Hug Me {OffGun/PickRome}

Chapter 1

    Beep...Beep...Beep

    Rome groaned as he blindly reached for his phone.  It was 7 A.M and being the unlucky person he was, he had a class at 8 A.M he had to get up for.  The small boy was not looking forward to his first day at college.  He never really got along with anyone ever since he was outed as gay back in high school.  People would either avoid him or bully him, and though he thought starting college could be a way to start fresh, he wasn't about to get his hopes up.  Rome took a quick shower, hissing quietly as the water poured down the fresh cuts and bruises his dad gave him last night. 

    Rome's father had started being abusive towards him ever since he came out to his family in his second year of high school.  The bullying had gotten pretty bad at school and he was scared that the people who outed him would reach his parents as well.  He wasn't ready to come out; he wanted to wait until he entered college at least.  However, Rome hoped that maybe, just maybe, if he came out to his parents, they would let him switch schools to get away from the bullying.  That was not the case.  Rome no longer felt safe at home or at school; he felt trapped.  

    Rome sighed as he changed into his uniform, his top was oversized just as he liked, so thankfully it managed to cover up any bruises that had formed.  Rome went downstairs quietly as he feared he would wake up his dad and slid on his converse before leaving the house.  It was a long walk to his school, about thirty minutes, but he didn't have a car and he would rather not take public transportation.  "Shit...I'm going to be late" Rome mumbled to himself after checking his phone to see he only had two more minutes to get to his class.  Rome quickly rushed up the stairs once he was inside and ended up bumping right into someone's shoulder.

    "Oi! Watch where you're going shorty!" Rome looked up hearing the voice that was clearly laced with annoyance.  He looked like a typical bad boy, what with the leather jacket he wore over his uniform.  He was tall, though everyone was tall in Rome's eyes, and had piercing dark eyes that matched his silky black hair.  His face currently matched up with his voice, it was obvious he was irritated.

    'Great...just great.  First day and I'm already getting people to hate me.'  Rome thought to himself and sighed. 

    "Oh don't mind him."  Rome looked to the side, shocked at the sudden voice as a girl with a sweet face came over "P'Pick gets angry easily.  I'm sure it was just a mistake wasn't it?" She asked as Rome silently nodded as he was still in a bit of shock that someone actually came to his rescue.   "See?  Sorry about that P'.  Don't be angry with him."

    "Whatever" Pick responded rolling his eyes and passed by, making sure to bump Rome's shoulder lightly.

    "He's always like that.  He was my senior in high school and he's my boyfriend's best friend so I know him pretty well.  Don't worry too much"  the girl who was around Rome's height smiled softly "I'm Emma by the way.  What's your name?"

   "Ah...I'm Rome" he said with a small smile back.

   "Nice to meet you Rome.  Where are you heading?"  

    "My photography class...oh god, that reminds me!  I'm going to be late!"

    Emma let out a laugh, "well...looks like we'll be late together.  I have that class too.  Let's go!" she said quickly holding his hand to rush to their class. 

***

"What's got you so irritated?"  Porsche couldn't help but be amused seeing his best friend's already angry face as he walked into class.  

    Pick rolled his eyes hearing the amusement in Porsche's tone.  "This shorty had the nerve to run into me this morning and make me almost late.  He didn't even say sorry.  The most he did was nod when your girlfriend came to his rescue" Pick said, rolling his eyes again. 

    "Oh, calm down.  It was clearly an accident.  He probably was a freshman and you're quite intimidating."

   "Whatever...as long as I don't see him again" Pick grumbled. 

***

    Rome didn't know how to feel.  His day had been going surprisingly well, aside from the mishap that morning.  Rome and Emma really hit it off.  Rome hadn't had someone to talk to in a long time, he wasn't used to the idea of friendship.  Rome felt like he really connected to Emma as they were laughing and talking the whole class, but he couldn't help but be scared.  He was scared to let people in.  Rome didn't like to consider himself a pessimistic person, but life wasn't exactly kind to him and he was having a hard time trusting in this new bond that seemed to be forming.  'Would she still treat me like this if she knew I was gay?  Would she still want to be my friend if she knew?  What if she finds out I like men?'   These thoughts were constantly circulating in his mind, but something about her made him feel safe, causing him to want to possibly take that chance of getting to know her.

    "Rome? Rome? ROME!"

    "Huh?" Rome looked up from his drink as he snapped out of his thoughts.  

   "I've been calling you for like five minutes.  What's up?"  Emma asked from her place across from him at the canteen. 

    "Oh...sorry.  I was just thinking" Rome let out a small laugh as he sipped at his drink.

    "It's okay.  What about?" Emma asked curiously. 

    "Nothing important."

    "Sounds about right"  Emma joked.

    Rome put a hand to his heart pretending to be offended, "that hurts...that really hurts."  Emma only laughed and rolled her eyes in amusement.

    "Oh...now that I think about it...why aren't you sitting with your boyfriend?"  Rome asked.  He didn't want to make her feel like she had to sit with him instead of her boyfriend when he had only just met Emma that day.

    "Ah, he's preparing some things for his club right now" she smiled "he's the head of the club so he's in charge of preparations.  You should come actually.  It's after school."

    "Ah..." Rome nodded in understanding, "mm...I'm not sure. What kind of club is it?"

    "Well, he's going to be a vet so it's a club about stray cats and dogs basically.  Since I'm a freshman this year, I can finally join.  When I was a senior in high school, I would come to visit once the club was over and see the animals.  Please join na~   I mean who doesn't love animals?  And you'll get to see them all the time if you join~"  She said trying to sound convincing. 

    Rome was hesitant; he didn't know how his dad would react to him coming home later, but a part of him didn't care.  He didn't want to already ruin his friendship with Emma and he could tell she really wanted him to go.  Rome let out a breath, deciding to be brave for once. "Well...alright."

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 Hi everyone~ I hope you guys liked the first chapter.  I don't know if it was long but it definitely took me a long time to write haha!  Just so you know these aren't going to be an exact replica of their characters in Puppy Honey, maybe a mix of them as well as their characters in Theory of Love and how they are in real life.  I was debating between using Off and Gun, Pick and Rome, and even Khai and Third.  I decided to go with the names Pick and Rome since Theory of Love hasn't finished yet and I thought it would be better to use a pair of their characters.  Thank you for reading.  Please let me know if you liked it~