once again, mature themes!

--

I see a man with bleach-blonde hair and blue-green eyes. I instantly shy away behind Andy. I hear him begin to speak.

"Is there any way Pete could get a woman volunteer?" Andy tries. Halsey must shake her head.

"I'm afraid not, sir, but I can assure you that he'll warm up to Patrick quickly. Patrick's an amazing man and is very good with victims," Halsey explains. I feel Andy nod, and he must reach out to shake Patrick's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Patrick," I feel Andy's body shake starting at one of his arms.

"Andy, basically Pete's brother. And Pete is hiding behind me," Andy says. Patrick laughs, and Andy doesn't have to tell Patrick to get on his knees. It seems as if he already knows.

Patrick stays a good five feet away from me but begins to speak. "Hello, Pete, my name is Patrick Stump," He reaches his hand out for me to shake. Instead, I shy away and drop my head. "That's perfectly okay, Pete. I understand," Patrick smiles at me with very white, straight teeth.

"I like him," I hear Andy mumble to Halsey, who nods.

"Right?" She says. Patrick sits back on his knees and smiles at me again, probably trying to get me to smile back.

"How about I show you to your room? Andy can come also," He suggests, and I nod. Andy holds my hand as we walk with Patrick. Halsey stayed back to do my paperwork.

We follow behind Patrick, who is smiling at people we pass. Every one of them smiles back.

"And here we are," Patrick says cheerfully. He unlocks the door and lets me in. "There's your bed, my bed, the door that leads to the bathroom, a television, a couch, and a kitchen area," Patrick says as he points things out.

"Do you like it?" Andy asks me. I nod, and Patrick smiles. "Do you want me to go so you can speak with Patrick alone?" I shake my head quickly.

"That's perfectly fine, Pete. I'll make dinner. What would you like?" I say nothing to Patrick. Andy answers for me.

"He likes pizza," He says. I nod. Patrick smiles again.

"Alright," Patrick turns around and begins to dig through the cabinet. Andy and I take a seat on the couch.

"What would you like to watch?" Patrick asks from the counter, tossing the remote to Andy, who catches it with ease.

Andy sighs, knowing I'm not going to say anything while Patrick's around. "Is TLC okay with you, buddy?" He asks. I nod.

When Andy changes the channel, he lets his arm rest behind my head as his fingers play with the hair on my neck. He knows that's my weak spot. Patrick is cooking up a storm about twenty feet away from us.

I lie my head on Andy's shoulder, and I'm out cold within two and a half minutes.

--

"Pete," Someone whispers from a few feet away from me. They shake my shoulder gently, and I jolt upright, crawling to the corner of my bed away from Patrick.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me," I rush out. Patrick's eyes widen as he shakes his head.

"No, no, Pete, I'm sorry. It's perfectly fine, okay? You can do whatever you want. I'm not going to hurt you," Patrick assures me. I look around the room, and Andy's gone.

"W-Where's Andy?" I ask, my breathing becoming erratic. Patrick looks worried for me.

"He just stepped in the bathroom," Patrick tells me. Sure enough, I hear the toilet flush and the water run, and then Andy comes out of the bathroom.

His eyes land on Patrick and I, and he rushes over to me. Patrick stands up and steps back.

"Hey, hey, you're fine," Andy calms me, smoothing down my hair as he hugs me. "Patrick and I just thought he'd try to wake you up as a start of you getting used to him," He explains.

I don't say anything else, just crying into Andy's shoulder. "Pete, would you and Andy mind doing a therapy session with me?" Patrick asks.

Before I can answer, Andy says, "I think that's a lovely idea," and he stands up and helps me to the couch.

Patrick sits on the coffee table in front of the couch, while Andy and I are basically on top of each other on the couch. Patrick smiles at me, probably just as a start.

"Alright, Pete, let's get to know each other, shall we? I'll ask you and Andy a question, I'll answer it myself, and then Andy can answer his, and finally you. Saving the best for last," Patrick explains, and I blush, nodding my head. "Full name? Patrick Martin Stump,"

"Andrew John Hurley," Andy says when Patrick gestures for him to go. They both look at me.

I drop my head and mumble, "Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the Third," When I lift my head, I find Patrick staring at me so I quickly drop it again.

"Eye colour? Greenish blue," He answers himself.

"Dark brown," Andy says, and Patrick smiles at him. This is going pretty well, honestly.

"Kind of whiskey coloured, I guess," I say more understandable this time. They're both smiling at me, I can feel it even with my eyes on my thighs.

"Favourite colour? Orange," Patrick tells us. Andy nods.

"Indecisive," Andy answers immediately. I smile at my best friend, whose favourite colour switches daily.

"Robin's egg blue," I say after staring at Andy for a few seconds.

"Alright, Pete, I'm afraid I have to ask some questions about Nate," Patrick says. He and Andy lock eyes, and Andy nods.

"One rule, you stop when I say you stop," Andy says. Patrick nods.

"When did Nate first.." Patrick pauses and clears his throat before continuing, "hit you?"

"I, uh, was about a month from turning eighteen," I answered awkwardly. Patrick nodded.

"Great job, Pete, you're doing fantastic," Patrick says. "How long had you two been dating when the first.. incident occurred?" I can tell Patrick's walking on thin ice with Andy right now, or at least he thinks he is.

"Probably three months? That sounds about right," I tell them. Andy's jaw clenches. I was abused for more than three years (closer to four),and Andy didn't know.

"How did you feel the first time he hit you?" Patrick presses. I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"Hurt. Not just physically but emotionally. I didn't know what I did to deserve to be hit by the man I loved," I explain. Andy's hand grasps mine tightly.

"Why did you wait so long to tell anyone?" I can tell Patrick feels genuinely bad for having to ask all of these.

"Uh," I blink at some tears forming. Andy hasn't noticed I'm crying yet. "Of course there was the threat that he'd hurt me worse, but I felt that if I told anyone, I'd regret it. I knew he loved me, and I didn't wanna be a little bitch anymore. I wanted to be," I stop to choke out a sob, "strong,"

Andy's eyes snap open, and he pulls me in for a hug. "Stop," Andy commands, and Patrick nods. "Hey, don't worry about him anymore, okay? I hate that this happened to you,"

Andy picks me up and carries me to the bed. I immediately crawl closer to him as he lies down next to me.

"It should've been me. I should've noticed how closed off you were acting," Andy says, and he's crying. There are tears falling down his cheeks.

"No, Andy," I cry out. "Don't you fucking say that. It was me for a reason, okay? It was me because fate was trying to tell me that that asshole wasn't the one for me," I assure him.

Andy and I fall asleep in each other's arms, and I'm sure Patrick felt pretty awkward. Oh well.