Chapter Text
(3rd Person Omniscient)
Greg walked into the room packed with partygoers as they danced in the dark, with only the colorful beams of light to serve as his guide. It seemed like everyone was already grouped up with their friends, meanwhile Greg was standing alone with only himself for company. However, he was there with one very clear mission in mind: to find someone. He gripped the corner of his sleeve and took a deep breath. Just moments ago, he was planning to spend his Saturday at home. Perhaps to catch up on his favorite show or get ahead on some of his schoolwork. However, his lazy weekend plan was interrupted.
That morning before setting down for breakfast, Greg got a text on his phone, followed by a knock at the door. He first checked the text and saw it was a message from the notable bass player and his good friend, Petey. The message indicated that he was currently waiting at the front door this very second. Greg smiled wide and he eagerly ran to the door with no hesitation. Leaving his phone and unassembled bowl of cereal to wait on the table.
Petey on the other side of the door stood patiently as he kept staring at his phone. Once he saw his message was left on read, Petey packed away his phone, straightened his posture, and clenched harder on the tickets he was hiding behind his back. He heard ratting from the door knob and held his breath. In just those few seconds, Petey began to turn more and more nervous. The ratting continued before a soft click was heard.
The door swung wide open and Greg signed a greeting to Petey. A quick wave "hello" followed by the letters “p” and “t”. Greg's name sign for Petey.
“Hey, Greg,” Petey scratched the back of his head, “I hope I’m not bothering you right now. I know it’s pretty early in the morning for all this.”
Greg only smiled and swiftly moved his hands to sign, “It’s okay. I’m very surprised to see you today."
Petey felt a little bit better knowing that Greg always seemed to enjoy his company. Many times Petey would be taken back by this, but it was never a bad thing. In fact, Petey was hoping Greg would like his company enough to consider what he had in store, “Cool. Cool. Look. I was planning to see you yesterday, but Lil Petey kinda kept me busy. You know how that kid can be.”
Greg chuckled and agreed with Petey. Greg was more than aware how much a handful Petey’s son can be. Soon a question popped into Greg’s head. He gestured his hands to ask who was watching Lil Petey right now. Greg looked around the hallway, but saw no sign of Lil Petey in sight.
“Oh! I’m actually making one of my friends babysit him right now,” Petey reassured his friend while he felt the tickets in his hands. He made sure to dodge Greg’s peaking head while the dog scanned the surroundings.
“Really? Why?” Greg signed to Petey in confusion. He didn’t understand why Petey didn’t just ask him to babysit Lil Petey for today. Afterall, Greg has been their personal babysitter for a few months now. He was more than okay with babysitting Lil Petey on such short-notice, especially if Petey had a lot on his plate.
Petey started to feel his forehead sweat. He felt like he was already getting investigated and that soon enough, Greg would find out about his intentions before Petey could even explain himself. As much as Petey wanted to run away and just forget ever coming here, he knew it was too late to turn around now. Instead, he just took out the tickets from behind his back and shoved them right in front of Greg’s face.
Now Greg was even more confused. He didn’t have a single clue what these strange pieces of paper were for. The tickets were so crinkled that it was almost unreadable and Petey’s tight grip was covering most of the words.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go to this club tonight?” Petey blurted out while closing his eyes shut, “I’m doing something of a solo performance there, but it would be pretty great if you could be there.”
Greg’s eyes shot wide and his dog's ears perked up. He didn’t understand what he was currently feeling, but at least it wasn’t the feeling of confusion. Instead, his feelings shifted to something on the line of butterflies forming in his stomach. There was this bubbling feeling growing inside of him and his smile seemed to be stuck permanently.
Petey kept his eyes shut tight, but he knew that if he was going to get an answer, he needed to actually see Greg sign his reply back. Nervously, Petey peaked one eye open to see his friend’s face.
(3rd Person Limited)
Petey prepared himself for any form of rejection from his friend’s face, but instead all he received was that classic Greg smile. He opened his other eyes and lowered the tickets away from his friend’s face. Comfortably resting his arms while still presenting the tickets to Greg.
“So what do you say? Care to join me?” Petey asked, while he was still holding the possibility of getting a rejection.
Greg lifted his hand up and placed it on top of Petey’s. Petey flinched and continued to stare at Greg’s expression. He was still giving Petey a smile.
“That’s a good sign, right” Petey thought to himself, “Right?”
With his other free hand, Greg shook his fist up and down. One of Petey’s ears twitched and his eyes widened with a sparkle. Wait. Hold on. That was a yes! He said yes!
Petey loosened his grip on the tickets and allowed Greg to get them. Greg took the paper in both hands and tried to smooth out the wrinkles. Petey watched as Greg read the front and back of the sheet.
“Sorry, about the crinkles. I had them in my jacket for a while,” Petey folded his arms across his chest, “I can just text you the place. That’s probably just better anyways.”
Greg nodded his head. Petey noticed how Greg held the tickets so carefully. He just let the tickets sit perfectly on his palms. He wasn’t even using his fingers to hold the side, just neatly holding up the tickets. Additionally, Greg was looking down at the tickets with soft focus eyes. Petey shrugged off his observation and turned his body to the side.
Petey gave Greg a peace sign and tilted his head towards him, “So see you tonight?”
(1st Person)
Soon Petey left my house that morning, and that’s how I ended up going to a club the same day. I walked down the stairs of the estate and maneuvered my way through the maze of people. I made it to one of the sides of the room where they were serving drinks. I sat down on a tall stool and got down my order for a simple drink. The bartender placed down my glass and dumped the cherry into the fuzzy drink. The cherry sunk to the bottom of the cup as the bubbles trickled around it. The ice on top clanked back together and patched up the hole the cherry left.
I looked at my drink in my hand and turned to watch the dance floor. It was crowded with all different people, but I knew I wouldn't find Petey there. I wonder where he would be right now? He said he was here for a solo performance. When will he be playing? Is he somewhere backstage right now?
I close my eyes to listen to the music. The stage was playing a live band but it wasn’t Petey’s band playing tonight. He did mention that solo performance. How does that work if he’s in a band? I listen close to the instruments being used. It sounded like there was a drum, guitar, an electric piano, and…a bass! I tried looking over at the stage but the crowd of people blocked it. As much as I didn’t want to join the dance floor without Petey beside me, I had a funny suspicion. So I chug down my glass and toss whatever I had as a tip for the bartender.
I moved down to the array of people and tried my hardest not to bump into anyone, but I ended up being pushed and shoved anyway. Drawing closer to the stage, the music became louder and louder. Finally, pushing through one last group of people, I was right in front of the stage. There I finally saw all of the music players, including him.
Standing right next to the guitarist, Petey was strumming his bass. I didn’t even notice I was staring with wide eyes until Petey finally saw me. His eyes widened just like mine and a nervous smile creeped up on his face. I smiled back and gave him a peace sign. He couldn’t use his hands at the moment to return back my greetings, so instead he did something that caught me off guard. Petey shifted his bass off to the side to rebalance himself, and he shot me a quick wink. My ears perked right up. My nervous smile transformed into a helpless toothy grin. I am so glad I came here.