FicWad

Pete woke up in his new room and dragged himself out of bed. He riffled through his suitcase, not having unpacked yet, searching for something to wear. He pulled out a black Clandestine teeshirt and some girl jeans. He padded down the hall into the bathroom and shut the door, staring at himself in the mirror. He tried to tousle his hair slightly so it looked perfectly messy, but it didn't work. He began opening drawers, searching for Devin's straightener...when he didn't find one he realized that she wouldn't own one, her hair was perfectly straight. He felt a pang of homesickness; his mom always let him use hers. He sighed and left his hair as it was. As he crept out to the kitchen, careful not to wake Devin and Patrick, Devin stepped out of her room in her bra, underwear and an open bathrobe, headed towards the bathroom. She shrieked at quickly tied up the robe.
"Pete!" she gasped, "I forgot you were here..."
"So you and Patrick wander around in your undies when theres no one here?" he asked, slyly raising an eyebrow. She blushed.
"Well, in the morning, if we slept in our underwear...we just don't change until after breakfast." She mumbled, smiling an embarrased smile.
"Well, that's got to change." Pete smiled, and the two of them went into the kitchen.
Pete reached into the pantry and produced a box of Cheerios, pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and sat down.
"So...Tia seems nice." Devin began overly casually.
Pete stopped in mid bite and looked at her, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Yeah, she does."
Devin studied his face, and Pete felt his cheeks burning. Finally she tore away her gaze and poured herself a bowl of cereal.
"'Morning" Patrick yawned, walking into the kitchen and pulling up a chair. He eyed Pete's outfit.
"Girl jeans again, dude?"
Pete shrugged and kept eating. Patrick shook his head with a sigh and pulled the cereal towards him. The three ate in silence. Pete stood up and put his bowl in the sink and began to walk out into the living room, but Devin caught him by the wrist.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked.
"Uh, no."
"Uh, yes. You can put me and Patrick's bowls in the sink, you were the first to get up. It's polite."
Pete rolled his eyes and took the bowls over to the sink.
"Happy, MOM?" he snapped at Devin. She smiled serenly back.
"Yes, Son."
Pete rolled his eyes but had to laugh.
"Pete, if you're gonna stay with us, you need to learn to live by our rules." Patrick said timidly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It'll just take some time to get used to." He sighed.
"Aw, does Peter Panda miss his mummy?" Devin cooed, using one of his many pet names.
"Shut the hell up, Devin." He snapped, storming out of the room.
"Apparently it's only ok for him to call himself that on the journal on our website." Patrick smirked.
"Did you notice anything funny about him last night?" Devin asked, turning to her boyfriend.
"Uh...I dunno, he was sorta quiet," He shrugged, "In the words of Joe, 'silly little emo.'"
"Men!" Devin muttered, standing up and leaving the room.
"What?!" Patrick sat there in shook for a moment, before getting up himself and muttering
"Women!"

Pete had heard them talking.
"Silly little emo. Pteh." He had muttered to himself.
Patrick came into the living room several minutes later, looking confused. He sat down in his armchair and looked at Pete.
"Were you ok last night, dude? Devin's making a big deal out of something..."
"Yeah, I was fine." He snapped.
They sat in silence for several minutes, then Patrick picked up the phone.
"Who are you calling?" Pete asked.
"Joe and Andy.Seeing if them and Tia want to come swimming, it's hot out."
Pete ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't want to see her again. Well, he did, but it would provoke him further.
"I'll go get my swim shorts."He announced, escaping to his bedroom. He pulled a pair of black trunks off a pile of clothes that he had carelessly thrown to the floor that morning. He changed into them then went down the hall to the bathroom and stared at himself. He wondered how Tia felt about tatoos...Joe had one. Pete was a walking work of emo art. He shrugged at his reflection and went back into the living room.
"Andy has to work, but Joe and Tia are on their way...you realize you're going to scare Tia with all those tatoos, right?" Patrick teased.
"Ok, I'll just go wash them off before she gets here." Pete replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, his eyes narrowed.
"Just teasing, dude." Patrick laughed, getting up to go change.
"I sure HOPE I don't scare her." Pete whispered as he headed out to the pool.

Soon, the group was gathered around the edge of the pool deck. Devin was wearing a green and pink bikini, but Pete couldn't take his eyes off of Tia's teeny red bikini. She looked...
"Sexy." Pete whispered to himself.
Joe, who stood next to him, looked up at him with a confused look.
"What did you just say?"
"Uh...nothing." Pete covered pathetically.
To avoid further questions, he dove into the pool, followed by Devin, Joe and Patrick. Tia stood awkwardly on the edge.
"C'mon, sweetie!" Joe called. He splashed her slightly.
"Brrr.It's cold."
"Please?" he pouted.
"No, I'll stay on the deck, thanks."
"But you said you wanted to go swimming!"
"I assumed the pool would be heated."
"But it's hot out!"
"The water's still cold!"
"Fine." And Joe swam away.
Tia sat back in a lounge chair on the deck. Devin, Patrick and Joe were starting a childish game of Marco Polo. Pete looked between his friends and the hot chick on the deck, and chose the chick. He hoisted himself up onto the deck and sat in the lounge chair next to Tia's.
"Hey."
"Hey, what?"
"It means 'hi'"
She laughed.
"Oh. We say 'hello' where I'm from."
Pete laughed, too.
"Why did you come if you don't want to go swimming?" he asked.
"Joe wanted to come, so I tagged along, told him I fancied a swim." She shrugged.
As they talked, Pete felt fluttery. She was so pretty...but she was Joe's.
"...so what about you, Peter? Any girlfriends?" she teased. He loved the way she used his full name.
"Ah, no."
"Well, why not?You're adorable!" she giggled.
"'Adorable'?"
"Adorable, Peter. It means 'cute'."
"I know what it means." He laughed.
They shared a moment, staring into each others eyes. Pete wanted to kiss her...
"TIA!" a voice called. She turned her head gracefully to were Joe was floating on his back in the water.
"Come! Be social! Don't waste your time with the silly little emo!" he laughed.
"I'm having a nice time talking to Peter, thanks." She smiled. She blew him a kiss, and Joe blew one back and floated away. Pete's heart sank as he watched them. He stood up and headed back into the house.
"Where are you going?" Tia asked, pouting.
"Sorry, I just remembered I have to be somewhere." He went back inside and change into his clothes, grabbed his notebook and left the house, his heart sinking with every step.