8. Brendon gets cast in The Sound of Music.

I called Brendon the next morning and begged him not to audition for the community theater's production of The Sound of Music. "That's easy enough," Brendon said. "I kind of wanted to be in it, but I'm working this afternoon. I can't audition."

"Gabe and I were actually going to get smoothies this afternoon," I said. "Maybe I'll see you there."

"That would be nice," Brendon said. "See you later, Pete."

As it turned out, Brendon was at the cash register when Gabe and I arrived at the local smoothie shop. He seemed kind of bored at first, but he smiled when he saw us. Gabe and I both ordered medium Strawberry Dream smoothies, and Brendon quickly made us our smoothies. The two of us then found a table near the window, and we watched the other customers order their drinks.

"Weren't you supposed to have a soccer game today?" Gabe said.

"Coach Lisa cancelled the game," I said. "It's too hot outside."

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard," Gabe scoffed.

"You try playing soccer in this weather," I said. "It's just miserable for everybody."

"We're still going to the Cubs game on Tuesday though, right?" Gabe said.

"Of course," I said.

"Good," Gabe said. "I'm looking forward to that."

"Me too," I said as I sipped on my smoothie.

"Have you talked to Patrick From Tea Monkey again?" Gabe asked.

"No," I said, worried that I never would see him again. All I knew about Patrick was that he worked at Tea Monkey, and I didn't usually go there. Then again, if anything could convince me to go to Tea Monkey more often, it would be Patrick.

Gabe shrugged and said, "Okay. It's really none of my business."

All of a sudden, the door opened, and both Gabe and I looked to see who had just entered the shop. Dallon Weekes, in all of his messy-haired, glitter-teared glory, strutted into the smoothie shop and got in line. He towered over everyone else in line, and Brendon nearly spilled a smoothie on himself when he saw that Dallon was there. Dallon, meanwhile, hummed a song that I didn't recognize to himself. Sometimes, I seriously wondered what Brendon saw in him.

A few minutes later, Dallon made it to the front of the line. "Can I get a mango and pineapple smoothie please?" Dallon asked.

"Sure, Dallon," Brendon said as he handed another customer her smoothie. However, Brendon dropped it and spilled it all over himself. Brendon cursed under his breath and then said, "I'll get you another smoothie in a moment. Dallon, what size would you like?"

"Medium's fine," Dallon said. "By the way, I heard that you sing for tips. Is that true?"

"It's totally true!" Brendon exclaimed. "I'll sing for you if you want! You can even pick the song."

Dallon thought about it for a few moments and then asked, "Do you know anything by Scorpions?"

Brendon immediately started singing "Rock You Like A Hurricane." Gabe and I smiled as we watched him sing, and before long, everyone in the shop had their eyes on Brendon.

"That was pretty good," Dallon said as he dropped some spare change into the tip jar.

"Thank you so much," Brendon said. "You know, I've been a really big fan of your band for a really long time, and this means a lot to me..." It was no use. Dallon had already walked away. Brendon pouted as Dallon left the shop with his mango and pineapple smoothie, but he soon turned toward Gabe and I and mouthed, "He said that my singing was pretty good!"

I rolled my eyes, but Brendon was soon distracted by a new customer. He ordered a large triple berry smoothie and then said, "Your singing was really good. I was impressed."

"Thank you," Brendon said.

"I know that auditions just finished, but I think that you should be in the community theater's musical," the customer said. "I can talk to the director about it, if you'd like."

"I don't know about that," Brendon said as he started making the triple berry smoothie. "I don't really have time to be in a musical right now."

"It's not a huge time commitment," the customer insisted. "I'm taking classes at the community college and playing in the pit for The Sound of Music at the same time."

"I still don't think I can do it," Brendon said.

"It doesn't hurt to audition," the customer said. "My name's Spencer Smith, by the way. I play the drums."

"That's cool, Spencer," Brendon said. "My name's Brendon Urie, and I just sing for tips, I guess."

"I still think that you should audition," Spencer said. "What time does your shift finish?"

"Five o'clock," Brendon said as he handed Spencer his smoothie.

"I'll talk to the director about letting you audition at 5:30," Spencer said. "As long as you sing like you did for that man with the cheek sparkles, I'm sure you'll get one of the best parts. See you then." Spencer walked away, leaving Brendon alone and angry.

Brendon helped the next customer, and when the line finally died down, Gabe and I went up to the counter to talk to him. "I can't believe that Spencer guy just booked an audition for me!" Brendon ranted. "As much as I love The Sound of Music, it's not worth having Gabe die over it!"

"Relax, Brendon," Gabe said. "You can go to your audition. Pete and I will find a way to make sure that the director doesn't cast you."

"How?" Brendon asked.

Gabe smirked and said, "I think I have a plan. Just trust me, Brendon."

"I trust you, Gabe," Brendon said.

When another customer arrived, Gabe and I left the shop, and once we were outside, Gabe told me the plan. As far as I could tell, it was completely foolproof. As long as we stuck to the plan, the director wouldn't cast Brendon. The vision wouldn't happen, and Gabe wouldn't have to worry about dying in an explosion during the apocalypse. It was perfect.

At 5:30, Brendon, Gabe, and I arrived at the theater. "Are you sure you two can keep them from casting me?" Brendon asked us as he opened the door.

"I'm sure," Gabe said. "Don't worry about it, Brendon."

As soon as we entered the theater, Spencer introduced Brendon to the director, a petite woman in her forties. "This is Mrs. Fox," Spencer said.

"Call me Carol," the director said. "You must be Brendon. Spencer told me that you were a very talented singer."

"He might have been exaggerating," Brendon said. "I'm not that good."

"Well, we'll see about that in just a moment," Carol said. Carol then looked directly at Gabe and I. "Are you two auditioning as well?"

"No," I answered. "Gabe and I are just Brendon's friends. We wanted to watch his audition."

"I'll allow it," Carol said. "Brendon, you can go up on stage." Brendon went onstage, while Spencer and Carol sat down in the middle of the theater. Gabe and I found a spot further off to the side.

"What should I sing?" Brendon asked.

"Whatever you'd like," Carol said.

"Just sing what you sang at the smoothie shop," Spencer said.

"Rock You Like A Hurricane?" Brendon said, skeptical. "I guess I can do that." He started singing and dancing, complete with some rather spectacular air guitar. I was half-tempted to let Brendon do his thing, but when Carol seemed sufficiently distracted by Brendon's performance, Gabe got up from his seat and gestured for me to follow him.

The two of us snuck backstage, and Gabe quickly found the lighting control console. He flipped the lights off onstage, and Brendon stopped singing for a moment, confused by the sudden change. However, he soon kept going, and Gabe just kept playing with the lights. He switched the lights on and off a few times, and when that failed to mess up Brendon's singing, he started changing the light colors. By this point, Brendon was a little bit out of tune, but Carol and Spencer still seemed impressed by his performance.

"Time for the next phase of the plan," Gabe said to me.

Just before Brendon finished singing "Rock You Like A Hurricane," Gabe and I ran onstage and started singing in unison.

Germany was having trouble, what a sad, sad story

Needed a new leader to restore its former glory

Where, oh where was he? Where could that man be?

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Brendon asked, but Gabe and I ignored him.

We looked around and then we found

The man for you and me

And now it's..

"Wait a second, are you two singing that song from The Producers?" Brendon asked, but again, we ignored him.

Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race

On the next verse, Brendon joined us, singing loudly in an attempt to cover up my tuneless voice.

Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Winter for Poland and France
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Come on, Germans, go into your dance

All three of us started dancing and falling apart to halftime. Gabe's moves were white (white hot, that is), while I was doing more jumping up and down than actual dancing. Brendon could actually dance, but he clearly wasn't trying at that moment. We were just having fun, and when Brendon screamed "Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi Party!" I knew that there was nothing better than singing "Springtime For Hitler" as horribly as possible with my two favorite people in the world.

Unfortunately, Carol got the joke. She laughed hysterically and applauded when we finished the song. Gabe gave Brendon and I a confused look, but all three of us bowed and headed offstage anyways.

"That was incredible, Brendon," Carol said when he approached her. "You clearly have a natural talent for musical theater, and I love your creativity."

"Thanks?" Brendon said. All three of us were still shocked that our performance of "Springtime For Hitler" hadn't completed destroyed Brendon's chances of getting casted.

"You're very welcome," Carol said. "I think that you would be a wonderful addition to the cast of The Sound of Music."

"What part will I play?" Brendon asked.

"Brendon, what are you doing?!" Gabe said, but both Carol and Brendon ignored him.

"I think you would do well as Friedrich," Carol said.

"Thank you, Carol," Brendon said. "I always loved The Sound of Music, and I look forward to being a part of this production."

"It's wonderful to have you," Carol said. "Remember, the first rehearsal is tomorrow at seven o'clock."

"I'll be there!" Brendon exclaimed. "See you tomorrow, Carol."

Gabe, Brendon, and I left the theater. "I can't believe that Springtime For Hitler didn't work," Gabe said, shaking his head.

"Me neither," I said. "I thought for sure that she wouldn't cast you after seeing all of that."

"She's directing a musical," Brendon said. "Did you guys really think that she hadn't seen The Producers?"

"Yes," Gabe and I said simultaneously.

"You two are idiots," Brendon said, laughing. He wasn't wrong. Both of us should have known that our plan would fail. "It was pretty fun to sing and dance with you guys though."

"We should try to get the Sunshine Riptide to play 'Springtime For Hitler' sometime," Gabe said. "We would kill it on the dancefloor."

Brendon and I laughed, and despite the fact that we had just made one of Gabe's visions come true, we weren't mad at each other. Brendon was right - it had been fun trying to keep Brendon from getting cast, even if our best efforts had failed in the end. Sometimes, it was the journey that counted, not the destination.