Broken Minds

Together, William and Gabe lied in bed, silent, both of them so close, both of them taking comfort in the other's presence. The only reason Gabe moved was to reach his phone from the stand when it went off. Reaching blindly behind him for it, he knocked it off the stand onto the carpet. He turned around, taking the blankets partially with him, causing William to yank them back to stay warm. Gabe laughed quietly as he finally found his phone just under the edge of the bed. It had stopped ringing by then.

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly. He looked at the screen and saw the name 'Pete Wentz' flashing on the screen right under the words '1 missed call'.

“Important call?” William managed to murmur from his place in bed.

“Naw. Just Wentzy.” Gabe smirked.

William snickered at the name, but nodded in understanding. Gabe got up and made his way out of the bedroom before calling Wentz back. William stayed behind, stretching his long limbs out to take up more space and soaking up the warmth still left behind in the sheets where Gabe had just been.

Several minutes pass before Gabe walked back in the bedroom and started rummaging through William’s dressers and closet. He pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt, then held them up to show what he found. William quietly nodded his consent, he didn't mind if Gabe borrowed his clothes. It wasn’t long before Gabe stood before him wearing the other’s clothes. William couldn't help but laugh a little at the image; his clothes weren't a perfect fit, and it definitely wasn't Gabe's usual style, but they'd do in a pinch.

“You and I are going out as soon as you’re ready.” Gabe sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning over enough to place a quick kiss on William’s forehead.

“Where? Why?” As far as he knew there was no reason to leave his apartment.

“So I can get me my clothes from Pete’s and get some stuff you should be able to eat.” Gabe saw the fear flash quickly across the pale face of William. “Now get dressed.”

William sat up with a groan. He looked over at Gabe who had a determined look on his face. William knew he wouldn't be able to get out of it. There was no backing out, no excuse would work. He stood and dug through his clothes, quickly finding a light blue pair of jeans. He pulled on a tee and long sleeved button down before leaving.

William slunk down in the passenger seat next to Gabe as Pete came outside to meet them. Gabe got out and stood leaning against the door as he and Pete talked. William prayed that Gabe wasn’t telling Pete everything going on with him. His heart beat faster, the fear growing, until Pete gave him a goofy smile and he knew Gabe had kept quiet.

“You coming in for a minute man? Gabe has to pack up a few things.” Pete asked the tired looking William before smiled again. Pete always had a smile.

“Ye-yeah,” William managed to say, sitting up and climbing out of the car.

He went inside behind the other two and Gabe grabbed his arm, leading him to the spare room. When they got inside Gabe shut the door and immediately spun on his heel and had William pinned against the wall. He held him in place easily with his hands on the younger’s shoulders. For a second William thought Gabe was going to kiss him. Instead Gabe leaned in close and spoke firm and soft into his ear.

“I don’t plan to tell Pete of your little stunts. However, I will if it comes down to it. Don’t make me have to say something.” Gabe was pleading to him. William could only nod.

Afterwards, Gabe packed up some clothes into a suitcase. William wondered if he could tell which were dirty, but figured it didn’t matter, Gabe would probably wash them all back at his place so they all smelled fresh.

Pete met them in the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. Gabe shared a look with William, knowing the boy didn’t want to eat. Neither of them sure his stomach could handle the food. William swallowed hard and felt Gabe’s hand press on his lower back letting him know it was alright. He took the sandwich from the plate and stood next to Gabe as they ate a quick lunch.

“We have things to do so we need to get going. Thanks for letting me stop by and get my stuff.” Gabe hastily ended their time there and loaded his stuff into the car. William told Pete a quick farewell, and then waited in the car for Gabe to finish up.

Gabe got in the car a few minutes later after having said his goodbyes to their friend. He pulled out of the driveway and then looked at William who held a hand to his stomach. He looked worried for the boy, his face gone pale.

“You alright there Bilvy?” Gabe voiced, clearly concerned.

Gabe didn’t get an answer, just saw William lean his head back against the headrest as he closed his eyes, breathing slightly quickened. Gabe knew what was going to happen, and he turned off on a side street and pulled over. William sat there unmoving while Gabe unbuckled the other’s seatbelt then reached across him and opened his door a crack.

It wasn’t even half a minute later that William was lunging at the door, pushing it wide open as he lost the contents of his stomach to the side of the car. Gabe reached over and rubbed William's back. William felt a shiver run through his body at the bite of the aftertaste. William spit and sputtered a few times before sitting up again and closing the door. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, not caring at the moment about cleanliness. He felt himself flush out of embarrassment for what had just happened. He’d nearly puked all over the inside of Gabe’s car.

“You okay now?” Gabe questioned, placing a gentle hand on William’s thigh and giving a minor reassuring squeeze. William nodded slightly, not sure he could find his voice at the moment. Gabe understood, and started the car again, pulling back onto the street.

Gabe pulled into a gas station nearby a few minutes later. He got out of the car, telling William he'd be right back. When he got back in the car he handed a bottle of water and a pack of sugar free gum to William.

William smiled at Gabe's thoughtfulness before taking the gum and water. He rinsed out his mouth and then stuck a stick of gum in his mouth, relieving his senses of the awful taste. He offered a piece to Gabe who graciously accepted.

Gabe reached up and ruffled William’s hair before pulling out to head to the store to get a few things. William ducked away, but not before his hair was messed up. He pulled down the mirror from the visor and frantically trying to fix it in the mirror as Gabe drove, laughing quietly at his friend's expense.

When they pulled into the parking lot, William let out a low groan. He was in no way looking forward to doing this, but knew there was no way out of it. At first he thought the moan was in his head, seeing Gabe look at him like he currently was told him otherwise. Gabe had his head cocked to the side, eyebrow rose, staring through him. William knew he wasn’t looking forward to this either but was doing it for him. He couldn’t deny that Gabe was the best friend he could ever ask for or even hope to have. He did what he had to without a single complaint. At least no complaints were heard by others. Doesn’t mean he didn’t have any, he just never voiced them.

Gabe walked into the store next to William’s side, his arm around his thin waist holding him close in a friend-like way.

When they came out of the store with several bags of food, Gabe placed them in his backseat as William got in. Gabe sat there in the driver’s seat, looking at William who looked straight ahead. William could feel the eyes on him, but didn’t want to see them.

“Please look at me,” Gabe said quietly. William turned his head and looked at the man beside him whose car he was currently sitting in. “You’re going to try to do this for me, right?” William was hesitant but gave a small nod. He didn’t want to disappoint, much less hurt, his friend, his friend he loved so much.

That evening while Gabe sat at the table eating his meal, William sat across from him eating a bowl of soup. Gabe watched intensely as the boy slowly ate the nourishment his body desperately needed. He held in a smile, proud to see William actually eating without a grimace on his pretty face.

William had eaten about half of his soup by the time Gabe had finished with his food. Granted he was eating slower than Gabe ever knew him to do, but he was eating. He didn’t think William would eat it all and when William sat back, pushing the bowl towards the center of the table, he wasn’t surprised.

William looked up at Gabe when he finished eating. He saw the grin on Gabe's face, and he couldn’t help but feel a little better. He had just eaten something and yet his stomach wasn't twisting or turning. He didn't feel as disgusting as he thought he might. William thought that maybe there was a chance that everything would work out. Gabe was always working magic, maybe Gabe could fix William. Gabe stood and stepped next to the younger boy, then held out his hand. William graciously accepted it, standing and following Gabe into the living room where they proceeded to sit down on the couch and watch a movie.

Later that night as they lay in bed, Gabe pressed up against William’s slightly chilled body, William let out a low groan. He buried his face into his pillow, trying to keep quiet. He was sucking in sharp deep breaths. He suddenly felt very nauseous.

“What’s the matter, baby?” Gabe whispered as he propped himself up on his arm and leaned over the other, placing his free hand on William’s shoulder. He pressed a light kiss to the shoulder as William groaned again.

“Sick,” was all he could manage before becoming silent again, fearing if he opened up his mouth again that he wouldn't be able to contain himself. He felt Gabe move and turn away from him for a moment. When he returned his attention back to William, he had the little plastic trash can in his hand. He sat up just enough to reach over him and set it down on his side of the bed. He rubbed William’s shoulder, acknowledging the silent thank you in the dark, then lay back down with his hand around the other’s waist as he fell asleep.

Gabe awoke to the sound of William retching. The unpleasantness of waking up to that noise was the first thing to cross Gabe’s mind before he quickly sat up and pushed the hair out of the other’s face to keep it back. He felt William’s stomach cave as another bout came over him. He reached across to the other nightstand and handed William the bottle of water sitting there.

After settling back down, William lied there on his side, breathing heavy as Gabe rubbed his arm. They were both waiting to make sure his stomach settled back down. Gabe looked at the clock and saw it was only 11pm. He wished they hadn't gone to bed so early, but he was at least glad they still had plenty of time to go back to sleep.

“Ugh, this sucks,” Gabe heard William mutter.

“I know Bilvy. It’ll get better. At least you made it four hours.” Gabe stated.

William turned onto his other side, facing Gabe. Instinctively, Gabe turned onto his back as William moved and laid his head in the crook between his chest and shoulder. Gabe wrapped his arms protectively around the younger man and held him close as they both tried to get back to sleep. Gabe fought sleep as hard as he could, waiting, wanting William to go first. When he finally felt the warm breath on his chest even out into deep calming slow breaths he let himself doze off.

In the morning, Gabe woke up to find William had already left bed. He groggily wiped his hands over his face, trying to wake up. He got up with a yawn and stretched as he made his way out of the bedroom. He found William lying on the couch, covered up with a spare blanket and the TV on volume so low it could barely be heard.

Gabe kneeled down next to the sleeping form and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. William stirred and opened his eyes, looking up at Gabe and seeing the puzzled look on his face. He closed his eyes again for a moment against the harsh light in the room which was skewing his vision.

“I woke up at like 5 and couldn’t get back to sleep. Didn’t want to wake you tossing and turning,” William offered up the explanation he knew Gabe was asking for.

“I wouldn’t have minded. I was almost worried when I woke up to find you not there next to me.” Gabe’s voice was soft and caring.

“I’m sorry.” Gabe leaned down and placed a kiss on William’s dry lips.

“It’s 9, let’s get up and do something today.” Gabe’s said, sounding hopeful

By the time he actually managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, Gabe was gone and in the shower. He let out a groan, feeling tired and worn out from the lack of sleep. He got up and headed into the bedroom to hunt for clothes. The picked out the same type of clothes, long sleeves, baggy shirts, nothing too tight. He wasn’t sure he’d ever wear anything different again, he didn't feel comfortable in the things he used to wear.

When Gabe finally emerged from the steamy room, William was lying back on the bed, fully clothed. Gabe smirked and climbed on top of the bed, carefully straddling the resting boy. He leaned down and took hold of William’s left hand, then moved it up to his own body, pressing it against his hip before moving William's hand lower. William opened his eyes, feeling the movement. His eyes widened when he realized where his hand was and where it was being moved.

Without warning, he yanked his hand back and sat up quickly, scurrying up as high as he could on the bed. The sudden movement caused Gabe to fall back and roll of the bed onto the floor with a thud. Gabe was laughing until he hit the floor. He sat up and shot William a nasty look.

“You ass.” Gabe kept a straight face all of 10 seconds before he started laughing again. William couldn’t help but join in.

Gabe stood and finally got dressed, dramatically rubbing his ass where he had hit the floor. William only shook his head at the other's actions as he watched Gabe get dressed. Once fully clothed, he took William’s hand and led him out to the kitchen. He sat William at the table and went over to the counter and made a slice of toast.

“Eat this then we’ll go.” Gabe sat the piece of toasted bread in front of William and saw the look of apprehension on his face. “You made it 4 hours with the soup I think you can do the same with this. Eventually your body won’t reject it.” He sat down in the other chair. “Just try it.”