hømetøwn

• : / three / : •

The car groaned to a halt in my driveway. I peered out the open window. The kitchen light was still on, flickering dangerously. My throat tightened.

"My mom's going to kill me."

Brendon's hands twitched on the steering wheel. He glanced at me. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Still."

"Are your parents gonna freak? How far away do you live?"

He grinned and I realized how ridiculous of a question it was. Brendon was in a band and about to go on tour. He was probably out of high school. There was no way his parents were waiting up on him.

He humored me. "Nah. And I live pretty close to where the concert was."

"Sorry for making you drive all the way over here."

"You didn't make me do anything." He paused and picked up his phone. "You put your number in?"

"Yeah."

"I'll text you when I can. We should, uh...we should hang out again."

Something in my stomach twisted. "Yeah. Yeah, we should." Heat buzzed in my skin.  "I liked driving with you."

A smile pulled up his lips. "I liked eating chicken nuggets with you."

"You're a dork."

"You're a nerd."

I stared at him for a moment. I knew my mother was waiting for me in the kitchen and that she was probably furious, but I didn't want to leave the car.

"Brendon, you...you're really...I..." The words tangled on my lips.

"You should probably go." He looked away. "I don't want your mom to murder you with a steak knife because of me."

I licked my lips. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." I opened the car door and stepped out. "You'll text me."

"Of course."

"Promise?"

And there was that smile again, making my every inch tingle.

"Yeah, I promise."

"Okay. Okay thanks."

"Oh - and Lake, there's one last thing."

"Yeah?"

"I'll tell you next time."

"What?"

"I'll tell you the one last thing next time," he said.

I stared at him, squinting through the darkness. "Why don't you tell me it now?"

"Obvious, isn't it? I want to make sure there's a next time."

A warm feeling rose in my chest. "All right. Yeah. Next time."

"Goodnight."

"'Night." I slammed the door shut. The engine rumbled back to life. He pulled out of the driveway, drove back onto the main road, and disappeared from sight. Fall Out Boy music screamed out the car windows and faded into the distance.

The air around my skin felt electric. Brendon Urie. Brendon Urie. The name rang over and over again through my mind. I turned and walked to the front door.

As soon as I stepped inside, the light feeling in my stomach plummeted.

"Hi, Mom."

She sat in the kitchen, glaring at me. Her hands were clenched around a coffee mug. When she spoke, it was a snake-like hiss between clenched teeth.