**ON HOLD** More Than Meets the Eyes (Patrick Stump FanFiction)

Chapter 6

        “Oh, um... ahem..” he cleared his throat. “Well, um, shall we continue our walk?” He stood up and adjusted his many jackets before turning and offering me his hands. I gladly accepted them and copied his actions of fixing my jacket before continuing to walk. We stood there in a moment of awkward silence before I chose to walk towards the woods, I don't know why but I've just always liked the place even if others thought it was creepy. I could tell Patrick was a little weary about going into them when he hesitated before following me and I just laughed.

        “C'mon ya scaredy cat, nothing is gonna eat you!” I extended my hand towards him. “I'll hold your hand if you need the support..” He looked slightly shocked as he realized what I'd offered; his beautiful evergreen eyes opening slightly more than before and berry colored lips parting just barely. I swallowed hard. Am I falling for my best friend? No. We're friends, just that. I looked down to the ground and started to turn back to the woods when I felt his fingers weave in between mine. Now it was my turn to be shocked. I stared at our hands as he walked up beside me.

         “Sorry..” His already pink nose became an even darker shade of red and I stood there watching him as his warm breaths created cloud in the air.

        “For what? I offered you my hand and you took it, no big deal!” I flashed him a smile before tugging him back towards our path. Did I play that one off right? I hope he can't tell I like him... I almost stopped walking at that last thought. No, I don't need to get my love mixed into our perfect relationship.

        I snapped out of my thoughts and admired the scenery around us as we passed. It was beautiful, the newly fallen snow were stunning and vibrant shades of white with blue hues, no dirt or anything could be seen. The trees overhead were covered with a thin layer of snow that contrasted the deep emerald green in such a dramatic way that made it seem serene. Finally, we hit a small clearing in the dense trees and came face to face with sun light reflecting off of the ice crystals causing them to shine like diamonds. There was a relatively larger tree to the right that was fronted by a patch of the glistening ground covered by an almost clear patch of shimmering grass. Perfect.

        “This is beautiful.” Patrick was studying the whole clearing with his mouth hanging open, making sure to get the full beauty and detail of it all in. I watched him for a minute before breaking away from his grip and sauntering over to the large tree. My hand immediately felt like ice without his warm hold on it but I fought back the urge to walk back and connect them again. I looked back at Patrick who stood there with a slightly sad look on his face while clenching and unclenching his hand before slowly sliding it into the pocket of his jeans. I reached out and felt the bark of the tree under my fingers; it was coarse and cool but for some reason gave me a sense of nostalgia. I guess I had some good memories linked to trees.. I frowned slightly at the thought. I didn't remember much of my past considering I was usually on multiple prescriptions that my parents ordered to try and solve my craziness. Yeah, there's no solving that problem. Luckily, I think the doctors realized it too since they took away most of them and only have me on medication for my bipolar disorder and insomnia, which I don't take considering in the three years I did, I still could never sleep. I pulled my hand away from the chocolate colored bark, turned away from the tree, leaned up against it and slowly slid down it's length until I fell to the ground.

        “You tired?” Patrick's voice seemed to echo through the woods from the silence it normally contained. I closed my eyes and sighed.

        “Yeah... Didn't get a lot of sleep last night...” I opened my eyes and cast side glance over to him. He knew about my insomnia, I told him after he caught me falling asleep in class one day, but always seemed a little sad whenever I mentioned it. I'd feel bad for myself too, I'm such a wreck.