"Hey, it's me. Brendon. Look, dude, I'm sorry for what happened, but I heard you're home for a few days again, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come by...catch up, hang out and all that. I need to apologize for being such a douchenozzle. I'll make cookies and we can talk and play some video games? I dunno, I just want-"
The message cut out, presumably when the voicemail stopped recording him. Patrick was hesitant, but he still sent a text that he wasn't sure was an entirely great idea.
pdiddly: Yeah, if you wanna hang out on Saturday, that's the only day I'm free. Maybe Sunday but idk for sure.
brendon: Sounds good!
Admittedly, Patrick had been a little off since he spent the day with his sister. She was more than a little off as well, and though she'd told Patrick she was glad she did it, there was a large part of her that felt very guilty about what she'd done. He didn't blame her. She tried talking about it when they went and got dinner, but she had in the end just explained that though she knew she couldn't keep a kid, there was a part of her that felt like she might've been better off trying.
Patrick would still never disagree with her. She did what was best for her, and he'd helped pay for part of it. It was fifty dollars from his pocket, but he didn't really care too much.
Yet the thoughts still plagued him as he made his way to Brendon's on Saturday, having brought the random requested things. He approached the door and knocked before being let inside by Brendon. He'd cracked a smile at the taller boy, and he set his bag down in the living room as Brendon went to get them bottles of something to drink.
Patrick observed the house. It was different, but he was enjoying it. It had been so long since he was here last, he forgot half of how the house looked. Though Brendon came back and handed Patrick a bottle of Gatorade, there was a silence between them for a moment that made them both feel slightly awkward.
"Y'know, I kill at Smash."
"You what?" Patrick honestly thought he was referring to sex, but Brendon laughed.
"Super Smash Brothers. I can rip people new assholes."
"Oh, you wish!"
"I can!"
"Sure."
"Fight me, bitch. Let's go."
And thus was the several-hours long battle of a mix of Super Smash Bros, Mariokart, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, and Just Dance. Afterwards, it was the two messing around in the backyard and ending up in the pool somehow, and then ordering pizza and letting Patrick play Majora's Mask on his Gamecube. Patrick played for awhile, until he'd gotten past the part Brendon had struggled with, then they switched to that version of Mario Party.
It surprised Patrick that he had so much fun with Brendon, when he thought he could never even look at him again.
"Hold on, did you really work with Marina Diamandis?" Brendon asked, halfway through his slice of pizza.
Patrick finished his drink, but nodded. "Yeah," he said, pausing before continuing, "I still technically am, I just get days off and stuff, you know? I have the weekend this time, but then we're wrapping up recording and school starts again soon, so..."
"Still, Marina."
Patrick pulled up her instagram post with him in her lap and showed it to him, going back to his pizza.
"No fucking way! This is a joke, right?!"
"Dude, just go to her page and scroll down a bit." He shrugged. "My other artist right now is Lady Gaga, and she's probably the nicest person I've ever met?"
Brendon actually gagged as he handed the phone back. "Shut the fuck up!"
"I'm being serious!" Patrick laughed softly, looking up at Brendon.
"What else do you do up in LA?"
"Well, hang out with Mr RuPaul Charles' girls."
"Patrick, you're gay as fuck."
"They're drag queens," he said simply, causing Brendon's eyes to widen. "RuPaul's a drag queen too. She's getting her own show and everything pretty soon."
"Jesus Christ, our history teacher is a drag queen."
"Was. She's gone officially now, and we've got a new Econ/Gov teacher too."
"Damn." Brendon sighed, leaning back on his couch and crossing his arms as he made his character (he'd chosen Princess Peach) move ahead on the board. Patrick groaned at the minigame they had to do, but he was invested in the game. "What else have you been up to? We haven't really talked in a long time.
Biting down a remark about that, Patrick shrugged. "Working, going to Amoeba, recording covers, and coming down here to hang out with Joe 'n stuff. We've finished planning our final show for The Whoremones, and he's joined the lineup so now we just practice and stuff. Tha's where I was earlier."
"Last show?" Brendon inquired, "why?"
"We're all just going our separate ways. I guess we just don't really fit together like we used to? Either way, Joe and I are starting up a new band." Patrick glanced at Brendon every now and then as he played the minigame.
The taller boy was quiet for a moment. "What classes are you taking next year?"
"AP English, Econ/Gov, Band, Choir, and Forensics. Pretty much just doing whatever I want," he said with a small laugh, "and offseason baseball maybe? I don't know, I might not do it just cause we get together and play so often, but it would be fun to really play."
Brendon nodded. "I'm doing swim for a sport next year. Should be interesting."
"Swim? Why?"
"I dunno. Just wanted to try something new, I guess."
Patrick was quiet for a moment, but nodded in understanding. He sort of understood that, it was like him with baseball. It was nice, the two of them playing a game and eating a pizza and able to be comfortable in silence for the first time in a long time. Patrick ended up leaving at nine, promising Brendon he'd come back again tomorrow around two thirty since his family would be gone by then.
Getting home, he almost crashed on the couch but managed to get upstairs and change into his pajamas and fall asleep in his bed.
Yet, it was two thirty the next day, and when Brendon went to answer the door, he was surprised to see Ryan barging in instead of Patrick.
"Babe? What's up?" Brendon asked as he left the door open behind him and followed Ryan into the living room.
"Are you cheating on me, Bren?" he asked, wheeling around to face Brendon with narrowed eyes. "Because I don't see why he can come over when your family isn't home and I can't."
"Ryan! You need to relax!"
The other boy shook his head as he stood up and approached Brendon. "What're you doing with that other boy, then?"
"He's just my friend- I fucked up last year and completely used him and I was a complete douche when he needed me." Brendon sighed as he looked at Ryan. "There's no reason to be jealous of him."
"I have the right to wonder what it is you two do all day when your parents are gone! You don't even let me come over when they're gone!" The argument was moving up the flight of stairs, towards Brendon's room.
Brendon opened his mouth to argue, but Ryan did sort of have a point. "You know Patrick, though, I'm not sure he even knows what sex is."
"Would you go to him, and look him in the eye and tell him he's nothing to you while I'm there?! Tell him he's worth jack shit to you, could you do that?!" Ryan was yelling, though to Brendon it was more like screaming seeing as he almost never raised his voice otherwise.
He said nothing, looking down instead. Brendon shook his head, though he'd shrunken down slightly. "No, I couldn't. He's my friend. And I know that doesn't mean much to you, because you have a lot of friends, but he doesn't."
"Is that-"
"I left him alone for half the year!"
"If he's just your friend, why are you getting so defensive?!"
Again, Brendon opened his mouth to argue but couldn't for a long moment. "Because-"
"Save it, asswipe! If you can just admit to me that you don't give a fuck about him, then we can get along with this!"
Brendon's expression grew confused. "Pray tell, what is 'this' you speak of?"
"Sex! What the fuck else do we ever do, Brendon?!" Ryan was getting increasingly aggravated, and it was starting to scare the other boy. "We go out, see a movie, and fuck. We get dinner, then fuck. At parties, we get wasted and then fuck."
"Maybe I need someone that knows how to be a friend, Ryan! Because that's exactly why I can't deal with you sometimes. All you want is sex!"
"You were a motherfucking whore! You shouldn't be uncomfortable with the idea of sex!"
"I was, Ryan. Past tense! I left because I couldn't stand it-"
"And then you cheated on Patrick because he wouldn't do it with you! A little hypocritical, don't you think?!"
Brendon huffed loudly. "A relationship isn't just sex! It's caring for someone else, too! It's loving someone!"
"What if loving someone if a physical act?"
"What if it isn't to me?" Brendon stepped away. "What if sometimes I want someone to confide in?"
"My God! Are you this sentimental?!" Ryan shook his head. "I thought you were different, Brendon."
"I could say the same for-"
The two immediately went silent as they heard the front door slam shut. Ryan was the first to snap back to reality. "I thought your parents weren't gonna be home for another few hours."
"They aren't...Mom?! Dad?! Any one of my asshole siblings?!" Brendon left Ryan to trot downstairs, though the taller boy just followed after quickly. The two, upon finding that nobody was inside the foyer, led to Brendon opening the door and going out into the front and poking his head out.
Ryan nudged Brendon, pointing at the figure that had turned the street corner. "Did you know whoever that was?"
The shorter of the pair jogged to the end of the street (which wasn't too far, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered) to look down, though just looked back at Ryan and nodded once he had. He knew that fedora anywhere.
"I'll be right back," Brendon said softly, crossing the street at a quick pace in attempt to catch up quickly.
"Brendon, if you take another step, we're fucking done!"
"Leave my house key in the plant and get your shit out of my room!"
Brendon continued along, leaving Ryan in a stunned silence. Of course, they always fought like this and would probably be back to talking next week because that was just how their friendship worked, but it might not go back to being romantic this time.
Yet the Mormon boy found himself running after Patrick, falling into pace next to him and panting as the two walked.
"I wasn't expecting Ryan to be there, I'm sorry," he said softly as they walked.
"Thanks for...I don't know what to call what you did, but thanks for it." Patrick kept his hands in his pockets, continuing to walk. "Are you going to follow me back home?"
"Probably."
"Why?"
"Because I just broke up with Ryan and I need someone to keep me from running back and punching him." Brendon's words made Patrick laugh. "Am I invited to come to your house and hang out for a bit?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess. I don't know why not," he said.
"How much did you hear?"
"Almost all of it, I think. You guys didn't really notice me walk in, and I got here when Ryan did..."
"Oh."
"It's okay, really. Thank you, I guess, I don't know what else to say." Patrick offered Brendon a small smile. "You should come down to the studio one day. You could spend the night with me or come back again later and meet both of them. I'm sure I could do it for you."
Brendon gasped. "Oh my God, seriously?!"
"Yeah, I mean...why not? I can at least try."
- - - - - -
so they've got a shaky relationship going again y e e t
finals week is fun and when i finish this fic (i'm v close) i'll just update three times a week to just crank it out
<3 you guys more than kanye loves kanye, votes and comments are appreciated