The Music Or The Misery (FOB FanFic)

Chapter 20

-Patrick's POV-

I raised my eyebrow in confusion, "Who are you?"

"Oh, Mara didn't introduce me, did she? Well, if that's the case, I'm Tyler," He informed us, extending his hand through the little window as if he expected us to shake it. Joe and I didn't move. The smile on the boy's face faded away and he retracted his hand back to his side. "Okay, then. I see how it's going to be."

"Are you another one of Boss's recruits?" Joe questioned.

He laughed, "One of Boss's recruits? No, I am Boss." Both Joe's and my eyes grew wide, taken aback by this sudden news. "What? Who'd you expect to be 'Boss'? A classic rockstar? Mara, even?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head to the side, "I just don't get it."

"Get what?

"Who are you?"

"I already told you, I'm Tyler."

"No, I know that. Who are you, though, and why did you organize all of this?"

The boy sighed, "I thought Mara already explained this all to you, Patrick. I bumped into her on the street, got her to help me take down the ban by getting you four to acquire as much support as you can. But, little impatient Mara couldn't wait any longer and decided to turn against me. And instead of getting back at her for doing her own thing when she told me she wouldn't, I...I can't help but agree with her. This whole support thing is taking too long. So here I am, taking you two to kill the president. I want to make music again, and I want everyone else who makes music, make movies, write books, whatever they do to be able to do too. I think my reasoning's quite justifiable, don't you think?"

I honestly couldn't argue with him. He was just like everyone else in this country who had been stripped of their right to freedom of expression. Only difference between him and everyone else was that he was actually doing something about it, rather than conforming to the cookie-cutter society the government called for, claiming it would make the country a better place.

"Why now, though? And not sooner?"

"Don't you want to play your guitars again?" He replied like a politician, skirting around the question at hand but preaching to us what we wanted to hear, "Don't you miss the feeling of the strings against the tips of your fingers? The beautiful sound those strings make when they're strummed? The even better sound it makes when paired with other instruments? You guys help me do this and-"

"Can I just say something?" Joe spoke up, cutting "Boss" short, "I'm sick and tired of hearing this persuasive bullshit. I've heard enough from Alex and Gabe and Mara and now you. I already agreed to kill the president and I've already got the gun in my pocket - all I need to do is cock it and pull it. So can you just let me do what I want to do?"

"Uh, well, it's not going to go down exactly like that," Tyler corrected him, "You see, it's not as simple as 'cocking it and pulling it', Joe. You need to get in without attracting any attention. And then you're going to have to wait for..." His voice trailed off and he bit his lip, "You know, second thought, I'll just tell you later. Joe's right, we've got a president to kill. Can't waste time chatting."

And with that, the little window was slid shut and the car was started back up. We pulled away from the curb and were back on the road, headed for The White House.

*****

I leaned against the side of Tyler's van, staring down at my cell phone with my thumb hovering over one of the contacts. Not too far away, Joe and Tyler were huddled together over a small fire they started, Tyler discussing the plan for tomorrow.

The three of us had arrived in D.C. about an hour ago but we had to wait until tomorrow morning to take action, for whatever reason that may be.

I bit my lip and pressed the call button, putting the phone up to my ear and heaving a sigh.

The phone rung once, twice, three times before they picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mara," I breathed, instantly relieved. I slid down the side of the van until I was sitting down on the ground. "You don't know how glad I am to hear your voice right now."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I just...I have a bad feeling about this all," I confided in her, "Like, I want to play music again, I want to be with you again, but I don't think I can do this. I just...this isn't going to happen."

"Patrick, you can't back out of this. Not now."

"But Mara..."

"You seriously can't be contradicting yourself right now. Patrick, you're probably already there. It's too late for you to turn back now."

I turned my head and looked over at Joe and Tyler.

"Patrick, I asked Pete this and I'm going to ask you: Do you want the music or do you want the misery?"

"Is that even a question? The music."

"Then don't back out of this. Anyways, Pete's in. You can't back out the second he comes in."

My eyes grew wide, "Wait, Pete's in?"

"Yes. He and I are on our way and we'll be there by morning."

"You're coming?"

"Of course. I mean, we might not see each other before then, but I'll be there. Did you think I was just going to sit back and let you do this alone?" She added a slight chuckle.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed, "Hey, Mara?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to apologize."

"For what?"

"For what happened. I didn't mean to yell at you like that and I just want you to know before I maybe get imprisoned for the rest of my life or killed that I love you. I love you with all my heart and I'm sorry that I was so rude to you. I was just...I wasn't thinking and-"

"Patrick. Patrick, you're not going to get imprisoned for the rest of your life or killed. I love you too. But you're going to do this, and we're going to be together again. Okay?"

"Okay," I repeated, the corner of my lips curling upward. We said our goodbyes and hung up. I slid my phone back into my pocket and stood up, approaching Joe and Tyler.

"...and then you're going to sneak in and-" Tyler cut himself short and met my gaze. "Well well, look who decided to join the team. How was your call?"

"Just fine, thank you."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed hearing your little girlfriend's voice. But now I need to start my explanation over and you better listen because we're going to do this first thing in the morning - when there isn't time to explain this all again. Understood?" I nodded my head. "Alright," He put his hands out, "So, what we're going to do..."