How to Not Fall For Patrick Stump For Dummies #Wattys2015

Chapter 8

"Patrick..." I laughed and pushed him off me.

He laughed back, causing the butterflies in my stomach to erupt.

"Come on..." he sat up and grabbed my hand, slowly helping me up with him, "I want to take you somewhere."

The way he said it, I was half convinced he was going to take me home to his bed. No, Patrick wasn't like that. Or was he?

He brought me outside, where the cold air bit my skin. The familiar feeling I had entering the venue was even stronger now. It was absolutely freezing. It was like winter had come in one day.

After getting into the car, he blasted the heat and rubbed his hands together, chuckling sweetly. A few girls had stuck around and squealed as they noticed who was in it.

"Shoot..." Patrick mumbled and checked behind him before pushing the car into reverse, speeding away.

"It's okay, they're just fans," I told him, keeping a close eye on the growing mob of fans chasing the car. I began to understand why he was so nervous.

"It's not even that. I love the fans. I just don't want them to see you and start a gossip. You don't need the publicity," he said and looked into his mirror.

"Damnit," he hit the wheel and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, Em."

"It's alright," I reassured him.

We drove off onto the highway. Even the crazy insane Stumpfanatics disappeared, not nearly brave enough to try chasing our car flying at 75 mph.

"Where did you want to take me?" I asked Patrick.

He seemed to relax a little more after I reminded him. The grip of his fingers on the steering wheel softened and a smile crept up on his face. "Just somewhere..." he said and glanced at me briefly.

"Ooh so mysterious," I giggled. The longer I was with Patrick, the more attracted to him I was. That was it. There was no doubt in my body that said I wasn't in love with this man sitting next to me. I even sounded flirty, and that is definitely not me.

We drove past quiet streets and out onto a grassy patch, where the car slowed to a stop and parked. Patrick leaned in and stole a quick kiss on my cheek.

My jaw dropped as he innocently ran out the door. He once again ran around my side of the car and opened my door, offering a hand. I laid my hand on his chest and pushed him playfully, stepping out of the car myself.

He brought himself back up to me and lifted me up by my waist, placing me on the hood of his car. Just that little bit of height difference meant the world. I could see above the shrubs and bushes to get a better look at Lake Michigan. The city night lights reflected into the water.

It was the most beautiful scene I'd ever seen in my life.

Patrick hopped up with me and scooted himself next to me. He lied down and grabbed my hand as I had done the same.

"Do you like it?" he asked, taking a break from the stars to look to me. His eyes shined just as bright as they did.

"Like it? No, I hate it. I can't believe you took me to this ugly place," I smirked and looked back to him.

He laughed, "Sorry, I don't have the budget to fly you to Florida sugar."

"Yeah," I scoffed, "Not like you're a famous, pop-punk super star or anything."

Once again, I heard his little laugh. He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it, breathing warm air into it.

"That's what I love about you Emerald," he said and smiled his one million dollar smile to me, "Your sarcasm. It's the best quality a girl could have."

"You think I'm sarcastic?" I continued to joke.

"Yeah, I think so. You pretended to hate me for so long and now look at us," he looked back up to the sky.

I swallowed the guilt down my throat and pushed a nervous laugh out, "Yeah..." Thankfully, he didn't question.

We sat there for quite a while, enjoying the beautiful view and time with each other. I had a feeling that times like these would be limited.

He frowned when we had to leave. It was getting too dark to see and my teeth were chattering.

We drove back to a busy hospital parking lot. Patrick insisted on helping me into my room. I didn't have much of a choice.

"Em..." he said and quickly pulled me back into him, obscuring me from the crowd of people around the front desk.

Fans.

A familiar doctor rushed in and hushed the crowd, "Emerald Cruz is not in her room. You can't visit her."

"She's been kidnapped by Patrick Stump!" a girl cried, "I saw it with my own eyes!"

I turned to Patrick. His face was ghostly white and he looked like he might pass out. There's no way he could ever kidnap someone. The words dug into him like a knife.

"Patr-" I started. He pulled me back to his car and sped off in the opposite direction. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Patrick... It's not your fault," I finished my thought to him.

He stayed completely silent for the rest of the ride. He stopped his car in the garage of his house and closed it, rushing me inside.

"Go take the bed. You need rest. I'll figure this out in the morning," he said in a hoarse voice.

"No, I can sleep on the couch. It's your bed," I argued.

"Em..." he pleaded with his eyes, "Please..."

I felt my heart crack, seeing him so helpless. I obeyed his order and walked into his bedroom. It was big and empty. Without Elisa, there was a gap everywhere I looked. It must've haunted Patrick.

I crawled into his bed and laid on my side, knowing I wouldn't get any sleep. It only took a minute or so until I heard quiet sobs from the living room. I felt so terrible for getting him in this mess. I never meant for this to happen.

I debated going out there to comfort him, but I doubt he'd want me to see him like that again. That's the reason he pushed me in here in the first place.

My fingers traced the side of the bed where he would've been and I blinked tears out of my eyes. Insomnia kicked in and I listened to Patrick cry the whole night.