Too Drunk To Fuck | Gabilliam

Chapter Two - Farmers Don't Name Their Cows

He was tall. His arms were wrapped around himself clumsily as though he didn't know what to do with them, and his eyes were glued to his feet as they shuffled around at the end of his skinny legs. He looked up when Gabe opened the door, not sure whether to smile or not. Gabe raised an eyebrow, expecting an explanation. What the hell did he want?

"You don't remember, do you?" the boy sighed, somewhat disappointed at the lack of recognition and Gabe's heart skipped a beat. He put his coffee mug on the floor and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

"Oh, please don't be..." Gabe fumbled over his words. "Oh, God, no. No, that can't have... oh, God."

He took a deep breath and opened the door, bending over to pick up his mug and inviting the mystery boy into his house. He followed Gabe in, who wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He gestured for his guest to sit down, polite even when confused, and then sat himself down opposite him.

"Ok. This is a first. I mean, uh, nobody's ever, uh..." Gabe had no idea what to say. He was in total shock - people had tried to contact him after a one night stand, but they never got further than social media, let alone knocking at his door.

"You look pretty stressed out, should I come back later?" Mystery Boy hesitated as he spoke, deciding whether talking to Gabe about the previous night's events or letting him recover from the obvious shock was more appealing.

"No. Actually yeah, uh, no. Stay." His words tumbled out of his mouth in a hurricane of uncertainty, his mind thrashing against his will. "I just want to know what happened last night. How'd you find my house?"

"You really don't remember anything, do you?"

"Look, here's the thing." Gabe sighed, reluctant to let the explanation fall from his lips. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Mystery Boy, even if it was slightly creepy that he came to his house. "I get drunk often. I have a lot of meaningless sex. It's not-"

"No! No, that's not why I'm here! No!" Gabe had a list of possible responses planned in his head, each one with a sensible reply. This was not on the list.

"What? We didn't, uh, we didn't hook up?"

"No, we didn't," Mystery Boy laughed somewhat uncomfortably, almost in disbelief that somebody like Gabe Saporta - the Gabe Saporta, who everyone in school knew - thought he'd slept with him.

"Ok." Gabe paused, taking in what he'd just said. He tried to process an appropriate response, but, for once, he wasn't expecting someone to say that they hadn't slept together. "So, uh, why are you here?"

"I walked you home last night - you were drunk out of your mind, I couldn't let you go home alone. You gave me your number and told me to come round this morning to make sure you were ok, you said you'd need it, or something. Obviously, I didn't think you'd forget everything."

So, that explains how he got home last night without a scratch on him. Although, in his hung-over mind, Gabe never even considered the fact that Mystery Boy could be lying. But he didn't seem like the type of person to hurt others. No matter how much the thought could slip into his head, Gabe dismissed it without thinking.

It wasn't until Gabe realised he was still clutching his half-empty mug that he realised how selfish he'd been. He replayed the conversation in his head, realising he'd only spoken about himself, how he hadn't even offered Mystery Boy a drink - and he was still calling him Mystery Boy because he hadn't even bothered to ask his name. Gabe sighed.

"What's your, uh, what's your name?" Gabe's tongue tripped over his words as though it was trying to stop him from asking a simple question. As though it didn't want to know his name, in the same way that farmers don't name their cows. No point in getting attached to something that's going to the slaughterhouse, it'll just make things harder.

"William. I'm in the year below you at school."

William. Gabe tossed the name around in his head, testing it out. He had to admit, it was quite a nice name. It fit him well, too. Something about the soft edges of the 'a' and the 'm', and the thin demeanour of the 'illi' fit both his physical appearance and his overall personality. He almost cracked a smile but stopped himself suddenly. He wasn't going to let some boy ruin his image just because he was vaguely attractive. Gabe rolled his eyes, kicking himself inside for what he was about to say.

"First names aren't good enough. What's your last name, moron?"

It was like a punch to the gut watching William's face change to immediate guilt. Gabe had to clench his jaw to prevent an apology slipping out.

"Oh, it's uh," William started to stammer, losing control over his words a bit. His cheeks grew red, embarrassed that his stutter was showing so clearly. Gabe felt like slamming his head into the wall for putting him in such an uncomfortable situation - all for something as petty as his reputation.

"Beckett." his eyes moved directly to the floor, no longer calm enough to look Gabe in the eye. "It's, uh, it's William Beckett. Some people, uh, some people call me Bill sometimes but, uh, that's not really important. I mean, uh... I don't know."

He stood up, pushing his hair out of his face before hugging his arms to his chest. "This was a bad idea. I should, uh, I should probably go."

"No!" Gabe jerked up, reaching out to grab his arm to stop him from leaving. "Don't go! Please..."

William turned around, his face riddled with caution and surprise. If Gabe was trying to trick him, trying to embarrass him more, it wouldn't be the first time. William was used to ridicule and verbal torture, and it left him constantly suspicious of every kind act.

"I, well, I didn't mean to be rude. I just..." Gabe raised his hands in defeat, before slamming them back down against his thighs. "I'm sorry. I put my image before your feelings, and it was a total dick move. I'm just... Look, if you want to go, I can't stop you - but if you want to stay and have some coffee or something, you're more than welcome."

"How do I know this isn't a trick to embarrass me more?" William's eyebrow arched, convinced that Gabe's kind gesture was anything but kind.

"You got me home safe last night. Coffee's the least I could do."