The Difference Between You And Me {Petekey}

Chapter five

Pete was awakened by his Messenger buzzing at his wrist. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, then made eye contact with the device once he felt comfortable enough. It was work calling. It was his day off, wasn't it? At least it was only an audio call, so he didn't have to put on a shirt or anything. He clicked the green 'answer' button.

"Peter?" The voice on the other line asked. It wasn't his boss or anyone he recognized, but they knew his name, so it was definitely the right person.

"Uh, yeah?" He replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "Speaking, I mean," he corrected, mentally kicking himself for forgetting the formalities. Also physically kicking himself, though he only did that to make himself laugh later.

"There's been a mishap of sorts. You're partners with Miachel Way, correct?" They asked. Pete's eyebrows furrowed even more and his dazed expression fell. This was serious now. What had happened to Mikey?

"Correct," he confirmed, feeling completely awakened by his concern. "Partners as in we work together often, we're just friends outside of work," he clarified after a moment of silence, just in case the person he was talking to meant something else.

"Ah, I see. Miachel's Communicator is offline, do you have any idea as to why that would be?" The voice questioned him. Pete didn't understand.

"I-uh, no, I don't know. What does being offline mean?" He asked cluelessly. The person on the other side sighed.

"Can you come in to the office? This isn't something that can happen over a call like this." Pete rarely went to the office, he could easily Travel from his apartment. The only time he ever went there was for important business meetings and whatnot, which wasn't very common considering his role in the company. This must be important.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be there in 45 minutes or so," he said, getting out of bed.

"Great. We'll see you then," the voice on the other side told him before hanging up, leaving him time to get ready. Pete exhaled heavily, buzzing his lips near the end. It was always Pete getting into trouble and Mikey getting him out, not the other way around. What was it like being a responsible, useful adult? Pete had never even thought about that. He'd been careless about anything serious his entire life.

He pulled on some clothes, grabbed his wallet and headed out with a sigh. Was Mikey's mishap, whatever it was, a mistake or on purpose? Mikey wasn't the type to mess with something on purpose, but he rarely made mistakes either. It was always well thought-out with him, no matter if it was work or just plans to meet up. He was a logical, analytical type of guy, sticking to the rules.

As he rode the monorail, he remembered their conversation last night. Mikey was worried he was living too boring of a life. Maybe that was what drove him to do whatever it was he did. Pete couldn't tell until he knew what the company knew.

He was off the monorail after a few minutes of standing and holding on to the railing. It was rush hour and there were no available seats. He was the least bit thankful for that, though, because he was sure that if he were sitting he'd fall asleep and potentially miss his stop. He walked the two blocks to the Flasch office.

He rarely ever went to the office, as most of his work could be done with his own house as the starting point. The only time he was ever needed was for important meetings that couldn't happen through their Messengers. Those were rare, considering Pete's important but certainly not unique position. While the company relied on people like him to keep time's continuum in check, there was nothing significant about Pete especially, and he was known to be quite chaotic anyways. If they needed a Traveller, they were much more likely to call on Mikey or any of the others.