Ch. 9

*Patrick POV*

I drove back to the apartment with a big smile on my face and singing along to the radio. I felt so alive, I felt so happy, like nothing could bring me down. I parked the car and happily climbed the steps to our door carrying an armful of groceries. Whistling, I pushed the key into the door and entered the room. Water spilled from the apartment and flowed through the hall. What the hell?!

"Hey Trick? Is that you, we need help with this!" I heard Pete yell from the kitchen.

"Sure be right there," I yelled back, throwing the bags on the table and running into the kitchen. "What's the- oh..."

When I walked into the kitchen Pete and Joe were about ankle deep in water. Behind them water was shooting up out of an exposed kitchen sink. "What did you guys do?!" I yelled running towards them and helping them try to clog the hole.

"We tried to get the sink to work but it wouldn't! So Pete said to take off the faucet to see if it was jammed!" Joe yelled over the sound of the water.

"What!? No! It was your idea to take off the thing! Not mine!"

"Uh uh, it was you!"

"Uh uh!"

"Shut Up! I think we can turn off the water down stairs! I'll be back!" I trudged through the water and got out the door. We were in so much trouble. Water spilled from our apartment and throughout the hall. I ran down the hall before any of our neighbors came out wondering what was going on.

I ran down the stairs to the basement and found the panel to shut off the water. I flipped the switch and sighed, hopefully this worked. Exhausted, I walked back up the stairs and found a hallway full of people. They were talking in a whispered voice and all turned me once they saw me.

"W-what happened here?" I said, trying my best to seem concerned.

"We don't know? Somebody's left their water on," an old lady said. I could tell they had figured out it was from our apartment because of the tone she used.

"Yeah, where have you been?" a man said with his arms crossed, looking down and my soaked jeans.

"I was uhhh-"

"I knew it! It's these new brats that moved in!"

"Wait till the management hears about this!"

"My new greeting rug is ruined!"

"ALRIGHT!"

We all turned and saw Pete standing behind the crowd. There was a dead silence and then Pete walked over and pulled me into the apartment.

"Way to go guys! Now everyone on the entire floor hates us!" I said. You could still hear the angry people outside yelling and banging on our door.

"Who cares, the water's off now. So we can just put the faucet back and everything will be alright."

"Hmmm what about the giant puddle that is our apartment!" I yelled throwing my arms in the air.

"Workin' on it!" Joe said, he had about three mops duct taped to his body.

I face palmed and turned back to Pete who was looking through the groceries. He picked up the receipt and began to read it. My body lunged forward reaching for the paper. Pete pulled it away keeping his eyes on it.

He chuckled, "Woah Trick, who's Elisa?" Pete said smirking?

"S-she's uhh, a cashier at that little grocery store," I said quietly, adjusting my hat nervously.

Pete looked at me with a raised brow, "So is she pretty?"

"She's beautiful. She was nice and polite and adorable and-"

"Welly well well, Trick. Only here two days and you're already pickin' up the chicks," Pete said laughing, "Here, you better not screw this one up," he said handing me the receipt and walking away.

"Yeah," I whispered to myself looking down at the paper in my hand.

Maybe I should call her? Yeah, I should call her! I smiled as I dug into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I punched in her number and listened to the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"H-hi," this was not a good idea, I don't know what to say!

"Hi, who is this?"

"Uhh oh! It's Patrick from the grocery store. Remember I bumped into you and you fell over," I mentally slapped myself, why would I say that?!

To my surprise she giggled, "Oh yeah, umm listen I'm still working. You only left 20 minutes ago," she said awkwardly.

This time I mentally kicked myself, why did I call her so early? "Oh yeah, uhh no I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out... at my place?" What?! I need to stop talking. Great excuse Patrick.

"Uhh sure, I get off at 4. I'll be over at 5, just send me your address. Okay I really need to go, bye Patrick!" she said in a hurry and hung up.

I closed my phone and slammed it against my forehead, "I am such an idiot!"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you," Pete said walking past me with a bag of chips.

"Oh Pete I really screwed up, I need your help!" I said walking after him.

"What did you do now?"

"Remember that girl who gave me her number? I called her."

Pete's eyes grew, "WHAT?! Patrick! Everyone knows you wait at least three days until you call the girl!"

"Well not everyone! There's more," I said flinching, "I invited her over, today..."

Pete almost flipped a table, "Patrick! News flash! Have you taken a look around lately! Our place is trashed and we've barely finished unpacking! You wanna bring this girl into this dump! Think Stump!" he said flicking me in the forehead.

"I know! We gotta clean this place up, she'll be here in 3 hours! Pete please help me," I said seriously, "I think I really like this girl."

Pete let out a groan, "Fine, only because it's been so long since you had any tail."

"Oh thank you Pete!" I said pulling him into a big bear hug.

"Alright, alright! Save it for your date!"

*Courtney POV*

"Haha thanks guys! See ya later!" I yelled as I walked away from the condo.

"Hey! Wait up!" I turned around and saw Gerard jogging to catch up with me. "I'll drive you back, it's the least I can do for my girlfriend," he said smiling.

Hearing it out loud made me blush, "Aww, alright," I took his hand and he lead me to his car.

He let go of my hand and ran up to the car, opening the door for me. I dropped into the front seat and he ran around the front and got in. He started the car and pulled out from the complex. We didn't talk much, but then Gerard broke the silence when he pulled up to the apartment complex.

"So, are you going to invite me up?" he asked.

His question made me nervous, I'm not sure why. I just got a bad feeling in my stomach, like I knew something bad was going to happen. I thought for a moment, but he cut in.

"What? Is there something wrong?" he asked with giving me a knowing look.

What was he getting at? I bit my lip, "No. Nothing's wrong, I just don't remember if the apartment is a mess, that's all," I said giving him a little laugh to hide my nervousness.

"Alright, let's go," he said getting out. This time he didn't come over to open my door for me. He slipped his sunglasses on and entered the building. Then it hit me, he wants to snoop around the apartment to see if anything is going on with Patrick!

I got out and followed him, making sure to keep an eye on him. When we arrived on my floor I noticed the carpet was sorta soggy, that's weird. As we were walking down the hall I could have sworn one of the old ladies who live across the hall gave me the stink eye.

My stomach was still churning when I put the key in the lock and opened the door. Gerard and I entered, but he sorta pushed past me when I set down the keys. I heard laughing coming from the living room, someone I didn't recognize, a girl? Maybe Andy brought his date back home.

I walked in with Gerard and saw Pete, Patrick, Joe, and a girl sitting around the room. Pete, who was sitting on a box facing the doorway saw us walk in and the smile on his face instantly vanished. Joe glanced up and waved. Then Patrick and the girl sitting next to him turned around. Just like Pete's, Patrick's smile faded when our eyes met. There was a heavy silence hanging in the air, everyone felt it, even the new girl looked around the room noticing something was up.

"Ummm, hey guys," I said awkwardly.

"Hello, I'm Elisa. I'm a friend of Patrick," she said, a wide smile painted across her face.

"Uhh hi Elisa, I'm Courtn-"

"Oh thank god! You two really have moved on!" Gerard said rather loudly, letting out a sigh and pulling me into a hug.

Elisa looked a little confused and looked to Patrick, probably looking for an explanation. Patrick just pulled the lid of his hat over his face.

"Woah! Patrick, this must be REAL awkward for you. Your old girlfriend shows up with her new boyfriend you hate, just to-" Joe was cut off by Pete who ran over and put his hand over Joe's mouth. Pete muttered something to Joe and slapped him over the head.

"What?" Elisa asked Patrick, her smile shrunk.

Patrick tried to talk, but all he could do was stutter. "Uhhh, no. I-it's... I- we. We don't-"

"It's true, we did date, but that was a long time ago. You have nothing to worry about, it's all history," I said never breaking eye contact with Patrick.

"Then what are you doing here? Isn't this your guy's apartment?" Elisa asked looking at Pete.

"Uhh yeah," Pete said sighing, he could see what was going to happen, "but she lives here too..."

Elisa got a disgusted look on her face, looked to me and then to Patrick, "You live with your ex? That's- umm, I need to go. I'm sorry," Elisa got up, grabbed her purse, and walked out the door, all while her head was down, hiding her face.

The sound of the door echoed through the apartment. No one dared to talk. Patrick got up from the couch slowly and walked into his room. When he passed by me he stopped and looked me in the eyes, like he was telling me "thanks a lot". His eyes were beginning to water, I really messed up this time. Pete finally let go of Joe, then came up to me.

"Why'd you have to bring him here?!" he asked in a hushed tone.

"I-I. I'm sorry. I didn't-" Gerard moved in between Pete and I, getting into Pete's face.

"Look, this her apartment too. How was she supposed to know he had a girl over. Plus, she's not the one who announced to the entire room that the used to date!" Gerard said putting emphasis on "used to".

Pete's face was twisted with anger, he knew it wasn't my fault, but I think he was just mad because Patrick was hurt. Pete loved Patrick more than a brother, it was incredible how much he cared for Patrick. Since Patrick's the only one who really gets him, Pete always feels the need to protect Patrick. Pete yelled at the top of his lungs and stomped into Patrick's room.

"Thanks," I said softly.

Gerard turned around and hugged me, "I'll always have your back," he said kissing me on the head. "I think I should go, unless you need me."

I started to sniffle, "No, I'll be fine," I said trying my best to smile, "I uhh, think you should go."

He nodded silently and left. When he shut the door I started to cry, I don't even know why. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was Joe's.

"He was right, it's all my fault," he said looking down, "I'm so-"

"Just leave me alone Joe. You need to learn to keep your mouth shut!" I said turning on my heel and running into my room.

I collapsed on my bed, I just wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. Why did I feel so crappy? I had nothing to be sad about? Nothing happened to me? Was I just feeling guilty, but it wasn't my fault! Was it?

Hey guys! Oooooo the drama is back! How are we liking it? I don't know it's been awhile so I'm not sure how it turned out. Hope you guys are still enjoying the story! Leave a comment! I'm lonely and I need feedback cause I'm a feedback whore. Anywhore... Thnks Fr Rdng!