Unexpected Love in the Moment of Mac & Cheese

There’s a knock on the door.

Zack groans and rolls over, pulling the covers over his head. It sounds like someone is beating a drum against the floor with a metal spoon. He’d broken in through the balcony last night, and he was pretty sure that whoever it was knew exactly who they were waking up. The rambling drunken shouts of his name had been loud enough to wake up half the street.

The knocks continue, growing louder each time as if to mock him. His face is pressed into the pillow, but his ears are still ringing from the previous night’s partying. It feels like there’s a jackhammer inside his skull trying to dig its way out through the back of his head. It hurts so much he thought he might be sick again. The only thing keeping him from vomiting is the need to get some more sleep before he had to go clean up after himself again.

It’s not like he has anywhere else to live anymore; no parents to house him or pay for his things any longer. If he drinks all night and doesn’t stop at home, then nobody finds out about it. And when he does go home, nobody says anything about seeing him at parties either.

Another painful knock on the door finally makes him groan and roll over just enough so that he can sit up while keeping most of his body hidden under the covers. “What?” He asks loudly, pressing a hand over his eyes while rubbing them with his other hand.

A quiet voice answers back softly, “Uhm… Zack? I know it's early, but you said you wanted some macaroni and cheese before you start work tonight?”

Zack stops rubbing his eyes, tilting his head towards where he thinks the door is until he hears footsteps approaching him from that direction. A couple seconds later, a warm hand suddenly lands on his shoulder, squeezing lightly as the owner of said hands sits down next to him. “Hey! You haven’t died in here yet! I figured I should check on you before I headed off to school?” A confident male voice says in Zack's ear playfully as another hand reaches around Zack's waist from behind and squeezes one of Zack's butt cheeks through his pajama pants.

Zack flinches at both sensations and reflexively rolls onto his side away from the stranger sitting next to him, causing them both to tumble over onto their sides facing each other with an arm under each other's necks holding themselves up while they stare at each other in confusion and shock. "Okay... well... uhh.." The stranger stutters quietly as Zack glares at him angrily while pushing himself back up into a sitting position. "I'll just leave this here and go make your macaroni now." He says quickly, jumping up off of the bed and hurrying away towards what Zack assumes is the kitchen, considering they're still inside someone's apartment.

Everything in the apartment appears tidy and organized, save for several discarded liquor bottles from last night's party which will likely require cleaning up later once everyone gets home today. For now, though, all that mattered was getting away from this guy before he remembered the previous morning's events; innocent though they were, people would talk regardless.

As Zack begins to get up and follow his 'guest' into the kitchen, he becomes momentarily lost in thought about honesty and rumors, the prevalence of social media, and the inevitable gap between reality and fantasy in modern society. His train of thought continues until a sudden loud bang interrupts him along with a shout of "DAMMIT!" coming from the kitchen area. Clearly, his guest is having some trouble preparing breakfast.

Nevertheless, the stranger brings a plate filled with steaming hot macaroni & cheese and sets it down nearby before offering Zack some scrambled eggs and bacon. The two men eat awkwardly and silently, occasionally stealing glances at one another. Suddenly, they both feel the soft tap of something against their legs, causing them to jump nearly out of their chairs in surprise.

The two sit there for a moment, startled and confused, realizing that their previous conversation had ended abruptly, leaving questions unanswered and thoughts unspoken. In this moment, Zack feels a sense of connection and understanding with the stranger who had unexpectedly entered his life. Little did he know how much this chance encounter would change him in the days to come.