Troubled Soul || Fall Out Boy

~Epilogue~

"P-Pete, I can't g-go out t-there..." Patrick stammered, sitting down on the bench in the locker room where they were waiting.

Pete sat down next to his foster brother and put hs arm around him. "Of course you can Pat. You're the freaking honour student! You're going to do great!"

"B-But w-what if h-he's there?"

"Pat, your father's in prison, remember?" Pete sighed softly. "Do you wanna call Dr Urie?"

Patricks hook his head wildly. He couldn't call Dr Urie today. Heck, he was about to graduate hgih school! He didn't want to have to rely on his therapist to get through today. He was determined to do it by himself. After all, after 17 years, he wanted to prove himself. That he could stand in front of his school and foster parents and deliever his honour student speech. They'd helped him so much over the years since he came to live with him, he just wanted to show them that he could do this one thing for them.

Pete gently patted his foster brother's back. "Do you want me to get Mom then? Look, it's okay not to be okay. Today's a big deal."

Patrick took a deep breath. "I w-wanna be a-able to do t-this, Pete."

"I know, I know. Do you have your speech written?"

Patrick reached into his pocket and grabbed a folded piece of paper, before holding it out to Pete. "I-It's n-not very g-good..."

Pete quickly read over it. "It's amazing Patrick. Just like you. You can do this, I promise."

Patrick hugged his foster brother, before the pair stood up.

The graduation ceremony went without a hitch. Patrick was still nervous, so Pete went up with him and stood beside him while he delievered his speech. He was able to deliever it without as much as a stutter with his foster brother by his side.

When the ceremoney was over, Pete's Mom squealed and ran to hug her two boys. "I'm so proud of you two!"

Pete chuckled. "Thanks Mom. I'm just glad I graduated."

"You spoke so well Pattycakes!" She giggled. "Gosh, I'm so proud of you!"

Patrick half-smiled. "I couldn't have done it without Pete."

The two foster brothers hugged tightly. Pete's Mom just smiled proudly, knowing how close their relationship had grown.

The family headed out for a celebratory lunch at a nearby restaurant. They mostly spoke about the future.

Patrick was off to college to study accounting, on a scholarshio. He'd been offered scholarships all around the country, but he wanted to stay close to home so he could stay close to Pete's Mom and Dad, and also to Dr Urie. Pete was going to a local music college to further his music career that was starting to take off.

The band that they'd formed was also starting to gather attention. Pete, Patrick, Joe and Andy had almost finished writing a full album's worth of songs. They were starting to get regular gigs too, which was both terrifying and exciting at the same time.

But it was proving to be helpful for Patrick, whos confienence was starting to improve. Pete was particularly proud of him, watching him as he belted out the songs on a Saturday night. He'd come such a long way.

The fitire was looking bright for the two of them. Best friends who were going to start the rest of their lives together. As brothers.

~End~

// :). One more day to get your entries in for the art contest! Results + Q&A answers will be posted on May 1st.