Cause of Death {{PETERICK}}

//chapter fourteen//

"What the fuck, Frank?!" Pete yelled down the phone, he had a bad feeling about all of this, but he didn't think it meant anything.
"Patrick asked about Mikey," Frank repeated, also sounding loud and angry, "so I told him the truth, because you weren't going to, were you? He sounds like he really likes you, and you're more than happy to lie to him, aren't you?"
"That's not it! I'm not happy with lying, I just have to! He left me, Frank, Mikey completely left me! He might as well not exist anymore."
"Yeah, well, Patrick knows everything now so... That was a short-lived relationship, wasn't it?"
"Did he sound angry?"
"I'd say upset."

Pete didn't want to talk to Frank anymore, he probably had more to say to him, but it was in everyone's best interest that he didn't. Pete didn't know if Patrick was still his boyfriend, not now that he knew he'd been lying to him. Frank said he'd sounded upset, that was worse than angry. Pete didn't want Patrick to be upset with him or anything he'd done, but he had to lie to him there. He'd been pretending that Mikey was dead for himself, he still loved him, of course. Then he found himself liking Patrick, and still pretending Mikey was dead because he didn't want to distract himself. Pete liked Patrick, and really wanted to like Patrick, but Mikey was still always on his mind for some reason.

Pete couldn't go to Patrick after this, he needed Patrick to come to him. He didn't think he would, though, Pete couldn't bring himself to think for one second that Patrick would forgive him after this. It didn't need to get this bad, he knew that, he just didn't think it would blow up in his face like this. Pete hadn't felt this stupid since he had ruined his friendship with Mikey, in fact, he almost felt worse. Patrick liked him, he couldn't forget that, he couldn't let himself forget that. It was a difficult situation, Patrick liked him, and he could only hope that was still the case. Pete couldn't believe it was, though, he wasn't sure if he even liked himself after all of this.

Now Pete was stuck, he couldn't call Patrick, that would be inappropriate, but he couldn't leave it for too long, either. Pete was lying in the middle of his living room floor, he'd given up. It was too early to give up, he knew that, but he didn't know what else to do. Patrick Stump was a wonderful person, who had managed to find things to like about him. Pete Wentz was not deserving of anyone as good as Patrick, especially not after what he had done. He knew he was being too over-dramatic now, but he wasn't wrong. Pete didn't deserve Patrick.

Of course, Patrick disagreed, as he slumped on his couch, trying his best to remember everything he had liked about Pete. None of it had anything to do with him coping well with Mikey's death, because he didn't seem to be coping well at all. That was probably what confused Patrick the most, Pete had completely convinced himself that Mikey Way was dead, and he didn't understand how or why. Frank had explained it, or at least tried to, but Patrick still didn't get how Pete had been able to act so upset about a death that had never happened. Not that it mattered, Patrick really didn't know if he would be able to speak to him again, not for a while anyway.

Patrick wasn't that bothered by Pete lying to him, they didn't know each other that well, so Pete probably didn't realise how much of a problem it would cause, he was just shocked that he could lie about death, such a sensitive subject, so easily. Patrick didn't have him down as a liar, in fact, he'd only really seen Pete as a genuine guy. That hurt to think about, he'd been completely wrong about him, but he couldn't quite believe it. That was the case, though, Pete had lied and Patrick knew it. He didn't know if Pete knew that he knew yet. He had to call, but he couldn't, not yet. Patrick had a feeling that Frank would have called Pete straight away after telling him everything. He shouldn't have asked questions, he should have believed Pete. Everything would have been easier if they just hadn't met up again, if Pete had accepted that he wasn't over Mikey yet, and Patrick hadn't been so intrigued by the lost and alone expression in his eyes.

Patrick decided it would be easiest to blame himself and his poor decision making skills for the whole ordeal. If he hadn't decided that Pete needed to be fixed, then he wouldn't have had his heart practically obliterated by him. Pete didn't need to be fixed, he needed to get over Mikey and get on with his life. Patrick knew that Pete was upset that he'd ruined his friendship with Mikey, he really did know that, but the only way he would ever be truly fine was if he accepted it and learned how to move on. It wasn't easy for anyone, moving on from loss, but Patrick felt like Pete was in a different situation to most people. He hadn't technically lost anyone, he just wasn't trying hard enough to get Mikey back into his life.

That was when Patrick decided he needed to find Mikey and make some attempt at getting him to talk to Pete again. He wasn't confident that he could do anything about their situation, but he wanted to try. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he liked Pete a lot, even though he had lied. Patrick was nowhere near as bothered or upset by that as he should have been, but he was kind of glad. He hadn't liked anyone for a really long time, and didn't want to throw those feelings away. They weren't always fun, but Patrick was sure he could handle the bad if it came with the good.

Patrick didn't know who to call, or where to look, he didn't know Mikey Way, he just knew of him. It was even more difficult since he didn't want to call Frank back, or talk to Pete. The only thing he could do was search the Internet, in the hope that he could find something, anything, that could help. Since he'd already found a few social media profiles, they seemed like a good place to start looking.

Patrick felt like a stalker, this wasn't something he was supposed to be doing. However, since all of this information was already public, he knew he wasn't really doing anything wrong, even if it felt morally wrong. After a few minutes of scrolling and reading, Patrick decided it would just be easier to send a message.

'Pete Wentz told me you were dead. I really like him, but I think he loves you.'

A reply came quickly. Patrick wasn't sure his message was good enough, but apparently it was just fine.

'Tell him I said "fuck off"'