Mr. Babydoll and the journals of his inner blizzard [peterick]

XVIII

Fairy lights hung around the house were blinking in several colours. Maybe I should go in. They're waiting for me, as much as my self esteem tries to deny that. And I have to give Mikey his present. I don't remember the last time I wrapped a gift and I'm horrible at it, that's for sure.
I'm still standing outside of the shop. I can hear happy voices from inside. Maybe I really shouldn't go in. Not kidding, I actually considered running away, but as I turned around, I locked eyes with a starry night sky.
"I'm sorry. I'm probably kind of late." Patrick smiled apologetically and tipped his fedora. He was so cute and it conjured a smile on my face.

"I don't think they'll notice it." I said.

Now Patrick was here too. Now I had to go in. The shop smelled like fir needles and I wonder if it's because the giant Christmas tree standing in the corner or if it's the result of some scented candles.
Hayley had put her hair in a ponytail and she was smiling brighter than ever which I never thought was possible. "Merry Christmas, Pete!" she chirped, pulled me into a quick hug and then proceeded to shake Patrick's hand. "I'm glad you managed it!"

I put Mikey's present on the table were all the others were and I started slightly sweating because they were all bigger and better wrapped than mine. For a minute I wished I would've had an excuse to stay at home. For some reason I didn't feel well at all. But I have to make it trough this.
When I turned around, I almost bumped into someone standing right behind me. It was a well-built man with ginger-ish hair and beard. Several tattoos were covering his both of his arms. "Oh dear, I'm sorry!" he apologised even though it was me who was to blind to watch were I was going. He seemed really nice and his voice didn't fit his appearance at all. It was light and friendly. I didn't know how to respond, so I just smiled awkwardly.
"You're getting to know Pete the same way everyone does" Joe said with a slight chuckle and approached us. "Completely awkward and he will most likely run you over."

Wow, thanks a lot. I felt my smile freezing a little along with my hands. There's no doubt that this is Joe's boyfriend, Andy. My chances to make a good impression sunk with every second.
"You seriously don't need to make all your friends look bad in front of me." Andy responded laughing. "Pete seems like an alright guy." he reached out his seemingly strong hand for me to shake. "I'm Andrew Hurley by the way. But just call me Andy, that's better." he introduced himself.

Alright don't fuck this up.

I shook his hand, still smiling. "Nice to meet you. I'm Peter, but everyone calls me Pete and.. I guess you already knew that he.." I stuttered, ready to slap myself. "I sure did." Andy replied amused. Then he proceeded to talk to someone else and Joe gave me a weird look. Oh boy, here we go.

"What?"

"He's just my boyfriend, not your new school therapist. No need to be this level of shy." He said, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"It's not like you have ten hour conversations with people you just met." I scoffed back at him. For some reason Joe's facial expression morphed into a quite concerned one. What did I say this time? "Hey, I'm just kind of introverted, you know that. I'm perfectly fine, now spare me your concerned trash face."

"I think you work too much." he remarked. "You do too!" I blurted out.
He smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're right."

I have to admit that I've never heard any song from Brendon's band and it really does sound like something you would hear at a fair or on a boat tour on a lake full of swans. Ryan looked more healthy than when I last saw him. I caught Brendon happily smiling at him every now and then. It happened in a way that contained romantic tension. At least, that's what I think.

The band played three songs and there's one that I really liked. I think it's called "Northern Downpour". The lyrics were extremely poetic and not quite what you would hear in a public radio. It was great.