The call was crowded. Jerome had added somewhere around ten other people to the Skype call, and now Mitch's speakers were spewing static-y voices and clicking sounds. So he took a moment to quiet everyone down, before asking, "...what is your favorite My Little Pony episode? We're all bronies." Sky had just made some sort of "what the hell" noise, when a new voice entered the call.

"What is this," the voice asked. He sounded tired, and quite annoyed.

"Wait who is this, who is this?" someone else asked.

"Is that Preston?" Jerome asked, holding back a laugh. Mitch's heart jumped. Of course Jerome would invite him. Mitch had had a crush on the guy for a while, and Jerome would likely take any chance to freak Mitch out. But he wouldn't allow Jerome to succeed.

Sky shouted "HEY," and Mitch called out "Puurston, Puurston!"

Preston answered. "J'you just call me Puurston?"

Mitch repeated himself, and a chorus of other Puurstons joined in, everyone rolling their Rs.

"Mitch, I'm gonna suck you dry one a' these days," Preston said, and Mitch almost choked.

Sky cried out "Oh God yes, there's no going back now!" and the call erupted into laughter just long enough for Mitch to collect his thoughts. It was four in the morning, there was no way Preston meant that. Plus, he was ninety percent sure that Preston was straight. The other ten percent... Well that was because of times like these. It took Mitch a moment to respond.

"Not if I absoib your m-moisture with a moist bagel," Mitch stumbled over his words, then quickly amended himself. "I can't talk, it's four in the morning, I'm slurring, ah I'm drunk..." So much for not letting Jerome freak him out. Some interesting commentary ensued, that had dirty thoughts running through Mitch's mind. It's four in the morning, it's four in the morning, he's sleep drunk, just like me, it's four in the morning... Mitch kept repeating in his mind, trying to calm himself. Soon, though, their conversation turned back to normal (and socially acceptable), and Mitch had calmed down. They ended the recording with some laughs, trying to name off all the people who had been surprise featured in the episode, and then one by one, they signed off.

It was just Jerome and Mitch on the server now, and Preston was still in the Skype call. "Alright," Jerome said, yawning. "I'm going to get a few hours a' sleep before morning, I'll talk to you guys later."

Mitch almost yelped "Wait, don't leave me!" but instead, kept his cool and said "Okay, seeya Biggums." Jerome knew about his crush on Preston, and was probably just trying to get them alone together. Whether that alone was physically together, or just through a Skype call.

"Later, Jerome," Preston said, and Mitch wasn't sure what to do, or what to talk about

"You thinkin' about jumpin' on the server, Puurston?" he asked, attempting to make conversation.

"You just called me Puurston again. I swear to God, Mitch, I will suck you dry." There was slight humor in his voice, but even so, Mitch wasn't entirely sure if he was kidding or not.

"Pfft, quit jokin' dood, I'm too tired for comedy," Mitch laughed, unsure if he sounded convincing or not. There was yet another moment of silence from Preston, and Mitch thought for a second he'd left the call. "Puurston?"

"Mitch." His tone was more serious now, and Mitch froze.

"Puurston."

"I wasn't joking." Mitch almost choked again, and he ended up coughing into his microphone. There was a laugh from the other end of the call, and a sigh, Preston trying to calm down. "Oh god it was actually so hard to stay serious there, did you really believe me?"

"You scared the crap outta me, Puurston!" Mitch laughed lightheartedly, but his heart was hammering and his cheeks were red and hot. He could keep his cool when the others were around—the teasing he would receive if the others found out about his crush would be insane—but with only Preston here, he was tempted just to confess and get it over with. He was shy about revealing his feelings, but once someone knew about and returned them, he was rather forward.

He could hear Preston still laughing slightly, his breathing bouncing with each giggle. Preston heaved one more sigh, and Mitch decided to just do it. "Hey, so Puurston." He waited for a reply, and, taking the small affirmative groan he received as acknowledgement, continued on. "For a while now, uh... I've liked you. And... Yeah, just wanted to know what you thought?" He could hear the blood pounding in his ears, as he listened for a response. That wasn't the most eloquent confession ever...

Silence. He began to fear that Preston would shun him, or hate him, but then he heard a small snore. Preston had fallen asleep. He let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding and dropped his forehead to his desk. "Goodnight, Preston," he muttered, before disconnecting from the server and ending the call.

The computer hummed to a stop, and he climbed into bed, not bothering to change out of his basketball shorts and t-shirt. Before long he fell into a sweaty, dream-filled sleep.

The incessant ringing of his phone woke Mitch up. He grabbed it and stared blearily at the screen. Preston? What was he calling for? He tapped the green answer button and pressed the phone to his ear. "Preston, what, it's seven-thirty in the morning," he groaned, face planting back into his pillow while he waited for Preston to answer.

It took a few moments, but he finally did. "I know, I know, but I left my wallet there a couple days ago and just realized this morning. I'm walking up the street to your house right now." Mitch's eyes shot open. At first, he feared he would have to get dressed super quickly, but remembered he'd left his clothes on the night before. Then an idea crept into his mind. He could answer the door shirtless? God knows he and Preston and the others had gone to enough pools and water parks together. I could seduce him... Mitch smirked at the thought, laughing slightly. Maybe it was the fact that his brain was working on three and a half hours of sleep, but he went with it.

"Okay, Puurston, I'll let you in, just a minute," he sighed, then hung up. He stripped his red t-shirt off and practically jumped down the stairs.