The Commentary Club

Chapter 4

 A/N: this story is almost over (i did say it would be short!) and I'm sad about it :( There should be one more chapter to go after this!

......

"Yeah, so fuckin' A.I. is gonna be like, be programmable matter one day," a stoned Kurtis informs them with wide eyes, "and VR is–will–will synthetically in–implant itself into the–the human–"

"Damn, that's crazy..." Noel comments in disinterest. He can't stand when people are obnoxious instead of chill when they're high.

"–psyche and VR–VR is the–is to blame," Kurtis continues, unphased with Noel's lack of enthusiasm.

Noel rolls his eyes. "Dang, really? Wow. "

"Dude we gotta--dude we gotta stop with all the VR. VR is gonna kill us all," he says conspiratorially

"Yeah, for sure dude."

"I swear, it's the facts right there."

"You know you sound like you're on shrooms, right?" Noel asks suspiciously.

Kurtis blinks. "Uh, yeah. I might've had some. Did I not mention that?"

"Uh, no. You also have shrooms dude? And you didn't share?"

"No, no, there was only a little bit. They're all gone now."

"You guys," Cody butts in like he suddenly has some very important information to share, "little word of advice: do NOT do shrooms in Thailand." He abruptly cracks up into laughter. "They'll fuck you up."

"Duly noted," Noel remarks.

......

Danny and Drew are squeezed next to each other on one of the lounge chairs, watching funny TikToks together. It's an entirely new experience, scrolling through your For You Page while high. Everything is suddenly so utterly fascinating.

"Whoa, is that Varlie lady like, actually a superhero?" Danny asks in wonder as he stares at the woman on the screen.

"She's sure acting like it," Drew says in agreement.

"Maybe they'll put her in the MCU. And like, replace Scarlett Johansson or something."

"Yeah..."

Danny looks up from the phone in Drew's hand and lands his eyes on the boy's face instead. His eyes are baby blue, like his own, only different shades. They're very pretty, that's for sure. Up this close, Danny notices just how pretty they are, and how long Drew's lashes are, and how soft his lips look...

Having suddenly noticed Danny is no longer watching TikTok, Drew looks up. "What?"

Danny gives him a dopey smile. "You're pretty."

Drew's reddened eyes soften ever so slightly and his cheeks flush. "So are you."

They stare at each other for a moment before simultaneously cracking grins, which soon grow into giggles.

"We're both pretty then."

"And don't forget funny."

"Yeah, the funniest," Danny agrees before the ends of his mouth lower into a thoughtful frown. "You know, I've seen you, eating lunch by yourself and I always thought about going over to sit with you or just say hi, but I didn't, obviously."

Drew nods while looking away. He'd noticed Danny, too.

"I don't know why I didn't, just pride I guess, but I wish I had," Danny admits, his voice laced with sadness. "You seem like a really cool guy."