Fanfiction

Introductions

Eyes screwed shut, face contorted, white knuckled grip on the spinning desk chair; the dark haired man looked somewhat like it was going to be sick at any moment.

He had a one bedroom apartment and didn't often expect guests; he certainly wasn't expecting guests when the door opened suddenly. He continued what he was doing, intruders be damned.

"Aren't you dizzy?" An unfamiliar voice broke the now awkward silence. He slowed and squinted through one eye to see who his intruders were.

In the doorway with a somewhat amused and somewhat confused expression stood an acquaintance, Eric, and next to him a sandy haired stranger.

"Uh, right so this is Ross," Eric gestured at the dorm inhabitant who was still swaying slightly, although he finally stopped spinning. He was definitely dizzy.

"And Ross, this is David," this time he gestured at the sandy haired stranger.

"Nice to meet you." David smiled at Ross with a somewhat crooked smile, it was somewhat charming and cute; Ross shook himself mentally.

No, he scolded himself, absolutely not.

"Eric," Ross spoke softly with a certain crispness, "what is this about?"

"Well, I figured my friend here is gay, you're gay, and you guys have common interests. You were saying you needed to be more social. I thought it was funny because David has been saying the same thing." Eric explained.

"That's not how this works though." Ross protested.

"What do you mean? I'm not trying to set you up if that's what you think. I just think it's better for you to socialise rather than to be a recluse." Eric argued.

Ross glared at Eric for an awkward minute.

"Well even so, I think you at least should give it a chance. Come with us to hang out for a bit, if you don't have a good time, I'll leave you alone." Eric said, breaking the tense silence.

"Who's all going?" Ross asked with suspicion creeping into his tone.

"David, Lauren, Breila, you, and me." Eric answered. Lauren and Breila being the two mutual friends of Ross and Eric. Eric had hoped that by bringing them up it may convince Ross.

After a long time where Ross thought it over, he finally sighed as he relented.

"Fine, but fair warning, I'm broke." He said sullenly.

As the five of them went out, they cracked jokes and talked about events in their lives. Later, they were joined by Breila's boyfriend, Liam who added a mischievous goofy energy to the atmosphere. As they walked around the huge shopping plaza, Ross decided to hang back some, to trail behind the group. Soon, David too had made the same decision.

"Hey, I'm sorry about interrupting what you were doing earlier but Eric insisted on dragging me over." David said.

"It's okay, he's got a point although I'll never admit it to his face." Ross said with a sigh. Eric always had a way of being right and often interfering with people's personal lives.

"So, what do you like to do?" David asked.

"I like to read, write, and create art. What do you enjoy doing?" Ross answered.

"Hmm, I like to paint, do drag, and go to malls mostly." David said after a moment of thought.

Ross glanced up at David's face and it occurred to him that David, like everyone in his life was taller than him.

"How tall are you?" Ross asked.

"About five foot eight. And you?"

"Five five." Ross sighed. If that, he thought bitterly.

Lauren was five nine, Breila was about five six, Liam was around six feet tall, and Eric was six feet, four inches. Ross was certainly the shortest of the group.

Ross looked David over from the corner of his eye; trying to be discreet.

He has a somewhat husky build, Ross thought.

"Do you guys want to go somewhere to eat?" David asked the group.

"Texas Steakhouse?" Eric suggested.

After a few minutes of discussion, the group agreed on it since nobody else had other ideas, not to mention the time in evening had begun to get late and many places were closing.

Once they were seated and had menus, a waitress came to ask if they were ready to order. As the group placed their orders, Ross felt anxious as it neared his turn. When it came to him, he ordered salmon and black coffee to drink.

"Is that all you're going to have?" Eric asked in disbelief.

"I had a big lunch earlier," Ross answered.

With a shrug Eric began eating some of the dinner rolls. And a few of the others began to grab dinner rolls as well.

Ross just sipped at his coffee until the waitress returned with the food. Lauren had fries, mozzarella sticks, and onion rings; Eric had ordered a steak with fries; Liam had gone for a large burger with fries; Breila had also gotten a burger; and David got a burger with fries and ranch dressing.

When the plate with salmon was placed in front of Ross, Eric eyed it and asked for a piece. Ross cut the salmon in half and gave Eric the larger piece. Eric didn't see the plate through the chaos at the table as all six of them received their food and had their drinks refilled. The chaos was what Ross was counting on.

"Hey, do you want to try a piece of it too?" Ross asked David. David was caught off guard and in a split moment's decision he decided it would be impolite to decline the offer.

"Uh sure, I guess." He said with a shrug as he dipped another fry into the ranch. While David was busy with the fries, Ross gave David the remaining piece of the salmon. Nobody was focusing on Ross, which came to him as a relief. He continued to sip on his coffee and thought with glee about how easy it had been.

Well it ought to be, it's been nearly four years, he thought.

After the meal was over and they paid; the group split up into several cars to head back to their homes. Ross rode in David's car and David drove him home. During the ride they talked about the music they liked and favourite artists, they found there was a lot of common interests they shared.

As the car approached Ross's apartment, Ross decided to give David his phone number so they could text.

~

Ross hated to think about what could come of talking so regularly with David but he came to enjoy texting him. They even would talk on the phone from time to time.

As much as he enjoyed talking to David, he also felt angry with himself for allowing David to be in his life.

He was angrier still at himself for allowing David to matter so much to him, especially so quickly.

He was thinking about David at work, he thought about David throughout the day almost constantly, he thought about David as he listened to music, he thought about David while he went on walks. How had David become the centre of his life so quickly. Ross spent a lot of time thinking about how it would inevitably fall apart or how he'd end up ruining everything.

He always ruined every relationship. Friendships included.