FicWad

"Nathalie, I'm so sorry...but your mom and dad won't be coming home anymore," my aunt cried as she tried to tell me the terrible news. My parents had died from a head-on collision by a drunk driver. I was only eight years old, so I wasn't necessarily reacting the way I was supposed to in these kinds of situations. I was numb from all feelings of sadness. I felt fine. No one believed that I was okay whenever I told them. How could they? I was alone from now on...

I couldn't cry at the funeral. I felt like a defect as my wide eyes observed while every grown up wiped repeatedly their eyes and whispered, "I can't believe they're gone..."
Let's just say I kept my mouth shut for a long time. Eventually, I was placed with a foster family by the time I was nine years old.
"So, are you ready to meet your new family?" enthused Beth, my social worker, as she stepped out of the van and walked over and opened my car door.
"No," I muttered stubbornly, although I knew that it'd be wise if I just cooperated with her. She heaved a sigh. I bit my lip and hopped out of the vehicle and looked up at her with a look of impatience.
I knew it wasn't her fault I was put in this situation; I mean, I had just lost my parents and was now being forced to live hundreds of miles from my home in Illinois to a house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
I walked up the garden trail behind Beth until we reached the front door. She knocked on it a few times before a short kid around thirteen years old answered it. He stared blankly at me, who stood small next to my tall professionally dressed social worker.
"Mom, the social worker is here!" he called out and ran inside before dragging back his mother. She was young looking however, judging by the bags under her eyes, very overworked. Single mother.
Once we stepped inside and all the paperwork had been filled out (calling lawyers and such), I was finally left alone with the people who would be my new family. I sat on the couch silently while they both watched me observantly.

“So why are we stuck with the brat?” Andy asked harshly, earning a loud ‘SHHHH’ from his mother as she explained softly, "Andy, don’t be rude. Her mother was my step-sister and they don't have anywhere else to put her. She's obviously going through a lot right now so please try not to talk about it around her."
Andy silently nodded before looking my direction and squinting his eyes at me. It appeared he was trying to decipher if I was going to be a burden or not. After a few minutes, he stood up and asked me, "So, what do you think so far?"
I looked down at the floor before answering politely, "Nice house...?"
Andy started laughing before informing his mom that he was going upstairs. He stood up, grabbed my arm, and dragged me up the stairs into his room along with him. The room was dark and the walls were plastered with posters of different bands and movies. Swallowing nervously, I skittered over to his bed and propped myself alongside the pillow.
"You're really quiet," he inquired, "Aren’t you going talk to me a little? I mean, you‘re technically my new sister and…"
I awkwardly pulled my knees to my chest and didn’t say anything. Inching his face until it was directly front of mine, he asked, "Please?"
"What do you want from me? My parents just died! What do you expect me to say?" I squealed impulsively. I shook off the agitation and laid my head on his pillow. He climbed up and sat next to me and whispered, "I'm thinking that this will be a start to a great brother and sister relationship."


Nine Years Later (Andy is 22 and Nathalie is 18)

"Come on! Hurry up! We were supposed to be there by now!” Andy shouted hastily at me as I scurried towards the apartment entrance lobby where I quickly snatched my suitcase. Walking outside, I quickly covered my eyes with sunglasses and hopped into the front seat of Andy's car. I rapidly shoved my stuff into the back seat and sat facing forward.

Today was the day Andy and I were setting off on our way to Wilmette, Illinois to go visit Pete Wentz. Pete Wentz was one of Andy’s troublesome band mates. I was only tagging along because I didn't trust Andy to go alone. He and Pete get in trouble a lot.

I rolled my eyes at the thought of visiting Pete, one of the most annoying and persistent guys I‘ve ever met. Surely, seeing him would recall some memories that I’d rather not look back on.
So, we were barely out of the driveway in when Andy’s cell phone rang.
"Hey, can you answer that for me?" he asked me while trying to keep and eye on the road. I grabbed the phone and answered it.
Guess who it was? The one and only, Peter Wentz.
"Nathalie?!? Hey babe, what are you doing with Andy’s phone?" he asked, already his cocky tone giving me a headache. Making a face, I replied, "I'm in the car with him. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to inform Andy about this talented friend of ours that we've recently recruited as our singer/guitarist. He was going to be our drummer, but that's why we needed Andy to come over. Will you fill him in on the whole situation so he's not surprised by the time he gets here?"
I rolled my eyes and responded, "Well okay, I'll tell him that. Bye."
"I'll be seeing you soon, Nat."
I shut the phone, put it down, and began explaining the conversation to Andy. He smiled and while ignoring the band subject, instead asked, "So, do you think Pete still has the hots for you?"
"I don't know… I don't really care either. He‘s such a creeper," I exclaimed honestly. Andy laughed and shook his head before replying, "He never gives up, does he?”

I rolled my eyes before turning up the radio in attempt to drown out the conversation. Sighing, I brushed my fingers through my dark hair and stared out the window.

Maybe this won’t be so bad, I thought to myself while trying to imagine a great summer in Illinois with my brother and his stupid friends. I honestly couldn’t expect much at the thought but maybe, just maybe, I’d be surprised.
I sighed just then. Who was I kidding? This was going to be just as lame as last time. Watching a bunch of boys play in their band while I get to sit around being bored out of my mind. Sounds like real fun. Sarcasm.
"God, don't you talk?" Andy complained after nearly a half hour of no talking. I looked up at him before groaning loudly and muttering, “I’m a terrible travel buddy, huh?”

Andy ignored my comment and instead asked, "Why aren’t you psyched? This trip is supposed to be tons of fun! And besides, you can document the summer by taking a bunch of pictures while we‘re there," he explained trying to lighten up the conversation. I sighed weakly, knowing he would continue prying until I spoke up. So I answered, "It’s not like it won’t be any different than last time I tagged along."

He chuckled and assured, “It’s not going to be like last time! I have a feeling that this is going to be the start of a new whirlwind of adventures!”
This comment made me smile a little, which made him satisfied enough to turn up the radio again.
I didn’t realize how tired I was until I laid my head against the side panel of the door and fell asleep.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nathalie, wake up. We're here," Andy said softly as he tapped on my shoulder. My eyes slowly flickered and I blinked a couple times until I was awake. Lifting myself out of the car, I smoothed out my wrinkled pants and shirt before following Andy.
"Andy! Dude, how's it going?" greeted Joe enthusiastically at the front door as he engulfed Andy with a hug. I couldn’t help but giggle at Andy’s forbidden expression.
Joe glanced up at me and with wide eyes, he exclaimed, "Oh my god, is that Nathalie? I haven‘t seen you in forever!"

He hugged me as well as I humbly returned the gesture. When he released me, he turned as Andy and I followed him into the nice Victorian household, whom I remembered specifically belonged to Pete’s parents. Inside, I stood awkwardly waiting for one last greeting. Pete.
I checked around for him but in front of me, I only saw Andy and Joe. I sighed in relief, assuming that Pete must have been in the basement or something.
But I soon found out that wasn't the case.
When I felt a huge weight jump on my back, it startled me so bad that I nearly toppled to the floor.
"Nathalie!" Pete squealed as he tightened his arms around my neck and wouldn't let go.
"Pete! Stop it, I can't breathe!" I yelled as he grinned and slid off my back. Then hugging me from the side, he screamed, "I missed you!"
"Uh huh, sure you did," I laughed sarcastically before one big shove knocked him to the ground.

“So, who is this new guy?” Andy asked. Pete jumped to his feet and squealed, "Oh man, you're going to love this little guy! He's my best friend!"
"Ahem," we all turned to see a guy about a little taller than me by maybe an inch smiling skeptically, "Pete, did you just refer to me as ‘little?’"
The guy's voice was very humorous and I watched intently as he shot Pete a funny look. The boy was somewhat slim wearing a black AC/DC tee-shirt and a pair of loose fitted jeans. On his right hand was a star wars watch and on his feet were red, white, and brown sneakers. What an odd looking man, I thought to myself jokingly. He wasn’t bad looking, that’s for sure. I stared at him and observed his long strawberry blonde sideburns covered barely by his shaggy hair. His lips were full and cherry-colored compared to his porcelain pale skin color. I continued to watch this scene from a distance.
"Shit, he heard me!" Pete screamed and covered his mouth. The 'little' guy shook his head and looked up at me, his eyes catching my stare as he held out his hand and said, "I don't believe I properly introduced myself. My name is Patrick Stump."
I swallowed and shyly shook his hand, before saying, "My name is Nathalie."
"And I'm Andy!" Andy exclaimed giddily. After the brief introductions were made, we all made our way into Pete's living room where we sat down on the couches. I nervously tugged at my baggy clothes and sat awkwardly, listening to the boy's conversations.
However, after a few minutes of intense discussion, I heard the mention of my name. Glancing up, I saw that all four guys were staring at me peculiarly.
"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious that I was being watched. The boys shrugged and got back to their conversation except for Patrick, who continued to embed his spacey stare through me. Immediately, I stared down at the floor shyly, every once in a while looking up at him. After a while of listening, I felt the urge to join the conversation. So, I walked over and sat on a chair across from Patrick and I greeted, "Hi!"
"Hi," he said sounding a little nervous, "so...you're Andy’s sister?"

I nodded but replied honestly, "Sort of."
He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Sort of?”
I shrugged modestly and answered, “We‘re not blood related. I‘m adopted.”
His eyes widened uneasily, not sure exactly how to react to the blunt honesty, but he replied narrowly, "Oh, I’m sorry...you just look a lot alike is all."
"Don’t worry, I’m not sensitive about it. So, how'd you meet Pete and Joe?" I asked curiously. His eyes darted up to the ceiling as he answered, "I met Joe at Borders about a year ago and we started to talk about music and stuff and he told me they were getting a band together. He knew this guy named Pete Wentz who was supposedly legendary in the music field. I was working at Borders for a living and I guess he stopped by one day and we just clicked from that moment on. But I never finished high school so..."

I felt a smirk play across my lips as I said, "So you want to do music your whole life?"
He looked at the ground somewhat ashamed as if I had said something complicated. However, he replied whimsically , "It’s the only thing I really know! I've never been good at anything else. And since I dropped out, I don't see any other options."

I nodded understandably and replied, “Andy’s been in some good bands so it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re really good at what you’re doing. So, have you guys put out an album?”

“Yeah, actually,” he replied, the giddy smile on his face evident, “Except Andy’s not on it because he was putting out an album with Racetraitor at the time we recorded it. But it’s pretty crappy…”

A small little smile flickered in the side of my cheek as we continued to talk for a while before Pete stood up and declared, "Hey guys, we should practice a bit. I think we should try and work out the kinks.”The boys stood up and started going downstairs into the basement. But Patrick turned to me instead, and apologized, "Sorry to leave so suddenly after we were having such a good conversation."
I smiled, clapped my hands together before enlightening, "It's okay! You guys need to practice. That's why we're here in the first place! Go have fun!”
He grinned as he scampered off down the stairs after the rest of the boys.


I chose to stay back and walked upstairs to scope around Pete's house. I walked upstairs and smiled as I realized Pete had two double beds in his room. Walking over to the second one, I decided to plop down on it faster than I should have. It sprung me back up to my feet and left me with a sore tailbone.
"Ow," I moaned as I walked down across to his computer room. I flipped open his MSN messenger and looked over his choice of friends. I clicked on Andy's and then checked Pete's message history.
I read the most recent conversation.


[PeterXPanda] says: So you're coming up in a few days?

Raggedy Andy says: Yeah, I'm bringing Nathalie

[PeterXPanda] says: lol, your sister is HOT

Raggedy Andy says: Dude, that's gross. She's my SISTER.

[PeterXPanda] says: I'd tap that

Raggedy Andy says: She'd chop your dick off...

[PeterXPanda] says: ...ouch...that's kinky.

I gritted my teeth and clicked out of the messenger. I stood up, walked out of the room, and started to head down the stairs. I must’ve not been thinking straight because my foot slipped off the edge of the a step and I plummeted down the long set of stairs, landing a face plant in the carpet, hitting my head on the wall on the way down. Pulling myself up a little, I leaned against the wall with my hands covering my forehead as I muttered, “Well, that was stupid of me…”

"Nathalie, are you okay?” I looked up and saw Patrick standing above me with his guitar still on behind his back. Looking up and wincing, he saw the large bruise that I could feel forming beneath my fingertips. He bent down and rambled nervously, "Ouch, that looks like it hurts badly… Um, I heard you scream from downstairs so I came up to see what was
up. Wait, let me get some ice."

He got up and went into the kitchen before coming back with a bag of ice in his hand. Placing it on my forehead, he grabbed my hand and placed it on top of the ice as he firmly pressed over it with his hand.
"Ow!" I yelped as the ice led a straight shot of cold to my brain. Patrick looked alarmed as I shyly explained while looking up into his eyes, "Brain freeze."

I saw a grin creep across his face as he let out one the cutest laughs I've ever heard. I could feel my face growing redder by the second so I tried to cover it up with my hair. But that must’ve given him the impression that I was hiding my bruised forehead.

"Oh, it's okay. You can put make-up over it. Your skin is so pale, the bruise looks ten times worse than what it probably is," he'd commented, as I gulped nervously. What is happening to me? Why do I feel so…giddy?
"Why were you in such a hurry?" he asked, ripping me from my thoughts and reminding me of how I'd planned on going to the basement and chewing out Pete for being a douche bag.

"Um, I wanted to talk to Pete about something," I mumbled under my breath. Glancing up, I could see the hurt "Oh," expression dripping across his face. It stung a little at my pride. There was a good minute of awkward silence so I decided to break it by attempting to stand up. I did so, which led him to standing up too. But I noticed something.
Although Pete had called him short, he was still taller than me!
"Wow, you looked taller from a distance," Patrick said making me feel rather small. I pouted a little before heading towards the basement and stomping down the stairs and yelled, "Pete, you jerk!"
Every head turned and stared me down with confusion. I shook my head and walked towards him, while he was putting down his bass.
"What did I do?" He cried out while holding his hands over his head, afraid that I'd hit him. Good, he’s caught on.
"I read your conversation with Andy! You're such a pervert!" I yelled scoldingly.
I heard Patrick walk down the steps and mutter, "Wow. That's one high maintenance sister you got there, Andy."

Pete rolled his eyes and retorted, “Have you ever looked in the mirror? Do you even realize that you’re extremely hot?”
I glared hard at Pete and told him flat out, "You need a girlfriend."
Pete didn't say anything before smirking flirtatiously as he placed his hand on my waist and pulled me towards him.

“Pete, what are you…” I trailed off as he pressed his lips onto mine moistly, never giving me to the time to think about what was happening.
My eyes grew huge as I pushed him off and screamed, "What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
"You said I needed a girlfriend," he said with a smirk. I argued back, "I didn't mean me!"
I sighed in disappointment and explained, "I didn't want my first kiss from you!"
The whole room went silent. I felt sick to my stomach with guilt...and nausea. Pete wasn’t terrible but…I don’t like him like that. It’s not a mutual reaction. NO.

Pete must've realized his mistake and said seriously, "Oh, I'm sorry. But hey, they say that the first kiss isn't always the best. The best is with the person you really care about."

Then he hugged me sweetly and I hugged back and muttered, "This doesn't mean I forgive you."

"I know," he said with a big genuine smile. I smiled a little and started to laugh.

Patrick had a cute kind of innocent smile on his face as he said, "Wow, a cute girl who's never been kissed! That's legend!” before looking down as if thinking, ‘I can’t believe I just said that.’

I felt my cheeks flush red as I looked away and tried not to let anyone see.
"Aw look, she's blushing!" Andy said quietly to Joe so Patrick wouldn't hear. He then winked at me and gave me a thumbs up, which led me to respond with a I-Hope-You-Choke-And-Die look.
And to think I'd be staying here for several weeks. Hmmm...the possibilities seemed endless.
"So, did you guys perfect any songs?" I asked out of curiosity and a need for a change of subject. Patrick smiled and looked over at Pete and smiled cheekily and said, "I'd say we sounded pretty good! I think we sound a lot better with Andy in the band. Should we show the lady our song?”
"I say we shall, Patrick. Alright guys, let's set up!" Pete ordered as they all picked up their instruments.
Patrick stood in front of the microphone and smiled nervously at me and said, "This song is called the music or the misery."
The room became silent.
Then Joe started playing his guitar as Patrick singing into the microphone, "I got my stitches stitched, I got my fixes fixed,
And in my aching head I got my kisses slit.
Our gossip lips stuttered every word I said, I said,
I got your love letters, corrected the grammar and sent them back.
Its true, romance is dead
I shot it in the chest then in the head.
And if you wanna go down in history then I'm your prince,
Because they've got me in a bad way I've never seen a heart I couldn't break.
It was never about the songs, it was competition,
Make the biggest scene, make the biggest...
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
I'm casually obsessed, And I've Forgiven Death,
I am indifferent yet (I am a total wreck),
I'm every cliché, but I simply do it best.
And if you wanna go down in history then I'm your prince,
Because they've got me in a bad way I've never seen a heart I couldn't break.
It was never about the songs, it was competition,
Make the biggest scene, make the biggest...
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
(Go!)
I went to sleep a poet, and I woke up a fraud,
To calm your nerves I'm feeling for my clothes and the door.
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
Which came first, the music or the misery?
Where high-fashion, were last chances.
Which came first, the music or the misery?
where high-fashion, were last chances."

I was in pure shock from how great a garage band could sound. Patrick had an incredible voice and the music was just...so together. It blended and this just wasn't normal for any bands that Andy has been involved in.
"Nat, what'd you think?" asked Pete.

"That was amazing! You all were incredible! I can't believe it, Patrick, you have an unbelievable vocal range!"
Patrick smiled widely and said with a smirk, "Thanks, I try my hardest."
I chuckled at his joking manner and said, "It's weird how I can just hear the potential in this sound. You guys can really go somewhere with this."
"We're not a shitty band anymore!" yelled Joe in agreement before he did a heel click with his guitar still around his neck.

"Where are we staying tonight, Andy?" I asked after a while of discussion. He shrugged and said, "I'm not really sure. Pete, are we staying here or what's the plan?"

Pete made a face and said, "I actually have this thing I have to do tonight so...Patrick, how about you?"
Patrick let out another one of his cute laughs and said, "Sure, my mom is out of town. My house is open to any visitors!”