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Pete couldn't sleep.
The hallways have quieted down a bit, the night's darkness enveloping the classroom. Occasionally he jumped at the sound of a lousy fist hitting the wooden door, or a shriek from the ground below. But otherwise, with the other students' faint snores occupying his ears, it was quite peaceful.
His mind was anything but.
Thoughts were racing through his mind; he was on edge for the past hour. Vikk and the others had fallen asleep pretty easily, which the taller envied, and he could recall Punz giving him a wary look before turning in for the night. Sam and Ponk were in their own small section of the room, kept mostly to themselves with the occasional exchange of words between Jack and Fundy.
He and Vikk were outcasts out of the group, himself even more so than his friend, who at least, been apart of Dream's group for a short while. Long enough to lessen the awkward tension, long enough to gain a sort of trust through them.
Pete lacked in those aspects, and his current situation only added more of a barrier between them all. Specifically Punz, the dirty-blonde's words had already embedded themselves into his conscience.
He is a threat. He isn't reliable.
He knew the other's claims were true, he outright agreed to leave at first. But Vikk had defended him, like the friend he was, despite it all.
And Niki.
Her actions puzzled him; for one, they didn't know each other all too well at all. Pete wasn't very social—still he thinks he hasn't improved in that regard—and he often resorted to his own small circle of friends in general. When he participated in MCC, the Hermits were his main pick, and it was the same likewise. Pearl, False, Cub, Grian, those four among many others. But Niki was often surrounded by her own clique, Techno and Dream were the most well-known in her year. As well as Tommy and Tubbo, the two younger boys who practically grew up with her as their childhood friend.
She was so kind, so thoughtful, so much more outgoing than Pete was.
He eyed the wound in his left shoulder, anxiously examining the bite mark from a couple days ago. Vikk couldn’t find anything to bandage it with, but he tried to clean it the best he could. Unless they’d try to find a medkit in the nurse’s office, it wasn’t likely. Dried-up blood stained his navy-blue uniform, a tear evident through the threads of his jacket. It wasn't easy to hide, Punz immediately saw it by the time the rest of them had finally reached the classroom.
But he couldn't blame him for being so protective, for being so untrusting of him. Pete wasn't so sure that he could trust his own actions. He brought his legs slightly closer to his chest, leaning his head back against the wall, eyes closed.
Faintly, he heard rustling from the other side of the room, and Pete's head snapped up, anxiousness immediately settling. But he felt his posture relax ever so slightly when he saw who it was, long-brunette hair quickly giving them away.
"Pete?" Niki looked over to the taller, voice quiet enough as not to wake the other sleeping students in the room, but loud enough to reach the other side of the room. She stood up, putting on her glasses, before an apologetic look came over her face. "Oh- sorry, did I wake you up?-"
"You're fine; I wasn't able to get much sleep," Pete assured her, as the girl walked over to sit next to him on his left. “What’s woken you up?”
“Just…paranoia, is all,” Niki fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater, voice a bit quieter, anxious. Her brunette hair blocked her face. “I keep-…keep worrying that the doors won’t hold up, and-”
“It’s fine, it’s been quiet for the most part,” Pete shrugged, and Niki eyed him cautiously, catching onto his words.
“Now how long have you been up for?” She questioned curiously, Pete only shrugging again, this time sheepish in his movements.
“Only for an hour or two-”
“You need to get rest,” Niki pointed out as she looked over to him worriedly, yet her gaze quickly refocused on the mark in his shoulder. "I don't think a lack of sleep is going to help your...well..." Niki's voice trailed off, not quite sure how to word her thoughts. A twinge of guilt started to make itself known, and Pete looked away, sighing.
"Yeah, I figured. It's just..." He paused, trying to come up with the right words to say. He didn't want to make the brunette worry about him, that was him and Vikk's own problem to deal with. But at the same time, he couldn't hide his growing issue.
"Why did you convince the others to let me stay?" He asked, finally, that small question finally off his chest. Niki blinked her eyes a few times, not quite expecting that to be asked. She looked around the room for a few moments, before letting out a small breath.
"We couldn't- I couldn't send you out there, Pete. Who knows what might've happened to you?"
"But the others-"
"They were just scared," Niki cut him off short, but Pete wasn't that satisfied with her answer.
"They have a good reason to be," Pete shrugged. "I got bitten, and they reacted the way they should."
"But you aren't a zombie," the girl pointed out. Her worry only deepened in her hazel-brown eyes. "You haven't shown any signs of turning."
"I don't know how long that'll last."
Niki grew silent at that, not saying anything further. Pete felt himself grow more nervous, and he sighed.
“Aren’t you…scared?” He asked, voice a bit more quieter. “Aren’t you scared that I’m going to hurt someone? Aren’t you scared that I’m going to hurt you?”
“Pete-”
“I nearly bit Vikk yesterday, before you guys climbed down to our classroom,” he blurted out, voice shaky. “If I didn’t come to my senses, I would’ve killed him.”
Niki didn’t say anything for a few moments, Pete brought his knees closer to his chest, looking away from her. Then he felt a hand against his shoulder, gently squeezing his shoulder in reassurance.
“But you didn’t,” Niki said softly, “He wouldn’t have defended you so much if he felt as if you were a threat to him, or anyone else.”
“But-”
“You’re not going to hurt anyone here. You wouldn’t let yourself.”
“How do you know?” Pete looked back over to the girl, who seemed so sure in her words, so confident. Was it even morally correct? To risk her life—and possibly others—to try and help just one?
“Because I trust you,” she smiled, a small one that was comforting. “I trust that you’ll do the right thing. You just need to try and stay hopeful to yourself.”
“And how do you stay so hopeful? No matter what’s happening around you, you always believe that things will get better.”
Niki paused at that, something flashed in her eyes. Pete could practically see the sadness pooling into them, weighing her previous happiness down, even if it was just a little.
“My friends wouldn’t want me to be so hopeless. I want to stay strong for them,” she replied, sincerely. “Don’t you?”
Pete nodded, thoughts slowly wandering back to MCC all over again. The Hermits, his other friends from Vault Hunters that he had only just started to get closer to. A short boy, caramel-brown curls falling over his face, round glasses worn over his honey-golden eyes. His signature red cardigan, worn over his white collared shirt. His main partner throughout many of the events Scott had helped run. Color-coded outfits, school-run events, laughter and smiles, the adrenaline rush of victories and freedom of any care.
None of their lives would ever be the same, he realized. Niki was just trying her best to hold the remainders of the pieces together.
And so he nodded wordlessly in agreement, finally feeling the tiredness from the past couple days start to catch up with him. The brunette seemed to notice this, and she smiled.
"You should get some rest." she stood up, beginning to walk back to her spot on the other side of the room. Pete shifted himself into a more comfortable position, head leaning back against the wall.
"Niki-" the girl stopped at the hushed calling of her name, and she turned around one more time to look at the other. He offered a small smile.
"-thank you."