It had been weeks since Pete walked out of Mikey's house. Somehow that felt like a curse to Mikey. A curse, because it left a void, quiet, but sharp. And the unease of knowing Pete was out there, free from prison, somewhere, waiting for the right moment to slip back in.
Mikey stepped out of his car and adjusted his jacket against the wind, fingers buried deep in his pockets. He hadn't seen Dani in days, and she'd invited him over for a quiet evening, just the two of them. He needed that. Something normal. Something steady.
He rang the doorbell and shifted on his feet. Dani's place had always felt safe, a kind of soft landing after rough days. But the second the door opened, something shifted.
It wasn't Dani who greeted him, it was Patrick.
"Hey," Patrick said, his voice light, but the curve of his mouth didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come in."
Mikey hesitated. Not because he didn't trust Patrick, he didn't necessarily love the guy, but he wasn't actively wary of him either, but because the vibe felt... off. Something beneath the surface felt tight, pulled taut like a wire ready to snap.
"Dani around?" Mikey asked as he stepped inside, glancing briefly around the room.
Patrick nodded. "She's getting dressed. Just got back from the store."
Mikey dropped his bag onto the couch, then rubbed his hands together. "Cool. Been a minute since I've been here."
Patrick offered a small, distracted smile. "Yeah. Things have been hectic."
Mikey's eyes wandered, and he tried to shake off the lingering tension in his chest. "You still talk to Pete?" he asked casually. The question had always hovered in the back of his mind, ever since Dani first told him years ago that Patrick and Pete used to be close. Mikey had assumed the key word there was used.
Patrick's reply was a shrug. "We talk now and then."
Mikey blinked, caught off guard. "Wait, still?"
Patrick nodded, crossing to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "Yeah. Why?"
Mikey didn't answer immediately. That unease he'd felt earlier coiled tighter. "I just thought... after everything, you'd dropped him."
"We've been friends since we were kids," Patrick said, taking a sip. "I don't agree with some of the stuff he's done, but I'm not going to ghost him."
Mikey stared at him. "You knew what he did to me."
Patrick looked back, brows furrowing slightly. "I knew you said things were bad. But Pete's... complicated."
That wasn't an excuse. Mikey could barely breathe.
Before he could speak again, tires crunched against the gravel outside. Mikey turned toward the window just in time to see Pete's unmistakable silhouette stepping out of a car.
His breath caught in his throat.
Patrick didn't move. If anything, he looked guilty.
"You invited him?" Mikey asked, voice sharp, eyes wide.
"No," Patrick said too quickly. "I just mentioned you were coming by. He didn't say-"
The door opened behind them.
And there he was. Pete Wentz, standing in the entryway as if he belonged there, as if he hadn't dismantled Mikey's life piece by piece.
"Hey, Pat," Pete said smoothly, before his gaze locked onto Mikey. His smile turned sharp. "Well, this is awkward."
YOU ARE READING
That's What You Get
FanfictionMikey thought love was supposed to hurt. That if he just held on tightly enough, things would go back to how they used to be. But the longer he stayed, the harder it became to tell where devotion ended and survival began. Now, the silence between br...
