Patrick's POV

I watched Emily as she warmed up some leftovers in the microwave. She rushed around, trying to impress me with different things. I'm easy to get excited over things, so this should be fun.

We actually sat down at the island and ate dinner together. It was silent and awkward, I found myself yearning for some kind of conversation to come up.

"So," I started and set my fork down, "You talk about Leah being such a big fan. What about you? What do you like about us?"

She smiled, "I don't know. Your music from Folie á Deux was kind of forced on me when I met Leah. It came with the friendship. I really ended up liking it. It was almost natural, listening to the lyrics and trying to decipher them. I used it in my English classes for our poetry unit. Your vocal range is incredible, by the way."

I blushed, "Thank you. I try."

She nodded and giggled, "Yeah, I know. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On a Bad Bet."

I smirked and taunted her with the reference, "Surfed out brain waves flick back and forth like old headlights sniffing model glue again," playing with my low tone.

She shivered and lifted up her shirt sleeve, showing her goosebumps. That's what you go for as a musician. Goosebumps means that you made the audience feel something, emotion. It's hard to do. I chuckle and look back down to my plate.

"Is that your favorite record?" I asked.

Emily thought about it for a while, "Yeah, that or Save Rock & Roll."

I nodded, "I don't like the new one as much as the older ones. The styles don't match up."

She stopped and looked back at me, "Really? I don't think so. I love it."

I look back to her room, thinking about all of the stuff we just looked at. There were still so many questions that I had.

"Did you know Mitchell?" I spun around and asked, "You know, before..."

She nodded, thankfully understanding what I was going to say before I said it, "We were all good friends. He was basically perfect. They hardly fought, other than the cute bickering. He was tall, muscular, and would do anything for Leah. That's probably why she fell so hard for him."

I took it in, taking the time to ask more, "What does she miss about him?"

Emily shrugged, "She didn't really talk about him much, after his funeral. None of us did. I think she just missed having someone there for her. She liked how she could just talk to him. Why?"

I looked down, averting her eyes, "Oh, sorry, I just... I want to try to fill some of that empty place in her heart. I know I'd never win against Mitchell, but I just want to make her feel like someone loves her."

She smiled, "Aww, that's so sweet. Well, you don't have to worry about that. She adores you."

We made small talk for the rest of the meal. By then, it was dark. She suggested maybe a movie, to tire us out. I watched her as she skittered into her room, coming out with plaid pajama pants and a familiar disk.
The Youngblood Chronicles.

I chuckled to myself, "Oh boy."

She squealed and stuck it in the tv. I left my arm open on the love seat and she sat in it. It was dark by now, so it outlined the dark storyline.

I gave her a little bit of a behind-the-scenes look, pointing out little hints and thoughts. She seemed to be appreciative of it. I was worried I'd come off as annoying, but Emily didn't seem to mind.

Throughout the movie, I'd notice her gradually getting closer to me. I smiled and looked back to the tv. The briefcase flashed on the screen.

Emily growled, "No one knows what's in the case! Do you even know?"

I shrugged, bending my lip, "It depends on what you think it means."

She grumbled and pouted her lip.

I thought about Pete. We went to see a lot of movies together. It reminded me of what a good friend he is to me, just like Emily is to Leah.

"When we Pete and I go to the movies," I started, "he guesses the endings of them. Most of the time, he's right. It's scary. He always predicts that the main character was already dead. We went to see Ratitoulie together and he still thought that."

She started laughing uncontrollably, "That sounds like something he would do. Gosh, the amount of money I would pay to know the inside of that man's head."

I shook my head, "Can't put a price on that."

Save Rock & Roll was as hard to shoot as it was to watch. It was the last one to record. With Elton, I felt like I had to impress him. It kind of got in the way of the music. I liked how the plot ended though, the way we "saved rock and roll" and helped everyone be "good" again. Watching the blood splatter over us was funny to watch.

I looked over to Emily, who was biting her thumbnail, shaking slightly, watching it.

"What's wrong?" I laughed.

She shook her head, "Leah and I were convinced that it was a new album in the briefcase. We were so confused, watching this part."

I smiled, "So I've heard, a lot of people guessed it was the album. We left little hints in Rat-a-Tat. Give us a break though, we were still on the Monumentour."

Elton's slow motion scene cut and the disk stopped playing. The room was completely, pitch black dark now. I looked over to Emily, who was looking up at me. I could just make out the corners of her lips turning up. She giggled a bit.

Something got a hold of me. I started leaning in, moving my hand up towards her cheek. She moved in too, I felt her warm breath as our lips got closer.

Inches away and she backed up, "Whoa..."

I opened my eyes, finding her turned away from me. Completely embarrassed and shocked, I stuttered around like an idiot, "I-I-"

I stood up and held my hands to my head, "Oh my god. I am so sorry, I just..."

She wouldn't look at me. It must've been a nervous habit, hiding her hair behind her ear. She did it over and over, "I know how that feels. You're tired of no one to love you. You want someone that's not half-dead to love. You miss Leah, and I probably didn't help, turning off the lights and watching a movie."

I blinked away embarrassed tears, "You're right, I love Leah. Sometimes, I love her a little more than I should. Why did I do that?"

She laughed and stood up, tuning back to me, "Patrick, it's okay, I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault. You've been lovesick for too long. I get it. I haven't really seen your guys' relationship, but I know that you guys will be the cutest couple out there."

She opened up her arms and I hesitated to hug her, "Goodnight Patrick," she whispered into my ear.

"Goodnight," I said, holding back as much as possible.

She turned off the tv and walked into her bedroom. Gosh, she's such a nice person. I almost ruined it. What she said was true. I miss Leah, but that's no excuse to go around, trying to kiss her friends.

I wiped my face and unfolded the couch into a bed and laid down across it. I thought about it as I tried falling asleep.

What I did was completely human. Human Nature. All humans want to fill up holes in their lives and replace them with other people. That's what I just did. I'm not happy about it. I'm not proud of what I almost did, but it's out of love. I miss my Leah...

I ended up crying myself to sleep that night, just thinking about it.