Categories > Celebrities > Panic! At The Disco > Under City Lights
(Brendon’s POV)
“Mhmm, delicious!” Juliet took another bite of the peanut butter toast, a look of complete amazement spread across her face.
“All I did was stick it in the toaster so stop giving me that look.” I said, chuckling.
Juliet grinned, “You didn’t burn it!”
“Yeah, I am pretty bad-ass when it comes to toasting bread.” I said, falling in to complete laughter as she demolished the rest of her toast.
I was perfectly content staring at Juliet as she began eating her second piece of toast but then the doorbell rang and she set the toast down and headed towards the door, walking slowly so that I could keep pace.
Never before had eating toast looked so sexy.
*
(Ryan’s POV)
“Jon, what’s up?” I hadn’t really expected him to show up at my doorstep but I also hadn’t expected so much recent socialization with Brendon. Evidently we were just blurring the socially accepted lines this year.
“Have you heard from Juliet?”
“Not since earlier.” I shrugged, “She was supposed to call me but she hasn’t yet. I figure she’s got a lot of talking to do at home anyway. I mean, she was gone all night with no explanation. Her dad looked really worried, even at the hospital.”
Jon nodded, “Yeah, well I really need to talk to her. Do you know her address?”
“No.” I don’t know why the lie slipped from my lips but I knew if Juliet wanted to talk to Jon then she’d find her own way. I wasn’t leading anyone else in to her life. I already screwed up with Brendon.
“Oh.” Jon frowned.
“What’s so urgent?”
Jon paused before responding though it didn’t really matter. I kind of already knew what his answer was, or I at least partially expected it. It was the same thing plaguing my mind. It was the conflict that I was trying to resolve, though it seemed Jon had already decided on what he wanted to do. “Juliet needs to know about what Brendon did.”
“How do you know she doesn’t already know? That may be why she hasn't gotten a hold of anyone.” I don’t know why I was suddenly so against Jon getting a hold of Juliet but it just seemed like a bad idea.
“Then she probably needs a shoulder to lean on.” The words were nice but something about the way Jon said them made my resolve to keep them apart stronger.
I nervously reached for my guitar, sitting on the couch. Jon stood in place, watching me. I seemed to be the person to come to if you wanted Juliet. I wasn’t going to help this time though because when I helped things just went wrong.
“You’re just like him, you know.” I murmured, cocking my head to the side as I tuned my guitar.
Jon listened for a few seconds before responding, “Just like who?”
“Brendon.”
“I’m nothing like that little prick.” Jon shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the accusation and the obvious truth behind it.
“But you are.” My fingers pressed against the strings of my guitar, letting out a small unrecognizable tune. I was just messing around. Just as Brendon and Jon were. I was playing with each note, trying to chase after a song that didn’t exist. Brendon and Jon both wanted Juliet to be their song.
Jon just shook his head, as if the statement were absurd. It wasn’t though. It suddenly made so much sense. “She’s not what you think she is.”
“What?”
“She’s not what you want. She’s just what you think you want. She’s just different. Brendon and you, you both think that she’s the piece that you need in life. Brendon’s diluted himself in to thinking that it’s a game. He thinks he’s playing her but in reality she’s playing him, though she doesn’t mean to.”
“And me?”
“You can see that Brendon wants her. We all see what Brendon doesn’t, all of us except for Juliet. That makes this game so much more exciting for you but you’re not the one for her.” Nothing had ever been so clear before.
“What makes you think Brendon is?” Jon asked.
“I never said he was.” That was the problem with people; they never listened.
I know the part Jon played and I knew the part I played. I had Brendon’s part figured out from the start but what part would Juliet play?
After a few seconds of well-deserved silence Jon cleared his throat and spoke up, confidently. “You’re wrong though.”
“How so?”
“With a lot of work any two pieces can fit together, even if it takes a little reconstruction.” I didn’t like the sound of that.
The look on Jon’s face made me fear that his part in this story was going to change. It was true that anything could be altered to fit but that didn’t mean it would be right. It could look right and it might even fit together for a while but not forever, never forever. If it wasn’t meant to be then in the end it wouldn’t be.
Alterations had a very strong chance of screwing up fate though, as redirection could take anyone anywhere.
*
(Brendon’s POV)
“J-Juliet?” I had to bite back my laughter.
“I’m not moving.” She spit out, glancing at the ceiling.
“It’s right above you though! What if it falls down on your head?” The spider hadn’t moved since she caught sight of it. I wasn’t even sure that it was alive.
“Brendon!” She yelled my name, using it to scold me without saying anything else.
“What? Do you want me to kill it or something?”
“No! Don’t!” She didn’t take her eyes from the spider. “Then it’s sure to fall on to my head.”
“Just move first then I’ll kill it, okay?” I’d never seen someone so ridiculously terrified of spiders.
“I can’t… stop looking at it.”
The laughter finally won out and I just couldn’t stop once I started.
“Mhmm, delicious!” Juliet took another bite of the peanut butter toast, a look of complete amazement spread across her face.
“All I did was stick it in the toaster so stop giving me that look.” I said, chuckling.
Juliet grinned, “You didn’t burn it!”
“Yeah, I am pretty bad-ass when it comes to toasting bread.” I said, falling in to complete laughter as she demolished the rest of her toast.
I was perfectly content staring at Juliet as she began eating her second piece of toast but then the doorbell rang and she set the toast down and headed towards the door, walking slowly so that I could keep pace.
Never before had eating toast looked so sexy.
*
(Ryan’s POV)
“Jon, what’s up?” I hadn’t really expected him to show up at my doorstep but I also hadn’t expected so much recent socialization with Brendon. Evidently we were just blurring the socially accepted lines this year.
“Have you heard from Juliet?”
“Not since earlier.” I shrugged, “She was supposed to call me but she hasn’t yet. I figure she’s got a lot of talking to do at home anyway. I mean, she was gone all night with no explanation. Her dad looked really worried, even at the hospital.”
Jon nodded, “Yeah, well I really need to talk to her. Do you know her address?”
“No.” I don’t know why the lie slipped from my lips but I knew if Juliet wanted to talk to Jon then she’d find her own way. I wasn’t leading anyone else in to her life. I already screwed up with Brendon.
“Oh.” Jon frowned.
“What’s so urgent?”
Jon paused before responding though it didn’t really matter. I kind of already knew what his answer was, or I at least partially expected it. It was the same thing plaguing my mind. It was the conflict that I was trying to resolve, though it seemed Jon had already decided on what he wanted to do. “Juliet needs to know about what Brendon did.”
“How do you know she doesn’t already know? That may be why she hasn't gotten a hold of anyone.” I don’t know why I was suddenly so against Jon getting a hold of Juliet but it just seemed like a bad idea.
“Then she probably needs a shoulder to lean on.” The words were nice but something about the way Jon said them made my resolve to keep them apart stronger.
I nervously reached for my guitar, sitting on the couch. Jon stood in place, watching me. I seemed to be the person to come to if you wanted Juliet. I wasn’t going to help this time though because when I helped things just went wrong.
“You’re just like him, you know.” I murmured, cocking my head to the side as I tuned my guitar.
Jon listened for a few seconds before responding, “Just like who?”
“Brendon.”
“I’m nothing like that little prick.” Jon shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the accusation and the obvious truth behind it.
“But you are.” My fingers pressed against the strings of my guitar, letting out a small unrecognizable tune. I was just messing around. Just as Brendon and Jon were. I was playing with each note, trying to chase after a song that didn’t exist. Brendon and Jon both wanted Juliet to be their song.
Jon just shook his head, as if the statement were absurd. It wasn’t though. It suddenly made so much sense. “She’s not what you think she is.”
“What?”
“She’s not what you want. She’s just what you think you want. She’s just different. Brendon and you, you both think that she’s the piece that you need in life. Brendon’s diluted himself in to thinking that it’s a game. He thinks he’s playing her but in reality she’s playing him, though she doesn’t mean to.”
“And me?”
“You can see that Brendon wants her. We all see what Brendon doesn’t, all of us except for Juliet. That makes this game so much more exciting for you but you’re not the one for her.” Nothing had ever been so clear before.
“What makes you think Brendon is?” Jon asked.
“I never said he was.” That was the problem with people; they never listened.
I know the part Jon played and I knew the part I played. I had Brendon’s part figured out from the start but what part would Juliet play?
After a few seconds of well-deserved silence Jon cleared his throat and spoke up, confidently. “You’re wrong though.”
“How so?”
“With a lot of work any two pieces can fit together, even if it takes a little reconstruction.” I didn’t like the sound of that.
The look on Jon’s face made me fear that his part in this story was going to change. It was true that anything could be altered to fit but that didn’t mean it would be right. It could look right and it might even fit together for a while but not forever, never forever. If it wasn’t meant to be then in the end it wouldn’t be.
Alterations had a very strong chance of screwing up fate though, as redirection could take anyone anywhere.
*
(Brendon’s POV)
“J-Juliet?” I had to bite back my laughter.
“I’m not moving.” She spit out, glancing at the ceiling.
“It’s right above you though! What if it falls down on your head?” The spider hadn’t moved since she caught sight of it. I wasn’t even sure that it was alive.
“Brendon!” She yelled my name, using it to scold me without saying anything else.
“What? Do you want me to kill it or something?”
“No! Don’t!” She didn’t take her eyes from the spider. “Then it’s sure to fall on to my head.”
“Just move first then I’ll kill it, okay?” I’d never seen someone so ridiculously terrified of spiders.
“I can’t… stop looking at it.”
The laughter finally won out and I just couldn’t stop once I started.
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