The Golden Rule || Patrick Stump fanfic

Chapter 20: Don't Write Yourself Off Yet

•Joe•

We didn't hear anything outside. Lee probably knew that we'd be listening so he kept quiet with Patrick. I heard Patrick say something, but I'm not sure what it was.

What a brave guy he is. Giving himself up to save us all.

"When Lee comes back he's gonna take me home and I won't see you guys again." Electra said unexpectedly. We were all sat in solum silence, just sorta mourning.

"Why does he not like us?" Pete asked, his speech still slightly slurred. Mine was still slurred too.

"I don't know." Electra sighed, finally sitting down as she had been pacing the basement for a while. She sat between Pete and I. "He's probably just jealous or something. I don't know."

The familiar click filled the room again. My head immediately turned to the window. Probably Lee sending us another death threat. I stood up, still a bit shaky from the alcohol in my system, and went to the window.

A little scrappy piece of paper fell through and onto the floor. I picked it up and read it.

This was Patrick's hand writing. I recognised it from the song he presented us.

'He's insane. You're right. But I need you to save me. Come and track me down. Do whatever you take. Don't let him take me alive. He wants to kill me. Please, keep me alive. Do whatever you can.'

"Shit." I cursed quietly, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"What is it?" The brown haired girl, Alice, asked me. She hopped off the hammock and walked over to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. I felt all tingly from the touch.

"Oh my god..." She whispered in shock. She put her hand on her mouth.

"What is it, Joe?" Electra asked, fear striking her voice. I gestured her to come over and look.

She took the paper in her own hands and began to read it.

"We... We need to track him then." She mumbled.

"But how?" I asked her. There was no ways to do this.

Everyone was silent for a second, thinking up a plan.

"Okay. Lee is going to Iowa or something today. He's probably taking Patrick with him so we don't have much time." Electra explained. "Alice, you have your computer with your software on it right?" She asked her friend.

Alice's face sprung into a smile. "Yes, yes I do. That's perfect, Electra!"

"What?" Pete asked them both. Neither of them explained. Alice grabbed her bag that she brought with her and took out a laptop. She placed it on the desk and sat down. Whilst she opened it and set it up, everyone congregated around her- even the drunken Aubrey who was clinging to Pete's arm for support. What was this girl doing?

"El, does Lee have a car?" Alice looked around to Electra.

Electra nodded. "I think so. At least he did the last time I saw him."

"Great. Do you remember the plate number?"

Electra smiled to herself. "I couldn't forget it. It's custom made and he had a band he liked initials put onto it."

"Type it in for me." Alice requested. She had opened up a very government-secret-agent-type program. It had a green radar on it, waiting to be told instructions. Electra wasted no time in typing it in. She typed the letters and numbers into her friend's computer. The screen loaded again, but this time with a red dot on the radar. The dot was luckily still motionless.