Chapter 9

266 29 4

by rac06h10ael

by rac06h10ael

-Patrick's POV-

I grabbed my fedora off of the coat rack by the door with one hand, my guitar case in the other. With a jacket draped over my shoulders and sunglasses sitting on the bridge of my nose, I was about ready to head out to play the street corner, hoping to pick up some extra cash, seeing as my bank account wasn't getting any bigger and I had nothing better to do. I didn't have a meeting to be on time to, a photo shoot I'd have to catch a flight to Los Angeles for, or a sound check to run through. Instead, I just sat at home, waiting for my phone to ring and Gwen to ask me to come over.

I adjusted the hat on top of my head and wrapped my hand around the doorknob. Just as I turned the knob and pulled the door in, the phone I was used to hearing ring at least once a day began to go off. An annoyed groan slipped past my lips and I closed the door, setting my case down on the ground and making my way into the kitchen. I picked the phone off of the receiver and put it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Patrick, hey!"

My eyebrow rose. "Zack?"

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

I ran a hand through my hair and heaved a sigh. "No, no. I was just about to head out, but I can talk for a little. What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could meet up later tonight. We haven't hung out since the tour and I thought that - since my birthday's passed and yours is coming up - maybe we could go out and celebrate, just the two of us. Drinks would be on me, of course."

An anxious feeling built up inside of me, his offer strange and out of the blue. He'd never wanted to hang out with me before, even when we were on tour together, so why now?

"I-I'm not so sure, Zack," I stammered, wracking my brain for an excuse to give him, "I...I've just been so busy lately."

"I'm sure one night off won't hurt you," He tried to convince me. I didn't understand why he was so set on us getting together. "Please, Patrick, I...I just really need to talk to you," He tacked on, "And I thought, what better way to talk than over some drinks?"

I leaned against the counter and crossed my free arm over my chest. "What do you mean you need to talk to me? About what?"

"Look, just...meet me at the Emporium Arcade Bar on Milwaukee Ave at around ten. By then, Chase should be asleep and Gwen will probably be reading a book in bed or something."

He didn't give me a chance to object or accept his offer before hanging up on me. I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the device for a little bit before hanging it up on the receiver.

*****

I walked into the bar Zack had directed me to and shyly slipped my hands into my pockets. The place was crowded, long lines stretching out from the vintage arcade machines set up against the walls and the bar at the far end of the joint surrounded by a swarm of intoxicated men and women and men and women who had yet to even have their first drink. Electronic beeps and the sound of buttons being clicked and joysticks being pushed side to side and forward and back filled the air, accompanied by a chorus of a hundred different conversations. To say the least, it was overwhelming, and it didn't help that I couldn't spot Zack in the mess of faces. He should've been there already, seeing as I'd shown up late, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I quickly pulled out my phone and opened my contacts, scrolling through them to get to his name, when all of a sudden, someone placed their hand on my shoulder. I tensed up and looked down at the hand, swallowing hard before slowly gazing up to see who the hand belonged to - Zack.

"Hey," I greeted, instantly relieved to see someone I knew, "I was just about to call you."

"Yeah, sorry I'm a little late. I had trouble putting Chase to bed. He wanted Gwen to put him to bed, but she was busy doing something." I hung my head, not knowing how to respond. A blanket of silence fell over the two of us for a brief moment before Zack cleared his throat and suggested, "Anyways, I'm here and you're here. How about you go find a table somewhere and I'll go get us some drinks?"

"Sure," I agreed.

The two of us went our separate ways; I found an empty table by the wall with two bar stools and claimed it as mine. I sat there for a good ten minutes before Zack arrived with a tray holding six pints of beer. He set the assortment down on the table and perched himself on the stool across from me, flashing me a quick smile before explaining to me he got six so that he wouldn't have to go back up for a while. I nodded my head in understanding and took one of the cups into my possession, taking a sip of the amber brown liquid.

"Thanks for meeting up with me tonight," He said to alleviate the silence that had made its reappearance, "I know you said you had a lot of stuff on your plate, so-"

"It's fine, Zack," I assured him, my tone a little more blunt than I would've liked
it to be. I set the glass down on the table and wiped my hands on my thighs. "What did you want talk about?"

"Oh, right," He mumbled, as if he forgot the reason he'd invited me out for drinks, "So, um, I know you and Gwen have been...hanging out for a while now."

Oh shit, I thought, my heart rate picking up and the palms of my hands growing sweaty, Here it comes.

"And you know, I'm not going to lie and say that I'm okay with it," He went on to say, dragging his finger around the edge of the frosted mug, "But...I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into, Patrick."

My eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled nervously. "Well..."