FicWad

Be My Escape - Short Story


"Raylyn, we have to go." Jacob said to me, rather harshly. I brushed it off, as I always did, and picked up my pace. I was excited as anything to be going. Jacob and I were headed to probably our fiftieth Fall Out Boy concert. We won some backstage passes in a z100 contest. Finally, I would get to meet the guys who I'd spent years falling asleep to. The guys who helped in a big way to shape me into who I was today. I was going to get to tell them exactly how much they meant to me. It was going to be perfect, "Raylyn." Jacob stressed, looking at me.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. We'll be on time. Don't worry." I said, smiling to reassure him.

"I'm not going to be late because of you, alright? We have to be there by a certain time." He said, taking my hand and leading me to the car. I checked by bag for the tickets and the passes one more time before he started the car and we were headed towards the venue.

The show was amazing. I could never take my eyes off them for a moment. You'd think that it'd lose it's allure after so many shows, but that was the thing. It never did. It was always a fantastic show and always a good time. I left those shows feeling so pumped and so good about everything. It was hard not to, when I had my idols in front of me. All of them had something appealing about them.

Joe was probably the one I knew least but, it didn't stop me from thinking he was one of the greatest things since sliced bread. He was just so adorable. His jewfro never failed to amuse me, and I didn't know anyone else on earth who knew so much about Star Wars. Maybe the rest of the world thought he was a nerd, but I would always see him as my Trohmaniac.

Andy, I mostly respected. I knew of his past, and was proud of him for overcoming it to become straight edge. He was also vegan, which I couldn't help but admire. I was quite the animal rights activist, and it was great to see someone else who chose not to eat animals. I did not take it to the extreme he did, although I was vegetarian.

Patrick was such a sweetheart. He seemed so amazingly genuine and great. Even though I knew it sounded mean, he was such a butterball. I meant no disrespect by that. On the contrary - I thought it was adorable. Real men have curves. Beyond that, I was pretty impressed by his musical talents, which seemed endless. I was always jealous of anyone who played an instrument. But, then, there was Patrick Stump.

Last but not least, was Peter. I thought so much of and about him that I was surprised Jacob even allowed me to come to the shows. Jacob was terribly jealous, but it just meant that I made that much more of an effort to conceal my thoughts. But, how could you not think about him? There was just so much to love and so much to admire. What I loved about Andy, only intensified when I thought of Pete. After battling depression and insomnia, he tried to stop it all by over dosing on his anxiety medication, Ativan. But, he bounced back from it and it had always been an inspiration to me. When someone is that low, for them to come back and turn into something like Peter was just nothing short of amazing.

All the words that spoke to me were written by that man. Every word that I had literally cried over because it was just too perfect...they came from his mind. He was the one who'd written such beautiful and desperate songs. For years, I would have killed for the opportunity to talk to him, but my stomach churned as I walked towards him and the other guys. They all greeted Jacob and me with smiles, except for Peter, who looked uncomfortable. This made me nervous and wondered if it could possibly be something I did. I had just walked up, but how could a man that awesome look that unhappy?

"My name is Jacob, and this is Raylyn." Jacob introduced us, and Patrick smiled wide, extending his hand to him. Jacob shook his hand, grinning.

"Hey, man. We've seen you guys all the time, I swear it. We know you guys. Glad to put a name to the face." Patrick laughed, shaking his head.

"These are them?" Andy asked, and I smiled. While Patrick had every opportunity to spot us, Andy was in the back of the stage. At the same time, I couldn't believe my idols were talking about us like we were a legend. Were we?

"Yeah. I'd know this girl, anywhere." Joe nodded, looking me over. I blushed, despite myself, and I felt Jacob's hold on me get that much tighter.

"Sit! We want to talk to you guys." Patrick said, shoving some stuff off of the couches. When we sat down, Patrick plopped down in between Jacob and me. Jacob looked irked, but I smiled widely. How often do you get to sit next to Patrick Stump, himself? Anything Jacob would say or do later would be worth this.

"You want to talk to us?" I asked incredulously, laughing out of sheer nervousness.

"You guys are at nearly every show. We love you!" Joe exclaimed, smiling.

"We're very sorry that we can't make it to the Europe shows."

"You totally own the US ones, though."

"This is true." I smiled brightly. They recognized me. I couldn't believe it. Patrick got up and sat next to Pete, which prompted Andy to sit down in between Jacob and I. Jacob looked genuinely angry, now. I knew he'd better cool it. Knowing him, he'd have some kind of temper tantrum and that would not be good for anything.

"I never got a good look at you. You're very pretty." Andy said to me, and I must have blushed through about six shades of red. My smile could not have gotten any wider, either, without my ears doubling as hair bows.

"Thank you. I've gotten a few good looks at you. You're quite the handsome fellow." I said, laughing at how bold I was being. I couldn't believe the things that were coming out of my mouth. I lost my nervousness and spoke to them like any other person. I knew this was how it would be. He laughed and gave me a smile that was a cross between 'I know' and 'Aw, shucks'.

I thought the passes would get us maybe an hour with them, but we were still hanging out three hours later. The conversations had been pretty diverse, depending on who I was talking to. I fought Joe on whether Darth Vader was really all that evil, and spoke with Andy about his decision to be Vegan. Patrick promised to teach me guitar sometime. The only one I hadn't gotten a word with was Peter, which disappointed me terribly. Everyone else was amazing, but I had so been looking forward to discussing the lyrics with Peter. Or, discussing anything with Peter. He looked so uncomfortable. I didn't like it.

Him and Patrick were having what seemed like an in depth conversation and he would, every so often look at Jacob. I didn't really understand why, but my thoughts were interrupted by him walking towards me, with Patrick pushing his back. Andy got up, and Peter sat down before Jacob could move over. Jacob stood up, shaking his head.

"Listen, you've spent the whole night ignoring me. If you want to spend time with your new boyfriends, I won't get in the way." He made to walk out of the door and I furrowed my brow, "Good luck getting home." He spat, before leaving.

"Guys..." I went to get up, but Peter's hand was on my arm, holding me back.

"Please don't follow him." He said softly, so different from his regular outspoken voice. I stopped and looked at him, "We'll get you home, if you want to. But, please don't just go after him like that. I know this isn't any of my business, but..." He trailed off, looking down, realizing he had no where he was going with it.

"What are you asking?" I looked at him, sitting down slowly.

"Company, march! He's going to do it!" Patrick yelled, getting Joe and Andy out of the room. The door closed and it was just the two of us in the room. Pete's mouth opened and closed a few times, and I felt kind of bad for him. I honestly didn't know where this was going. My wildest dreams never would have let me get this far. The silence was overwhelming, I knew he wasn't going to say anything.

"Pete, how come I can't follow my boyfriend?" I asked, looking at him.

"I thought you were engaged." He said, not really looking at me, but at the ring on my finger. I moved my hand, moving it out of sight.

"No, it's more of a promise ring. He gave it to me a while ago. We're not engaged or anything. I'm not ready for anything like that." I said, my voice shaking slightly. The contest did not mention anything about relationship advice from one, Peter Wentz.

"It's none of my business or anything, but he doesn't seem like the greatest guy ever." He looked me in the eyes and it all sunk in. This conversation was really taking place, wasn't it?

"He's...not bad."

"You deserve better than 'not bad'."

"How do you know?" I asked genuinely, looking at him. He'd only known me for a few hours and only spoken to me for a few minutes.

"Any girl does. No girl should have to settle for a jerk. Especially someone so pretty as you." He blushed and my heart stopped. What? Did I just make Peter Wentz blush?

"Thank you. I've never had any one better ask me out, though. I thought he was as good as it got."

"Oh, god." He said, then instantly looked like he regretted saying it, not wanting to offend me, "I know he's your boyfriend and all, but no man should treat you the way he does. Even small things, like him being in front of you at the shows...that's screwed up. And, him being so jealous and eventually leaving without you. If he was a real man, he'd suck it up and not be threatened by four guys that you met today. He shouldn't have left you here to find your own way home. We have no problem getting you there, but...be honest...do you really want to go?"

"No." I said quietly, looking down. There was a moment of silence before I spoke again, looking up at him, "He's not the easiest to get along with. He gets really angry, all the time. It's not fun. That's why the shows are so great. For a couple of hours, all I hear is Patrick's voice and your lyrics. I don't have to think about Jacob, even when he's only a couple of inches away from me."

"Can I offer you a choice?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I want to give you a choice. You can have us drive you back to your house and you can continue seeing Jacob. And, we'll see you when you come to the shows and any time we're in town. Or, we can drive you back to your house and you can get your stuff. And, you'll come on tour with us. Mostly with me." He said and it sounded like it hurt, coming out. Like it was something that took everything in him to say.

"Are you asking me - "

"Would you?"

"Peter, I - "

"Raylyn, I've thought about you for years. Not only because you come to all the shows, but because you seemed like a cool girl. But, your boyfriend seemed less than amazing. All those 'put your girl in front' speeches were for you. Whenever I threw anything off the stage, I always threw it at you. It was no coincidence. I thought you were cool, but then I met you and you turned out to be amazing. And, I don't know how I could let a jerk like that get away with taking you for granted the way he does. Come on tour with me. Escape from what you have going on with him. Come escape with me." Pete said in one breath. I sat silently, staring at him, almost. He looked away, obviously not comfortable. I reached forward and put my hand on his, wanting to reassure him, despite the fact that I didn't know what to say.

"Pete, I'll come on tour with you. I've wanted to since forever. It was always a dream of mine, to tour with Fall Out Boy. I just never in a million years thought it would be under these circumstances." I smiled at him, "I want to thank you. If it hadn't been for you and your lyrics...I wouldn't be here." I said, watching as the impact of what I said fell on him. I'd always wanted to tell him, but it must be strange to hear that you saved someone from suicide.

"I'm glad I could be there for you when you needed it. I want to be there for you, now. More so." He said, taking my hand and looking at me. I smiled, looking into his eyes. It sounds cheesy, but there was so much warmth in them. They held some kind of sparkle that I could never recall spotting in Jacob's eyes. I was lost in my thoughts and was only brought back to reality when Pete's lips were pressed against mine. I stiffened slightly and kissed him in return. The warmth was evident there, as well. He parted and sat back, looking at me, "You want to get your stuff? It's getting late."

"No." I said, shaking my head. There was nothing of value to me in that house. It was all filled with my life with Jacob. My old life. From this moment on, I knew my life would be so much better. So much fuller. It wasn't a matter of me having this new life with a rock star. It was about me having this new life with someone who would finally treat me well. Jacob would flip when he found out about it. I smiled, realizing that I no longer cared.