The Last of the Real Ones || a Patrick Stump AU ||

four

Patrick's phone buzzes against the wooden nightstand, the sound waking him. He groans and barely makes out the time on his digital clock. Blindly, he picks his phone and opens it, answering.

"Hello?" He whispers groggily.
"Hey, uh, can you come to the lake?" Nia's voice croaks on the other end.
"What the hell are you doing there?" Patrick scolds. "It's two in the morning, Nia! I—"
"Patrick, please," she begs. There's silence between them. Patrick blows a sigh and manages to pull on some shoes nearby.

"I-I know it's stupid," her voice breaks. "I just thought maybe it would make me feel better, but now I'm realizing that I shouldn't be alone and I don't want to be alone. This is so stupid, I'm so stupid—"
"Hey, don't worry about it," Patrick huffs. "I'm on my way."

Patrick tugs on his shoes and opens his window. The night's cool air caresses his face and he shivers at the feeling, urging him to wrap his sweater around him and sealing it with its zipper. He manages to climb out of the small portal as he pockets his phone and makes his way to his car, starting his drive to the lake.

The streets are empty and bare, making his destination easier to access. As he parks, Patrick sees Nia's figure sitting on their patch of grass. He glances at the time on his car radio, seeing it to be 2:15 AM. He blows a sigh and makes his way to her.

"Hey, Witch," he grumbles as he claims his seat next to her. Instantly, Nia begins to cry. The blonde boy flinches at the sudden burst of emotion and sees his best friend's form shaking.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" he asks.
"Tom broke up with me," Nia huffs. Patrick wanted to feel happy on his behalf of this. He never liked Tom to begin with. But he couldn't. Patrick's heart takes a dive, headfirst into his stomach. He's frozen for a moment, reeling in the heartbreak of his best friend.

"He left me for someone else. He's been cheating on me this whole time," Nia sobs.
"I've always hated the guy, you know that, right?" Patrick states as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. Nia manages to chuckle at that bit of truth before he rests her head on Patrick's shoulder.

"I guess I should've listened," she rasps.
"You didn't know any better," Patrick reasons. The fact makes his stomach twist into knots, but he hides it. "I mean, quiet as it's kept, I bet the girl isn't even worth it."
"I'm not sure if that makes this better or worse," Nia chuckles sadly.
"Well, if you show me this starry-eyed kid, I'll break his damn jaw for you," he retorts with a smile. "Maybe that will make this better."
"Maybe," Nia laughs. Patrick's heart stumbles on its own beat. He can't help but notice the hurt and dejection disappear from Nia's demeanor.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Patrick asks with a bit of a chuckle.
"I thought it would make me feel better," Nia huffs. She tilts her head up and focuses on the stars again. Her eyes are slightly puffy, a hue of dark blue instead of purple being shown thanks to the aid of the lampposts that illuminate the empty streets.

There was nothing Patrick could really do with what was happening. Nia made him feel some sort of way and the essential organ in his chest always seems to malfunction when he is around her. Patrick felt his face gain some color as he watched the violet-eyed girl study the stars and the infinity above them.

I wonder what that's like, he wonders to himself. To be the infinity she gazes at. His mind went into a rabbit hole of ponders, wondering if this was all just the hormones people warned him about when he was younger. He wondered if he was like Tom. But he also wondered about what a future would be like if it were him and Nia at the end of the infinity he dreamt about.

Patrick shakes his head, trying to clear the daze before him. Nia still has her head rested on his shoulder. He studies her, his heart doing its ritual tantrum within the confines of his chest.

"Let's get you home, Space Girl," Patrick urges gently. Nia straightens up and nods at the suggestion; the blonde boy stands to his feet and pulls her up to her own before the two walk to her car.

"You sure you wanna drive home on your own?" Patrick asks. "You're still kind of distressed right now."
"We live on the same street, Buster," she chuckles weakly. The ghost of a smile is enough to make Patrick's gut perform somersaults. "If anything happens, you'll know because you'll be right behind me."
"Pardon me for caring for my distraught friend," he chortles sarcastically, feigning offense by placing his hand over his heart. The organ still hasn't settled to a normal pace.
"Thanks," Nia smiles. "I really needed this."
"Yeah, any time," Patrick replies, returning the facial gesture. "Emphasis on any time."

The two laugh at the remark, letting the momentary joke die between them. Nia studies Patrick, almost the same way she looks at the sky just as dusk sets in. Patrick has seen that look many times, but never in his direction. Never at any person's direction. Not even Tom.

"Hey, uh," Patrick stammers, breaking the silence. Nia tears her gaze from him and fixates her attention to her hands. "If you need anything, just let me know. Okay?"
"Sure thing, Rick," she says. "Thanks."
"That's what friends are for," he smiles weakly.

Friends. So familiar, yet so foreign, Patrick comments internally.

"I'll follow you, okay?"
"Uh, yeah."

Patrick escapes the awkward tension and retreats to his car as Nia gets in her own vehicle. He grips the leather steering wheel and blows a sigh as he turns the key in the ignition.

"Get yourself together, man," he mumbles to himself. Maybe this will all wear off. He starts his following route behind Nia, trying to get the idea of her out of his head. It's a fruitless pursuit for him.

Nia turns to park at her house and sneaks back in the house through her window. Patrick follows suit with his house. Instead of falling asleep once he's reunited with his bed, he lies there. His eyes fixate on the ceiling above him and he lets the tsunami of Nia flood his mind.

He's a goner. Nothing can change that.

A/N: im sorry this took so long to update! School has been in the way! The semester is almost over thank god!! So things are in that midway between finals and slowing down for Thanksgiving! :)

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