Roomates| Ryden

Kids in the dark

Pete frowned as he caugh a glimpse of the mirror.

Looking back at him was a boy with shaggy wet black hair that fell onto his face, completly covering one of his eyes. They were a warm whiskey color and adorned with dark bags underneath; testamony to many sleepless nights and coffee trips to the kitchen at ungodly hours of the morning.

Eventually, he'd managed to tear his eyes away from the reflective surface, only to return moments later with a blow-dryer in hand. He just couldn't help himself. Seeing the rings under his eyes and ribs poking trough his skin could only be compared to watching your childhood house burn down while holding the lighter. No matter how much he wanted to look away, he just couldn't bring himself to.

Strands of black hair flinging around in his vision snapped him out of his thoughts. He just stood confused for a moment. How hadn't he noticed that he turned the blow-dryer on? It wasn't exactly the most silent thing, nor did it feel like a mere breeze.

Slowly, he started to wake up from his daze, working his way trough the heap of messy hair. "Maybe I should get a haircut."he thought as the drying process seemed to drag on forever.

Once he was done, he pushed his fringe back, securing it with a some hairclips. Joe had jokingly bougth them for his seventeenth birthday, but as time went on they have proven themselves quite useful.

More often than not, he didn't bother with make-up; just some eyeliner and ocasionally some concealer if the bags under his eyes got noticable. This time, however, he went the extra mile and also put on a little foundation, which took him more time than it probably should've. At least it looked decent enough.

Having lost so much time on make up, he quickly brushed his hair and thrown on a random pair of jeans and a graphic tee. The print was so faded you couldn't tell what it was anymore, but if Pete had to guess it probably was from some garage band.

He was halfway out the bedroom door when he spotted the black jean jacket resting on his desk chair. He debated wether to bring it along or not and ended up taking it just in case.

"Joe, I'm going out. Don't wait for me."he called once in the hallway.

"Wasn't planning to."Joe said after opening his door and leaned on the doorframe. Ah, friendship at its finest.

"Wow, you could at least pretend you care."Pete jockingly commented, putting his shoes on.

"Nah."

"Wow, screw you, Trohman."

Joe scoffed,"You wish, Wentz."

Pete didn't respond. Instead, he jokingly flipped off his roommate and left, closing the door behind him.

The dorm's hallways were eerily empty and quiet which, for the first time, bothered the boy. He picked up his pace, arriving to his friends' apartament in almost no time and knocked on the door.

If this were a cartoon, Pete was certain he would've melted into a puddle then and there.

In the doorway stood Patrick, a warm smile resting on his face and baby blues gazing into whiskey eyes in a way that made his knees want to buckle. He wore a plain white t-shirt with a dark red cardigan on top that popped in contrast to his otherwise dark outfit. He even had on the fedora Pete had gave him last year!

"Oh, hey. I was about to go out and get you."Patrick giggled softly.

"Well, I'm here."Pete chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck,"We should probably go."

The strawberry blonde nodded."Andy, I'm heading out!"he called.

"Alright! Did you get your keys?"the boy replied.