Broken Down on Memory Lane. [06] [[END?]]

The rest of the day, Patrick ignored all the rude and/or nice comments about his freshly cut hair.

He was actually dreading having to go to play practice and have to face Lilly. He didn't want to be glared at, or yelled at for what he had done earlier.

Even though it wasn't even his fault. All he did was ask a fucking question.

As the bell rang, giving Patrick his sign to head on over to the auditorium for practice. Maybe if he was lucky, there wouldn't be any need for him, maybe they weren't doing a scene with Romeo in it today and just practicing on Juliet or something.

But, much to his dismay, when Patrick opened the door and walked inside and down the isle, Mrs. Whalen looked to him, ushering him up onstage.

Patrick looked and saw Lilly in a tower for stage, oh, the classic scene...

"Act 2, Scene 2!" Mrs. Whalen called to him.

He smiled. He'd already memorized these lines.

Patrick cleared his throat and began, not even opening his script book once.

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief."

Lilly glared at him the whole time he spoke. Almost as if she was disgusted with him.

Of course, Patrick didn't blame her. He'd be disgusted with himself, too, for the way he's acted lately.

***

When it was all over, Patrick had left rehearsals before anyone else; he kept his head down and his hat on, which is probably why he ran head-first into some kid.

"'eh, watch wha' yis doin', won't yeh!" they snapped.

Patrick looked up, staring into the eyes of some guy, who seemed to be a lot taller than him, with a heavy Irish accent.

"O-oh, sorry, "Patrick murmured.

"Righ'... well, me name's Jimmy, care ta show me to the... wha'eva room this is?" Jimmy showed Patrick the paper he has, and Patrick smiled.

"You go down the hall, take a left, and look for a room with a purple door." He explained.

"Thank yeh." Jimmy smiled, waving to Patrick as he walked out of sight.

***

"He really yelled at you the other day?" Tina asked Lilly, as Pete and the two sat down on Tina's lawn in her front yard. They were going to have a 'study party' according to Lilly's mom, who was inside right then with Tina's mom talking about their daughters and how proud they were or some shit like that.

"Yeah," Lilly said, "He asked me out, and I told him it wasn't a good idea. He snapped and yelled at me, saying something like; 'you lead me on, and then shoot me down' or something along those lines. I just got fed up, pissed off, and left." She sighed, agitated with Patrick for reasons she didn't even know.

During the past few days, she's realized, Patrick isn't a bad person; he's just misunderstood. Maybe she thought that is she was agitated or pissed off at Patrick, she'd forget all about how much she really liked him, and they'd stay away from each other.

"I don't even know why I'm pissed off at him, really..." Lilly admitted, zoned out.

Pete and Tina looked at each other, mouths hanging open, and then looked to Lilly. Tina hit her in the head.

Lilly snapped her head around, glaring at Tina while holding her throbbing head. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"You realize what you just said, right?" Pete asked.

Lilly thought back a few seconds ago, Tina's bump on the head might have knocked something loose. "Uh... I don't really know why I'm pissed off at him?"

"Exactly!" Tina shouted. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, (and I never am, so don't) do you like Patrick as more than a friend?"

"Um..."

"No use in hiding the obvious." Pete added.

"...yes." Lilly sighed, looking to the floor. Tina hit her on the head again. "What the hell was that one for?!"

"Because you're an idiot." She smiled. "You need to go after him and apologize. Like, now."

Lilly just sat there. Not moving an inch.

"Do you honestly want me to hit you on the head again?" Tina asked, un-amused with Lilly's actions.

Lilly shook her head.

"Then get the fuck up and go!"

Lilly stood up, and started to run down the street, but before she even got five steps away, she stopped and ran back, flipping Pete's skateboard off the lawn and taking off again, this way, she'd get there faster.

***

Patrick sighed, stomping up the steps to his house and flinging the door open. He dropped his backpack by the door and slipped off his shoes, trudging up the stairs and into his bedroom, not caring about his mother calling him.

He had to let everything sink in a bit, he really thought about everything, and finally came to a conclusion.

If he just stayed away from her he'd be alright. There wasn't anything he needed to talk to her about anyway, so as soon as this whole Romeo and Juliet play was over, he'd just forget all about her, and maybe ask that Sarah girl out, she seemed to be interested in him.

"Patrick, didn't you hear me?" his mother asked from the doorway, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Someone's at the door for you."

Patrick raised an eyebrow. He sighed and got out of bed and walked down the stairs again, muttering to himself.

"It's probably Pete or Tina, coming to beat me up for what I did to --Lilly...?" He said, startled. "What the fuck --" but he couldn't finish the sentence due to Lilly's lips crashing onto his own.

When Lilly pulled away and looked Patrick in the eyes, she saw that his face held a blank expression and so did his eyes. She couldn't read him anymore; he wasn't there, some robot Patrick had taken over his body. "...Patrick?" she whispered, dying a little on the inside, knowing he was done with her for good, she messed up and was paying for it.

He didn't respond, so Lilly spoke again, "'Trick, please... say something..."

"Why are you here?" he finally spat out.

Lilly looked down at her flip-flops, trying to find something intelligent to say. "I realized a few things today..." she started, looking up at Patrick's un-amused face, "I don't really know why I'm mad at you, Pat. I like you, I really do..."

Patrick merely blinked. "Go on..."

"Patrick, don't you understand? I would love to go out with you." She smiled, pushing herself into Patrick's arms and hugging him. It took him a few seconds to fully hug Lilly, who he could finally call his girlfriend, back.

"Did Tina and Pete talk you into any of this at all?" he said, not asking, knowing.

"...yes." Lilly admitted, and followed quickly after with; "But I realized it myself. Tina just needed to give me a few swats on the head before it dawned on me."

"Well, I'm glad it did."

Lilly just nods against his shoulder, "Yeah," she agrees, her voice even and gentle, "Me too."