Petey couldn't sleep that night.
It had been some days since the incident with Gary, the sociopathic megalomaniac was originally declared expelled. With some persuasion from his parents, Gary was allowed to stay on special terms. He would be made to share a room with a 'responsible' student, to make sure he was keeping in line and taking his meds.
And that responsible student was inevitably Petey.
It was Gary's first night in Petey's room, and he lay in deafening silence on the new bed at the other side of the room. The taller boy had been very uncharacteristically quiet for the majority of the time since the incident, which scared Petey more than if he was to be his usual cruel self. The only form of social contact they had had was the intimidating glares Gary sent Petey's way numerous times.
It surprised Petey how peaceful a sleeper Gary was. Petey had seen Gary sleeping before – some nights in which he stayed up late he ended up collapsing on to the common room sofa. Of course, that was different. A different environment, and usually Gary would get up half an hour later and drag himself back to bed anyway.
It was strangely comforting, hearing the snuffling sleepy sounds from Gary's bed. His breathing, slight shuffles as he re-adjusted his sleeping position.
Yet, the same thing that comforted Petey was causing him to completely dismiss the idea of sleep at all this night.
02:47 the clock on his bedside table read. Even the nerds playing late night games of Grottos and Gremlins had long gone to bed.
A flash.
Petey gasped.
The distinct flashing from the window was immediately followed by a deep rumbling noise.
A thunderstorm.
Petey would never, ever admit it – especially to Gary – but he was terrified of thunderstorms. When in his room alone, he would usually just curl up shivering under the duvet, desperately hoping the storm would end quicker. The fact that he was now sharing a room with Gary, of all people, made this much worse than it should be.
The small, shivering boy instantly rotated his head to look at Gary from across the room. He was stirring. Petey was practically praying now, hoping that Gary would just continue to sleep through the storm and leave Petey to shiver in fear alone.
But oh no.
Gary's eyes flickered open, and he shot up when another flash followed by a rumble of thunder boomed throughout Bullworth. He swept his dark hair back off his face, causing it to stick up a little.
"What the hell?" Gary mumbled sleepily.
Petey was still curled up, trying to stay as still and silent as possible. He mentally begged that Gary would just dismiss him for still being a sleep, but unfortunately for him, Gary wasn't a dumb fool.
"The pathetic little femme-boy is scared of thunderstorms!"
"Gary, please just shut up. I'm just struggling to sleep, that's all, Not the thun-," Petey was interrupted by another flash and rumble, causing him to jump and shiver from under the covers.
"What else are you scared of Petey? Teddy bears? Rainbows? Girls?" Petey could practically see Gary's iconic smirk through the darkness of the room.
"Leave me alone," the smaller boy's voice came out as practically a whimper. From being terrified of the storm, but most of all, Gary.
"And what is a pathetic little femme-boy like you going to do?" Petey heard a shuffle, then light footsteps landing on the floorboards. "Cry? Go find his mommy?"
"Gary."
"Femme-boy."
"Gary stop it."
"Gary stop it," Gary imitated Petey in a falsetto tone.
The shivering boy let out a shivery breath that he had only just realised he had been holding in. He turned around, facing away from Gary. He was determined to ignore him.
"Don't ignore me Pete."
Petey wanted to withhold this new-found strength against Gary – ignoring him. Of course, this small power was destroyed by another crackle of thunder. He curled up tighter, still shivering in fear.
He jumped again when he felt a depression at the end of his bed. A weight.
Another jump when something, or rather, someone snatched his leg through the covers.
"Gary, seriously, what the hell?"
"What? I'm not doing anything wrong femme-boy. Unless you like it when boys touch you."
He couldn't deny it. The feeling of Gary touching his leg, even though through his duvet, was comforting. The small boy's heart raced at the very thought. The thought of this comfort. The thought of Gary.
He quickly shook his head, a petty attempt to erase these thoughts.
"Gary… what are you doing?"
"Shut up, femme-boy."
Petey obeyed, for reasons unknown. Another rumble of thunder caused him to jump again, and to his surprise, Gary squeezed his leg tighter. Not painfully, not even close. It was almost, a reassuring gesture. Gary would never attempt to make someone feel better, Petey thought, especially me.
He frowned at this thought, but couldn't stop thinking of why Gary was doing any of this.
Petey uncurled his body, still shivering slightly. He didn't really have a plan, but he wanted to get rid of Gary. Whether it meant shoving him off or punching him or whatever.
What happened next was entirely unexpected.
As Petey turned to face Gary, the larger boy pinned him down by his hands. He was certain that Gary could feel him shaking. Could see the shock, confusion and fear etched all over Petey's facial expressions. Petey was trapped.
"Gary what the actual hell? Get off me!" Petey squirmed a little under Gary's grip, having no effect whatsoever.
Gary leant down, face only a few inches from Petey's. "You're scared, aren't you femme-boy? Of the thunderstorm, and most obviously, of me."
Why were they so close? Gary's chest was pressed lightly against Petey's now. Petey's heart rate began to soar as the pin Gary had on his hands became fingers intertwined.
More thunder. And of course, Petey jumped again. Gary's hold of Petey's hands tensed a little, reassuring him, if anything.
"Gary if you are going to hurt me just do it now and let it be done with… please."
Petey was shaking tremendously, especially under Gary's inexplicable grasp.
Gary lowered beside Petey's head, lips a mere inch from his ear. "It's okay, Petey." Was what the usual 'femme-boy' could have sworn he heard Gary whisper.
Petey was so confused. His heart was threatening to beat right through his chest. The expression on Gary's face, from what he could make out of in the dark, was so unreadable. So unlike Gary.
Petey was going to say or do something, unsure of what, of course. He was a useless fighter, could barely lift a bottle of milk – never mind shove Gary off him. His comebacks, although somewhat witty at times, were lacking completely now. All he could manage to say was "I'm scared." Followed by instant deep regret.
Gary whispered again. "I'm here."
The smaller boy's eyes scanned Gary's expression, desperately trying to read it. To figure out what it meant. Gary's eyes seemed to be focussed on Petey eyes directly, hardly moving at all.
More thunder, once again. And of course, Petey jumped, once again.
"Petey…" Gary lowered again, planting a kiss on Petey's cheek. The 'femme-boy' looked bewildered beyond thought.
Regardless, Gary planted another kiss, this time directly on to Petey's quivering lips.
"Gary?"
He kissed him again, more passionately this time. Petey kissed back, his fear turning into comfort. He knew that Gary could feel his speeding heartbeat through their night clothes. More thunder echoed outside, and Petey jumped again, but Gary's comforting lips calmed him. His hands moved from Petey's and to his hair and shoulder, so Petey wrapped his now-free arms around him, pulling him closer.
"Gary…" Petey breathed as their lips parted.
The larger boy had begun to stand, to walk away and pretend this never happened. Petey didn't want that. He couldn't let that happen.
Gary was midway standing from the bed when Petey grasped the collar of his shirt, tugging him down. Their lips collided once again, and Petey relished in the moment. The kiss was short, but sweet all the same.
"Gary… stay, please."
The taller boy simply nodded, before awkwardly climbing into the bed beside Petey.
Petey fell asleep a short time later, nestled comfortably in the arms of someone he maybe had always had feelings for.
It was the first time in Petey's life that he wasn't scared of the storm.
A/N: Okay so I wrote this pretty late, and I know it's probably awful. I probably messed up the characters completely and all that jazz. Regardless, I tried xD I love Gary and Petey and felt obligated to contribute to the Gary x Petey fanfiction community. Thanks for reading, leave a review if you can :3