Refugee (a Petekey story)

Chapter four

A/N So here's a long overdue chapter that is really short and crappy. Blame school. Actually no, blame me and my inability to write. 

The first day Pete picked Patrick up from Brendon's work was very hectic. Not only was it the beginning of a new schedule (and new life) for him (something he was very afraid of), it was also the beginning of a new schedule and a new entrance into the "family" for the two other boys in the picture. Brendon, with his work and forced overly cheerful smiles that all the customers fell for, and Patrick, spending more than half the time he was in the shop finishing his homework (the other half spent watching for Pete as he rushed from the cafe he was working at to the smoothie shop he himself was currently in, hoping that older boy would arrive before Brendon killed a customer in anxiety).

Pete's work place was interesting- and exhausting. There were cups and plates practically flying around everywhere, and, with the experienced workers around him, he didn't even get to do much. In face, Pete for the most part just stood there awkwardly while his mentor showed him how to work the machines, take orders, and clean up after the dirty eaters. So, really, it wasn't a very productive day for him, work wise.

Then there was the problem of "how old are you?" Pete didn't know how Mikey did it, the latter being younger and somehow able to skip past the stealthy onlookers. But Pete was clearly young enough (and short enough) to still be in high school, and there were questions. A lot of questions. And most of these questions didn't have answers that would keep Pete away from his parents. 

After a while, though, Pete managed to get his mentor Andy to cover for him while he made up some excuse as to if he was older than eighteen. Thankfully, Andy seemed to understand (somewhat) that Pete was in desperate need of money (and therefore in desperate need of a job), and was willing to risk his own job in order to keep his secret safe.

But these distractions aside, his day wasn't so bad. Running around the shop trying to keep from accidentally upsetting customers was definitely better than that running around in the dark from house to house trying to hide his girlfriend and unborn baby from his parents.

Really. Things were getting better for him.

But Pete's work was a little farther from the school and the smoothie shop than he expected, and work had ended a little later than it was supposed to (mainly because Pete couldn't leave without giving Andy an excuse to why he was seventeen and needed a full time job), which resulted in him being one hour behind the planned schedule he, Lindsey, and Mikey made the day before with Brendon eavesdropping. Even Patrick didn't look very happy (he seemed to know how late Pete was without actually knowing the originally planned schedule), staring out the window fiercely in hope that the boy would show up and stop Brendon's occasional (but still annoying) whining about how irresponsible Pete was. Brendon hated Pete with a burning passion, and they all knew it.

Patrick, however, had different views than his boyfriend. He knew that Brendon wanted nothing more than to protect him, but he also knew that Pete wasn't going to screw them over. He had seen the look in Pete's eyes last night, the look of complete and utter helplessness. No one else knew, but he had seen the need in Pete's eyes and desire to escape. But he didn't. So maybe he did want to leave, and maybe he did want to find his own way out there without having to deal with a little fourteen year old hating him, but Patrick knew that he wouldn't. He had had his chance, but had thrown it away for a different one, an opportunity to prove himself to their misfit family. And this, he would protect. 

"Sorry I'm late." Panting for breath, Pete stood by Patrick's lonely table in the corner of the shop, not noticing the victory smile the youngest boy had sent to the worker. He could feel Brendon's angry eyes on his face, and he avoided his gaze in shame. Pete knew that he was in the wrong this time, but Brendon didn't have to be so upfront and angry about it.

"It's alright." Patrick smiled in an attempt to solve things between the three of them. They all tried not to dwell on the fact that Lindsey was probably going out of her mind with how worried she was about their safety. There were one hour behind schedule after all, and she was constantly worrying about the health and safety of the people she was legally taking care of (or illegal, in some cases.)

"You guys need to go." Brendon's words were dull, hiding the underlying tension that showed just how worried he was about Patrick leaving with Pete. It's not as though he wanted the boys to stay, it's just that he didn't really trust the older boy to make good decisions.

And Pete understood why. He knew that he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he wasn't an idiot. Just because he mistook the time it took to get out of work and get to the smoothie shop did not mean that he was a moron. Just because he chose music over everything else he had going for him in his life did not make him stupid. Just because he ruined his girlfriend's life didn't mean he didn't know how to take care of his own.

But still. He hadn't been making a good impression on Brendon so far, he knew that. He knew it more than anybody that if someone touches the thing you love most in life you have no choice but to do everything in your power to destroy the opposing force. And today, Pete's mistake of being late had crossed the line.

"Pete, you all right?" Patrick's voice pulled him out of his head into reality, forcing him to see the concerned look on the thirteen- year old's face. Forcing him to see the blank look on Brendon's face, not knowing whether it meant he was worried or annoyed.

Fear momentarily filled Pete. He hadn't had an episode like that for at least two years, not since he met Ashlee. It used to be a huge part of his life, becoming so deep into his depressing thoughts and missing what was happening around him. To his parents, it was just another thing that made him useless. The pills, the therapy, the constant question of why he couldn't just stay in this ugly world and focus on what was happening outside the confines of his brain. Then Ashlee came and helped him, giving him something to hold on to when he wanted nothing more that to disappear inside himself for a while. She was the one that, according to his parents, gave him a future. And he had ruined that.

"Pete!" It was Brendon's voice that brought him back to reality again, his sharp tongue and harsh tone. It wasn't caring, because Brendon had no reason to be worried. It was simply... concerned.  

"Sorry." The word came out fast and forced, a instant reaction that came with years of practice and trial. Instinct that had saved him several times before from shrinks and doctors, hiding the fact that he had another world inside his head that was so hard to get out of. ADHD, they said. Depression, anxiety, disorder after disorder after disorder. They didn't know, though. No one knew.

"Patrick's waiting." This time, Brendon didn't bother to hide the semi-concerned look on his face. But, knowing that he would be castrated if he dared to mention anything about it, Pete carefully nodded and walked out of the shop to where Patrick was waiting for him on the sidewalk.