Shadows (Patrick Kane)

(27) One Of A Kind

Patrick

The summer starts to wind down and I know it was time to leave. It was hard coming here and it was just as hard going back. This city built me and every time I leave I know I have to go off to be this person people make me out to be. No one expects anything when I'm here, I'm just Pat. A kid with big dreams and bigger motivation to achieve them. I don't know if I'm ready to be Showtime, the flashy bad boy who needs to find his way in this world. I know where I'm going, just don't know how to get there.

"Watch this" Sophia says as she walks out to the dance floor. She drunkenly gets up on her hands and stands there for a few seconds. It's kinda crazy that after all this time, she still surprises the hell out of me.

She suddenly steps down and launches herself in the air before doing a back flip. The crowd goes nuts because this girl in a halter top and skinny jeans did all of that while being drunk. As she bows to the crowd and boys and girls alike hype her up I had to laugh. No matter where in this world we are she always seems to find some kind of way to stand out. That's something special. She skips back to me while giving out a few high fives and I shake my head.

"You're one of a kind Sophia, one of a kind" I admit.

"Thank you thank you" she giggles. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom and throw up. I'll be back" she tells me. Being intoxicated and upside down is not a good combination.

"Alright. If you need me you know where to find me" I insist.

She takes off and I just shake my head. This girl was something different, that much is for sure.

I sit by myself as I sip on my beer. The music banging in my head as the bass shakes my body. How I always find myself in a bar is beyond me but I like it here. These people all want to let loose and I do too, that much we have in common.

I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around. Like the last time this happened to me in a bar I was expecting it to be Sophia. But instead it as a little blonde girl with long straight hair.

She smiles up at me and I smile back. For a moment it was bliss.

"What's your name" I ask her.

"Taylor. And what's yours" she asks.

"Patrick" I say.

"You wouldn't want to dance with me would you" she asks.

I almost say yes until something stops me. My whole body freezes as I retreat back to my seat. "Thank you, but I can't" I insist.

"You got a girlfriend" she asks.

"No but I got a girl. And she's my best friend. And she might be crazy but she's my kind of crazy" I admit.

"I'm sure she won't mind" she tries.

"I don't know. If I saw her out there dancing with another dude I would be pretty pissed" I admit.

"Just one dance" she begs.

"Thank you for the offer Taylor. But I'm gonna stick with my girl" I insist.

A second later I see a SOS text from her and knew she needed some help. So I excuse myself and head to the woman's bathroom. I knock a few times to let the other women in here know I was coming in. I find Soph in the last stall emptying her stomach into the toilet. So I pull her hair back and rub her back a little. She finally gets it to stop as she rests her head on the toilet.

"Alright. No flipping while drunk" she claims as I laugh.

"I don't think I will ever be drunk enough to attempt a back flip but if I do I'll keep that in mind" I tease.

"Remind me again why I drink" she sighs.

"Because life sucks" I admit as she nods.

"Ah, right" she laughs.

"You gonna be okay" I ask her.

She wipes her mouth before turning to me. A little smile sat on her perfect lips. "Yeah. I know you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me" she admits.

"I got you" I promise.

She rebounds for a hour or so before she couldn't even stand. So I carry her out to the car and put her in the passenger seat. When I party with her I'm the sober one but I know better than to try and out drink her. I did that once and blacked out so hard I slept for 17 hours straight.

I jump in the drivers seat and adjust her head a little so it wasn't so slumped over. Her beautiful brown eyes stare at me as she just smiles.

"What" I ask.

"For the longest time all I wanted was someone to care about me in the way you care. I wanted someone who trusted me enough to share what they feel and it not be some bull shit. You are exactly what I needed when I needed it most and I'm really happy that you invited me here for the summer. This is some of the best times I ever had and I'm so happy we're friends" she claims.

I don't know if we will ever get together in a romantic way. Though the feelings we have for each other are undeniably strong, I'm not sure they'll be strong enough to knock down these walls we built. But as long as she will always be my friend or more than that I'm okay. I don't want to lose her for some random girl in the bar. I know that no one else would make me happy like she does. Would care like she does. Even drunk she just wants to be with me and it's a great feeling knowing that.

"I'm happy we're friends too Posey" I assure her.

I get us back to the house and she passes out on the couch immediately. I pull her hair back and slip off her shoes. This used to be me but we usually take turns getting drunk past the point of comprehension. I don't mind taking the back seat every once in a while. It actually helps me control intake and actually make conscious decisions. So in a way this was helping me and her even if she feels like shit afterwards.

"Patsy" she mumbles making me roll my eyes. Here we go.

"Yeah Soph" I assure her.

"Thank you. For everything" she says.

"Any time" I smile.

I press a soft kiss to her temple as she smiles back at me. She lightly cups my cheek and I get this sense of doing something right. For once in my life I felt like I was doing something right.