Last Blast

This year's end is neither an end, nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.

December 31, 2018

"I can't believe we did that," Patricia muttered sheepishly, burying her head into Eddie's chest.

"I know," Eddie laughed, holding her close and resting his chin on top of her auburn hair.

"Out parents are going to hate us! Well, it's yours I'm worried about, mine already do..." She sighed.

"Hey, what matters is that you're happy," Eddie whispered into her hair. "You are, right?"

"Of course, Doofus," she laughed, finally looking up at him.

Eddie looked down at her too, taking in everything around him. He wanted to remember this moment forever, the way her eyes had this sparkle to them, as the corners of her mouth curled into a smile. At that point, he couldn't resist her anymore, so he pressed his lips to hers, murmuring "I love you" as he did so. He felt her smile into the kiss, and he didn't even need a verbal response, because when she moved her arms from his waist to his neck, pulling him as close as she possibly could, he just knew.

"What?!" Piper exclaimed, rounding the corner of her parent's house, into the kitchen. She had come to get some of the things she had left at the house on Christmas, but instead had overheard her father telling her mother about when Eddie asked to propose.

"Piper!" Catherine exclaimed, turning around surprised. "We were just... wondering if you've heard from Eddie and Patricia, that's all..."

"No, I haven't heard from them since Christmas," Piper cooed, faking a smile, "but I did hear that you practically bullied Eddie the other night!"

Catherine and Marshall exchanged looks, quickly, but didn't say anything.

Piper crossed her arms. "Why don't you guys like him?!"

"I do lik- Actually no, I'm not going to lie to you Piper. I don't like Eddie, his morals are all over the place, and he doesn't actually love Patricia."

"Like you care about whether he loves her or not," Piper scoffed. She'd realized a little while ago how her parents always disregarded Patricia, except to bring up something negative, but Piper never really had the courage to stand up for her sister. Now though, everything was spilling out, and it felt great to stand up for her, and Eddie.

"Piper!" Her mom gasped. "You do not talk to your father that way!"

"Whatever, I don't even want to know the real reason you don't like him. Patricia is lucky to have him. He's a great guy, and when the time comes, will make a great dad, too. You could learn from him," she spat, smirking as she marched back to where Ben was waiting in the car.

She didn't even know where any if that came from, but she couldn't help but beam as she told Ben everything she said when she stood up to her parents. Whether it was her hormones talking, or the anger from being forced into music at such a young age, she was proud it came out, and she decided needed to talk to her sister right away.

"Eddie, Ben's calling!" Patricia yelled, pulling her laptop to her lap as she flopped on the couch. She answered the Skype call, just in time for Eddie to plop down next to her.

"Oh, hey Piper," she said, surprised to see her on the screen.

"Hi guys! Ben just went to run some errands, so I figured I'd call you guys! How have you been?"

"Good," Patricia smiled slowly, unsure of where Piper was going with this conversation, sneaking a glance at Eddie.

"So, uh, listen..." Piper started, catching Patricia's attention specifically. "I went over to mum an dad's... and well, I heard them talking about when Eddie asked-" Patricia couldn't hear the rest, though, because Eddie caught on to where Piper was going, and started to fake a coughing fit.

Patricia turned to him and raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth was going on.

"Oh! Yacker why don't you go get the thing... so we can, uh... tell Piper the news!" Eddie sputtered, trying to distract her.

Patricia figured she could question Piper about what she was saying later, and she was too excited now to wait any longer to tell her, so she quickly went to her room to find the 'thing' Eddie was talking about.

"Uh, Eddie, what was that about? And how come you never told me what my dad said?!" Piper asked, once Patricia had left the room.

"Nobody needed to know the details," Eddie sighed, "Including Patricia, okay? It would just... make things worse."

Piper nodded slowly, coming to an understanding of the whole thing. She actually thought it was really sweet how he was protecting her. "Thank you, Eddie, for caring for her so much," she added, meaning every word.

"Couldn't stop if I tried," Eddie laughed, just as Patricia came back in the room.

"Okay, now that you two are done telling secrets, which I will find out about in a second," Patricia warned, "we have an announcement to make..."

"Alright, I told Piper, now you tell me." Patricia commanded, closing her laptop and discarding it on the coffee table.

"Tell you what?" Eddie asked, playing dumb.

"You know, Piper was saying something until you pretended you were choking? Spill it Krueger."

Eddie sighed, casting his gaze downward. "It's really not that important."

"If you don't want me to know, it's definitely important," Patricia retorted.

Eddie sighed again, rubbing his forehead. "You're not gonna like it..."

"I figured that much already, so let's get this over with."

"Well... first of all, when I was going to ask your dad if I could marry you-"

"You asked?" Patricia interrupted.

"Yes... my mom said I had to." Eddie responded, a bit embarrassed. "Anyway, he thought I was asking for Piper, which is ridiculous, so I told him that would never happen, and that I was asking to marry you." Patricia gave him a nod, signaling for him to continue. "He, uh, laughed, and told me that you didn't actually love me, because we never acted like a couple, and that you were just waiting for someone that actually cares about you, like Ben cares for Piper."

Patricia used his second pause in the story to put herself in his lap, her back resting against the arm of the couch, and her head resting on his chest. Eddie began to draw shapes on her knee. "There's really not much more to the stor-

"Just finish it."

"Okay... so I told him how much I cared for you, and that it was definitely not a one-sided relationship. Then he basically said if you say yes, that I could have you, and that's when I walked out and saw you."

Patricia didn't say anything for a while, she just sat there playing with the ring on Eddie's finger. She didn't really know what to say, it didn't necessarily hurt her feelings, she just felt bad that Eddie had to sit through that.

"Patricia I-"

"It's fine, Eddie. You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I don't really care what he thinks. Like you said, all that matters is that we're happy, right?"

Eddie smiled at her, grateful that she wasn't upset. He quickly pecked her lips.

"Right."

"Patricia! Eddie!" Amber squealed as she engulfed the two in a group hug. "How are you two?"

"Good," Patricia smiled. "What about you Millington?"

"Fabu, Williamson," Amber giggled back, not noticing Patricia's uneasy smile.

"Well, you guys are welcome to anything, as usual. Ball drops in 3 hours!" She added, before quickly rushing off to greet the other arriving guests.

"What should we do first, Yacker?" Eddie asked, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Well, I'd like to go find our friends, but I'm assuming we're going to have to go get good first," she smirked.

"And this is why you are the most perfect woman to ever walk thi-"

"Save it, Weasel."

"Patricia!" Joy called, running up to her. "There you are!"

"Hey Joy!" Patricia smiled, giving her a quick hug. "You look great!"

"You too!" She replied, as Amber came up behind them.

"So, Patricia, Piper told me something special happened on Christmas Eve, hmm?" Amber smirked, causing Patricia to teasingly roll her eyes. Of course Piper couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"Yes, something did, but I'm sure Eddie would want to be in the conversation when I tell you guys."

"I heard my name?" Eddie said, appearing next to Patricia, his arm taking it's natural position around her waist.

"Apparently there's some big announcement from you two," Joy explained. "So, go ahead!"

"Oh wait!" Amber interrupted. "We need the of the group! I'll get Fabian, you get Jerome!" She told Joy, before they both rushed off.

"Out friends are crazy," Patricia laughed, as they returned as quickly as they left, with a confused Fabian and a smirking Jerome.

"So Eddie's knocked you up already?" Jerome teased, earning a light slap from Joy.

"Not yet Jerry," Eddie smirked, winking at Patricia.

"Okay, let's just get on with it! Tell us!" Amber urged, hardly able to stand still.

"Well, we're-"

"They're engaged!" Amber interrupted, decided she wanted to be the one to let the cat out if the bag. "Isn't that just perfect!"

"Actually, no," Patricia started, getting a shocked look from Amber. "We're married, as of this morning!"

Everyone burst into smiles, giving them hugs and commenting on how they knew it would happen since the two's rivalry had begun.

Patricia somehow found herself on the terrace, alone, looking out over the city. Eddie and Jerome had gotten into some boring conversation over sports, and Joy and Amber were discussing fashion. She decided to avoid both conversations, and to wait for the ball drop instead.

"So, Patricia Miller now?" Fabian smiled, coming up next to her.

"Yeah," Patricia half-smiled. "I kind if wish everyone could've been there, but it just worked, us doing it alone."

"Oh sure, we all know that. You two have never really been the 'traditional' couple anyway," Fabian pointed out, causing Patricia to smile.

They sat there in silence for a moment, the sounds of cheers and music filling their ears from below. Patricia was starting to wonder where Eddie was, and if she was going to have to ring in the new year alone... or maybe this year she could just kiss Fabian instead. She had to stop herself from laughing at that thought.

"I was there when he picked the ring you know," Fabian started. "He was freaking out, probably more torn than Amber deciding how to do her hair," he laughed, causing her to laugh too.

"I wish you had video taped that," Patricia teased. "But seriously what's up with your love life anyway Fabian? No girls falling head over heels for your Egyptian fun facts?"

"I'm too busy with work to get into a serious relationship..."

"Oh please. Here, I'm going to help you out. You see that blonde girl over there, with the glasses?" Patricia pointed, and Fabian nodded. "That's Amber's friend from fashion school, but she almost majored in history. Amber introduced me one time, and I suggest, you go introduce yourself."

"No, I don't really think-"

"Come on, Fabian. It's New Year's Eve! Do something new!" She encouraged, and Fabian reluctantly agreed. "But don't get too crazy!" She winked, causing his cheeks to go red, and he walked away.

She smiled to herself, at the fact that she was hopefully helping Fabian. He'd always been a good friend to her, it was about time she'd reciprocated it.

She was still wondering where Eddie was, and sighed when she realized she'd be alone when it became 2019, despite the new ring on her finger.

"5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The shouting rang through her ears as she felt lips against hers, Eddie's lips to be exact.

"Hope I wasn't too late this year," he whispered, once they broke apart.

"I think you made it just in time," she smiled, letting him wrap his arms around her, while looking down at all the lights below. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Not as pretty as you."

Patricia rolled her eyes, laughing at the same time "You are such a Doofus." Eddie laughed too, happier than ever to be there with her in his arms...

Both of their resolutions from the previous year finally complete.

And that's a wrap! You might have to read the ending of the first chapter to get that last line, considering it's been 5 months since I started this! All of your positive feedback makes it all worthwhile! Thanks for being a part of the ride with me!