Travis was busily working his muscles by holding the punching bag for his girlfriend to punch. The pair were at the gym and it was actually starting to show on Travis. The young author was starting to actually fit in, wearing athletic clothes rather than a pair of cargo pants he had in the back of his closet like the first time he walked in. That didn't even cross his mind, however, as he had to brace himself. Patricia always liked to finish a long chain of hits with a kick during practise and if he didn't want to be thrown off balance, he had to pay attention. Watching her feet, he saw one slam down one foot and begin to raise the other, prompting him to widen his stance and shift his weight to take the blow.
With a loud grunt, he asked: "You can't hold back, can you?"
"If I held back, I wouldn't get any better." Patricia grinned. Gesturing to herself with her hands, she said: "C'mon, switch places with me. Gimme everything you've got!"
"Alright, but I'm not as good as you." Travis replied while standing up straight. He passed by his girlfriend, taking her position while she took his.
"That's because I've been punching things since I was in diapers." the woman stated, holding onto the punching bag. "C'mon, you won't get better unless you practise!"
With a smile and a light shake of his head, he bent his knees and raised his fists, bringing them in close. Staying light on his feet, he put in several punches before the sound of the door to the gym opening caught his attention. Well, perhaps it wasn't the door, but the person who walked through it.
"Hey, hey, everyone! How's it goin'?" the man said in a loud voice. Looking over his shoulder, Travis could see the collective sigh that escaped everyone in the room emitted upon hearing his voice. It wasn't a swoon, either. It was a sigh in exasperation. "Brian is back!"
With an arched eyebrow, Travis looked on for a moment before he was pulled away. Patricia reached out and grabbed his jawline, pulling him to face her direction before hiding behind the bag. Now, the man's confusion had reached it's peak.
"Don't look over at him, he'll try to talk to us!" she whispered.
"Is he annoying or something?" her boyfriend questioned.
"More than 'annoying'… He must've got kicked out of his usual gym… It always happens. He bothers everybody until he's forced to leave!"
"Where'd you hear that?"
"He…" began the woman, hesitating for a moment. "He's my ex… I've seen it and I've heard him complain about it more than once. He can't see me here. He won't go away if he does."
"Oh. Okay." Travis stated, unbothered by the fact that Patricia had dated someone else before him. In fact, he assumed, since it was a somewhat normal thing that really wasn't anything to worry about. What did concern him, however, was the fact that Patricia wanted to avoid the loud man. Picking up his hoodie, he handed it to her. "Put up the hood and we'll sneak out."
"Alright?" answered Patricia, taking the jacket with an arch of her brow. "You're not weirded out?"
"Not really. If you want to tell me about it, you can later. Let's focus on getting you out of here, right now."
Patricia had just got the hoodie on and the hood put up, hiding her face and hair, before Travis felt a tap on his shoulder. On reflex, he turned to face the offender, only to immediately regret doing so. It was the man who had just walked in the door smiling at him with a big, toothy smile. It immediately caught his attention, as his teeth were not only bleached, but also perfectly straight in a manner that looked almost unnatural. Despite the decreasing temperature outside, this fool was wearing a tank top that showed off his neck, shoulder, and arm muscles. He hadn't been there long enough to put anything away in one of the lockers, so it would seem that he came her like this with no jacket at all.
"Haven't seen you in here before." the man said in a friendly fashion, holding his hand out to shake. "Though, I don't come here that often. Name's Brian."
"I heard." Taking the other's hand out of politeness, Travis wasn't too thrilled when he was promptly yanked closer with his hand held in a death grip while they shook. Not understanding what in blazes this person was up to, he let go and wiggled his hand away and looked up in confusion.
"What? Don't want to shake?" chuckled Brian. It was some sort of bizarre intimidation tactic he was trying out on Travis, but unfortunately for him, it was completely lost on the other man.
"I don't mind shaking, but I think most people don't like to be yanked around like a rag doll." Mister Sullivan answered while his girlfriend introduced the palm of her hand to her forehead. Travis really didn't mean to be confrontational. He wasn't intending to sound like he was being disrespectful or snarky. He was simply answering the question honestly. "Well, I'm actually done for today, so I think I'll be going home, now. It was nice meeting you."
Confused at being brushed off, Brian watched as he gestured to the person with him and attempted to walk away, "Wait, what about you're… friend, here." He didn't even bother to try and hide the way he looked at Patricia, focusing primarily on her legs, given the way that women's athletic shorts worked.
"My girlfriend, who was just talking about how she'd like to go home now."
"Now, I didn't hear her say anything like that. Let her speak for herself." haughtily spoke the other man, putting their escape to a screeching halt as he put a hand on her shoulder and tried to spin her around to face him. He managed to catch her by surprise and was surprised, himself, when he saw who she was. "Patty?! Is that you?!"
"Hey, Brian..." she relented, not even pretending to be thrilled to see him. This was lost entirely on Brian, however. Rather, he simply chose to ignore it.
"It's so good to see you! How have you been?" Before she could answer, he continued to speak when she pulled down her hood. "Oh, Patty… What's happened to your head?"
"It's more practical for a fighter to have short hair." Patricia answered, hoping that would cause him to drop it, but knowing deep down that it wouldn't.
"Is that what this guy told you? You're so much prettier with long hair."
"She looks lovely as she is." Travis said. "I didn't tell her anything. She had this haircut when we met."
"Thought you'd change some things after… you know..." Brian trailed off, gesturing to her and himself.
"Dumping you? Yeah. I thought I would, now that I wouldn't have to hear you complaining anymore." answered Miss Ramirez, causing her boyfriend to crack a smile. "Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm gonna go home, alright?"
"Sure you don't want to go get something to eat, first?" With a smile that was somehow subtly sickening, Brian added: "I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind going home first. I'll drop you off at your place."
"Are you fucking serious?!" Rightfully gawked the woman.
"Actually, I do mind, as she doesn't seem too keen." Travis said, hoping to shut things down before a scene was started.
"Why don't you let her tell me that, yeah?" Brian suggested.
"I think she just did." the Sullivan stated. "She said: 'are you fucking serious?!' in case you didn't hear."
"That could mean anything."
"No… It really couldn't…"
"Your boyfriend is really bossy, for a little guy, Pat." chuckled the larger man. "He's even shorter than you!"
"'No, I don't want to go with you.' There. Happy?" snarkily questioned Patricia while reaching down to hold onto Travis' hand. "I don't really care about his height, so I'm not sure what that has to do with it."
"So he's big where it counts, I take it, then?"
"Well, he's honest, so he doesn't use any steroids." Now, once the "s" word was uttered, a few heads turned to look at the three. "There's no shrinkage."
This made Brian squirm a little bit, while Travis wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. It was a bit personal, after all. Yet, it would appear that Patricia had everything under control for the time being, so he was simply going to allow her to work her magic. Brian, however, turned his attention to Mister Sullivan as a result.
"You don't have anything to say?" the ex-boyfriend asked, prompting Travis to shake his head.
"Not really. She seems to have a handle on things."
"Shouldn't you be trying to, y'know, win her over a bit?"
"Don't need to. She's dating me and not you. Doesn't really seem interested in changing that any time soon."
"How do you know that?"
"I feel pretty secure, so I just don't really question it, really. She's already indicated that she's not interested in you, so you're not much of a threat to me."
"That right?" Brian inquired, taking a step forward and puffing himself up a bit. He pushed his shoulders back, his chest out, and stood up straight in an effort to look bigger, but the other man didn't even flinch.
"Yeah?" Travis answered, obviously not convinced. "Anyway, we kind of need to go… We were hoping to hit the post office before it closes."
"So you're just gonna run away, then?" scoffed the other with indignation. "Y'know, Patricia likes strong guys."
"Didn't we start dating before I started coming to the gym on your schedule?" the Sullivan asked Patricia.
"Yeah. You were cute then and still are. It is fun to have an exercise buddy who's fun to work with, though." his girlfriend smiled.
"I'm fun!" insisted Brian.
"No you're not. That's part of why I dumped you." Patricia stated. "You don't take other people seriously when they try to get fit, especially women. You also get super pissy when your girlfriend looks at anybody else or doesn't put out. You're so annoying that no gym will keep you for more than two months!"
"That why he needs steroids?" Travis asked her.
"Probably."
"Think you're real funny, don't you?" the other man questioned, jogging to catch up with the pair and blocking their way.
"Not particularly?"
Brian furrowed his brow, as nothing seemed to get to this man. Either Travis was bad at reading signals, or ballsy enough to not care. That made Brian mad. It bothered him that someone wasn't intimidated by his cheap antics. He tried to assert dominance with his handshake and that didn't work, nor did puffing himself up or even blocking the other man's path! What would get to this strange man?! Who the hell did he think he was?! Surely no man could back down from a challenge when his girl was involved. No man would feel even a little jealous or upset that their ex has come back in the picture and tried to ask her out in front of him?
Yet, Travis was as cool as a cucumber and didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. Did he not care? No, he was simply the stronger person, believing in Patricia when she ridiculed Brian and believing that she preferred him because she chose him and got rid of Brian. Travis was just too secure in himself and in his relationship to be bothered. He didn't really understand what Brian was trying to do, either. It just didn't make any sense. He didn't understand the handshake and he didn't understand what Brian could possibly gain from doing any of this. As far as Travis was concerned, the other man was doing nothing but making an ass out of himself for seemingly no reason. There was no logic in his actions that Travis could find. As far as Mister Sullivan was concerned, it was pointless. That said, there was one gesture that Travis did understand.
"Put 'em up!" Brian instructed, taking a boxer's stance. Well, a poor one, with his legs locked into a straight position that would limit his mobility. Despite the threatening gesture, however, only confusion read on Travis' face!
"You're not supposed to fight in here outside the ring." he said, pointing in the direction of the practise ring.
"Alright! Let's go over there, then!" the other man answered, desperate to prove himself.
"No."
"What?!" Brian's jaw dropped at the response. "You've gotta! No man can back down from a fight in front of his girl!"
"That's stupid. And I already said we need to get to the post office, so I'm not going to."
"Brian, just drop it. You're making yourself look like a dumbass." Patricia insisted, trying to diffuse the tension.
"Shut up!" her ex ordered, prompting Travis to try to simply walk around him. When the author moved, however, Brian mistook that for an advance, so his fist shot forward. In a flash, it made contact with Travis' face and while he took the punch like a champ, it did leave him both rather surprised and with a bloody nose.
"What the fuck?!" called off a voice of one of the spectators, and just as quickly as Travis was punched, other patrons of the gym stood up and began to walk over.
The gym staff was called and Brian was restrained by the other patrons until they got there. Many of the other gym members stepped forward on Travis' behalf, but it wasn't nessecary. The manager already recognised Brian and knew he was trouble. Thus, he was quickly banned from the gym while all Travis had to so was clean himself up. He as still as confused as ever. He didn't understand why any of that just happened.
Once they got to the car, Travis got in the driver's seat while Patricia got in next to him, wishing that she could offer to drive them, but not having a license. The pair sat there for a moment while they both processed what just occurred. This was certainly not how they wanted to start their day.
"I'm sorry." Patricia said just as Travis put his keys into the ignition. She didn't know what else to say, but she felt responsible. After all, that was her mess- or former mess, that is.
"It's not your fault." her beau answered. "He was looking for a fight. That's his problem, not ours."
"Even if it was because of me?"
"I don't think it was because of you. Though, I don't really know what it was about at all, really. He seemed kind of… well… whiny."
"He is. He can't stand it when people don't bend to his will or whatever." the woman replied. "He just wanted to prove that he was the biggest man there."
"That doesn't make any sense. What's trying to pick fights got to do with being a man?"
"Apparently a lot, from his perspective." Patricia replied. "It only makes sense to creeps like him. You're not like that, and that's part of why I like you."
"And why you don't like him?" asked Travis.
"Part of it. Part of it is because he's a creep." Pausing, she added: "I never slept with him, by the way."
"I didn't ask if you did."
"Well, I didn't. Just the thought of it is gross." she shuddered. "He's the kind who whines and complains until you put out for him. 'If you loved me, you'd do it,' so, I dumped him. Took me forever to get him to stop messaging me."
"Mm." grunted the other in acknowledgment. "He is a creep."
"A creep who really doesn't want us to get to the post office." Patricia added.
"Right. Let's go."
Turning the ignition on, Travis made his way out of the parking lot and onto the street. He took directions from his passenger on how to get there, as it was actually her post office. You see, the pair had finished the book that Travis started based on the supernatural nonsense he had seen. Certain details were changed, however, as to maintain the secret of the existence of such things. Travis had checked his mail already and received his first cheque. He hadn't told Patricia exactly how much he received, only that it was "a decent amount."
Honestly, Patricia wasn't expecting much. She assumed that there would be double-digits, at least. Mostly because of the price tag on each copy. They weren't expensive, but they weren't cheap. The pair were pleased with the quality of the books and handed out free copies that the company had given them as a gift to family and friends.
Somehow, they made it to the post office by the skin of their teeth and she came back to the care with an envelope from the publisher. Plopping down in her seat, she shut the door and stared at it for a while, hesitant to open it. She had to psych her self up to do so and make sure that she wouldn't be too disappointed. Really, she knew that there was nothing she could really do, but she could try, at least.
"Well?" asked Travis. "Are you going to open it?"
With a glance and an unsure smile directed toward the man, Patricia took a deep breath and tore the envelope open. Cautiously, she took out the paper inside, pulling on it bit by bit and right away she could tell that it was a cheque. Finally, she had it in her hand and read it, her eyes going wide. Turning it over and back again, she carefully looked it over before looking at her beau.
"This is fake." She said. "This is obviously fake."
"Nope." the man replied. "That is a genuine cheque that you can deposit and spend as you see fit."
Hesitantly, she tore her eyes away from him and looked back at the piece of paper. "I've never had this much money at once before." Looking up straight ahead, with a nervous laugh Patricia added: "I guess I won't be worrying about rent for a while, huh?"
"Well, um…" Travis began before pausing. "About that..."
"What?" At this point, Patricia was certain that nothing else could surprise her, but Travis seemed damn eager to try. "What is it?"
"I was wondering…" he started up again, "...if you would like to move in together sometime."
Slowly, a wide smile formed on Patricia's face before coming all at once. Leaning over uncomfortably in her seat, she put her arms around Travis and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to." she said, giggling as her boyfriend turned his head to kiss her back. Soon, she would be moving in and writing books both in collaboration with him and independently. It all started with their first in a long line of books. They were bound in black with red lettering and sat comfortably on the bookshelf. They called this book, made up of their blood, sweat, and tears: "Devils Like To Dance."
A/N: Patravis or whatever the fuck this ship is called is the only heterosexual couple in DLTD that matters. That's what you can take away from this chapter.
Also, I REALLY like shit references, even if I'm one of them. I actually giggled at the idea that the name of their fucking book is "Devils Like To Dance". They probably write better than I do, though.
I am on a roll lately, aren't I? Long chapters, good frequency, and they're kind of fun! I'm still really worried about getting back on plot, but hey, what can ya do? I'm uploading into the void at this point, so who cares? I'm gonna do my best to have fun, and ain't nobody is gonna stop me.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
