"Every breaking wave, on the sho-"

Pete groaned as he was forced awake by that god-awful U2 song. In all honesty, he didn't mind U2. But once you use their music as your alarm for a few months, you grow an unforgiving hatred for a few of their songs. He managed to find his phone that was disturbing his precious slumber, and used all the self control he could muster to hit the "end" button instead of "snooze." he cautioned a glance at the time, reminding himself once again that he was getting up half an hour before he was supposed to be at Mikey's house. He also decided that 8:30 AM was a time that should never be witnessed on a Saturday morning.

He dragged himself out of bed, then immediately crawled back under the covers as the cold air of the room hit him. Finally, he cut the crap and got up, making a mad dash across the room to envelope himself in his mint green bathrobe that had been hanging on a hook on the back of his door not a moment before. He walked over to his dresser, pulling out his outfit for the day. He went with his usual black skinny jeans and an old Ramones shirt. Next stop was the bathroom, to do... whatever is done in a bathroom when one is getting ready. Last he added a thick ring of eyeliner around his eyes, and after a glance in his mirror decided that screw it, his hair was fine for now and he would give it a proper straighten when he got back.

He grabbed his hoodie and car keys as he made his way out the door, checking the time on his phone and realised with great dismay that he didn't have time to even make some toast and hopefully the Ways would feed him. He slipped on his converse at the door, not bothering to tie them.

He copied the address Mikey had sent him into Google Maps and was off, pleasantly surprised that he was only a few minutes drive away.

-

"Hey Mikey, almost at your house!" was the text Mikey received at 9:01 AM that Saturday morning. He had gotten up about an hour ago, and was making some scramble eggs for breakfast. With a last pinch of salt, he turned off the heat and transferred the eggs to two plates, one for him and one for the boy currently knocking at the door.

Currently knocking at the door... Shit, he's at the door! "One sec!" he called out and placed the plates back on the counter hurriedly, wiping his hands on his pants as he ran to the door, sliding to a stop in front of it on his socks. That was one perk of having hardwood floors, you could reenact Yuri!!! On Ice if you had a big enough space. Not that Mikey watched Yuri!!! On Ice... or anything... obviously....

Rap-rap-rap

Mikey was knocked back into reality with another knock on the door. "Hi Pete!" he greeted his guest with a smile as he pulled the door open.

"Hey Mikey!" the boy grinned, looking like a half dead panda. Not a morning person, I suppose. He almost shrugged at the thought, just then remembering that Pete probably wasn't psychic, and he would most likely just look rude.

"Can I come in?" Pete asked, raising an eyebrow, effectively bringing Mikey back from the far corners of his thoughts for the second time in the past two minutes.

He grinned, forcing himself to 'live in the moment' as Gerard would call it, and with which he usually had trouble, despite constant reminders. "Oh yeah, of course. Sorry, still not completely awake yet, I suppose." he partially lied. In all honesty, he was fully awake and had been for a while now. This was just a better excuse than, "oh sorry, I tend to spend more time in my head than in reality." Nevertheless, he stepped aside, allowing his guest in. "take your shoes off please, and I made eggs. I hope you're not vegan." he told him, waiting patiently as Pete slipped off his converse and followed him to the kitchen.

Pete chuckled. "Don't worry, I would be solely carnivorous if I didn't like my meat seasoned." he joked, his eyes lit up the moment he caught a whiff of the eggs. "And lucky for you, I haven't eaten this morning and I'm a sucker for scrambled eggs." he grabbed a steaming plate off the counter, looking around for something. "Forks?" he questioned, pulling open one of the drawers to be met with some crackers and Mikey's secret stash of strawberry Poptarts. He quickly closed it, trying the one under it, with no more success than before.

Mikey could have laughed, but settled for a subtle smirk instead. "Right here." he handed him the fork he had just grabbed from the bin of them hanging from a magnetic strip on the wall, in between the bins containing the spoons and knives.

"Thanks!" he grabbed the utensil and immediately started stuffing his face, while Mikey grabbed his own plate (and fork) and went to sit down on the couch in the living room, the hungry hungry emo right behind.

-

"So, what's this grand plan of yours?" Pete asked, finishing his eggs off with a flourish and a wipe of his face on his sleeve. He hadn't allowed either of them to talk until they were done with their food, and with his almost kirby-like abilities, there hadn't been too many minutes of awkward silence between them.

Mikey nodded as he swallowed his last bite, signalling to give him a moment finish eating. "Ah yes, where did I leave off?"

Pete shrugged. "To be honest, I'm pretty sure you were more awake than me last night. You're on your own, buddy. Sorry."

The other boy nodded, seemingly making up his mind. "Okay, then I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Alright with you?" He checked, earning a nod in response. "So basically, I don't know about you, but my family travels quite a bit, especially around Christmas. To be honest, I think I've spent more Christmas's abroad then home." He chuckled. "And, well, I've never really had the chance to actually do exactly what I want to do, because my mother usually plans the entire trip. Not that I dislike what she plans, but, well, I think it's about time I got some experience." He cast a glance in Pete's direction, making sure he hadn't already lost his interest. "And honestly, I find other places and other cultures extremely fascinating. I would love to explore them at my own pace-"

He was cut off by Pete, who had in fact begun to lose interest in what was being said. "Alright, alright, I don't really care. And for the record, the only reason I have a passport is because we visit my grandparents in Ontario every year. And yeah, that's about as far as I've ever traveled." He half-grumbled, to spare any questions being asked later. it was an abrupt, and frankly, rude, interruption, but he might as well lay it all out on the table now. But he couldn't deny that he was secretly hoping this awkward, lanky boy he had only just met wouldn't think he was a total loser.

Mikey blinked, a bit surprised by the interruption. "O-okay. I mean, that's fine." He forced a small smile. "I guess I'll just get straight to the logistics." He gave a curt nod, more for himself than the other. "It's good that you have a passport... we're going to need that." He chuckled, thinking out loud. "Feel free to tell me what your thoughts are, but personally, I would really love to go for a trip around Europe." It was where his family had almost always traveled, and he had fell in love with every country they'd visited so far. It would be amazing to go back to some of his favorites, and discover new places all at once.

Pete wrinkles his nose. "Isn't Europe like... super expensive though? Which is why most kids go to Asia?" He asked.

He shrugged almost guiltily. "Uhh... yeah, about that..." He began, trying to figure out the best way to word this. "Well, you see, a couple years ago, my grandma died, leaving us all a bit of... extra cash." Pete raises an eyebrow. "And as long as we keep saving, and you can chip in some, and we do some work, I think we should be fine. If worst comes to worst, we can always fly home and recuperate." He assured him, hoping he was giving enough detail to be believable, but keeping it vague enough to not make any promises. He didn't like making promises about the future, or things he couldn't control. Life was unpredictable.

However, Pete nodded, this answer apparently satisfactory, at least for now. "Alright, I guess that works. And I can trust you to sort out most of the financials and booking stuff, right?" He cringed at how formal he sounded, but at least he was being clear.

Mikey nodded. "Sure, if you want. You'll always be welcome to help, but I think I've got most of it under control." He told him, a smile creeping it's way up his face. Things just might turn out all right.

His smile was contagious, and Pete was starting to get excited. But before he lost himself too deep into fantasy, he needed a bit more information. "Thanks, I'm honestly pretty crap at that stuff."

He nodded. "Sure, it's no problem. Do you want to go to like, Starbucks or something and start a game plan?" He suggested.

"You could have read my mind. I was just about to say that." And with that, they were off.

//meh chapter but at least I'm back lol. don't worry, chapter 4's already in the works!//

Published December 20th, 2018