Not To Give Away The Ending, But It's Gonna Be Okay.

Chapter 18

"So is he like...your boyfriend or something?" Mom asked me as we walked inside the house.
"Well, I...I mean, maybe?" I honestly didn't know.
"You should have him over for dinner sometime," she said. "Your father and I would love to meet him." Her tone implied that "meet" meant "get to know and monitor every second that you spend together so we know our little girl isn't getting hurt".
"I'll ask him sometime." I started to walk back to my room and realized I should tell her where I was going tomorrow.
"Oh, hey, Mom, I'm going to Jamestown tomorrow."
"What for?"
"Well, at the coffee shop, there's this band playing, and I kinda want to see them."
"How late will you be back?"
"No later than ten."
She nodded.
"Just be careful."
~~~
I stayed in bed until almost twelve, then finally forced myself up to get ready, even though Patrick wouldn't be there for almost four hours.
I forced myself to eat some lunch and then I took a shower, thinking about what I was going to wear. Probably that kimono. Then I thought about what I'd wanted people to see me in-definitely not my kimono. I knew not many people would see me, but I still wanted to look presentable.
When I got out of the shower, I did my hair and walked to my closet. I probably stared at my clothes for fifteen minutes before pulling out a pair of dark knee-length shorts and a tight gray Spider-Man shirt. But no-what if I started sweating? That would go right through the gray.
So my second choice-the same shorts with a white and pink shirt that read FLAWLESS across the top. No.
I sighed.
I finally picked out a loose blue shirt with printed white flowers on the side, and in silver print it said "Follow your dreams and you will be free." Okay, kinda cliche, but it looked good on me.
I played my guitar for the remaining hour-and-a-half, trying to write a song, but not coming up with anything. I took the piece of paper with the Just One Yesterday chords and lyrics that Patrick had given me. I played it softly, singing at my parts and wondering how Patrick came up with such a great song.
The doorbell finally rang, signaling my time to go. I grabbed my shoes, black Converse, and ran to the door. When I answered, Patrick was standing there, looking happier than yesterday, if possible.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Lemme just tell my mom." I ran downstairs where my parents were working and told them I was leaving. They asked if Jen would be there, and I answered yes, because I assumed she would.
They said I could stay the night at her house if I needed to.
I ran back upstairs and put on my shoes quickly, and then climbed into Patrick's car.
"Are you nervous?" I asked.
"Kinda," he admitted. "This is our first live gig in front of people who haven't seen us play."
"Well, you're gonna do great. I know that."
"Thank you." He smiled at me, then we rode the rest of the way to the Jamestown coffee shop.
~~
So apparently "Fall Out Boy" was a big deal. There were posters outside of the coffee shop with the band name, the time, and a picture of the band. It must have been a recent picture since all four guys were in it. I could spot Patrick and Pete easily, but Joe and Andy were a bit harder. I guess I'd find out later.
Inside the shop were a few people occupying the tables, not any more than ten. The stage was just a small elevated platform, two steps up from the normal floor. There was a drum kit and a guitar and a bass set up to the side of the stage.
I noticed Pete sitting on the opposite side of the stage, hunched over. I nudged Patrick and pointed to Pete. Patrick walked over to him and sat down next to him. I watched them talk, and when Pete looked up, his eyeliner was smudged. Patrick patted him on the back and walked back to me.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's not sure he can do this." Patrick replied solemnly.
"What?!"
"He...he's going through a hard time right now. His medication is all out of whack because he-" Patrick paused for a moment. "He's just really nervous. But he's going to do it, anyway."
I nodded, and Patrick put his arm over my shoulders.
"You're gonna do great tonight. Who did you get to sing with you?" I asked.
"One of Jen's friends. Her name is Hayley. She's the lead singer of her own band, actually." Patrick replied. I smiled.
"You guys will do great together." I said, meaning it. I wanted to sing with Patrick, and I wouldn't've been surprised if I was a bit jealous of Hayley, but I wanted no part in singing in front of a large audience of people I didn't know.
I went backstage and found Pete, who was touching up his makeup in a mirror.
"Makeup..." He said after he saw me in the mirror. "Is freaking great for a guy. Because it makes a guy look beautiful, which a lot of times," he paused to examine his eyeliner. "a guy is not beautiful." He nodded and looked at me, smiling. I smiled back, holding back a laugh. Finally I got up the nerve to speak.
"You guys will do great tonight." I said reassuringly.
"Thanks," he said. He paused, then continued. "Patrick really loves you, you know." He sounded almost sad when he said it.
"I know he does."
Pete put a hand on my shoulder and then walked away. I checked my phone and saw that it was ten minutes until they went on. I walked around until I found Patrick and hugged him.
"Good luck." I said, then found a seat at a table towards the front, excited and nervous at the same time, hoping they'd do well. I know I kept saying to them that they would, but I'd never seen them live, so I didn't know how good they actually were.
I was about to find out.