FicWad

As the clock ticked towards midnight, Amy and Patrick walked through the now familiar backstage corridors and outside into the dark, freezing night. Patrick shut the door behind them and the light from backstage slowly disappeared until the door was shut and no more light could be seen. Amy took a step out into the parking lot and then turned around to face Patrick. She wondered briefly what was going to happen next, whether she was going to leave and never see Patrick ever again or if he was going to step forward and gently kiss her on the lips. She realized that the latter wasn’t going to happen; it was only something she wanted, a wish or a fantasy.
Patrick put his hands in his pockets and moved closer towards Amy. In the dark, Amy could barely see Patrick’s face but she could make out a frown on it.
“You’re frowning?” She said aloud to Patrick. She had only meant to say it in her head though.
Patrick sighed, “Yeah. I am.”
Amy couldn’t take her words back so she decided to press on with what she was thinking in her mind, “But why?” She asked concerned.
Patrick took his hands out of his pockets and adjusted his hat. Amy thought he now looked a little nervous and it figured that adjusting his hat was the nervous habit going along with it.
“Because…well,” Patrick adjusted the hat again, “Because,” he said now looking at Amy in the eye with more confidence, “Because I don’t like seeing people go. People who I think I have a…connection with.”
Amy didn’t know if Patrick could see it but she was now smiling, “Well people don’t always have to go,” she said back to him.
“But sometimes they have to,” he replied in a melancholy voice.
What did he mean by that? Amy thought. Why did she have to go? If he asked for her to stay, of course she would!
“What do you mean?” Amy asked, her voice in the same melancholy tone as Patrick’s.
“I mean,” Patrick said with another sigh, “That sometimes the things you want to happen can’t happen.”
“You mean, we can’t happen?” Amy asked holding her breath.
“Yeah,” Patrick said quietly as he nodded his head, “I want to. I like you Amy, but we can’t go further…tomorrow I’m leaving here and off to another city, another state.”
“I know,” Amy said looking at the ground. She knew there hadn’t been a chance with Patrick. It was too hard.
“But, hey,” Patrick said and Amy looked back up at him, “How about we do something tonight…as friends.”
Amy thought that it was a bad idea, she would just be wishing the whole time that they were going out as more than friends. “It’s too hard,” she whispered, “I don’t think I can Patrick.”
Patrick nodded, “Okay, well, I guess goodbye then Amy. Maybe we’ll meet again one day.”
It wasn’t meant to be, Amy realized, “Bye Patrick.”
She turned around and began walking away as a few tears came out of her eyes. She was leaving the person that she wanted to be with, someone who was special to her, since the day she had first heard his music. The tears began to stream faster down Amy’s cheeks as she walked along and back into the reality of her life. She had work tomorrow and then a college lecture in the afternoon. She reached the end of the parking lot and turned the corner, walking away from Patrick. Walking away.

As Amy began walking down the street that had lead her to Addison’s, the music venue, she dried her eyes with a tissue and tried putting on a brave face. It didn’t work. She just felt sad, so sad that she was here walking home alone and not with Patrick, perhaps just being held by him in his arms. She fumbled for her house key in her pocket as she continued walking towards home. A few cars passed her in her journey and she didn’t pay any attention to them. In normal circumstances she would have been on high alert for any sign of a suspicious looking car; a car that lurked around her. But tonight, she didn’t care. All her thoughts were on him, Patrick. A car slowly pulled up next to her as she thought back to moments ago, had she really thought that she could have been with Patrick Stump? It was stupid that she had thought they could have been together, that was now what she believed. It hadn’t been possible, had it? The car followed her slowly but she didn’t even glance at it. It pulled up beside her and she heard a door open. She braced herself for someone to come up behind her and attack her, to pull her into the car and kidnap her, or worse rape her then and there. But no one attacked her.
“I stopped the tour,” a voice said to her from behind.
Amy stopped in her tracks and tried to comprehend what the voice had said, “Pardon?” She asked.
“I stopped the tour,” the voice repeated.
Amy didn’t dare look around, the voice belonged to Patrick but he couldn’t possibly be behind her could he? No, she was just imagining it was him saying that he had stopped the tour just for her.
“Amy, I’m staying,” the voice said as it came closer to her. Someone touched her shoulder and then walked in front of her. Did she dare to look? To see if it were Patrick? She did and she looked. Patrick was standing right in front of her, so close she could hear him breathing and almost feel his heart beat.
“You’re staying?” She asked still not believing he was here and that he was staying with her.
“Uh huh,” Patrick put his arms around Amy and she leant into his shoulder and into the hug. Patrick held her tight but then pulled away as he spoke, “So how about that date we wanted?” He asked Amy, “Still want to go on it?”
Amy grinned and put her arms around him, “You bet!”