The Flier (Patrick Stump)

Prologue

/Prologue\
Competition Day

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. The conversations between some of the other members of my group sounded muffled. Person after person passed by our waiting line, catching a glimpse of the new and improved Linton High School Winter Guard. Kam said that since it was my first year, I should take in all of my surroundings so that I can learn what real competitions are like. It wasn't that hard.

"Zenna?" Isabelle's voice softly asked behind me, and I felt her small hand on my arm. Turning around, I looked down and met the seventh grader's light green eyes.

"Hi, Izzy," I sighed, and she immediately wrapped one of her skinny arms around my stomach. The other held her equipment. My free arm automatically went around her shoulders and I laid the side of my head on top of hers. She was about six inches shorter than I was, but she made up for her height in personality.

"Don't be scared, Z," she whispered. That was Izzy alright, being the sweetest little girl on the entire team. "He is going to catch you. He gave you his word."

"But it isn't like his word is going to emerge from his body and catch me," I mumbled back.

"That would be really weird," she giggled. I laughed quietly along with her. Adorable little Izzy.

"Yeah," I agreed, and we let go of each other. Izzy suddenly stopped moving and started staring at something behind me. My eyebrows furrowed. "What are you looking at?" When she didn't reply, I knew something was up. Once I glanced behind me, I locked eyes with the boy that had my safety in his hands: Patrick Stump. He was all the way at the end of our line while I was at the front, but his intense gaze made it feel like he was right there. Had he been staring at me this entire time?

"Ooh!" Izzy said in a sing-song voice. Patrick must have heard what she said because he immediately looked away and checked on the equipment he would be using, which was currently cradled on the inside of his elbow. I turned back around to Izzy, who looked like she was dying of laughter.

"Izzy!" I whispered-yelled.

"What?" she asked, pulled herself together.

"What was that?"

"That, my dear Zenna, was me calling Patrick out for staring at you." My eyes widened. He had been staring at me! No Zenna, no. It was not the time to be worrying about if he was staring at me. It was time to be focusing and getting myself together so that I could get all of the work right. Within five minutes, I would be about to perform in front of an actual crowd and panel of judges. This was the last time we would have to wait before our performance. Sighing again, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. About twenty seconds after I started doing that, however, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Annoyed, I turned around and opened my eyes.

"Hello?" I groaned, but my breathing hitched as soon as I recognized that Patrick was standing right in front of me. "Oh, hey."

"Hey," he replied, looking down at the floor and adjusting his fedora.

"You know that you'll have to take off that hat before we go on, right?" I told him, smiling.

"Of course," he replied. We both stayed silent until he started smirking. "So you still trust me right?"

"Yeah, I kind of have to," I answered, slightly laughing.

"Do you trust me because you have to, or because you actually do, though?" he asked as he looked up at me, his expression becoming solemn. Well, that was odd. That was not the Patrick I knew at all.

"Because I actually do. Why are you serious all of a sudden?" I questioned. He chuckled and shook his head.

"I guess it's who I am this week."

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AN: (anyone recognize the pun?) i'm back with a new story! this time, it is a realistic AU story instead of "Matchmaker"! (it is AU, though) sorry if this first chapter isn't the best, but this is only the prologue. it will get much better within the next couple of chapters. any views, votes, or comments would be most appreciated! :)

(IMPORTANT- if you don't know what Winter Guard is, let me give you an example. have you ever seen the men and women (mostly women) who go onto a football field with a band before a game or at halftime and spin flags and other stuff? yeah. Winter Guard is the all-Guard version of that. they spin flags, wooden rifles, sabres (not real ones), and sometimes other stuff, and they perform at competitions. they don't use a band for music; they find an actual song to do their work for. if you want more examples, go on YouTube and look up "winter guard performance". there will be tons of videos to choose from.)