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February 2, 2014

Pete stood at the door.
He couldn't believe he was doing this, but there was no other choice. If he wanted to know where Gary was, this was the only way.

He hadn't known how else to contact Casey, so he had left him a short note at the studio about a week ago. In it he asked Casey if they could please talk, because he was worried about Gary, and included his phone number. Last Friday, after he had left the Acre, he got a text message from Casey with an address where they should meet on Sunday.
The address was on a side of town Pete wasn't used to being on; the rich side. Not that he had ever wanted for money growing up, or even now, but he had never had much of an expendable income, and he certainly had never lived in a million-dollar apartment.

As he raised his hand to the doorbell, Pete wondered what kind of people Casey knew, and how exactly he knew them.
He pushed the button, and after a few seconds a young man's voice came from the intercom.

"Yes, who is it?"
It was Casey's voice.

With his finger on the intercom button, Pete responded.
"It's Pete."

After a short pause, Casey's voice came back to the intercom.
"Second floor," He said quickly. His voice was immediately followed by a buzzing sound, as he unlocked the door for Pete.

He ascended the stairs to the second floor, and as he approached the door, it slowly opened, revealing Casey on the other side. He had a sheepish look on his face, as he gestured for Pete to come inside.

Once he was inside, Pete took a look around the apartment. Everything looked so expensive, there was no way someone Casey's age could afford all of these things. He was starting to understand who this "friend" of Casey's was, and why he might not want his family to know about him.

"So, um," Casey spoke up from somewhere in the apartment. Pete looked around, and noticed that he had made his way into the large kitchen area.
"Did something happen to Gary?" Casey asked, a genuine concern in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked.

"Well, your letter," Casey replied, "You said you were worried about him."

"Oh, right," Pete started, reminded of the reason he was here.
"Well, that's the thing. I don't know if something's happened to him, because I can't find him."

Casey was rummaging through the refrigerator, and turned back to Pete, offering him a bottle of water.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Casey inquired, his brow scrunched in confusion, "He should be back, by now."

Pete took the water, but focused on the conversation, "Back?" He asked, becoming confused himself.
"Back from where?"

Casey tilted his head to one side, still clearly confused by what was happening.
"He didn't tell you?" He asked.

Pete shook his head and raised his eyebrows at Casey.

"He left for New York," Casey continued thoughtfully.
"The band got a record deal. They were going out there to play some shows, and meet with their manager. They left right after Thanksgiving... " Casey stopped himself when he saw the expression on Pete's face.
"He really didn't tell you any of this," He said.
Pete only stared at the floor.

"Haven't you tried calling him?" Casey asked.

Pete choked out a laugh.
"That's a little- complicated," He said.

"Wait," Casey said. "So you haven't called him, and he hasn't called you, for two months?"

Pete swallowed hard and willed himself not to cry.
"Things didn't exactly go as I planned, at the gallery that night," He started, rubbing a hand across his forehead, "You were there, you saw what happened. I just figured he was doing his own thing, something I wasn't a part of."

"Yeah, I get it," Casey said, "But for two months?"

"I told you it was complicated." Pete replied, looking away from Casey.

"It's not complicated," Casey insisted, "All you had to do was call him."

"All he had to do was call me," Pete retorted.

"You realise that he was probably thinking the exact same thing," Casey continued, "As he was staring at his phone every night."

Pete was already upset by the news that Gary had left to another state, and never bothered to tell him, and he was now becoming irritated by Casey's attempt at advice.
"I realise you and Gary have some kind of friendship going on," He said firmly, "But you don't know him. Gary doesn't sit and wait for things to happen, he makes things happen. Sometimes, whether those things want to happen, or not."
He stood up and headed for the door.
"If Gary doesn't call you, it's because he doesn't want to talk to you. I guess he meant what he said."

"What did he say?" Casey asked, following Pete to the door.

Pete stopped and thought for a moment.
"He said... He said that we weren't really together."

Casey quietly scoffed.
"You know he was full of shit, right?" He said. He circled around, so that he and Pete were facing each other.
"Pete, all he ever talked about was you. Whatever he said that night, it was just him trying to protect his ego." His gaze suddenly fell to the floor. "And I shouldn't have put him in that position. I'm sorry, Pete, I never meant to cause trouble for the two of you."

Pete realised what the two of them must look like, their heads hung low, somber expressions on their faces.
"This is the part where Gary would call us queers, and ask us if we needed a caterer for our 'pity party'." He said. Casey laughed at it, and Pete managed a smile.
"So what should I do?" He asked Casey.

Casey thought about it for a moment.
"Gary's a great guy," He said, "But I don't understand why he didn't tell you where he was going. Maybe you were right to wait for him to make a move, I don't know."

Pete felt a little odd, asking an eighteen year-old for relationship advice, but he was the only person he could talk to who knew Gary. He also felt a little shamed at being surprised that Casey wasn't as vapid as he had expected. Despite being a kid, he knew more than he let on.
"But," He heard Casey continue, "He should be back in town, now. And he can't avoid both of us forever."

Pete felt a smirk spreading across his lips.
"Are you suggesting that we team up?" He asked wryly.

Casey rolled his eyes, "Well we don't have to be weird about it," He said, "But I want some answers just as much as you do. And I'd like to know what's going on with my brother's band."
He walked up to Pete, a slender hand extended in front of him.
"So, think we can be friends?" He asked.

Pete thought about it for a second.
About how just a few short months ago, he wanted to kill this kid, and how strange it felt to actually kind of like him.

He smiled, and placed his own hand in Casey's.


Pete discovered that he and Casey shared more in common than he thought. They both liked the same music, had the same taste in movies, and were both artistic. Where Pete had his painting, Casey had his sketching, and Pete thought he was quite good.
There was also the obvious, they were both small framed and looked younger than they were. Pete thought that if they had been different people, or met in another universe, they might be perfect for each other.
That, however, was where their biggest difference lay.

Casey was attracted to older men.
Indeed, just as Pete had thought, the man he was currently seeing, the man who owned the apartment and every expensive thing inside of it, was in his fourties.
Pete wasn't about to judge someone for who they loved, and Casey seemed happy enough, but he wondered if Gary had any idea about their relationship. He seemed to recall a story Gary had told him about his own experience with an older man.

Pete had also discovered that the two of them shared the same obsession with science fiction movies. So when a small theater in town advertised their "Classic Sci-fi Marathon", they wasted no time buying tickets.

The two boys became such fast friends, and spent so much time together, that the week had ended before they knew it.
They still weren't sure what to do about Gary, but Casey had an idea about where to start.