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"Oh, excuse me, Ben," Patrick smiled cheerfully as he dug his hand into his pocket as his phone vibrated. "This might be the message I told you I was waiting for."

The interviewer nodded as Patrick lifted the phone and raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's from Pete, I guess he must have finished his interview. I'll check it later."
"You have it out, you may as well see what it says," Ben nodded with a cheerful smile. "He might need a reply."
"Thanks, yeah, but knowing Pete, it'll be nonsense," Patrick gave a small laugh as he opened the message.

His brow furrowed deeply as he read the text.

Patrick pls meet me in Starbucks. Now. Seriously, now.

"I'm sorry... I..." Patrick stammered.
"Something wrong?" Ben asked as he noticed the singer appear disturbed by the message.
"There might be, do you mind if I just call him?" Patrick asked, reluctant to abandon the interview over what might be nothing.
"Sure, go ahead," Ben replied, stepping away from his chair to give Patrick some privacy.

Patrick waited with trepidation as the phone rang a few times until finally he heard the familiar voice.

"Trick? Are you on your way? You know where I am, yeah?"
"Pete what's wrong?" Patrick asked, the shake in Pete's voice more than evident.
"I..."

When suddenly needing to put the experience into words, he was at a loss. What could he say?

Patrick, the interviewer freaked me out
Patrick, I got locked in my car
Patrick, I'm imagining things

"Nothing," he sighed. "Doesn't matter."
"Give me two minutes," Patrick replied quickly, hanging up the call.

Rushing over the where Ben was standing patiently waiting, Patrick wondered how he could simply abandon the interview quickly. Thankfully it was for a magazine, so there was some scope.

"Ben, I'm really sorry, something's wrong, I have to go."
"Nothing bad I hope," Ben frowned his concern.
"I hope not, but I do need to go. When is your deadline?"
"Tomorrow, four o'clock."

Patrick nodded; not as bad as he thought.

"Okay, I can either come back in tomorrow morning or you can give me the questions and I can e-mail the replies."
"I'm expected to have a proper conversation as I have to comment on your expression and body language too," Ben explained.
"Okay, that's no problem, what time?"
"Ten?"
"I'll see you then, now do you have all the photos you need, or will you have to call back the photographer too? I'll pay for the extra time."

Ben smiled; Patrick was famed for being considerate and this was absolute proof.

"No, it's fine, thanks, we have an on-site photographer, if he needs anything else, he'll just drop by tomorrow. I'll leave the shoot backdrop up, just to be sure."
"Thanks for understanding, Ben. I don't know what's wrong, but he's definitely worried about something."
"I hope it's nothing," Ben nodded. "Anyway, I'm keeping you. You go take care of whatever's wrong."
"Thanks, Ben, I really appreciate this. I'll see you tomorrow and I'll try not to be self-conscious about my body language!"

The interviewer chuckled as Patrick turned and headed quickly out of the building. Hoping that whatever was wrong wasn't serious, he made a note in his scheduler for the following day's continuation.

*

Pushing the door open, Patrick scanned the coffee shop, near the wall, with his back to the room was Pete. His shoulders were hunched over and he held the mug cradled in his fingers without even raising it to his lips once. Opposite him stood another mug, which, Patrick presumed, was for him. He watched as he saw Pete check his phone, either for a call or the time before heaving a deep sigh. His friend was deeply troubled by something.

"Pete, are you..."

Placing a hand on Pete's shoulder, Patrick was cut off suddenly by his friend leaping to his feet and pulling him into a prolonged, tight hug.

"What's wrong? Is it Ashlee?" Patrick asked as he was released.
"What?" Pete asked as Patrick slid into place opposite him. "No... I... I don't know how to explain this."
"Just tell me, Pete, what's wrong."
"I... I got you a coffee."

Patrick frowned; something had clearly deeply unnerved him and he was doing everything he could to avoid answering. But what could it possibly be?

"Thanks," he replied dismissively, gesturing with his hand that Pete should continue talking.
"Patrick... I just had the fright of my life."
"What happened?"

Pete sighed and looked down, clearly still upset.

"No matter how I say this, it's going to sound trivial and stupid."
"I have an open mind, Pete, you know that."

Pete nodded, grateful to have such a thoughtful friend. Turning the cup in his hands he wondered how he could tell the story so that it didn't sound too ridiculous. No matter how he thought about it, it sounded like a gross overreaction.

"The interviewer, Cerys... She came on to me," he began, pausing when Patrick smiled.
"It freaked you out?"
"When she threatened me, yeah, that freaked me out!"
"She threatened you?" Patrick stared wide-eyed. Certainly female interviewers had come on to Pete before, even given him their phone numbers, but none had ever threatened him before.
"She told me that before the night was out I'd be begging to be with her."

Patrick smiled sympathetically. He could understand why Pete would be worried by someone saying that to him. Despite his apparent confident and even brash exterior, Pete was a shy, frequently troubled person. But even before he had time to comment, Patrick could see that there was more.

"What else, Pete?" Patrick pressed. "Something more than that happened, didn't it?"
"I saw her in my car, Trick, but she was gone when I looked again. Then I got locked in and the radio was blaring... I saw her staring at me!"

Pete looked away, visibly shaken and unable to explain his experience without feeling foolish. He was certain that Patrick thought he sounded ridiculous and even as he heard himself say the words, he felt ridiculous. It was only when Patrick place a hand on his arm that Pete looked up. Patrick stared at his friend - pale, drawn and scared looking. Perhaps it was nothing, perhaps it wasn't but to Pete at least, something had scared him and it was enough to take serious.

"Where's your car, Pete?" Patrick asked gently.
"Where I left it, in the underground parking lot in the building where I had the interview."
"Okay," he nodded decisively. "Let's go and have a look, shall we?"

Pete nodded. If anyone could make sense of all this, it was his level-headed friend.

*

It took only a few minutes before the two friends were standing at the side of Pete's car and Patrick was nodding thoughtfully to himself. The parking lot was quite dark, and a nearby strip light was flickering erratically.

"You used your new car?"
"Yeah?" Pete replied, uncertain where Patrick was going with this.
"Did you put your keys into the ignition?"
Pete found his eyes almost closing as he thought back to almost an hour earlier. Opening them once more, he gave a definite nod. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm pretty sure I did."
"Okay, so, new car, maybe you're not so familiar with the controls. Is it possible the radio came on after you knocked something? And maybe you accidentally locked yourself in. The door locks are here? Yes?" Patrick asked as he pointed to the locking mechanism located conveniently near the steering wheel.
"Well..." Pete frowned as he tried to piece it together. "It's possible, I guess."

He wanted to believe it, he truly did, but it seemed too easy. But then, maybe that was why it could have happened.

"But I saw her."
"Did you?" Patrick questioned. "It's dark down here and the lights are flickering. She'd just freaked you out, Pete. Could you not have imagined seeing her?"
"I guess," Pete sighed heavily. "I feel so stupid."
"Don't! I think I'd have been freaked out in the same situation too. But that's why you call me, and we sort it out."
"Thanks, Patrick," Pete sighed, pulling his friend into another tight hug. "Can I give you a lift?"
"No, thanks, I left my car at the other building, I'll just walk back."
"No, let me drop you, it's on my way, it's the least I can do."
"You just want to show off your new car!" Patrick smirked as he stepped around to the passenger side.
Pete grinned. "Well, as you're here, you know."

With Patrick sitting alongside him, Pete was starting to feel much better. Both his fear and feeling of foolishness behind him, he turned his key in the ignition and headed for the exit.

Only a few blocks down, Pete pulled the car into a graceful stop to let Patrick out.

"Thanks, Trick, you're awesome, you know that?"
"Yeah," Patrick laughed. "But I hide it well."
"You'll be at the party, yeah?" Pete asked.
"I don't know, Pete, I'm kinda tired and I have to go back to finish the interview tomorrow."
Pete looked guilty again. "Sorry about that."
"It's not a problem, Pete. Look, maybe I'll go."
"Joe and Andy'll be there," he pleaded, "you can't be the only one not there!"
"Okay! Okay!" Patrick grinned, I'll see you later.
Pete flashed a smile in return. "See you later, Trick."

As Patrick swung the car door shut, he stepped back in surprise as he noticed it locked automatically and with a roar of the engine, the car pulled away and sped off down the street. Inside, a terrified Pete desperately tried to regain control.

"Midnight, Pete, remember, midnight."

Laughter echoed in his ears as the car continued on, weaving erratically in and out of traffic.