This kid better have an air mattress

[Tanner Larson]

Well, this was certainly different.

Tanner walked briskly through the campus of Harvard University. It was fairly impressive, though, when he considered it objectively, not entirely dissimilar to that of the Hammel Institute. It was open, grassy, and fairly brick-centric, the only immediately noticeable difference being the age of the students around him.

Not to mention it was significantly more diverse.

The blonde walked down one of the cobblestone walkways, rolling suitcase trailing behind him. He was dressed inappropriately for winter as he always was, and he noticed that some individuals walking past were looking at him like he was a bit unwell, but still the boy had a smile on his face. He could definitely, definitely see himself going there.

That is, so long as they would have him.

For now, he was just here to visit for the weekend. It was Friday morning, and the boy had taken the train to Boston and then a bus to Cambridge. His only solidified plans were that he would be staying with his friend, Zac, in his dorm room, attending a class or two with him, and exploring the campus. What else they got up to was essentially up to Zac and his superior knowledge of the school and surrounding town. That made Tanner a bit uneasy, but he had a feeling they would have fun. As it was, he had practically had to beg the kid to let him come visit - not that Zac didn't want to see him, but he expressed concern that the blonde academic would "cramp his style" or whatever.

The boy found Zac's dorm building((PS if he's not staying in a dorm, let me know and I'll change this)) using the map he had printed out at the Hammel library, and the young pyrokinetic signed in at the front desk before making his way up the elevator to the mimic's floor. Finding the right room number, he gave a knock and waited for it to open.

This was going to be an interesting next few days - of that, he was certain. So long as he didn't leave with any less self-respect, he would consider it a success.

[Zachary LaRousse]

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In all honestly, Zac had forgotten about the little promise he made with the blonde pyrokinetic. He didn’t mean to, as Tanner was one of his (few) close friends, but it’s just that with finals around the corner and paper deadlines suddenly popping out of nowhere, things like that just tend to slip his mind. (Just the other day he forgot about the date he had with his Intro to Cell Biology TA. Thank goodness she didn’t get that mad and didn’t fail him. He got a B+ in his latest paper though. Bitch.).

Normally, Tanner arriving this early would’ve been very disastrous, as the Asian had 8am classes every day of the week due to a bet he made with his butler (long story). But lucky for the pyrokinetic, Zac went out last night with a few friends (yes, he knew full well that it was just a Thursday) and thus slept in.

Only he came home with someone.

Who’s still snoring and still very naked in bed.

It took a while for Zac to actually get up and answer the door. Only by the fifth set of knocks (and fourth “Zac?”) did he roll out of bed, put on a discarded pair of boxers from the ground and opened the door, instinctively putting his right hand inside his underwear and rubbing his junk while yawning. “What now Marcus? I told you I’ll try my best to get you off Celebrities’ black list. Not sure Felix would budge though. The stunt you pulled was just too–oh fuck Tanner!” he exclaimed, the shock waking up his sleeping nerves, “What the fuck? What are you doing here?”

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was starting to get annoyed. He had knocked several times, and it was beginning to look like perhaps Zac wasn't even home. Were that to be the case, the blonde of course could have called the other's phone to see what the hell was up, but thankfully just as he was beginning to grow impatient, the door opened.

To reveal a mostly-naked Zac scratching himself.

Tanner blanched, then went completely red, in the same five-second period.

"Zac, what the fuck?" He asked, not realizing that the Asian had just said the same thing to him. His eyes darted to the ground as though to shield themselves from the mimic's indecency. "Is this how you always answer the door, or just when you think it's a callboy on the other side?" He buried his face in one of his hands. "And what do you mean, what am I doing here? We planned this weeks ago." Had Zac seriously forgotten that he was going to spend the weekend? What the hell was he going to do if Zac was too busy? Go back to Hammel? Nuts to that, that was a long freaking train ride.

Deciding they could continue this little comedy of errors inside - he was beginning to feel like a hobo standing out in the hallway with his suitcase behind him - he pushed his way into Zac's dorm, taking a look around. It was sort of disappointing for something Zac resided in, but he figured a dorm was a dorm.

"So, this is where the magic happens..." He mused aloud, pushing his suitcase to one of the corners. "It smells like I thought it would: of sex and remorse," he added with a facetious grin. "Seriously, though, dude, go put some clothing on. This isn't that type of visit." Obviously he didn't mind seeing Zac's rockin' bod, but the blonde had other reasons for being there that weekend. He noticed the couch sitting against one of the walls, moving to sit on it. "Is this where I'm sleeping?" He asked, bouncing a bit as though testing out the cushions. "Kinda small. So what's on the agenda? I'm starving, dude. When's your first class?"

[Zachary LaRousse]

The anger (or was it just simple irritation?) in the blonde’s voice only served to send Zac further down his spiral of panic. Despite being an egotistic bastard, he did know how to own up when he’s done something wrong, especially when it involved a close friend of his. (There were only a handful of people whose opinions he value the most; they were so rare that really, he couldn’t and wouldn’t risk letting them down). What made the whole ‘forgetfulness’ worse was that the visit and weekend stay was his idea; when the pyrokinetic mentioned that he’s going to Harvard and was planning on checking it out soon, Zac practically forced him to ditch the official campus tour and let him show the blonde around. (First hand personal experience making the trip more worthwhile and all that). He even encircled that date in the calendar he had in his room and, with his memory going on overdrive and making his guilty feeling even worse, remembering that he’d left a voice message just a week ago telling Tanner to get his A-game on for the weekend that’s coming.

God he felt like a dick.

Fortunately, Tanner let out a little joke. (Well if it wasn’t, he should know that Zac took it as a joke). It somehow told the mimic that the blonde wasn’t that mad, which made him just a little less guilty. “N’aww. You’re too ugly to be a call boy,” he said with a chuckle, giving Tanner’s arm a light punch (with the hand that was just in his boxers, no less) in hopes that he’d laugh with him, “Not to mention skinny. Too skinny. Have you been eating properly?”

Normally he would’ve asked Tanner to wait outside for a bit to let him tidy the room out a bit (i.e. get the girl out of his bed) but since he’s already forgotten their plans and made him wait outside for a long time, he figured he’s not actually in a place to ask the blonde anything. “What? Why? It’s not like you hate looking at this.” He flexed his arms and stomach a little and ran his hands over them, putting on a wink in the end for good measure. “How’d you know the smell of sex anyway? It’s not like you’ve lost your vcard yet. Or have you?” he asked, mischievous smile on his face as he sat on the stool right beside the couch.

He was about to say something else when someone suddenly asked “Nathan?”. It was a soft female voice, barely audible to anyone that didn’t possess enhanced hearing. Fuck she’s awake.

“Well I don’t have an airbed,” he said with a shrug, trying to act like nothing wrong’s happening from his room, “We’ll figure something out.” For both the sleeping arrangements and the agenda itself. He grabbed a discarded sweater of his from the ground and put it on. The smile that appeared on his face after he gave it a quick sniff indicated that it was still relatively decent, despite the slight yellowish tinge. “Me too! Want to make me a sandwich? I think my roommate just bought a new bottle of honey mustard.” Not that Zac ever ate in his room. It’s always the campus cafes and the city restaurants for the rich bastard. “How’s senior year coming?”

There was a slight shuffling happening in his room, but so far, nothing serious. Maybe, hopefully, Miranda went back to sleep. He needed to think of a plan to get her out of his room and distract Tanner and he needed one fast.

[Tanner Larson]

In truth, Tanner was not terribly angry, but this was mostly because he didn't think Zac had really forgotten about their planned weekend. Based on the fact that the other boy was barely clothed and yawning as he opened the door, the blonde had just assumed he was too groggy to remember what day it was. This worked to Zac's advantage, because the younger male would probably throw a hissy fit if he though Zac didn't even care enough to mark his freakin' calendar or something.

He gave a sardonic smirk in response to Zac's profession that he was too ugly to be a call boy; not having a witty riposte at the ready, he simply left it at that. "No, Zac, I've been living out of a cardboard box and begging for scraps," he replied with a grin to the Asian's next question, trying his best to avoid the boy's soiled fist. "They've been working me hard over at the House," he stated by way of explanation for his trimness - a trait he himself hadn't really noticed but which Zac may have because it had been a while since they had really seen one another. It was to Zac's credit that Tanner had that job in the first place, and the blonde supposed he had never really thanked him properly for it. He figured doing so would only augment the boy's already disgustingly large ego, though, so he kept his gratitude to himself for the time being.

Tanner could only blush as Zac flexed for him; this was certainly not the first time the mimic had showed off his body to the blonde, but it was, to the pyro's recollection, the first time he had done so wearing so very little. He didn't take his eyes off, though, only looking away when Zac winked at him. Despite their back-and-forth (onlookers would take it as flirtation, but they were very clearly just friends), Tanner had learned long ago that Zac could always make him uncomfortable. It was like a freaking gift. Now that he was standing once more, the boy patted his back pocket as though reaching for his wallet. "Nope, still got it," he replied with a smile in regards to his VCard. "I htink you and I both know I'll be holding onto that for a long time. Unless you wanted to borrow it." He knew Zac would be very interested in knowing that Robbie had kissed him, but he wasn't in the mood to share that just yet; it had only happened a few days ago and in truth, the blonde was still processing that entire day.

Having just leaned against the fridge, the boy folded his arms in front of his chest, placing one foot behind him against the appliance. An eyebrow raised curiously on his forehead; the voice coming from the other room certainly wasn't lost on him, despite what Zac may have been hoping. "Nathan?" He repeated; did Zac have a roommate? But then he looked at the other boy, noticing that he took was looking in the direction of his bedroom, and a wide grin spread across the blonde's features. "Oh, this is just rich," he replied. "So first you forget I'm coming, and then when I'm here, you've just woken up - naked, by the looks of it - next to some girl to whom you gave a fake name." He laughed heartily. "WOW, I cannot wait to see how you make this up to me." He was being facetious, but still, sort of a dick move, even if unintentional?

The blonde smirked as Zac asked him to make him a sandwich. "Please, the only thing I'm making is for the exit," he replied with another laugh. "Why don't you treat your guest?" He went over to the little table by the kitchen area, popping a squat on one of the chairs. "Senior year's going fine," he explained. "I'm kinda done with it all, though. Like, what's the point of being a student anymore, I'm already smarter than all those kids. Oh, I'm moving in to my own apartment next month," he added.

Thinking for a moment, he leaned back in his chair, lips spreading once more. "Sooo... Robbie kissed me the other day," he stated; he still didn't really want to share that, but he absolutely did want to see how Zac reacted. Damn if he would pass up an opportunity to be the one giving juicy news for once.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Working you out a lot? Really? They’re that desperate now?” teased Zac, playfully unleashing another barrage of punches and pokes upon the poor pyrokinetic’s body as he led him in. Though he hadn’t seen a recent performance of the blonde (he’s been away after all), he knew how good Tanner was. He was beyond impressed during the boy’s first night (good friend and all, rallying up almost everyone he knew who had a fake id to support histhe blonde nerd) and since it’s been almost half a year (or has it been longer?) that the boy’s been under the Madame’s care, he’s pretty sure Tanner’s improved. The pyrokinetic has mad talent; why he chose to be shy and be unsure about it, Zac would never really want to know.

The blush that appeared on Tanner’s cheeks as he flexed his arms and showed off his treasured body only served to remind him why he really enjoyed being around the blonde. Having someone who’s a really big fan of you but denies it vehemently, allowing you to show off and tease him all the time was something every egotistic bastard wants and needs. Thank god he helped that shy blonde kid open his locker four years ago.

“No thanks. I mean, I’d love to borrow it, but you know I have a habit of forgetting to return things,” replied Zac when the blonde talked about his vcard, “Besides, my bro’s celebrating his birthday tonight at a club downtown. I’d make the perfect wingman.” He gave Tanner a cheesy wink, coupled with a gun gesture and those ridiculous mouth clicks. “Don’t worry about an id; unsurprisingly, my name bears much weight around here.” The club they’re going to was one of the many that’s owned by his cousin after all.

His eyes widened when Tanner said he heard the girl. He really didn’t know what to do (or say for that matter), so he simply stared at the blonde, giving him his best attempt at a sad/scared puppy pout. “Don’t judge me. I mean, I slept with her sister two nights before, so I had to change my name. You know, so when they talk and stuff.” He went still when the pyrokinetic said he’d be leaving, but loosened up quick when he saw him walk to the kitchen. Then it hit him. "Yo Tanner, mind doing me one small/last favour?" he asked with a smirk as he walked over, placing his hands on the boy's waist as he leaned in close, "When Meagan (or was it Miranda?) wakes up, can you get rid of her for me? I don't know how you do it just...do it?" He got real close to the blonde's ear, whispering, "She said 'I love you' as she came. Ugh. Virgins." Zac gave Tanner one last kiss on the forehead before moving away and sitting on the counter. "Help a bro out? Please?"

"Oh. Your lap dance finally got better eh? Guess I should as for one next time," he joked. He was just about to ask Tanner why he opted renting an apartment when he'd be graduating soon anyway when the blonde dropped the bomb. "Wait Robbie? Like the Robert Wilkes?" Zac quickly got down from the counter, pulled a chair close to Tanner and sat down with curiosity and mischief in his eyes. "When did this happen? Why'd you wait so long to tell me?"

[Tanner Larson]

Zac got away with all of the jokes and insults because Tanner knew the boy actually cared. That was why, despite the blonde's initial resistance, he had forced the pyro to audition at the House, and that was why on the night of the boy's first performance, he had practically filled the room with all of his friends. It was also why he kept trying to pair Tanner up with any of his countless busty female friends, but Tanner had made it quite clear that he wasn't looking to have sex with just anyone who was willing. Regardless, the mimic had proven himself to be a loyal friend, so Tanner had learned to take the good with the, well, not so good.

The boy could only roll his eyes at Zac's remark regarding his virginity. If the other male was actually attracted to him, then he was completely oblivious: as it was, he just assumed that it was all just teasing, anyway, and didn't he talk to everyone about sex and things like that? ((Uh this is starting to sound familiar XD)) He let the sexual jokes and occasional insincere-sounding flattery roll off his shoulders with the rest of it. With regards to the wingman idea, the blonde could only laugh. "Thanks for the offer, but if your brother is anyting like you, I'll pass," he replied with a smirk; he knew that wasn't what Zac had meant, but he did like to tease the other almost as much as Zac liked teasing him.

He scoffed at the mention of fake ID: yes, Zac clearly knew him well enough to know he didn't need one. As it was, the only bar he went into was the House, and that was only because he worked there. "I'm surprised you don't own the place," he added with a second eye roll as Zac bragged about his reputation. Apparently he did own the place, or at least his family did, but the blonde had no way of knowing that.

Tanner literally smacked his hand to his forehead as Zac admitted that he had also slept with this girl's sister. "Zac, you are a walking Chlamydia microbe," he stated, head still in his hand. Honestly, he couldn't possibly fathom why the kid had so much sex. Was it really that great? He could certainly see why it was so easy for him to get it, but must he always indulge at every possible opportunity. He didn't step away from the boy as he made his way towards him, only moving his face back a bit as Zac leaned in. Morning breath. Delightful. He rolled his eyes for a third time - he seemed to be doing that an awful lot around this kid - and it was when his eyes were on the ceiling that he noticed the smoke detector blinking away. "Yeah, I'll do you a solid," he stated. "But then you owe me one." What that would be, he didn't know, but he had a feeling he would be able to think of something.

Pulling one of the chairs out from the kitchen table, he stood up on it, reaching his arm up so that his fingertip was just under the smoke detector. Easily igniting a small flame on the tip of his pointer finger, it was only a matter of time before the detector did its job and started beeping rather loudly. "Ah, shit," the blonde exclaimed, putting his hands to his ears as he jumped down. No sooner had he done so than a more or less fully-clothed young woman came dashing out of the bedroom, eyes widening only slightly as she saw that her companion had company. Too groggy to put the pieces together, she simply ran from the room, clearly assuming that there was actually some sort of emergency.

As the flame was only temporary, the detector soon turned itself off, and the blonde collapsed huffily into the same chair, crossing his arms. "You're welcome," he replied, tossing one leg over the other.

"What do you mean, the Robert Wilkes?" He asked, one eybrow arching onto his forehead. "What is he, a starlet now?" He laughed at his own remark. "And yes, it was him," he added, right hand finding the back of his neck almost on instinct. "It was... it was weird. I liked it, though." He looked down at the floor. "I mean, we're not together or anything, but... it was weird." He chuckled when Zac asked why he hadn't told him earlier. "Cuz I don't like you," he replied. "It just happened a few days ago." And they hadn't spoken since, but that had sort of been the plan.

[Zachary LaRousse]

The mimic gave Tanner a fake pout when he turned down his wingman idea. “What seriously? I make an excellent wingman. Just ask, I don’t know, 75% of the guys – and girls – in his house.” If there’s one thing Zac wasn’t, it’s socially awkward. Part of trying to maintain a ‘queen bee’ status in Hammel back in the day was knowing anyone and everyone, and while Harvard’s not high school anymore, growing out of old habits wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. And besides, he’s in the ‘real world’ now; networking was everything. (And what better way to blackmail people have people owe you than to score them the best sex they’ve ever had in their lives?). “Besides, Julian’s straight. Not the tiniest bit bicurious. And he has one of the hottest girlfriends on campus,” he added, complete with a wink that said ‘Yes, I totally did her too’. (The supposedly suggestive back-and-forth of his hand along the kitchenette counter apparently suggested that, well, the dirty deed happened there). “His brother Jackson though, is the complete opposite. We’re not exactly close buddies, but since they’re twins he’d be there too. You in? He’s good, if you know what I mean.” To prove his point, he took his phone out and started looking for pictures of the twins. A small ‘aha!’ escaped the heir when he found a decent one, then quickly threw his phone over to Tanner. “Catch!”

“Well if you should know, I have more than just chlamydia you know,” he chuckled when Tanner chided him for being a manwhore. He got off the counter and walked towards the small shelf near the TV, where he grabbed a large plastic petri dish filled with various colourful stuffed bacteria. “I have Chlamydia , HPV, Gonorrhea, Syphillis and Herpes,” enumerated Zac while he threw each stuffed bacterium to Tanner, “Olexei gave it to me for Christmas last year. So thoughtful of him.” He’s the only cousin of his that’s his age, and naturally they got along pretty well. Only he went to Cambridge instead of Harvard. “Still looking for HIV and Trichomoniasis to complete the set.”

Zac was a little surprised that Tanner agreed to help him without a single complaint, even more so when he had a plan thought out within minutes. He made a mental note to strip down to his boxers every time he’s going to ask Tanner anything now. “You’re the best bro,” he whispered before hiding in the bathroom when the pyrokinetic gave him the signal.

“Well I can’t believe that worked,” said Zac as he walked out of the washroom, big smile of relief on his face. The plan was a little weird with just a tinge of crazy, but it worked so he has no qualms about it. “Anyway what were we talking about again,” he asked as he got back to his chair, “Oh, right, you kissing a married man.” A mischievous smirk appeared on the boy’s face as he inched closer. “Weird? Like good weird or bad weird?” They sounded like two girls talking about Robbie like this, but hey, this development between his two blonde friends was just way too juicy not to ask about. “As you should; Robbie’s a good kisser. He’s not your first kiss, isn’t he?”

“Well bro, just because you kiss doesn’t mean you’d have to get married ok.” Teasing, as usual. He knew Tanner’s ideals about intimacy weren’t that extreme. (Or were they?). “So you just kissed and he didn’t take your vcard? Hmm. That Dani’s got him on a tight leash.”

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner rolled his eyes, simply folding his arms over his chest as Zac kept listing the many, many people he had been with. He knew Zac was attractive, but wasn't it a bit odd that he was always having sex with people? As the mimic tossed him his phone, Tanner dexterously caught it in one hand before allowing it to slide out of said hand and roll down his leg to settle onto the floor. "Not interested," he stated rather firmly. And he wasn't: he hadn't come all this way solely to listen to Jam recounting his sexual exploits. He wanted to see what classes were like, since he was genuinely interested in attending college at this university.

He arched an eyebrow as Zac began throwing stuffed animals at him. Is this for real? he asked as he looked at the various microbes in plush form. As Zac said he was still looking for HIV and one another, the blonde's eyes rolled yet again. "I don't think you'll have to wait too long for that one," he muttered under his breath, and yes, it was a jab.

Tanner sighed as he sat down. "He's not a married man," he replied firmly, "but it was his idea, not mind. We spent all day together and then he just... did it. And no, we didn't do anything else besides that. I could tell he wanted to, though." He sighed, rather angrily. "Fucking Dani." He didn't even know the girl, and he was sure she was just a peach, but... dammit, she was in his way. "I mean, you know how I feel about him." Didn't he? Had they discussed this before? Surely they had after his and Robbie's strange incident back in February.

Deciding he had had enough of this conversation, Tanner rose to stand. "So, are we going somewhere or are we just gonna sit here on our asses?" He asked, willing himself to smile. "I believe I was promised a good time?"

[Zachary LaRousse]

He was just about to say that it wasn’t like Robbie to start something and not finish it (since it wasn’t how he taught the blonde) but judging by how upset Tanner seemed upon remembering the events, Zac decided not to. The stories he had in mind can wait. Maybe when he got some alcohol down the pyrokinetic’s throat or something (which he assures will happen, with or without the blonde’s consent). “Want me to order a hit on Dani? I do have the Russian Mafia and the Chinese Triad on speed dial.” One last joke before he lets the whole conversation die. (While he’s pretty sure his immediate family had no such connections to the underworld, he wouldn’t be too sure about his extended one. If it turned out that they do had connections, he’d peg it to be with either his uncle Bart or uncle Obadiah). “Don’t worry bro, you’ll find a better one. I mean, come on, Robbie ain’t that good in bed anyway.” Realizing how that might’ve sounded like, he quickly added a little something to somehow twist the statement’s meaning. “I mean, Hammel’s a relatively small community; you sleep with one you sleep with all. He’s had some of my sloppy seconds and they all text me the next morning saying they weren’t as pleased.”

That ought to be a good save, right?

“A good time eh? My bed’s unoccupied right now, unless of course you want it right here, right now,” teased Zac as he jumped out of his chair. He took a quick look at the wall clock right across the room before turning back to Tanner. “Give me half an hour to get ready. We can grab brunch in this bistro two buildings down. They have this amazing breakfast lasagna-like meal – I forgot what it’s called – and all their dishes with goat cheese in them are just heavenly.” To add authenticity to his claim, he even closed his eyes and shivered slightly as if having a food orgasm just at the thought. “Not to mention hot engineers hang out there all the time.” Tanner’s going to lose his vcard before he returns to Hammel, Zac’s going to make sure of it.

“Anyway, be right back. Feel free to put your bag inside my room. And if you want to tidy up the place, have fun.” And with that, Zac vanished to the washroom for the next fifteen minutes or so.

It took another ten minutes or so for Zac to dry himself off and get dressed, coming out of his room wearing a pair of patterned shoes, tight skinny jeans, and a red-striped shirt with a denim jacket over it. “Ready to go?” he asked with a grin, patting his pockets one last time to make sure his phone, wallet and keys were with him.

“How’d the date go with that blonde in the auction by the way? What’s his name again, Jonah? Micah?”

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner sighed; leave it to Zac to over-simplify everything to just an issue of who was good at sex and who wasn't. Hell, if it were a matter of seniority, then Tanner was the worst around, so he had no right to complain anyway. "It's not about sex, Zac," he replie, standing up from his seat and brushing his jeans off instinctively. "I mean, I really like him..." He hadn't been so sure about that earlier on - was it just a simple attraction? - but after spending the day with him, he knew he was crushing pretty hard. But he was done with that conversation, for even thinking about the other blonde made him feel sort of weird, so he decided to avoid the subject for as long as he could.

The blonde merely shrugged his shoulders as Zac asked for a few minutes to get himself together. "You mean you don't normally just walk around in your underwear like that?" He asked with a smile, a bit of color coming to his features as he re-discovered the boy's nakedness. "Figure it would just make things easier for you..." But then the mimic had disappeared down the hallway to go preen, so Tanner found himself alone for a little while. At first, he just sat back down on the loveseat, trying to determine whether he would feel comfortable sleeping on it for two nights. He stood back up eventually, pacing a few times across the room before doing as Zac had suggested and bringing his bag into the boy's bedroom. Why he was doing this when he was going to be sleeping out there anyway, he didn't know, but he figured since he had the time he might as well. He sat on Zac's bed then: it was quite comfortable, certainly more so than the squeeky dorm beds.

Soon after, Zac reappeared. "Gotta hand it to ya," he said as he stood and followed the other into the common space, "you can make some really weird clothing look pretty damn good." He could add that Zac also made a pretty weird personality look good, but he figured that comment was a bit mean-spirited and so he kept it to himself. The boy's stomach was practically screaming at him - he really should have grabbed something at the train station - and hearing the boy talk about the different things this restaurant made had only served to make him hungrier, so he nodded enthusiastically when asked if he was ready to go. "Yeah," he replied, practically as excitable as a puppy dog, as they made their way out the door.

"What, Noah?" He asked as they made their way back towards the elevator. "We-" He was about to say that they never went on their date (nor did Tanner have any plans to), but then he remembered how much cash Zac had dropped for him, and he felt bad about that. It hadn't been his fault that Zac was so predisposed to such grand gestures, but he didn't want the boy to feel like he had wasted his money. "We're doing it after the holidays," he added, making up that little lie on the spot. He'd been given the boy's number after the auction, but had obviously chickened out. Anyone would have been able to see that from a mile away, but Tanner hadn't been able to resist when he'd seen the guy dancing onstage.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac would argue the opposite; he knew oversimplifying it to who was good in bed and who wasn’t was, well, too simple and would probably cause one to overlook some good points, but it’s not like that person who you’d be with in high school would still be the one you’d be marrying and growing old with. The mimic knew that the probability of ending happily ever after with someone you meet during the most turbulent times of your life (read: high school) was pretty slim, so why bother thinking too much about it. Thinking about it in terms of sex made things fast and easy – no need to that much heartbreak.

“Well bro,” the mimic said as they walked along the halls, wrapping an arm around the boy’s shoulder and pulling him close, “I really liked you a lot too but you never really noticed me. Did you see me moping around about it?” He let out a soft chuckle to tell Tanner he was only kidding of course. “Nope. I slept around. And I got over it. Now we’re good friends!” To show how good of a friend he was to the blonde, he promptly touched Tanner’s cheek with his nose and playfully rubbed it around his face. “University has tons – tons – more guys. And gals. You’d never run out, trust me.”

The heir’s smile got wider and his hug got tighter when Tanner complimented his clothes. It’s pretty rare that the boy’s like this, wasn’t he? “Want to go shopping for your clothes later after class? Because dude, you are so not going to the club looking like this.” While Tanner was in no measure a bad dresser, to Zac, his clothes were very bland and dry. Sure it made him look respectable to an extent, polished and all, but still, the mimic felt he needed a little “vavoom”, so to speak. He did improve within the months working at the House, but it wasn’t at the point Zac wanted his friend to reach yet. “You still eager to go to class? ‘Cause we missed my Genetics and Multivariable Calculus class already anyway.” His morning classes. It was past noon already after all. “The only ones I have left are Organic Chemistry and I think it was Creative Writing. Or was it Statistics?” The term’s almost done and still he hasn’t memorized his schedule yet. Just showed how into it he was.

“Liar,” blurted Zac out with a laugh, “You’re a bad liar and you should be ashamed. Don’t stutter. Don’t hesitate. Don’t act shocked.” Oh the blonde’s just too cute when he thought he could fool him. He wanted to just pinch his cheeks. “Phone,” he asked with his palm in front of the pyrokinetic, “I’ll text him for you.” His tone was joking but it had enough seriousness in it. Or so Zac thought. “Why didn’t you plan anything? If you say it’s because of Robbie again I personally will drag you back to my room and fuck you roughly so you can say your vcard’s gone and will go on dates with other guys. Because dude, your vcard’s not that special. If you’re holding back on meeting people because you’d want Robbie to take it from you, I might have to knock some more sense into you.”

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner stumbled slightly when Zac grabbed him around the shoulders and forced him in closer. A single eyebrow rose on his forehead; for a split second, he was almost convinced that Zac wasn't joking, but then he heard the mimic's laughter and knew that he had only been teasing him (like usual, as it were). "Should've made your move when you had the chance," he shot back with a grin. He doubted, highly, that anything could ever happen between him and his friend; they were just friends, after all, and beyond that their personalities were just too different. Tanner was shy, reserved, calm, quiet... Zac was the polar opposite of all of those traits. It just wouldn't make sense. At Zac's assertion that Tanner would 'never run out' of partners, the boy scoffed audibly. "Please, I'd never run out even if the student population was one: me." And it was true: Tanner had never 'done the deed' before, and only recently had he started thinking that maybe he wanted to.

Tanner frowned facetiously. "What, you don't think I look spectacular in this?" He asked, squinting at Zac as they got into the elevator. "I mean, you've been all over me since I got here, I figured you liked what you saw." He blushed as he said this, knowing that the attraction was in fact the other way around. Hell, a guy like Zac could get damn near anyone he wanted. He wasn't even sure he had the money for whatever high-end clothing Zac envisioned for him, and he certainly wasn't going to ask for a 'loan.' The last time Zac had paid for something for him, it hadn't even gone to good use. At any rate, classes sounded a lot more interesting to Tanner than shopping or clubbing, so he nodded enthusiastically as the elevator door opened. "That's the plan," he replied simply, allowing Zac to lead the way out of the building.

The blonde blanched as Zac saw though his lie almost instantly. Was he really that easy to read? He wasn't about to give Zac his phone, though: he could only imagine what sort of horrid things he would have Tanner say. "Would that really be so bad?" He asked before he could stop himself. Sure, he had thought about his first time being with Robbie, probably more so than with anyone else, but a boy could dream, couldn't he? And who else would it be if not Robbie? But they wouldn't be speaking for a while, he knew, so that was probably out of the question even if he and Dani didn't last. "Besides, that Noah kid isn't even gay, I don't know why I begged you to bid on him for me. Uh... sorry." How did one make up for one thousand dollars flushed down the toilet? He blushed furiously at the boy's words. Fuck him roughly? Damn, he didn't know about that. "Hey, I'm fragile," he joked in reply, one of his hands instinctively finding the back of his neck. "Besides, what the hell would you be doing with me, anyway? You can get anyone."

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Meh. More chances will come,” shrugged the mimic as they walked along the buildings, his hand never leaving the blonde’s shoulders, “I mean come on, unlike you, I don’t wait for them. I grab them viciously when I see the perfect chance yes, but mostly I make them. It might seem awkward and out of the blue at first, but with enough confidence it becomes organic. Just like when you tell a lie so much it just becomes the truth. Remember that syphilis incident with Patrick junior year? You know, the annoying football jerk who can bend spoons with his mind?” It was a rather long story, but Zac says all you need to know was that he and the boy had an argument, Patrick wouldn’t back down so the heir spread the rumour that he had the STI. (Didn’t help that the girl he last slept with developed it too; Brenda slept around a lot too so it couldn’t be pinned down to him anyway). It got so bad though that Patrick had to transfer to Kocher because, well, Zac had a way of telling stories, even those that should seem like a non-issue.

He was just about to leave it at that but then Tanner just had to have the last word and insert a good dose of self-depreciation into it. (Or at least it was self-depreciation right? His brain clearly hasn’t been awake long enough to process things clearly). “What? I know you and your hand had been in a very committed relationship for quite some time now, but seriously dude, time to spread those butterfly wings and fly. Your hand can only do so much. Other people’s hands though. Mmm.”

Zac couldn’t help but look at Tanner, for a split-second yes but a look nonetheless, with a mix of surprise and slight skepticism. Sure they talk about the supposed sexual tension between them a lot, but usually it was him who kept on bringing it up, not the other way around. Could it be? No. Way. Just the thought of it was enough to bring a smirk on the mimic’s face.

The elevator was the perfect place to test his theory. Once the doors closed, he promptly pinned the blonde to the walls, one hand slowly running up Tanner’s thighs while the other was wrapped tightly around his waist, putting their bodies close. He didn’t say anything throughout the elevator ride, but simply gave Tanner a rather intense look, never breaking eye contact through the whole thing.

Just when things seemed to be getting a little too heavy, the doors opened, and with it came Zac’s sudden drastic mood shift. With a wink, Zac pulled away, the intensity of his mood quickly replaced by the childish joy he had just minutes before entering the elevator. “Tanner you coming? Door’s about to close. And if you ever want to attend my Organic Chem class it starts in two hours, just saying.”

Huh. Figured.

“Uh, no. Bad would be way tame of a word to describe it.” Now he really wanted to know what voodoo magic Robbie put on the boy. He never had anyone pine about him like this and it was making him so jealous. “I wasn’t even gay when I first got it on with…with…see I don’t even remember who he was.” And he wasn’t lying. As memorable as most people talk about their firsts, Zac could barely remember his. Guy or otherwise. “Oh there are many, many things I can do to you, but none of them would likely be considered polite to say in front of the table,” answered Zac as they came to the place, “Find a table and feel free to grab some food before me. I’ll just go to the washrooms real quick.”

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner rolled his eyes nearly to the back of his head as Zac recounted the incident with Patrick junior year; Tanner had never actually met Patrick, but he knew what Zac had done and he didn't really appreciate it so much as the mimic seemed to. 'Not my type of humor,' Tanner had said the first time Zac had told him about the rumor he was spreading. It seemed like bullying at the time, and time hadn't altered his perspective. "Yeah, and I've reluctantly agreed with you ever since," he shot back. He knew Zac would never do that to him, though. Frankly, nobody would believe a sexual rumor about him anyway - not that all that many people at Hammel even knew who he was - but they were friends and Tanner was pretty sure that ever since the first day they had met, Zac had taken an unexpected liking to him.

Tanner blushed furiously as Zac mentioned 'his hand,' quickly shrugging out of the boy's one-armed embrace. "Line, Zac! Line!" He hollered, eyes falling to the floor as they continued walking. Yes, there was a line, and Zac often toed it, but it was only when he lost all subtlety that Tanner felt he really crossed it, and those moments made him extremely uncomfortable. He knew Zac was essentially a sex kitten and he was basically a prude in comparison (and in general, really), and it was all too easy for their conversations to go down paths Tanner didn't feel comfortable following.

But Tanner had no idea just how uncomfortable he was going to get.

When the elevator door closed, Tanner was just in the middle of leaning himself against the back wall when the mimic was suddenly upon him. The blonde's eyes widened with surprise, giving Zac a look that was confused and a bit frightened. Though he felt one of the boy's hands around his waist and the other trailing up his leg, he made no move to return any of these gestures, simply willing himself to meet the boy's strong gaze, under which he lost all color. Was this what everything was leading up to? Was this when their implicit feelings for one another would finally be realized? Were six years of innuendo about to be fulfilled?

The blonde allowed his eyes to slowly close, unsure of what to expect. When he opened them, Zac was already moving out of the elevator.

Oh.

After hesitating for a moment, Tanner followed Zac out of the lift, pressing the button to keep the doors open so they wouldn't shut on him as he was exiting. "Uh, yeah," he replied, giving a small shake of his head as though to bring himself back into reality as Zac asked if he wanted to attend his chemistry class. It took him a moment to sort of 'come back down' from that very strange experience - as it was, he knew Zac had taken that 'joke' a bit too far, and he wasn't exactly happy about it - but eventually they were walking together across campus.

"I don't think that's how it works," the nerd stated as Zac professed that he wasn't gay when he'd had sex with a man. He found that his heart raced a bit at the boy's next remark, but he didn't have any witty response at the ready, so he just let it sit there. Suffice it to say Zac was giving him a lot to think about. He was also giving him some time to do said thinking, as it turned out. The boy nodded, moving to a table for two by one of the windows as he watched Zac head to the bathroom.

Practically collapsing into his seat, Tanner sighed, moving a hand through his spiky blonde hair. He was starting to wonder how on earth this weekend was going to go smoothly when every five minutes - or five seconds, really - he was imagining himself in bed with his own friend. Not that this was the first time he'd done so, but it was starting to get a little too frequent for comfort. But while he was definitely attracted to this guy, there was no way he was going to have sex with someone who would probably just view him as one in a million, literally.

A waitress came for their drink orders while Zac was still away, and Tanner ordered them both glasses of water jut to start until Zac returned. Damn if he knew what this kid would want. Seeing Zac return to their table, Tanner looked up. "I ordered you a cold shower," he stated, before taking the menu into his hands.