Just Pizza

Patrick wasn’t going to lie to himself.
He knew that he thought Pete was attractive….
And funny, and nice, and just…. Strange.
But attractive.
Patrick was always a nervous mess his whole life, but when he’s around Pete, it seems to get worse.
Damn you Pete!
Pete shoved another slice of pizza into his mouth; Patrick was still on his first slice and staring at Pete, who was stuffing his face.
Patrick envied the way that Pete seemed to be able to eat anything, and as much of anything that he wanted and not gain a pound! Patrick wished he could be that way….
Patrick was eating the crust off of his pizza when he caught Pete staring at him questioningly.
“What is it?” Patrick was quiet.
“You eat your pizza crust first?” Pete questioned. Patrick laughed slightly.
“Um… y-yeah! It’s the b-best part!” Patrick looked at Pete as if he was crazy and should have known.
“It’s like, filled with cheese! Duh!” Patrick exclaimed. Patrick blushed and looked down, realizing that he got a bit loud. He continued to eat the crust off his slice. Pete kneeled and moved himself closer to Patrick. He took the edge of Patrick’s slice and tore off a bite.
“Hey! T-that was mine!” Patrick laughed.
“Sharing is caring Patrick darling!” Pete laughed and sat back down, staring at the celling.
“I thought I already taught you that!” Patrick kicked Pete’s side lightly.
“Shut up!” Patrick laughed.
They sat in a “not so awkward” silence for a few minutes, Pete spoke up.
“hey, do you wanna play mario kart or something?”
“sure.”
Pete flopped off the couch and went trudged over to his T.V. He plugged in the red, white, and yellow wires, and plugged in his old Nintendo. Patrick’s eyes beamed.
“Nintendo 64?!” Pete laughed at his energy.
“uh, hell yes! I had this thing since like…. Forever….. I love the old Mario kart levels!” Pete pulled a giant bean bag out from the corner of the room. The bean bag, like the couch, was covered in holes that were later covered up with duct tape. Pete plopped down on it and plugged in the controllers. Patrick managed to wrap himself in one of the blankets Pete left on the couch. Pete went through an old box of games and flipped through the games until he found the one he was looking for. He shoved the game into the slot and patted the bean bag.
“c’mon! You’re player one.”
Patrick plopped down next to Pete with a light ‘thud’ and grabbed the controller.
“DON’T PICK PEACH! I’M ALWAYS PEACH!” Patrick demanded. Pete laughed.
“Peach? Really?” Pete laughed at Patrick’s choice. “cute!”
“um…. Yeah….” Patrick turned red.
“I’m more of a Boo person.”
“of course you are!” Patrick picked a course and started to race.
---
“YOU ARE SO CHEATING!!!!!” Pete’s hand was shoved in Patrick’s face. Patrick struggling to see past it.
“yeah… so… I NEVER LOSE! I didn’t know you were so good at this.” Pete laughed.
“Yeah! I am pretty good at video games!” Patrick had managed to shove Pete’s hand away and block his view.
“Hey! No fair!” Pete protested.
“says the person who shoved their hand in my face….” Patrick laughed.
This game was getting intense! Pete was sure that he would win every race. Who knew Patrick would be this good? Patrick’s head kept getting in the way of the TV; So Pete pushed Patrick’s head away and elbowed him in the arm.
“OW!” Patrick yelped dramatically. Pete quickly dropped the controller.
“Are you ok?” Pete inspected Patrick’s arm. Pete didn’t know that he elbowed him that hard.
“yeah… it… ouch… it hurts so bad… really really bad…. Ow.” Patrick sniffed, being dramatic.
“Oh my god I am so sorry I didn’t mean to-“Suddenly, Pete fell to the floor and Patrick sat on top of Him. Patrick picked up his controller fast and continued to play. The car sped up and Passed Pete’s in no time!
“Eat my dust!” Patrick laughed.
That little mother fucker…..
“oh you are a tease!” Pete laughed.
Pete’s eye landed on his controller. It was less than 4 feet away, but yet, he couldn’t reach it. He struggled to reach it, but the closer he got to it, the more Patrick kicked it away.
Pete eventually grasped it, but suddenly didn’t want to play anymore.
Patrick finally passed the finish line and Pete suddenly flipped over. Patrick’s back landed onto the ground and his eyes went wide.
“what?” Patrick’s eyes widened more.
“you underestimated my strength. Just like how I underestimated you’re video game skills!”
“I guess I did….” Patrick laughed. Pete smiled.
The closeness started to sink in, and suddenly Patrick’s breath hitched in his throat and he became nervous. Pete on top of him like that?
“uh… um…” Patrick didn’t really know what to say… it was an awkward minute of silence before Patrick finally said,
“I think I should go….”
“um… ok….” Pete awkwardly got up and Pulled Patrick beside him. He dusted off Patrick’s shoulders lightly. Patrick gave Hemingway a small ‘goodbye’ petting. Pete walked Patrick back to the door and gave him a hug before he left. Patrick sighed and made his way down the steps on Pete’s apartment, wishing he didn’t have to leave….
Day 3
It’s been three days since Pete first met Patrick. Pete couldn’t help but feel they were creating a great friendship! Pete, as usual, couldn’t stop thinking about Patrick. Everything he looked at just reminded him of the short, pale, pizza boy with the stunning blue eyes and fiery red hair. The empty pizza boxes that were spread throughout the apartment along with old mugs from the day before made him smile. Pete almost regretted throwing the boxes away, but he knew he would see Patrick again sometime soon. Pete also managed to clean the dishes out of his overloading sink. Pete let his thumb glide over the smooth ceramic that was a coffee mug. It was the one that Patrick used the day before. The mug was a light shade of pink. It used to be red, but the colors faded from it being used so often. Pete didn’t use it much anymore. Pete took a dish towel and dried the newly clean mug. He then placed it in the cabinet, making sure to put it near the front of the stack of clean cups. That was Patrick’s mug now and it deserved a special place. Heming way started to scratch at Pete’s feet. It took a moment or two for Pete to realize that he didn’t put any food in Hemingway’s bowl yet.
“Oh I’m sorry buddy! Here!” Pete quickly put the remaining dishes away and opened another cabinet, he pulled out a small box of the cheapest dog food that he found at the store and dumped a bit into the bowl.
“I know this stuff is cheap, and it might not taste good, but hey, I’m not made outta money!” Pete smiled when Hemingway started to eat immediately. He then plopped down on his nasty, old couch and flipped through a bunch of stations. The only good show that was on was True Life… So he just settled and watched.
After an hour or two Pete was starved so, he decided that he was going to call for another pizza. It was a great excuse to have Patrick stop by again.
Sadly, when he called, Patrick wasn’t working. Pete was disappointed.
He then found out,
Patrick only worked on weekends….
At least he had Hemingway for company.
Day 6
Sigh, Sigh, Sigh…..
Pete was stringing up a new acoustic guitar, while Ryan pranced around the music shop, helping the few customers that were still lingering in the shop. It was about 9:30…. The store closed at 10. Pete took another late shift that week. There were so many instruments that needed to be repaired and Pete started to fall behind on his work…. As he started to put the B string onto the guitar he was currently working on, the bell on the shop door rang. Another customer entered the shop silently. The quiet customer made his way to the back wall; he carried a small guitar case in his hand. The case looked old and beaten up. Stickers covered the case head to toe and the handle looked as if it would break off at any moment. The customer held the case close to his body, as if he could hide behind it. The boy then gazed at the back wall were all the guitars were hanging. Pete looked up from his work to grab another string, when his eyes fell onto the boy.
It was Patrick.
How could Pete mistake the soft red hair and cap to be anyone else? Pete knew he couldn’t. A smile beamed from his face as he rested the guitar on the counter. Pete jumped over the counter and ran over to the boy. Patrick’s eyes were fixated onto the acoustic guitars. They were all so amazing!
“Boo!” Pete rested his hands on the boy’s shoulders and shook lightly. Patrick jumped and spun around. He let out a quick breath.
“y-you scared me!” Patrick shook slightly and dropped his case to the floor. Pete instantly felt terrible.
“I’m sorry.” Pete quickly apologized. He noticed the old guitar case that now lay near his feet.
“You play?” Pete smiled and gestured to the case.
“Um. I…. um….. w-what?” Patrick continued to shake. Pete laughed slightly at the boy’s awkwardness. Patrick’s eye’s darted around the shop. He was too nervous to look Pete in the eyes.
“You play guitar?” Pete repeated. A blush took over Patrick’s face as he quickly swept the case back into his hands
“Um… uh… yeah…I do… b-but I’m not t-that good….” Patrick looked down and pulled lightly on the sleeves of his black hoodie.
“I bet that isn’t true…” Pete laughed slightly and patted a stool that sat near the guitar wall and gestured for Patrick to sit. Patrick sat down hesitantly and sets down his case in front of his knees.
“Can you play something for me?” Pete’s eyes were hopeful. The shop started to empty out more, and the room got quieter. Patrick bit his lip slightly, letting the question sink in. Then he nodded.
“I-I don’t see w-why not…” Pete smiled brightly as Patrick opened up his guitar case and pulled out an old, black guitar. A few of the tuning pegs were different from the others from having to be replaced. The fret board was lined with sparkling pearl markers. The strings were a dark color, and they seemed like they could snap at the very touch. The body of the guitar was dressed with colorful stickers. Pete glanced at the time. It was about 9:50. The shop was pretty dead and Ryan started to clean off the counter top. Patrick started to tune up his guitar by ear. His fingers danced lightly over the frets while his hand lightly turned the tuning pegs. Patrick’s fingers were covered in small cuts and split skin. Pete assumed that he must play very often. When Patrick was sure that he had all the strings tuned correctly, his fingers formed into a chord and he strummed. There should have been a sweet sound that rung out. A soft, gentle sound.
This was not it. A string or two were sharp. Patrick’s face screwed up as he began to re tune and Pete laughed.
Patrick was adorable.
Finally the tuning was correct and Patrick checked again just to be sure. Ryan finished cleaning off the counter and cleaning off the work stations. He had noticed Pete’s closeness to Patrick and had been watching them. To be honest, Ryan was very nosey. Ryan was no fool; he knew something was up between the two. He needed to investigate. Ryan had to be sneaky. His shift had officially ended, so he slipped on his jacket and walked over to Pete.
“Hey! I’m gonna get going. You’re fine with closing up the shop right?” Pete always closed up the shop, so this was kind of a dumb question… Pete certainly knew that, but it was the first thing that popped into his head.
“Uh…. Yeah! I always do, so, I think I can manage….” Pete laughed and looked at Ryan. Ryan’s eyes were fixed on the small, red head boy. Pete caught his look and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah know we are closing soon….” Ryan was still eyeing Patrick. Patrick looked up nervous.
“Oh, um…. I’m s-sorry! I can leave… It’s no big-“Ryan cut him off with a comment to Pete.
“so you should lock the store up quick so no one walks in on you guys, ya know, some idiots can’t freakin read the ‘closed’ sign….” Ryan moved his eyes back over to Patrick. He was fumbling with his guitar strap.
“well I’ll see you later Ryan….” Pete shooed Ryan away. Ryan caught the more then obvious hint and strolled towards the door.
Ryan’s hand reached for the door but He stopped once one foot was outside, then he spun around
“Don’t have too much fun. I did just clean that counter!” Ryan smirked
He couldn’t leave without saying at least one smart ass comment. That’s just how Ryan’s brain worked….
“Oh fuck you!” Pete flipped him off and laughed. Patrick was staring down at his guitar strings. He started to softly play a scale. Patrick watched his fingers glide over the stings. Pete’s eyes were burning through Ryan.
‘Leave. Now.’ Was Pete’s mental message…. He hoped he was being super clear.
Ryan made a few trusting gestures towards Pete before Pete threw a cleaning rag at him. It only missed Ryan’s face by a few inches. Ryan had a laughing fit before finally deciding to leave them alone. As soon as Ryan was out the door Pete locked it and flipped the sign so that it said “closed”. He walked back over and sat on the floor next to Patrick.
Patrick was still nervous even after everyone had left. It was just him and Pete now.
Pete smiled at Patrick.
“Well are you gonna play or what?” Patrick’s face turned a light pink.
“Um… y-yeah! What song should I play?”
“oh so you take suggestions?” Pete thought for a while. He scanned the covers of music books that were spread throughout the shop. His eyes fell on one.
“do you know any Beatles?”
“Um…. Y-yeah…. I know quite a bit…. What do you w-want to hear?”
Pete smiled, “play me your favorite!”
Patrick stretched out his hands slightly and rested them onto the strings. His fingers lightly plucked the strings in a steady rhythm. Pete recognized it from the first 2 chords.
“BLACKBIRD! IT’S BLACKBIRD!!!!!” Pete was ecstatic. Patrick laughed
“yeah…” he stopped.
“don’t stop! You’re good!” Patrick smiled and hesitantly started to play again. Pete lightly tapping his finger tips on his knee to keep a steady beat.
Patrick hummed softly and continued to play.