XO (FOB FanFic ft. Brendon Urie)

[Chapter 9] Need I Remind You

28 DAYS LEFT...

I stayed in the living room the entire time Claire was gone, afraid to go back in the hallway. Afraid to go back in the spare bedroom.

So I decided to just stay on the couch, catching up on some shows I've been behind on since I've been busy with the band lately. I eventually fell asleep, though, and was awoken by the sound of a door clicking open. I sat up and saw Claire walk into the apartment, closing the door behind her and turning around to see me. Her eyes widened.

"You're up," She murmured under her breath, as if it was a shock to see me.

"Yeah. What time is it?" I inquired groggily, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

She chuckled nervously before answering, "Two in the morning."

"Two in the morning!?!" I jumped to my feet.

Claire's cheeks grew a bright red color, "Yup. Two in the morning." She walked past me and into the bedroom hallway, where I only assumed she was going to her bedroom. I followed after her.

"What were you doing with Brendon until two in the morning?" I interrogated.

"None of your business," She replied snappily, closing the bedroom door behind her.

"We pinky promised to tell each other the truth," I reminded her, leaning against the wall next to her bedroom door.

The door opened and she popped her head out. "Need I remind you that we promised to tell each other the truth, not everything about our personal lives?"

"Need I remind you that you told me that we could continue our conversation later?" She rolled her eyes and escaped into the bedroom. This time I walked in after her. "Well, Claire, it's later."

"It's two in the morning. I'm tired as fuck and I just want to go to bed," She rattled off, taking her shirt off and throwing it back. I caught it in my hands before throwing it to the side. "And anyways, what happens between Brendon and me has nothing to do with you."

"But what if it does?" I proposed, picturing XO's message on the spare bedroom wall.

The Brendon you know isn't the Brendon Claire knows.

"It doesn't." She stepped out of her pants and threw those back too. I once again caught them and threw them to the side.

"But what if it does?" I repeated my question, this time more aggressively and taking a step towards her. She glanced over her shoulder at me. "Claire, I didn't know about you until two days ago. When I woke up and found you in the same bed as I was. But I've known Brendon since 2005. Maybe even earlier than that. What if the Brendon I know isn't the Brendon you know?"

"Maybe he just doesn't like sharing his personal life..." She tried to convince me as she walked over to the dresser and pulled open a drawer, shuffling through it before picking out a black piece of lingerie.

"Or...maybe he's been living a double life," I suggested, turning away in respect so I didn't watch her dress herself.

"A double life?" She laughed, "Just listen to yourself, Pattycakes. A double life. That's crazy. He's too well-known to live a double life."

"Exactly. So how come I didn't know about you?"

A hand grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around. My eyes were first drawn to Claire's chest before being drawn up to her face. "You didn't know about me because Brendon and I agreed to keep our relationship a secret. We did that because...because he and I rushed into things." I gave her a confused look. She dropped her hand to her sides and sighed, "Brendon and I met in high school. The two of us were 'high school sweethearts', as people liked to say. So, when we graduated, like, the same night we graduated, Brendon proposed. We were stupid and young and didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. But nonetheless, I said yes, we got married, and a few months in, we realized marriage was something we just weren't ready for."

"So...why didn't you guys get a divorce?"

"We couldn't afford a divorce," She answered me, "The only reason we stayed together was because all we had was each other. And when he became popular with that band of his...yeah, the new found money from making music was great, but...it changed him." Claire bit her lip and hung her head, "He's just not the same guy I knew in high school."

There was a long pause before I turned around to leave her room. "Patrick! Wait!" Claire cried. I stopped in my tracks.

"You said that Brendon lives a double life," She remarked, walking up behind me and wrapping her arms around my torso from behind. My eyes widened as I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "What did you mean?"

"I-I meant that...that he..." I stuttered to come up with an answer, "Like he had his life as a musician and then his life with you. W-What do you think I meant?"

"No, I just...maybe you're right." She stepped away from me and I looked over my shoulder at her, "Maybe he has been living two lives." I stared at her blankly. "Maybe you know Brendon different than I do. So...do you think he could be behind this?"

"Be behind what?"

"This." She walked past me and out into the hallway, right across the hall where she opened the door and turned on the light, revealing the wall with the message. She looked back at me and said, "There's only one other person besides me who has keys to this apartment, and that's Brendon. He's the only one who could've done this." She gasped, "Maybe that's why I woke up in that bed, in that room with you. I mean, how else would I have gotten there?"

I stared at her blankly, still trying to wrap my head around what she was saying.

Claire gripped my upper arms tightly and shook me, "It all makes sense, Patrick! Even the note that was slipped under the door points to Brendon as the one who did this! 'I see you've met Claire. She's a doll, isn't she?' He wrote the note! He's XO!"

I shook my head and stepped out of her hold, "No, Claire, Brendon wouldn't be XO. He couldn't. He's too nice of a guy." I looked over Claire's shoulder at the wall with the message.

The Brendon you know isn't the Brendon Claire knows.

"And anyways," I continued, looking back at her, "How could accuse him of something so terrible? He's your husband, for crying out loud."

She sighed, "I don't know. I'm just trying to make sense of all of this." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Because who would do this other than someone who knows you personally? Brendon's one of your best friends, right?"

"Well he's my friend but I wouldn't say he's my best friend..."

Claire rolled her eyes and walked past me into her bedroom, throwing the covers of her bed back and sitting down, covering her face with her hands. She sat there for a little before she began to cry. I turned around. "I don't know what's going on, Pattycakes!" She cried through her hands. "I just want to wake up and for this all to be some bad nightmare!"

I slowly walked up to her and sat down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a comforting side hug. She sobbed into my shirt as I rubbed her back, awkwardly looking around the room before gazing out into the room across the hall, shaking my head. What if Brendon was XO?