and thus, the inciting incident...
——————
Dante's pov
——————
    Laurance and Garroth were out for the day. Laurance had gone out to the store for groceries while Garroth was over helping Zane move in.

    "So Dante, look at this. I got a picture of Garroth and Laurance snuggling! It's sending."

   He sent the image to my phone.

   "What why did you take this?"

   "Blackmail."

   I dont like where this is going.

   "Time to send it to literally everybody else!"

   "Wait Travis do not do that-"

   "Why not? It's funny!"

   I wasn't able to spit out the words. Garroth would literally kill me if I told Travis anything about him being gay. I couldn't just bullshit any reason, as to him it's just a funny picture, but to Garroth it's a coming out vlog. He really would not want the others to know.

   "Just- just don't. We want the blackmail. Not the others. If everyone else has it, then it will be ineffective!"

   "Oh... Dante... too late. I sent it to a groupchat without Garroth and Laurance already.... and uh.... Katelyn, Aphmau, and Aaron saw it...."

   I'm sorry Garroth. I love you. Do not murder me.

Travis sent the picture to the groupchat with the message  "just married 😍😍"

It was meant to be sarcastic, ironic, satire, etc.

The replies? They were sad.

Katelyn was so skeptic and hostile? She was clearly homophobic. Even if it was a joke.

Kawaii-Chan thought it was cute, and it would be the new ship in her shipping shrine.

Aphmau didn't really support it, but she did defend it and tried to calm Katelyn down since she was yelling at Kawaii-Chan for shipping it. She seemed neutral.

Aaron showed no emotion towards it really, though he did make it clear he "wasn't down," aka homophobic. He didn't want Aphmau to yell at him, so he tried to hide his opinion.

Lucinda sent many, and I mean MANY, voice recordings of her laughing.

Travis was sending teasing remarks and stuff, though he did make it clear that "he hopes they don't swing that way."

Zane never replied, though he read the message.

   I instantly got a reply from Garroth through Zane's phone with a screenshot of the photo.

   How did this happen....?
——————
Garroth's pov again
——————

I had a mental breakdown.

"Garroth, calm down. It's oka-"

"No it's not, Zane. Clearly everybody hates me now. I can't even tell them I'm really gay because They are all homophobes except Lucinda and Kawaii-Chan."

"Garroth, If they don't accept you for who you are, they don't deserve your friendship."

"No, Zane, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I think I love Laurance. That's why it's so important. Yeah yeah love at first sight is dangerous, I get it, but he truly makes me happy. I don't want Laurance to know I'm gay, because it can easily ruin any chance I can get to be with him. He could be a homophobe too, and-"

Zane gave me a hug.

"Garroth, just shut up already. You and I both know Laurance isn't homophobic. He's said it so many times before, he even had two best friends who were lesbians for crying out loud."

"I guess you are right there, but what if-"

"Stop with the what if's. It's making you go crazy."

"But Zane-"

"No. Garroth, I love you, and nothing will change that, but you have to tell them."

"Zane..."

"Garroth. You should tell them sooner rather than later. Though actually, a better suggestion, send Laurance the picture."

"What!?"

"If he has it and has seen it, then you don't have to tell the others you are gay and you could say you did it just for Travis' fake news Instagram story."

"You're right! I forgot about that. But Travis knows..."

"Dante will handle that part and you know it."

"Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna send it to Laurance."

He said it was... cute....

I'm going to explode.

"What did he say?"

"He said lol."

"I doubt that, but I'll let you have your secrets."

I hate my baby brother sometimes.

"Let's get back to unpacking. I've got a lot more boxes in my room Garroth."

Ah shit, here we go again.

——————

After a long day of helping Zane move in, I finally got home to see Dante on the couch and Laurance in the loveseat* besides it. Dante looks at me with an apologetic look, but I just smile in response, signaling I'm ok.

*a loveseat for y'all who don't know is like a mini couch but meant for 2 people

"Hey guys, I'm home. Where's Travis?"

"Annoying the girls again."

"Figured."

"Yo, come sit with us, we are gonna watch a new anime series." Laurance suggested, patting the seat next to him again.

"What's it called?"

"Black Lagoon."

"It's like mafia and guns and it's really cool from what I've heard about it," Dante chimes in, "all the characters have a good backstory and it seems like it's going to be really entertaining!"

"I'd love to, so if you guys can wait 20 minutes I'll join. I need to take a shower first."

"Okay, we'll be waiting right here."
———
The warmth of the shower, weirdly felt similar to Laurance's warmth. Wait why am I thinking about him in the shower?! That's so weird Garroth! Get a grip. The faster you take a shower the faster you can go sit with Laurance. He patted next to him. He wants you there Garroth. Hurry up man or else you'll miss your chance.

I quickly finished my shower and got out. It felt like hell. Why is the air always so frigid after a nice warm shower?! It's like an ice cube in here. Oh... it doesn't help that the window is wide open in 40°F weather... damn it's cold though.

I put my towel around my waist and went to my room. It is even colder in the hallway. I froze for a second. Literally.

"Garroth, you okay?" Laurance called from the living room.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!! Just really cold."

"Then get dressed and come over here."

Oh his wish is my command all right.

I quickly threw on some sweatpants and a long sleeve and went back to the living room.

"Dante, why is the house so fricken cold?!"

"Travis changed the temperature again."

"Then change it back!"

I changed the temperature back up. My Irene, Travis.

"Come over here and sit down already you freezebaby."

"Shut up Laurance! Just because I get cold easily doesn't mean I'm a freezebaby!"

"Yes it does. Come here."

I hate him. My mom calls me the same thing.

I sat next to him, and it felt like Deja vu. He wrapped the blanket around me once again, and pulled me close to him, though this time I was basically in his lap. He had me laying against his chest while we were both sitting facing the tv. He knows me too well, because he started doing the hair brushing, too.

"Here we go boys." Dante said as he pressed play.

Why did Laurance always feel so warm? And why does he know the perfect spot for everything? He has one hand brushing my hair and the other resting on my hip... it feels quite nice if I do say so myself.

I hate to repeat myself, but I wish this could last forever, too.
————
❤︎