I slump back on the couch, rubbing my forehead. "Jeez, Toby, how do you just know all this stuff? Your brain's gotta be, like, bursting with all the shit you got in there..." I mutter, exhausted. It's been about two hours now since the two of us started our weekly cram session, and I am absolutely at capacity. Toby's not even taking the same courses I am, and yet somehow he just knows everything I have to know as well; he could probably just waltz into the exams and ace them even without preparation. I guess I made a really good choice when I befriended him, and as a result, my grades have been far better than all of my teammates'. They'd love to know just what my secret is, but I'll be damned before I let them know about my little nerdy secret weapon.
With a little nod, Toby lays his pen down on the table in front of us. "Yeah, I think we did some good work today, we can take a break," he says, relaxing a bit as well. These sessions are usually quite intense, but Toby, despite being so much smarter than me, does recognize that I can't go as hard as he does and will slow down and give me a break when he notices I'm getting worn out. "You want something to drink? I've got some sodas in the fridge..." he then asks.
"Oh, yeah, that'd hit the spot right about now, thanks," I tell him, and Toby gets up and walks over to the little kitchen area, grabbing two small bottles of soda, bringing them over, and handing me one. Taking a sip, I feel the coldness practically wash over me, and a comfortable silence falls over the living room area of his apartment. For a while, we simply drink our beverages and relax, and before long, some small talk begins. "You make any progress on that novel of yours recently?" I ask him, remembering that he's a bit of a hobby writer.
His face lights up a bit, and he nods eagerly. "Right, I wanted to tell you about that! I finished up another chapter recently, and I think I'm gonna have the first version finished this semester. Then I'll put it online and see what people think, I'm so excited!" he tells me, and I can feel the enthusiasm radiating from him. He's been working on that story since the last semester now.
"That's great. I'm really looking forward to getting to read it," I say.
He then looks at me, thinking for a moment. "Um, well... you could check out the manuscript if you want? I didn't take you to be that much of a reader, no offense, but if you're interested, you could take a look at the first few pages and tell me what you think, maybe?" he asks, and I give him a firm nod. He motions over to a side room. "It should be on the desk in my room, just grab it," he then says.
Making my way over there, I quickly spot the desk, but something rather curious on it as well. I expected to find a single folder laying on there—Toby did mention that he likes to have the finished parts printed out just to leaf through them—it feels more real to him that way or something like that—but there are two folders. One is marked with "The Gray Spiral", which I know to be the working title of his novel... but the other one is marked with "Varsity Secrets". What the hell is this? For a moment, an unease hits me, like I wasn't supposed to see this, and I especially am not supposed to open it up, but I just cannot resist the allure. I open the folder up, finding it to be quite full with pages. Must be hundreds of them, I think. I flip through the pages quickly, landing somewhere in the middle, and my face suddenly turns bright red at what I see.
This is gay porn. Outrageously gay porn. College athletes having secret orgies in their locker rooms, fucking all night long in the showers... but that's not the really notable thing here, no. I very quickly find that the main character of this story is named Jacob... an athlete with a nerdy friend. He's not just writing gay porn, he's writing gay porn about me. A multitude of emotions bubble up inside of me, and right now, the only thing I want is answers, so I head back to the living room, holding the open folder. "What the flying fuck is this, Toby?" I ask, aggravation audible in my voice.
"What's what?" he simply asks in return, surely confused, so I decide to clue him in.
"'Oh, fuck me! Fuck my horny little jock ass, babe, I love it!', Jacob groaned as the stronger athlete began to pound him, moans escaping Jacob's throat with every thrust..." I recite, leading Toby to stumble to his feet, rushing over to me and grabbing the folder out of my hands.
"Th-This... h-how did you... y-you sh-shouldn't have seen this! Wh-Why did you snoop around m-my room?" he asks, flustered beyond belief and reduced to nearly incoherent muttering, which somehow just frustrates me more.
"You left it on your fucking desk! I didn't snoop for shit!" I fire back, and the color just drains out of his face.
His eyes stare right past me. "I... oh, o-oh fuck..." he mutters to himself before slowly slinking back to the couch, sitting down and laying his head in his hands.
"Hey, don't just ignore me! You were writing fucking gay orgies starring me! What, were you going to put that online too, without ever telling me?" I ask, still not quite sure how to process this. Like, I'm mad at him, but this is all so downright bizarre, I don't quite know just how to feel at all. I mean, how is someone supposed to react to finding an epic of several hundred pages entirely focused on you having gay sex, written by your friend? You could've given me thousands of guesses as to what kind of secret Toby was hiding and I wouldn't have guessed this!
And while I'm in this confused state of anger, he looks up at me,