A/N~ wattpad deleted the first chapter so I have to reupload :/
~Skittles Out~
Patrick Stump sat on his friend's bed with crossed legs as he tapped the air with his foot. His hair was currently being worked through with a towel by said friend while Patrick's face scrunched in annoyance.
"Ow! Dal, do you have to be so rough?" Patrick asked as he felt the towel pull away.
"I'm just trying to make sure it stuck!" Patrick's friend, Dallon, argued, climbing off the bed. He wandered over in front of Patrick, looking him over quickly before giving a nod of approval. "Think we nailed it." He grinned.
Patrick felt a smile of excitement cross over his face. He slid off Dallon's bed and ran to the long mirror on the back of his bedroom door.
"Oh wow..." Patrick gasped at the transformation of his hair. It had gone from its mousey brown to a brightly bleached blond. Patrick pushed his fingers through it, not fully believing how different it looked.
"No turning back now." Dallon said, walking across the room to drop the towel in a basket of dirty clothes. "Not 'till the color fades."
"I won't let it fade away." Patrick laughed, turning back to Dallon. "It's perfect! I'm completely reinventing myself this summer."
Dallon watched his friend tug at his short strands of hair to look at the new color. "Just run it past me one more time?" He asked, walking over to lean against the wall. "The reinventing yourself thing?"
"Well, ah..." Patrick hesitated, "Not totally reinvent but... I-I wanna grow up this summer." Patrick shrugged, "You know..."
"I'm not sure if I do?" Dallon responded with the tilt of his head.
Patrick's cheeks were growing red. "Dal, you're my best friend, so I can just be perfectly honest?"
"Of course."
"I wanna lose my fucking virginity." Patrick blurted out, quickly looking down after saying so. He felt his cheeks heat up worse than ever.
Dallon's eyes grew wide as he looked at his friend. "You? The literal picture of innocence?"
"Exactly!" Patrick exclaimed, looking back up. "I'm so tired of being looked at like that! The 'innocent little virgin' is someone I hate! N-not that I hate people in my situation, I-I just don't want to be that guy anymore..."
"So... That explains the hair." Dallon said after a moment of silence that grew after Patrick's trailed off words. "How do you plan on going through all of this?"
Patrick rubbed his arm, nervously. He began to look everywhere but Dallon. "Well... We're camp counselors, and camp is always a place that people brag about that kind of thing..."
Dallon nodded, watching his nervous friend. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Patrick. He patted Patrick's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Sounds like a plan! Wanna scope 'em out on the bus there?" Dallon asked with a wink.
Patrick smiled at his taller friend. "You're really cool with this?" He asked, softly.
"If it'll make my best friend happy, then hell yea." Dallon nodded again, "I can be your wingman."
"You don't know how much it means that you're actually okay with it..." Patrick mumbled. His cheeks were still heated and red as Dallon pulled him into a hug, "I'm honestly a bit freaked out, but I really want this..."
"We leave in a couple days, yea?" Dallon asked as Patrick held his midsection, tightly. "Dude, it'll be an honor to help you get laid."
Patrick laughed, burying his face in Dallon's chest to muffle the sound. It spread to Dallon, who began laughing as well. The two pulled apart and slowly grew quiet again. It was Dallon who broke the silence.
"If you're just looking for a fling, why the hair change?" He asked.
Patrick sighed, "I was told my natural hair isn't attractive..."
"Bullshit." Dallon spoke almost automatically, "Dude, your hair was beautiful the way it was. You rock the blond too, but still."
Patrick let a small smile find his lips. "I dunno... Maybe a simple brown would look better? Not like my natural, well kinda, but maybe lighter..."
"Wanna go to the store?" Dallon asked, cutting off Patrick's soft ramblings.
Patrick nodded. He was thankful to have a friend like Dallon. They always stuck by each other, and helped each other out. Patrick would definitely owe Dallon after this, though.
"Alright, let's go look at dye." Dallon smiled as he hurried over to his dresser to grab his wallet, "If we hurry, we can still catch that monster movie marathon."
"Sounds like a plan." Patrick grinned, hurrying after his tall friend.
- - -
"Mom, do I really have to be a camp councilor?" A dark haired boy whined to his mother, who was scrolling on her laptop.
"Yes, Pete, it will be good for you." She replied without looking up, "Brendon from across the street is going too, so I don't see why you're complaining."
Pete rolled his eyes. "Oh, so you sucked Brendon into hell too?"
"Pete! Language."
"Mom! I don't care." Pete rolled his eyes again, "Hell isn't a swear."
"Maybe not, but I don't like the word." His mother shot back, looking up from her laptop in irritation. "Just accept the fact that you'll have responsibilities this summer, instead of playing that guitar of yours till three in the morning."
"It's called a bass, mom." Pete said, crossing his arms. "You complain whenever I practice, so why not three am?"
His mother sighed, shutting her laptop. "Pete, I know you don't want to go, but it will be good for you." She smiled encouragingly, "It will give you something to do."
"Being home is something to do." Pete replied, earning more irritation from his mother.
"Sweetheart, just go to your room and figure out what you're taking to camp." She said, reopening her laptop. "You're not getting out of it. So sorry."
"No you're not..." Pete mumbled as he walked away. He kicked the carpet with his sock covered toes as he wandered slowly to the stairs. He walked up the steps before rushing into his room and slamming the door.
The running to his room wasn't because of his irritation with his mother's decision. It was for the photo that hung on the wall right at the top end of the stairwell. The happy three people in it no longer existed in the same way, seeing as: one was dead, one was downstairs attempting to get their life in order, and the last one was Pete.
Pete's dad had been run off the road by a drunk driver the previous summer. From that moment, the photo at the end of the stairs only hurt Pete every time he looked at it.
He jumped face first onto his bed and let out a long groan. He didn't want to waste his summer in the woods away from everything.
"Wentz? Come in, Wentz!" A tapping at Pete's window made him groan louder.
"Go. Away." He said, loudly, through his pillow. He didn't feel like getting up to let his friend in.
The noise of the window sliding open, followed by feet landing on the floor filled Pete's ears. "Too late, bitch, I'm here." Pete felt a hand tap the back of his head, "You alive?"
Pete pushed himself up to look at his dark haired friend. "This is breaking and entering, Brendon" Pete said as a small grin crossed over his face.
"I didn't break anything so really, it's just entering." Brendon shrugged. He plopped himself onto the bed next to Pete's outstretched figure and began messing with the strands of hair that hung in his face. "So, did you get the summer camp speech too?"
"Unfortunately it's very popular today." Pete sighed as he bent his legs closer to his chest so that he could sit up next to Brendon. "Where the hell even is this place?"
"Somewhere outside of WiFi zone." Brendon frowned, "I'm gunna get so behind on all the let's players I watch..."
Pete rolled his eyes. "However will you survive?" He asked in a mocking tone as he pushed himself to his feet.
Brendon, in opposition, fell back on Pete's bed. "I know right?! It's a tragedy."
"Do we know who else is going?" Pete asked from where he now stood NY his bedroom window.
"Not a clue!" Brendon exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "They're picking up kids from all over for the counseling gig."
Pete was quiet as he watched the street outside. A little boy was riding his bike down the street, while a little girl had a tea party in her front lawn. They were enjoying their summer, whereas Pete was going to have to throw away the fun he had planned for himself.
Pete was angry as he thought about it, but watching the girl's tea party gave him a wicked idea.
"We should really get prepared, hu?" He asked, watching a kid sneak up while the girl wasn't looking and slip a worm into her bowl of noodles. "Gotta be ready for the great out doors."
Brendon sat up with the raise of an eyebrow. "Your tune changed quick." He commented.
Pete just turned to his friend with a grin, "Camp pranks won't do themselves."
Brendon perked up, immediately, jumping to his feet. "Dude! That's gonna be dope! Oooo I can just picture it now..."
"Then let's get the planning started." Pete continued to grin as he motioned for Brendon to follow him over to his desk, where they would begin to work out their plans.