We Aren't Nerds! {{PETEKEY}}

{{11}}

Pete found himself in a difficult position. He didn't know what Mikey really meant to him, and he still wasn't completely sure what he meant to Mikey. Actually, he knew exactly what he meant to Mikey, but he didn't know if he could return it. Pete was almost certain he liked Mikey in a more than friendly way, but it wasn't romantic.

Pete tried to make himself believe Mikey didn't know how he felt, either. It made him feel slightly better about being unsure. He knew it was silly, and Mikey knew what he felt, but it wasn't doing a bad job of reassuring him.

"Look, Michael," Pete sighed, "I really don't know if how I feel about you is important. I think I'm going to go home now that I know you're okay. I'll see you on Monday, same place as yesterday, okay?"
Mikey nodded, "Yeah... I'm sorry I worried you--"
"Don't be, as long as you're okay, it's okay."

Mikey watched as Pete got up and left. He didn't really want him to leave, but he didn't know what they would have done if he was still there, either. Mikey did consider taking Pete to the door, but he thought that might be weird.

Once the door was closed, and Mikey was sure Pete was gone, he called Gerard back downstairs. His older brother sprinted down the stairs and into the living room, ready for anything.

"What did he say?" Gerard asked, frantically, "Did he upset you again? I'll talk to him if you want?"
"No it's..." Mikey sighed, "it's nothing..."
"It's not, though, is it? What did he say to you, Mikey?"
Mikey gulped, "He said that how he felt wasn't important. I don't know what that means. Does he like me or not?"

Gerard looked at Mikey apologetically, he wasn't sure what that meant either. He didn't know how he could help Mikey, who was obviously upset, if he couldn't be sure what was going on.

"I don't know," Gerard sighed, "I'd ask if you really like him, but I can tell you do."
Mikey nodded, before he began to speak slowly and sadly, "He knows that I really like him, so I don't know why he's overcomplicating everything. He could just tell me if he doesn't like me, and he should just tell me if he does like me."
"It might be difficult for him, maybe he doesn't accept that he likes you because, in his head, he isn't quite over someone else yet."

Mikey would have understood that if Gerard didn't know Pete, but he did. Going by that logic, if Pete wasn't over someone, Gerard would know. Mikey was a little bit more sympathetic for Pete all of a sudden.

"Who isn't he over?" Mikey asked, "Oh my God, I didn't even notice."
"Well I mean..." Gerard stuttered, "How have you not noticed...? Really, you can't think of anyone?"
"I... I haven't been trying to think of anyone. I don't sit there wondering if Pete actually might like anyone else."
"I'll give you a hint, then. Their breakup made very little sense and they still act like they're the best of friends--"
"Patrick?! What? How? Why?"

Gerard sighed again, he didn't know how Mikey hadn't seen that coming. Pete and Patrick were inseparable.

It was a very strange breakup, though, and nobody really understood what had happened between them. They'd been perfectly happy with each other one day, then come into school the next day having broken up. What made it a really strange breakup was the fact that they didn't stop talking to each other and they didn't stop hanging out together. All that really happened was them deciding that they were probably just better of as friends.

Mikey wasn't really sure how to take his discovery. He thought Pete would have mentioned something like that to him if he really wasn't over it. If Pete wasn't over it, then Mikey didn't think Patrick could be over it either, which made him really wonder why they'd broken up in the first place. He didn't want to ask Pete, but he was curious.

Mikey frowned before speaking again, "Were they really happy?"
Gerard nodded, and smiled sympathetically, "Yeah. The happiest I'd ever seen them, actually. I've seen Patrick without Pete a few times, and he just looks so sad. Pete's not quite the same, but he doesn't look quite as happy as he used to."
"I need to talk to him," Mikey stated, "you know where he lives, right?"

Gerard nodded and told Mikey Pete's address. He instantly regretted his decision slightly, but it didn't really matter. He knew there was no way he could change Mikey's mind if he really wanted to talk to Pete.

Mikey thanked Gerard, firstly, for being so understanding and, secondly, for giving him Pete's address. He got up, grabbed his phone and dashed out of the house. He was glad it wasn't raining because he was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He was also thankful for the fact that Pete lived within a walking distance of where he lived.

Once Mikey was done thanking pretty much everyone and everything for the almost perfect circumstances, he was able to focus on not going the wrong way to Pete's house and knocking on the wrong door and embarrassing himself. The walk was pleasantly quick, so it wasn't too long before Mikey was at Pete's house. He checked for any sudden feelings of regret, but he was still completely up for talking to Pete about his feelings.

Mikey knocked on the door, but then noticed the doorbell just next to him and felt like an idiot. He waited for a few seconds before a man he didn't recognise answered the door. Mikey couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.

"Yes," the man said coldly, "can I help you?"
Mikey assumed the man was Pete's dad, but that didn't stop him from being a little worried, "P-Pete..."

The man looked at him and sighed before shouting Pete. After a few moments, and a lack of any movement, the man shouted again. Mikey felt very awkward just standing in silence in the doorway of the house.

"Peter Wentz," he shouted again, "if you don't come down the stairs right now I'm turning off the wifi!"
"But Dad, I'm--" Pete yelled, "Fine!"

Pete came storming down the stairs, mumbling things that no one, apart from himself, could hear. He got to the bottom of the stairs before he looked up and saw Mikey standing there. He put his head in his hands and sighed.

"I didn't know you were coming," Pete said, "uh, yeah... Hi, come in."

Mikey went into the house, and could instantly feel the tension between the two of them, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was. He couldn't tell if it was second-hand embarrassment or if Pete really didn't want to see him.

Pete and Mikey both went upstairs together, but with an awkward silence between them. Once they were in Pete's bedroom, though, it faded away and Pete began having a conversation with Mikey like everything was fine. The two of them sat down facing each other on Pete's bed. There wasn't really enough room but it was fine.

"What are you doing here? Are you alright? Do you need something?" Pete asked, "Have I done something wrong?"
Mikey looked at Pete with almost no emotion in his face, "I need to ask you a question..."
"What's wrong?" Pete asked, grabbing Mikey's hands before realising what he'd done and dropping them again, "What's... Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Mikey stuttered, almost unable to believe what Pete had just done by complete accident, "I was just wondering... about you and Patrick?"
Pete nodded sadly, "Yep, we dated for few months but... He's just my friend, nothing more, never really was."

Mikey tried to believe what Pete was saying, but he couldn't. Gerard was right, he wasn't over Patrick at all.

"Does... Does Patrick know that?" Mikey asked, feeling bad about getting into such a personal topic.
"I don't know," Pete said, obviously getting upset, "I mean, I asked him out, not the other way around. It wasn't a great time for me, and I was really desperate."
"I don't think you're over him, and he's definitely not over you, either."

Pete bit his lip to hold back a lot of emotion that he really wasn't in the mood to show to anyone. He didn't know why Mikey was so interested in him and Patrick, but he wasn't really offended by it, just a little confused.

"What makes you think that?" Pete asked, "Who even told you about me and Patrick?"
"I can tell by the way you talk to each other, it's really obvious," Mikey admitted, "but Gerard told me."
"Of course he did. He's a pretty good brother, isn't he?"
"The best, at least I think he is."
Pete nodded, "No, no, I'd definitely agree with you on that."

Pete didn't really have that much more to say about Patrick. He hoped that wasn't all Mikey wanted to talk about.

"Also I..." Mikey stuttered nervously, "I was wondering what you meant when you said 'my feelings aren't important' earlier."
"It means I really like you, too," Pete admitted suddenly, "but I can't tell you that because I know Patrick still loves me. He told me that after I ran away yesterday. I'm a terrible person."
Mikey hugged Pete tightly, "No, no! No you aren't. You're an amazing person who I love too much."