Life in Vegas || Brendon Urie

Chapter 12

It was Friday. Prom was the next day, and my friends were still pressuring me to go.

"I don't have a dress," I argued.

"Wear the one from last year," Taylor shrugged. "It's pretty."

"No," I declined.

"You're seriously going to miss out on senior prom because of a boy?" Maria asked.

"Maria!" I scolded. We were in eighth period, and Brendon was in here as well. "Keep it down. This is a small classroom."

"I'm just saying," she sighed. "That's not worth it."

Quickly, I stole a look over at Brendon to see if he had heard Maria. He hadn't moved, so I assumed I was clear.

"Look, I'm not going. That's that." I finalized.

A look of disappointment was shared between them, but they let it go. I looked out the window and let my mind drift. Naturally, it drifted to Brendon. He made up a wasteland of desolate thoughts and empty hopes these days.

I always thought of Jessi telling me that he and Anna weren't doing well. Knowing full-well that they weren't broken up, I kept my nose out of their business. I also thought about what Jake said about letting myself be happy. The thing is though, I was happy because I wasn't troubled with anything. It's not like I was crying over Brendon every night or wondering if he was cheating; no, I knew what he was doing, and it gave me peace of mind to know.

On Saturday, I attended appointments with Jessi, Taylor and Maria as they got ready for prom. They all tried one last time to get me to go, saying that they would make sure I got appointments if I agreed. Politely, I declined, once more. I took pictures with them and saw them off as they went to the dance.

For the remainder of my Saturday night, I sat in my room, reading old books that I was only minimally interested in. They simply gave me something to invest my time in, something to anticipate with the turn of the pages.

I heard a knock at the front door, but ignored it because my mom was home, and she would get it. However, I heard talking, and decided to eavesdrop. Whoever it was, my mom was not having whatever they were pitching.

"I am not letting you in this house," she hissed. There was a short pause; I couldn't hear the other voice. "I know who you are and you aren't coming in here." Pause. "Because I sat with her while she poured her heart out to me about a boy that shattered that precious heart. I won't be giving you the chance to discard her again, Mr. Urie."

My heart stopped. Mr. Urie? Brendon? What was he doing here? Why was he here? Was Anna with him?

I practically shot off my bed and ran through my bedroom door, then around the corner of the hallway to the living room. My disbelief resolved as I saw Brendon standing in my doorway, toe to toe with my mom, who looked furious.

"You, leave!" She barked at him. "Now!"

"Mom, stop," I begged quietly.

"What?" She asked.

I sighed. "Let me handle this. I'm probably going to go for a little bit. I'll be back though, I promise."

She gave me a weary look, then turned back to Brendon. "If she comes back with one hair out of place..."

"No harm to be done, I swear," Brendon said with a breathy and broken up voice.

Mom retreated to her room, and Brendon and I were alone. I stepped out onto the porch with him. It took me a minute of staring at the ground to find the courage to meet his gaze that bore holes into the top of my head.