Flying high

1. Pretend to be

Earth had rang the doorbell five times and knocked at the door for half a minute now. It was like nobody was home to let him in, but he knew it better. He was positively sure that Fluke, his best friend since the beginning of the times, was at home. He was just too sad to go out with him and that was the exact reason Earth decided to take him to a nightclub that night.

Fluke had broken up with his past boyfriend for 6 months now and since then, he seemed to have lost desire to enjoy life. According to what Fluke said to him, he caught his boyfriend cheating on him with another guy in their bed. As it wasn't enough, the guy said that it was his first time having actual fun since he met Fluke.

Earth still recalled sometimes the sobbing tone his best friend whined to him about that jerk. 

"I know I'm not the most interesting person on Earth, but does that give him the right to cheat on me?"

It still hurt his heart to think that someone made Fluke -- the gentle, caring, smart and cute Fluke -- felt like he wasn't worth it. But Earth had made up his mind to put an end to it that night. Or try to, if he succeeded in dragging his friend out of his cocoon. 

"Fluke, what are you doing?", Earth asked the numb body laying on the couch.

"Earth?! How did you…? Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have given you my apartment's spare key!", Fluke complained sitting on the couch and running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, as if that would stop me! Ok, now that I'm in, let's dress you properly for our night out!", Earth said grabbing Fluke's hand.

"Earth… about that… I don't think I should go with you. I'm not feeling okay and that might ruin your night. I don't wanna be a burden to you, bestie…", Fluke said lowering his head like its weight was too much for his shoulders.

Earth took two breaths, let out a sigh and then had an idea.

"Fluke, let's make a deal. All this time you have been drowning in misery and that didn't help you at all. So let's make it different this evening: you're gonna pretend to be ok. I'm asking you to forget your pain and resentments and focus on trying to have fun. How's that sound to you?", Earth proposed to him with sparkling eyes.

It was the worst idea ever. It wasn't that Fluke didn't want to get better, he simply couldn't find reasons for that and it wasn't entirely his ex-boyfriend's fault.

Fluke was the type of person that always rather played safe than sorry, never taking risks or daring to do things moved by the heat of the moment. The most thrilling thing in his life was his nurse job at the hospital but even that lost a good part of its glow because he didn't feel a real connection to it because his studies were only to fulfill his mother's last wish before her death. She wanted him to do something to help people and at the time he was heading to the funeral, a girl from a university bumped into him in the street and handed him an invitation to come to an open house and there he ended up signing to one of the faculties. That's how the young Fluke, only 17 years old, ended up studying to become a nurse.

"Fluke! Hey, Fluke! Go on to change into this one!", Earth was snapping his fingers in front of his friend and offering him some clothes to wear.

"Earth, I can't use that!", Fluke protested after checking which was the outfit.

"Fluke, like I said, tonight we're gonna pretend to be something we aren't. The best way to get into character is dressing accordingly. You would never dress like that on a normal day, so this is your chance!"

Oh, boy! Fluke definitely wouldn't dress like that on a regular day. The outfit was a see thru shirt and leather pants matching perfectly with ankle boots, all that in black. How did he have such clothes in his closet? Earth had forgotten them in Fluke's apartment the last time he stayed over another night out.