Playing Strangers (Brendon Urie/P!ATD FanFic)

Sarah Smiles

"Guys, this is Sarah," Pete introduced the girl, stepping aside and motioning to her, "Sarah, these are the guys, also known as Panic! At The Disco."

The girl's cheeks grew red as she raised her hand to shyly wave to us. I wasn't going to lie and say that this girl wasn't beautiful, because she was. She was absolutely gorgeous, with her long, dark brown hair and big blue eyes. She actually kind of resembled Katy Perry, and if Pete hadn't introduced her, I would've thought that was who it was.

"You see that one on the couch?" Pete asked her, pointing directly to me. My eyes grew wide and my face went pale. "Yeah, he's the one I told you about."

"W-What's going on, Pete?" I inquired, tugging at the collar of my shirt, nervous as to what his answer was going to be.

An almost sinister laugh slipped past my boss's lips. "I told you I had an idea that was so crazy it just might work. And well, friend, this is my idea." He placed his hand on Sarah's back and gently pushed her forward into the lounge. "Why don't you move over, Spence? Make room for Sarah." The drummer met my gaze briefly before sliding down the couch, creating a space for this girl to sit down. She sheepishly made her way over, uncomfortably sitting down in between the two of us.

Pete entered the room and closed the door behind him, walking over and sitting down next to Ryan who was still going at it in his notebook. The Fall Out Boy member leaned over and tried to get a glimpse of what he was working on, but Ryan noticed and leaned away from him, holding the notebook to his chest. Pete gave Ryan a weird look before glancing over at Jon and sighing, "Dude, what did I tell you about smoking inside?"

The guitarist plucked the joint from his lips and muttered, "That if I was going to smoke, I do it outside or before you get here."

"Exactly."

"Hey, in my defense, I started smoking before you got here. So technically I'm not breaking your rule."

Pete rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the small group gathered on the couches. "Whatever. Anyways, here's the deal: Panic! At The Disco is going to go on tour in a few months for Pretty. Odd. and you guys are headlining the Honda Civic Tour." Before Pete could get in another word, the band members and I burst out in excitement, hugging each other, hugging Pete. I even hugged Sarah who didn't seem like she was expecting it. The room filled with banter about what the tour was going to be like in a matter of seconds, the four of us thinking about who we were going to tour with, what songs we were going to play, everything. "Hey! HEY!" Pete shouted over the loud conversations that were all going on at once. Silence blanketed over the lounge and he shook his head. "Calm down, guys. I know you're excited, but-"

"Excited?" I cut him short, the corners of my lips curled up into a wide grin, "No, man, this is crazy! We're headlining the Honda Civic Tour!"

"I know you are, but that's not the only thing you're going to be doing. Especially you, Brendon." He pointed his finger at me. "Because this is where Sarah comes in." He nodded his head at her and, like before, a blush crept up in her cheeks. "While you guys are on the Honda Civic Tour, Brendon's going to meet Sarah - the girl he's going to marry."

If the room wasn't silent before, it sure was silent now.

Did he just say what I think he said?

"Now, I know it seems like you guys won't have much to do with that." Pete continued, talking about Ryan, Spencer, and Jon, "But you guys do. You have to make sure that the fans believe the two of them are a couple. Not immediately, but gradually. You know, have a rumor slip first, try to act like it's not true; then another rumor slips, but this one undeniable, and..." His voice trailed off as he realized that we were all lost, except for Sarah who Pete presumably explained this all to prior to coming here. "You know, on second thought? We'll just deal with it when the time comes. I just thought it might be nice for you all to meet her, since she'll be around here a lot more often now."

I glanced over at Sarah and watched her smile at Pete, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and tilting her head down. My eyebrows knit together and I turned my attention to Pete, asking, "Do you think I can talk with you outside, Pete?"

"Why?"

I stood up and walked over to the door, waving my hand for him to follow me, giving no further explanation. He heaved a sigh and rose to his feet, smacking the notebook out of Ryan's hand and - before he could retaliate - escaping into the hallway, pulling me out there with him.

"What the hell, man?" Ryan's muffled voice sounded on the opposite side of the door.

Pete shook his head and then looked up at me, questioning, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Um, maybe the fact that you're forcing me to be in a relationship with a girl I know absolutely nothing about?" I answered, my tone making it obvious that I wasn't on board with this, "I mean, you said she was the girl I was going to marry, for fuck's sake!"

"Look, Brendon, I told you before-"

"I know what you told me, Pete, but I can't do this, not to Ruby."

"You're not doing anything to her. You're just..." He started moving his hands around as he failed to formulate the rest of his sentence.

"I'm just what?"

"Consider this like an acting job," He remarked, trying to change my opinion yet never answering my question, "You don't actually have to fall in love with her, you just have to act like you are. You've done it before, you can do it again."

"She's not Ruby, Pete."

"Well pretend she is."

I scoffed. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Look, Sarah's a really cool girl. Trust me. I picked her out just for you. I'm sure once you get to know her, you're going to wish she was Ruby. But for right now...be nice. This is only going to work if both of you are in it. So stop being a dick and say hi to her, ask her what her favorite color is or something."

I shook my head, "Pete..."

"It's going to work, Brendon, but only if you let it." And with that, he brushed shoulders with me and walked back into the lounge, where he sat back down and began giving everyone more details about the tour.

I heaved a sigh and ran a hand through my hair, going back into the room as well and shutting the door behind me.