s m i l e

3: nerves

Natalie's POV:

After a long time of laying in bed and not being able to sleep I decided to get up and go to the kitchen for a drink. I made my way to the door, pausing when I heard distant talking coming from Brendon's room across the hall.

"I don't know if I can do this, Zack. I'm not a responsible person! I party, smoke weed, drink! I'm crazy! I can barely take care of myself!... No, I just picked her up today... Yeah. We hung out like once a week while the adoption was being processed... Yeah, I think we know each other pretty well... Okay. Thanks Zack. Yeah, I think I'll introduce her to the guys tomorrow or sometime soon. I don't want to spring too much on her all at once. I don't want to scare her and make her hate me... Okay. Bye Zack.." he had whispered through the phone. I couldn't hear what this Zack guy was saying, but it seemed like it calmed Brendon down immediately. Was Brendon really that worried that he couldn't take care of me? I didn't want to feel like a burden, and I sure as hell didn't want Brendon to be worried about me like that.

I decided I should probably stay in my room for the rest of the night. I didn't want Brendon to know that I had heard his conversation with the mysterious Zack dude, figuring that he didn't want me to hear if he did it while he thought I was sleeping.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of something burning. I made my way into the kitchen, concerned and confused as to why it smelled like charred bacon. I was greeted with a awkwardly smiling Brendon, swatting smoke towards the window to get it out of the house.

"So uh, I tried making breakfast, but I cannot cook so I kinda burnt it," he said bashfully, "But! We do have some cereal we can eat instead. I don't know what kind you like but I do have some of that cereal with the granola and almonds and cornflakes in it."

"Okie dokie!" I said exitedly, happier now that I could tell Brendon's mood had changed drastically since last night.

"Heh, thats cute." he chuckled, referring to my comment.

"I don't know why I say it, I know it's kinda dumb." I replied, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"I like it! You shouldn't feel embarrassed." he said.

"Ok. Thanks..."

"You can call me whatever you want, Brendon, Bren, Dad, Beebo, or whatever."

I giggled. "Beebo?"

"It's something the fans came up with. It's supposed to be my first and middle name put together, since my middle name is Boyd." he explained.

"Shouldn't it be Breebo then?" I asked, genuinely interested at this point.

"That's what I said! But they said no, and now they all call me Beebo." he exclaimed.

"Huh. Okay then." I said, slightly giggling still.

"I also understand if you aren't ready to call me dad yet, I know this is all really new, but know that if you need anything whatsoever, you can always ask." he explained.

"Okay, thanks Beebo." I said with a smirk.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. We continued to chat and eat our cereal and after a while we had finished. Brendon took our dished and put them in the sink.

"Would you be okay with having a little house party to introduce you to everyone? It'll just be the rest of the band and some of my close friends. Maybe even Josh and Tyler." he asked.

"Sure, that would be nice." I answered.

"Okay, and maybe we could do some shopping for you before the party? I also have to pick some stuff for the party." he questioned carefully, like he thought I would be overwhelmed.

"Sure, but you really don't have to get me anything else, I have plenty of things." I replied, not wanting him to spend money on me.

"Nat," I smiled at the nickname he had given me "You need some new stuff. You have like four outfits, a shitty phone, and like two pairs of shoes. There is no way I'm letting you not get anything. We can go to the mall and buy you a whole load of stuff. Don't worry about money, I have plenty. Plus, we will have fun! Maybe we could cause a little trouble while we are there." he said enthusiastically.

I sighed, clearly tempted at the idea. "Okay."

"Yes! Okay, get dressed, and whenever you are ready, we can get going." he said before skipping off to his room.

I went to my room and looked in my closet. I picked out a large sewatshirt and a pair of black leggings. I put on my white converse and put my hair up into a low messy bun, letting the small hairs at the edge of my face fall out of the bun as they were shorter than the rest, my 'wings' as I called them. I skipped out into the living room and found Brendon sitting on the couch. As soon as he seen me, he hopped up and walked next to me.

"Ready?"
"Yep."
"Okay, Lets go."

And with that, we walked out the door and made our way to the car. When we got in, Brendon asked me an odd question.

"Do you want to hear some music from my band?"

"Uh... sure!" I answered.

"Ok! This is from our last album, Vices & Virtues. It's called The Ballad Of Mona Lisa. I wrote this song a long time ago but I was too afraid to show it to anyone until a little while ago. Spencer, our drummer at the time, told me that it was really good an that we should use it on the album." he explained.

As soon as I heard Brendon's voice, I fell in love with the song.

'She paints her fingers with a close precision, he starts to notice empty bottles of gin, and takes a moment to assess the sins she's paid for.'

The farther into the song we got the more I enjoyed it. I could see Brendon lightly moving his lips along with the song, looking so happy at the fact that I was so immersed in the song.

'Woah oh oh oh oh, Mona Lisa. You're guaranteed to run this town. Woah oh oh oh oh, Mona Lisa. I'd pay to see your frown.'

Soon, the song ended and I sat there in awe. I wanted to hear more, and I could now see why Elise had loved Panic! at the Disco so much.

"Brendon, that what freakin awesome!" I exclaimed.

"Wow, thanks. We can listen to some more if you'd like! Also, you can cuss. I don't really mind. Just be respectful about it when you are in public. But if you are with me or any of our friends, I don't mind." he said, surprising me, seeing as he was an adult, letting me, the 13 year old, cuss. But whatever.

"Okie dokie, and yes, lets hear more of your music!"