The Church Boys ➸ Peterick/Brentrick

15: Is There Life on Mars?

Patrick didn't know why he was letting Pete record him playing on his acoustic and singing. He'd been hanging out with him a lot more often lately when he wasn't with Joe. It was Pete's idea for him to cover David Bowie, too, but it wasn't like Patrick was opposed to it. 

He was just sitting on Pete's windowsill, playing the acoustic in the dying sunlight and letting himself cut loose singing. Pete had given him a mic after the first time through it, mostly because the camera didn't seem to like his voice without any better audio equipment. 

It was a cover of Life on Mars. 

Still, once it was finished, they ended up heading downstairs and getting dinner. Pete still messed around with him through it all, but after another hour Patrick drove himself home. He was supposed to come back again in a couple days (Pete would text him when) and that would be that. They'd hang out again, probably go fuck around somewhere else and enjoy themselves.

Once he was home, he ended up messing around on his acoustic. There was nothing else for him to particularly do, and it took his mind off of everything that was going on. Still, there managed to be a knock at the door. 

"Yeah?" he called, stopping his playing and looking up as Aaron let himself in and shut the door behind himself. He sat on the carpet, announcing that he was going to be present for awhile.

"Just...wondering how you're doing. You've gotten all quiet again."

Patrick shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Is that Brendon guy being a douche to you?" 

The small boy looked right at him. "No. No he's not. We broke up."

Pause. "When?"

"About a week ago." He sighed, shaking his head and running his fingers through his sloppy hair. "It's not a big deal, it really isn't." 

"You don't seem okay, Patrick, sorry to kill the vibe." Aaron gave him a once-over and leaned against the wall. The resemblance was usually hard to spot between the two: they were polar opposites, however suddenly one could see it. The stature and way they held themselves made it an interesting sight to see at that moment.

He shook his head. "It's not a big deal, I swear. I ran into him one day, we got in a fight, and that was it." Patrick looked up at him. "Aaron, seriously. It's fine."

"You don't seem all that broken up about it."

"He cheated on me."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to have sex with him." Patrick gave him a look. "If you're asking why I'm not crying, that's reason number one."

Aaron laughed quietly, shaking his head. "I sort of was, I guess." Still, the laugh was a slightly homicidal one, and that was a little nerve-wracking. "Reason number two?"

"I've cried enough over him, he doesn't deserve anything else."

With that, there was a sigh. Patrick looked up at Aaron. "Mom's worried sick, you know. She thinks you're gonna get depressed again."

"And Dad?"

"Clueless." Aaron looked at the ground, picking up a discarded Alternative Press magazine. "Maybe you should just tell them...y'know, come out and all that."

To the notion, Patrick laughed. It was half sarcastic, of course, but the other half was a bitter realism. "They sent me to private school for saying I wanted to be a musician. Are you fucking insane? They'd sign me up for conversion therapy."

"Maybe you should just at least tell Mom you broke up with Brenda. I can always back you up, you know." It was quiet for a moment. "I'm on your side, Patrick."