Chapter 9- Calm Before The Storm
Leila was released from the hospital the next day, but she didn't leave. Pete tried to make her go stay at his place, but she wouldn't leave his side. On the day of Pete's twenty-ninth birthday, Leila was packing all of Pete's stuff; he was getting to go home. Leila had this perfect idea for his birthday present and was proud of herself for not telling anyone, except Patrick. She had needed his help. As she was packing, Pete limped out of the bathroom on his crutches. Leila looked up and smiled.
"Happy birthday, Petey," Leila said, giving him a soft kiss. Pete wanted to hold onto her, but he feared without his crutches he would fall to the floor; so he just settled for Leila's arms around his waist.
"Thanks Lei, what's my present?" he asked slyly. Leila opened her mouth to answer but quickly caught herself.
"If you weren't hurt enough as it is, I'd get you for that. Now stop trying to get your present out of me. It's going to be good," Leila said, playfully threatening him. Pete gave up for now, and sat down as Leila finished packing his stuff. He tried to help her before, but when he was warned to stay down or get hurt, he quit.
"Joe is downstairs waiting for us. Let's go to the nurses' station and get you signed out and go home," Leila said, swinging Pete's bag over her shoulder and holding his bass in one hand. Together, they walked out of the hospital and got in the car.
Pete was extremely happy to be going home. He could hardly take it in there. Confined to a bed and the tasteless food, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. Leila was jittery the whole ride home. Pete figured it was just being in a car for the first time since the accident. Pete took her hand, and Leila looked up at him. She moved closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. He had to admit that he was a little jumpy about being in a car as well. Every time Joe hit the breaks, Pete jumped a little. He quietly began to hum "Nobody Put A Baby In A Corner" and rubbed his thumb over Leila's hand. Leila didn't even look at Pete, but smiled; she began humming along with him. That song has come to bring comfort to them every time they heard it. From now on, that was their song that heard and knew everything was going to be okay.
They arrived at Pete's flat twenty minutes later. Leila was headed to pick up the bags, when Joe came around the car and took them from her. Leila gave him a look.
"Well, I'm not hurt. I can carry the bags," Joe smirked. Leila rolled her eyes and helped Pete out of the car.
Now Leila was jittery for a whole new reason. Pete's present was waiting for him in his apartment. She hoped he was going to love it. Leila helped Pete hobble into the building and onto the elevator. They had managed to get in before anyone realized that Pete Wentz was out of the hospital. Pete handed Joe the keys to the door and stood aside as he jimmied the lock. Joe stepped inside and held the door open for Pete and Leila.
As soon as they stepped foot inside, they were greeted by a loud combination of screams. Signs were hung from everything saying things like "Welcome Home Pete and Leila" to "Happy Birthday Pete". Pete looked around at everything. He was overcome by happiness. He looked to Leila, thinking that she was behind everything. She just shook her head.
"This isn't my doing. My gift is right there," Leila said pointing right over Pete's left shoulder. Pete turned around to see a teary-eyed, dark headed Hawaiian woman standing next to a taller, lanky grey-headed male.
"Mom? Dad?" Pete uttered, astounded.
Pete's mother rushed to him, squeezing him to her. She was crying his shoulder. His father walked over to them, looking quite emotional himself.
"Now, dear, he probably doesn't need to be handled so roughly," Mr. Wentz said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder.
Mrs. Wentz let go of her son, realizing she could be hurting him. Pete's father gave him a soft hug and stepped back.
"How are you doing, son?" Mr. Wentz asked.
Pete was still reeling from seeing his parents for the first time in nearly six months. Not that he didn't want to see them, he loved them very much, but with the tour and everything, he didn't have time.
"Fine, Dad. My foot's broken again and I get some headaches from time to time, but that's it. Leila got more injured than I did. She broke her arm, two ribs and a bruised collarbone," Pete said to his father. Upon hearing Leila's name, Mr. and Mrs. Wentz looked to her.
Mrs. Wentz hurried over to her and gave her a bone-crushing hug. As much as Leila was happy for Pete, this hurt her. She gasped with pain, and Mrs. Wentz let go of her as if she was shocked by electricity.
"I'm so sorry dear; I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that you brought us out here to see our son and I…" she trailed off, overcome by another wave of tears. Mr. Wentz walked up to Leila, gazing at her curiously.
"Yes, thank you for helping us come out here. Patrick has told us all about you," Mr. Wentz said, still surveying her. Leila seemed to shrink under his gaze. What all had Patrick told them. "You took care of our son, and for that, we'll be eternally grateful," Mr. Wentz said with a smile.
The party for Pete and Leila got under way. It was soon cake time. Joe, Andy and Patrick had gone in and got him the massive Battlecat cake from his favorite childhood TV show, He-Man. He had a mound of presents from everyone, but at the end of the day he could safely say that Leila's gift had touched him the most. He saw Leila going into the kitchen, and got up on his crutches and followed her. She had her head stuck in the fridge, looking for a drink. She closed the door to the fridge and turned around. Not expecting to see anyone, she was startled by Pete standing there.
"Leila, what you did… Your present is…" Pete stammered to find the right words to express how he was feeling at this moment. Leila felt a blush creeping up her face.
"You're welcome Petey," Leila said, smiling through her blush.
Pete limped over to where she stood, by the fridge.
"It was the second best gift I got this year," Pete said, lowering his voice. Leila felt flustered and her mind was racing. Pete was moving ever so close to her with each word.
"Second best gift?" Leila said, backing in the fridge. Pete was getting in her head and he knew it. He was taking pleasure in knowing he could drive Leila crazy.
"You're the best gift I received this year," Pete whispered in her ear. He looked into her eyes. The next thing Leila knew, was feeling Pete's lips crashing on hers. Her hands found Pete's back and pressed him to her. Their first kiss was sweet, but this was far from innocent. This kiss was full of passion for each other. A sudden shatter of glass startled the two to detangle their selves from each other. Mrs. Wentz, who was carrying dishes into the kitchen to place in the sink, had dropped a glass cup and shards of glass went all over the hard wood floor. Leila turned a shade of what was known as "Weasley red" and pondered the glass shards on the floor. Pete stuttered to find the right words.
Now everyone was in the kitchen door way, to see what had caused the shatter. They hadn't really told anyone about them yet, and didn't know if now was a good time. But they had no choice.
"Um… Mom. We have something else to say," Pete said, looking at Leila for support. Leila, still being extremely embarrassed, trotted back over to Pete; standing next to him. "While we were in the hospital… we… well," Pete didn't know why he was finding it hard to find the words to talk to his mother. Leila, sensing Pete's dilemma, took hold of Pete's hand. The only person not to look shocked was Patrick. He had known since the first night he caught Leila in Pete's room.
"Mrs. Wentz, Pete and I are…" she looked at Pete, smiling, all embarrassment gone, "in a relationship, for lack of better words. I love your son and would do anything for him. I'm sorry you, and the rest of you, found out this way. But it's new to Pete and me as well. We really didn't know how to tell you before now," Leila said, squeezing Pete's hand, waiting for the storm to begin.
Mrs. Wentz, now joined by her husband, just stood there, staring at Leila. They didn't know what to think of her. Especially Mrs. Wentz. The last girl to "love" her baby broke his heart. Leila seemed to sense this.
"I know what you're thinking. Ashlee claimed to love Pete too. But I can assure you that I would never hurt Pete. I would do anything for Pete," Leila reassured his parents.
Pete spoke up, to help Leila's case, "She even decked Ashlee when she came to get me back after we broke up. It was the scariest thing I ever saw, seeing Leila that angry at Ashlee," Pete said, smiling thinking back on that night.
Mrs. Wentz started laughing. Softly at first, but then got gradually louder. She walked closer to Leila.
"Did you really punch that… thing?" she asked her. Leila smirked at her words, and nodded.
"Yes ma'am!" Leila exclaimed.
Before Leila knew it, she was enveloped in another hug, except this time it was a lot gentler.
"You know what, I like you… You're alright," Pete's mom said, smiling through her laughter. Mr. Wentz nodded his head in agreement.
Pete, propped up on a kitchen counter, pulled Leila to him, hugging her close. All their friends were smiling at them.
"This is going to be alright," Pete said to himself, "This is the best birthday ever."
-note by the author-
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! This ends the fluff! -gasp- Who knows what's going to happen next!