Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Burn Down the City to Show you the Lights: A Patrick Stump Story
Chapter 3: Secrets and Red Convertibles
1 reviewLucy and Kitty spend some time with the boys: but Lucy's hiding an important secret under her bubbly exterior.
0Unrated
“Who the hell is Pete Wentz?” I screamed after her as she ran out the door frantically. I watched through the window as a startled Pete noticed the blonde angel bombarding him, then relaxed after the surprise wore off. Her whole body bounced as she spoke with him, and from the distance I noticed Patrick opening his door and stepping out to see the commotion.
I opened my door and joined the three, stepping up beside Lucy.
“Kitty, your lack of awareness of pop culture finally got the best of you. This is Pete Wentz, the very cute bassist of the band Fall Out Boy,” she explained with a wink at him, and then pointed at Patrick, “and that’s Patrick Stump, the lead singer.”
That explains the slight familiarity. But I still stared at her with my mouth wide open. Celebrities on my farm? These last couple days have been beyond strange and eventful. And I liked it that way.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Pete,” I said over the fence in his direction. I felt Lucy bump my arm and cough.
“Oh, and this is Lucy. She’s my best friend, and she just got back from modeling in Tokyo. Almost as exciting as having two celebrities in my backyard,” I explained sarcastically.
“Well, we’re not celebrities yet. Just a band from Chicago,” Pete humbly pointed out.
“You’re from Chicago? I’ve always wanted to go there!” I replied, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.
“Kitty here wants to go basically anywhere in the world,” Lucy explained as I blushed. “And, by the way, I love Chicago,” she said aside to Pete. He grinned, obviously loving the attention.
At this point, Patrick joined our group and waved to me.
“Do you already know Patrick?” Lucy whispered in my ear. I nodded, and she gave me a look of approval. Whatever that means.
“Do you two want to come inside? We were actually planning a party tonight. You’re welcome to come”
“Of course we do!” Lucy replied for me, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her as we hopped the fence and walked over to their house.
For the length of time I’ve lived here, I’ve never had the chance to see the neighboring house from the inside. It was three stories, and painted a bright blue. It was situated remarkably close to my own house, considering the fact that both properties had 15 acres each. Tenants have stayed for a couple months at a time, but due to the cost, the house stayed relatively empty and ignored. Until now.
I finally climbed the stairs to the open door, and entered. It was immediately obvious this was the home of two teenage boys: Coke bottles, books, and food scraps littered the ground as a TV blared the Travel Channel in the background.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” Pete motioned towards the mess.
Lucy frowned down at the mess.
“It could use a woman’s touch,” she whispered and winked at me. I shook my head frantically at her.
“What are you trying to imply?” I whispered firmly.
She bobbed up and down on her toes and looked back at the boys, who were looking at us curiously. Patrick looked at me in the eye, and gave me a small smile, which I returned.
“So, boys, what do you want to do?” she said, plopping down on their couch. “Should we give you your first tour of SLO-town?”
“San Luis Obispo,” she added after seeing their confused look.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
“Sure,” Pete answered.
“Awesome! Let’s go in my car!” she chatted excitedly.
We all hopped over the fence again and strode up to her shining, red convertible. Pete whistled.
“Maybe I should take up modeling,” he said, shaking his head in wonder.
I still followed along, stunned. Again, this is one of the strangest couple of days I’ve ever experienced. But regardless, I was overjoyed to finally have Lucy with me, just like old times.
Lucy pushed me in the backseat, then herded Pete into the passenger seat. Her skills once again amazed me, and I was happy to find that I was situated next to Patrick. She turned the key and the car vibrated with excitement, matching Lucy’s bubbly personality. We turned down the driveway, and the wind blew through our hair. Lucy let her golden locks fly through the air, as I tried to cover my hair with a beaded headwrap. Patrick watched and laughed as I struggled to wrap up my long head of hair.
As we whizzed by, people stopped dead in their tracks to stare at the unusual sight of two rock stars, a model, and I passed in a blur in our red convertible. I waved, giggling, like a princess in a parade. Pete stared with wonder over at Lucy, taking in her presence with wide eyes.
“I think Pete and Lucy here have something going on,” whispered Patrick into my ear.
“I never knew Lucy had any feelings for American boys,” I whispered, looking him straight in the eyes. He chuckled to himself and studied the scenery as it passed.
I followed his lead, and looked out the nonexistent windows of the car. I allowed my mind to mold the tall corn stalks into skyscrapers, and closed my eyes and let the image stick. The cornfields transformed into a residential district of the town, until we entered the heart of downtown, which wasn’t saying much. I glanced over at Patrick, who seemed just as absorbed in his own thoughts as I was. Lucy chatted with Pete, pointing out her favorite parts of the town.
San Luis Obispo was a small, but quaint downtown area. Tree-lined shopping streets and an old mission made up downtown, and we headed over to an upscale restaurant with seating overlooking a small river. Pete, Lucy, and Patrick donned dark sunglasses and hats, while I uncovered my unknown face to the crowd. We were situated on a large table with the best view after Lucy slipped the hostess a couple bills, which I observed with wide eyes. As soon as our food arrived, Pete and Patrick were spotted my two preteen girls squealing as they contained their excitement. They whipped out iPhones and screamed for the two to take a picture with them. As Pete and Patrick were absorbed with talking to their fans for the moment, Lucy looked at me with utter seriousness on her face.
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
My heart fell, as these were the opening words to any bad news. My mind raced as I thought of all the terrible things that I’m about to here, and turned a shade of green.
“I would tell you when I have more, um, time. But, I didn’t anticipate this spontaneous-meeting a boy band-thing. And I have to tell you what I came here to. But promise me you won’t freak out,” she prepared me.
“Please, just tell me,” I pleaded.
“There’s no simple way to put this, but…”
“Yes?”
“Kitty, I have cancer.”
I opened my door and joined the three, stepping up beside Lucy.
“Kitty, your lack of awareness of pop culture finally got the best of you. This is Pete Wentz, the very cute bassist of the band Fall Out Boy,” she explained with a wink at him, and then pointed at Patrick, “and that’s Patrick Stump, the lead singer.”
That explains the slight familiarity. But I still stared at her with my mouth wide open. Celebrities on my farm? These last couple days have been beyond strange and eventful. And I liked it that way.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Pete,” I said over the fence in his direction. I felt Lucy bump my arm and cough.
“Oh, and this is Lucy. She’s my best friend, and she just got back from modeling in Tokyo. Almost as exciting as having two celebrities in my backyard,” I explained sarcastically.
“Well, we’re not celebrities yet. Just a band from Chicago,” Pete humbly pointed out.
“You’re from Chicago? I’ve always wanted to go there!” I replied, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.
“Kitty here wants to go basically anywhere in the world,” Lucy explained as I blushed. “And, by the way, I love Chicago,” she said aside to Pete. He grinned, obviously loving the attention.
At this point, Patrick joined our group and waved to me.
“Do you already know Patrick?” Lucy whispered in my ear. I nodded, and she gave me a look of approval. Whatever that means.
“Do you two want to come inside? We were actually planning a party tonight. You’re welcome to come”
“Of course we do!” Lucy replied for me, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her as we hopped the fence and walked over to their house.
For the length of time I’ve lived here, I’ve never had the chance to see the neighboring house from the inside. It was three stories, and painted a bright blue. It was situated remarkably close to my own house, considering the fact that both properties had 15 acres each. Tenants have stayed for a couple months at a time, but due to the cost, the house stayed relatively empty and ignored. Until now.
I finally climbed the stairs to the open door, and entered. It was immediately obvious this was the home of two teenage boys: Coke bottles, books, and food scraps littered the ground as a TV blared the Travel Channel in the background.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” Pete motioned towards the mess.
Lucy frowned down at the mess.
“It could use a woman’s touch,” she whispered and winked at me. I shook my head frantically at her.
“What are you trying to imply?” I whispered firmly.
She bobbed up and down on her toes and looked back at the boys, who were looking at us curiously. Patrick looked at me in the eye, and gave me a small smile, which I returned.
“So, boys, what do you want to do?” she said, plopping down on their couch. “Should we give you your first tour of SLO-town?”
“San Luis Obispo,” she added after seeing their confused look.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
“Sure,” Pete answered.
“Awesome! Let’s go in my car!” she chatted excitedly.
We all hopped over the fence again and strode up to her shining, red convertible. Pete whistled.
“Maybe I should take up modeling,” he said, shaking his head in wonder.
I still followed along, stunned. Again, this is one of the strangest couple of days I’ve ever experienced. But regardless, I was overjoyed to finally have Lucy with me, just like old times.
Lucy pushed me in the backseat, then herded Pete into the passenger seat. Her skills once again amazed me, and I was happy to find that I was situated next to Patrick. She turned the key and the car vibrated with excitement, matching Lucy’s bubbly personality. We turned down the driveway, and the wind blew through our hair. Lucy let her golden locks fly through the air, as I tried to cover my hair with a beaded headwrap. Patrick watched and laughed as I struggled to wrap up my long head of hair.
As we whizzed by, people stopped dead in their tracks to stare at the unusual sight of two rock stars, a model, and I passed in a blur in our red convertible. I waved, giggling, like a princess in a parade. Pete stared with wonder over at Lucy, taking in her presence with wide eyes.
“I think Pete and Lucy here have something going on,” whispered Patrick into my ear.
“I never knew Lucy had any feelings for American boys,” I whispered, looking him straight in the eyes. He chuckled to himself and studied the scenery as it passed.
I followed his lead, and looked out the nonexistent windows of the car. I allowed my mind to mold the tall corn stalks into skyscrapers, and closed my eyes and let the image stick. The cornfields transformed into a residential district of the town, until we entered the heart of downtown, which wasn’t saying much. I glanced over at Patrick, who seemed just as absorbed in his own thoughts as I was. Lucy chatted with Pete, pointing out her favorite parts of the town.
San Luis Obispo was a small, but quaint downtown area. Tree-lined shopping streets and an old mission made up downtown, and we headed over to an upscale restaurant with seating overlooking a small river. Pete, Lucy, and Patrick donned dark sunglasses and hats, while I uncovered my unknown face to the crowd. We were situated on a large table with the best view after Lucy slipped the hostess a couple bills, which I observed with wide eyes. As soon as our food arrived, Pete and Patrick were spotted my two preteen girls squealing as they contained their excitement. They whipped out iPhones and screamed for the two to take a picture with them. As Pete and Patrick were absorbed with talking to their fans for the moment, Lucy looked at me with utter seriousness on her face.
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
My heart fell, as these were the opening words to any bad news. My mind raced as I thought of all the terrible things that I’m about to here, and turned a shade of green.
“I would tell you when I have more, um, time. But, I didn’t anticipate this spontaneous-meeting a boy band-thing. And I have to tell you what I came here to. But promise me you won’t freak out,” she prepared me.
“Please, just tell me,” I pleaded.
“There’s no simple way to put this, but…”
“Yes?”
“Kitty, I have cancer.”
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