6. Ryan gets into an argument with Mrs. Urie.

The next day, I woke up to the phone ringing. I wanted to go back to bed, but I reluctantly got out of bed and answered the phone. "Hello?" I said sleepily.

"Pete, have you seen the next item on the list?" Brendon asked.

I pulled out my copy of the list of Gabe's visions and looked for number six. "I have now," I said. "Ryan knows about the list, right? As long as he doesn't argue with your mom, this shouldn't be too hard to prevent."

"I agree, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Brendon said.

"Do you have a plan?" I asked.

"I was thinking that you and Gabe could come over to my house," Brendon said. "If things do get out of hand between Ryan and Mom, it will be much easier to keep things under control if more of us are there."

"That makes sense," I said. "I'll come over as soon as I can."

I immediately got ready to go, but since the DeLorean was still getting fixed, Mom had to drive me to Brendon's house, much to my annoyance. I sat in the passenger's seat, trying to find a radio station that I liked, but I couldn't find anything before we arrived at Brendon's house.

Mom said goodbye to me and told me that she would pick me up in the evening as I climbed out of the car. I knocked on Brendon's door, and he immediately let me in. "Hey, Pete," Brendon said. "Ryan and I are just hanging out in my bedroom. I called Gabe, and he'll come by sometime this afternoon. My mom's not supposed to get home until five, so I think that's okay."

"Sounds good," I said as the two of us headed into Brendon's room.

Brendon's room was covered in band posters, movie posters, and pictures of his friends. I noticed a new photo from our trip to Chicago posted next to a picture of Gabe, Brendon, and I from when we were thirteen. Ryan was sitting at Brendon's desk, admiring a poster of the Beatles. "I've always liked the Beatles," Ryan said. "They're one of my favorite bands."

"I like them too," Brendon said as he lay down on his bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling. "Actually, I once dumped a girl because she told me that the Beatles were overrated."

"Really?" Ryan said.

"It's true," Brendon said. "Mindy had terrible music taste. We only lasted for five days because of it."

"It didn't help that you two were freshmen in high school," I said.

"Yeah, that may have made it worse," Brendon said. "I still don't really like her. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I dated her in the first place."

"Me neither, Brendon," I said. "Gwen was worse though. Tell Ryan about her."

"Gwen might have actually been mad as rabbits," Brendon said. "Let's just say that lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off."

"Oh, come on," Ryan said. "I kind of want to hear the whole story."

"Fine," Brendon said. "Gwen lied about just about everything - I think it was some sort of game to her. I knew that it was a bad sign when she told me that she had three cats when she only had two. Then, she told me that her best friend was in love with Pete, and it turned out not to be true..."

"It was for the best," I said. "I wasn't particularly interested in her."

"Then, Gwen turned out to be actually be some kind of squid monster," Brendon said. "That was when I knew that I had to break up with her."

"Now I know you're messing with me," Ryan said, laughing.

"I'm not!" Brendon exclaimed. "I barely escaped with my life, but I loved her anyway."

"I only know this is all true because I was at the party where it happened," I said.

"I still don't believe you guys, but this is pretty entertaining," Ryan said. "Brendon, do you have any more stories?"

"Not really," Brendon said.

"What about Sarah?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about her," Brendon said.

"Oh, come on," I said. "It's been almost a year since you two broke up."

Brendon sighed and said, "Sarah was my best friend, but I thought that we might be better off as lovers and not the other way around. She and I started dating at the end of junior year. We were young and independent and we thought we had it planned, but our relationship just didn't work. She ended up cheating on me with someone on the football team. I could kid myself in thinking that I'm fine, but I wasn't okay - I'm still not. We've barely spoken since last year, and I just miss having her as a friend."

"This is why you don't date your best friend, Brendon," I said.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Pete," Brendon said.

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked.

"Pete dated Gabe once," Brendon said.

"It's true," I said. "It lasted about two weeks before we both decided that we were better off as friends. We're still friends - we just know each other a little better than most."

"So maybe dating your friends is okay," Brendon said.

"Gabe and I are the exception, not the rule," I said.

"Whatever," Brendon said. "Wait a second. It's Thursday, isn't it? You know what this means!"

"Brendon, this really isn't necessary," I said, but it was too late.

"It's Positive Hardcore Thursday!" Brendon shouted.

"What's Positive Hardcore Thursday?" Ryan asked.

"LIFE IS GOOD, YEAH, LIFE IS GREAT!" Brendon screamed. "I HOPE YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!"

Both Ryan and I laughed. "Do you want to hear another one?" Brendon asked.

"No," I said. "I think one was enough."

"Yes," Ryan said.

"THE SUN IS SHINING, AND THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS BEAUTIFUL!" Brendon screamed.

"That's not even true," I said. "It's way too hot outside. It was ninety two degrees yesterday."

"I never gave a damn about the weather," Ryan said.

All of a sudden, the door swung open. Mrs. Urie was standing in the doorway, looking rather displeased. "Hi, Mom," Brendon said. "You're home early."

"I need to talk to you and Ryan for a moment," Mrs. Urie said, not even bothering to explain why she was home early.

"Can Pete join in too?" Brendon asked.

"I'd prefer if he didn't," Mrs. Urie said. "This doesn't involve him. Let's go into the guest bedroom."

Mrs. Urie walked away, and Brendon and Ryan reluctantly followed her. Once they all left Brendon's room, I glanced at Brendon's posters one more time and then headed toward the guest bedroom. I awkwardly stood outside of the door, eavesdropping on Ryan, Brendon, and Mrs. Urie.

"You can't just kick Ryan out of the house!" Brendon shouted.

"Yes, I can," Mrs. Urie said. "Brendon, you said that Ryan would be here for one night, and it's been five days."

"There's nowhere else where I can stay," Ryan said. "I'll be homeless again if you kick me out."

"That's unfortunate, but I have to draw a line somewhere," Mrs. Urie said. "My husband and I barely make enough to support ourselves and our children. As much as I wish we could support every stray child from the city, we can't."

"But Ryan's my friend!" Brendon argued.

"You've known him for five days!" Mrs. Urie exclaimed. "Pete's been your friend for five years, and I wouldn't let him mooch off of us like Ryan's been doing."

"That's different," Brendon said. "Pete's family is rich."

"Then why doesn't Ryan stay with the Wentzes?" Mrs. Urie asked.

Brendon didn't have a good answer to that. "I like having Ryan around," Brendon said. "Besides, they don't have as much extra space as we do."

"I like being around Brendon," Ryan said.

"I'm going to be honest here," Mrs. Urie said. "I don't care what two would like. Ryan is leaving, and that is final."

"I can't leave," Ryan said. "I refuse to live on the streets again."

"You asked for a safe place to stay for one night, and we gave that to you for five days," Mrs. Urie said. "It's time for you to leave."

"I'll do whatever it takes to get you to let me stay," Ryan said. "I'll get a job, I'll move out once I've saved up enough money. All I'm asking for is a little bit more time."

"You've had enough time!" Mrs. Urie shouted.

"No, I haven't!" Ryan exclaimed. "I need a chance to get back on my feet."

"You've had enough chances!" Mrs. Urie screamed. "Get out of my house!"

I looked toward the door - technically, Gabe's vision hadn't come true yet. As long as Ryan and Mrs. Urie stopped arguing before he showed up, everything would be fine. I turned back toward the guest bedroom, and Brendon suddenly noticed me. He gestured wildly, and when I gave him a puzzled look, he mouthed, "We have to stop this. It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality."

"That's what you were trying to say with all of those crazy hand motions?" I mouthed.

I entered the room, and Mrs. Urie glared at me. "Pete, I told you that this doesn't involve you," Mrs. Urie said.

"Can you and Ryan just please stop arguing?" I begged. "I came over here to have fun, not to listen to you two bicker."

"We have to get this solved now," Mrs. Urie insisted. "I can't have Ryan staying here any longer."

"I need somewhere to stay!" Ryan argued.

"That's not my problem," Mrs. Urie said. "I need you out of this house!"

"Can you two just remain calm for one minute?" Brendon asked, but nobody seemed to be listening to him.

"Your mom is trying to kick me out of the house!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Your so-called 'friend' is mooching off of our family!" Mrs. Urie exclaimed. "This has to stop!"

"I'm not mooching off of you!" Ryan insisted. "I'll move out once I have somewhere else that I can stay. Right now, there's nowhere else that I can be. It's not like I can go back home!"

"I'm starting to see why your parents kicked you out in the first place!" Mrs. Urie shouted.

That was when someone knocked on the front door. "I think that's Gabe," Brendon told me.

"Don't let him in," I said. "He can't see this."

Both Brendon and I stayed in place, watching Ryan and Mrs. Urie yell at each other, but Mr. Urie pulled into the driveway. When Mr. Urie saw Gabe waiting by the door, he let him in. "What is my dad doing?" Brendon whispered to me. "Gabe can't be in here, not while Ryan is still arguing with my mom."

"We'll figure something out," I said, but it was too late. As soon as Gabe entered the house, he headed straight to the guest bedroom.

"What's going on?" Gabe asked as he peeked into the room.

"Mom is trying to kick Ryan out," Brendon said.

"That's not good, but I did see this coming," Gabe said. "It was in one of my visions."

"I'm sorry," I said to Gabe.

"It's not like you could have controlled this, Pete," Gabe said.

All of a sudden, Mr. Urie entered the room. "Boyd, thank goodness you're home," Mrs. Urie said. "This freeloader won't leave!"

"I'll be homeless again if I do," Ryan said.

"Grace, give the kid a break," Mr. Urie said. "We can at least give him until the end of the summer."

"That's too long," Mrs. Urie said. "We'll go broke."

"We'll be fine," Mr. Urie said. "God will provide for us."

Brendon looked toward Gabe and I and rolled his eyes. He had told us that he was an atheist the previous year, and the closest that Brendon had come to praying since then was praying for the wicked on the weekend, not that his parents knew that.

"If you say so," Mrs. Urie said reluctantly. "Ryan, you can stay here a little longer if you wish."

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Urie," Ryan said.

Ryan, Brendon, Gabe, and I all went back into Brendon's bedroom. "You missed Positive Hardcore Thursday," Brendon said to Gabe.

"That's a little disappointing," Gabe said.

A few hours went by, and we just hung out in Brendon's room, glad that Ryan was still staying with the Uries. I had to leave early, however. "I have the early shift at Fall Out Bros. tomorrow morning," I told Gabe, Brendon, and Ryan.

"Okay," Brendon said. "See you later."

Mom picked me up, and once I got home, I ate my dinner and went to bed. However, guilt still gnawed at me. I felt like I could have done more to stop the vision from happening, but then again, Gabe, Brendon, and Ryan could have done more too. It wasn't just my fault, but I told myself that we could stop the next vision. We had to do it if we wanted Gabe to live.