The Past is Best Forgotten

Bri looked at the picture of them. They were so happy in it. He held her close and they were both laughing. They were at Chuck E. Cheese's. It was their first date, and Pete Wentz was the one that she was lucky enough to be with.

Now, it was over, they had decided. One whole year, and it was over. They had decided it together, but it still hurt.

He walked over, knealed down, and gave her an awkward hug. "I know it hurts."

She looked at him. "Why doesn't it look like it hurts you, Pete? I'm not asking you to cry, but I don't see 'hurt' in your eyes. It's pitty... for me." She ripped the picture in half. He was on half, and she was on the other. Bri threw his half on the floor and continued to rip hers up. The peices continues to get smaller and smaller, and she cried harder and harder.

After that, she grabbed the photo album and took out any pictures of herself and ripped them up.

She took all the peices and looked at him through her tears. His eyes were opened wide.

"Why don't we have a little party, Pete?" she said, and threw the ripped up pictures as if they were confetti. He came over to her, and reached his arms out. "Don't touch me," she said. Shegrabbed her purse and walked out of the apartment. She walked to the nearby park and, once she finished crying, called a cab to pick her up.

She told the driver her address and he began driving. The tears silently started to come again.

Then, she heard something, was thrown forward, and hit her head before everything went blank.

Bri woke up to blinding lights and the mixed scent of disease and unnatural clean. Her eyes snapped shut again until she could get used to the lights.

When her eyes opened again, she saw one of her best friends, Keelie.

"Hey, Keels. What's up?" she asked.

Keelie's head turned, and the smile on her face showed her obvious happiness. She hugged Bri. "I'm so happy that you're alright. You're not dead!"

The last sentence made Bri curious. "What happened?"

Her best friend calmed down and said, "Your cab was hit by a drunk driver. You flew forward since you weren't wearing a seat belt and you hit the seat in front of you."

"Oh," she said.

"Brendon said he would be here in a few minutes." That name drew a blank to Bri.

She hesitated to say anything, but she evenually did. "I'm sorry Keelie, but... who's Brendon?"
Keelie understood what this could of meant. "Hey, Bri, I'm going to go get the doctor. He might want to check on you since you have woken up. I promise we'll finish this conversation after all that."

Bri nodded and Keelie left. She looked at her bedside table and looked saw a black chocolate cellphone. When she saw that the banner said "Skittle Bug," which was her nickname, she knew it was hers.

But when did I get a new phone?, she thought.

When Keelie came back with the doctor who introduced herself as Doctor Karen Dristen, Bri asked when she had gotten her new phone.

"You got that a year ago, around when you started dating Pete," she said.

"Who's Pete?" Bri asked.

Kelli noticed the doctor had a worried expression. "Bri? Could you tell me your most recent memory?"

Keelie, who noticed Bri's pause, started to try and remind her. "Do you remember our move to Los Angelos?"

Bri nodded. "Yes."

"Where do you work?" she asked.

Bri thought for a second. "I'm My Chemical Romance's make-up artist. Gerard hired me when," she laughed, "I was working at the make-up counter for Clinique."

Keelie smiled. "Do you remember that huge party where we met Fall Out Boy?"

Bri's eyes widened. "We met Fall Out Boy?"

"Yes, we did," Keelie said with her face dropped. "Do you remember Britney Spears at the VMAs?"

Bri shook her head.

"Do you remember what Frank Iero gave you for your twenty-second birthday." Keelie asked.

Laughing, Bri answer with a nodded. "Skittles... lots... and lots of skittles."

Keelie smiled and said, "Yep. That's exactly it."

The doctor looked at Keelie. "Was that the most recent thing she remembers?" Keelie nodded. "How long ago was it?"

"About a year and a half ago." Keelie replied. The doctor left, and then she turned to her friend. "Gerard, Mikey, and Frank are out there. Do you want to see them."

"Yeah," Bri said. Then Keelie walked out and came back five minutes later with three people trailing behind her.

Frank was the first one to hug her. "You sure know how to scare all of us to death, Bri. I almost choked on my dinner when I got the call."

Mikey laughed. "I almost rear ended a car getting here. I broke so fast that I spilt my Starbucks all over my pants. Thank god I had an extra pair."

Gerard was the last to hug me. "I saw it on the news and was the one to call all of the guys and Keelie. Then I rushed over here." I saw the saddness in his eyes. "I couldn't of dealt with you dieing like that." I gave him another hug.

Then all of a sudden, someone burst in. "Brendon called me," Patrick Stump said.

"Uh, that is Patrick Stump!" Bri said, almost screaming. Patrick made a confused expression and Keelie led him out to explain.

After a couple of minutes, the whole band had arrived. Keelie stopped them before they went in. She briefed them quickly and led them in.

Gerard looked at Fall Out Boy. "Well, I'm glad this is a big room. When is Panic coming?"

A knock at the door answered his question and Frank, who was closest, opened it to see two members of Panic! at the Disco.

"I know Panic! at the Disco too?" Bri question. Keelie nodded. "I guess I'm just drawn to celebrities like a magnet."

"The one's who wear eyeliner, cause your the best make-up artist in the world!" Frank said.

"Bragger!" Brendon said jokingly. "But can she do make-up like Ryan does?"

"Actually," Ryan said, "She's done mine for the past six month's shows."

Brendon faked a gasp. "How dare you Ryan Ross."

"Hey, it's helps to be OCD when it comes to make-up." Ryan said, "She almost had a meltdown because something that was suppose to be symmetrical was just a tad bit uneven."

All of them laughed at what Ryan said. They all knew how Bri was just slightly OCD.

They all slowly left, and it was just Ryan, Brendon, and Keelie. Bri had been discharged, since it was just her memory that had been harmed.

They all took the same car to Keelie and Bri's two bedroom apartment. Immediately, Brendon said something suggestive to Keelie, and they ran to her bedroom.

"At least the walls on both of the bedrooms are soundproof." Ryan laughed. Bri laughed with him and they walked to her bedroom.

Instantly, Bri notice a picture on her nightstand. It was of her and Pete. "Do you know when this was taken?"

Ryan turned his attention to her and looked at the picture. "I think we were all there. It was Brendon's birthday party at Angels and Kings, four months ago. Before you two broke up."

"Why did we break up?" Bri asked. She sat on the bed, her eyes staying on Ryan.

He gave a shrug. "He was taking everything that you did a little too seriously. Especially when it came to me."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Ryan just shrugged it off. "I know this is a little mean, but I'm glad you forgot about Pete. You were so hurt when the two of you broke up, I couldn't take it any more."

"So you think forgetting the past year and a half is more of a blessing, even if I forgot you and everyone else that has appeared in my life since then?" Bri asked.

"Yes," Ryan said. "I'm sorry for saying that, but..."

"I understand, Ryan." Bri interuppted. "You don't have to apologize. After you explained it, it seems like the crash was a blessing, too."

Ryan smiled. "I'm glad you do." He joined her on the bed.

"How close was I to you, Ryan?" she said.

He gave a slight laugh. "One time when Brendon and I came over here. One thing led to another and the next thing we know, they're making out in the kitchen. We decided we wanted to leave them alone, so whenever they get too close, we meet up and do something."

Bri laughed at the story. "Those times I've done your make-up, did it look exactly like it usually does."

Ryan shook his head. "No. It was my style and everything, but it was different every time and it NOTHING like anything I've ever done."

"Do you have pictures of them?" Bri asked. "I just wanted to see."

"Yeah, every one. They are in my phone." He took it out of his pocket and showed her all of the pictures.

"I couldn't of done those."

Ryan chuckled. "Your'e just being either modest or unconfident."

Bri just shrugged. Then she paused. "How many girls have told you how beautiful your face is?"

"How many times should I count you? You say it all the time while doing my make-up, and how lucky someone is going to get, waking up to this face every morning."

"They are." Bri said with a laugh.

"Well, thanks." he said, standing up. He looked at his watch. "Damn, it's midnight. Brendon's my ride, too. Guess we're spending the night."

Once he said that, Bri noticed how tired she was. She went to her closet and picked out some pajamas. "Do you want to borrow something of mine?"

"Yeah." he said. She threw him something and he went to the small adjacent bathroom to change. She stayed in her room to change.

When he came back, she looked at him. “You’re too skinny,” she said.

Ryan laughed and said, “Look who’s talking. When I first met you, I thought you were anorexic until you ate so many cheese squares you got sick.” He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist to prove is point.

Bri laughed. “I would do that. Cheese is good. Actually, that makes me hungry.” She ran out of Ryan’s arms and into the kitchen. Ryan followed her.

He watched her as she rummaged through the refrigerator. “Wouldn’t you rather have something... sweet?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, “but there isn’t anything in here and I’ve probably changed the area where my skittle stash is.”

“I know where it is,” he said.

Her head popped out of the fridge. “You do? I’ve never let ANYONE know where my skittle stash was.”

“Except me,” he said as he walked to one of the cabinets and opened it. He took out a large pot with a lid on it and took the lid off. Bri came closer to him and saw that it was full of skittles.

“How did I come to trust you so much?” she asked before taking a large bag and opening it.

Ryan put up the skittles. “I never stole your skittles and if I asked for just one, I would reimburse it with another whole bag of skittles,” he said. “So you told me where you put them. You said, ‘this is incase I suddenly had amnesia and I am in dire need of skittles.’ We laughed at it then.”

Bri notice his expression change. “Well, at least I know before I start PMSing. That would be really bad if I started freaking out and you were in Vegas or something and I didn’t know where my skittles were.” That made Ryan smile.

“I guess you’re right, skittle bug,” he said. He wrapped and arm around her and gave her a little squeeze.

She looked up at him. “How many of you call me skittle bug.”

“Just Keelie, Dian, Karen, and me.”

“Dian and Karen have visited?” she asked. Ryan nodded and Bri was upset. “I wish I didn’t forget that.”

Ryan notice that Bri was about to cry and she hugged her. “Keelie called them. They’re going to come as soon as they can. I talked to Karen in the waiting room and she said that her boss let her off for a month and that she would be here Monday. Dian doesn’t know when she can come because of the baby.”

“She got married and had a baby?” Bri asked, about to cry still.

Ryan knew he said the wrong thing, but knew he couldn’t erase it. “She got married, but she’s just pregnant. She’s almost due.”

Bri then broke down. "I-I can't- believe- I forgot- it." she said between silent sobs.

"You want me to tell you about it? I was there," he said. Bri nodded. He picked her up and took her to her room. He laid down on the bed with her crying on his chest before starting. "It was beautiful. You and Keeli were bridesmaids. You all wore short, strapless, black dresses with white satin straps. It was a small wedding, and she smiled the whole time." Ryan looked down and saw that she had stopped crying.

Thinking that she was asleep. He covered them up, and let her stay asleep on him.