After The Dance (FOB FanFic ft. Panic! At The Disco)

~PART TWO~ [Chapter 26] New Me (Patrick)

I looked over and saw the ladder, equally as corroded as the rest of the fire escape, hanging from the edge of the platform, the last rung at least seven feet above the ground. I walked up to it and sighed, jumping and grabbing onto the last rung before hoisting myself up and climbing the rest of the way. I got to the top and Lexy looked surprised.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing I just..." She sighed, "I like what you've done with your hair," She opted to comment, bringing her hand up and ruffling my hair. I laughed and playfully smacked her hand away. She smirked, "I didn't know you were coming. You could've called."

I took her hands in mine and swung them side to side before saying, "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well you got what you wanted because I am most definitely surprised," Lexy grinned. I smiled back. "It's been so long I almost didn't recognize you," She added, slipping her hands out of mine and slipping them into the pockets of her ripped skinny jeans.

I chuckled nervously and scratched behind my head, "Yeah, I guess I do look a little different than last time we saw each other."

"I like it," She replied.

"Thanks, a lot of people don't..." I heaved a sigh and grabbed onto the rusty railing preventing us from falling twenty feet to the ground.

"What do you mean?" She inquired, joining my side and placing her hands on the railing too, her right hand less than an inch from my left one.

I glanced over at her and saw her looking over at me with her brilliant blue eyes. I averted my gaze away and towards the trees that separated her house from her neighbor's. "Everyone's saying I've changed. Not just my appearance, but who I am. Pete. Andy. Joe. My mom, even." There was a long pause where neither of us said anything. We just stared at the skyline in front of us where the clouds were slowly consuming the sun and the breeze that had picked up brushed against our faces. I swallowed hard and added, "Pete's not even speaking to me because I've changed. He's even thinking about quitting the band."

Lexy looked up at me worriedly, "What?" It was as if the weather changed with her mood. Because the bright, warm day it used to be had now changed into a dark, cold one.

"He wants to quit."

"But he can't!"

"I know."

"What made him want to quit?"

I bit my lip and murmured under my breath, "Me."

"You?" She asked, "You made him want to quit?" I nodded my head. "What'd you do?"

Just as I opened my mouth to answer her, a crack of thunder sounded and we were soaked with the rain that appeared out of nowhere. Lexy shrieked and covered her head with her hands.

"How about we go inside?" I asked. She nodded her head and the two of us went for the window that led into her bedroom, ladies first. After I stepped through, Lexy ordered me to close the window. I did so and turned around to see her take off her shirt, revealing her bra. She shivered before throwing the wet shirt aside and walking over to her closet to most likely get a new one. I turned the opposite way so I wouldn't stare at her.

"So you never told me..." Lexy stated out of the blue. I glanced over my shoulder. She was slipping into a sweatshirt. She pulled it down and turned to face me, "What'd you do to make him want to quit?"

"Like I said, a lot of people don't like the 'new me'." Lexy nodded her head in understanding and walked over to her bed, where she plopped down and sat with her legs crossed. She patted the spot on the comforter in front of her, indicating she wanted me to sit with her. I made my way over and sat down. "Pete was the first one to actually say something about it."

"What brought it up?"

I hung my head and answered, "Me dating Elisa." I looked up and saw her looking down into her lap, running her fingers along the rips and tears on her jeans. I knew she didn't like the fact that I was dating Elisa either. I mean, when I told her (I told her before I told the guys), she told me she was happy. That she wanted the best for me. But part of me knew that she wasn't happy for me. That she was the best for me. "He said I've changed a lot since high school."

"Haven't we all?" She muttered, still refusing to look up at me.

"I guess. But...I don't know. You tell me. Have I changed?" She glanced up at me. "Like, take a good look at me and tell me. Have I changed?"

"Well..." She began to say when her voice trailed off and she averted her gaze back to her lap, shaking her head, "I don't know."

"Don't be afraid to tell me I have. Because I know I have."

"Then why are you asking me?" I watched her head tilt up as she looked back up at me, "I'm always going to like you for you." She paused before adding even quieter than she already was, "No matter what you do. Change your hair, lose weight, gain weight...you'll always be the same guy I grew up next door to."

I leaned forward, slipped my hand under her jaw, and kissed her. She kissed me back. And it felt...good. For the short time it lasted, that is. Lexy's bedroom door burst open and we both pulled away from each other. Standing in her doorway was her father, more infuriated than I think I've ever seen him.

I chuckled nervously, "Hi, Mr. Jackson."