Metronome (FOB FanFic ft. Tyler Joseph)

Epilogue

I heaved a sigh as I sat back in the driver's seat, my grip on the steering wheel growing tight, "I'm really nervous, Patrick."

He chuckled from the passenger's seat and looked over at me, "Why? What have you got to be nervous about?"

"I just don't think I'm ready to do this," I admitted, meeting his gaze.

He smirked and reached his hand over the center console, tucking a piece of hair that had fallen out of my short ponytail behind my ear, "It's going to be okay, Ev. Besides, it's too late to turn back. We're all the way across the country and we can't just go back home."

I groaned and returned my attention forward, out the windshield. "But can't we? I didn't tell them we were here yet. We can just leave and I'll call them later tonight and tell them that I couldn't make it in because of the weather."

Patrick scoffed, "Like you could do that to your parents."

"I could," I retorted, seriously contemplating the idea.

"Oh my god, come on," He pushed his car door out and stepped out, closing the door behind him and traveling over to my side of the car, pulling the door open and extending his hand out to me. "Your parents have been looking forward to this for how long?"

"Since last we saw each other," I mumbled, turning my head away from him.

"And when was that?"

I heaved a sigh before muttering under my breath, "Last Thanksgiving."

"See? That's three hundred and sixty-give days of waiting to see you. You can't bail out on them. That's not you."

"That's not me?" I glared up at him, sneering, "Need I remind you how many times I bailed out on you?"

"I'm different. Your parents didn't treat you like shit or push you to your breaking point. Now stop being a pussy and come on!" He wiggled his fingers, persuading me to come out.

"I beg to differ," I challenged.

"For Pete's sake," He muttered before reaching in and unbuckling my seat belt for me, "You tell me I'm stubborn." And with that, he slipped his arms underneath me and extracted me from the car. I yelped in surprise as he spun around and closed the car door with his hip.

"Patrick, put me down!" I exclaimed as he carried me like a bride to the front door.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Evelyn Quinn," He replied with a smirk, "You see, because if I set you down, then I know you'll just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open to reveal my mom and dad. Patrick's eyes grew wide and my cheeks warmed up in embarrassment.

"Hi, Mom," I greeted uneasily, Patrick finally granting my wish and setting me down on the porch.

"Who's this?" She inquired, shifting her gaze from me to the man standing beside me, his hands shoved in his pants pockets and his head tilted downward.

"Mom and Dad, this is Patrick," I introduced him, "Patrick, this is Mom and Dad."

"I thought she was dating Tyler," My dad whispered into my mom's ear, but it wasn't very much of a whisper seeing as both Patrick and me heard it clear as day.

"Hon," My mother scolded him, nudging him in the side, "I thought I told you we weren't bringing him up tonight."

"What? Why?"

"Because he-"

"Died," I finished my mom's sentence. She looked over at me with sympathetic eyes. "It's okay, Mom, I've moved on. I'm over him. Really."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded my head and wrapped my hands around Patrick's upper arm, resting my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm sure." Patrick looked down at me and grinned, kissing me on the head. My mom smiled at us and it wasn't long before she invited us in. She took me into the kitchen to help with dinner, while my dad took Patrick into our living room to show him our collection of awards and family portraits that filled the bookshelves and lined the walls.

"So...how'd the two of you meet?" My mom asked me right off the bat, grabbing a spoon and stirring the mashed potatoes in the large pot on the stove.

I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest, the corner of my lips curling up into a smirk, "Why does it matter to you?"

"You're my daughter and I like to know what's going on in your life," She replied honestly, "Especially when you're never home and don't call me enough."

I chuckled and shook my head, "Fine. I met him at school."

"Was he in one of your classes?"

I couldn't hold back the sly grin that my smirk evolved into. "I guess you could say that."

My mom looked over at me and matched my expression. "What's that look for?"

"What look?"

"The one on your face."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, the look that tells me you're not telling me everything."

"Mom, I just met him at school!"

"Well was he in one your classes or-"

"He was my piano teacher, okay?" I muttered under my breath.

She gasped as her eyes grew wide. "Your piano teacher as in that piano teacher?" She whispered, pointing the spoon in her hand over her shoulder in the direction of the living room. I nodded my head.  "Oh my god! Evie!" She exclaimed, smacking me with the towel she grabbed from the handle of the oven, "What did I tell you? I knew it. I knew it!"

"Mom, quiet down!" I begged, the room growing warmer, "He's in the next room over, you know, and these walls aren't very thick."

She squealed like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert, even going to the extent of jumping up and down in excitement. I covered my reddening face with my hands and groaned in chagrin.

"So what happened to him not liking you and you not liking him?"

I dragged my hands down my face and met her overly ecstatic gaze, "Mom, he and I just kind of happened, okay? I don't even know if it's going to last."

"Oh shut up, Muffin," She turned off the stove and moved the pot onto the counter, "I saw the way you looked at him and the way he looked at you. It wasn't fake like it was with Tyler."

My eyebrows furrowed together, "What do you mean?"

"It was obvious Tyler wasn't the one for you. Your dad thought he was the one, but, I knew from the start he wasn't. Your first love is never the one you're meant to be with." Before I could respond, she picked up a stack of plates and silverware and disappeared into the dining room, leaving me alone in the kitchen to allow her words to sink in for me.

It was obvious Tyler wasn't the one for you...Your first love is never the one you're meant to be with...