Folie

Act III, Scene 3

After the first performance, Patrick, Pete, Brendon, Dallon, Joe, and the rest of the cast gathered at a local restaurant to celebrate. They began a round of cheers to mark off their successes.

"And here's to Patrick and Pete for writing the whole damn thing!" Brendon toasted.

"And here's to Brendon for directing it all!" Dallon cried in response while taking Brendon into his arms, causing Brendon to blush.

For the next two hours, the cast drank and ate in good spirits, celebrating their first performance. Brendon spent a great deal of time talking to Dallon, which really helped distract him from his anxieties about the second performance tomorrow - the graded performance. Meanwhile, Patrick, Pete, and Joe, spent a great deal of time talking to each other. However, though Patrick was seated between Joe and Pete, Joe couldn't help but notice that Patrick kept gravitating towards him, making physical contact with him often. Perhaps Patrick didn't realize it, but Joe couldn't help but melt every time Patrick's hand would graze his own, or his leg would brush up against Joe's.

Finally, the group agreed to call it a night, and everyone said their goodbyes and began to part ways in the parking lot, leaving the five boys alone in front of Joe's car.

"Hey, Patrick, I'm going to hang out with Andy tonight. You could come with, unless you want to get a ride with Joe. You live close to us, right Joe?" Pete hinted at the two boys with a smirk. He had planned all day to make this the night the two finally got together.

"Uh, yeah, I don't mind giving you a ride if you want. It's up to you," Joe replied, turning to Patrick.

Patrick rolled his eyes playfully at Pete, figuring out his intentions rather quickly.

"Yeah, I'll go with Joe. Have fun with Andy!"

"Have fun with Joe," Pete whispered to Patrick in a suggestive voice as Joe unlocked his car. Patrick shoved him in response.

"Alright, guess that settles it. See you guys later!" Brendon said as he turned to follow Dallon, who had given him a ride.

Brendon thought that Dallon planned on just taking him home. Dallon, however, paused before starting the car, a question hesitating on his lips.

"Do you wanna'... hang out some more? Just the two of us?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, sure," Brendon replied, feeling his chest begin to pound, "what'd you have in mind?"

"We could just go on a drive and talk."

"I'd like that," Brendon said, and Dallon finally started the car.

A cool, spring breeze swam between the two as they drove with the windows open, the night sky unfolding before them as they left the college town on a winding country road. At first, only the wind made noise as the car zipped through the hills. Then, Dallon turned on his music, and a soft indie song began to play.

"This is nice," Brendon sighed, his body overflowing with warmth.

"The song or the drive?"

"Everything," Brendon replied, as he turned to smile at Dallon. When he did, affection and bravery overtook him, and he reached towards Dallon's right hand, which sat invitingly in his lap as the other hand controlled the wheel. Brendon's hand seemed to awaken Dallon's, as his fingers intertwined with Brendon's without any hesitation.