Fall Out Girl

“Argh! Fuck a duck! I gotta break this beastie down.” I groaned sliding off of Joe’s back- he’s actually very comfortable. I wobbled a little on the landing.

“Emz, you can barely stand up. I’m sure they’ll understand.” Pat said, letting Josie go and walking over to me.

I shook my head. “No, this is my event. I’m going to see it through till the end.” I said, walking/ stumbling away. I could hear the others laugh at me. I walked over to the entrance and popped all the balloons before taking the signs out of the ground. I wobbled a bit since one was particularly jammed into the ground.

I heard a light chuckle behind me. “Here, let me help.” I saw a hand quickly cover mine and pulled the tiny tin sign out of the ground without any effort. I looked back up at him and bit my lip.

“Thanks, Pete.” I said with a smile, walking toward one of the many volunteers’ cars.

“You’re welcome.”

“Where are the others?”

“Back at your place. I saw your mom- she’s sorry that she couldn’t stay for the entire thing but they called her into work and she’s taking the graveyard shift again so you don’t have to wait up for her. I doubt that you would have.”

I laughed. “Yea, I would have passed out as soon as I got home. So, why didn’t you join them?”

“Pft. And leave you alone in the middle of the night? Nothing good would come of that, I guarantee it!”

“Pete, Wilmette is tiny. I doubt there are any big crime bosses around.”

That clearly made him uncomfortable. I looked around, there was only one person left besides us. Smiling, I handed the volunteer the signs.

“Thanks for volunteering and staying. This even couldn’t have been possible without you.”

“Anytime.” He said with a smile before climbing into his car and taking off.

I visibly relaxed and turned back to Pete. “Now, about those songs…”

He dropped his head. “I’m sorry, but you…you’re the most complicated girl I know. You deserve to have entire albums created in your honor.”

“What about the guys? Do they know what the songs are about?”

He shrugged. “I told ‘em that they were about a girl I used to know.”

I bit my lip and pulled him over to the jungle gym- it had become our unofficial hang out spot.

“Pete, I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, we just buried Parker. I loved him for two whole years. I can’t just forget about him and move on.”

“I know. I know. That’s why I write the songs, to try to get you out of my head…”

“It’s not working is it?” I asked softly.

He nodded. “Yea. I’ve tried. God, how I’ve tried. But nothing I do seems to work.”

I nodded. “Pete, I’m not ready to do anything.”

“But you’ll give me a shot?”

I pursed my lips and looked away. Do I really want to be with him? Sure, he’s a great guy- from what little I know about him. But, I’m not over Parker…I can’t just move on…
Why does life have to be so complicated?

“I don’t know yet. Give me two months to sort myself out. Until then, you can go out with anyone you want.”

He cupped my face in his hand. He was getting closer to me by the second. His hot breath rolled over my face and neck. I was paralyzed, not really knowing what he was going to do, but having a pretty good sense about it. My suspicions were confirmed when his lips lightly touched mine. He smiled when he pulled away. “There’s only one girl I would ever think about going out with. And she’s standing right in front of me.”