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Since moving to high school, they started having wrestling practice at lunch some days too, which meant Peter and Jeffrey often went home exhausted. The last periods after lunch were always a drag. Luckily for Peter, he and Jeffrey went home on the same bus which gave both of them time to unwind with each other. Unluckily (or maybe luckily?), Jeffrey was completely tired out.
Peter sat down and put his bag on the chair next to him to save it for Jeffrey, and put his bag on his lap when he arrived and sat down next to him. Jeffrey sighed and closed his eyes, resting his entire body on the seat like it was the most comfortable thing in the world. He didn’t open his eyes again and his breathing was slow. Asleep already! Darn. That was one of Jeffrey’s many talents, falling asleep really fast. He could crawl on top of a desk and curl into a little ball and fall asleep right there. Peter whispered, “Jeffrey?,” and gently shook his shoulder. Out cold. He was a deep sleeper, too.
Peter grumbled to himself. This was going to be a boring ride, but Jeffrey definitely needed the rest. The undersides of his eyes were a dull shade of grey.
Suddenly, the bus turned a corner sharply and Jeffrey nearly fell off his seat. Peter gasped and pulled him back onto the seat. Suddenly (again), he had a classic Peter idea. He gently put Jeffrey’s head on his shoulder and put his arm around him. Now he wouldn’t fall off the seat and his good buddy could sleep peacefully. He wasn’t doing this for any other reason. His face felt hot. How strange.
Peter could hear vague whispers from some of the people around, stuff like, “Yo, is that kid gay?” “Aw, they’re in love!” He just ignored them. How could they not see this was just two guys being dudes? Not gay at all.
When the bus hit a particularly large speed bump, Jeffrey woke up with a, “Huh- wuh?,” and rubbed his eyes. Peter quickly took his arm from around him and pushed him off his shoulder. “You slept the whole ride,” he said nervously. It was almost Jeffrey’s stop.
Jeffrey grabbed his bag and prepared to get off, but before he did, he said, “Thanks.”
Peter felt his face getting hot again. “F-for what?” Had he been awake? Did he know that he put his arm around him? Had he heard what the other people had said? Peter’s stomach was doing flips and loop-de-loops all over.
“For letting me sleep. I really needed it.” The bus stopped. Jeffrey got up and walked off.
Peter stared at the back of the seat in front of him for the rest of the ride. Maybe the kids calling him gay were on to something.