Canvas (Peterick)

Five

November, 2009
Patrick Stump

It has been three and a half months since my best man had confessed his love for me. It never bothered me a bit. He had told me he was afraid of me packing my bags and quickly moving in with my fiancé, but that's the last thing I would have done. Instead, I said that who he was in love with was not his choice and it'd never be something I'd be mad at him over. I still planned on sharing the apartment with Pete for at least eight more months until I got married. There was no leaving this man.

Besides, why would I run away from Pete now that he was the happiest guy alive? Ever since he came out to me he hadn't stopped showing off his pearly whites. His smile was contagious. Being around a happy Pete made a happy Patrick.

Pete's job was at it's peak, and he was making more money than ever. In the passed six months, he had already designed over ten book covers and two album covers. He never missed a deadline. He was also selling his art off his own website like crazy. Pete was a total maniac. My total maniac.

I wanted Pete to know how proud I was of him and his achievements, so I considered buying him a new car or something. Then, I remembered I didn't have that kind of money (since my career as a solo artist never really took off), so I settled on recording a few special songs for him instead. Some days while he was at work, I snuck into the home studio to write songs dedicated to Pete, then recorded them with whatever instruments we possessed. I even used one of his old basses (it was just sitting there, all dusty.) When I had finished it, I burned every song onto a cd and scribbled Songs for Pete on it. I then wrapped it in brown paper and placed it on Pete's perfectly made bed. I waited for him to come home.

I clicked on the tv in the living room, but my cell rang before I could even sit myself down. It was Elisa.

"Hey, babe."

"Do you want to come over?" She asked instantly. I didn't want to say no, but I couldn't say yes.

"Um, I'm kind of doing something at the moment, can I come later?"

"Of course. That's fine." I could hear disappointment in her voice.

"I'll be there," I said, then ended the call. A sigh of relief escaped my lungs.

Pete arrived only a few minutes later, and I jumped out of my seat the second he came through the door. "Hey!" I cheered, hugging him.

"Whoa, you seem excited about something. What's up?" Pete laughed.

I nodded toward the hallway. "Check your room."

He awkwardly stalked into his bedroom, grinning the whole way. I followed him, and he gave me a confused looked when he saw the package.

"What is this?" He asked, gripping the gift.

"It's a present for you," I said, moving up and down on my heels.

"What for?" His fingers played at the edge of the wrapping.

"Just open it," I commanded, a smirk plastered on my face.

He tore off the paper with a smile playing at his lips, and he grinned when he read Songs for Pete. "You wrote songs for me?" Pete took out the cd and placed it in the stereo across the room. Once my voice began to echo throughout the room, he gasped in awe. "Patrick, this is amazing. Why did you do this?"

I shrugged and took a stepped toward him. "I just wanted to show how proud I am of you. With your successful job and coming out... I know none of it was easy."

Pete enveloped me into his arms, hugging me tighter than he ever has. "Thank you," he said, gazing into my eyes. He began to lean in, parting his lips slightly as the sound of my voice still rang through our ears. I had no thoughts of stopping him, I actually had no thoughts at all. I was just going to let my best friend kiss me. As our lips brushed just slightly, my cell phone rang again. We both paused. I bit my lip and looked up at the ceiling.