Everyone Deserves The Flame (Adopted By Patrick Stump)

Just One Yesterday (Patrick's P.O.V.)

Sercurity was longer than expected. They had to do a double check of Iris's bag. They had to do criminal record checks over both of us. Just like I thought, Iris was squeaky clean.They had to see the Adoption Certification. They even called Martha to make sure I wasn't forging the Certificate. I never knew it was so much work to fly with an adopted child. We boarded the plane soon after.

"So, what's your favourite colour?" I asked looking at Iris. She was sitting at the window seat, staring out at the ground as we took off. She looked up at me. Her eyes were so many colours when you looked at her closely. Browns, blues, and greens. Kaleidoscopes of different shades. Her nose was perfect on her, but would've look odd on anyone else. And the way her hair framed her face made her look picture ready.

"It would probably be teal, because it's dark, but beautiful at the same time." She said after thinking about for a while. I liked that. The fact that the colour was a darker colour, but she still managed to see the beauty of it. "What's yours?" She asked.

"Mine, would be blue. Like the sky." I whispered back, and she smiled. It was such a sweet smile. The smile that you wanted to make stay plastered to a face. It was the kind of smile that never lasted long. "Favourite book?"

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It just gave me a feeling I can't put into words, no matter how hard I try. It was so down to earth. So raw, and truthful. It was an amazing book." Iris explained swinging her hands wildly through the air. I laughed at her as she blushed, and put her hands in her jacket pockets. "What about your favourite book?"

"I honestly don't have one. I like a lot of books. And can't choose." I replied, and she nodded before putting her head up against the window. I turned away as I felt my phone buzz. I looked down, and had two messages.

Elisa:
Hi Pat, just letting you know I'm going to see the doctor. My headache just keeps getting worse. Xoxo.

Pete:
Pattycakes! Why did you not warn me, your kid is so easy to put down for naps. Wish Saint was like this.

I laughed at Pete's message. I had left Declan with Pete, because Elisa was having major headaches, and Saint gets a long great with Declan. Plus Pete and I had been promising the boys a sleepover forever. But somehow it always got pushed away.

I looked at Iris getting ready to tell her what to expect when we arrive at our house, but she was already asleep. It was kind of calming the way she fell asleep so quickly. I always thought that if you fell asleep in someone's presence it meant you trusted them. My lips turned upward at the thought, and it wasn't long before I fell asleep also.

*+*

"Elisa, my wife, is at the doctor for the night, and Declan, my son, is with his uncle Pete." I explained. But Iris was suddenly really quiet. I recognized this behaviour from Pete. It was a small anxiety attack. Pete explained it to me as being able to feel everything, and nothing all at once. Like you want to cry, but you can't. It physically feels like the world is moving in slow motion.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked trying to help her out of the attack. She looked at me, her eyes were now more blue than any other colour, and they were so big. It took me a moment to notice that her eyes were the kinds that slowly changed colour with her moods. I've only ever heard of people like that never met someone until now.

"You're not going to just leave me when you get bored of me, are you?" She asked. Her voice was small, and fragile. She had been left by someone she cared about before. I didn't know who, when or why, but the thought nearly broke my heart. Somebody had gotten bored of her, and just left her. She was afraid I was going to do the same.

"No! I would never. Why do you ask?" I answered and shot her my own question. I mentally promised myself I would always be there for her. No matter what. Something in her eyes warmed up. The weren't the same shade of dark blue. They had swirls of green in them. Green meant she was feeling okay. Blue meant she was feeling down. And brown I had yet to figure out.

"My mom, when I was five she just left me. The only thing she left was her guitar. She left me alone with my dad for five years. I kept thinking she would come back. She had to come back. I was her little girl. My father said it was my fault she left, that I was a boring child." And her voice broke. It was the sound before a bomb goes off. When you know something's going to happen, so you just sit there in silence. There was nothing you could do to stop it. I reached out to hold her hand, she was hesitant at first. I gave her a light squeeze, and a small smile. She looked at me, and gave me a what do you do shrug.

I wished on every star I saw that night that there was something I could do.

*+*

We arrived at our house, I grabbed her bag, and she grabbed her guitar. Her bag was small, and unbelievably light. I knew she didn't have much stuff, but this was something else. She gaped at the house. Looking from me to the house.

"This is where you live?" She said turning towards the house. Her eyes could've been filled with stars. She looks so happy. The broken girl I witnessed in the car, was just a ghost.

"It's where we live." I said putting emphasis on the we. It was clear she still didn't quite feel like she belonged here. I wanted to make sure she felt at home. She smiled back at me. It was polite smile. The kind you give when you aren't sure what to say.

"Come inside!" I called towards her distracting her away from the water fall stair case I had that led to the back yard. She laughed, and ran towards the entrance. Once she was at my side I opened the double doors. Her eyes practically glowed. She was going to love it here.

"This is our living room, and if you walk towards the back of the house you'll find the kitchen." I showed her around the house. The lower levels of the house first. The pool room, the music studio, the party room, the game room, the bathrooms, the movie room, and the bar. I showed her around the backyard. It wasn't much, it was pretty open. I showed her the shed, and the deck. She took the whole house in awe.

I brought her upstairs, showed her mine, and Elisa's room, Declan's room, my office, and finally her room. The room had a walk-in closet, and a bathroom attached to it. In the room was a king sized bed. I had it set up so it was against the back wall, but in the middle. A desk in one corner with a computer, and spinning chair. The other corner was a chair that hung from the roof. The window had a perch so she could sit there and look at the stars. I didn't notice until now that I had painted the walls teal. This room was made for her, without either of us knowing it. All around her room I had put white Christmas lights. Around the roof trim, the bed frame, the doorways, and the window.

"I love it Patrick! Thank you!" She said throwing her arms around me. I dropped her bag, and returned the embrace.

"I'm not going to rush you to call me dad, or anything like that. I want you to feel comfortable saying it. But I will refer to you as my daughter if that's okay with you." I said, holding her arms. She nodded, and hugged me again. In that moment she looked so happy. I wanted her to treasure this moment. By the sounds of it most of her life was in the gutter. I wanted to get her out of there. But I knew from being friends with Pete. You can try so hard, on your own, or with friends,  to get your head right. Even sometimes it doesn't go away one hundred percent. It would  take work. It wasn't going to be a wake up one day, and it would magically disappear. But what she needs was someone to be there for her. And I wanted that person to be me more than ever.

"I'm going to be downstairs, if you need me just holler." I said walking out of her room to let her unpack. I smiled the whole time knowing that she was definitely the right choice for me.

AN

Sorry if there's any weird spelling, or grammar mistakes. I'm on a plane right now, and it's midnight. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was kind of a filler. But it needed to go in here. You saw a bit of Iris's past. And what Iris's (my dream room) looks like. Anyhow, comment do whatever. Vote. I don't really care. If you like the story that's great keep reading o have a bunch that's yet to come. If not don't worry I won't judge you for not wanting to continue. It's my writing style and you may not like it. No hard feelings here.

Enjoy
Kylie Rae Nelson