Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Author's Notes: It took a while but it's here. I'm not sure it's my best but I hope I was able to give this story a closure it deserved. Further notes at the end.

Chapter Eleven:

Amanda Sykes was the ultimate popular girl. She was blonde, she was pretty, she had legs that went on for days, she had perfectly engineered breasts, she was rich and she was as dull as the Pope was Catholic.

She was currently surrounded by three insipid chits also known as her friends talking about probably the most inane things in the world during study period. Or so Katie thought.

"He came over to my house and stood at my front step and actually apologized," she said lowly with a bemused tone.

Katie pretended that she was heavily consumed by her Chemistry problem set, in complete denial that she was actually eavesdropping on the conversation of four of the dumbest human beings that ever graced the planet.

"I don't know, maybe he was trying to get into your pants again?" brainless bint number one suggested.

Amanda shook her head thoughtfully. "I don't think so; otherwise he'd take me somewhere completely, like, romantic or something. He came over to my house in broad daylight and he didn't even ask if he could come in. I opened the door and he stood there with a rose. Handed it to me and he said sorry for being a complete asshole and that I never deserved anything he did to me."

"What else did he say?" brainless bint number two asked.

Katie shifted in her seat as if trying to find a more comfortable position. So she could hear her better. She wanted to light herself up in flames, this is seriously low.

"Well, he said that he can't take back what he did. But he promised that he would never do it again to anyone else," Amanda paused as if debating whether or not to continue, "and then he offered to clean up all those offensive graffiti messages about me on the boys' bathroom doors. Which is, well, strange, but actually kind of sweet."

Katie leaned forward a bit, the front legs of her seat teetering along with her, completely abandoning all pretenses of being a morally righteous and respectful person who didn't listen in on other people's private conversations.

"Do you think he meant it?" the third brainless bint quipped as she shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Amanda took a moment to answer before a small smile appeared on her mouth. "I think he really did. He was always so cocky but there was just something so sad about him yesterday." She shook her head ruefully, her golden blond hair making soft brushing sounds against her shoulder. "What do you know? Freddy Jones actually has a heart."

Katie promptly fell face forward off her chair in a loud thud.

…

"Dude, I'm so tired," Zack lamented dramatically as he adjusted his sun visor for the umpteenth time.

"What are you blabbering on about? All you've done the entire day is sit there and consume a dangerous amount of hotdogs," Freddy said, then belatedly added, "if you fart in my car I will have you murdered."

"It's not that easy, okay? My lower lumbar is sensitive and it can really get uncomfortable when I've sat up for too long and I have hyperacidity so I need to eat regularly," Zack replied as he delicately rubbed his stomach as if to make a point.

Freddy gripped the steering wheel tightly his knuckles turned white. "And you're supposed to be the lead guitarist of our band? We'll never make it to the cover of Rolling Stone at this rate!"

"Well you're the one who dragged me out here! It's not like I forced you to take me," the black haired boy said.

"And I'm fully regretting that decision now. I should've brought Billy. I have it on good authority that he is a fascinating companion during road trips. Lawrence told me that he has the most delightful little anecdotes about some New York city landmarks. Meanwhile you're a useless turnip and I've lost a lot of money feeding you," Freddy answered.

"You're just being mean now!"

"Oh what are you going to do? Are you going to start crying?"

"Maybe I will and then you'll be really sorry!"

A silence extended between the two boys for a few minutes before Freddy said, "Zack, I think it might be best for our friendship if we spend some time apart after today."

Zack nodded and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go like, make out with some chicks after this."

"Yeah, you do that."

…

Katie made her way inside her homeroom class on a bright and sunny Friday morning and sat in her regular seat at the left corner on the back row. She looked at the desk beside her with a frown; it had been empty for five days now.

She shifted her head when she saw Summer walking towards her, holding two cups of coffee, one on each hand, and deliberately ignoring her seat in the front row. The shorter girl sat down on Freddy's usual chair and put one coffee cup on Katie's desk as she slowly slipped her own.

"Two sugars, one cream," Summer said with a smile. "You don't look like you've been getting much sleep lately. I figured you could use the picker upper."

"Thanks," Katie said as she carefully sipped the hot drink. "Hey, Summer, have you heard from Freddy? He hasn't been to school in a week. I'm kind of getting worried."

Summer shrugged. "I thought you might know. Zack hasn't been around either, haven't you noticed?"

She could only mutter an "oh." She hadn't really noticed and that kind of made her feel like an asshole.

"You shouldn't worry so much," Summer said in that endearingly haughty tone of hers, "they're probably just off smoking cannabis in some debauched teenage wasteland."

Katie couldn't help but giggle, it would be just like Summer to call it 'cannabis.' "I don't think so, I very well know that neither Zack nor Freddy ever actually smoked pot or did drugs," she said with a shake of her head.

Summer whipped her head so fast Katie was afraid the girl was going to suffer an aneurysm. "Zack? Seriously? But he always looks so high?"

The bassist threw her head back and laughed, the first honest to goodness laugh she'd had in the past week. She took another sip of her coffee before speaking. "You know Freddy and Zack, they like to come off as badass rebel rock stars, but we all know deep inside those two are just a couple of straight-laced mama's boys. I mean, seriously Summer, have you seen Zack's GPA?"

Summer twiddled with her fingers as a small smile played on her face. "Yeah, they're both good guys really. I just give them too much of a hard time."

"You wouldn't be Summer if you didn't give people a hard time," Katie teased.

"You know me too well," Summer answered with a bat of her eyelashes. She tucked her dark mane behind her ears as she rushed forward to her next words. "You know, you can just call Freddy if you're worried about him. I still bet Zack's with him."

Katie fiddled with a lock of her hair and looked to the ground. "I would, but I'm kind afraid he's not going to answer. We're sort of in between a fight."

Summer rolled her eyes. "What did he do now?"

The brunette bassist couldn't help the sardonic laughter that came out of her mouth. "That's the thing, you know. He didn't do anything!" She sighed dejectedly before crushing the cup in her hand, the crackling sounds that the Styrofoam made searing the peaceful air. "And I was pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong either, but somehow I still feel like it's my fault."

That was when Summer noticed the slight tint of red in her eyes and small dip on her cheeks and she felt like such a terrible friend for being so immersed in herself not to see how much Katie had been suffering for the last few days. She reached over and put on a hand on the other girl's cheek. "Sweetie, is there something going on? Something you want to tell me?"

Katie looked sideways as if to make sure that no one else was listening to them before dipping her head and whispered earnestly, "I started it you know, I came onto him." She sounded like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "And when it got too serious I bailed on him. And I think I really hurt him, Summer. And it sucks because I just really miss him and I want my best friend back."

Summer had a million questions inside her head. Katie just basically admitted to her that there was something going on between her and Freddy. She wanted so much to ask how it started, when, how far have they gone, is he as good as everyone says he is and all the gory details. But she held back. Summer was full time over achiever and part time gossip hound, but at this very moment she was Katie's friend and that always came first.

"Have you tried talking to him?" Summer asked carefully, as if afraid that just one wrong word would have Katie bursting into tears.

Katie shook her head. "I'm not sure what to say. I'm afraid I'm just going to make things worse."

The corner of Summer's lips lifted up to an encouraging smile. "Just tell him the truth, whatever it is. I don't know a lot about Freddy but I've always known you're his best girl. He can't stay mad at you for too long."

"You think so?"

Summer nodded. "Just be honest, and everything will work itself out."

…

Freddy expertly maneuvered his car into a halt. They were parked outside a quaint white house with blue paned windows and a red door in a small suburban village somewhere in the middle of New Jersey. He took a deep breath before waking up Zack who passed out the moment they crossed Hudson River. Some road trip buddy he turned out to.

"Wake up, Zack. Seriously, how many hours of sleep do you need?" Freddy said as he poked Zack's ribs.

"Wahhh," he answered smartly.

"This is the last one, now remember what we talked about? The moment you see her bring out something akin to a sharp object you-"

"Drive back home and tell your mother you loved her."

Freddy backhanded the side of his head. "No you dimwit, go out there and be my backup. God, I really should've brought Billy."

He continued to mutter expletives under his breath as he got out of the car up until he came up the front door. He quickly pressed the doorbell, eager to talk to anyone who was not Zack, even if it was a potentially homicidal ex-fling.

The door opened and he was greeted by possibly the most terrifying, blood-curdling, testicle shrinking visions he has ever seen. There she was; black hair, nose ring and arm sleeve tattoos with a toddler hanging off her hip.

"Dear god, please tell me that is not my child."

The girl, who despite all appearances was barely eighteen years of age, gave a throaty laugh before smacking her lips together and giving a resounding 'No.' Freddy resisted from making a sign of the cross and falling on his knees to thank the heavens.

"So Freddy Jones, what brings you across state lines?"

Freddy composed himself and managed to not look so horrified to deliver his well practiced speech. "I just came here to say that I'm sorry. I know it may be a little late and you've probably moved on but in any case, if I've caused you any hurt or pain I am deeply, truly sorry and I really wish I could take it all back."

She promptly laughed in his face. What can he say; Megan had always been a bit different from his usual fling.

"Oh Freddy, you are still a little boy in so many ways. I'm sure you've broken a lot of hearts in your ripe age but trust me mine wasn't one of them," she said with a good-natured smile.

"Right, well, you know I was doing this kind of twelve-step thing and well, I feel really stupid right now," Freddy said sheepishly.

The baby in Megan's arms gurgled as if to further cause Freddy embarrassment. Megan cooed at the child and tenderly put a bottle of milk in his mouth, which seemed to have calmed the small child.

"Don't worry about it, Jones," Megan said as she turned her attention back to him. "But it's good, you know, that you feel this need to apologize. I mean I'm sure a lot of the other girls you've tricked into sleeping with you weren't as worldly as I was at sixteen."

"Make me feel better, why don't you," Freddy said sardonically.

"You're still such a rich boy nance," she teased, "for what it's worth thank you. But don't feel so bad about me, I knew very well what we were and I wasn't some wide-eyed virgin when we happened."

Freddy managed a rugged smile. "At least there's one ex who doesn't hate my guts."

She laughed again.

"So who's this young fellow anyway?" he asked.

"Yeah, remember that stupid bastard of an ex-boyfriend? The one I was trying to get over?" Megan asked.

Freddy nodded, mildly remembering the drunken night they had after she met him at one of their gigs and the way she whined about her cheating college boyfriend.

"Yeah, we actually got back together for a while after you and me went kaput and I guess you can tell what happened next," she said casually.

"Where's he now?" he asked rather curiously.

"Who knows? He bounced after finding out I was pregnant. But it's for the best, Lee and I are much better off without him and the parentals and I get along better now," she said happily, cooing sweetly at her little boy. "I'm back at school, I don't drink anymore and I'm just focusing on mine and my baby's future. This is honestly the best I've felt in a really long time."

Freddy smiled. "Well, I'm glad things are working out for you."

He was about to bid her farewell when she interrupted him. "You know, Freddy, you weren't so bad. When we were together, you were really nice to me. I needed it at the time."

He smiled. "I'm glad to hear that I was something somewhat good to you."

"So who's the girl?" she said with a knowing look.

Megan had always been smarter and more intuitive than people gave her credit for. "An old friend."

"Well, she's a lucky girl," Megan said.

Freddy spread out his arms cockily. "Of course she is! I'm ridiculously good-looking and I have an impressive trust fund!"

Megan laughed at his antics. "Well, go get her then!"

…

Katie pushed through the crowd as the final bell rang. She felt antsy and still a bit intimidated but she was Katie Brown and nothing ever fazed her. She wasn't going to be a spineless, indecisive chit. She was going to hunt Freddy Jones down and tell him exactly how she feels.

She thrust the humongous oak doors of her school open and flew down the stone steps with grace before she crashed against a hard chest and two strong arms swiftly caught her before she ricocheted backwards.

"In a bit of a mad rush, aren't we?"

She couldn't mistake that cocky patrician accent anywhere.

"You're kind of late for class," she said breathlessly and she immediately wanted to kick herself. Sure, nothing every fazed her. Uh-huh.

Freddy smirked at her, obviously amused at her uncharacteristic shyness. "I'm not here for class, I'm here for you," he said without missing a beat.

Katie reddened at his intense gaze but she stopped herself short of swooning. She was Katie, kick-ass bassist, unofficial den mother of the boys of the School of Rock and the one girl trusted to reel in Freddy Jones' troublesome ass from danger since they were eight years old. She was going to say what was on her mind.

"I miss you."

Well, that part was true but wasn't exactly what she was planning to say.

He smirked at her. She wanted so much to wipe that smirk off his face with her fist. But then he goes and says something that made her speechless.

"I love you."

"Darn it Freddy, stop saying that!"

He only chuckled at her flustered countenance. "I can't help it, I love you."

Katie took a deep breath and closed the tiny space between them, completely oblivious of the several students who had already made their way to the courtyard and were conspicuously watching them. She placed a hand on chest and another one on his cheek. "Please, just don't say it."

Freddy took her hand that was resting on his check and placed it above his heart. "But I mean it Katie. There's no lying, there's no tricks, and I just simply love you."

Katie looked up at him from beneath her tired lashes. "I know, at least I think I know. But it hurts to hear it because I'm still not sure if I can just say it back just yet."

It hurt to hear it although he didn't honestly think that she would just fall into his arms and ravish him. "That's, well, terrible really. But I don't want to not know you. I hate not being able to talk to you and not being able to call you in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. I can't imagine not having you in my life. And it sucks that we can't be more but we can go back to being just friends, if that's what it takes."

She shook her head and suddenly all fight went out of him. His hand loosened its hold on hers but then refused to let go. "I wasn't done, Freddy," she said with a hopeful smile, "the thing is, I've known you for so long and I know you so well. I know the Freddy who brings me soup when I have a cold and lends me his coat even if it means he'll freeze his ass off and knows just the right thing to say to make me smile when I'm sad. But then there's that other Freddy. Freddy the playboy who makes sexist jokes and sleeps around without considering other people's feelings and possibly needs to get tested. That guy? I hate that guy."

Freddy put his arms around her waist and kissed his forehead against hers. "That guy's gone Katie, I promise you."

"I want to believe you, Freddy. I really do. I don't want to go back to being just friends, I think I've let you in too deep now and I can't just go back. I think, what I'm trying to say is, I'm not there yet. But I know I'll get there, if you can just be patient with me. Will you wait for me?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes, her pretty mouth curving into a small pout. Sometimes, he thought, she was made of pure evil.

He put a finger under her chin. "On three conditions."

She furrowed her eyebrows in askance.

"One," he started, "I get to tell you I love you and you can't flinch or tell me to shut up."

A small laugh gurgled out of her mouth but she nodded nonetheless.

"Two, I get to hold you, and hug you and kiss you whenever I want, where ever I want and no matter the audience," he said sternly.

She considered it for a second before she said, "I think I might regret this but, okay. So what's the last condition?"

He smiled smugly at her. "Third, I refuse to have sex with you, no matter how much you beg me, until you can say you love me back. I'm not easy you know?"

She threw her head back as the most egregious of laughter came out of her. "I think I can manage that last one."

He hugged her tightly to him before swiftly whispering to her ear, "Just don't take too long, okay?"

"Just kiss me already," she said before crushing her mouth to his.

…

Two months, three weeks, five days, 4 hours and twenty-eight minutes later, Katie said I love you too. Freddy made her say it seven more times within the next hour.

The End

End Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who has ever reviewed. If you're still around to read this, bless you. It took a while, but I finished it and I'm glad I did. I don't think I'll write any more Freddy/Katie fics after this. I still love this pairing but I don't think I have it in me any more to write about them. If you would still like to read some of my fics please feel free to go to my other account where I write Flame of Recca and Harry Potter fanfiction. My other fandom name is Mia Fitzpatrick. There I came out, haha. I thought of fusing the accounts and transferring this fic there but I figured I kind of would be okay with this here.

Again, thank you all so much. Freddy/Katie forever! :D