FicWad

"What about Wendy? Have you found her yet?"

The officer's face remained completely impassive, showing no emotion. "We have a body, Miss Lemmings."

It took Ava a moment to process his words. They had a body. A dead body. Her stomach clinched, and she was afraid she was going to be sick. When they couldn't find Wendy she at least had hope that she was still alive... But this? Wendy deserved so much more from life.

Ava tried to listen to what the man was saying, but to her it was just noise. His mouth was moving, explaining the situation, but Ava just couldn't hear it. Her brain was shutting down again and the rush static became loud in her ears. Gripping Patrick's hand tightly she fought to regain some sanity.

"...So unless your friend is a 240 pound male, then she is still out there somewhere."

Ava coughed. "What?"

"We are still looking for her, though, don't you worry. We'll need a photo ID and any other information you can give us; places she might have gone plus a list of close friends and relatives."

A wave of relief swept over her. Never before in her life did she think she would be glad her best friend was only missing. Dead was so much worse. Losing Wendy forever was something she thought she would never have to face. When you're twenty-one years old, you feel more than invincible. Nothing bad can happen as long as you don't let it. But this time that wasn't the case; Wendy had left her invincible armor at home, and in doing so, put a chink in Ava's. They had to find Wendy. And she had to be ok. There just really wasn't any other option.

"Everything is going to be fine." Patrick whispered in her ear, drawing little shapes on the inside of her wrist with his thumb. All Ava could do was smile sadly back at him. God help him, for some reason he was actually trying to help her. Never before had she even considered the fact that these rock stars might actually be human- the media had done them an injustice in portraying them only as party animals.

Pulling the little flat wallet she had carried in her pocket to the concert she began to dig through the stuff inside, looking for the picture she and Wendy had just taken in a photo booth a few days earlier. Tears welled as she pulled the two connected pictures into view and smiled, thinking of that day. They looked so different; Wendy with creamy pail skin, shoulder length white-blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Ava was her complete opposite with long, straight black hair, tanned skin, and pale blue eyes. Though even with their contrasting looks, they were practically soul mates. Ava knew that she would never in her life find a friend like Wendy, and honestly she didn't want to. She wanted her Wendy back.

She handed the picture to the officer who stored it away in the file he was creating. "If we get any new information we'll let you know immediately." He stood. "A police escort will take you to the hospital and back home. We don't want to take the chance of another shooting."

She nodded, standing as well and handed him her Ziploc bag of bloody clothing. At the last minute she had decided to throw in her bra and panties, stuffing them on top because they too had absorbed some of the police officer's blood. Now, the white lacy cloth was staring back at her through the clear bag. She couldn't keep from blushing.

Just great.

Ava glanced at Patrick, hoping he hadn't seen, but he was definitely staring at the bag with some interest, watching the man hold up and inspect its contents. She held back a frustrated groan. Could this day get any worse? At the very least, she could have worn some kind of cute/sexy underwear. But no. Even that wasn't going for her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the policeman put everything away. "I'll send the officer in as soon as we get everything cleaned up outside."

"Okay." She sat back down on the couch, placing her head on her hand and her elbow on her knee. She couldn't help but look over at the man sitting next to her. He appeared so calm, which was exactly what she needed while everything was so wild inside her head. "Thank you for staying with me, Patrick."

He looked directly at her for a moment before answering. "Your welcome, Ava. You shouldn't have to go through this alone."

"Yeah, I normally have Wendy..." her voice trailed off.

He pulled her against him. Being brave, she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. She didn't know what made her do such things, but he was so damn/ comfortable/. He would be her teddy bear, even if it was just for a few more minutes.

"Do you need anyone to go to the hospital with you?" He asked, his voice soothing.

Her heart leapt at the idea, but quickly pushed it aside. Patrick Stump was a nice guy no doubt, but who was she kidding? She had no chance in hell with the guy. Besides, it made her a bad person even thinking these things. She needed Wendy back before she could go on obsessing over the lead singer again.

"That's not necessary." She told him. "I'll be fine on my own. I mean, didn't you hear? I get my very own police escort."

"Oh yes, that makes it all better." He said sarcastically. "The police were all around earlier, and you still got shot at."

"Yes, but you see, that was an intense situation. No one even suspected gunfire. Now we're expecting it." She explained, not knowing how she was able to even think about teasing him at a time like this. Tonight she was just full of inappropriate responses. The only thing that didn't feel inappropriate was her closeness to him. That realization shocked her.

There had to be an explanation. She just didn't feel close to people that easily. It had to be the need to connect with another human being during a crisis situation or some psychological mumbo jumbo. Yes, that was definitely it.

"Anyway," she continued, "I could never put the lead singer of Fall Out Boy in any kind of danger for whatever benefit of my own. Just think of what fans would do if something were to happen to you?"

"Yes, I can see the problem." He stroked her hair, wrapping the ends around his wrist then letting it fall. "But it really isn't the fans you should really be worried about; your real issue would be with my band mates. You see, for some reason they're pretty attached to me."

"Ah. Well, I would have all sorts of problems then. Fans... Band mates... I would hate for any of them to have it out for me." She sighed, bringing her hand up to his chest and tracing the outline of the letters printed. Northstar. "And I really don't think I can handle any more problems at the moment."

A moment of silence passed between them. She had no idea what he could be thinking. Hell, she barely knew him. She just wished she did.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I really don't mind."

She closed her eyes, taking in the sent of him. "Yes, Patrick, I'm sure. I'm a big girl, after all."

"Okay then." He said, sounding almost sad, but Ava knew that could not be the case. He was probably just tired from the concert.

"Listen," He said suddenly. "I want you to call me when you get back to your house, okay? I need to make sure you made it in one piece." He sat up, dislodging her from her comfortable position. He grabbed a slip of paper and a pen writing quickly. Ava stared blankly at him as he took her hand, placing the paper directly in her palm the wrapping her fingers around it tightly. "I'm going to worry about you until you call me." He told her, his voice lower than normal.

Ava glanced down at her hand then back up at Patrick and nodded silently. He sighed, taking off his hat to run his hand through his hair before replacing it on his head. "Ava, I..."

The door to the room opened to reveal her police escort. Time to go.

"Thank you, again, Patrick." She said softly, walking toward the door without looking back. She had to convince herself not to fall for this guy. He was WAY out of her league... if she was even in a league at all. Boys like that didn't really care about girls like her. They all wanted girls like... like Wendy.

The trip to the hospital was an uneventful one to say the least. She hated doctors and needles, so her nerves were more than shot by the time she left. When she and Officer Wrentham, her escort, finally arrived at her apartment all she could think of was crawling under her covers and falling dreamlessly asleep- unless her dreams were about Patrick, of course, in which case she was more than willing to have.

Grabbing her bedside phone she searched for the paper Patrick had given her. Her stomach dropped as soon as she realized it wasn't in her pocket. Frantically she searched each and every place it might have been. Nowhere. Damn, her luck sucked tonight. After everything that had happened, she actually began to believe in miracles. Patrick Stump had done what so many girls dream of and gave her his phone number and she managed to lose it. God, she didn't deserve him; that was blatantly clear.

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This one was a little more romantic and a little less exciting. I hope you still liked it, but don't get upset, becaust there are plentymore exciting elements in the making...

Thank you for all the amazing reviews on the other chapters! You all are amazing!!