The pretender (An All Time Low Story)

Chapter Twelve

Jesse's POV

As Alex and I were walking away, I realized that this would probably be the last time that I see Nick and Ceci for a few months, so I decided to give them their stuff now. Ceci's birthday would be in about three weeks and Nick's was the day after hers. “Hey, Alex? Do you mind if we stop by my appartment first? I have a few things that I need to grab.” I said to him. He looked hesitant, almost as if he didn't want me to go home.

“Are you sure about going there? I mean, I could get Jack to come with me and we could get stuff for you. Are you sure it'd be safe for you?” The fact that he actually seemed to care scared me. I didn't do anything to make him care, I just talked to him like he was a person, I wasn't especially nice to him or anything. I don't like people caring about me, they always get hurt.

“It's my house, Alex, I can't stay away from it, I told you that we talked about it this morning.” He still seemed like he didn't want me to go, but he reluctantly agreed.

“Fine, but I'm going inside with you.” I just smiled and nodded.

Before I opened the door to the apartment, my phone went off.

My Favourite Faggot :3: There's also someone else here waiting on you. Hurry up skank <3

I laughed and put my phone away. Music was blasting through the door. Clearly PJ was in a much better mood than earlier, he only played music out loud when he was happy. I immediately recognized the song. He only listens to classic rock and underground rap, therefore, there wasn't much variety.

I stand alone

Burned every bridge over the troubled water

No longer hiding from my personality disorder

A stronger tide is coming, I've been running

trying to function fine with out my mind

climbing out this fucking corner

I was born a thorn away from the rotten petals

A forgotten rebel

craft in the absence of heaven's heavy hands to develop an evident level of benevolence

so it's probably better I sold my soul to the devil

This is a message to anyone I met that thinks they know me

Don't pretend to understand none of the issues that I'm holding

I was in a rush to grow up, look Mom no cuts

Just a stomach in disgust, and the fear

that I might go nuts this year

Alex looked at me strangely when I started singing, or I guess rapping, along, but I couldn't help it, I had grown up listening to underground rap with my brother, and it actually wasn't bad. Especially not Eyedea. He was just another artist that I could relate to, because he had a crappy life but he chose to do something with it, I admired him for the most part.

The song was ending when I finally opened the door. The house was as it normally was, minus the people. My brother usually had at least one person over, so this was strange, but I shook it off. The couch was set as it normally is, meaning set two feet from where it should be. I always shoved it back into its correct position when I go to bed, and by the next day its always moved in some way because of the constant, rough use it gets from my brothers friends. The walls were covered in posters.

My apartment was set up to where, when you walk in, you have an almost symmetrical set up. The door opens into the living room. Past the living room, if you keep walking, you come to the kitchen. When you walk in, if you look to the left, you see a shallow hallway with two doors. One was a coat closet and the other was my bed room. If you look to the right, you see the same thing, but one door was a coat closet and the other was my brothers door. His room was larger than mine, but I didn't mind, he had always had the larger room.

We had decorated in a way that reflected both my brother and myself. The left half of the house had posters of all of my favourite movies and bands, displayed items from trips I had gone on, things that reflected me. The other half of the house was covered in the same type of things but reflecting PJ. The kitchen had no decorations. Instead, it was painted black with a colourful splatter painted design.

Well, not design, the day I moved in, PJ and I went into the kitchen, declared it dull, and went to work. We painted it black, but that didn't satisfy me so I took every brightly coloured paint in the house and started a paint fight with PJ. We both got covered in paint, but so did the walls. I'm rather proud of it if I do say so.

The clothes that him and I had worn for that fight were hung up on the walls, seeing as the paint wouldn't come out. Just looking at it made me happy.

PJ was sitting on the kitchen counter when we walked in; me first, walking in confidently, and Alex following, clearly nervous. PJ looked up from the Ipod that he had in his hand, which was playing more underground rap through a pair of speakers, and smiled at me.

I never see that smile. He smiles when he laughs, which is quite often, but he hasn't just smiled at me in ages, since he left our father's house, actually. When I picked him up from my fathers house 4 years ago, I opened the door to his room and he just looked up and gave me the most genuine smile he's ever given. That was also the last time he hugged me, but I understand.

He then looked at Alex and smirked. “I'm proud of you Kate. I really am.” He said calmly, and then, seeing the confused look on my face, yelled “YOU FINALLY FUCKING GREW A PAIR!” and jumped off the counter. When he said that, my face went beet red and I hid it in my hands. I head Alex laugh from behind me, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see PJ standing in front of me, grinning like a mad man, which I guess he was.

“You, finally, for the first time in the 4 years I've lived with you, brought a guy home. In all honesty, I thought it was going to end up being Nelson, but I'm glad it's not.” he said, smiling. I heard Alex let out a confused whimper.

“I haven't had a guy friend over in that long Alex, it's not like I've not dating or had guy friends in the past four years, it's just that I didn't want to bring them over here, I thought that any meeting with PJ would go horribly.”

Then I turned to PJ. “Which you know it would. Anyway, you know I hang out with Nick? I don't keep it hidden of course, but I didn't think you knew?” Alex seemed relieved that I had explained things, but also slightly, I don't know, Jealous? Jealous of what, though? At this point, the unimaginable happened.

PJ hugged me.