The Rhythm of the Rain (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 24 -That's When I knew

Lily Matthews

For the next few weeks, Patrick didn't act like himself. He was out of the house more often than usual, and whenever he was home, he acted...well, strange. He holed up in his studio most of the time he was home, and when he wasn't making music, he was either sleeping or hurrying to eat something before he had to disappear again. I was starting to get a little worried, wondering what it was he was doing whenever he left the house for such long periods of time. Of course, he always assured me that he was simply working on the new album with the guys, but when I asked if they could meet at our house once in a while, he didn't seem able to give me a straight answer. It was always, "Well, I don't know," or, "Maybe, sweetheart, I'll talk to them about it," or even my personal favorite, "I don't want you to have to put up with a house full of guys all the time."

To be honest, it was actually starting to piss me off a little bit. Since we made up after our fight, Patrick seemed perfect and normal at first, but now I was questioning every little thing he did, because he was giving me every reason to suspect that something was up. Once, I even started to wonder if he was seeing somebody else. I wondered if he had lied to me about that girl at the party. But then, the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed. I was worrying for nothing about that, because Patrick would never cheat. If he didn't want to be with me, he wouldn't be, and it would be that simple.

But then there was the question of the impromptu shopping day with Pete. I knew he had gone out to get something that he had said was for me, but here we were, weeks later, and I still haven't heard anything else about it. I hadn't pestered him about it at first, because I genuinely was looking forward to the surprise, but now it was just getting ridiculous. We were nowhere near my birthday, or any major holiday, so I knew he wasn't saving it for anything. So what could be so important that he's had to hold onto it for so long?

While I wondered all of this for the hundredth time in the last few days, I was lying on the couch in the living room, my head tilted back over the arm of it, and my eyes closed. Patrick was downstairs, as always, in his studio. He wouldn't even let me in to watch him work, like he usually would. I sighed and shifted around a bit, the dull vibrations of his music that I couldn't hear shaking the floor beneath me and the couch in turn. It wasn't enough to keep me awake, but it was enough to make me just the slightest bit uncomfortable. After a while, it stopped and I figured he must be writing. I started to let myself dose a bit, my mind still swimming with thoughts of what my boyfriend must be up to.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake by the couch cushion dipping beside me and a warm body snuggling into my side. I opened my eyes and found Patrick with his nose pressed against my neck and his arms wrapping me up against his body like a protective cocoon. Well, this was a pleasant change. Lately, the only cuddling I got from him was at night, when he crawled into bed at some ridiculous hour. He didn't say anything, so I just laid still, letting him hold me until the urge to touch him became too great. I started running my fingers through his thin hair, smiling to myself when he sighed and moved his legs to tangle with mine so he wouldn't fall off the couch.

We laid like that for a little while, and I started to wonder if Patrick had fallen asleep. As much as I wanted to, I didn't dare wake him up. Between going to bed late every night and waking up early to meet up with the guys, I'm sure he could use a nap. And besides, my own eyelids were feeling heavy as I laid in his arms. I stopped playing with his hair and closed my eyes again, turning my head slightly to rest my cheek against the top of his head. To my surprise, he moved one of his hands then, gently tugging the bottom of my shirt up enough to reveal my belly. I stiffened for a moment, wondering if he was seriously going ask for something right now, after pretty much ignoring me for weeks on end, but he didn't.