Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > You Make Me Live
Throwing Stones At A Glass Moon
2 reviewsWoah, this turned out really long. Poor Petey. But he had it coming, really.
0Unrated
After his birthday Patrick didn’t hear from Pete again. The rest of the year flew by. The charity single Sweet Freedom did raise millions, with lots of profitable things being done in South America. Soon afterwards lots of bands and artists wanted to work with Patrick, they loved the way the single had been recorded, and pretty soon he was beginning to get quite a reputation, as well as quite a lot of money. And plus the Fall Out Boy royalties were still coming in, so he was able to live very comfortably.
All this work meant he was extremely busy, and soon he noticed the difference. He was beginning to lose some weight. One morning he woke up and clambered out of bed to find some cheekbones emerging and his eyes twinkling like they used to. His skin was a different story. The stress of working, celebrity parties and everyday tasks like walking Penny were affecting his sleep. It would be nice to have someone around to help him with all this. He remembered when Pete would come round and walk Penny for him if he was busy making music, or help with the cooking or send some e-mails for him. It was quite nice, having someone to help out, someone to chat to in the evenings…
For some reason things weren’t as straightforward as they used to be. Every day Patrick would get up, get ready, feed and walk Penny, get off to work, come home at night, eat, watch some TV or catch up with friends, and go to bed. All these little, simple things for some reason had strong reminders of Pete in them. It was worst when going to bed. Patrick’s mind was naturally most active at night, and as soon as the light went off the memories came flying back through the darkness to bewitch him. The thoughts whirling round his brain and the emotions they brought up hadn’t been doing him much good. But where had they all come from? Why now?
‘Well, it took some time, but we finally got there in the end. It’s all wrapped up, finished and… absolutely fantastic and, with any luck, we’ll get this thing in stores at last!’
Patrick’s chuckle rippled through the room as Pete watched the interview. He should have been coming up with a new shoe design for Clandestine, but was distracted as the MTV news came on and his friend was standing there looking happier than ever. He looks so skinny, Pete thought worriedly, but his hair looks really good. And all that sparkle in the eyes…
Ashlee came in to find her husband kneeling inches away from the screen.
‘Alright, this has gone far enough. What really happened with you two?’
‘I told you, we were just at each other’s throats all the time. Things were said, and it can’t be helped.’
‘Just at each other’s throats? Can’t be helped? That’s total crap. Now I want you to tell me the truth. I haven’t nagged you at all about this, you know I haven’t. Because I can see it hurts you to talk about it. But it’s gotta be more than just some harsh words, Pete.’
He looked back at the screen, where a clip of Patrick was being shown of him singing The Killers in some famous bar a few years back, dancing on the spot, smiling, really enjoying himself. With difficulty he tore his eyes away from Patrick to his wife. She stood, arms folded, biting her lip, waiting for his response. Suddenly a cry came from the other room, and he flicked the TV off and went back to the table, drawing up a new design with snakes on it. Ashlee sighed and went to see to Bronx.
‘You can’t keep this from me forever, you know,’ she called. But Pete was going to make it his mission to keep the truth from her at all costs. Losing his best friend was worse than he’d thought, much worse. So what would it be like to lose a wife and child?
*
The designs were in store by Christmas, and they were the best sellers yet. That Christmas was spent sharing a massive turkey between two adults, two dogs and a baby, watching awful films and teaching Bronx to say ‘Santa’ (two weeks ago he’d said his first word; strangely it was beans). The New Year was soon under way, and with more time for Clandestine and it being more popular than ever, Pete had a lot of work to do.
Christmas had been a nice break for Pete. Not just because of the release from work pressure… also the release from wife pressure. Ashlee was determined to find out what was wrong. Contrary to what everyone thought about her she was really very perceptive, and knew Pete was lying to her. She also understood that Patrick had known him a lot longer than she had, and that there are things that happen between friends that the rest of the world never knows about… but who doesn’t tell their own wife?
One late spring afternoon she cornered him in the lounge.
‘It’s OK, Pete. I’m not gonna yell at you or anything. I just want you to listen, OK?’ She stroked his hair reassuringly. ‘It’s not that I’m being nosey or pushy or anything. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.’
Pete put on a brave smile. ‘There’s nothing to worry about, baby. I’m fine.’
‘You’re not.’
‘Says who? Where’s your evidence?’
Ashlee sighed sadly. ‘Look at yourself…’
He stood up and checked the mirror over the fireplace, and he had to admit she was right. His skin was pale, he hadn’t slept properly for months, and he was skinnier than ever before. His hair was a mess, but that was probably due to just not washing it, he thought.
‘So I got a little skinny. What’s the deal?’
‘It’s not just physical. You’re so quiet and withdrawn these days. Your eyes have lost their sparkle. You hardly come out with me with Bronx to walk the dogs any more. All you do is sit there, watching MTV.’
She took his hand. ‘Pete, please. You know you can trust me with anything. Please just tell me how this all started. Who knows, maybe I can help you.’
Pete pulled his hand away, suddenly terrified. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’
The mood had definitely changed.
‘Well, there must be something! Come on, tell me!’
‘No!’
‘Why not?’
‘Just – because!’
‘Because what? He didn’t put you in any danger, did he?’
‘No!’
‘Well, you look pretty endangered to me!’
‘No! It wasn’t him, it was me! Oh – crap…’
‘What do you mean? How did you endanger yourself?’
‘Let’s just say I did something stupid, alright? Let’s leave it there.’
‘But what–’
‘I said, leave it!’
He slumped at the table and buried his face in his hands. But Ashlee still wasn’t giving up.
‘What did you do, Pete? How could you endanger yourself and ruin your friendship with Patrick? Surely he’d have been worried about you! Come on, I need an answer! I’m not giving in till you’ve told me! Why won’t you tell me???’
‘Alright! I’ve cheated! We had these massive fights, I slept with Laura, he found out! There! Are you happy now I’ve told you all?!’
There was a painful silence. Pete’s eyes grew wide with terror as he realised what he’d said. Ashlee stood facing him, eyes glazed, rubbing her forehead as if in slow motion. A tear escaped and coursed down her cheek.
‘Ashlee?’
‘Stop.’
‘B-but babe–’
‘I said stop!’
A searing pain through his head.
Next thing he knew he was on the floor by the fireplace. His left eye throbbed for some reason, and there was a suitcase near… Oh. Oh no. He struggled off the floor and found a wounded Ashlee standing by the front door, the make-up cried away.
‘Surely you don’t expect me to go now? Please, sweetie, let’s talk this over!’
‘There’s nothing to tell. That’s what you said. Now take your stuff and go.’
‘But – but where?’
‘As far away from me as possible.’ She threw the case out after him and slammed the door, the lock clicking.
Pete stood in shock for a moment. He hadn’t felt this way for years. Sort of… numb. Yet at the same time with a deep-seated, dark feeling simmering away inside. Before too long it would effervesce and spill out, flooding every part of him until it controlled him entirely. It was at this time that he found himself in some non-descript street, with lots of litter and bashed-about cars. The memories whirled through him, the darkness overpowering, and soon it was all too much. He stumbled down a side alley, hiding himself away… and let go. There was no one left. Only darkness. No more magic tricks left to get him out of this one.
All this work meant he was extremely busy, and soon he noticed the difference. He was beginning to lose some weight. One morning he woke up and clambered out of bed to find some cheekbones emerging and his eyes twinkling like they used to. His skin was a different story. The stress of working, celebrity parties and everyday tasks like walking Penny were affecting his sleep. It would be nice to have someone around to help him with all this. He remembered when Pete would come round and walk Penny for him if he was busy making music, or help with the cooking or send some e-mails for him. It was quite nice, having someone to help out, someone to chat to in the evenings…
For some reason things weren’t as straightforward as they used to be. Every day Patrick would get up, get ready, feed and walk Penny, get off to work, come home at night, eat, watch some TV or catch up with friends, and go to bed. All these little, simple things for some reason had strong reminders of Pete in them. It was worst when going to bed. Patrick’s mind was naturally most active at night, and as soon as the light went off the memories came flying back through the darkness to bewitch him. The thoughts whirling round his brain and the emotions they brought up hadn’t been doing him much good. But where had they all come from? Why now?
‘Well, it took some time, but we finally got there in the end. It’s all wrapped up, finished and… absolutely fantastic and, with any luck, we’ll get this thing in stores at last!’
Patrick’s chuckle rippled through the room as Pete watched the interview. He should have been coming up with a new shoe design for Clandestine, but was distracted as the MTV news came on and his friend was standing there looking happier than ever. He looks so skinny, Pete thought worriedly, but his hair looks really good. And all that sparkle in the eyes…
Ashlee came in to find her husband kneeling inches away from the screen.
‘Alright, this has gone far enough. What really happened with you two?’
‘I told you, we were just at each other’s throats all the time. Things were said, and it can’t be helped.’
‘Just at each other’s throats? Can’t be helped? That’s total crap. Now I want you to tell me the truth. I haven’t nagged you at all about this, you know I haven’t. Because I can see it hurts you to talk about it. But it’s gotta be more than just some harsh words, Pete.’
He looked back at the screen, where a clip of Patrick was being shown of him singing The Killers in some famous bar a few years back, dancing on the spot, smiling, really enjoying himself. With difficulty he tore his eyes away from Patrick to his wife. She stood, arms folded, biting her lip, waiting for his response. Suddenly a cry came from the other room, and he flicked the TV off and went back to the table, drawing up a new design with snakes on it. Ashlee sighed and went to see to Bronx.
‘You can’t keep this from me forever, you know,’ she called. But Pete was going to make it his mission to keep the truth from her at all costs. Losing his best friend was worse than he’d thought, much worse. So what would it be like to lose a wife and child?
*
The designs were in store by Christmas, and they were the best sellers yet. That Christmas was spent sharing a massive turkey between two adults, two dogs and a baby, watching awful films and teaching Bronx to say ‘Santa’ (two weeks ago he’d said his first word; strangely it was beans). The New Year was soon under way, and with more time for Clandestine and it being more popular than ever, Pete had a lot of work to do.
Christmas had been a nice break for Pete. Not just because of the release from work pressure… also the release from wife pressure. Ashlee was determined to find out what was wrong. Contrary to what everyone thought about her she was really very perceptive, and knew Pete was lying to her. She also understood that Patrick had known him a lot longer than she had, and that there are things that happen between friends that the rest of the world never knows about… but who doesn’t tell their own wife?
One late spring afternoon she cornered him in the lounge.
‘It’s OK, Pete. I’m not gonna yell at you or anything. I just want you to listen, OK?’ She stroked his hair reassuringly. ‘It’s not that I’m being nosey or pushy or anything. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.’
Pete put on a brave smile. ‘There’s nothing to worry about, baby. I’m fine.’
‘You’re not.’
‘Says who? Where’s your evidence?’
Ashlee sighed sadly. ‘Look at yourself…’
He stood up and checked the mirror over the fireplace, and he had to admit she was right. His skin was pale, he hadn’t slept properly for months, and he was skinnier than ever before. His hair was a mess, but that was probably due to just not washing it, he thought.
‘So I got a little skinny. What’s the deal?’
‘It’s not just physical. You’re so quiet and withdrawn these days. Your eyes have lost their sparkle. You hardly come out with me with Bronx to walk the dogs any more. All you do is sit there, watching MTV.’
She took his hand. ‘Pete, please. You know you can trust me with anything. Please just tell me how this all started. Who knows, maybe I can help you.’
Pete pulled his hand away, suddenly terrified. ‘There’s nothing to tell.’
The mood had definitely changed.
‘Well, there must be something! Come on, tell me!’
‘No!’
‘Why not?’
‘Just – because!’
‘Because what? He didn’t put you in any danger, did he?’
‘No!’
‘Well, you look pretty endangered to me!’
‘No! It wasn’t him, it was me! Oh – crap…’
‘What do you mean? How did you endanger yourself?’
‘Let’s just say I did something stupid, alright? Let’s leave it there.’
‘But what–’
‘I said, leave it!’
He slumped at the table and buried his face in his hands. But Ashlee still wasn’t giving up.
‘What did you do, Pete? How could you endanger yourself and ruin your friendship with Patrick? Surely he’d have been worried about you! Come on, I need an answer! I’m not giving in till you’ve told me! Why won’t you tell me???’
‘Alright! I’ve cheated! We had these massive fights, I slept with Laura, he found out! There! Are you happy now I’ve told you all?!’
There was a painful silence. Pete’s eyes grew wide with terror as he realised what he’d said. Ashlee stood facing him, eyes glazed, rubbing her forehead as if in slow motion. A tear escaped and coursed down her cheek.
‘Ashlee?’
‘Stop.’
‘B-but babe–’
‘I said stop!’
A searing pain through his head.
Next thing he knew he was on the floor by the fireplace. His left eye throbbed for some reason, and there was a suitcase near… Oh. Oh no. He struggled off the floor and found a wounded Ashlee standing by the front door, the make-up cried away.
‘Surely you don’t expect me to go now? Please, sweetie, let’s talk this over!’
‘There’s nothing to tell. That’s what you said. Now take your stuff and go.’
‘But – but where?’
‘As far away from me as possible.’ She threw the case out after him and slammed the door, the lock clicking.
Pete stood in shock for a moment. He hadn’t felt this way for years. Sort of… numb. Yet at the same time with a deep-seated, dark feeling simmering away inside. Before too long it would effervesce and spill out, flooding every part of him until it controlled him entirely. It was at this time that he found himself in some non-descript street, with lots of litter and bashed-about cars. The memories whirled through him, the darkness overpowering, and soon it was all too much. He stumbled down a side alley, hiding himself away… and let go. There was no one left. Only darkness. No more magic tricks left to get him out of this one.
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