Everyone woke up in a sweat, kicking off their blankets and some of them removing their clothes. Even Pete had to take off his borrowed shirt and was really considering taking his boxers off too, but he kept them on for Patrick's sake. And speaking of which, Pete felt an unusual amount of heat radiating from the other boy which could only mean that Patrick was very close to him. Pete cracks an eye open and looks down toward his bare torso, spotting a pale arm wrapped around him and a strawberry head resting on his chest.

Now, it was hot as fuck, way too hot for anyone to be so close but Pete couldn't bring himself to move Patrick off of him. He looked so peaceful like this and Pete didn't want to ruin that, even if their bodies were practically sticking to each other with sweat.

"Can we please go to the lake," Tyler groans as he flops around on his and Josh's bunk. "It's hot as Satan's anus out here."

"Anus?" Andy mimicks the word, it seems Joe hasn't taught him that one yet. "Qu'est ce que 'anus' [What is 'anus']?

"Connard. Littéralement [Asshole. Literally]." Pete answers, causing Patrick to stir a bit. He doesn't move just yet, seeming to be too comfortable in this position.

"Oh." Andy says, smiling then tapping Joe on his shoulder. Once he rolls over and gives the other his attention, Andy smiles and says, "Anus."

"Wha- who the hell taught him to say that?" Joe gets out of bed with his hands on his hips, glaring at Pete like a parent would their child.

"Hey, don't look at me. Tyler said 'anus' first."

"How was I supposed to know Andy would do that?" Tyler defends, rolling toward the edge of the bunk and leaning over the side, hanging upside down and looking at Pete. "You're the one who told him what it meant."

"Because he asked! And Joe taught him to say 'fuck' yesterday, so it's really not that big a deal."

"Guys, please." Patrick finally speaks, rubbing his eyes and trying to settle himself more comfortably into Pete's side. "Andy can say what he wants in whatever language he wants."

"Okay, okay, fine." Joe sighs, going to his bag to find something to use as swimwear. Last time they went to the lake everyone thought it'd be a great idea to skinny dip, and by everyone he means Brendon and Ryan. Joe was slightly traumatized after that. "Let's just get to this lake before I drown in my own sweat."

"I second that." Tyler agrees, hopping down from his bunk and Josh isn't far behind him.

The rest of the boys all find something to swim in and get themselves ready, soon exiting the bus and walking down a tiny dirt trail furthest from Joe's van. All except for Pete and Patrick because Patrick was too comfortable to move and Pete didn't want to disturb him, but it was really hot today so he decided he needed to say something.

"'Trick, I'm gonna die if I stay on this bus any longer."

"Me too." Patrick mumbles, finally lifting his head and facing the other boy. "We should get to that lake, huh?"

"Yeah, probably."

Patrick sits himself up then climbs over Pete in order to get out of the bed, stretching his limbs and yawning. He kneels down and pulls his bag from under the bunk, grabbing some swim clothes then putting his bag back where it was before.

Pete gets up and does the same, pulling out a pair of black gym shorts. The two get themselves ready, trying their best not to peek at the other. All Pete caught a glimpse of was a sliver of Patrick's thigh which was probably the most beautiful piece of thigh he's ever seen. Eventually they get off the bus and go in the direction the others went.

When Pete and Patrick arrive the boys are all playing Marco Polo. Josh was Marco for this round, eyes closed and blindly reaching around for his victim. The others all swam around him, trying their best to move silently and not get caught.

"To your left!" Patrick shouted, and Josh does as he's directed, reaching to his left and grabbing someone's shoulder. He opens his eyes and thanks Patrick for the assistance.

"Dude, no fair!" Joe whines, slapping his hand into the water and causing a splash. "You can't do that!"

"I can if I'm not in the water." Patrick responds smugly and the curly haired boy just mutters a 'whatever' before taking Josh's place and closing his eyes.

"Marco!" He calls, listening out for the second half of the name.

***

After a while everyone's just drifting around the lake, mostly tired from swimming and playing so many games. They were properly cooled off and relaxed and conversed a bit before any one decided on leaving. Plus the sun was beginning set, it'd be dark soon and someone had to get the fire going back by the bus.

"Alright," Ryan announces. "It's getting dark and it's almost dinnertime so I'll start the fire tonight and get something going."

"What are we having?" Brendon asks him, just as he's heading for the shore.

"You'll see it when it's ready." He says. Brendon simply pouts and crosses his arms like a child as Ryan kisses his cheek. "Don't drown, dummy." He smiles then he's heading to shore and grabbing his shoes, walking back the way they came.

The others began leaving soon after Ryan did, Andy and Joe were next then Tyler had gone not long after, complaining of being hungry. Brendon and Josh had finally got tired of swimming and went to shore to gather their things as well before they walked back to the field.

Pete hadn't really noticed as he was too busy floating by while Patrick seemingly hid behind a giant rock the whole time. He was content, leaning back against it with his eyes trained on the clouds above him. The sky was kind of orange-y pink at the moment and he could already see the moon in the distance. Won't be long until the stars start to show as well.

"Hey, 'Trick." Pete suddenly popped up beside the other boy, smiling slightly when he sees Patrick jump and let out a yelp.

"Do you enjoy making me shit myself?"

"No," Pete laughs. "Just wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything."

"So thoughtful considering you almost scared me to death."

"My bad," Pete chuckles, going to lean against the rock beside Patrick and watching the clouds with him. One of them kind of looks like a duck, he notices, and another that looks like a pirate ship. If he had a camera on him he'd take a picture of it.

"Did you mean what you said yesterday? When it was raining and stuff?" Patrick suddenly asks, not taking his eyes away from the clouds. Pete's not sure what to say at first. Should he lie? Should he tell the truth? He decides that Patrick doesn't need to be lied to, honesty is the best policy and all that.

"Yeah. I blame the weed, though. It makes me really talkative and... expressive, I guess."

"I thought it was nice." Patrick admits, finally taking his eyes away from the sky and instead looking at the expanse of water around them. "I don't think anyone's ever compared me to a cupcake before." He chuckles.

"It seemed like an accurate comparison." Pete blushes, smiling shyly. "'Cause they're sweet and, y'know, make people happy." He decides to be bold at this time, figuring he had nothing to lose. Which he didn't really, but his heart began to speed up all the same. He lifts the sleeve of Patrick's soaked shirt then ducks his head down and gives Patrick's shoulder a tiny kiss, noticing a few freckles covering the skin. He reminds himself to find more and kiss every one of them when he gets the chance.

As he lifts his head and looks to the other boy he finds that Patrick's eyes are already searching his own and a light blush is beginning to dust over his cheeks. He leans in a little closer as Pete does the same, wanting so badly to just close the gap between them.

Patrick slowly reaches his arms up and around Pete's neck, pulling them even closer than they were previously, and Pete wraps his around the other's waist. Pete's the one who finally closes the space between them, pressing his lips to Patrick's soft ones and getting lost in the feeling.

It was better than he ever could have imagined, not that he fantasized about kissing Patrick or anything --even though he did. And as their lips moved together in tandem, Pete couldn't think of any place he'd rather be than right here with this amazing boy.

***

Later on once they've returned to the field, everyone had dinner around the fire, which was just some frozen pizza that they forgot was in the cooler. Ryan made a makeshift rack out of sticks to rest the pizza on, and though it was singed a bit around the edges, it was still very edible. They even had dessert afterwards. It was obviously s'mores.

The weather had finally cooled down considerably once the sun had disappeared, resulting in the boys having to change out of their wet clothes and into some warmer, dry ones. And after everyone's had enough to eat, they cleaned up their mess and climbed through the bus' emergency exit in the roof, spreading out on top of it and stargazing. They paired up, more so out of force of habit rather than actually having to do so, and talked to one another about everything and nothing at the same time.

Andy taught Joe how to say a few astronomical terms in French, which he did much better with this time around, and Joe did the same for him in English. At a certain point the two had curled up together and simply watched the sky like the others did. Even Pete and Patrick, who held hands and shared each others warmth until they all decided it was time for bed.