Killer Queen (2)

THREE

THE FINE ART OF BEING GAY

Nat's docs tapped along the sidewalk as she approached Tyler's house whilst her eyes were fixed on her phone screen, "Hey, fabulous people." Gino's face appeared on her social media feed. "So, my party last night? Total disaster. Supposed to be classy, but ended up being a rager. My bad." He paused. "To everyone who got kicked out by my mom, I apologize. That wasn't the plan. But hey, life's full of surprises, right? I'll make it up to you with an even bigger and better party next time. To all the people that showed up, I want to thank you in the best way I can--through song."

The video flickered and swirled, transitioning to a scene of Gino singing, "Thank you! Thank you!" He harmonized with multiple edited versions of himself in the background. "Tha-a-a-ank you!" He jazzed his hands in the air. "Tha-a-a-nk y-o-u!" He paraded around before finishing with a causal, "Thank you,"

As the video faded to an end, Nat liked the post before returning to her scrolling. She landed on a picture of Tyler and her thumb hesitated over the photo, her mind filled with memories from last night's party, especially the moments she shared with her.

At that moment, a spark of realization washed over Nat, "Shoot, did I forget my M&M's?" She grumbled, breaking the silence of her confusing thoughts for a moment before opening her bag and rummaging through it, searching for the lost candy. "Dang it!" She muttered, realizing her candy wasn't in her bag.

~

As the afternoon light was setting, Nat stood at Tyler's front door with a fresh packet of M&M's. Her heart raced as she raised her hand to knock, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves as Tyler answered the door almost immediately, "Hello, Nat. Thank you for coming," Tyler greeted.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me," Nat replied, bobbing her head in acknowledgment as she stepped into the house. "Wow, your place is very... clean," She mentioned, impressed by the tidiness of the home. "M&M?" She offered.

Tyler's face puzzled, "What kind?"

Nat turned the packet around, "Uh, red, yellow, green, blue..." Her nerves caused her to ramble.

Tyler's eyes narrowed as she processed the information, "That's colors." She said to herself as a small corgi dog dashed into the room with its tail wagging enthusiastically.

Nat's eyes lit up as she spotted the dog, "Hey, who is this little guy?" She asked, leaning down to pet the corgi. The dog licked her hand and wagged its tail even harder.

"That's Blue."

Nat chuckled as she scratched Blue behind the ears, "Oh, hi, Blue. You're so cute," She cooed.

"It's short for blue cheese."

Nat's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, I love it! It's genius," She exclaimed, impressed by the cleverness of the name before resuming her dog scratches.

Tyler cracked a smile at Nat, "Right, shall we continue to my bedroom?" She asked as she gestured towards the door. Nat's cheeks flushed a reddish-pinkish tone at the invite and without hesitation, she got up and followed Tyler.

~

As the pair headed off to Tyler's room to focus on their film project, Y/N and Rosa were at their apartment getting ready for a date night. It wasn't just any date night; It was Y/N's special birthday date night.

Rosa stood before the mirror, adjusting her leather jacket, while Y/N was in the living room, "I wonder how Nat's holding up at her friend's house," Y/N's voice carried through the apartment, reaching Rosa in the bedroom.