10. The Cubs lose again, much to Pete's annoyance.

That morning, I drove the DeLorean to Gabe's house, picking Brendon up on the way. Thankfully, the car was finally fixed, and Dad was letting me drive it to the baseball game. As I pulled into Gabe's driveway, I spotted Patrick's house down the street, and I briefly wondered how he was doing. I missed him in the June gloom, and I knew that if I could, I would trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday. However, one question remained. Did he feel the same way that I did?

"Pete, let's go," Brendon said as he played with the doors of the DeLorean again, repeatedly opening and closing them.

I sighed, opened the door, and climbed out of the car. Brendon and I went up to Gabe's door, and he immediately let us in. "I have the perfect plan," he told us.

"You said that when I auditioned for The Sound of Music, and we both know how that worked out," Brendon said.

"How did rehearsal go yesterday, by the way?" Gabe asked.

"It was really fun," Brendon said, smiling. "Broadway is black like a sinkhole, but I'm enjoying this play so far."

"That's good to hear," Gabe said.

"What's your plan?" I asked Gabe.

"Well, we all know that the only thing keeping the Cubs from going to the World Series this year is the Billy Goat Curse," Gabe said. Both Brendon and I nodded, and Gabe said, "So obviously, the only way to ensure that the Cubs win this game is to break the curse. We're going to have to bring a billy goat into Wrigley Field."

"How are we going to do that?" I asked.

"I used to have a billy goat stuffed animal," Brendon said. "Maybe we can use that. Alternately, we can steal an actual goat from somebody."

"I don't know about you, but I really don't think that stealing a goat is a good idea," I said. "We could get in trouble."

"Trouble is my middle name!" Brendon exclaimed.

"I thought it was Boyd," I said.

"Nobody will be stealing any goats," Gabe said. "I have a better idea."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Your boss is named Billie Joe, right?" Gabe said to me. I nodded and he said, "So if he dressed up as a goat, he'd be a Billie goat! We should just bring him!"

"Let's drive over to Fall Out Bros. and ask him," I said.

The three of us piled into the DeLorean, and Gabe turned the music up to its highest volume. We all sang along as we made the two minute drive to Fall Out Bros. Pizza.

When we got there, Billie Joe was at the counter. "Hey, Pete," he said. "You know that you don't have to work today, right?"

"I know," I said.

"Do you want some pizza?" Billie Joe asked.

"Not today," I said.

Billie looked at me as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Pete, did an alien take over your body or something?" he asked.

"Okay, maybe I'll take a small cheese pizza for the road," I said.

"That sounds more like the Pete I know," Billie said, smiling.

"Pete!" Gabe complained. "Get to the point!"

"Okay," I said. "Billie, we need a favor."

"What is it?" Billie Joe asked.

"We're trying to break the Billy Goat Curse, and we were thinking that you could dress up as a goat," I said. "You'd be our Billie goat!"

"I'm a White Sox fan," Billie said.

"But Billie..." I whined.

"No," Billie Joe said. I pouted as he handed me my pizza, and he said, "See you tomorrow, Pete."

Gabe, Brendon, and I left Fall Out Bros. and climbed back into the DeLorean. "It was worth a try," Gabe said.

"What are we going to do now?" Brendon asked.

"Let's stop at your house," Gabe said. "We'll try bringing your stuffed animal billy goat."

I drove to Brendon's house, still blasting music as we hurtled down the highway. When we got there, Brendon ran inside to get his stuffed animal.

A little while later, Gabe asked, "What's taking Brendon so long? It's been almost ten minutes."

"I don't know," I answered.

At that moment, Brendon stepped out of the house with a gigantic billy goat stuffed animal. He shoved it into the backseat of the DeLorean, and it took up an entire car seat. "What took you so long?" Gabe asked.

"I got caught up talking to Ryan," Brendon said. "I kind of wish that he was going with us."

"Me too, but we only have three tickets," I said.

"How would we have gotten Billie in then?" Brendon asked.

"He's a Billie goat," Gabe said, as if that answered the question.

"Anyways, Ryan's a pretty great guy, and he knows about your visions, Gabe," Brendon said. "We should let him tag along more often."

"I'll keep that in mind, Brendon," Gabe said.

Brendon stuck a Cubs hat on the billy goat, and the three of us headed straight into the city. As the skyscrapers appeared in the distance, I turned toward Wrigley Field and after some searching, I eventually found a place to park the DeLorean. "I really hope that nobody tries to steal this thing again," I told Gabe and Brendon.

"Me too," Gabe said as we got out of the car. Brendon was playing with the doors again, and I practically had to drag him away from the DeLorean.

"It's not my fault that you have such a cool car," Brendon said as he took the billy goat out of the car and finally closed the goddamn door.

The three of us headed into Wrigley Field, but when we tried to bring the goat with us, a security guard stopped us. "We're going to have to ask that you leave that behind," she told us.

"But we're trying to break the Billy Goat Curse!" Brendon whined.

"I'll bring it back to the car," I said. I took the stuffed animal, put it back to the DeLorean, and then found my seat in the stadium. Gabe and Brendon had already gotten snacks for us, since I had already eaten the pizza that I had bought from Fall Out Bros. Gabe offered me a soda, and the three of us argued over what to do now that our plan had been foiled once again.

"We could get a smaller billy goat and try to sneak it in," Brendon suggested.

"Where would we get another goat?" I asked. Nobody had a good answer to that question.

"I think that we should just watch the game," Gabe said. "The Billy Goat curse just says that the Cubs won't win another World Series. It doesn't mean that they won't win this particular game."

"You're right, but your vision said that the Cubs would lose this game, and they've all been right so far," I said.

"Maybe that's because we've been trying to stop the visions," Brendon suggested. "Maybe if we don't do anything, then they won't come true."

"That's very counterintuitive, but it's worth a try," I said.

The game began, and Gabe, Brendon, and I just sat back and watched. I didn't even think about Gabe's vision as the three of us consumed ridiculous amounts of junk food and argued over whether it was worth it to buy a baseball cap for Gabe. Occasionally, we glanced at the scoreboard, but at the end of the first inning, the Cubs were winning. There was no reason to worry.

During the third inning, I started to worry that the Cubs might lose after all. The Phillies scored three runs in a row, but my fears were alleviated when the Cubs scored three runs in the fourth inning. Convinced that everything would be fine, Brendon, Gabe, and I left our seats to buy Gabe a baseball cap. The cashier mistakenly handed the hat to me, so I tried to put it on Gabe's head, but I had to jump to do it. "Why are you so tall?" I complained.

Gabe shrugged and adjusted the hat, and we returned to our seats. "We should take a picture while we're here," I said as I pulled out my camera.

"Who's going to take the picture?" Brendon asked. "I want all of us to be in this."

I handed the camera to a stranger sitting near us, and she took a picture of the three of us. Gabe and Brendon, of course, decided to make silly faces. "Do you two have to do that?" I asked.

"Yes," Gabe said.

"You're lucky that we're friends, Gabe," I said.

The game went on, and I still felt confident that my team would win the game. However, my high hopes were crushed when the Phillies scored six runs in the eighth inning. "Maybe the Cubs will make a huge comeback in the last inning," Gabe suggested. "I've seen it happen before."

I wanted to believe Gabe, but I couldn't. My eyes were glued to the field throughout the end of the game - I wanted the Cubs to win, even when it was completely hopeless. They did end up scoring three more runs, but it wasn't enough. The Phillies won the game 11-8.

"Okay, clearly just doing nothing to keep Gabe's visions from happening doesn't work," Brendon said when the game finally ended.

"I'm not even sure that bringing a billy goat into Wrigley Field would have changed the outcome of the game, but it couldn't have hurt," Gabe said as we left the stadium and headed back to the car. Thankfully, the DeLorean was still right where I had parked it, and Brendon's stuffed animal was sitting in the backseat.

The three of us climbed into the car, and Brendon said, "Can we go get sandwiches or something to make up for this whole mess?"

"I don't see why not," Gabe said.

"I want pizza," I said.

"You just ate pizza!" Gabe and Brendon exclaimed in unison.

As if the Cubs losing hadn't been bad enough, we did end up getting sandwiches instead of pizza. I was disappointed in my friends' life choices, but I put up with them anyways. I didn't know where I would be without Gabe and Brendon, after all. I couldn't live without either one of them. On our way back to Shermer, we chatted about the game, along with our plans for the evening.

"I might go to the arcade with Ryan," Brendon said.

"I don't think I'm doing anything, other than checking the mailbox to see if I got a letter from Mikey," I said.

"Who's Mikey?" Brendon asked.

"My pen pal," I answered.

"He's the reason we're going to New Jersey, right?" Gabe said.

"Yes," I said.

"Good to know," Brendon said. "My parents were really confused as to why we're going to New Jersey. It's not exactly the world's best vacation destination."

"My parents are still making me go," Gabe complained. "I'd much rather visit my grandparents on the other side. They still live in Uruguay, and they're always super fun to visit."

"Why did your parents come here again?" I asked.

"Because they were like, 'Yo, we should go to America, where the streets are paved with gold, and our son should become a rock star so he can fuck lots of girls and get free drugs!'" Gabe answered.

"I somehow doubt that either of your parents actually said that," I said.

"I might be paraphrasing a little bit," Gabe said with a smirk. "Anyways, I definitely don't want to go to New Jersey, but I don't have much of a say in the matter." At that moment, we arrived at Gabe's house, and he climbed out of the DeLorean. "Thanks for the ride. See you later, Pete."

"Bye, Gabe," I said. Once he was out of the car, I drove to Brendon's house and dropped him off. Then, I returned home. On my way to the door, I checked the mailbox, and this time, there was a letter waiting for me. I tore it open as I headed inside, eager to see what Mikey had to say about everything that had happened.

Dear Pete,

I'm sorry that I didn't get around to replying to your letter earlier. I got a job at a bookstore, and I've been working a lot. So far, it's an interesting enough job - I've spent a lot of time looking at book titles instead of actually working, but I think this will entertain me enough for the summer.

It's crazy that Gabe's visions are coming true, but hopefully, you will have figured out a way to stop them by the time you receive this letter. I wouldn't worry too much.

Thank you so much for the photos! Your new tattoo looks amazing. I would attach a photo, but I unfortunately don't have anything recent. Gerard offered to take me to see some band that he likes, so I might be able to get you a picture in my next letter. Still can't wait until I get to see Anthrax live!

Keep me posted on what's going on in your life, Pete, especially now that Gabe's visions are coming true. I want to hear all about it!

For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me,

Mikey Way

I quickly wrote a reply back to him.

Dear Mikey,

It's only gotten worse since my last letter to you. Ten of Gabe's visions have now come true.

I told him about everything that had happened since my last letter, from the bookstore incident to the Cubs game. I even told him about Patrick.

I don't have any pictures for you either - I took one at the Cubs game, but it's not ready yet. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. Keep me posted on how that job at the bookstore is going. I can't wait to see you in August!

Preaching electric to a microphone stand,

Pete Wentz

I put my letter in an envelope and left it on my desk - I would have to mail it the next day. I was just glad that I had heard from Mikey. It was one of the best things that had happened to me all week. I desperately hoped that Mikey was right - maybe we could stop the next vision, and then there would be nothing to worry about. I dreamed of going to New Jersey and running away from it all. It wasn't the best vacation destination in the world, but I only wanted to spend some time with my friends without worrying about accidentally making Gabe's visions come true, and New Jersey was perfect for that.