Chapter 4

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When Mikey woke up, his head was splitting with a painful headache. What in God's name happened last night?
Before he could even fully wake up, his feet got a mind of their own and ran him to the bathroom. He puked his guts out into the toilet, coming close to missing it and vomiting on the old, tiled floor. He groaned and laid beside the toilet in the pitch black bathroom. He tried to recall the last thing he remembered, and unfortunately for him, he had managed to remember nearly everything from the night.
Pete woke up to the sound of vomiting. For a brief moment, he had forgotten where he was, but quickly remembered and groggily got out of his bed to check up on Mikey. Pete considered himself the master of curing hangovers.
He walked into the bathroom and flickered the light on. Unsurprisingly, he was greeted by a hungover Mikey, appearing lifeless next to the toilet.
"Turn the light back off. It's giving me a headache." Mikey groaned drowsily, not even bothering to look up at Pete. "Not to mention that this is a little embarrassing, you having to see me like this," He admitted, cringing when he remembered all the things he said to Pete while he was under the influence.
"I've seen worse." Pete commented, stepping over and kneeling beside Mikey, keeping the light on.
"You done vomiting? We gotta get you back in bed," Pete asked the hungover boy with a soft tone, one he didn't typically bring out around people he barely knew like this.
"I am for now," Mikey mumbled. He felt like pure shit. Not only was his head splitting in two and his stomach aching, but he had to deal with all of the shame and guilt from what he had done.
"You gotta change your clothes too, you got vomit on your uniform!"
Mikey looked down out of his uniform and cursed in his head.
"That's definitely not coming out," He sighed.

Pete stood up and reached his hand out; Mikey grabbed it and let Pete pull him up. Mikey brushed his teeth, and then led him out of the bathroom. He then got him pain killers and a glass of water, laying the glass on his roommate's night stand after he took the medicine. Next, Pete grabbed Mikey some pajamas for him to change into. Mikey silently crept to the corner of the moonlit room and changed into the clean clothes, laying his vomit covered clothes in the bathroom and the clothes that didn't get puked on in his clothing basket. Afterwards, he slowly trudged to his bed and slid into the warm covers.
"If I were you, i'd probably try to get more sleep. We gotta get up for church in three hours," Pete commented from his own bed, across the room from Mikey.
"Yeah," Mikey mumbled. "Thanks for helping me by the way,"

"Don't mention it," Pete replied before managing slipping back into his slumber.

-
Pete and Mikey woke up once again to the sound of an obnoxiously loud church bell chiming. Mikey was used to this noise, but Pete wasn't.
"What the fuck is that?" Pete groaned exhaustedly.
"Church bell. Means one hour 'til we gotta be in the sanctuary," Mikey mumbled back, yawning to himself. He still didn't feel great, but it was a step up from earlier.
Pete groaned and rolled out of his bed.
"What happens if we don't go to church?" Pete asked curiously.
"Punishment. Don't ask me what the punishment is, i've never gotten it. I hear it's rough," Mikey explains. Pete just sighed and got out his uniform, begrudgingly preparing for his first (of many) church services at the new school, his mind wandering to how Mikey behaved around him. After many drunken nights with many people, he knew the phrase "drunk actions are just sober thoughts" all too well. He decided to save Mikey the embarrassment and pretend to forget everything that had happened, even if a small part of him enjoyed it.
-
Mikey and Pete walked together to the sanctuary in silence. The walk was pretty short, but to Pete, it was miserable. He had always hated church with a noteworthy passion. He hoped that Mikey would somehow make it less shitty, but he knew even that would be a stretch.
Pete had planned to sit with Mikey during the service, considering he was one of the only people he knew so far. He walked down the wooden isle, directly following behind him. The sanctuary was spacious with rows upon rows of pews filling it up. Colorful stained glass windows lined the walls, each depicting a different event from the bible. Pete liked the aesthetic of this sanctuary better than the one of his old church, but he still didn't particularly enjoy being there.
Mikey eventually sat down in the very front row. Pete hated the front; it made him feel uncomfortable being so close to the pastor.
"Are you gonna sit with me?" Mikey asked, subtly motioning next to the empty space next to him. Deep down, he hoped Pete would sit with him. He didn't understand why. Pete shook his head wordlessly and scanned his eyes around the sanctuary. He realized there wasn't anyone else to sit with, and felt a wave of panic wash over him.
"You sure? It's not that bad up here," Mikey commented.
Pete smiled awkwardly settled into sitting with Mikey, making sure to not sit too close to him as to not make him uncomfortable.
"I promise it's not so bad here," Mikey reassured as he opened his bag and pulled out a tiny notebook labeled 'Sunday service notes' and grabbing a blue pen from his pocket. This confused Pete, why would he be taking notes?
"Yeah, okay," Pete sighed passively, starting to worry that he was supposed to be note taking as well. He looked around and noticed that most kids had notebooks too. Shit.
"Look, just try to keep calm through the service. I can get us some ice cream after this, will that make you happy?" Mikey suggested. He didn't get money a lot, so the fact he was willing to spend what little cash he had on Pete was surprising, to say the least.
"Good idea," Pete says, a smile on his face now that he had something to look forward to.
-
"...and that is why it's so important to not sin." Pastor Ryan explained sternly, peering down at the congregation of teenage students. Most of them were taking notes, so Pastor Ryan developed a tendency to give them time to write what he said.
Brendon, on the other hand, never bothered to take notes. He had better things to worry about.
Every time they have a church service, Brendon would sit in the very front row, directly parallel to Pastor Ryan. He would stare at him lustfully, trying everything he could to get his attention. Brendon had made up a theory; Pastor Ryan is the very thing he hates, a homosexual, and he most definitely wasn't as religious as he let on. All of his friends thought that it was complete bullshit, especially Mikey. But Brendon was absolutely convinced. Ryan showed all the signs. No pastor has ever worn more stylish and flamboyant robes. His hair is always styled strategically and his skin was almost always clear. Now, Brendon knows that a straight man could have all these traits, but his last piece of evidence is irrefutable. Last year, he had paid this dude he knew from his old school to hack into Ryan's social media accounts. He found texts of him flirting with gay men, but whenever he mentions it to anyone, they accuse him of being a liar. He doesn't care.
He knows he'll get Ryan eventually.
-
The church service eventually ended after an hour and a half of sermons; it managed to feel like a lifetime to Pete.
"You still up for ice cream?" He asked Mikey as they walked out of the church, their bodies naturally gravitating closer and closer to each other as they walked.
"I guess," Mikey sighed, avoiding eye contact with Pete. He had trouble focusing in the service today, which had never been a problem for him before. He couldn't believe what had happened the previous night, and was in utter shock that he initiated it all. He felt terrible. For the first time in his adolescence, he felt like he had sinned. He was terrified. He knew he couldn't have a crush on a boy, especially one as reckless and opposite to him as Pete was. He ignored the possibility of him developing feelings for his roommate, because to him, they were impossible. He was straight, celibate, and definitely not about to change that for a boy he barely knew.
-
Pete and Mikey got their ice cream at one of the school's cafeterias and eventually attended the afternoon Sunday service, getting to know each other better and better as time went on.
-
"Thank God Pastor Ryan cancelled tonight's service, I don't think i can survive a third sermon today," Pete sighed happily as they got back in their dorm room.
"Yeah, they do get tedious sometimes," Mikey admitted, trying to keep the conversation as far away from what happened and the thoughts he's been trying to ignore about Pete.
Pete wasn't as ashamed of his attraction. He knew he was developing feelings for his new roommate, and his only worry was if Mikey was actually gay, and if he was, how he could get him to be not ashamed enough to actually accept it?

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