pandemonium » try guys group chat

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everything goes surprisingly, surpassingly well. keith and shane bond almost immediately because of their excessive height and love of a certain annoying nickname. when keith calls eugene "gene" for the first time within shane's earshot, he perks up immediately.

"gene?" he says with delight. "that's a great name! i would know; i named a fictional character in a segment of our show that!"

"christ, not another one," eugene says to ryan, looking between the two tallest men with humorless, half-hooded eyes.

"yeah, i know!" keith says. "that may or may not be where i got my inspiration."

"all right!" shane cries, high-fiving him. ryan just rolls his eyes.

"okay, you two, it's just a stupid nickname. can we move on?" eugene asks.

"aww, c'mon, gene. i'm making new friends!" keith says, poking his bicep fondly. eugene ignores the skin on his arm prickling at his touch.

"well, there's more to talk about than that," he shoots back.

there certainly is, and they end up discussing how little they're paid and how shane and ryan would go on a trip to scotland but said pay would make it rather difficult. the twists and turns of trying to get vacation time at good ol' buzzfeed aren't helping their cause either. keith fits in well with the group, and eugene smiles over at him a few times as he jokes easily with the two men across from him. at one point, he leaves to go to the restroom, and ryan and shane take the opportunity to dissect every minute of conversation they've had.

"i'm telling ya, kid, his body language is screaming affection," shane says, sitting back in his chair.

eugene scoffs. "what do you know about body language?"

"plenty," shane says, elbowing ryan in an attempt to get a reaction. "isn't that right, ry?" the shorter man simply ignores him and leans forward.

"look, eugene, he's not wrong. keith's looking at you a lot and laughing at everything you say. plus, you two are sitting really close," ryan says, counting the occurrences off on the fingers of his left hand.

"yeah, super close. i bet your thighs were rubbing together the whole time!" shane cuts in, cackling at his own comment.

"i'm glad you think it's funny," huffs eugene before turning to ryan. "look, i just don't know. people do all those things to their friends. there's no way he actually feels the s—"

he's cut off by a sharp kick from ryan. he begins to protest, but the words die in his mouth when he sees the reason behind it. keith is nearing the table and would have returned to eugene spilling his guts about his crush on the man if ryan hadn't stopped him. eugene shoots ryan a grateful look and turns his attention to keith, heart still racing.

"took you long enough, big guy. i thought you fell in," he teases.

"oh, did you miss me that much?" keith jokes back, pretending to swoon. "i bet you were sitting here just crying your eyes out over me."

now it's eugene's turn to kick someone, and it's to cut off shane before he says something he shouldn't.

"you wish," he replies, trying to sound as if that wasn't close to the truth. keith just bumps their shoulders with a quiet chuckle, causing eugene's cheeks to heat up.

the lunch speeds by with more banter, and the time passes far too fast for eugene's liking. as they say their goodbyes, he feels a humming tightness in his chest. it's a good tightness, and he knows it's because of how well things seemed to go.

the next day, they have just as much fun, and eugene can feel the nervousness that his feelings will be revealed slowly unknotting itself and melting away. a few weeks go on without incident, and he's confident in saying that he's never been happier.

but, of course, it isn't long before that changes. and all hell breaks loose.

✖❇✖

okay literally this chapter sucks,, like i'm aware lol

i've been gone for 5ever (i think a month?) & i apologize for that. i've been super involved with tech crew at my school (we do drama productions and choir concerts and such) and finals are coming up. plus, i've just been procrastinating on this book in general.

you guys don't deserve this, but honestly if i don't put something out, i won't get around to it for another month haha

i'm constantly astounded at how much love you're giving this poorly planned & executed fic!! i appreciate every one of you♥♥