***COMPLETED*** Around the World and Back [A Patty Walters Story]

Chapter 8: "Whatever it takes, Avery."

June 28, 2018
Phoenix, Arizona

"I haven't actually seen a real smile from you in person before," Ben said as he walked up to the merch tent. "I've only seen it on FaceTime when Patty used to call you."

"I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing," I laughed as I opened up my package of mini muffins, popping one in my mouth. "But thanks, I guess."

He sat down as he watched me open up all the bins and sort through the inventory.

"It's a good thing, Avery," he laughed. "I heard that you asked him to be your boyfriend."

My cheeks turned a light shade of red as I slowly stood up from the bin of "Who the fuck is Patty Walters?" shirts.

"Uh," I said with a slight laugh. "Yeah, I did...and I really love him. Like... a lot. I dunno, I probably loved him when I was with Josh but I just pushed all those feelings away and pretended they weren't there."

"Did you ever think of Patty when you were with Josh?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "I don't mean to be nosy, I'm just genuinely curious."

I sat down to finish my muffins, reaching over and grabbing an Arctic Blitz Gatorade from the cooler.

"Yeah," I confessed, raising my sunglasses on top of my head to look at him. "It wasn't just occasionally. It was whenever he kissed me, or when we were intimate...I know this makes me sound like a horrible fucking person, but ... I'm in love with my best friend."

"You're not a horrible person, first of all," Ben said as he looked at me. "You're a normal human with feelings. Lots of people are in love with someone else when they're dating another person. You can't help feelings," he paused, taking a drink of his water. "Patty was in the same situation as you were."

I tilted my head to the side slightly, biting down on my lip. I'd never heard this story before.

"Really?" I asked, intrigued. "What happened?"

"He didn't get quite as involved as you did with Josh," Ben explained. "They dated briefly, never anything serious. But he couldn't quite get as involved as he wanted to, always said his heart was yours and that he left it in Illinois with you."

I felt a small smile coming up on the corner of my lips as I listened to him talk.

"I never knew that," I said quietly as I watched him take a drink of his water. "We never talked about our relationships or anything like that...our friendship just carried on as normal."

He nodded, crossing his legs.

"Right," he said as he smiled when he saw me. "What's going to happen after tour? Are you going to move to Brighton?"

"Patty mentioned something about it when I picked you guys up from the airport," I said after taking a drink of Gatorade. "But I'm not sure what'll happen yet. We've got the summer to figure it out."

We sat there for a few minutes before Ben got up, throwing his bottle in the trash can behind the tent.

"I'll leave you to it, Avery," he smiled. "Nice talking to you."

I waved as he walked off, pulling my phone out of my butt pocket after it vibrated a whole bunch of times. It was Britt, my best friend.

Britt: AVERY. JOSH IS PLANNING ON GOING TO THE ST. LOUIS DATE TO GET YOU BACK.

Britt: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. PLEASE STAY SAFE!

Britt: CALL ME ASAP.

I was about to call her back when I saw Patty walking towards me in the distance. My face lit up as he got closer.