Chapter Text
Wi-Fi not connected
Vancouver boys + some other people
11:12am. %93
Fraser: party tonight
Macklin: no
Connor: agreed
Fraser: i didn't ask for opinions
Macklin: and yet you got two
Fraser: connor you're coming
Connor: unfortunately i have plans
Fraser: doing what
Connor: minding my business
Fraser: so nothing
Connor: exactly
Macklin: this is why nobody likes either of you
Fraser: connor's coming
Connor: unfortunately i will
༓⁺˚*･༓☾ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓
Fraser 3:59am 55%
Fraser: con what should I wear?
*fraser Photo sent*
Connor: the green one
*fraser photo sent*
Fraser: but it looks so bad
Connor: not you look handsome
{FUCK WAIT NO HE DIDN'T WANT TO SEND THAT.}
Fraser: what you wearing?
*photo sent- a hoodie with jeans*
Connor: it is laundry day
Fraser: I wouldn’t know
Connor: thanks
Fraser: you look handsome too bud
༓⁺˚*･༓
Connor stared at that text for way too long.
He had a big crush on Fraser, and he had since he was 13. The problem was Fraser wasn't gay maybe bi. He was always with a girl, talking about her and whatever they were doing, usually right in front of Connor, but Fraser just thought they were best friends.
Connor had finally built up the confidence to tell Mack a while ago. He knew Mack wouldn't say anything because, well, Mack was dating Will now, and Connor knew he could trust him. Ever since Will came to their college, Mack had made a move, and now they were together.
Sometimes Connor wondered what it would be like to have that. To like someone and actually have them like you back. To be able to talk about them without having to pretend they were just a friend.
But then he remembered who he liked, and that thought usually went away pretty quickly.
The locker rooms were the worst. All the boys talked about the girls they were with, who they liked, who they'd kissed, and who they wanted to get with next. Or boys in Mack's case, but nobody really cared about that anymore.
Everyone knew about Will and Mack, and honestly, Connor was happy for them.
He really was.
It just sucked sometimes.
Every girl seemed to want to be with Fraser. He was funny, he was nice when he wanted to be, and apparently, he was handsome enough that girls would practically throw themselves at him.
And Connor couldn't even blame them.
But Connor had never really felt that special connection with anyone. He'd dated girls before, and he'd slept with two of them. One was something he'd actually wanted to do, and the other had happened when he was drunk.
The boys made fun of him about it all the time, asking why he wasn't getting with more girls or joking about how he needed to get a girlfriend.
Connor always pretended he was fine with it. He'd laugh along, make some stupid comment back, and act like he couldn't care less.
But he did care.
Because it wasn't that he didn't want someone.
It was that he wanted Fraser.
And Fraser was his best friend.
And that was the one thing Connor couldn't change.
༓⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓
Vancouver boys + some other people
5:02 pm. 64%
Connor: can someone pick me and frank up
Macklin: yeah
Will: no he can’t I am picking him up
Macklin: sorry no
Frank: Fraser can you pick us up?
Fraser: sure
Connor: thanks
Connor: will it be cold
Will: yeah it will. the frat house are always cold exceptionally mine😝
Fraser: Con you will not be cold with what you are wearing
Frank: how do you know what he is wearing
Will: Oooo
Mack: oh no confusion 😬
Fraser: I asked what he was wearing cuz I needed to know what to wear. And we talked about what to wear
Frank: fuck you Con I am in the same room you could just ask me
Connor: he asked me
Will: you sure
Mack: Con?
Fraser: this was the conversation
*sent screenshot*
Will: “you look handsome too bud” what the!!!
Mack: handsome!!! What the fuck
Frank: what the
Connor: guys we aren’t gay we were just joking around.
It took a little to write that and send it cuz I was wrong Connor was gay or bi but what else was he going to say
Mack:😏😏
Frank: 🤨
Connor: YIU STOP
Will: that is not how you spell you it is you not yiu
Connor: 😤 I will fucking kill you
Will: gay
Connor: FUCK U
Mack: don’t worry Con
༓⁺˚*･༓
Mack 5:10pm. 43%
Connor: can you please tell Will to stop
Mack: sure
.
Mack: all done
༓⁺˚*･༓
Fraser. 5:20pm. 43%
Connor: why did you send that photo on the group chat?
Fraser: I thought it would not be that bad. And I thought I edited it.
Connor: well you didn’t
Connor: can you pick us up
Connor: please
Fraser: yeah i am in the car will be there in 3
Connor: thanks bud
༓⁺˚*･༓☾ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓
Vancouver boys + some other people
5:47 pm. 42%
Will: where are u guys
Frank: we are pulling up
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“Hi!” Connor said, giving Mack a hug as soon as he saw him.
“Hi, Frank, Fraser, Con,” Will said, shaking their hands.
Frank looked down at their hands before looking back at Will.
“Why did you shake my hand?” Frank teased.
“Because I'm a gentleman,” Will smirked.
“You literally told Mack to shut up like five minutes ago.”
“AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN.”
They all started laughing, already acting like they'd had way too many drinks, even though they'd barely been there.
“Okay, damn.” Frank shrugged, shaking his head at them.
“Come on, you idiots,” Mack said, walking into the house.
Connor followed Fraser inside, looking around at all the people. There were people everywhere, some dancing, some talking, and others already holding drinks. The music was loud enough that he had to lean closer to Fraser to hear him.
“Jesus Christ, how many people are here?” Connor asked, looking around.
“Too many,” Fraser answered, looking around too.
“You're the one who wanted us to come,” Connor reminded him, turning to look at him.
“Yeah, and?” Fraser replied, ruffling Connor's hair.
“Nothing. Just saying.” Connor smiled, moving his head out of reach.
“You're so annoying,” Connor said, looking up at Fraser.
“Love you too, bud.” Fraser reached for Connor's hair again, messing it up even more.
“Awww,” Will teased, watching them.
“You guys know we're here, right?” Frank laughed.
“Yeah, I know,” Fraser said, grabbing Connor and pulling him closer against his side.
Connor laughed, trying to wiggle out of his grasp, but Fraser only held him a little tighter.
“me and Will are going to find something fun,” Mack added, already starting to walk away.
“Yeah, we all know what you and Will are going to do,” Frank laughed, grabbing a drink from someone walking past.
“Hey, at least I didn't call my friend handsome,” Will said, smiling at Fraser and Connor, who were still standing together.
“Hey! That does not add up to the time the team walking in on you guys” Connor argued, trying to get out of Fraser's grasp.
“Okay, I will make sure I don't go into a bedroom or a bathroom,” Frank added, hitting Will on the back.
“Frank!” Will shouted, laughing.
“What? I'm being considerate!”
Connor shook his head, laughing as Mack and Will disappeared into the crowd.
Connor watched Will and Mack leave for a second before turning back to Frank.
“Drinks?” Frank asked.
“Sure,” Connor said, giving up on trying to escape Fraser's arms and resting his head against Fraser's shoulder.
Fraser looked down at him, smiling a little before letting him go.
“You good, Con?”
“Yeah, I'm good.” Connor nodded, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
“Okay, just checking.”
They grabbed their drinks and spent some time talking, laughing at Frank's terrible jokes and watching people dance. Connor wasn't completely drunk yet, but the drinks were starting to make everything feel a little more relaxed. He laughed more easily, and he wasn't paying much attention to how much he was actually drinking.
After a while, the three of them found a free space outside. There were still plenty of people around, and the music from inside was loud enough to hear through the open doors.
Connor leaned against Fraser while Fraser checked his phone.
“Do you want more drinks?” Fraser asked, looking up from his screen.
“Yeah, sure,” Frank and Connor answered at the same time.
Fraser laughed.
“Okay, I'll be back.”
He gave Connor's shoulder a quick squeeze before walking back toward the house.
Connor watched him go for a second before looking at Frank.
Frank was already looking at him.
“What?” Connor asked, squinting at him.
“That was weird, Con.” Connor frowned.
“Why? And why are you looking at me like that?” Frank grabbed his arm.
“Come on. Dance with me.”
“Why? And why are you grabbing me?” Connor asked, stumbling a little when Frank started pulling him toward the crowd.
He laughed at himself, trying to straighten up.
“Whoa. Okay. The ground moved.” Frank stared at him.
“The ground did not move.”
“Are you sure?”
“Connor.”
“What?” Frank sighed, shaking his head as he kept a hand on Connor's arm to make sure he didn't trip over anyone.
“First, I need to tell you something, so we have to move into the crowd where Fraser can't see us.” Connor's eyes widened.
“Are you going to kiss me?” He said it with a crooked grin, stumbling over his own feet and falling against Frank. Frank caught him before he could lose his balance completely.
“No! I need you to listen. This is serious.”
Connor looked up at him, his smile slowly fading into an exaggeratedly serious expression.
“Yuuup. What?”
Frank took a breath.
“I know you like Fraser, and—” Connor slapped a hand over Frank's mouth.
“HOW?”
Frank pulled his hand away.
“Can you let me finish for once in your life?”
Connor blinked at him.
“Who?”
“Fraser!”
“Oh.”
Connor nodded slowly, as if that explained everything. Then he frowned.
“Wait. How?”
“Mack told me, for one. And the way you act around Fraser makes it pretty obvious.”
Connor stared at him.
“No, it doesn't.”
“Yes, it does.”
“No, it doesn't,” Connor repeated, shaking his head a little too enthusiastically. Frank raised his eyebrows.
“Con, he grabs you, has one of your hoodies, holds you, ruffles your hair, and you're always smiling and blushing about it. You literally follow him around like a lost puppy sometimes.”
“I do not!”
“You do.”
Connor opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. Frank continued.
“And the way you look at Will and Mack when they're kissing or doing their couple stuff? You get all quiet and sad.”
Connor's smile faded slightly.
“And when the team talks about you hooking up with that girl, or when they try setting you up with other girls, you look like you want to be anywhere else. Especially when they start talking about girls.”
Frank paused, watching Connor's expression.
“I'm just saying, it's pretty obvious.”
Connor looked down at his drink, turning the cup between his fingers.
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
Then he looked back at Frank.
“So what does that mean? I can't be bi?”
The words came out quieter than his other questions.
Connor had never said those words to anyone except Mack.
He didn't even know if he was bi or gay. He was still figuring that part out, and sometimes he didn't know what he was supposed to call himself.
But did it really matter?
He liked Fraser.
That was the part he knew.
Frank's expression softened a little.
“Con, I'm not saying you can't be anything. I'm just saying you like him.”
Connor looked away, rubbing his thumb against the side of his cup.
“Yeah, well…” He trailed off.
Because what was he supposed to say?
Yeah, I like him. I think about him all the time. And sometimes, when he holds me, I wonder if he wants to kiss me as much as I want to kiss him.
He couldn't exactly say that out loud.
Especially not to Frank.
So instead, Connor took another sip of his drink.
Frank watched him for a second before speaking again.
“There's something else.” Connor looked back at him.
“What?”
Frank hesitated.
“Fraser's been eyeing this girl all night.”
Connor blinked.
“What girl?”
“And he should've been back with the drinks by now, but he isn't. I saw him looking at his phone before he left, and I think he was texting her.”
Frank studied Connor's face.
“I'm not saying anything's definitely going on. I just thought you should know.”
For a second, Connor didn't react.
He just stared at Frank, trying to understand what he'd said.
Then his eyebrows pulled together.
“WHAT?”
A couple of people nearby turned to look at him before going back to their conversations.
Frank stepped closer.
“Conie…”
Connor shook his head.
“No. No, no, no. What girl?”
Frank placed his hands on Connor's shoulders, trying to get him to look at him.
“Connor, calm down for a second.”
“What is her name?” Frank hesitated.
“Hazel.”
Hazel.
Connor knew who Hazel was.
She had beachy, wavy hair, tan skin, and piercing blue eyes. She was pretty and popular, and she always seemed to know everyone at every party.
She usually wore a tight shirt with a leather jacket or some other kind of jacket, sometimes a hoodie with sweatpants or jeans.
She was pretty. Really pretty.
Connor swallowed, suddenly feeling like his drink tasted disgusting.
“Seriously?” he asked, staring at Frank.
“Yeah.”
Connor looked away, laughing once, but there was nothing funny about it.
“Okay. Cool.”
Frank frowned.
“Con—”
“No, it's fine. It's whatever.”
Connor took another drink, barely even tasting it. Frank watched him carefully.
“Look, I don't know for sure what's going on. But they kissed. Here.”
He pulled out his phone and opened their chat.
“Look at the photo I sent you.” Connor took the phone from him.