Love. A simple four letter word. And although John Egbert had only just stumbled upon the true meaning of the verb, he had felt the intense heat building up in his chest long before.
It was summer of 2012, if you recall correctly. One of your least favourite seasons for reasons both relatable and obvious for people of your generation. Summer meant heat, which meant no scarves or beanies or sweaters. This also meant your Dad would force you out the door to socialize with real people. You had tried to tell the confectionary obsessed adult on various occasions that your internet chums still fell into the category of real people, but that just led to your pranking privileges being taken away for a week.
So that's how I ended up in Texas for my break. At the time I wished I had never brought up the words 'I wish I could escape this house'. This led to Dad renting an apartment in the inner city, which somehow had an even more intense heat than Washington.
A week before the trip to Texas, I had to go on a mad shopping spree to find t-shirts and shorts. This was on account of most of my clothing items being skinny jeans and sweatshirts with holes in them. I managed to find a green slimer shirt from one of my favourite movies; Ghostbusters, a plain black t-shirt, and a simple grey shirt with a black spade in the middle. As for my pants, I just bought some cargo shorts.
I had to admit that the change of wardrobe kind of suited me, despite my anti-studmuffin appearance. I swept my dark chocolate hair from behind my glasses, staring down my reflection. I had once been told that my ocean blue eyes held a spark of passion, but that was a long time ago. My unnaturally skinny body just fit into the frame of the shop mirror, thus the reason to wear copious amounts of clothing. I guess you could say I was an average teenager, except for the fact that I clearly wasn't.
Most teenage boys of age 15 aren't in love with Nicolas Cage, and most certainly not Matthew Mcconaughey either. I hadn't really spared a thought about my sexuality, just assuming I was straight. If I ever said anything shifty about another guy, I usually covered it up with my signature 'Not a Homosexual ' line. But, there was this one guy. This one guy made my stomach fill with butterflies and my brain go all mushy when we spoke. His name was TG, or Dave Strider if we're being specific. So what if you liked your internet best friend of three years, it's not like you're revealing your secret any time soon. There was the possibility that TT could find out, seeing as she dabbles in psychoanalysis. There was also the possibility that GG could find out too, but hopefully that will never happen.
You hadn't actually ever seen Dave, but from description already new what he looked like. According to Mr. Strider himself, he had side swept honey blonde hair and an extensive splatter of freckles across his tanned face. I would describe his eyes in some dramatic romantic way, except I don't know the colour, shape, or if he even had eyes at all. He always wore these weird pointy anime-shades that he got from his Bro, concealing his unknown eye colour from the world. I personally hated the shades, so on his 13th birthday I bought him a rounder, more suiting pair.
Conversations between them varied from 'What's up' to 'Drowning in fuzzy puppet buttock'. I prefered not to discuss the last one. I currently sat in the car on the way to Texas, messaging Dave about the struggles of life
ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 6:35 pm
EB: ughhh
EB: this sucks so much
TG: what
EB: dads making me go to Texas with him for summer break
EB: he thinks that I need time away from 'the void known as the internet'
TG: seems legit
TG: the Texas part, not the void
TG: although thats shockingly accurate
EB: no dude
EB: you dont get it
EB: he made me wear shorts and a t-shirt
EB: tell me what is wrong with that mental picture
TG: ok
TG: im imagining a scrawny Egderp in some crappy movie merch t-shirt
TG: with a side of boring shorts and cheap rip-off vans
EB: Thats…
EB: Thats pretty close actually
EB: and ghostbusters merch is *so* not crappy
TG: hahah dude
TG: so lame
TG: like not even ironically
EB: okay mr. cool kid
EB: whats your lame outfit like
EB: probably some dumb 'ironic' getup
TG: im wearing the skins of my victims
TG: exposed to the heat of my sick burns
TG: their skin went all crispy like a homemade chicken roast
TG: and now i wear it like smoking victory trophy
EB: eww
EB: bad mental images
TG: but anyway
TG: i live in Texas dude
TG: might see you there
EB: really?
EB: thats awesome!
EB: at least now I can spend summer break with your ironic ass
EB: rather than dads betty crocker obsessed one
TG: maybe I can finally see what the real egdork looks like
TG: horrible mental images aside
EB: dads telling me to get off
EB: were staying at a hotel tonight
EB: I guess bye for now
EB: 3
TG: see ya egdork
TG: 3
EB: (still not a homosexual)
ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 7:05 pm
you kind of regret sending that love heart, but Dave sent one back, so you suppose it was okay. you once again covered your tracks with the 'Not a Homosexual line'. great job Egbert, now he'll never like you.
You decide to let it all go for tonight, helping Dad unpack the sleeping supplies and crashing on the hotel bed. Maybe when you arrive in Texas, you'll see Dave? That honestly scares the crap out of you. before you know it, you're drifting into a sleep filled with green slimer ghosts and a certain Blonde boy.