Clandestine (Pete Wentz / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 4 - Liars and Fakes

Ariel Raven

I spent the night beneath an overpass. The constant rumbling of cars and trucks driving overhead lulled me to sleep after a long while, and I slept soundly through the night. When I woke up, I felt oddly refreshed, though a little sore from sleeping on the ground. I sat up slowly and stretched my arms over my head, groaning slightly and stretching my legs out in front of me. The second I lowered my hands, however, what would have been a nice morning quickly divulged into one of utter panic. I set my hand down on the ground, reaching for my guitar and backpack, and found that my hand came into contact with nothing but the ground. I looked to my left and saw nothing, though I was pretty sure of where I had left my things last night. I looked around desperately, getting up and walking in circles over the wide, open expanse of dirt beneath the overpass. There was nothing. All of my things were gone.

"Oh, fuck," I breathed, clapping my hand over my mouth. I had no money. All of it was gone. And any hope of making more was gone with my guitar as well. "Fuck," I repeated, knotting my fingers in my hair and staring up at the overpass like the roar of cars passing over it might grant me the same solace that it did last night. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

And just then, as my world was crashing down and my plan to get away from everything was failing, I remembered that I was supposed to meet Pete at Starbucks. I didn't even know what time it was. With a heavy sigh, I decided that there was nothing else I could do about my missing things, and began heading towards the Starbucks we had been to last night. It was a long walk, and it was already a warm day out. I found myself wishing that I could have showered, but I had also wished the same thing yesterday. I knew I would need to find another shelter to live in soon.

Walking into the Starbucks, I shivered slightly at the blast of cold air from the a/c hit me. There was only a few other people here, and none of them were Pete. There was clock up on the opposite wall, which confirmed that I was actually a little early. It was quarter to eight, which meant that Pete would be here soon anyways. So, I stood around for a few minutes, looking up at the menu board as if I had to decide what I wanted. I wasn't even sure if I would be ordering anything at all, since it kind of depended on whether or not Pete offered to buy for me.

While I was lost in thought, I didn't notice Pete walk in the front doors. He snuck up behind me, joining me in staring up at the menu board, and I didn't realize it until he sighed heavily in my ear. "Sometimes, I think there are just too many choices." I reeled away from him, still not fully realizing it was him, and he laughed whole heartedly at me until I playfully smacked his arm.

"Damn it, Pete," I groaned, trying my best not to laugh with him. Much like his smile, his laughter was infectious. "Fuck you," I finally chuckled.

"Wow," Pete teased, prodding me in the side with one finger, "Someone seems a little grumpy this morning."

I pushed my hair away from my face and sighed, shaking my head. "Just not having the best morning," I told him, looking up at the board again.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Pete said, a little more sincere now, "But maybe a coffee will cheer you up a bit. Anything you want, it's on me, okay?"

"Pete, you bought me coffee last night," I reminded him, although I was silently cheering in my mind that he had offered.

"Nope," Pete stated, propelling me toward the counter, "My treat." With a playfully agitated sigh, I gave the barista my order and waited for Pete to give his. This time, I ordered a vanilla latte, and still giggled to myself when Pete was handed what looked like a chocolate milkshake at eight in the morning. He glared at me with a grin and teasingly shoved me as we made our way to a table. "Shut up, it's got coffee in it, I swear," he giggled as he sat down.