Just Once - A Peterick Fic

Chapter 12

        After the show that night, we headed immediately for the airport. We had a show in Seattle tomorrow night - well, it was past midnight by now so I guess, technically, it's tonight. I planned on sleeping during the flight nonetheless. The lack of sleep I'd been getting lately was astounding and it was beginning to take it's toll on me. Plus, the shows just hadn't been going as well lately. The fans just didn't seem to be as into the new material. Maybe they just didn't know it very well yet.

        We sat in the same formation we had last time, when flying to St. Louis: Joe and Andy in the row behind Pete and me. The entire plane was pretty quiet, but there weren't too many people on it, either.

     As we were taking off, I could hear giggling coming from behind us, like they were two schoolgirls. Pete evidently heard it too, because he glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow as if to ask if I knew what was going on. I just shrugged in response.

        That short interaction between us was easy, almost as if we just two best friends who knew each other better than anyone else, like we were before that night on the bus. Even though things were different between us now, more difficult, I wouldn't change a thing. I realized something that night and I'm willing to fight for what I love. Love. Did I really just use that word? The scary thing is, I think I was right. I do love Pete, and that's a sobering thought.

        I glanced over at him and he was leaning back in his seat, earbuds in, listening to who knows what, eyes half open. He must've felt my gaze on him because he met my eyes, a smile curving his lips. After returning the smile, I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder as if everything was okay between us. A little pretending couldn't hurt, right? Right. I could feel his arm snake around my waist, pulling me closer and I didn't object.

        Before long, Pete and I had both fallen asleep without ever saying a word to each other the entire time on the plane.

~~~~~~~~~~

        I woke up to Pete groggily calling my name. "Patrick...Patrick, c'mon. We've landed."

        I yawned, sitting up and stretching before unbuckling and grabbing my carry on bag from the overhead compartment. Exiting the plane was slow, due to the narrow isles, but it wasn't too bad considering there weren't too many people on the plane in the first place. Pete always made sure to follow close behind though, like he was protecting me from something; he just didn't know what yet.

        The trip to the hotel was a blur, probably because I was still half asleep. All I know is Pete ended up in my room with me, lying next to me in my bed with his arms around me and I wasn't complaining. Pretending everything was alright couldn't hurt, could it? Of course not. I just wanted us to be happy and together again, that's all, and it almost felt as if we were.

~~~~~~~~

        I woke up the next morning to an empty bed, Pete having evidently disappeared earlier. We may have gotten along last night, but we also didn't talk very much. It felt like we were on our way to normality, but without talking we'd get nowhere. Our lack of communication hadn't bothered me last night, probably because I just wanted to feel his arms around me, but now it did.

        I sighed and climbed out of bed, stretching and yawning as I woke myself up. It was around 3, which meant I had about an hour before we had to be at the venue, so I decided a shower would be best. I'm pretty sure I still smelled like the show last night, sweat and all. There's no denying that concerts had a certain smell that's entirely unique to them. Maybe it was just visceral. Maybe it was just all the sweaty people dancing.

        I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, grabbed my fedora, and slipped into a pair of converse before heading down to the lobby where everyone was sure to be waiting for me.

        And I was right; everyone was already down in the lobby waiting for me.

        "I'm not late," I said as I walked up before anyone could accuse me of such.

        "Not this time," Joe said, smirking before we all piled into a dark colored SUV that would take us to the venue. We sat as we had on the plane and it seemed as if this formation was becoming habit.

        Pete snaked his hand around my waist after we'd buckled in, pulling me a little closer to himself. I hesitated before leaning my head on his shoulder. We still hadn't really a said much to each other since the other night in my hotel room. I wanted us to talk but I didn't know what to say. I love him, but I'm still kind of pissed about what he did.

        We made it to the venue just in time for soundcheck, which didn't take too long. It was pretty routine, really.

        Afterwards, I was on my way to my dressing room when Pete abruptly pulled me into his, across the hall.

        "Can we talk?" he asked, shutting the door behind us.

        "Only if you promise it won't be like that last time we had a conversation in your dressing room," I joked, smiling a little.