Folie

Act II, Scene 3

"Thank you, Mr. Giraffe- I mean, Mr. Dallon," Patrick giggled. Dallon chortled at the name Patrick gave him.

"Am I really that funny?" Patrick asked with doe eyes. Dallon couldn't take it anymore.

Before he could stop himself, he hooked his arm behind Patrick's neck and wrangled him towards himself, pressing his lips fervently into Patrick's own. If Patrick weren't deeply attracted to Dallon, he would have recoiled at the thought of someone kissing him without his permission. Despite this, hormones took control, and Patrick quickly opened his lips, allowing Dallon's mouth to freely explore his own. Patrick felt Dallon's fingers take hold of his chestnut locks, and Patrick melted into the taller boy's embrace, as they created their own world of passion, unaware of the watching bar around them.

"Patrick!" Brendon barked, abruptly ending Patrick's reverie, "you're running scenes with Joe until I call you for blocking," and without another word, he went to the next person.

Patrick winced at Brendon's curtness. Brendon heard about Patrick's kiss with Dallon, and for the past two weeks, he had made his fury with him very clear. Despite Patrick's efforts to make amends with Brendon, he had made no progress.

Dallon had also kept his distance from Patrick, only nodding in his direction when he saw him, while never actually talking to him outside of the musical. Patrick could even feel his body tense up whenever the two had to interact during rehearsal. This begun right after the kiss, when Dallon suddenly pulled away from Patrick and left the bar, leaving him hurt and confused.

Patrick tried turning to Pete for comfort and advice, but he was acting strangely as well. That night, after Dallon left, Pete made a shy joke to diffuse the situation, but otherwise, he didn't say much. In the two weeks since the kiss, he would attempt smiles and small talk with Patrick, but in general, he mostly stayed quiet and distant. With Dallon and his two closest friends largely ignoring him, Patrick felt very isolated.

"Hey, you wanna go ahead and do a run-through of our lines?" Joe said, smiling. Patrick knew he smiled out of politeness, but in his current state of loneliness, he felt waves of validation from such a small gesture.

"Sure," he replied.

They ran quickly through their scenes, and began to chat idly as they waited for Brendon to call them back for blocking.

"So, how've you been lately?" Joe asked. The only person at rehearsals who actually talked to Patrick now was Joe, and Patrick, for many reasons, deeply appreciated the attention he paid him.

"I've been okay, how 'bout you?"

"Good. Just okay, though?" Joe asked, concern filling his eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing. Things are good, really."

"You sure? You can tell me if something's wrong," he said, gently laying a hand on Patrick's arm as he did. A field of sparks radiated through Patrick's body as he felt Joe's light touch, convincing him to open up further.

"Well, it's just, I kinda accidentally made out with this guy that my friend and I both have a crush on, and now, he's angry with me, of course. That, and my best friend has been acting weird with me since it happened, and it really sucks, 'cause they're both my closest friends, and the only people in the musical I really talk to. And the boy I kissed isn't really talking to me either."