FicWad

Chapter 6-

Pete stayed home sick the next day (I told him not to eat that mystery meat), so I had to go the entire school day without him. I never thought it'd be so hard. But it definitely was.

I sat down at our usual table, taking a bite of my mediocre salad. It was so quiet. I was normally used to it... I guess I got spoiled.

I heard a tray bang down on my table, making me jump. I looked up to see a girl my age. She has long brown hair that went down to her back, green eyes, and a body that was not thin nor thick. Over all an attractive woman. She smiled, sitting across from me. “Hi, I'm Sunshine. Today's my first day here.”

I swallowed a bite of my salad and replied, “Is your name really Sunshine?”

She laughed, it reminding me of tinkling bells. “My birth name is Mary, but I wanted something a little more... bright. Besides, doesn't it sound better than boring old Mary?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I looked up from my food again to look her over once more. She wore a long, flowy skirt that went down to her ankles. She had a halo of small flowers intertwined into her hair, which matched the flowers on her flip flops. Her shirt and vest were mostly neutral colors, just like her skirt, and a peace sign hung from her neck. Sunshine's name definitely fit her.

“Are you some sort of a hippie?” I asked with a mouth full of salad.

She laughed again. “I guess you could say that. Minus the drugs, of course.” She flipped her hair to the side. “I don't think I caught your name.”

“My name's Patrick. Patrick Stump.”

“Patrick, eh? I've always liked that name. Do you normally sit alone, Patrick?”

I shook my head no. “No, my, uh... boyfriend sits with me,” I said, adverting my eyes. I gave her five seconds until she'd get up.

“Oh, you have a boyfriend? What's his name?” She didn't show any look of disgust nor did she leave the table.

“Pete... Look, you don't have to sit next to me.”

She blinked at me. “Why wouldn't I want to sit next to you?”

“Because I'm gay...” I said to my tray.

She shook her head then got up to take a seat next to me. Pete's seat. “One thing you have to know about me; I don't judge anyone. Not by race, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else. I accept people the way they are,” She said, putting her arm around me. Feeling someone touch me besides Pete felt weird to me. But it also felt right. She continued on, eyes fixated on me. “Sure, I'm disappointed that I can't date you, because I thought you were cute, but I'll live.”

I blushed at her compliment. I think Pete and her were the only ones that ever liked me in that way. “But, are you sure you want to hang out with Pete and I? You will totally ruin your reputation just by being near us.” I glanced nervously at the other tables, and sure enough, there were people eying her, wondering what she was doing.

“I am absolutely positive. You seem like a very nice boy. Shy, but very nice. And I'm sure Pete's a good guy, too.”

I nodded, smiling at my lap. “Yeah, he sure is.”

“Well, I can't wait to meet him. Sounds like you really like him,” she replied, smiling brightly. I wouldn't be surprised if I never saw even a slight frown on her face.

“Well, actually, I'm going to his house after school to bring him his homework. Do you want to come with me?”

And alas, a small frown formed on her face. “I wish I could go, but my family is still unpacking and then we're going out to dinner. Maybe another time when he's at his best. Wish him well for me, though.” And then the bell rang, warning us to get to class. “Well, I better go. Not good to be late to any classes on the first day!”

I waved goodbye and picked up my tray to dump it. Most of my salad went uneaten, but I wasn't that hungry anyway. I still couldn't believe that someone... someone like her would want to be friends with me. With us!

I never really had a friend before. Except for one, but when I told him I was gay, he turned against me, calling me names on the playground. Hard to believe that I haven't had a real friend since fourth grade. Even harder to believe that I've been “openly” gay since then... but I guess telling one person doesn't really count as being open. But I had to hand it to him, though, he never told a soul. It wasn't until now that my secret was revealed. Helped that I never really had any potential boyfriends.

I went into my chemistry class, just barely making it in before the bell. Taking my seat at a table (alone), I opened up my notes. But after a few minutes of trying to listen, I gave up. I let my thoughts wander, especially going over the conversation I had with my new friend. Friend. Wow, I was gonna have to get used to that one.

After school, I headed straight towards Pete's locker to get his books. Opening the locker door, I smiled when I saw a picture of us inside. I looked the happiest I'd ever looked before. Maybe because I was happy. Yeah, that's it.

When I was done at his locker, I quickly walked to Pete's house, not bothering with the bus. I was practically dying to see him. It's amazing how lonely I felt without his hand in mine and our passing notes back and forth. He texted me a few times, and I replied, but it didn't feel the same. I didn't get to feel his hand brush up against mine when he passed the note to me, nor did I have to read his barely legible handwriting. It took the fun out of everything.

Using the key he gave me, I opened the door to his house. He was on the couch, curled up in a blanket. He was watching TV. He turned his head when he heard the door slam shut. He grinned when he saw me.
“Hey, Patrick. I really missed you today,” he said, opening his arms. I accepted his embrace, kissing his forehead.

“Hey, Pete. I missed you, too. Life is so boring when you're not around. Are you feeling any better?”

His face didn't look nearly as pale as it did when I dropped by this morning. In fact, he looked like himself. “A lot better, actually. My temperature is normal now and I haven't thrown up since 11:00. Oh, and I seem to have gained my appetite back.” He glanced at the empty bag of chips on the floor. It was full this morning.

“That's great!” I exclaimed. “I'm glad you're feeling better. Uhm, is it okay if I, uh, kiss you?” I asked as a blush crept onto my face. It still embarrassed me to ask, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't sick still.

He smiled, taking my hand. “Of course.” And he pulled me down onto his lap, kissing me gently. I practically sighed with relief when his tongue swirled around my mouth. Going even a day without feeling his lips on mine was almost too much to bare.

We finally pulled apart when his mom entered the room, holding a batch of cookies. I greedily took four cookies, saying thank you before I stuffed them into my mouth. I was starving since I didn't eat all of my lunch.

Pete squeezed my stomach, smiling as he did so. “Was Patrick hungry?” He cooed. I felt like the Pillsbury dough boy.

I nodded, my mouth filled with cookies. I swallowed. I wish I had milk. “Yeah, I didn't eat much of my lunch today.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you are never going to believe this,” I said, facing him. “The impossible happened.”

“Joe Trohman wasn't high?” He asked.

I laughed, shaking my head. “No, not that. He was high as a kite today.”

“Okay, I give up, what happened?”

“Someone sat down next to me at lunch today,” I said excitedly.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously? And I fucking missed it? Who was it? Give me all the details, Patrick.”

“Yes, yes, and this new girl. Her name is Sunshine,” I snickered.

His face fell and he looked down at our intertwined hands. “Oh.”

I took my free hand and tipped his chin up to look into his eyes. “What's wrong?”

“Patrick, as soon as this girl finds out about us, she'll ignore us just like the rest of them,” he sighed, looking down again. He kissed my hand. “But, I'm glad you had someone to keep you company while I was gone.”

I shook my head, smiling a little. “Pete, you don't understand. She already knows about us. And she's totally cool with it. She said that she couldn't wait to meet you.”

The look on his face was priceless. He looked totally bewildered. “This is unbelievable. It must be my birthday.”

“Why is it so hard to believe that I made a friend?” I asked, feeling a little put out. Though I was still amazed myself, I didn't feel like it was that unbelievable that someone liked me.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then he paused. He tried again. “You're right, babe. Who wouldn't want to be friends with such a sweet, shy, and cute guy like you?”

“Everyone else,” I muttered. Pete leaned back a little so I could lay across his body. I tried not to worry about whether I was crushing him or not. I failed miserably.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling his face into my neck. His voice was muffled when he said, “Well, I love you, and that's all that matters.”

My heart sped up and I started to breath heavily. Did he say what I just thought he said?

“What did you say?” I whispered. That was as loud as I could manage to get.

He cleared his throat. “I said... I love you.”

I couldn't help it. Tears started to fall down my cheeks. Pete saw this and wiped them away with his thumb.

“I'm sorry, is it too soon?” He asked. He sounded disappointed. But he didn't need to be.

I shook my head, taking his hand in mine. “No, it's not. I'm just so happy because... I love you, too. I always have.”

He turned my face towards him and he kissed my lips. Hard. I kissed him with just as much intensity before he pulled his lips off mine. He kissed my forehead, my eyelids, my ears, my cheeks, my chin, and whatever else he could get his lips on. It felt wonderful.

“This is the best day of my life,” he said, kissing my ear lobes again.

I bit my lip to keep from crying again. “You have no idea.”
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I swear, when school is over (seven days), I will be putting out more chapters. Thank you for being so patient. And thank you to all that reviewed.