Playing Strangers (Brendon Urie/P!ATD FanFic)

Girl That You Love

"Are you happy?" I yelled at Pete as I stormed into his office, the door slamming into the wall behind it as I rushed up to him and wiped the papers he was working on off the desk.

He looked up at me with narrowed eyes. "What the hell are you talking about, Brendon?"

"I'm talking about how your fucking plan tore me and Ruby apart!" I shouted.

"My plan didn't tear you guys apart. You did," He replied before rising to his feet and going to clean up the mess I made, gathering the papers up in his arms. "My plan wasn't for the two of you to break up. That's all on you."

"Then what was your plan? For me to live this fake life with someone I know nothing about all while I live a real life with the girl I've known since I was a kid?"

"No..." He stood back up and placed the papers back on the desk. "My plan was for you to live this fake life with someone you know everything about all while you live a real life with the girl you've known since you were a kid." He crossed his arms. "Brendon, I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't really matter to me whether or not you stayed with Ruby. The plan was going to work either way. I don't expect you to fall in love with Sarah. The only thing I expect of you is to act like you love her, especially when the cameras are around. When the cameras aren't around, I don't care what you do, as long as no one finds out about Ruby."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore because she left me," I replied coldly, folding my arms over my chest.

"That's not what Ryan told me," He retorted, sitting down in his chair again and looking up at me, "He told me you told him that Ruby thought your guys' band was stupid and you told her to leave." The infuriated expression I wore on my face faded away, being replaced by one of cognizance. He did have a point. "So if you should be yelling at anyone about your breakup, it should be you, not me."

Trying to redeem myself, I shot back with, "Well the two of us wouldn't have fought if you didn't come up with this stupid idea in the first place!"

He chuckled. "Brendon, you can blame me all you want for this. I'm used to it. But in the end, it's still going to be you who's at fault for you and Ruby breaking up." I rolled my eyes in refusal of admitting he was right. "Hey, aside from this, I'm glad you came. I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh great," I replied sarcastically.

"You have a date tonight," He disclosed to me, the corner of his lips perking up into a smirk, "So dress nice, okay?"

"A date?" I repeated, "No. No way."

"You need to get to know Sarah and get your guys' story down," He explained, an utmost seriousness to his voice. It was kind of frightening, hearing him talk like that. Usually he was laid-back and chill, but today - and ever since this plan was initiated - he was very formal and down to the point, no funny business. "I can make it for you, but I'm giving you guys a chance to come up with something on your own, and it better be interesting."

"Pete, I can't go out on date. I just broke up with my girlfriend!"

"Oh move on, Brendon," He told me, "There's how many people in the world and you're hung up on one of them? Get over yourself. You're Brendon fucking Urie, for crying out loud. You could have any girl you want." I glared at him, disagreeing with what he was preaching. "Now go get ready for your date. You can't go looking like that." I glanced down at my clothes and then back up at him. "Well what are you waiting for? Go!"

I scoffed and turned around, leaving Pete's office and closing the door behind me.

*****

I sat across the table from the girl I was introduced to no longer than a day or two ago. I swirled the wine in my glass around as I took in my surroundings. Dimmed lighting, the waiters and waitresses speaking in soft voices, the couples at the tables intimately close. It was the perfect place for two people to get to know each other. In contrast, Sarah and I hadn't spoken much at all, and we were just as much of strangers as we were when she first walked in with Pete.

My "date" cleared her throat, attracting my attention. "Do you know what you're going to get?" She inquired in an attempt to break the silence that had fallen over the two of us.

I shrugged and picked up the menu for the first time since we'd arrived. "No, do you?" It didn't matter what either of us ordered, because this dinner was on Pete.

"Not a clue." She giggled, her big greenish blue eyes gazing up into mine. "If I'm being honest with you, I don't care much for these fancy restaurants. I'd much rather be in a pizza parlor or a fast food joint."

I laughed, looking down at the menu. "Me too. Same with my girl..." I began to say when I realized the words coming out of my mouth. I shook my head and finished, "...my ex-girlfriend."

Sarah set the laminated tri-fold down, folding her hands on top of it. "Pete told me you'd probably bring her up." My cheeks grew red in embarrassment. "He also told me not to let you talk about her. But...I'm not Pete, and it's obvious she's the only thing on your mind right now. So why don't you tell me a little bit about her?" She picked up her wine glass and brought it to her red lips, taking a sip of the dark red liquid.

I gave her a weird look. "Are you serious?"

She set the glass back down on the table and pressed her lips together. "Well...as much as I love sitting in silence, the two of us are never going to get know each other that way. Talking about your girlfriend will not only make you feel better, but it'll give me some tips to make this all seem more real. Because, Brendon, I'm not doing this in hopes of falling in love with a rockstar like yourself. I'm doing this because I need the money. This is strictly business, but we might as well have a little fun with it, you know?"

I stared at Sarah hesitantly before starting off, "Well...her name's Ruby and..."