1. Gabe's mom makes grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Six days after our high school graduation, and one day after my eighteenth birthday, an intergalactic cobra told my best friend Gabe that his purpose in life was to write the song that would play while the world ended. At least, that was what he told Brendon and I.

"What drugs were you on when this happened, and more importantly, where can I get some?" Brendon asked. It struck me as a very Brendon thing to say. He couldn't see life as having any greater purpose than singing for tips at that smoothie shop that he worked at and perhaps chasing after Dallon Weekes.

"I was completely sober," Gabe answered as he leaned back against the park bench. When Gabe called me that morning and asked me to meet him at Central Shermer Park, this was not what I was expecting. I adjusted my black jacket, hoping that this was all an elaborate joke as I watched a group of small children go down a slide.

"I don't believe you," Brendon said, and I couldn't help but agree with him.

"Let's start from the top," I said. "What exactly happened?"

"Pete, I thought that you would at least believe me," Gabe said. He sighed and said, "It was around two o'clock in the morning. This strange hissing noise woke me up, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that there was a snake floating over my bed.

"'Gabe, the end is coming,' the snake said.

"I, of course, couldn't believe what was happening. 'You can talk?' I asked.

"The cobra went on to explain that it was from another galaxy, and it was there to tell me of my true purpose in life. That was when the visions came. It was like my life was flashing before my eyes. I saw everything that's going to happen up until I die in an explosion, with my voice singing in the background as Shermer burns. It was honestly terrifying - I couldn't sleep after that."

"Gabe, this just sounds like a bad dream," I said.

"That's what I thought too, but then the first vision came true," Gabe said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The first thing that I saw was my mom serving me grilled cheese sandwiches," Gabe said. "She made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch today."

"That just sounds like a coincidence," Brendon said.

"I doubt it," Gabe said. "I think that the cobra was right. All of those visions really will come true, and I have to write a song before the world ends!"

Both Brendon and I rolled our eyes. "Let's change the subject," Brendon said. "Pete, are we still going into the city tomorrow?"

"Of course," I said. "My dad's even letting me borrow the car."

Brendon was practically bouncing up and down as he heard this. "I can't wait!" he exclaimed.

Even Gabe smiled as we started discussing the plans for our graduation trip. "We should go to the Art Institute," he said.

"I don't care where we go, as long as I get my popcorn," Brendon said.

"I want pizza," I said.

"Pete, you literally work at a pizzeria," Brendon said. "Why would you want more pizza?"

"There's no such thing as too much pizza," I insisted.

"We can get pizza," Gabe said. "This is going to be fun. I've always wanted to cruise around Chicago in Pete's car."

"It's technically my dad's," I said. "Besides, Chicago is so two years ago."

"Well, for tomorrow, the car is yours, and we should take advantage of that," Gabe said. I grinned as he ruffled my jet black hair and said, "Come on, those little kids over there finally left. We can go on the slides."

The three of us ran over to the slides, but I couldn't stop thinking about what Gabe had said. Nothing about it made sense - as far as I knew, Gabe had never written a song in his life, and what explanation for the talking, intergalactic cobra could there possibly be? I had to agree with Brendon. Maybe Gabe really was on drugs when this happened. It was far too absurd to be real.

Gabe and Brendon were racing each other down the tiniest slide that they could find, looking absolutely ridiculous, and I couldn't help but laugh as I slid down and joined them at the bottom of the slide. For a moment, Gabe's crazy visions didn't matter. We could all forget about Gabe's nightmare/trip/whatever it was and pretend as if it had never happened.

Gabe raced to the swings, and Brendon and I followed him. "I probably can't stay for too much longer," Brendon said. "My boss wants me at work at three."

"What time is it?" I asked Brendon.

Brendon looked at his watch and said, "It's 2:40."

"I have to go to soccer practice soon," I said.

Gabe laughed and said, "You're going to go to soccer practice looking like that?"

He gestured toward my black clothing and makeup, and I responded, "I'll change when I get there. Unfortunately, we have bright yellow team uniforms this year."

"I'm surprised you didn't quit just because of that," Gabe said.

"I wanted to, but I need to stay in shape, and soccer's the only sport that I'm any good at," I said. "It's a shame that Coach Lisa has terrible taste. She doesn't even know who the March Violets are!"

"Who are the March Violets again?" Brendon asked, and I glared at him.

"Come on, Brendon," I said. "You're better than this." Brendon shrugged and kept swinging back and forth. I looked at my watch and said, "I should probably go. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Bye Pete," Brendon said.

"Have fun at practice," Gabe added as he jumped off of the swings and headed toward the jungle gym. Brendon ran off to follow him, and I waved to both of them as I walked home.

Soccer practice was thankfully easier than usual. Because it was the beginning of the summer season, Coach Lisa didn't want to work us too hard, and my eyeliner was mostly intact by the end of practice, which was what really mattered. Mom picked me up as soon as practice was over, and when I got home, I quickly checked the mailbox before I went inside. I found an envelope that was addressed to me, and I immediately knew who had sent it. I tore the envelope open immediately and read the letter inside as I walked into the house.

Dear Pete,

Summertime is here at last! I graduated from high school this weekend, and although the ceremony was terribly boring, I'm glad that I'm finally done with high school. College will be so much better.

Unfortunately, not much else is new here. Ray and I just went to go see a movie, but that's about all I've done since graduation. My brother is a recluse who lives in the basement, as usual, and he hasn't made any real progress on that comic that he's allegedly working on. That's not news though. I'm not going to lie - I kind of wish that he'd go back to art school so I could get some peace and quiet.

I'm sure you want some music recommendations, and unfortunately, I don't have much to say other than that I'm really excited for the new Iron Maiden album. Also, I wish I lived in Europe so I could see Anthrax live. Do you have any ideas for filling these two massive holes in my life? Your music taste is always better than mine anyways.

What's going on in Shermer? Do you have any exciting plans for the summer? Did you ever convince your soccer coach to change the team colors? Most importantly, do you have any good music that I should listen to?

Writing this letter and wishing you well,

Mikey Way

P.S. I attached a picture that my mom took of me for graduation.

I slid the photo out of the envelope and saw a gangly, bespectacled teenage boy in a cap and gown with a smile on his face. He was leaning against a tree, and there was a dark-haired figure in the background, presumably Mikey's older brother, Gerard. As I headed into my bedroom, I placed Mikey's letter on my desk and began to write a reply.

Dear Mikey,

I think my best friend may have gone crazy.

Gabe told Brendon and I this afternoon that a snake showed him his future and his purpose in life. He also claimed that all of this happened when he was sober, which nobody really believes. Anyways, Gabe has definitely gone nuts.

In other news, I also graduated this weekend. I would send you a picture, but I look pretty terrible in all of them. Black is the only color that really suits me.

I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.

Anyways, Gabe, Brendon, and I are going into the city tomorrow for our post-graduation trip. It will surely be a fun time, and I'll send you a picture or two from the trip with my next letter. Maybe you could plan a trip with your friends to alleviate your boredom? I'd love it if you came to Chicago sometime, Mikey.

As for music, go listen to the new Siouxsie and the Banshees album! It's so good. I've been listening to it nonstop ever since it came out a month and a half ago. Then again, I'm sure I've recommended Siouxsie to you before. I'll come up with something better for my next letter.

I don't have too many definite plans for this summer. I'll probably spend a ton of time with Gabe and Brendon, along with working at Fall Out Bros. Pizza, and then I'll pack up and go to DePaul in August. It's strange to think that I'll be leaving for college in less than three months, but we'll both be there before we know it.

Unfortunately, Coach Lisa still won't listen to me about the team colors. I still have to wear a bright yellow soccer jersey, much to my annoyance.

I hope your summer is going well so far and your friends are still sane (unlike mine)! Let me know if anything interesting or uninteresting happens in your life.

Sending postcards from a plane crash,

Pete Wentz

I stuffed the letter into an envelope and left it on my desk, hoping that I would remember to drop it off at the post office on my way to Chicago the next day. I crashed onto my bed, picked up my Walkman, and put my headphones over my ears, letting the music drift me away. I told myself that there was nothing to be worried about - I was done with high school now, and tomorrow, I would have the time of my life along with my two closest friends. We could still have the greatest summer ever, free from the stress of adolescence or the responsibilities of adulthood. There was nothing to worry about, or at least that was what I told myself as bass guitars throbbed through my headphones.

No matter how many times I told myself that though, I still worried about Gabe. Whether it was drugs or a bad dream or insanity or just Gabe's twisted sense of humor that had made him tell us about the cobra, I had plenty of reasons to be concerned. Something was wrong, and I had to get to the bottom of it.

However, I had plenty of time to worry about that. I closed my eyes and dreamed of driving through Chicago with Gabe and Brendon by my side, pretending as if I had never even heard of the snake that somehow knew Gabe's future. As the song that I was listening to faded, I kept my headphones on, blocking out the world around me and focusing on what tomorrow might bring.