It's 7PM exactly two and a half months after the phone call and Gabe's hanging out in his apartment until he can go do something when his phone goes off again. "What's up, Pete."

     "Hey, Gabe. Listen, you're going to have to wait a little longer for your date." Gabe's confused. Pete's over the moon about having hooked two of his best friends up, what could make him delay it?

     "Why? What's going on?" Pete sounds tired.

     "Well, most of us spent the last four hours in the emergency room with Mikey." Gabe's instantly focused.

     "What do you mean?! What happened?! Is he okay?!" He's so intent on what Pete's saying that he almost doesn't notice how fast his heart is racing.

     "Calm down, Gabe! It's not life-threatening or anything. Frank just got a little bit excited because his girlfriend showed up to surprise him and he started jumping around like a maniac. He caught Mikey off guard and kinda flung him off the stage. Mikey landed funny and ended up smashing his right wrist between his bass and the ground. He just broke it, that's all." Gabe begins to sigh with relief when Pete remembers something. "Oh yeah! And the neck of his bass broke and splintered really badly, his left arm's a little fucked now too. Lots of long, shallow scratches. He's on antibiotics for that and the doc says he has something like forty-eight stitches total but we were all too tired to count them."

     "So how's Mikey doing now then?" Pete laughs quietly.

     "He's asleep with his head on his brother's shoulder. The doc loaded him up with some good shit. Kid's not going to be happy tomorrow, though." Gabe's concern spikes again.

     "Why?"

     "Because he has to go see HIS doctor to get a prescription for both the antibiotics and pain meds. So he's going to wake up in a considerable amount of pain in the morning. Hopefully not with an infection, though. The antibiotics ought to stay in his system longer than the vicodin or morphine or whatever the hell they gave him. So at least he'll have that going for him. He'll be lonely tomorrow, that's for sure." Suddenly interested, Gabe's mind focuses on that last statement. Not missing the carefully sad voice Pete uses when he's manipulating someone.

     "Why is that?"

     "Because the rest of his band is made up of lazy assholes and I'm going on four days without sleep so I'll probably pass out as soon as we get to his apartment. He's going to the doctor alone tomorrow. He'll have to take a taxi too. He's not allowed to drive with his wrist like that and without medication to keep the pain out and focus him. Ironically, he's not allowed to drive WITH the pain meds either. Impaired judgment or some other bullshit."

     "So he's going alone? Right after a night in the ER for a broken wrist and a torn up left arm?" Pete's voice is mournful when he answers.

     "Yes. And it gets worse. He has to go shopping for a new bass all by himself when he's on pain meds. Who's to save him from making the wrong purchase?!" Pete's voice becomes dramatic as he switches to a rather pathetic British accent. "Oh it's horrible! I can't bear the thought! If only some tall, Uruguayan knight in shiny black skinny jeans would rescue him from his terrible fate!" Gabe sighs and rubs his temples.

     "Drop the theatrics, Pete. When he wakes up, tell him I'll drive him to the doctor and help him pick out a new bass. And that I understand that the date will have to wait." Pete sounds indignant.

     "Why do I have to tell him?!"

     "Because then he'll understand exactly how I came to decide to help him out. You meddled and manipulated. Own up to it and you'll be a much happier person." Gabe sighs and turns serious. "You'd better be right about us, Pete. You'll be going through a whole hell of a lot of trouble and playing carelessly with the feelings of two of your favorite people if you're wrong. You know that, right?" Pete nods, though Gabe can't see it.

     "I know that, Gabe. And I'm not afraid of that fact in the slightest. I'm right. I know it. You're meant for each other." Pete's quiet for a moment and Gabe's about to end the conversation when the younger of the two suddenly starts talking again.

     "He needs you, Gabe. He'll never admit to it. He'll never admit to needing anyone. But he does. He needs someone to take care of him and make sure he stops to think about himself instead of everyone else. He'll self-destruct without you. It might be unfair to tell you how much he needs someone to depend on, but I don't really care, Gabe. You'll meet him and you'll forget all about how scarily vulnerable is and before you know it you'll be in love and dealing with all of his issues like they're the most normal thing in the world. And you won't resent it for a minute. I promise. You'll love him completely. Like fairy-tale, move into a castle in the middle of a magical land and have sixty-seven well-dressed and well-mannered children, die the very same second as an elderly couple holding each other in bed love." Gabe's mouth is a little dry. Since when does Pete fucking Wentz talk like this?

     "So you're saying he won't love me back? He'll just need me?" Pete laughs humorlessly.

     "I think he might already be a little in love with the idea of you, Gabe. I can tell that you're already a little in love with the idea of him." He sighs. "He'll let you in, Gabe. He may not show it a lot at first, but he will love you. The fact that he'll let you love him will tell you how he feels about you."

     "Why is that?"

     "Because he lets himself get hurt before anyone else. He stays up all night holding Gerard's hair back while he pukes and thinks "better me than Frank or Ray". That's just how his mind works. He's convinced that he exists solely to keep other people away from unpleasant situations. The last thing he'd ever do is lead someone on." Pete chuckles a little. "The first time he lets you cuddle him in bed after sex, you'll know. He might hesitate a little, but the instant he relaxes is the exact moment he lets himself fall."