FicWad

She looked up at the big, oak doors of the mansion. It's funny how it managed to intimidate her every single time she stood in front of it. Kind of like right now. Doubt washed over her like a slap on the face, and she struggled to regain her confidence. She'd stayed over dozens of times, so why was it so different now? Taking a dramatic gulp, she pressed the doorbell, pondering for a second what it would be like if instead of an electric bell, there was a gong you had to smack with a... um, gong-smacker. Brushing away the thought, she adjusted her duffel bag comfortably over her shoulder, preparing herself for a long wait. It would take a while to answer the door, considering the size of the hall. It couldn't have gotten any smaller since the last time she had been here. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp surge of irritation. She had already cursed loudly a couple of times, and was now resorting to using her duffel bag as a gong-smacker. As she was getting ready for the second blow, the doors flew open, leaving her standing there, duffel bag mid-way in the air.
"Good God, I'm coming, I'm com-- What the fuck?!", Patrick exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowed in a mixed expression of confusion and amusement.
"It's about time," she said, but her immediate happiness could not be concealed by any sort of sarcastic remark at that point. She was just too dazed to realize it.
Patrick chuckled and shook his head before stepping aside to let her in. Was it her imagination, or was Patrick not as excited to see her and she was to see him? The sheet of doubt washed over her again as Patrick reached out and took her bag from her hands. She wasn't the least bit surprised. Patrick had always been the sweet one. The gentleman of the group.
"That's all you brought?", he asked, examining the green bag which he had placed on the couch.
"I'm only here for a week, Pat. I'm not going to stay here my entire life." she replied matter-of-factly. 'Although I wish I were,' she added silently in her mind. She was surprised she hadn't launched into Patrick arms when he opened the door, like she usually would. What was she doing? Was she making it too obvious? She couldn't do this. She had to cool things down a little. She plastered a smile on her face and looked Patrick straight in the eye.
"So," she said, pausing for full effect. "What are we going to do first?"
"First? First, you're going to give me the biggest fucking hug ever, you whore. I haven't seen you in weeks!"
Without waiting for her reply, Patrick rushed forward, pulling her into one of the most amazing hugs she'd ever had. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head softly on his shoulder, as he wrapped his hands around her waist. She let out a deep breath into his shoulder, to calm herself mentally rather than to just catch her breath. His grip slowly tightened, sending unintentional shivers up her spine. She melted into the warmth of his chest and they swayed on the spot for five solid minutes.
She sighed as he ended the friendly embrace, his hands still on her waist. She looked up at him, her face desperately concealing her feelings. God, she had missed him.
Patrick smiled and lightly kissed her forehead.
"I missed you too."
'How the hell does he do that?', she thought, replying with a small smile.
There was an awkward silence for a moment as they looked into each other's eyes, each one trying to read the other's mind. She finally broke away from him, staring as the floor as she backed away a bit, pushing a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear. She moved towards the couch to fetch her bag, fully aware of his eyes that followed her. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, she asked him where her room was, her voice a little too chirpy.
"You should really stop asking that question. It's the same room; up the stairs, second door to the left", he replied, his voice smooth and calm.
"And where's your room?", she asked, before realizing how suggestive that sounded. She mentally scolded herself for her stupidity.
"I'm renovating the master bedroom, so I'll be in the room next to yours," he smiled that adorable smile of his and quickly added, "We won't be sharing bathrooms or anything, though."
'Damn,' was the only thing that could register in her mind at that moment. Another week of this and she'd drive herself mad. She was only with him for a span of 20 minutes and so far things had been far from normal.
'Damn that Casey', she thought. 'She and her, 'But what about Patrick?' dialogue. She has no idea what she's gotten me into. I mean, he's PATRICK, for fuck's sake...'
"Ady?", Patrick asked her, a look of concern etched in his features.
"Yeah?", Ady replied, a bubble of anticipation forming in her chest.
"I asked you if you wanted me to carry your bags- I mean, bag, up the stairs and you sort of... blanked out."
"Huh? Oh, sorry! No, no, I'm fine, really. I'll just go unpack and change and shit. Um, are we going out anywhere tonight?"
"No, but if you want to, we'll have dinner with the guys or something."
"Yeah, that sounds cool."
"Ok, I'll go call them now", he said, getting up from the couch he had collapsed onto. "You go ahead and change."
"Yeah, sure," Ady replied.
Patrick smiled at her, turned around and walked down the hall, probably to the phone. Ady just stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching him. It didn't take her long to realize what she was doing.
"Oh, fuck" she mumbled, and mentally slapping herself, headed up the stairs.