I Have Friends in Holy Spaces

9: In Which Pete Falls Out of A Tree

I didn't see Brendon or Pete for the rest of the day since it was a holiday and I see those two shitheads everyday, but the Monday after, I practically skipped to Brendon's with a coffee in my hand and a pretty decent mood.

For a winter day in Belleville, it was pretty warm out so I didn't wear a coat, but then again I never wear a coat. The warmth from my coffee was spreading from my hands and to the rest of me, acting as if it was a warm protection shield and I felt eternally grateful for coffee despite never drinking it that much.

    Brendon's parents probably love me more than they love their own son; I can't help that I'm such a good child. In the beginning of our friendship, they didn't like me much because they thought I'd grow up to be a drug dealer or something but in reality the worst thing I ever did was push Pete off of the roof of my house during a blizzard...and contact a demon but they don't need to know that.

"Frank, haven't seen you here in a while," Brendon's dad greeted me as I walked in to the house; he was in his work attire so I assumed that his job had called him in for an emergency shift. I nodded and fist bumped him, "It's been busy with finals and that shit."

He smiled, "At least one of you are actually taking your grades in to consideration." From above, we both heard the muffled voice of Brendon, "I heard that!" "You hear everything that involves you, Brendon," his dad shouted up at the ceiling in response to his son. I swear to God, those two were exactly alike sometimes, no matter how much Brendon denies it.

   We stood there, conversing for a few minutes before he looked at his watch and gently patted my shoulder, moving out the door as he did so, "Well I gotta run, the corporation just fired someone and they need me to fill in until they find a replacement. Later, bud." I bid him goodbye and closed the door on his way out and walked up to the attic of their house, where Brendon insisted he would dwell in.

   The Uries' attic was a cramped space that shouldn't even hold a room, but Brendon didn't want to be on the second floor anymore when his sister was still at school, so in eighth grade he moved in to the attic while his whole family slept, clearing the attic and putting the stuff that was once in there into his former room. His family didn't even notice for two whole years.

Brendon was sitting at his desk, writing something on his laptop. Despite being an idiot most times, he really did focus on his studies and would sometimes take classes online for classes that weren't available at our school, which was probably what he was doing now. I walked in his room and held up his index finger, gesturing for me to wait a couple minutes. Since I didn't really care for what he was doing at the moment, I flopped down on to his bed and turned on my phone, seeing that there were two texts from Pete.

Elderberry: I am so offended, Frank.

Elderberry: You left me for Brendon's house? I thought what we had was real.

"How the hell did he find out I was at yours already? Even I didn't tell you," I said out loud, laughing slightly as I did so. Brendon closed his laptop and wheeled around in his swirly chair and read the texts as I practically shoved my phone in his face. "Pete's a crazy good investigator, I get scared of his skill sometimes man. Once I promised him that I would take him to New York with my family, but I forgot to tell him when so like I was in the city, walking in Madison Square Garden and I see Pete and he shouts at me, 'You lied to me.'"

  I shook my head and turned off my phone, "That kid is going to make it in the CIA I swear to God." Brendon shook his head in compliance and we sat there for a moment, just thinking about how crazy Pete Wentz really is. "So," Brendon jumped off the bed energetically, "What brings you to Brendon's fortress of Manliness?"