Everything Is Never as It Seems

“Was that Pete guy here last night?” Kaleb asked me as soon as he walked downstairs in the morning.

“Well, just for a few minutes. You forgot your jacket over there, he brought it over.” He nodded his head, then walked into the kitchen, getting himself breakfast. “Now hurry up, you’ve got to get ready for school.” The only response from him was a groan, and him dragging himself up the stairs.

Once I dropped Kaleb of at school, I made my way back home. I usually work from home, on my laptop, and my cell phone. I had plenty of workers at the actually building and corporation I was running, that I hardly ever needed to be there.

I got out of my car, and was walking up the newly shoveled walk way up to my front door, when I slipped on the ice. “Owww.” I said, sitting there, rubbing my hip. I heard laughter from somewhere behind me. I turned around and found my, apparent, new neighbor, Pete. “It’s not funny! My body hurts!” I hollered.

He quickly walked over to me, continuing to laugh. “Are you okay, Lauren?” I answered him with a, ‘Yeah’. He reached out his hand, and I took it. He pulled me up off the ground, walking me inside of my house. “I just got done shoveling the snow off of the walk.” He said.

“Why?” I asked him.

“Mom told me too.” He muttered.

“Oh,” I snickered.

“You sure you’re okay?” He asked.

“Promise.” I said.

“Maybe I should stick around. Just in case…”

I laughed. “Okay.”

He sat down beside of me. “Kaleb at school?” I nodded. “Poor kid. My mom can be a bitch. I feel sorry for him.”

“I like your mom.”

“Yeah, you didn’t have to grow up with her. But enough about her, shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I am.” I told him. He just smiled at me.

“Shouldn’t be? What’s your job anyway?” I asked.

“I’m an entrepreneur.”

“An entrepreneur?”

“Yes.”

“How exactly are you an entrepreneur?”

“Well, I’m in a band. I have a clothing line. I have a record label. Oh, and I own my own bar.”

I just looked at him, and laughed. “Seriously. What’s your job?”

“I’m not lying to you. I am. My band’s name is Fall Out boy.”

“Fall Out Boy?”

“Yes, come here.” He said, standing up and taking my hand. He guided me up the stairs. He looked over his shoulder, “Kaleb have poster’s on his wall?”

“Yeah…”

“Which room is his?” He asked. I pointed to the his room and he pulled me inside. He looked around his room. “Now, I’m not sure if…Ah, here.” He picked up a CD that was sitting on Kaleb’s shelf. He showed me the back of the CD, four guys were sitting on a couch. He held the CD next to his face, giving the exact look as one of them had. Sure enough, it was him.

“Well, I didn’t know I was dealing with a celebrity.” I said.

“You’re not. Celebrity Pete Wentz, is still in California. I’m just the regular ol’ Pete Wentz from Chicago.” He explained. I wasn’t sure what the difference was, but I had a feeling I’d find out.

“C’mon, let’s go back downstairs. You hungry? I can fix us something.” I offered.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay.” I lead him downstairs, and into the kitchen that was hardly used. I wasn’t much of a cook I usually burnt all of the food I cooked. I’m not sure why I offered to fix Pete something, knowing there was a risk of me burning down the house. I walked over to the fridge, opening it. I stood there for a few minutes, trying to think of what to cook, or actually what to burn. I finally turned around, and smiled. “You wanna know a secret?”

“A secret? I’m dying for one. What is it?”

“I can’t cook. I can burn you something. But not cook it.”

He started laughing. “I’ll pass on that.” He walked over to the fridge, pulling out pancake mix. “I’ll cook. Sit down, I can handle everything.”

I watched as he began to cook. I noticed how good looking he actually was. It was strange how fast I’d already found him so attractive, and how much I wanted to get to know him. He looked over his shoulder at me, giving me a breath taking smile. I remember how when I’d first met him yesterday, standing at my mailbox, I’d found his smile break taking. There was really nothing special about it, just that it was kind of nice. I don’t know why it was breath taking, it just was.

“So, Lauren, tell me. What are you doing tomorrow night?” He asked, bringing me a plate of pancake’s.

“Friday night?” I asked, to clarify.

“Yes ma’am. As I said, tomorrow night.”

“I’m not sure, probably sitting here with Kaleb.”

“Whoa, how exciting.” He said in a monotone. “How about, you take a little time off of your crazy Friday nights, and come out to with dinner with me.”

I smiled at him. “I don’t know. I’m pretty in love with my Friday nights.”

“Is that so? Which part? Wondering what you could be doing, or wondering what Kaleb would rather be doing.”

“Being with Kaleb, that’s the part I love.”

“You two are close aren’t you?” He asked.

“I’d like to think we were.”

He smiled. “Well, you think you could take time from your wild Friday night, and come out to dinner with me?”

“I’m not even done with this meal, and you want me to have another one with you?” I joked.

“If you’d like, then yes. I would.”

“Okay then. I’d like to go.”