Niko glances over at me for a moment, and when I meet my eyes, he’s searching my gaze.
Calculating something, behind his eyes.
“Hercules,” he murmurs.
And I feel like my heart stops.
Hercules.
19
Niko
Niko, reading comments 9 weeks ago, 10:22pm
Username: Dragonfly
When I first noticed Hercules2210, I had a sense that he was different.
He wrote like a human. Not like a person who just uses my videos and then moves on.
I imagined Hercules as someone I’d actually be friends with in real life, if everything wasn’t anonymous. I didn’t know him, so it was a strange feeling to have.
But I let myself believe.
No harm in a fantasy, right?
Oliver lookslike he’s just been caught in a murder.
And that’s when I realize it’strue.
“Hercules,” I repeat, turning toward him in the bed, watching him want to evaporate in front of me. But I hold my arm around him.
I keep him close.
And I feel like some kind of miracle just happened.
I’m flooded with some strange feeling, like I’m finally seeing clearly after a lifetime of blurred vision.
“Can we just go to sleep?”
“Holy fuck, Oliver, I am never going to let you live this down for the rest of our lives,” I murmur, unable to keep a smile from my face. “You are Hercules. You’remyHercules. God, and you practically look like the real-life version of him, all buff and doe-eyed.”
“I thought I hated you in high school, but I think I hate you more, now,” he says, grabbing the comforter and shoving it up over his face.
“You really are my biggest fan. Ollie, do you realize you were one of my favorite commenters? Sometimes, when I filmed, I thought aboutHerculesseeing it, and I made it extra-special, just for him. For you, apparently.”
I pull down the covers around his face and look at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“Want to make you squirm. And it’s working.”
I lean over and claim his mouth in a kiss. I reach down and run my palm over the bulge under his sweatpants.
“I should have told you. I just…”
“It’s okay that you didn’t, fanboy.”