Author's Note: Hey guys!! Okay, I was looking through a thread on the board and I got to think about this idea and I thought it would make a good one-shot but after I got started, things kind of didn't go as they were planned. But I'm fairly happy with how this worked out, so I hope you guys like it.
A little note, this is based loosely off of the Vegas stuff that began today. Vegas is involved but Atlantic City is not and you'll see what I mean when you read… Other than that, everything that has happened on the show has happened in this one-shot.
--
Hidden Truths
This was ridiculous and stupid and juvenile. This was pointless and a waste of time and…hypocritical. Robin seethed as she sat on the brand new leather couch that she had practically forced Patrick into buying, staring at the door, sulking. But she was angry. One day. They had been 'living' together for all of one day and he'd already taken the chance to run away. One fight was all it took and he was out the door. So what did that now say about their relationship? This was exactly the reason why she didn't want to live together so soon. He wasn't ready to be this committed yet. Hell, he had only just recently confessed to loving her and yes, he told her quite often and now without any doubt but still it was too much.
She stood, glaring that the ugly yellowish- orange chair that sat in front of the television and stereo, next to the gorgeous ataman that she loved. She hated that chair. The color of it, the feel of it, the placement of it, and that damn pillow he insisted on. It was hideous. As was that table he had nabbed from someone's trash. But when she gave in and agreed to move in with him she agreed to deal with his stylistic choices. It was his apartment too after all. But then again, that was before he had decided to run off to Las Vegas with Pete.
Pete. Just his name made her blood start to boil once again. He was so nasty and immature. His solution to everything was alcohol and sex. Ever sense Patrick told him that he was in a relationship he'd been on his case about getting out of town and away from Robin as fast as possible, and he never missed a chance to lecture his best buddy on the evils of romance and love. Ugh, there were a few things that she would love to tell Pete at the moment.
But you know, he is Patrick's friend and she would never try to make him choose between him and her. That just wouldn't be fair. But hadn't he already chosen? They'd spent one night together as official 'roommates' and he was already on a plane to Las Vegas with he-who-must-no-longer-be-named. Pete had come back hoping to plant a little seed of doubt in Patrick's mind and then would offer up once more the weekend trip to Vegas. And being the only other person who could possibly know her boyfriend better than her besides his father, he knew Patrick would feed right into the trap. And sure enough, he had. Leaving her behind to spend her weekend alone, in her new apartment. Their new apartment.
Well that wasn't going to work anymore; she paced quickly behind the couch, arms crossed. If he wanted to run away, then let him. But she wasn't going to mope around this apartment alone, waiting for him to come home.
He could have a guys' weekend… why not have a girls' weekend of her own?
--
He was stupid. A complete idiot. Why did he leave? He knew from the look on her face that she was pissed but he left anyway. He followed Pete out the door and never looked back. But now, sitting on the plane with a splitting headache, he regretted every last move. They'd just spent the last few days decorating and rearranging his apartment, granted with a few road bumps here and there but it had ended with him asking her to move in and she accepted. This weekend was their first weekend together and he'd been planning to spend all of their time together with neither having to work. They would sleep in their brand new bed and then they would cook breakfast in their kitchen and eat at their dining room table, and spend the day lounging in their living room. But no… now, he was on a plane to the last place on earth he wanted to this weekend, with honestly, the last person he wanted to be with at the moment.
How had things gone from being so perfect to be wrecked in a matter of hours? Just last night they'd christened their brand new leather couch and they'd woke up that morning and showered together. How could it get much better than that? Even after Pete left the first time, things were fine. We were planning on going shopping later. Granted, not how I had planned on spending my time but if it made her happy I was fine with it. But of course, Pete came back and he was there when she came home from the hospital and she heard him spouting off about her intentions, and then of course, my father showed up. The pressure was then on me to keep blood from being shed between Robin and my best friend while listening to my father talk about marriage. I may have asked Robin to move in with me and now I might not be able to picture my life without her but marriage is still a little terrifying. I can't deal with all of my issues at once… So I did what I do best. I lashed out. I yelled at my dad, practically kicking him out of the apartment and I proceeded to pick a fight with Robin. It was one of those stupid little fights that normally I could have walked away from and then call to apologize for later. But that was before we were living together, before we shared each other's space. And in that brief moment I got scared and I ran because that is also what I do best. I agreed to go on this damn trip with Pete, the trip that I told him repeatedly I did not want to take.
Pete. Don't get me wrong, he is a good guy. He has his moments when he is out of line and doesn't know what he is talking about but doesn't everyone have those moments? He was there for me and stood by my side when I needed him the most and he watched as I struggled through med school. He knew me at the time in my life when my greatest goal was to get as far away from my past as possible and my answer to that was sleeping with any willing woman, never taking time for names and certainly not commitment. So I understand his shock at my sudden change of heart and I can't hold him accountable for the things he says because I use to be him, sprouting off the same garbage. But as I look at him now, sitting contently next to me staring after the stewardess, a smug grin displayed on his face, I see how much distance has grown between us. I have finally decided to grow up and start living life and enjoying the things that are offered to me and not letting experiences pass me by because I could get hurt. And Robin helped me see that.
So what exactly does that mean and where does that leave my relationship with my best friend?
--
"This really is a nice place, Robs." Lainey smiled at her friend before taking a seat in the hideous yellowish- orange chair.
"You know Robin; I was surprised when I got your call. I thought you would be spending the weekend with Patrick…" Kelly began taking a seat on the couch next to the brunette.
"Don't speak his name!" Robin interrupted. "I don't want to talk about him or this apartment or what our plans might have been for this weekend because he decided to run off to Las Vegas with Pete." She practically spit out his name, not bothering to hide her disgust for the man when in the presence of her two friends.
"You don't sound very bitter…" Lainey shared a look at Kelly, quickly understanding exactly what it was that prompted Robin to invite them over to her new apartment for the next two nights.
"Ugh, it's just…" She sighed, "I'm mad at him for treating Noah the way he did when he was just came over to congratulate us, and Patrick practically threw him out. I mean, he couldn't have been more rude. And then, he picked a fight with me right in front of Pete," she paused for a moment, grunting at his name, "and then he left me standing here staring after him, making me look like the clingy girlfriend that Pete is convinced that I am."
"Has he called?" Lainey asked, taking a sip of her wine.
"No, I haven't heard anything from him since he walked out the door." Robin said sullenly.
"Is the issue trusting him? I mean, with his past and his reputation before you and he is going to Vegas…" Kelly shrugged. "Are you afraid that might—"
"Cheat on me? No." She responded quickly. "He has the reputation for being a ladies man and he may have slept with plenty of women, but he would never cheat."
"So then, what is really eating you? Besides Pete and his smug attitude?"
--
"Hello, earth to Patrick." Pete waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. "What's going on man? You haven't said a word since we ordered…"
Patrick shrugged, looking around the restaurant. "I guess I'm just not in the mood for chit chat at the moment." He spoke softly, never making eye contact.
"Come on, is this about what happened at your apartment earlier between me and Robin? Fine, if it will make you feel better, I will apologize to her when we get back to Port Charles. But listen man, you need this…"
"Don't tell me what I need." Patrick looked him square in the eye this time, his voice harsh.
"Okay, so you're pissed. I get it but I didn't force you out of your apartment and I didn't force you to get on the plane." Pete defended himself.
Patrick shrugged, "Okay, you're right. You didn't force me but you fed off of my insecurities to try and scare me into coming with you on this trip. I get it, you don't like Robin but that's your problem not mine. I happen to like her a lot. I more than like her, I love her and I have told you this repeatedly but you don't seem to get the message."
"What exactly are you saying Patrick?"
"I'm saying that she is my girlfriend, Pete. And nothing you say or do is going to change that. You may not be a fan of commitment or think that I am doing the right thing but I do and this is my life, and my relationship. My feelings for Robin aren't going to change because I spend a couple nights in Vegas."
Pete looked at the man across from him, almost a stranger to him now. "What has she done to you?"
--
"I don't know. I guess for once I would like to see Patrick stand up for me, you know? I mean, I know that I can hold my own ground and defend myself but when it comes to Pete it's like Patrick is fighting a battle within himself. He feels like he has to choose between his past and his future with me, and I'm not trying to make him choose. I may not like Pete but he is a part of Patrick's life." She explained.
"But you are still afraid that if it came down to Patrick having to choose, he wouldn't pick you." Lainey said sympathetically.
Blushing slightly but not denying anything, Robin's eyes fell to the wine glass she held in her hand, "He already made that decision didn't he? When he left here with Pete?"
"Oh sweetie, you can't hold that against him." Kelly sat her glass on the ataman and scooted closer to her on the couch. "So much has changed in your relationship just within the last week…"
"I wasn't the one who wanted to move in here, he asked me." Robin interrupted.
"That is true," Kelly continued, "but that doesn't mean he is any less scared. No, now he is faced with trying to hold a steady friendship with Pete while having a relationship with you. And Pete doesn't agree with his choices and is fighting him every step of the way and he is planting that little bit of doubt in his mind, making him wonder if it was a good idea to live together."
"So he got scared and ran." Lainey joined in, following Kelly's lead. "But isn't that the same thing that you did when he first asked you to move in here? I know all about your promise to him but you and I both know that you have practically been living with him since he got this place and even before, and we also know that you have wanted to live with him for months. You were just too afraid to admit it."
Robin nodded, "I guess you're right. And I think that I am most angry with him because this was supposed to be our first weekend together, you know? And he would rather spend it with Pete in Las Vegas than with me. And the fact that I am sitting here complaining about it makes me all that much more angry because it makes me seem like the clingy girlfriend that I'm not…"
"He left you behind." Lainey smiled and spoke softly. "Or at least that is what your heart is telling you. He chose his long time friend over you and he left you here, alone. And your head is telling you he will be back but your heart is wondering if it all is just too much and if he sees this as his chance to get out."
"And you're wondering if this weekend, when he comes back - because you know is coming back in your head - is going to change things between you two. Because this wasn't just some little fight over who ate the last cookie in the doctor's lounge. This is serious and you don't know what kinds of things Pete is feeding him or if he is going to believe any of it." Kelly added.
"All of that mixed with the pain that you still feel when you think about Stone and your relationship with Jason… it hurts. Because Stone died and left you to face your mortality and this disease by yourself and Jason chose Carly and Michael over you. And finally you have let yourself fall in love again and you have reached the first speed bump in your relationship with Patrick." Lainey said.
"And your past is giving you a reason to doubt what you may have with Patrick just like Pete - Patrick's past – has given him the same thing."
--
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Patrick asked angrily.
"Look at yourself, Patrick. You are in Las Vegas, Sin City, and you are moping around here looking like a lost puppy. And you are feeding me all of this crap about loving Robin and how good your life is with her and just what exactly it is that I am missing out on, but you keep forgetting that you are the one who agreed to come with me on this trip and you are the one who left Robin behind…"
"Don't say that."
"What? It's true. Patrick, she wants control and you've given it to her." Pete sat back in his chair, his smug smile gone. "Robin is one of those women who has to know what their man is doing at every moment and keep tabs on everything that he does, wishing that she could be as carefree as him, always sitting on the sidelines but never giving up control."
"She has a damn good reason for not be as carefree as any normal person. She can't exactly go out at night get trashed and sleep around with anyone, or go out and drink until the sun comes up and come home to sleep the day away. She has a schedule that she has to follow for her meds, not to mention that it isn't fun being the HIV girl in a group of friends who can go out and sleep around with anyone they want and have nothing to worry about…" Patrick was growing angrier with each passing moment, "But you know, Robin knows how to have a good time but you haven't taken the time to get to know her."
"Why should I take the time to get to know her when she hates my guts?"
"Because I love her and you are supposed to be my best friend." Patrick stated simply. "And she only hates you because every time you are around, you are constantly insulting our relationship and the choices that I make with my life."
Pete sat silently for a minute, taking that time to really look at the stranger sitting across from him. "Fine, go running back home to Robin, give her what she wants. But don't call me when it falls apart and you're looking to go out for a night on the town, looking for a quick hook up." He stood up.
"Are you trying to make me choose between you and Robin?" Patrick stood. "Because if that's the case, you won't like the outcome."
--
Robin lay in their bed, alone, staring up at the ceiling. After giving their words of wisdom, Lainey and Kelly thought it best to head back to loft to give her some time to think things over, make use of the quiet of the apartment.
And as much as she hated to think it, they were right. About everything. She let her past constrict where she was now with Patrick and then got mad at him when he did the same thing. The only difference was that his past was still apart of his life, where as hers wasn't. Just sometimes it got to be too much. She loved him, yes, but this living with him was bringing up memories of her life with Jason and the pain of how that ended and then with Pete and his constant negativity, followed by Patrick's own fears… it was hard. But wasn't that what relationships are all about? Making it work with the one you love through the good times and the bad times? And not letting anything come between you?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing telephone, and thinking it was one of the girls calling, she almost didn't answer, not in the mood to divulge more of herself at the moment. "Hello?"
"I'm sorry."
She smiled involuntarily when hearing his voice. "It's about time you called." She feigned anger.
"Yeah, I know. Pete and I went to dinner and it kind of didn't go very well and I kind of just walked around for awhile. Vegas certainly doesn't give you much of a quiet place to think." He smiled, wishing he was lying beside her right now and not halfway across the country in a lonely hotel room.
"I'm sorry too. I know that Pete is your friend and I know how important he is to you…"
"It's fine, don't worry about it. We'll talk about it when I get home."
"And when is that exactly?" She brought her bottom lip between her teeth, biting nervously.
"My plane leaves tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow? I thought you were staying for the weekend?" She was surprised but couldn't deny that how happy she was.
"We'll talk about it when I get home." He yawned into the phone, "I miss you."
"I miss you too." She smiled, relief flooding through body. "Why don't you get some sleep so you don't miss your flight in morning and I'll be at the airport to pick you up tomorrow night?"
"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow then." He sighed reluctantly.
"Good night, babe. Love you."
"Love you too."