Chapter Text
Thatchery woke up late. Fuck, he missed class. He rolled over and closed his eyes again. Fuck it. He wasn't going to walk into a lesson that Brotch had already half finished. He was going back to sleep.
The door to his bedroom opened and he smelled the sharp odor of tobacco. It wasn't Butch; asshole was probably vandalizing shit with the other Snakes, so that meant it was Freddie. It wasn't a surprise, anyway. He'd spent the night in Thatchery's bed.
"Hey, I thought Teacher's Pets didn't miss class?"
"Fight me," he muttered.
Freddie sat on the bed behind him and pulled the ashtray that was tucked away from between the bed and the nightstand. "I never thought you'd stay in bed all day."
"Dude, I stayed up too late making sure you didn't choke on your own vomit." He turned to look at Freddie, watched him flick ash into the glass bowl. "You going to share that or make me get up for my own?"
Freddie handed it over without even a noise of annoyance. They'd been doing this for so long that they shared cigarettes and beers and beds without even being annoyed by the other. But they never had sex. Thatchery never asked for it and Freddie never pushed for it. They were content with this, with sharing things and sleeping in the same bed. But Thatchery wasn't sure how long it would last. Freddie was antsy about joining the Tunnel Snakes, and Thatchery knew that this would end the moment he found an opportunity.
"You didn't go to class either," he said.
"I know."
Thatchery shifted and made himself comfortable on his back. He handed the cigarette back when Freddie held his hand out. "Why not?"
"Butch is there."
Butch had given Freddie a split lip yesterday afternoon and called him Freddie the Freak, just like all the others did. Thatchery reached forward to gently squeeze Freddie's wrist. Freddie didn't shrug him off, but he didn't say anything either.
"He's an asshole, I know. But what are you going to do?"
"I just wish he wouldn't call me that."
Thatchery sighed and let his hand slide down to find Freddie's fingers. There was nothing he could say to comfort Freddie. So they sat in silence, passing the cigarette between themselves until it burned down to the filter.