2: before

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February
1989

6 Years Earlier

It was three AM when Peter was woken up by the familiar sound of someone knocking on glass. He rubbed his eyes, crawled out of bed, and pushed open the flimsy window. Sure enough, Danny was stood in the snow, wrapped up in his Father's coat, a fresh bruise beginning to blossom around his eye.

"Oh, Danny." Peter sighed. This wasn't the first time the boy had come knocking at his trailer in the middle of the night. It wouldn't be the last either.

Danny offered Peter that smug little grin of his, "Evening, Pete." He greeted softly.

"What the hell happened this time?" Peter whispered back, shivering as the winter air began creeping into his tiny bedroom - which was really just a cupboard with a bed squeezed in.

"Well, bloody hell, Peter, you gonna let me freeze to death in the snow all night?" Danny rolled his eyes, climbing onto the generator which connected to the trailer home, "Get out the way." He nudged his friend aside and clambered through the open window.

"Will you shut up? My Mum's asleep."

Danny brushed the snow off of his coat, shaking the chill from his wild blond curls, "Relax, Pete." He collapsed back onto his friend's bed, "I'll be quiet as a mouse."

Peter sat down beside him, pulling his legs to his chest, "So, what happened?"

Danny shrugged, "The usual shit." He said dismissively, "Can I sleep here tonight? I'll be gone before your Mum wakes up."

Peter nodded, though Danny really didn't need to ask. Not anymore. Whenever he appeared with a fresh bruise, it was always a given that he would be sleeping at Peter's. That was just their unspoken agreement.

"Thanks, Pete."

"I'll go get you some ice." He stood up, tugging at his sleeves distractedly, "For the swelling."

Danny grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the bed, "Don't worry about it." He smiled in an attempt to reassure his friend that he was fine. Peter could see through his fake smiles most of the time. But not always. And that scared him.

The shared body heat was appreciated on these ruthless winter nights, when the ice tried to creep into your bones, and the snow rained through your body. They kept each other warm, beneath Peter's itchy duvet, and the jumper his brother had given him two Christmases ago.

When morning came, Danny snuck out without making a sound, creeping across the snowy yard, and back into his own trailer. His Mother was still asleep, and his Father had left for work by the time he returned, leaving Danny to make breakfast in peace. He decked himself out in gloves, a woolly hat, and a scarf, before meeting Peter in the small clearing that separated their two homes.

"Sleep well?" Danny grinned.

Peter yawned instead of replying, and the two begun their trek to school, through the ice and the snow and their shared exhaustion.

When they arrived at their lockers, their friend was waiting for them, looking pale, and utterly terrified.

"You alright, Jen?" Peter frowned.

Jenifer shook her head. Her frizzy ginger hair was pulled into a rushed ponytail, and her misty green eyes were missing the colourful eyeshadow that usually bordered them. "I need to talk to you both." Her gaze darted around the corridor nervously, "Alone."

"Fucking hell, Jen." Danny scanned her up and down. Her uniform was scruffy, her tie hanging loose, and collar wonky. "You look like shit."

She grabbed him by his tie and yanked him into the nearest empty classroom, Peter following suit like an obedient puppy. "I'm freaking out." She lowered her voice to a whisper, even though they were alone.

"Calm down, Jen." Danny leant back against the door, crossing his arms across his chest nonchalantly. "What'd you do? Fail a maths test?"

She dropped her backpack to the floor, dipped her hand inside, and pulled out what first appeared to be a thin white stick.

"Is that a...?" Peter was too afraid to continue.

"A pregnancy test." Danny finished for him.

"Fuck, Jen." Peter felt a familiar bubble of anxiety rise in his chest. His friend was in trouble, and he was lost for words. He couldn't even comfort her. He didn't know how.

"My Mum is gonna kill me." Tears welled in her green eyes, "I'm only fifteen, how the fuck am I gonna-?"

"You're not." Danny dropped his backpack and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug she couldn't escape even if she wanted to. "We'll help you, Jen. You know..." He lowered his voice, "You'll get an abortion, and this will all be over." He was practically whispering now.

She started to cry into his chest, and Peter hated how much better Danny was at this than him, "Yeah... It will be okay." He added, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I didn't realise you and Kev were sleeping together." Danny mused aloud when he and Jenifer had pulled apart.

Peter glared at him in disapproval, "Not the time, Danny."

Jenifer quickly wiped away her tears, "N-No, it's okay." She sniffled, "I know I promised to tell you guys as soon as I lost my virginity. Just like you two promised the same." She smiled sadly, "I-It...uh...It just happened."

"You don't need to explain-"

"I win, I guess." She shrugged, trying to make light of the situation. She always did that. "I was the first of the three of us to have sex."

"Yeah...and what a reward..." Danny spared another look at the pregnancy test.

Peter stomped on his foot, "Shut up, Danny." He murmured.

Jenifer chuckled, "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"Yes." Danny responded.

"Sort of." Peter agreed apologetically.

Jenifer looked up at Danny, and frowned, "What the fuck happened to you?" She asked, noticing his black eye for the first time.

He waved it off, "Nothing you need to worry about."

She looked ready to protest, but was interrupted by the bell beginning to ring. Jenifer quickly stuffed the pregnancy test back into her backpack, "You won't...?" She bit her lower lip in apprehension, "You won't tell Kev about this, will you?"

"You haven't told him?" Peter asked in surprise.

"Not yet. I just...I just need a little time."

"We got you, Jen." Danny leant forward to brush away a stray tear running down her freckled cheeks.

"Thanks, guys." She put on a brave face. Peter noticed that both his friends were good at that. Danny and Jenifer knew how to mask their pain. Peter wasn't quite so skilled in that department. Not yet.

After she left, Danny turned to Peter, his bright green eyes meeting Peter's deep honey ones. "The fuck are we gonna do?"

Peter hitched his backup up his shoulder, reaching for the door, "Nothing." He dismissed, "It's her baby."

"It's not a baby." Danny grabbed his sleeve to stop him from leaving, "Well, not yet. But...it will be. And we can stop that. Get rid of it before it is that, y'know?"

"We?" Peter rose his brows, "That's up to Jen."

"She's our friend." He told him seriously, "We can't let her fuck up her life like this."

"Danny." Peter said in frustration, "She's smart; she's gonna make the right decision. We gotta support her in whatever she decides." He told him firmly, "Alright?"

They finally left the empty classroom, reentering the bustling corridor, "Alright." Danny agreed resentfully. "I just can't believe she had sex and didn't tell us." He grumbled, "She tells us everything."

"Maybe she wanted to keep some parts of her and Kev's relationship private. Maybe Kev doesn't like us all up in their business all the time." Peter suggested.

"Nah, fuck that." Danny scratched his head, as if searching his brain for another explanation. One which made more sense.

"Your face okay?" Peter tried to change the subject. Danny's bruise had gotten darker overnight, though the swelling had started to go down.

"What's wrong with my face?" He joked, "And if you don't say that I'm looking more handsome than ever, then-"

"You're looking more handsome than ever." Peter smiled in amusement.

Danny slung an arm around his best friend's shoulder, ruffling Peter's thick brown locks affectionately, "Now, now, Pete, no need to be so jealous. It's not a good shade on you..."


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