Jealous Orchard

"What if he hates us?" I asked.

My legs were bouncing in front of me, as I tried to think of what was going to happen in the next twenty minutes.

"I think if he hated us then he wouldn't have flown out here to see us," Spencer said trying to take deep breathes.

Both of us had been asking the same questions since we woke up this morning. We spent most of the day going over the songs we were suppose to perform for Pete Wentz. It was so strange knowing that in a view minutes my life would take a turn for the better or perhaps for the worst.

Spencer turned onto his grandmother's street before letting out a nervous laugh.

"That's not Ryan's car," Spencer mumbled as we both stared at the shiny black car sitting in the driveway.

"Fuck, we came thirty minutes early! How'd he beat us?"

"At least Ryan is here," he mumbled pulling up next to car.

"So how did Morgan take it?" Spencer asked turning off the car and stepping out onto the driveway.

"I figured I wouldn't tell her unless it was for sure. You know. Why get her worried if nothing happens."

I had attempted many times to tell her. Act like I didn't know that she did know, and that I was just waiting for th best time, but now with whatever happens I'll explain that I just didn't want to worry her.

"Wait, you didn't tell her?" Spencer looked shocked as I walked up next to him.

"No," I mumbled as he opened up his grandmother's front door.

I stood in my place staring at the scene in front of me. Spencer's grandmother held a tray of lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. Pete Went sat in the large floral arm chair staring at Morgan as she spoke softly leaning in toward him and Ryan who was sitting next to her. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she was in her gray sweat pants and she had on my black wife beater.

"Slurpin' Grape? Really?" Pete leaned back and chuckled.

"Yeah, we never really put that in the bunch to pick from," Ryan said laughing too.

Spencer's Grandmother was the first to notice us standing in the doorway.

"Oh sweeties you're here!"

All three turned to look at Spencer and I.

"Are we late?" Spencer asked slipping off his shoes.

I wasn't sure if I was standing in shock that Spencer's grandma was giving Pete Went from Fall Out Boy lemonade, or that my girlfriend was sitting most likely in her pajamas talking about a fucking slurpee to Pete Went and he was actually laughing.

"No, it's kind of my fault, I thought we said six not six thirty," Pete said standing up and walking around the couch.

"It's nice to meet you," he said sticking his hand out to Spencer. I watched him quickly reach out his hand to shake Pete's.

"Spencer," he stuttered.

Pete smiled slightly before turning toward me.

"Then you must be Brendon. Right?" he asked sticking out his hand.

I reached for his hand before lamely nodding my head.

"Where's-"

"Brent's in the kitchen, eating," Morgan said cutting off Spencer's question before he could finish it.

I slowly slipped off my shoes still staring at Morgan as she turned back around. Pete went back to his seat and picked up his glass of lemonade and took a sip.

Spencer turned his body slightly toward me and took a small step in front of me.

"I swear I thought you told her. I thought you knew she was coming," Spencer whispered before turning and walking in front of me to take a seat next to Morgan on the couch, leaving me to sit in a chair across from Pete.

"So you're the number one fan right?" Pete asked leaning in toward Morgan.

She shrugged her shoulder and gave a side smirk.

"I like to consider myself a band-aid," she explained.

This caused Pete to laugh even more.

"I love it. You guys are lucky. I don't even have one of those," he said.

I kind of just sat back and watched all four of them talk amongst themselves, as if they were all great friends. I watched dumbly as Morgan twisted her hair in her ponytail and casually looked over her shoulder at me. She gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. I felt my stomach churn as she stood up and pursed her lips at me.

"I'm going to go take the food away from Brent," she said walking around the coffee table.

But I watched her stand next to my chair before leaning over so her lips were barely touching my ear.

"I love you," she muttered before standing up and walking into the kitchen .

My stomach suddenly was no longer my concern. My heart seemed to be pumping twice as much blood causing it to way heavy against my rib cage. As if the bones were brittle and would crack causing my insides to come pouring out onto the antique coffee table in front of me.

"Geez! Okay, just leave it! Don't throw it out! I'm going! I'm sorry my family doesn't have food like Grandma Smith!" I watched Brent stumble out through the doorway before turning around awkwardly rubbing his arm.

"Brendon, since when can your girlfriend turn into a beast?"

This also go Pete laughing.

"You and Morgan are dating?" he turned to look at me. "I should have known by the way she talks about you," he said nodding his head as if agreeing with himself.

Those simple words caused my head to go in a whirlwind of things Morgan could have said to Pete Went about me. I watched Morgan walk through the doorway and slinging an arm around Brent's shoulder.

"Well, should we get started?" Pete asked clapping his hands together before standing up.

"Yeah, everything is set up downstairs," Ryan said also standing up. I stood also watching Morgan pat Brent on the back before giving him a light shove toward the basement door.

"Go get'em boys," Morgan said smiling at all of us.

"You're not coming down?" Spencer asked stopping in his place, causing Pete to stop, and that in turn causing me to stop. All three of us turned to look at her.

"No, I think I'll leave the judgmental eyes to Peter here. Anyways, I don't think that couch could handle two people on it. No offense, Grandma Smith," she said turning toward Spencer's Grandma and smiling slightly.

"No worries, darling. I'm surprised that thing has lasted this long considering all the things Mr. Smith and I have done on it," she said smiling slightly.

Pete choked back a laugh after she said this.

"Oh, God," Spencer grumbled.

I looked over at Morgan who had a wide smile on her face, and a look of shock in her eyes.

"Awesome," she stammered laughing. " How about I help you with those dishes," she said gently placing her hand on her back and leaning them both into kitchen.

Spencer quickly jogged down he stairs, no doubt extremely embarrassed by his grandmother, but Pete still laughed lightly walking down the stairs.

"You don't have to sit on the couch. We can bring you a chair," I said, my blood pressure finally going to normal and I found that my lungs were able to allow a laugh to escape my body.

"No, no. If Morgan did it all year, I can do it just this once," he said stepping onto the basement floor and staring at the couch.

For some reason his comparison between himself and Morgan caught me off guard. I watched him sit on the couch slowly. In the middle just as Morgan had each band practice she came to. Right in front of where my mic stand was. The same anticipating smile on his face that she would have. As I stepped up to the mic slowly and listened to Spencer count off before the song began I realized that I because of Pete Went I was never going to see Morgan sitting in front of me again, smiling with her straight white teeth reflecting the fluorescent lights running across the ceiling. As I sung I kept my eyes closed, trying my best to not stare at Pete's piano teeth that mocked me.