The Warp Zone

The Chit-Chat at Chipotle

Alex slept like a baby that night. He was exhausted but also quite ecstatic after the amazing day he spent with his idols. How lucky could he be ? He was staying at Odom's place, sleeping on his couch, because Odom's girlfriend was visiting her family this week. But his luck started to ran out. Odom yelled in the middle of the night, waking Alex up in the proccess. He ran into Odom's room to see what could be wrong. But all he found was Odom, in his bed, asleep.

« A nightmare ? You've got to be kidding me... » Whispered Alex. There was his sleep, gone like a dad going to buy cigarettes at the supermarket. Sitting back on the couch, he really saw the apartment. It was actually quite messy to begin with, and a little small.

« That's what she said. » Chuckled the immature gay guy.

« What who said ? » Asked Odom, frightening Alex in the proccess.

« Odom !... Why are you awake ? I went in your room literally two seconds ago and you were asleep. »

« Actually, I was recovering from a nightmare. » Simply answered Odom before slowly going to the fridge to pick up a glass of milk.

« ...Are you okay ? Do you want to talk about it or... ? » Alex was stupid. He knew straight guys never talked about anything. But that was worth a try.

« I'm good. It happens you know. » Odom sat next to Alex and started the television. Well apparently there's a great fishing channel at 4 am. So much trouts to fish. So little time to sleep. « Wow, what a rod ! » Exclaimed Odom, who was really into this show apparently.

« That's what I would like to say every Saturday night. » Said Alex, forgetting for a second he was in the presence of a straight guy. But Odom laughed at this stupid joke. Alex also forgot Odom laughs at literally everything.

« Good one. »

Alex didn't really remember what happened afterwards, but he assumed they both slept on the couch sitting down, too really tired to get up or totally lie down. When the morning came, Alex could hear Odom in the bathroom, showering for a brand new day. The gay guy prepared a little healthy breakfast, slowly but surely, because he had a friendly date with Will at Chipotle today. The first time in this restaurant for Alex, being French meaning no Chipotle in his country. And he also never had a burrito nor a taco to being with, so that would be two 'first time' instead of one. But he wondered why Will summoned him there. Maybe it was just to talk but about what ? A paranoïd thought went in his head. Maybe they all regretted him travelling here and now, they wanted him gone, back to France ? Alex shook his head. He will see in time. Now was the time to finish the breakfast and hop in the shower. Which he did when Odom finished using it. He had to go at the office to finish editing the Guardians of the Galaxy sketch with the other guys but will drop of Alex at the restaurant before that.

« I hope you'll enjoy Chipotle, they have a lot of great food there ! And you will be able to talk without us but about us ! » Yelled Odom from the kitchen.

« You do realize I can talk about you with Will anytime on Twitter, right ? »

« … No I didn't realize it. Did you do that a lot ? » Asked Odom, confused and curious at the same time.

« Maybe, why ? Afraid ? » Teased Alex.

« Not at all, just curious. Not in a bad way though... ? » Alex got out of the bathroom, fully clothed and ready to go when Odom asked him that. He smiled and put both his phone and his wallet in his pockets.

« No. I would never talk about people I'm a fan of in a bad way. Shall we go, sir ? »

They entered the car and Alex was silent the entire time. The fear of what was to come paralysed him a little bit. Odom was peacefully singing « Counting Stars » and Alex sang Fish's parts. Damn it, that song was too catchy. When they arrived, Odom smiled at Alex and waited for him to walk into the restaurant. When Alex was nowhere in sight, Odom drove behind the restaurant where Fish, Schro and Davis waited for him in Schro's car. They had a phone in front of the radio and some popcorn. As for Alex, he sat at Will's table, not knowing Will's phone was calling the guys only a few meters away. They wanted to hear Alex' real feelings about them. Because everyone can call themselves fans, but not everyone can explain why. Will smiled, a little uncomfortable because of the set-up but he too was curious.

« Welcome to the mighty Chipotle ! Odom didn't bother you too much ? »

« You know what, I think this guy is Xanax personnified, he's really chill. Last night, we watched trouts and salmons at 4 am. That was a first. » Said Alex. Inside the car, the guys laughed at Odom, simply being himself.

« Actually I can imagine. That's the joy of knowing him. He's down for almost everything. And even if he doesn't like it, he's just here for the person. You know that he didn't really like the 5 Seconds of Summer gay parody but he just went along with it. I can see why you're a fan. » Replied Will to get the conversation going on the right track.

« I don't like him just because he's the way he is. And that's the same for the others. » Alex started, but stopped himself because he didn't want to annoy Will with it. He already annoyed his friends way too much about The Warp Zone already.

« Why do you like them then ? » The 4 of them in the car waited patiently. Was it a shallow reason or not ? Alex sighed a little.

« You asked for it, don't complain afterwards that I talk about them too much ! » He laughed. « I like them because they changed my life. I know, it's cheesy but true. I was agoraphobic and really depressed because of bullying, and thanks to their videos and songs, I began to enjoy life again. And whenever I was stressed about going out, I just put one of their songs in my phone and everything was better. And who wouldn't like them ? It's a group of guys that are amazing at what they do ! » They went silent in the car. Davis smiled, and turned to the others to see they were doing the same thing.

« That's nice to hear. So you didn't jump on the Smosh Games bandwagon, you knew them from before ? »

« Oh no, I know them since the Fatality video. It's been a while. But I'd say I'm a huge fan since maybe the Turn Me On video. Dodger was everything in it both of these. »

« A Ryan video, of course. » Will grinned. He loved to toy with Alex about his crush on Ryan. Every opportunity was pure gold.

« Hey shut up ! Not everything is about him in my life you know. I have other hobbies. And he's not my favorite in the group anyway. Davis is.» Davis laughed, he was victorious in the battle of the favorites. But Fish smacked him on the head for being too cocky.

« But you sure do talk a lot about Ryan. You're not afraid he's gonna end up frightened by it ? » This question was purely for Will's curiosity, since Ryan was editing the sound for the next song and wasn't in the car.

« Well I see it like this. Some people go way too far with their crushes, tweeting 'Fuck me daddy' or worse at them. I'm not doing that, and I have no intend in doing it either. I'm just a scared gay guy with a crush on an impossible straight guy. And I'm not gonna flirt with him or jump on him or anything close to that. But that doesn't mean I don't want some interactions. That's why I was thrilled when he tweeted me twice. He's not gonna be my boyfriend but that doesn't mean we can't be actual friends maybe. » Alex sighed once again. He did it, he talked too much about everything. He really needed to stop doing that.

« I see... Don't worry about it, I'm sure he doesn't think you're crazy... I think. » Will winked.

They stopped the call. It was everything they needed to hear. Davis started his engine and they went at their office to join Ryan. As for Alex, when the breakfast was over, Will drove him back to Odom's place because he needed to call his family. When he opened Skype, his best friend was here instead of his mother. Maybe he confused the timezones and his family wasn't awake yet. But it was nice having someone to talk to anyway. He began the conversation.

« Hey Aly, what time is it in France ? »

« It's 10 pm already. Why is that ? »

« Because my mother is not here for the call. Maybe she went to sleep. I wouldn't blame her anyway. How are you ? »

« Good, as usual. But what about you ? Everything okay out there ? Are they treating you well ? »

« I'm not a princess you know, they don't need to pull out the red carpet. » He smiled. « But yeah, they're great. But I'm feeling... weird. »

« Let me guess, the flu ? Jet lag ? Diarrhea ? »

« No no no ! I'm not sick, just a little down. Will asked me about my crush on Ryan and why I talked a lot about him. So I'm thinking the Tellez must have said something about it. And it might bother him. I'm uneasy. »

« I'm sure you're panicking over nothing. Will was probably just curious, that's all. Besides, what would you do ? »

« I was thinking of coming back earlier than expected. Or staying somewhere else and avoid them... » He looked down. If the guy he had a crush on didn't like him or want him here, he wasn't gonna stay. That's probably the last person he wanted to disappoint. Well him and Melvin of course.

« Don't do that, you'll regret it ! You waited 10 years to go to America ! And you wanted to see them from forever. Don't abandon Alexis. I'm can ensure you it'll be worth it in the long run. »

Alex was thinking about the best solution. He was ready to pack his bags when he received a text from Will. « Hey girl, breakfast was great, hope you enjoyed your first time at Chipotle. Anyway, want to play games with me and the crew at the office tonight ? And yes, you can suggest Just Dance to kick all of our asses. ». He smiled.

« You know what ? I think I'll stay. I still have something left to do. »

« What ? Your dream wedding on the beach ? » Teased Aly over the computer.

- « Better. Destroy them at the one game I absolutely rock. Bitches better beware. I'm gonna show them what I'm made of. »