Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


"Hey Loser," Patricia grinned when he reappeared in her doorway. "How'd it go?"

The weak smile that flashed across his face immediately dampened her mood.

"She's… She's not coming." He buried his hands into his pockets.

"Is everything okay with her?…"

"Yeah! Oh yeah, she just doesn't want to come. Actually, she doesn't even want me to come back at the end of term either." He smirked, but she wasn't buying it. "But that's a good thing, right? I mean… That gives you and I more time to spend together. And I didn't really want to head back to the States anyway. You have no idea how long of a flight that is just to turn around and come back here a few weeks later…"

Somewhere in the middle of his ramblings she had met him at the door, "So you're serious then? She's really making you stay?"

"Afraid so… Guess you're stuck with me, Yacker." His voice had dipped into dangerous territory and he pulled her into an embrace. Patricia tried to keep her composure as he ran his hands up and down the soft curve of her waist.

"Do you want to maybe talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" She squirmed under the kiss he placed against her neck. He had stuck a leg behind him and kicked the door shut. "Dad still doesn't want me and now neither does my mom. So what? I want you, and you want me. That's all that matters right? It's fine. It's fine."

She pried him off her neck and the pair locked eyes. He tore his away first looking up and away from her. Patricia combed her fingers through the back of his hair and watched as his façade slowly crumbled; she always had a way of getting to him.

The redhead guided his face back down and nudged her forehead to his. "See…it's not fine, Slimeball," she whispered catching his lips in a chaste kiss. She felt one of his tears finally break loose and slide down her face.

His hands slipped around to her back, fisting at her shirt, Eddie fully giving in to the scope of his reality. "Nobody wants me, Yacker," he sobbed out. "Probably not even you! Look at me right now, why would you? I'm acting like a chump!"

"You're always a chump," she laughed although her voice quivered.

"Gee, thanks," he sniffled, managing to croak out a noise that only vaguely resembled a laugh.

"And you're wrong on top of that. You're my chump and it better stay that way because I've been thinking a lot lately and I uh… I think I might love you, Eddie…"

He searched her eyes that were becoming more anxious by the second at his silence. The bitter laugh that emitted from him was the last thing she had expected from him in this moment. Eddie shoving her away was the second to last.

"You love me?"

Her tears began to fall as hard as his at the venom in his voice. This wasn't supposed to happen like this, she hadn't been dancing around this feeling for weeks for this reaction.

She nodded weakly managing to only sputter out a "y-yes!"

"Great," his voice cracked. "That is just freaking fantastic."

"Eddie, why are you—"

"Do me a favor, Yacker…" His eyes narrowed, "And don't, okay?"

He ripped her door open and slammed it shut in his wake. Without hesitation she lunged for it and threw it back open, calling out to his retreating figure.

"You're making it really easy for me!" she screamed around the lump in her throat.

"Story of my life!"

She crumpled in her doorway just as he did midway down the stairs.


"I think you should stay with your father."

"What, for like half the summer? That's still a long way off, Mom…"

There was a silence on the other end of the phone before Ms. Miller spoke up again.

"No. I think you should stay in the UK…permanently. … Eddie, are you there?"

He gripped his phone tighter, the words hissing through his teeth.

"Did Dad talk you into this?"

"No, of course not! He wants you to come back here, you know that."

Eddie scoffed into the receiver.

"Great! Glad you two are enjoying your little game of hot potato with me!"

"Eddie, that's not what I—"

"Sure it wasn't, Mom! It never is, is it?"

He heard a heavy sigh come through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Eddie. I don't know what else you want me to say right now. You know I love you…"

"You're sounding a lot like Eric right now. Picked up some nice tricks from him when you two were making the worse mistake of your lives, huh? Found out how much better life is without me?"

"That's not fair, he loves you. I love you!"

"He loved me but he still left me, Mom! How is this different?!"

"I—"

"Just stop okay, I don't want an explanation! You watched him do that to me and now you're doing the same thing!"

Eddie spotted Trudy wringing a towel as she cautiously peered from the kitchen to see what all the commotion was in the foyer. He lowered his voice and turned his back to her.

"You can't make it better this time and I gotta go. But I guess you would know how that is, wouldn't you?"

"E—"

He cut the call off and bounded up the steps.


A/N: Meh, I don't know. Just something that wouldn't go away. Not completely sure how I feel about it.