Whatever It Takes

He wasn’t sure what had made him be so honest with her, but it scarred him. This wasn’t how he was with girls, especially girls he just met. But something about her kept making him do things he normally didn’t do, and act in ways that were out of character. He walked towards her, his eyes still locked with hers, letting his body take control because his brain wasn’t working.

Suddenly Arianna’s phone rang, causing her to break their moment. Patrick snapped out of it, standing in front of her with his hands in his pocket. He tried to figure out what was going on in his head. This was dangerous territory he was treading in; he didn’t get so attached so fast. Arianna looked at her message on her phone, cursing Marissa silently as she did.

Where did you go?? I’m seriously about to go crazy looking for you

“I have to go back” she sighed as she put her phone back in her pocket, “Marissa is ready to send out a search party for me”. Patrick nodded, and began to lead the way back to the staircase door. She walked after him, grabbing his hand causing him to turn back and face her.

“Thank you for showing me your secret place” she said as she held his hand, “I really appreciate it”. “You should feel special,” he teased, his heart suddenly melting at every word that came out of her mouth, “I don’t share this with many people”. She laughed and rolled her eyes, “don’t worry I do”. He pulled her into a tight hug, resting his chin against the top of her forehead. “Good” he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“Now lets get you back to your friend before she has my head on a plate” he joked as he broke their hug and led her back down the stairs. They made their way in silence back down to the main level of the bar, just in time to see Marissa and Jon flirting heavily in a corner. “I see how concerned she was” Arianna joked to Patrick as they made their way back to the table.

“Ah, the youngsters have returned” Sharpie called out as he saw them approach the table. “Hope you weren’t having too much fun alone…” he teased, causing Arianna to blush and causing Patrick to send him an evil look, silencing him. The rest of the night flew by, and Arianna was enjoying herself. She had gotten to know majority of the guys better, especially Jon. They had this instant friendship that developed which helped put her at ease. She tried to spend the rest of her night distancing herself from Patrick, realizing that whatever had happened (or almost happened) on the roof was not good. She was leaving soon and she didn’t need to go back home hooked on a guy she wouldn’t ever see again.

“I’m exhausted,” Marissa said as she plopped down next to Arianna at the table, where she sat talking with Jon. “Yeah, now that you mention it, me too” she responded, as she handed Jon back his phone. They decided to exchange numbers, after she promised to take him to the best local diner in Toronto the next time he was in town. “Do you have the number from the cab company still in your phone” Arianna asked Marissa, as she grabbed her bag. “Put that away” Jon told Marissa, as he stood up and put his jacket on, “you’re not taking a cab. I’ll drive you girls”.

“Oh no, Jon. It’s really fine. It’s not that far anyways, and we’re two girls. Will be fine” Arianna assured him as she stood up as well. “I was going to leave anyways, it’s not a problem,” he said, as he motioned to someone behind them. He spoke with the kind of authority that let Arianna know she was in no way having her way with this. She looked at Marissa about to say something until she saw her friend lost in a trance starring at Jon. They quickly said their goodbyes to everyone and were ready to go, yet Arianna’s eyes were still searching to find Patrick so she could say goodbye. Her chest felt heavy at the idea of having to leave him but she knew it was destined to happen anyway.

“Kaner, ready to go?” Jon said as Patrick came up from behind Arianna, snapping her out of trance. “Yeah, I’m beat” he said, as he stood beside Arianna. “We’re going to drop the girls off first,” Jon said as he began to walk, “they thought they were going to take a cab” he scoffed as he led the way out. Patrick looked at Arianna and shot her a smirk, “what’s it with you and always having to be so independent?”. She shot him a look and tried to walk away, until he caught her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t get mad, im just teasing,” he said as he shot her that smile she had come to love.

As they got to the front door, she pulled his jacket off that she was still wearing. “Here” she said as she handed it to him, moving so his arm slide off, “you’re going to freeze out there”. He hated having to let go of her; “No, wear it until we get to the car” he said as he tried to give it back to her. “No, I’m ok,” she said as she gave him a small smile and followed Jon and Marissa out. She suddenly felt the jacket around her shoulders again, as she looked to see Patrick beside her. “Don’t try and argue. I’ll win,” he said simply, as he slid his arm around her shoulder again, pulling her close.

They walked to the car, talking and laughing about the night’s events. Everything about that moment seemed perfect to Arianna, allowing her to temporarily forget that this had to end soon. They got into Jon’s car and took off towards their hotel. The windows were down to let the cool air in; the music filled the space around them. Sitting in the backseat behind Patrick, she couldn’t help but steal glances at him through the side mirror. She felt her heart drop the closer they got to the hotel, knowing this all was going to end soon.