Chapter Six

Adam didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was looking forward to going to Assad's place. He tried to tell himself it was because Assad had promised that there would be food, but deep down inside he knew that all his daydreams about snuggling under a blanket as he binged the office drama Assad had texted to him in preparation was what he was looking forward to.

He told himself that it was because he was lonely and that Assad was talkative enough to fill the void by himself, and even if the explanation was enough for him now, he knew it was something deeper.

Adam Taylor had not had a proper friend in three years.

Not one.

Keeping himself in his house and looking like the living dead in his last year of college had driven the few casual friends he had made.

Getting texts from Assad had taken some getting used to. At first, Adam would leave the younger man on 'read' for hours at a time, but that had been because he never knew what to say in response to the funny pictures, or random train of thought texts Assad liked to send, but recently he had been replying to the block of texts with emojis and that seemed to be enough for Assad.

Adam felt Assad was either extremely patient or genuinely content with the limited interaction that would have thrown some people off after a while.

Adam had the slight feeling that Assad liked him in some way, but it was a thought that was very quickly put away after consulting common sense. Why would Assad want to date someone that currently looked and dressed like he was homeless, and there was no way Assad would be this patient with him if the man liking him was the case. Adam knew he wasn't the best company. He didn't smile or talk much, and all he did was eat Assad's food.

"Why are you thinking about that?" he asked himself out loud as he blinked and came out of his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes with a fist, before letting out a sigh and grabbing his desktop mouse to keep working on the commission he had taken recently.

It was weird, he had taken on more work, but he didn't feel busy or tired. It was probably because he was eating well now, and the fact that his apartment had miraculously managed to be clean for weeks at a time now.

Adam would like to think that he started cleaning up because he wanted to, but he knew that it was because the few times Assad had almost let himself in when he came knocking had given him a heart attack. Though, he couldn't explain why the thought of Assad seeing his apartment in disarray would be embarrassing to him. Maybe with the food that he was eating some human emotions like shame and self-respect were returning.

That would explain why he was also paying more attention to his appearance and sorting out his laundry instead of giving items of clothing a good smell to figure out if they were clean enough to wear.

At least that's what he wanted to believe, and Adam did believe some beliefs were worth faking until he internalized them.

He could not have a crush now. He had barely had full conversations with people aside from his client for years. How would he even approach dating?

As Adam was lost in thought again, his phone buzzed. He sat up, reaching out for the phone that was sitting on his desk before checking out what the notification was about.

A text from Assad.

His expression softened.

Message from: Assad.

Hey, I was wondering if you played any video games? I was playing Counterstrike and got a little bored because I'm on my own. My friends are studying for midterms.

THURS, 7:45 PM.

Adam stared at his phone, licking his lips as he thought of how to reply. He hadn't touched a game in over a year. It just happened. With every passing month since the incident, he just did less. Less listening to music, less watching movies, less playing games??just gradually cutting his life down to the very basics of living. Work. Eat. Sleep.

But of course, he wasn't going to tell Assad that.

Message to: Assad.

I play Counterstrike.

THURS, 7:50 PM.

Adam hadn't touched his account in a while, but Counterstrike was an old game, so it wasn't like he was setting himself up to buy a new game or learn new controls. Anyway, those were things he would worry about if Assad bothered to ask him to play.

There was a knot in Adam's throat at the thought. He wanted Assad to ask him to play. He would ask himself, but he felt weird. Until now, Assad had done all the pushing, and Adam was afraid that if he pushed now Assad would decide he wasn't fun to bug anymore. It was an irrational thought, but Adam couldn't help it.

Message from: Assad.

That's cool. If you're comfortable and up for it, how about we share player IDs and maybe play a round or two?

THURS, 7:52 PM.

Adam couldn't help the grin that formed on his face. He quickly typed up his reply to the younger man.

Message to: Assad.

Sure.

THURS, 7:53 PM.

It didn't matter if he had work that he hadn't finished right in front of him, he could attend to them later. His deadline was still a long shot away. He was excited to play a game with Assad, and the opportunity might not present itself again if he said no.

Message from: Assad.

Cool!

Typing.

Also, you're still coming up to watch movies together this Sunday, right?

THURS, 7:54 PM.

Adam smiled at the message. Of course, he was still coming. He had been thinking about it all week, and at a point, he had briefly wondered if he could go up a bit early and attend the small get together that Assad had initially invited him to, but he had chickened out. He wasn't so sure how he would fare with more than one talkative Peterson at a time. Assad's friends were just as talkative as he was. Sometimes he would just sit at the kitchen counter and listen to the conversations Assad had with them as he stared up at the ceiling.

Message to: Assad.

Yeah. :)

THURS, 7:54 PM.

Adam replied, adding the emoticon to appear less disinterested. He was looking forward to it and had even gotten up from his seat and started to clear his desk of working materials.

He and Assad shared user IDs with each other, and when Adam came online, he had held his breath for a few seconds when he saw the friend request from Assad. He accepted it. Assad connected to voice chat and sent a gaming request that Adam quickly accepted.

Adam wasn't sure why, but he didn't talk, even though his microphone was working quite fine, and it was only polite to say hello??

"Hey, how are you."

Adam blinked, realizing that he had spaced out, trying to figure out how to start the conversation. Assad's voice was deep, yet soft and friendly??it had a distinct feel that Adam had gotten used to??and dare Adam even admit??looked forward to hearing.

"Okay," Adam said in a curt tone. He stared down at the controller that he had pulled to his desktop, nibbling his lips before deciding to add, "how about you?"

"I'm okay. Art student, I don't have to cram or study anything to write an exam. I just have to do my work, so I have some free time," Assad said, explaining why he was here playing a game instead of studying like his pals. "Also, the way I work makes everything faster, so I'm already done with assignments."

"That makes sense," Adam replied, suddenly interested in Assad's artwork. It was something the man mentioned from time to time, though Adam had not seen any signs of its existence when he visited Assad. Maybe the younger man used his bedroom or storage room as a studio

"So, how do you like to play?"

Adam blinked, swallowing the spit that had formed at the back of his mouth. "I don't mind anything really."

Assad hummed. "Okay, how about you play defense?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Adam responded.

The conversation about who would do what ended quickly, and they were soon playing in silence. From time to time Assad would say something, startling Adam a bit, but not in a bad way. The younger man's frustrated whines when things weren't going his way, as well as his celebratory chants, were charming.

Adam was having fun, for the first time in a very long while.?