What is right and what is wrong?

A few days went by, and I had no idea what to do about Brendon. I was still performing at the Aubergine, but Brendon and I had hardly spoken since our date at the pool. I had too many questions about who Brendon truly was, and I had to answer them before I could deal with Brendon again.

Shortly before my second Public Policy test, I met with Pete. He was sitting in the library, playing with his purple fidget spinner, and he quizzed me until I could recite every answer, whether I agreed with it or not. I could only hope that the same questions would appear on the test. "You're getting a lot better at this," Pete said.

"Thanks Pete," I said.

Pete laughed and said, "Just wait until you get to the unit on electoral policy. I barely passed that test, and I'm better at this sort of stuff than you are."

"If I remember correctly, that's the next unit," I said nervously.

"Good luck," Pete said. "By the way, I believe that you and I made a deal at the last Guyliner Club meeting."

"Are you talking about my offer to set you and Patrick up?" I asked. Pete nodded, and I said, "I'm still working on that."

"Alright, Ryan," Pete said. He sighed and added, "I just get too lonely sometimes. Frank and Gerard are just so happy together, Laura has a wonderful girlfriend, and you and Brendon make a great couple. I'm the only member of the Guyliner Club who's single, and it's driving me crazy. Sometimes it seems like this whole university has found someone that they love except for me."

"I can understand that feeling, Pete," I said. I didn't exactly want to mention whatever it was that Brendon and I were in the middle of, but I did understand Pete's pain. It was how I had felt before Brendon became my boyfriend.

"I'm coming apart at the seams," Pete complained.

"I think I have a solution," I said. "I'll get Patrick to come to the Aubergine tonight, but then you have to take it from there. I can't make Patrick magically fall in love with you, because love doesn't work like that. I can start the process though. Would that work?"

"Yes, that sounds great," Pete said.

Almost immediately, I began to question my own solution. How would I get Patrick to come to the Aubergine Dream? He wasn't the type of person who would go there voluntarily, especially considering his reaction when he found out that I was going to the Aubergine. I considered telling Pete that I couldn't do it, but I couldn't go back on my word. That would make me just as bad as Brendon. I had to find a way to make it work.

After we finished studying, I returned to Flack Hall and climbed up to Room 27. Patrick was lying on top of his bed, lost in a daydream. Patrick was wearing a Twenty One Pilots T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a fedora, and his glasses were perched on top of his nose as he stared up at the white stucco ceiling. I briefly wondered what exactly it was that was floating through Patrick's mind. Mind reading wasn't possible, but it was fun to speculate. Was it a brilliant new idea that was making Patrick act like this, or was it a problem in his life that needed to be solved? Perhaps it was a particular person that was on his mind. There was no way to tell, but I could always ask him. "Patrick, what are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"Nothing," Patrick lied.

I still think that it's crazy how easily lies can slip from someone's mouth. For something that we generally consider to be wrong, people tend to do an awful lot of lying. If we consider lying to be so wrong, then why does everyone continue to do it? "I know you were thinking about something," I said.

"It's not important," Patrick said. "Did you need something, Ryan?"

"I just wanted to ask you a question," I said.

"What's your question?" Patrick asked.

"Would you like to go to the Aubergine Dream with me tonight?" I asked.

"I don't drink," Patrick responded bluntly.

"You don't have to drink to hang out at the Aubergine," I said.

"I really don't think it's a good idea, Ryan," Patrick said.

"It will be fun," I said.

"I'm not going," Patrick said as he folded his arms over his chest. "I'd probably just end up sitting in a corner by myself anyways."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," I said. "There are lots of Kale students who go to the Aubergine. I'm sure you'll know someone."

"I don't know about that," Patrick said.

"It's true," I said. "A bunch of Kale kids go to the Aubergine every night. There's Spencer, Frank, Laura, Gerard, Pete..."

Patrick's eyes widened. "Pete's going to be there?" he said.

"He almost always makes an appearance," I said.

Patrick thought about it for a few minutes and then said, "I suppose I'll give it a try."

Before Patrick could change his mind, I shouted, "Great! Let's go!" I ran downstairs, and Patrick reluctantly threw on his coat and followed me.

However, by the time we made it off campus, Patrick had changed his mind. "Why did I agree to this?" he asked me as he followed me into the heart of Old Haven.

"That's an excellent question," I said.

"Maybe I should go back home," Patrick said. "I could stay inside, brew myself a nice cup of tea, call my parents, go to bed early, wake up at five o'clock in the morning as usual..."

"You already said that you would come to the Aubergine, Patrick," I said. "The most moral choice here is to follow through with what you said you were going to do."

"Who cares about morality?" Patrick said. "It's too cold to be outside right now. I'm going back to Flack Hall."

He turned around and started to walk back towards campus, but I said, "The Aubergine's right around the corner. We're closer to the bar than we are to the Kale campus."

Patrick sighed and walked towards the Aubergine Dream, with its signature neon purple sign marking the entrance to the bar. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Patrick said as he followed me inside.

When he entered the Aubergine, Patrick took a few minutes to take in the atmosphere. The bar was crowded for a weeknight, and I could easily identify the many friends that I had made since my first trip to the Aubergine. Spencer and Brendon were waiting for me, but I had to show Patrick around before I met up with them.

"Ryan, did you take me to a gay bar?" Patrick asked as he looked around the Aubergine one more time.

"Sort of," I answered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Patrick asked.

I didn't bother to give him a response. "I think Pete's getting a drink," I said. "Let's go talk to him."

I walked towards the other end of the bar, and Patrick followed me as he informed me that he was in fact completely heterosexual and he had no idea why I had brought him to a gay bar. I tried my best to ignore Patrick as I greeted several of my friends and eventually found Pete.

Pete had just ordered a strawberry daiquiri, and he was sipping on his drink when Patrick and I approached him. "Hey Ryan," he said. "What's up?"

"I'm just here to perform, as usual," I said.

"Well, it's always fun to hear you, Brendon, and Spencer play," Pete said.

"Hi Pete," Patrick said nervously. His eyes immediately focused on Pete's drink. "I thought that you were nineteen," he said.

"Don't say that so loudly, Patrick," Pete said. "As far as anyone here is concerned, I'm twenty one."

"You're not even old enough to drink," Patrick argued.

"It's just for fun," Pete said. "I've never gotten drunk in my life, so why does it matter if I'm technically not old enough to drink?"

"It's illegal!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Don't tell me that you've never broken a law before, Lunchbox," Pete said with a smirk.

"Unlike you, I'm not a criminal," Patrick said. "Also, why are you calling me 'Lunchbox?'"

"I don't know," Pete said. "I think it's cute. Besides, haven't you jaywalked before? That's technically illegal."

"I might have jaywalked once or twice," Patrick admitted.

"There you go," Pete said. "We're both lawbreakers."

I walked away, knowing that I had technically fulfilled my promise to Pete. It was now up to him to make his dream a reality. I wasn't certain that Pete and Patrick would end up together - they were complete opposite in terms of personality, but sometimes opposites did attract.

I ran across the room again to talk to Brendon, but on my way, I ran into Spencer. "How's it going, Ryan?" he asked me.

"I'm not okay," I said. "I promise. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Spencer said. "What is it?"

"Do you know which college Brendon goes to?" I asked.

Spencer thought about it and then said, "I don't know. He doesn't like to talk about himself very much. I thought you would know, since you're his boyfriend."

"I don't know which school he goes to," I said. "All I know is that he doesn't go to Kale."

"I can't help you then," Spencer said. "I have no idea what Brendon does when he's not at the Aubergine."

I paced around the bar, uncertain of what to do. I had already decided that it was wrong of Brendon to lie to me, but what the right response? After some thought, I made my decision. In the end, it didn't matter what school Brendon went to. I would still love him whether he went to Kale University or Southern Connecticut State or Gateway Community College, so there was no need for me to know which college he went to other than satisfying my own curiosity. For a situation like this, it was best to forgive Brendon and move on with my life.

I found Brendon sitting on the piano bench, attempting to play something that I couldn't recognize on the piano. "What are you trying to play?" I asked him.

"Bohemian Rhapsody," Brendon responded. "This instrument is harder than I thought."

I laughed and said, "It gets easier with practice."

I sat next to Brendon on the piano bench as he asked, "Are you still mad at me for not going to Kale?"

"That's not what I was mad at you about," I said. "I don't care which college you go to. I was mad at you for lying to me about it, but I've forgiven you for that."

"I thought that you would be mad at me if you knew the truth," Brendon said.

"That doesn't make sense," I said. "The truth is what I'm searching for, along with wisdom and meaning. Why would I be mad at you for telling me the truth?"

"I don't know," Brendon said. "It's irrational."

"Have some composure, Brendon," I said as I placed a kiss on his oversized forehead.

Brendon blushed and said, "How can I have composure when you're around, Ryan?"

All of a sudden, Spencer leaned over the piano and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but it's nine in the afternoon."

Brendon jumped up from the piano bench and grabbed a microphone, and the show began. I was glad that Brendon and I had resolved our issues. It felt wonderful to have my loving boyfriend back. My heart fluttered as I listened to him sing once again. No matter how many times I heard him, his voice never got old or tiresome. It always had same clarity and emotion that it always did, and his voice always managed to make me melt inside.

After the show, Brendon and I chatted and made plans for another date, but I eventually had to head home. I had a test in Public Policy the next day, and I needed some rest if I wanted to do well.

I wandered around the Aubergine in an attempt to find Patrick, but I couldn't find him anywhere in the bar. I was about to call him to ask if he had gone home early when I spotted him in the middle of a very intense conversation with Pete. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Patrick, it's getting late. We should go home."

"Already?" Patrick said. "It feels like I just got here."

"It's eleven o'clock at night," I said, yawning.

"I want to hang out with Pete for a little bit longer," Patrick said.

"I can walk home with you if you'd like," Pete suggested.

"That sounds great," Patrick said.

The three of us headed home, but Patrick started complaining about the cold as soon as we got outside. "For someone from Chicago, I would think that you would have a little bit more cold tolerance," I said.

"Chicago is the greatest city in the world," Patrick said. "Old Haven, on the other hand, is way too cold."

"Patrick, you can have my sweatshirt if you'd like," Pete said. He took off his black sweatshirt and handed it to Patrick, who promptly put it on.

"Thanks Pete," he said. "You're the best."

Eventually, Patrick, Pete, and I made it back to the Kale University campus, but we had to go our separate ways. Patrick gave Pete his sweatshirt back and gave him a quick hug, while I simply walked into Flack Hall. It seemed that my crazy plan had somehow worked. Fate was working in my favor for once, and if I was lucky, it would help Pete and Patrick too. Regardless of what happened, it was nice seeing a new face in the Aubergine Dream.