I Could Be Him (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 7 - You Need Him

                  

Patrick

            I immediately regretted my decision to open the door. My head was swimming as I crossed the living room to answer it, and my heart had been pounding in my chest. I had almost done it, almost kissed her. I had almost told her everything that I shouldn't. But now here I was, my legs frozen in place and my heart all but stopped, with Josh standing in front of me. He glared as I held the door open, but the moment his eyes moved to look past me, I found my mobility. I slammed the door, nearly making it before he wedged his foot in the way of me closing it. I cursed as I tried to push it shut anyways, but Josh was stronger than me.

            He pushed the door open, dragging me with it, and shoved past me into the house. I turned around to find that Ashley was gone, and Josh turned back to me. "Where did she go?" He growled, advancing towards me.

            "You're not taking her back," I stated, ignoring the question. He sneered at me and clenched his fist, but I sidestepped around him so I had room to back up. "I'll call the police," I warned, shoving my hand in my pocket to retrieve my phone.

            "You wouldn't," Josh laughed, "You don't have the balls."

            "Try me," I said, trying to sound confident, but my voice cracked with uneasiness. I pulled out my phone, sidestepping again so that I could see down the hallway. Josh moved with me, as if we were circling each other like prey. I could see the door to the guest bedroom was closed, so I knew Ash was safely locked inside, so long as she didn't decide to let him take her.

            "Just give me Ashley back, and this will be over quick," Josh said, eyeing the phone in my hand suspiciously.

            "You're not taking her back," I repeated.

            "Why?" He chuckled, "You haven't had your fun yet?" I glared at him, not quite understanding, until I remembered what Ash had told me after her nightmare last night. He was here for me. He was jealous of me.

            "I don't want her for that," I told him, shaking my head. "She means more to me than that."

            Josh laughed, and it was the kind of dark laughter that sends a chill down your spine. I swallowed hard as I watched him, still moving around the room steadily. "Are you sure?" He pestered, "I mean, I'd understand. She's a sexy girl, and you...well, you must be desperate."

            I grit my teeth and continued to glare at him. I knew he was trying to get to me. He wanted me to make the first move. "Don't talk about her like that," I demanded.

            "I'll talk about the little whore any way I like," he replied, "She's mine."

            "She doesn't belong to anybody, especially you."

            Josh stopped moving then, having ended up near the hallway again, and scowled at me. "I don't have time for this. I'm taking my girlfriend and going home, and I'll make sure she doesn't run away again. You can kiss her goodbye, Stump, if you really want, because you won't be seeing her again." With that, he turned down the hall, glancing into every room he passed until he came to the closed door. I marched down there after him, terrified of what he would do to her if he got to her. He banged on the door as I approached, and time seemed to slow down for a moment. Ash screamed in fear, and he hammered his fist against the door again, screaming something at her that I didn't hear because of the sheer volume of my heart pounding in my ears. And then, in an instant, my fist made a sickening crunch as it collided with Josh's jaw. He reeled back, and suddenly I was fully aware of what I'd just done. He turned back to me and returned the favor, knocking me right onto the ground. Everything went white for a moment as I clutched at my shattered and bleeding nose, but the adrenaline rush I felt as I pushed myself back to my feet wouldn't let me register the pain. I threw another punch at him, but he was ready for it this time. He caught my hand and kneed me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me, and then drove his fist into the side of my head. I whirled sideways and my head hit the wall. I slid down to the floor as my vision blurred, and Josh kicked me once more for good measure. I rolled over helplessly, hearing Ashley scream as he kicked the door in. And then, everything went black.