In Gene's humble opinion, there was something deeply wrong with the world. Not only was his head hurting, his hair was a mess and all food tasted like sick, but Yasuhara still looked like a god on earth.

Sure, Yasuhara said his head hurt, but Gene did not feel that his housemate was suffering enough considering how much they had drunk the previous night.

"I am never drinking again," Masako moaned from the sofa. She was clutching a mug of coffee the size of her head like it was a lifeline.

"I'll remind you of that next time you want to go to the badminton socials," Mai mumbled as she re-entered the room.

Ah, Mai, Gene thought, the other reason the world was unfair. He had spent an entire evening watching her be far too nice to some dickhead who appeared to be a perfectly decent bloke.

Why hadn't he pressed Oliver more to join them? How could Mai like that handsome, friendly douchebag instead of his brother?

Gene growled, then winced as the vibrations sent a wave of pain through his head.

The third reason that the world was unfair was that the previous night they had played a very long game of Spin the bottle and not once had he gotten to kiss Yasuhara.

"I'm going back to bed," Gene mumbled. No one replied.

When he reached his bed, he did not attempt to sleep. No, instead he lay there reading articles from Cosmopolitan on 'How to get your crush to notice you'. None of these articles made him feel any better.

The following day did not get any better. Eugene had nothing for lunch, so headed to one of the university cafes. He thought his day was going to improve when Yasuhara entered, spotted him eating at one of the tables and headed over.

"Hey," Gene said between mouthfuls of sandwich. "You alright?"

"Yeah, um, how would you feel about a date?"

Gene choked.

"With—"

"A friend of mine saw your photos from Saturday and thinks you're cute and they asked me about you," Yasuhara went on. "I told them you're gay and—"

"You knew?"

"You have a topless Zac Efron poster in your room so—"

"That's—"

"But anyway, they asked me to set you up if you're interested," Yasuhara finished.

"I— I mean, who is it?"

"You know that guy I went on a date with—"

"The guy who didn't like you because you're bi?" Gene finished with a frown.

"He's a decent bloke really," Yasuhara said earnestly. "And you know, the LGBT+ community has to stick together. Honest, I wouldn't have suggested it if he weren't—"

"You want to set me up with a biphobe?" Gene blinked several times at Yasuhara, as if reassessing him. "Did he blackmail you or something?"

"What? No! But he doesn't like me but he might like you and—"

"He doesn't like you because you might at some point in your life fancy a girl," Gene stated. "That's like you saying you wouldn't ever like me because I might like a redhead or something stupid!"

"Gene, I—"

"You can tell your friend to go and fuck himself. Seriously? How low do you think my standards are that I would date someone like that? The LGBT+ community sticking together means not being an arse about someone else's sexuality."

Suddenly not very hungry, Gene crammed the rest of his sandwich into it's packet and shoved it into his bag. He left Yasuhara looking dumbfounded and headed to his next lecture.

His anger had not dissipated by the time he got home. He found Oliver in the kitchen making tea and immediately recalled everything that had happened at lunch.

"...seriously? If it wasn't bad enough that the guy I like is trying to set me up with someone else, that someone else is a biphobic dickhead!"

"Hmm."

"Can you just pretend for two seconds that you care and that you will give me sympathy?" Gene spat.

"Ahh, there there, poor Gene," Oliver deadpanned.

"Did you listen to anything I just told you?" Gene asked. Somewhere, at the back of his brain, he knew getting angry with his twin was fruitless but he couldn't stop the emotion. "The guy I liked tried to set me up with a biphobic dickhead!" he repeated, for emphasis.

Unbeknownst to either twin, Mai walked into the kitchen with wide eyes at the sound of the raised voices.

"Yeah, I heard," Oliver muttered. "And the girl I like likes someone else entirely. We all have our own issues."

He picked up his cup of tea and stormed from the room, ignoring Mai's presence entirely.

Gene spotted Mai and his anger dissipated.

"Something always gets in the way every time I try to talk to the guy I like," Mai mumbled. "So it's a bad time for love all round, huh…"

"Sorry," Gene mumbled. "It's just really frustrating. Like why would anyone do that? He knows this person is an arse and yet—"

"Maybe he has low self esteem," Mai suggested. "And doesn't realise he doesn't have to help out arseholes."

"But he seems so confident…"

"To you maybe," Mai said. "But I was bullied at school and all the teachers thought I was fine because I was outwardly okay to them, but secretly doing homework for several other people… Maybe this person doesn't want you to worry. Or doesn't want you to bully them either..."

"I shouted at him… Fuck. It just made me so angry! Like the LGBT+ community already have to deal with so much shit, why do we have to hate each other too?"

Mai shrugged.

"People don't want to be at the bottom of the pecking order…"

"There shouldn't have to be a pecking order."

"No, there shouldn't," she agreed. "But not everyone realises that."

Later that evening, Gene shuffled his way to Yasuhara's door and knocked. He heard a quiet 'come in' and so he did.

"Hey," Gene mumbled. "You okay?"

Yasuhara swung around on his chair and shrugged.

"Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier—"

"You didn't—"

"I definitely raised my voice, far more so than necessary. I took my anger at that dickhead out on you and that wasn't fair of me. You deserve twenty times better than him and anyone should consider themselves lucky to even be friends with you."

"You're too nice, Gene."

"Not at all," Gene said. "I mean every word."

There was a short silence at which neither man quite looked at the other, then Yasuhara sighed.

"Everyone jokes about bisexuals having more people to pick from and all that, but I can't seem to find anyone…"

Gene opened his mouth to speak, then lost his nerve and shut it again.

"Sorry," Yasuhara said. "You came here to apologise and I'm complaining about my pitiful love life."

"It's fine, complain away," Gene said with a forced smile. "I'm always happy to listen."

"I know you are," Yasuhara said. "You're a good friend Gene."

"Thanks," Gene managed to say. "Well if you need me, just shout."

Yasuhara nodded and Gene slipped out of the room. He ran back to his own bedroom and threw himself on his bed.

Yasuhara's words echoed around Gene's head.

"...a good friend…"

"...can't seem to find anyone…"

"I'm right here in front of you," Gene cried into his pillow. He rolled over and faced the ceiling. "I'm right here in front of you," he whispered.

Tears escaped his eyes and he wiped them away angrily.

The bedroom door opened and Gene sat up, turning away from the door so no one would see his face. He heard it shut as he wiped away another tear and turned around to see his brother.

"What do you want?"

"You only slam your bedroom door when you're upset," Oliver stated. He moved over to the bed and perched down. "What's wrong? Is it because I was insensitive earlier?"

"No…" Gene gave up trying hide his tears. "I… I went to apologise to him for yelling at him at lunch and… And he said that he couldn't find anyone and that I was just a friend… I'm standing right in front of him, Noll? Why can't he see me? Why doesn't he like me back?"

Oliver shrugged.

"I don't know."

Gene sighed.

"I know he doesn't have to like me but… It hurts."

Oliver blinked stupidly and bit his lip. He lifted an arm and placed it around his brother's shoulder. Gene leant into the contact.

"I'm sorry, Noll."

"It's okay. You're allowed to be upset. Isn't that what you tell me?"

"I didn't realise you listened."

"I do," Noll insisted. Gene raised eyebrow. "Sometimes."

Gene chuckled.

Before he could say anything, Oliver's phone began vibrating. He pulled away from his brother and looked to see who was calling.

"It's Masako…" Oliver said.

"Answer it?"

Oliver answered it on speakerphone.

"Oliver? Are you there?" It was Mai's voice.

"Why are you using Masako's phone?"

"Oh, long story, I dropped mine and—" A muffled voice in the background interrupted Mai. "Yeah, sorry. Um, quick question, are your parents, as owners of the house, against us having pets?"

"What?"

"I promise to clear up after her but—"

"What pet?" Gene asked.

"Gene? What are you doing there?"

The twins shared a look — she could tell who was who over the phone?!

"Skip to the point," Gene said. "What pet?"

"Okay well I dropped my phone on the way back from the library and when I found it we might have found a litter of abandoned kittens but two of them are dead and the other one is still alive and we fed it some food from the corner shop but I don't want to give it to a shelter and—"

"You're going to clear up all of its mess and if it gets into my room, you will be cleaning it," Oliver stated.

He hung up.

"We're getting a cat!" Gene said, grinning.

"No, Mai is getting a cat," Oliver corrected.

"Are you kidding? If she gets a kitten, I want one!"

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure you can share her cat."

"I'm glad you said 'cat' and not 'pussy'—"

Oliver pushed his brother over, and left the room.

Author's note: So I'm writing chapter 8 of this right now and thought I'd upload this while I paused. And this story really ought to be called "well that escalated quickly" because I swear the later chapters are just ridiculous. Yasuhara is literally calling the police. So... Review?