FicWad

Two weeks passed. Had it really been two weeks that Emily was on her own? The apartment was bare; couch, coffee table, shelf, bar stools. The guys had called as soon as they got to Madison, WI, and Emily had called on Pete's birthday, which had been a short and awkward call, each of them skipping around the subject of their special goodbye...after that, Emily hadn't received much more than a handful of emails, and they all said the same thing;
"Meeting lots of great people, looking for jobs, new apartment is too small for us, wish you were here."
I wish I was there, too.

Friday night came, and Emily felt bored out of her mind. Normally, she'd be watching the guys play at some venue on a Friday night. Either that, or they would all go see someone else play. She had spent last Friday night alone in her room, crying, and she was sick of it. She knew she had to get on with her life. So she changed from the pajama bottoms and Patrick's old Greenday tee shirt she had come to live in and put on some skinny jeans and a tight fitting black tank top, and left the apartment in search of a show. She felt...alone, walking down the Chicago sidewalk without Andy, Joe, Pete and Patrick walking on either side of her. She clung to her purse, fearful of purse-snatchers for the first time. She came to the club that they always went to to play or listen. Her hands shook as she handed the bouncer her fake ID, because, suddenly, she was afraid they'd figure out she was really 17. She'd never worried about it before, because...well, because she knew that if she got in trouble, at least her friends would be there, and Joe and Patrick would be in trouble along with her. But the bouncer barely glanced at her as she passed. She stood towards the back of the room, even though her, Pete and Joe usually pushed their way
to the front, right next to the speakers. She didn't recognize any of the band members, so she tapped a boy with bright red hair on the shoulder, and he turned around.

"'scuse me, could you tell me what band is playing?" she asked politely.

A devilish grin spread across the boy's freckled face.
"I'll tell you the band name if you tell me your phone number."
Emily glared at the boy. If Pete had been here, he would have wiped those stupid freckles right off this idiot's grinning face.
"No, thanks, I'll ask someone else." she snapped, and she began to turn away.
But the boy grabbed her by the hand.
"You wanna dance?"
"No Let go of me " she cried, trying to twist her hand away, but his grip was too strong.
"Aw, c'mon, honey " he laughed.
"I said NO " she yelled.
"Hey, carrot top " someone yelled.
Emily turned her head to see a tall, Hispanic girl glaring at the boy, her hands on her curvy hips.
"Yeah?" he asked stupidly.
"Leave 'er alone, you idiot." she snapped, and her voice flowed musically, Spanish in every note.
"Make me "
The girl looked like she was going to strike the boy, but instead, she grabbed his left ear and twisted.
"Owww " he howled, dropping Emily's hand. The Spanish girl let go, and quickly shoved him into a wall.
"Get lost " she cried, and the boy scrambled away.
"Wow," Emily breathed, "Thanks, I guess."
"No problem, honey," she said with a smile, and she stuck out a red-finger nailed hand, "Hanna-Bella." she introduced herself smoothly.
Emily shook the hand, smiling as well.
"Emily. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know who's playing, would you?"
"Nah, but they suck. You wanna leave?"
"Yeah, sure. Have you had dinner yet? I know a great little vegan place a few blocks away."
"Perfect, I'm vegan myself."
The two girls left, and spent the rest of the night laughing and talking. When Emily returned home, she felt great; she'd made a new friend. Maybe the guys being gone wasn't the end of the world.

She awoke the next morning, feeling happy for the first time in two weeks. Her and Hanna-Bella had plans to go shopping that afternoon. Instead of immediately slumping into the livingroom, Emily changed into a decent outfit and ate breakfast. Happy, happy, happy...and then the phone rang. She reached for the receiver, not even glancing at the call display.
"Hello?" she inquired cheerily.
"Hey, Em."
Her heart sank, and the past two weeks came flooding back. Suddenly, all she saw were the crumpled tissues, the empty boxes of chocolate, the afghan blankets draped over the couch, and that Greenday shirt, laying on the livingroom floor...
"Hi, Pete." she whispered.
"We haven't called you in a while, we're so sorry...it's been pretty hectic lately. We're trying to write the record right now, and, well...the lyrics are kinda pathetic at this point. Patrick has a few melodies, but they aren't really completed..."
"Ah." she answered, her voice a small squeak
There was an awkward pause, and that kiss entered both of their minds.
"We really miss you, Em." Pete finally said softly.
"I miss you guys, too."
"We're all homesick."
"I'll bet."
"It's like...space camp, or something."
Emily stopped, her brain working like clockwork all of a sudden.
"Homesick at space camp." she said slowly.
Pete laughed.
"Eerily poetic."
"Yeah, like, I told Andy the day you guys left, I felt like the sun burnt out, and he said it sounded strangely poetic."
The two of them laughed, and Emily didn't think much of it, but Pete was already reaching for his notebook.
'Calm before the storm...and the sun burnt out tonight.' he scribbled.
'Homesick at space camp...???' he scribbled next.
"Well...I'd better go. I'm going shopping." Emily sighed.
"Alone?"
"No, with my friend Hanna-Bella."
"Who?"
"We met at a club last night."
"...oh. It's just...weird. I always used to take you shopping."
"'Cause you have a car, and could get me to the mall." Emily laughed.
"Yeah. Well, have fun...'bye."
"Bye."
They hung up, and, a million miles away from her, Pete felt his heart breaking.