The year is 1926 and Brendon Urie is struggling to live up to the demands of his wife. To escape the stress, he sings at a jazz club downtown with his band, Panic! At the Disco and they gain popularity extremely fast.
Brendon then finds it challeng...
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Give me envy, give me malice Give me your attention
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A week after they moved into their house June insisted on throwing a party to celebrate. Brendon let her do whatever she wanted to keep her happy. They hadn't had an argument in a good while and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
All of June's rich friends were invited and she couldn't wait to gloat about her new money. Brendon sat at his piano and played background music as people socialized and even received a few compliments.
"June, your husband is such a wonderful musician," one of her friends said. "You're lucky to have such a talented man on your hands."
She only nodded and eyed Brendon with disgust. "He's the best," she answered, with a counterfeit smile. She bent over to kiss his cheek then whispered in his ear, "Quit trying to make everything about you and your stupid music. It's quite annoying, dear."
Brendon closed the piano and lit a cigar instead.
He didn't know any of the people June invited and he wasn't interested in making new friends. Brendon watched the guests mingle from the wall. At least that stubborn wife of his was pleased.
Brendon heard a knock on the door over all the obnoxiousness and went to answer it since he didn't have anything better to do but to play butler. June had already invited anyone who had a net worth. Who else could possibly be left? Angelina and Phillip Carter of course.
"Angie?"
"Brendon?"
"Mr. Urie!" Officer Carter exclaimed, shaking Brendon's hand. "Good to see you again!"
"You too...I guess," Brendon mumbled. "Come in."
"Where's your wife?" Phillip asked, leaving his hat on the rack. "I haven't seen her since we met."
"Wife?" Angelina inquired, staring into Brendon's eyes.
"Mr. Urie's married, Ange. Did he not tell you?" Phillip looked between his girlfriend and Brendon.
"He didn't," Angelina replied. "What a surprise."
"June's over there if you'd like to say hello. She's taking her hosting duties very seriously," Brendon said, shrinking under Angelina's angry gaze.
"You didn't happen to invite the girl you were talking to at the tea shop the other day did you? She seemed nice," Phillip said.
"No, June didn't invite Miss Clarke."
"Do they even know each other?"
"They don't."
"Oh, that's interesting."
"Phillip, let's go dance for a bit," Angelina suggesting, pulling her boyfriend toward the crowd of dancing people. "We'll speak later, Mr. Urie."
"Later" came as soon as Phillip was caught up in a game of poker with a few other men. Angelina forced Brendon to an empty room and slammed the door shut before yelling at him.
"When the hell were you gonna tell me you had a wife?!" she screamed, frantically waving her hands. "I've never seen a ring on your damn finger!"
"I don't wear it anymore," Brendon responded. "Please keep your voice down."
"I will not keep my voice down! This is insane, Brendon! Who knows you're married?!"
"No one really. I try not to talk about her."
"Why the hell not?!"
"Because it's not really important to me, okay?" Brendon snapped. "We don't even get along very well. She hates me."
"I'm sure she doesn't. She married you for a reason, I know she loves you."
"You've never actually been married to her. She hates everything I do. All she cares about is being rich and even when I made it happen she's still mad at me. I can't do anything right, it's so frustrating," he sighed, leaning on the desk in the middle of the room. This space would become a study once June changed the wallpaper.
"She likes your music though, right?"
Brendon laughed out loud. "No, she especially hates that."
"How could anyone hate your voice? You're so talented."
"Ask June. She's hated it for two years."
Angelina shook her head in disappointment. "Please tell me you have a cigarette or something. I feel a headache coming on."
Brendon reached into the desk drawer and lit a cigarette for Angelina as well as himself. They inhaled and exhaled simultaneously.
"I'm gonna guess that Miss Tilly Clarke doesn't know about your wife," Angelina said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
Brendon shook his head, his heart aching when he thought about how serious of a lie this was. "No, she doesn't."
"Poor girl is gonna be devastated. She's in love with you, I can tell," Angelina said as smoke left her dark red lips.
"Is she?"
"She looks at you like you're Jesus Christ in the flesh. Yes, she's in love with you. You love her too, don't you?"
Brendon grinned as he remembered how sweet her lips tasted on his after she drank champagne. "It's hard to not fall in love with her."
"She's sweet, I know, but she doesn't deserve to be lied to. And as much as you may dislike your wife, she doesn't deserve to be lied to either. I hate a two-timer, Brendon. I hate a two-timer more than anything."
"I just need some time to figure this out. It's so confusing."
"I'm sure it is. Do the right thing, okay? Please."
"I will, I promise."
"Don't promise me anything," Angelina pleaded, opening the door to the room. "Because when people promise things they never follow through and I know you're better than that. Just don't hurt that little girl. She's been through enough."
Brendon nodded before taking another drag of his cigarette.
"Oh and I won't tell anyone about your wife," Angelina added before walking out of the room. "I'll make sure Phillip doesn't either. He tends to run his mouth."
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Sch**l starts Wednesday but there will be another update on Friday like usual. I tend to write this story really fast and I have a few completed unpublished parts waiting in my drafts so I'll publish those on the regular schedule until they're all gone! When I get more settled in my classes we'll see if I can still update frequently!
