… he said…

"Liz, I know…"

My hand threw back and swung, aimed at Patrick's head. I was sure I was about to smack him good… In an instant, as my punch was about to hit, he suddenly vanished in his seat and hit an open air! I was shocked… I didn't know what happened.

I heard a loud 'thud' on the railings of the deck, behind Liz… when I looked up, I saw Patrick regaining his balance on the railing and he turned towards me. He smirked back and did something that struck a nerve in me…

He pulled down one eyelid and did a 'raspberry' like a little kid…

Now I'm really angry… He's asking for it… I'm gonna get him no matter what…

**PJ's POV:**

_Back to the beginning…_

I sat down on my chair and gave out a long sigh… Like I said, this isn't gonna be pretty. I rubbed my temples with just one hand and closed my eyes, focused on what to do next.

"Great, Pat… Just great… you HAVE to say THAT?!" Liz gave out like she's irritated at me. Geez, everyone's so judgmental!

But I guess I do deserve to be judged like that… I shouldn't have done it. But I did it anyway… It felt good to _insult_ him in some way… heck, I'm really such a klutz…

"I know…" was all that I could say to her, without even looking at everyone.

"You know and you said it anyway?! What's wrong with you?! You save someone and then insult them in front of the public- how could you?!" she said it without even finishing the 3rd sentence because of her disbelief in me… did I really went that far?

"I know…" was all that I could say again…

There was a pause on Liz. I felt that she noticed something and there's bound to be trouble brewing behind me. I could hear more whispers and mumbles around me that I knew what was going on. I heard Jerry stopped someone but he just can't get his grip over this person. I could feel his rage…

Nathan… he's angry… and he wants to fight…

A part in my mind is saying: oh no, more trouble… can we just talk about this?

But another part of me is also saying: bring it on… (With matching devious smile…)

What did I choose? The second one, of course…

"Umm… Pat?" Liz tried to say but it's just the same thing I'm going to answer her anyway…

"Liz, I know…"

I felt a punch coming at me… It was kind of exciting for me… Somehow, it was like a dream coming true… a spar with Mr. Nathan Karl Kress… this is gonna be interesting indeed.

I jump off from my seat, made a frontal summersault and landed on the railings. He missed me by an inch…

It was close… and he was fast!

But not fast enough… I turned to him and gave him a smirk. To add more insult, I pulled down one of my eyelid and gave him a 'raspberry'…

"!!!!!!!!!!!"

I think I made him mad… now this just keeps getting better and better…

**Nathan's POV:**

This guy is elusive… I'm dealing with an inhuman here!

Am I really smart enough to deal with this guy? Am I strong enough to take him on? Will I able to hit him?

I'm just so angry… No matter… I have to get him somehow… one way or the other…

"Nathan! Stop It!" Jennette called out to me but I wouldn't listen. I made another attack, trying to sweep him off the railings. But every time I swing a punch, he just skips on it and makes me miss him! Every throw of my punch makes me more irritated. He's like playing a fool out of me…

I grabbed a golf club that one of the guests was holding. He was even that surprised that became that violent. He just didn't understand how I feel, I guess…

I swung and swung the golf club just to hit him, he just kept on jumping and jumping… I even tried to slash him with it. But he just evaded my attacks so easily. I even tried to throw things at him, but it seems like he's just having fun…

"WHAT?! CAN'T YOU FIGHT ME?! HUH?! YOU COWARD!! CHICKEN!!" I tried to do some insult. But he just laughs it off.

"Chicken?! Coward?! Just who are you referring to?! C'mon Mr. Kress! Can you be more precise on whom YOU'RE DEALING WITH?!"

"I THINK YOU'RE A COWARD, **PJ!!** EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST A KID, DON'T THINK I'M AFRAID TO TAKE YOU ON!! I'LL BEAT YOU UP AND I'M NOT BACKING DOWN!!!" I just yelled through all of my rage at him. And I did make an emphasis on his name back there. Sheesh… He thinks he's so cool…

"Ha ha! Are you really sure what you're asking for?! Do you really think you could stand a chance on dealing with me when you can't even hit me with a kiddie golf club?! HA!! You're such a comedian even though you're not filming iCarly!!" then he followed that sentence with a devious laugh...

"YOU'RE SUCH A DEVIL, AREN'T YOU?! FINE! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" I said out of my rage… It seems like those are the words he just wanted me to say… coz he just replied to me…

"WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO AHEAD AND TRY!!!!"

I was like a warrior, seeking vengeance to the one who had sworn to be my enemy forever. It's like this is what he wanted from the start. So I will give it to him…

I charged towards him while Jennette tried to come close to me, stop me from fighting. But she's just too scared to come close or I might hit her with the club in hand. I don't want her to come close either… I wanted her out of the way where I could kill this guy.

I could hear Liz also trying to stop Patrick from fighting me…

"PATRICK! THAT'S ENOUGH!! STOP THIS NOW!!" she said as she tried to come close…

"Stop?! HA! Tell him that! I'm not the one who's making a move here?! HE IS!" I heard him in reply… But as he got distracted by Liz, I saw an opening for me to bring him down from the railing. So, I used the club as a hook and swiped his leg to get him off balance… It worked…

He slipped and somehow landed on the railings on his back. It somehow felt painful for him coz I could see that he was in pain when his back hits the railings then fell to the floor. It was an unbelievable sight for me to behold. Though I really hate hitting people, I'll make an exception on this guy… he really puts my patience to the test…

As he moaned in pain while he's still down, I took an opportunity get on top of him and choke him with the club by pushing it down on his neck. But before I could even do that, he got hold of the club, stopping it from his grip. I tried to pull it down even more but he was just too strong!

I never realized by now that a lot of people are now cheering for me when I got him pinned down. But I noticed that Jennette, Miranda and Jerry were the only ones who are trying to convince me to stop. But in my mind, and in myself, I never listened…

Patrick never gave an effort from stopping the club but I was having a VERY hard time bringing it down on him! He's too strong! With one fast move, he hit a weak spot on my leg that made me kneel and lost my balance. He swiped me off from him and got hold of the club. He threw it far away from me and gained his balance again. We were both on one knee, and I prepared myself for his attack…

Geez, I feel silly doing such a fighting pose… but I have to be prepared…

Patrick stood up, still looking all-cool, trying to convince people that he's not having a hard time with me. But the crowd is on my side…

I could see it in his eyes… He wants to hurt me too… I looked back, straight in his… giving him what he wanted… I'm not backing down on this… not at all…

I gave a sprint towards him and he just stood there. I threw a punch, aimed at his face… But he just blocked it with a sway from his hand. I continued to deliver every punch that I could throw back at him. He just keeps on blocking it. The fight grew intense between us. I felt like I could keep up with him now. I managed to hurt him, didn't I? I must have weakened his state that's why he can't avoid me that much anymore. My punches could nearly hit him but with his style of blocking, it's like I'm no reach of hitting him at all.

I tried to give it a strong swing of a punch right at him but he managed to pull away and jump again from the railings. He leaped a far off distance away from me in just one bound! This guy is really elusive… I'm already weak… while he's still standing like he didn't even break a sweat!

He jumped down, glared back at me and made a fist on his right hand. Seems that he's serious this time… Of all the time that we were fighting, I'm the ONLY one who was throwing all the punches. Not him… Now, seems like he's the one who will put the lights out of me…

I won't let it happened…

I gathered all my strength, also made a fist on my right hand and prepared myself to charge.

He ran towards me… I charged towards him too… We were running towards each other with a fist, aimed at each other's faces.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" I heard Jennette tried to stop us but there is no one who can stop us now. Even at the corner of my eye, I could see my Dad and my brother who's at a distance, too late to stop me…

Both of us were at reach with each other… and we both launched our attack at the same time…


	7. Inside The Jail Cell

**Chapter 6: Inside the Jail Cell**

**PJ's POV:**

If he just knew how to fight, Nathan would be a formidable fighter. He has great stamina, maybe because he plays Air Soft. But with good fighting skills, he could easily get away from the thugs with Jennette back in the alleyway. They wouldn't have needed my help…

And I may have to leave this battle with a swollen eye or something… But now, as I look at him, all that I could see is plain 'reckless'…

This fight has got to end. Too much ruckus, too much commotion, I may end up being kicked out of this ship. Heck, I guess THAT will happen ever since our fight ever began. But whether I get deported out of this ship or not, I want him to remember me… somehow…

I charged at him, no one stopped me. Nathan did the same. We're both locked on hitting each other's faces. Everyone was shocked, weren't able to stop us at all. As I charged towards Nathan, I could sense that his family, especially his Dad is running towards us… But he's too late… There's no stopping us.

"NATHAN!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" I heard Mr. Kress called out to his son. But Nate was so at rage, all that he could think of is hitting me back…

Both me and Nathan threw our punches at the same time…

But what the-?! HE CLOSED HIS EYES!! You can't be sure if you hit your target if you close your eyes in the middle of a fight! But why would he do that?! WHAT THE HECK?!

**Nathan's POV:**

As we threw our punches at the same time, I noticed one advantage on Patrick's attack. By being older than me, he has longer arms than mine. Longer arms meaning further reach. In short, he's gonna hit me first…

No matter how far I tried to connect my punch first, he's gonna have the upper hand over me. Who am I kidding anyway? I'm fighting with a freak of nature. Do I even have the chance to win this fight at all?

I thought to myself _"I'm going to lose… but I'm not going down without a fight…"_

I stretched out my arm as far as I could reach; trying to land my punch even though he's going to hurt me first. I placed all of my strength on that single punch, hurting him would be like a blessing for me. As I saw in the corner of my eye, that his punch will hit me, I just couldn't bare if the pain will really hurt like I had back on the alleyway…

And so I closed my eyes… and waited for the pain…

I felt my hand reached its target… But the strangest part of all, I never felt any pain… not one single pain…

I felt him flew by my side while my hand made a swipe from his face. I staggered to my footing when some of the people caught me after my attack. I quickly turned to Patrick, thinking that he may come back after that and hit me for sure. But to my surprise, he just stood there panting and catching his breath…

I saw him in one corner… my dad… he's fuming mad… he went straight towards Patrick, grabbed him by his shirt and landed another smack on the face. I was shock from what had happened that I didn't realize that my brother and my friends went to my side to check if I'm ok.

I was at the state of shock but I knew what was going on… My dad is hitting him everything he got to Patrick but he just smiled as he got hammed down. I could see his lips with crimson blood and I assumed that his lip blew from a punch… My punch… but I finally came back to my senses when I realized that I was just standing there, doing nothing.

I saw Liz, nearly in tears as she saw her friend getting beaten up by my dad. I heard everyone asking me if I was ok. I checked myself if was… my face, my gut, my chest… nothing… I was completely fine!

"YOU SON OF A B*#%!! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MY SON?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR?! HUH?!... OH YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!" I heard my dad yelling when he saw Patrick, smiling back at him… Like every attack he made didn't even hurt him at all. Patrick didn't answer back… He just kept smiling…

"DAD!!! STOP IT!!!!" I realized that I tried to stop my dad from hitting him… But this time, he's the one who wouldn't listen… I ran towards him as he was about to land another hit from my dad. I caught his hand immediately and tried to stop him. But his hand immediately reached for Patrick's neck… Now, he's strangling him…

"DAD!!! STOP IT!!! I'M OK!!! I'M OK!!!! I'M NOT HURT!!!!!!" I yelled as I tried to stop him but my dad was focused on Patrick. I took a look on Patrick if he's still smiling… now, it's different…

He's struggling and in serious pain… My dad has a very strong grip… Patrick's face is nearly purple…

"DAD!!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled once again, nearly hurting my vocal cords… eventually, my dad heard me…

"Nathan!!! Are you hurt?! Are you ok?!" my dad suddenly became all worried about me… He checked me if was ok… He cuffed my face, checked my body, checked my head if there's any bruise… but there's suddenly a sharp pain that seared in my elbow. A huge cut was visible on top of it…

Surely, I didn't get this from Patrick… I got this when I fell down when the tower was about to fall on me…

But my dad didn't understand that… he assumed that it was Patrick who did it…

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!" he shouted again and was about to charge but the security immediately caught him and stopped him from attacking Patrick.

"DAD!!!! HE DIDN'T DO THIS!! CALM DOWN!! PLEASE!!" I begged him to calm but he's surely furious. He can't take off his fuming gaze on Patrick… he literally wants to kill him…

Patrick just sat on the floor, trying to catch his breath… then the police took him and carried him out of the place. Liz was right behind him but she suddenly left behind and couldn't bear to follow him anymore. Liz was scared… I have to check if she's ok…

"Are you ok? We have to take you to the infirmary… That's a big gash, Nate! C'mon!" Andrew told me as he tried to help me out. But without even thinking, I shoved past him and went to Liz…

"Liz… I'm…" I don't know what to say at all… should I apologize? Should I give comfort? Should I be mad?

"He's NOT a bad person, Nate… But why did he have to go through all of this?" I heard her in between her sobs. "He's just here for a vacation… He doesn't want everyone to see or to know that he has special powers but… why? Why does he end up using those powers and get hurt at the same time?"

Somehow, I felt sorry for her… In her opinion, Pat just wanted to be… normal… but obviously, his powers can't allow him to be so…

"He knew he could take the life of a person if he wanted to but he'll NEVER; never… hurt you, Nate… not you…" she gave out her last words, and then left me behind…

"Nate, c'mon… Let's go…" I heard my brother said again but I didn't listen. I found myself sprinting inside the ship when my dad suddenly caught my arm…

Don't worry, he missed my cut…

"Nathan!! Where do you think you're going?!"

"Dad! I'm sorry! It's my fault that I started this fight, not him! I have to tell them that it's not his fault and just to let him go!" I tried to convince my family about it but they wouldn't budge…

"HE NEARLY HURT YOU AND YOU'RE LETTING HIM GO?!" Andrew was in disbelief that he's hearing this from me…

"It wasn't his fault, ok?! He saved me from a falling tower but I just got ticked off! I'm the one who started the fight! Not him! So please! I have to see him!"

"Why are you covering him up for?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S HURT! NOT HIM!! HE DESERVES TO BE IN THAT CELL!!" my dad nearly roared in front of me… he's just concerned after all… I can't blame him… but I felt like there's nothing I can do to help Liz and Patrick!

"Mr. Kress!! It's true!!"

It was Jennette… She got my dad's attention and got him to listen to her. Even though he finds the situation, unbelievable…

"N-Nate was saved by that guy but… 'That' guy kinda used a stupid word on Nathan that made him ticked off… I'm sorry Nate but… Mr. Kress, it was Nathan who started it. We tried to stop him but he just wouldn't listen… Things went out of hand and now… Patrick ends up in jail but he should be… he didn't do anything wrong… I'm sorry, Nate…" she explained it like she was blaming me… but it was the truth… even though that it sounded like it's my fault, it's how I wanted it to be the outcome…

I'm the one who made the initiative… I'm the one who started the fight… I'm the one who should be in jail… I should've controlled my temper and just let it lose… but I didn't…

I have to talk to Patrick… and clear this unwanted event…

"I-Is this t-true?!" my dad was in disbelief as well…

"Yes dad, please… it's my fault… I just want to talk to Patrick, not to start another fight… This is just wrong… please, let me see him…" I pleaded to my dad…

It took my dad to pause for a while and to think… then he gave me an answer…

"Alright… but first, infirmary…"

**PJ's POV:**

The security took me into a basement part of the ship. On that long, white corridor had jail cell doors on each side. The security looked at me like I'm such a criminal who doesn't deserve to be treated nicely. But for me, I just have to stay calm… It's my punishment and I'm willing to pay the price for my actions.

They took me inside a jail cell where there's a toilet, a sink and a bed… in just one room…

Wow… Juvie… in cruise style…

They settled me in the bed and took off my cuffs. I rubbed my wrists as the cuffs made a mark. Man, they cuffed me tight! I could get it to lose but I don't want to disobey any laws or break out… I wanted to make my record clean by paying my own sentence.

Yeah, right… keeping a clean record… getting you into a Juvie doesn't make your record clean! Stupid…

They just left me alone there and didn't even bothered to call a nurse to clean my wounds… oh well, as if I needed a nurse to help me recover… Heck, I could get well all by myself…

I concentrated on my right hand the element of 'Light' and placed it on my swollen right eye… it felt cool when I touched it… then I have to worry on my lip too…

A few hours later, my face is somewhat completely healed when I heard knocking at my jail door…

"Mr. Sarabia! (Yes, that's my last name…) Ms. Markham is here to see you!" the jail guard told me… He opened the door and Liz was there… with a rolled newspaper- OH C'MON!!! NOT AGAIN?!?!

She came in and hammered the newspaper on my head… Ouch…

"OOWWWWW!!!! PUNKETTE, THAT'S GETTING OLD!!!" I shouted at her as the pain hammered on my scalp… I just healed myself and I get another hammering… I think this day is the day of GREAT PAIN…

"YOU'RE SUCH A KLUTZ! YOU KNOW THAT?! CALLING NATHAN, AN **IDIOT?!**"

"Well he is an **idiot!** Would you stay where you are if you know that there's a TOWER that's going to fall on top of you?! OF COURSE YOU WOULDN'T!!" I argued with Liz but I got hammered with the newspaper… AGAIN!

"Ok, that's it… GO AHEAD!! HAMMER AWAY!!! I WON'T STOP YOU!!! HAMMER ME DOWN WITH THAT NEWSPAPER UNTIL YOU'RE SATISFIED! OK?!" I said it like I'm gonna lose my temper… I just let her do whatever abuse she wanted to do, let her rant whenever she wants to rant… I just have to make my thoughts cool and we'll get along! Hopefully she doesn't push me too far…

She was about to hammer me down again but as I waited, she never did brought that newspaper down on my head. I looked at her with a confused look…

"What? Hurt a muscle? Use your other hand if you want…" I said it like I didn't care… I looked at her again and to my surprise, she was in tears…

"Oh c'mon, punkette… why are you crying?" I asked her… She sat on the bed, beside me and laid her head on my shoulder…

"This is just so F*$%D up… All I wanted is for you and me to have fun… We were able to meet Nathan and Jennette but this has just GOT to happen… This is BULLS#&T…" she said in her own, colorful language…

To be honest, I felt really bad for myself and for Liz… If I just didn't rant out like that, she could still be having fun right now… with one single move of my ranting lips, all went down with it… ugh… I hate this…

"Yeah… I'm really sorry, Punkette… (Note: Punkette = female punk) you know me, I sometimes act so reckless that I didn't care about what would the outcome be… Don't worry; when I get out of here, I'm going to apologize to Nathan, to his family and even to the public… so that you could have your fun back…" I assured her that and she gave me her most warm smile of happiness.

Then she gave me a light slap in my face…

"Ok, ouch… what was that for?" I asked her jokingly…

"Nothing… that's for being such a RECKLESS PUNK… and trying to hurt MY Nathan…" she said and pushed me a little to my side of the bed.

We were both ok now, misunderstandings could be dealt with easily between us… But as we were laughing, another knock came through my jail door…

"Mr. Sarabia! The KRESS are here to see you!"

Both me and Liz had our eyes bulged out from their sockets. She quickly hid the newspaper and wiped her tears off from her face. Me, on the other hand, had to fix my hair it was a bit of a mess…

The door opened and there they were… Mr. Kress, Andrew and Nathan were outside the jail cell, and were shocked to see Liz who was there with me inside…

"Liz?" Nathan asked…

"Hey Nathan… I came here to check up on Patrick. Sorry if I left you out there…"

"No, it's ok… I uhm… I don't mind at all…" he said again in reply… There was an awkward pause and tension in that jail cell and it's all getting even more awkward by the minute…

Nathan had to break that silence…

"Pat… wait, can I call you that? Is that ok? Pat?" he said to me… is he like trying to insult me or something?! Are WE even that close for him to call ME THAT?! I let out a low grunt from that…

"Tsk, fine, that's ok…" I told him…

"Ok, uhm… Can I talk to you alone? Please?" just as when Nathan said this, his dad suddenly objected…

"What?! Nathan, NO! If you want to talk to him, I HAVE TO BE HERE!"

"Dad, don't worry! I'll be fine…"

"NO NATHAN! THIS WON'T DO!!"

"DAD?!"

"HEY!!!" I called out that caught their attention… both fell silent…

"Liz, call the security…" I called out to Liz that made Nathan felt a bit worried. He thought that I want him out of the cell. He thought wrong… "Tell them to handcuff me again and stay outside the jail cell. Leave the door open so that his dad will be assured. Mr. Kress, I'm just giving out an option here. If your son wanted to talk to me, then that's fine. Just for an assurance for you too that I won't hurt your son, is that ok?" I told him confidently but he seem can't find my words comforting. But it was his son's wish to talk to me…

"Alright, fine… Nate, 5 minutes…"

"I will Dad… thanks…" he said back to him and Liz went out to get security…

I got handcuffed again and the security was just outside my jail cell with the door hanging open. I could see Mr. Kress giving me a weird look as to why my face cleared up… Like I wasn't beaten up at all… He just doesn't know my secret that well...

I sat in front of the head board of the bed while Nathan sat on the other end. Both security were looking at us, just to make it safe. I never thought that I would be talking to Nathan like this… and worse, in a jail cell too…

"So… Uhm… Patrick…" he said nervously… I wanted to laugh as to why he's so tense… But I think that would be a bad idea…

"So are you here to humiliate me more?" I asked… Oops, looks like wrong set of words…

"N-No, I'm not here for that ok?" and here I thought he will get mad… he's still tense!

"*grunts* Look, you're wasting your time if you don't speak up… So what is it that you want?!" I was a bit pissed of coz he can't be too straight forward when he's running out of time…

"Ok! Ok... sorry… Uhm… I uh… wanted to uhm… Thank you…"

…What?

"What?" I asked… a bit clueless as to why he was thanking me…

"I said… Thanks… For… Saving me back there…" he said it again! He's thanking me?!

I have to be careful with my words… I thought about Liz wanting me to be ok and not getting into trouble… And so I held to my promise…

"I-It was nothing… Don't mention it…" sheesh… I chose my words carefully and this is what I came up? Talk about lame...

He took another pause and the awkwardness is just killing me… I bet he's just lost in words as well…

"And umm…" he began again… "I'm sorry… for starting a fight with you."

…What again?

"It… It doesn't matter, ok? Let's just let it slide… I'm the one who's in here so it's my fault…" I said taking all the blame… He would start that fight if I haven't told him off…

"No, you should be here… I'm the one who started that fight so I should be the one who's in here. Not you…" oh yeah, now he's taking all the blame.

"Why? Do you wanna stay on this 4x4 cell? Coz I'm warning you, the 'boringness' in this room could really get into you… No windows, no sunlight… I bet you won't even last that long with patience like yours…"

Oops…

"You know- why do you have to be so mean to me?! I'm not even starting a fight here and you're like driving me away! What's the deal here?!" he said to me with a bit of irritation… but he's just trying to talk to me sincerely… He's not the problem… I am…

I let out a deep breath and faced him…

"I'm sorry… I… I tend to lose myself sometimes… It's just that…" now I'm the one who's lost in words… he just looked at me with such irritation, I felt like he's giving up on having a talk… got to get my act together…

"What? What's your deal? Why do you hate me that much?" he asked me… and that was a question that I didn't expect to hear… but to his perspective, that's what he see in me…

"I…" I started… Now, it's time for me to be calm… "I don't hate you… It's just that… Every time I see you on TV, I… get all giddy and stuff." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow… For me, this may sound a little bit corny but looks like I don't have any other words to put it…

"I idolize you… You have fame, great friends… mine is like… I just wanted what you have… I wanted to be noticed… or should I say… I wanted to be… a 'good' friend too…"

He looked at me like he can't believe any of my words… "If you idolize me that much, why would you be so mean? That's the thing I don't get about you!"

"Well… I'm really sorry… But… it's just how I express myself… I idolize you to the extent that… I wanted to test you… on how you will be a good friend…"

Now he looked at me with concern… I bet that he thinks that I'm just troubled… I guess it's true…

"Well, how about you do it the other way around? Approach me and get to know me as others would have done? I won't turn you away…"

* * *

_**He lies… you know what he had done to you before… he's just flipping you off!!**_

**Shut it…**

* * *

"Really, you think that's easy? I live on the other side of the world…" I said again… Thinking that he would react, but he didn't…

"*sighed* Ok… I'll change my ways… I'm really, really sorry…" I gave up like that… It's for the best… I have to change…

"That's great… so, you won't be mean anymore?"

"I won't… I promise…"

"Great… Nice meeting you, Patrick…" then he offered me a handshake…

I looked back at him, sternly…

"Oh yeah, handcuffs… sorry…"

I have to admit, he made me laugh that time… He laughed along as well, realizing that it would be hard for me to return the gesture… I noticed though that he cringed to the pain on his elbow…

"Looks like that's a nasty cut you have…" I told him…

"Yeah, it hurt when I-"and then he noticed… "Wait, how did you know this is a cut?"

"Let's just say I have my ways of knowing…" told him like I'm such a smart-$$... "Would you mind if I take a closer look?"

He went to me without any hesitation and showed me a part of his would… Man, it was deep…

"That's not gonna be pretty for the rest of the trip, Mr. Kress…"

"Could you stop calling me like my father?" he added as a joke… I laughed again on that… I was being too polite…

"Sorry… But, will you let me take care of it?" I offered him but he got all confused…

To be able to do what I needed to do, I called in the security and Mr. Kress back inside the cell… Liz was waiting there too and she went inside to know what was up…

"Sir, can I ask for your permission to take these cuffs off for just a short while?" I said it to both the security and Mr. Kress… Nathan's dad had second thought but Nathan gestured him that it would be ok. Mr. Kress gave the security a sign to take off the cuffs...

"Thank you… Now, Nathan… I just want you to relax… This may hurt a bit but it will be better in the morning… At least you won't have a hard time sleeping tonight. Ok? Do you trust me?" I told him to be assured that he's in good hands… He was doubtful at first but in the end, he just let me what I wanted to do…

I placed my hand below his elbow while the other held his arm. I closed my eyes and concentrated… When I finally found the 'element' that I needed to use, I focused my power to channel that energy through my hands and let that energy flow on Nathan's wound. Nathan cringed again because of the pain in his would felt like burning… But still, he remained calm and let me continue what I was doing… Everyone inside that room was shocked and amazed on what I was doing… except Liz…

I managed to finish what I was doing… I felt tired after that but it was worth it… It was the least that I could do…

"There… Finished… You can take off the bandages now…"

Nathan didn't think it would be wise to do so but I just kept looking at him, telling him it's ok… He slowly took off the bandage and he felt something weird… There's no more pain at all… He completely took of the bandage and turned his elbow up. The wound was gone… The only thing that was left was bloodstains…

"How did you…-?!" Nathan was lost in words again…

"I told you… I have my ways…" were the only words that I could say… All of the people still couldn't believe what I just did… again, except for Liz…

Nathan was so happy that I cured his wound that he suddenly jumped at me and gave me a hug…

"Whoa- Hold on a sec.! What's that for?!"

"THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! DAD!! LOOK! I'M OK NOW! THERE'S NO WOUND!! HAHA!" he said with excitement as he also told this to his dad… Mr. Kress was still speechless…

"Dad, you're convinced now, right? He's not such a bad guy after all! Look what he did to me, dad?! He's good! Please! Can we let him go?!" Nathan said it that took me off guard… He's helping me out of here!

Mr. Kress had doubts of letting me go… But when he saw what I could do for his son, I somehow felt that I got on to his good side…

"Sir, please release him. I'll ask for the pardon from the Captain to let him go as well…" these were the words that somehow gave me a smile, not just in my face, but also in my heart…

"Thank you sir… but…" I told them with the word 'but' on it… They found it somewhat weird…

"I needed to stay here for a while..."

"What?! Why?!" I heard Nathan said to me… Hey, I've him say that before on TV! He used it on me! XD

"I just have my reasons, Nathan… It's hard to explain but… I needed this room for the meantime… I hope you'll understand…"

Nathan looked at me with concern… I wish that I could explain it even further but I can't tell him… I can't let him know… on what is about to happen…

He just nods back at me and gave me a pat on my shoulder… "Ok… Are you sure?"

I just nodded back…

Nathan left with his family while looking back at me… I gave him a playful salute and he just saluted me back… only Liz was the only one who was left in my jail cell. She looked at me then rushed towards me, gave me a big hug…

"I'm so HAPPY FOR YOU!!" she told me as I never returned any gesture of hugging her back. She found it weird and so she let go and faced me… "Why? What's wrong?"

"Liz… I have a favor to ask…"


End file.
