Categories > Celebrities > Panic! At The Disco > Down and Out
They laid in the bed facing each other at first, but she rolled onto her back and began to stare at the ceiling, “I guess it started back around October when Nick and I moved in together,” she began. “Well, not right away. It was great in the beginning, so romantic. I mean, we were together since we were sophomores in high school. That’s three years ago. I thought we were going to be together forever…” she trailed off and her voice started to break, “I don’t know what happened.”
William agreed with her, “Nick was always the nicest, quietest kid in our group of friends.”
“I think it was around the time that you guys recorded that he began to change. I think he felt a little lonely and very jealous. It was just little remarks here and there, and when we would hang out, I don’t know if you noticed or not, but he used to shut down a lot, not talk, just sit there and let everything and everyone happen to him.
“Then we moved in together and the freedom of not living with parents went to his head. He drank almost every night, just to get drunk. The sex went from being loving and passionate, to rough and something that I dreaded. Then he started hitting me. The first time it happened, I had told him that I was fed up with him drinking all the time, and I tried to take the bottle out of his hand. He threw me against a wall and punched my stomach. The impact with the wall was so hard that I got a concussion from it. He apologized, cried at my feet, I believed it was a onetime thing and went back to him.”
“Why though?” a mix of emotions filled Williams face, including hatred, concern, confusion, and about a hundred others, “why did you go back with him? Why did your Mom let you?”
“She didn’t know. She still doesn’t know. I told everyone that it was an accident and I banged my head when I slipped in the shower. I went back with him, because I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he was sorry, and that it would never happen again. When it did happen again, and again, and again, I stayed with him because I felt that one day he would come out of it, like a bad dream, and remember the way we used to be.” She was crying freely now, and William reached across the bed and pulled her close to him.
She cried against his chest for a long time as he tried to comfort her. When her crying started to die down he spoke up, “Why tonight? Why did you decide to leave tonight? I’m so glad you did, but what made you decide that he wasn’t going to return to his normal self?”
“I don’t know really. I’ve just had enough, I can’t deal with it anymore. I don’t want the rest of my life to be like that -- pulling glass shards out of my ankles, feet and face for hours on end on multiple occasions.”
“I’m glad you called me.”
“I called you because I knew you would come. Because you’ll always come, Will.”
***
The next afternoon (yes, it was afternoon), William woke up still holding Julia. He carefully freed himself from her, and got out of bed, walking into the kitchen to get something to eat. Opening his fridge, he realized that he barely had any food in it. Three eggs, half a carton of milk, some leftover pizza, a couple of Chinese cartons, a few bottles of beer, and a few slices of moldy bread were all he could find. He turned next to the cabinets looking for cereal, but the box that he found had an expiration date of four months back.
Normally, he didn’t even eat breakfast, but since Julia was there, he figured that he’d better make something for her to eat. Next he moved to another cabinet, where he kept the coffee. Reaching for the coffee beans, his eyes moved to the shelf above, where a box of pancake mix stood, practically on it’s own. He grabbed it, thinking that he didn’t even remember an occasion when he would’ve bought pancake mix, and looked for an expiration date on the box. There wasn’t one. ‘eh, pancake mix doesn’t really go bad, does it?’ he thought to himself, shrugged, and decided that if it did, he would find out the hard way.
About twenty minutes later, Julia entered the kitchen, yawning and stretching her arms over her head.
“Good morning,” Will said, flipping a pancake with a rubber spatula.
“Good morning,” Julia was helping herself to a cup of coffee, “Pulling out all the stops, eh?” she pointed to the small stack of pancakes on a plate on the counter.
“Yup, I even washed the dishes so that you could have a plate to eat on and silverware to use.” He looked very proud of himself.
“Aww, for me? That’s sweet Will,” she laughed into her mug.
They sat down at the table to eat their breakfasts. “So what do you want to do today?” Will asked her.
“I don’t know. I want to go back to the house at some point to get the rest of my stuff, but that doesn’t have to be today.”
“Why not today?”
“I didn’t know if you had plans or anything.”
“Nope, I’m free as a bird. For a week, that is, then we’re leaving for the tour and we’ll be gone for three months, so lets go today.
“Okay.”
They finished their breakfasts and Julia went back to Will’s room to get dressed and put her makeup on. Will walked in a few minutes later and started to get changed. “Butcher’s coming over,” he said, “I just got off the phone with him. He’s going to come with us.”
“Oh? Why?” Julia picked out a plain brown, fitted t-shirt out of her bag and slipped it over her head.
“Because there’s a good chance that Nick will be there when we get there, and I want backup in case anything happens.”
“Oh…” Julia trailed off into a world of her own thoughts. She didn’t want Will to fight Nick, but she knew that she would never be able to talk him out of it.
The Butcher arrived a few minutes later and Julia ran to the door to greet him with a hug. “Hey Andy,” she smiled up at him.
“Hey Jules,” he cupped her face in his hands and lightly ran a finger down her cheek. She winced a little as his finger brushed over the glass wounds, stinging her skin slightly, “we’re gonna fuck that little shit up.”
“No Andy, you’re not. That’s not what we’re going there for. We’re just going to get the rest of my stuff and then we’re leaving. Nick’s probably not even going to be there, and if he is there, we aren’t even going to talk to him. I’m just going to grab my stuff and we’ll go.”
“Fine, whatever you want,” he said, thinking about how naïve she was being, thinking that Nick was just going to let her walk in a get her stuff and go, no questions asked.
During the car ride, the guys caught up with everything that was going on in Julia’s life, and she caught up with there’s. As they pulled up in front of the small, white shingled house, Julia let out a sigh of relief to see that Nick’s car was gone, “it’s okay. He’s not here.”
The three of them entered the house and used everything from luggage, to boxes, to plastic bags to pack up Julia’s stuff. Surprisingly there wasn’t too much to take, since she had decided to leave all of the furniture. Julia was finishing putting the rest of her cd’s in a box when she heard the squeal of a car pulling into the driveway. Everyone exchanged glances as Nick opened the front door.
“Baby, there you are. I was so worried. Where were you?” Nick started to walk toward her, but she backed away from him. “What’s wrong Jules? Are you still upset about last night? I told you to forget that!” His anger was starting to show on his face and he continued toward her again.
“Don’t you go near her you Fuck!” William jumped up from the couch, startling Nick, who hadn’t noticed the two guys sitting there before.
“Oh, I see,” Nick glared at his ex friend, “the little whore called you to come rescue her, didn’t she Beckett? And you came and you believed whatever fucked up story she told you, didn’t you, you fag!”
Butcher tried to grab William to hold him back, but William’s legs are long and his stride across the room was swift. His fist collided with Nick’s jaw with so much force and anger that it caused Nick to spin around on his feet. When he caught his bearings he spit out a tooth and a tiny stream of blood trickled down his jaw. “You think you can come into my house and punch me Beckett? You think you can come in here and steal my girl out from under my nose? Just because, what, you think you’re some kind of celebrity or something?” William got his fist ready to punch Nick again, but Nick was too quick and too strong. He stopped Will’s fist with is large hands and pushed him hard against the nearest wall.
“WILL!” Julia screamed out and ran to him as he slumped down to the floor. The Butcher ran over too and placed himself in between the area of the wall where Julia and Will were stooped on the floor and Nick, who was coming closer and closer to them by the second.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY ANDY! THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND WILL!” Nick shouted, trying to shove the Butcher out of the way, but Andy was rooted to the spot. He punched Nick in the stomach, causing him to bend over in pain, then tackled him to the ground, placing one knee on his back and grabbing a chunk of Nick’s hair with his hand, pulling his head up slightly.
“Listen to me, Nick. You’re gonna let Julia leave this house right now with William and I, and you’re not going to say anything to her. You’re not going to go looking for her once she’s left. You’re not going to contact her family or any of her friends. You’re just going to live your sad, pathetic life, lay off the booze, and keep your hands to yourself. Is that understood?” Nick didn’t say anything and he didn’t move, “IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?” Butcher said, digging his knee further into Nick’s back and jerking his head further from the ground.
“Yes. YES!” Nick screamed, as Butcher continued to hold him down.
“Will, Julia, get out of here!” Andy ordered and they followed his directions, stepping outside the front door. Once they were outside, Butcher stood up and brushed off his hands as he headed to the door. “Lowlife,” he whispered to himself as he walked outside and into the crisp Illinois air. Nick was still crumpled on the floor of the living room.
William agreed with her, “Nick was always the nicest, quietest kid in our group of friends.”
“I think it was around the time that you guys recorded that he began to change. I think he felt a little lonely and very jealous. It was just little remarks here and there, and when we would hang out, I don’t know if you noticed or not, but he used to shut down a lot, not talk, just sit there and let everything and everyone happen to him.
“Then we moved in together and the freedom of not living with parents went to his head. He drank almost every night, just to get drunk. The sex went from being loving and passionate, to rough and something that I dreaded. Then he started hitting me. The first time it happened, I had told him that I was fed up with him drinking all the time, and I tried to take the bottle out of his hand. He threw me against a wall and punched my stomach. The impact with the wall was so hard that I got a concussion from it. He apologized, cried at my feet, I believed it was a onetime thing and went back to him.”
“Why though?” a mix of emotions filled Williams face, including hatred, concern, confusion, and about a hundred others, “why did you go back with him? Why did your Mom let you?”
“She didn’t know. She still doesn’t know. I told everyone that it was an accident and I banged my head when I slipped in the shower. I went back with him, because I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he was sorry, and that it would never happen again. When it did happen again, and again, and again, I stayed with him because I felt that one day he would come out of it, like a bad dream, and remember the way we used to be.” She was crying freely now, and William reached across the bed and pulled her close to him.
She cried against his chest for a long time as he tried to comfort her. When her crying started to die down he spoke up, “Why tonight? Why did you decide to leave tonight? I’m so glad you did, but what made you decide that he wasn’t going to return to his normal self?”
“I don’t know really. I’ve just had enough, I can’t deal with it anymore. I don’t want the rest of my life to be like that -- pulling glass shards out of my ankles, feet and face for hours on end on multiple occasions.”
“I’m glad you called me.”
“I called you because I knew you would come. Because you’ll always come, Will.”
***
The next afternoon (yes, it was afternoon), William woke up still holding Julia. He carefully freed himself from her, and got out of bed, walking into the kitchen to get something to eat. Opening his fridge, he realized that he barely had any food in it. Three eggs, half a carton of milk, some leftover pizza, a couple of Chinese cartons, a few bottles of beer, and a few slices of moldy bread were all he could find. He turned next to the cabinets looking for cereal, but the box that he found had an expiration date of four months back.
Normally, he didn’t even eat breakfast, but since Julia was there, he figured that he’d better make something for her to eat. Next he moved to another cabinet, where he kept the coffee. Reaching for the coffee beans, his eyes moved to the shelf above, where a box of pancake mix stood, practically on it’s own. He grabbed it, thinking that he didn’t even remember an occasion when he would’ve bought pancake mix, and looked for an expiration date on the box. There wasn’t one. ‘eh, pancake mix doesn’t really go bad, does it?’ he thought to himself, shrugged, and decided that if it did, he would find out the hard way.
About twenty minutes later, Julia entered the kitchen, yawning and stretching her arms over her head.
“Good morning,” Will said, flipping a pancake with a rubber spatula.
“Good morning,” Julia was helping herself to a cup of coffee, “Pulling out all the stops, eh?” she pointed to the small stack of pancakes on a plate on the counter.
“Yup, I even washed the dishes so that you could have a plate to eat on and silverware to use.” He looked very proud of himself.
“Aww, for me? That’s sweet Will,” she laughed into her mug.
They sat down at the table to eat their breakfasts. “So what do you want to do today?” Will asked her.
“I don’t know. I want to go back to the house at some point to get the rest of my stuff, but that doesn’t have to be today.”
“Why not today?”
“I didn’t know if you had plans or anything.”
“Nope, I’m free as a bird. For a week, that is, then we’re leaving for the tour and we’ll be gone for three months, so lets go today.
“Okay.”
They finished their breakfasts and Julia went back to Will’s room to get dressed and put her makeup on. Will walked in a few minutes later and started to get changed. “Butcher’s coming over,” he said, “I just got off the phone with him. He’s going to come with us.”
“Oh? Why?” Julia picked out a plain brown, fitted t-shirt out of her bag and slipped it over her head.
“Because there’s a good chance that Nick will be there when we get there, and I want backup in case anything happens.”
“Oh…” Julia trailed off into a world of her own thoughts. She didn’t want Will to fight Nick, but she knew that she would never be able to talk him out of it.
The Butcher arrived a few minutes later and Julia ran to the door to greet him with a hug. “Hey Andy,” she smiled up at him.
“Hey Jules,” he cupped her face in his hands and lightly ran a finger down her cheek. She winced a little as his finger brushed over the glass wounds, stinging her skin slightly, “we’re gonna fuck that little shit up.”
“No Andy, you’re not. That’s not what we’re going there for. We’re just going to get the rest of my stuff and then we’re leaving. Nick’s probably not even going to be there, and if he is there, we aren’t even going to talk to him. I’m just going to grab my stuff and we’ll go.”
“Fine, whatever you want,” he said, thinking about how naïve she was being, thinking that Nick was just going to let her walk in a get her stuff and go, no questions asked.
During the car ride, the guys caught up with everything that was going on in Julia’s life, and she caught up with there’s. As they pulled up in front of the small, white shingled house, Julia let out a sigh of relief to see that Nick’s car was gone, “it’s okay. He’s not here.”
The three of them entered the house and used everything from luggage, to boxes, to plastic bags to pack up Julia’s stuff. Surprisingly there wasn’t too much to take, since she had decided to leave all of the furniture. Julia was finishing putting the rest of her cd’s in a box when she heard the squeal of a car pulling into the driveway. Everyone exchanged glances as Nick opened the front door.
“Baby, there you are. I was so worried. Where were you?” Nick started to walk toward her, but she backed away from him. “What’s wrong Jules? Are you still upset about last night? I told you to forget that!” His anger was starting to show on his face and he continued toward her again.
“Don’t you go near her you Fuck!” William jumped up from the couch, startling Nick, who hadn’t noticed the two guys sitting there before.
“Oh, I see,” Nick glared at his ex friend, “the little whore called you to come rescue her, didn’t she Beckett? And you came and you believed whatever fucked up story she told you, didn’t you, you fag!”
Butcher tried to grab William to hold him back, but William’s legs are long and his stride across the room was swift. His fist collided with Nick’s jaw with so much force and anger that it caused Nick to spin around on his feet. When he caught his bearings he spit out a tooth and a tiny stream of blood trickled down his jaw. “You think you can come into my house and punch me Beckett? You think you can come in here and steal my girl out from under my nose? Just because, what, you think you’re some kind of celebrity or something?” William got his fist ready to punch Nick again, but Nick was too quick and too strong. He stopped Will’s fist with is large hands and pushed him hard against the nearest wall.
“WILL!” Julia screamed out and ran to him as he slumped down to the floor. The Butcher ran over too and placed himself in between the area of the wall where Julia and Will were stooped on the floor and Nick, who was coming closer and closer to them by the second.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY ANDY! THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND WILL!” Nick shouted, trying to shove the Butcher out of the way, but Andy was rooted to the spot. He punched Nick in the stomach, causing him to bend over in pain, then tackled him to the ground, placing one knee on his back and grabbing a chunk of Nick’s hair with his hand, pulling his head up slightly.
“Listen to me, Nick. You’re gonna let Julia leave this house right now with William and I, and you’re not going to say anything to her. You’re not going to go looking for her once she’s left. You’re not going to contact her family or any of her friends. You’re just going to live your sad, pathetic life, lay off the booze, and keep your hands to yourself. Is that understood?” Nick didn’t say anything and he didn’t move, “IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?” Butcher said, digging his knee further into Nick’s back and jerking his head further from the ground.
“Yes. YES!” Nick screamed, as Butcher continued to hold him down.
“Will, Julia, get out of here!” Andy ordered and they followed his directions, stepping outside the front door. Once they were outside, Butcher stood up and brushed off his hands as he headed to the door. “Lowlife,” he whispered to himself as he walked outside and into the crisp Illinois air. Nick was still crumpled on the floor of the living room.
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