Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/12875979.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Steven_Universe_(Cartoon)
  Relationship:
      Lars_Barriga/_Pee_dee_Fryman
  Character:
      Lars_Barriga, Pee_Dee_Fryman, Sadie_Miller, Ronaldo_Fryman
  Additional Tags:
      Slow_Burn, Smoking, I'll_add_tags_as_needed, Sexual_Tension
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-12-01 Chapters: 1/? Words: 6255
****** 336 Hour Shift ******
by beebotboy
Summary
     Lars has to babysit Peedee Fryman for 2 weeks. He begins to have
     feelings for him, which is weird and complicated.
When the school bell rang at the end of the day, nearly every student would
pile onto a bus. Each bus takes the kids to their homes. Not Lars of course,
bus routes were one thing he did not have to worry about. It was something he
took much pride in, to not have to crowd into a smelly old metal box filled to
the brim with oddball high school teens. Instead, Lars would drive to and from
school in a beat up station wagon. Its paint job was peeling, and the windows
were stained a gross yellow-brown color. The seats were littered with cigarette
burns, pairing nicely with the inescapable smell of smoke and the ash filled
cup holders. It was disgusting, clunky, and musty. Yet despite this, it was
impressive. In High School, when life as an adult was getting a kick start, the
lowest of the low was held in high regard. His grades were in the gutters, but
at least Lars could sleep easy knowing that even the cool kids could cop a ride
from him.
Today he waited outside of school, not for any particular reason, it just made
him look like he had something to do. He leaned against a wall while trying
particularly hard to look relaxed. The last of the buses drove away, leaving
only a few kids hanging around. Kids who probably had after school activities
or needed to be picked up by their parents. Lars side eyed a group of teens.
They weren’t preppy or even particularly popular, but they vibed well. In his
mind, they were ‘chill’. He wouldn't mind hanging out with them. If they wanted
to, anyway. He looked forward, then glanced in the opposite direction of them.
He put his hands in the pockets of his slim fitting pants. One pocket had two
crumpled cigarettes, the other had a lighter and some balls of lint. From what
he could tell there were no teachers around. Right, no one would notice.
Lars took the cigarettes and lighter out. One of the cigarettes was beyond use.
It was bent and a long rip trailed up it, making its contents spill out. He
tossed it and placed the remaining cigarette in his mouth, then shot a look to
the lingering group of teenagers. It took a few tries, but he managed to get a
flame out of the beat up lighter. Smoking did not come naturally to Lars. His
first time doing it was freshman year. It was only because a more popular
sophomore egged him on. The cigarette gave him a coughing fit and the sophomore
laughed at him. To this day, Lars doesn’t smoke regularly, or even enjoy it.
For Lars, smoking was reserved for moments such as ‘chilling’. By that, he
means outside of parties he flunked himself into being invited to, or when
someone he wanted to impress was around. Just like what he was doing right now.
He took a drag, not actually breathing it in. Just holding it in his mouth for
a few moments and then exhaling. Not that anyone would notice… Unless they
observed him closely. Lars turned his head to catch another look at the group.
Instead, he got an eyeful of someone else. He jumped in surprise and stood
awkwardly, like a trapped animal about to be mauled by a predator. His teeth
bit down on the cigarette, nearly severing it into two unequal pieces. Ronaldo.
A big dope, a nerd, a weirdo. Definitely not someone you would want to get
caught talking to.
“Hey, LARS, how are you doing?!” Ronaldo belted out loudly. Lars swiveled his
head away from Ronaldo and covered his face with his hands. He desperately
hissed in a hushed tone beneath his breath. “Jesus Christ, man, don’t you have
any volume control?”
Everyone in a two mile radius must have been staring at them, or at least it
felt like it. Lars regained his posture and leaned back against the wall. He
awkwardly shuffled a bit, praying to every god possible that some miracle would
happen. He would not mind melting into the wall and out of existence, or maybe
getting struck by a giant rock. Ronaldo grabbed Lars’ arm, his big hand
wrapping completely around his thin limb. Lars shuddered with disgust. Where
have those hands been?
“Larrrrrs, I need to ask a VERY IMPORTANT favor of you” Ronaldo propositioned,
this time not as loud as before.
Ronaldo was far too close. Lars tugged his arm away and dusted his sleeve off
in a dramatic fashion. He spat out his now unusable cigarette and crushed it
beneath his shoe. With gritted teeth he responded, “What? What do you want?”
Ronaldo put the palms of his hands together and bowed down. He asked in an
overly polite, forced formal voice, “Please, give me a ride home.”
Lars groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked over at the group of
‘cool’ teenagers. They were preoccupied, talking amongst each other and looking
at their phones. An undignified stressed noise squealed out from his throat.
“F-Fine...FINE! Just-” He desperately glanced from the group, to Ronaldo, to
his car. He grabbed Ronaldo’s shirt collar and forced him into an upright
position.
“Stop doing that, it’s weird” Lars muttered, shoving the heavier guy in the
direction of the parking lot.
Ronaldo smiled wide as they walked towards the sloppily parked station wagon.
He thanked Lars loudly and repeatedly. Lars unlocked the car, got into the
driver’s seat, and closed the door. For a few sweet moments, the nerdy guy’s
blubbering was muffled. Until he got into the passenger’s seat, where he
continued his ranting. It was unbearably draining to listen to. Lars shoved his
key into the ignition and turned it. The car sputtered heavily before slipping
into a low purr. With the car being started, so was the radio. A strange song
playing quietly. He relaxed in his seat. Ronaldo was silent now, his face
clenched up in dramatic and forced thought. Lars pulled out of the parking lot
unskillfully. As they left school grounds Ronaldo started blabbing again.
“This artist is nice, but I know of a band far superior to them” he stated
matter of factly. He dug through his backpack.
Lars grumbled, sinking into the seat, “It’s just a random song playing on the
radio. I do NOT care.”
Ronaldo retrieved a CD from a case in his bag. It was covered in faded anime
girl stickers and had ‘Playlist Ultra’ written on it in permanent marker.
“You-What? No, Ronaldo, you are NOT playing that” Lars sputtered out, putting
one arm over his stereo, as if to protect it.
Lars looked back at the road and slammed the brakes, nearly driving through a
red light. His hand moved back to the steering wheel and he growled. Ronaldo
took the opportunity to slip the CD into the player.
“Don’t worry, I put a lot of tender love and time into this mix. It is going to
be the ultimate eardrum massage” Ronaldo assured.
The light turned green and Lars sped forward. He cringed when the beat started.
Already he could tell this was going to be a terrible experience. The songs
were grating, cheery, and terribly high pitched. Each word getting spouted out
by the singer was like having your head dipped into a box of broken glass.
Ronaldo did not even seem to be enjoying it, he was staring out the window with
an incredibly focused expression. Lars ran a hand through his own hair, pushing
it out of his face and digging his fingers into his scalp.
“Jesus Christ, dude you-” Lars began, but Ronaldo aggressively hushed him.
Ronaldo pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned the volume
down. His gaze burned intensely into Lars. The way he held himself all the
time, it was like he thought he was being filmed for a movie or something
incredibly dumb like that.
Ronaldo chuckled and looked down, “I had ulterior motives for bringing you
here.”
Lars, incredibly uncomfortable, gave him an odd look and said, “This… Is my
car? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about an important job offer” Ronaldo responded.
Lars tapped the steering wheel with each individual finger. The corners of his
mouth turned up into a shaky smile. Under his breath, he mumbled, “Oh my god,
what a fucking weirdo.” He twisted his head to read the street sign on the
sidewalk as he spoke, “O-... Kay… Uhh… What is it?” He asked while turning down
the road into a neighborhood.
Ronaldo clenched his fist, shaking it a bit. He peeked at Lars from the corner
of his eye to see if he was watching. He was.
“Hehe… I thought you would never ask” he responded ominously.
Lars clicked his tongue and commented, “Why would I take a job I knew nothing
about?”
“I don’t know. Why would you? Anyways, it is very important… You think you can
handle it?” Ronaldo said, completely swerving around the question in favor of
putting on a show.
“Sure… If it is reasonable” Lars remarked with a slight shrug.
Ronaldo put a hand on Lars’ shoulder and said, “I need you… To babysit Peedee.”
“That isn’t as big of a deal as you made it out to be” Lars muttered out
bitterly, but also visibly relaxed. He had thought it would be a lot stranger
than it actually was.
“Well, actually my Dad and I are going to be gone for two weeks” Ronaldo
replied, retracting his hand.
Lars counted the address numbers marked on the houses as they made their way
towards the Fryman house. He grimaced. “Two whole weeks. That’s uh, that’s a
long time. And I would have to look after him the entire time?” Lars asked.
Their conversation distracted Lars, and he passed by Ronaldo’s house. Ronaldo
opened his mouth to tell him, but Lars shot him a glare. “I KNOW. I’m turning
around” Lars snapped out angrily and jerked the steering wheel around. The car
violently swerved, making Ronaldo lurch to the side.
He pulled into the driveway of the house and pushed on the brakes. Ronaldo
picked his backpack up off the floor of the car and gazed forward with a
burning intensity. He asked in a casual tone, “So, are you going to do it?”
Lars pursed his lips together, a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. He
rolled his eyes from one direction to the other nervously and gulped, “Well.
Uh. I don’t know. Mmmm… Maybe?”
“GREAT, CAUUUUSE. I already told my dad that you would do it” Ronaldo blurted
out loudly, then abruptly got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He
pressed his face to the window and yelled, his words muffled but
understandable, “WE ARE LEAVING TOMORROW, HE HAS TO COME WITH YOU TONIGHT!”
“WHAT? NO! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!” Lars insisted. His face had rage and confusion
written all over it as he honked the horn feverishly.
It was too late, Ronaldo was rushing into his house. ‘What a rat’ Lars thought
to himself. He twisted the car key, turning the vehicle off. He placed his
forehead on the steering wheel and tapped his foot on the ground. Would it be
such a terrible thing to just drive away right now? Probably. Lars had not seen
Peedee in years. Well, no, actually he has. The kid did work at the fry-stand.
So he was always sort of around. With the boardwalk being so small it was
inevitable that you would bump into everyone in Beach City eventually. He tried
to remember the last time he even spoke to Peedee.
There were the few times he ordered fries… That doesn’t count though, they
never had a real conversation any of those times. In fact, the last time they
ever interacted was probably way back when him and Ronaldo were best friends.
Lars recoiled at that, how embarrassing. They were young, Peedee much younger.
He had never considered striking up any sort of friendship or bond with the
kid, so he was always tossed to the wayside. An afterthought, just someone you
know’s younger sibling, not important. And now he was going to be around.
Nonstop. For two weeks. What was he even like? How old was he? Lars lifted his
hand up and started counting on his fingers…
No use. He was bad at counting and he had no clue when Peedee was born. At
least he wasn’t actively annoying? Kids make themselves more ‘known’ when they
are hell demons. Lars tilted his head up, jerking his slouched body upwards
when he saw Peedee approaching the car. He un-gripped the steering wheel and
furiously wiped his sweaty palms on the front of his sweater. Peedee walked to
the right-side door for the backseat and opened it. He tossed his bag in and
clambered on to the seat, closing the door behind him. His bag was large,
nearly the same weight and height of Peedee himself. How did he manage to carry
it from the house to the car with no trouble? Lars turned around to look at the
kid. He was short, thin, and had that signature messy mop of curly hair on the
top of his head. Just like Ronaldo and their dad.
Lars spoke with an awkward and highly uncomfortable smile, “So, Peedee. How are
you?”
Peedee picked at a cigarette butt that was mashed into the seat. He leaned
forward, grabbing the front car seats to balance himself, and said, “I’m fine.
What did my brother tell you?”
“He talked a whole lot but didn’t really… Say much” Lars responded, his forced
smile turning down into a frown. He looked down in thought for a moment and
asked, “Actually... Am I getting paid? He never mentioned that.”
Peedee groaned and fell back into the backseat. He dragged his hands down his
face, pulling his bottom eyelids down for a moment. His fingers rubbed his
temples and he sounded frustrated as he spoke, “Okay. Alright. That sounds just
like him. So the deal is…”
Lars raised a brow.
“You’re not. Not by him or my dad at least… But I won’t let my brother jip
someone like that. So you’re getting my…” Peedee motioned with his hands while
he explained the situation, then paused. It looked like it physically hurt him
to utter the next words, “You’re getting my paycheck, from working at the
boardwalk fry-shack.”
Lars blinked, then turned to look forward. He grinned and chimed a bit
snottily, “Your brother kind of sucks.”
Peedee put his arms in the air and exclaimed, “OH MY GOSH I KNOW! He pulls this
junk like ALL THE TIME!”
“Trust me, I understand kid” Lars said, turning the key and starting the car.
He looked at Peedee through the rear-view mirror. “Buckle up” he told Peedee,
who’s short legs were kicking over the edge of his seat.
Peedee’s toes barely touched the floor. With Lars’ careless driving, the small
kid would be thrown everywhere if he weren’t strapped down. Peedee pushed his
tongue up against his teeth, some of it poking out of a gap where one was
missing. As he pulled on the crusty belt, it got caught. He yanked it a few
times until it stretched out and he clicked it in place. His gaze moved up
slyly and he made eye contact with Lars through the mirror.
“Y’know, I think I know more about how weird Ronaldo is than you do” Peedee
said in a smug manner.
Lars twisted his torso and rested his arm on his chair to look behind him. He
focused on the street as he reversed the car, but spared the kid in the
backseat a glance. He smirked, “You bet? You may be his brother but I was his
best friend.” Lars leaned towards Peedee and joked almost menacingly, “Best
friends tell eachother everything.”
Peedee squinted at him. Lars snickered, then moved back to his seat, facing
forward. He turned the car and drove away from the house. He turned the volume
on the stereo up, only to be greeted with the ear grating shit that Ronaldo had
put into his poor player.
“Oh my gosh, is that the stuff my bro listens to?” Peedee asked, his jaw
dropping from absolute shock.
Lars’s face turned red and he stammered out desperately, “N-NO! WELL, YES, BUT-
”
He swiftly fumbled with his stereo, pressing every button until the CD inside
was ejected. Lars grabbed it, rolled down the window, and tossed it out onto
the road. Peedee turned to look at it out the back window. He pointed to it and
looked back at the teen.
“Was that his ‘Mega Mix’?” Peedee questioned.
Lars swallowed and did not answer for a few moments. “Playlist Ultra...” he
mumbled.
Peedee sat back down, giggling quietly. There was an elongated silence. Just
the car clinking and occasionally squealing while Lars drove. He tried tuning
in to the radio for music that was not terrible high pitched girls screeching.
He settled on a classic anthem from the 80’s that was halfway done. No talking.
The car twisting and turning while the music played. There was an occasional
throat clear and sniffle to punctuate the awkwardness. Honestly, Lars expected
this. He knew this kid, but he didn’t know him. It felt almost... Creepy. To
just show up and then have a child shoved into his car. Lars wasn’t even sure
who had the creepier deal from the deck. At least he had history with Ronaldo,
if he didn’t well, it would feel a lot like a kidnapping. Anxiety was beginning
to boil in his intestines like a soppy gumbo soup. Are people going to think
he’s some sort of pervert?
That was the thing about growing up into manhood. You go from a protected and
sheltered child to a possible predator over the course of a few years. People
become apprehensive unless they know you inside and out. At least, that was how
it felt. Not that it mattered, it would be fine. He was over thinking the
entire situation. Lars didn’t have the stereotypical ‘pedophile’ look. He was
just some kid. Some kid that was old enough to take care of another kid. Well,
maybe. Probably not. What even compelled him to have those fears in the first
place? He looked at Peedee in the rearview mirror. He was on his little phone
which had a colorful design on the case. ‘What does he need a phone for?’ Lars
wondered while he neared his house. His dad’s car was in the driveway.
“SHIT” Lars yelled suddenly and pushed hard on the brakes, screeching to a
stop. Peedee dropped his phone onto his lap and made a small noise of surprise.
He glared at Lars, voice cracking as he raised his voice at him, “Why the HECK
DID YOU DO THAT?”
Lars’ parents were home. He huffed out, “Nothing… Uh…” He began to drive away
from his house. Peedee scooted a bit to look out the window and watch the house
get farther and farther away. His eyes warily landed on Lars. “Kid, wanna hear
an embarrassing story about your older brother?” Lars asked, his voice becoming
higher.
It was obvious he was trying to distract Peedee from the fact that he was
avoiding his parents. But Peedee took it, his eyes going wide and nodding with
much energy. Lars was almost caught off guard by how easy it was. In his mind
the preteen’s maturity and demeanor painted him like just another teenager. Not
someone who was easily duped.
Lars laughed nervously, but with more confidence than when he made the
suggestion, “Alright alright. Let’s see, I have about a million stories to pick
from.”
Peedee lidded his eyes and had a small smile on his face. He put a finger up
and bragged, “I have a million and ONE embarrassing stories of him!”
“Shut up” Lars snapped in a playful manner. He thought for just a moment, then
began, “Alright, here’s a good one… So, we were in early middle school… Just
like- just like you?”
Peedee nodded.
“Yeah, okay. Just like you. So, we were hanging out, of course, and we were
walking around the boardwalk” Lars continued. He set the scene while he made a
turn to leave the neighborhood. “I bought the both of us some hot dogs. In one
hand, Ronaldo was holding an empty soft drink cup, the other his hot dog. He
went to go throw away the plastic cup while also taking a bite from his weiner.
You know what he does instead?” Lars looks at Peedee expectantly, his smile
stretching across his face. Peedee shook his head. “He threw the hot dog away
and nearly chomped out the cup!”
Peedee seemed unimpressed and said, “That doesn’t sound terrible. He has done a
LOT worse.”
“No no, that isn’t the best part. So, I happen to have a few bucks on me… And I
dare him to pick up the trash dog and eat it.”
“Uh-huh.” Peedee mumbled.
“Okay, okay, here it is… The hot dog LANDED IN VOMIT! And Ronaldo really needed
that money… He was looking to get a new gaming system… So, he ate the vomit
dog!” Lars finished, sitting up straight.
Peedee snorted and laughed. He put his forehead in his hand while giggling
wildly. His eyes made contact with Lars’ in the mirror, croaking out, “I wish I
could say I don’t believe you…”
Lars’ smug smirk turned a bit soft. He said nothing as they entered the part of
town that was directly on the beach. He scanned the area, looking for somewhere
to go. Peedee traced his finger along the designs in the worn out cushions of
the seats. Almost instinctively, Lars pulled into the parking lot of ‘The Big
Donut’. He stopped the car and turned it off. He unbuckled himself and got out
of the car. Peedee followed quickly afterwards, slamming the door harder than
intended.
“Jeez, just break my car while you’re at it” Lars spat.
Peedee flushed with embarrassment and whispered, “sorry.”He walked over to
Lars. His croc flip flops made little squelching noises with each step. “Are we
getting donuts?” Peedee asked, wringing his hands together.
Lars looked down at him with slight amusement and responded, “I work here, so
sure. Free donuts.”
Peedee gave him a look of concern as they walked towards the front door.
“What?” Lars said sharply while opening the door, making the bell jingle.
Peedee bunched up his white wife beater in his hands, voice cracking nervously
when he asked, “Won’t we get in trouble? I know my dad chews me out when the
profits and stocks don’t add up…”
Lars lightly guided Peedee into the store, responding confidently, “This is one
of the many locations of a food chain. They have lower standards, and profit
more. I think they can handle a few missing donuts.”
Peedee stepped into the brightly lit store, his wariness still evident. Lars
rolled his eyes.
“Look, I’ve taken tons of donuts and my manager has not said a WORD. It really
isn’t a huge deal” he reassured.
Peedee opened his mouth to respond, but was startled by someone suddenly
talking. Specifically Sadie, Lars’ coworker and on/off fling. It was
complicated, but things were rarely weird between them.
“Lars, are you influencing Peedee negatively?” She said, looking amused while
resting her cheek in her hand.
“No” Lars said bluntly.
Sadie sighed, “Why are you even here? You don’t have work today.”
Lars walked around the counter, planting himself down on a chair next to her.
He shrugged, making an indifferent grunting noise. Peedee lingered in the
middle of the store, his strange stance radiated discomfort. His face was
twisted with the look of a lost child. Sadie gave Lars a light shove and
pointed to Peedee.
“What do you have him with you for?” She inquired quietly, hoping not to alarm
the kid.
Lars vaguely gestured with his hand for Peedee to come over as he replied,
“Babysitting job. Ronaldo and Mr. Fryman are out of town for a while.”
Peedee nervously scampered over and stood beside him. Sadie smiled at the kid,
but then shot a doubtful look to Lars.
She scooted over and whispered to him, “Do you really think you can take care
of him? You can’t even properly take care of yourself…”
Lars glared at her, then began to whisper shout to her, “What? I can take care
of myself! Screw you Sadie, I don’t need my parents’ help to babysit him!”
“Your… Parents?” Sadie mumbled.
Peedee tilted his head, his curly hair flopping to one side. His frown
deepened, the teenagers weren’t being as quiet as they thought. In fact, every
word was incredibly clear. Lars glanced at Peedee, the anger that simmered in
his chest and throat was restrained. It continued to bubble and gurgle, but
refused to overflow. He relaxed his tightly wound body, groaning.
His eyes were shut as he spoke, “Sadie. Trust me. I will be okay, and he will
be okay.”
She did not respond, watching him as he got up and stormed into the backroom.
“I should… Yeah” Peedee cut himself off and swiftly followed his babysitter.
The door was left swinging by Lars, and he nearly got smacked by it trying to
get in.
Lars plopped himself on a flimsy table shoved off to the side. Even on the
table his feet touched the ground and he remained taller than Peedee. He
growled to himself, gripping the edge of the table. His knuckles turned white
and he tapped his foot irritably. Peedee kept his distance. It was unreasonable
to avoid his parents, and Lars knew it. However, he chose to let his pure
impulsiveness and emotion drive his decision making. No matter how petty it
was, at least it was his choice. Either way his mom would lose her shit on him.
Might as well put it off as long as possible. That woman always got on his
nerves. She wasn’t particularly mean, in fact she was fairly kind. But the way
she got so frazzled and overdramatic made her unbearable. It was like every
mistake, bad decision, and accident, was an attack on her. If he was being
honest it felt pretty sleazy.
Peedee must feel… Well he sure as hell seemed unhappy with his current
situation. Lars forced an uncomfortable cough into his balled up fist,
adjusting his position to face away from the middle schooler’s prying gaze. It
felt so weird to know that he was trusted with the well being of him. What did
the kid think of him? Lars must not be giving a very good impression. Crusty
old car, terribly unsafe driving, promotion of theft, and it has only been half
an hour since he picked Peedee up. He would not be surprised if Peedee called
his dad and begged for him to come back by tomorrow. Good lord would that be
embarrassing. His mother would never let it down.
The backroom was always cold and had crisp air, the freezers were in it. Lars
was well equipped with a warm sweater and jeans but Peedee was in a tank top
and shorts. He seemed to be managing fine despite that… No shivering. There
were some squeaking noises coming from Peedee’s sandals and the linoleum floor
as he gingerly came up to Lars. He pulled out a plastic chair from the table
and sat near the brooding teen. The younger boy’s lips pressed together in a
thoughtful manner.
“Lars…” Peedee managed to say.
Lars looked directly at him but said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Peedee rested his feet on Lars’ nervously bouncing foot, making his own feet
bounce with it. The teenager’s discontented face became mildly amused.
Peedee asked, “Are we going to your house?”
Lars puffed out through grinded teeth, “Yes, Peedee, we are. Later though.
Don’t worry about it.”
He sounded incredibly frustrated, so Peedee did not push any further. His mind
meandered off, eyes zoning in and out of focus from boredom while he rubbed his
shoes against Lars’. Lars sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Don’t you have like, games on your phone or something? There has to be other
ways to entertain yourself that doesn’t involve scuffing up my nice boots” he
complained.
Peedee stopped moving his feet, contemplating, “No… Do you?”
“No” Lars scoffed.
Peedee pointed to an old TV on a cart. “Do you have any movies?” he asked.
Lars’ brows furrowed with discontent. The only VHS tapes kept here were highly
inappropriate horror movies. Gore, nudity, and everything else that came with
it. All things he did not want to expose Peedee to. He refused to be
responsible for mentally scarring the kid for life. Even if the look on his
face would be extremely hilarious. Besides all that it was sort of strange.
Watching movies in the cool backroom on a small, blocky TV was his and Sadie’s
thing. Like, a romantic sort of thing. Exclusive for just them. To do the same
thing with Peedee would almost produce the same feeling you would get from
taking someone on a date to where you had your first kiss with your ex. Except
your new date was a little boy. It made Lars feel a bit ill.
He closed his eyes while slowly shaking his head and said, “Sorry. Nothing
appropriate for someone your age.”
“Oh” Peedee responded.
Lars thought on it for a few moments, tapping his fingers on his thigh. His
face lit up, dully, but still. He faced Peedee while holding his hands out in
front of him, palms facing up. A small grin creeped across his face and he
said, “let me show you a game.”
Peedee held his hands out, waiting expectantly.
“Puts your palms facing down” Lars instructed.
Peedee did so. Lars swiftly tried to bring his hands up, then down to slap
Peedee’s, resulting in Peedee retracting them just in time to avoid getting
hit. His big eyes went wider with surprise and he held his hands close to
himself, cradling them. Lars started laughing, rocking back and forth and
slapping his knee.
Through all the chuckles he managed to choke out a question, “Y-you’ve played
this game before?”
“N-No!” Peedee stammered.
“Fast reflexes then. Okay, now we switch and you try to hit me” Lars said
coaxingly. He sniffed from the cold and absentmindedly wiped his dry nose on
his sleeve.
Peedee and Lars put their hands in place. Peedee looked at the teenager
nervously, and Lars grinned back. He stared at their hands, then quickly
slapped Lars’ hands as hard as he could. Lars hissed out a tiny ‘ouch’ and
responded by slapping the kid’s hands back.
“HEY!” Peedee bleated loudly and tugged his hands away, then slugged Lars on
the shoulder.
Lars growled while grabbing Peedee’s fist. He tugged on it, twisting the kid’s
arm and turning him around to pin it behind his back. Peedee squirmed, using
his free arm to lash out and claw anything within reach. He swiveled his body
awkwardly, turning his arm in his babysitter’s iron grip as he faced him. It
was weird, yet exhilarating. Like Lars was having a fight with a younger
brother he never had. He smirked when Peedee went in for another punch with his
free hand, and Lars caught it. Peedee stood up out of the plastic chair and put
a knee on the table. He pushed and pulled wildly, making attempts to free his
limbs. Lars tightened his grasp with every movement.
They tussled, Peedee managing to tear his hands away, only to have them
captured again whenever he threw more punches. Lars could easily pin the kid
down and beat the snot out of him, but the thought never crossed his mind. He
restrained himself without consciously thinking about it. He gave some hits
back, ones that were weak and could not possibly hurt. Peedee grabbed the
collar of Lars’ sweater and began tugging on it roughly. Lars grabbed his
wrist, holding it in place.
“Peedee! You’re stretching it, stop!” He shouted, sounding whiny and annoyed.
Peedee stopped, letting go of the cloth. He was rewarded with having his hand
freed. In the process of their rough housing, Lars had partially laid down on
the table. He sat up and shoved Peedee off of him. The boy landed on the ground
on his feet, taking a few steps back while Lars got off of the table. Lars wove
his fingers through each other, holding them out in front of him and popping
each joint before unweaving them. He moved his arms and pushed his hands
roughly into his back. A series of loud cracks ran down his vertebrae. His
entire body slumped a bit, relaxing and slouching. Peedee watched, a little out
of breath from the dry air and their horsing around.
He huffed awkwardly, “Okay. No more of that. But thanks I guess.”
“Thanks for… What?” Peedee questioned, he held his arm in front of himself with
discomfort.
Great. Now things got weird. Lars swallowed, sweat beading on his forehead.
‘For what’ was right. Why did he have to be so damned creepy? He managed to
pull his racing thoughts together long enough to stand up straight, shrug
nonchalantly, and say, “I ‘unno, bein’ cool I guess. Babysitting you won’t be
super terrible…” He moved his hands behind his back and played with his thumbs.
“L-Like uh… Y’know most kids your age are just stupid gremlins. But you listen
to me when I tell you to piss off, I respect that.” Lars muttered on, rambling
and cringing at himself.
Peedee nodded slowly, “Yeah… I can’t stand the kids in my grade. They just
wanna press people’s buttons, like a buncha’ two year olds.”
“Just the worst” Lars snorted.
Peedee smiled at him, beaming with pride in the strange, backhanded praise.
Lars smiled back.
He turned his head to look at the door and said, “I’m ready to go home now.
Don’t wanna freeze in here, right?”
Peedee puffed out a small breath, the cold turning it into a cloud of mist,
then made a noise of acknowledgment. Lars took it as a ‘yes’ and strided
towards the door. He opened the door, making sure Peedee was following behind
him before walking through. Sadie looked up, slightly startled while the two
boys swiftly went to the other end of the store.
She waved to Lars, “Uh, like, text me if you need anything.”
He looked back and his gaze flicked down, then up at her face. His mouth hung
open slightly, “Uh. Yeah. Sure.”
Peedee smiled, flashing his tooth gap, then followed Lars out of the building.
They went to the rusty car parked in front of the store, leaving Sadie to
herself again. Lars got into the car quickly, he did not bother with locking it
before going into the Big Donut. No one in a rich beachside town would want to
jack a trash bucket like his old station wagon. Peedee opened one of the doors
to the backseat, opposite to the driver’s side. Lars was buckling up as he
looked over.
“Hey, wouldn’t you rather sit in the front?” He asked.
The boy looked at him, face appearing mildly, yet pleasantly, surprised before
he shut the door. He opened the passenger’s side and got in. Peedee swung his
legs while buckling up. Lars inhaled deeply and groaned. He held his car keys
underneath his hand, firmly pressed to the steering wheel.
“Okay uh. So, my parents are gonna freak out a little bit. And it is gonna suck
major ass” he stated matter o’ factly.
Peedee made a face of concern.
Lars put his key in the ignition and started the car. It purred loudly while he
gestured to the radio, saying, “Find some music you like… Or whatever.”
He reversed the car, pulling out of the parking lot and leaving the Big Donut.
Peedee kept his concerned gaze on Lars while he searched through the stations.
He ultimately landed on some energetic pan music. To Lars it sounded like gay
fairy sex, but he could not bring himself to shut it off. Besides, Peedee might
bring up Ronaldo’s weird anime shit if he did.
They drove without talking to each other. Peedee stared out the window at the
passing buildings and nature. Despite the short drive he had begun to nod off,
sleepily pressing his forehead to the window. His hair splayed everywhere in a
huge, curly mess. He opened his eyes occasionally when he adjusted himself or
slid out of place. Lars turned onto the street he lived on, his house coming
up. He moved a hand to press one of the buttons on his car door, making the
window on Peedee’s side slide down. The kid’s head bobbed, but he lifted it up
swiftly and sat up straight before it could hit anything. Peedee turned his
head to Lars and squinted at him.
Lars snickered out, “Wake up, we’re here.”
He pulled into the driveway of the two story house. Yelling could be heard from
inside and the shadows of figures were dancing angrily in the light that shone
on the curtains.
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