Mixtape For The End of the World

27. Pete, Gabe, and Brendon go to a haunted arcade.

27. Pete, Gabe, and Brendon go to a haunted arcade.

The next day, I checked the mailbox right before I left for work, but it was empty again. There were only ten days left before Gabe, Brendon, and I went to New Jersey, and I couldn't wait to see Mikey and introduce him to my friends. I knew that I would miss Patrick while I was gone, but there would be plenty of time to hang out with him before and after the trip. This was the last summer that I would ever have with Brendon and Gabe by my side, and I had to take advantage of it. It really was the end of eras - in a little over a month, assuming that the world didn't end, we would all be going to separate colleges. However, that was the least of my concerns when we still hadn't stopped the visions. I would deal with college once I had dealt with the visions.

I arrived at Fall Out Bros. a few minutes late, but Billie didn't seem to care too much. He had a cassette in each hand, trying to decide what to play. "I'm leaning toward London Calling, but what do you think, Pete?" he asked me.

"Whatever you want, Billie," I said.

He took London Calling and put it in the cassette deck. "How's your summer going so far?" he asked me.

"It's okay," I answered.

"Just okay?" Billie said. I nodded, and he added, "Y'know, you look tired, and you've worked hard this week. You deserve a day off."

"I'm scheduled to work until eight," I said. "I'd feel bad if I took all of that time off."

"How about this?" Billie said. "Stay here until two, and I'll get someone else to cover the rest of your shift."

"What am I supposed to do with all of that free time?" I asked.

"I don't know," Billie said. "Go to the arcade down the street or something. Just have some fun."

"Okay, Billie," I said.

"Make sure that you deliver the pizzas over there before two, and for the last time, Pete, don't eat them before you deliver them," Billie said, gesturing toward a stack of pizza boxes. I picked up the boxes and stuffed them into the trunk of the Fall Out Bros. car, and until two o'clock, Joe and I drove around Shermer, delivering the pizzas. While I was delivering pizzas, I wondered what to do with all of my newfound free time. Maybe I could go on another date with Patrick. I promised myself that I would go over to Tea Monkey and ask him after I was done with all of the deliveries.

When we got back to Fall Out Bros., I found out that I didn't even have to go to Tea Monkey. Patrick was alone at a table for two, so of course, I sat down and greeted him. "Hi Trick," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Patrick smiled and adjusted the Tea Monkey hat that was sitting on top of his fedora. "I just wanted to see you," he said. "Also, I needed to eat lunch before it got too late."

"I was just about to go over to Tea Monkey and find you," I said, laughing. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Patrick asked.

"Do you want to go out with me again?" I asked.

Patrick thought about it for a little bit. "Of course I do," he said. "I can't do anything today though. I have to go back to work in five minutes. I wish I could go out with you today - it would be really fun."

"I could just hang around Tea Monkey all day," I suggested.

"Don't waste your Sunday afternoon," Patrick said.

"I used to waste my time dreaming of being alive, but now I only waste it dreaming of you," I said.

Patrick rolled his eyes and said, "I really do like having you around, Pete, but trust me, you don't want to sit around at Tea Monkey the whole day. We can hang out another time. I could even call you tonight."