A young man stands in his room. It just so happens that today is the day that he will meet his best friend in the world face to face for the first time.
Dave appraised himself in the mirror unhappily. He hated his strawberry blonde curly hair, his pale freckly skin, his bloody red eyes. Put simply, he hated his looks. With a sigh, he got out his equipment to try and make himself look the best he possibly could (which in his eyes was still not good) for John.
He plugged in his straighteners before setting to work on his face. He'd found a lovely porcelain tone foundation at the local cosmetics shop the other day, and he was using it for the first time then. A layer of that, followed by eyeliner, mascara and some clear lip-gloss. Then he set to work straightening his horrendously curly hair. The finishing touch were his sunglasses, and he was ready. But he didn't feel ready.
"Dave, bro, hurry it up or you'll miss your train." He rolled his eyes. His nervous wreck of a brother wouldn't let him get a plane.
"Coming." He called, hoping his brother couldn't hear the waiver in his voice. He picked up his suitcase and duffel bag, and headed out of his room on one of the biggest days of his life.
"You ready?" His bro asked, and he could only nod silently. He was so nervous, his stomach tying itself in knots. "I'll drive you to the station then." There was silence on the journey, other than the soft rock music coming from the radio, and the distance between Dave and his bro was huge. He wondered when they had grown apart, but pushed the thought aside. He was feeling emotional enough as it was.
His bro helped him carry his suitcase to the platform and stood waiting with him. When the train came screeching in, Dave found himself simultaneously excited and wishing he wasn't going. "I guess I'll be off then." Dave said anxiously. His bro pulled him into a tight embrace, something that hadn't happened since Dave was a child. After a moment of shock, Dave returned the hug. "Be careful little man." He told him. His bro sounded upset, but that couldn't be right. His bro was too tough for that emotional bullshit. "Keep in contact." He nodded.
"See you bro." He stepped onto the train, but stayed near the clear doors so that he could wave at his bro and see him for as long as possible before slipping out of sight for a whole week. He'd never been anywhere without his bro before, and this realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks.
He set himself down on a seat by a larger man and put his headphones on, attempting to block out all thoughts as he travelled. But his thoughts kept wandering to John. Specifically, his encounter with Karkat. They'd been on pesterchum together, just chatting. Karkat had been fruitlessly trying to flirt with John for months, and on that day he'd made a pass at him. And John had sent those immortal words.
'I'm not a homosexual.'
He had broken two hearts that day. Thinking of it now was making Dave feel even worse. He adored John, he really did. It wasn't just the fact that John was insanely hot, but how kind and funny he was. He would not say he loved him, they hadn't ever met, but he thought he was wonderful. But he wasn't gay, and wouldn't feel the same way. And Dave didn't want to scare him away – he really wanted John to like him, and if that could only be in a friendly way, then so be it. He wrapped his arms around his bag, squeezing tightly to try and block out the agonising anxiety. Why had he agreed to come?
The train journey was long, uncomfortable and boring, but eventually, it was over. The station before his stop, Dave sprayed himself with his nicest deodorant (the guy next to him coughed indignantly, and Dave had to stop himself from flipping the guy off) and checked his appearance in his compact mirror. He had to look perfect for John.
Everything was going well until he got off of the train. He was struggling with his bulky suitcase as soon as he got off of the train, but the bump in the platform he hit made it worse. The suitcase lurched sideways, jerking out of his hand and opening, spilling out a few items.
Groaning, he bent down. He'd collected all of his items save from one t-shirt that was just out of reach. "Damn." He murmured, stretching as far as he could, to no avail. He was just about to get up when someone else picked it up and handed it to him. He took it gratefully, and looked up at the person to thank them.
"John?" He asked shocked.
"Hey Dave." He smiled his goofy, bucktoothed grin and Dave's heart threatened to flutter out of his chest. He stood up, embarrassed that their first meeting included him losing control of his suitcase and making an ass of himself.
"Wow Dave, how tall are you?" John asked, peering up at his friend with cerulean eyes magnified by his thick glasses. He's so tiny and adorable. Dave thought, willing away the blush threatening to burn his cheeks.
"6'2." He replied nonchalantly. "And what are you? 3ft?" That earned him a swift punch to the arm.
"It's good to finally meet you." He spoke softly.
"Talk about mixed signals bro." Dave laughed, rubbing his arm.
"Oh shut up and give me a hug." He held his arms open and for a moment, Dave thought he'd die of joy and fright. He enveloped the much smaller boy in his arms, absorbing his warmth and inhaling his sweet scent. "Ok, now let's get going, I want to avoid the rush hour traffic." He took Dave's wrist and led him away.
"Sweet ride." Dave commented as he looked at the small blue hatchback parked up. John was fumbling in his pockets, trying to find his keys.
"Thanks… It's really my dad's but he lets me borrow it… There we are!" He pulled the keys out triumphantly and unlocked the car.
"Can I put this in the boot?" He indicated his suitcase.
"Sure, go ahead." John moved around to the rear of the car and popped it open.
Dave struggled with the suitcase, glad that John had returned to the front of the car so he couldn't see how feeble he looked. "You need a hand there stretch?" He asked, not unkindly, after waiting a while.
"No, it's fine." He grumbled, trying to lift the case onto his knees to then hoist it into the car.
"It's no trouble." John said, taking hold of the handle. His finger brushed the back of Dave's hand, leaving the skin tingly and Dave rather flustered. John easily lifted the case in. "Come on, let's go."
Dave clambered into the front passenger seat, feeling more than a little emasculated. "Strap yourself in." John reprimanded him as he sat down.
"Sorry. I'm not used to being in cars." Dave mumbled flustered, strapping himself in.
"So you don't drive?" John asked as he started up the car. Dave shook his head.
"Neither does my brother. I just get around on foot or on my bike." John reversed the car out of the parking space and set off.
"I assumed you'd be one of the first to drive, considering your Mr cool guy and everything." John commented.
"Nah, driving is too mainstream." John snorted with laughter, and Dave couldn't keep the jubilant smile off of his face.
They pulled up outside a modest suburban home. "Welcome to my humble abode." John said as he turned the car off. But to Dave, there was nothing humble about it. He had lived in the same, tiny apartment all his life, and to him, John's house was like a palace. Dave opened his door to get out, but John stayed still. "Something wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"I just can't believe this is actually happening." John grinned at him.
"Well it is silly." Dave chided him playfully. "Now stop being weird and let's get inside already." John scowled at him.
"I'm not weird." He grumbled, but a smirk played at the edges of his lips.
John took Dave's case for him, another blow to his masculinity, and led him to the front door. Dave found himself staring at the tire swing in the front garden with a peculiar sense of loss. He had never had a garden, and so had never had a tire swing or a play set, and Dave regretted that now. He suddenly wanted to leap on the tire and frolic. "Dave, come on!" John called to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
The first thing Dave noticed when he walked into the Egbert's house was the smell. It was the iconic smell of all homely homes; baking. Then the warmth. It wasn't just that it was warm – Dave lived in Texas after all, he was often warm – but the whole place seemed to radiate a cozy feeling. And finally, the odd choice of decor.
"Dave, it's so good to finally meet you in person." John's dad appeared from the kitchen. He took Dave's hand and shook it firmly. Dave noted that John's dad also smelled of baking, but there was a smokier scent to him too.
"You too Mr Egbert." John's father was a very regular looking man, a generic block amongst a pyramid of ordinary objects. He wondered how on Earth that man could have produced such an angelic creature as John, with his perfect ebony hair and sapphire jewel eyes set in his mocha skin.
"I hope you boys are hungry. Dinner will be ready in five." He told them.
"I'll just get Dave settled in upstairs then." John told him, hoisting the case up to take up to the room.
"You'll be sharing with me." John said, setting the case down on his bed. "You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the air bed." He gestured to the flat piece of rubber on the floor that would later be inflated.
"No, I'm the guest, I'll sleep on the floor." John opened his mouth to protest, but Dave silenced him. "I insist." He told him.
"Fine, if that's what you want." John sighed.
"Boys, dinner is on the table."
Dave couldn't help but gawp at the mountain of food placed before him. Mr Egbert had prepared a huge roast dinner with enough food to feed at least eight people. Dave thought of his bro sat home alone, eating a ready meal or some take away, but the thought made him sad, so he pushed it away.
He ravenously wolfed down two helpings, followed by a large slice of cake that John had turned his nose up at. He couldn't remember ever eating anything so good, nor a time when he'd been so full. "I'm going to be the size of a house when I leave here." Dave chuckled.
"Well you could do with putting some meat on your bones. You're like a skeleton." John prodded his ribcage, and Dave had to stifle his laughter. "Let's go upstairs. First one up gets to pick the film, last one has to pump up the bed!" John chuckled, already out of his seat and headed upstairs.
"That's cheating!" Dave complained, hurrying after him.
Dave managed to beat John, thanks in no small part to his much longer legs, but he still allowed him to pick the movie. His collection was pretty lame, so there was no real choice anyway. He set to work blowing up the bed with a ridiculously loud machine that had them both cracking up within seconds. John searched through his DVD collection with all the precision of a seasoned wine connoisseur, finally selecting one and putting in the player.
He grabbed his blanket from his bed and settled himself next to Dave, wrapping them both up in it and resting his head on Dave's shoulder. Dave jumped and let out a little squeak, face flushing. "What are you doing?" Dave asked.
"We are having a totally heterosexual cuddle. What does it look like?" John replied matter-of-factly. "Now shh, the film is starting." He scolded him and snuggled closer into Dave.
Dave saw none of the film that evening. He was too focused on the pleasant weight of John resting on his shoulder, the way he looked in the darkness lit up by the television screen, the way his lips would curve upwards when a scene pleased him and he became infinitely more beautiful.
"Didn't you just love it?" John swooned as the credits rolled.
"Your taste in films is even worse than I thought." Dave scoffed, though he had no idea what the film even was.
"What? It's a classic?" John cried horrified. "I'll have to try another film tomorrow. You will eventually appreciate my tastes." He was beaming at Dave. Silence.
"It's late." John finally yawned and stood up. Instantly, Dave missed his presence. "We should get some sleep." By Dave's watch it was only 11:30, not late by his standards. But John did look sleepy, and he kept yawning.
John began to strip off, and Dave was so glad that his sunglasses concealed his eyes. He looked at the broad shoulders, the chubby stomach and lower as he began to take off his pants… he had to look away, face flushed and breathing heavy. He took off his own shirt and changed into his pyjamas, keeping his eyes off of John.
When he turned back, John was in his ghost busters pyjamas that were ever so slightly too big for him. "Could you get any cuter?" The statement was intended to be in his head, but it popped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Thankfully, John construed it as sarcastic.
"Oh ha ha." He scoffed. "So… aren't you going to take your sunglasses off?" Dave smirked.
"Oh no, they never leave my face." John scowled.
"Aww, I was hoping to see your eyes." He sulked.
"No one ever gets to see them. There's only one way anyone would be allowed to see my eyes." Dave smirked.
"What's that?" He asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity. Dave only tapped his nose and lay down.
"Good night, John." Dave sighed and pretended to go to sleep.
"Good night jerk." John replied.
After a while, John's breathing became deeper, and Dave knew he was asleep. He rolled over, careful to be as quiet as possible and propped himself up. He watched the rhythmic rise and fall of John's chest in the darkness with a smile. "I love you." He mouthed into the darkness, and felt both exalted and devastated.
It's been so long since I last wrote or uploaded anything, so I hope this is ok. Thank you for taking the time to read this first installment. There will be about 6 chapters in all. Thanks again, and please leave any constructive criticism xxx