Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 16 - My Favorite Liar

            The next few weeks were a blur of absolute bliss and studio work. I was working every day, bright and early in the morning until late in the afternoon, trying to get ready for tour and the comeback. I had talked to the rest of the band about bringing Aria with us, and of course, Pete had to make a joke out of it. "You're bringing a deaf girl on tour with a rock band?" He had said, failing miserably at hiding his laughter behind his words. "I mean, at least she can't complain that we're too loud on the bus."

"That's true," Joe had teased, "Lucky girl can go to bed whenever she wants and she won't have to be bothered by you idiots."

I had smiled slightly at that, remembering all of the times in the past when we had kept Joe up after a show, and gotten yelled at for being too noisy. Nevertheless, I had to tell them off a little bit. "Guys," I had said, "Come on. I'm really serious about this woman. She means a lot to me."

"We know, man," Joe had said, looking at me a little more seriously as the laughter melted away. "Of course she can come with us. You didn't even have to ask."

Even though that conversation had gone fairly well, I was still nervous to be bringing her along. I was afraid the guys would say something stupid right in front of her, or she would get tired of being surrounded by guys. I worried constantly over the few weeks before tour started, every moment I spent away from her in the studio. But whenever I came stumbling home in the afternoon, a guitar thrown over my back and my shoulders sagging with exhaustion, she made it easy to forget. After the night following our first fight, it was like we couldn't keep our hands off each other. We made love almost every night when I got home from the studio, effectively alleviating all of the worries I had about tour.

But it was certain mornings after that were my absolute favorite part of the day. Most days, she woke before me and left me to sleep until I had to get up for work. She was an early riser, but she also loved cooking breakfast for me whenever she could. As much as I loved those mornings, there was only one thing better. Waking up with her still lying beside me was absolutely magical. I loved waking up to feel her warm body still pressed to mine, even with her hair in my face and my arm numbly asleep because she had ended up laying on it during the night.

The morning of the comeback was like this. There was going to be a big management party tonight, where we would drop the video for a song we had decided to call, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark," or "Light Em Up," for short. I was beyond excited to release the song, but I was also terrified about how the reception might go. Last night, I had even found myself wondering if we still had any fans left. Nevertheless, as I woke up curled around my gorgeous girlfriend, I couldn't help but feel relaxed.

Aria's hair tickling my nose is what had actually woken me up, so I slowly reached up and brushed it back with my hand, moving her blonde hair away from her neck and bare shoulder. She sighed in her sleep as I gently slid my arm back around her waist, dragging my fingers lightly over her warm skin as I pulled her closer against me. As per usual, I couldn't help myself. I buried my head against the curve of her neck and planted a gentle kiss there. She stirred again, her legs stretching out beneath the blankets. I hooked one of my legs around hers, pulling them back to me, and continued my gentle assault on her neck.

After a moment, she began to turn to towards me, a soft sound escaping her lips. I lifted my arm and moved my kisses with her, ending up leaving a trail of kisses up her neck to her jaw, where I kissed her one last time before I stopped to smile at her. She sleepy blue eyes fluttered open and she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. I smirked at her and kissed her cheek. My hand settled back on her hip, pulling her against me. I knew by the way she looked at me that she could feel how much I already wanted her. I also knew that tonight after the party, we would be spending our first night on the tour bus, with three other guys, who I'm sure wouldn't take too kindly to us getting intimate in the bunk room.