Listen (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 8 - One Awkward Silence

                  

A week later, I was parked in front of Aria's house at exactly noon. I was dressed in a dark blue button down, with a black tie and black pants and a fedora balanced on my head. I moved the rearview mirror to look at myself once more, my nerves returning, and then sighed and pulled my coat tightly around my shoulders. I tightened my scarf and then opened the door, leaving the car running, and jogged through the snow up to the front door. It was Thanksgiving day, and I had to have Aria at her parents' house across town in exactly one hour. I rang the bell, shifting nervously from one foot to the next as I breathed out a puff of air and watched it raising in thin, spindly ropes of vapor through the cold winter air.

            Meagan opened the door, and she looked just as dressed up as I was. She was getting ready to head over to her sister's house, just as soon as Pete picked her up. I smiled and she pulled me into the house, hugging me as if she hadn't just seen me last night. "Happy Thanksgiving, Patrick!" I chuckled and hugged her back, kicking the door shut behind me.

            "Happy Thanksgiving, Meagan," I said, kissing her cheek as I pulled away and slipped out of my shoes. "Is Aria still getting ready?"

            Meagan rolled her eyes with a smile and shrugged. "You know how she is," she giggled, heading off towards he bedroom to finish getting ready herself. I laughed and followed her down the long hallway, passing her room as she stepped into it, and stood for a moment in front of Aria's bedroom door. I raised a hand to knock, then froze and shook my head at myself, opting to just open the slowly.

            As I peeked my head cautiously around the doorframe, I found her standing in front of her mirror, struggling to get the zipper up on the back of her dress. I smiled as I stepped into the room, and she noticed me in the mirror, quickly turning around to smile at me. I smirked and she quickly bounded over to embrace me, kissing me as she pulled away. She spun back around and motioned to her zipper urgently, knowing we only had so long to get to her parents' house. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks as my hands brushed against the bare skin of her back to pull up the zipper, and then I smoothed my hands slowly down the sides of her dress. It was a bright green dress, with long sleeves and a skirt that reached down to her ankles. She looked beautiful, as always.

            She turned back around slowly, her eyes landing immediately on my lips. Rather than speaking, I lifted my hands and signed to her. "You look amazing," I told her, to which she smiled widely. She didn't respond, but she stood up on her toes to press a lingering kiss to my lips. When she pulled away, she bit her lip and smiled at me, her hands moving to play with my tie. I playfully pulled her hands away and kissed her again, gently pushing her back towards he mirror to finish getting ready. She giggled at me, the sound of her voice making my heart skip a beat.

            Once she was ready to go, we walked out to the car hand in hand, although her hand was encased in a pair of soft, fuzzy gloves. In the car, I kept one hand tight on the wheel, careful in the slushy ice and snow that covered our path, but I was experienced enough driving in Chicago to keep my right hand on Aria's knee. My fingers traced lazy circles over the fabric of her dress, while she watched complacently out the window for the entire ride. I had gotten used to silent car rides with her, and I don't really mind the silence anymore. I had grown comfortable enough to turn the radio on quietly, and it was more of a comfortable silence than an awkward one anyways. Little did I know, the silence I was about to be faced with later that night would be a different story.

            When we pulled up to her parents' house, she flashed me a bright smile before getting out of the car. I quickly climbed out and rushed over to take her hand, suddenly very nervous to meet her parents. She squeezed my hand affectionately, and stood on her toes to kiss my cheek, looking at me pointedly as if to say, it'll be alright. I forced a smile and swallowed hard as she tugged me toward the front door. She rang the doorbell, and I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, standing a little awkwardly behind her. When the door swung open, a tiny little woman stood there, beaming at the two of us. She had blonde hair like Aria, but it was graying slightly, and she wore glasses as well. Her smile was identical to my girlfriend's, so I decided that this must be her mother.