Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

The few days they had off went by too fast for Pete’s taste. He wanted to stay at Luci’s place, watching a marathon of movies with Katy while throwing popcorn at the screen. But, sadly, they had a schedule to keep and shows to play.

He stretched out on the couch in the bus, watching The Breakfast Club on the television, using wireless headphones to listen. It was three in the morning and he couldn’t sleep. Luci and Patrick were being weird, Joe had been a bit stoned when he came on the bus, and Andy had just wanted to sleep. Katy was the only one who was excited about being back on the bus. Though right now, everyone was asleep and Pete was wide awake, enthralled with the movie.

The wireless headphones were a Godsend. Luci had bought them for him after she woke up one night on the road to what sounded like a woman being murdered. It turned out that Pete was up, watching some horror movie. She knew his sleeping habits, so she bought him the headphones. Now Pete could watch his movies peacefully while the others slept. They blocked out other sounds as well, so Pete wouldn’t hear if someone was calling his name or anything.

He actually jumped and let out a yelp, falling off the couch when someone grabbed his shoulder. He was shocked to see Patrick standing there, looking amused.

“Getting into the movie there, Pete?” He asked quietly, getting himself a bottle of water from the fridge. Pete mumbled in response and got back up on the couch while Patrick took a seat next to him.

“I was, until you disturbed me.” Pete replied, rubbing his face. He was still jittery from Patrick startling him. “Why are you awake?”

Patrick shrugged and sipped his water. “Just… a lot on my mind…” He sighed, rubbing his face. Pete watched his friend, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

Patrick sighed again. “Fuck… I don’t know where to start. There’s just… I don’t know what to think. Luci and I… we’re back together, but not really, it seems? It’s hard to really understand… I just feel a bit weird about the whole situation.” He said, sipping his water. “And… she’s pregnant, though it is really early… only a few weeks along. And I’m worried about that… like, what if this tour is stressful and she miscarries? Fuck, and she wants to keep everything a secret, even around you guys…”

Pete stared at his friend.

“She’s pregnant?”

Patrick’s eyes widened and he froze. Pete looked shocked.

“You… you didn’t hear it from me, okay? Don’t… say anything.” Patrick started, rubbing his face. “Fuck! Don’t tell her that I told you, please? We were going to wait until the end of tour before making any announcement…” He swore softly. “This is fucking insane. I don’t know if I can handle it…” He ran his fingers through his hair, looking at his friend. “Fuck, Pete, I don’t know… I’m wondering if this was a bad idea.”

Pete slapped him on the back of the head, rolling his eyes.

“Fucking relax, Tricky.” He hissed. “Don’t do this. You love her, don’t you?” Patrick nodded. “And you love that little girl.” Again, he nodded. “I can see where you’re coming from, though. You’re stressed. The tour is almost over, you guys are back together, and you knocked her up. Fuck, I’d be ripping my hair out if I was in your position. This isn’t a bad idea. You guys are gonna be together forever, have cute, fat babies, and be happy.” Patrick gave him a weird look. “Hey, fat babies are cute! But, anyways, you guys are gonna be happy again and that’s important.”

“I know, but…” Patrick bit his lip and Pete frowned.

“What?”

“I don’t know… it just… getting back together… this reminds me when we were in high school.” Patrick said. “You and Luci always together, with me tagging along. And it sort of feels like that now. We might be together, but you spend more time with her than I do. I… just seem to be more of the baby sitter to my daughter.” Pete nodded, listening. “I want to spend more time with Luci. That night in Dallas was fun, we just stayed in bed and watched whatever was on, but the next morning, she went off with you to do something, leaving me with Katy. And it just seems to keep happening…”

Pete smiled a bit and leaned back. “Fuck, man. I’m sorry. Look, before you even get it in your mind, Luci doesn’t give a shit about me in that ‘love’ sense. She loves you, a fucking whole lot. But yea, we do spend a lot of time together. She’s had similar worries, you know? The night before the break ended, you were asleep and she spent about an hour with me, crying her eyes out about how she wonders if you love her all that much, and how she thinks you’re just ‘putting up with her’ because of Katy.” Patrick bit his lip and nodded.

“What did you say?” He asked. Pete grinned and shrugged.

“Slapped her on the back of her head and basically told her the same thing. Even about the fat babies.” Patrick rolled his eyes, sighing. He was starting to feel a little better. “I’m serious, though. She loves you. When we hang out, you’re all she talks about. It’s fucking high school all over again.” Pete teased, smirking. Patrick flipped him off and sighed, smiling a bit.

“Thanks, Pete…”