A few days went by with Billy in his new home & already he had settled into it, feeling comfortable enough to walk from the bathroom to his room stark naked if no one was over. He had the entire group over yesterday for a small home warming party that left the place messed up, but he didn't care because it wasn't to the point of no return.
He had just started to clean up the entry room when someone knocked on the door & before he even said he was coming to the door, it opened up & Joel walked in, carrying a box under his arm. "Comfy already Joel?" Billy teased as his friend cleared a spot on the couch & sat down, holding the box on his lap.
"Yep," Joel smiled in reply. "Sorry about the mess the others caused," he apologized for the others, not including himself since he had nothing to do with the mess. "Do you want some help?"
"Nah, I'll be fine. What's in the box?"
"Just a little something I thought you could use," Joel answered as the sound of something lightly scraping against plastic could be heard from inside the box.
"Should I be afraid?"
"Nah. I think you'll like it," Joel smiled as Billy cleared a spot on the couch & sat down next to his friend, sitting sideways with one leg tucked under him so he could face him.
"So, what is it?" Billy asked as he took the box from his friend.
"Just open it & find out."
Billy opened the box with caution, then smiled when he saw six Kritter Krawler balls in the box, five of them were empty & one had a hamster inside. He took out the one with the hamster & opened it, taking out the hamster to get a better look at it. It was mostly light brown, but then on its belly, it had two dark brown, almost black stripes pressed against the brown, then a streak of white between the dark brown. "He's cute Joel, I like his coloring," Billy smiled as he put the hamster back in the ball, then set the ball in the box. He put the box on the floor & leaned forward, hugging his friend. "Thank you so much Joel. I could use a few more toys for the hamsters."
"I was hoping you did," Joel smiled as he hugged back. "Billy, are you sure you don't want help?"
"I'm sure Joel. You didn't cause any of this mess so why should you have to clean it up?"
"But you didn't either... The most you did was knock over your own drink."
"True, but this is my home Joel."
"And you should set down rules for this home of yours," Joel said as he let go of Billy & looked at him. "This is your home Joel & you were nice enough to hold a small get together so the other two could see the new place & Benji, Paul, & Chris went & overlooked why you brought them over, turning it into a full-fledged party. If I were in your shoes right now Billy, I'd call those three over & have them each clean up what bit of the mess they made."
Billy nodded. "I agree with what you're saying Joel, but I don't wanna seem like I'm being too strict."
"It's your house, you can be as strict as you want," Joel chuckled.
"You know Joel, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get me to bring the others over just so you can see Paul," Billy teased, chuckling when Joel blushed a light shade of red.
"That's not the case Billy," he mumbled. "I just think you should have them clean up their messes instead of you being like a mother to a bunch of four-year-olds... Although Paul being over here would be a bonus," he smiled, blushing more.
Billy chuckled & put his hand on Joel's shoulder. "Joel, you come up with such great ideas," he smiled. "You know what, I think I will call them over. This way while you're ogling over Paul, they can clean up their mess."
Billy knew his teasing Joel was okay with him because Joel knew he didn't mean anything harmful by what he said. It was all in fun, friend teasing friend over having a crush on someone they both know. Billy would never hurt Joel & Joel knew this. He was also very grateful for this because it meant that Billy was definitely okay with his sexual curiosities.
"You know what Billy, you do that & I'm gonna go take a quick shower since Benji was hogging ours when I left," Joel said as he got up.
"Alright & I'm gonna take Smore & the Kritter Krawler balls up to the hamster room, then I'm gonna go call the guys over. Take your time in the shower. We both know how long it takes them to get over here," Billy said as he stood up, picking up the box & made his way upstairs to the hamster room where he kept all of his hamsters & their toys.
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When Joel got out of the shower & redressed, he dried his hair to a decent point & cleaned up after himself, putting the towel he used in the closet with the other dirty towels that were going to be washed later that day. As he left the bathroom, he heard the sound of people walking around & talking, then the clatter of something falling, followed by someone cursing loudly. He recognized the cursing as his brother's voice as he made his way downstairs to join whoever had come over. But his footsteps stopped on the last step when he saw who was laughing at Benji. His girlfriend Rienna.
"Hey Joel, what took you so long?" Paul asked, smiling at his friend who still stood on the stairs, looking at Rienna. When he got no answer, the others looked at him to see if something was wrong. "Dude, what's up? Are you okay?"
Joel shook himself from the trance state he had gone into & looked at Paul. "Yea, I'm fine man, I just zoned out I guess," he smiled even though he was lying through his teeth.
"You sure nothing's up man? You know you can tell us if there is..."
"Yea I'm fine, don't worry about me." Joel watched as Paul shrugged & went back to work cleaning the mess he had made yesterday.
Billy raised an eyebrow & watched Joel make his way to the kitchen alone. -Something's bothering him again,- he thought to himself as he went after him. "Joel, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Yea sure..."
"What's bothering you now? When you came over, you were fine, but now that you're out of the shower & everyone is here, you zone out when you see them. What is it?"
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Benji, who was talking to Rienna as he tied the last garbage bag from his mess shut, looked up at the kitchen door, feeling a sudden wave of tension & distress washing over him. He excused himself & made his way to the kitchen.
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Joel bit his lip & looked to the side, lowering his head slightly. "Billy... Rienna's here. I've been avoiding her for a few days now & with her here, it's only going to make things worse."
"Make things worse?"
Joel sighed & looked up at his friend. "Billy, you know who I have feelings for & with both of them here & my girl hanging all over me which she will be soon, it'll be harder to think & even more harder to not think about being in that person's arms instead of hers. What is she even doing here?"
"She had come over by the time I got out of the shower," Benji said as he came into the room, the feeling that had washed over him earlier in the room getting stronger now that he was closer to Joel. "She asked where you were so I brought her with me. I thought you would be happy to see her, but apparently you like someone else?"
Joel looked at his brother, his face getting red with the embarrassment of being caught talking with Billy about his true feelings. The only things he had to be glad for right now, were that Rienna hadn't heard what he was saying & that he hadn't said any names or sexes for his brother to catch in on. "Benji, how long have you been listening in on our conversation?"
"Since you mentioned things getting worse with Rienna here," Benji answered as he folded his arms over his chest. "I'd really like an explanation here Joel."
