Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 37 - Make Up For the Silence

                  

Aria's Point of View

            The ceremony was quick, but it was mostly because I wasn't paying much attention. I was too focused on staring at Patrick from the corner of my eye, eagerly waiting for him to speak again. Soon enough, however, we were asked to face each other and recite our vows. I looked up at Patrick with shining eyes, the tears already gathering as I placed my shaking hands in his. The minister asked me to go first, and I nodded, smiling nervously at Patrick. Before I could stat speaking, Patrick let go of my hand to reach up and wipe a stray tear from my cheek.

            "Relax," he whispered, "I love you."

            I sighed shakily and tried to gather myself, mouthing the words, "I love you too," back to him. Finally, I squeezed both of his hands in mine and began reciting my vows. "Patrick," I stated, my pronunciation of his name sounding better than it ever had before, "Weeks ago, when I first sat down to write these vows, I have to admit, I had no idea what to write." My voice cracked as I spoke, abut Patrick only squeezed my hands tighter. "It was hard, because I'm not used to putting my feelings into words. And to do this for you, someone who writes so beautifully, it was a scary task to complete." I laughed a bit at how completely cheesy I sounded, but Patrick was beaming with happiness. "But I thought, if I could put it in just a few words, it would probably go something like this. Patrick Stump, you made me hear music again, for the first time in years, and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. And I don't mean that literally, after the surgery, I mean even before that. The day I met you I heard music. Something about you made all the silence sound just a little different." I was full on crying now, sobbing my way through the last few words. Patrick was no better off, his body shaking slightly with the failed attempt to stop himself from crying. "I want you to know," I continued, "That no matter what, I will always want to hear your music. Whether it be literally, or the music you make me feel just from loving you, I will always be there. I already know we can make it through anything, and I'm looking forward to getting through everything else with you. Whatever life throws at us, good times and bad, Patrick, I will always love you."

            The send I finished, Patrick squeezed my hands and looked down, as if to hide his tears from me. When he looked back up, I realized her was just trying to compose himself before he had to recite his own vows. The minister gave him a small nod, and Patrick looked me in the eyes. "Aria," he said softly, "I didn't write much to say to you right now, because I already wrote my feelings out for you the day we met. However, I want you to know that you are, literally, my Aria. You are the melody to my life, and the inspiration behind an entire record of my music. You have no idea how much you mean to me, but I'm going to spend every day of my life trying to show you. But for now, I want you to hear, finally, the first thing I ever wrote because of you." As he said that, he glanced for a moment behind him, where, behind the groomsmen, sat a beautiful, white, grand piano. When I realized what he was about to do, I let go of his hand and covered my mouth, gasping at him as tears escaped my eyes again. Without another word, but a knowing smirk, Patrick pulled me by my other hand towards the piano with him.

            I could hear various family members crying, and I knew Meagan was probably bawling her eyes out already. Patrick gently sat me down on one side of the piano bench, then took his place next to me. He glanced at me as he raised his hands to the keys, hesitating for a moment. "Ready?" He asked, his voice barely loud enough to be a whisper. I looked at him, realizing that this was finally it, the moment I would hear him sing. I nodded quickly, shifting slightly closer to him on the bench. He smiled, his worried, nervous face softening as he lowered a hand to my knee for a moment. He just stared at me, his eyes melting into mine, and then finally, he turned and began to play. The second the first notes hit, I was in tears. He played beautifully, his hands dancing over the keys expertly, but I was nowhere near prepared for his voice. He looked right at me as he belted out the first lines of the song, an uncontrollable smile plastered across his face. "I don't know where you're going, but do you got room for one more troubled soul? I don't know where I'm going, but I don't think I'm coming home, and I said, I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead. This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end." He broke into what I assumed was the chorus, and out of instinct, I reached up to press my hands to the piano. I felt the vibrations as he played, but they were different now. I couldn't focus solely on the feeling of the music with the sound of it assaulting my ears. "Say, yeah. Let's be alone together, we could stay young forever. Scream it from the top of your lungs, lungs, lungs." But the sound of it was more beautiful than I could imagine. Meagan's description didn't do justice to Patrick's singing. Watching him as his hands moved over the piano and the muscles in his neck constricted with each word, there was something raw and untouchable about him. He really did perform with his soul, his entire soul, and the passion in his voice was simply something to behold.