one more troubled soul » petekey

Six

A/N: Hello, I'm here to inform my lovely readers that this chapter involves alcohol and forced sexual situations. Please read at your own risk.

"The worst pain in the world
goes beyond the physical.
Even further beyond any other
emotional pain one can feel.
It is the betrayal of a friend."
- Heather Brewer

Mikey was terrible at rowing a boat.

But it was all okay, because even when they almost tipped the boat over (multiple times), Mikey managed to look like the most beautiful manifestation of fear he had ever seen. His face would flush with nerves and he would yelp, voice snapping at the top of his lungs. And a few people would glance over from their peaceful boat rides to look at their raucous one, but Pete didn't mind still, because he was with Mikey.

As soon as their two hours were up, they rowed to shore, landing in the dirt with a quick stop, laughing and hurting. Pete's arms were already incredibly sore, both from the constant rowing and the sun that attacked his unprotected skin. As he stepped out of the boat, he took a glance at Mikey, who was red in his cheeks and on his nose. He managed to make a sunburn look more like a gentle shade on his canvas rather than a blemish.

Mikey stretched his arms above his head and chuckled. "Well, that couldn't have gone much worse..." He rubbed the back of his neck, radiating insecurity. Pete just shook his head and nudged him assuringly.

"We didn't fall in, did we?" he asked, smiling brightly. Mikey just shrugged and looked down, clearly embarrassed. "How about this... we share some New York City pizza as the sun sets, and then we test out my fake ID." Pete dug the ID from his pocket and held it up proudly, smirking as he waved it in the air. Mikey snatched it, pushing his glasses up and examining it closely.

"Impressive, actually." Mikey mumbled, handing it back. "But I don't drink." He said it rather assertively, his entire body locking into place and agreeing with his words. He watched Pete nervously. As if Pete would ever care what people did or didn't drink or eat. He just rolled his eyes and put the ID back into his pocket.

"But I do," he replied. "We can just pass out in the car again. Okay? Loosen up. We're in New York." Pete loved being able to say that. The city was absolutely infamous and he was part of it. Granted, so were millions of other people, but it still felt so personal to him. Pete had only experienced suffocating suburbias, and the only thing those had ever given him was the drive to get out. And now that he had finally tasted freedom, he never wanted to try anything else. There was only so much freedom he had, however, because money was limited and so was time and so was life. But there was no way he was heading back to his hometown, completely limp with the souls its sucked dry. He was going to take his freedom and run with it, and fuck it if he died while doing so. At least he'd be something more than a small town boy, dying of old age in his family home. No, he wanted a wild death, something sudden and newsworthy. He wanted to die young so people would call him good. Sometimes, he just wanted to die so people would acknowledge him at all.

"I am loosened up," Mikey said, poking Pete in his side playfully, dragging him roughly from his thoughts. "And I want that pizza." He was undeniably excited, his eyes lighting up and his lips parted in anticipation. Pete looked at him for as long as he could without affecting his heart beat, and then held out his hand.

"Only if you hold my hand as we go," he said, watching carefully as Mikey raised one of his slim hands and looked at it. He was thinking, hard. Pete wished he knew what. He could tell that he was scared. Not scared to hold Pete's hand, no, he had done that already quite a few times. But Mikey was scared to consciously do it, to think and choose to do it. All the other hand holding incidents had been just that, spurred by high emotions and excitement. But there was none of that now, just a still moment under the shade of a tree. There was no hustle or rush, nothing to be afraid of, and yet, it was one of the scariest moments of the day. For both of them. Finally, Pete watched Mikey physically relax as he slid his hand into his. "Soft."