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It was the middle of spring; the sound of birds chirping was only drowned out by the cries of teenagers being relentlessly bullied at the sorry excuse for school that Pete found himself attending. His time at Bullworth Academy had seldom been even slightly pleasant (he could only compare it to the feeling of walking around an entire day with soggy socks; it wasn't the absolute worst feeling in the entire world, but very far from enjoyable). But this school year had actually been less horrible than usual. The reason, of course, was Jimmy Hopkins.
When the boy had arrived at Bullworth at the start of last semester, Pete had hoped that he'd ignore the desire to join a clique to instead become Pete's friend, or at the very least be kind - because hell knew that this school was lacking in that department. And while Jimmy had turned out to be both friendly and uninterested in joining a clique in favour of completely dismantling their status quo, the boy had been so much more than Pete ever could've imagined.
"There you are, Petey! I should bet on horses or something - I seem to be lucky today."
Pete still hadn't truly been able to wrap his head around Jimmy Hopkins; the teen who one second was even more of a brute than people made him out to be - all mad and condescending with the power that his own two fists could give him - but the next second he could turn to Pete and say stuff like that.
"What? We decided that we should lunch together, didn't we?" Pete felt his face grow heated as he looked at the large smile and grinning eyes of Jimmy who was manspreading on a stone fence and looking down at him.
"And you showed up, which means I'm in luck. Now come here." He leaned down to offer a firm hand which Pete took, making his skin tingle until long after he'd been pulled up to sit beside the boy. "Here."
"Woah, Jimmy, that's-" he swallowed as he tried not to choke on his air. "You're too kind, you didn't have to bring me food."
Jimmy shrugged and pushed the foil-covered wrap closer, then turned and pulled out a soda as well. "'s no 'roblem", he said between bites of his own food. "'n believe me, you don' wanna eat 'rom 'e cafeteria."
Gratefully, Pete began to devour the truly delicious food, wondering just why this weird kid who was about to become king of all cliques went out of his way to bring Pete lunch. The thing was, had it been just this once, he would've simply been thankful, but by now he'd lost count of how many times he'd been offered food for seemingly nothing in return. It was starting to make him nervous - surely there was some ulterior motive behind this kindness?
"I can pay you back, you know."
"No way, dude." Jimmy playfully shoved his shoulder, but instead of pulling his hand back afterwards, he let it fall to Pete's lower arm, holding on to it. It made Pete's entire body flush immediately, but he tried to act casual. "I've been running errands and stuff during my free periods, so I've got, like, a bunch of money now and nothing to spend it on."
Pete bit his lip to stop himself from saying that he, too, had money - money he hadn't even needed to earn because his parents weren't exactly poor. The fact that the food he was eating was a direct product of Jimmy's hard work made it feel even more generous and intimate. He tried to laugh it off, as if it was completely normal for him to receive food from guys and like his arm didn't at all feel like it was on fire from where he was being touched. They were just dudes being bros, or something like that.
"So what's your plan for today?" He asked, feigning casualty even as his pulse rose when Jimmy's fingers began to dance across his arm absentmindedly.
"I've gotta help the nerds defend their castle. Their words, not mine." Jimmy shook his head.
Pete snorted. "They do have a tendency to make everything sound pretty gay."
"I know", Jimmy drawled, chuckling at Pete's comment. "And it'll probably take all day, so don't wait up for my sake."
"Oh, please. As if I watch TV in the common room waiting for you every night. You wish." He totally did exactly that, though.
Jimmy was about to retort something when he was interrupted by the bell indicating the start of the afternoon classes. He was about to jump down from the fence, but looked back at Pete and stopped. Without hesitation, he lifted his hand to Pete's face, caressing his cheek in a surprisingly tender way for someone who could be so tough. Pete held his breath as he felt a thumb glide across his lips back and forth. His heart was beating rapidly, and he wouldn't have been surprised if it had pushed itself out of his chest with how much it suddenly ached at the touch. He was certain that his face was the darkest shade of red possible, but Jimmy didn't mention it. Instead, he grinned in his usual carefree way.
"You had crumbs all over you. Wouldn't want that to distract from your pretty face. See ya!" And with that, Jimmy was off, kicking away at his skateboard as if he hadn't just made Pete completely short-circuit.
No, he thought, I definitely don't understand you, Hopkins.
Pete was genuinely more of a night person than a morning person, but he'd be lying to himself if he said that he didn't stay awake to 2 AM sometimes simply to be able to have a conversation with Jimmy before going to bed. It was pathetic, he knew that - which is why he'd happily lie to himself now and forever by convincing himself that watching a few episodes of the X-Files was the sole reason for him hanging out in the common room an hour after everyone else had gone to sleep.
He bolted upright in slight panic when something pressed down on his shoulder.
"Wh-what's…" Looking around the common room only lit up by the television screen and the arcade game, Pete's eyes landed on the only other person present, currently with their hand on his shoulder. "Jimmy, hi- I, uh. Hello." He tried to surreptitiously wipe away a bit of drool on the sleeve of his casual jumper, but Jimmy's amused grin told him that it hadn't gone unnoticed.
"I've told you not to wait up for me", he said, collapsing into the couch. His eyebrow had a bloody crack that looked similar to Gary's scar, and his cheek had turned an unpleasant colour the size of a fist. Pete's chest pained at the sight, but he knew for a fact that the other guys would definitely look worse.
"I didn't!" Pete exclaimed and fell back into the couch where he'd apparently dozed off. "I was watching TV."
"Yeah. 'Was'", Jimmy teased before yawning. It made him look a bit like an adorable bear. "Whatever you say, dude." He was clearly exhausted, and Pete only had time to wonder why he didn't just go to his dorm room before his head fell to his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh of relief as he did.
Pete felt himself stiffen, then tried his hardest to relax so that he wouldn't be a bad pillow. He almost choked on the air as he tried to calm himself down. Jimmy's head was surprisingly soft, and his buzzcut tickled Pete's neck in a way that actually didn't feel bad at all. He smelled of sweat and blood, but he always did, and somehow the familiar scent calmed him, despite its less-than-pleasant source.
"What even is this?"
Pete had to use all of his powers to shift his attention from Jimmy's head to his words. "Uh, the X-Files. It's a sci-fi show, I guess."
"And yet the nerds still won't let you to join their club?"
"I know", Pete drawled. "I think they're frightened of my great humour and good looks." He became proud when Jimmy chuckled against him, and felt his weight shift until Jimmy let their sides touch, leaning even closer into his body.
"I believe it." His breath tickled Pete's neck, and soon one of his hands snaked down to sprawl carelessly across Pete's thigh, hopefully not noticing the low yelp it conjured. "You smell too good to be a nerd, at least."
How the hell am I supposed to reply to that, Pete wondered.
"Uh-huh", he got out between breaths that took all of his willpower to sound normal. They were just friends hanging out, he told himself. He simply hadn't had too many of those, so he wasn't sure of how friends were supposed to act. "I wish I could say the same."
Jimmy let out a sound that was a mix between a grunt and a chuckle which resulted in him nudging even closer. And apart from the feeling that his body was ever so slightly completely burning up, Pete had to admit that it was everything other than unpleasant.
When Jimmy's breaths soon grew deeper and his head heavier, Pete felt his own eyelids begin to droop. He knew that he should wake his friend and sleep in their respective rooms, but he felt so comfortable with Jimmy. Safe despite them basically cuddling in a room available for all bullies and jerks to see.
With a smile on his lips, he fell asleep again.
Pete woke up with a sore neck and dry mouth. His side was still warm from where… wait a moment! He looked around in confusion at the light flowing in through the windows indicating that it was already morning. Had Jimmy really slept against him on the couch the entire night? Rubbing at his eyes, his mind began to catch up to his surroundings.
"-all snuggled up against the certified gay-boy. I didn't know it was contagious!"
"One more word and I'll remove that sorry excuse for a face from your head."
Pete removed his hands to see Davis clutching his hand to his stomach in devious laughter while Jimmy was cracking his knuckles threateningly.
"Oh, how scared I am! If you touch me I'll probably become a homo, too!" Davis jumped away when Jimmy moved to grab him, chuckling at the successful provocation that seemed to be the only source of his oxygen.
"Leave it, Jimmy", Pete mumbled, embarrassed to have been caught and yet a bit glad that Jimmy was defending their honour. Still, he didn't want his own bad reputation to defile Jimmy's now that he was so close to conquering all of the cliques. But, as usual, Pete's words fell on deaf ears, so he trudged back to his dorm, ignoring the snickers that the other boys sent him in the corridor. He'd never even had sex, but he was suddenly well aware of how it felt to do a walk of shame.
He dressed quickly when he saw that it was already a quarter to nine, and was surprised to find Jimmy waiting for him by the dorm's entrance.
"Oh, hi", he said with a nod, a little uncertain. Not having had a lot of experience with friendships at high-school, he didn't quite know how to act like a nonchalant dude-bro rather than the ever so slightly lovestruck teen that he actually was. Were they supposed to pretend like last night hadn't happened?
Jimmy, though, was as unfazed and unashamed as he always was, and grinned in greeting. "My favourite person!" He held the door for Pete who thanked him absentmindedly. "My back hurts like an old man after falling asleep on the couch. I guess I know what's in store for me in forty years, now."
"Yeah", Pete said and laughed. "It was brutal." He was silently relieved that he didn't have to act like they hadn't slept on the couch together like an old couple. Now the only problem was telling his body that it hadn't meant anything.
They walked the short distance towards the main school building together, Jimmy's fingers accidentally touching Pete's every so often, sending electric shocks through his arm.
When they reached the doors Jimmy nodded his head to the side. "I've got shop", he explained. But before he left, he pressed something into Pete's palm with a cute grin. "Think of me during class, yeah? See ya!" And then he was off again, as quick as usual on that skateboard of his.
Looking down into his hand in disbelief, Pete stared at a figurine that Jimmy had undoubtedly stolen from the nerds as it most likely belonged to a role playing game. It was some sort of orc with white skin and a bald head, holding a club in its hands. He broke out into laughter at the sight; it didn't exactly look like him, but it was certainly similar enough to Jimmy's appearance that Pete would forever think of him when he looked at this silly figurine.
"That idiot", he mumbled, but carefully placed it in the outermost pocket of his bag where it hopefully wouldn't get destroyed. He absolutely loved it.
April passed by much quicker than usual. Pete supposed that it was an effect of growing older, but he also thought that it mostly was due to Jimmy's increasing presence and familiarity. Their shared lunches had almost become a daily ordeal, the only exception being when Jimmy spent his free periods mucking about in town. But even then Pete knew that he was most likely completing errands that made him able to afford food in the first place, although he'd finally been convinced to split the cost between them nowadays.
Pete was so afraid of losing his only true friend in this hell-hole that he tried his absolute best to ignore or shrug off the many ways in which Jimmy was increasingly touching him. Lingering hands on his skin; fingers brushing off dust from his jaw; their sides pressed against each other, and quite a few long hugs almost every day.
It was making him go just ever so slightly insane.
"Hey, Petey, I found you!"
Pete sighed from what he'd thought of as a solitary space atop the roof of the girls' dormitory. Alas, Jimmy's head peeked over the edge before the rest of him climbed up.
"Did you go looking for me?"
"Yeah, kinda. Well, I asked around. Apparently Christy has spread the rumour that you're climbing the walls and looking into the girls' windows like a perv. I figured it was only half-true."
Pete groaned in distress. "Oh, come on! One second I'm the trademark homosexual, the other I'm some sick girl-obsessed freak?" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Pick a lane, guys!"
"Yup. Anyway, I just came to hang out. You wanna be alone?"
"It's fine, just please leave the gossip on the ground next time."
"Sure."
They sat beside each other in a comfortable silence for a while, looking at the setting sun throwing shadows across the school grounds.
"You're quite tense, dude." Jimmy was the one to break the silence, making Pete snort. If only he knew that the reason for his distress was sitting right beside him.
"How observant. You should become a molecular biologist or something."
"A mole-what?"
"Forget it."
The silence stretched on for a few moments, until Jimmy rose to his feet. Pete knew that he was probably depressing company tonight, but the abandonment still hurt.
He didn't have to feel bad for long, though, because there was soon a leg on either side of him followed by a familiar huff right into his ear as Jimmy sat down behind him. The rapid beating of his heart seriously needed to stop every time Jimmy was in his proximity, or else he'd genuinely become frightened of getting a heart failure in the near future.
Without asking for permission, Jimmy began to knead at his shoulders.
"Ouch, fuck, Jimmy, that hurts!" He clasped a hand around his mouth when he realised that he'd practically yelled those words into a schoolyard filled with ears just waiting for gossip. He so wished that it wouldn't get taken out of context, but knew better than to hope for it.
Jimmy chuckled. "My bad. I'm genuinely not putting any pressure at all, but you're stiff as a brick - no wonder it hurts. I guess you do seem tense, like, all the time."
Pete couldn't reply as he bit down hard on his teeth, only allowing a few hisses to pass his lips to avoid yelling something even more obscene into the evening. He'd never seen any of the other guys around school give another guy a massage, but then Jimmy was not like other guys, he supposed.
"I wouldn't peg you as someone well-versed in back health", he finally managed to get out through tightly gritted teeth.
"I've heard stories of gym-goers losing their mobility because they think it's, I don't know, girly or gay or something to warm up and stretch sometimes." The but I don't think that didn't need to be spoken.
"It's best they don't see us now, then, or they'd have a gay-induced mental breakdown." Just like I am having right now, he thought.
Jimmy laughed, the sound like music to Pete's ears as he imagined his breath dancing across his skin. "You wish it was gay."
He really did. Every cell in his body told Pete to turn around and press their bodies closer, to push his fingers inside of Jimmy's hoodie and explore his skin, to press his lips against his and taste him.
Instead, he snorted. "You wish I wish it was gay." He said it as a joke, of course, but never could've imagined that Jimmy's reaction would be to press his chest closer to Pete's back and apply a bit more pressure to his kneading hands.
"There", he said smugly, his grin obvious even though it wasn't visible. "Now I don't have to wish anymore."
Pete's body just about malfunctioned then. What the fuck did that mean? Did Jimmy want him to think of this as something more than friendly? Pete had no clue how to react, and clasped his mouth shut in fear that he'd accidentally moan or something. He tried to enjoy the massage, but all he could think about was Jimmy's deliberate proximity and confusing intentions.
While his body was decidedly less stiff by the time they had climbed down and gone into their respective rooms, one specific limb was stiffer than ever.
Pete was observing the dodgeball game with only mild interest from his seat on the bleachers. Jimmy seemed to be some sort of secret weapon no matter the setting, as he somehow managed to make the nerds win against the jocks. Pete had barely joined a single gym class on account of him having a faked medical note saying that he couldn't attend. Apparently having asthma wasn't a grave enough reason not to attend, but chronic pain in the limbs was - so he'd always pretend that his body hurt whenever he walked past Mr. Burton.
The game ended 2-1 to the nerds, much to the jocks' dismay. The players walked downstairs to change, and it didn't take long before raised voices could be heard leaking up to the bleachers.
"It was a fair match, don't get your knickers in a twist now." It was unmistakably Jimmy who spoke after a minor scuffle.
"The hell it was! You distracted me on purpose to make us lose!" That would be the voice of a butt-hurt jock.
"Yeah, right. And your mum lives on the moon."
"You don't say another word about my mother!"
Then there was the sound of something - but Pete was fairly certain it had been someone - getting slammed into the lockers, followed by a cry of pain and fury. He stiffened in his seat, wondering if Jimmy had thrown or been thrown. The scuffle continued, and Pete rose to his feet, debating whether to walk downstairs or not.
Soon, though, Jimmy appeared by the stairs, his gums bleeding as he smiled with red teeth at Pete whose heart jumped for more than one reason.
"Yeah, go run off to fool around with that boyfriend of yours", a jock called after him. Jimmy turned, not letting his scary smile falter.
"Oh, believe me, I will! But why the interest, you jealous?" He only received a middle finger as reply, and seemed to be satisfied with that since he took Pete's arm and led him outside. "What's up?"
"You're bleeding", Pete said, although that was barely half of his worries - if he'd become worried every time Jimmy was hurt, he'd never be able to do anything else.
Jimmy seemed to see straight through him. "I always bleed."
"Fine. I guess… well. Like, doesn't it bother you?" He swallowed around a thick lump in his throat. His arm was still held by Jimmy's hand, so when Jimmy stopped in his tracks he was forced to follow.
"Does what bother me?" His eyes were kind; they were always kind when they looked at Pete.
"Them saying… that I'm, you know, your boyfriend and stuff. That I'm, like, contagious and you're becoming gay by being my friend."
Jimmy's eyebrows shot up at that, clearly surprised at the question. "Am I bothered by complete buffoons disrespecting the best person in the world? Of course I am. But only because they're rude to you, not-" he waved the hand that wasn't holding onto Pete, "the implications."
"Huh." He turned to walk again, mostly because he didn't want Jimmy to see the myriad of emotions that surely flickered across his face as he became lost in thoughts.
The best person in the world. What had he done to be deserving of such a title? He'd just been himself. And he supposed that before Jimmy Hopkins had arrived, he'd been willing to do almost anything to get a friend who liked him unconditionally. Jimmy made everything feel so easy, which contradictory managed to make everything so very complicated, because Pete was certain he was missing something - it couldn't be this easy, could it?
He felt a weight placed in his hand and looked down to see his thin long fingers being intertwined with Jimmy's shorter ones. His eyes saw it before his body caught up, but it didn't take long until his body flushed.
"I don't give a rat's ass about their opinions", Jimmy said and nodded towards the jocks snickering at them as they began to walk hand-in-hand towards the school building.
Pete wished he could say the same. He wished that he wouldn't be afraid of getting thrown in a bin the second Jimmy walked away. He wished, and so he released a deep breath and straightened his posture. He heard Jimmy grin beside him, and felt rather than saw the soft press of chapped lips against his knuckles.
And damn if he didn't walk with more confidence towards his next class.
Pete had hung out at the library most of that day, telling himself that he needed to study for a history test, although most of the time had begrudgingly been spent thinking about a certain Jimmy Hopkins. He arrived at the dormitory somewhat late, and was met with the yawning figure of the occupant of his thoughts, still looking like a deadly animal caught in a moment of cuteness.
"Mind if I crash at yours tonight?"
Pete's mouth fell open. One of the nearby bullies tried to fling a marble at it, and he closed it in confusion. "But your room is, like, ten feet away from mine."
Jimmy rolled his eyes at him. "Duh."
"But… sure. I mean no, I mean… what?"
Pete watched in confusion as Jimmy's head fell to the side to look at Pete questioningly. Did he seriously not get why this was a bit weird? Or was this normal for friends? He looked around them to see if it was some sort of trap, but he trusted Jimmy. So he nodded.
In the solitude of Pete's room, Jimmy was exploring while Pete frantically tried to clean up the worst of his mess. He'd never really had a guest there except for the occasional nerd asking for his G&G cards, so it was more than a little messy.
"Is this really in the middle of your desk? That's sweet." Jimmy picked up the little figurine he'd given away, and Pete hid his frantic blush by cleaning something up behind him.
Finally, though, Pete's brain could somewhat catch up to the present, and he found himself collecting courage to question what was really happening. "So let's just stop the pretence and do what you intended here. You didn't actually come here 'to crash', did you?"
Jimmy's face seemed to grow slightly pink at that. "Damn. I didn't think you could be so blunt, Petey."
Pete frowned. Blunt? He thought back to his words, wondering what had been blunt about them. "Hang on, what is your plan here?" He'd assumed the boy would want to pull his leg or borrow his Nintendo DS or something. But the blush became darker. Had he ever seen Jimmy blush? Had anyone?
"To fool around, obviously." At the most likely quite apparent shock that Pete displayed, he quickly added: "But only if you'd want to, duh. We'll take it slow or whatever."
One of the rats scurrying around the floors could have waltzed straight into Pete's mouth with how far it was hanging open. And with how absolutely shocked he was, he wouldn't even have noticed it.
"Fool ar-" he blinked. His brain had completely stopped working; all he could do was stare at Jimmy who was realising that they'd gone separate ways some time ago and were not on the same track right now.
"Was I too vague? I'm usually not. I just figured you'd prefer if I didn't outright ask you in front of the bullies outside."
Pete put up a hand to stop his talking. "You… want… with me?"
Now, Jimmy was the one to frown, and he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his head to the side. "Well, yeah. I mean, we've taken it very slow and we're kinda official by now. Seems like a good time, no?"
"Slow. Official. Good time." Pete's body was frozen. Had he seriously… all of this time?
"Okay, dude, what's up with you? You're acting so damn strange today."
Slowly, Pete blinked, and equally slowly his body began to function again. The difference was that when his heart began to beat rapidly this time, it was out of frustration rather than lovesickness. "Are… do you think…" He swallowed. His limbs tingled, and he could barely feel the tips of his fingers. It felt as if he was vibrating. "What am I to you?"
"That sounds like a trap." Jimmy shook his head and looked at him suspiciously. "I dunno, dude. My best friend, confidant, boyfriend. I don't care about the label, you're just, like, my favourite person I guess."
A loud cackle resonated through the room at that, and Pete was surprised to realise that it came from himself. "All this time", he mumbled between hysterics. If he stopped laughing he would begin to cry, so he didn't stop. "The lunches, the cuddling, the figurine…" He closed his eyes and laughed into the ceiling. "The massage and hand-holding…"
"What about it?"
"Jimmy!" Pete looked back at the boy - the stupid, silly boy in front of him. He could feel the tears in his eyes and forced them back into his eyeballs again as his mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed to speak. "I didn't realise… do you like me?"
"Obviously, dude", Jimmy said without hesitation. "Come on, what is this? You're being weird."
Boyfriend. My favourite person. Boyfriend.
For the first time in perhaps forever, Pete discarded all of his restrictions and constraints. He launched himself at Jimmy who stumbled backwards at the sudden force. He clung to his friend - his boyfriend? - at full velocity, feeling his heartbeat accelerate before it slowly began to calm down at the familiar warmth.
Pete had to ask, but he absolutely couldn't. He didn't need to, though.
"Petey", Jimmy said after a while of him stroking Pete's back. "You, uh, didn't know we were dating, did you?" The answer was so obvious it didn't need a reply. Jimmy actually released a sigh of relief. "Thank fuck. Here I thought I'd have to woo you until the end of time before you'd be comfortable enough to make out with me."
Pete pulled back to stare at Jimmy with amused disbelief. "Woo me? What, am I the protagonist of a dating show or something?"
"Prota-what?"
"Forget it." And Pete, with another wave of power that made Jimmy lose his footing, pressed his lips to the chapped ones above, feeling his muscles finally release all of his pent-up tension.
Their teeth clashed awkwardly before Jimmy regained his balance, and soon they adjusted to each other's speed, moving their heads this way and that to gain full access to the addictive feeling of lips against their own.
"I've wanted to do that for so fucking long", Pete whispered when they pulled away. Somehow they'd managed to sit down on the edge of the bed, although he had no recollection of how they'd ended up there.
Jimmy grinned, and leaned in to reply against his lips. "Me too, dude." He bit Pete's lower lip and seemed to enjoy the gasp he received at that. "So, about the fooling around…"
Pete threw his head back and laughed at that. "Fucking hell, man. You're such a romantic."
"Hey!" Jimmy grinned back at him, but playfully pretended to get hurt. "I've tried my hardest!"
And maybe it was unclear whether they had actually dated before this moment, but from now on there would be no confusion between them anymore.