Grand Theft Autumn

Chapter Four

Pete's POV

Being on the plane was a relief. Brendon kept calling me, so I turned of my phone completely. I sat on the middle seat (the isles had three seats) and closed my eyes, pulling my hat down. As the plane took off, I fell asleep.

**Flashback**

It was a meet-and-greet, one that the Fall Out Boy members had set up themselves. A lot of fans would not get to go to the concert the next day, nor the official meet-and-greet, so the boys wanted to give something to the fans. Andy and Joe were talking to a small group of fans, while Patrick and I were paired off. We had already met a good number of people, but I wasn't keeping track. Next came up a girl. She had dark skin and short black hair. She was wearing a Fall Out Boy t-shirt, and had a smile on her face. Now, call me paranoid, but I got bad vibes from her. I pushed away my feelings, and smiled back at her. As she walked up to us, her eyes flitted over me and she made eye contact with Patrick. I was used to that, Patrick was the lead singer, but that didn't shake my uneasiness. I opened my mouth to greet her, but I then noticed how Patrick looked. His eyes had gone wide, and he had gone slightly pale. Before I could say anything to him, the girl spoke.

"How is Lukas?" She asked. Patrick took a few steps back, and tilted his head to the side. He looked back at the girl.

"How is John?" He asked, his voice steady. I stared at them. Were they talking in a different language? The girl laughed, and I noticed her hand raised slightly, just so it was visible to the two of us. Her fingers were outreached, but her middle finger slightly bent. Patrick seemed to recognize that, his face hardened. 

What the hell was going on? I whipped around to see if anyone else could see this. Joe and Andy were talking with a fan, and their backs were turned to us. When I turned back around, the girl was gone, and Patrick was swaying on his feet.

"Woah, there. What the hell was that?" I said, grabbing his arm to steady him. "Patrick?"

"Take me to the van," He said. "Please." I nodded, and told Andy and Joe where we were going. There were only a few people left, and as much as they mattered, Patrick needed to sit down. Or lay down. Whatever.

I helped him back to the van, and he sat down in the back. He rubbed his face with his hand and sighed softly.

"Patrick, what-" I looked at him. He was asleep, or at least pretending to be. It was my turn to sigh. I took off his hat, and wiped the hair out of his face.

"Damn, Patrick. You are one dramatic little man," I said, my voice quiet.

**flashback over**

I woke up with a start. The plane hit the ground (it wasn't crashing, just landing). I pulled out the headphones and sat up in my seat. I quickly got off the plane, and got a coffee. I had my duffel bag as a carry on, so I was all set to leave. There was a nearby motel, one of those creepy ones that are cheap. The ones that I usually would stay away from.

That is exactly why I was going there. I mean, I am leaving everyone to find Patrick. He is my best friend. As I stepped out of the airport, the reality of the situation hit me.

I was in Glenview.

Looking for a graveyard, and my best friend, who was missing.

I had left everything at home, and I was prepared to hide from my friends and police. I mean, I hadn't told anyone I was leaving. They would want to know about the journal, why I was here. They would take it all over. Was this selfish? Yeah, kind of.

Was I still going to do it? Yes.

"Jesus christ," I mumbled to myself as I made the treck to the motel. It wasn't far away at all, and I didn't want to waste any of my money. I just kept my head down as I walked on the sidewalk. I wonder when people were going to realize that I was missing... Well, I wasn't missing, I had just left. Well, not that they would know that.

Stop. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up in front of me. I had made it to the motel. I quickly checked in and went to my room. I snorted as I set my bag down. It almost felt like I was in an episode of Supernatural, with the cheap motel.

I sighed as I sat down on the bed. Okay. I would go to the graveyard tomorrow. See what that was all about, and hopefully get some clues as of where Patrick is.

I looked at my phone as I got ready for bed. I had four missed calls from Brendon, and two texts from Andy. I listened to the voice mails.

"Pete? Where the hell are you? You are not at your house, Your car is gone, and frankly, the last time we talked, something was wrong. Just... Call me." Beep.

"Okay, call me, text me, whatever, Let me know that you are okay, or alive, at least. This isn't funny, after Patrick went missing. I am worried, bro. Don't make me call the police or worst-" Brendon voice turned teasing. "Andy. Come on, Pete." Beep.

"PETE! I told Andy and Joe, and they haven't seen you. Jesus, if it turns out that you were watching some movie at the theater, then we will never speak of this again. Got it?" Beep.

"Tomorrow. if you don't call me, I am calling the police." Beep.

That last message was sent three hours ago. Should I call him? Eh. No. Tomorrow. It is late, he is probably asleep.

I climbed into the uncomfortable bed, and closed my eyes. Trying to calm down my mind, images of Patrick kept popping up.

Him laughing, him trying to be mad at something but he looked adorable in the process... Stop. I shook my head. The thought I had hidden away for so many years resurfaced.

I scrubbed my face with my hands. No, no, no.

I, Pete Wentz. Did. Not. Have. A. Crush. On. Patrick. Stump.

Nope. Nada. Ei. Non.

I bit my tongue forcefully, cleared my mind.

I put these feelings away all these years ago for a reason. Now, especially now, it couldn't get in the way. I was looking for Patrick, and nothing could deter me from that.

In the end, I stayed up all night, pacing the floor of my motel room.