Chapter Text
Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock is so loud, it feels like it’s blaring into Dave’s ears.
Three fifty. Three fifty-one. Three fifty-two. Almost Four. Almost Four. It’s Almost Four.
He sits patiently, the clock getting louder. He covers his ears. He waits. Dave always puts a large amount of effort into his appearance, only to look clean. Today, he focused on how his face looked and how his clothes sat on his body. Such an effort to make today perfect. Perfect. Perfect like him, Topher, perfection. Dave didn’t love him. What even is love? A word of course though the meaning doesn’t mean anything at all to Dave because he certainly didn’t love Topher at all. There was lots to love about him though.
Tick! The clock shouts. Dave presses his hands against his ears stronger to rid of the noise but realizes the time. Four. It is four o’clock. Having been prepared since the moment he woke up, his legs moved quickly, and ran out the door, resting on his car floor. With his hands on the wheel, he drives quickly. A hill. That’s where they’d be headed today. Dave knew the perfect spot for him and Topher to meet. He hadn’t planned for what they’d do or talk about but had planned for the ideal date. Platonic, bro-date, that is. Once he got to his destination, he carefully stepped out of his car and approached the hill he had informed Topher of. The two seemed to have gotten there at the same time though Dave had beat his friend to the hill. Topher had finally reached where Dave stood and the two locked eyes for just a moment before Topher broke the contact with a nervous look at the floor and a greeting. “Hey, Dave! Glad we could meet up, I guess.” The rather charming, green-eyed young man commented. “Me too, I mean I’m like, super excited for this! Not to be weird or anything.” The ravenette replied, immediately regretting what he had said. “Yeah, I guess.” Topher honestly was a little weirded out by Dave, but he wanted to give him a shot. The two boys sat in the grass, not saying much to each other or even looking at each other. At least, that’s what Topher was doing. Dave was looking at Topher, admiring him in a way. The way he sat and stared off at other things, he didn’t seem good at eye contact at the moment but Dave didn’t mind. The way Tophers hands sat in his lap so elegantly and his hands looked so soft he just wanted to hold them in any way he could. He wanted to feel Topher against him just to know what it was like but he’d never do anything like that for real, it’s not something Topher would let him do. He wasn’t gay either. He considered it since he was so different from others and found his best friend attractive at some point but never engaged in anything with him. Dave honestly found Topher more attractive than Shawn, he would never date him, though the thought crossed his mind more than it should have. Even just thinking about the other boy’s lips against his own made him shiver in the most positive way he could. The silence was growing to be awkward, Dave had to say something but had no idea what to say.
“You’re so pretty when you stare off at nothing like that.”
“What?”
That was what he could say, but he didn’t.
“Hey, so are you like, hungry?” Dave spoke with a smile, his strangely bright white teeth shined as he tried to have the most perfect facial expression he could since someone so already perfect was sitting right in front of him. And he had the honor of getting to speak with him.
“I guess.” The phrase was starting to get old. He had said I guess one, two, three, times already and didn’t seem like he wanted to retire it. Dave didn’t get irritated like he would with Shawn who brought up one thing, topic, word, you name it, more times than enough. Topher used the word in a way that seemed so different from a regular I guess. It could’ve been the way he spoke or his voice in general, whatever it was, it made Dave feel something he felt his parents would be ashamed of. Something he would hate himself for if he admitted it. Dave nodded in response and smiled. If he could even smile any wider at this point.
“Cool, I brought food actually. Hold on a minute.” He began walking, glancing at Topher occasionally before finally reaching his car. However, he stopped for a moment to give Topher a stare. He wasn’t as talkative as he had been at the reunion, where they first met. Dave wondered if Topher was uncomfortable. He hoped that wasn’t the case since he wanted everything but making such a handsome young man feel awkward around him. Dave didn’t have much luck with Sky or romance in general. The difference now is that they were girls, Topher is a boy. Dave had no romantic feelings towards Topher, though he could see a future with him where they would be happy. Once he got back to the hill where Topher was lying, he laid out a large towel for the two to sit on.
“Hey Toph, can I call you Toph?”
“Most people do, I don’t care.” Dave asked Topher way too many questions afterward.
Navy blue is Topher’s favorite color.
He prefers cats over dogs.
He enjoys poetry, which Dave thought was strange. Dave thought Topher wouldn’t understand literature like he did, but they shared a lot in common.
Topher said he likes to laugh.
“Okay Toph, get this, I’m with Sky alone, right? I try to talk to her, but she burps in my face! I mean loud too! If I didn’t have such a powerful body it probably could’ve killed me!”
Dave smiled, clearly exaggerating and making himself seem stronger than he appeared. Nevertheless, Topher laughed, they both did. “Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t hear that!” Topher joked along, leaning forward as he laughed more.
“Honestly, me too! I could’ve sworn everyone heard it, but when I got back and tried to tell everyone, they all said they didn’t hear anything!”
The two laughed at stories from both the island and general experiences, which went on for another couple of hours before the sun started setting. Dave thought about what he should do with Topher next, the idea of just keeping the boy with him forever sounded like heaven to Dave. He couldn’t do that though, so he had to make the most out of the time he had until Topher decided to go home. Dave wouldn’t consider his tendencies necessarily unreasonable, anyone would search their friends for any signs of boredom, tiredness, or anything related to that. Dave just wanted to make sure the time Topher left wasn’t soon. “Do you listen to any music?” Dave suddenly asked, tilting his head with a smile from laughing earlier.
“Obviously! Who doesn’t?” Topher replied in a somewhat snarky tone, tilting his head back at Dave with a small chuckle.
“Oh, yeah, duh, do you have any favorite bands or artists or whatever?”
“I mean, just basic stuff. Brittney Spears, Kesha, MSI, stuff like that.”
“Woah, wait, MSI? There’s no way you like MSI!”
“No, it’s true. I like This Hurts, Vanity, and Get it Up.” Topher leaned in closer as he spoke.
“Really? Well, I don’t listen to them, but I didn’t think you of all people would listen to a band like that! Maybe because they’re punk or something.”
“Yeah, I don’t like a lot of their songs, punk isn’t my thing really. I do like the ones I just listed though. Their new album had some cool, new stuff. My World and Eat Those Words are definitely up there as favorites now.”
Dave noted how Topher seemed to talk a lot more, and a lot more passionately when it was something he enjoyed. He couldn’t help but not listen and just stare. Dave nodded to signify that he was still with the other boy, even if he wasn’t.
“Well, some bands I like are Weezer and The Smiths.” Topher laughed, shaking his head while looking down at the ground.
“Weezer, really? Never would’ve guessed!” He smiled after his laughter came to an end.
“Huh? Yeah, really! They’re awesome! I like Why Bother? Falling for You, Pink Triangle, Ain’t Got Nobody, Go Away, and My Name is Jonas.”
“Of course you like Pink Triangle! That’s so you. Sky’s actually into girls now, you know?” “Really?” For some reason, Dave wasn’t disappointed like he would’ve been normally. “Good for her!”
“Wow, thought you’d be a little sadder than that. You’re not into her anymore?”
“Nope, haven’t been since the betrayal honestly. We made up at the reunion though, so it’s all cool.” “Huh, I thought you’d never get over her! You got any new interests? In people I mean.” “Oh, well, I don’t know.” Dave oddly wanted to say Topher’s name, but in context, it felt wrong. Even if for Dave, it was the right answer. He couldn’t have any romantic attraction to Topher, he’s a boy, and out of his league anyway.
“I’ll find someone soon, not now though. I honestly think Total Drama gave me romance PTSD.” Dave gently snickered. “Yeah, I get that. I couldn’t talk right for days after my elimination! That didn’t last for too long, clearly. If you were to have a crush though, who would it be?” Dave didn’t know how to answer. He only had two options, Shawn or Topher. Shawn was automatically out of the picture since he was with Jasmine, and there was no way Dave could say Topher. Then again, Topher was so full of himself it probably would pass as a “of course it’s me, I’m hot!” Sort of thing. With a deep breath, Dave answered.
“Probably you.” “Well duh, but besides me!” Dave wished so badly that Topher had taken that more seriously because it was his only answer. “That’s it, just you. I don’t like you or anything though,” Dave chuckled. “I just think you’re super pretty for a boy. Your hair is well kept, your eyes sort of gleam because of the color, and you have a nice body.” Dave was doing the thing he always did with people he liked, stumbling over his own words. He had no idea why he was so obsessed with Topher but he knew it had to be ignored. The last part of his remark was sending so many thoughts to Dave’s head, mostly regret. It’s not like he didn’t mean it, he just didn’t want to come off as creepy to Topher. Though, he wouldn’t mind having an opportunity to feel the other boy’s body against his. The more he thought about that, the farther his hand moved out to Topher. Dave could feel Topher’s fingertips against his own, it was oddly intimate. Dave hoped this situation would blow over Topher’s head as “just a compliment” which the comment certainly was a compliment, but to Dave, he felt like it meant something more special.
“Oh, thanks, I guess.” A fourth time. Topher said the phrase a fourth time, so much repetitiveness, yet Dave loved hearing it every time. After the awkward situation, they continued to talk about random things, mostly about Topher, but Dave didn’t mind one bit. Topher talks with his hands a lot. He doesn’t like long-sleeved shirts. He enjoys showers a lot. Topher’s favorite season of Total Drama is Pahkitew because he was in it. Topher’s favorite movie of all time is 10 Things I Hate About You. He thinks he might kill himself before he reaches 40. The two boys lost track of time while they were talking, the stars now painted beautifully across the never-ending sky above them. Their small hangout had turned into a five-hour talk about Topher, which again, Dave didn’t mind at all. Once the bugs started getting too bad for both of them to handle, they finally parted ways. Before Topher was completely out of Dave’s sight, he yelled to him “See you another time?” “Totally!” With that, Dave stepped into his car with a big smile on his face. His heart fluttered and he could feel the heat in his cheeks rising the more he thought about the other boy. Dave only hoped this feeling wasn’t love again, he wouldn’t be able to handle that again. Maybe because Topher’s a boy, things could be different. Maybe.