Peter McVries was glad to get out of New Jersey.
After the disappointment that was not being picked for the Long Walk and watching it whenever it was on TV, sulking quietly on the couch with Katrina pulling at his hair, his parents decided that they needed a vacation. After all, the brief happiness that had come from Peter thinking that he could maybe finally leave this godforsaken earth had taken a steep u-turn back into 'my girlfriend cut my face open and I can't even walk until I die what is life even worth.'
So, they went up to Maine. This probably wasn't the best idea on his parents' part – Maine was Long Walk Country, and when Peter sat in the car, staring at the road, all he could think about was walking on it. He'd been pretty close on the backup list.
But he hadn't been called.
Either way, it was better than New Jersey, where everything reminded him of Priscilla.
They'd rented a house in a small town just outside of Freeport. Maybe it was to isolate themselves, Peter didn't know. What he figured out eventually, though, was that the winner of the year's Long Walk lived just a few doors down from their rented house.
He took to sulking around outside, wondering what sort of asshole would win the Long Walk and have the audacity to live afterward. He'd heard from locals that the kid was 'doing well, despite the circumstances.' That meant he was probably going to live. There wasn't any sad head-shaking involved.
It was a few days before someone noticed him. It was a girl, leaving the house in tears. Pretty, Peter guessed, with long blonde hair and a nice enough body. She damn near ran him down, though, and he caught her as she stumbled.
"Sorry, sorry – who are you?"
"Peter McVries," Peter said, grinning. She nodded absentmindedly, sending another glance back toward the house. "So, you have an idea of what's up with Mr. Long Walk this year?"
She slapped him and hurried off. He watched her go, a little dumbstruck. He wasn't sure what he'd said, but either way, now there was a boy looking out the front door of the house. He looked shaky on his feet, but that was to be expected – it was July, the Walk had ended two months ago. Peter McVries gave him a sort of wave and headed up to the door.
They talked through the screen door.
"Who are you?"
"Peter McVries."
"I'm Ray Garraty."
"Mr. Long Walk this year, huh?"
Silence.
"I was a backup. Didn't get called."
"It's good you didn't."
McVries snorted and rolled his shoulders back. "So? Can I come in?"
Garraty looked like he wasn't going to let him for a second, but then moved aside and pushed open the screen door. He seemed to bend away from the sunlight, like he'd burst into flames if he set foot in the sun.
McVries stood in the entryway of a small, shabby house, which was kind of a mystery to him. Garraty had won, he had as much money as he wanted, and he was in this dump? It was weird. It kind of made him like Garraty a lot more, though.
Garraty headed through the house to the living room, where he sunk down on the floor before an armchair, like he'd lost the will to move just before reaching it. McVries shifted a little bit before sitting down beside him on the floor. Garraty looked at him like he was insane.
"So," McVries said, propping his chin on his knee and leaning in. "You won."
"Yeah."
"How was it?"
"Horrible. Why did you want to? You said you were a backup. You signed up. Why? Did you just do it for a laugh?"
"No," McVries said, staring at him. Someone who'd come close to death would understand. "I want to die."
Garraty flinched like he'd been slapped.
McVries suddenly felt very, very awkward. He stood up. "I should. Go," he said, glancing at the door. Garraty didn't say anything, and McVries hesitated. "Do you want me to leave?"
"Do whatever you want," Garraty said, voice washed out and hollow. "It's not like I have anything else going on. I'll be here whether you stay or go. It doesn't affect me at all. The only difference is that you're the only person I've seen that will talk about the Walk and death in the same sentence."
"What?"
"My mom, and Jan, will act like it didn't happen. If someone else shows up, it's all about the Prize. You come straight in and say you want to die. There are a lot better ways than the Walk, you know."
Peter McVries sat back down, a sort-of grin crossing his face. He didn't know when it had happened, but he did know that he was falling in love with Ray Garraty, fucked up from the Walk or not.
"Really," he said, leaning so close to Garraty that if Garraty moved his head, they'd be practically kissing. Garraty flushed. "Faster ways, yeah. But better…"
He sat back, leaning against the couch.
"Why don't you tell me about those, Ray Garraty?"
So, I'm not totally sure what this turned out to be, but someone requested a GaVries on Tumblr. They also said 'preferably happy', but that didn't really happen, so. Sorry about that.
But either way, AU in which McVries never walked & met up with Garraty in Maine after the Walk. We're ignoring the fact that the Walk would have probably turned out a bit different with no McVries.