(Graham's POV)

"Do you think dogs really know what we're saying?" Damon asks from my bed as he plays with the stitching on one of my pillows from my days of slight obsession with embroidery. I ignore him and try to decide if my latest commission needs more yellow or green added into it. I personally think green would be better, but Damon said yellow was the way to go. I'm not sure if I completely trust him with that if I'm being honest.

"I don't think they really understand us, Y'know? I think they just go by the tone of our voices. Oh, Graham! Can I get a dog?" I give him a look and his short burst of excitement turns back into pointless thoughts. "Never mind. You're right. I guess I probably wouldn't be able to take care of a dog." I nod.

Damon woke up this morning and hasn't been able to shut up. It's nearing 8pm now and we're both still wearing pyjamas. I kept his sweater last night and even slept in it, but he hasn't asked for it back yet. I hope he doesn't because it's really warm and comfortable. It smells nice too. like cologne and cigarettes mixed with laundry detergent. Hopefully he lets me keep it.

"Can we at least do something today?" He's been bored for hours now. He's expressed how excruciatingly bland this day has been on about seven different occasions in the past hour. Most normal people would also be bored if they were to watch a man stare at a half blank canvas for an almost infinite amount of time. He always has the option of exploring London on his own today, but whenever I tell him to do that, he insists on me joining him.

"No." I respond trying to sound indifferent because that's what I am. I could care less about going out and becoming a tourist for the day. I already got through that phase of living here. I used to leave the apartment a lot more than I do now. It was still shocking how long I could go before I saw the light of day, but it was nothing like how it is now.

"Awe, c'mon Gra! We could go have a night out on the town!" I cringe at the thought of spending my time in some sleazy bar downtown while Damon has the time of his life chatting up whoever comes his way. I can picture him being that kind of person. I'd rather stay in and watch a movie tonight so it doesn't matter anyways.

"No." I repeat myself and run my brush down the length of the canvas, turning it a fresh yellow. Hmm. I guess Damon was right. Yellow does go better than green. He smiles when he sees it. I don't even know why I went with his choice, but I guess I don't regret it.

"You're no fun." He pouts as he crosses his arms over his chest. I don't want him to think I'm a loser, but I really don't think I can leave home today. Yesterday was enough interaction with people for the week. Damon's been really pushing my socializing limits in the past few hours and I don't know how much longer I can go without saying something about it.

I plop my paintbrush into a cup of murky water as Damon begins to rummage through my closet. "What are y-you doing?" I ask as I sit down on the foot of my bed and begin to watch him throw around my once nicely organized clothes. I probably won't get around to cleaning those up for a while but I stay silent.

"Looking for an outfit for you." He shrugs off my glares and tosses me a pair of tight jeans that have worn out tears on the knees and a white t-shirt that I didn't know I had. I look at the clothes with a scowl as I toss them back at him. "What do I-I need to be d-dressed for?" I question but I already know the answer. I really hope he doesn't do this to me.

"You're taking me to your favorite bar and we're getting shit faced." He smiles wickedly and I can feel myself go pale. He's going to try to make me go out more when he realizes that I barely know anything about the city I live in. I wish he could understand how hard it gets sometimes. I can't do this.

"I-I don't drink." I stumble out as he pushes the clothes back into my hands. At least I'm not lying to him. He just doesn't have to know that I only leave the comforts of my apartment less than once a month. I just won't tell him. Maybe he'll leave me alone if I go tonight though. Besides, he might get lost in the city if I don't take him. I shake the thoughts from my head. I barely know the city either so I wouldn't be much help if he got lost.

"Okay, then I can get shit faced and you can find a nice pretty lady to bring back here." He looks through my clothes again and begins to pull his shirt off and try on some of my striped shirts. I try my hardest not to look at his exposed skin as I hang up the clothes he gave me. He furrows his eyebrows as he watches me. "What are you doing?"

"I-If we're going out c-can I at least wear clothes th-that I like?" His face lights up and I almost smile. He tackles me down into a hug that almost sucks the air out of my lungs before quickly backing away and coughing awkwardly. I didn't know he wanted me to come that badly.

"Thank you Graham. I just didn't really want to go out alone tonight." He smiles a bit again. I realize that I've probably just made the worst decision of my life, but I can't bring myself to care when Damon looks at me that way. I grab a pair of straight leg jeans and the striped shirt Damon had balled up in his hands. He pulls the one he's wearing over his head and goes to the living room to look through his suitcase.

I've never been to a bar before. This is kind of exciting in a way, but I'm more than terrified. I close my bedroom door and change into the clothes I had picked for myself before looking in the mirror. I look so fucking uncool. I take my glasses off stare at my blurry reflection.

"Graham! Lets go!" Damon groans from the other side of the door. I put my glasses back on and rush to open the door. I don't know if I want to go anymore. He pulls me out of my apartment and down the hall, babbling on about how his parents owned chickens when he was growing up or something like that. I wasn't paying much attention. Dave smiles at us on the main floor when he sees us leaving.

It takes all I have in me not to break down as I step out of the apartment building. There are too many possibilities for tonight. What if we get hit by a car on our way there? What if Damon gets caught up in a bar fight? I wouldn't put it past him. What if someone actually tries to speak to me?

"We should get ice cream later. I haven't had some in forever." Damon sighs out as we walk down the lively nighttime London streets. He looks amazing with the streetlights and lamps reflecting off his skin. I wouldn't admit that to him though.

After a while, Damon realizes that I'm not much of a talker and we end up walking for a half an hour in silence. I almost wish he would start talking about the chickens again. This silence is far too awkward for my liking.

When we finally arrive at the bar, we walk in and sit at the counter. Damon orders us beer and I thank him. I've only ever drank wine before and never enough to even be close to getting drunk so drinking is even a new experience for me. I never knew how unadventurous I was until now. I feel incredibly uncomfortable being in the same place as this many people but I'm going to try and suck it up.

"So, what do you think about that bird over there?" Damon slyly motions over to a pretty blonde woman sitting across the room with her friends. She was very obviously staring at just him, but I'm not going to say anything about it. I steal a glance at her and decide that she's not what I'm looking for. Her hair is far too long and her body has too many curves. I shrug.

"Not m-my type." I stutter and his eyes widen as he stares at me blankly. Like somethings wrong with me.

"C'mon mate, she looks like she's everyone's type." He playfully elbows me and I roll my eyes. I'm not willing to lose my virginity to someone like that woman. She would vanish in the morning an I'd never see her again. If something like that were to happen, it would ruin me if I'm being honest.

"N-Not mine." I look over to the woman again to see her now staring me down with a dark lustful look in her eyes. I quickly look away and my heart speeds up slightly. I hope she doesn't think I want her or anything like that. I take a sip of my beer and try not to cringe at the taste. Who in their right mind would drink this for fun?

"What is your type then?" Damon asks as he buys a round of shots. I hope he doesn't expect me to help him drink those.

"I-I don't know. I g-guess I like sh-short hair, uhh more angles and m-muscle." I admit and he perks up and smiles before looking around the small crowds of people like he's searching for something.

"You could have told me you were gay." He tells me as he continues to scan the room for something unbeknownst to me. I nearly spit out my beer as he says this. I end up coughing and choking on it. He asks if I'm okay. I nod.

"I'm n-not gay Damon." I say seriously as I catch my breath and play with a loose thread on my jeans. He gives me a look and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Do I really give off gay vibes? I know that I don't have a preference for the most feminine of women, but it doesn't mean that I'm gay.

"It's okay if you are, Y'know. I wouldn't judge you for it." He pushes it as if I'll come out to him or something. I take a shot class and down it before flinching a bit at the burning feeling of it sliding down my throat. This is stressful.

"B-But I'm not." I correct him and he sighs before standing up. A panic sets in and fills my whole body and he quickly takes notice and tells me that he's going to the bathroom. I let out a breath of relief and nod.

Within seconds of Damon being gone, the blonde woman from earlier takes his seat. I almost tell her that someone was sitting there, but I decided against it and desperately ignored her presence in hopes that she is waiting for Damon. I've never been a lucky person though.

"What's your name?" She asks me and I can feel my palms begin to sweat and my heartbeat speed up. This is exactly what I didn't want tonight. People always say that alcohol makes people more confident but I just feel slightly unsettled. Maybe there's something wrong with me.

"O-Oh um m-my name's-" I get interrupted by her laughing and telling me to 'spit it out'. I find her quite rude and I want Damon to hurry up, but I try my best to not seem socially inept even though I feel like I'm going to cry and being able to breathe is becoming an issue as of now. I finally stutter out my name and she scoffs.

"Graham is a stupid name." Her lipstick gets on her teeth and straw as she sips on her drink and loudly chews on her gum. I blush, embarrassed as I look away. I feel so humiliated right now and I don't even know why. I look around the room and spot Damon in a corner giving me a thumbs up. I sniffle subtly and curse him for ever even suggesting this. I don't think he can see the tears in my eyes from over there but if he can, I hope he feels bad.

"How about we get out of here?" I'm brought back to hell.

***

2196 words.