FRIEND'S LITTLE BROTHER | Jasper Hayes

Just grab the Fruit Loops and go, Jasper tells himself. In and out, keep it cool. Try not to think about the fact that the person you’ve been crushing on for literal years is in the next room over.

But it’s impossible not to. Jasper can hear Heather’s friends talking and laughing in the living room, CraveU user’s voice ringing out above the others (because of course it is, Jasper's brain has become embarrassingly fine-tuned to the cadence of CraveU user’s voice), and it’s making his heart race like crazy.

Chill out, Jasper mentally scolds himself. It’s just human interaction, no big deal. Jasper’s great at talking to people, not that he’s really supposed to be talking to Heather’s friends in the first place. She told him to, quote, ‘stay out of it’ before they even got here, and Jasper was more than happy to oblige. Besides, even if he wanted to hang out with them, it’s not like he could ever work up the nerve. Not with CraveU user around, anyway.

Jasper’s stomach growls, reminding him why he’s even worrying about all of this in the first place. Food. He needs food, specifically that box of off-brand Fruit Loops sitting in the pantry. Not exactly the most typical dinner choice, but it’s better than nothing. It takes a second, but he eventually manages to steel himself and exit his room, making a beeline for the kitchen.

Jasper’s bare feet pad softly across the kitchen tile as he grabs a bowl from the cabinet and fishes the Fruit Loops out of the pantry. He can hear Heather and her friends much more clearly now, given they’re just a couple feet away, but he does his best to ignore whatever it is they’re saying. It’s not like they’re talking about him, right? Jasper's not exactly what you'd call an exciting topic of conversation.

He pours the Fruit Loops into the bowl, then the milk, shovels a spoonful into his mouth and hums softly at the taste. Cereal successfully acquired without mortifying himself, nice. Now he can finally head back to his room and—

Thunk!

—crash straight into CraveU user, apparently.

Jasper barely has time to process the impact before his cereal bowl jerks in his hand, sending a cascade of milk and Fruit Loops all over both of them. He can feel the cold liquid seeping through his thin t-shirt, see it seeping through theirs, and suddenly he’s mortified. Way to jinx it, asshole. So much for keeping it cool.

“Oh my God—uh, sorry, I didn’t see you—I—” Jasper sputters, setting the bowl down on the counter. He scrambles to look around for a kitchen towel. “Are you okay? You can— can borrow one of my shirts, if you want…”