Twenty-two-year-old Joshua Jones doesn't have much going for him. He's a shy, soft-spoken introvert who, for years, has had a massive crush on the popular fitness YouTuber, Rory Carter, who just so happens to frequent the grocery store where Joshua...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
.❤.
01. FANBOY
"You're going to be late for work if you watch another one of Rory Carter's stupid videos."
Tamia enters Joshua's bedroom with a look of disappointment etched upon her face. Having been roommates for a few years now, this is a look that Joshua is all too familiar with.
"Your obsession with this dude is ridiculous," Tamia continues. "Fitness is his thing, but you've never stepped foot inside a gym before, let alone touched a weight."
"And your point?" Joshua coolly replies, his attention never straying from his iPad.
"My point," Tamia playfully rolls her eyes, adding emphasis to the word, "is that I don't understand why you care so much, especially when his interests don't align with any of yours. How are you a fan of someone that you don't have anything in common with?"
Joshua sighs, knowing Tamia has a point about Rory being his total opposite.
Rory Carter is a twenty-five-year-old high-spirited YouTuber who entertains millions with his fitness videos and personal vlogs. He runs two successful YouTube channels: one for his English-speaking audience and the other for those who speak his native tongue, Korean.
To those on the outside looking in, Rory Carter is merely a handsome, rich, and privileged millennial who got lucky and struck it big on the internet by uploading entertaining and informative videos. To Joshua, however, Rory is more than just a pretty face. And for Tamia, she would say without question that Rory Carter is the biggest distraction in Joshua's life right now.
A distraction that Joshua needs to sort out before it further fucks his priorities up.
"Since you don't follow him for any fitness tips and tricks, it must be because of his looks, right?" Tamia smirks, jumping to all the wrong conclusions. "I get it. We all love ourselves someone tall, dark, and handsome. Doesn't hurt that he has those big dreamy brown eyes and that pearly white smile. Although not my cup of tea, I admit the man is undeniably gorgeous."
"Undeniably gorgeous and totally out of my league," Joshua mutters, mostly to himself.
Even though Joshua isn't interested in fitness, he has been a fan of Rory's for quite a long time. Rory's vibrant personality, not his looks, had been what converted Joshua from a subscriber to a super fan. Rory, as Tamia had said, is certainly undeniably gorgeous. He is also every bit of Joshua's type, and in an alternate universe, Joshua might have made a pass at the guy by now.
But, in this universe, Joshua doesn't even have the courage to send Rory a DM on social media. As if they could ever be close friends. And as for a romantic relationship? Joshua knows he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell with someone like Rory Carter and it isn't because Rory is out of Joshua's league. It's primarily because Joshua is gay, and Rory is not.
