Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chase walked to the fridge to get yogurt while trying to listen to what Caleb put on TV. Despite it being Chase’s apartment, Caleb made himself right at home pretty quickly.

Chase didn’t mind though. Caleb had come over so much that it was practically his home too. His actions were all second nature to Chase. Caleb hated being at home, especially at night. Chase was probably the only person who understood what he was going through. They were already good friends, but after what they found out about their families, it only brought them closer.

Chase came from the kitchen and sat on the living room sofa. He realized that what Caleb had on this entire time was the podcast: Going Deeper with Richard Rider. Caleb was a fan of his work, finding it hilarious and somewhat motivating. Chase would entertain Richard’s ideas in his head sometimes, but would immediately feel disgusted with himself.

“Ugh, do you have to be watching that?” Chase complained. Just hearing Richard talk about sexualizing men made his skin crawl. In his mind, it was completely irrational.

“Dude,” Caleb rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. You should just loosen up.”

“He’s literally talking about how being gay is going to make you get women because women are often good friends with gay guys. His logic doesn’t make any sense. He sounds so gay, which is something I totally can’t relate to.” Chase shoved a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth, reached over for the remote, and changed the channel. Despite his comfort with Caleb, he still sat with a lot of room in between the two.

Caleb got up and stood between Chase and the TV. “You can’t avoid him forever. He’s having a party and Timothy Bitchboy got invited. And Timothy invited us too.”

Chase turned off the TV. The background noise was making it hard for him to focus. “Did I hear that right? Isn’t that technically crashing the party?”

“Nah,” Caleb sat back down. “He owed me since he met Emily Wokerson at one of my parties. I’m getting my good karma.”

“What does Emily have to do with the party?”

“She managed to get on his podcast once somehow. I imagine she used the same tactic with the party. It doesn’t matter though. We are having so much fun dude. We are finally gonna find some chicks!” Caleb grabbed his coat and headed for the door. “I’m gonna prepare for the party now. Catch you later.”

Chase’s hands felt sweaty. He didn’t hate parties, he just felt there was always a lot of pressure going to them. People always watching what you do, judging the decisions you make. The fear of getting drunk and making a mistake. Talking to women was hard enough for him, but alcohol just made it worse. For some reason, they always thought he was into men.

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Later that night, the pair pulled up to the address Timothy gave Caleb. Chase thought the entire way through that Timothy had just sent them a random one to mess with them, but to their surprise, they made it to the party.

The boys ogled the house and let audible sounds of their admiration of the building. It was vast and modern. It felt like a stereotypical mansion. If you google one it would probably look like the first result in the images section. It was as if the home was covered in large windows. There were huge but neatly trimmed hedges that outlined every cubic foot of the property.

Once they got to the party, Caleb and Chase quickly met up with Emily and Timothy to then broke away from the couple almost immediately. As grateful as Caleb was for Timothy getting him in, he wasn’t about to spend the night crashing his date. Besides, they both would probably be too frustrating to be around.

Caleb instantly made his way to the drinks and Chase followed. Most of the time the drinks were just beer which wasn’t very satisfactory to his pallet. However, to his surprise, there were sweeter drinks.

He grabbed a red solo cup and when he decided no one was looking, he poured rosè into the cup. He hated that he didn’t like beer like normal guys, but as long as no one ever noticed or found out, he figured it wasn’t such a bad secret.

Caleb walked up to him with a beer in hand. “Dude, did you see who else is at this party? Kyle MegaCringe, Wayne Tufhar, and Knotty Wood are all here. They’re such huge internet sensations!”
Chase was half paying attention to what Caleb was saying. His eyes caught another’s. The mysterious person was holding a beer while his eyes gleamed with curiosity. Chase felt himself get chills from the stare of the man across the kitchen. He almost thought he felt a spark until he noticed a blond woman walk up to him and touch his arm. She twirled her hair on her finger and laughed even though it didn’t seem as if he made a joke.

“Chase,” Caleb tugged on Chase’s arm snapping him back into reality. “Richard Rider just walked by. I want to talk to him so badly. Can you come with me?” Chase considered saying no, but he figured that wouldn’t be a good idea. It would probably make him curious about the man on the other side of the room and it was weird enough that he caught himself thinking about him. Not only that but the desperate look on Caleb’s face was practically irresistible.

After Chase agreed, Caleb all too excited dragged him off to find the host of the party that managed to slip away. After pushing past many people, they managed to find him. Caleb’s eyes twinkled with excitement. He gave himself a little pep talk before finding the courage to go and talk to his favorite entertainer. Of course, Chase was right next to him giving silent support.

“Hi Rider,” Caleb gave him a charming smile. “I’m a major fan. Do you have any advice on how to be successful like you?”

Just then Caleb got a better look at Rider’s face. It was clearly him, but he looked incredibly irritated. Rider gave him a dirty look but still answered. “The only way to motivate men is through being with other men first.” He then turned on his heel and walked away.

Caleb was left there with Chase feeling very bewildered. He wondered if his question had somehow upset Rider. He looked at Chase who looked just as confused by the recent conversation. He felt a little comforted that he wasn’t the only one confused by what just happened. Still, he felt a little embarrassed. “Chase, I’m gonna try chatting up some of the girls here. Can you get me something to drink?”

He felt a little uncomfortable with the request but still complied. He went to the kitchen and felt his eyes instantly search for the mysterious guy from earlier. He didn’t know why. He knew it was completely pointless. Still, he sighed to himself unknowingly when the stranger was nowhere to be seen.

He was minding his own business acquiring the liquor when suddenly he heard shouting. Looking up, he saw the mystery man from the kitchen and Richard Rider loudly arguing in the hallway. Richard’s hands were flying about, speaking using his hands to get his point across. The stranger stood there, face flushed from rage and embarrassment. The music was too loud to clearly understand what they were saying. There were some moments where he tried to piece the words together but only caught wind of “queer”.

That word itself made him uncomfortable. Especially when the stranger caught eyes with him for a moment. Nervousness crept up his neck. Did he know? There’s nothing to know, what am I even thinking? Everyone can tell how straight I am.

He pushed the outlandish thoughts out of his head. He looked up again, expecting to see the stranger still getting told off by Richard, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Text

Chase tossed in his bed. It was a fresh new week, yet he kept replaying the events that occurred at the party in his head. Noticing some strange guy in the kitchen. The way Richard Rider reacted to Caleb. What was even more enticing was trying to figure out how Richard Rider knew the kitchen dude and why were they arguing. Just who was he?

He tried his best to come up with answers so that he wouldn’t think of the man anymore. Chase got frustrated with himself for constantly thinking of a man he never even met. That being said, he still came to the conclusion that Richard and the captivating man were probably arguing over a girl.

Being satisfied with his made-up answer, he carefully decided what to wear. He and Caleb were going to gather at a bar later that day, but he still couldn’t help but want to dress stylishly. He believed that if he researched what women found attractive in men’s styles then maybe it would take away the nervousness of him having to approach them first and they could say hi. It’s not like he purposely ignored women, there was just too much pressure on when to talk to them and what to say.

Chase was pulled out of his thoughts when he got a text from Caleb. It read “Wear something like this:” with a picture attached to what Caleb thought was the most trendy for guys. Unfortunately for Chase though, Caleb had no sense of style and picked the first goofy outfit he saw on Pinterest.

Chase rolled his eyes at the image Caleb foolishly sent him but, nonetheless, took inspiration from the photo. He knew dressing the way Caleb would want him to would drive the ladies far away, but he didn’t completely mind. He knew no matter what he could always count on his best friend to be by his side and not leave him at the bar.

At least, that’s what he thought hours ago. There Chase sat, dark-colored cup with a fruity beverage in hand and no friend in sight. Caleb was with him at the bar for maybe a whole twenty minutes until a cute curly-haired blond named Kaityln Furdaboys came up to them both in hopes that one of them would flirt back.

Annoyed with Caleb, Chase considered leaving almost immediately. That was prior to him noticing a familiar gaze. Chase sat down instantly and stared burning holes into the head of the man with a steely gaze.

He knew it definitely would be deemed creepy if someone caught him, but he couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to the no named person. The person was with another man, joking around and laughing like a pair of idiots. They seemed to be pretty close. For some reason, it made Chase feel slightly jealous. He tried to reason with himself that he was probably not as close to anybody as those men were with each other. While he certainly had Caleb, he couldn’t help but wonder if their close bond would have even started without their common disgust for their family affairs.

Chase was so lost in thought he did not notice that he was being approached. He looked up and locked eyes with the unnamed individual from the party.

“Hey,” the stranger greeted Chase with a cheery smile. “We never got a chance to talk at the party. It’s crazy that we keep running into each other like this. My name is Jack, what’s yours?”

While Jack was speaking, a blond girl entered the bar. She was in an adjacent seat to Jack, engrossed in her phone. Her eyes lit up as she read something on the screen. She then strolled over to the boys, her smile reaching from ear to ear. Without waiting for Chase’s response to Jack, she brushed past him to engage with Jack.

The blond spoke to Jack. “This has to be fate. I was just reading my horoscope and it said that a guy wearing flannel would be my soulmate. We were meant to be. Ah, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m Ashley Asparagus. We should get married.”

Jack appeared flustered but not surprised. It seemed as if such occurrences happened often with him. He responded in a calm, nonchalant tone. “Did you just decide your entire future because of what your horoscope told you? Also, sorry I’m not interested.”

“Maybe we should go on a date first. That would definitely change your mind. Since I’m an Aquarius, I’m like super smart.” Ashley smiled and batted her eyes at him. She then twirled her curls around her finger. Chase figured that being flirty probably didn’t align with her horoscope’s personality, but then again he knew nothing about horoscopes.

Jack was visibly more and more uncomfortable as the conversation with the girl went on. “Thank you for your interest in me, even though it was misguided from your horoscope. Anyways, I can’t reciprocate your feelings because I’m gay. We aren’t soulmates.”

“Who the heck tries to convince someone is their soulmate in a bar anyway? Out of all the places, this is the most desperate.” Frank stepped in, partially to defend Jack, but mainly to get Ashley to realize how strange her behavior was. “And it is factually proven that horoscopes have no scientific backing. You’re basing your basic ass personality from something that doesn’t even have solid credentials.”

Ashley’s face heated up from embarrassment. She stuttered a bit before running out of the building in tears. Jack was gently telling Frank that he should have tried to be a bit nicer about it. Chase, however, was still standing there dumbfounded. He was completely baffled by how his new acquaintance Jack could be gay. He did not appear that way at all, in Chase’s eyes at least. He always imagined that being gay made a person’s demeanor change. That all of them must talk a certain way, dress a certain way, and probably act a certain way.

Chase’s eyes met Jack’s. Frank noticed the tension and decided to step away to smoke outside. Chase was the first to speak. “You’re not actually gay, right? You just said that to get her to back off?”

“I am,” Jack responded with neutrality. He was calm, unoffended, but confused when seeing the shock on Chase’s face. “Why does this surprise you?”
“Because you can’t be gay! You are the man I strive to be. No one would ever assume you are gay because of how you come off. Women come up to you and flirt with you and you choose to like men? What the heck? Give me that ability.”

Jack pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes. Being blown away by his ignorance was an understatement. It was beyond infuriating that Chase glazed over all of Jack’s hardships. Granted he wouldn’t know about them because he was a stranger, but it was still annoying nonetheless. “You wouldn’t know anything that I’ve been through. It wasn’t as easy as you thought.”

Tipsy as hell, Chase took a swig of his beer. When he noticed the boys coming over, he quickly changed his order. He made a face from the bitter taste. Doing something he normally wouldn’t, he confessed a secret he hadn’t told anyone before. “Finding other guys cute has to be a little normal though. I mean I do.”

Jack stared at him. Not from disbelief, but more so from shock that he would admit such a secret to someone he barely knew. He continued to listen as Chase rambled on. “There’s just something about Caleb that is so wrongfully cute. I can’t put my finger on it. Some guys are just so hot and he’s one of them. But I bet every guy has that feeling for other guys at least once.”

As Chase rambled on and on, his volume progressively increased. Jack started to notice and tried to talk over Chase. That way he, wouldn’t accidentally out himself, drunk in a bar. “You drank a lot, Chase. Why don’t we get you home?”

“I don’t wanna,” Chase said. Chase looked up at Jack with his big doe eyes, causing Jack to blush despite him talking about another man only seconds before. “I want to stay here, with you. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.” Chase moved his hand to Jack’s bicep without shame. Without thought.

Jack, using all his self control, moved his hands back to his beer bottle. He spotted his phone in his jean pocket and reached for it. Jack took the phone to Chase’s face, opened his phone using Face ID, and searched for his address. He decided to himself that he would get Chase home safely no matter what the cost. He was worried that he would accidentally out himself before he even knew about his identity or came to terms with it.

With his phone, Jack called an Uber for Chase and snuck his phone number in as well. It wasn’t for anything bad, but in case he needed someone to talk to after his hangover. He hoped that despite everything Chase had said today, he would still be willing to talk to him afterward. That was all he could do. Hope.