FicWad

Thanks for the review(s)! This is the chapter where life starts to get interesting. I really love this chapter because it makes me smile. Thanks to everyone who reads and I love anyone who thinks to review.



"Ok, so how about you meet me and the guys over at their house at 327 Mariner Way. It's past Old-Time."
Jess turned her head like a confused puppy and I couldn't help but smile,

"You don't know where that is, do you?"

"Pete, let me put it this way, I don't get out a lot. I leave my house to get a sandwich. I've never been out of Chicago in my life."

"Y-You've never been out of Chicago?"

"You mean there's a world outside of Chicago?"

"Whoa, weird. Ok...change of plans. How about, on Sunday, I pick you up here and we both drive over to the guys' house. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great."

"Were you serious when you said you've never been out of Chicago?"

"I was a real deprived kid, Pete. I'd never had a corn dog until I turned 20. My first Twinkie was at 18. I was the kid who drew graffitti caricatures of people on high school bathrooms instead of 'West Side'."

"Yet you've met more celebrities than you can count, correct?"

"That's how it works, bucko."

A deep voice from the doorway resonated throughout the room, "Am I...interrupting something?" Jess looked past me to see Mike Dirnt standing presumptuously in the lavender door.

She smiled and continued fidgeting with her camera, "No, not at all, Mike. Just let me get the prints and I'll be right there."

As she bounced to the back room, Mike loped over to me slowly and proved my hypothesis that he was taller than I was. His bag hit the floor with a violent 'thunk' and he smirked at me, "Dirnt, Mike Dirnt," Willingly, I shook his hand and smiled, making sure not to show my teeth, "You're Pete Wentz, right?"

"Last time I checked."

"Awesome, tell Trohman I said 'hi'. You guys are pretty talented."

"Thanks, Green day's pretty mind blowing, too."

"You're talented on bass, but if I can say one thing,"

"Shoot."

"You might want to press your index finger down harder. I've noticed when you use it the sound's sort of muted."

"Damn, I'll work on that, thank you.

"Anything for a fellow bassist."

"Save a bass..."

"...Lick a bassist." I laughed awkwardly, not expecting him to finish that. Curiously, I turned around and watched as Jess dug through a gray, un-matching file cabinet. Just from above her jeans peeked out a pair of 'Strawberry Shortcake' underwear.

Smiling like an idiot, I crouched down next to her, "Nice undies."

She didn't even look up but said quite loudly, "Thanks, Wentz. I'm glad you like them, I was going to pick you up a pair for Christmas." Mike looked at me questioningly and I just smirked at him while throwing out my knees in an attempt to stand.

"I'm gonna go, Jess, but I'll see you on Sunday, right?"

"What time?"

"12:30?"

"I thought we left at 2?"

"I'm gonna take you out for some corn dogs." Her 'cheeky bastard' smile flashed at me as I passed through the threshold.

Mentally, I greeted the stairs as I glided down them. Beaming, I stopped and waved, "Good afternoon, Roberta." Roberta just snorted in turn and went back to her nail filing.



(***********)

The calendar on the kitchen wall doubled as my memory as mom's wavy handwriting reminded me of the trip, not like I could have forgotten. Occasionally glancing at the dates, I smeared grape jelly on top of a thick layer of banana slices. Mmm...There was nothing better than a peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich in the morning. Scratching the back of my plaid calf with my slipper, my head shot up and I stared at the TV.

"We're back to the Music and Mayhem preparation episode, where we show you how the Mayhem gets started. I am your host for the day, Ben Gowny and I'm going to see what spoilers the coordinators here can give us. Excuse me, Mr. Rennington, do you have anything to reveal about the upcoming expo?"

"Well, Ben, we just received word that the All-American Rejects, Bad Religion and The Offspring are coming to perform. And...what's that? Oh, right, the RSVP yesterday said Fall Out Boy would be showing up."

I couldn't help but smirk as a few 96-pound 13-year olds screamed and held up signs with my name on them. From the corner of my eye, I noticed mom standing against the doorway in the longest bathrobe I had ever seen.

"You boys are leaving today?"

"Yup, I'm really stoked."

"Heh, you're starting to sound like Joe."

"Uh-oh, remember last time that happened?"

"Peter," her hand grazed my shoulder, "I want you to be careful."

"Mom, I'm always careful."

"I know but I'm still worried."

"I'll be fine."

"Here," her hands met mine and I looked down at the item she'd placed in my fingers, "take this. And use it, Pete."

"A condom, mom?"

"Just take it, Peter."

"Mom..."

"I know that Jess is going with you."

"I ain't in love with her mom, trust me."

"Peter, don't argue with your mother. Just take the...item and...Don't tell your father." Shaking my head, I placed the orange Trojan in my hoodie pocket and turned off the TV.


(********)

It was 12:32 when I pulled up to the curb just outside the familiar building and waited for the blonde to look up from her GameBoy. Trying to think of something clever to get her attention, I dug 'From Under the Cork Tree' out from my cd case and slid it smoothly into the player of the car. Skipping to track 13 (it'd been stuck in my head for several hours) I cranked Patrick's voice up to the level where people were turning around and staring. At first, she simply bobbled her head to the beat and mouthed the words but before the third line she looked up and smiled at me through the barrier of the glass. Tucking away her GameBoy, she opened up the shotgun door and let the music flood the street way initiating more staring.

"Morning," I greeted warmly.

"WHAT?" she screamed over my buddy.

I turned it down to a sane level, "This piece of crap's got a nice sound system, eh?"

"I concur."

With lots of bending, she was able to throw her suitcases in the back seat next to mine.

"So what does a big shot photographer like yourself bring on a road trip?"

"Cameras, cameras, cameras, batteries for cameras, laptops, USB cords, more USB cords, headphones, notebooks, pencils, pens and...oh crap...did I pack clothes?" Smiling, I thrusted the key into the ignition and jerked it sideways. The beast moaned and clambered to life like a ten-dollar whore and we rode her down the road.

This was actually the first time I'd been with Jess outside of the studio and it was weird not seeing her smile below a camera or not having her tell me to take of my shirt and do a little dance for the lens. We talked a lot about music and all the people she's had the chance to meet. I realized that there was celebrities who traveled across the country just so this cute blonde girl could take their pictures. She did quality work and every month she'd proven it to me. I found it pretty nice that there was find someone who hadn't heard the stories behind my scars.

We pulled in slowly to the house I knew so well. Jess' eyes became huge as she stared at my old lodgings. She pressed her pink lips almost to the glass of the window like a kid who just saw the biggest, shiniest thing ever a week before Christmas. Doing my best not to hit Joe's mom's Subaru, I set it in park and laid it to rest. Fumbling with the seatbelt, she stepped out of the car and fell back on it.

"You...used to live here, Pete?"

"Yeah, before I moved back in with my parents I lived here with the guys."

"Oh-my-god, this has got to be the biggest house I have ever seen."

"That just means you have seen the Fall Out Boy beach house; it's twice this size and made completely of hundred dollar bills."

"This is bigger than the downtown library!"

"You're really freaking out over this house thing, aren't you?"

"You're right, sorry. God, this is huge..."

"Come on, you've got to meet the guys, you're going to love them." Now just below the point of 'giddy' I grabbed her wrist and we ran up to the front door. I threw it open and pulled her in by her arm. The living room was empty at the time so I smiled at Jess in a sort of 'they'll be here' fashion but she didn't notice because she was still gaping at the house.

"Aww, Bekah, you're gonna be fine just leave it." Joe's stoked voice could be heard from the top of the stairs. Within the minute, he'd gracefully trotted down the stairs with the hand of his girlfriend right behind him. Most recently, he was going out with this good-looking girl named Rebekah. Bekah, as we named her, was around 5' 4" and had long straight black hair with a universal curl at the ends. Her two bangs in the front were dyed a sweet red color and she had killer brown eyes.

"Speak of the devil, Bekah, you know Peter and, Pete, what did you bring for the trip?"

"Hmm...a toothbrush, some sex toys, the usual."

"I meant this sweet-looking young lady standing by you, smart ass."

"Oh! Joe, this is my photographer, Jess. Jess, this is Joe Trohman and his girlfriend Rebekah."

The three of them politely shook hands before Joe started, "She's pretty hot, Pete, keep your hands to yourself."

I gave Bekah a look and noticed Jess blush slightly.

Patrick and Dirty were the next two contestants.

"Jess, this is some guy we found on the street, adopted and named Dirty and the hot one next to him is my amazing buddy, Patrick Stump. Just don't call him 'Pat' he hates that. Patrick this is Jess."

Smiling sweetly, Patrick and Jess shook hands, "Pete talks about you a lot."

"Likewise, Patrick."

Dirty, being dirty, insisted upon checking out Jess as they shook hands. He nodded in approval to me. Silently, I did a head count, "Where's our vegan buddy and who's he bringing?"

Joe wrapped his arm around Bekah, "Someone insisted he'd wake up early and pack but overslept. For shame, Andy. He's brought his sister."

As if on cue, a sleepy, worried Andy almost fell down the stairs and behind him came this...girl. She lugged her suitcase with arms that weren't meant to carry and stared at the crowd. Before anything I saw, I saw her eyes. I'm lying. Before anything I saw her killer body. It was small and almost fragile but was perfectly proportioned. Her hips formed perfectly (you know how I like my hips). She didn't have large breasts but she looked like she really didn't care. But after all that, I saw her eyes.

Large brown eyes assumed from under large dark eyelashes painted with graceful eye shadow and liner. Her smile was perfect and beautiful and her skin was a little bit lighter than mine was. Black curls framed her face sweetly. To tell the truth, she looked nothing like Andy.

It was only then I realized I was staring and everyone had been introduced without me noticing. Her name was Melissa Hurley and she blushed as she looked at my ugly, staring face.

"Should we go?" Asked Bekah. A nod went through the circle like the wave at a baseball game and that was all it took to initiate motion. Picking up the bags, we stood at the doorway of the huge tour bus and I could see Jess now marveling at the size of the bus.

It took five minutes but everything was situated and we headed towards Philadelphia.

"What are you thinking?" I couldn't help but ask Jess. She sat next to the large rounded window and stared thoughtfully out while her fingers traced patterns over the glass.

"I don't know. I just have that awkward feeling that I'm growing up and there's nothing I can do about it. That there's this childhood that was my foundation and if one little thread, just one, was changed I'd be a completely different person. I might not even be here."

"How about after Philly, you and me can go to my island called Never-Never land and we can live forever there drinking out of coconuts and wearing coonskin caps."

With that, she smiled the most genuine smile I've ever seen at me and I smiled back at her.