Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 6 - Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

            I was laying back against the corner of the couch, my arms wrapped around the beautiful girl who laid back against my chest. She was curled into me, her eyes glued to Patrick Swayze as he danced on the TV. Part of me wanted to be a little jealous, but there was a much more dominant part of me that just wanted to ignore it and watch her. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, away from me, so that she could lay her head back against my shoulder and the side of her forehead was pressed against the skin of my neck. She was warm, and I couldn't help the way I occasionally snuggled against her, nudging my head gently against hers like a needy puppy in an attempt to get her closer to me. I was a little pathetic, to be honest, but she was perfect.

Our notebook was sitting on the coffee table, along with the half-empty pizza box, long forgotten. We found that we didn't need to talk, or constantly write back and forth in order to be happy together. I was perfectly content just holding her, and she needed to read the subtitles anyways, so it all worked out. She didn't know it, but I had turned the volume all of the way down before we started watching it. I wanted to see the movie the way she did, even if I could recall most of the songs by heart. Either way, I was far too enthralled by her to pay attention to most of the movie anyways.

When the famous talent show scene came up, I breathed a soft chuckle to myself, thinking it a little funny that the band had named a song after that one line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Aria felt the movement of my laughter, and looked back at me, curiously. I shook my head, trying to dismiss my interruption, but Aria wasn't having it. She sat up, leaving the space she had been occupying against me rather cold, and leaned over to retrieve the notebook. She handed it to me, expecting me to explain myself. I sighed and took it from her, giving her a slight smirk as I put the pen to the paper. It's nothing. I was just thinking of a song. I didn't want to bore her by writing too much about the song, so I kept it simple and showed her the notebook. She smiled, took it from me, and began writing.

What song? I stared at the question as she handed the paper back to me, and then I sighed, knowing that I wasn't getting out of it now. I loved her curiosity, it was one of my favorite things about her.

So, I quickly wrote back. It's a song my band wrote. It's called, "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner." I handed the notebook to her, and she immediately passed it back after reading the title of the song. I looked at her, confused, and she pointed to her ear, then down to the song title. She wanted to hear it? I thought for a moment, then started writing the lyrics down from memory.

Drink down that Gin and Kerosene,
And come spit on bridges with me,
Just to keep us warm.
Light a match to leave me be.
Light a match to leave me be.

I'll keep my jealousy close,
'Cause it's all mine.
And if you say this makes you happy,
Then I'm not the only one lying.

Keep quiet,
Nothing comes as easy as you.
Can I lay in your bed all day?
I'll be your best kept secret
And your biggest mistake.
The hand behind this pen relives a failure every day.

When I finally finished writing, I handed the notebook to Aria, and watched as she read. The movie was still playing in the background, but neither of us were paying attention to it. I stared at her, suddenly nervous to know what she thought of the song. It was a stupid, irrational nervousness, being that hundreds of thousands of fans have already heard and been listening to that song for over a decade now, but none of that mattered in this moment if she didn't like it. I wanted her opinion, just like I always wanted her opinion on the new things I've been writing. Most of them were about her now, and she inspired them. It only hurt to know that she would never hear the music she inspires in me.