Six Crimson Seeds (A VegasPete Persephone AU)

Chapter 5: Dirty Work

Pete awoke with the dawn, his stomach twisted in knots and a light sheen of sweat on his brow. He struggled to steady his breathing as he attempted to throw off the unknown dread that had plagued his dreams only to vanish like smoke when his eyes opened. He couldn't make out the vision but the haze still choked his lungs.

After Vegas had left two days before, Pete couldn't stop looking over his shoulder for any sign that the other boy was still around. That he hadn't been a figment of his imagination.

It was silly, right? Pete knew they weren't friends, but something about Vegas had felt comfortable. Familiar. The loss of his presence was more than noticed. It hurt.

Pete had moved through the days on autopilot. He avoided Arm's questions about Vegas until the other boy just gave up, walking away as he shook his head. Pete had sat, oblivious to his surroundings, while Khun relayed the plots of his favorite shows. He had kept his head down while Chan lectured about different agricultural deities, forgetting each name as soon as it was uttered. The first night he had slept fitfully, but the second night was downright horrid. Pete couldn't be certain whether he was awoken by his own screams or whether it was all in his head.

It wasn't the first time he had a nightmare, so he was grateful he couldn't remember this one. Rubbing his face, he sat up, clearing his throat as he looked around his room. Arm had said the day before that Pete would be on his own for the day. It was a sort of free day for him to look over his schoolwork and get himself situated. He thought about having breakfast, but his stomach turned just at the notion. Instead, he showered and took his time getting ready, puttering around his pristine room looking for something to clean. Running out of distractions, he decided to sit at his desk and boot up his laptop. The book Vegas had given him kept taunting him out of the corner of his eye, so he stood up to set it on his bedside table, out of his direct sight. Just then, he thought he heard a faint knock against his door.

Holding his breath, Pete moved closer to the door. He looked out the peephole, but there was no one there. Just as he exhaled and told himself it was just the remnants of the nightmare messing with his head, he turned to go back to his desk and heard the sound again, this time more clearly.

Again, peering carefully through the peephole answered no questions.

"Okay. Please tell me there aren't invisible kids or something," Pete muttered under his breath as he slowly opened his door. Before he could stop it, a weight bolstered the door's momentum, throwing it aside as Pete jumped to move out the way.

There, sprawled in his doorway, was Vegas. A very unconscious and bloody Vegas.

Reacting instinctively, Pete leaned down to first make sure that Vegas was breathing before dragging him into the room. Pete grunted and heaved as he tried to get Vegas into the other bed in his room, but it was useless. His dead weight wasn't going to be lifted easily.

"Pete?" came a voice Pete hadn't heard much.

"Help," Pete said in a voice just loud enough to reach his still open door.

Kim walked in cautiuously, staring at Pete trying to lift Vegas for a few seconds before moving to help. Together, they managed to get him into the bed, where Kim pulled off his shoes while Pete ran to get a washcloth.

His hands were shaking as he wet the cloth and wrung it out. Hurrying back to the bed, Pete sat beside Vegas, checking him over thoroughly as he carefully began to wipe the blood away, his heart calming little by little the more unharmed skin was exposed.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Pete asked.

"A lot," Kim said, making Pete jump. He had forgotten Kim was there. Glancing over, Pete noticed the other boy also had some blood on him, but it looked like he had already wiped most of it off.