The alarm clock echoed throughout the entire room as Patrick rolled over in his bed to shut the annoying object off. He opened his eyes slightly to see the sun shining through the balcony doors of his room. Groaning at the thought of a new day, he reluctantly headed for the showers. Emerging a half hour later, Patrick threw on the a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt and headed down for breakfast. As he ran down the staircase, he was surprised to hear someone in the dining room. Ever since his mother had passed away a couple years ago, his father had made work his number one priority. Curious as to what his father was doing home so early, Patrick pushed open the dining room doors and said, " What are you still doing here?" Noah looked up from the newspaper he was reading and noticed his son standing in the doorway. "Well good morning to you too, Son. I had a cancellation and thought I'd have breakfast with you. I have a few things I need to discuss with you." Patrick made his way to the table and grabbed a croissant, " Well it's a little late for the birds and the bees talk so what else could possibly be on your mind? Make it quick because I have plans." Noah rolled his eyes and continued, " I actually wanted to talk to you about your future. Tomorrow is the beginning of your senior year and you need to settle down and focus. You're going to be 18 soon and life won't be as easy as the life that I have given you." Suddenly the quiet room was filled with the echo of dishes clanging as Patrick threw his half eaten croissant onto his plate as he stood up. " You think my life is easy? You don't know me at all." "Patrick, of course I know you. You're my son and I love you very much. Granted, it's been hard without your mother but I try my best." With an affronted laugh as he was storming out of the room, Patrick threw out his last parting shot before the doors slammed shut, " Lie to yourself all you want, but you don't care about me so don't be expecting the father of the year award anytime soon!" Once he was outside, he let out the breath of air that he didn't know he had been holding in. Getting into his car, he headed to the only place that felt like home to him....the Scorpio's.
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The Scorpio household was a madhouse this morning as Patrick opened the front door. He stood in the foyer and watched as housekeepers were rushing in and out of each room trying to clean, two nannies were chasing after two naked children and the dogs were barking at all the excitement. "Welcome to the Zoo!" Patrick laughed as he looked up the stairway and caught his best friend Jason Scorpio sliding down the banister. "Eh..just another day at the Scorpio house. What's going on?" " Well Robs just got back from Paris and Brenda and the kids are staying here while Sonny is out of town on business. Other than that...who knows. You had breakfast yet?" Patrick shook his head as he followed Jason into the large kitchen. "Patrick, honey when did you get here?" Anna said as she gave him a hug before she rushed past him, " You boys eat before the food gets cold." "Hey handsome!" Brenda called out as she grabbed a piece of bacon off his plate. "Bren, stop flirting with my friends before I call your husband!" Jason said jokingly as he sat down at the counter. "Aww give a poor married woman a break will ya" Brenda remarked, " It's nice to see you Patty. I better go find my children before they drive the nannies crazy." Patrick laughed again as he sat down next to Jason. "So, where is Robs? I feel like I haven't seen her in forever." "She is still knocked out to the world. We were up pretty late last night, but she should be up soon because the gang should be here any minute to spend our last day of summer by the pool." Before Patrick had a chance to reply, he heard a loud shrieking noise and knew that Maxie had arrived. She may be one of his best friends but sometimes he wondered about her. She was your average high school tease but it worked for her. With her blonde hair, blue eyes and never-ending supply of credit cards, she was a force to be reckoned with. Patrick snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Robert Scorpio's loud booming voice calling out for Anna. "People, can we stop the yelling! I've got the hangover from hell!" "Well excuse us for bothering you Cassadine," Jason said, " But you should know better than to come to this house in the morning if you're looking for quiet." Patrick pulled the chair next to him for Nikolas as he pushed over his plate and let him eat the rest. Of all his friends, Nikolas was always the one who felt the effects of his partying the worst in the mornings. He dripped of charm and wealth and could get anything he wanted when he put his mind to it but he was also haunted by the history of his lineage. His mother, Laura, had left him and his father Stephan, as a child and built a new life with Luke Spencer. Nikolas never forgave her, even when she moved back into town with her new family and tried to reconcile. The only people that he let himself be happy around were his father, the Scorpio's, Maxie and himself. All of his friends had their persona towards the world, Jason was the brooding bad boy, Robin was the sweet & smart girl next door, Maxie was the blonde tease, Nikolas was the charming prince and he was the rich playboy. But to each other, they were the only ones who understood what it was like to have money, power and expectations. "Whatever man, let's go get some sun. Maxie went to get Robin and change into her suit." Nik said as he walked out towards the pool." I need some fresh air, last night must have taken about two years off my life." Patrick and Jason just looked at each other and laughed as they followed him out.
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It was a gorgeous day out as the guys laid out on the pool chairs. " So Jason, how long are Bren and the kids in town for?" Nikolas asked as they got settled. " You never know with my sister, she is as unpredictable as dad but Sonny is getting back from Japan in two weeks." Sonny and Brenda had been married for 2 years now. He was a partner with Robert at Scorpio Industries and had been out of town to buy a new company. They had two kids, Rhianna and Michael Cates, and they lived in Italy but came home every couple of months. Brenda owned and managed her own fashion line that was very successful. Nikolas had always thought it was funny how different Brenda and Robin were. Where Brenda was fashionable, Robin was more conservative. Where Robin was sweet and kind, Brenda was bitchy and bossy. Where Brenda was tall and statuesque like, Robin was petite and hadn't come into her own yet. If Brenda liked black, Robin opted for white. They were complete opposites, but the two sisters were closer than ever and Robin was always visiting her god children whenever she could. Grinning, Nikolas let go of all his thoughts and jumped into the refreshing pool, splashing water all over Patrick who was talking on the phone to his newest conquest. " Aww Nicky, trying to start up a water fight?" He heard Maxie say as he turned his head towards the house where she was coming out. "Wow, Maxie! Could your bikini be any smaller, you might as well come out naked." "Oh, stop drooling! You know I look hott! Robin bought this for me in Paris and she said it's all the rage out there. I'm such a trendsetter!" Nikolas laughed and was about to come back with a retort when he looked behind her. "Damn!" was all he could say as his mind went haywire. Patrick, having just got off the phone with Camille, his latest hookup looked over to see what the fuss was and couldn't believe his eyes. Robin Scorpio had obviously grown up over the summer. Her hair was longer and had golden highlights accentuating her tan body, which was covered in next to nothing with her dark green/gold bikini. "Close your mouth jackass, that's my little sister!" Jason said as he hit Patrick upside the head. He blushed as he realized he'd been staring, " Well look who went outta town for a couple months and came back a woman!" He joked. Robin just laughed as she just into the pool with Nikolas and Maxie. This year was definitely going to be interesting Patrick thought to himself before he launched into the pool right behind the others, as they celebrated their last day of freedom!