[everything happens really fast in this chapter and I really hate it but it just happened. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to drag this story out for too long ://
In other news I actually finished writing this??? There are only like 3 chapters left. It was hasty and unplanned but it's an ending. I'm running out of motivation for this book soooooooo yup at least it's done ig]

To: Pete
Okay I'm officially freaking out

From: Pete
Ok.

From: Pete
Patrick wants to know how it went

To: Pete
He's allergic to Costco flowers

From: Pete
He said he told u to not get those stupid

To: Pete
I don't care I live by my own rules

To: Pete
It kinda worked?? He halfway forgives me.

From: Pete
Okay? That's not that bad.

To: Pete
Also my mom might send me away to military school

From: Pete
Okay uhh that was rlly important and idk why you didn't start this conversation with that????? I feel so attacked right now. I cannot believe this.

To: Pete
Oh my god I'm sorry can I breathe

To: Pete
She said she's fed up and that she should've sent me off years ago

From: Pete
She's not wrong

To: Pete
Pick a side, garbage bag

From: Pete
Patrick says you should go, but idk. I'm not good at advice outside of el amor.

To: Pete
Screw You. Ask him why.

From: Pete
Hi, it's Patrick. I think you should attend military school because it would show Dallon you're really trying to change and that you never plan to pull something like that again. I'm not sure how long the program lasts, but I believe any length of time would be beneficial to your attitude and thought process of actions you would regret later on. It may also provide some sort of bandage to your reputation if you return with the skills picked up from training.

To: Pete
Wtf why do you even like Pete you guys are polar opposites and he smells like cabbages and unresolved childhood issues

From: Pete
Still Patrick. For the record, he doesn't smell like cabbages or unresolved childhood issues, and I kinda liked him since I met him. It's one of those cheesy Disney movie things.

From: Patrick
"Why do you even like Dallon he sounds like he has a stick up his butt"

To: Pete
Fair enough

I didn't argue with either of them, whichever had commented on his behavior, because most of the time it was like he did.

In other news, Dallon was pacing around his bedroom like a madman. His hands were twisted up in his hair, and his face was pale. He seemed more afraid of the idea of military school than I did, and he'd been the one to come up with the idea. I should've been the one losing my shit. "Okay, so, I'm gonna call your mom later. I'm gonna try to convince her not to do this, to cancel the application, tell them she changed her mind, and that you've changed. If we show her that you've shaped up, then you won't have to go."

There was only one flaw: if he did succeed and I put on the perfect facade to show her, then I'd have to keep it until I graduate and ditch home for, like, upstate because long car rides made me nauseous. I couldn't pretend to sit up straight and be respectful for that long. The program would be over soon too; I probably wouldn't even attend Cardine again.

And if I had to go back to Lame Oak and act like an angel child, I'd die. Not figuratively, but literally. Someone would be bound to slam my head into a locker and kill me. Unless military school would give me training on the proper uppercut, I was screwed.

But I had to prove it to him. Otherwise, he'd leave me for good. That was something he should've done a long time ago.

"I'll just go, okay? Don't worry about it. Don't bend over backwards for me."

He froze mid-turn. "You are not going to military school. I won't let you."

"What happened to being mad at me? Remember that, like, at all? I'm going, and you're not stopping me. I'm calling her later tonight to let her know."

His eyes were wide, and his mouth had dropped open. "Absolutely not! I'm not letting you, and that's final," then he took one big stride over to the foot of the bed, and grabbed my shirt collar, and I was genuinely terrified, "do you hear me?"

I was reminded of the time we went to Luau for the first time, and he made a scene while trying to put me in my place. But this time, it was like staring face to face with a starving bear that would rip my face off with the right cue.

"I hear you, but I'm not listening. I'm going. I have to prove that I can change — to you. I'm going to do it for you."

All at once, he was sad and pissed off, happy that I'd do that for him, upset I had thought it was the only option. It was, there wasn't another way. It'd be better if I left, which I should've done from the very beginning. His eyes mirrored sad little puddles on the sidewalk after it rained and everything seemed to be a little gloomier.

Then he was hugging me. I wasn't sure why. All I'd done recently was screw him over. But I liked his hugs.

"You're not leaving," he mumbled and dragged me down under the blankets with him, "and that's a promise."

I didn't argue, mainly because I didn't want him to be more upset than he already was. I wasn't sure what his anger limit was, and I really wasn't too enthusiastic to push and find out.

Also the bed was warm. His mom had found a heated blanket on sale at Target and it was basically heaven on earth. We both loved it.

But aside from that, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. Not because of the blanket, or because he was literally wrapped around me.

I wasn't sure why. I did feel wanted, though. That was new, and I could definitely get used to it.

🖍🖍🖍

I had to meet back up with Pete in the park we'd met at a few months ago. Dallon and I both needed some space to cool off and think about everything that had been said and what had remained unsaid.

Like the whole situation with Tyler Joseph.

He'd been pretty distracted while I'd tried to update him on everything, because I was definitely sure Tyler was plotting to kill me some time or another, and that he'd probably enlisted the help of Carmen Green because I hadn't heard from her in a while. It reminded me of when you're around a kid that's loud constantly and it becomes the norm, and the exact moment you realize they've been quiet for three minutes is when the child sets fire to the shower curtain.

That child was me, but the point was, silence was never a good thing, especially when you were around a reckless and accident-prone human being.

"Military school sounds fuckin' awful, honestly," Pete scrunched his nose and shuddered, "you shouldn't go. I think you'd die."

He wasn't wrong, but I was not about to admit it. He had a big ego already when it came to being right. One more time person telling him he'd done good, and his head would burst like a balloon. "I'm capable of surviving military school, and I can't just not go because they already accepted me. Besides, Dallon says he won't let me leave. He doesn't want me to go, even though I totally screwed him over without genuinely meaning to. I don't even remember what I was thinking; that was such a terrible thing to do."

Dallon said it was a good thing that I was coming to my senses. Apparently it was one of the first steps in the direction towards proving I was exempt from military school.

"Do you even know who goes to military school? The crazy people. Like, the kid in that one vine where he calls himself a future army soldier."

"You're disrespecting a future U.S. army soldier—"

"Please don't, Brendon," he stressed the please like it really bothered him, but we both knew that video was the only thing that could make him laugh until he cried, "I don't want to have to take aspirin when I get home."

"I won't, I swear. Only if you help me decide what to do, because I'm sincerely stuck." My toes slipped on the money bars. Thank god I had a grip on the other ones around me.

Pete bit his lip and picked at a loose string on his shoes. They used to be white, but after a few months of running around and doing whatever shit he wanted to, they were more of a dusty brown with spots of colorful dye from the time he tried to turn his hair bright blue.

"I really think you should at least try to convince your mom that you've changed. It's your best bet, I think. Military school is probably expensive, and you might be able to convince her to let you stay at Cardine too. I wouldn't want to go back to Lame Oak either."

"But then—"

"No buts, no cuts, no coconuts. You asked for advice, and I gave it to you," he held his arms out and shrugged nonchalantly, "it sounds like Dallon wants you to stay, even though you totally fucked him over with the now-nonexistent-plan. Think about how he would act around you if he didn't see you for a few months; it wouldn't be the same."

He was right. What we had going could easily be shattered like glass. Of course, I'd probably already broken it, but that didn't matter. Maybe. I hoped not. I had to keep the snowball rolling.

"I guess you're right."

"Damn straight. I always am." He nodded.

We hopped off the jungle gym after that and headed toward his car. He'd picked me up because Dallon had fallen asleep and I didn't want to wake him up to ask him to take me to the park. The last time I did that, I had to cancel my plans. They weren't very important, but that wasn't the point.

Pete's old truck had recently been replaced with a pre-owned Jeep. The top was missing and the windshield had a hairline crack down the center, and the seats were all torn up like someone'd taken a knife to it. The green paint on the sides had started peeling too, but that was my fault. I couldn't help it.

The car started with a jolt, only because it was so old and rusty. Hitting a speed bump at a decent speed would screw out every bolt and send the engine into flames. He had to be careful, and the seatbelt wouldn't buckle, so assuming the extra caution would be taken, I didn't bother to fuss over it. I just wanted to get home as soon as I could.

Something was off, though. I knew it as soon as Pete started down the empty street.

I knew something was off when there was nobody around.

I knew something was off when the car came out of nowhere, one that was eerily similar to Carmen Green's.

[oop that's the end of the chapter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]