Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Dead On Arrival
It was 2 days after Christmas when Ana finally decided that she couldn’t live without Patrick. As she stood, waiting patiently in the boarding line for her direct flight to JFK she reached into the deep front pocket of her carry on bag and pulled out the silver chain that held her engagement ring, Patrick’s symbolic promise of his undying love for her. Without hesitation she fastened the long chain around her neck, tucking it safely underneath her shirt before handing her boarding pass over to the airport attendant, boarding the plane to what she thought was her definite future; but as she was quickly learning, nothing ever goes as we plan.
With a bit of an anxious shake, her fingers worked against the fabric of her dress, tracing the outline of the ring against her sternum as she shuffled through the crowd, making her way back to the bar to order yet another drink. As she accepted her amaretto sour and graciously thanks the bartender, a warm hand caught the small of her back, holding her close as a voice whispered lightly in her ear, “So now that you’re ring-less, am I allowed to request my date?’
Ana’s eyes were conveying her wild smile as she touched the cold glass to her lips before turning to her admirer with a smirk playing on her features, “How old are you now, Mr. Siska?”
“Age ain’t nothing but a number, baby!” The voice of Adam Siska was light and relieving to her ears as the music faded from one song to the next, the crowd never faltered.
“You never were an ordinary boy.” With a happy sigh, Ana shook her head in mock amusement as she quickly gulped down half of her drink, knowing quite well that he technically wasn’t even old enough to be at such a party.
“Okay then, how about a compromise?” Sisky suggested, extending his hand in her direction, “Since you won’t ever accept my offer to wine and dine you, how about a dance?”
“That, I can agree to.” Ana smiled and with one last sip she finished her drink and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Laughter and dancing was all that Patrick could see them sharing from his spot in the lounge, sighing heavily in frustration as he leaned his head back against the wall barely noticing Pete sliding onto the booth next to him.
“You’re not even trying.”
Pete’s voice was stern but laced with just a hint of concern as his eyes studied the rigidly unhappy features of his best friend. Patrick’s shoulders slumped lazily as he sat back up, his eyes immediately searching for Ana and Sisky, dancing happily in a group with Gabe, Janelle, Joe and Marina.
“She’s having enough fun for both of us, I’m sure.”
“You’re not even trying!” Pete argued once again, “So she’s dancing with her friends, so what? At least she’s not sulking in the corner like a baby, moping like it’s the end of the god damn world!”
“Maybe to me, it is.” Patrick’s voice was void of all emotion as his eyes shifted quickly from the crowd to the floor, unwilling to meet Pete’s displeased glare.
“You promised her that you would stay friends, didn’t you? Go ask her to dance, talk to her; do something, anything!”
“That’s the last thing that she wants.” Patrick sighed, fidgeting absently with the cuffs of his dress shirt as Pete looked down on him in disappointment.
With a frustrated sigh Pete stood up angrily, commenting a quick and quiet “If you say so” before disappearing down the stairs to retrieve his fiancé and Patrick’s long lost love.
By the end of the currently playing song Pete had joined the group at the bar as Joe was ordering a round of shots for everyone, an offer Ana quickly took with a vengeance, slamming the glass back down with a smile plastered on her lips. “This is going to be a year for the things that we’ve always wanted, but could never have!”
“Amen, sister!” Gabe saluted, taking a long sip of his drink in hand and tightening his hold on Janelle’s waist.
A tall, dark and handsome, if stereotypically correct, male soon approached Ana as she returned to the bar for another drink; his voice deep and cool as he leaned against the counter next to her.
“Say I were going to try to get your attention with a terribly corny pick up line, which would you prefer I use?”
“Hmm” Ana thought out loud almost instinctively, lightly biting at her bottom lip before offering her answer, “I’m not sure which one would actually work, but I think the cornier the better really.”
“Would you shake my hand so I could tell everyone that I’ve been touched by an angel?” Ana turned lightly on her heels now and leaned against the car, mocking his casual stance as he offered his best line up.
“Can I take your picture, so I could show Santa what I want for Christmas?”
“I’ll have to remember that one for the next holiday season!” The stranger laughed infectiously, extending his hand in Ana’s direction, “Tim, about to buy your next drink.”
Ana stole a glance at Janelle, who just smirked quietly and shrugged her shoulders, before shaking his hand and returning the gesture, “Ana, accepting your offer.”
Another quick glance back at her friends as Tim placed a drink order brought the vision of Pete’s frowning face and the hint of disappointment in his eyes as they traveled up to the darkness of the VIP lounge, where they both knew Patrick was likely to be watching.
It wasn’t that Patrick was overbearing, he was just jealous and concerned and Ana thought nothing of the fact that he was probably aware of nearly every move she made all night long because to be honest, she would probably be doing the same thing if the roles were to be reversed. Patrick’s jealously and her inability to want to hurt him like he hurt her was the main reason she accepted Tim's offer to slink back into an open booth behind the bar, hidden from the peering eyes of her friends and where the music boomed a little less loudly.
“No way!” Tim’s smile was intoxicating and his excitement with the conversation they had been engulfed in for nearly an hour now caused his eyes to gleam as bright as the flashing lights around them, “I played at UCF for 3 years, I made the All American team junior and senior year.”
“I went to Miami on a soccer scholarship and it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made, I loved every minute of it.” Ana was trying her hardest to stay focused on the conversation at hand, but with each passing minute her attention was drifting further from the bar, into the darkness of the club.
“You’ve got a great build, if you don’t mind me saying.” Tim commented as they slid out of the booth to head for another refill at the crowded bar, “I bet you’re a kick ass forward.”
“Actually” Ana corrected with a smirk, “I’m more of a mid-fielder, myself. I’m quick, I’ve only met one person in my life that I have trouble getting through and it’s actually the guy who’s throwing this party.”
“The guy in the band?” Tim raised an eyebrow, unaware of Ana’s frown at the reference of the band.
Instead of dwelling she forced a smile and nodded happily, “Yeah he’s a decent forward but an outstanding defender.”
“How do you know them?” Tim questioned as he leaned casually against the bar, “The band, I mean.”
“Um” Ana stumbled over her words, lying contently with a sigh, “Childhood friends.”
“Running with the boys, that’s badass.” Tim nodded in appreciation, “My best friend is a girl who could beat all of us 1-on-1 until she got pregnant last year.”
Ana could offer nothing but a forced smile as she tried to focus her attention on the man who was trying his best to court her through the rest of the night, a focus that was beginning to falter with every reminder of the man whose heart was still hanging patiently around her neck.
She had just noticed that Tim’s laugh was kind of annoying and his voice was beginning to strain her ears, because really all she wanted to hear right now was the hearty chuckle that rose from deep in Patrick's chest when he was thoroughly amused or that deep breathy voice he used when speaking quietly to her over the phone from a shared hotel room in some foreign country.
“Are you okay?” Tim’s voice broke through her momentary haze, pulling her back to the moment after she had declined his offer for another drink; hoping that it was the abundance of alcohol in her system that was causing everything to seem foggy.
“Huh?”
“You spaced out a little” Tim laughed lightly, irking Ana ever so slightly, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, I’m totally fine.” A lie fell over her lips as the realization began to set in as her heart rate increased ever so rapidly.
It was like a million little lights had just been switched on, bringing to her attention the only thing that she should be worried about. The room had immediately become far too packed for her liking and it was like she was suffocated in a fog that she hadn’t seen set in.
“Ready?” Tim inquired, nodding back to the spot where they had just occupied for the good portion of an hour as he slinked his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“Uh, actually ...” The words were uncertainly stuttered out as she searched for the sentence she needed to force out because someone at the bar had just announced that it was now merely 5 minutes to the dawn of the new year and that just wasn’t enough time.
Tim’s eyes were concerned, studying her features with a frown on his lips as his hand gripped her waist tighter, sliding a little too far down her hip. As an immediate reflex, Ana flinched and pulled away quickly.
“I have to go!”
Her eyes were cloudy and his had turned to a dark confused color as he stared down at her, “What?”
“I uh – I have to go!” There was a shaky uncertainty in her voice as her heart began to race more rapidly in her chest. This wasn’t what she wanted, it wasn’t what she needed and she needed to get out.
“I’m sorry, thank you for everything. It was really great to meet you but uh – I’m married, I have to go.” Before she could even see Tim’s reaction, Ana was lost in the crowd, fighting her way to the opposite end of the club.
The seconds were ticking by too rapidly for her liking as she shuffled through the anxious crowd, ready to countdown the final 3 minutes until the dawn of the New Year. Ana could barely see straight, her mind was cloudy and anxious as she hurried through the packed dance floor with only one thing on her mind, the one thing that should have never left her mind in the first place.
Once the crowd had cleared just slightly, she took off in a mad dash, sprinting through the remainder of the dance floor and up the stairs to the VIP lounge. He was exactly where he had been the entire time, sitting alone in the dark corner of the lounge, his eyes glued on the crowd below him with a distant darkness clouding over their naturally vibrant color. Her heart was racing nearly out of her chest when she reached him but before he had time to react to her approach, she was in his lap and her lips were warm and comforting against his own. Straddling his thighs, she wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands gripped her hips and held her close, as close as she was always meant to be.
The seconds were ticking by still and Ana heard the crowd below begin the countdown from 60, signaling 1 minute until the New Year as she pulled her lips away, the tears welling up in her eyes as she began a well overdue confession. “I’m sorry, Patrick. I’m so sorry and so stupid and you should never take me back because I should have never let us go in the first place but I love you and I can’t live without you.”
Patrick was in a near state of shock at the moment, everything had happened and was still happening so fast and his reflexes along with his emotions were currently in an overwhelmed jumble but his arms wrapped around her waist now as his eyes studied the sincerity on her face.
“43! 42! 41” The crowd was cheering loudly, counting down to the beginning of a new dawn but it was like Ana and Patrick were in their own private world, their eyes locked together as she lightly bit on her bottom lip, waiting anxiously for some sort of response.
The tiniest of smiles broke through his rigidly confused expression as his right hand reached up to brush away the tears from her cheeks, a few tears welling up behind his own eyelids as he spoke, his voice low and full of emotion, “I would give it up for you. All you have to do is ask and I’ll give it all up.”
“I don’t want that!” Ana protested with conviction, “I don’t want anything to change, I just want you and every terribly fantastic thing that comes with you!”
“29! 28!”
“If you’ll still have me, I promise I won’t ever give up on us.” Ana confessed, reaching under the fabric of her dress to retrieve the necklace that held her ring. With a swift tug, the chain snapped and she slid the silver ring into the palm of her hand.
“I told you that I would wait forever.” Patrick reminded her, urging her to return the ring to its rightful place on her left ring finger.
“17! 16! 15!”
“Patrick Martin Stump, you’re the most forgiving, silly, overly generous man in the world but you’re the love of my life and I don’t want to ever go on without you!”
Patrick’s smile was almost heartbreaking as his eyes studied her uncertain features, voicing his own confession in a low and persistent voice, “Anabella Genevamarie Stumotrolazera I can’t live without you and I want nothing more than for you to become my wife and spend the rest of your life with me.”
“7! 6! 5!” The crowd was erupting with excited anticipation as Patrick and Ana’s lips crashed together again with such desperate passion, her fingers knotting in the hair at the back of his neck and his hands holding her close, never wanting to let go.
As the new year dawned upon New York City the crowd below them cheered loudly, streamers began falling through the room and the cheering and clapping was almost deafening as lovers and friends said goodbye to an outdated past and hello to an uncertain future. After scouring the club for Ana and coming up empty handed, Pete hurried up the stairs to the lounge to check on Patrick with Janelle and Gabe quick on his heels.
His heels nearly skidded to a stop as his eyes fell upon the site before them, Ana straddling Patrick’s lap, their lips locked together as they held each other close. It seemed like they were oblivious to the world around them as they reconciled all that had been lost between them and Pete had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“Well then,” Gabe cleared his throat, “I guess we’ve got ourselves a successful New Year’s resolution.”
Janelle and Pete both agree with a light laugh before they turned to descend the stairs, leaving the happy couple alone to “make up” with some privacy. As they descended the stairs, Gabe wrapped his arm around Janelle and held her close, sighing happily as his lips kissed the top of her head, “I hope that someday we’re so disgustingly happy together that we make each other miserable.”
With an understanding smile Janelle cuddled closer to the man that would soon secure his place as the love of her life and nodded contently as they ended the night on the happiest of notes, “I do too.”
With a bit of an anxious shake, her fingers worked against the fabric of her dress, tracing the outline of the ring against her sternum as she shuffled through the crowd, making her way back to the bar to order yet another drink. As she accepted her amaretto sour and graciously thanks the bartender, a warm hand caught the small of her back, holding her close as a voice whispered lightly in her ear, “So now that you’re ring-less, am I allowed to request my date?’
Ana’s eyes were conveying her wild smile as she touched the cold glass to her lips before turning to her admirer with a smirk playing on her features, “How old are you now, Mr. Siska?”
“Age ain’t nothing but a number, baby!” The voice of Adam Siska was light and relieving to her ears as the music faded from one song to the next, the crowd never faltered.
“You never were an ordinary boy.” With a happy sigh, Ana shook her head in mock amusement as she quickly gulped down half of her drink, knowing quite well that he technically wasn’t even old enough to be at such a party.
“Okay then, how about a compromise?” Sisky suggested, extending his hand in her direction, “Since you won’t ever accept my offer to wine and dine you, how about a dance?”
“That, I can agree to.” Ana smiled and with one last sip she finished her drink and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Laughter and dancing was all that Patrick could see them sharing from his spot in the lounge, sighing heavily in frustration as he leaned his head back against the wall barely noticing Pete sliding onto the booth next to him.
“You’re not even trying.”
Pete’s voice was stern but laced with just a hint of concern as his eyes studied the rigidly unhappy features of his best friend. Patrick’s shoulders slumped lazily as he sat back up, his eyes immediately searching for Ana and Sisky, dancing happily in a group with Gabe, Janelle, Joe and Marina.
“She’s having enough fun for both of us, I’m sure.”
“You’re not even trying!” Pete argued once again, “So she’s dancing with her friends, so what? At least she’s not sulking in the corner like a baby, moping like it’s the end of the god damn world!”
“Maybe to me, it is.” Patrick’s voice was void of all emotion as his eyes shifted quickly from the crowd to the floor, unwilling to meet Pete’s displeased glare.
“You promised her that you would stay friends, didn’t you? Go ask her to dance, talk to her; do something, anything!”
“That’s the last thing that she wants.” Patrick sighed, fidgeting absently with the cuffs of his dress shirt as Pete looked down on him in disappointment.
With a frustrated sigh Pete stood up angrily, commenting a quick and quiet “If you say so” before disappearing down the stairs to retrieve his fiancé and Patrick’s long lost love.
By the end of the currently playing song Pete had joined the group at the bar as Joe was ordering a round of shots for everyone, an offer Ana quickly took with a vengeance, slamming the glass back down with a smile plastered on her lips. “This is going to be a year for the things that we’ve always wanted, but could never have!”
“Amen, sister!” Gabe saluted, taking a long sip of his drink in hand and tightening his hold on Janelle’s waist.
A tall, dark and handsome, if stereotypically correct, male soon approached Ana as she returned to the bar for another drink; his voice deep and cool as he leaned against the counter next to her.
“Say I were going to try to get your attention with a terribly corny pick up line, which would you prefer I use?”
“Hmm” Ana thought out loud almost instinctively, lightly biting at her bottom lip before offering her answer, “I’m not sure which one would actually work, but I think the cornier the better really.”
“Would you shake my hand so I could tell everyone that I’ve been touched by an angel?” Ana turned lightly on her heels now and leaned against the car, mocking his casual stance as he offered his best line up.
“Can I take your picture, so I could show Santa what I want for Christmas?”
“I’ll have to remember that one for the next holiday season!” The stranger laughed infectiously, extending his hand in Ana’s direction, “Tim, about to buy your next drink.”
Ana stole a glance at Janelle, who just smirked quietly and shrugged her shoulders, before shaking his hand and returning the gesture, “Ana, accepting your offer.”
Another quick glance back at her friends as Tim placed a drink order brought the vision of Pete’s frowning face and the hint of disappointment in his eyes as they traveled up to the darkness of the VIP lounge, where they both knew Patrick was likely to be watching.
It wasn’t that Patrick was overbearing, he was just jealous and concerned and Ana thought nothing of the fact that he was probably aware of nearly every move she made all night long because to be honest, she would probably be doing the same thing if the roles were to be reversed. Patrick’s jealously and her inability to want to hurt him like he hurt her was the main reason she accepted Tim's offer to slink back into an open booth behind the bar, hidden from the peering eyes of her friends and where the music boomed a little less loudly.
“No way!” Tim’s smile was intoxicating and his excitement with the conversation they had been engulfed in for nearly an hour now caused his eyes to gleam as bright as the flashing lights around them, “I played at UCF for 3 years, I made the All American team junior and senior year.”
“I went to Miami on a soccer scholarship and it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made, I loved every minute of it.” Ana was trying her hardest to stay focused on the conversation at hand, but with each passing minute her attention was drifting further from the bar, into the darkness of the club.
“You’ve got a great build, if you don’t mind me saying.” Tim commented as they slid out of the booth to head for another refill at the crowded bar, “I bet you’re a kick ass forward.”
“Actually” Ana corrected with a smirk, “I’m more of a mid-fielder, myself. I’m quick, I’ve only met one person in my life that I have trouble getting through and it’s actually the guy who’s throwing this party.”
“The guy in the band?” Tim raised an eyebrow, unaware of Ana’s frown at the reference of the band.
Instead of dwelling she forced a smile and nodded happily, “Yeah he’s a decent forward but an outstanding defender.”
“How do you know them?” Tim questioned as he leaned casually against the bar, “The band, I mean.”
“Um” Ana stumbled over her words, lying contently with a sigh, “Childhood friends.”
“Running with the boys, that’s badass.” Tim nodded in appreciation, “My best friend is a girl who could beat all of us 1-on-1 until she got pregnant last year.”
Ana could offer nothing but a forced smile as she tried to focus her attention on the man who was trying his best to court her through the rest of the night, a focus that was beginning to falter with every reminder of the man whose heart was still hanging patiently around her neck.
She had just noticed that Tim’s laugh was kind of annoying and his voice was beginning to strain her ears, because really all she wanted to hear right now was the hearty chuckle that rose from deep in Patrick's chest when he was thoroughly amused or that deep breathy voice he used when speaking quietly to her over the phone from a shared hotel room in some foreign country.
“Are you okay?” Tim’s voice broke through her momentary haze, pulling her back to the moment after she had declined his offer for another drink; hoping that it was the abundance of alcohol in her system that was causing everything to seem foggy.
“Huh?”
“You spaced out a little” Tim laughed lightly, irking Ana ever so slightly, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, I’m totally fine.” A lie fell over her lips as the realization began to set in as her heart rate increased ever so rapidly.
It was like a million little lights had just been switched on, bringing to her attention the only thing that she should be worried about. The room had immediately become far too packed for her liking and it was like she was suffocated in a fog that she hadn’t seen set in.
“Ready?” Tim inquired, nodding back to the spot where they had just occupied for the good portion of an hour as he slinked his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“Uh, actually ...” The words were uncertainly stuttered out as she searched for the sentence she needed to force out because someone at the bar had just announced that it was now merely 5 minutes to the dawn of the new year and that just wasn’t enough time.
Tim’s eyes were concerned, studying her features with a frown on his lips as his hand gripped her waist tighter, sliding a little too far down her hip. As an immediate reflex, Ana flinched and pulled away quickly.
“I have to go!”
Her eyes were cloudy and his had turned to a dark confused color as he stared down at her, “What?”
“I uh – I have to go!” There was a shaky uncertainty in her voice as her heart began to race more rapidly in her chest. This wasn’t what she wanted, it wasn’t what she needed and she needed to get out.
“I’m sorry, thank you for everything. It was really great to meet you but uh – I’m married, I have to go.” Before she could even see Tim’s reaction, Ana was lost in the crowd, fighting her way to the opposite end of the club.
The seconds were ticking by too rapidly for her liking as she shuffled through the anxious crowd, ready to countdown the final 3 minutes until the dawn of the New Year. Ana could barely see straight, her mind was cloudy and anxious as she hurried through the packed dance floor with only one thing on her mind, the one thing that should have never left her mind in the first place.
Once the crowd had cleared just slightly, she took off in a mad dash, sprinting through the remainder of the dance floor and up the stairs to the VIP lounge. He was exactly where he had been the entire time, sitting alone in the dark corner of the lounge, his eyes glued on the crowd below him with a distant darkness clouding over their naturally vibrant color. Her heart was racing nearly out of her chest when she reached him but before he had time to react to her approach, she was in his lap and her lips were warm and comforting against his own. Straddling his thighs, she wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands gripped her hips and held her close, as close as she was always meant to be.
The seconds were ticking by still and Ana heard the crowd below begin the countdown from 60, signaling 1 minute until the New Year as she pulled her lips away, the tears welling up in her eyes as she began a well overdue confession. “I’m sorry, Patrick. I’m so sorry and so stupid and you should never take me back because I should have never let us go in the first place but I love you and I can’t live without you.”
Patrick was in a near state of shock at the moment, everything had happened and was still happening so fast and his reflexes along with his emotions were currently in an overwhelmed jumble but his arms wrapped around her waist now as his eyes studied the sincerity on her face.
“43! 42! 41” The crowd was cheering loudly, counting down to the beginning of a new dawn but it was like Ana and Patrick were in their own private world, their eyes locked together as she lightly bit on her bottom lip, waiting anxiously for some sort of response.
The tiniest of smiles broke through his rigidly confused expression as his right hand reached up to brush away the tears from her cheeks, a few tears welling up behind his own eyelids as he spoke, his voice low and full of emotion, “I would give it up for you. All you have to do is ask and I’ll give it all up.”
“I don’t want that!” Ana protested with conviction, “I don’t want anything to change, I just want you and every terribly fantastic thing that comes with you!”
“29! 28!”
“If you’ll still have me, I promise I won’t ever give up on us.” Ana confessed, reaching under the fabric of her dress to retrieve the necklace that held her ring. With a swift tug, the chain snapped and she slid the silver ring into the palm of her hand.
“I told you that I would wait forever.” Patrick reminded her, urging her to return the ring to its rightful place on her left ring finger.
“17! 16! 15!”
“Patrick Martin Stump, you’re the most forgiving, silly, overly generous man in the world but you’re the love of my life and I don’t want to ever go on without you!”
Patrick’s smile was almost heartbreaking as his eyes studied her uncertain features, voicing his own confession in a low and persistent voice, “Anabella Genevamarie Stumotrolazera I can’t live without you and I want nothing more than for you to become my wife and spend the rest of your life with me.”
“7! 6! 5!” The crowd was erupting with excited anticipation as Patrick and Ana’s lips crashed together again with such desperate passion, her fingers knotting in the hair at the back of his neck and his hands holding her close, never wanting to let go.
As the new year dawned upon New York City the crowd below them cheered loudly, streamers began falling through the room and the cheering and clapping was almost deafening as lovers and friends said goodbye to an outdated past and hello to an uncertain future. After scouring the club for Ana and coming up empty handed, Pete hurried up the stairs to the lounge to check on Patrick with Janelle and Gabe quick on his heels.
His heels nearly skidded to a stop as his eyes fell upon the site before them, Ana straddling Patrick’s lap, their lips locked together as they held each other close. It seemed like they were oblivious to the world around them as they reconciled all that had been lost between them and Pete had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“Well then,” Gabe cleared his throat, “I guess we’ve got ourselves a successful New Year’s resolution.”
Janelle and Pete both agree with a light laugh before they turned to descend the stairs, leaving the happy couple alone to “make up” with some privacy. As they descended the stairs, Gabe wrapped his arm around Janelle and held her close, sighing happily as his lips kissed the top of her head, “I hope that someday we’re so disgustingly happy together that we make each other miserable.”
With an understanding smile Janelle cuddled closer to the man that would soon secure his place as the love of her life and nodded contently as they ended the night on the happiest of notes, “I do too.”
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