bulletproof in black like a funeral

patrick was fine this morning... right?

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Tyler shifted his weight nervously on Patrick's front porch. It was around 9:30, he had slipped from Josh's grip in the bed at 8 this morning and took a shower. He threw on his skinny jeans and stole Josh's 'The Fallen Will Rise' t-shirt, it was slightly baggy on Tyler. After he was dressed he quietly paced in Josh's room, he was nervous, and watched Josh sleep. He left Josh a note saying he  went to Patrick's, he'd see him at the show later tonight, and he loved him. He waved goodbye to Josh's mom and then made the short walk to Patrick's house and then there he was awkwardly deciding to knock or ring the doorbell. Was Patrick awake? Was he here to early? He should have texted him first. 

After a minute Tyler finally rang the door bell and Patrick opened it without missing a beat. 'H-hey Patrick! I hope I'm not too early, I wasn't sure..." Tyler rambled awkwardly stepping into the house and crossing his arms across his chest. 

"No problem, Tyler! This is actually perfect timing, I was just finishing breakfast" Patrick said, smiling warmly, this calmed down Tyler. Patrick was easily one of the nicest people Tyler knew, he didn't know why he was nervous now. Patrick led him into the kitchen where his Mom was drinking coffee. "Mom, this is Tyler" 

"Hello, Tyler! It's nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Stumph. Patrick told me you were coming over to work on vocals?" Mrs. Stumph said, smiling widely, just like Patrick always did. 

"Yeah, Patrick has an amazing voice and I was hoping he could teach me a thing or two" Tyler said, blushing slightly. 

"He doesn't need the help, really" Patrick said, nudging Tyler's arm. "Anyway, we'll be in the basement"

"Okay, just don't mess with your Dad's sheet music or anything" Mrs. Stump said, like Patrick didn't already know the drill, and then returned to sipping her coffee. Patrick turned on his heel and then descended down the case of stairs attached to the living room. 

"Is your Dad a musician too?" asked Tyler, his voice full of curiosity. 

"Yeah! He's a folk singer, I'd introduce you but he's out of town this weekend" Patrick said as he plopped down on one of the couches in the basement. Tyler had been here before, though he'd never meet his parents and he'd never been here without someone else, like Ryan or Pete or Josh. The part of the room dedicated to Fall Out Boy's make-shift practice area was empty, save for Joe's practice guitar and pics all over the place. Everything was probably already packed in Pete's car for the show later. On the far wall, opposite the practice area, there were a few guitars lining the walls, it finally made sense that Patrick had so many, his Dad was a musician. 

"So, first I want to show you how to properly warm up your voice" Patrick said, pulling down the sleeves of his t-shirt over his skinny arms. "It's really important you do this, it sounds better rather than just jumping into a song or show or whatever. Okay, this is gonna sound weird. But just go with it" Patrick starts saying 'woah' over and over moving his voice up and down and testing his vocal range. Tyler just sat there, watching him, slightly amazed that Patrick's voice still sounded great while doing this. After that Patrick laughed a little and then started saying 'Oo' starting as low a he could, going all the way up to the top of his vocal range. "Okay, you're turn" Patrick said, blushing a little because he was embarrassed. 

"Oh jeez, okay" Tyler laughed and then started. His voice was much more rough than Patrick's and it was naturally of a lower pitch when doing this, even though it was higher when he sang. He felt self-conscious, his voice was no where as good as the other teen's. Patrick smiled encouragingly and Tyler nervously started wringing his hands. "I feel dumb" He said and then laughed awkwardly. 

"I know but you sound good!" 

"My voice is like, nothing, compared to yours" Tyler said, breaking eye contact with the other. 

"No! It's just different!" Patrick said and patted Tyler on the back. "You know Brendon? He's a great singer right?" Tyler nodded, remembering him singing absent-mindedly in the band room. "Okay, he doesn't sound like me, right? He sings like Frank Sinatra but he can also sing like a pop star. He's an amazing vocalist. Ryan can sing really well too! He can sing like he's in the fucking Beatles or something . But, he can have a super full voice when he signs at the same time. He's good too. And you, your voice is rough and raw, it's really unique and nice to listen too. Even when you talk it sounds so nice, I could listen to it for hours" Patrick said honestly. Normally Tyler would take this as flirting but he knew this was just Patrick being Patrick.

"Really? Thanks..." Tyler said, mirroring Patrick's smile. 

"Anyway, that's how you warm up. At least that's how I learned but there's other ways too" Patrick said as he stood up and walked over to the empty practice area. "I always do this before shows, it's kind of lame... but it'll be fun to do it together" He opened up a mac that was sitting on a stand next to an empty microphone stand. All of the sudden Over My Head by The Fray came on and Patrick started singing along. Patrick motioned for Tyler to join him and he stood up off the couch and cautiously joined in. 

After a song or two, Tyler got a little more comfortable and Patrick and him got into singing together and dancing around the basement like idiots. Tyler enjoyed every second of it. Patrick's voice was full and strong while Tyler's was kind of thin and it broke sometimes, but it was okay, it still sounded good and besides, Patrick said his voice was unique to him and him only, so he should own it. 

They danced around for a while and took a few breaks so Patrick could give pointers and encourage Tyler. Before they knew it, it was already one. Patrick looked at the clock, "Oh shit, I have to be at the venue at two to do sound check and set everything up" 

"Oh, I better get going so you can get ready, dude" Tyler said, turning towards the stairs with Patrick in tow. 

"You're coming right?" Patrick said offhandedly. 

"Of course dude! Are you excited?" Tyler asked, it had been a while since Fall Out Boy had gotten a gig. He assumed Patrick was excited because Pete was off the fucking wall hype, the kid likes playing and jumping around on stage, Tyler can't blame him. 

"Well yeah... I'm a little worried though, we're playing at someone's birthday party and I heard that most of the kids like metal. We're not very... metal" Patrick said as Tyler sat down to tie on his vans. 

"Patrick, they'll love you no matter what! You guys are good. Like good good. Just don't let 'em know you're nervous" Tyler told Patrick. He really had no need to be worried, he wasn't blowing smoke, they sounded good. Tyler just wished he could take his own advice sometimes. 

Tyler said his thanks and bro hugged Patrick good bye. He walked back to Josh's and they stayed together until it was time to head over to the show. Tyler tried to look as punk rock as he could, feeling slightly intimated knowing that everyone else was gonna be all hard core. He had on an A Day To Remember shirt he had gotten with Josh a while ago and his skinny jeans. That was about as punk rock as it got for Tyler. Josh fit in a lot better, black skinny jeans, Doc Martens, and a Metallica shirt combined with his hair, peircings and gauges, he looked like he belonged. The show was in the basement of a house and it was packed full of guys and a few girls. Brendon was sitting with Ryan in the back of the room selling t-shirts and the boys had just gotten on the make shift stage when Tyler and Josh had walked in. 

Patrick was clearly trying to fit in with his clothes, ditching the usual sweater and trucker hat for a black beanie, studded belt, and a generic black t-shirt. Pete and Joe looked right at home, like Josh, and Andy was shirtless, so it didn't really matter. 

They were halfway through the set, they sounded great, everyone was having a good time and the crowd seemed to be enjoying what they were playing, Patrick's worries aside. Pete was going on about god knows what, music and saying how thankful he was that everyone was there to see them play and  to celebrate some guy's birthday when Patrick suddenly collapsed and hit the floor real fucking hard. Pete whipped around and was kneeling next to him. Brendon had stood up from the table and was pushing through people to get to the stage. Joe was on the phone with 911. It was all happening so fast. By the time Tyler and Josh had made it through everyone to the stage, Joe was off the phone and whispering to Andy. Josh stood next to Ryan and said, "Again?" Ryan just nodded sadly. 

Again? What was happening again? Patrick seemed fine this morning... Right?  

A/N 

pls forgive me for being gone for 10 years. pls also vote for this if you like it pls pls