I feel a pair of hands cover my eyes from behind. I smile instantly knowing who they belonged to. I can hear his giggling from behind me.
"Guess who!!!" He says excitedly. He takes his hands off of my eyes and I get up to pull him in for a hug. He's about my height and I take in every inch of him I possibly can. He does the same and we envelope each other in what I can best describe as a passionate embrace. We pull away and I take him in for the first time.
His black nose ring looks so natural on him and weirdly enough it brings out his soft blue eyes. He has a black beanie on that brings everything together. But my favourite thing about him was the smile that was plastered on his face as he examined me aswell. He was better than I could have ever imagined him to be. Not to mention he smelled like strawberries. Which seemed really fitting for him. If I didn't know any better I'd marry him right then and there.
He was looking at me with equal admiration as he looked at everything he possibly could have at that moment. His eyes met mine and his hand traveled up to my face. I didn't realize how soft they were. I felt safe with him. And I couldn't help myself for what I said next.
"You're perfect."
I didn't need to wait for an answer since his movements showed exactly what I meant. His cheeks were dusted in a baby pink that absolutely made me melt. I couldn't believe that the boy I had told everything to for the past 2 years was finally in my arms for the first time.
Patty Walters was the most beautiful human being I had ever laid my eyes on. He was so precious and I wanted nothing more than to make him see that too.
We pulled away and I pulled up a seat for him in the crowded food court. He takes a seat and I cant take my eyes off of him. Patty stood out in the sea of strangers. He looked like an angel.
"I see I am irresistable." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes playfully at him and reached out to hold his hands. "I dont know what you're doing to me, mon chéri," I told him flirtatiously. And in a way I meant it. All he did was hold back a smile that I so desperately wanted to see. I could tell he was taken aback by all the comments but it just made him look more perfect.
He had stunning eyes and everything about him was driving me wild. I leaned over the table to whisper something in his ear. "Do you, uh, wanna go meet my friends now or should we skip the meeting and go to my house? My parents aren't home." I tell him before pulling back a bit to see his answer.
"Scandalous, Pete. How will we ever keep our love a secret from the outsiders without being caught?" He sighs dramatically and we both burst out laughing. I needed this. More importantly, I needed him. Compared to everyone else in my life, he knew everything about me. I let others see specific parts of my life. But with him, he knows the extent of it all.
I want him to know everything about my life now. There used to always be things I didn't tell him because distance was an issue. Now he's here and I want him to know me like no one ever has.
It scared me because even I wasn't completely sure what i felt. He was my best friend after all. Yet, I couldn't help myself as I took his hand. He looked surprised but didn't try to stop me. Everything up until that point made me realize why I wad here. With Patty, I didn't need a reason. I had him as my only logical excuse. It sounded about right. Of course it was all him.
I stood up, still holding onto him, and walked with him outside of the food court at the mall. I didn't want to share him with the world. Patty was too good to just be shown off as some prize. He needed to be treated like a rarity. A queen if you will. If anything, I wanted to make him my queen.
I wanted to take Patty anywhere and everywhere. I needed to show him all of the beauty that this world had to offer. He seemed to be the most beautiful thing to have ever existed. With every moment that I was with him in the shitty mall parking lot, I realized that he wasn't just some other person in my life.
He was the one.
-
Patty had been back in America for about a week or so. He and I have done everything together up until that Monday when we would finally go to school together. It was a bittersweet feeling to say the least. It would be nice to have someone with me at school that would always be there with me. But then there was the realization that we would be going to school at all and that was no fun. Patty was over the moon about it nonetheless. He kept gushing about us sitting together at lunch or going to taco bell after school.
I had to remind him that most of the shit at taco bell wasn't vegan but he just told me to shut up and snuggled up into me more. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that. Patty and I REALLY took advantage of every moment we had together. He and I would lay in bed some nights cause my parents weren't home yet so we just laid there.
One could argue that two guys can't platonically cuddle at night but I would beg to differ. Patty was making me so happy that winter. He was someone I had to keep warm with and go to places in Chicago with. It was quite literally a teenage dream.
But now it was monday morning, and the reality where Patty and I are alone together is nonexistent. It's bittersweet really. Being able to go to school with the only person who actually knows me and not the edited version of me that everyone else knows. It was scary how open I was to Patty but it honestly didn't make a real difference.
In the time Patty and I have spent, I finally felt happy again. It's not that my current friends were scum. It couldn't have been farther from the truth. Patty just had something to him. He and I were in a very similar situation.
Neither his parents nor mine had any clue we existed to one another. It wasn't intentional at all and it wasn't even because we were ashamed of one another. But when you find the meaning of life you don't go telling the world. Patty understood that better than everyone else. I didn't need my normal friends asking how he and I have known each other. That's why we came up with a plan. We had 3 classes together so by lunch I could simply tell them I ran into him a little bit before class. It would work if I actually spoke to people I just met. However, that seems like a problem for future Pete.
I heard a noise coming from outside my window. Looking outside, I spot Patty throwing rocks at my window and signaling that it's time we walked to school since he had no idea where it was. I laughed and hurried down the stairs, hoping not to run into anyone in my house and left. I saw Patty jumping over the fence of my backyard before following me.
"Can you believe this is actually happening?" I ask him in disbelief. He shook his head, smiling to himself. "It's so crazy how much my life has changed within 6 months," He says reaching out to grab my hand. I take it, feeling something I haven't felt since Patrick. "I'm happy." Patty says, more so to himself than me. I felt like he read my mind because that was it. Happy. I was glad to be alive.
It was a peaceful walk to what would be the first day of the rest of our lives. We stopped holding hands a block away, in fear of what could happen. I looked in awe of his smile that was barely there. It was visible enough to tell that he was excited. Excited to be alive, excited to exist, and excited to be with me
"Peter who's this?" Frank asks almost on cue. I hadn't even noticed that he was there. He must have realized it was me because he looked very confused. Patty blushed in embarrassment. He knew it was Frank since I always talked about him. It must be different to actually be in front of him though. "I-I'm Patty." He said quietly. I could tell he was nervous so I shot him a reassuring smile that was very hard to pull off because Frank's eyes were glued to both of us. "I know you, you're that kid from youtube. You know, the one with the weird voice that posts mediocre covers?" I can't help the laugh that comes out. I completely forgot about how Patty had a youtube channel.
He also appeared to be taken aback that Frank even recognized him. I was mostly surprised he knew who Patty was. He had a decent following but it was not enough to be recognized in public like this. If Frank was a fan, I would have had no idea. Patty mumbled a soft 'yeah that's me', hoping that Frank would be satisfied with his answer enough to leave him be.
"Bro, that's cool. How come you know my boy, Petey Weezy?"
Patty and I both looked at each other. We didn't necessarily forget what we planned on saying but we messed up both our dumb story and how we actually met. "W-we ran into each other just now, and Pete said I looked c-cute today."
Both Patty and I mentally face palmed ourselves. He stuttered so it looked suspicious. Thankfully, Frank saw past our lie and looked pleased with his answer. He was about to say something else before he saw Gerard out of the corner of his eye. Not sure why he did a peace sign before he left since he always thought it was lame when I did it but it happened anyway.
Patty didn't know what else to do so I lead him to the building and we both went into the one bathroom no one else used. "Your friend is um a lot of fun." He said laughing a bit. I smiled and agreed.
For the next 30 minutes we stayed where we were, talking about things we did before this whole thing happened. It was different to have the only person who understood me to be there, listening. Telling me all about the things he did and being able to be as close to him as possible as he did. Patty Walters was there to hear me tell him about all the dumb shit I did at this school and he didn't hate it. He responded with as much energy as I did and spoke to me like I meant something. That was rare to have. If you had told me a year ago, that there would be more to this world than Patrick and the way he looked at me, I wouldn't have believed you. Yet here I am, spending my morning with a boy who sees the beauty in everything. Even me.
Never did I think that I'd get this lucky. But I suppose meeting your soulmate isn't something you can make happen. It just does. Here was mine. And I never want to let him go again.