Mixtape For The End of the World

19. Brendon makes a sculpture out of burned marshmallows.

19. Brendon makes a sculpture out of burned marshmallows.

I didn't have any plans for the Fourth of July, or at least I didn't until the phone rang that evening. Fall Out Bros. was closed for the day, and Coach Lisa had cancelled soccer practice, so I hadn't done anything all day. When the phone rang, I picked it up eagerly, hoping that Gabe would give me something to do.

I wasn't disappointed. "Pete, there's a bonfire at Elisa Yao's house!" Gabe exclaimed. "Do you want to come?"

"Why would your ex-girlfriend invite you to her party?" I asked.

"She didn't," Gabe replied. "Elisa invited Tammy, who invited Sloane, who invited Donna, who invited Tracy, who invited Brian, who invited Claire, who invited Erin, who invited me. So do you want to go to the bonfire or not?"

I didn't have anything better to do that evening, and I did want to see my friends, so I said, "I'll come. Are you inviting Brendon and Ryan too?"

"Of course," Gabe said. "This is going to be the best Fourth of July bonfire ever. Apparently you can see fireworks from Elisa's backyard."

I smiled and said, "This sounds like a lot of fun. I'll see you soon, Gabe."

"See you soon, Pete," Gabe said. He hung up, and after begging my dad for the DeLorean, he let me drive it to the bonfire. I wasn't quite sure where Elisa's house was, so I had to call Gabe one more time to get directions, but eventually, I made it to her house.

"Pete, that is the coolest car ever!" a girl that I sort of knew from high school shouted as I got out of the DeLorean.

"Thanks," I said.

I closed the car door and headed into Elisa's backyard, which was packed with hordes of teenagers who could care less as long as someone'll bleed. I couldn't find Gabe, Ryan, or Brendon among the sea of faces, but I did find Elisa, who was complaining to Tammy about the number of people who had come to the bonfire. "I can't believe this!" she whined. "I invited three of my closest friends, and three hundred people showed up!"

"You're exaggerating, Elisa," Tammy said, but Elisa wasn't listening.

"I swear I saw Gabe Saporta stealing some snacks, and I definitely did not invite him," Elisa said. She then gestured toward Ryan, who was leaning against a tree and eating s'mores. "Did he even go to Shermer?"

"I've never seen that kid in my life, but you did invite Patrick Stump, and he doesn't go to Shermer either," Tammy said.

"Patrick's an exception," Elisa said. "He at least lives in town, and we've been friends for forever."

I adjusted my jacket, knowing that Patrick was there somewhere. A part of me didn't want to see him, and with the number of people at the party, there was a good chance that I wouldn't. However, another part of me couldn't live without the beautiful and talented boy that I had met at Tea Monkey. I would wait all night or until my heart exploded to see him, and when I did, I would tell him the truth. I promised myself that I would finally stop making excuses and do it.

I walked up to Ryan, greeted him, and then asked, "Do you know where Gabe and Brendon are?"

"They're both sitting by the fire," Ryan said as he finished off his s'more. "You should try one of these. They're really good."

"I will," I said. I went toward the fire, took a marshmallow, and roasted it over the fire, paying more attention to the other people sitting around the fire than to the state of my marshmallow. Gabe was sitting next to Erin, attempting to flirt with her as she put a piece of chocolate and a toasted marshmallow in between two graham crackers. I recognized a few of the other people sitting around the fire from high school, but I wasn't good friends with any of them. Brendon was nowhere to be found, and neither was Patrick.