To the arcade

"Let's go to that new arcade over at the mall! Their big opening day was last week and they've got games of all sorts; racing, combat, shooters, the classics..."

"... eh, sure, I guess."

"Did I mention they have NBA Hoops?"

"... you sneaky bastard. You knew I wouldn't be able to resist that."

"I also know how much you love showing off your basketball skills."

"I do NOT show off!"

"Says the person who shot hoops for like an hour because of that bunch of giggling girls in the corner that one time."

"It was half an hour at most," Ethan grinned. "Also, they were cute."

"Yes, and you were playing with your balls while thinking of them. Naughty, naughty."

"You know, I could play with your balls instead if you really wanted me to," Ethan smirked.

"... that's not something most straight guys would ever say. Are you sure you're straight?"

"Well, Ceddy, I'm not 'most straight guys'," Ethan leaned in, his smile teasing. "I'm your straight guy."

"Eurgh," Cedric shuddered, a tiny blush suffusing his cheeks. "C'mon, let's go before I die of diabetes."

---

The new arcade was about the size of two basketball courts and was jam-packed with people, most of whom were boisterous teens and young adults. Several families could also be seen making their way through the throng, searching for age-appropriate games as their children dragged them every which way in their exuberant exploration. The various games, emitting their flashing lights and blaring sounds, contributed significantly to the atmosphere of liveliness and rowdiness, and Cedric and Ethan could barely hear each other without having to raise their voices.

The boys hit the Daytona USA Circuit first, spending far more time there then they had originally planned - what was meant to be a single race had somehow become a best of eleven, and would have gone on even longer had it not been ended by the rising agitation of the waiting crowd - before cooling off their competitive spirits with several cooperative shooters and some rhythm games, the latter of which both were not very good at. It was shaping up to be a normal Saturday afternoon... until they started on the hoops.

Dissatisfied at his first attempt at the game, Ethan had immediately gone for another attempt at beating the posted high score. He stood with his upper body rigid, scooping up basketballs with one hand before transferring then to the other, which sent them soaring into the air with practiced ease. Cedric looked on with fond, yet slightly exasperated amusement - he himself had only gotten to the third out of five levels before crashing out - as Ethan's score eclipsed his and kept climbing.

ROUND 4!, the game's display declared as it counted down the ten second break between rounds. Ethan looked down and redid the top button of his shirt, which had come loose, before refocusing on the game.

The next minute passed much like the last, with Ethan sending basketballs through the hoop at a prodigious rate. Even the last ten seconds, where the hoop began to move from side to side, didn't faze him like it did Cedric. As the seconds ticked down, Ethan launched one last ball, then looked down at his shirt. It had come undone again, and this time, it was the top two buttons. "Huh. I didn't think I moved my upper body that much... maybe that's why I'm missing so many."

As the final round came and went, Ethan looked up. "Fuck," he cursed. "Still 7 points behind that high score. 26 behind my own best."

"Your shirt's open again."

"... I knew I should've changed into a tee or something," Ethan grumbled as he buttoned it up again. "Lousy shirt."

"Going for one more game?"

"... are you serious? ONE? Try, 'until I beat that score'."

"... what."

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon." Ethan tapped his card once more on the reader and was soon back in the zone, unaware of just how prophetic his words would be.

This time, after the first two rounds, his shirt had come more than halfway undone. Frustrated, Ethan simply unbuttoned it completely. "Hold this for me," he said, shucking it to Cedric, before returning his attention to the hoops.

Ethan removing his shirt drew a few glances, but he was entirely oblivious to them, so focused was he on his goal. Cedric, meanwhile, couldn't help but appreciate Ethan's body, made nearly iridescent by the arcade's lights reflecting off his well-defined form. As he slowly moved to admire Ethan, his eyes traveled slowly downward from Ethan's face, to his chest, to his chiseled abs, to his cock and b-

Wait, WHAT?!

Even as Cedric did a double take, Ethan hurriedly squatted down, the ball he had just launched hitting the rim of the hoop before bouncing away. Several gasps and nervous titters sounded out around them.

"The hell?!" Ethan hissed, pulling his jeans back up. "Who the fuck did that?!"

"Dude, nobody was near you..." Cedric snorted, holding back his mirth.

"I definitely felt-!"

"Oy! Catch!" A man in his early 20s flung the ball back to Ethan, who turned and brought his hands up to receive it - and Cedric was treated to a glimpse of Ethan's firm buttcheeks as his jeans fell to his ankles once more.

"The FUCK?!"

"Looks like... your clothes... just hate you today..." Cedric choked out, nearly doubled over in laughter. Several other spectators were now openly laughing.

"But... what...?" Ethan spluttered, wresting his jeans back onto his hips - but then he jerked, and his face grew alarmed. "Fuck!" He turned and ran, both hands gripping the waistband of his jeans so tightly that Cedric could see his forearms tense.

"Ethan!" Ethan made his way to the entrance, a number of disgruntled people left in his wake as he barged past. Cedric raced after him through the crowd, out of the arcade, and into a restroom where Ethan darted into a cubicle and slammed the door shut. From outside, Cedric saw Ethan's jeans hit the floor for the third time that day.

"Gross," Cedric laughed as he backed away. "From the way you ran, I thought something urgent..."

"Shut the fuck up!" Ethan hissed, a tinge of distress entering his normally assured, confident voice. Stranger still, frantic slapping noises could be heard coming from within. It sounded as if Ethan was... hitting himself...?

"... Ethan? You alright?"

"NO!"

"... what's going on?"

"I don't fucking know!"

"... what's got you in..."

"Something's trying to go up my ass!"

"... that's not funny."

"THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE!"

"... uh-huh. So what ****-"

"CEDRIC! I'm -ahhh!- serious! It's touching- fuck, GO AWAY!"

"... what?"

"Not you! This... aaaAH! OH FUCK NO, STOP!"

"... what is it, like some sort of invisible person?" Cedric asked skeptically.

"How the FUCK is it-!"

"What's it doing-?"

"FUCK OFF!"

The cubicle door behind Cedric flew open, and a middle-aged, professionally-dressed man hurried out. Without even stopping to wash his hands, he exited the restroom. Cedric caught the man glaring back at him with a mixture of confusion and hostility, and weakly shrugged his shoulders in response as the door swung shut behind him.

"Who was that?!"

"Some random dude using the other toilet. He's gone now."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then -

"Cedric...?"

"Yeah?"

"It's... it forc-... it's inside..."

"... OK, look, even if you didn't do ****, I'm sure there's a rational expl-"

"FUCK your explanation, this thing is UP MY ASS!"

"... some sort of physical hallucination?"

"How do I get it out?!"

"... Have you tried removing your fingers from your-"

*WHAM!* The sound of Ethan slamming his palms into the cubicle walls echoed in the small restroom. "CEDRIC!"

"... Come on, Ethan! Which part of this makes any sort of-"

"IT DOESN'T! BUT I CA-aa-aa-aah..." Ethan's barely-controlled voice morphed involuntarily into a half-strangled moan.

"... okay, what the fuck?!"

"It... touched something..." Ethan gasped. "What the FUCK... why..."

"... describe what you're feeling."

"Some sort... of heat wave..."

The mention of prostate stimulation finally made Cedric take notice. "... oh, fuck, you're serious?!"

"I'm... not... not gay... ooooh..."

"Okay, okay, shit. Lemme, lemme think..." Cedric wracked his brains, but absolutely nothing came to mind. His thinking session was soon interrupted by a sound halfway between a whimper and a groan from Ethan.

"What?!"

"... Ced...?"

"Yes?!"

"Why the fuck... does it... does it... but... but I'm not..."

"Why does it WHAT?!"

"... feel kinda-aahh... weird... kinda... good...?"

"... don't worry, I know what that is, I'll explain later! What's happening now?!"

"It's... groping... -unhh!- and... and pushing in..."

"Holy shit..."

"Yea-aaaahhh..."

... I don't know what that thing is or why it's attacking him, but the sounds of Ethan getting fucked are fucking HOT...

"... try shitting it out?"

A grunt sounded, followed by a high-pitched yelp that made Cedric jump.

"What?!"

"It... went d-eeEEP!-er..."

"Oh fuck, sorry!"

Ethan moaned helplessly, a combination of unwillingness and confused pleasure -

And that was when the restroom door swung open and mall security, in the form of two men dressed in black and white, entered. One of them held a walkie talkie in one hand, while the other rested a hand on the holster of his Taser.

"Afternoon, officers...?" Cedric started tentatively, and Ethan belatedly shut up. The two guards shared a look before quickly glancing about. They then approached Cedric.

"Affirmative, two individuals, one youth loitering outside cubicle, over," the first guard muttered into his walkie-talkie. He loomed over Cedric, his frame nearly reminiscent of one of the college quarterbacks, and Cedric unconsciously inched backwards.

"Afternoon, son," greeted the other, a paunchy, older man with clear laugh lines and a relaxed expression. "You know the other gent in the stall?"

"Yeah, he's my friend."

"Right. Sir," he called out to Ethan, "we're going to need you to exit the stall as soon as possible, hands empty and outstretched, and come and join your friend over here."

"... may I ask why, officer?"

"... We've received a report of suspected **** use and we'd like to verify that there's nothing illegal happening," the first officer grunted.

"... surely that must be a mistake, sir. My friend's just having a bad case of... well." Cedric gestured at the closed stall door, painfully aware that Ethan was probably desperately trying to muffle whatever reactions he was having.

"If that's it, then once he's done, I'm sure you wouldn't mind answering a few questions for us," the first officer's arms crossed as he stared Cedric down.

"But he's... he's probably going to take a long time..."

"And the longer we have to wait..."

"Oh come on, Gordon. There's no need to start off by scaring them." The second officer removed his hand from his holster.

Officer Gordon sniffed. "Matt, the report mentioned two young men causing a ruckus and one of them going off about some hallucination."

"... that idiot who made the report works at the jewelry store and complains about anything and everything. You just got rotated here, so you might not know, but that's the fifth report he's filed this month. I mean, yes, we're still obliged to check, but honestly, it's probably nothing," Officer Matt sighed before turning to Cedric. "Look, son, we don't want to make this more complicated than it has to be, and I don't think you boys want to, either. Just show us what you have on you, and if there's nothing suspicious there, you can go."

"Oh. Err... okay..." Cedric hesitantly turned out his pockets, which contained only his wallet, phone and car keys. Officer Gordon then frisked him while Officer Matt took a quick glance through his belongings.

"He's clear."

"Now, your friend..."

Ethan kicked his jeans out from under the door. "... the-ere..." he mumbled, his normally assured, confident demeanour absent.

"Son, we need you out here," Officer Matt requested as he prodded the jeans back into the cubicle with his foot. "Just get dressed and step out; this really won't take long."

From under the door, Cedric saw Ethan's jeans being pulled up before they dropped to the floor again. "I... I ca -aaah- nt... stomach..."

"... well, I guess we can give you five minutes or so, but no longer. Come out when you're done. We'll be waiting outside with your friend."

Cedric couldn't think of a way to stay in the restroom that wouldn't look suspicious, and so had **** but to follow the security guards out into the hallway. What followed was what felt like an infinitely long period of anxiety for Cedric as he was **** to stand close by, desperately wondering how Ethan was dealing with his predicament, while the security guards chatted to each other, completely unbothered. The only saving grace in the situation was that no one else actually entered the restroom... which was also rather strange, given that the crowded arcade was rather close by.

He nervously checked his watch - three minutes had come and gone... five... eight...

"Right, it's been long enough," Officer Matt said after ten minutes, pushing the restroom door open. "Hopefully your friend hasn't burst an artery or something."

Cedric laughed nervously as he followed the guards back in. Officer Gordon immediately made a beeline for the only occupied stall and began to hammer on the door. "Young man! You've had quite enough time in there. Come out now and we can get this over with."

"Bad... stomach... cramp..."

"You have five seconds. If, by then, this door is not open, you'll be in for a trip to the hospital for your stomach cramp with a police escort."

"Please..."

"Five. Four."

"Okay... fine..." Ethan sounded utterly defeated.

"Three. Two. O-"

Right as Officer Gordon reached "one", the door was unlatched. He pushed it open, and the two guards and Cedric came face to face with a seated, naked Ethan, his only modesty provided by his hands draped protectively over his crotch. His face was red and his body sweaty; his breaths were laboured and his chest heaved.

"Jesus!" Officer Matt exclaimed, looking away as Cedric dithered about behind the two security guards, having no idea what to do. "Son, if it's that bad, get yourself checked out at a clinic or something. That's not normal."

Officer Gordon, on the other hand, simply picked up Ethan's jeans and boxers and searched through them right in front of them without bothering to close the door.

"C'mon, Gordon, get out of there and give the boy some privacy."

"We still have a job to do, and he chose to stay undressed for this. It's not like we didn't give him enough warning." He methodically looked through Ethan's belongings, and after he completed his inventory, gestured for Ethan to stand up. "I need to inspect this cistern. Please stand aside."

Ethan rose to his feet with some difficulty, exhaling as he did so, and Cedric could see his knees visibly wobble. He stood bent at the waist with his head bowed, his shoulders hunched and his feet together, one hand over his stomach and the other over his groin as he shuffled over to face one of the cubicle walls. Cedric's eyes were naturally drawn to Ethan's butt, which was alternately flexing and relaxing hypnotically as he tried to resist whatever he was facing. The rather ridiculous position Ethan was in made something in his loins stir...

STOP IT! This isn't the time for that!

Officer Gordon rapidly ascertained that the scene was free of any contraband and left the cubicle, allowing Ethan to shut the door. "Guess you were right, Matt."

"Like I said, that guy's a serial complainer. We can only hope his next thing isn't another toilet call; it stinks in here." He turned to Cedric. Well, sorry about that, son, but we needed to do our job. Though, are you sure your friend doesn't need some help? It looks like he's been through the wringer."

"Oh, err... it's okay. He probably just needs a little more time."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine..."

"C'mon, lets get out of here. They're not kids; they can handle themselves."

As the two guards finally left, Cedric heaved a sigh of relief. "They're gone."

Ethan released a long, deep, needy groan, one which seemed to come from the very depths of his soul. Then, as if the first groan had broken a dam, an outpouring of soft grunts and moans immediately followed - sounds that Cedric was very familiar with, and which were starting to redirect blood down south...

Oh god, he really IS being fucked by something...

"C-Ced?"

"Yeah?"

"Legs shaking... can't stand str-aa-aaah..."

"Was it happening the whole time?"

"Ye-eaaahh..."

"This is actually insane..."

"... ooohh GO-OO-OD..."

"... is this the right time to say I feel a little jealous? Why'd this happen to you and not me?"

"... don't kno-oo-oo-ow..."

Cedric shivered, his own arousal mounting at the thought of Ethan being so well-fucked that he couldn't speak without moaning, and briefly imagined himself in Ethan's place. "... you sound like you're having a lot of fun."

"... f-fuck yoo-ooh... help... too intense... like... burning - *gasp!* - from inside..."

Right then, the door creaked as another man entered the restroom and both boys fell silent, though through the wall partition, Cedric could still hear Ethan stifling his groans and whimpers. Ethan's helplessness in the face of this unexplainable apparition caused Cedric to cast his mind back to earlier in the day to a similar situation... and then it hit him.

"Jerk off," Cedric whispered.

"... wha..."

"What's happening now looks a little similar to this morning."

"... what happe- oh..."

"It worked earlier... maybe... maybe that'll hel-?" Before Cedric could finish, he instantly recognized the unmistakable sounds of someone jerking off, and as the seconds went by, the awkwardness of the ensuing silence only grew exponentially.

"... Er, I'm gonna wait outside, okay? Once you're done we can figure out a way to deal with this."

---

It took about another ten minutes for Ethan to finally emerge from the restroom, face flushed and shirt damp with sweat, and then a further ten for them to slowly make their way to Cedric's car. Physically, Cedric could tell that Ethan was totally fine - his knees occasionally wobbled, but that was more due to the... sex... than anything else. It was Ethan's sense of self that Cedric was more worried about, and once in the car, Cedric wasted no time checking up on Ethan. "Ethan? Look at me."

Ethan turned to look at him, unease and insecurity written clearly on his face.

"Talk to me?"

There was a moment of quiet as Ethan gathered his thoughts, the silence of the scene punctuated only by Ethan's breathing. Cedric slowly counted the seconds that passed.

Five.

Ten.

Fifteen.

After about half a minute, Ethan finally spoke. "I... I just don't know what to feel," Ethan admitted, his voice shaky.

"Why?" Cedric was pretty sure that he knew what Ethan was getting at and why he was conflicted over it, but thought it would be better for Ethan to hear and understand the words that were about to be spoken, rather than to have Cedric immediately rush in to reassure him.

"It... it..." Ethan struggled to get the words out. "It... fucked..."

"Yeah."

"It's not like I could've done anything about it."

"Yeah. Seems that way."

Ethan looked at Cedric, confusion in his eyes. "I'm not gay. Or bi."

"You aren't."

"So... why... why..."

"Why did it feel so good?"

Ethan nodded mutely.

"Better than any handjob or oral ever made you feel? Better than any sort of sex with a girl, even?"

Ethan nodded again.

"It's okay to feel that way, Ethan. Liking butt stuff doesn't make you gay. It's a physiological reaction, nothing more."

"But..."

"You've heard of the g-spot, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, guys have a similar thing called the p-spot. It's the prostate, and it's located somewhere close to the end of the anal canal. So... having something up your ass stimulates it and gives you all those good feelings."

"Okay..."

"So you're not gay, you just like having your prostate stimulated. A lot of straight guys do. A lot of straight guys get pegged, even. It's honestly fine."

"Still feels like... everything I've ever known about myself is..."

"Out of whack? Turned on its head?"

"Yeah."

"Let's put it this way. Do you wanna be fucked by a guy?"

"... no."

"How about by me?"

Ethan cracked a tiny smile. "I love you, Cedric, but not in that way."

"Damn," Cedric joked. "And here I was thinking I might finally have a chance."

"Don't kid yourself... and I'd be the one fucking you anyway."

"Why, are you offering?"

"You wish." Ethan definitely looked better now.

"So, you wouldn't wanna fuck a guy either?"

"No."

"Still find your ex sexy?"

"... she kind of turned out to be an insane bitch. But... otherwise... I guess... yeah."

"Then no, you're not into guys at all, you're definitely still into girls, and as far as I can tell you're a hundred percent straight."

"Ced?" Ethan was openly smiling now, the worried frown on his face having dissipated. "Thanks."

"Anything for you, Ethan, you know that." Cedric grinned.

"Oh, uh..."

"Yeah?"

"You know I don't have anything against bi or gay people or anyone who's LGBTQIA plus, right? And if I were bi or gay, well..." Ethan scratched his head sheepishly, "I'd also be fine with that? It's just..."

"Don't worry, man," Cedric reassured. "You were just having a 'proper full-on gay crisis'... which reminds me, you HAVE got to watch Heartstopper with me at some point. But yeah, I've been there. No offense taken."

"Really, Ced. Thank you. So much."

"Hug?"

Ethan's brilliant smile practically lit up the car as the two boys embraced.

---

After about a minute, Ethan released Cedric, then jabbed him in the side.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Cedric exclaimed as he jerked backward in his seat.

"For not believing me!"

"What you were saying was so unbelievable!"

" Honestly! Did you think I'd lie about something like that?"

"... well... not really I guess... but it just sounded so stupid!"

"Oh yeah? You wait till this stupid thing goes up YOUR ass!"

"You forget, I actually like taking it up the butt."

"... so why's it after me and not you?"

Both boys pondered the question for a few moments, and it was Cedric who finally said the hitherto unthinkable. "Do you think... do you think it could've been... well... a ghost?"

"... normally, I would say you were out of your mind... but this whole thing does seem... well, too coincidental. And... well, you know... my ass..."

"I mean, it started back last night in the graveyard. Your clothes got fucked up there too. And then there was this morning..."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... maybe we should do some research into this... I don't want to be fucked all the time. Or have to jerk off like every hour or something," Ethan shuddered.

"But who on earth would know more about this...?"

---

A/N:

Credits go to Alice Oseman for coining the phrase "proper full-on gay crisis", and for the fantastic webcomic and Netflix series Heartstopper. <3