The Elements (Peterick)

FOUR

Patrick won't even look them in the eyes when he gets back. He takes Pete's hand, and his body is cold, a sharp contrast to what it usually is. His hair is wet, he has a different outfit on, and his piercings are a cool blue instead of the fiery red they usually are. Ace hands him his necklace back, and Patrick takes it with his free hand, putting it over his head.

As soon as the stone touches Patrick's cold chest, his hair is dry, his piercings return to normal, and his body is warm to the touch. Pete pulls his hand away, as if he's been burned. Which he basically has.

Patrick just looks Pete in the eye, his usual heated gaze a cold stare instead. His eyes seem lifeless, and his body stance tells the whole world that he's drained and exhausted.

"What the fuck did you do?" Pete hisses at Ace, gesturing to Patrick's state. Ace smirks, shrugging.

"Ask Patrick. He'll tell you if he wants." Ace says, and what a fucking dick. Patrick doesn't talk, how can he tell Pete?

"You're taking advantage of him not being able to speak." Pete says, gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw. Ace's eyebrows raise as he leans against one of the poles that lights the field up when it gets dark.

"Am I? Last time I checked, Patrick can talk. He just chooses not to because you're here." Ace looks down at his fingernails, brushing them off. Pete gasps and looks to Patrick, as if he doesn't already know that's true. Patrick won't meet his eyes, suddenly finding his own shoes more interesting. "Tell him, Patrick. Tell him how we can't get you to shut up when he's not around. Tell him how much shit you talk about him behind his back." Ace gets in Patrick's personal space, poking his chest with every word.

"Aeson, do we- do we have a problem here?" Principal Rodgers comes stumbling up, and he looks high as fuck. Pete is the only one that is surprised by this.

Joe and Andy are quick to jump to help, Joe catching the principal before he falls and Andy reaching into his front left pocket to grab something. A pill bottle, Pete realises soon enough.

"The fuck?" Pete asks out loud as Joe walks Rodgers to the bench and sits him down. Andy walks to Ace, handing him the pill bottle.

"Just go." Andy pushes Ace in the direction of the school, and thankfully, he goes without trouble. Andy walks back over to the principal, putting a hand to his forehead. "'Trick, he's cold."

Patrick nods and walks to the principal, sitting beside him and pulling him in for a hug. The man relaxes into Patrick's hold, warming up quickly. When Patrick moves to get up, he holds on tighter, keeping the boy there. Patrick just sighs and stays where he is.

"What kind of fucking school is this?" Pete mumbles, throwing his hands in the air. Joe pulls him to the side. (Better Joe than Andy, Pete thinks bitterly.)

"He's a recovering addict. Any amount of stress can send him back into relapse. Patrick, Andy, and I are the only students that know. And now you, I guess." Joe explains, taking a look at Andy bending down to talk to Principal Rodgers and Patrick hugging the middle-aged man.

"That doesn't explain why he's attached himself to my.. to Patrick." Pete corrects himself quickly, but he catches the small smile that gets out of Joe.

"With drugs in his system, it's harder for our powers to affect him. Therefore, to warm him up, Patrick basically has to press the entirety of his body to Rodgers'." Joe tells him, a smirk still present on his face. Pete flips him off before returning to the group.

He plasters himself to Patrick's other side, sliding a hand down to Patrick's thigh. And what nice thighs they are, he finds out quickly. They fill out his jeans very nicely - something Pete has never noticed before but realises he won't forget anytime soon - and the muscles flex under his fingertips everytime Patrick moves even the slightest bit.

"I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable." Pete mumbles, his eyes trained on his hand resting on top of Patrick's thigh. Patrick turns towards him and gives him a soft smile.

Patrick leans in slowly, pressing his forehead to Pete's, his eyes flickering to Pete's lips and then back to his eyes. Pete's heart is racing in anticipation of oh no is he going to kiss me and oh god please let him kiss me. Patrick licks his lips, and Pete follows every movement.

Patrick pulls away and presses a kiss to Pete's forehead, his lips soft and warm. Just like that, Pete's skin is warm to the touch from the meaningful kiss, and his breathing is irregular. A huge smile overtakes Pete's face, and Patrick's grin is matching.

"Okay, not to ruin your moment, but we have to get Rodgers inside and to his room before the bell rings. I would say we could wait until class started to do it, but the Stronghold group has practice out here next period." Joe says, smirking at them. Patrick lets go of Rodgers, and he and Pete both stand up.

Patrick gets on one side, Joe on the other, and Andy at Rodger's head. Pete stands at the man's feet, grabbing them when told. They carry him quickly and skilfully as if they've done this so many times before - and maybe all of them have, sans Pete - to his room, where Joe gets the key card from Rodger's front coat pocket.

They lie him down carefully on the bed, putting the key card on top of his bedside table. When they shut the door to his room, they all collapse against the wall, sliding down until they're in a row - Andy, Joe, Pete, Patrick.

"How often do we do that?" Pete asks after a second. Joe snorts, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He leans over Pete to get to Patrick, who touches the end of the cigarette to light it.

Joe takes a drag before offering it to Patrick, who takes it. "More often than not." Joe says after he releases the smoke.

Patrick does the same thing, and they pass it back and forth until Joe offers it to Pete. Pete nods and takes a hit, giving it to Patrick. "What about Andy?" Pete asks, offering it to the boy in question. Andy flinches away, moving down the wall.

"Straightedge. He doesn't like to be around it, much less inhaling it." Joe explains, placing a hand on Andy's shoulder and squeezing.

"And I don't like that you and Patrick are doing it. It's harmful." Andy says, looking Joe in the eyes. He pointedly ignores Pete, which means he doesn't care for Pete's well-being. Great, another step backwards.

"You ever shotgunned?" Joe asks Pete, grabbing Patrick by the shoulders and hauling him forward, not waiting for Pete to answer. He inhales the smoke and hands the stick to Pete, pressing his mouth to Patrick's and exhaling. "It's better with weed, but you get the gist."

Patrick leans back and blows the smoke out after a second. "Holy shit." Pete mumbles, looking from Joe to Patrick.

"Here, you can try it. Me or Patrick?" Joe asks, smirking as if he already knows the answer. Patrick grabs the cigarette before Pete answers, inhaling. He leans in and presses his open mouth to Pete's, blowing the smoke into his mouth.

When Patrick pulls away, he's smirking. When Pete exhales, Patrick's still smiling. He hands the cigarette back to Joe.

The only thing going on in Pete's mind is we totally just kissed. He totally just made a subtle move on me in front of Joe and Andy.

lmfao what's up sorry i didn't update yesterday it was the fourth and i was busy

thoughts?