Metronome (FOB FanFic ft. Tyler Joseph)

Chapter 16

I got down from the barstool and stormed out of the bar. "Evelyn, wait!" Patrick called, running after me.

"No! Stay away!" I shouted as I made my way down the sidewalk that wasn't crowded, but wasn't barren either.

"Please! I didn't mean to upset you!"

"Then what did you mean, Patrick?" I stopped in my tracks and spun around so I was facing him. He was still standing by the bar's entrance, panting. "I just wanted a drink, I didn't want to go out on a date!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but...I just wanted to get a fresh start with you," He admitted, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants, "When you first walked into my classroom, I was in a real shit mood and I took it out on you without knowing anything about you. All you wanted was some simple piano lessons, which shouldn't have been as bad as they were. I'm not usually that harsh. That's not me. I'm not that guy."

"Really?" I laughed, alcohol fueling my response, "Because I remember quite clearly that you were like that to me for weeks. Not just a day."

"I'm in a bad place!" He tried to defend himself, starting to approach me, "Evelyn, you've got to understand, Elisa...she was my everything. She was the girl I wanted to marry, the girl I wanted to have a family with, the girl I wanted to grow old with! And then she left me...with a fucking note, for crying out loud!" As he came closer, I noticed the tears wavering in his eyes. "I can't tell you how many times I've read that note, hoping that it's all some kind of sick joke. That she's going to come back to me and tell me she didn't mean what she wrote, that she just needed a little time to herself. But it's been a while since she gave me that note. A long while and...and I'm trying to move on. With you."

I shook my head, "I don't think I've ever met anyone so...so full of bullshit, Patrick." He swallowed hard. "Seriously. It's pathetic and to be honest, I'm finding it hard to sympathize with you. But if you're serious about trying to move on, why don't you waste your time on someone who can actually help you? I'm just as much of a mess as you are!"

"You think you are, but you're not. You weren't dating Tyler for ten years. You weren't serious about him."

I raised my eyebrow, "How do you know how long I was dating him? Or how serious I was about him?"

"I asked Joe," He confessed, acting as though that wasn't a big deal, "The night of the University's show. He told me everything."

I turned away from him and ran my fingers through my hair, mentally beating myself up for opening up to people. That's what happens when you open up to people, you get burned.

"Look, Evelyn," Patrick took a step towards me, however being cautious to keep his distance, "Breaking up with someone is never easy. But you're young, you're pretty, you're talented, and you're going to find someone new within a heartbeat if you just put yourself out there again."

I glanced back at him over my shoulder, tears blurring my vision.

"I know I'm crossing every line there ever was-"

"Damn right you are," I interrupted him.

The corner of his lip perked up into a smirk, before he continued with what he was saying, "But if Tyler really loved you, as much as you seem to love him, he wouldn't have cheated on you. He wouldn't have slept with that barista from the same coffee shop you work at. So..." He sighed, "I guess what I'm just trying to say is...there's someone out there for you, Evelyn, someone who won't hurt you like Tyler did. You've just got to open your eyes and find them. And take my word for it, they're not hiding." And with that, he turned around and walked back towards the bar.

"Patrick, wait!" I screamed. He froze. I jogged up to him. "You're my ride home," I told him, blushing.

He spun around to face me and chuckled, running a hand through his hair, "Right. Sorry, I forgot."

*****

I groaned and turned on my side, opening my eyes ever so slightly and seeing that I was lying in a bed, in my own bedroom. I blinked a few times before extending my hand out and grabbing my glasses off of the nightstand. I slid them on and sat up, scratching my head and looking around. I glanced down beside me and saw that the other half of the bed was empty. I frowned.

I threw the covers off of me and stood up, dragging myself out of my room to the bathroom where I clung onto the sink and hung my head low. I didn't remember anything that happened last night after Patrick and I left the house for drinks. I didn't remember anything that happened the bar, and I certainly didn't remember how or when I got back home. Hell, I didn't even really remember leaving the house with Patrick. It was all just a blurred memory.

I brought my hands up to my face and heaved a sigh, dragging my fingers down from my forehead to my chin and staring into the mirror. My hair was disheveled and my eyeliner streaked my cheeks. I scoffed in disgust at my appearance and left the bathroom, retreating downstairs and going straight to the kitchen, where I went to pull open the fridge when there was a knock on my door.

I heaved a sigh and made my way into the foyer, yanking open the front door to find Jenna standing on my doorstep. My eyes instantly narrowed and I was about to slam the door in her face when she stuck her hand out.

"Evie, I know you're pissed at me but-"

"Pissed at you? No, Jenna, I'm beyond pissed with you. And quite frankly, I don't want to talk to you."

"But it's not about me! It's about Tyler!"

I rolled my eyes, "What about him?"

"He's in the hospital. He tried to kill himself. And...And things aren't looking too good."

As much as I didn't want to believe her, since it was nearly every day that Tyler tried to kill himself, I couldn't help but have my heart drop and the world around me come to a halt.

"You're...You're joking," I stammered.

She shook her head no.

I clung onto the door and bit my lip, a nauseous feeling forming in the pit of my stomach as the ground started to slip out from underneath my feet.

He's in the hospital. He tried to kill himself. Things aren't looking too good.