Neil Perry was probably the single most infuriating person on the planet, and Todd Anderson had had plenty of experience with infuriating. He'd known many an infuriating person (namely his entire family) in his time, and yet Neil was the one who got the prize. He was annoying and perfect and obnoxious and beautiful and Todd hated him and Todd was madly in love with him.
Hence the infuriating part.
It had been this way since the beginning. From the start, Todd had loved Neil, and for just as long, he'd been keeping it a secret. Neil was his best friend, and he couldn't fathom the wrench it would throw into their relationship were Neil to know how he felt.
So, Neil, of course, had no idea about how he felt. To Neil they were friends and roommates, and that was it, and was also just the way Todd wanted to keep it. But this had its drawbacks. Neil was always doing normal little things that drove Todd completely insane, in both the positive and negative sense of the word. For example, Neil slept in only pajama bottoms, which wasn't exactly a strange thing, but Todd hated it. Seeing Neil's pale, beautiful chest bared for him to feast his eyes on every night before bed and every morning when they woke up was too much for him. He had to either pretend he was still asleep, or make a fake bathroom trip so that Neil wouldn't notice the slight problem that happened in his nether regions.
Then there was Neil's unfortunate habit of caring far too much. He was constantly butting into Todd's business, trying to get him to carpe diem, whether it be forcing him into the Dead Poet's Society or just to speak up more in class. And he was always teasing Todd, taking his homework, and being a general nuisance, and of course he looked gorgeous doing it.
But Todd's biggest pet peeve of Neil's was the smoking.
Now, some people might have been irritated with the smoking because of the health hazards it presented to both the smoker and whatever people in the room with him, or with the fact that it smelled, or that the smell might draw attention to their room and get them into big trouble, but not Todd. Sure, those things were concerns, but not at all the real reason that Todd hated Neil smoking.
Every time Neil lit up, Todd left, because if he thought that Neil shirtless was an issue, it was nothing compared to the sight of him sucking on the cigarette. Watching for even a second made Todd hard, because he couldn't help imagining what else Neil could be sucking on, which would make his breath catch and face go red, and a whole plethora of other embarrassing things. And the longer he watched, the worse it got. Seeing Neil's eyes close in relaxed pleasure as he took a drag that filled his lungs deep with smoke caused him to have to restrain himself from attacking him. Todd was so sick of having to flee the room at least three times a day, and always he had some lame excuse to cover it.
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"I'm thirsty."
Oh, and his personal favorite, "I have to go to the library." That one was what he used most.
Like now, for instance.
Todd jumped up as he saw Neil draw a cigarette from the pack he kept hidden in the back of the desk drawer.
"I've got to get to the library," he muttered, grabbing some textbooks and averting his eyes.
Neil laughed. "Again? Haven't you been there twice already today?"
"Well, I, uh, forgot something," Todd said, moving toward the door.
Neil shook his head, lighting the cigarette and taking his first drag. "I swear to God, Todd, you're becoming more like Meeks by the hour. Maybe you should quit hanging around him so much."
