3. Learning is a Hoot!
Learning is a Hoot!
The first day of classes was a mess. Theo and his roommates hadn’t worked out a plan for kitchen and bathroom use, resulting in knocked shoulders and yet another hip-check.
“Sorry!” Caleb put down the pan he’d been trying to flip a pancake in as Theo rubbed where his side had collided with the counter.
“It’s fine, but maybe use a spatula?”
“What’s a spatu—”
Jason shooed him away from the utensil drawer and pulled it out, brandishing it like he was handing over Excalibur. “You have twenty seconds before I need this for my omelette."
His eggs were already sizzling in his own pan, the smell making Theo’s stomach rumble for something more than coffee.
The hiss of the shower coming from the bathroom meant he had time before starting his own routine, so he sucked in his stomach, as if that would make a difference, and squeezed past them to grab a chocolate granola bar.
Jason watched him, seeming like he was actively trying not to frown.
He was taking a Bachelor of Kinesiology, which meant he knew exactly how unhealthy they were being, but Theo had made him pinky swear never to make this obvious observation out loud.
Caleb sputtered, spitting into the garbage as white goo oozed out of the middle of his pancake past the sad, melted chocolate chip smiley face.
“Guys.” Jason’s face lost the battle with his frown, his attention bouncing between Theo’s bar and Caleb’s sticky plate. “This is painful to watch.”
“I’ll get batter at it.” Caleb’s goofy grin took over his whole face. “Get it? Batt—”
“Funny,” Theo said, shoving the last bite of the bar into his mouth and giving Caleb a pat on the shoulder. Time was running out, and Dae was still in the bathroom.
As soon as Theo knocked on the door, the water stopped. “Hey, I’m coming in.”
“What, no.” His voice was adorably frantic. “Five minutes.”
“I don’t have five minutes. I have to leave in twenty.”
Silence.
“Dae, we share a bathroom. We should accept the fact that we’ll see some skin. Let’s rip the Band-Aid off.” He made an unconvincing ripping sound and drummed the door with his fingertips. “Daaaeeeeeeeeee.”
Dae didn’t answer, but the lock clicked open. Steam hit Theo, momentarily blurring his vision. But then it cleared to show Dae with a towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair dripping onto his shoulders.
“Fucking shit.” Theo had not been prepared for a lean, flat stomach, defined arms, and the kind of peck muscles he suspected could bounce on command.
But it was so fine! He had shut down his crush, so this was not a problem at all!
Dae’s eyes widened in borderline panic. “What?”
“Just…” The steam swirled down his throat into his lungs, his stomach, and kept on moving down, filling his body with heat. Say something, he internally screamed at himself. Literally anything!
Dae blinked at him, his panic rising. “Just what?”
“That's not. Ugh. That's what you're hiding under those awful sweaters?”
His cheeks instantly went pink. “Stop it.”
“I’m trying, but…” Theo shook his head, unable to stop leering. Which sometimes was the best defence: joke about finding someone attractive so they’d think the attraction was a joke. Which it was, of course.
“Theo.” Dae picked up the pile of clothes on the counter and held them against his chest. “Wait, what's wrong with my sweaters?”
Theo clicked his tongue. “You must know.”
Dae seemed annoyed at the non-answer, or perhaps he was just flustered at Theo’s refusal to stop staring, so he escaped into the living room to a chorus of Jason and Caleb whistling.
Theo gripped the sink and breathed in the last of the steam, definitely not thinking about how it had clung to Dae’s body. He shook his head, then stripped and studied himself in the foggy mirror. He was no goblin, but shit, if he looked like Dae, he would never, ever wear a shirt.
“Half hour workouts every day,” he sternly told his reflection, knowing the traitorous two-dimensional being wouldn’t actually listen. “Every. Day.”
??? ???
jordan
#1 Client Extraordinaire
I couldn’t find you after the concert. Were you there?
Yes
Too busy basking in your immeasurable talent to stick around
Figured youd be swarmed by admirers
Well obviously but that has nothing to do with the concert.
hangout this weekend? Snacks and a b movie?
A 100000000000x yes. Sunday? Going out w matt tnight
The frosh games hunk?
Do people still say hunk?
If they know what’s good for em.
Then yes the score-ientation hunk
Omg I’m stealing that for next year
PLEASE DO
??? ???
Friday came fast, the days in between smashing together like a sloppy sandwich with too much middle and not enough bread.
Classes moved quickly, lectures were interesting but intimidating, and though most of Theo’s professors were an infectiously enthusiastic dork brigade, one had a monotone that could lull a rave to sleep.
He, Jason and Caleb had fallen into a routine where each night, they’d zone out on the couch as Jason played video games, Caleb strummed his guitar, and Theo watched, enraptured, as Caleb’s fingers flew over the strings.
They rarely spoke apart from the odd story about their day, but it was nice to just exist together for a while before separating, and he found himself looking forward to it as he dodged absent-minded students in the hall on his way to his door.
Their dorm was eerily quiet. After the chaos of the first week, silence was bizarre.
He went into his room, tossed his bag on the bed, and opened the window to enjoy some of the crisp autumn air before it got too cold.
Half his bag was unpacked before he noticed the mug on his desk: Learning is a hoot!
His first thought was his Aunt Liana, and then a barrage of questions overlapped each other.
How did she know he broke it? How did she get into the dorms? Was she under the bed, hiding?
The sound of the front door opening drew him into the common area in time to catch Dae wiping sweat from his face with the bottom of his hoodie.
Theo had thought only guys in movies did that, and he was alarmingly pleased to be wrong.
Dae gave him a nod and moved towards his door, but Theo put the puzzle together, feeling especially dumb for not realizing right away.
“You gave me the mug.”
Dae seemed on the verge of denying it, which made Theo laugh.
“Were you getting one for yourself and thought it would be rude not to get two?”
He looked to his room, probably wishing he could teleport safely inside.
“Well, thank you,” Theo said, trying not to be too intense this time, despite the fact that Dae’s simple act of kindness had turned his insides gooey. “That was thoughtful.”
“It seemed important to you.” Dae’s words were quiet, as if Theo’s emotional attachment to a mug were a secret. His hands dug into the pockets of his giant hoodie, stretching the fabric over his shoulders again.
“Dae, can I ask you something?”
A pained wince. “My answer to that question hasn’t stopped you so far.”
“Do you own any clothes that actually fit you? This thing is enormous. You could fit both of us in there.”
He backed up, maybe scared Theo was about to try. “I was running.”
“Are you always running?” Theo crossed his arms and put on his best authoritative voice. “I demand to see your wardrobe.”
Dae’s panic-mode was dangerously cute. His hair swung over his eyes as he shook his head. “No.”
“Clothes aren’t just about aesthetics. What message are you sending with this cotton tent you’re wearing?”
“Um.” His shoulders raised a fraction. “I’m warm and comfortable?”
“I’m hiding, so don’t approach me or talk to me or look at me. I said I’d help you make friends—”
“I already regret this.”
“—and that starts with how you present yourself. Let’s go.” Theo ushered him to his door, but Dae wiggled away.
“Right now? I’m gross.”
He had a point. There was a certain post-exercise waft. “Fifteen minutes. You’re not getting out of this.”
Dae sighed like Theo was forcing him to read the entire dictionary but went into the bathroom without further argument—possibly because he’d exhausted his quota of words for the day.
He returned with damp hair, dressed in a fresh oversized t-shirt with baggy gym shorts, as if actively trying to prove Theo’s point.
“Come on,” Theo said, walking past him into his bedroom.
The pile of notebooks was gone, likely tucked away from snoops, and though his bed was made, the blanket was rumpled.
His room smelled pleasant, and Theo breathed deep, trying to figure out why.
It wasn’t a candle or air freshener or anything so obvious.
It was just a mixture of Dae; the spices he used to cook, his deodorant, his books, and something woodsy, like he was secretly a nymph.
One more mystery to add to the Dae-list.
His closet was mostly filled with more of the same baggy bullshit, but in the back hung a surprising number of v-necks and button-ups. “Where did these come from?”
“My sister’s into fashion. And she’s bossy.”
“I like her already.” Theo reached inside and then handed him some jeans and one of the shirts. “Put this on.”
Dae stared at him as pink lit up his cheeks. It was so adorable that it took Theo a moment too long to realize why he was hesitating.
“Oh! Right. I’ll be…” He sidestepped towards the door, then shot Dae an awkward smile as he escaped. Pacing the living room didn’t do much to erase the image of Dae’s bashful look that had burned itself onto Theo’s brain.
“Okay.” The word was so tiny behind the door that Theo barely registered it before Dae stepped out a moment later. His jeans hung perfectly on his hips, hugging his thighs without being too tight, and the button-up shirt was just snug enough to hint at the physique beneath.
“Wow.”
“Stop it.” Gaze to the floor, lips pressed together to prevent a smile. “So this is the kind of thing you lik—” Dae cleared his throat, then shook his head. “I mean, you think I should dress like this?”
“Should is a strong word. Just, you know, sometimes. If you want.” The last thing Theo wanted to do was tell Dae how to be. “It’s not about looking good; it’s about being approachable, and this guy is someone people would approach. That’s the goal, right?”
He bit his lip, nodding.
“You do look good, though.” Theo had never been shy about giving compliments. The other day, he told the bus driver that she had excellent defensive reflexes. So why was his chest screaming now? “Not that it matters,” he mumbled, even though he was not a mumbler, “but you do.”
Dae’s face, as usual, refused to let on that he might be pleased, but he did stand up straighter, his shoulders not quite so weighed down.
The progress was addictive, and Theo wanted more.
“How do you feel about joining us for our nightly debriefs?” Dae’s newly confident stance crumbled.
“I’m not saying you have to talk, but disappearing into your room every night is definitely sending a message.
Step one towards having friends is actually showing up. ”
Dae blinked at him through his damp hair. “What’s step two?”
Theo shrugged. “Alcohol?”
Caleb and Jason’s chatter preceded their entrance, and Dae tensed, like his body was fighting the impulse to flee. The boys shut right up when they saw him.
“I made him play dress-up,” Theo said. “You guys have any suggestions?”
Dae turned on him. “Wait. No.”
“Actually,” Jason said, heading towards his room, “my mom gave me a few shirts that were too small and I didn’t have the heart to tell her.”
“I don’t know what the goal is, but we can see what I’ve got!
” Caleb’s excitement seemed to overwhelm Dae, pushing him back a step, so Theo followed Caleb alone.
It was like entering another world overrun by delightfully weird two-dimensional creatures.
Stickers were plastered everywhere: his desk, his disaster of a closet, on his guitar case propped against the wall, in picture frames, and on his books.
“I know I went overboard, but they give me a bit of joy, so…” His shrug was completely unbothered.
“No judgement here.”
He pointed at a twig-like creature with huge eyes that said, Actually this is a no-smoking area.
“I bought this one at a comic shop, then found the website and it snowballed from there. It’s called Bob Is Not Your Neighbour.
Here.” He handed Theo an alien-esque grump with the phrase Is there a right side of the bed?
“The website is on the back if you want to check it out. And you can keep that one, it’s a duplicate.
What do you think of this?” The knitted cardigan he held up had huge pockets and stretched out arms. “If Dae likes it, I can make another one.”
“You made this?”
“Yeah, man, knitting is like, crazy stress-relief. I’ll teach you if you want.” His grin was the exact opposite of Dae’s: wide, goofy, and eager. He tossed the sweater to Theo, then dug around his laundry pile. “Don’t forget the beanie!”