Fic: The Only Exception

Hey, look. It’s another fic! (See all of them here.)

There’s a lot of things, in terms of backstory with the other characters and things that you don’t see, that I have specced out in my mind. I thought it would be interesting to present them in text form to fill in some of the gaps, as it were, in the main YAGS storyline.

Needless to say, these pieces will be highly spoilerific, so I recommend you do not read them unless you have finished the game at least once. (Likewise, they may not make as much sense if you haven’t played the game at least once.)

Seriously. Spoilers ahead! Do not continue if you haven’t played the game!

(Additional warning: This spoils the secret route of the game. If you haven’t found it yet [you’ll know if you have], and want to, do not read.)

Monday November 20, 2006

“You know, you gave Chris quite a show yesterday.”

Adam looks at Carlos, confused, a fork of chicken halfway to his mouth. Carlos just shrugs and grins.

“After swimming. You could’ve changed in a stall. Although, to his credit, he was trying really hard to be good.”

Adam chews the chicken and shrugs, that weird nagging feeling in the back of his mind again. “Whatever. We live together, so it’s not like he hasn’t seen it before.”

“Oh, it’s like that, huh?” Carlos laughs, slapping Adam’s arm across the table. “Kidding. But, we really need to get you some action.”

“I really need to concentrate on my studies. Besides, you know I’m not a fan of random sex.”

“Uh huh.” Carlos sighs and leans back again. “I wish you liked dudes, chico. Then you and Chris could go out. It’d be kind of perfect.”

Adam shakes his head, willing away the thoughts threatening to invade his mind. “Yeah, because that’d go well.”

Carlos frowns. “I’m serious. You two are both super smart and hard working. You have similar interests, even if he’s less into blood and guts than you. He doesn’t seem to mind your epic clutter. In a lot of ways, I’m glad our housing plans fell through, because you got to live with him.”

Ashleigh (or is it Leigh?) plops herself down next to Carlos and lays her head on his shoulder. “Hi.”

Carlos laughs, throwing an arm over her shoulders. “You’d hook up with chico, right?”

“Sure. Is Ash invited?”

“Can you stop trying to hook me up with women, dude?” It comes out a little more forcefully than intended, and Carlos frowns. Leigh just laughs.

“Because you want him to hook you up with men, instead?”

“Ash, that’s rude.” Leigh (?) walks up behind Carlos, looking apologetic.

Ashleigh extricates herself from Carlos’ arm, looking annoyed. “Well, excuse me for trying to give people what they want.”

She storms off, and Leigh shakes her head. “Sorry. Um. I’m just gonna…”

Adam gathers his dishes and stands, and Carlos looks at him confused.

“I think I’m going to read or something before my next class… not feeling so great. I’ll see you tonight for dinner, though?”

Carlos nods, watching Adam grab his coat and throw his plate in the bin of dirty dishes. As he’s walking out the door, he notices Carlos looking at him with an expression he’s not sure he wants to understand.


Thursday November 23, 2006

Adam starts awake, staring at the ceiling and feeling the sweat run off his forehead as images from his dream – of being buried to the hilt inside Chris – flash through his head. His cock, still rock hard, twitches involuntarily.

He glances over at the other bed, where Chris seems to be sleeping soundly, and drags his hand through his unruly hair, trying to get the beating of his heart back to normal.

It’s just a stupid dream. It doesn’t mean anything. But even as he thinks the words, he knows he’s lying to himself.

He lays there for a bit, staring at the ceiling, trying to force his mind to focus on homework, or the book he’s reading… anything but the guy asleep in a bed mere feet away from him.

He gives up after a while, palming himself through his underwear and coming quicker than he can ever remember doing despite (or, maybe, because of) his guilty glances at Chris’ bed, sure that he’ll wake up and catch him in the act.

Afterward, he changes, dresses, and sits at his desk trying his hardest to focus on his book but feeling his mind drift despite that.

Chris eventually wakes up, and before Adam has to figure out what to say to him, Carlos stops by to drag the two of them off to a movie, and Adam whispers his thanks to whatever deity might be timing these things.

Hannah ends up joining the three of them, and breakfast is so relaxed that Adam can feel himself starting to, or at least wanting to, believe that his morning hadn’t actually happened.

It isn’t until they’re in the movie theater, and he’s sitting next to Chris with a comically large bucket of popcorn, that the thoughts return. He tries his hardest to focus on the plot, and the huge screen in front of him, but for some reason instead can’t pull his attention from the way his hand brushes Chris’ inside the bucket.

He’s so screwed.


Sunday December 24, 2006

“Dude. I can’t believe you didn’t actually call your parents today.”

Carlos, pulling on his usual sleeping t-shirt, just shrugs. “I’ll call them tomorrow. It’s better to wish them Merry Christmas than Merry… almost Christmas. Right?”

Adam lays in his bed and stares at the ceiling. “I suppose so.”

“Besides, long distance calls are expensive, and I only have the one calling card.”

“Dude. I’m sure my parents wouldn’t care if you wanted to call them from the house.”

“Nah. You’re already putting me up for the break, and your parents got me gifts, which they totally shouldn’t have done. Es mucho mas que deberian haber hecho.”

“Well, still. Call them tomorrow, dude.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good night, chico.”

Carlos switches off the light, and Adam stares at the ceiling, a million thoughts running through his head. For some reason, he finds himself fixating on wondering how Chris is going to be spending Christmas day.

“Carlos?”

“Hm?”

“When did you know you… liked… guys?”

Carlos’ silent for a while, and Adam wonders if he even heard the question, before he finally responds. “Pretty much since I was old enough to be attracted to anyone, really. I don’t know. I was 12? 13?”

“Was it a specific… person? Or just a general thing?”

“Kind of both? I mean, dude, I’m sure you remember when you first noticed some girl, right? Probably someone specific that you were inexplicably drawn to all of a sudden, or were awkward around all of a sudden, as part of a larger, uh… realization that the opposite sex was an interesting thing.”

“Something like that.”

“Well, it was something like that. Except it was the wrong people I was being drawn to.”

“Dude. It’s not wrong.”

“Sure. Thanks, chico.” He’s silent for a bit. “But, uh… why do you want to know?”

Because I’m attracted to Chris and I don’t know what to do about it… “I don’t know. Just curious, I guess.”

They’re silent again, and Adam wonders if he really wants to continue the line of discussion, but the thoughts he’s been keeping inside for months win out.

“You’re not interested in girls at all?”

He can hear some shuffling, and make out the outline of Carlos, in the other bed, now propped up on one arm and looking at him. “Depends what you mean by interested. They’re nice, and I guess sex with them feels good, but more from a mechanical standpoint than anything. And it’s kind of what everyone expects. And fuck if I’m doing anything that even hints to my parents that I’m anything but straight. But interested? No.” He pauses. “Why? There’s more to this than curiosity, isn’t there, dude?”

Adam suddenly feels cold, despite the comfortable room temperature, and shivers. “I don’t know.”

“Dude. Are you interested in a guy?”

“I don’t know.”

There’s more shuffling, and Carlos seems to be sitting up now. “Dude.”

“I don’t know, okay? I’ve just… been… having thoughts.”

“About someone specific?”

“I don’t know. Yes.”

“Is it Chris?”

Adam looks over, now able to make out Carlos’ face in the moonlight. He seems to be grinning. Damn him. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Uh huh. Okay, so this is kind of awesome, dude.”

“This is the opposite of awesome. I can’t just be attracted to one guy, can I?”

Carlos shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re not actually straight.”

“But dude, I… I’ve never been interested in a guy before. I’ve never been attracted to a guy before. I know I’m attracted to women. In general.”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe he is special. But so what? Does it matter?”

“It matters to me.”

“Okay, fine. But that aside, does it matter whether it’s just him or not? You can still ask him out, right?”

Despite having followed that line of thought before, hearing it out loud is still somehow terrifying. “Dude. I can’t… I can’t date him.”

“Well, why not? You’ve dated women… this isn’t any different. You two are pretty much perfect for each other, and you know damn well he at least finds you attractive.”

“I just… I don’t know.”

Carlos shrugs and lays back down in the bed. “Well, think about it, although I imagine you’ve probably been doing a lot of that already. But seriously, you two would be great together.”

“If you say so.”

“And dude. We are totally watching porn together tomorrow.”

“Dude, ew! Also, on Christmas?”

“Not together in that way, chico. But we are totally seeing if this really is a one-off thing or if Chris’ charms have just awakened your latent sexual urges.”

“Dude. I am done with this discussion. Go to sleep.”

“Sure. Whatever you say, chico.”

“Good night.”

“But, dude. In all seriousness, let’s talk about this, sometime when it’s not after midnight and we don’t have to be up for anything the next day. Even if you don’t want to do anything about it, this is clearly bothering you, and I want to help out if I can.”

“That… would actually be helpful. And, uh… thanks.”

“Also we are totally watching porn together sometime this break.”

Good night, Carlos.”

Carlos laughs and rolls over. “Good night, chico.”

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