Odds Are We're Gonna Be Alright

Show Him You're That Type of Guy

The sunset streamed through the window of the editing room, spilling light onto the newly built Ikea furniture scattered about the office. The lights in the room itself had been turned off, but the two boys inside either hadn't noticed or didn't care to turn them on. Ryan scooted his rolling chair closer to his desk, his computer screen illuminating his tired, but focused expression. He clicked on his mouse a few times, diligently arranging screens and boxes within the Open Broadcast Studio interface.

Matt sat beside him, shifting in his seat to get comfortable. Matt seemed to be quiet today, not nearly as talkative as usual, and nervously bouncing his foot up and down. He kept adjusting the rim of his ball cap from center to slightly-left of the center, clearly an anxious tic.

Usually Ryan could tune Matt out when he was so fidgety like this, but today he was hyper-aware of Matt's presence. Ryan could feel Matt's eyes gaze over him, taking him in like a landscape or a painting. Out of the side of Ryan's vision, he could see Matt lightly touch his own lips with his fingers, his eyes still concentrated on Ryan.

Ryan chuckled, low and grumbly, "You thinkin' about something, dude?"

Matt straightened up, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. He quickly moved his hand to his thigh and replied, "No, I'm good."

Ryan shook his head. Matt was completely unaware of his transparency. "You were thinking about the What Are the Odds again weren't you?" Ryan stated more than asked. "We haven't talked about it since yesterday at the restaurant, but..."

Matt looked down in resignation, and then back at Ryan.

Ryan's shoulders slumped slightly, "Are you gonna be mad about this until we do something about it?"

"I'm not mad I'm just..." Matt tried to hide a smirk, "... disappointed."

"Ok, Mom," Ryan remarked, shifting in his office chair, spinning slightly to look at Matt.

Matt shrugged, a vaguely more serious look in his eyes, "I don't know, I just don't want to give up so easy, you know?"

Ryan rolled his upper lip into his mouth, his mustache tickling his lips. Matt tried very hard to maintain eye-contact, but he couldn't, his reddening ears giving away his nervousness. The silence between them felt heavy, with neither boy daring to ease the tension.

Finally, Ryan sighed, "... If we do do it, how are we gonna prove that we did it?"

Matt shrugged one shoulder, but then held up his hefty iPhone, "We could record it."

Conceding defeat, Ryan scrubbed a hand over his face, "Fine, let's just get this done so we can stop talking about it."

Smiling with excitement, Matt propped his phone up against a couple empty cans on the desk. Ryan scooted the chairs side-by-side, so both of them could be seen in the camera's view.

"Alright, no jokes this time," decided Ryan. "We gotta do this in one take, so make it look convincing, like you're enjoying it. That outta shut 'em up."

Matt nodded, understanding the commitment to the role. He leaned toward the desk, hit the record button on the screen, and plopped back down onto the chair. A few more anxiety filled seconds crawled past as the two boys stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Do we, like, countdown from 3?" Ryan started hesitantly, but Matt started to lean in as if to answer the question.

Their lips met again, with Matt taking the lead by reaching his tongue to find Ryan's. Ryan was ready this time, and he slid his tongue against Matt's. The movement of their kisses made wet, sucking sounds, making the make out seem that much more realistic. As if on cue, Ryan reached a hand out to squeeze Matt's thigh, and Matt reached both hands up to touch Ryan's face, the pads of his fingers scratching against Ryan's beard. Ryan brought his other hand up to rest on Matt's hip and squeezed it in his grip. Without meaning to, Matt let out a breathy moan of surprise, but there was a hint of something else too. Ryan jerked his head back, stopping the kiss, but he didn't move from his position holding Matt. Ryan breathed heavily, his heart racing, and lifted heavy eyelids to match Matt's stare. Matt put his hands back down into his lap and quickly glanced at where his phone was propped up, cursing under his breath.