Dog Pound

•5•

Pete knows that Frank and his friends are responsible for Patrick's bruises, he doesn't need anyone to confirm it because he is one hundred percent sure. Frank deserves to get his ass beaten until he can no longer walk and Pete would really love to be the one to do it, but he can't, not when he's so close to getting out of this place. He can't get into any trouble for the next month, not even if it's for someone else's sake. But Pete's sure that Patrick would like to beat Frank senseless on his own anyway.

During lights out Pete can't get to sleep, which isn't unusual, but he can't stop staring at the empty bunk beside him. He can't help but feel bad that Patrick's been put in solitary. But fuck if he's going to let Frank get away with this.

Patrick lies awake in his plain, grey-walled cell on his thin, uncomfortable mattress and if it wasn't for the very small window at the top of the wall, he'd have no clue what time of day it is. It's his final day in the box and he's simply waiting, counting down every second in his head. He's not sure if he has the timing right but he has a good enough idea. He can't wait to get out of this goddamn box.

***

Pete is sitting at the lunch table poking at the questionable slab of meat on his tray with his spork, staring at the other side of the table as though he can will Patrick to appear. Just an hour or so left and Patrick will be here, and man, it's been one hell of a three days. If Pete thought he was alone before, he feels fucking isolated without Patrick around. But he doesn't know why. He doesn't understand why he suddenly feels so damn alone without one sole thing that has become a constant in his miserable life. Goddammit, what the hell is happening?

Pete doesn't eat much of his food and goes to dump his tray, suddenly he feels sick and wants to lay down.

He goes back to the dorm and shuffles his feet towards his bunk and when he gets there he finds that it's already occupied. Pete follows the person's legs up to their torso then comes face to face with none other than Patrick, his nose buried in a notebook that has Pete's name scribbled on the cover in black ink. Patrick looks up at Pete and sees him smile, like, an actual smile that reaches his eyes. It's the first time that Patrick sees Pete's face do anything other than frown and pout. Patrick smiles back.

Pete flicks his eyes downward at the spiral notebook in Patrick's hands, not minding that Patrick is reading it really. He's just glad that Patrick is out of the box and it distracts him a little, so he just asks, "Which one are you reading?" then takes a seat beside Patrick on his bunk.

"Um," Patrick's eyes flick back to the top of the page. "'You're Crashing But You're No Wave'." He reads.

Pete nods. "I had this hearing a while back. It sent me home free, but then I fucked it up after five weeks on the outside and now, here I am again." He chuckles bitterly.

"You wrote this about your hearing." Patrick observes.

"Yup," Pete says. "I'm, uh, I'm glad you're out, though."

Patrick closes the notebook and places it on the bed. "Me, too."

Pete grabs the notebook and stuffs it under his mattress then gets to his feet. "I feel like playing ping pong."

"Um, okay?" Patrick says confusedly.

Pete rolls his eyes. "Just come on, dude." Then Patrick gets up and follows Pete to the rec room.

But in reality, Pete didn't plan on playing ping pong. He had talked to Andy before lunch and was informed that Frank and his friends would be in the rec room sometime today. He might not be able to participate in giving Frank what he had coming to him but wanted to at least witness it. Pete decided to go there at the perfect time.

The boys had found Andy and Joe standing right outside the room, conversing animatedly before they notice Pete and Patrick's arrival.

"Hey guys," Joe greets them both before turning his attention to Patrick. "I heard you wanted to get payback on Iero."

Patrick gives him a confused look at first then remembers he only made enemies with one person recently, Frank. He nods.

"He's in the rec room with Bob," Andy says.

"Who?" Patrick really needs to learn everyone's name around here.

"The blond with the lip ring." Andy says, then he adds, "The second the room is clear, you have five minutes. No more, no less."

That should be plenty of time. The four of them casually walk into the room, there's a bookshelf and a small round table occupied by a few people Patrick's seen maybe one other time. Pete looks over to Joe and gives him a nod then does the same to Andy. Joe goes over to the corner of the room where the only camera is stationed and steps up in a chair, using the palm of his hand to cover the lens and turn it away from the rest of the room. He makes sure to keep his face out of the shot so he can avoid getting in trouble later. Andy stands by the door to keep watch for any guards.

"Alright, everybody get the fuck out!" Pete shouts, startling Patrick a bit. He didn't know such a loud, angry voice could come out of such a small person.

Some of the kids are hesitant to leave and a little confused so Pete yells again, "Out, now!" Everyone finally gets the hint and scramble out of the room. Time starts ticking down.

"What the hell is this?" Frank asks, gesturing to the other boys. He looks directly at Patrick. "Oh, I remember you. Little Stink Eye. And you brought Wrist Cutter with you." He smirks at the two.

Pete clenched his jaw at the words that frank directed at him. He tried so hard not to let it get to him but could barely keep his composure. The next thing Frank says makes him snap.

"It's a shame you even exist, you are a waste of a life."

That was Pete's breaking point.

He stomps over to Frank, passing the ping pong table on his way and picking up one of the paddles. He treats it as a weapon and uses the edge to whack Frank in the face with all of the force his body can muster.

Bob tries to step in but Patrick gets there first, punching him in the throat simply because Bob was kind of tall and Patrick couldn't really reach his face. Bob staggers back and Patrick continues to wail on him.

Pete didn't let up with the ping-pong paddle, once Frank fell to the floor he kept going. He even added his other hand to punch him in the face. There was blood and a few cuts on the surface of Frank's skin, someone needed to stop Pete before he ended up killing the boy. Bob was in too much pain to move so Patrick was able to grab Pete and pull him away, even having to drag him out of the room. Joe hopped down from the chair by the camera and bolted out if the room with Andy not too far behind. Frank was struggling to breathe and lying in a puddle of his own blood.

On the way out as Patrick dragged him from the rec room, Pete shouted, "Next time I'll fucking kill you! You hear me?! I will rip you apart!"

Once he and Patrick reach the end of the hall, his voice becomes nothing but incomprehensible yelling.