abused (peterick)

three

"Pete, I have to go home, babe, I've been away from work for three days. Patrick's here, Halsey's here, Tyler and Doctor Williams are just down the hall," Andy explains to me. I still won't let go of him. He sighs. "I'll stay one more hour, okay? And then I really have to go,"

Andy and I sit down on the couch, Patrick's still sleeping, and turn the TV on a very low volume. Andy's arm rests around my shoulders and is playing in my hair.

I know what he's trying to do, and fuck, it's working. I yawn and lie my head on Andy's shoulder. He's probably smirking, and this is all apart of his evil plan.

I don't fall asleep, however, and Andy seems devastated that his plan didn't work. When an hour comes, Andy stands up, and I'll admit that I'm really tired, but I grab his hand and pull him down on me.

"Don't leave, please. He scares me," I say truthfully. Andy bites his lip and looks at me.

"Pete," He whines, "I'm so whipped, and we aren't even dating," Andy groans and sits back down.

"You guys would be cute, though," Patrick says from behind us. I jump into Andy's lap, and I end up straddling him, my arms around his waist. "Sorry, sorry, still getting used to having a flat mate,"

It kind of makes me happy that he didn't say 'that jumps at everything' at the end of his sentence. Andy smiles at me and pulls me closer to him.

"You haven't eaten since you got here, Pete. Want a bowl of cereal?" I nod my head at Patrick, who smiles at me. His hair is stuck up, his nose scrunched. I can tell he isn't a morning/noon person.

I remember his failed attempt at pizza the first day I got here. He almost burnt our room up. He did get me to laugh, however.

"Don't burn the flat down by pouring cereal and milk in a bowl, please," I say. Patrick almost drops the bowl he's holding. Andy's eyes widen as he pulls away from me.

"Did you.. did you just speak to Patrick?" Andy asks unbelievably. Patrick's mouth drops open, as my head drops to look at my thighs.

"Let's not make a big deal out of it," Patrick suggests, and I nod. He pours my cereal and then my milk. When he hands it to me, our hands brush.

I don't jump, and he smiles at me. It's a start, I guess. I eat the Lucky Charms, and I notice Andy sneaking out. I don't say anything.

I'm not exactly comfortable around Patrick because he still scares me, and if he touches me, we'll probably go back to square one. But he's an okay dude, and I think that if we maintain normal conversation (that's if I can bring myself to speak), I'll be fine.

Patrick smiles and sits down next to me. "So you're fine with being left alone with me?" He asks carefully. I shrug, finishing chewing my bite of cereal.

"Yeah, and I swear I'm not trying to be rude by saying this, but I don't think you should touch me until I say it's alright," I say awkwardly. He nods and smiles.

"It's cool. I'm fine with that," Patrick says. He turns the TV on, and I notice his eyes glancing at me every few seconds. My gaze snaps to his, and I catch him, making him blush and return his eyes to the television.

"You're staring at me," I accuse. He sighs and nods. He turns to face me, picking his fedora up and letting his hair fall before placing it back down.

"I, yeah, I am," He admits, and it's my turn to blush. He quickly covers himself up by saying, "I need to ask you more questions, but I don't know how comfortable you'll be.."

I take in a deep breath and nod, "You can ask me some, but you do have to stop if I start crying, okay?" He nods.

Patrick grabs the notebook he wrote the other answers in and sits back down next to me. He makes sure to stay about three feet away. "Oh shit, I hate this question," He says, tugging on his hair.

"I'm a big boy, kind of, so go ahead," I say, and Patrick chuckles at me. He sighs and asks the question.

"Did you love Nate?"

"I.. thought I did. Now I'm thinking that I didn't. I mean, how can I love a man that wants me dead?" I ask myself more than Patrick. Patrick really looks like he wants to comfort me, but he keeps his distance.

"How long did Andy wait to tell the police when he knew?" He asks. I think back to the day I told Andy.

"Probably a month. I think Nathan found out I told Andy because he stopped hitting me places that Andy would see. Andy thought everything was getting better until I came to him with blood pouring down my face from my nose. Andy called the cops the next day, and that was four days ago," I explain, taking a breath after I finish my explanation.

"Damn. You know what? Fuck the rest of those questions. Let's watch One Tree Hill and forget about everything else," He suggests. I nod. I love One Tree Hill.

Mostly because there was this really hot guy in season three named Patrick, and he could sing really well. They were in a band called Fall Out Boy, I think. The main one from the band was called Pete, like me, but Patrick had one line and out-acted him.

When I explain that to Patrick, he shakes his head and says that the Pete guy was hotter to him. This really baffles me. Patrick's gay?

"You're gay?" I ask him after he says that, and he nods enthusiastically.

"Pete, have you seen me?" He laughs, tipping his head back. His Adam's Apple Bob's, and my mouth starts to water. "I wear a fedora for Christ's sake,"

"Well, I try not to judge," I say, and we laugh together. My hand lands on his thigh, and his eyes go wide. I quickly retract it, and we look into each other's eyes for a second until we stare back at the TV.

I hear him mumble, "That was awkward,"

I act like I don't hear him, and we spend the rest of the day watching One Tree Hill and arguing over who's hotter; Pete or Patrick.

--

the irony honestly