Hell's Reign (Patrick Stump/Fall Out Boy Fanfiction)

Chapter 19 - This Isn't A Home

          Pete was the first one to kick in the front door of the apartment. It was situated over the stage, up a steep flight of creaky, wooden stairs that seemed likely to fall at any given moment. The five of them stood in the doorway for a moment, as the door hit the wall and creaked slowly back towards them with a splintered dent in the wood where Pete's boot had made contact with it. Behind Pete, Andy and Joe looked over his shoulders in nervous curiosity. Behind them, Patrick and Tori held tightly to one another's hands, despite the fact that Patrick was still fearful for his life after the cigarette fiasco.

Armed with a shotgun, Pete stepped into the entryway of the apartment. It opened immediately into a living room, which didn't look like it had been taken very well care of before the apocalypse, better yet, after it. There was definitely no sign of anyone living here, so Pete immediately knew the manager was either gone, dead, or lurking somewhere around the apartment as a zombie. He stepped carefully into the room, his eyes and ears straining for anything out of the ordinary.

The lights were all out in the apartment, but Andy flicked on the single light bulb hanging from the center of the living room as he entered. The dust covered apartment was illuminated by the flickering light, but when the light finally held a steady beam, Patrick and Tori finally made their way into the room. Tori walked slightly ahead of Patrick, her curiosity and bravery getting the best of her, and Patrick was pulled nervously behind her. She looked towards the darkened kitchen, to the left of the entryway, while Pete began to walk towards the bedrooms.

Tori and Patrick turned the light on in the kitchen and found nothing threatening. Letting go of Patrick's hand, Tori climbed carefully up onto the counter and began opening the cabinets that she couldn't otherwise reach. Patrick watched, smirking slightly as she handed him a few boxes of cereal, still unopened, and began to stack cans of soup on the counter. "Food," Patrick breathed, "Thank God."

"Yeah," Tori sighed, "Now, if only this guy was a chain smoker...." She shot a glare down at Patrick as she opened another cabinet and began pushing dishes and cups out of her way.

"Babe," Patrick sighed, setting the cereal on the table beside him. "I'm sorry, okay? I was just trying to help when I left the cigarettes behind."

Tori rolled her eyes but then sighed again in defeat and pushed her hair away from her face. "I know, Patrick," she mumbled, "But you could have talked to me about it first, if my smoking bothered you that much. I would have tried to quit. Maybe not cold-turkey, but still."

"Yeah...probably not the best idea, huh?"

"Given the circumstances? No. This is going to suck if I don't get something. I'll get sick, I'll get the shivers...and it'll be all your fault." Tori smirked at him, so he would know she was joking, and playfully tossed an unopened bag of Lay's potato chips at him.

"Holy smokes," Patrick breathed, looking down at the chips in his hands as if he'd just struck gold. "I don't think I've ever missed anything as much as I missed potato chips."

"I know," Tori giggled, hopping down from the counter. "You don't realize how good you have it until everything disappears."

"Yeah," Patrick sighed, setting the bag down as Tori stood in front of him. His hands instinctively moved to her waist, and hers moved to his chest. "I'm sorry I'm making you quit cold-turkey," he whispered, reaching one hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Tori shrugged, pressing a little closer to him. "I'm sorry I threatened to kill you," She giggled, "But at least now I know I can get my way whenever I want."

Patrick cocked an eyebrow at her, a smirk forming on his lips. "What makes you say that, Victoria?"

"Well," she mumbled, pulling him closer to her by his shirt, "You're obviously very afraid of me."