FicWad

"Collette, honestly. You have to let go of the child. He's not coming with us," Wren said standing in the doorway of her home beginning to get rather impatient.

"I know," Collette said as she released Jackson, who just rolled his eyes.

He was only four, where did he get that from?

"Just go, CoCo. Everything will be fine," he said patting her lightly on the shoulder.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. The child should be the one not wanting to let go, not the parent.

"Ok, you have my cell number right?" Collette asked standing up from her kneeled position in front of the little boy that was her life.

"She has it all. Now let's go," Wren said irritated grabbing Collette by the purse strap and pulling her out the door.

"Be good," Collette said waving to Jackson as Wren marched her way to her vehicle.

"Have fun!" Jackson yelled back.

-----

The boys walked into the dimly lit bar. The Ivory wasn't a very well known bar, so it was quite quiet for a Saturday evening. Patrick took a deep breath as he walked in. The atmosphere caused him to relax immediately. It was low key and had the wonderful sounds of pianos playing in the background.

Pete noticed immediately as Patrick's shoulders seem to fall from their tense position and smiled to himself. This was definitely what the boys needed. They needed some time to relax and be free from pushy press or screaming fans.

"Where do you guys want to sit?" Joe asked looking around the club.

There were people in booths talking quietly and others sitting at tables listening to the music of the pianos on stage.

"How about a booth?" Andy suggested pointing to one near the back.

Andy always liked to stay as inconspicuous as possible even though this club was not one to hold many Fall Out Boy fans.

"Sounds good to me," Patrick shrugged and followed Andy towards the booth. Pete and Joe went up to the bar to get some refreshments.

"How you doing?" Andy asked as they sat for a moment.

"Fine," Patrick said questioning Andy's question.

"You just seem tense lately. Everything alright?" he asked again.

"Fine, everything is fine," Patrick said playing with the drink menu avoiding Andy's prying eyes.

"Alright, here you guys go," Pete said setting down the beverages on the table and breaking the tension between Andy and Patrick.

-----

"Do I look okay?" Collette asked as they walked into the club.

"Honey, you are smokin'," Wren said walking with much more confidence as Collette. "Who knew that you had something so hott in your wardrobe," Wren spoke of Collette's little black dress.

"Well, isn't it female law that every girl has that little black dress?" Collette asked fidgeting with her purse.

"I suppose you are right. I shouldn't be so shocked. Where do you want to sit?" Wren said scanning the club.

There weren't too many people there that night, which was nice. Hopefully Collette would lighten up enough to enjoy herself.

"Why don't we sit at the tables over there by the pianos," Collette suggested nodding towards an open table near the back of that section.

"You go, I'll get us drinks," Wren said skipping away before Collette could tell her to just get her water. She knew it was no use anyway. Wren was going to do what she wanted.

Collette nervously walked over to the table and sat down glancing around at the others who were quietly talking in groups, gazing at each other from across the table, or listening to the pianos. Collette nervously smoothed out her dress and took a deep breath.

"I just met the cutest boy!" Wren said setting down a beverage in a martini glass in front of Collette.

"No boys, Wren," Collette warned.

"Not for you. For me," she said rolling her eyes at Collette. So that was where Jackson got it.

"Well then, describe," Collette said sipping cautiously on her drink. She looked back down at it in surprise when it tasted really good.

"Oh my god, what is this?" she asked in shock.

"A chocolate martini," Wren said simply.

"It is so good," Collette gushed.

"Yeah, and practically all alcohol, so sip. I know it won't take you much to get drunk since I'm pretty sure you haven't had a drink since you came to California," Wren said drinking from her martini.

"Hey, I'm not as much of a light weight as you think I am," Collette defended herself.

"Well, it's kind of hard to tell, since you are wound up so tight, my dear," Wren said looking at her friend with a sad face.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Collette asked.

"I know for a fact that you need to get laid," Wren said gently putting a hand on Collette's wrist.

"Excuse me?" Collette asked shocked. How the hell did the conversation take such a big turn?

"Hun, it's been too long, and that's just not healthy," Wren said seriously.

Collette couldn't understand how Wren was being so serious because this conversation was ludicrous.

"And that is why you need to find a man," Wren finished her speech.

"Are you about done?" Collette asked seriously. She was not under the impression that this evening would be spent talking about her sex-life or lack there of.

"I'm sorry, darlin', but I worry about you," Wren said with concern.

"I'm fine, Wren. I don't want to get involved with anyone while Jackson is so young. It's too difficult if he gets attached to someone and the relationship doesn't work out. Something like that could crush the kid," Collette said taking another drink of her martini.

"Then don't have a relationship. Just have sex," Wren stated like it was no big deal.

"So tell be about this boy you met?" Collette said changing the subject knowing it was the only way to get off the one they were currently on.

"Oh yeah! He's such a cutie! His name is Joe, and he has dark curly hair and the cutest little lisp when he talks. And he was funny!" Wren ranted on about the boy she spent no more than three minutes talking to.

Collette just started laughing at her friend and shaking her head.

"What?" Wren asked when she noticed Collette's body language.

"Wren, you sound as though you are in love with the boy and you barely talked to him," she said laughing still.

"He was nice," Wren said shrugging and continued to drink her beverage.

This just caused Collette to laugh more.

-----

Patrick sat in the booth listening to Pete and Joe talk about the club they went to the other night and how all the "chicks" were so "hott." He continued to fidget with the drink menu adding a few comments along the way.

His head shot up when he heard that laugh. It was the same laugh from earlier that day. There was no way that this girl was in the same place he was twice in one twenty-four hour period. His eyes began to scan the restaurant quickly. No one seemed to notice his change in behavior right away. Finally, he had spotted her. They were sitting to the left of their booth just a few feet closer to the stage than they were.

"Patrick! Hello!" Pete said waving a hand in front of Patrick's face.

"What are you looking at?" Joe asked looking that way as well.

"Nothing," Patrick said quickly.

Pete looked over and noticed the table of two girls and smirked.

"Bull shit. I think Patrick has some eye-candy," Pete cooed.

"Shut up," Patrick said mumbling.

"I don't shut up, I grow up, and when I look at you, I throw up," Pete said a line from Stand By Me.

"And then your mother goes around the corner and licks it up," Patrick retorted.

Pete burst into his hearty laugh causing the girls to glance over at the sudden outburst.

"Real mature boys," Andy said simply. Patrick just slouched down in his seat wishing to disappear at that moment.

"Oh no, Patrick. They saw you," Pete said teasing Patrick.

"Hey, I know that girl," Joe said pointing. Well, no one said he had great manners.

Patrick sat up quickly at this news.

"You do?" he asked trying not to sound too anxious.

"Yeah, we met at the bar a little while back. Her name was...something like...Raven or something," Joe said trying to think.

"Joe, relax. You don't want to hurt yourself," Andy said chuckling slightly.

"Fuck you," Joe said flipping Andy off.

"Which one did you talk to?" Patrick asked interested.

"The one in the red dress," he said taking a swig of his beer. "Why, you want me to introduce you guys?"

"Oh yeah, that would sound good. Patrick, this is....oh wait, I know it, Raven or something. Raven or something, this is my friend Patrick," Pete said imitating Joe.

"You're just jealous," Joe said back.

"Right," Pete said laughing.

"No, she's not the one," Patrick said quietly trying to ignore the boys banter.

"So the dark-haired lady strikes your fancy, eh?" Pete said trying to look over Joe to get a better glance.

"Would you stop staring? They are going to notice us looking at them," Patrick said in a hushed tone noticing that the girls kept looking over at them.

"Fine, geeze," Pete said sitting back down.

-----

Collette and Wren looked over to the table that had burst out into laughter.

"Wow, Collette, that guy has a louder laugh than you," Wren said simply.

"What ever," Collette muttered.

"Hey! That's the cute boy I met at the bar," Wren said happily.

"Which one?" Collette asked taking a better look at the boys.

"Duh, the one with dark curly hair. Oh crap, he just pointed over here," she said looking away quickly.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I am in high school?" Collette asked her friend.

"Hey, Collette. I think one of them is crushing on you," Wren said glancing at the table to see a boy in a black hat and dark rimmed glasses staring.

"Wren, no," Collette said knowing full well what her friend was thinking.

"Come on Collette. He looks cute," Wren said still glancing over at the booth full of boys.

"Stop staring, Wren. They are going to see you," Collette lightly kicked her friend under the table.

"Ow! That hurt," Wren said rubbing her shin slightly.

"Well, you deserved it," Collette scorned.

Wren continued to rub her shin as she glared over at Collette who was now trying to avoid her glances and listen to the piano music.

Wren stood up quickly causing Collette to sit up with surprise.

"Where are you going?" she asked sounding almost scared. There was no telling what her friend would do.

"I'm going to use the rest room if that is ok with you," Wren said putting her purse on her shoulder.

"Wren, please don't do anything stupid," Collette pleaded with her eyes.

"I'm just going to the restroom. Man Collette, you need to lighten up," she said walking away.

Collette sat back in her chair and downed the rest of her martini in three big gulps. She took another deep breath and tried to concentrate on the piano players in front of her, but couldn't get the feeling that Wren was up to something.

-----

Patrick sat at the table trying extremely hard not to stare at the girl that was now sitting all alone. She fidgeted constantly and Patrick caught himself smiling a couple of times at these mannerisms. It was unreal to him that he would see this girl twice in one day. What were the chances?

"Hey guys. This is Wren," Joe said as he walked up to the table with the girl in the red dress. Wren, Raven, at least he had the right animal.

"Hi Wren," Pete said emphasizing her name, so Joe would realize he would be getting shit later for saying it wrong earlier.

"Hi," she said happily.

"Wren, this is Patrick, Andy, and Pete," Joe said finishing the introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Andy said being polite and taking her hand. Patrick just glanced slightly and waved.

"Likewise," she said back. "So Joe tells me you guys are in a band?" she asked making conversation.

"Yeah, Fall Out Boy," Pete said being the main spokesperson of the group.

"I've heard of you guys. My boys love you guys," she said now recognizing them all.

"Your boys? How many do you have?" Joe asked shocked. This girl couldn't be over 25.

"Ten," she said simply.

Pete choked on his beverage and started coughing loudly.

"What?" Joe asked shocked.

"Ten boys? How old are you?" Andy asked just as surprised as the next.

"You should know never to ask a lady her age," Wren said teasing. Andy blushed.

"What I meant was you don't look old enough to have ten boys unless it was multiple births or something," he said stammering slightly with his words.

"I didn't birth them. When I say I have ten boys, I'm referring to the boys in the group home I work for," she said laughing at all their body language at the time.

"Group home?" Pete asked now very intrigued by her line of work.

"Yeah, my friend Collette and I work at a group home which houses boys with mental and behavioral health needs," Wren said pointing to her friend sitting by herself.

"Really. That's awesome. That must be challenging work," Pete said leaning closer to where Wren was standing. Being one who has had problems with mental health at a young age, he has always admired those in the profession working to help those youth.

"It is very challenging, but very rewarding. I wouldn't trade those boys for anything," she said smiling as she thought about them.

"Do you want to sit down?" Pete asked wanting to talk to her more.

"I better not, my friend is all by herself," Wren said backing away slightly.

"Oh no, invite her to join us," Joe said placing a soft hand on her elbow.

Patrick sat straight up at that invitation. She was going to come over here?

"Well, let me see if she is willing to come join you guys," Wren said and turned to walk away with a grin on her face. That works every time.

-----

Collette sat by herself wondering what the hell could be taking her friend so long. She knew for a fact that it didn't take this long to use the ladies bathroom. She started to shift uncomfortably in her seat when she heard a slight commotion come from the booth of boys to her right. She glanced over to see Wren standing there talking to them.

Damn her. Collette quickly turned towards the piano players and started to pray that Wren wasn't doing what she thought she was doing.

Collette tensed up when she noticed her friend come walking towards her.

"What did you do?" Collette asked noticing the sly smile on Wren's face.

"They would like us to join them," Wren said grabbing Collette's purse.

"Wren, no," Collette said in a loud whisper grabbing for her purse.

"Collette, listen to me. These guys are really cool. They are in a band. Fall Out Boy. Remember Nicolas talking about them all the time?" Wren said quietly.

"I know Fall Out Boy. I actually like there stuff," Collette said looking over at the table and immediately recognizing the boys.

"See! This will be fun. Come on. Live a little," Wren said pleading with her friend.

"Fine. But I am not having sex with any of them," Collette said pointing a finger at her friend.

"Hey, what you do on your own time is your own business," Wren said holding her hands up in defense.

Collette just rolled her eyes at her friend. Okay, so maybe Jackson got it from her.

"Boys, this is Collette. Collette, this is Patrick, Andy, Joe, and Pete," Wren said pointing around the booth.

Collette just smiled slightly and waved as the boys said hello.

"Here, have a seat," Andy said standing up and allowing Wren to sit next to Patrick.

He tensed up immediately.

"I'll go get us some drinks," Joe said motioning for Collette to take a seat next to Pete.

Collette nodded and sat down glancing at the boys. They seemed harmless enough.

"Wren was telling us about you guys working at a group home," Pete said starting a conversation.

"Yeah," Collette said back. She was extremely nervous.

"That sounds so interesting to me," Pete said trying to engage the nervous girl sitting next to him.

"Oh it can't be as interesting as being rock stars," she said not looking up from the table.

"I don't know about that," Pete said laughing slightly.

"You're just being modest," Wren said trying to lighten the mood.

Patrick couldn't tear his eyes away from the dark haired girl that sat diagonally from him. For someone with such a care free laugh, she sure was shy.

Joe came back and set drinks down in front of people.

"Thanks, Joe," Pete said grabbing his beverage and continued his conversations with Wren.

Collette took a big swig of what ever flavor martini Joe had got her. Mid drink she noticed someone looking at her so she stopped and set her drink down laughing slightly. She must have looked like an alcoholic.

She looked back into Patrick's eyes and continued to smile. He smiled back and that was when Collette's heart stopped beating. Patrick's eyes looked deeply into the dark chocolate brown eyes of Collette. He was trying to read her soul, but she wasn't giving much away.

Collette suddenly felt flushed. Maybe the alcohol was taking more of an effect that she thought, or maybe it was the most heart warming smile she had ever witnessed coming from the boy in the hat.

Collette and Patrick both jumped out of their long gazes when Pete started laughing at something Wren had told him about one her boys. Collette put her hand up to her heart willing it to start beating normally again.

"Collette, you ok?" Wren asked her friend.

"Yeah, why?" she asked trying to play it cool.

"You look flushed," Wren stated.

"Oh? Well, I am a bit warm. Is it hot in here?" she asked looking around the table.

"No, not really," Pete said shaking his head no.

"I think I just need some fresh air," Collette said scooting towards Joe, so he would let her out of the booth. She quickly made a bee line for the door.

"Is she going to be alright?" Andy asked concerned.

"I'm not sure," Wren said starting to get up from her spot.

"I'll go check on her," Patrick offered causing everyone to look over at him shocked. It was the most he said since the girls had joined them.

"Are you sure?" Wren asked.

"Yeah, I'm a little warm myself," Patrick said scooting out of the booth and following the same path Collette took to leave the club.