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“Pssst,” Came a voice from next to him, actually to his right more precisely. Peter groaned, knowing exactly who the voice was.
“Hey, Pete. Pssst.”
Ignoring the pestering from his so-called friend, he turned away from the voice to act like he hadn't heard it. Maybe if he looked out the window, Gary would give up on being annoying and let him be.
Yeah right, Gary Smith never gave up on anything. Especially when one of his favorite things was to torture him immensely.
“Come on, Petey. Little Femme-boy.”
Peter tensed his shoulders from the nickname and knew that he didn't have to look over to know that Gary was probably smirking from noticing his reaction to it. He sighed irritably, finally glancing over.
“What?” He hissed, already completely annoyed. “What do you want?”
Gary's smirk only widened. “God, you're such a girl. What are you, on the rag right now?”
Mandy turned around from her seat briefly, unnoticed by the two, to stare at them with a disgusted look on her face. She scoffed at their behavior, turning around to write in her binder that she'd ask of one of the boys later to give Peter a wedgie or a swirly or something.
Peter blushed at the insult. “Just shut up Gary, you're being a jerk again.” He said, turning back to face forward in his seat. See, he knew it. Gary only ever wanted to just be mean to him. He also didn't want Gary to see his upset face, so he shielded part of it with his right arm when he leaned against it.
He was surprised, only briefly for a moment, to not actually hear any taunting back from Gary for his usual more passive than aggressive retort back. He had actually thought, for the briefest moment, that Gary had actually listened to him telling him to stop.
Nope.
“Stop being such a baby, Petey.”
Peter hung his shoulders, knowing that for the moment he had lost. The quicker Gary got whatever he wanted, the quicker he would be left alone. He turned slowly, finally looking over at Gary again.
“What?” He said, voice low without any hint of anger. “We're going to get into trouble if we continue to talk.”
“Finally,” Gary grinned triumphantly, tossing a wadded-up piece of lined paper onto Peter's desk. “And who gives a fuck about what the teacher thinks.”
Peter scrunched up his eyebrows, before looking down questionably at the new paper sitting atop his desk. He turned back to Gary with the same look.
Rolling his eyes, Gary then shot him a glare. “What are you stupid now too? Read it dipshit.”
He decided not to respond because he didn't actually have anything smart or witty to say back. Peter slowly reached his hand over it, bracing himself for the worst. For all he knew, this was just some sort of planning on Gary's part to embarrass him in front of the whole class.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I want you to lick me
And maybe suck on it too :P
Peter felt his face heat. What was this? He could tell that Gary's gaze was on him, watching his every move and every emotion that he displayed. Peter picked up his pencil and wrote a response, folding it neatly two times before gingerly passing it back to Gary without the teacher noticing. Actually, the teacher was far from paying attention to what the class was really doing and was busy scribbling notes on the board.
When Gary opened the note he had sent back, it had read:
What the hell is this? Some kind of joke? You're really sick, you know that?
Gary had his eyes narrowed at first, but something funny must have bloomed inside of his head because he ended up smirking again, scribbling a response. He crumpled it up again and laid it on Peter's desk.
Peter grabbed for it, reading what was written:
Man was I right or what? Actually don't deny it because we both know I'm always right. You really are a girl on the rag right now, aren't you? Even your writing is feminine, all neat and scripty. Here I go, taking my precious time writing you such an exquisite piece of literature, a very grand token of my affection and you put your nose up in the air about it believing it's a “joke”. Really, Petey, I expected more from you.
P.S. I am not sick, got that? I am a genius.
Peter felt his face heat up even more, first from insult and then from that other... thing. Grand token of his affection? His stomach gave a churn, seeing how angry the lettering looked at the end of the note. He'd ignore the jab about him being a menstruating young woman, for now, concentrating on what he'd write back. He flattened the note out, and his hands shook when he wrote back his response.
All right, sorry, you're not sick okay?
Peter wasn't going to admit to Gary that he was a genius. He had a big enough ego as it already was...
He tapped his pencil on the desk, unsure what he should say about the other thing. He bit his lip.
Look, what do you mean by token of affection? You're creeping me out with that. I know it was a joke, okay, so you don't have to go any further with it...
He hesitated briefly before quickly writing this down:
And I do not write like a girl!
Peter folded the note, laying it on Gary's desk.
Gary read it quickly, moving to scribble another response:
Ah, deny and deny all you want. This only shows further evidence of the fact that you are clearly a Femme-boy. No other boy writes as you do, not even that Kirby kid who so obviously has a hard-on for that muscled shit-head Trent and also has an obsession with shoes. Gord has manlier handwriting than you do and all he does is shop probably for dresses and watch sweaty preppies wrestle.
And then suddenly his pure genius must have struck him with full force. It was slow, but his grin turned wicked.
Well, fine then Miss Priss. How about this instead to further show my... affections.
He began to draw, doodle, whatever you wanted to call it, below the last thing that he had written. He wanted to take his time, make sure the expressions were just right...
Gary paused, knowing that something was missing, before adding a quick addition to the top of someone's head. He snuck a peek over to Peter, who was, sure enough, glancing back at him nervously and curiously. How could he deny Peter when he looked like he was in so much need and reassurance? Gary waited another minute before passing the note back over.
Looking at the note nervously, Peter again felt reluctant to open it back up. He finally mustered enough courage to open it, reading it slowly, and could see something drawn at the bottom with words above it and chose to ignore it for now. He sighed.
Alright, I get it. You think I'm a girl. I've been hearing that for years from you, so just drop it already. And... Trent and Kirby? Haha, yeah right.
Peter gulped, hoping his next line would ever cross the line of sight of any of the Preps.
Well, the Preps do spend a lot of time closed off from everyone else getting sweaty with each other. Though seeing Gord in a dress would be really weird...
Do you think he accessorizes?
Oh God, was Peter suddenly having fun with this note? Was a chance for small revenge against the cliques of this school with a person who could possibly spread such a thing and bite him in the ass later on worthwhile? The small smile on his face was all the proof he needed.
He suddenly bit his lip again, knowing there was more of the note yet to read, and could feel Gary's eyes on him. Gary seemed to be watching him intently ever since the note had started.
Peter finally glanced down to the bottom, wishing he hadn't. All the blood drained from his face. Gary had drawn a picture of them. A lewd picture. A lewd picture of them together. Where the color had originally drained from his face from viewing the image, it was now the opposite, basically beet red from the embarrassment of looking upon it.
In the doodle, he was laying across a smirking Gary's lap sporting bunny ears and looking like he was quite enjoying himself there in that position. With his pants around his ankles. Gary's hand was wielding his Halloween riding crop, obviously using it to spank him.
Oh, God. He was, at first, basically rendered speechless. Why would Gary draw something like this and show it to him? Then again, if he really thought about it, Gary showed him and told him a lot of shocking and gross things to get a rise out of him. But this, this was... this was completely different. A whole new playing field.
Peter shakily responded:
Gary, what the hell man?
He gulped, not even wanting to get a hint of what his tormentor's face looked like at the moment.
That would never happen! He quickly scratched out, tossing it over without much of a look. Anxiety ate away at him, because if that landed in the wrong hands...
Seconds droned on, Peter feeling himself get a little warm as he tried to concentrate and take notes from whatever the teacher had been describing from what was written on the board. Was he going to be jested by Gary some more or was he going to end up being more of a punch-bag than he already was?
He felt, more than heard, the piece of paper land on his desk. A quick glance at Gary showed him blank-faced, working on his own notes. Peter wished the hour would just end already, yet curiosity reared its ugly head and he had to see what was the response.
What's wrong Petey? I thought you were an artist. I just wanted your opinion and critique. Maybe these will fit your style better?
There, underneath the words were two more doodles, just as lewd and detailed as the last. The first one depicted himself swooning to a smug-looking Gary, little hearts all around his head.
“You're so awesome!” Doodle Petey cried out. “Please, Gary, let me taste you!”
Peter was sure he already knew what the second picture would entail, and when he studied it he confirmed his suspicion. It was doodle Gary, on a bed, looking incredibly pleased as doodle Petey gave him oral sex with an obnoxious *slurp* sound effect above their heads. His eyes followed down to the paragraph below.
I know about Trent and Kirby because I know everything that goes on around in this school. For example, like how you slipped in the bathroom yesterday and now have something in common with Pee Stain. Oh, I wish I was there to witness that. And yes, Gord probably spends an hour before he goes to bed each night coordinating which accessories go with each of his outfits.
Peter stuck a finger in his collar, pulling on it a tad in an attempt to make himself more at ease, feeling somewhat hot under the collar. Leave it to Gary to comfortably go between dirty drawings and ragging on his fellow classmates without so much as a pause.
He wondered, briefly, about just ignoring this whole thing entirely. To just go back to his notes so that later on when he was doing his homework he wouldn't have to scowl and spend the extra time cursing his so-called friend and life along the way.
But... he couldn't let Gary get the last word. Gary always had the last word, the last laugh.
I did NOT smell like pee! he wrote, but decided against it. That would have just given away the fact that yes, he did indeed slip on something in the boy's restroom and he would very much like to forget about it thank you very much. He quickly erased it and wrote something else on top of it instead.
Your shading is B-A-D. And your linework? Atrocious, Gary, just atrocious. I could have done a better job when I was in preschool.
He folded the note and passed it back to Gary. It didn't take very long to get a response back.
So you used to make dirty pictures of us back then? Aww, Petey, I am so flattered!
Peter scowled.
If you can't take a critique, don't ask for one.
Pass.
Ooh, feisty. Someone not get any chocolate pudding in the cafeteria earlier cause you're PMSing quite a bit there Femme-boy.
Pass.
Don't you have something else better to do?
Peter watched as Gary took the note, sliding it amongst his things. He waited, but Gary never continued on with what they were doing. Had a huge streak of luck just struck him? He settled down more into his seat and continued listening to the teacher.
Time passed, and Peter thought he was safe. But he should have known, he really should have. Not even five minutes later and there was a fresh new note on his desk. Would banging his head on his desk be appropriate right now?
Tentatively, as if he were trying to dissemble a bomb, he opened it. And then his mouth fell open, seeing the new artwork which was larger than the previous set. He let out the sound like that of an injured cat, which just about caught the attention of half of the class and his history teacher, Mr. Wiggins.
“Mr. Kowalski?” Mr. Wiggins looked over. “Are you alright?”
“Ah, y-yes sir,” Peter said awkwardly, trying to ignore the mass amount of sniggering he could hear from Gary. He knew the perfect cover story. “I just, um, really need to use the restroom.”
Mr. Wiggins sighed. “I suppose that's alright. Please hurry back, as you may miss something important from the lesson.”
Peter nodded, folding and stuffing the picture deep into his binder. He really did not want to get caught with that by anyone. He got up, giving Gary a little glare as he walked away. He got another trademark smirk in return.
Everyone gave him weird glances as he exited, but entering the hall left him alone. He walked briskly toward the bathroom, checking all of the stalls to see if they were unoccupied when he got there. When he found that they were, he walked over to the sink to splash some cool water on his face.
He walked over to a stall, and sat on the toilet with his legs up so they couldn't be seen, before locking the door securely. This situation was just so weird. He felt completely lost. Gary was unpredictable, and the outcome of this could have been just about anything...
Taking a deep breath, he realized that he couldn't just hide out in the bathroom stall forever so he exited the stall and left the bathroom. He made his way back to the classroom, as well as to his seat. Mr. Wiggins didn't even bother to take notice of his return, entirely engrossed with the lesson he was giving. The absolute look of boredom on the student's faces gave it all away.
Surprise, surprise, there was another wadded-up ball of paper on his desk. Peter felt like giving Gary the stink-eye over this nonsense, especially after he got that last picture of them going at it doggy-style.
Didja have to go and knock a quick one out in the potty, Petey? 8=D~
I should have known you'd get so worked up so fast. You little virgin.
Peter crumpled up the paper, hiding it amongst his things. Yeah, maybe he hadn't ever dated anyone or had sex or done anything really, but he doubted Gary really got far in that department himself anyway so there was no point rising to the bait. He settled back into the I-am-going-to-ignore-you stance he should have stuck with earlier.
Another damn note fell on his desk, this time not crumpled and enlarged for his non-enjoyment.
Oops, sorry, my bad. Guess you needed the little girl's room to change your sanitary pad.
Ignore.
Another showed up, Peter ignored it.
Another. Ignored again.
He heard a growl and possibly the sound of teeth smashing together. Apprehensively ignored.
Gary was starting to say, “Petey I swear if you keep-” but had been interrupted by the sound of the bell going off to signal the end of class.
“Oh my, oh my.” Mr. Wiggins looked upset. “The time is already up. Now everyone be sure to finish the rest of the chapter and answer the study questions to be turned in tomorrow. We'll also discuss projects.”
Everyone groaned. “Ah, well, class dismissed then.”
The uproar of everyone else trying to leave was a good cover for Peter trying to escape, but sure enough, Gary caught up with him at the door.
“Hey,” Gary called out, putting a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. “Don't ignore me like that.”
Peter winced at the words, not the touch. “Come on Gary, can we please just drop it?”
Gary snorted, shoving him forward so they could both start walking. “No.” He sneered. “What's your problem?”
“What's your problem?” Peter shot back with a squeak. “Youweredrawingpornofus!”
“Slrrrrrrrp.” Gary teased, making the fake motion of suckling a penis in his mouth. Justin and Chad, two preppies nearby, gave looks of high disapproval and disgust but Gary didn't care to pay mind.
“Ugh.” Peter started walking faster, trying to get away.
“Oh my God, you should have seen your face though. You looked so mortified. And so embarrassed.” Gary looked far too pleased, eyes looking sly and amused in Peter's direction. “Red, too, Femme-boy. I know you enjoyed it.”
“Shut up Gary.” Peter's body betrayed itself, as he could feel himself blush.
“Shut up Gary.” Gary mocked right back. “You know I don't like liars.”
That made Peter feel even more irritated. He chose not to respond.
Gary sighed, sounding irritated himself, yet resigned at the same time. “Whatever. Don't be such a baby about it. Let's go to the library and make out.”
Peter shot him a look.
That made Gary laugh. “See, you're just so easy to mess with. Anyway, you heard Wiggins.”
“Fine,” Peter replied. “But we're not going to be project partners.”
“That's what you always say.”
And that was true. That's where they always ended up, together.
"And you're not going to copy all of my answers."
"Uh-huh." Gary smiled, the conversation drifting off as the two boys headed out.