Inverted

Chapter 1

Mikey, Ben, and I are standing in the middle of a fucking comic book convention. Mikey has dragged us to one of these yet again. Spending my Saturday afternoon surrounded by a bunch of nerds and geeks is not my idea of fun. We're in a room full of losers. I can barely stand it. Mikey's going on about some crappy computer game, and the animation, blah blah. Ben is nodding at appropriate intervals. I'm just trying to wake up from this nightmare, but every time I open my eyes, I realize I'm still here. Much to my dismay. I have to admit the game Mikey's talking about isn't half bad, and the animation is actually pretty good. However, I don't think it warrants a trip to the Tenth Annual Nerd Convention, or whatever the fuck it's called.

We're currently waiting in line to get Mikey's game signed by the animator, while he practically foams at the mouth about "the graphics, the realism," and Ben plays the interested boyfriend. I have no idea how he does it. I'd kill myself if I had to pretend to be interested in this shit. Every few seconds, I look at my watch, praying that we'll be done soon.

We finally make it to the front of the line and, that's when I see him, the hottest guy I've ever seen. He has this shaggy blond hair that falls over his forehead a bit, and the most perfect lips ever. I'm guessing he's the animator because Mikey's practically drooling on him and pushing the game into his face to sign. As he's signing the game, he turns towards me.

"See something you like?" I can feel myself blush. It's obvious I've been staring. A few seconds pass before I answer.

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Well, you must have found something interesting. You haven't taken you're eyes off me," he says with a grin.

Before I can think of a response, Mikey is thanking the animator and dragging Ben and I to another line. We end up spending a couple more hours at the convention. My mind never drifts far from the animator.

XXXXXXXXXX

We decide to go to the diner for lunch, like there's anywhere else we would go. Surprisingly, Deb isn't working. We sit in our usual booth, while Mikey goes over all the things he got at the convention. My thoughts are on a certain blonde as Mikey starts once again about "JT, one of the best animators of our time." We're kind of just letting him talk. Neither of us really care, but when he takes his first pause for breath, Ben throws out a comment.

"Yeah, he seemed like a nice guy."

Nice my ass, "he's fucking hot." Fuck, I did not mean to say that aloud. I feel my face redden. This guy has me blushing like a fucking school girl. Michael doesn't even notice our comments. He's reading his new comic book now.

"Why Brian, are you smitten with JT? I believe you're blushing." I do what I usually do when someone says something I don't want to admit to. I roll my eyes, scoff, and tell him to "fuck off." With those words a waitress comes over to take our order and the conversation is officially over.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that afternoon, I'm sitting in the library trying to focus on my physics homework, when Cynthia calls my cell. I get up and walk out the door so I can talk to her.

"Hey."

"So, how was the Dork Convention?" She asks with false enthusiasm.

"Fucking terrible."

"Find any hot dorks to fuck?" She's just laughing into the receiver now. I roll my eyes. She's such a cornball.

"Well, now that you mention it..."

"You fucked someone!" She yells into the phone.

"Jesus Christ, Cyn. Would you shut the fuck up? No, I didn't fuck anyone. There was this hot blond there though. He was fucking gorgeous."

"Was he a comic book nerd?"

"No, actually he was the animator for one of the games Mikey likes so much."

"An animator? How old is he?"

"Hmm. I don't know. He looked like he was about 22 but he had to be in his late 20's."

"Fuck, that's old!"

"I know, but he was so hot."

"Is he straight?" I laughed at that.

"Definitely gay."

"Did you get his number?"

"No. Fuck. I made an ass of myself. I just stood there, drooling." I could hear her soft laughter at that. "I better go Cyn. I've gotta finish studying and head home."

"Okay, see ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, later."