Everybody Has A Dark Side [Patrick Stump fanfic]

Chapter 8: Are You Ready For Another Bad Poem?

AN: I don't own Fall Out Boy, or their music. I don't own Autumn, she belongs to my friend, Sophie. I just own Jessica, and my own writing.

Patrick's POV

Joe and I drove around for what felt like forever. No matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find Jess' car or see her at all. As we went to return to Joe's house, I commented,

"Maybe she went to stay at a motel." Joe softly sighed in response, pulling the car up in the driveway. As soon as the engine stopped, Joe slumped forward, resting his head on his arms (which were folded across the steering wheel). I gave him a sympathetic look, and lightly placed my hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her." I reassured him, as he let out yet another sigh.

"I just... I wish she'd told me what was going on. You know, with Jason and all that stuff." He admitted, his voice slightly muffled. "She always was stubborn. No matter what was bothering her, she'd never tell me."

"I think she just didn't want to worry you, Joe." I replied simply. Joe let out a scoff at my words.

"Oh yeah, that worked. If anything, I'm more worried now because I have no idea where the hell she is!" He said, the volume of his voice rising. He looked up, his gaze turning to me. "I'm always worried about her, Trick. It's the life she lives. It's dangerous. I'll be honest, I'm always terrified that I'm gonna get a phone call in the middle of the night telling me she's dead." This caused me to tilt my head slightly.

"The life she lives?" I repeated curiously, which caused Joe to exhale sharply.

"Did she not tell you?" He asked. When I shook my head in response, Joe continued to speak, "When we were in high school, she fell in with the wrong crowd. They used to run around, stealing stuff, vandalising- you know, that kind of thing. Mom and dad just thought it was a teenage rebellion thing, but... I knew Jason and Autumn weren't to be trusted. I tried to tell Jess that, but that only led to arguments between us. She really wasn't happy with me getting involved in her life! Things got even worse when Jason actually got arrested. All of a sudden, Jess refused to talk to any of us, and then, one night she just upped and left. She left a note saying where she was going, so naturally, I went after her. I don't know what I was going to achieve by going to find her. Maybe I was trying to plead with her to come home, or maybe I was going to tell Autumn and Jason to back off. But I didn't get a chance. By the time I arrived at their house, they'd gone."

I was completely entranced by Joe's words. I had no idea that Jessica used to be like that. It was strange to think that the girl I knew had once gone around smashing things and stealing. It was certainly a curious image.

"I tried to get in touch, as you know, but Jason would always block my calls, or claim that Jess wasn't in." Joe continued, running a hand through his hair. "And then, a few days ago I actually managed to find her. And now she's disappeared again. Who knows when I'll see her again?" I gave him another sympathetic smile.

"I can understand your concern. But, we're going to find her, alright? She'll be fine." I assured him, as he softly smiled back.

"Thanks, Trick." He returned, lightly tapping my shoulder before getting out of the car. I did the same, and after Joe locked the car, I spotted someone walking down the driveway to meet us.

It was Brendon.

"Hey." He greeted. "Pete was worried about you two! Where'd you go?" I could tell from the way he was talking that he was still slightly drunk. Well, that and the fact he was swaying slightly. Joe ignored the drunken man, and instead decided to wrap his jacket around himself and head up to his house silently. I couldn't blame him for wanting to be alone. If my sister had gone missing, I'd be going out of my mind with worry. I couldn't even begin to imagine the thoughts that were running through his mind right now. "Hello? Patrick? You there?" Brendon questioned, waving his hand in front of my face. Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to look at him.