The Ghost Of You (boyxboy)

[Prologue] Car Crash Hearts

The two boys sat side by side in the car, one staring straight ahead at the monotonous pavement in front of them, and the other watching the first. The vehicle was like an oasis from the rest of the world; inside the car, it was just them. They didn't have to worry about school, they didn't have to worry about their family, they didn't have to worry about life. The only thing that mattered was each other and the open road in front of them, free of traffic.

They had no destination. It wasn't necessary, sometimes they simply wanted to escape. And absentmindedly traveling the roads was escape enough, and provided the refuge from society they needed. Maybe it was immature to leave the house in the middle of the night to go driving down the highway with your boyfriend. But Mikey Way didn't care. And Pete Wentz certainly didn't.

At this point, the only thing Pete Wentz cared about was Mikey. Because every one of the taller boy's fleeting smiles illuminated Pete's world, and every soft spoken joke Mikey delivered was guaranteed to result in Pete laughing hysterically, regardless of whether it was funny or not, simply because it was Mikey telling it. He couldn't imagine a life without the other boy, a life where he was just boring old Pete Wentz, and they didn't have each other's company to make school at least somewhat bearable.

Pete had a hand on the wheel and another hand holding Mikey's in the space between their car seats. Mikey could feel the warmth of Pete's skin, the blood underneath the surface that was pumping at rapid rates, proving that, at the moment, Pete Wentz was most definitely alive. And Mikey couldn't help but watch Pete's face as they drove, noting the concentration as he slowly and cautiously maneuvered the car through the darkness, following the path the headlights illuminated in front of them.

Pete was beautiful, Mikey decided, in some unconventional way; his eyes always crinkled at the corners when he laughed and his teeth were straight and white and he was the perfect height for Mikey to wrap his arm around and smile down at. Mikey could think of no one better to pass time with as the two of them traveled along the road.

It was three in the morning, and Mikey stifled a yawn. Pete was wide awake, lightly tapping along to the music he was playing at a soft volume that Mikey was too tired to identify. The shorter of the two couldn't help but glance away from the road on occasion to look at the adorably lanky boy besides him whose eyes always seemed to be trained to Pete as he drove.

Neither of them spoke, and instead, they sat in silence, listening to the car radio and trying not to doze off. It was a comfortable silence that they sat in, one of two individuals who were comfortable enough with each other that they had no need to talk to fill the void. Each other's presence was enough to satisfy the two boys.

It was astonishing, in moments like this one, Mikey was certain he loved Pete. And Pete? He knew he loved Mikey, and it wasn't just in quiet moments of solitude. He loved Mikey Way when they exchanged looks of annoyance at the stupidity of their classmates in their algebra class. He loved Mikey Way when Mikey was complaining about his older brother, but Pete could see that Mikey really cared about Gerard a lot. He loved Mikey Way when the taller boy tried to introduce Pete to new music and Pete got another small insight into what Mikey Way was passionate about.

Pete Wentz loved Mikey Way. And maybe it was ridiculous that he was so invested in a high school boyfriend, whose parents didn't know about their relationship. Hell, Pete's parents didn't know about the awkwardly lanky boy he had been dating for over a year now. But that didn't matter. Not to Pete. He couldn't imagine a future for himself without Mikey. In fact, he was certain they were going to get married someday. Maybe, they would adopt children together and be fathers. Pete really didn't care what happened, as long as Mikey was by his side.

Of course, the wishes of Pete Wentz remained internalized. And even if he had verbalized the words on the tip of his tongue, they wouldn't have done much good in his situation. After all, the intoxicated man in the pick-up truck speeding down the road had no way to hear Pete. Instead, his car raced down the mostly empty road, swerving and gaining speed. Pete saw the oncoming car first, and screamed shrilly. Mikey was jolted away from his thoughts of Pete to the sight of the large car heading directly toward the smaller car driven by the two high schoolers.

Pete yanked on the steering wheel, the car swerving to the side. But he was a few seconds too late. Or perhaps it was fate for the oncoming car to hit directly into the driver's seat, fragments of glass from the shattered windshield to fly at the two boys, the car jolting to a stop harshly, the airbags shooting up in front of them. Mikey was still screaming, even as the mostly undamaged pick-up truck drove away, the driver not showing a sign of regret. Maybe he was too drunk to realize what he had done. Or maybe he didn't want to face the consequences, he didn't want to have to deal with what he might have done.

Mikey unbuckled his seatbelt, praising the god he hadn't supported before, but was beginning to start believing in that he had thought to wear the strap of fabric that may have saved his life. He was alive, despite being bruised and battered from the impact of the airbag against his chest. Relief flooded his body and he breathed in and out, thankful that he was still able to do so.

And then he looked to his left. He looked to the side, where Pete was sitting. Where Pete was sitting with a glazed stare, a trickle of blood running down the side of his head. Mikey gasped helplessly as Pete coughed, and a little bit of blood came up. He scrambled to find his phone in his pockets and pulled it out, dialing the police and calling for someone, anyone, to come help him. Because Mikey had watched enough horror movies to know Pete was dying; this pale, blank look was the look that accompanied death.

Pete coughed again, and this time, he turned his head to look at Mikey, wincing with pain as he did so. Mikey didn't know what to do, he was paralyzed at the sight of Pete in what had to be excruciating pain. Mikey could feel tears on his cheeks, tears that he couldn't recall ever starting. Perhaps he was numb from shock. Maybe his body was shutting down, maybe he was dying too. Pete's eyes landed on Mikey's, brown and soft and filled with so many things left unsaid. So many things that never would be said.

Mikey reached out his arms, holding Pete to his chest, not caring that his shirt would be stained with blood, because it was Pete's blood, and that was all that mattered. Pete was all that mattered, and Mikey was dying too as he heard Pete's breathing become more ragged. He couldn't bring himself to speak, his lips wouldn't move. And finally, Pete gasped out what would be his last words. "I love you, Michael James Way. I always have. I...always will." He took in a few more desperate gulps of air, and then, it all stopped. He fell silent, and Mikey was left holding a corpse close to his chest.

Pete was still warm. He didn't feel dead, except he wasn't breathing. Mikey found his voice, but now it was too choked by tears to be anything even slightly coherent. "Pete," he whispered breathily. He grew more desperate. "Pete, wake up." He knew his pleas wouldn't work. Pete Wentz was dead. But Mikey was human, and because of that, he was going to keep trying to bring his boyfriend back from the dead. "Pete, please wake up. I love you. Pete..."

The sirens of ambulances and cop cars sounded in the distance, the help they were providing arriving far too late to help Pete. Pete was dead. Deceased. Expired. Gone. That was it. Gone. He was never returning. He would never hear Mikey tell him exactly what he loved about the shorter boy. He would never get to laugh at another of Mikey's painfully awkward jokes. Pete Wentz was dead.

And Mikey wished he was dead too.

A/N: howdy folks!

This story is going to be a collab between me (stumptasticfanchild ) and my good pal Maeve (willuplzbequiet ). I will be writing Pete's perspective and she will be writing Mikey's. I hoped you liked this prologue, depressing as it was, and votes and comments are always appreciated <3

-Rachel