Fireflies // Peterick

1.

Pete paused in front of the door to room 227. Every year it was the same: each group's counselor made name tags to go on the doors. The women counselors were usually more creative with it, but Pete knew he had a male counselor this year, so he was pleasantly surprised to see both his and his roommate's tags were in the format of a playlist, with their names, home town, and the name of their class. It was pretty cool, and Pete had a feeling he would stick it on his door at home at the end of the term.

Pete Wentz. Chicago, Illinois. Creative Writing.

Pete took a deep breath, saying the words under his breath. Then he looked over at his roommate's.

Patrick Stump. Chicago, Illinois. Applications of Physics.

Ha. Nerd.

It did strike him as odd that they were both from Chicago. He'd never heard of a Patrick Stump, so it would be interesting to meet him and talk about their hometown.

He took a deep breath and unlocked the door. He was glad his parents hadn't stuck around to help him unpack for the six week course this year; he loved them, but he preferred that they weren't going to be breathing down his neck while he put his boxers in his dresser.

The set up of the dorm room was pretty much the same as it had been at the last campus: two loft beds, one on each side of the room; two dressers, tucked underneath the beds; two desks; two closets. The color scheme was different, and the floor in this dorm was carpet instead of tile, but a single window was placed in between the beds, right above the air conditioner. Pete smiled at how familiar it was.

The room was empty other than the furniture, so it didn't take any fancy deducting for Pete to figure out his roommate hadn't arrived yet. He picked the bed, desk, and closet on the right side of the room. He made quick work of unpacking, because he'd been talking to Andy on and off, and it sounded like they were signed up to be here at the same time. Considering Andy lived in Wisconsin, he was anxious to see his friend again for the first time in a year.

His phone rang on cue. Pete answered it, knowing without a doubt that it was the man in question. "Pete, are you here yet?"

"Yeah, I just got unpacked. What room number are you?"

"416."

"Okay, I'm headed up now."

Pete couldn't keep the smile off his face as he bounded up the stairs. He almost ran into someone opening the door to the fourth floor, but dodged them with a quick apology.

He made a quick loop around the floor before finding the right room. He pounded on the door, yelling, "Hurley! Let me in!"

The door opened, and Pete rushed forward to tackle Andy in a hug.

"Holy hell, it's been way too long," Andy said with a laugh.

"Agreed." Pete pulled back and gave Andy a once-over. He seemed taller than the last time they'd seen each other, his hair was definitely longer, and it looked like he was beginning to build up muscle. "Can you believe it's been a whole year? And that this is our last year coming to camp?"

"I'll one up you: can you believe we're going to be seniors in high school once August rolls around?"

Pete shuddered. "God help us."

"So this is the Pete you were talking about?" Pete looked over Andy's shoulder and noticed his roommate. Pete's first thought was: "His hair must be as big as his body."

"Yeah, this is him." Andy nodded. "Pete, this is Joe Trohman, mythology course."

"Good choice." Pete nodded at Joe. "I took that one last year, it was a blast. My favorite story was a Native American one about why coyote's eyes are yellow."

"Yeah?" Joe asked why a smile. "What's that?"

"You'll see."

"Anyway," Andy interjected, "Joe happens to be from Chicago."

Pete laughed. "You've got to be joking. I am too! So's my roommate. Some kid named Patrick Stump. He's signed up for a physics course."

"Huh." Joe paused. "The name sounds familiar."

"I'll mention you to him when he gets here. Maybe he'll recognize you."

"Wait. You mean your roommate isn't here yet?" Andy asked, checking his watch. "Orientation's in half an hour."

"He's probably just running late," Pete said. His eyes lit up and a smile grew on his face. "Besides, we have vending machines to raid."