Mixtape For The End of the World

29. Pete wins a soccer game.

"PETE!" Coach Lisa shouted. "COME OVER HERE NOW!" I obliged, and Coach Lisa told me to sit down on the bench. "You're staying right here for the rest of the game," she said. "You're usually a good player, which makes me think that you're trying to pull some kind of trick, but this is what happens to any player that scores two own goals in a row. You get to warm the bench."

I didn't even bother to reply to Coach Lisa. Instead, I just sat on the bench, trying to find another way to ensure that my team lost the game. I looked back toward the stands - Patrick waved to me, apparently unaware that I was trying to lose the game, while my parents looked furious. I then looked back toward the field. I tried making funny faces to distract my teammates, but they were too focused on the game. There was nothing else that I could do from the bench, so I just sat there, wishing that I could be a part of the game. Soccer wasn't a challenge or an adventure for me, but I would miss it, and I wished that I could have played for the last half hour of my soccer career.

One of my teammates scored a goal, followed by another, and I worried that Gabe's vision would come true, and there would be nothing that I could do to stop it. I wanted to rush onto the field and make sure that Shermer lost, but I didn't have the courage to do it. Instead, I stayed on the bench, watching my team win without me.

The final score of the game was 7-2. Shermer had won, and Gabe's vision had come true. My whole team celebrated, but I didn't feel like there was anything to celebrate when my best friend was dying. I sat on the bench, even when one of the nicer guys on the team tried to get me to join them. When almost everyone was gone, I stood up and headed into the stands to find my friends.

Gabe and Patrick were still in the stands, waiting for me. "Pete!" Patrick exclaimed. "You played so well!"

"Thanks," I said. Even if Patrick knew nothing about sports, I was glad that he was there supporting me. It was the thought that counted. I then turned to Gabe and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Gabe said. "You did your best."

"I could have done more," I said.

"What are you two talking about?" Patrick asked.

"Didn't you say that you didn't want to get involved in Gabe's visions?" I said.

"Is that what this is all about?" Patrick asked. Gabe and I nodded, and Patrick said, "I don't want to know."

"Anyways, you tried your best, Pete," Gabe said. "We can stop the next one."

"I don't even remember what the next one is," I said.

"It's Sexy Stranger #1 getting a high score on Super Mario Bros.," Gabe said. He turned to my fedora-clad companion and said, "It's up to you, Patrick."

"I just said that I didn't want to be involved with this psychic business!" Patrick argued.

"I wouldn't be involved either if I had the choice," Gabe said. "Pete, I think I'm going to head home. I told my mom that I'd be home for lunch. I'll see you later."

"Bye Gabe," I said.

I was about to suggest to Patrick that we should find a place to be alone together, but Hillary interrupted us. She ran up to Patrick and I, looked at Patrick, and asked me, "Is this your boyfriend?"

"Go away, Hillary," I said.

"Pete, don't be so mean to her," Patrick said.

"She's my little sister, and she's being annoying," I said.

"She doesn't seem that annoying to me," Patrick said. He crouched down so that he and my sister were at eye level and then said, "Hi Hillary. I'm Patrick Stump. It's nice to meet you."

"You still didn't answer my question," Hillary said.

"What question?" Patrick asked.

"Are you Pete's boyfriend?" Hillary asked.

"Can I tell her?" Patrick asked me, and I shrugged. No matter what Patrick told her, Hillary would believe what she wanted about Patrick and I, and I didn't care what she thought. "Yes," Patrick said. "Your brother is really an amazing person, Hillary. I've met a lot of people this summer, and these new friends are golden, but Pete might just be the best of all."

I smiled when I heard Patrick say that. He really was the nicest person that I knew, a true American beauty, but Hillary wasn't listening to him. She turned to me and said, "I came over here to tell you that Mom and Dad want to talk to you."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be over there in just a minute."

Hillary ran off, and Patrick said, "Your sister seems nice."

"I don't know why you think that," I said as the two of us headed toward a spot underneath the stands where nobody could see us. "You should meet the rest of my family sometime. They're all less annoying than Hillary."

"I think I'd like that," Patrick said.

"Maybe you could come to my house on Saturday," I said. "I'm sure that my parents would let me invite you over."

"That sounds nice," Patrick said. "You're done playing soccer now, right?"

I nodded and said, "I'm glad that the season's over, but I kind of wish that I could keep playing. I really do love the game."

"I usually don't watch soccer, but this game was pretty fun to watch," Patrick said.

"Were you paying any attention to the game?" I asked.

Patrick laughed and said, "I was too busy watching you."

I gave him a quick peck on the lips and then said, "I should go. My parents are probably looking for me, but I'll call you tonight."

"See you soon, Pete," Patrick said.

He walked out to the parking lot, while I searched for my parents and siblings. I found them in the stands - Hillary and Andrew were talking to each other about how boring soccer is and how glad they were that I wouldn't be playing anymore, while Dad tried in vain to keep them under control. Mom gave me a disapproving look as soon as I walked up to her. "You were throwing the game, weren't you, Pete?" she said. I shrugged, and she asked, "Why would you do that?" I just shrugged again. I couldn't tell my parents about Gabe's visions - I was pretty sure that even his own parents didn't know - but I couldn't come up with a good excuse for throwing the game either.

"It doesn't matter, Mom," I said. "Shermer won anyways, and I'm done playing soccer now."

Mom sighed and then said, "Let's go home." My younger siblings cheered and climbed into the back of the family car, talking excitedly about how they could watch MTV when they got home. Meanwhile, I got into the DeLorean and took the long way home, thankful for the extra time to think. However, my mind kept drifting back to Patrick. I thought of the way that he smiled every time he saw me, the way he loved and supported me whether I was growing up or just going down, and the way his lips crashed into mine. It was the collision of his kiss that made it so hard.

When I got home, I checked the mailbox, but Mikey hadn't replied to my letter yet. Hillary and Andrew were, as promised, watching MTV, and the video that Gabe had made was playing. "I thought that they weren't going to play it again," I mumbled, but nobody else heard me.

Frustrated and yet hopelessly in love, I stormed off to my bedroom, wishing that Patrick was there with me. Even if the world really was about to end, I could at least say that I had found someone that I truly cared about. Isn't that something? I thought to myself as I put a pair of headphones on. When I thought of Patrick, I could forget about everything else, from the visions to the soccer to the music video that my siblings were watching in the living room. I just couldn't wait until I could see him again.