FicWad

Chapter 9 -Night At the Roxbury

Teddy sighed and turned to itch her nose but found her arm pinned to her side and sighed louder. The person attached to the arm currently pinning her arm turned at the sound.

"What?"

"My nose itches."

"So?"

"So, you're on my arm."

"Oh, sorry." Patrick shifted about a fraction of an inch and Teddy managed to squeeze her arm out with tremendous effort.

She was currently sandwiched in the back of a tiny car between Andy and Patrick with Dre, bodyguard in charge, riding in the front seat with the driver. She had been appointed to travel with them to their first interview while Pete, Joe, Charlie, and Dan went to a separate one and then they were all going to meet up for the other two interviews. Andy had been typing away on his sidekick for the whole ride and Patrick had been unusually quiet, fidgeting with his hat a lot. Teddy had some idea that he was nervous about the coming radio interview and she was a little nervous as well, honestly. She smiled at Patrick's fidgeting and used her now free arm to raise her hand and still his. She grabbed it and patted it reassuringly as he turned to look at her before letting go and bending down to grab a notebook from her bag.

"What's that?"

Andy had put his sidekick away finally and both boys where watching her with interest. She smiled.

"This, my friends, is our secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?" Andy was intrigued. Patrick just stared at her as though he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

"Yep. In this notebook, I have everything you ever wanted to know, and some things you probably didn't, about this radio show we're going to. Names, faces, what kinds of questions to expect, everything." She smiled triumphantly as Andy stared at the notebook like it was a long lost friend and Patrick stared at her, speechless.

"How?" He finally uttered.

She laughed. "I thought about what you said this morning and I thought it was only fair that since these people know so much about you, you know a little about them. So, I spent my lunch doing Internet research. On all the interviews. For the whole week."

" I have a gift with computers." She added cockily and gave them a grin.

"That's fantastic Teddy." Andy said with a grin of his own and she felt a rush of pride go through her that maybe she'd done something right for once.

She glanced over at Patrick and he had an indescribable look in his eyes that caused her heart to do a slight somersault. "You're amazing Teddy," he said with such sincerity that for once in her life she could almost believe it.

********

The interviews went smoothly and her handy dandy notebook had definitely come in...handy. The others had loved the idea. Pete had actually hugged her while pretending to cry in gratitude. The concert that night went off without a hitch as well and everyone was in good spirits.

Before she knew it the next two days had flown by and they were playing their last show in Japan. Afterwards the guys were going out to a club and they'd asked her to go this time. She was about to say no because she was tired and really hated clubs but then thought it might seem rude when they were just starting to accept her and agreed to go. They went back to the hotel to change and Teddy threw on a black dress with her sneakers and piled on some black eyeliner. She went downstairs and Dirty turned towards her and whistled.

"Wow Teddy, who knew you were a girl?" He laughed and she scowled at him.

"We ready?"

Dre nodded. "Charlie's getting the car and we're gonna pick the guys up in the back."

Everyone went outside and piled into cars and Teddy ended up in the SUV that pulled up with Dirty and Dre.

Dre was sitting in the front seat again and Charlie, Pete, and Dirty in the middle were arguing and she was in the back with Andy, Patrick, and Joe and somehow seated on Joe's lap. He seemed to realize it at the same time she did and shifted her onto Patrick's lap, whose arms automatically went around her waist to keep her from falling over.

He was wearing a button up shirt and smelled clean like he'd just come from the shower and she couldn't help but lean a little closer even as she said, "Sorry."

"It's okay," he said giving her a small smile and turning to look out the window. Joe joined in on the conversation that was going on in the front of the van and Andy on his other side was back on his sidekick.

Teddy turned to look at the side of Patrick's face and noticed he looked tired.
"You okay," she whispered into his ear.

His eyes turned back towards her, "Yeah, just takes me a little while to get back into touring. I'm usually pretty wiped out after the first couple of shows."

She frowned. "Maybe you should've stayed in tonight."

"Nah," he smiled. "I wouldn't wanna miss the first time you see Dirty dancing in a club. Picture those two guys off of Saturday Night Live ," he said and started doing a spot on imitation, "Who me?" "Him?" "Me?"

She laughed and Patrick chuckled as she felt his hand on her back start to rub in slow circles. She couldn't fight down the shiver that rocketed through her body and he felt it too of course, them being pressed so close together.

"You cold?" He asked with concern in his pretty eyes and rubbing her back a bit harder.

Teddy bit her lip and shook her head and thankfully they had arrived at the club before she had to make up an excuse.

She was hustled through to the VIP section for the first time in her life and had a thoroughly good time watching most of the guys get drunk and make asses of themselves. After she told him about Patrick's description of Dirty's dancing, Teddy allowed Pete to pull her up and demonstrate the skit as the girl in the middle with Dirty on the other side much to everyone's amusement.

They all climbed back into the SUV in the early hours of the morning much more tired than when they had started, especially Patrick who she was pretty sure had fallen asleep standing up waiting for the car to arrive. She sat on his lap again feeling much less self conscious than she had on the way over with a few drinks in her system and sleep fogging her brain and she quickly laid her head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent, trying to force her eyes to stay open. It didn't help when his hand moved up her neck to tangle in her curly hair and started to rub her head soothingly while he laid his own head down against the window ledge.

She sort of remembered sleepily stumbling into the hotel from the car. The next thing she knew someone was pushing her gently down onto her bed and taking off her shoes. She struggled to focus but when she saw an outline of a baseball cap in the dim lamplight she smiled and laid her head back on the pillow.


" 'Night Patrick, " Teddy whispered as her eyes closed and she felt a soft hand flutter against her cheek for a quick moment before she fell asleep for good to the sound of retreating footsteps.

*******

The flight to Australia was much more pleasant than the one to Japan had been. They'd chartered a private plane and Pete, who was in an exceptionally good mood due to an impending visit from his current girlfriend, entertained everyone for most of the trip telling wild stories and daring Dirty to do...while whatever, which of course he always did.
Teddy spent a lot of time chatting to Joe about Marie, whose birthday was coming up. She was going to fly out to Australia to spend it with Joe and he, also, was in high spirits, more bright eyed and big smiled than she'd seen him since they'd left Chicago. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood...while almost everyone.

Teddy's gaze couldn't help but travel to the back of the plane where she knew Patrick was hiding out, headphones clamped on and laptop buzzing. He'd been quiet all morning but she'd left him alone thinking maybe he just wanted time to himself. However, she was a little worried that the sight of Dirty trying to kiss his own ass hadn't been enough of a distraction to rouse him from his grumpy mood. Teddy sighed and stood up, stretching a bit and looking down at Joe beside her.

"I think I'm gonna move around a bit."

Joe smiled and looked down at his magazine. "Get Patrick to cheer up, will you?"

Teddy sighed again at the thought of how apparently completely transparent she was and shot him a wry glance. "I'll do my best."

She made her way to the back of the plane and stood for a moment in the aisle staring at her T-shirt clad, baseball cap (of course) wearing companion completely absorbed in whatever he was doing before clearing her throat.

"Yoo Hoo, excuse me, is this seat taken?" She put on her best airhead 'Candy-like' voice and batted her eyelashes dramatically trying to get a laugh out of him but he only shrugged and turned back to his computer.

Teddy frowned and dropped into the seat next to him. "Earth to Mr. Stump. The planet misses you. It wishes you would rejoin the land of the living."

Patrick gave no sign that he had heard her except for a slight frown and a push of his glasses up his nose. She was growing irritated.

"Patrick! Honestly, you've been on that thing all morning, give it a rest!"

He finally turned towards her but she sensed the burning look in his eyes before he'd even opened his mouth. "How 'bout you give it a rest Teddy? You're not the boss of me alright, find someone else to bug!"

Teddy glared back at him coolly trying her best not to let the hurt show in her eyes.

"Fine." She stood up quickly and he grabbed her arm but she jerked it away.

"Teddy - "

She returned to her seat next to Joe and he took one look at her stormy face and knew things had not gone well. "Uh, oh. Seems the grumpyness is spreading instead of the cheeriness."

Teddy just frowned and pulled out her own headphones, determined to put one lead singer out of her mind for a while.

***********

Through the press for the day and the sound check for the show that night, Teddy was her perfectly happy, easygoing self to everyone except one person. Patrick was currently getting the full blast of a freeze out. This was a little thing she liked to do to Missy when she was angry at her. Nothing infuriated Missy more than being ignored. Teddy knew it was a stupid and childish way to act but it had always been the way she responded to being hurt. Build up the walls higher. Shut everyone out and then there won't be anyone left to hurt you anymore was the familiar m.o. that she always reverted to

. Apparently, though, Patrick did not enjoy being ignored anymore than Missy.

"Enough."

Teddy turned with a start from where she had been sorting boxes backstage to find Patrick about three inches from her face and looking thoroughly agitated.

"What are you on about?" She had a pretty good idea.

"You know what I'm on about," he said frowning.

She turned back to the boxes. "I haven't the foggiest clue." Only she did.

"I think you do." He stepped around her so that she had to face him again. "You've been giving me the cold shoulder all day, isn't it about time to give it a rest?"

"Oh that," Teddy uttered nonchalantly while not looking him in the eyes. "Well, you know, I didn't want to bug you or anything." Take that!

"Okay I deserved that." She looked up at him in surprise not expecting him to actually admit it, at least not so soon into a fight. Looking into his eyes now and standing so closely to him she noticed dark circles and tired lines on his face like he'd been up all night and she frowned. He seemed to sense what she was looking at and took a step away from her.

"I'm sorry. I was a jerk and in a bad mood and I took it out on you. But could you maybe not be mad at me because I've already got enough people I care about pissed off at me today." He finished this sentence with a sigh and a tug at his cap.

Teddy stared at him trying to figure out what was going on in his mind. Nobody on the tour was mad at him. So somebody else was? Somebody he cared about? She wanted to start questioning him. Find out what was bothering him so.

Instead she said, "Okay."

He jerked his head up to look at her with confused eyes. "Okay?"

She nodded and raised her eyebrows at him. "Okay."

The look on his face was so funny that she wanted to laugh but she didn't think he'd appreciate it at the moment.

"Just 'okay'? You 're not gonna ask me a million questions?" He was looking at her a little like he expected her to shout "you've just been punk'd" at any moment.

"No. If you wanna tell me, you'll tell me. And you know I'll listen. And maybe I was a little rough earlier. You were rude but perhaps you didn't deserve the full impact of the 'icy glare'." She demonstrated overdramatically with narrowed eyes and a sneer.

Patrick threw his hands in front of his face dramatically as well. "Stop, stop, it's too powerful."

Teddy giggled and allowed a small smile to settle on her lips while her gaze dropped to the floor. It was maybe the first real smile she'd worn all day.

"Thanks Teddy." The sudden earnestness in his voice caused her to glance up and when she did he was smiling as well. "You always surprise me."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" She asked and then sucked in a breath, as the question seemed suddenly very important somehow.

But it turned out she didn't have to worry because in the next instance his face was lit up with the biggest smile she'd seen on it all day and he answered her with complete confidence in his voice.

"A good thing, every time."