Mixtape For The End of the World

40. Gabe dies in an explosion with his song playing in the background.

"Here, I'll even give you one last free pizza," Billie said. He handed me a pizza with "Pete Wentz Is Going Down Swinging" written in cheese. I laughed hysterically and gave Billie another hug. I really would miss him a lot, even if he was the reason that Gabe was dying. I clocked out for the last time, walked out of Fall Out Bros., and drove the DeLorean to Gabe's house.

When I pulled into his driveway, Gabe immediately ran out of his house and got into the passenger seat of the DeLorean. "Hey Pete," he said as I drove toward the block party. "I still can't believe that you're leaving tomorrow."

"Me neither," I said.

"Are you as nervous as I am about college?" Gabe asked. I nodded, and Gabe suddenly noticed the pizza sitting in the backseat. "Pete Wentz Is Going Down Swinging," he read. "Can I have a slice?"

"Sure," I said. Gabe took a slice of pizza and ate it just as I found a parking spot for the DeLorean. I parked the car, and the two of us climbed out and headed toward the block party.

At least half of Shermer was gathered in the street, eating food from the various vendors that were there and socializing with their friends. There was indeed a professional DJ, but he seemed to be playing nothing but obnoxiously loud pop hits. It seemed unlikely that I would get to listen to my favorite band tonight. I soon wanted to leave, but Gabe walked off to a popcorn stand, and I had no choice but to follow him.

Both of us bought popcorn and wandered around for a while. My outfit caused a few people to stare at the two of us, but I didn't care what they thought as long as it was about me. I wondered if I might see Patrick again as Gabe started talking to some cute girl. It seemed like the sort of event that he might go to, but I knew that he would prefer a night alone listening to Elvis Costello or watching a movie or singing or learning Japanese or doing something else incredible. That boy had more talent in his pinkie finger than I had in my whole body, and I loved that about him. In any case, I didn't find him, so I followed Gabe to a bouncy house. It wasn't like I had anything else to do.

We got in line for the bouncy house, but when we were about to go and play on the inflatables, an event worker shouted, "Children under ten only!"

"Gabe and I are ten," I lied. "We have a rare genetic disorder that causes us to age faster."

The man gave us a suspicious look. "Both of you have this rare genetic disorder?" he said.

Gabe and I both nodded. "I'm dying because of it," Gabe added.

"I don't believe any of this," the man said. "Get out of here."

I groaned and walked away, and Gabe followed me. "They should make bouncy houses for adults," I said.

"That guy should have made an exception for us," Gabe said. "I really am dying!"

"I'm sorry, Gabe," I said. "I tried my best to get us in there."

We wandered around for a little bit longer, occasionally running into someone that we knew. I spotted Joe and Andy hanging out in front of one of the shops downtown. I didn't even know that they knew each other. However, I spent most of my time with Gabe. The music blared the whole time, and at one point, Gabe and I decided to go over to where the DJ was and request a song. "What should we request?" Gabe asked.

"'In Between Days' by The Cure," I suggested. "The DJ has to have that one."

Gabe wrote down that song and then wrote down "Heart of Glass" by Blondie below it. The DJ briefly glanced at the song request sheet and said, "I don't have anything by The Cure, but I can definitely play Heart of Glass for you." He then looked straight at us. "Wait a second, you two were in a video on MTV, right? It's so cool that you did that!"