IX- Carnival

"Gary… did you say something about the carnival earlier?" Pete asked, looking up from his math homework.

"Yep… as soon as I find what I'm looking for." Gary answered. He had been on the laptop for sometime now.

Unbeknownst to Pete, Gary was researching for Halloween. Gary had to find something that would be completely embarrassing for the younger boy, but would still look good on him. He already knew he'd be putting on his Nazi costume again, just for the hell of it. But Pete's had to be… elegant… or revealing. Either would work for Gary. Gary had seen a few that he thought would look good. As of yet, he hadn't talked to Josh, but he was going to try and talk the boy into taking Pete to a tailor.

Peter had just finished his homework, so Gary ended his search for the day and shut down the laptop.

"Ready?" Gary asked, standing.

"I guess…" Pete said, not really wanting to go to the carnival.

Gary rolled his eyes and grabbed Pete's wrist. "C'mon, stop being a girl. Get excited!"

Pete chuckled, rolling his eyes. "How are we getting there?"

"Well, options are bike or walk. I say bike."

"Okay." Pete said, allowing Gary to drag him off to find the bikes.

When they got to the carnival, Gary paid for both of them and they walked in. Pete gagged when the smell hit him. It was an unpleasant smell, like sick and burning flesh mixed with the smell of deep fried foods. He heard Gary chuckle behind him, before he led the younger boy off to ride the Ferris wheel. Pete didn't like carnivals, gross smell… rides that would break down any second… and the carnies… Pete shuddered. But Gary wanted to be here, so Pete would put up with it.

But Gary stopped suddenly, pointing at a brand new photo booth.

"How 'bout it, Pete?"

"Sure." Pete said, smiling. He loved Gary's ADD sometimes.

Gary dragged the boy in and he made a couple of choices about what kind of pictures they wanted. The booth took five pictures in total. Gary looked over them, smiling. He showed them to Pete.

"What do you think?"

Pete looked over them, they were all good. But he liked the last one best. That one had Gary pressing Petey's hand to his lips, while Pete looked at him with his mouth slightly agape, his face bright red.

"I like this one." Pete said, showing Gary.

Gary chuckled. "I like the middle one."

Pete blushed. That one was of Gary licking his face. It had been random… and gross.

"Why?"

"The look on your face."

Gary pocketed the pictures, intertwined his fingers with Pete's, and led him to the Ferris wheel.

They got on the Ferris wheel, being forced to be in close contact with each other. The ride started up with a creak. Pete whimpered, getting closer to Gary.

"What?"

"We're gonna die…"

Gary rolled his eyes. "No, we're not. Have a little more faith in this fine piece of equipment, would ya?"

Pete shut his eyes tight, pressing his face into Gary's shoulder. He was afraid of heights, but hadn't protested figuring he would be fine if Gary was with him. He had been wrong… He tried not to think of it too much, whimpering every time the wheel gave a creak. Gary was beginning to think bringing Pete here had been one of his not so good ideas. He gently put his arm around Pete's shoulder. The boy glanced up at him for a moment, looked down, and pressed his face back to Gary's shoulder. Gary sighed.

When the ride stopped and they were back on the ground, Gary turned to Pete.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know… I just want you to enjoy yourself…"

"Peter…"

"What? I- I thought I'd be okay if I was with you." Pete said, turning away from Gary.

"…" Gary stepped behind the boy, gently kissing his neck. "You have to tell me if you don't want to do something, Pete. Or at least warn me."

"Okay. Sorry."

"What now? You choose."

"Let's go on the coaster."

Gary snorted. "Oh yes, you can do the twisting, turning, seventy-five mile an hour coaster, but the one mph circle…"

"Shut up." Pete said, grabbing Gary's hand and leading him off to the coaster.

Gary smiled; he had hoped Pete wouldn't mope around like he had been earlier. He was feeling guilty apparently about what they did… well, not exactly what they did, but about not being able to take the next step. Gary didn't know why, he wasn't asking much from Peter… didn't really need to take the next step yet. He loved the way Pete was innocent, loved the way he was cautious when things started heating up. Gary would love to see Pete let go of the doubts that held him back… but he wanted Pete to do it on his own time, and not feel like he had to for Gary's sake… Gary already knew that he was addicted to Pete. This wasn't good for either of them… Gary didn't like being dependent on anything, that's why he didn't like taking the medication, but for Peter he had made an exception… for now, anyway.

He grinned as Pete sat down in the fist car of the row. Gary sat next to him as the rest of the cars were filled. Once they got off the coaster, Gary challenged Pete to a round at the shooting gallery. Gary managed to win, with only two more points than Pete. By then, it was almost ten thirty.

"Gary, should we leave?"

"No, I was planning on riding the squid. After that, we can go."

Pete sighed. "Okay. Let's go."

The two got on the squid, but when Pete got off he felt nauseous.

"Ugh… that was terrible… c'mon, let's go…"

"No wait! One more thing!" Gary said, grabbing Pete's wrist and dragging him off to the freak show.

Gary held open the flap for Pete, but Pete just stood and glared at him.

"I swear we'll leave after this! Please?" he asked, his eyes widening.

Pete glared at him for a few more minutes, before turning to walk away. Gary grabbed his wrist.

"Pete, it'll only take like five minutes, we'll make curfew."

Pete wretched his hand away from Gary's. "That's not the problem, Gary."

"Then what? What did I do? Look, just five minutes, that's all I wan-"

"No. I'm not going in there. I'll wait for you by the bikes."

"What? Why don't you want to come in with me?"

"Because it's wrong, Gary."

Gary rolled his eyes. "Pete… It's not like they're mistreated or anything! Why are you being like this?"

"I'm not going in. Go, I'll wait for you." Pete said, letting his anger and frustration go away. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere in this argument with Gary if he was angry and frustrated.

"But… Pete…"

"Its okay, go. Five minutes, right? Go, its okay." Pete said, giving Gary a quick kiss, and walking off.

Gary stood watching him for a few minutes, trying to decide if Pete was really okay with him going in… He had sounded like it was okay, but his eyes had told Gary something else… It's not like… there wasn't something Gary hadn't already seen on the inside of the building… He growled at his inability to disappoint Petey, and followed the younger boy. He took a small detour, going into the prize tent. He had quiet a few tickets left over from the year before. He looked over all the new choices of junk, and finally decided on a silver necklace before going to find Pete. He was pleased to find the younger boy hadn't ridden off without him.

"How was it?" Pete asked, giving Gary a small smile.

Gary shrugged. "No different than last year… Here." Gary said, handing the necklace over to Pete.

It was a silver chain, with a small silver square locket that had a heart in the middle of it. Pete opened the locket. He smiled, seeing his and Gary's faces from his favorite picture.

"Thank you." Pete said, kissing Gary.

Gary pulled Pete closer, wrapping his arms around his waist. When they parted, Petey's face was bright red.

"Let's go, Femme-boy." Gary said, mounting his bike.

Pete nodded, clasping the necklace around his neck before mounting his bike as well.

The ride back to the school was a quick one, and they were back in the dorm at 10:58… a close call, but neither boy really cared. Pete was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when Gary came in, carrying a towel.

"Wanna shower with me?" he asked.

Pete quickly spit into the sink.

"What?!"

"Do you want to take a shower with me?" Gary asked, chuckling.

"I- I…" Pete's face was bright red. He really couldn't tell if Gary was being serious or was just seeing what kind of reaction the question got.

"Come on, Petey. I really need to know."

Pete just decided to finish brushing his teeth while he thought it over. Gary was being serious… wanted Pete to get naked and take a shower with him… Safer choice was to decline… but he didn't want to hurt Gary's feelings… Did he want to? Yes… Was it the wiser choice? No… Pete rinsed his mouth out. There was also the issue… could he see Gary naked with out getting aroused? He got tingly just thinking about it… He bit his lip and glanced in the mirror to see Gary watching him.

Gary sighed. "I see."

"I didn't say anything…"

"You don't need to."

Pete felt a pang of guilt. "I… I'm just not sure it's the best choice, Gary."

"I know. You don't have to explain. You're done, right?"

Pete nodded and left the bathroom. When the door shut, he cursed under his breath and clenched the locket. He grabbed his laptop off of Gary's bed and went to sit in his. He took out his ear buds, and started listening to some music that he had put in a file he had deemed 'Therapy'.

When Gary went into the room, he smiled. Pete was laying down on his own bed, facing away from Gary, listening to some music on the laptop. The track had just started.

"The silence keeps it easy, keeps you safe for the moment… As you're walking away, your footsteps get louder… All you needed was time, but now time will destroy us… It will all be over, and here we are. We're stuck inside this salted earth together. You pierce my lungs, my limbs go numb. As my colors fade out, you watch me bleed. You watch me bleed… I gave you everything to die with a smile. All you wanted was to live for a while. You took everything but it left you empty. You can't replace me, you can't… It's almost over and here we are. We'll die inside this salted earth together. You pierce my lungs, my limbs go numb. As my colors fade out, you watch me bleed…"

Gary felt a pang of quilt. He knew that song… knew what folder Pete kept it in. Pete was feeling shitty about something. Gary figured it was probably his fault. He went and sat down beside Peter, gently running his fingers through the younger boy's hair. Pete took out an ear bud and sat up.

"Hey." He said, trying to find something else to listen to.

"Pete, what's wrong?"

Pete shook his head. "It's… nothing." He said, lamely. He was feeling guilty about the same stuff as earlier.

"Pete… I don't want you to feel like this, okay? You didn't have to take a shower with me…"

"I know, but I feel bad… maybe it's just delayed stress. I don't know…"

"Maybe I could relieve some of that stress for you?" Gary asked, giving Pete a pervy smile and pulling the younger boy into his lap.

"Gary…"

"I'm kidding… I think." Gary said, knowing full well he hadn't been kidding.

Pete rolled his eyes. "You… perve."

"Oh, please. Like you don't want it."

Pete blushed. "That's not the point." He whispered.

"Hm… so you do want it…" Gary murmured, kissing Pete's neck gently.

"… Yeah… but…"

"Shh… Peter…"

Pete couldn't help it… the way Gary was touching him… his hands moving over his body… he let his head fall back onto Gary's shoulder, letting Gary touch him. He needed this, wanted it. He didn't want to think about it anymore… Gary pulled Pete's shirt off, before removing his own. He continued kissing Pete's neck, letting his hands move over the young boy's small but well toned chest. Sucking gently on his neck, biting, loving every little sound of pleasure Pete made. Finally, he let his hands travel lower, gently unbuttoning the younger boy's jeans. He was slow, gentle… He didn't want Pete to feel rushed. He let his hand slip down, under the hem of Pete's boxers. Pete gasped, arching his back. Gary smiled, kissing the younger boy's neck once again. He slowly stroked the boy, getting faster, his other hand covering Pete's mouth. He loved how Pete moved, how he reacted. Pete's hands were gripping Gary's arms, he moaned, glad that Gary knew he had to muffle every sound Pete made. He was getting close… so close… It was almost unbearable. Tears of sexual frustration were building up, he was almost there…

Then there was a nock on the door.

"Shit!" Gary said, pulling away. He pushed Peter onto the bed, jumping up.

"Gary…" Pete whined, wishing whoever was at the door would fucking burst into flames.

"Hold on, baby." Gary said, walking over to the door and opening it only a crack. "What?" he hissed.

"I need to talk to Pete."

Oh, God… Jimmy…

"Too fucking bad. What do you want?"

"I need his calculator…"

"Fine, wait here…" he closed the door. "Where?"

"Top drawer…" Pete said, impatient.

Gary rummaged around, found it, went back to the door and threw it at Jimmy.

"Give it back to him tomorrow." Gary hissed before slamming the door and locking it.

Gary climbed back onto the bed, gently closing and placing the laptop on the floor.

"Now… where were we?" he asked, gently slipping his hand down to Pete's zipper.

Peter sighed in agitation, swatting Gary's hand away. "Forget it, Gary…"

"Pete?"

"I'm just… not in the mood anymore…"

Pete didn't want to look at Gary, but he did. And he was pissed.

"Gary…"

"Don't say it. It's not your fault…" Gary said, standing up and picking up his shirt.

"…I… I can… I mean, if you want me to…" Pete blushed, not sure how to word his offer.

"It's fine, Pete. I'll do it myself…" Gary said, going into the bathroom.

Pete sighed. He didn't know how to feel at the moment. But it had been good while it lasted… he knew that much.

-End Ch. 9-

So, there you guys go. I'm back, I survived. I decided to reward you all for being awesome. They actually weren't supposed to do anything like this until Halloween, but I figured this would be a pretty weak chapter if I didn't spice it up a little… Heheh, of course, I had to be evil… (Always fun) so, yeah. Tell me what you guys think.