FicWad

Two days after what Molly had come to term "her living nightmare" everytime she spoke to Pete she arrived at a small cafe in downtown Chicago to have lunch with Matt and Elyse.
"Hey Graduates!" Molly squealed as they both got up from the corner table to give her hugs.
"We graduated in May Mol." Matt said with a laugh.
"I know, but being that I was taking classes I didn't get to give you proper congratulations then. Here presents!" Molly replied holding out two gift bags.
"Oooo!" Elyse cooed as she opened her bright pink and ruffled bag to reveal a typical Molly O'Conell gift. "Stuff!"
"Stuff?" Matt asked curiously as he unwrapped his much more carefully.
"Yea stuff. Stuff I can use. Fun pens, a planner, "Survival Guide to Worst Case Scenarios: Real Life", stuff like that." Elyse elaborated as Matt pulled his own version out of his bag.
"I got Elyse stuff that would be helpful in a radio station environment, and you stuff that will be helpful in a classroom. Including small kooshs to throw at your students" Molly added in answer to Matt's curious look as he held up a handful of the squishy balls.
"I don't think I can legally do that."
"Well that's no fun." Molly said with a pout as her other two friends started laughing.

"So you're really not seeing anyone?" Molly asked Matt a few hours later as the three friends sat around the table drinking coffee and catching up.
"Nope. I was seeing this guy but after graduation he went back to Minnesota. He wasn't out anyway, it wouldn't have worked."
"Hmm...sorry."
"Eh...I'll live. Right now I'm focused on getting these kids to take me seriously. It's not exactly easy." Elyse started laughing as Matt said that, "What?" he finally asked her.
"Dude, you were the one who thought it'd be great to start teaching history at the very high school you are a legendary class clown at."
"I'm different now. Older. Wiser."
"Older maybe." Molly said with a smirk.
"Oooo...you're one to talk young lady." Elyse said poking Molly in the arm.
"I never claimed I was wise. I'm pretty damn dumb for my age in fact. But now I'm back on the right track, so no hasseling me Ms. Drive Time. How did you land that anyway?"
"Luck. And interning there since I was 16." Elyse said about her position as the afternoon Drive Time DJ on the local rock station. "I figure if I work this slot for two years or so I'll be able to move onto a more wide spread station quicker." Molly nodded in response as she sipped her coffee.
"What about you Mol?" Matt asked after a brief period of silence. "What are your plans?"
"Graduate in a year. Manage a band, manage a tour, manage a venue. Something that I know how to do basically. Maybe Fall Out Boy will be really famous by then and I'll make Pete pay me to tell him he's making a stupid decision."
"He won't need that Mol. This is Pete we're talking about, he might be dumb about some things but when it comes to business he's brilliant." Matt responded.
"Don't say that too loudly, his head might get even bigger." Elyse hissed. Molly shook her head and laughed before glancing at her watch.
"Damnit. I gotta go guys. I told my Dad I'd be home by four 'cause he has a business dinner tonight and he wants me to stay with Jamie."
"What time is it?" Elyse asked curiously.
"Three fifteen. I gotta jet or I'll hit traffic." Molly stood up and grabbed her purse before hugging her friends. "I'll talk to you both soon. Don't forget I'm home til the second week of January." Molly waved as she headed out of the restaurant and fished her keys out of her bag.

Forty minutes later Molly pulled into her driveway and let herself relax. 'that was close' she thought to herself as she got out of the car and headed into the house via the backdoor.
"DAD!" She yelled as she walked into the kitchen, "I'm home. You can go now." Molly picked up the mail off the counter and starte flipping through it as she yelled.
"No need to yell Molly" Jumping Molly turned to see her father standing there in a dark suit. "Sorry, I thought you heard me come in." he added.
"Yea...I'm pretty much on another planet today." she mumbled.
"Anyway, I have to take a client to dinner and a show tonight, so I'll probably be back late."
"Alright. I might just take Jamie out for dinner tonight 'cause I don't really feel like cooking."
"That's fine. Try not to burn the house down while I'm gone anyway."
"I won't. I promise. Don't worry." Jack O'Conell laughed at his daughters smiling expression.
"It's when you say things like that that I do worry you know."
"Good night Dad." Molly said shoving her father out the backdoor and closing and locking it behind him.
Leaning back against the door Molly breathed a sigh of relief. 'I swear, he's gotten worse since Mom died.' Molly thought to herself as she headed upstairs to find her younger brothers.

"Sean?" Molly asked sticking her head into his room.
"Yea?" He answered looking up from his playstation.
"Wanna go out to dinner? I don't feel like cooking."
"Yea that's fine. Where are we going?"
"Umm...Applebees?"
"Ew. Molly please. I just got back from a semester of college food."
"Ok fine, how about Young-Wok down on Main Street."
"That's good."
"Cool. Be ready to go at six. I'm gonna go get Jamie ready."
"He's eleven Molly." She heard called after her. "He can get himself ready."
Molly paused in the middle of the hallway and suddenly felt incredibly old. Sighing and continuing walking she stopped at her youngest brothers room and knocked.
"Come in." She heard from inside.
"Hey" She said leaning against the door frame after she pushed the door open. Jamie was lying in bed reading a comic book and he looked up at her voice.
"Whatsup?" He asked.
"We're leaving to go to dinner at six o'clock. It's five now. Wash up and be downstairs at six."
"Ok Molly." he responded before turning his attention back to the comic book as Molly left.
"Oh!" Molly added sticking her head back in and looking at her guilty looking little brother, "I saw the twizzlers. Do not spoil your dinner."
"What twizzlers?" he responded while pushing his foot a little farther under his pillow.
"Just don't spoil your dinner." Molly said closing the door behind her this time.

"So how did last night go?" Molly's father asked her as he walked into the kitchen the next morning.
"Ugh." Molly groaned and placed her head back on the table.
"You ok?"
"I woke up feeling like someone ran me over with a truck."
"That's not good. Fever?"
"No, just feeling particularly crappy."
"Ok...well stay home today then."
"Believe me. I planned on it."
"Morning." Sean mumbled shuffling into the kitchen and sitting down at the table, his head quickly joining Molly's.
"Should I be concerned?" Jack asked them both.
"No." Sean replied. "I haven't puked yet, and Jamie is perfectly fine."
"Yea...But that's cause he went and spoiled his dinner and didn't eat anything other then rice at the restaurant." Molly said into the table.
"Both of you back to bed now." Jack said loosening his tie.
"Uhh...Dad. You've gotta go to work."
"I'll work from home. Both of you go back to bed. Let's hope this is just the beginning of a cold or something and not food poisening. What did you eat anyway?"
"Sushi" Both Molly and Sean answered. Jack's response was to just point towards the stairs and shake his head.
"Raw fish. They eat raw fish and then wonder why they don't feel well." He rolled his eyes and set about making himself his morning coffee.

Two weeks later Molly pulled on her coat and told her dad she was going to go for a walk.
"I'll be back in a few hours. I just want to get some fresh air." Molly and Sean had been bed ridden at Christmas that year with a weird flu virus, Jack was still thanking whatever higher power had decided not to make it food poisening from raw fish, and had only just begun to get up and move around a few days prior.
"Don't over exert yourself." Jack said to Molly from where he was sitting in the living room, "You've got to be healthy when you go back to school."
"Yes Daddy." Molly said sarcastically as she opened up the front door and pulled her hat over her ears.
"Don't be cute." his voice was cut off as Molly closed the front door behind her. Taking a deep breath of the frigid Chicago air Molly grinned and headed down the front porch.
'I actually missed lake effect snow.'/Molly thought to herself incredulously as the wind and snow flurries whipped around her head as she walked in the direction of the local park. 'LA is just too...bright and sunny all the damn time.'/she finished her mental observation as she reached a bench.
"Hi Bench. I'm going to sit on you now." Molly whispered to the inanimate object as she brushed snow off of it before sitting down. Staring off across the park she watched the desolate and pristine surroundings with a slightly meloncholy smile on her face. Twenty minutes later just as Molly was deciding to head further towards town to get some coffee she heard someone behind her.
"That seat taken?" Molly smiled slightly brighter as she shook her head and gestured to the person to sit down without turning to see who it was.
"Nope. Be my guest." She added as she brushed some snow off the bench next to her. "It's a good bench."
"That it is." Patrick smirked as he sat down next to Molly, his own form bundled up against the cold. Leaning back against the bench he turned slightly to her. "I almost didn't recognize you. But then I didn't think anyone else would be crazy enough to sit out here in the first week of January."
"Hey, crazy is a relative term."
"Fitting though."
"Ouch."
"Whatever. So I'm glad to see you actually look like yourself again." Patrick said changing the subject and pulling on a strand of short dark hair that was sticking out from her hat. Molly choked back laughter at that.
"Yea, I look like myself alright. But divorced at twenty-one. Who would have thought that?"
"Not me. I didn't think you had enough brains left in your head to do something that smart." Molly sat there next to Patrick quietly after he said that. Finally, she took a deep breath and without turning to face him just asked, "Are you ever going to forgive me? Let me back into your life, even just as friends? Do you remember how much fun we used to have?"
"We were different people then Molly. We didn't have the baggage we do now."
"You mean you weren't famous and I wasn't a fuck up."
"Actually, yes." Patrick said sadly. The ex's sat there for a few more minutes before Molly pushed herself up off the bench and started walking back to her house. Pausing once she turned and looked to see Patrick staring in her direction.
"I hope you had a good tour Patrick. Good luck with everything."
Patrick raised his arm and waved slightly in response and Molly nodded before trudging back home through the snow.


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A/N: Title is from: Emergency by Paramore. (Probably the only song of theirs I really like)
you can all thank the fact that the server is busted today and I had nothing else to do other then sneak writing this chapter.
this also means that I MIGHT get another one done today.
(btw: proofread? what's that?)