Pete's POV
Brendon and I arrive at the snack table, Brendon taking a handful of M&Ms while I go for another slice of pizza. We then chill off to the corner a bit, watching people for a few minutes as we eat, Brendon now filling a styrofoam cup with the chocolate candies and pouring them into his mouth like a drink.
I see Travie, who's now left the stage to be replaced by four other boys. They seem oddly familiar, but I can't place their names. Travie wanders off through the people, stopping when he finds Gabe and William, hugging them both in greeting. William pecks his cheek again, making Travie blush visibly even from where Brendon and I stand. Gabe rolls his eyes sarcastically at the sight, then gently pushes William against Travie, who quickly catches William so the shorter boy didn't fall. Then their lips lock in a kiss, Gabe blushing behind them, his face seeming pleased.
"Man, they're all for PDA's, aren't they." Brendon says through a mouthful of candies, watching the trio of teens as well.
"Boy are they. They're cute though." I reply. "But one question though, why was William so hooked on Gabe earlier on stage, now he's full blown for Travie while Gabe encourages them? Aren't Will and Gabe together?" I point out, slightly confused by the situation.
"Ah yes I've seen that before. Probably a polyamorous thing. William's probably into both Gabe and Travie, Gabe's probably chill with it so he's encouraging William to also go for Travie, Travie's perfectly chill with liking them both. The whole thing with poly relationships is openness within a multiple partner relationship. I could say I'm poly myself, I could see being with multiple open partners. But I guess for right now I just have my eye set on one person. It works though." Brendon explains, seeming to be an expert on it all. Now it makes sense, and it's actually quite heartwarming to see how open the three of them are about it in public.
"Oh, nice. That's cute. I ship it." I say.
"Mhmmm. That'd be a wild ship name though." Brendon points out.
"True, true. So, anyway about the game idea. There always seems to be pretty wild games at teenage parties. Truth or dare, spin the bottle, never have I ever... there's this other game I've heard of that I thought would be pretty cool. It's called Seven Minutes In Heaven." I explain to Brendon with a smirk.
"Hmmm, sounds fun. How do you do it?" Brendon asks, gulping down a few more M&Ms. I then go through the process of explaining the game rules, a smile coming to Brendon's face as he gets what I'm getting at. I mean, I guess it could be a really casual and safe game if people wanted it to be, but for those who want a little something extra, I'd say it's a mighty fine way to spend a little extra one on one time with your crush. Not that I mean for me. I'm totally thinking of helping some of my other dudes. Okay maybe that's a lie, maybe I am thinking of myself in the situation as well. It's whatever though, just a game.
After Brendon and I have talked, we head back to the circle we departed a bit ago, seeing them stand up and prepare to move someplace else. I wave to Patrick again, who seems to be super comfortable now. He's smiling and slightly sweaty, but looking content and like he's having a good time. It's so interesting how just one night can open up so many new things. You can meet new people that could become life long friends, you can snap back at some rude bitches, just have an overall good time. It's quite amazing actually what just one few hour segment can do for a person. I mean heck, I thought I was somewhat known at Winona High. I got a decent group of friends, but after tonight, I know quite a few more people I could find myself hanging out with in the future.
"Hey Pete! We're planning on hitting the dancefloor for the last few songs of the night. Wanna join?" Patrick asks once I'm in audible range.
"Hell yeah, let's make what we can with what's left of the night." I say, smiling in return.
"Alright, let's go." The group of us wander and mingle in with the rest of the crowd, watching the band set up on stage.
"Hey guys, we're back! The band and I were hungry so we took a break to get food. Unfortunately we didn't have too much cash on us, so we just shared a pizza on the curb. Pretty wild. But anyway, here we are again! We got two more songs for you to finish up the night. In case you missed us earlier, we're Set It Off! I'm Cody, these are my boys Maxx, Dan, and Zach." The boy onstage announces. Now their faces lock into my head. After we finished up the writing stuff, they were the ones playing when we came out to join the excitement. The song they played was really great, I'm excited to hear the two other songs they have in store.
"So, I heard someone say that Mr. William Beckett is in the house tonight! Hey bud, if you're still here, we could play that song we did together. Bill? You here?" Cody, the boy speaking calls out into the crowd, searching for the tall, long haired boy. William pops up, waving his goodbyes to Travie and Gabe, then heads up to the stage to greet Cody.
"Great to see you, man. We're gonna do the song?" William asks.
"Yup. If you're up for it." Cody returns with a wink.
"Let's do it!"
"Alright! This next one's called Wolf In Sheep's Clothing." Cody explains. Immediately, the instruments startup, Maxx starting it strong with a bang of the drums, so powerful he bounces in his seat. The guitars start up as well, giving a prominent introduction tune. There's a few measures of instruments, Cody and William tapping their feet and fidgeting with their microphones a bit, then Cody starts up the vocals.
"Beware, beware, be skeptical of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold. Deceit so natural, but a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning. Ba ba black sheep have you any soul? No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals? Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Jill's a little whore and her alibis are dirty tricks. So could you tell me how you're sleeping easy, how you're only thinking of yourself? Show me how you justify telling all your lies like second nature. Listen, mark my words one day, you will pay, you will pay, karma's gonna come collect your debt." He sings the first verse, then into the chorus. After the chorus it goes back to a bit of just instruments, which sound a lot different than the other songs played today, but it sounds really good. He then turns to William, who seems prepared for what's next.
"Take it, Beckett!" Cody says quickly after a few seconds of musical break. William takes that as his queue, immediately starting the next verse.
"Aware, aware you stalk your prey, with criminal mentality. You sink your teeth into the people you depend on, infecting everyone, you're quite the problem." The way he enunciates his words is really great, he puts a staccato and spice to the "infecting" part especially. I could totally see working with him on some stuff, maybe have him sing with Patrick or be in a music video.
"Fe-fi-fo-fum, better run and hide. I smell the blood of a petty little coward. Jack be lethal, Jack be slick. Jill will leave you lonely, dying in a filthy ditch."
Cody steps back up to the mic to join back in on the chorus, which they both sing for. The bridge has a completely different feel, slowed down a lot and actually pretty calm considering what the rest of the has been. Er, well I thought.
"Oh mY GOD. Who am I kidding? Let's not get overzealous here. You've always been a huge piece of SHIT! If I could kill you, I would. But that's frowned upon in all fifty states. Having said that, burn in hell!" That was a dramatic turn. The song goes back to the chorus, then eventually ends. Everyone on stage is bursting with energy, and the crowd around me is super hyped, jumping around and headbanging in the air. Even Brendon and Patrick next to me are feeling the beat.
"Karma's gonna come collect your debt...Jazzy!" The song finishes off. Cody and William hug each other, Cody blushing slightly when William smiles at him and leaves the stage. Maxx tosses his bleached hair out of his face, looking super pumped and excited, sticking his tongue out to a few people near the front of the stage, making them squeal with excitement. Dan and Zach exchange gestures and smiles to tell each other 'good job' and what not. The crowd cheers, then Cody turns his attention back at performing, smiling at all the people excited to hear his band's music.
"That was a blast. You guys are so great today!" He says. "So, this next song is something new, I wrote it with my good friend, one of my biggest inspirations actually, which is really cool. Props to Mr. Alex Gaskarth!" He explains, gesturing to someone near the front of the stage. I immediately recognize the name, as he and his best friend Jack, probably boyfriend too considering how gay they are together, are in some of my classes. I don't talk to either of them much, they're kinda the "jocks" of the school and try and show off to girls, even though they flirt with each other. It's a strange mix, but I guess it works for them. Jack stand next to him, his skunk-like hair brushing against Alex's shoulder as he leans on him. I normally see them wearing hoodies and beanies, their "classic scene kid" hair styles always a mess in their faces, but tonight they're both dressed up in suits, Jack spiking his hair up to reveal the blonde streaks, almost making him look more skunk-like than normal. Alex looks really clean cut, his brown hair swooped to the side but still fluffy, black suit and bowtie. It's always interesting to see how different people dress for certain occasions.
"So uh, we've never played this live before, but uh, we'll see how it goes." Cody finishes with a small laugh. Alex gives him a thumbs up, making Cody visibly blush from the stage. The speakers start with a strange electric sound, slowly rising in volume. Dan and Maxx have microphones, so they suddenly join in on backing vocals.
"Ba da, ba ba da da." They start. Then Cody takes over the main vocals.
"Well I've been stuck in my head wonderin' what's it gonna take to break the mold. I'm searchin' for something, that fire, that lighting I used to think was uncontainable." It's a different sound than their previous song, but it's really great. Zoning out of the lyrics, I turn my attention to Patrick who's standing with Joe awkwardly. An adorable awkward might I say. Joe seems really into it, watching Dan and Zach mainly shred on the guitars. He moves his hands as if he's playing too, making energetic faces and throwing his fist in the air and mouthing "set it off" in a silent cheer. Andy watches Joe in admiration, trying to feel the beat of the music. Brendon's lost in his own world at this point, so I kinda just leave him to himself. I then walk up to Patrick, getting a feel for his thoughts on the night so far. He pulls at his gray suit a bit, adjusting it since it's probably stifling hot considering the material. When he sees me next to him, he eases a little, but is still clearly nervous. He smiles and gives me a small wave, which I then return. And surprisingly, he makes the first move at conversation.
"H-hey. Um, so. Uh. I-it's a dance, y'know, and uh. Kinda, uh, wonderin' if you wanted to, uh, dance?" He asks, making nervous gestures with his hands while doing so. It warms my heart that he's trying to connect with me, so how can I turn him down? He's Patrick Stump afterall.
"Uh, yeah. Sounds great!" I reply, smiling warmly. He smiles back, letting out a sigh of relief. "So, uh. I mean it's not the best slow dance song, but we can make do." I take his hand in mine, dramatically spinning him around, which he stumbles a bit in the process. I help him gain his footing, and he grabs my shoulders for support. Our faces are lined up, (well, lined up as they could be, considering the slight height difference) and his glasses are on the edge of his nose. I use my free hand to slide them back up, making him blush at my touch. "You'll get the hang of it." I reassure him. We readjust our hold on each other, my hands at his squishy hips and his arms stretched slightly upwards to hold onto my shoulders. He looks at our footing awkwardly, hoping not to step on my feet. And then to the energetic beat of the song, we sway side to side, a fast paced slow dance I guess you could say.
And almost as if the song could tell what I was thinking, the lyrics ring out. "Let me show you something new!" Hm, I guess when Cody said "this next song is something new" he literally meant it. Damn puns.
In the distance, I can see Joe and Andy messing with each other. Andy walks up right behind Joe, just staring at the back of his head, wondering what to do. By the time Joe turns around, Andy looks away and walks a few steps back, like he was never doing anything. Then Joe casually leans against him, planting a swift kiss on Andy's neck and making the shorter boy blush. Now almost surrounding Patrick and I, a group of fellow party goers seem to be forming a semicircle, being still for the most part on the outer edges, with enthusiastic dancers in the center. In the midst of everything, someone knocks into Patrick, pulling the two of us apart to separate ends of the "dance oval." We're right in the action of what almost seems to be a mosh pit, just dancing instead. There's someone spinning on their head, another person doing something with their arms and shaking their butt. And soon I'm surprised to see Patrick joining along, flailing his arms everywhere as he attempts to fit the mood. A few people lock hands and skip in front of Patrick, pushing him back to the "walls" of the dance pit. He stumbles a little, but he's really great at picking himself back up. More dancing occurs, and I just stand there, watching the action mainly.
Suddenly I see Joe being pushed into the center, falling to the floor in the process, confused but soon catching on, standing back up and breaking down a few moves, which Andy encourages enthusiastically. He smirks at the viewers, now confident with what he's doing. A few moments pass and he skips back to the safety amongst the rest of the crowd as Travie then takes to the center, a baseball cap now covering his fro. He waves his arms, then does some sorta robot type move with his legs, the blue fabric of his unbuttoned button-up flowing to the sides as he moves. Many people cheer for him, so I guess he's a pretty big deal in his grade.
While I'm busy watching his moves, someone knocks into me, sending me into the middle of all the action. I wasn't expecting the sudden movements, and I normally don't like showcasing myself in a large group of people, so I stand there awkwardly, scratching my neck and looking at my surroundings. The energy still remains, and people are staring at me to do something, so I take a deep breathe and try and get my brain to sync up with my legs.
'One night can change it all.' I say to myself mentally, trying to drown my anxiety of what people will think of me. I mean, if Patrick can muster up enough courage to flail around in front of all these people, I can put myself out there as well. I don't have much time to think things through, so I start with a similar move as Travie, moving my hands and legs in sync almost like a robot. Not really thinking about what i'm doing at this point, I then scatter across the floor with shuffling feet, waving my arms around kinda how people do that weird wavy thing with their arms out to the side like a wiggly noodle.
Across the way I see Patrick's been pushed into the action again, and he's back at it with the frantic arm flailing, looking like an adorable blur of long sideburns, messy sweaty hair, and a gray suit. I return my attention to the crowd around me, back at the weird leg and arm sync motion, and people from the surrounding group come into the center...joining me? Now that's a first. They're doing the same of moves as I am, laughing and giggling and full of energy. I don't even know them. I can see Joe and Andy encouraging me, Hayley and Lynn smiling in the distance, Brendon just watching in awe. Feeling the best of the music, I start bobbing my head along, adrenaline rising in me by the second. I start a new dance move and start jumping, probably looking like one of those Super Mario Brothers dudes when they jump a block. My "backup" dancers join me in the odd jumping move, all of us in sync with the music.
Taking another wild move, I stand mostly still, twitching and spazzing out in my place while letting my mouth drop open and tongue stick out slightly.
The song sounds like it's coming to an end, so I finish up my moves back with the psychedelic robot thing with a tad of jumping, then finish strong, the other people around me stopping when I stop. The room explodes in cheers, mainly for the band onstage, but some are for me too. Patrick is the first to run up and hug me, sweaty and cheeks rosy red, both of our hearts beating and he's looks so happy, just utterly gorgeous. He looks amazing when he's happy. He hugs me for a long time, arms wrapped tightly around my back, and I return the gesture, easily melding into his short and soft frame.
After a few moments, he releases the tightness of our hold, looking up to me with a glowing, red face. It hits me in the stomach just how adorable he is, the classic burst of butterflies exploding throughout me. "You're so handsome." He says randomly, making me blush at the compliment.
"Aw man, thank you. You look fucking adorable right now." I reply, flustered with my words. We keep eye contact for another few seconds, the noise around us dying down slowly. He then stands on his toes and pecks me on the cheek, and before I can react, he walks away as if nothing happened. I touch the spot of my face he just kissed, trying to process what just happened. I feel my face is extremely hot right now, so I can imagine that my cheeks are finally red enough to match the other dark red colors throughout the room. This shoe night he been a wild adventure, full of new experiences and doing tons of uncertain things, but I've learned so much and changed so much within a matter of one night. And one thing I know for certain, I'm so fucking gay for Patrick Stump.
AN: damn all my author notes are super boring yikes. but heres some gay shit for you. Damn i'm at 33k words now for this story, im pretty pleased. I'm glad i split this part in two chapters though bc just this alone was 3.3k words, and the previous chapter was 2.8k, so that would've been pretty long for one chapter. Anywayyyy, the next two chapters are finally the two I wrote a while ago, so i just gotta paste them into my doc, tweak them to make sure they fit and all. Then after those two is the final chapter ahhhh. I'm actually thinking about adding an extra chapter or two though bc i was reading through the pre-written stuff earlier and it cuts off right at the good stuff, so either I'll make them longer or add a few chapters. But yeah, thats the updates n stuff on this. Thanks for still reading, for those of you who are still hanging in there. can you believe this story has been going since OCTOBER DAMN. much thanks to you all <333