FicWad

January ended the week after the twins turned one. February went by fast but we had the most wonderful thing happen in February. We finally got to go in front of a judge and had the adoption of Saint and Marvel finalized. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I was officially, legally, their mother. The judge was a woman around our age. She confessed that she too, went through a Emo phase in her college years and knew who Pete was. That she had recognized his name when she saw our case come across her docket. She was very happy to be the one to make it official for us. She also told us that adoptions like ours, when the kids and the parents want to be a family, are her favorite part of her job.

Before I knew it, it was March. Spring was in full force in Southern California. The weather was beautiful and we got out and enjoyed it as much as we could. We went on hikes and camping. The twins were running and talking up a storm. Not that we understood all of what they said, but that didn’t stop them from talking.

During this time, Pete started working with Patrick on some songs. Well, they never really stop working on music together, but they went into a writing frenzy. They talked daily and most days Pete went to his office and I could hear music coming from it. Usually it was the bass I heard since that’s what he played.

In early March Bronx did end his relationship with Rob. He told me about it when he got home that afternoon. He wasn’t as upset about it as I thought he would be. He told me that Rob’s jealousy had gotten out of hand.

I was outside with all the kids when he got home. We were planting flowers in the flower beds around the front of the house. I had found Honeysuckle and wanted to plant that for Pete. The twins were having a grand time digging in the dirt. They were making a mess, but having fun. Marvel was helping by keeping them busy and Saint was helping me decide where to plant what. He has an eye for beauty. Very much like his father.

Bronx pulled in and parked in the driveway. He got out and joined us.

“Hi Bronx!” I greeted him.

“Bonks!” Star said as he got out of his car. She ran to him as she usually does when she sees him. He scooped her up and walked over to us.

“Hi Star! How are you?” He said as he picked her up. She was always so happy with him.

“Hi Bronx. What to help us plant the flowers?” Saint asked.

“Sure. What’re you planting?” He said as he put Star down and joined us.

“Honeysuckle. And some other things.” I answered.

“That’ll make Dad happy.” He said with a grin.

“I hope so. That’s why I’m planting it. How was school?”

Bronx sighed and said, “I broke up with Rob today.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

“He said some really horrible things about Abby. And I was just done. I couldn’t take it anymore and told him we were over.” Bronx told me. He looked sad and defeated.

“What did he say about Abby?” I asked shocked. I know I'm biased, but she’s a sweet soul, and I had never heard her bash Rob in any way. In fact, I had never heard her bash anyone.

Bronx pushed his light brown curls out of his face and gave a frustrated huff. “He got really angry with me because I told him I was going with you to see Abby’s performance. He started yelling at me in the hall between classes. He called her a..” He paused and glanced over at the younger kids. “Um... some really awful names, names you do not call girls, if you know what I mean. He keeps accusing me of wanting to be with her and not him.” He sighed and sat down on the grass next to me. “Moon, I love Abby. She’s my cousin and one of my best friends. But I don’t want to date her. And I don’t want to sleep with her! She’s family!” Bronx told me. “I know she’s pretty and cool and she’s gonna be a great girlfriend to someone someday. But I’m not her boyfriend and I don’t want to be. And she feels the same way! I kept telling him that, but after he met her at Christmas and saw how pretty and awesome she is, he flipped and decided I was having sex with her.”

“He thought you were sleeping with Abby? How in the world did he get that idea?” I asked him.

“I don’t know! I’ve never said anything like that or even thought of that. Why would I?” Bronx sighed again and looked at me with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry Bronx. I really am. When you two first started dating, I really thought he was sweet and good for you. I’m sorry it’s come to an end. Do you need anything?”

“No, but thanks Moon.” He said sadly. But then he got his hands dirty and helped me and the kids plant the flowers.

That evening he and Pete had another long talk closed up in Pete’s office. But he seemed in a better mood after the talk with his father.

The kids had school and were doing well. Saint was starting to struggle more with math. I started sitting with him daily to explain the problems in a way he understood and helped him with the problems if he needed it. I was basically tutoring him in math. But it seemed to help as he started to understand it better. Fractions are hard!

Marvel was doing well with her school work. But I did make sure that she was challenged and provided workbooks to keep her working ahead. Bronx was in his last semester of high school and would be graduating in the spring. He was still waiting to hear back from all the colleges he had applied to. He really wanted to go to Oregon State or Northern Arizona University since both schools did Forestry degrees and where in areas of the country he wanted to live in and explore. He was still very interested in that. He had told me once that he wanted to work with the National Parks, maybe be a Park Ranger. He had also applied to other schools including UCLA Berkeley.

At the beginning of March, a few days before Bronx broke up with Rob, Pete announced that we would all be traveling to New York to see Abby in her talent show. Apparently he and Patrick had been working with her over FaceTime on the song. Patrick and his family were planning on going out for it too. We were taking Bronx, of course. Ashlee agreed to it and let us take him out of school the two days before the start of Spring Break.

Pete said that after working with Abby so much, Patrick wanted to be there for the performance. And that he, Patrick, really thought Abby had enough talent to make it as a singer if she wanted to give it a shot. Pete thought the same thing and told me he would sign her to his label in a heartbeat. I knew that if she did, she would have two very talented and enthusiastic mentors.

A few weeks before we were going to New York, Joe started coming by most days to work on the songs with Pete and Patrick. And I’m pretty sure Andy was on the calls too.

On the Wednesday before the start of Spring Break, a week and a half before Easter, we packed up the kids and headed to the airport. We had a midday flight. This was the first airplane flight the twins had been on. They did ok. Both of them ended up falling asleep and slept for the majority of the flight.

Pete made arrangements for a ride to our hotel since we were so many. A rental car just wasn’t feasible and a cab would’ve been too small. We had adjoining rooms. The bigger kids stayed in one, the twins, Pete and I were in the other. I called Scott when we got in to let them know we were there and would have dinner with them the next night.

The next day we did some sightseeing around Manhattan to occupy our time. The kids had fun seeing the Statue of Liberty. So did I, I had never been there before. I took advantage of our trip and filmed most of it for my channel. That night we met up with my brother and his family for dinner.

During dinner Abby said, “Uncle Pete, I’m so excited about the show tomorrow! I can’t believe you and Patrick came all the way out here to see me. Thank you so much. I’m nervous, but I feel like I’m ready for it.” Abby said as she grinned at him.

“You are very welcome Abby. I’ve had a lot of fun helping you rehearse it.” Pete told her, grinning back at her. Than he winked at her. That’s when I knew something was up.

We went our separate ways after dinner. Scott and family went home. And we headed to the hotel.

The next day was Friday, the first night for the talent show. The school was doing the show for two nights, Friday and Saturday. We spent Friday day together as a family and did some more sightseeing. But that afternoon, after school was out, Pete said he wanted to go to Abby’s school and help her rehearse one last time. He said he would meet us there for the performance. The kids and I headed for Scott’s place to have dinner with them and hang out with them until it was time to go to the school.

Scott and Lisa don’t live too far from Abby’s school, it’s within walking distance. It’s only about a fifteen minute walk. The eight of us left when it was time and headed to the school. When we got there, I saw Elisa and the boys standing outside on the sidewalk.

“Hi Elisa!” I greeted her as we walked up.

Saint and Declan were excited to see each other and enthusiastically greeted their friends.

“Hi Moon! Hi kids!” She said as we walked up to her.

As she was saying hello to Lisa and Scott I heard someone else calling me.

“Moony! Elisa!”

I turned to see Meredith coming up to us. Her hair was bright bubblegum pink again. I was surprised to see her there. I had no idea she was coming.

“Meredith! What are you doing here?!?” I asked her as she hugged me and offered to take Jupiter off my hands. He loved her and almost launched himself out of my arms to be held by her.

“Hello Little Man!” She said she held Jupiter. “We came to see Abby. Didn’t Pete tell you?”

“No, he didn’t. Where’s Andy?”

“He came early to help Patrick and Pete rehearse with her. He told me to find you guys and find seats together. He said they would find seats in the back when it was time.”

“They’re gonna do something, aren’t they?” Elisa asked.

Meredith only smiled knowingly and said, “You’ll see. Come on, let’s go get seats. I want to sit up close to the stage.”

“Is Joe here too?” I asked her as we started to head into the school.

She only smiled and nodded at me.

We went into the school and bought tickets for the show. The school was trying to raise money for the arts department with the ticket sales. We were a large group so we ended up taking the middle section of two rows. We got seated and waited for the show to start.

Meredith kept Jupiter for me and Scott had Star. We let the boys sit next to each other and Marvel sat next to Lisa.

We sat through a few kids doing their thing. Some sang, some danced. And one did a stand up routine, he was very funny. Then, it was Abby’s turn.

The teacher that was acting as the announcer introduced her.

“Up next is Abby Campbell and her back up band The Boys, singing a song written by her uncle and his friends. They have also agreed to be her backup band.”

The teacher stepped off stage and Abby stepped out from the center of the curtain. She sang Heaven Iowa. She started the song softly with just a soft piano and drum beat. Then when the next verse began, the curtain opened to reveal all of Fall Out Boy backing her up. Patrick sang backing vocals for her. They harmonized together beautifully. They did change a few of the lyrics to be more fitting for a teenage girl than for a middle aged man.

I overheard people in the audience saying things like “Is that really Fall Out Boy?” And “Which one is her uncle?” and “She’s really good.” I also saw a bunch of phones out recording the performance.

They were amazing! Abby sounded so good, her voice was so sweet and clear. And her stage presence was amazing. When the song was over they got the loudest and longest applause. Once the show was over, all of us waited for them to come out front. Scott was the first to hug her and congratulate her.

“Abby! You sounded amazing! You were so good!” He said as he hugged her.

“Oh, Sweetheart, that was just amazing! Really! I’m so proud of you.” Lisa told her when it was her turn to hug her daughter.

Bronx also hugged her and told her just how good she did.

I smiled fondly at my husband when he and the other guys came up behind her. They had been recognized and had stopped for a few pictures.

Meredith was so enthusiastic about the performance. “Oh my God, Abby! You should be cutting a record and going on tour!”

While we were standing around out front of the auditorium of the school congratulating Abby a group of kids came up to her.

“Abby, you were so good!” One girl said.

Another one was making eyes at the guys and asked “Abby, will you introduce us?”

And one boy said, “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before.” This boy was a real cutie too and I had a feeling he liked Abby.

Abby took all the attention in stride. She glanced at Pete to see if it was alright to introduce her friends to him and the guys. He nodded and she turned back to the kids.

“This is my Uncle Pete, and his friends, Patrick, Andy, and Joe. They wrote the song, and when I asked if I could sing it they all agreed I could. And then they helped me practice it.” She turned to the guys and said, “Guys, these are my friends. Kisha, Molly, and Marco.”

Abby’s friends and the guys all gave a collective “Hey” to each other.

She turned towards me and the kids and said, “This is my Aunt Gracie, she’s married to Pete. She’s my Dad’s sister. And these are my cousins, Bronx, Saint, Marvel, and the twins Star and Jupiter.” She pointed us out as she spoke.

We all waved and said hello to her friends. They did the same back.

“So, Abby, you ready to go celebrate your first show with some ice cream?” Patrick asked her.

She smiled and nodded. Said a quick goodbye to her friends and the group of us walked down the street to a place my brother knew of. It was a small place, and there were a lot of us, but we got ice cream and sat around talking about the talent show. All of the kids that had performed were great and I was glad to help support the arts department of her school.

Abby was on cloud nine all night. She had the biggest smile on her face. Patrick and Scott were talking very seriously to the side. I didn’t hear what they were talking about, but I had a feeling it was about Abby and her chances at making it in the music industry. Lisa got pulled into their conversation too.

When we were done with the ice cream, we all headed our separate ways and went to our rooms or home. It turned out that everybody else in the Fall Out Boy family were staying in the same hotel as us. Pete did make all the arrangements for the trip so I wasn’t surprised.

Since we were such a large group going to the same place, and because we had children with us, Pete had arranged for cars to come get us all.

I turned to look at Pete as we waited for our hired cars to pick us up. He had the happiest look on his face. He was so damn proud of what they did tonight. They let Abby have the stage, they had remained the backing band, not the main attraction. And Abby had shined brightly.

“Thank you for what guys did for Abby.” I said to the group.

Patrick turned to me surprised. “Moon, you don’t have to thank us. She’s been a joy to work with. This was so much fun too.” He said and then grinned at me. Patrick is quick to smile, but he doesn’t grin very often that I’ve seen.

“Moony, this was so much fun. I like doing this kind of stuff.” Andy told me. He was standing with his arm around Meredith’s shoulder. She was tucked up against his side. She flashed me a smile and nodded.

“Really Moony, this has been so much fun. And we get to do it again tomorrow night.” She said.

“Honestly I want to take her on tour with us next time. Let her get an idea of what it’s like. She’s got the talent for it.” Joe said. The others all nodded in agreement.

“You know, Scott and Lisa were saying they would be willing to let me mentor her and write for her if she wanted. But it would have to be remote like we’ve been doing so she can stay in school. And I agree with them on that. She needs to finish high school at least.” Patrick said.

“Well, I can’t think of a better mentor for her than you.” I told him.

Our cars pulled up then so we all got in and headed to the hotel. The babies were asleep already. I just took off their clothes and put them to bed.

Saint and Marvel were a bit worked up so we allowed them to stay up later than normal. They crashed hard when they did fall asleep.

The next morning we had breakfast with the other guys from the band and decided to spend the day together. Lisa, Scott, and Abby joined us for a day in Central Park. We had lunch and dinner together. Then, the guys and Abby headed to her school before the rest of us.

We all went and watched the show again. This time though the crowd was much bigger. I overheard things as we waited for the show to start.

“Did you see the video from last night? I can’t believe it was really them.”

“That girl I was telling you about, the one that kept saying she was the niece of Pete Wentz? Remember me telling you that?”

“I can’t believe they’re really here. Are you sure it was really Fall Out Boy?”

“Yeah, I saw it online. Someone was here last night and recorded it. Apparently the girl singing is Pete’s niece or something.”

Elisa, Meredith, Lisa, and I all heard this.

Meredith couldn’t keep quiet. Grinning as she turned to the group of girls closest to us that were talking about the guys and said. “Her name is Abby and she’s Pete’s niece. This is Moony, his wife. And these are their kids.”

I smiled and waved at them. Star was in my lap and started babbling at the girls. Marvel and Saint both looked at the girls but didn’t do anything else.

They blushed a dark pink but said hello. The house lights went down shortly after that and the talent show started. And the kids really did a fantastic job. Then it was Abby’s turn.

They did the same thing as the night before. Abby started the song alone on stage with the curtain closed. Then, when the song picked up, the curtain opened and the guys could be seen. And again, they got the most applause.

After the show the principal came out and thanked the band for doing this. The crowd on the second night had set a record for ticket sales and had made the school more money than they expected. Later on I found out that a sizable donation to the school's music department was made by the band.

The guys posed for a few photos with Abby and the staff. A few very forward people asked for pictures. The guys did a good job of saying thanks, but they were here for Abby, not Fall Out Boy. It was Abby’s night.

We went out again for ice cream after the show was over. Bronx and Abby were taking a mile a minute about everything and anything. The other kids were all visiting and having fun. And the twins were getting attention from the adults they don’t see all the time. Everyone was having a good time.

That night when we were in our room and all the kids were in bed, I told Pete how much I appreciated what they had done for Abby.

“Hon, I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done for Abby. You’re so generous and kind to her. You and the guys really made her year tonight and last night.” I told him as I got ready for bed.

Pete only grinned at me. “I had a ton of fun. And she really does have the talent. Once Patrick and I started working with her, I just wanted her to show off how good she really is, you know? Like, it was important to have her stand out. We wanted her to shine.”

“Well, she certainly did. And I think she had fun too.”

“I hope so. And I’d love to sign her. I like Joe’s idea of taking her with us the next time we tour. We’ll probably do some shows over the summer. She could come then.”

“We can talk with Scott and Lisa about that later.”

I opened Reddit on my phone because I was sure there would be a post on the FOB subreddit about them playing at the school. And there was. A sibling of a student had been at the show and recorded the song. They posted it on a thread titled “My little brother goes to school with Pete’s niece.” And then went on to explain. The comments were only positive saying how good Abby was, how cool it was for the band to play their song with her.

“Honey, look at this!” I said and showed him my phone. He took it and read through the posts. The smile on his face only grew as he read what was said about them.

“Do you ever post on Reddit?” He asked as he handed my phone back to me.

“Yeah, but not much in the FOB subreddit. My user name is Girlinthemoon, so… I kinda feel like it would be known it was me. Ya know?”

“You should post in this thread. Let the kids go crazy.” He said with a big grin.

I laughed a little and asked, “What do you think I should say?”

By this time we were in bed. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around me, pushing me down so he could lean over me.

“That your amazing husband and his friends think she’s very talented and want to help her start a career in music.” Then he kissed me. He quickly made me forget about the post on Reddit.

I did end up making a comment in that thread the next day.

We left New York on Monday. I would have loved to stay longer to visit with my family, but we did have things that needed our attention back home.