Life On Tour (Peterick Sequel)

Rules Of The Road

Pete and I strolled down the asphalt path to the amphitheater gates. We had no show the previous night, so getting to the next stop early was nice for a change.

The warm, mid-morning sunlight shone down on us as we made our way to where we would meet Erica and see her for the first time in a while, besides over Skype.

I looked over to the man, no, scratch that, little boy, walking next to me. I could see he was anxious to greet our old friend and spend the day not cramped in a bus.

"Excited babe?" I asked with a smile on my face, already knowing the answer. His response was a toothy grin with the nod of his head and a kiss on my cheek.

I squinted at the two or three blobs in front of me that were becoming more and more clear behind my glasses as we approached the metal entrance. Even I started getting a little bit anxious to finally see her once again.

The next 30 seconds were pretty nerve-racking and awkward for the fact that we couldn't jog up and hug Erica since we hadn't officially met her dad yet and that would just seem a little odd. But yet we held back just enough so the venue employee who was standing with them was allowed to open the gate and let the two in.

"Ahh you guys!" She immediately ran the small distance to us and we shared a group hug. A smile both came to Pete and I's face to the sound of her joyous voice. She let go after a moment and stepped back to introduce her father.

"So this is my Dad," she ushered to him with her hands. Pete stuck his arm out for a handshake. "Pete Wentz, nice to meet you."

"Mr. Benzedrine," the man said, introducing himself and gladly shaking Pete's hand. He turned to me and smiled. "You must be Patrick then, correct?"

"Correct! Nice to meet you sir." We repeated the same basic handshake and turned back to Erica who stood there, collecting her suitcase from her father's hands as we greeted each other. We all stood in a silence until her dad announced he had to be heading off to beat the afternoon traffic for heading back to North Carolina on a summer day. Erica released her bag for a moment to stand on her toes and hug her father goodbye.

"Have fun sweetie, I'll see you when you get home! Remember to follow all the rules you're given,"

"Dadddd," She whined, as if she'd gotten this lecture before.

"Make sure to go to bed when they tell you to-"

"Dad..." She hid her face in his shoulder.

"And no meeting any boys."

"DAD!"

Pete and I stifled back laughter and Erica pulled away from the hug after he gave her one last kiss on the forehead that she struggled to get away from.

I settled Erica in as the other guys called first dibs on the dressing room showers. Since Pete and I shared the small back room, we had another free bunk that she stayed in. Once all of her things were wherever she pleaded, I decided to sit down on the couch and find a way to get to know her better for the fact that we'd be staying in the same cramped space for the next 8 days.

"Well, I guess I could start things off by telling you a few of the rules. Number one, there are no rules." Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she still had a smile on her face. I laughed and continued. "What I meant is that you can basically do whatever you want, as long as it's sane."

"Ok...well I don't do that much anyway so I guess we won't have much of a problem here!" We both laughed again and a few thoughts popped into my head.

"Even though we don't have set rules, I could still give you a few tips. For example, if there is only one PopTart left, never eat it. Pete or Joe will probably shit themselves. Another could be to always remember to keep your phone with you. If you leave it around, I promise you someone will come by and take so many worthless pictures of the ceiling just for the fact that it will take you days to delete them all. Oh and lastly, never wake Pete when he's asleep. And I mean never. You know what? That'll be the one rule. Don't wake Pete. Sound good?"

Erica nodded slow, as if she was still taking in all of the new information and filling it away for later use. I stood up and patted her on the shoulder, telling her not to sweat it and that she was here to have fun. Her mouth opened to reply, but was interrupted by the door opening and me being told to go and get ready.

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"Well? How was it from the side of the stage!?" Joe asked Erica once the show was over. We were all headed back from the dressing rooms and out to the bus unless someone decided to chat with a few fans along the way.

"It was amazing!" She said excitedly. "You all just have so much energy and I don't understand it! But overall, it was great!" A few squeaks and squeals came from her mouth and I shook my head in part confusion and part amusement.

"I don't really get girls. Do you guys do that all the time?" I took a sip from my water bottle and awaited an answer from the teenager walking next to me.

"Only when we're happy!"

"Hey, you can't blame her though," Pete threw his right arm around my shoulder and hung it over me. "You squeak all the time."

That earned a few laughs from the group and pink cheeks from me. Once another small conversation started between the guys in front of us, Pete leaned over even closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry, I love it when you squeak." He bit my earlobe before pulling away and winking at me. I smirked to myself as we continued through the parking lot. How did I get so lucky?