Lopsided Smiles // Petekey // TW TW TW

8. One Lump Or Two?

a/n- ik this chapter took way too long especially for how short it is and idk how cops work so yes don't expect accuracy, im a 14 year old with a nice life okay?

Mikey felt every emotion all at once as he stared out the window of Pete's car. It was a red Nissan sedan, and it looked like it had been through a lot. The paint was chipped and there were a few dents. But, hey, it added character.

"Want me to play music?" Pete asked, not taking his brown eyes off the road. He was leaning back against the seat with only his left hand on the wheel, which probably wasn't a good idea for someone so short, but he looked like he knew what he was doing.

Mikey was overanalyzing everything. Why did he even ask? Most people, or Chris, at least, just played music without a question. Maybe he was just being polite to Mikey because it was the first time.

"Hello? Mikes?"

"Oh, right, I zoned out, sorry. Uh, music is fine." Music was fine, because it had been forever since he had been able to listen to loud music, especially blasting it in a car. And it was better than talking.

Pete let out a little chuckle as he played a CD. "This is my own CD of just some of my favorite songs." The first song was Pour Some Sugar On Me, by Def Leppard. "God, I am so sick of this song," Pete laughed. "I don't know why it's even on here. I hate it."

"It's a good song," Mikey grinned. "Overplayed, but good."

"First song I fell in love with."

"That's lame," the younger boy teased. He bobbed his head to the tempo, lipsinking passionately, glasses slipping down his nose.

Pete glanced over at him, laughing happily. "Come on, sing!"

He hesitated for a moment, but he decided not to think about it and let his heart take over for once. "TAKE THE BOTTLE-" Mikey started singing loudly. "SHAKE IT UP!!"

Amused, Pete rolled the windows down and turned the music up to a nearly deafening volume. And it felt like a cheesy coming of age movie, but it was absolutely perfect. Mikey was singing horribly, just for the fun of it, the way Pete had been in the cemetery that night. It didn't feel real. It was like a fairytale, or a dream so good it's a nightmare because you know it can't be true. But Pete brushed that off, because he knew it was real, and even if it wasn't, he was going to enjoy it.

Mikey, fortunately, wasn't thinking too much about the situation. He was caught up in the moment, singing joyfully, without a care in the world. It brought back the sparklers Pete hadn't seen before now, which made Mikey more captivating than ever before.

"ONE LUMP OR TWO?" they both sang in unison, before laughing almost to the point of hysterics.

"Pete, you're gonna wreck!"

"Nahhh," he protested, turning the music down enough so they could talk over it. "That was fun."

Mikey huffed out a laugh, letting the smile stay on his lips. "Yeah, it was. Is this Metallica? It's Enter Sandman!"

"Yup. Inspired me to learn bass."

Mikey's colorful eyes widened, the spark growing more wild. "You play bass?"

The oldest nodded. "It's probably the one thing I'm good at."

"I'm not really good for anything..."

Pete pulled the car over onto the side of the freeway.

He turned to face Mikey with a glare, like throwing daggers right at him. "Don't ever say that again. I don't even know your full name, but I know that you are a fantastic human being and you are destined for far more than being a punching bag for some douche. I will help you find your purpose and you are going to be happy, got it?"

"It's Michael James Way. Or Mikey Way."

Pete's aggressive frown shifted to a delighted grin. "Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz the third."

"That's complicated," the youngest smiled.

"So is your opinion of yourself. I'm gonna treat you like royalty, Mikey Way."

Mikey opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it, because Pete looked like he would stop the world if he said one more negative thing about himself. He sighed and turned to look out the window, so Pete shook his head and got back on the road, turning the music up slightly.

"I'm sorry, Pete."

A smile made its way to the older boy's lips. "It's okay, the only thing you did wrong was think you did something wrong."

"I always do someth-"

Without looking away from the road, Pete cut Mikey off by blindly putting a finger to his lips, barely reaching the destination at all. "No."

Mikey didn't know how to react to the contact, so he just looked down at the finger, going slightly cross-eyed. Luckily, Pete was still watching the road, because if he had seen Mikey, he would've melted on the spot.

He brought his finger back. "No."

"Okay..."

Pete pulled into an apartment complex, which looked pretty shabby. He parked his car and told Mikey not to move a muscle as he got out, before scurrying to the other side and opening the passenger door with an arm behind his back like a doorman.

Mikey let a lopsided smile play upon his lips. "Thank you," he said softly, hushed but loud enough to be heard clearly.

"Of course."

The shortest led his guest to his door, fumbling with his keys for no real reason. He swung it open, revealing to Mikey the apartment you would expect from two young guys in their early twenties. Messy and sloppy. But it wasn't as bad as it could've been, purely because Patrick spent his days off cleaning.

Pete flipped on the lights. "I forgot how filthy this place is."

"It adds character," Mikey replied with a laugh. "I like it." His face fell afterwards, remembering the circumstance- the reason he was there.

"You okay?"

"I uhh... I shouldn't be here, Pete. I should be at home with Chris..."

"No. You deserve better than him, I'm telling you. You deserve better than this dump, too, but Patrick and I are good people. I promise, I just want you to be comfortable. Tomorrow we can go and get your stuff."

~~~

After Mikey had showered and stolen Pete's biggest clothes, he returned to the kitchen where Pete was sitting on one of the two barstools. Mikey joined him, hunching over when he sat, showing off his awful posture as he gave a little wave.

"Hi."

Pete huffed out a laugh. "Hi, Mr. Way. Nice shower?"

Mikey tried his best not to blush at the nickname. "Uh, yeah. Water got cold pretty quick," he replied, looking down at his lap.

"It does that. You get used to it."

Mikey looked back up to meet Pete's eyes. "Why are you doing all this for me? I did nothing for you but turn you down, cry about my problems, and disappoint you."

"I need to get you out of solitary confinement so I can see how bright your eyes can get."