Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 2 - How Misery Loved Me

            I looked up at Aria in complete shock, not expecting those words to be passed across the table to me. I held onto the napkin, and she smiled sadly at me, hanging her head slightly as if she were ashamed. I wanted to tell her it was okay, but I couldn't. Her friend was standing behind her in a heartbeat, placing a hand on her shoulder to let her know she was there. "Excuse me," she said, looking at me as if I had done something wrong. I clutched the napkin tightly in my hand and hid it under the table.

"Uh...hi," I said, looking up at her before glancing at Aria again. "I'm sorry, I was just saying hello to your friend," I told her, quickly getting to my feet in a fit of anxiousness as the woman stared at me. The moment I stood up, Aria looked up at me, her eyes asking me to stay, but her threatening friend telling me otherwise. Hesitantly, I held a hand out to the brunette, forcing a nervous smile. "I'm Patrick. Patrick Stump."

"Meagan Camper," The woman said. She took my hand and shook it gently, eyeing me suspiciously as she took her seat across from Aria again. "You can sit, Patrick," she added, looking curiously at Aria. I smiled again and sat down between them, glancing at Aria happily. She smiled at me, and I unfolded the napkin in my lap. "She's deaf, you know," Meagan suddenly said, "So if you're trying to flirt with her, she won't hear you." I turned to her and she smirked knowingly.

"I know," I said, holding up the napkin and blushing a bit as I glanced back to Aria. "We found a way around that." I smiled and Aria gave me a blush, turning a bright shade of red as she brushed a stray hair away from her face. I looked back at Meagan, and she was studying me closely. I felt a little strange, as if she were dissecting me with her eyes, so I nervously shifted a little closer to Aria.

Finally, Meagan spoke up. "I could translate," she said, "I know sign language, if that would be easier."

I contemplated for a moment, wondering if I would rather keep our conversation between the two of us. I decided that it would be a little rude to make her keep writing to me on the napkin, so I shoved it into my pocket and nodded to Meagan. She quickly signed something to Aria, which I couldn't follow or understand, and then she smiled at me. "I told her you asked me to translate for you. She said she would love to keep talking to you."

I smiled at that, and looked at Aria as I spoke. "I'm sorry again, for bumping into you earlier," I breathed, glancing nervously at Meagan as her hands flew through the air. Aria watched her, then looked back at me as she signed to me. It was fascinating, in all honestly, to watch her hands move through the air. She watched me with concentration as she did it, and she looked even more beautiful as she smiled at the end of her sentence.

"She says not to worry about it. She's glad she bumped into someone as nice and handsome as you." I immediately looked at Meagan, and she smiled sweetly at me as I turned redder than a tomato.

"She said that?" I asked, as if I didn't believe her.

Meagan laughed a bit and nodded. "She likes you," she informed me, nodding towards Aria. I turned back to her and smiled widely.

"Tell her, I think she's very beautiful, and I couldn't help myself. I had to come over and talk to her." I looked her right in her baby blue eyes as I spoke, and she blushed just as much as I had, though she couldn't hear me. Meagan smiled excitedly as she signed to her friend for me, and I watched as Aria's eyes lit up happily. She quickly signed back to me, and Meagan giggled lightly from across the table.

"She wants to know if you have an equally handsome friend, so that I don't have to be a third wheel as your translator next time."

"Next time?" I asked, smiling as I looked at Meagan. She nodded, blushing slightly.