Playing Strangers (Brendon Urie/P!ATD FanFic)

Trade Mistakes

It all felt so natural, right, how it always had been as Ruby's and my kiss became more passionate, our hands latched to each other as we held each other close, our bodies colliding and removing any sort of space between the two of them. I slipped my hands underneath her thighs and lifted her up onto the vanity, the only thing breaking being the cosmetic products that were pushed to the floor.

I ground my body against hers, a feeling I had never felt with Sarah spreading throughout my entire body as Ruby began to tug at my t-shirt. Only one night had Sarah and I gotten intimate like this, and it was when we were both wasted and didn't know our rights from our lefts. I didn't remember much from that night, other than that we woke up the next morning and joked about how what if someone snapped a picture of the two of us. It just wasn't the same, though. I didn't feel that connection that I felt with Ruby.

I pulled away from her and allowed her to bring my sweat-drenched shirt over my head, tossing it across the room and drawing me back in, the room ironically growing warmer with each piece of clothing we discarded.

When we were only down to our underwear, growing impatient to take the next step in progression, there was a knock on the dressing room door. Both Ruby and I froze in our places, our heavy and rapid breaths intermingling with one another's.

"Brendon?" Spencer's voice sounded through the wooden barrier separating us from him, "You in there?"

"Y-Yeah," I called back with a stutter, "But don't come in. I-I'm naked!"

Ruby couldn't hold back the giggle that slipped past her lips, bringing her hand up and covering her smile.

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to," My band mate retorted with a chuckle, "I just wanted to tell you that Pete's looking for you."

I rolled my eyes, a groan emanating from my throat. "Tell him I'll be there in a little bit, okay?"

"Sure thing, buddy. Just don't forget your clothes," He replied jokingly before knocking on the door once and walking away, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he went to report to our manager. I looked down at Ruby and watched as she retracted her hand away from her face, revealing her bright red cheeks and the faint remains of the smile that was spread across her face.

"What do you think he wants to see you for?" She questioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I have no clue," I murmured back, resting my forehead against hers and bringing my hands up her bare back, holding onto her shoulders and heaving a sigh, "Probably to yell at me for something. I can't do anything right in his eyes. I swear, I don't think I can survive another day of this. It's brutal."

Ruby's hands slipped around to my lower back, pulling me even closer to her than I already was. Her head rested in the crook of my neck, her lips planting a small gentle kiss on my slightly sticky skin. "It's what you have to do, though, Bren."

"I don't have to do anything," I retorted arrogantly, wishing the two of us could just stay like this forever. Even years apart and faking to be in love with someone else couldn't change the way I felt about Ruby. Every time I was told to mention something about my relationship with Sarah, and I had to describe what it was that made me love her, I described what I loved about Ruby. Everything was about her, even though we hadn't seen each other in over two years.

"Brendon, what do you want me to do?" She inquired, pushing her fingers through my wet hair and re-styling it, "If I'm not the girl the world wants to see you with, then I'm not that girl. Simple as that."

A frown crawled its way onto my face. "Yeah, but you're the girl I want to see me with. I don't want a wedding picture of Sarah and me above my mantle. I want one of us."

She smirked. "Well that can't happen if you want to keep your band."

"I don't care about the-" Another knock rattled on the door, cutting me short. I groaned and asked, "What do you want, Spencer? I already told you-"

The door swung in and my eyes grew wide, seeing Pete standing in the doorway. Ruby brought her hands up and covered her chest, her cheeks growing a deep shade of red; mine doing the same.

"Pete," I greeted uneasily, "Fancy seeing you here."

*****

I was sitting on the tour bus as it cruised down the dark and mostly deserted highway, Pete pacing back and forth in front of me. His hand was up to his forehead and he was muttering incomprehensible nonsense under his breath.

"Pete, I'm sorry," I tried to apologize, my head hung low, "I-"

"I don't know what I should yell at you for first," He interrupted me angrily, "For you cheating on Sarah or for you fucking up the band's chance of still being a band."

I heaved an annoyed sigh. "I didn't cheat on Sarah, Pete. We're not even together!"

"But the world thinks you are, Brendon," He informed me coldly, stopping mid-pace and turning to face me, "The world thinks you're with Sarah, not Ruby. What if someone saw the two of you? Actually, why don't I show you?" He yanked his phone out of his pocket and shoved it at me, a news article pulled up on the screen.

I reluctantly took the device into my possession and scrolled down the webpage, coming across a few pictures of Ruby and me from today. The first one was of her and me at the signing tent, the two of us standing with my hand wrapped around hers, our gazes locked on one another. The next one was snapped backstage, in the hallway where she and I met up before sneaking off to the dressing room. Of course the story was about Ruby being my "mystery girl", the writer suggesting that Sarah and I were on the rocks and on the verge of breaking up.

I guiltily glanced up at Pete, meeting his almost knife-like glare. "Pete, I-"

"Do you realize how much you've fucked things up?" He snapped at me, snatching his phone out of my hand, "Just because you couldn't move on from some girl who you had no chance with?"

My eyebrows knit together, his words hitting me like daggers. "What do you mean?"

"Dude, you were never become a star with that nobody clinging to your side," He answered me harshly, "I told you back then and I'll tell you again - I know what it takes to make it in this industry, and Ruby just isn't that, okay? Get that through your thick skull! It was her or the band, and luckily for you, you made the right decision."

I stared at the Fall Out Boy member in astonishment. I couldn't believe the way he was talking about Ruby, especially when he knew nothing about her.

"She wasn't helping you, Brendon," He tried to convince me, a sudden kindness and understanding to his tone as he sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my back, "She was holding you back."

I scoffed and shook his arm off of me, rising to my feet. "You know, Pete, it's no wonder Ashlee divorced you. You don't know fucking shit." And with that, I stormed off into the back, slamming the small door behind me and causing Pete to jump.