Breathe Me Back To Life •Patrick Stump+Fall Out Boy•

Chapter Thirty Five: My Bag Is Ripped And Worn, Then Again Now So Am I

Dedication to ParadoxGoodbyes for being just overall a great person!

||Cole Wentz|| First Person||

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hayley asks me later that evening, when we're hiding out in Patrick and my hotel room. The speakers are blasting a The Fray song, definitely You Found Me, and I can't help but think about how ironic that song is. I bite my bottom lip slightly and look over at Hayley, feeling my elbows sink into the soft mattress.

"I guess so," I answer her, because I would be even bigger of a liar than I am now if I told her that I was perfectly okay. I smile at her weakly, turning my attention to the wall, where you can clearly hear the guys arguing about something that's probably extremely ridiculous.

"Really?" Hayley says, fingering the ends of her short hair. I watch as she pinches the ends slightly and feels them, a habit she's gotten herself into.

"I swear on Andraste." I joke, crossing my heart as I reference Dragon Age. Hayley points at me accusingly, a grin on her face.

"And if you lie, you shall feel the wrath of the archdemon!"

"No worry, I am a Grey Warden!" I call out, grinning wildly at her. Hayley rolls off of the bed, catching herself and jumping up to her feet easily. She dances her way to the radio, her manicured fingers twisting the knob of the volume control. The ending of the song is loud, filling every inch of the room, and probably the rooms after.
Hayley raises her arms above her head as she twists her body to the beat and rhythm of the music. I find myself smiling and laughing when she takes my hand in hers and pulls me up to my feet. I shuffle my fuzzy socks over the carpet before leaning over and pressing the tip of my finger to her cheek, shocking Hayley. She yelps and swats my arm with a toothy grin.

"Dance, dance!" She instructs me, knowing that she quoted my brother's band, but all of a sudden, a The Smashing Pumpkins song comes on, much slower than the others. I smile when listening to the beginning of Mayonnaise, but the smile is short lived when I hear someone pounding their bare fist on the door. I jump and rush over to the door, checking through the peephole. When I see Spencer and my brother, I open it.

"Colby," I hear Spencer's voice first as him and Pete barge into the room just as Hayley decides to put on some over produced, bubble gum pop trash radio station that inevitably begins its task in filling the room. I almost don't hear my name being repeated. "Cole."

"Yeah?" I breathe out a sigh of relief when I hear a P!nk song. I can handle P!nk. I think it was called Blow Me(One Last Kiss) or something.

Just when it can't get worse,

I had a shit day,

You had a shit day,

We've had a shit day.

"You lied to me." Pete accuses me almost immediately as his jaw clenches. My heart skips a beat as he stares at me. Why is Pete mad at me? "You didn't tell me the truth."

"What?" I say, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion as Pete practically fumes with my ignorance and naïvety. I open my lips slightly, unsure of what's happening. "What did I lie to you about?"

"That douchebag was on the train, and when I asked you if you were okay, you said you were." Pete's practically steaming, his tone of voice rising higher and higher as my eardrums feel like they're about to burst. I'm thrown off when Spencer puts a hand on my brother's shoulder, whispering something to him. I stagger backwards, almost tripping back into Hayley, who gasps and helps me straighten myself out. I vaguely feel the older girl who I am proud to call my best friend rub my shoulder comfortingly, regardless of the revelation spewing from Pete's mouth. I raise my head from my intense staring contest with the carpeted flooring, my eyes shifting to search my brother's eyes. He was pissed, and a pissed off Pete saw no reasoning and held no barriers.