pfs

    The Halloween party was a little stuffy for Stephanie's taste. A real black tie affair. She had no idea how Catelyn had managed to get them tickets and frankly she didn't even want to guess. The borrowed red dress fit a little more snugly than she liked but at least it looked good. She couldn't help but tug nervously at the sides though, trying to keep it straight and keep from tripping on it. The high heels that pinched her toes weren't helping, and neither was the weird feathery fox mask she was wearing.

    "Can't see anything," she mumbled, sipping at a glass of what was probably really expensive wine. She knew Cate would be disappointed if she didn't at least try to get along with some of the high rollers here, so she started to wander around and look like she was having a good time. It was getting tedious and she was considering ducking out the back door when she thought she heard an eerily familiar voice.

    "Are you sure we have to stay? You know this isn't really my kind of thing..."

    She tried to be as sneaky as she could as she got closer. There was no way... But she had watched too many interviews not to recognize his short stature, those side burns, that hat! Even under a mask, she could tell who it was.

    "Patrick Stump." It escaped her lips before she could stop it, and she ducked behind a large column wrapped in fake spiderwebs and plastic bats. When she peeked out, he was still turned slightly away.

    "Oh come on, just stay for like. An hour. One more hour and then we can split." The taller guy standing next to him- that was Pete Wentz. His voice and that naughty smirk as he elbowed Patrick in the side; there was no mistaking it.

    'No waaaay, this can't be real,' Stephanie kept repeating in her head.

    "Go talk to someone. Most of 'em look pretty stuffy, I'm sure they won't recognize you."

    Stephanie took that as her cue to get out of there. There was no way she'd be able to keep a straight face if he decided to approach her. Her heart was still beating a million times a minute as she went back to a more populated corner of the party. She ended up close to the door and was thinking about sneaking out when she heard someone walk up to her.

    "You want to sneak out too, huh?" Patrick was looking longingly out the door. It seemed like he hadn't seen her eavesdropping on him and Pete.

    "Well... a little bit, yeah." She bit her lip nervously and picked at the ruffles of her dress until she made her hands be still.

    "So if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you supposed to be?"

    "Some kind of fox, I guess. I didn't pick it out, fortunately." She reached up to reposition the stupid mask, again, and hoped that it hid her blush. He was one of the first people to come up and talk to her. "What about you?"

    He looked down, grinning a little. "Bank robber. Someone else talked me in to it." Across the room they heard a loud sneeze. "I would probably never rob a bank."

    She started to laugh until she realized he was serious. Putting her hand over her mouth to hide her smile for a second, she asked, "So what should I call you, Mister Bank Robber?"

    "Pa- ah, call me Pete." He looked away and had a little bit of a smirk until he got it under control. "Who might you be?"

    "Zebra." Stephanie blurted out the first word that came to mind other than her name- the stupid nickname they called her at work. She winced and turned away a little, blushing wildly.

    "A fox named Zebra?" He chuckled, but it wasn't in a mean way. "That's new."

    "Better than a robber named Rob." Stephanie made the quip before she could stop herself; hopefully he didn't catch on that she realized who he was. But Patrick - Pete - only laughed and nodded.

    "Yeah that's true." They stood there quietly, a little less awkward than before, until a latecomer opened the doors and blasted them with cold air from outside.

    Stephanie suddenly shivered and hurried to put down her glass so she could hold her arms to her sides. It was windy enough that the doors didn't shut right away and she had to endure a few more moments of cold. She was suddenly warm a few seconds later though, and thought maybe she had stood under an air vent when she saw that Patrick had taken off his suit jacket and put it over her shoulders. When she tried to take it off, he shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder.

    "At least I have a shirt. It won't kill me to be without a jacket."

    "O-oh. Thanks." She put her arms in to the sleeves and tried not to hold the fabric up to her face and just sniff forever. "I'll make sure you get it back before I go."

    Patrick nodded but didn't look like he was too worried about getting it back. "Why don't we just get away from the door for starters?" He held out his hand politely and left Stephanie no choice but to take it. He led her to the other side of the room, close to a small dance floor. The party was finally getting started, it seemed, and there were a couple of people hamming it up to the Monster Mash. They both got a giggle out of watching people dance, and she noticed that he still hadn't let go of her hand.

    When more people started to dance, she started to tug her hand away. There was no way she'd end up dancing with him, at least not without giving away the secret. Out of the corner of her eye (or at least what she could see with the stupid mask in the way) he looked a little disappointed. She changed her mind and squeezed his hand. "Why don't we go sit down?" With her free hand she pointed to some tables and chairs set up on the other side of the dance floor.

    "I think that's a good idea." He smiled and squeezed her hand back before going to sit down.

    Stephanie finally had to let go of his hand when they sat down. The little table was just for two, and they still had a view of the dance floor. She snuggled up in to his coat a little more.

    "So why are you here again?" he asked. "You didn't look like you were having a lot of fun."

    "My roommate Catelyn somehow got tickets to this, and found someone to let me borrow a dress from. I didn't really have much of a choice." She laughed a little. "What about you?"

    "Sort of in the same boat." He had a half annoyed, half laughing expression.

    The two of them sat back for a while and made small talk, and soon the idea of leaving in a few minutes turned into, maybe she could wait til he had to go. They had a surprising amount of interest in common, and once she got him talking about music, all she had to do was sit back and smile as he talked about his passion. She saw him check his watch and he was surprised at the time.

    "Do you need to go?"

    "No, I'm fine to stay for a while. I just had someone bet me that I wouldn't be able to stay another hour. But then I started talking to you." He gave her a wide smile and she blushed and looked down at her lap. It was almost too much to stand.

    -

    "You don't really mean that..."

    "Why wouldn't I?" He looked like he was about to say something else when someone approached the table. He gave an almost uncharacteristic glare and they put their hands up and turned around.

    "Was that-?" She stopped before she said 'Pete' since that was what Patrick was trying to go by.

    "My friend that brought me here, yeah." He looked around for a few moments. "Come with me, I want to tell you something." He took her hand again and helped her to her feet. They wandered off to a set of doors that led out of the main room and in to a service corridor. "I... haven't been entirely honest with you."

    "What do you mean?"

    He took off his hat, and then the mask that barely hid who he was. "I'm actually Patrick. Ah, Patrick Stump. The singer from Fall Out Boy..." He looked embarrassed and sort of bracing himself, like he was expecting a barrage of fangirl enthusiasm.

    Stephanie only took off her fox mask and shook her hair out a little. "I'm Stephanie. And I think my friend stole the tickets to get in here." She laughed a little.

    Patrick finally let another hesitant smile out. "You know, you look kind of familiar..." He was a little closer than she realized but for some reason didn't mind too much.

    "I've been a couple shows," she mumbled out. Before she could say anything more, he leaned forward for a kiss.

    BANG!!

    Both of them were startled when the doors suddenly opened, right as his lips touched hers. Patrick jumped back, and Stephanie held the jacket closed.

    "Hey we gotta go! Come on!" Pete had already taken his 'disguise' off and was clearly in a hurry. He ushered Patrick out, practically pushing him through the door.

    "Wait, you can't leave yet!" Stephanie tried to hurry after but Wentz was faster and had a head start. By the time she pushed the doors open, they were already gone. She thought she might cry when she suddenly felt a lump in the pocket of the jacket that she hadn't noticed before. When she reached inside she pulled out a phone...

    (TO BE CONTINUED?!)