- The Gay Bachelor -
Prologue : Oh. My. God.
Hidaka Ken was curled up on his couch watching soccer. It was winter break, and he was enjoying his time off. He was an assistant soccer coach at the local elementary school, and while it was a fun job, it was exhausting.
Today was also his birthday. He hadn't made any plans, and none of his friends had said anything about it. He would've been hurt, but it was only his 20th birthday. Nothing special.
So, after the game was done, he lounged around the house. He took a shower. He ate breakfast, lunch, and some other meal all at once. He got dressed. He tried to read his Sports Illustrated, but the only one he could find was the swimsuit edition, and he was gay.
Quite frankly, he was bored.
He could go Christmas shopping. It was only two days away, and he hadn't even started. But he decided against it, because it was tradition for him to wait until the last minute. Even if the last minute is midnight on Christmas Eve. So, he didn't do that.
He wished that he had planned something for his birthday. It was the celebration of his two decade existence, after all. Didn't that mean something?
Sighing, he flopped on the couch and flipped through the channels. Hopefully something good would come on.
Only an hour later did he receive a call. Startled, he got up and answered it. "Hello?" he said drowzily.
There was a giggle at the end of the line. "Hello Ken-kun! You sound tired. Did you just get up?" He knew that perky voice anywhere. Yuriko.
Yuriko was his best friend. They had known each other since freshman year. They dated briefly, but they got over it. But they have bothered each other ever since.
"No, I'm just bored," Ken replied, "So... why'd you call?"
"Oh right! Well, I'm going to go over to your house to pick you up in a few minutes. I can't tell you where we're going, but you'll like it," Yuriko said with a bounce in her voice.
"Oh. Wonderful," Ken responded dryly. He knew he shouldn't be cynical, because this was obviously a birthday thing, but it was a surprise. He never had a good history with surprises. Like one time he was taken to Sea World on a surprise, and he was given a free ride on an orca (supervised, of course.) He had almost died.
"Aww cheer up Ken-kun! Anyway, I'll drop by to pick you up. Oh! And wear something really nice." Yuriko hung up. Ken sighed and got ready.
****
Once he was all ready, Yuriko showed up. With a wicked gleam in her eye she forced him to wear a handkerchief around his eyes. Ken wasn't happy with this. He was already clumsy enough; without sight, he would be falling all the time!
Gently Yuriko lead him to the car and drove away. Ken started to hyperventilate.
Oh my god what am I going to do? Here I am, blind, with Yuriko driving me to who knows where -- probably to my doom! With all my luck we'll get into a car accident and hit an old lady or a bus of kids, or even worse, go to a Britney Spears concert!
Ken's inner monologue stopped for a second as he felt and heard the car pull up and stop. His heart started to beat wildly. Here it was, the moment of truth!
"Here we are, Ken-kun," Yuriko told him, "I'll help you get out." He felt himself being pulled out of the car, and he obeyed. He walked a bit before entering a room. He could tell even from behind the handkerchief that the room was dark. He felt Yuriko take off the cloth, and he instinctively opened his eyes. Darkness.
Then the lights suddenly came on, and his friends were huddled together in front of him. They shouted, "Happy Birthday Ken!"
Ken naturally flushed and said thank you. Then he looked around. The room looked awfully like a studio. "Where are we?"
Yuriko came forward. "Well, Ken, if you can believe it, we got ABC to accept you to be the star of their new spin-off!"
Huh? Ken stared at her blankly. "What's the spin-off?"
His other best friend, Kase, stepped out of the crowd. He smiled. "The Gay Bachelor."
His eyes widened in shock. "What?! You put me on some reality show?! You know that I hate reality shows! Besides, I don't want to court some random guy!"
Kase shook his head. "You're not the one doing the courting. You're the one being courted. We figured it'd be a great thing, since you always complain that you don't have a boyfriend."
Whoa... what the... "You mean... there's going to be a ton of guys after me?"
Kase nodded to something behind him. Walking into the studio was a bevy of beautiful men. When they saw Ken, they smiled warmly.
"Oh. My. God," Ken gasped, and he fainted.
~TBC...~
A/N: Tell me what you guys think! Yes, its rather short, sorry. Later chapters
shall be longer! If anyone knows the specificities of the show, The Bachelor,
please email me! (Since I don't actually watch it...) Oh, and if you leave a
name for yourself (that's not you're penname,) then I can probably think of a
way to put you in! (Since there are so many extra parts) ^_^ Next chapter coming
soon!
