FicWad

Part Eight

I still had a fancy date tonight with Kel. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to ask her tonight or if I wanted to wait when everyone was around. I guess I would just wing it. I was still as nervous to see her as I was the first time I showed up at her door. I quickly threw some different clothes on, a red shirt, black pants, white Nikes, a white hoodie, and my black hat with the red A on it. I sighed as I looked one last time in the mirror, adjusting the glasses on my face. Even now, I still wondered why Keliah had stuck around for this long. It may have only been a few days, but I was shocked that she hadn't made a run for it. I saw Pete walk up and lean on my doorway. 
"You gonna ask her tonight?"
"I....I don't know."
Pete walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Don't tell me that Tricky's already getting nerves."
"Yes, Tricky's already getting nerves." I replied, imitating his voice.
"Why? You look fantastic. We've been through this before. She loves you. You love her. There's no problem here."
"Then why do I feel inferior?"
"Because...that's just...you. I can't explain it, but you always seem to put yourself down a lot, even though you have more talent in your fingernail than anyone else does in their whole body." he said, smiling at me through the reflection of the mirror. 
"But she's way too good for me..."
"Patrick Vaughn Stump, don't talk bullshit."
"It's true..."
"Look, you guys are perfect for each other. You can both sing like angels, and play instruments, and you both like Prince. And don't even get me started on how many times you guys do it-"
"Yeah, I get it. I just...need to relax. She loves me, right? I've got nothing to worry about."
"Exactly."
"But, what if she says no? What'll happen? I can't have her say no, and then things be awkward between us with me screwing up everything."
"Why would she say no?" 
"Because we've only been together for like...5 days or something."
"True, but you can't deny true love when it shows up. You can't just let this go, dude."
I took a deep breath and looked one last time in the mirror before I turned to face Pete.
"Alright then. I'll ask her tonight if everything goes as planned. If it doesn't..."
"It will."
"But if it doesn't, then I'll just ask her in the studio tomorrow when we start producing the track."
Pete's eyes widened. "Shit, that's right, I'm supposed to rewrite a song for you guys to sing for that DJ. Come on. Go on your date. I'll get that song finished while you're gone."
"Alright, see you later man." I said, and then walked out into the living room, grabbing my keys from the kitchen counter and putting them 
Andy and Joe were playing Mario Kart again. But this time, it was personal.
"TAKE THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Andy slammed his thumb down on his controller as I heard an explosion on the screen. I grabbed a cup of coffee and leaned on the wall next to them, watching the intense battle going on.
"So, you're fighting over Farrah...through a video game?"
Joe answered quickly, never taking his eyes off the screen. "She told us to take care of it without her around, so..." he paused to press down on his controller again, shooting at Andy's character on the screen. "...here we are. Whoever wins, best 2 out of 3, gets to ask her out on a date first. AND I'M ABOUT TO WIN ROUND ONE!" he yelled. 
I sipped my coffee quietly and smirked, watching Andy's character blow up on the screen.
"GOD DAMNIT, JOE! THIS IS NOT OVER!"
Joe smiled wide. "Odds are looking good for me so far."
I set my coffee back down on the counter and walked towards the door. "I probably won't be back, so I'll see you guys tomorrow at the studio."
My words were quickly ignored as the second round of the war had begun. I shrugged and headed over to the girls' hotel room. I knocked on the door and as always, Farrah answered. However, instead of a simple 'hello', I got yanked into the hotel room by the collar. "What the-" I tried to speak before a hand got put over my mouth. She put a finger to her lips and I shut up, kind of fearing what was happening. She dragged me to the corner of the living room and pinned me to the wall. "What are you planning?" she whispered angrily.
"What are you talking abo-" I asked, but was interrupted again by her putting a hand over my mouth.
"Don't talk so loud! Kel's in her room getting ready, and I want to know what's going on before she goes ANYWHERE with you."
"We're going to go to dinner?"
"No. Not where you're going. I heard you and Pete yelling yesterday through the walls, and I want to know what it was about."
"Oh. Ok. You have to promise not to tell her, ok?"
"Fine. Just tell me."
I hesitated and she pinned me harder to the wall. "Alright, alright!" I hissed.
I pulled the small box with the ring in it out of my pocket and showed her.
"I'm going to ask her to marry me, either tonight or tomorrow."
She released her grip on me and backed away. I put my hand to my chest, breathing normally again, and took a step forward away from the wall, brushing dust off my shirt and placing my ring back in my pocket. 
"So, are you going to kill me now?" I asked nervously, watching her face for a reaction.
"No, no. Not now. I thought I knew what you were going to do when you mentioned the surprise earlier. Then I heard you and Pete yelling at each other and I thought maybe it wasn't what I thought it was. But, as long as I know now that I was right...then I'm ok with it."
"Ah, yeah. All that yelling. Pete wasn't too happy about it. But we talked about it, and he's cool with it now. So, are you alright with it? I mean, you are her best friend and all..."
She smiled wide. "Totally! Welcome to the family." she caught me off guard and hugged me.
My arms stiffen as she squeezed me tightly and I finally moved my arms and patted her on the back. "Uh...well..thanks, then." I put my arms back to my sides and she just wouldn't let go. I just stood there, feeling awkward until I seen Kel walk into the living room.
"Oh my god..." I whispered.
Farrah finally broke out of...whatever was going on, and turned to look at her.
Keliah stood there, wearing a short black skirt, with an orange Queen shirt on. Her auburn hair was in soft curls, clipped back with a black bow. Farrah snapped her fingers and grinned. "Damn girl, you look FINE."
Kel walked towards both of us and smiled. She turned to Farrah and snapped her fingers the same. "Thanks..I think."
I pushed up my glasses again and stared at her figure.
"You...look...m-magnificent." I stuttered out. 
"You don't look too bad yourself, Trick." she leaned over and kissed me quickly.
"Y-you called me Trick."
"Yeah?"
"You've never called me Trick before."
"I thought the nickname was cute. You don't want me to call you that?"
My eyes lit up. "No, that's not what I meant! It just took me off guard, that's all. I love it."
She called me Trick. The only people that called me Trick were some of the closest people in my life. Pete, Joe and Andy called me that all the time. Hell, my dad even called me Trick sometimes. And to be perfectly honest, her calling me Trick was... sexy. I did get a little excited when she said it. I regained my composure quickly, and said, "Are you ready to go?"  
"Oh, yeah, definitely."
I grabbed her hand and we walked towards the door. Farrah jumped onto the sofa and called after us, "Have fun, guys!"
Kel shouted back at her. "We will!"
I turned back to look at Farrah and she winked at me. She mouthed "Good luck." to me as I shut the door behind us.
Kel and I walked down the hall, hand in hand. 
"So, where are we going for dinner?"
I shrugged. "There's a nice place by Long Beach called the Sky Room. The band went there once for an after party thing. I thought you might like it there. You get almost a full view of L.A in there while you eat, it's really cool."
She looked at me and smiled. "It sounds fantastic."
"Good." I smiled back as we walked out of the hotel to my car.
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We sat down to eat at the Sky Room, and we were having a great time. Things were going smoothly. She was happy, so I was happy.
"So...how often do you go on tour?" she asked, out of the blue.
"Um, well, it's usually pretty often. But it's never for a very long time. A few months at most."
"...Do you like to tour?"
"I like playing shows a lot, if that's what you mean."
"You don't....miss being away from home?"
"Oh...uh...OH!" My eyes got wide, finally realizing what she was trying to ask. "If I had to leave you behind while I toured, I would miss home more than you would know."
She smiled at me, and grabbed my hand across the table. She looked down at the table.
"I don't know what I'm going to do when you leave..or when I go back home...I'll miss you so much."
With that sentence, I knew what I had to do.