The blonde boy was walking up and down in front of the stairs to Stevens home repeatedly, waiting for something to happen. What that "something" would turn out to be depended. Either, and that was the possibility, Peedee preferred, he would stop twisting his shirt between his fingers, brace up, and walk up those stairs in front of him to knock at the door and hopefully say "Hi!" like a real person. The other possibility would be Steven seeing him and coming out to ask what he was doing there alone. Or he could just run away and say, he couldn't come because it actually turned out his free day was on another day…but that would merely prolong the inevitable…
Today was the day he would confess the boy whom he admired his feelings, but both the thought of rejection and the thought of Steven returning what he felt, or anything in-between for that matter, let his body shake…even though he knew that Steven would be at the very least accepting…unlike his father, who would probably disown him…or so he thought…only time would tell…
Still, he was scared…he hadn't been so scared since he saw the abomination that Frybo had become, when they put that strange shard in the costume. Since then, the thought had always sent chills down his spine…but he knew, that this time his fear was irrational…again he said to himself that at the very least Steven would be accepting…even if he turned into the nervous blob of anxiety that he had always been deep down, and would end up speaking nothing but gibberish…
He went through his "plan" again:
"First knock the door, say 'hi' and come in…talk like a human person with human words…then maybe eat something or play video games…and then later I tell him-."
"Hey Peedee!" He heard a cheerful voice greeting him, disrupting him, almost giving him a heart attack. He turned around to face the temple and saw a smiling face approaching. "Have you been talking to someone?"
"Uh…" For a moment Peedee panicked. 'Was I talking out loud?!' he thought to himself, upon realizing Steven had probably not heard what exactly he had said. "No…uh…Hi Steven!" he continued, trying his hardest to keep his hands away from the fabric of his shirt.
"What are you doing out here?" Steven asked.
"Uh…nothing…I was just…let's go inside." Peedee felt like a nervous wreck when he followed his friend up the stairs and into his room…
"Ness wins." The Voice of the announcer echoed through the room. Peedee had reached a state which could only be described as a mixture of disdain strong enough to set the world afire, had it been unleashed all at once, and growing frustration with himself and his inability to win against the randomness that comes with the items in certain video games. He had just lost for the fourth time in a row and in not one of the cases he was the one to blame...or so he thought. He put his controller down in front of him, followed by a deep sigh and a rumble of his stomach.
"I could eat something." He exclaimed.
Steven stood up and went down the stairs to the kitchen area.
"The gems left some money for food...wanna go get some fries?"
The other boy followed him.
"You know, Steven, when your job is making them day after day after day, you start to loose interest in fries."
"So...is that a 'no'?" Steven asked.
"Yes, Steven...it is a 'no'. Lets get something different, ok?"
"'tis a sad fate you live, Mr. Fryman." Steven said.
"So wanna get Pizza instead?"
Peedee nodded.
"Sure."
Shortly after they left the house and walked along the beach on their way to the City. The day had gone by better than the Fryboy had thought it would. Sure he was nervous in the beginning but some time into video games and short impulses of the aggression that were bound to be with every good competitive game it was easier to just be himself, than he would have estimated. For most of the Walk they were silent, both not feeling the need for conversation, until Steven began speaking.
"I think sunset is the most beautiful time of the day, if you live at a beach."
Peedee silently nodded in agreement. It was things like this, why he admired his friend so much. Being able to just see the good, no strings attached, in every situation...being able to take his time to admire the simple things like sunset after having seen it almost everyday for his whole life. Himself he was much to cynical to appreciate most things in live without being aware of the downsides. He saw bad things almost everywhere, and most of the time he pitied people who didn't see the downsides for being so naive as to not see the whole picture. And the truly positive things lost their edge fast. What had once been amazing became just as ordinary as everything else after a while. Not so for Steven though. He saw beauty everywhere and appreciated everything as if it was the first time he had seen it. Usually he would call him a naive kid, who doesn't know how the world works, but in this special case he didn't. In stead he wanted to be part of that world of beauty, Steven always seemed to live in.
When they arrived at Fish-Stew Pizza the only people there were Jenny, who was working, Sour Cream, who kept her company and Ronaldo who was sitting in his usual corner with a cup of coffee and his laptop.
"One table for two, please!" Steven said earning a grin from Jennie.
"You want to eat here?" Peedee asked, unsure of what to make of that idea. He was met with a grin from his friend.
"Sure, why not?" He wanted to argue, but he wouldn't really come up with a reason to bother doing that. They were led to a table and sat down. Kiki and Sour Cream were smirking and whispering things to each other from time to time, which caught Peedees attention, but otherwise the dinner went without any incidents. Most of the time they were silent, but not in an uncomfortable way. Rather in a way were both boys felt like no dialog was needed at the moment. A few bits of chatter here and there but nothing major.
"I really like eating in a restaurant...it feels fancier than eating at home...but the gems will never stay here and eat..."
Peedee didn't really know what to say at first, so he just made a 'hm' just to give some kind of response.
A few seconds of silence had passed when he began to talk.
"My dad doesn't like eating food he didn't cook himself most of the time. So we don't usually go out either...but he's a good cook so I don't really have much of a reason to complain."
"I know he can at least make good fries." Steven grinned and Peedee chuckled, although he was unsure why exactly...not that he really cared.
Later that day he was lying on a mattress next to Stevens bed. He still had not said anything about him being gay and he repeatedly told himself that if he didn't do it soon he would never do it. He wondered if the other boy was already sleeping, but didn't want to risk waking him. He rolled to the side and looked out the window, but he immediately regretted it when he saw a sea of pitch black storm clouds only illuminated by lightning.
'Of course…' He thought to himself sarcastically.
Clenching his eyes shut he hoped that he would be asleep before he could hear something but his prayers were not heard. It didn't take long and he could hear the roaring of thunder, his fingers digging deep into his sheets and a terrified whimper emerging from his lips. He didn't know how long it actually went on but it felt like he had been there for hours, waiting for the comforting embrace of sleep when he felt an arm wrapping around him.
"St…Steven?"
"Did I wake you?" Steven asked.
"No…I…what are you doing?"
"You seemed like you were having a nightmare…should I not…?"
He began to remove his arm from the other boy but stopped when Peedee grabbed his hand. Another lightning illuminated the room for a moment, this time, immediately followed by thunder. Peedee flinched and clutched Stevens hand. A few seconds passed and he loosened his grip.
"No….It's the thunder…" His voice sounded faint.
"It's getting closer…"
"Is there something I can do to make you feel better?"
"Usually Ronaldo let's me sleep in his bed and he comforts me until I sleep…"
"Do you want to sleep with me?" Steven asked.
The blonde boy swallowed.
"Thank you…"
He turned around to face Steven who was pulling his blanket over both of them. Then he was pulled into a tight embrace and felt a hand patting his back. They lay there for a while and the presence of the other boy was incredibly soothing to Peedee.
"Steven?" Peedee whispered.
"Yes?"
"Have you ever had a crush on someone?"
"I'm not sure…why do you ask?"
"What do you mean, 'you're not sure'?"
Steven was silent for a few moments.
"I have all these feelings for the people around me…It's hard to differentiate between them…"
Another howl could be heard and Peedee tightened his embrace. Then Steven continued,
"Have you ever had a crush?"
"Yes," Peedee answered, his voice cracking.
"What does it feel like?"
"You feel terrible…all you want to be is near to somebody…and when you are you feel sick…and weak…but when ever that somebody is talking to you your heart begins to pound and you want to jump in joy…afterwards you feel pathetic…"
His heart was racing and his body was shaking now.
"Is that how you feel…when you're around me?" Steven asked.
Peedee nodded his head.
"Yes…"
"I'm sorry, you have to feel that way because of me…"
"Please don't be," Peedee said with a trembling voice.
"But I make you feel bad." Steven was now tearing up.
"You don't…it's not that you make me feel bad…all I want is to be close to you, so I can feel good again…but usually It's a bad kind of good…like something is missing…"
"Do you…feel good right now?"
"Yes," Peedee answered.
"In a good, or in a bad way?"
"Both…I feel terrible…but you make me feel good…"
Steven hugged him tighter.
"Then I just have to never leave you and you're happy again." Steven concluded.
"You can't do that…"
"What can I do?"
"For now you don't have to do anything…just stay here…like this"
Steven chuckled.
"I can do that."
A few moments of silence had passed, when Steven began to speak again.
"Peedee?"
"Yes?", he answered.
"Do you want us to be together?"
For a moment neither boy talked, then the blonde spoke again.
"Do you?"
Steven thought for a moment.
"I guess so…"
Neither boy spoke for a while, then Steven raised his voice.
"Should I…kiss you now?"
Peedee chuckled.
"I guess so." He answered sheepishly.
Shortly after he felt lips touching his forehead and the hug tightening. No one said anything anymore. The last things the fry boy felt were the other boys chest moving in rhythm with his breathing and the warmth he emitted. Then sleep took over.