twink!joe and mr hurley fight over somethin and then andy doesnt see joe at school for the next few days and he gets worried and idk my prompt ended at that
“Is there something going on?” Joe asks, already bracing himself for the worst possible outcome of whatever this meeting is about.
“Joe, what we’re doing is...is dangerous, you know that, right?” Andy asks.
“Of course I do,” Joe nods.
“And you know that if anyone were to find out...I could lose my job and probably never work in another school ever again, right?”
“I know that,” Joe answers quietly, ducking his head to stare at his shoes.
Andy tilts his chin up and gives Joe a soft, sad smile, “I just need to know that this stays a secret, at least until after graduation. And I’m sorry that we don’t get to do things like go out, but we need to be careful.”
Joe nods quickly, mirroring Andy’s smile. “Andy, I don’t want you to think that I’m mad at you because we don’t get to do things. I totally get it. I just…I want to be with you. And if that means I have to wait until after graduation to be open about our relationship, then I’m fine with that.”
Joe reaches out and takes a hold of Andy’s hand between his own, rubbing his thumb soothingly over the brightly inked skin.
“There is something I need to tell you, though,” Joe says, biting his lip.
Andy raises an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“I, uh...well, you know my friend Patrick?” Andy nods. “He kind of...he knows.”
Andy retracts his hand quickly, his brows furrowing as he searches Joe’s face for any hint of a joke. “Are you serious?”
“Joe, what the fuck?” Joe flinches at Andy’s harsh tone. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that earlier? Why would you tell Patrick at all?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but Patrick’s my best friend. And it’s not like I told him straight out. He just kind of guessed.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that he knows. How do you know he hasn’t told anyone about it yet?” Andy throws his arms up in exasperation.
“Because he’s my best friend and I have more fucking trust than that?”
Andy stares hard at him and Joe swallows thickly.
“This was such a stupid decision. I shouldn’t have gone along with this,” Andy moves away from the desk and starts to pace. “I could lose everything just because of…”
“Because of some stupid kid,” Andy shouts before thinking.
Joe stands up quickly, his eyes already welling up with tears. “Well I’m sorry you wasted your fucking time with me.”
Andy says, “Joe, wait, I didn’t mean that, honestly,” but Joe’s already slamming the door and stalking off.
The next day, Joe doesn’t come to class and Andy tries to ignore the fact that his heart feels like it’s crumbling in his chest. Andy catches Patrick’s eyes and Patrick gives him an honest, sympathetic smile.
After the last bell, the class files out and Andy starts to pull out a stack of tests to grade when he hears, “Mr. Hurley?” Patrick shuffles close to Andy’s desk.
“What can I do for you, Patrick?” Andy asks.
“Joe told me what happened,” Patrick says quietly, “And I want you to know that I tried to reason with him that you didn’t mean what you said, but he’s just...he’s really hurt.”
“I know. I know what I said was stupid and hurtful and I didn’t mean it at all. It was just in the heat of the moment. I didn’t mean to hurt him, Patrick, honestly.”
Patrick nods in understanding. “I believe you. I’ll try to talk to him about it again, but, honestly, I’m not sure how much good it will do.”
Andy shakes his head. “I’m not sure, either. I’m going to have to fix this, but I appreciate your efforts. It means a lot. I know that this is probably a, uh, awkward position for you.”
Patrick huffs a laugh. “I mean, it comes with the territory when you’re friends with Joe.”
Andy smiles and looks down at the stack of papers in front of him before looking back up at Patrick with a confused expression. “Can I ask you something?”
Patrick nods, “Sure, anything.”
“Why do you...why are you helping me? I mean, you know perfectly well the gravity of the situation and I just...I don’t get it.”
Patrick smiles at Andy and gives him a small shrug. “At first, I didn’t support it. I thought you were just another creep and I’d have to go to the principal or something about it. But then Joe started telling me about you guys and he just...he seems so happy with you. You treat him like he’s your entire world and I just--it’s hard to fake something like that.”
Andy smiles and tries to swallow down the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Patrick,” Andy says in a tight voice.
“Anytime, Mr. Hurley,” Patrick nods. “I’ll talk to Joe tonight and see if I can convince him to come to class tomorrow, but I can’t promise anything.”
Andy nods, “I understand.”
