the summer of like {petekey}

1

o n e
your starry skies
and laughing eyes

So. Warped Tour.

It's Fall Out Boy's second year of being on the line up, but Pete's as scared and excited as he was last year. There are some other familiar bands this year, ones that were there last time, and then new faces, of kids, really. They're young.

He turns to his bandmate and lead singer, a fresh-faced boy just turned twenty one. "Patrick," he says, and the boy glances up. It's clear to see he practically worships Pete, the older guy, king of Chicago's alternative scene. They've been in this band for four years now, but the admiration on Patrick's face is still as obvious as it was when they first met.

"Yeah?" Patrick asks, phone in hand. He's texting someone.

"We're on Warped again," Pete says, and Patrick hums in response. He knows about it. He's known for a while. They all have. But now that the actual, first date is just a couple days away, the reality of it is sinking in. They're spending this summer on the road, playing concerts for a screaming crowd who may or may not know them, nearly every day.

Pete's excited. Patrick's terrified.

"I can't wait," Patrick sighs finally, putting his phone away. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Fair enough," says Patrick. "We got our set list finalized?" Pete nods. "That's good. I'm just- I'm actually terrified."

"I figured," laughs Pete, "it's only sixteen dates, though. I mean, that's more than last year, but still... not too bad, right?"

Right.

Pete's secretly terrified.

"Our album's doing well," Patrick continues, chewing at a hangnail. "Sugar's doing great. Surprisingly."

"Surprisingly? It's a fuckin' awesome song, of course it's doing great," Pete scoffs. "Come on, let's go to the bus."

They've got a new bus this year, and Andy and Joe have taken up residence already, busily engaged in a game of cards when Pete and Patrick enter. Joe looks frustrated. Andy's grinning.

"Hey," Pete says, sitting down beside Andy and peeking at his cards. "Nice."

They're playing poker, which is a game that any band member in the world knows- it's an acquired skill picked up after spending a month living in a tour bus with no internet access and three other annoying men. Pete, having been in quite a number of bands during his life, is probably the most skilled out of the four- Patrick being the least. Figures.

he watches Andy and Joe play for a bit more as Patrick goes over things, realizing eventually that no one's listening to him, and walking to his bunk in exasperation. The stress of being on warped is getting to them.

It grows later in the day, and Pete decides to bring out a couple beers for them to down before they retire for the night. Andy's still keeping up his ridiculous straight-edge phase (yes, Pete is a hypocrite, having been straight-edge once himself, but there's a reason he was, and not is.) and politely refuses, while Joe grabs one eagerly to drink away the pain of getting beaten in poker.

He intends to drink only a bit, but ends up with about three empty bottles and a slight headache. "That's it," Pete sighs, slumping over. "I'm going to bed."

They're not leaving for about another hour, as Andy prefers to drive during the night, but they bid him farewell anyway and he stumbles off.

His bunk is the top-right one, across from Patrick, and he turns to watch the younger boy's chest rise and fall for a bit. Patrick's such a sweet guy.