7
Stark
Stark had barely lefthis house for two days. He was gripped with anxiety, worse than he had ever felt in his entire life. It was a sinking pit type sensation right below his chest and he hated it.
He knew what he had to do, but he just couldn’t face himself to do it.
Tomorrow,he promised himself.I’ll talk to Kyle tomorrow. I just need to gather my thoughts tonight.
But setting a final date for that sickened him even more, considering what he was doing tonight.
I really am horrible,Stark thought.I don’t deserve Kyle. He deserves the world.
The rapid playful knock at the door shook Stark out of his thoughts. Numbly, he got up and answered the door to find a grinning Chase. The omega was waving around a DVD in his hand.
“Hey! Whoa, it’s dark in here. You putting on some mood lighting or something?” he asked.
Stark tried not to wince. In reality, he had been too depressed to notice the sun set. He hadn’t even realized that he had been sitting in the dark for hours.
“Something like that,” Stark said. “Come on in.”
This was wrong. Stark felt it in his gut. He knew a relationship with Chase wasn’t going to go anywhere, and even if he fantasized about it, something wasn’t quite right. It was alwaysoff.
He’s nice and kind and funny,Stark thought,But he’s not -
“Hellooo!” Chase called from the couch. “Earth to Stark!
“Oh, right, sorry!” Stark said. “Just getting, uh - “ He gazed at the countertop and found a brand new container of juice. “Just bringing drinks. I’m coming.”
Chase raised a playful brow when Stark sat down next to him on the couch and placed the orange juice on the table. “This isn’t spiked, is it? Although I wouldn’t complain if it was.”
“No,” Stark said with a small smile. “Just regular juice with the seal still on it, I promise.”
“No worries, man,” Chase said. He popped open the DVD case. “Can you believe we still have these? I looked it up and apparently the humans stopped using them ages ago. I guess the pack’s still behind the times.”
“Yeah,” Stark agreed. “It’s only been a year since King Killian started to try and modernize the pack, though. Things take time, but I’m sure we’ll catch up to those puny humans eventually.”
Chase let out a laugh. “I hope so! Now let’s see… how does this thing work…”
He inserted the DVD in Stark’s player and sat back on the couch. Stark tried not to be hyperaware of how close Chase was sitting to him. Stark suddenly felt too hot, as if Chase’s body heat was coming off in waves. He shifted uncomfortably and reached for the remote.
“So, what is this?” Stark asked, trying to make conversation and hoping that would distract from the feelings of discomfort.
“I dunno,” Chase said with a shrug. “I just grabbed something from the romantic comedy section. To be fair there was only like, twenty movies to choose from. All human flicks, too.”
“I guess shifters never really got into the movie making business,” Stark commented.
He thumbed the buttons and started the movie. Just as the movie began, Stark really wished he had turned the lights on, but it would be too awkward to get up and do it now. Now he was stuck in darkness with an omega he was afraid of leading on with the only light radiating from the TV screen.
Ten minutes into the movie, Stark was already bored with the premise and characters. Why did so many human movies feature the same white straight couple? Although straight couples weren’t rare in shifter society, gay couples were still the majority. It was strange to see how different human culture was.
“So, is he cute?” Chase asked out of the blue.
“Huh?”
“The main guy,” Chase said, nodding to the TV. “You think he’s cute?”
Stark had barely been paying attention to either one of the main actors. He was focusing more on the background scenery, which he found much more tolerable.
