Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Patrick has never been completely comfortable in his skin and highschool certainly wasn't helping. Up until this point, he had maintained a strong friendship with a thin, pale boy named Andy, but other than that his sole priority was to do well in school. He paid no mind to anyone who might show romantic interest in him, let alone he show any interest in anyone else.
An upperclassman named Pete would constantly pick on him whenever he found the time, commonly commenting on his hair looking feminine.

"Hey Patricia, nice hair! Wanna borrow a hairband from my girlfriend?" Pete mocked, a roar of laughter erupts from his swarm of friends, though most of them didn't even like him, they were simply there to avoid being tormented by Pete or any of his closer friends. Patrick simply rolls his eyes and walks past, sometimes ignoring him worked best, other times it didn't. He was always trying to take what little Patrick had to shred his confidence even further, though Patrick found it simple to ignore the petty insults.

Andy was always the confident friend, all he wanted was for Patrick to put himself out there more, knowing full well how great of a person he was. So when the annual spring dance approached, he knew this would be the perfect opportunity for Patrick to be more outgoing. Of course Patrick thought just the opposite, a sweaty gymnasium full of horny teens fawning over one another most certainly wasn't his cup of tea. But Andy was persistent and persuasive, he would continually slip mentions of the dance into everyday conversation and Patrick gradually became accepting of the idea.

Just like that, the two boys ended up waltzing into the dance that Patrick once loathed the idea of with everything in him.

Patrick was looking sharper than ever in a black suit with green vertical stripes paired with a paperboy cap. Andy would mention frequently how good Patrick looked to keep the boy's confidence up and to distract him from the teenage ecstasy he loathed surrounding him. It wasn't exactly working though, Patrick couldn't keep his mind off how much he longed for his bed at home, just he and his headphones, maybe even a good book.

The music was alarmingly loud and tasteless, and it was just as sweaty as he imagined. He found himself sitting on the edge of the stage, staring at his dangling feet. Andy proposed that he come with him to grab some snacks but he politely declined. He eyed the room, spotting at least three couples with their tongues down each others' throats before quickly turning away in disgust. But something caught his eye the way no one else had before.

A tall boy stood alone in the far corner of the gymnasium, his black suit jacket unbuttoned revealing a pink button down shirt underneath. His brown curls were neatly coiffed and his were blue like the two o clock sky. Something about this boy captured Patrick's full attention, finding himself incapable of looking away. But the staring could only remain unnoticed for so long before the boy's gaze met his. The boy acknowledged Patrick with a small wave as he approached him. Patrick felt completely vulnerable now having to possibly converse with a stranger who made him feel differently. Patrick was having a panic attack. Could he just leave undetected? Pete and his friends blocked his exit so that wasn't possible. Where was Andy with the snacks? Patrick's mind was like a hurricane. The boy introduced himself as Joe and extended his hand for Patrick to shake. Meanwhile this wasn't the only thing on Patrick that was shaking, his entire body was trembling. Joe held out his hand for a few more seconds before lowering it.

"Don't worry about it, handshakes are stupid anyway," Joe said with a smile, seeing the obvious discomfort Patrick was under. Joe told a few jokes to ease the tension, but Patrick still had yet to say something that wasn't a stutter. Joe decided maybe punch would be a better icebreaker so he asked if Patrick wanted some. Patrick nodded slowly, finally giving himself a chance to take a breath. Joe headed over to the punch bowl, putting two ladles full of punch into each cup. As he turned to go back to Patrick, there stood Pete with a Cheshire grin on his face.

Chapter Text

"Which one's Patrick's?" Pete asked with a laugh.

"This one," Joe gestures towards the cup in his left hand. "See I gave him a little bit more b..." Pete interrupts Joe's sentence as he snatches Patrick's glass from his hand, pouring its contents all over Joe's shirt. Joe looked shocked for only a moment before pushing past him and going straight to Patrick.

"Sorry I took so long, Pete um, kind of poured your drink all over me, but it's alright you can have mine instead, I wasn't that thirsty anyway," Joe said as he hands Patrick the glass.

"Well at least your shirt is already pink," Patrick replied, instantly regretting what he said. Joe laughed seemly pleased by Patrick's first coherent sentence said to him.

"You really didn't need to give me your drink, it was kind of my fault anyway," Patrick said looking rather upset with himself.

"No no, it was in no way your fault, plus giving your drink to someone you like seems like common courtesy to me," Joe replied, making Patrick turn every shade of red.

"Do you mean it?" Patrick asked with eyes wide.

"Do I mean what? That I like you like that? Obviously," Joe replied confidently. Patrick grinned widely with a face as red as the punch in his glass. The bass of whatever song played over the speakers throbbed in their ears and the teens around them danced wildly. So wildly that a girl elbowed Joe in the back, forcing him into Patrick. Luckily his punch glass was empty so there were no more spills to be had. Patrick was against a wall with Joe just inches from his face, a grin on both their faces as Joe leaned in and kissed the red faced boy. He didn't waste any time, and Patrick was pleasantly surprised that he was enjoying it. Joe's lips began marking Patrick's neck softly. Patrick slid his hand beneath Joe's punch stained shirt as Joe pulled him in by his collar, deepening the kiss. What had gotten into him? In that very moment, Patrick felt like he was just another lusty highschool student, but he wasn't sure if he was so against this. In fact, he was enjoying it, thoroughly, no one had ever made him feel like that before, maybe he was just so against it since he didn't know how it felt? His mind was going a mile a minute so he tried to ignore his many thoughts. Joe pushes him against the nearest wall, knocking Patrick's hat off and lacing his fingers into Patrick's hair. Usually he would mind if someone did so much as to touch his hat, but this time he didn't care. He just wanted Joe to touch him, and if that meant touching his hat, he was okay with that. Did he really just think that? Patrick couldn't keep his thoughts under control, all that was heard in his mind was needless background static and Joe, Joe, Joe. Just then Patrick noticed a familiar face coming into his field of view. Andy was finally coming back.

"Hey Patrick the line was long and I know you didn't want anything but I got you some na...chos" Andy said, dropping the nachos in shock. Patrick's face was redder than the salsa that came with the nachos.

"I'm just going to go, I think your boyfriend is satisfying you more than these nachos ever will" Andy turned and walked away.

"Just wait here," Patrick instructed. He pulled Joe down by the collar to kiss him neatly on the cheek before walking after Andy. Patrick could only follow him briefly until Andy was one with the crowd and he could no longer trace him.

Chapter Text

Andy slipped through the crowd undetected and exited the building through the back. Andy sat with his back against the school's brick, with his knees pressed to his chest. Tears rolled down his cheeks, one, two, three, there was no stopping them now. He should be proud of Patrick, but why was he crying? His eyes lingered on the golden moon above, the stars painting the sky as if they were freckles. But this didn't last long as something caught his eye. He wasn't alone after all.

A shadowy figure kicks at the gravel beneath his feet. He couldn't recognize just who the figure was however, that was until he heard the voice attached to the shape.

"Hey Hurley where's your friend?" It asked smugly. Pete. He approached the vulnerable boy that was Andy sitting on the tarmack. He looms over top of Andy, making him seem all the more intimidating.

"Not here," Andy replied meekly. He was afraid, and he couldn't hide it well. His voice cracked and he felt as if he shrunk with Pete's every smirk and glare. He couldn't leave, not now, he would end up dead if he even did so much as to look at Pete in such a way that he didn't like.

"Very well, I guess this is for you instead," Pete wore a villainous grin on his face.

"Wh..." Andy hadn't the chance to speak before Pete smashed his head against the red bricks, knocking the air from his lungs. He couldn't even brace for impact, he could only sit and close his eyes, he was helpless. A powerful yet brief feeling washed over him. Fight. Back. He could do this, he was strong enough. He closed one eye to try and focus on Pete's face, although his head was spinning horribly fast. He locked his eyes onto what his dizzy gaze perceives as Pete's jaw, but he ends up hitting him straight in the eye. Pete jolts back, partially with the sheer force of the punch and partially with the shock that Andy actually had the courage to do such a thing. Pete holds his eye and grits his teeth. The punch may have stalled him for a moment, but it didn't last long. He threw a wobbly punch at Andy's face but Andy ducks underneath his arm, sprinting as far as he could, unsure of where he could go. His gait was crooked and his vision was spotty, he couldn't get far. He tripped over his feet and collapsed onto the pavement, scraping the skin of his hands. Fresh blood trickled from Andy's forehead as he lay defenseless on the pavement. Pete made his way over to the limp boy and grabbed his head, repeating just what he had done prior, again and again, until Andy's vision went black, the last thing he saw was Pete nightmare inducing smirk.

"I'm really concerned I-I can't find Andy," Patrick cried into Joe's shoulder, his entire body shook in the process.

"Don't worry, he probably just slipped outside for some fresh air, come with me," Joe consoled him before intertwining his fingers with Patrick's. He kept him close as they weaved through the crowd and reached the back door. The cool gust of air they received as they went through was refreshing but what they saw was not. Andy lay contorted in a puddle of his own blood, bruises covering his face. Patrick was lost for what to do, his face riddled with anguish. He was crying again, like he had never cried before, his only friend's fate remained uncertain, and he couldn't possibly handle that. He knelt down next to Andy, his tears dripping on to his bruised face.

"A-Andy please, please be okay, please," Patrick choked on his words, squeezing the frail boy's hand. He needed something, anything, even the slightest sign, he needed to know he was okay. Andy's breaths were short and shallow, he was clearly struggling. Suddenly Andy's eyes opened, just a bit, his face twisting in pain, trying desperately to form words with his chapped lips.

"P-Patrick, I'm sorry," Andy managed to form only a few words. Patrick's face lit up.

Chapter Text

"Joe get over here, he's awake" Patrick gestured in Joe's direction without looking at him and Joe knelt down next to him. Andy's eyes were misty, he was more concerned about how Patrick felt rather than to worry about his critical state.

"It's going to be okay, it's going to get better," Patrick consoled Andy while he and Joe lifted him up gently as to not injure him further. They carefully brought him back to his car parked in front of the school. Patrick advised that Joe drive considering how weak Andy was regardless of them both being underage. He gave directions to Andy's house, trying his best to also keep Andy awake, since concussions and sleeping weren't a good combination.

They met Andy's mother at the door, she was wearing a floral nightdress and was about to settle down for the night before she received their knock at the door. She was crying heavily when she saw her son's condition but she was very thankful Patrick and Joe were there to aid him. Andy made his way to his room since it was so close to the entryway and his mother thanked the boys profusely. She knew Patrick well so she gave him a kiss on the forehead like usual, inviting Joe as well but he politely declined.

They walked a few houses down the road to Patrick's house. Joe notified his parents that he'd be staying at a friend's house overnight whereas Patrick's parents were on vacation for the week. Patrick kicked the spare key from beneath the welcome mat and entered his house. They left their dress shoes at the door and headed upstairs to Patrick's bedroom. They decided it would be nice to talk a bit more since hadn't had much of a chance to. They played twenty questions and they quickly learned a lot about one another. Only did things change on question 19.

"Do you have any special talents?" Patrick asked. Joe looked around the room and noticed Patrick's guitar.

"Well I can do this trick while I play," Joe motioned towards the guitar.

"Go ahead," Patrick leaned back on the bed with his arms behind his head. Joe played while performing a combination of jumping and spinning, which was unsuccessful as he fell on top of Patrick, almost dropping the guitar. They both burst into a fit of laughter before their eyes met. They both just stared at each other for a while, before Joe slid the guitar to the side and went in for another kiss. Patrick never knew this was what he wanted, but each time their lips connected, it was like 7 minutes in heaven, pure bliss. Patrick peeled off Joe's still slightly sticky shirt and tossed it to the side as Joe's lips trailed downwards to Patrick neck and chest, whining softly with pleasure. Patrick hated to have to break this up but his tiny digital clock read 2:39, it really was late.

"Joe it's late, we really should sleep, oh screw it," Patrick said through gasping breaths as he decided against ending it and pulled Joe closer, deepening the kiss further. The sweaty libido driven night that Patrick had loathed in the past turned out to be one of the best nights of his life. With Joe around, these hot, sweaty nights happened often and he wouldn't change a thing for the world.