critical veins || peterick au [REVISED/REWRITTEN]

chapter three

"What do we have here, fellas?" He was holding it between two fingers now, pulling it slightly towards him. His malicious glare flicked up to my petrified one. "Be a real shame if something happened to it."

I profusely shook my head, letting out pathetic little whimpers. I wanted to say, please don't do anything to it. Please. You can do whatever you want with me just don't touch the pin.

Alas, the world was not so fair, and my luck was never that great. He yanked suddenly, tearing the pin from my shirt. A small rip now lay in the place the heart was. It felt like my own actual heart had torn too, and the feeling of shock froze me in place as the brute backed away and towards the open stall across from where I was. The sight of him approaching the toilet with the pin was enough to make me snap out of the trance.

No! I rushed forward, though slowed by my immense weight. At lightning speed one of the others tripped me and I felt myself falling, falling onto the gross bathroom floor. My chin collided with the tiles and sharp pains crackled throughout my head and body. The tears were falling freely now. They laugh, making fun, kicking my sides. "He's crying! Haha!"

I watched in my pain-stricken stupor as he dropped the heart into the bowl, where it landed with a soft sploosh. Inaudible sobs escape my mouth, sounding akin to a wheezing pig. He was going to flush it. Flush away my mother. The same way my childish idiocy flushed away her life.

"What the hell is going on here?!?"

A voice booms from the entrance of the bathroom, and I look through my fogged glasses, caused by my tear-stained gaze, to see a guy with short-cropped hair bleached blonde. His dark roots poke through, almost as dark as his eyes which focus on the three bullies with evident fury.

"Wentz," one of them mutters. The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it.

"Christ, what is wrong with y'all?" He shoves past them and helps me up, dusting off my shirt. I am flooded with embarrassment, and choose to stare at his well-muscled arm as he continues to grill the three. "Jeez, Bob, don't you have literally anything else better to do than harass the new kid?"

"Whatever," Bob snorted, but he nodded at his posse and they headed towards the exit. Before leaving, though, he glanced back at Wentz, a sneer twisting his mouth. "Careful, Pete. You don't wanna get all soft around fag freaks." He finally left.

Pete. And then it hit me: this was Pete Wentz, who, according to David, was one of the three "kings" of Harper High. I felt a million times more self-conscious of my sniffling, ruffled self, as the proclaimed popular kid gazed at me with concern.

"You okay? They didn't harm ya too bad?" he asked, placing a tentative hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and weakly pointed towards the stall ahead.

"Wha - ? Oh." He went over to the stall and saw the pin floating around in the water. Hesitantly, he reached into the bowl and fished it out. The pin dripped, now covered in toiler water sludge, and Pete gingerly took it to the sink where he washed it and his hands with soap and water. I winced as more of the red coating chipped off, but was far more grateful for the fact that I hadn't lost the pin forever after all. My crying ceased and I felt a surge of gratitude for Pete.

"Alrighty, here you go." He handed the heart over to me and I fastened it into place, trying my best to cover up the tear Bob had left in my shirt, naturally to no avail. Damn it. I wish I'd brought my cardigan so I could cover the evident hole.

"I'm really sorry about that," Pete said suddenly, startling me. "Bob, Kenny, Gabe - those guys are assholes. Just ignore them." He looked at me, head tilted ever-so-slightly. Heat rushed to my cheeks. "What's your name, newbie?"

I blinked a few times, wondering how I would answer, before remembering the schedule in my pocket. I fished out the now crumpled sheet of paper and shakily gestured to the print. Pete, who was evidently confused, knit his brows together as he read my name, murmuring it. He looked at me then, a question in his gaze.

I bite my lip and nervously point to my mouth. I make a shushing gesture. Realization dawns on his face. 

"Oh...gotcha." He nods slowly. "Okay. Well, let's go. I'll make sure they don't mess with you."

He starts towards the exit, but anxiety overrides me once again and I grab onto a bit of his shirt, halting him. I shake my head. I don't want to go to the cafeteria; in fact, I don't wanna go anywhere involving social interaction. I don't want to see people and I don't want them to see me.

Pete's eyes soften. "It's okay. I'll keep a lookout for you." Any feelings of distrust towards him melted completely as I heard the genuine concern in his voice. How could I deny Pete, who had shown me nothing but kindness? Sure, he was a popular kid - but I guess popular kids weren't so bad after all. I hesitantly let go of his shirt and stepped after him. 

I just hope he keeps his promise.

•

THE CHANGES

patrick's beloved mom-artifact is now a heart pin instead of a fedora. i changed this mainly bc youre not allowed to wear hats at school and fedoras are unfortunately associated more with basement-dwelling neckbeards instead of patrick stump. plus a heart pin just seems more sentimental and realistic for a mother and her child to share.

switched up the dialogue a little bit.

pete's arms are no longer "inked in tattoos" bc i highly doubt he'd get away with that at an actual high school.

the bullies are now Bob Bryar, Kenneth Harris, and Gabe Saporta. instead of Kenny it used to be Jon Walker, but Jon's too much of a sweetheart to be a bully in a fanfic, and given Kenny's history it makes him all the more appropriate for this role. fuck Kenny!

the social groups are more defined, as is the lunchroom.

i believe that's all the changes. you alrdy know what to do if i missed any. onward to the next~

p.s. for those bothered by the use of the f-slur, i want you to know that i am pansexual and have been called that multiple times. additionally, the word is unfortunately prominent amongst high school bully vernacular. again there will be trigger warnings and such for chapters that will contain the use of this word.