They were having this conversation, Peter had been horrified of what the outcome would be, but in the end, it had been wonderful. Somehow Karl had noticed his feelings, and returned them. Peter didn't believe it. This was a dream, so when was he going to wake up? He closed his eyes, expecting to wake up.

 He felt something warm close to his face. His eyes flew open and Karl was inches from his face, intently staring at him. Peter moved backwards, blushing profusely. Karl giggled and moved back to his original position, sitting a few feet away from Peter. 

He brushed his long hair out of his eyes and stared at Peter, a rosy color plastered on his pale cheeks. He moved closer and put his hand on Karl’s cheek.

“Is this real?” Peter whispered and stared at Karl with a gentle expression. Karl nodded and placed his hand on Peter’s.

They heard footsteps coming down the hall. It was most likely his mother coming to say goodnight and check up on him. He panicked and pushed Karl off the bed and motioned for him to go under it. He heard the routine knock and rushed towards the door, putting on a tired expression.

“Peter, Frau Kraus just called me on the telephone,” His mother paused, “ She said that Karl had pulled another prank then left.” She looked slightly distraught. “They are looking for him, and were curious if you knew where he has run off to.” She stared at him expectantly. “I’m not saying you obviously know where he is, but it’s quite normal to find you two together, so I thought you might know,” She added quickly.

“I haven’t the slightest clue.” Peter said in a surprised tone, just to confuse her. “After the party ended, I came straight home” He yawned as if saying he wanted to go to sleep. His mother got the idea and left. As soon as the sound of her footsteps was gone, he rushed towards the bed and told Karl he could come out.

“I get the feeling your grandparents are next on your parents line of interest.” Peter said with a shaky voice. “I think we should leave tonight, and find somewhere to hide.” He continued, and Karl looked very upset.

“Peter, we barely have any materials to do anything or go anywhere,” Karl stopped for a second, “Where are we even supposed to go?” Peter could sense the panic in Karl’s voice.

“Don’t worry,” Peter said, staring at Karl. He continued, “ I have a plan.” He laughed slightly when the other boy looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“What’s your plan?” Karl said still staring at him.

“Just wait here.” He gazed at Karl with a lovely expression, then slid out the door. He made his way quietly down the hall towards his mother’s room, opened her door slightly and peeked inside. 

Her back was to the door as she pulled her sleep wear out of her closet. He snuck into the room quietly and went into the bathroom, where her cup of water with pills next to it sat. He quietly opened the cupboard under the sink, and pulled out a small bottle of Valium. 

He dropped three of the little tablets into her water, hoping they would dissolve before she got to it. He looked out of the bathroom to see if she was gone, and luckily she was. Peter walked out of the bathroom, turned the corner and ran right into his mother.

“Peter!” She gasped as they collided. “Where did you come from?” she asked quizzically.

“I was just washing my face before I go to bed,” he said calmly, all while his heart beat out of his chest.

“Oh, okay. Goodnight then.” She yawned then hugged him. “I love you.” She kissed him on his cheek and sent him on his way.

Peter's mother had never been the type to get in her sons business. She always sat back and guided him along in his decision making, and made sure he was doing the right things, and other than that, she was never extremey involved. Her husband had passed away when Peter was 3 years old, and had stayed a widow, not wishing to marry again. She was a very young woman, in her early thirties.

Taking care of Peter had never been a hassle for her, since he was the only child she ever had. Life had been difficult for a while when Peter was younger and she had no job or source of income. They made their way through though, and stayed strong.

He closed the door behind him and sprinted down the stairs. Grabbing his satchel that he used for school, he dumped it out on the table and began examining its contents.

 After checking for potential tools to use for their trip but having found none, he moved to look in the cabinet. There he found a small Swiss Army knife and shoved it into the bag, as well as a little box of matches that he hoped would come in handy. 

Making sure to close the cabinet, he opened his pantry in order to find some food to bring. He found some canned food that looked like they would be able to cook over a fire. In another random cabinet he found some small pans, which he added to his satchel that was quickly filling up. 

Peter looked in some other cabinets as well as the refrigerator to pull out an array of non-perishable food items. He shoved them into the bag with the other items he had picked up. After getting the needed supplies, he ran back up the stairs and into his room. He pulled some clothes out of his drawer and threw them at Karl, who had been staring at him.

“Get changed quickly,” he said and pulled some clothes out for himself, briskly changing. By the time he was done, he was dressed in a simple white button up and comfortable, black pants. Karl was wearing a white dress shirt under a gray lowcut sweater, along with black dress pants. He took more clothes and folded them, then put them into the bag. After that, he grabbed a large blanket and wrapped everything up in it.

“I will be back shortly, just wait here.” Peter said, walking out of his room, and towards his mother’s. He opened the door and found that she was passed out on the bed, snoring softly. He shut the door quietly and snuck back to his room. Karl was sitting next to the blanket, tapping his fingers on his leg softly. He looked up when Peter entered the room.

“So what’s the plan?” He asked Peter with a slightly panicked expression.

“Well, we will most likely have to lay low,” Peter said softly, sitting down next to Karl. “I’m getting the feeling this is the last time your parents are going to put up with these pranks.”

“I’m getting that feeling as well.” Karl frowned, putting his head down.

“I think we should leave now, if we don’t want to be seen. Now is a better time than any.” Peter stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“Okay.” Karl looked back at Peter and smiled slightly.

As the two teenagers walked quietly down the stairs, Karl noticed that Peter kept looking back. He was likely worried about his mom, so Karl pulled him into a comforting hug. Peter hugged him back, then pushed him away, looking at his face.

He was searching Karl’s face, taking in the details. The beautiful brown haired boy leaned forward and placed a soft kiss onto his lips. Peter’s eyes went wide for a second in surprise, but he closed them and leaned into the kiss. 

They stood like that, at the base of the stairs, embracing each other for a long time. Peter let go first and lead Karl towards the door. They stepped out, saying Auf Wiedersehen as they left that life behind.