Alone Together

Patrick rolled his eyes as he added some chopped banana to his blender, eyeing Pete warily from his seat at the island. “And she made me sleep on the couch,” Pete groaned, swiping part of the banana out of Patrick’s hands and popping it into his mouth.

“All because you wouldn’t let her see your lyrics?” Patrick asked, chuckling slightly. “That’s pretty dramatic, don’t you think?” Pete nodded, glancing at the back door as it slid open and sitting up straight. Taylor smiled at him as she closed the door and walked over to the sink, filling her watering can and rinsing off her hands.

“Yard’s coming along nicely, Patrick,” she said cheerily, pausing to pull her hair up into a ponytail. Pete couldn’t help but think of numerous poetic compliments to her hair in his head but kept them to himself.

Patrick raised his eyebrows at Pete, noticing the puppy-dog stare his friend had placed on his landscaper, and grinned. Taylor turned back around, can in hand, and smiled softly again at Pete, who blushed and turned back to face Patrick. She laughed quietly and had her hand on the handle of the door when Patrick said, “Hey, Tay, wait a minute.” She looked back at him, blinking innocently and walking back into the kitchen, standing next to Pete.

His cheeks turned an even darker shade of red and he pulled his hoodie up around his neck a bit to hide his face. Patrick smiled and looked down at his blender as he said, “Mind if we ask you a quick question?”

She smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth, and laughed, “Well sure.” Pete glared at Patrick, shaking his head warningly.

Patrick ignored him and returned her smile. “Say you have a boyfriend,” he started.

Her smile fell slightly and Pete snickered at Patrick’s idiocy. He panicked, “Not to say I don’t think you have a boyfriend! Or that you couldn’t get one! I’m just saying, hypothetically—“

“Pat, it’s okay,” she said warily, setting her heavy watering can down on the island. “Just…what was your question?”

He bit his lip and continued, “Yes, well…say that boyfriend was writing something, and you asked if you could see it, and he said no…would you get mad and make him sleep on the couch?”

She laughed heartily and shook her head. “Of course not! It’s none of my business. If he wanted to share his writing with me, he’d offer. I wouldn’t guilt him into sharing it with me by making him sleep on a couch,” she said, lifting the can again and stepping back a bit. “Was that all you needed?” she asked politely, smiling and walking out back when they said yes.

Pete scowled, “Next time, shut up.” Patrick laughed and gestured to the backyard.

“If you need flowers for your place to appease the lady, go ask Taylor. She knows all the best places to go to and what kind of flowers to get. I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”

Pete rolled his eyes but glanced out the door, smirking a bit and leaning back in his seat to get a better look at Taylor as she bent over to water some of the smaller ferns that couldn’t be hosed.

“You’re a shameful bastard,” Patrick shook his head, placing the lid on his blender and turning it on.

--

Taylor tapped her fingers against her lap, switching her gaze between the window and at the driver. Pete kept his eyes straight on the road, hands unmoving from the ten and two o’clock position. She clicked her tongue and bit back a laugh when she noticed him twitch. It had been strange when Pete had approached her for help, considering every time she was with the guys Pete seemed to make a point to avoid her. But when he had asked her for help finding some plants for his apartment, he had seemed kind of vulnerable, and Taylor didn’t have the heart to turn him down for the sake of her own comfort.

“You know, Peter,” she said, making him jump slightly, “when people ask for help for something, it’s polite to, I don’t know, talk to them…acknowledge them…” She looked over at him. “Listen to them when they tell you that the exit was back a mile or so.”

Pete finally looked over at her, cursing colorfully as he sought out a place to make a U-turn. Taylor giggled and quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to embarrass him. Pete glanced over at her and suppressed a smile, refusing to admit that her giggle was adorable and made his stomach flip. He’d made a pretty quick turn; that would put anyone’s stomach in a jumble.

--

Taylor had directed Pete to a greenhouse Clara had sent her to on numerous occasions when she was still too young to work in the floral shop to learn more about the plants she would one day be working with. The caretakers there had taught her all they knew, and as the pair walked in they all waved happily in greeting. Pete was amazed at the mass of flora and fauna before him, and his eyes followed the ivy that wrapped up along the walls and glowed in sunbeams.

"In Victorian times, people used flowers as different meanings," Taylor explained, leading Pete around the greenhouse. She glanced around at the different plants, considering which would be best for Pete’s tastes.

"Oh really? Such as?" he grinned.

She puckered her lips in thought, glancing up at the ceiling. "Well, Buttercups represented cheerfulness. Irises were for faith, hope...lavender was devotion. You know, some were just silly romantic things. The Victorians were all about romance."

"Hmm," he nodded, stopping to pick up a pot. "What d'you think? Would it look good on the desk?" he asked, holding it up for her to see.

She read the tag and grinned, blushing slightly as she shrugged. "They're pink roses, Pete. Do you want them on your desk?"

He looked down at them and shrugged. "I dunno. What do they mean?" She bit her lip and held out her hands for the pot, examining it once he handed it to her.

"Well, when they're just buds they mean beauty and youth, and a heart innocent of love," she said. He grinned and stepped closer to her, looking down at the flowers.

"And once they bloom?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Perfect happiness." Pete returned the smile and felt himself drawing closer to her, intrigued by her knowledge of flowers. She gently placed the pot back into his hands, pushing him away and walking around to look at another display. “You probably should get some other plants, too, though, just for more color.”

Pete cleared his throat and blinked. “Oh. Yeah. Probably.” Taylor laughed quietly, shooting him a quick glance. Her smiles really were infectious. “What?” he asked, edging closer to her as she looked at some plainer potted plants.

“You’re just an interesting human,” she giggled, holding up a plant for him to consider. He shook his head.

“Why do you say that?” he pressed, pouting when she shook her head when he pointed at a frightening looking flower. Taylor sighed and turned to him, looking down as she pondered. Finally, she looked back up at him.

“I think it’s funny how you avoid me all the time, and yet now that we’re alone together you find everything I say so fascinating. And every time I join you and the guys in going out, you look annoyed that I’m there, and yet you asked me to go plant shopping with you.” She cocked her head thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if you even like me, Mister Wentz, and it’s a shame. I don’t think you know how badly I want to be your friend.”

Pete’s heart felt tight and he was ashamed. “Oh, Taylor…I’m sorry,” he apologized. He put down the rose pot and his hands twitched, deciding against holding hers. “Look, I’ve got problems, okay? Sometimes I don’t know how to deal. But…” He bit his lip and looked down, feeling his nerves grate at him. He looked back up into her eyes and offered her one of the first genuine smiles he’d flashed in months. “I do want to be your friend, Taylor. Truly.”

She laughed and gently poked his shoulder. “Well, then act like it, mister!” She grabbed the rose pot as Pete hoisted up a couple of plain plants, chuckling softly to himself. It felt a weight had been lifted now that he had finally admitted that he wanted to become closer to her. He felt elated as they walked to the checkout and then loaded up the car, but he knew the happiness wouldn’t last. As they got in the car Taylor turned to him with a sad smile. “Ashlee’s going to love these.”

--

Taylor smiled from her place on Joe’s couch, wedged between Patrick and Joe, and listening to Pete and Andy have a contest of who could sing Green Day hits the best. They’d already listened to Andy’s rendition of “American Idiot,” and were now awaiting Pete’s choice of song.

It was hard to believe he and Taylor were the only ones not hammered.

Patrick randomly exploded in laughter, sloshing his beer down his front and a little on Taylor. She bit her lip, dabbing her napkin on the small spill on her jeans. Joe caught on to Pat’s giddiness, soon giggling uncontrollably and sloshing his drink onto Taylor as well.

She frowned and lowered her eyebrows, sadly looking down at her now soaked pants. Pete smiled at her from his place on “stage” and handed the makeshift mic, consisting of a hairbrush Joe found in his bathroom but couldn’t remember getting, back to Andy. “Go ahead and sing us ‘Welcome to Paradise,’ Andrew,” he said, his eyes remaining on Taylor as he approached the couch.

She looked up at him and smiled sheepishly, wincing as more of her seatmate’s drinks spilled on her. Pete laughed and held out his hand, pulling her to her feet and nodding out back. “Shall we? They’re hammered enough to not notice, I think.”

Joe’s backyard wasn’t really a yard so much as a patio, but it still was large enough for the two to sit at the small table occupying some of the space. Pete closed the door behind them and watched Taylor sit down, pulling her light jacket tighter around herself in the spring evening wind. She looked up at Pete as he walked towards her, smiling and shrugging as she looked up at the sky. “Lovely night, hmm?” she asked.

He smiled sheepishly and nodded, gazing up at the heavens. “Yeah, beautiful.” They stayed silent for a while, Pete taking the seat across from her, and looked over at the door as loud stripper music began echoing out of the house. Pete groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Oh God, they’ll be having a hot threesome when we go back in,” he muttered, before raising his eyebrows devilishly. “Let’s go watch,” he grinned, starting to stand before sitting back down when a laughing Taylor pulled him back.

“Do they usually get that drunk that fast?” she laughed, pulling her feet up on the chair and resting her arms over her knees.

He shrugged. “Depends on what band they decide to honor by singing their songs. With Green Day they usually get drunk and horny at the same time.” Taylor grinned and laughed again, looking down at her shoes. Pete bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. “Thank you, by the way,” he said quietly. She looked up at him and cocked her head.

“For what?”

“The flower thing. Ash really seems to like them, even though they haven’t really started blooming yet. I think it made up for not letting her read my lyrics.”

Her smile faltered slightly, but she kept it on. “Oh, that’s great, Peter. I’m really glad everything’s better with her,” she nodded, sounding truly genuine. He weakly returned the smile and jumped as she quickly sat up straight. “Hey, what’s your Sun Sign?” she asked suddenly, looking up at the sky.

“Um, my…Sun…what?” he asked.

She waved a hand. “You know, horoscope, zodiac, which are you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A Gemini…?” he ventured, wondering what she was on about. She bit her lip and continued looking up, shifting in her seat to look more around.

“Well, that totally screwed up my attempt to show off,” she chuckled, but pointed up to a cluster of stars.

“See that? Those are the Seven Sisters, which is really a cluster of hundreds of stars. That,” she shifted her finger to a straight line of three stars, “is Orion’s belt. The story between those two is that Orion is trying to get to the Seven Sisters, but Taurus,” again she moved her hand to the right, to some stars forming a V-shape in between the previously mentioned stars, “is protecting them from him.”

She looked down and placed her hands in her lap, grinning broadly. “Taurus is my Sun Sign,” she said.

Pete returned the grin and asked, “When’s your birthday?”

“April twenty-third.”

He nodded and looked up at the stars and Taylor joined him, sighing sadly. “It’s kinda sad really,” she said quietly, making him look over at her. Her eyes were misty and focused on her Sun Sign. “Taurus is always in the middle. I mean, it’s trying to stop Orion from getting to the Sisters, but…” She choked back a laugh and gestured up at the constellations. “I mean, c’mon. Look at Orion! He’s a huge star, and powerful in the ways of the world, and gorgeous, and her sister is all over the place…” She trailed off, sadly admiring the gas balls.

“What chance does Taurus have of keeping the Seven Sisters safe and to herself…?”

Her cheeks suddenly became bright red and she looked at him, eyes wide. “I gotta go,” she mumbled, nearly tumbling out of her chair and hurrying for the door.

“Tay? You okay?” Pete asked, following her in and ignoring the terrible singing coming from the room over. She pulled on her other jacket and grabbed her purse, digging out her keys.

“Fine, Peter! I just remembered, I forgot to…water my plants?” She placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head at her stupidity, yanking open the door and hurrying out to her car. “Give my best wishes to the guys and their hangovers! Tell Pat I hope his ass doesn’t hurt too much in the morning!”

--

A week later, Patrick and Joe found themselves in the same seat of the couch, Andy sitting quietly in the egg shell chair, and Pete sitting on the floor, Ashlee beside him.

While Pete was “completely taken” with his girlfriend, the other members of his band failed to feel the same affection. Ever since her lip-syncing stunt, they all felt as if she was hurting their credibility, and didn’t believe she was worthy of Pete. Because of this awkward dislike, the five of them sat in awkward silence, all of the boys wishing Taylor was there to break some of the tension.

Ashlee sighed and stopped picking at her nails. Looking over at Pete she leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, looking at him expectantly. He sighed and nodded before standing up. “Well, we’re gonna get going. Thanks for having us over man,” he said, the last part directed towards Joe, who nodded politely. They all shared their goodbyes, and the minute the door to the apartment closed, Joe pulled out his cell phone.

“Who’re you calling?” Andy asked.

“Taylor. I really need to laugh after watching that thing huff every five seconds.”