Re: [Climbing: Patrick & Newt]
Patrick knew Newt had his own shit going on. Dude knew, and he tried to remind himself. Without Newt there, it was harder. Newt tried to focus outward, which Patrick knew was just something Newt did. Across the forums or on the phone, it was easy for him to forget just how easily (and often) Newt ignored his own emotions in favor of the emotions of people around him. In person, it was easier to remember; Newt's face was most expressive. But dude knew that if Newt had spoken to Adrian that day, that it must've been hard for the guy, even if Newt did not actually say this.
So, outside, dude rocked on his heels, hands in his pocket, and he tried to recall. He crouched and pet Rufus a while, and then he straightened again, just in time to turn and see Newt exiting the house. He eyeballed the dude, up and down and a smile growing as his gaze traveled. The clothing was too big for Newt, mostly in the chest and arms, and Patrick smiled; he did not laugh. He had selected the short sleeves deliberately, thinking Newt would not wear the shirt; he was not certain he had ever seen Newt in short sleeves, and this had been the entire point.
Newt greeted him and plucked at gray, and Patrick's smile grew wider. The tension in his shoulders decreased. "Would you like to switch shirts?" he offered, already reaching back between his shoulder blades, most willing to pull the gray shirt off, and revealing the ribbed white of the tank he wore beneath. "Have you ever climbed a rock wall? The place we are going is huge and colorful, and no one there pays attention to anyone else. I have been a few times, and I like it." The unspoken words were there, man, muffled in gray, and he knew it; here, we will be anonymous. It was what the dude needed at the moment. Even though everyone from the night before had been obliviated, he still remembered the look on every single face that saw him. Shock, surprise, recognition. He'd heard the whispers as he'd walked by. He'd heard the pity in the voice of the ER nurse, man, and he'd kissed her once behind the library in high school. The doctor's kid bro had been on the football team, and Patrick had gotten high with him and stared at his lashes for much too long, man. He remembered, and he wanted to go somewhere no one knew him.