This Story's Going Somewhere

Chapter 10 - Nora

                Patrick's tour began in the middle of July. I spent the night at the apartment the night before we were supposed to leave, and I only had one small bag of clothes, as I knew I would be outgrowing everything I owned pretty soon. Over the past couple of weeks, I'd spent only a little amount of time with Patrick. I've spent as much time as possible with my dad, and he's been trying his best to make sure I was prepared for the coming months of my pregnancy. In fact, he was planning to fly out to New York City when the boys performed there, both to see the show as well as to check up on me. Most surprising to me, however, was that he kept trying to push the idea of Patrick and I dating.

Whether it was for the benefit of me or the baby, he wouldn't say, but something about Patrick seemed to make my dad happy, and I wasn't about to ignore that. So, I kept him guessing. Truth be told, I was still wondering myself if I actually did have feelings for Patrick. He'd been so perfectly amazing over the past month and a half, and while I knew I liked him a lot as a friend, I had to wonder if there was a chance for anything else. At the end of the day, I always assumed he'd want no part in a relationship with a pregnant girl, because I knew he could do much better than me. Still, I at least valued his friendship.

Even though I didn't see him very often, Patrick made a point of texting me every day. He always wanted to know how I was feeling, and most days, we ended up gossiping about our best friends. Ellie and Pete were officially a couple now, and they seemed to be going strong. Ellie would be staying home for the tour, as she was going off to school at the end of August, but I knew we would call each other whenever we could, and she and Pete would find ways to see each other. Tonight, Ellie was also at the apartment, spending one last night with Pete before we left. As usual, I was in Patrick's bed, while he slept on the couch in the living room.

When morning finally came, I was the first person in the entire apartment to wake up. I was still suffering from morning sickness some days, but today, I felt well enough to eat. I climbed out of bed and headed for the kitchen, passing a sleeping Patrick on my way, and went through the fridge to find something to eat. I found a carton of eggs and a package of bacon, and on sight of it, my stomach started growling. I set to work cooking up breakfast for everyone, feeling strangely energetic first thing that morning. Within minutes, Joe came trudging into the room, half-asleep, but hungry nonetheless. "Ooooh, are you cooking?" He asked, leaning over me to see what I was making.

"Yep," I told him, "It'll be ready in a minute. Would you mind waking Patrick?"

"Sure. I'm not waking up Pete and Ellie though. You couldn't pay me to go in that room right now."

"Ew," I laughed, "They're both probably naked. I wouldn't do that to you, Joe, I promise. They can eat breakfast cold if they're not up."

Joe laughed and left the room, and just a moment later I heard the TV get turned on, with the volume at full blast. Immediately, Patrick responded with a series of curses and stomped his way into the kitchen, looking royally pissed off as Joe snickered from the other room. He glared at me like it was my fault, probably because I was grinning, but as I handed him a plate of bacon and eggs, his expression softened. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," I teased, winking at him as he sat down with his plate.

"Why are you cooking?" He asked, almost put out by it. "I should be the one cooking for you. You're carrying my kid."

"Thank you for reminding me," I laughed, shaking my head. I made myself a plate and sat down across from him. "I was just hungry, and felt like cooking, Patrick. It's no big deal."

"Well I told your dad I'd take care of you on tour," he said, "I've already failed and we haven't even left the apartment."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Patrick," I giggled, "Just relax." I finished my food quickly, in half the amount of time that it took Patrick, and I went to get more bacon. Joe walked in then, made his own plate, and sat down with us.