The Do Over (Peterick)

one.

When Patrick wakes up, his mother is knocking on the door to his childhood bedroom. She walks further in the room to make sure he's awake. He blinks twice and sits straight up quickly, as if she isn't real. "Oh, honey, have you been sleepwalking again? You've got a nasty bruise on your face." She traces his throbbing cheek with her fingertips.

"Mom?" He barely whispers, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She gives him a funny look and stands up.

"Come on, sleepyhead. Breakfast is waiting downstairs, make sure to thank Wendell for that. I'll get you an ice pack. The bus is coming in forty-five minutes. If you miss it, you're going to have to walk." She walks out of his room without so much as a look back.

He jumps up quickly, running after her, throwing his bedroom door open. "Mom!" He shouts, catching her right as she turns to go down the stairs.

She stops, giving him an even funnier look this time. He walks the short distance until he's in front of her. "I love you." He pulls her into a hug.

Hesitantly, she hugs him back, and he closes his eyes, savouring the moment. He hasn't seen his mother since he was twenty-two, right before they closed her casket and put her six feet under.

Patrick pulls away, kissing his mother's cheek and heading for the bathroom. Right now, he's happier than he's been in a long while.

-

After showering and dressing in his old teen-fashion (a band tee, ripped skinny jeans, and black Vans), Patrick rushes downstairs to see his mother and her husband, Wendell, hugging in the middle of the kitchen. He remembers being shitty towards Wendell for years, until the funeral, when the man was sobbing harder than Patrick.

So, instead of making a rude comment and giving Wendell a nasty look, Patrick simply clears his throat and begins making his plate. "Thank you for the food, Dale."

"No problem, kiddo." Wendell says, nodding his head to Patrick. His mom looks impressed, a smile on her face as she watches her son and her boyfriend interact.

"Today's your first day as a high school student. Are you nervous?" His mother asks, turning to him. He swallows the food in his mouth before answering.

"Not really. All I've to do is make the baseball team, and I'll be set for the next four years." Patrick answers simply before resuming eating.

"Well, good luck on tryouts, then. Do you know when they are yet?"

"I think Friday during seventh period." He says when he finishes his last bite. He stands up and rinses his plate off before putting it in the dishwasher.

With a pat to Wendell's back and a kiss to his mother's forehead, Patrick grabs his backpack and begins his journey to the bus stop fifteen minutes early. He makes it there with about ten minutes to spare, seeing two of his best friends waiting for him.

Although Raymond Toro and Joseph Trohman have the same hair, similar last names, and identical aspirations to become lead guitarists for famous rock bands, the stepbrothers couldn't be more different.

When Raymond's father married Joseph's mother their fifth grade year, the two boys simply hated each other. They couldn't stand the attention not being solely on them. They got over it very quickly and became Patrick's best friends in sixth grade at Evanston Middle School.

Now that they've moved across the street to Evanston High School, they both seem to think they're hot shit. "'Trick." Joseph says as Patrick walks up. Patrick raises an eyebrow at the odd nickname, one he's only heard before from Pete.

"Joseph. Raymond." He says, and Raymond scoffs almost immediately.

He leans in closer, looking both ways before he whispers, "It's Ray. And Joe. Nicknames are in style."

Patrick takes a pause, trying to remember if this happened when he went through high school the first time. He recalls Joe and Ray going by their full names for a while before changing to nicknames, but he thought it just happened naturally, not that they'd basically forced him to begin calling them that.

"Alright. Ray, Joe, what have you guys been up to?" Patrick asks, mostly because he hasn't seen them in ages. Last he heard, Joe was backing vocals and playing lead in a band with his fiancé, and Ray had just opened his own bar in Jersey.

"Dude, you saw us yesterday." Joe says, matter-of-factly, pushing his long hair out of his face. Patrick recalls him growing it out over the summer to 'look older for high school.' He also recalls that as soon as they walk into the cafeteria, someone's going to begin calling he and Ray the 'Fro Bros.'

And they don't like that. At least, Joe doesn't.

"Oh, yeah, right." Patrick says, snapping himself out of his thoughts. He should save Joe the mental breakdown and just take him to get a haircut now. If he remembers correctly, Joe says something about always living in Ray's shadow. Much to Joe's dismay, the 'Fro Bros' nickname haunted the stepbrothers the rest of high school

Patrick is taken back out of his rambling thoughts yet again. This time by the bus as it arrives, picking up Patrick, his friends, and a few other boys and girls eagerly awaiting their first day of high school.

"Wait!" Patrick grabs Ray and Joe's arms before they can get on. "Go on without us, we'll walk." He says to the bus driver, who just gives him an odd look, shuts the bus doors, and drives to the next stop about a mile up the road.

"The fuck, Stump? You made us miss the bus on our first day of high school?" Ray hisses, snatching his arm away from Patrick.

"Guys." Patrick says, but it doesn't stop Ray's complaining about how long of a walk it's going to be and how sweaty he'll be before school. "Guys." Patrick tries again, this time succeeding in making Ray shut the fuck up.

"What?" The brothers say in unison, turning their attention to Patrick.

"One of you has to get a haircut before we go to school." Patrick says quickly, and both of them quickly begin shouting and protesting. "Shut the fuck up. Both of you." Patrick says sternly, and the both shut their mouths. "You need to trust me. One of you has to cut your hair. Rock, paper, scissors for it, I don't give a damn. But one of you is cutting your hair before we go to school."

Both of their eyes widen, and they nod. Joe turns to look at Ray, who looks terrified to cut his hair. So, being the great stepbrother he is, he says, "Fuck it. I'll do it."

"But, Joe, you grew your hair out all summer for this." Ray tries to argue, but Patrick hits him on the back of the head, and he shuts up. "I mean, sorry. Yeah, cool. You'll look great."

The three boys begin their walk to the shop they usually get their haircuts at, scrambling to find enough money to pay for it. Joe goes in by himself when they get there, saying he has to do it alone, as if it's some big life change.

And, Patrick thinks belatedly, it is. Joe's always had long hair. So this is a huge change for him. Patrick just hopes that making this change won't fuck everything else up.

—

so chap 1's up. how is it