Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 28 - Another Bad Poem

            Saturday morning came faster than either of us expected. It was only six in the morning, and already, the bus was parked in the driveway. Pete was standing in the doorway, whining that we weren't moving fast enough, and Joe and Andy were helping us carry our bags out. I ran up to our bedroom for one last thing and Aria followed me up there, with Pete's voice carrying up the stairs behind her, still whining. I grabbed my fedora off the bedside table and placed it on my head, turning around to see Aria standing right behind me. She smirked at me and slid her arms around my waist, looking up at me with bright eyes. I smiled back and leaned down to kiss her, taking her left hand from around my waist. I lifted that to my lips and kissed her knuckle, just behind the diamond ring.

She blushed deeply, and I let go of her hand. "Read for this?" I asked.

Aria bit her lip and nodded, stretching up on her toes for one more kiss. "Let's go tell them," she signed, taking my hand tightly in hers and leading me from our bedroom. I chuckled as I followed her down the stairs, and we found Pete waiting at the bottom of them.

"Let's gooooo," He whined, stomping his foot like a little kid. "My God, Patrick, you guys are so slow, we have a show to get to!"

"Relax, Pete," I laughed, "We have until tomorrow afternoon. Nashville's only seven hours away." I snaked my arm around Aria's waist, connecting her to my hip as we brushed past Pete. He groaned and followed us like a lost puppy.

"But I want to get there early," he whined again.

"For what?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him.

"The food! Nashville hot chicken? Come on, Patrick, we've never tried it before, all the times we've been there. We have to get some!"

"Fine," I chuckled, "Fine, we'll get you some chicken. But I think we'll still get there in plenty of time. Just relax."

Pete perked up a bit as we left the house, hopping down the front steps of the porch and jogging to the bus. I gently propelled Aria ahead of me and turned back to lock the house, then followed her down to the bus. She stepped on first, immediately being engulfed in a hug by Andy. She hugged Joe next, as I collapsed onto the couch, ready to fall back asleep. When greeting were over, Aria came to sit next to me, curling up with me on the couch with her left hand resting on my chest. I smirked at her and she winked at me, both of us waiting to see who noticed first.

As the bus rolled out of the driveway, Joe and Andy sat down at the breakfast table, and Pete turned on the TV, sitting on the couch opposite us. I ran my hand through Aria's hair, kissing her forehead and earning myself a grown from Joe. "PDA, children!" He shouted from the table. Since Aria couldn't hear him, I held my hand up behind her head and flipped him off. He chuckled and went right back to talking with Andy. However, when I turned my had back to look at Pete, he was staring very intently at my chest, where Aria's hand still lay, and his brow was furrowed in deep concentration. I waited patiently until his eyes flicked up to meet mine, and simply smiled at him.

"Patrick," he muttered, "What the fuck is that?"

I looked down like I had no idea what he was talking about, and grabbed Aria's hand in mine. She looked up at Pete and smiled, blushing slightly as his jaw dropped. Joe and Andy were looking now too. I fingered the ring slightly, then held her hand up and looked at Pete with a deadpanned expression. "My girlfriend's hand?" I stated, shrugging like it was obvious. Pete's jaw immediately snapped shut and he glared at me like he wanted to smack me.