After the incident that happened in the rec room Patrick had dragged Pete down to the laundry station. He was still yelling and swearing, mostly about and to Frank even though he couldn't hear a single word.

Pete had blood on his jumpsuit, Frank's blood, and a little was splattered on his face. He needed to change and clean himself up quick before any guards came by. Now if he could just. Stop. Yelling.

"Pete-" Patrick tries.

"...that asshole had it coming..."

"Calm down before-"

"...he should've never did that to you..."

If they were anywhere else Patrick would've just let Pete blow off some steam, rant as much as he wanted until he tired himself out. But they're in a juvenile correctional facility and Pete saying what he's saying is going to draw unwanted attention and ultimately lead to trouble. Punching him will do no good, Pete'll just whine about being hit for twenty minutes. Maybe he could...maybe...god it's hard to think with Pete shouting like that!

"I will fu-"

"Oh my god, dude," Patrick mutters before he grabs the other boy's face and forces his mouth on Pete's just to shut him up. It works, he's too shocked to do anything else other than stare wide-eyed at Patrick as he kisses him. His gaze stuck on where he can see their lips touching past the tip of his nose. Pete's never kissed a guy before. Thought about it? Yes. But never actually acted on it. This was going to open up so many firsts for him.

Patrick detaches his lips from Pete's and backs up. Pete's eyes are still wide, glancing between Patrick's eyes and his mouth. He's trying to make eye contact but can't because Patrick's lips are very, very, very distracting. Slightly swollen and wet and an obscene shade of pink. It's really difficult look away and stay away.

"You keep yelling like that and we'll both get in trouble, so please shut the fuck up. Okay?" Patrick says in a mild tone. Pete just watches the other boy's lips move, nodding numbly although he barely heard anything Patrick said.

Patrick grabs an extra uniform from the counter and hands it to Pete. "Get changed."

Pete silently nods again. If Patrick keeps kissing him like that he'll do anything the boy wants.

***

Two days later both of them have kitchen duty, which means that Pete is stuck with Patrick in an apron and surrounded by food all day. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but ever since Patrick had kissed him Pete just couldn't keep his shit together. He was afraid he'd do something really stupid at some point if he had to endure being around Patrick for too long. And what made it worse was that Patrick didn't seem at all affected by the kiss. He just saw it as the only possible way to get Pete to shut his big mouth and keep them from getting in trouble. So Patrick couldn't possibly be feeling his heart pound against his ribcage as he stood beside his bunkmate while serving breakfast. That's when Pete realized he was in some deep shit.

So Pete decided to go wash dishes instead, away from Patrick, and Andy kindly took his place.

"Sup, Wentz." Joe says, taking a quick glance away from the sink then returns his eyes to where they were previously. "You here to assist?"

Pete simply nods in response and steps up beside the curly haired kid, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves to match the ones his fellow inmate was wearing.

Neither of them spoke a word after that, simply doing what had to be done. Joe washed off whatever was beneath the mound of suds with a sponge that wafted the scent of mildew into their noses but neither of them said a word about it. Joe handed off several cups, trays, and a couple of pans to Pete who sprayed the bubbles away with water and put them on a towel to the side to dry off.

"What's bugging you?" Joe asked suddenly, continuing his job without making eye contact. "You're really quiet, and half the time you won't even shutup."

Pete breathed a soft laugh that could've been deciphered as a sigh, and responded quietly, "Nothing."

"Liar. Something's making you act weird. What is it?"

Pete actually does sigh this time, dropping the sprayer into the sink and staring at a soapy pot as though it held a believable answer. It didn't.

"Just tired." Pete finally provided, which wasn't a complete lie. It just didn't apply to Joe's question. But he seemed to accept it anyway and continued washing the rusted looking cookware with a metallic clang. Pete picked the sprayer back up and rinsed off the dishes as they plopped into his side of the sink.

But then, "Is it Patrick?"

Pete dropped the sprayer again but this time by accident, causing it to fall to the bottom of the sink with a loud thunk. Pete looked at it instead of Joe.

"You set up a date to kick Frank's ass because he hurt Patrick." Joe spoke casually, like this was an everyday conversation. Like it all made sense.

"That's stupid." Pete muttered back. "Someone had to take him down some time."

"Except you've been here for years and never once pulled something like that with us. I mean, yeah, we tinted all the towels orange in the laundry that one time but that was harmless. You were trying to give Patrick a shot at payback in the riskiest way possible. I mean, if your counselor finds out, you'll never see the light of day again." Joe concluded, scrubbing at a stubborn blob of what looked like grits from the one of the blue trays.

"So?"

"So, I think," Joe lowers his voice. "you're crushing on Patrick." He never once takes his eyes off the task at hand.

Pete takes this moment to glare at the curly haired smug bastard with a knowing smirk stretching across his face. He can feel Pete's eyes burning holes into the side of his face but doesn't acknowledge it, ignores him entirely. The other boy takes the sprayer and aims it a Joe's face, squeezing the side and drenching him with water. Joe only smiles wider and laughs out the words, "You ass." before swiping an arm down his face to clear his skin of water.

"Shutup and keep washing, Trohman." Pete says, unable to keep his own lips from spreading into a smile. Then he goes back to rinsing the dishes.

***

Throughout the rest of the day Pete kept to himself. He stayed out of the way, did as he was told, and most importantly, avoided a certain someone by the name of Patrick Stump. He succeeded until it was time for lights out, since he had to sleep beside the very person he was trying to get away from, but he had the solution for that.

Hide in the locker room.

Pete was usually only in there during nights when he couldn't sleep or had a nightmare, but instead of a nightmare he was running away from a feeling that thumped in his chest ever since Patrick kissed him.

It wasn't even a romantic kiss, just lips touching. No tongue, no movement really, just Patrick's soft pink lips connected to Pete's to shut him up.

And it drove him insane.

He knows it wasn't really meant to be affectionate, but the second it happened his pulse just went into overdrive and his mind wouldn't stop replaying that moment over and over again until it made Pete dizzy. He's been stuck with the memory for two, almost three, days and it won't go away. His sigh echoed quietly in the empty shower where he always sat during some nights. Deep, deep shit.

Suddenly the door creaked open, allowing some of the light from the hallway pour into the room. Then as quickly as it appeared, it went away, making it dark again. Pete backed himself into the furthest corner away from the shower's entrance and pulled his knees to his chest in a hope to not be discovered. He wasn't sure who was there; a guard, an inmate, but he couldn't risk getting seen by anyone. Not even-

"Pete?"

Oh fuck, it was Patrick.

Pete groaned inwardly then dropped his head onto his knees. Great, just fucking great.

The silhouette of a head popped into the showers, peeking to see if his bunkmate was there. He already knew he was because this is where he would always be, hiding in the darkest corner of the shower.

"Pete, I know you're there." Patrick whispered. So much for going unnoticed, Pete thought.

"What do you want?" Pete whispered back as Patrick stepped closer, sliding down the tiled wall and taking a seat beside his bunkmate.

"What's the matter with you? You've been acting weird all day."

How is it that everyone knew when Pete was acting strangely? Was he that obvious?

"Nothing." He says for the second time that day.

"Nothing my ass. Seriously, you've been avoiding me for two days straight. What's going on with you?"

"It's nothing, Patrick, just drop it."

"Not until you tell me."

Pete doesn't say anything else, hoping Patrick will get the hint and just let the whole thing dissolve. He'll get over the kiss a whole lot faster if the boy who caused it wasn't here checking up on him. The sooner Patrick goes away, the kiss will follow suit. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing both of them to just disappear. But the time of silence allowed the gears in Patrick's head to crank and turn until he thinks he knows why Pete is being so distant.

"Is this... is this because I kissed you?"

And there it is, the words Pete refused to say out loud. Pete's only response was him pulling his knees closer to his chest, a silent 'yes' basically.

Patrick lets out a small sigh. "Look, Pete, I'm sorry. I just- you wouldn't- you were yelling." Patrick stammered lamely. "It just seemed like the only option."

"To get me to shut my mouth?" A heavy feeling forms in his chest at Patrick's words and he's not sure what it could be. But the feeling seems to seep into his voice. It sounds like... disappointment.

"Yeah," Patrick confirmed. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable because of it-"

"You didn't."

"What?"

"You didn't make me uncomfortable." Pete admits quietly, and by now his heart is pounding so hard in his chest that it feels like a rib will crack. He wonders if Patrick can hear it in the suffocating silence of the room. He's just dying to know what Patrick's thinking right now. If he's thinking about the kiss like Pete has been, or if he's thinking Pete is some kind of creep, or if he's judging him. He wishes he could read his mind.

Then, as if on queue, he finds out just what Patrick may have been thinking.

"W-would you, uh, be uncomfortable if I... kissed you again?"

No, definitely not, Pete thought excitedly then mentally calmed himself down. No need to pounce on Patrick and freak him out.

Pete turns to face Patrick in the dark shower, his eyes have adjusted and noticed that Patrick was staring at the tiled floor awaiting an answer.

"No," Pete says finally, his response causing Patrick to look back at him. "I wouldn't be uncomfortable."

"You... you want me to-"

"Kiss me, Patrick."

Patrick doesn't need to be told twice. He leaned forward toward Pete who met him halfway, connecting their lips, simply touching like before. Until Pete unwraps his arms from his knees and around Patrick's neck to bring him closer. Then their mouths move in sync, fitting together perfectly. Pete parts his lips, allowing Patrick's tongue to slip through. He tastes of the strawberry jello they had at dinner, and can't help but grip his hands into Pete's jumpsuit top and pull him closer so he can taste more of it.

This may be the best thing that's happened to both of them since they arrived in juvy.