Leroy Adkins is an underperformer. He barely graduated. He barely got a job, and he hardly socializes in his day-to-day life.
Zachary Turner has been sick for as long as he can remember, and as he grows older the crushing realization that he never...
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When Zachary got back to the bedroom, he was holding a bowl of popcorn and was cradling a can of Diet Coke and what appeared to be a juice box under his hand.
Leroy regrets admitting to himself that he stared at Zach a little too long when he had gotten back and had forgotten to get up and help him with the things he was carrying. Zach didn't seem to mind though, and waddled over to the desk by his bed, dropping the bowl and then the drinks as Leroy snapped out of his daze.
"Did you pick something?" Zach asked, sitting at the edge of the bed before looking at Leroy, who was still sitting on the chair at the other end of the desk.
Leroy nodded, still not trusting himself to use his words. "I... I picked the colony. I don't know if you've watched that..." Leroy trailed, trying to look Zach in the eyes. The older man's hazel eyes seemed more intense than usual, but that was probably the guilt eating at him for knowing something he felt he wasn't supposed to. He looked down at the table, tracing patterns on the wooden surface as he rambled on. "I've seen some video essays mention it here and there, but I haven't really seen it myself."
"Uh, okay," Zachary said. "But I feel like I can guess the plot from the title. Humans leave earth after destroying it but leave all the poor people behind, aye?"
Leroy looked up from the table, with his eyes wide. "I—that's correct, what the hell? How did you know that?" Leroy asked, his prior feelings of awkwardness becoming muted.
Zachary grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm a writer," he said, "plus that's a trope-inducing title if I've heard one."
"I see..." Leroy trailed, cocking his head to the side as he watched Zach turn the laptop to himself. He watched the man for a bit, noticing how his curly hair formed a curtain over his eyes if he bent down far enough. His cheekbones were high, and Zach noticed how he occasionally shrugged at the screen as life body language was part of his internal monologue when viewing and reading things.
His gaze softened, wondering what Zach was muttering under his breath as he watched the older man's lips move.
He doesn't look like he is... Leroy thought to himself, biting his lower lip. Well, Leroy knew that his thoughts were kind of stupid. There weren't certain ways gay people looked or acted exactly—there was just a stereotype. From his own friend group all the gay people he knew didn't 'look' gay, but they were super happy to share their sexuality and joked about it all the time. Zach didn't do that, and Leroy was stuck wondering if he just never talked about it or if he was intentionally hiding it from him.
And if he was.
Why?
It was irritating.
"Hey, did you hear me?"
Leroy blinked at the sound of Zach's voice. He noticed the older man was staring at him with a puzzled look.
