Saturday // Peterick Oneshots

93. Companionship

Just a fluffy meet cute. I've already got the next oneshot written, so you guys won't be left hanging next Friday, I promise. :) IOH era.

Patrick is standing by himself in the corner of the living room when the man in the dark purple suit comes over to him. He cringes and takes a long sip of his beer and wishes for the hundredth time that he hadn't agreed to come to this party with Joe. He hasn't even seen his friend since they got here— someone said there was a group of people getting high downstairs while playing a game of pool, and Joe left Patrick, a fan of neither of those things, alone to go join them.

"Not a fan of crowds, either, huh?" the man says when he reaches Patrick, leaning against the wall next to him.

Patrick shakes his head.

"If it makes you feel any better, I normally wouldn't come to this kind of thing either, but my friend is in the band that's celebrating." He gives Patrick a smile.

Patrick nods. "My friend brought me along," he says. He wasn't in the mood to talk before, but the man seems nice enough. Patrick looks him up and down. "Aren't you a little over dressed?" he asks with a smirk.

The man laughs. "That's a funny story, actually. My friend is an asshole and he told me this was a black tie event."

Patrick can't help smiling. "And you believed him?"

The man shrugs earnestly. He holds out a hand. "I'm Pete."

Patrick clasps his hand and shakes it, noting how warm Pete's palm is. "Patrick."

"Nice to meet you, Patrick," Pete says sunnily. He pulls back his hand and puts it in his pocket. "So, are you big on the Chicago music scene?"

This question, of course, launches Patrick into an in-depth monologue of his first concert when he was in high school, all the shows he's been to since then, which ones he liked and didn't like, and even the artists he likes in general, not just the ones in their locale.

And Pete turns out to be a really good listener, because he doesn't get annoyed when Patrick rambles on, almost dominating the conversation. He interjects a few times to ask questions or share his own opinion, but he doesn't cut Patrick off entirely, and if he ever gets bored of Patrick's chatter, he doesn't show it. It's way more charming than it should be.

From there, the topic shifts to favorite movies and pizza places, and before Patrick knows it, it's almost midnight, and the sky outside the windows is pitch black.

"I should probably get going," Patrick says when there's a lull in their conversation. "It's getting late, and I have a lot to do tomorrow before I have to go into work this week."

Pete nods. "I get it." He pauses. "Did you come with your friend, or...?"

Patrick shakes his head. "We drove separately."

Pete's eyes light up. "So, I can offer to walk you to your car?"

At that, Patrick can't help but be charmed by Pete again. "You can," he says, a flirtatious lilt to his voice.

"And? Do you accept?" Pete asks softly.

Patrick smiles a little. "I do."

It's a little chilly when they step outside, and Patrick can't help a shiver. Pete follows him to his car and says, "I can let your friend know you left, if you want. What's he look like?"

"That's okay," Patrick tells him. "I'll just send him a text when I get home."

"Cool, cool." Pete nods.

They get to Patrick's car and stop. "Well, this is me," Patrick starts. He smiles at Pete shyly. "It was really nice talking to you, Pete."

"Um, yeah, you too." Pete takes a deep breath. "I could give you my number, and we could talk some more sometime, if you want," he says in a rush.

Patrick laughs. "Yeah, I'd like that, actually." At Pete's smile, he digs his phone out his pocket and opens it to contacts before handing it over. Pete types for a moment and hands it back. He leans over and pecks a kiss to Patrick's cheek, making Patrick blush, then pulls away to a respectable distance.

"Good night, Patrick," he says warmly.

Patrick pockets his phone and smiles. "Good night, Pete. I'll text you." Maybe coming to this party wasn't such a bad idea after all.