Just Pizza

Pete couldn’t stop thinking about Patrick. The way his voice sounded, the rich blue color of his eyes, the puffs of reddish hair that puffed out from under his hat. Pete couldn’t help but notice that Patrick had such soft facial features. Everything about Patrick just seemed soft.
It was all very cute.
Pete looked at the time. It was only 3:30. Pete groaned loudly and tossed his head back on the couch. Pete had to get ready for work.
Pete actually LOVED his job, He works at the music store down the street. Not only is his work within walking distance from his apartment, but he’s working around the thing he loves the most… Music.
Pete couldn’t really complain too much about his job. He gets a decent pay, his boss is a pretty chill guy and He gets to take a sneak peak at all the new inventory. Another thing Pete loves about his job is seeing a kid get his first instrument. The way their faces light up and the excitement in their eyes. They are all so enthusiastic!
Those kids remind Pete of himself.
Pete remembers getting his first bass. He was around 14. His mother had gotten it for him as a Christmas gift. Pete knew that money was tight, considering his mother worked double shifts at the diner just to pay rent. So for Christmas, he never asked for much. Pete was just happy to curl up and watch movies with his mom on the couch after a tiring shift at the diner. He never really expected anything. Pete’s mother always tried to get her son a gift every year, but Pete insisted that he didn’t want anything. Pete’s mother felt terrible… She managed to save up all of her tips, and she walked down to the music store and bought her son a red Ibanez Bass. Pete had wanted it so badly but didn’t tell his mother about it. He didn’t want to seem selfish so he had forgotten about it. It was Christmas Eve. And Pete’s mother was stuck working a late shift, so Pete was left home alone. He stayed up late, waiting for his mother to come home, but he fell asleep on the couch.
He woke up in the morning to his mom making breakfast in the kitchen, after realizing he was awake, she sat near Pete with a bright smile on her face.
“Pete, I was going to wait till later, but I can’t….. Honey I got you something for Christmas….” Pete was shocked
“Mom, you really didn’t need to…..” Pete felt bad, a little selfish. Even though he didn’t ask for anything. “I know,” she laughed. “I wanted to…. Wait here…. Close your eyes….” Pete covered his eyes as his mother left the room. Pete bit his lip,(a habit of his) wondering what it could be. His mom returned to the room.
“Open!” Pete opened his eyes and gasped. It was the Bass he had been eyeing in the store…
It was over $300….
Pete covered his eyes again.
Then he started to cry.
Pete was happy, but, he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve this….
“Is everything ok honey? Is this not what you wanted?” his mother was slightly worried and sat down next to him, rubbing his back.
“No, it is mom, it really is…..” Pete trailed off. “It’s just…. I don’t deserve it….”
Pete’s mother smiled, “you do deserve it honey…. You deserve this….” She patted his back.
Pete hugged his mom. “Thank you….”
After the tears have subsided, Pete picked up his bass and started strumming, his mother smiled, seeing how happy her son was. She hasn’t seen him that happy in a long time. She went back to cooking breakfast. Wiping a tear off her cheek and smiling.
Pete loves selling instruments to kids for that very reason, the joy.
Pete stretched out and walked over to his bedroom; He went through his dirty clothes basket and found his work shirt. His sniffed it to make sure it wasn’t to gross to wear, it seemed to be fine. He sprayed on some extra cologne just to be sure. Pete tossed on his work shirt and grabbed his keys. Pete opens the door to his apartment then slips out and locks the door. He then begins his walk to work, when he suddenly stops.
“Wait, Did I lock my door?” Pete stands there for a minute, thinking.
“Yeah, Yeah I did!” He begins walking again.
---
Pete Reached the music store and he checked in with his boss and went behind the counter. The store wasn’t very busy today, considering it was a Sunday. They never did get much business on Sunday’s, so Pete just kicked back and relaxed. Pete started to straighten out some merchandise that was on the counter out of pure boredom. Then his friend Ryan walked through the front door of the store.
He was late to work, as usual.
Ryan looked like a mess…. But a cute mess. His eyeliner was smudged and his hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. Pete was holding back a laugh.
“Shut up Wentz!” Ryan smiled up at him and hopped over the counter.
“Well good afternoon to you too Ross!” Ryan rolled his eyes and jokingly punched Pete in the arm.
“You know that you’re late again right?” Pete laughed.
“Well la-di-FREAKIN-da captain obvious! What else is new?” Ryan laughed.
“You know that you’re already on thin ice right? I’m surprised you aren’t fired yet!” Ryan rolled his eyes yet again and glared at Pete.
“Well it takes time to look this good! I can’t ALWAYS be on time to work! I HAVE to look good!” Ryan said with an attitude.
“Dude, you look like you just sort of…. Rolled out of bed after a night in the club.” Pete laughed.
“What’s your excuse then huh?” Ryan threw back.
Pete laughed “Oh I am soooo insulted!” Pete said sarcastically.
Ryan went through a collection of CD’s the store had and shoved one of them into the radio, He blasted it throughout the store while playing the air guitar throughout the store and shaking his head frantically. Ryan was jumping around the store, dancing, not caring at the stares he was getting by people walking past the store.
“You’re Ridiculous!” Pete smiled and started to put strings onto a broken guitar.
“But I’m cute so it’s ok!” Ryan smirked.
Ryan can be so cocky sometimes.
Pete’s boss walked out of the back storage room with a broken guitar. He took one look at Ryan, and rolled his eyes. Ryan dancing through the store is a normal occurrence, and since Ryan isn’t breaking the merchandise or causing harm, the boss lets him do what he wants. He hands Pete the guitar, the sticky note reads “replace strings and tune.” Pete placed the guitar on the counter with care and grabbed a new set of strings and started to add the strings onto the guitar while Ryan continued to dance around like an idiot.
Pete’s mind started to wander to the pizza boy. Pete started to wonder what Patrick’s favorite music was… What he liked to do…. He wanted to know his quirks and what made him tick. He wanted to know everything. Pete knew there was something about Patrick.
Patrick was special.
Pete knew that by the way he couldn’t get him out of his head. Not that Pete tried to stop thinking about Patrick. He hasn’t.
And that’s how Pete knows….
Pete also found it very ironic that the Pizza place picked a shy, timid, scared boy to deliver pizzas to people’s houses.
It’s like having a tone deaf choir.
It just doesn’t make any sense.
Speaking of tone deaf, Ryan has started to sing throughout the shop. Ryan isn’t terrible, its just that he can’t hit a note to save his life….
Pete continued to think about Patrick.
Pete felt really bad for Patrick. He knows it must be very difficult for him to go door to door every day to deliver pizzas considering Patrick isn’t very good with people. The way Patrick was shaking showed how scared he was.
Pete starts to wonder…
Why was Patrick so scared?
Pete wanted to know…. He wanted to help Patrick…
“Hello? HEEEEELLLLOOOOOO?” Ryan waved a hand in Pete’s face. Pete jumped slightly.
“Huh? What?” Pete was slightly flustered
“Um….. I don’t know if you realized but….. You’re putting the strings on upside down….” Ryan laughed.
“Oh….” Pete laughed nervously, “well…. Oops?” Pete started to undo the strings.
“Hey, Pete… I got this…. It’s fine. I’ll string it up.” Ryan took the guitar and pulled the strings off.
Pete’s face stayed red in embarrassment.
--
The night fell and Pete has finished his shift. He locked up the store and started to walk back to his apartment. The air was cool and relaxing. It was a nice change from the warmer mornings. As he was making his way back home he listened to the sound of the city streets and noticed the smells of nearby restaurants. He watched the cabs pass by street corners and litter fluttering in the breeze.
Pete sighed. He was going back to his apartment, where he spends every night alone… Pete hates the loneliness but he manages… Pete knows that just because he’s used to being alone, that doesn’t mean that he likes to be alone. Pete kicked at a piece of trash on the ground and sighed once more. It was silent for a while, but then Pete heard a weird noise.
It sounded like a yelp. And then it was followed by a whine
And then crying
Pete almost didn’t notice the sound, but he was happy that he did. He heard another yelp come from a nearby ally way Pete turned and started to search for were the noise was coming from. The crying got louder. Pete searched and searched and then, he finally found the source of the sound.
A dog that was caught in some metal fencing.
To Pete, it looked like the dog had somehow squeezed through an opening in the bottom of the fence, but couldn’t fit all the way through. Pete knelt down.
“Oh you poor baby!” Pete looked at the fear that was written on the dog’s poor face. The dog started to cry again. Pete slipped his fingers beneath the fencing and tugged, trying to bend the fencing slightly so the dog could slip through. A few minutes passed, and it seemed as if the fencing wouldn’t budge, when suddenly, part of the fence gave in, and the dog was free.
The dog ran up to Pete, licking his face and wagging its small, white tail. Pete smiled and pet the dog. Pete picked the dog up, and looked for a dog tag.
There wasn’t a collar on the dog, and no identification.
Pete thought for a moment…. Then spoke.
“c’mon puppy! We’re going to my place!” Pete smiled and carried the dog off to his apartment.