Ch. 11

*Courtney POV*

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment to hold back the tears. I'm leaving, it didn't feel real until I had said it out loud. It's time for me to move on, it's time for all of us to move on. I kept telling myself that our relationship isn't healthy, that we couldn't depend on each other for so much. It was becoming too much for all of us, it was going to have to stop at some point, why not now? Before it became even harder to say goodbye. I regained my posture and opened my eyes, I was met with a look of disbelief on Joe's face. His eyes were wide open staring down at me, he opened his mouth to say something, but then kept it to himself.

There was a moment of silence, the only thing that could be heard between us was the soft music being played. We stood there as the other couples swirled around us, then Joe finally said something, "Wait, what? Why? You can't be serious," he said scoffing, he couldn't believe it.

"No Joe, I am serious. I'm moving to California. I didn't tell you guys but, I got accepted to a graphics college in LA. I've been debating on whether to go or not, but I've finally decided I should go. I think," I choked on my words, "I think it's the best, for-for everyone."

"Wha- You're really gonna leave. What makes you think it'd be best for everyone! I-I mean- Why?!" Joe exclaimed.

I put my hand over his mouth, "Look, I know I'm asking a lot, but you cannot tell anyone. I don't wanna ruin the night for Stella, this is her night. You're not even supposed to know, it just- it slipped out. Please Joe," I asked wiping tears from my eyes.

Joe sighed and nodded his head, "Fine. Fine. Can I ask one question?"

"I guess I owe you that much."

"Is- this is about Patrick isn't it."

My mouth dropped and I scoffed, "No, what? I just need to get away for a while alright! And that wasn't a question!"

I stormed off to find a bathroom to fix my make up. I threw my purse on the counter, rested my hands on the sink, and looked up at my reflection in the mirror. It was about Patrick. Seeing him with another girl brought out this horrible feeling in me. My stomach was doing flips, how does one boy do this to me? I fixed myself up, forced a smile, and walked back out to the party.

I didn't want to go back to the table so I just stood in the back of the reception hall. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, it was Patrick.

"Hey, how's a goin?" he asked, leaning up against the wall next to me.

"It's goin' I guess. How 'bout you? You sweep some girl off her feet yet?"

"Haha, no. I've been trying to get a hold of Elsia all night. At this point I think I just keep calling so I can hear her voice on her answering machine," he said smiling and looking down at his shoes, "I know, I sound super cliche."

I couldn't help the small smile that grew on my face, "No," I said softly, "I think it's sweet. Desperate, but sweet."

He laughed, "Yeah I-" he was cut off when September by Earth, Wind, and Fire started playing really loudly. The DJ called out to Stella and Carl and gave a really cheesey wedding speech.

Patrick looked at me and I could see the gears in his head working, "Hey, do you wanna dance?" There was a foriegn sense of confidence in his question, which left a twinkle in his eyes.

I giggled, "Uhh, yeah, I guess."

He took my hand and lead me to the dance floor. Believe it or not, Patrick actually liked to dance and he was really good at it. It was defiantly on the whiter side of life but it was still cute. While he was doing his thing I did an awkward shuffle, I really didn't dance much. He just laughed as he watched me then took my hands. He swung our hands side to side, and then pulled me in and out. Then he showed me a few moves, I kept stepping on his foot but he didn't care. We were both laughing and as I gazed into his eyes hiding behind his thick glasses, my stomach got butterflies.

"I wanna try something," he yelled over the music.

I nodded my head and he pulled me in close and wrapped his arms around me. Then he spun me out of his arms, pulled me back in, and dipped me down towards the floor. Remember how Stella told me about that one moment in your life that seems to never end, this was mine. It felt like Patrick held me in his arms for hours! We just stayed like that -gazing into each other's eyes- until the song ended and everyone was clearing off the floor.

He let me back up, never leaving my eyes, and kept his hands on my waist. We both looked down and caught out breath. I was about to say something when his phone started ringing from his pocket. His face lit up and his hands quickly left my waist, he pulled his phone out and his sweet, shy grin turned into a full, bright smile.

"Oh my- it's Elisa!" he exclaimed, his face showed a mixture of happiness and surprise.

Suddenly, my smile lost all meaning, "Oh... Well aren't you gonna answer it?" I said with no emotion.

He bit his lip, "I-I don't know. I don't know what to say? This might sound weird but, can you help me? You always know the right thing to say! Please," he pleaded.

I sighed, "Uhh sure," I said smiling.

"Great! Thanks!" he fliped up his phone and brought it to his ear, "Uhh, hey, thanks for calling me back. I didn't think you would call back."

He looked over at me and I tried my best not to snap as I told him what to say. As I began to talk he turned his back towards me and repeated what I said, but I kept my eyes on him the entire time. "Look, I know things didn't wok out the first time and," I paused trying to hold back the tears, "I don't know why I even ask. I just feel like we had- have something special. And if there is any part in you that thinks we can work this out then, that makes two of us."

By the end my eyes were beginningg to sting. He froze, waiting to hear what she had to say, then he jumped, "Wha- realy?! Th-thanks! Oh my gosh," he turned back to me and gave me a thumbs up and walked away.

Just like that, I lost him. I had him in my arms, we were centimeters apart, but one phone call changed it all. Feeling defeated I walked over to the bar and leaned against it. The old man sitting on a stool right next to me noticed my cloudy face and offered me a drink. I accepted, only because I needed something to take off the edge.

"Oh and you don't have to worry, I'm not trying shag you or anything," he said giving me a smile. (shag- to have sex, british people say shag instead of sex)

I laughed, he was a sweet old man, "Thank you," I said into my glass.

"So what's got you so down in the dumps sweet heart?" he asked.

"Oh well, I pretty much confessed my love for a guy, who used my exact words to get another girl."

"He doesn't sound like someone to get all hurt about. Insensitive bastard, that's what he sounds like," he said taking another swig of his drink.

"Oh but he's not! He's sweet, genuine, funny, caring," I went on until he snapped me back into reality, "Sorry. Anyway, it's not what it sounds. He asked me to help him get her back, and he's a real good friend, so I had not choice! Plus, he didn't know that what I told him was how I felt."

"Well there's your problem honey, you didn't tell him how you feel."

"It's not that easy, we've dated before, but it never really worked out. I even ended it, but I realize what a mistake that was. It won't matter away ways," I said taking at sip of my drink, "We both found other people and I'm moving away."

The old man just took a drink and stared straight ahead, "You seem to have gotten yourself in a real jam. Now I have never been in a situation like this, I was lucky to have met he right gal fast and without any drama. Let me just say this, if you really do like this boy, tell 'em. You said you're moving away, so why not know how he feels and get yourself some closure? If he won't take you back, then you can move away and get in with your life, but if he does take you back... well I think you know what to do."

I stared down at my drink, he did have a point. If Patrick doesn't want to try again, then I can just move away and save face. Plus, maybe if I know what he feels, it'll be easier to move on. I looked back up at the old man, who was watching the wheels in my head, "You're right. Thank you."

"Oh it's no problem sweetheart. I'm getting old, so I better do something with all this wisdom before I away," he said laughing.

I laughed, "Oh don't say that!"

"Oh why I never got your name," he said holding out his hand.

I took it, "Courtney," I said with a smile.

"Paul," he said, returning the smile. "Welp, I better get going. My wife's over there giving me the signal." He jestured to a old lady smiling and waving in our direction.

"She's pretty."

"Yeah, I know," he said still smiling and walked away. He walked over to her and looped his arm with hers and walked out.

I sighed, why can't love be as easy as that. I finished off my drink and walked back to join Joe at the table. Thankfully, he acted like usual ad didn't make a big fuss about what I told him. It probably helped that he was drunk out of his mind. Eventually the rest of the guys made their way back to the table. We talked, laughed and threw little fruit balls at each other. We were listening to Andy and Sarah tell us a story about the couple who fell on the dance floor while trying to do a dance move when I was yanked out of my cahir by Stella.

She dragged me to the center of the room and put with with a crowd of women. I looked around, they al looked really excited for some reason. I looked at Stella sho had a wild smile and crazy eyes, but that was usual. She ran to infront of the crowd then turned around with her back facing us, that's when it hit me, she was about the throw the bouquet! My eyes widened as I turned on my herl and went straight to the back of the crowd, I did not need a bouquet. As I was walking back to the table something hit me on the head. It fell infront of my face and I caught it in my arms. No way, it was the bouquet!

"What the ffff-" I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The other girls looked a bit jealous.

"Wooooo! Yeah, you get 'em girl!" I heard Pete yell from our table in the back.

I looked over at Patrick who looked up from his phone and smiled. He had no idea that he was the first man who came to mind when I thought about marriage. He innocently went back to texting Elisa on his phone. I felt a wave of heat wash over my embarassed face, I hated being the center of attention, especially since Pete and Andy were yelling cat calls while I speed walked back to my seat. I quickly threw the flowers on the table and hide my crimson face with my hand.

"Alright! Who's the lucky man who's gonna put a ring on that!" Joe said laughing, "Gerard?" he aske wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"It better not be..." Pete mummbled under his breath as he crossed his arms and slouched in his chair.

"Maybe? I don't know?" I looked over at Patrick who's head shot up when he heard my answer.

We watched the happy couple dance their last dance, drink their last glass, and laugh one last time before they waved goodbye and ran hand in hand out the door. After they left everyone lingered for a bit more than began filtering out of the room a little at a time. We had nothing better to do so we stayed until they told us to leave, we took advantage of the open bar. With the thought of leaving still on my mind, I tried to drown the thought in beer, something Gerard had taught me. By the end of the night I couldn't even walk in a straight line.

Hey guys! So hope you liked thhe chapter! I think it's one of my best in a looonngg while! Comment! Tell me what you think, it's free! Subscribe if you liked it and wanna see what happens next! Anywhore... Thnks Fr Rdng!