V (boyxboy short stories)

Visiting Vesper.

     It was an ordinary day like any other.

     Aiden was on the computer, enjoying his two weeks Halloween holiday by searching horror movies to download. He was a teacher living alone, but he didn't particularly mind, as he had friends to go out with in case he felt lonely, and he quite enjoyed his privacy.

     It was an ordinary day like any other, but that specific day he took a choice that would have a big impact on his life.

     That choice had been to open an email from his friend, with the subject 'Dude, did you hear about Vesper?'

     Vesper... Aiden could vaguely remember having had a friend named Vesper back in high school, but they didn't keep in contact ever since they graduated. Curious, Aiden read the message.

     'So you remember how my sister used to have a crush on him? It recently crossed her mind to check on how Vesper is doing, you know, what life made of him. And get this, she stumbled across this newspaper article on him! When the dude was 19, he'd been condemned to 5 years of jail because he killed his uncle in self-defence. So he is to be freed anytime now. It's so weird, man! To think the dude in the videos we'd make is the same dude that killed a guy...'

     Aiden looked at the thumbnail of the video file attached to the email and instantly remembered the times him and his friends would record themselves for fun, with silly scenarios and dry humour.

     'Should we, like, visit him at the prison? From what I've heard, he's going to be freed this month, but I'd prefer seeing him from behind the bars...  I dunno. Anyway, I was just letting you know.'

     The man didn't take the time to reply, instead clicked the video file and waited for the player to open.

     If the context was to be different, he would smile upon what he saw in the video. They had had a project to do on supporting rights, and they had chosen LGBT for the hell of it. Vesper was playing the bully, and the friend that just sent Aiden the email, Liam, was playing the victim, while Aiden filmed and other friends acted as background characters.

     Considering Vesper's current situation, Aiden did sort of notice the man in the video was rather...different. Hands in pockets, messy black hair, obvious dark circles, hunched posture, grim attitude and overall reserved. Despite all that, no way would have Aiden guessed back then that he would end up in prison. He had just thought of him as a troubled teenager.

     Vesper looked at the camera indifferently for a couple seconds, then moved his head towards Liam, the scrawny blond dressed exaggeratedly flamboyant. Furry scarf and all.

     "Fag..." he murmured according to his one line script, his voice monotonous and inexpressive.

     Liam took it upon himself to snap in a Z formation, hip tilted and head rolling. "I ain't no cigarette, but you can suck me all you want, boy!"

     After a couple moments of blinking at the blond, Vesper turned around and walked out of the frame in 'defeat'. Liam then turned to the camera and chipped some encouragement speech, which through his gestures and tone ended up being offensive more than anything.

     Aiden shook his head incredulously, stopping the video and clicking back on the first scene, with Vesper staring at the camera.

     With a sigh, he minimized the file and typed a reply.

     'Oh wow. And we were wondering why we got detention for that project. Hmm... About Vesper, now that I look back on it, he was sort of sociopathic, but I would have never guessed...this.. Well, thanks for letting me now about it, I will be sure to pay him a visit tomorrow. Wish me luck, I guess?'