Ch 3

Link noticed the card on the floor and picked it up, flipping it over. In contrast to the elegant, delicate print on the front the back had a simple bold typeface with nothing but a long website -

A shiver ran through him, and he glanced over at Rhett who was intensely working at his own computer. He almost told Rhett what he had found, but he stopped.

He'd stop me from looking, he thought. He was sure of it. After the over-protective way he'd been acting lately, Link was sure they'd have a huge argument, because his curiosity was peaked, and the adrenaline rush of exploration and discovery was already on him. There was no other choice for him but to dive in.

He backed up his files on an external drive, just in case there was a virus attached. It was a probability, but it didn't stop him.

He had no idea what to expect, and he could never turn away from that. In fact, it attracted him like a moth to a flame.

And he saw simply a white page.

What was I expecting anyway, he wondered. It's probably one of the guys pulling a prank.

Just as he was about to close the window, a rabbit jumped onto the screen, an animated rabbit in a waistcoat and wearing a watch. The allusion was so obvious that Link didn't have much hope for a lot of creativity from the author. The rabbit looked at its watch and looked back at Link with a worried look. It hopped to the middle of the screen where a black hole opened.

Link knew what came next - of course. Everyone did. The rabbit jumps down the hole and Alice follows. Predictable, he thought with growing disappointment, but as the rabbit reached the hole it stopped, looked back at Link, and changed. It's long teeth grew into fangs and it's face became deformed and monstrous, with massive blood-shot eyes, maggoty fur, and worst of all - a hole where its eyes should have been. Reptilian claws replaced the soft, furry paws, and drool dripped from its mouth.

Ok. Maybe not so predictable, Link thought.

The rabbit jumped into the hole, and then a claw reached out and beckoned for Link to follow. A link appeared under the hole that said, "enter at your own risk."

The cursor hovered over the link while he decided if it was worth the experience for the virus he was probably about to put on his computer, but in the end curiosity won - as always. The screen turned black and then white. Another black hole appeared, and the monster rabbit jumped out, snickering.

A link appeared, and the rabbit pointed at it before jumping back into the hole, which closed again, leaving only a white page with a single, large, bold word splashed across it in a font that looked like dripping blood.

RHINK

So it's someone that knows about me and blood, Link thought. Must be a fan. Rhett wouldn't do this. It's too subtle for him.

He remembered his friend's panicked, miserable face when he'd fainted. There's no way, but then who? As if some badly drawn blood is going to bother me.

He hesitated, a feeling of impending doom creeping over him.

"Hey Rhett, have you ever heard of Rhink?" he asked.

Rhett looked up from his work. "Sounds familiar. Is it some sort of food you want to try out on the show?"

"I don't know," Link said. "A fan sent me something."

When he clicked on the word it dissipated slowly, and then five things appeared on the screen. They simply said, "Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5."

Do they mean me-Link or click on it-link? he wondered, but he clicked the first one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhett was pulled out of his thoughts to reality when he heard a high-pitched squeak coming from Link. He looked up to see his friend staring at his laptop with his eyes wide and his brows as far up as they would go.

"What did you find?" he asked.

"Photoshop," Link said. "Some of our fans have some very active imaginations." He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Let me see," Rhett said, and he stood, holding his back and grimacing at the pain.

Link slammed down the computer's top so hard that Rhett wondered if he might have cracked the screen.

"You don't want to see this," Link said.

Rhett rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's one of those, huh?"

"You knew about this?" Link asked, his voice breaking at the end.

Rhett settled into his chair, working to find the perfect spot for the least amount of pain. He waved a hand dismissively. "It's just fans being fans. It's kind of weird, but nothing to worry about. How did you go this long without seeing a few edited pics?"

"I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that!" Link said.

Rhett snickered. "It happens to celebrities. Don't let it get to you. I'm more impressed that they think I could be that flexible with my back like it is."

Link spluttered, unable to speak. "You...I...just, no."

"Of course no," Rhett said. "This isn't the first time someone has thought we're gay. Who cares?"

"Who thinks we're gay?" Link asked.

Rhett studied Link's face. Is he really that oblivious, or is he pretending? We can't use this on the show. Too edgy. Better to keep people guessing.

"Probably only a few people," Rhett lied after he decided to take pity on Link. "It's just a double standard. Women are comfortable with each other physically, but when men are people think they have to be gay. It's no big deal. It's good for business anyway."

The conversation was starting to irritate him. Just because they weren't gay didn't mean Link had to act like a few pictures were the end of the world. I know he's not homophobic. It must just be because we're close friends.

He tuned out and started to work again, but then he heard an all-too-familiar sound, Link retching. He was dry heaving over the barf bucket again.

Rhett begrudged every time he had to stand when his back hurt, but he went to Link's desk to help him.

Link looked up from the bucket, his glasses off and his face puffy and red from the effort of holding back vomit. He closed the laptop again, but Rhett jerked it open, invading Link's privacy without guilt.

That's where I heard of Rhink, Rhett thought. Stevie had found fanfiction about them and showed it Rhett once. They'd had a good laugh over it and he'd forgotten, but apparently Link took it more seriously.

Rhett closed the window. "Don't read this mess," he said. "Let's work on something."

Link nodded and put the bucket down and reached for a tissue, blowing his nose loudly. Rhett wondered if Link knew he was on a few sneeze fetish forums. Probably not, he thought. He really would have a fit.

"I need to do something first," Link said. He stepped into the hallway, but Rhett could hear him on the phone.

"Hey honey," Link said. "No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to call and tell you I love you - no reason. Yeah. See you tonight. Love you."

Rhett thought he looked a little more relaxed when he came in. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah," Link said. "That was just really graphic. I don't even do that stuff with my wife."

"For what it's worth I don't like those stories either," Rhett said, "but I don't want to worry about it, so I don't. You're fabulous and I'm big and apparently some people think I'm cuddly." He made a face as he said cuddly. "It was bound to happen eventually."

"Why don't we do some sort of makeover?" Link asked.

"What, like a manly makeover?" Rhett asked.

"Maybe I ought to change my image," Link said.

"We can do it for the show, but you're fine how you are," Rhett said.

"Thanks for that," Link said.

They began to work on the makeover, arguing about pirate patches and fake scars, and as Link settled into "production mode" as Rhett thought of it, Rhett was just glad that Link didn't know how he really felt about him.

There were feelings he'd never let Link know about, things that would hurt their friendship badly, but it wasn't what the fans suspected. Sometimes Rhett couldn't help but think of Link as a little brother, a dorky kid who needed his protection during fainting episodes and epically clumsy falls.

He glanced at his friend, who was seeing how bad his depth perception was with one eye covered, and Rhett felt a warm, comfortable feeling inside. The fans might think that romantic involvement was the best thing that could happen to them, but Rhett knew better. He had a brother, and that was best of all.