"Hey," Curtis says.
I pause the episode with the remote. "What's up?"
He enters the room and looks at the screen. "Anime?"
"Yup."
He takes a step closer to the TV. "Is it in English or Japanese?"
"Japanese, but there's an English dub."
"Huh." He raises a brow at me. "So what's it called?"
Those are the only words I need to get me talking. I tell him the name and try my best to explain it, but I've never been good at summarising stories. "It sounds simple," I say when I'm finished, "but it's so much more than that. It's great. And sports. You love that."
"Then why are you watching it?"
"Hm?"
"I didn't think you were much of a sports fan."
"It's more about the plot and characters for me," I explain.
Curtis looks at me.
"And," I admit, "the shirtless guys are also a pretty good selling point."
Curtis is surprised for a moment, before breaking into a chuckle. "Fair enough. Alright, let me see what all the fuss is about," he says, walking to the bed. "You mind if I watch with you?"
"There's no way you're actually interested."
"I'm bored," he says. "Besides, you don't know whether I'm interested or not. You can't read my mind."
"Yes, I can," I respond. "I'm very good at reading people."
"What am I thinking now?" Curtis asks, but rather than wait for a response, he pulls himself onto the cover. The mattress dips with his weight, and he adjusts himself, thankfully a good metre away from me.
I let out an exaggerated grumble while I restart the episode for his sake. I can't stop myself from explaining each of the characters and important plot points, trying to speak quickly so Curtis won't miss important pieces of dialogue.
At one point, Curtis stretches his legs out. He's wearing long pants like me, but they ride up his legs, so I see his calves covered in blonde hair. I compare our heights. Curtis's feet end where my ankle begins.
Occasionally, Curtis chuckles to himself or gives me knowing glances. I wonder if he's going to tease me when the episode finishes. It was only recently that watching anime wasn't a totally dorkish activity.
The episode finishes and I pause the screen before it auto-plays the next episode. "Alright, lay it on me. I can just tell you want to tease me."
Curtis's lips twitch, but he doesn't respond.
I shoot a hand out and whack him. "Just say it."
"I would have figured out you were gay ten times faster if you told me you watched this show. I've never seen so much skin in my life."
I whack him harder. "You make it sound like a porno. And you're wrong, by the way. This show has a huge fanbase, including straight guys."
"Mm-hmm."
"Because the plot and the characters and the dialogue are all really good. And you can't tell me the animation isn't beautiful."
He smiles. "It is pretty. So, do you read fanfiction for this show?"
