About Favor
by Alex Draven
18 pages
/ 6900 words
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Micky's the resident goth on his hall at university, and it hasn't exactly made him the most popular guy at school. Until Halloween that is, when everyone wants to borrow his clothes for costumes. Rhys wants more than just Micky's clothes, but he's not sure he can convince Micky that he's for real. Will they have more than just a Halloween illusion?
Sample
"Can I ask you a favor?"
Rhys wasn't the first guy from Micky's hall to knock on his door and ask to borrow stuff for Halloween. He was just the first guy where Micky might be willing to say yes.
They'd only been sharing a hall of residence for six weeks -- a whole lo-rise building full of first-years -- but Micky's reputation as the resident goth was already established. Most of the time that meant, at best, they ignored him, and at worst, he was treated to stupid notes taped to his room door and people yelling "goffick" or worse at him. Except when Halloween fell on a Friday night, and then, all of a sudden, Micky was the go-to guy. Apparently.
No way was Micky lending his stuff to a bunch of football playing, beer-swilling townies.
Rhys was different.
Rhys was …
Rhys was standing in Micky's bedroom, slouching with his hands in his pockets, biting his lip and trying not to look around while being totally, burningly, casually hot. Not that Micky had given much time to thinking about how hot Rhys I'm-taking-Mechanical-Engineering-but-I-like-to-draw Summers was or anything. Much.
"So, um -- what's the favor?" Micky finally blurted out. He was only assuming that Rhys wanted to borrow a costume because that's what everyone else had asked for.
"I, um." Rhys stuttered, and then started over, looking Micky in the eye this time. "Can I tag along with you guys on Friday?"
"I guess I ca… What?" Micky finally processed the sentence.
"I know it's dead cheeky, and all, and I don't really know you that well, but, I was just thinking. Halloween down at GlamGlam's going to be a bloody meat market, and the Union's no better. I figured you lot, I mean -- the what's-it. The Alternative Alliance. I bet you put on a great party. Better music too."
He ended that with a slow, stunning smile that made his eyes crinkle and showed off neat teeth. Everything about Rhys was neat -- movements, hands, the way he kept trying to tie his light-brown hair back in a ponytail, even though it wasn't long enough to stay in.
"You getting bored of Banging Hits 2001, then?"
"Man." Rhys' eyes positively sparkled, and he leaned back against the wall by the door, like he was more confident now that Micky wasn't going to kick him out. "That top-forty stuff's been doing my head in."
"So you figured, what, time for a walk on the dark side?" Micky meant that mostly as a joke, but Rhys just nodded his head and agreed.
"Something like that, yeah. So, can I tag along?"
Rhys shrugged. "I guess so. Not sure it’ll be what you're expecting, but why not?"