Page 27 of How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck

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Am I getting to know him?

Shane

Yes <3

The heart emoji slipped out before he could help it; the same simple, keyboard formed one that Andres used. Shane held his breath, hoping they wouldn’t notice. Wouldn’t take it the way he had, all sparkling nerves and blooming crushes.

Andres

Then he’s real now.

I’m sorry about whatever deeper me you’re having to discover here, they’re a little dusty.

Sometimes I think I’ve come so far, and then other times I still feel like I’m just the quiet, weird kid who spent freshman summer locked in their room sewing a cosplay for a con they forgot to buy the tickets to.

Shane

You’re wonderful, don’t worry.

Fuck, he was losing it. He had to backtrack before it was too late.

Shane

But.

Oh. My. God. Baby Andres made their own cosplay?!

Who were you going as?

Andres

Do you know Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle?

Shane

You think Iwouldn’tknow what Howl’s Moving Castle is? I’m truly offended. /jokes

For real, it was my favorite as a kid. I thought I wanted tobeHowl for a lot of years, but in the end his gender wasn’t masculine enough for me (even if his fashion sense is absolutely killing it) and my personality was always more of a Sophie anyways.

Andres

So I take it you’re tidy?

Shane scoffed out loud, grinning against his fingers. He’d sworn to himself that he’d use his vampire’s intrusive cleaning to help him stay at least a little neater, but in the ten days since then his apartment had somehow fallen into complete shambles again. It took him some brain-racking to remember when he’d first used half the dishes on his desk, much less left them there…

Shane

Tidy is the one trait I don’t share with Sophie, unfortunately.

More like bossy and single-minded?

Andres

Her other good traits then. Noted ;)

Shane

Oh, fuck off ;) /affectionate

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