405. Chapter 405

After Need to Know

Episode 6.03

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'm not too cool to own Castle, but I don't. Rating: K Time: See above.

Tall, gawky, geeky Ricky Castle walked down the halls of Bayside High School until he got to his locker. As usual, his best friend, Javier Esposito, was waiting for him.

"What it is, bro?" The two exchanged high fives.

Ricky frowned. "It's…You know."

Espo nodded. "It's her, isn't it?"

Ricky would have answered but he suddenly saw tall, leggy, gorgeous, brainy, Kate Beckett walking down the hall. To Ricky's eyes, she seemed to walk in a halo of shimmering light that removed all other things from his mind.

As she passed, he managed to squeak. "Hi, Kate."

She turned as she walked by. "Hi, Ricky." Her smile was so dazzling that Ricky had to lean against his locker.

It wasn't until this vision of femininity had turned the corner that he managed to whisper, "Hubba hubba."

Ricky was slapped sharply on the back of his head. "Don't be saying that about my girl, nerd boy."

Ricky turned around to face Josh Davidson, a large, muscular young man who was the best defensive back in the state, known as "Destruction" Davidson. He gulped. "Sorry, Josh. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Well, just keep your mouth closed around Kate, geek, or I'll close it for you. I told Kate that I'm taking her to the prom. That means she's off limits. Understand?" Davidson held his large fist up in front of Ricky's face.

"I understand." Ricky squeaked.

"I understand, what?" Davidson snarled.

"I understand, sir."

Davidson laughed and walked away.

"What do you think you're doing, Rick?" A female voice said from behind him.

"I'm staying alive, Lanie." He said to the sassy, African-American cheerleader.

"Kate Beckett deserves a lot better than that mindless mass of muscle. You should get your nose out of your books and talk to her. Just talk to her."

"Lanie, it's really hard to talk around a broken jaw." Espo said.

"Men!" Lanie said and walked off.

Before either could say anything, Ricky was interrupted by a pretty redhead. "Ricky, dear? I need just a tiny bit of help with my homework. You don't mind, do you?" The redhead handed Ricky all of her books and homework. "Just drop it off at my house tonight."

"Can I see you then, Meredith?" Ricky asked.

"I'll be on a date, but you can talk to my dad." And with that, Meredith walked away.

Ricky looked at his watch. "I gotta hurry to get to my next class." He took off at a trot, but disaster loomed around the first corner. He slammed into another person, knocking her down.

"Mr. Castle!" Yelled Principal Gates, who was now sitting on her butt in the middle of the hallway. "Do you exist solely to aggravate me?"

"No, ma'am."

"What?" She screamed.

"I mean, no, sir!"

"Why were you running, Mr. Castle?"

"To get to gym class, sir."

"Then go! Get out of my sight and stay there!"

Ricky got to gym class with a minute to spare. As he got there, Coach Montgomery glared at him.

"If you men will remember, we were doing free throws yesterday. Mr. Castle was the only one of you not to sink a free throw. Mr. Castle, take your position."

Castle shot from the free throw line and missed the backboard.

"Air ball." The rest of the boys chanted as he missed shot after shot.

"Ryan!" Montgomery screamed. "Show him how it's done."

Slim, debonair Kevin Ryan took the ball, stood on the free throw line facing away from the basket and without looking, sank the shot. "Sorry." He muttered as he walked past Ricky Castle.

"Now, Mr. Castle, you will continue to shoot free throws until you either sink one or the period ends. The rest of you will run wind sprints until then."

Later, while they were showering, LT, the basketball team's center walked up to Ricky. "I'd pound you if I didn't know Josh was going to do it for me. You couldn't sink one lousy free throw in the whole period?"

After school Ricky headed for the mall where he worked at Burgeropolis making French fries. Before he got to work, he ran into another of his nemeses, the local mall security guard. "Hello, Mr. Demming." He said as politely as he could.

Demming whirled around. "What are you doing here, punk?" He snarled.

"I work here, sir. At Burgeropolis. I'm hoping to earn enough to buy a car." Actually, Ricky wanted to buy a motorcycle just like Kate Beckett had, but even if his mother would allow it, he would probably never earn that much money.

"And don't call me Mister Demming, punk. It's Officer Demming to you."

"I thought the police department…Um, dispensed with your services." Ricky said, realizing he'd made a mistake.

"I make one lousy mistake and they kicked me off the force after almost twenty days of spotless service. Those three goons had all the hallmarks of the Bloods street gang. Any other cop would have done the same in my shoes."

"Um, weren't they actually three ninety year old Hasidic Jews, sir?"

"Things happen in a heartbeat on the mean streets of Bayside, kid. Besides, a little pepper spray never hurt anyone. One lousy mistake and I'm gone."

"Wasn't there another incident involving…" Ricky began.

"There were credible reports of midget Islamic terrorists. How was I supposed to know they were kindergarten students? So they got a little of the old nightstick? So what? It'll toughen them up. Life is hard and then you die. Remember that, punk."

Ricky noticed that two young men had knocked a woman down, grabbed her purse and were running. "Um, Officer Demming, there seems to be a problem…"

"I don't have the time to listen to your problems, you juvenile delinquent. I have my eye on you, and the first time you screw up. I'll be all over you like a cheap suit."

Demming strode off convinced he'd put the fear of God into one of the mall's troublemakers. He didn't notice the woman who had been robbed pointing him out to the chief of mall security.

Ricky arrived at Burgeropolis and changed into his uniform. His first customer was Lanie, who had actually been waiting for him to come on shift before ordering.

"What can I get you, Lanie?"

"Two Cherry Cokes. ®"

"Two? Is Espo joining you?"

"No, another friend of mine is meeting me here. Someone you should talk to."

"Who?" Ricky said, fearing he knew the answer.

"Kate Beckett, of course. Now, are you going to talk to her or what?"

"I'd just as soon not die for talking to her. Josh said he'd…"

"Josh does not run the world. Be a man. Stand up to him. Else you'll end up like sweet old Mr. Tyson, the librarian that all the kids make fun of. Or his wife, the school nurse."

Ricky sort of liked Mr. Tyson, even if the old fellow did have a somewhat macabre sense of humor.

He was about to say something when Kate Beckett in the cheerleader's outfit that accentuated her long, gorgeous legs, walked into Burgeropolis. Ricky quickly beat a retreat back to the counter.

Ten minutes later he found himself looking into the eyes of Kate Beckett.

"Hi, Ricky. How are you?"

Rick nodded and managed to squeak out. "Fine?"

"I'd like another Cherry Coke ®, and please bring it to our table."

Before Ricky could say anything, she turned and walked back to her table.

Ricky busied himself at the soda machine and took the drink to Kate. When he got to the table, he found that Lanie had left.

"Oh, I have something for you." Kate said. She held out his notebook, with all of his stories in it.

Ricky felt faint. Kate Beckett had his notebook? Had she read any of it? "Did you…I mean…The stories…Did you…"

She smiled at him. "I read all of them. They're very good." She reached up and took his hand, drawing him down to sit by her. "But all of your protagonists seem to be lonely. Don't you think the stories would be better if the man in these had a girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend?" Ricky squeaked.

"Someone like…me?"

"But you're Josh's girl. He said he told you he's taking you to the prom."

"Two things, Rick. One, no one tells me that he's taking me to the prom. And, two, Josh won't be going."

Rick was confused. "But it's the big dance. Why wouldn't he come?"

She shook her head sadly. "I told him about the dangers of steroids, but he wouldn't listen. Roids rage got him and he attacked Principal Gates right after school."

"What happened?" Rick asked, shocked.

"Josh will be in the hospital for about six months, then jail. Oh, and he'll be singing soprano from now on." Kate smiled at Rick.

"Um, Katherine Houghton Beckett, would you go to the prom with me?"

"Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle, I'd love to go to the prom with you."

"Hubba hubba!"