FicWad

Pounding ..
Throbbing ..
Pain.

All of the unfortunate and immediate consequences of the previous night are what prematurely awoke Ana from her alcohol induced slumber; the pain from her overdose of fun had now begun vibrating through her entire body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Nervous and immediately unaware of her current surroundings, she found herself in a mild panic, kicking the blankets from her feet, realizing not but moments later that she was safe in the confines of a bunk, a bunk .. on a bus, hopefully the right bus.

The very moment she swung her legs out of from the confines of the bunk and her feet hit the ground, the pain from the unfortunate events of the previous night hit her like a MACK truck, the emotional pain hitting her heart the hardest, mixing terribly with the pain she was currently feeling everywhere else.

Apparently, existence did not promote fun, and frowned upon enjoying yourself in any sort of excess.

Sliding clumsily from the bunk she was once nearly passed out in, Ana couldn't stop her eyes from traveling, no matter how hard she willed them not to, back to the closed door of Patrick's bedroom. With a deep sigh and a deep breath, she headed in the complete opposite direction, commanding her legs to carry her to the couch, praying they would obey almost painlessly.

Startled from the remaining sleep that she was rubbing from her eyes, the familiar voice that filtered through the morning silence cause her to crash not so subtly into the bathroom door.

"Good morning, sunshine" Pete smiled weakly from behind his computer screen, set up ever so neatly on the table that sat positioned in the far most corner of the front lounge.

"What time is it?" Ana yawned, taking a seat across from him on an oversized and overly comfortable couch.

"6:46 in the am" Pete smiled brightly now.

"And you're ready for the day already?" Ana raised an eyebrow as she peered out of the curtain behind her to find that they were in fact parked in an empty parking lot; a parking lot she could only assume belonged to the venue that had since arrived at.

Pete shrugged his shoulders lazily, while quietly shutting his laptop computer and folding his hands on top, "I haven't gone to bed yet."

"You're insane" Ana joked lightly, resting her chin on the back of the couch, staring out the window through the desolate morning fog.

"How are you?" Pete broke the silence that had since fallen over the room, as he watched Ana, her eyelids rising and falling so slowly, her eyes dull with sadness.

"Hung over"

"How are you really?" Pete persisted as she shrugged off the answer she knew that he wanted to hear.

"Horrible" Ana then answered, without an ounce of hesitation.

"He loves you" Pete defended his best friend before an argument could even be posed, "I know it doesn't cancel out the things that he does, but he loves you."

"I know" Ana agreed without a fight, her gaze still fixated out the foggy window. For a moment, Pete could have sworn he saw a faint smile break through before it quickly faded away with a deep, sad sigh.

"I know I'm just going to forgive him after hearing whatever sorry excuse he uses" Ana admitted quietly with a frown, "So I don't know why I even think of making a big deal out of it."

"Because you wish, that for once, you didn't feel like he takes you for granted?" Pete suggested with an inquisitive eyebrow as the expression on Ana's face softened.

"Well that was easy" The soft chuckle she let
through was obviously forced, and it was reassuring for a moment, until her expression faltered and faded back into a frown; her eyes still locked out the window as she chewed lightly on her bottom lip.

"He loves you" Pete sighed solemnly, scooting to the edge of the bench, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "It's actually disgusting how much he loves you, but its endearing. I would kill to have what the two of you have, it's a once in a lifetime love, that, let's be honest, we both know I won't ever find."

It hurt to admit the truth, but it was something he had long since learned to accept. "But you have it, and you're right to feel the way you do, but you know for damn sure that even though he may take you for granted at times, he would drop the entire world for you without taking a second though about it."

Ana sighed deeply to herself, tearing her eyes away from the early morning sunrise, they were brimming with tears when they locked sadly with his own.

"You're the first person that accepts him for who he is, what he is and what he does, and that's huge. It's rough, I know that, but it's going to be rough. Hell, you've got a lifetime of rough patches ahead of you but you have to remember that you wear that ring because he makes you feel something you'll never understand and he gave you that ring because he wants to give you eternity."

For a brief moment, Pete was even surprised at how right he was, and how great the words that were coming out of his mouth were sounding. So he figured he should finish making his point before his mind shut down for the night.

"We all take something in our lives for granted, but you know where his heart really is and you know that no matter what, he's never going to bail on you."

Ana joked softly as a single tear slipped down her cheek, sniffling quietly as she brushed it away, "When did you become so openly deep?"

"I don't know" Pete shrugged with a smile, "Maybe I should get my own talk show, maybe I'll start a book club, it could be a great creative outlet for me."

Ana and Pete shared a light-hearted laugh before their smiles faltered and expressions faded, their eyes locked together once again.

"Forgive him or forget him, I know that you couldn't live without him, but through it all, you have to remember: he would never promise someone forever if he didn't really mean it."

Ana smiled sadly to herself before inhaling deeply and exhaling all of her frustrations. "I thought you were suppose to be his best friend?"

Pete shrugged innocently as Ana pushed herself up off of the couch. "He's sleeping, you're out here; I give out the wisdom as it comes, no matter who it goes to."

"Thanks" Ana smiled warmly before turning on her heels and heading for Patrick's door, "I really appreciate it."

Pete nodded happily to himself, content on the work he had just accomplished before calling out for her attention. "Hey Ana!" A guilty shadow of a sad smile appeared on his lips as he apologized for others mistakes, "I'm sorry about Marina. SHe's a ... well, she's alot of things, but I'm really sorry for what she said to you."

Ana smiled warmly back at him, shrugging it off, "It's alright Pete; it's better not to dwell on the past, it just inaccurately represents the future."

Butterflies the immediately fluttered in her stomach and regret surfaced from the night before as she quietly crept through the hallway of bunks, coming face to face with the cold wood of his bedroom door. Her hands were shaking with anxiety as she reached for the door handle, nudging it open and quietly closing it behind her.

The pursuit she had taken was halted the moment her eyes landed on his sleeping frame; he was adorable when he slept, his face cuddled up with his pillow, his quiet, muffled snore filling the silence of the bedroom.

With a loving smile on her lips, Ana gently crawled into bed with him, almost floating onto the mattress as to not wake him from his slumber; but the moment Patrick felt a disturbance in the bed, his eyes shot open, open to see her beautiful smile but a sadness in her eyes.

"You smell like liquor" Was all he mindlessly grumbled before thinking, his voice low and full of exhaustion.

"At least I didn't puke" Ana shrugged playfully.

Patrick forced an uneasy smile as she shrugged and scooted closer to him, unsure of weather or not he had dreamnt the horrible mistakes that he had followed through with the night before.

Rolling gently on to his back, he could feel his muscles tense but Patrick allowed Ana to cuddle up close to him, resting her head on his chest, her right hand falling lightly on his stomach. A comfortably awkward silence fell over the room now as Patrick tried to blink back the sleep that was still threatening his eye lids, before Ana quietly spoke over his concentration.

"Let's wait to get married."

Patrick felt his heart immediately jump to his throat. Was that a threat, or question? Was she breaking up with him?

Sighing lightly before her eyes shifted up to meet his, Ana could see the fear in his eyes as he stumbled to find the words his mind couldn't process. "I know we we're planning on doing it soon, getting it over with; but I want to wait."

Patrick let out a breathe he hadn't even realized he was holding in and finally relaxed against the touch of her hand gently caressing his face.

"I don't want to rush it and make mistakes we could have prevented."

Nodding quietly, a physical rush of relief ran through his entire body as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to him.

"I'm sorry" Was the apology he was finally able to choke out.

Without an immediate answer, Ana cuddled closer to Patrick, taking in his smell, his touch and the warmth of his body next to hers before sighing quietly to herself.

"I love you"

Patrick agreed, more relieved that he had ever been before, "I love you too." And with a gentle kiss placed on the top of her head, Patrick let the sleep take him over again.