Something Worth Fighting For (Patrick Stump Imagine Story)

This Circle Never Ends

Patrick pushes through the front door of your house. "(Y/N)!" He exclaims, closing the door behind him and running around the first floor, looking for you. "(Y/N)! Where are you? We need to talk!"

"Mom hasn't come home yet."

He stops in the middle of the front hallway and turns around to see Ethan standing in the threshold between the kitchen and foyer, his baby brother in his arms.

"She hasn't?" Patrick asks, his voice cracking. Ethan shakes his head no. "Wh-Where did she go?"

The teenager chuckles, "How the hell am I supposed to know? It's not like she tells me anything she doesn't tell you." He bites his lip and looks up, "Wait, take that back. She tells me a lot more than she tells you. She tells me way more than she tells you."

The singer's eyes narrow, "Ethan, I'm serious."

"Me too, Dad. I really don't know where she went. Your best shot would probably be Uncle Pete's. She always goes there."

Patrick's eyes grow wide, "Always?"

"Well not always, but she goes there a lot. Especially when she's upset with you. Which I'm pretty sure she is. I know the signs."

"The signs?" He mutters, his heart dropping.

Ethan chuckles, "Well yeah. Don't you?" The dad just stares at his son blankly. "You really don't? How blind are you? It's so obvious when you guys are pissed off at each other. You don't talk, and when you do, it's something like 'What's for dinner?' and 'I don't know'. All you guys do is argue, and when Gabby and I say something about it, you always tell us everything's fine when it clearly isn't. It's like this circle, really. This never-ending circle that just keeps going and going and-"

"So you think she went to Pete's?" Patrick interrupts him, not wanting to hear anymore.

He shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, probably. It wouldn't surprise me."

"Shit..." Your husband runs a hand through his hair and pivots his body towards the door, "Shit shit shit shit shit."

"Hey," Ethan holds Zach in one arm and points the index finger of his free hand at his dad, "That's six dollars in the swear jar. There's children in this house with very sensitive ears." He motions to Zach, who lets out a little giggle and buries his face in his brother's shirt. Ethan smirks.

Patrick ignores his son's remark and shakes his head. "I need to go find her." He mutters under his breath, meeting Ethan's gaze, "You don't mind watching your sister and brother a little longer, do you?"

"How much are you willing to pay me?" The boy tests.

Patrick heaves an exasperated sigh, "You're killing me, Ethan."

"And you're killing me!"

"Just watch them, goddammit!" He shouts before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

Ethan looks down at Zach whose head snapped up when the sound of the door hit his ear drums. "The nerve of that guy," The teenager mumbles, turning around and taking his brother back into the kitchen where the two of them and Gabby were eating lunch, "Thinking I don't do anything and have time to play Mommy with you guys." He scoffs and puts Zach in his high chair.

"Are Mommy and Daddy going to get a divorce this time?" The little girl asks, tears wavering in her eyes, having heard the entire conversation that went on in the foyer.

"I hope so," Ethan mutters, sitting down in the chair across from his sister and adjacent to the high chair, picking up the jar of baby food he was feeding his brother with, "Maybe then we'll finally be happy."

*****

You and Pete are at his house, the boys gone. Bronx is out with friends and Saint is with his mom. You're sitting on the couch while he stands in front of the TV, trying to decide what movie to put in.

You pull out your phone and see you have a few text messages from Patrick and your friend, along with a few missed calls, all from Patrick. Guilt starts to build up inside of you and you look up at Pete who's talking to himself, muttering about which of the two movies he's holding in his hands the two of you should watch.

You sigh and lock your phone, suggesting, "Why don't we just watch the first movie we watched?"

He glances back at you, a smirk stretched across his face, "That movie's so bad, though."

"I thought it was, like, the best fucking movie ever made," You chuckle.

He laughs, "You still remember that?" Your cheeks blush a faint shade of red as you nod your head. "That was so long ago."

"Really? It felt like yesterday to me," You retort.

He smiles and pops in the movie, walking over and turning the lights off. He makes his way to the couch through the dark and sits down beside you. You rest your head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around your back, holding you close as you curl up into his side.

The movie begins and you find yourself distracted. You glance up at Pete, biting your lip, torn.

You want to be with Pete, knowing he'll end the pain that Patrick's put you through. Knowing he loves you and won't stop loving you. But you don't want to lose everything you've worked up to with Patrick. You've got a family with him, you've got a life with him, and if you were to be with Pete...

Just then, a forceful knock echoes through Pete's house, taking you out of the daze you'd fallen into.

"Who could-" The bassist begins to ask when he's cut off.

"(Y/N)! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

Your eyes grow wide.