;; 006
BIG thanks to jack, skelet0nme, for cheering me up when i though i had nothing left in me and telling me to 'just shut up and write an epic bromance'
for the good, thank her; for the bad, blame me.
also, i stole my last line from Eric Kraft.
for the lovely 1297, because this is long overdue.
improv. words
puzzle, sugar, spice, orange, hoop
Sui Generis
PG, 800 words
Sui Generis: Being the only example of its kind; constituting a class of its own; unique.
;;
Zach likes his coffee with three spoonfuls of sugar; which, according to Chris, is the perfect way to ruin a good cup of black coffee.
Chris doesn't know the difference between a periwinkle tie or a purple shirt, but somehow knows exactly where xanthous fits in the color spectrum. Zach likes that Chris knows words like xanthous.
Chris does the crossword puzzle in pencil, and whenever he needs to change a word he pushes the eraser so hard that it rips holes through the paper. That alone is enough for Zach to loose his shit.
He doesn't.
Their friendship is a walking contradiction, but somehow it works.
;;
They never make plans for anything, it's all impromptu. Chris says that if you waste your time planning for the future, you get caught up and forget to live in the moment. Zach doesn't necessarily believe this, because Chris is the type of guy who tends to forget to pick up the beer on his way to Zach's.
It's a good thing he always has enough beer stashed anyways.
They balance each other out.
"Hey, what's that place with the really spicy Mexican food?"
"Cha Cha Cha, and it's Caribbean not Mexican."
"Good, you remember. Let's have dinner there in, uh, 20 minutes."
Chris doesn't ask Zach if he wants to join him for dinner as much as he just tells Zach that they are having dinner. It's how their relationship works.
He puts the tomatoes and spinach away, because a jerk chicken sandwich really sounds better than a salad.
;;
Zach introduces Chris to Luke when he comes over for dinner. When he mentions that Luke is an 'artist' Chris rolls his eyes and takes a big gulp from his lemonade. Zach should know better than get involved with an 'artist', which is just a hipster way of saying unemployed.
Zach tells him to stop judging, because he knows that's exactly what Chris is doing. He doesn't say so with words, he says it by staring at him and slightly biting his lower lip.
Chris blinks once, OK, he says.
"So, what do you think?" Zach finally asks as they bring the dishes inside. Luke still out on the patio, twirling Zach's blue hula hoop.
"Eh, I don't know. He smells like patchouli."
Zach hits him on the shoulder with a napkin. "Are you jealous?"
"Of course I am. I'm not going to loose you to an incense smelling, Parliament smoking hipster. You're too good for that shit."
Zach grabs the plates from Chris and places them on the dishwasher. "He's not a hipster, just give him a chance."
"Whatever man, just don't call me when he breaks up with you because he found out you hate The Strokes or something."
"Asshole."
"Moron."
"Idiot."
Chris stops judging. He's a little surprised to learn Luke has a masters from NYU.
Luke holds Zach's hand and Chris can see that he is happy. Not just extra foam in his latte happy, but genuinely happy.
When Zach mentions Luke has a gallery opening next month Chris agrees to tag along. It's what friends do.
;;
When Beau finally leaves Chris, he doesn't call his friend Matt or his mother. He calls Zach and just says 'she left, it's over'. Everyone else is too involved, they know too much. Zach won't judge or try to say the right thing, his opinion is neutral, he's Switzerland.
Breakups aren't a one time thing, there's a version he'll tell his friends, a version he will tell his parents, and then there's Zach.
He shows up at Chris' apartment with a twelve pack of Heineken and an extra large double-mushroom pizza.
They don't discuss the breakup, or talk at all for that matter. Instead, they blast off every Beatles album Chris owns and dance on the living room until the sun comes up.
When Chris wakes up the next morning there's an orange note stuck on the empty pizza box.
Zach is gone.
;;
Kristen picks up a photo from Zach's coffee table. It's a photo of Chris liking chocolate frosting from hims cheek.
"I don't know why you keep him around, it's obvious he doesn't drive stick, Zach."
Zach knows exactly what she is talking about. He doesn't go fruit shopping with Andy, or go on twelve dollar coffee dates with Greg. The lines in his friendship with Chris are a little blurred.
"You know it's not like that. Chris and I just have more overlaps and depth. Besides, I'm with Luke remember?"
She puts the photo down and places her cup on top of it, precisely over Chris' head. "Yeah, him I like."
Zach doesn't expect her to get it, he doesn't even need for her to accept it. His relationship with Chris is a special case, a category of it's own, sui generis.
for the good, thank her; for the bad, blame me.
also, i stole my last line from Eric Kraft.
for the lovely 1297, because this is long overdue.
improv. words
puzzle, sugar, spice, orange, hoop
Sui Generis
PG, 800 words
Sui Generis: Being the only example of its kind; constituting a class of its own; unique.
;;
Zach likes his coffee with three spoonfuls of sugar; which, according to Chris, is the perfect way to ruin a good cup of black coffee.
Chris doesn't know the difference between a periwinkle tie or a purple shirt, but somehow knows exactly where xanthous fits in the color spectrum. Zach likes that Chris knows words like xanthous.
Chris does the crossword puzzle in pencil, and whenever he needs to change a word he pushes the eraser so hard that it rips holes through the paper. That alone is enough for Zach to loose his shit.
He doesn't.
Their friendship is a walking contradiction, but somehow it works.
;;
They never make plans for anything, it's all impromptu. Chris says that if you waste your time planning for the future, you get caught up and forget to live in the moment. Zach doesn't necessarily believe this, because Chris is the type of guy who tends to forget to pick up the beer on his way to Zach's.
It's a good thing he always has enough beer stashed anyways.
They balance each other out.
"Hey, what's that place with the really spicy Mexican food?"
"Cha Cha Cha, and it's Caribbean not Mexican."
"Good, you remember. Let's have dinner there in, uh, 20 minutes."
Chris doesn't ask Zach if he wants to join him for dinner as much as he just tells Zach that they are having dinner. It's how their relationship works.
He puts the tomatoes and spinach away, because a jerk chicken sandwich really sounds better than a salad.
;;
Zach introduces Chris to Luke when he comes over for dinner. When he mentions that Luke is an 'artist' Chris rolls his eyes and takes a big gulp from his lemonade. Zach should know better than get involved with an 'artist', which is just a hipster way of saying unemployed.
Zach tells him to stop judging, because he knows that's exactly what Chris is doing. He doesn't say so with words, he says it by staring at him and slightly biting his lower lip.
Chris blinks once, OK, he says.
"So, what do you think?" Zach finally asks as they bring the dishes inside. Luke still out on the patio, twirling Zach's blue hula hoop.
"Eh, I don't know. He smells like patchouli."
Zach hits him on the shoulder with a napkin. "Are you jealous?"
"Of course I am. I'm not going to loose you to an incense smelling, Parliament smoking hipster. You're too good for that shit."
Zach grabs the plates from Chris and places them on the dishwasher. "He's not a hipster, just give him a chance."
"Whatever man, just don't call me when he breaks up with you because he found out you hate The Strokes or something."
"Asshole."
"Moron."
"Idiot."
Chris stops judging. He's a little surprised to learn Luke has a masters from NYU.
Luke holds Zach's hand and Chris can see that he is happy. Not just extra foam in his latte happy, but genuinely happy.
When Zach mentions Luke has a gallery opening next month Chris agrees to tag along. It's what friends do.
;;
When Beau finally leaves Chris, he doesn't call his friend Matt or his mother. He calls Zach and just says 'she left, it's over'. Everyone else is too involved, they know too much. Zach won't judge or try to say the right thing, his opinion is neutral, he's Switzerland.
Breakups aren't a one time thing, there's a version he'll tell his friends, a version he will tell his parents, and then there's Zach.
He shows up at Chris' apartment with a twelve pack of Heineken and an extra large double-mushroom pizza.
They don't discuss the breakup, or talk at all for that matter. Instead, they blast off every Beatles album Chris owns and dance on the living room until the sun comes up.
When Chris wakes up the next morning there's an orange note stuck on the empty pizza box.
Zach is gone.
;;
Kristen picks up a photo from Zach's coffee table. It's a photo of Chris liking chocolate frosting from hims cheek.
"I don't know why you keep him around, it's obvious he doesn't drive stick, Zach."
Zach knows exactly what she is talking about. He doesn't go fruit shopping with Andy, or go on twelve dollar coffee dates with Greg. The lines in his friendship with Chris are a little blurred.
"You know it's not like that. Chris and I just have more overlaps and depth. Besides, I'm with Luke remember?"
She puts the photo down and places her cup on top of it, precisely over Chris' head. "Yeah, him I like."
Zach doesn't expect her to get it, he doesn't even need for her to accept it. His relationship with Chris is a special case, a category of it's own, sui generis.