Fic - Ordinary Moments Ch. 4
Title Ordinary Moments (4/?)
Author Katie - who would be me
Rating PG-13 I guess for a couple of swears but nothing bad
Disclaimer eh, no
Summary It's in the ordinary moments that you never notice, that the extraordinary things happen
Notes Seriously guys...I actually don't have words. Really. You are all too much. Thank you so much for all of the kind words. I've never felt so encouraged about my writing, or more welcome on a new community.
Dedication I don't usually single out people because all the reviews mean so much to me, but Annie
anniebean who has been so supportive and who is going to be bullied into betaing my future fics
Previous Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three
Here it goes...Chapter Four
It was just an ordinary September when Patrick was forced to make a decision. Take up his place at college to study music, or go out on the road with Fall Out Boy and live the dream – and probably fail.
Since Pete had mentioned it one night in bed, Patrick had been silently obsessing over it. His mom wasn’t happy, but she said she understood. Sam was less encouraging. She wanted him to go to college, to make something of himself, and to be with her while doing it. Pete, well Pete wasn’t much help at all. He just kept telling Patrick to think of the crazy shit they’d be able to look back on. Even if they failed. College would be there next year he said.
So it came down to it. The band needed to know tomorrow. They couldn’t go without their lead singer. But could Patrick really go? Do something crazy and irresponsible that would hurt some people?
He found himself outside Sam’s door. Wanting to talk through it all one more time. Just in case something clicked this time around.
“Patrick hey, come on in. I was going to call you soon.”
“Oh, you were?”
“Yeah. Did you talk to Pete, Joe and Andy?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Baby you know how I feel about it. I want you with me on campus this year. I want to go to parties with you and spend nights with you without having to get your mom’s permission to have you ‘stay at Pete’s”
“I know. I know.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Patrick stared hard at the wooden floors, and sank further into the couch. Why didn’t she get it?
“It’s not as simple as that for me.”
“Why can’t it be that simple?”
“Because Pe- the guys need me.”
“Pete needs you. You nearly said it. Might as well be honest.”
Sam didn’t look angry, or even sad. More resigned, like she’d been waiting for Pete to be brought into the conversation.
“No, the guys, they can’t have a band without a lead singer. And yeah, that includes Pete.”
“Why do you do everything he wants?”
She was running her fingers roughly through her hair. He’d known her long enough to know it meant she was frustrated.
“He’s my best friend Sam.”
“And I’m your girlfriend. Patrick I am not saying this to be a bitch, but there is a good chance you guys won’t make it. And you’ll have wasted a year.”
“Maybe. But what if we do make it? And even if we fail, at least we’ll have tried.”
“I don’t know why you’re here. You should be at Pete’s.”
Patrick looked confused. Sam’s eyes looked a little wet.
“You’ve already made up your mind Patrick. You are just afraid to say it out loud. You’re going on tour. You came here to get my blessing.”
“No! I came to talk to you about it!”
“No Patrick, you came to tell me Pete won. It’s okay. I was kind of expecting it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the night we met? You were sulking over someone who didn’t see you? It was Pete. It’s okay, really. I got over that pretty quickly. There were always three people in this relationship. Despite it, you were a good boyfriend.”
“Sam I’m-”
“Don’t apologise. No matter what Pete will always win with you. Just like you’ll win with me. I can’t be mad at you.”
Patrick was a short guy. But he’d never felt so small. She’d known all along, and she had accepted it. And forgiven him. It was almost enough to make him want to stay and try.
Almost.
Her blue eyes were the deciding factor. They were the wrong colour. Much and all as he wished they weren’t.
“I guess I should go.”
Neither moved.
Patrick looked down as she reached across and laced their fingers together.
“I want you do some things for me Patrick.”
“Anything.”
“Tell him. And call me from the road.”
She was smiling. And then he was hugging her. So tightly he feared she might stop breathing. But he just couldn’t help it.
“You’re one of the best friends I could ever have Sam.”
He left her apartment a while later. His lips still tasted like her goodbye. He drove around aimlessly for a few hours. Digesting. The car stopped and he took in his surroundings before laughing at himself.
He’d driven to Pete’s without noticing. He got out of the car and waited for Pete to answer the door.
It was an ordinary September when Patrick chose waiting for Pete.
***
It was an ordinary highway. The van was too small and cramped. Andy was driving and Joe was passed out in the front seat beside him. Pete and Patrick sat in the back, reliving last nights show. They’d been on the road for just over two weeks and had played about ten shows. It was getting late and the sky had turned from its fiery reds to its indigo blues and was now a kind of navy. Not a cloud in the sky and a million stars everywhere.
Pete fell into silence and the pair in the back seat looked out their respective windows. The radio was playing one of those old songs that you had always known but would never know who sang it, or ever remember the name. Patrick mused that it was the kind of song that would still be played in 20 years and every time he heard it, he would think of this night.
He couldn’t believe he had ever doubted coming here. The shows, the kids, the fights, the highways and Pete, the quiet moments like now, the late night talks where Pete would get philosophical and amaze Patrick with his thoughts, the motels, the weight of Pete’s arm around his waist at night. Patrick doubted if he would ever feel this alive again.
He felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to face Pete. He followed Pete’s hand with his gaze and smiled as Pete whispered
“Polaris. The north star. It’s like its guiding us home but we’re already there.”
Patrick could never figure out how Pete described things so eloquently. Coming form anyone else it would have been cheesy, and yet when Pete said it, it was everything Patrick felt, but could never vocalise.
Instead he grabbed Pete’s hand and entwined their fingers.
Pete just smiled and rested his head on Patrick’s shoulder. He didn’t move their hands. Patrick felt a light brushing of lips against his neck and looked down at Pete who whispered more to himself than Patrick
“This is home.”
It was on an ordinary highway that Patrick decided he could spend forever in this van with this boy.
***
It was an ordinary motel. Dirty walls, pay per view TV, a clerk named Earl and sheets that probably should be burned. Summer was dying into fading days and phone calls home. Sunrises and sunsets were blurring together in the last days of September.
They had settled into a comfortable pattern. Play a show, and get in the van and drive or find a motel if everyone was too tired. Pete and Patrick would always share a room although it usually meant very little sleep for Patrick.
“Patrick, do you ever think that this is maybe as good as it gets? Maybe it’s not what people think of when you think of a band and a tour but maybe this right here is the top. Soiled sheets and collect calls. We’re the princes of the Starbucks generation – paper cups and doughnuts for breakfast. We’re living what every kid at our shows dreams. This is as good as it gets. It’s so fucking good.”
Pete then crawled on top of Patrick and trailed kisses along his cheeks and nipped at his earlobes until Patrick was panting. Then he kissed him. They kissed until their lips went numb. Never attempting to take it further. Their names rolling off each others tongues in shaky breaths. Hands on cheeks and necks, holding each other close and foreheads coming to rest together when they just couldn’t take any more.
They fell asleep wrapped around each other and woke up the same way in the morning. Neither spoke of the night before, but just grinned at each other instead and raced to the nearest Starbucks to buy coffee and doughnuts.
It was a comfortable pattern. They would share a room, their thoughts and sometimes their kisses.
Sometimes the pattern was broken when Pete needed something more. He would hook up with some kid from the show and come crawling into the room smelling of sex and sweat. He would lie on the bed beside Patrick, but wouldn’t curl around him on these nights. One of those nights, he noticed that Patrick was still awake even though it was nearly sunrise.
“What are you still awake for?”
“I can’t sleep alone anymore.”
It was in an ordinary motel that Patrick came as close as he swore he ever would come to telling Pete how he felt.
***
So what do you guys think?
Let me know!
Author Katie - who would be me
Rating PG-13 I guess for a couple of swears but nothing bad
Disclaimer eh, no
Summary It's in the ordinary moments that you never notice, that the extraordinary things happen
Notes Seriously guys...I actually don't have words. Really. You are all too much. Thank you so much for all of the kind words. I've never felt so encouraged about my writing, or more welcome on a new community.
Dedication I don't usually single out people because all the reviews mean so much to me, but Annie
anniebean who has been so supportive and who is going to be bullied into betaing my future ficsPrevious Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three
Here it goes...Chapter Four
It was just an ordinary September when Patrick was forced to make a decision. Take up his place at college to study music, or go out on the road with Fall Out Boy and live the dream – and probably fail.
Since Pete had mentioned it one night in bed, Patrick had been silently obsessing over it. His mom wasn’t happy, but she said she understood. Sam was less encouraging. She wanted him to go to college, to make something of himself, and to be with her while doing it. Pete, well Pete wasn’t much help at all. He just kept telling Patrick to think of the crazy shit they’d be able to look back on. Even if they failed. College would be there next year he said.
So it came down to it. The band needed to know tomorrow. They couldn’t go without their lead singer. But could Patrick really go? Do something crazy and irresponsible that would hurt some people?
He found himself outside Sam’s door. Wanting to talk through it all one more time. Just in case something clicked this time around.
“Patrick hey, come on in. I was going to call you soon.”
“Oh, you were?”
“Yeah. Did you talk to Pete, Joe and Andy?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Baby you know how I feel about it. I want you with me on campus this year. I want to go to parties with you and spend nights with you without having to get your mom’s permission to have you ‘stay at Pete’s”
“I know. I know.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Patrick stared hard at the wooden floors, and sank further into the couch. Why didn’t she get it?
“It’s not as simple as that for me.”
“Why can’t it be that simple?”
“Because Pe- the guys need me.”
“Pete needs you. You nearly said it. Might as well be honest.”
Sam didn’t look angry, or even sad. More resigned, like she’d been waiting for Pete to be brought into the conversation.
“No, the guys, they can’t have a band without a lead singer. And yeah, that includes Pete.”
“Why do you do everything he wants?”
She was running her fingers roughly through her hair. He’d known her long enough to know it meant she was frustrated.
“He’s my best friend Sam.”
“And I’m your girlfriend. Patrick I am not saying this to be a bitch, but there is a good chance you guys won’t make it. And you’ll have wasted a year.”
“Maybe. But what if we do make it? And even if we fail, at least we’ll have tried.”
“I don’t know why you’re here. You should be at Pete’s.”
Patrick looked confused. Sam’s eyes looked a little wet.
“You’ve already made up your mind Patrick. You are just afraid to say it out loud. You’re going on tour. You came here to get my blessing.”
“No! I came to talk to you about it!”
“No Patrick, you came to tell me Pete won. It’s okay. I was kind of expecting it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the night we met? You were sulking over someone who didn’t see you? It was Pete. It’s okay, really. I got over that pretty quickly. There were always three people in this relationship. Despite it, you were a good boyfriend.”
“Sam I’m-”
“Don’t apologise. No matter what Pete will always win with you. Just like you’ll win with me. I can’t be mad at you.”
Patrick was a short guy. But he’d never felt so small. She’d known all along, and she had accepted it. And forgiven him. It was almost enough to make him want to stay and try.
Almost.
Her blue eyes were the deciding factor. They were the wrong colour. Much and all as he wished they weren’t.
“I guess I should go.”
Neither moved.
Patrick looked down as she reached across and laced their fingers together.
“I want you do some things for me Patrick.”
“Anything.”
“Tell him. And call me from the road.”
She was smiling. And then he was hugging her. So tightly he feared she might stop breathing. But he just couldn’t help it.
“You’re one of the best friends I could ever have Sam.”
He left her apartment a while later. His lips still tasted like her goodbye. He drove around aimlessly for a few hours. Digesting. The car stopped and he took in his surroundings before laughing at himself.
He’d driven to Pete’s without noticing. He got out of the car and waited for Pete to answer the door.
It was an ordinary September when Patrick chose waiting for Pete.
***
It was an ordinary highway. The van was too small and cramped. Andy was driving and Joe was passed out in the front seat beside him. Pete and Patrick sat in the back, reliving last nights show. They’d been on the road for just over two weeks and had played about ten shows. It was getting late and the sky had turned from its fiery reds to its indigo blues and was now a kind of navy. Not a cloud in the sky and a million stars everywhere.
Pete fell into silence and the pair in the back seat looked out their respective windows. The radio was playing one of those old songs that you had always known but would never know who sang it, or ever remember the name. Patrick mused that it was the kind of song that would still be played in 20 years and every time he heard it, he would think of this night.
He couldn’t believe he had ever doubted coming here. The shows, the kids, the fights, the highways and Pete, the quiet moments like now, the late night talks where Pete would get philosophical and amaze Patrick with his thoughts, the motels, the weight of Pete’s arm around his waist at night. Patrick doubted if he would ever feel this alive again.
He felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to face Pete. He followed Pete’s hand with his gaze and smiled as Pete whispered
“Polaris. The north star. It’s like its guiding us home but we’re already there.”
Patrick could never figure out how Pete described things so eloquently. Coming form anyone else it would have been cheesy, and yet when Pete said it, it was everything Patrick felt, but could never vocalise.
Instead he grabbed Pete’s hand and entwined their fingers.
Pete just smiled and rested his head on Patrick’s shoulder. He didn’t move their hands. Patrick felt a light brushing of lips against his neck and looked down at Pete who whispered more to himself than Patrick
“This is home.”
It was on an ordinary highway that Patrick decided he could spend forever in this van with this boy.
***
It was an ordinary motel. Dirty walls, pay per view TV, a clerk named Earl and sheets that probably should be burned. Summer was dying into fading days and phone calls home. Sunrises and sunsets were blurring together in the last days of September.
They had settled into a comfortable pattern. Play a show, and get in the van and drive or find a motel if everyone was too tired. Pete and Patrick would always share a room although it usually meant very little sleep for Patrick.
“Patrick, do you ever think that this is maybe as good as it gets? Maybe it’s not what people think of when you think of a band and a tour but maybe this right here is the top. Soiled sheets and collect calls. We’re the princes of the Starbucks generation – paper cups and doughnuts for breakfast. We’re living what every kid at our shows dreams. This is as good as it gets. It’s so fucking good.”
Pete then crawled on top of Patrick and trailed kisses along his cheeks and nipped at his earlobes until Patrick was panting. Then he kissed him. They kissed until their lips went numb. Never attempting to take it further. Their names rolling off each others tongues in shaky breaths. Hands on cheeks and necks, holding each other close and foreheads coming to rest together when they just couldn’t take any more.
They fell asleep wrapped around each other and woke up the same way in the morning. Neither spoke of the night before, but just grinned at each other instead and raced to the nearest Starbucks to buy coffee and doughnuts.
It was a comfortable pattern. They would share a room, their thoughts and sometimes their kisses.
Sometimes the pattern was broken when Pete needed something more. He would hook up with some kid from the show and come crawling into the room smelling of sex and sweat. He would lie on the bed beside Patrick, but wouldn’t curl around him on these nights. One of those nights, he noticed that Patrick was still awake even though it was nearly sunrise.
“What are you still awake for?”
“I can’t sleep alone anymore.”
It was in an ordinary motel that Patrick came as close as he swore he ever would come to telling Pete how he felt.
***
So what do you guys think?
Let me know!