FicWad

That same old voodoo follows me about
That same old pounding in my heart, whenever I think of you
And baby, I think of you
Day in and day out

Day out, day in
I needn’t tell you how my days begin
When I awake I get up with a tingle
One possibility in view
That possibility of maybe seeing you…

********************************

FLUMP.

Patrick’s eyes jerked open, being rudely woken from his nap as he felt something slowly crushing him. Pulling the earphones from his ears, interrupting the Nat King Cole track playing on his iPod, he looked down to see Pete hugging him as tight as he could.

‘Hey, what are you doing here, man? Why aren’t you downstairs?’
‘I just came to get my wallet.’ Pete’s voice was muffled against Patrick’s shirt. ‘But then I saw you, and I just had to tell you how grateful I was, and…’
‘Grateful? For what?’
Pete looked up, unsure whether Patrick was playing a trick on him. So… is this actually my surprise or not? What’s he up to…?
‘I’m just kidding, Pete! You’re pleased with your present then?’
‘Am I pleased? ‘Pleased’ doesn’t even begin to describe it!’

Pete pressed his cheek against Patrick’s shirt and laughed. Patrick himself was smiling, just at the way Pete had regained his glow, his vitality, the little sparks in his eyes. Cheering him up was one of Patrick’s favourite jobs as best friend.

‘Hey, as nice as this hug is, she’s waiting for you, man! Go on, get out of here!’
‘OK, OK!’ Pete jumped off the bed and searched frantically for his wallet, before grabbing it with a little cry of triumph and heading to the door.
‘We’ll talk about this later, OK?’
‘Sure.’
‘Thanks again man, I owe you big time. Seriously, I –’
‘Pete! Just stop talking to me and go!’
Pete grinned at his best friend, then ran from the room. Patrick heard him pounding down the stairs and smiled to himself.

Job done, Patrick.

He switched his iPod back on and lay back on the bed, attempting to get back to sleep… when his phone vibrated on the bedside table.

‘Hello?’
‘Hey, it’s Bill. You free to talk?’
Patrick sighed, and accepted that he wasn’t going to get any more sleep this afternoon.
‘Yeah, go ahead.’
‘Well I’ve got a few more songs down, and Mike’s given me some tunes to work with, so… wanna come help me out?’
‘Yeah, sure. I’ll be over in a bit.’
‘OK, cool… One more thing.’
‘Mm?’
‘We’ve got a studio booked for next week, on those couple of days off… You wouldn’t mind helping us out, would you? I know it takes up free time, and we’ve all gotta rest at some point…’
Patrick sat up at this news. He loved studios. Ever since the year he’d had being a producer he’d loved every single minute of it.
‘Bill! It’s OK, I’d love to help! Sure, I’ll be there! What days are they?’

********************************

And so the week continued. The other bands didn’t mind being stuck in Florida for a week, as there was plenty to see and do and the weather was beautiful, even in the autumn. As the days passed Patrick felt his head start to clear; so, having been bored out of his mind, he decided to go over and help The Academy Is with their songs. He should have been resting, but he felt so eager to do something, anything – he figured it might as well be productive. And soon enough he was thrown into his work. Every day got progressively busier, but Patrick kept things quiet so Pete wouldn’t find out and send him back to bed. He needn’t have worried though…

Pete’s week was going extremely well. He, Ashlee and Bronx had been out a few times, to the park or the funfair or the cinema, and they’d had a blast. He’d had lovely long chats with his son about all the normal every-day things like kindergarten, and he and Ashlee had chatted for ages about their careers, their families, everything; all the while swapping jokes and laughing like crazy. Every night Bronx would refuse to go to bed and instead sit on Pete’s lap, cuddling into him until his eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. Ashlee would go to bed herself, picking up a sleeping Bronx and saying goodnight to everyone, and Pete would kiss her on the cheek before she batted him away playfully. And when Pete himself went to bed, he felt on top of the world.

But eventually, the end of the week came. Patrick went back to the hospital, had his stitches removed and was given the all-clear by the doctor. Everyone’s rooms were tidied, all suitcases were brought out and put on the coach. The plan was to fly across to Chicago, where new buses would be waiting for them and they could pick up the tour where they were supposed to be.

Of course, everyone was excited about visiting Chicago. Fall Out Boy and The Academy Is were natives, and the other two bands just loved the vibrancy and variety of it. But Pete’s mind was elsewhere. First, he had a mission to undertake.

He found his family outside, sitting on the grass in the mellow sunshine.
‘Hey, guys.’
‘Hey, it’s Daddy! Hi Dad!’ Bronx launched himself at Pete, who swung him round and round until he squealed.
Eventually he set Bronx down, who then ran off towards a cat, leaving the two adults alone.
‘So, you’ve enjoyed yourself then?’
‘Yeah, it’s been a nice break.’ Ashlee smiled as she looked over at Bronx. ‘It’s nice having adult company, y’know? Obviously I love Bronx to bits, but just getting to talk to other people, having someone else watch him… it’s a bit of a breather for me!’
Pete smiled too. ‘Yeah, I can imagine.’

There was a little silence as they watched their son stroking the cat’s tail, much to its annoyance. Pete knew he had to fill the gap, ask his question as soon as possible.

‘So, uh… seeing as you’ve enjoyed yourself so much…’ Ashlee looked at him questioningly. ‘I was wondering if you’d want to, uh… maybe… stay a little bit longer?’
Ashlee sighed and looked away.
‘It’ll be great, I promise you! It’ll be like going on a big holiday together. We can get you a room in the bus–’
‘Pete, no. I should’ve seen this coming. It’s not going to work!’
‘It will, it will! It’ll be so much fun. We’re still friends, right? Surely you don’t mind me spending so much time with you! And what about Bronx? He’d love to stay!’
‘But that’s not what this is about, is it?’ She stood up, frowning. ‘This is about you trying to get me back. You’re hoping that you can cosy up to me now, and then after this tour we’ll move back in together, play happy families as if nothing’s happened. Well, that’s not going to happen, Pete! I can’t just drop the past and pretend everything’s fine again!’

She folded her arms and glared at Pete, who’d scrambled to his feet during her outburst.

‘Look, I know you’re still mad at me. But we’ve been getting along so great this week! It’s meant to be like this, you and me. Please, baby, don’t keep holding this grudge.’
He took her hands before she could stop him, but she continued to argue her point regardless
‘No. I’m going to hold this ‘grudge’ until you realise it’s pointless trying to win me over. It’s all over, Pete! It was over the minute you slept with Laura. I don’t know how Patrick ever forgave you! How could you go so low?’
‘I don’t know how he forgave me. But he did, and things are working out between us.’ Pete sighed at the memory of Patrick’s face when he’d discovered them, not wanting to think on it. ‘But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about us. It’s not over, no matter how much you say it is. I can see you still love me, Ash. Deny it all you want, I’m not gonna believe you.’

He smiled and wound his arms round her waist gently. She didn’t push him away, but turned her head to the side defiantly, closing her eyes.

‘Just stay a few more days, kit-kat. Or come back and visit me another time. I know I can never truly apologise for what I did, or erase it, or turn back time or anything. But nothing is gonna change how I feel about you. Look!’ Ashlee turned her head reluctantly as Pete held his left hand up. ‘Ring’s still on. And I’m never gonna take it off.’
He leaned against her so their foreheads touched.
‘Don’t pretend any more, sweetie. I’ll prove everything to you...’

And before Ashlee could do anything, he’d pressed their lips together in a warm, gentle kiss. She felt the warmth of his body wrapped around her, felt his fingertips as they massaged the back of her head, and couldn’t do anything but stand and enjoy it. Old memories came flooding back to her: the first time they met; the days they’d spent laughing away when they were dating; the wonderful night they’d got engaged; the way they’d held hands during the first pregnancy scan. But there was one memory stronger than all of them. She’d been stretched out on the sofa, about six months into her pregnancy. Pete was lying with his head on her stomach, and she was stroking his hair as they felt Bronx kicking away. It had been such a precious, magical moment, such a natural thing…

A faint wail brought her back to reality, dismissing all the memories. Suddenly Pete’s lips felt rough and cold on hers, his arms and hands felt awkward. All the bad memories suddenly rolled in, of long lonely nights, her son’s quiet moods as he played alone, secret tears, anger, frustration.

The wails grew louder, and Ashlee abruptly pushed Pete away.
‘Hey, w-what’s going on?’ He watched as she walked away from him towards Bronx, slightly dazed from the kiss. She turned back momentarily.
‘Pete… don’t you dare try anything like that again,’ she hissed. ‘It’s not working. I’m going to get Bronx and let him say goodbye, then we’re outta here. And you can forget us ever getting back together.’

She turned on her heel and rushed to soothe her son. Pete stood there, still dazed. He’d tried so, so hard, and he’d finally been making progress. But now… now it was all gone. The whole week had been ruined with one attempt at reconciliation.

‘Daddy! The kitty scratched me!’
Ashlee was back with Bronx in her arms. Pete took him off her and held him close, stroking his head.
‘Hey, it’s OK, buddy. It’ll feel better soon. That nasty kitty!’
He rocked him gently until the whimpers faded, and Bronx’s eyes started to close.
‘That’s it. You sleep tight, little guy.’
As Bronx finally fell asleep, Ashlee turned and picked up her bag.
‘The taxi’s here. We’d better go.’
She handed her bag to the taxi driver, smiling for a moment to be polite, then turned to Pete.
‘Come on. I don’t wanna miss the flight.’
He looked down at the sleeping bundle in his arms, not wanting to let go, ever… but he knew he had no choice. Gently, so as not to wake him, he kissed his son on the forehead and very, very reluctantly handed him over.

And, before he knew it, the doors were shut and the taxi was rolling off down the driveway. Pete stared after it, blinking away tears as he watched the two most important people in his life disappear. Everything, everything, had been destroyed… and it was all his fault.

********************************
[AN: Sorry for the delay, I've had a busy week. -offers cake- Also, happy birthday dear Mr Joseph Mark Trohman. May you and your fro reign forever.]