30. Sexy Stranger #1 gets a high score on Super Mario Bros.
I stuffed nearly every piece of clothing that I had into a duffel bag, debating over which outfits would be best to take to New Jersey. There were only a few days left before the trip, and I was sure that Gabe and Brendon were doing the exact same thing that I was. Gabe had tried in vain to convince his parents to let him stay home, but they had insisted that he needed to visit his grandparents. I suspected that he secretly did want to go to New Jersey and meet my pen pal, but several of the upcoming visions had to happen in New Jersey. We would have to find a way to make sure that those visions didn't come true. For now, however, I just had to focus on making sure that my boyfriend didn't get a high score on Super Mario Bros.
The doorbell rang while I was in the middle of packing a few of my favorite cassettes. I quickly threw the duffel into a corner, ran out of my bedroom, and answered the door. Patrick was standing in the doorway, looking adorable as usual. "Hi Pete," he said.
"Hi Patrick," I replied. "Come on in."
He entered the house, and as we passed by the kitchen, Mom greeted Patrick. "How are you doing?" she asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"I'm doing well, Mrs. Wentz," Patrick said with a smile.
"Patrick, let's go down to the basement," I said in an attempt to avoid an awkward conversation with my mom. Patrick nodded, and the two of us went downstairs. "Did you know my mom before this?" I asked.
"She was my guidance counselor at Glenbrook South," Patrick explained. "I didn't know that you two were related."
"That explains a lot," I said as I sat down on the couch in the basement. Patrick snuggled next to me, and for a few moments, everything was perfect. It was only when I remembered that I probably wouldn't see Patrick again for another two weeks that I snapped back into reality. "I'm going to miss you when I'm in New Jersey," I said.
"I still don't really understand why you're going there," Patrick said.
"I'm going to see the skylines and turnstiles, along with one of my favorite people in the world," I said.
"Who are your favorite people in the world?" Patrick asked as he came closer to me.
"I don't know, but you, Mikey, and Gabe would definitely be in the top three," I said.
"Speaking of Gabe, why does he always call me Sexy Stranger #1?" Patrick asked.
"When you first appeared in his visions, he didn't know your name," I explained. "You were the first stranger who appeared, so he decided to call you Sexy Stranger #1. Also, he thinks that you're hot."
Patrick rolled his eyes and said, "I could have guessed that part."
"Gabe's right, you know," I said. "You are beautiful, Patrick."
Patrick blushed and then said, "Do you really think so?"
"Of course I do," I said.
I leaned down and kissed Patrick's neck, and he moaned softly. We kissed like the world was about to end, which in a way, it was. The phone rang once or twice, but neither of us cared. I could have gone on like that forever.
However, when I heard Mom open the door to the basement, I knew that we had to stop. I pulled myself away from Patrick just as she shouted, "Do you boys need anything?"
"No, I don't think so," I answered.
Mom closed the goddamn door, and Patrick looked toward the TV in the basement and asked, "Is that an NES?" I nodded, and Patrick said, "I've always wanted one of those."
"Do you want to play?" I asked.
"I'd love to," Patrick said.
I turned on the NES, handed Patrick a controller, and let him select a game. He picked Super Mario Bros., and the two of us played the game. He started off with the controller, and I was blown away by how good he was. I almost always got stuck on the first level, but he got past it easily. He then handed the controller to me, and of course, I died within a few minutes. "How are you so good at this?" I asked Patrick.
"I don't know," Patrick said. "I've never played this particular game before, but I've spent a lot of time at the arcade practicing." He paused and then added, "Besides, I haven't beaten your high score yet."
"I think that's actually Andrew's high score," I said, but it didn't seem to matter to Patrick. "Let's try playing this again."
Patrick and I tried again, and the exact same thing happened. When Patrick was playing, we did well, and when I was playing, we died quickly. "Maybe you should play by yourself, Trick," I said. "I'm just holding you back."
"No, I want you to play with me," Patrick insisted.
"You'll do better if I don't play," I said.
Patrick thought about it and then asked, "Are you sure you don't want to play?"
"I'm sure," I said. "I'd rather just watch you." Patrick switched to single player mode, and it was amazing to watch him play. He scored nearly every single point possible on the first few levels, and it wasn't long before he got close to beating the high score.
I panicked, knowing that I had to do something to make sure that he didn't get a high score on Super Mario Bros. I reached over and touched his hand, but Patrick wasn't distracted at all. His full attention was on the TV screen. Patrick just continued to rack up points, and I tried my best to hide how worried I was about the vision, but it didn't work.
When Patrick finally did beat Andrew's high score, I told myself to relax. Gabe hadn't seen him do it, so it didn't really matter. I could forget about all of this, as long as Patrick didn't do it again. "Why don't we switch over to another game?" I suggested.
"I'm not done playing yet, Pete," Patrick said. "We can play a different game after I'm done."
"Okay," I said. Surely, Patrick would be done within the next few minutes or so, and then we could play another game.
That was when I heard someone knock on the door. I rushed upstairs, and I saw that Gabe was waiting in the doorway. "Don't answer the door!" I shouted as I ran back downstairs.
"Why not?" Mom asked as Gabe knocked on the door again. "Pete, is there any reason why you don't want Gabe to come in?"
I didn't answer her. Instead, I ran into the basement and told Patrick to turn off the NES. "Why?" Patrick asked as he continued to play.
"Gabe's here," I answered. "He can't see that you have a high score."
"I told you that I wasn't getting involved in this psychic business," Patrick said.
"It's a life or death situation!" I exclaimed.
Patrick threw down his controller, causing him to die in the game, and reached over to turn off the NES, but it was too late. Gabe opened the door to the basement, came downstairs, and immediately noticed that Patrick had gotten a high score.
"Seriously, guys?" Gabe said.
Patrick turned off the NES, while I gave him an angry look. "Why are you even here?" I asked.
"I just wanted to hang out with you, Pete," Gabe said.
"You could have called first," I said.
"I did!" Gabe said. "You didn't pick up."
"I'm sorry, Gabe," I said.
"It's fine," Gabe said, but I could tell that he didn't mean it. I didn't blame him - if I was in his place, I would have been mad too. "Can you turn the NES back on? I kind of want to play Super Mario Bros."
"Of course, Gabe," Patrick said with a smile. He turned the NES on again and then passed a controller to Gabe. We played for a while, trading the controller between the three of us, but it wasn't the same as when Patrick and I were alone together.
After a few hours, Gabe left, and once he was gone, Patrick said, "I should probably head home soon too. It's getting late."
"I'm going to miss you so much when I'm in New Jersey," I said.
"I'll miss you too, but we can always call each other while you're on vacation," Patrick said. "I just want you to have fun out there. I'll never understand why you're going to New Jersey of all places, but I hope you have a great time."
"Thanks, Patrick," I said.
He kissed me one last time and then said, "I'll see you in two weeks."
Two more weeks, and my foot was in the door. Two weeks seemed like an eternity, but it wasn't really that long. Soon, the trip would be over, and I would see Patrick again. I just had to stop all of Gabe's visions from happening in those two weeks.
The two of us went upstairs, and Patrick left the house and drove home. I knew that I would miss him - maybe after a while, I would even miss missing him. As he left, I waved and then went outside to check the mailbox. I reached inside and found that there was an envelope for me. I tore it open as I ran back inside to get out of the heat. Hopefully, it would be a little cooler in New Jersey.
Dear Pete,
There are only a few more days left before you come, and I hope that you get this letter before you get here. There's so much that I want to say to you, and some of it can wait until you're here, but for now, here's everything that's happened since your last letter.
Ray and I went to a party yesterday. It wasn't all that exciting. Maybe it would have been interesting if you were there, but I think I'm getting carried away. It's been too long, Pete, and I can't wait to see you again. My parents are still trying to figure out where you, Gabe, and Brendon are going to stay. Gerard refuses to move out of the basement, even though Mom and Dad think that might be the best place for you guys. We'll see how that goes.
I'm sorry to hear that the visions are still coming true, but I'm also glad that you and Patrick had such a great time on your date. You two seem like a cute couple, and I wish that I could meet him. I do hope that you find a way to stop Gabe's visions before he comes here though.
Also, I saw you on MTV a few days ago. What were you doing in that music video?
Why are we arguing over this? Unicorns are real.
Fuckin' ready for you to come to New Jersey,
Mikey Way
I placed Mikey's letter on my desk, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote him a reply. Hopefully, it would get to him before I did.
Dear Mikey,
I can't wait to see you in a few days. I'm still packing for the trip, but I wish that I could be in New Jersey already. I'll miss everyone here (especially Patrick), but it will be worth it to see you.
Unfortunately, three more visions have come true. I wish that we could have stopped them by now, but we haven't. Admittedly, Gabe's visions are keeping my summer interesting.
I went on to explain everything that had happened since Mikey's last letter. All I wanted was to prevent just one of Gabe's visions from coming true, but it hadn't happened yet. Maybe we would be able to do it in New Jersey, with Mikey's help.
Honestly, I don't care where I stay, and I don't think Gabe and Brendon care either. I'll let your family figure that out. I can't wait to come to New Jersey, Mikey!
Humming hallelujah just off the key of reason,
Pete Wentz
I put the letter into an envelope and left it on my desk. Then, I went back to packing - I wouldn't be able to go to New Jersey at all if I didn't have my bags all packed and I wasn't ready to go. My day ended the same way that it had started: stuffing clothes into a duffel bag and dreaming of New Jersey.
A/N: I'd like to deeply apologize for the delays in getting this chapter up. I was at my college's conference swim meet all weekend, and I've been planning a couple of new Wattpad projects. Specifically, I'm planning a one-shot fanfiction for a book called Beartown, and a new original novel. I'll post additional information on the new stories as I post them, but if anyone wants to talk to me about college swimming or my upcoming stories, please do not hesitate to comment or PM me.
Unfortunately, all of this means that Mixtape For The End of the World will probably be put on a slower update schedule until the end of the story. Thank you again for supporting this story, and I hope you enjoy the last ten chapters or so of Mixtape! :D