when the party's over, hockstetter 𝜗𝜚

i. patrick hockstetter

❨ WHEN THE PARTY'S OVER ❩
CHAPTER ONE:
PATRICK HOCKSTETTER

‧ : *: ‧ °✧

fall, november 1988.

his eyes mirrored the flames, capturing their dance and flicker with a haunting, almost surreal clarity. an uncanny grin daunts his face as proudness surges from within.

after what seems like an eternity of staring at the burning building, the raven haired boy wipes his hands on his jeans and begins to saunter away.

he can barely suppress a smirk as the wail of approaching sirens grows louder.

his steps echo on the gravel street, his head hanging low. he lifts a pale hand to brush back a stray strand of hair before shoving it back into his pocket.

the hockstetter boy walks along the road for a short ten minutes before taking a sharp turn into the woods.

his steps are smaller and much gentler than before, barely a whisper on the ground as he moves, not wanting to make too much noise.

"henry, let me go this instant or else i'll—"

patrick's ears perk up at the sound of a female's voice, his hands instinctively reaching for the zippo in his back pocket.

the rustling of two other pairs of feet in the leaves causes the boy to look around wearily. he comes to a halt, finding himself face to face with a girl.

"what brings a doll like you here at this time of night?" he chuckles, swinging the zippo between his thumb and pointer finger.

"my dickhead of a cousi—"

"i dare you to finish that sentence." henry bowers' voice cuts the shorter female off, she turns to face him with unbothered eyes.

"gladly." she smiles, "my dickhead of a cousin dragged me out of the house cause his dad came home drunk."

"(y/n) (l/n), you have thirty seconds to run before i kick your ass." the mullet wearing boy tries to appear menacing, but it's almost impossible; his deep care for her is evident.

patrick clears his throat, suddenly regaining their attention.

"you tell anyone about this and i'll kill you. got it?"

the dark haired boy merely shrugs, not forgetting to wink at henry's cousin before he walks off.

he doesn't go too far, leaning on one of the trees until he hears their footsteps trickle away.

he finds his fridge without interruptions this time, spending the rest of his night watching unsuspecting squirrels lose their lives.

☆

"hey, cockstetter!" (y/n)'s familiar voice calls throughout the halls, causing everyone's gaze to shift between her and the long-haired boy across the hall.

he grumbles to himself, already scheming ways to get her to leave him be.

much to his chagrin, she was a vision of allure: her skin glowed with a soft, silky texture, her hair gleamed with lustrous shine, and her eyes held a mesmerizing depth.

the female makes her way towards him, a smug smile decorating her face. he glares down at her, trying to ignore the curious glances he's undoubtedly attracting.

"it's hockstetter." he mutters before gripping her arm tightly and tugging her out of the school.

he shoves her roughly into the brick wall in the courtyard, blue eyes growing a few shades darker at the sight of her pained expression.

"sheeit, you didn't have to nearly knock me out." (y/n) huffs, flattening out the long sleeved flannel on her torso, "henry told me to come find you after school, something about us all meeting at ry's.

patrick curses under his breath, sizing the girl up before beginning to walk off towards belch's car.

with her bottom lip stuck beneath her top teeth, she watches him stalk off before quickly running to catch up.

they arrive in less than five minutes, all of them immediately squishing into the turquoise blue trans-am.

victor smiles at (y/n) apologetically, noticing how close the two of them are. she just shrugs and grins back, unknowingly causing his stomach to do backflips.

"so, is neo maxi zoom dweebie over here part of the gang now or somethin'?" patrick suddenly questions. both henry and (y/n) turn to him with annoyed expressions.

"well, dickhead, technically i was part of the bowers gang before it was even a real thing." she grumbles, reaching across victor to smack the hockstetter boy upside his head.

he practically growls at her, about to hit her back when henry's hand snaps out and grips his pale wrist tightly.

"watch it, that's my cousin you're bout to put your hands on." the mullet wearing boy speaks through gritted teeth.

"that's not fucking fair! she's been here for what–a day? and suddenly she's above us?"

"ah, i get it. you've got a little crush on hen-hen and think i'm gonna steal him." (y/n) chuckles dryly, "you don't have to worry about that, 'kay? i've been around for ten years and obviously i did a damn good job of staying out of the way or else you guys would've already known about me."

"ten years?" victor gapes at the girl beside him.

she smirks triumphantly, nodding.

"she got into some shit at her old school and had to transfer. now are we done obsessing over (l/n)?" henry groans, waiting for the car to come to a halt before hopping out.

(y/n) doesn't waste any time following, but before she can reach the lounge, a bony hand wraps around her wrist and tugs her back.

"ow, damn it!" she huffs, snatching her wrist away from patrick, "what do you want now?"

his top lip twitches into a half-smile. he steps forward, leaning down until his lips graze her ear.

"play tough all you want, lil' bit, but just know that if i ever get you to myself again, i'll have you screaming bloody murder faster than you can say 'flame'."