Screen Burn

Episode 10

"The sign saying 'Do Not Disturb' usually means exactly that, you know," Jake stated, looking away from his laptop to glare at Mateo. "What made you think you could walk right in?"

"People use it when they're having sex, and I knew that was not a possibility in your case, so I couldn't possibly be invading your privacy."

"What if I was naked and dancing to a ridiculous pop song?"

"You don't do that, do you?"

Jake ignored the question and went back to staring at the screen in front of him.

"Is that all you plan to do today? I came over to ask you if you wanted to step out into the sunshine, maybe get some food or alcohol-"

"Oh no, defintely not. This is the one day in the week that I get to myself. It's binge-watch Sunday and you are not taking that away from me."

"Binge-watch Sunday?"

"I start watching a T.V series as soon as I wake up, and spend the entire day watching it."

"Sounds... fun." Mateo didn't look entirely convinced.

"It is. I don't even have to move to get food, I just keep it within reach."

Mateo eyed the various packets of food scattered on Jake's bed. All of them didn't seem like particularly healthy options, but he wasn't going to say so, because he had his habits that weren't exactly beneficial to his health either.

"If you don't want to hang out, it's cool. I'm leaving."

"I didn't say I didn't want to hang out with you. I just said I wasn't going to leave my room today. You can stay, if you want."

"What are you watching?" Mateo inquired, leaning over Jake's shoulder to get a glimpse of the show he was watching.

"Skins. The U.K version, of course. I'm watching the second season right now, but I can explain who the characters are and how they're related in a few minutes," Jake suggested.

"Should I be tempted?"

"There's a lot of sex, drugs and alcohol."

"I'm in."

Mateo kicked his shoes off and settled down on the part of Jake's bed that had been cleared for him. Jake disconnected his earphones and set the laptop's speaker to the highest level.

"So you've seen the Breakfast Club right? Similar theme present here, but darker. The group of teenagers in this are all different but friends, and each episode is about one of them. Towards the end of the season, their stories start to connect and become one messy whole."

"I see."

"There's Tony, he's the popular, attractive, charismatic one."

"Sounds like me," Mateo claimed, grinning.

"He was hit by a bus in the first season's final episode, and lost most of his charm and a few motor abilities."

"That sucks."

"His best friend is Sid. He's considered the loser of the group, and looks up to Tony."

Mateo glanced slyly at Jake, who vehemently protested against being compared to Sid before resuming his description of the characters.

"Then there's Maxxie, who is openly gay, also attractive, and a dancer."

"Tell me that doesn't sound Mihir."

"Mihir dances?"

"Quite well. He has stage fright though, so he only dances in front of people he's known for years."