Indie Ricco

"I-I don't know?!"

• After seeing Rhys and his brother perform a dominant and submissive scene, Indie got into it too. Trying out both parts, but picked Dom which was surprising to him.
• His first was Royce
• Can't see without his glasses. Duh. But his sight is very bad.
• He writes fanfictions. He gets really defensive over his OTP's
• He blushed a lot.
• Never raises his voice.
• He always has a first aid kit some where.

B A C K S T O R Y

Though Indie grew up in a "broken" family, he never felt as though he lacked anything growing up. His father left the family when he was only two years old, and he was raised by a single mother alongside two older siblings. Indie does not even remember his father's face; when he separated himself from Indie's mother, he severed all contact with the family. Despite his father's absence, Indie's childhood was both quiet and pleasant. He grew to be very close with his older brother and sister, never quarreling, because they had an agreement that it was important for the three of them to work together to care for their mother. The three were spoiled as children; even when money was tight, their mother gave them the world.

From a young age, Indie idolized his older brother. Though Indie was extremely smart and always shined in the classroom, his older brother excelled in many other aspects. He was very social, quick to strike up a conversation, and an extremely talented football player. He was book-smart and a womanizer; his brilliance eclipsed Indie's quiet, bookish nature in every manner. Though Indie envied his brother, he did not resent him. Indie longed to find his place in the world just as his brother had been able to. When his brother left for college, Indie turned his focus towards his older sister for guidance. When asked what he wanted to be 'when he grew up,' he would always answer that he'd like to be as fashionable as his sister and as respected as his brother. After his brother moved out, Indie found that he could relate to his sister much more closely. The pair would spend afternoons doing each other's hair, sharing clothes, and watching romcom movies together.

When Indie entered middle school, he explored a world full of new opportunities. Middle school introduced Indie to his first best friend, Rhys Nakajima, and the pair became inseparable. Though the two had attended the same elementary school, they were not well-acquainted. However, Indie had observed Rhys from afar, and he seemed to have a special knack for recognizing when Rhys was near him. Until they finally became friends, Indie was not aware of the force that had always seemed to draw him towards Rhys, almost as if they were connected by some instance of fate. In middle school, Indie and Rhys began to share a lunch period and a few classes. As he observed more of Rhys's demeanor, however, Indie began to dislike him. He found Rhys's selfish, entitled personality to be quite off-putting; he seemed to believe that the world revolved around him. Indie could remember multiple occasions where he'd thought to himself, what a brat. Though Indie convinced himself that it was best that he stayed away from Rhys, that Rhys was absolutely repulsive, he couldn't seem to avoid him.

Perhaps the reason that Indie found Rhys so detestable was because he struggled to come to terms with the way that Rhys made him feel. In class, he would find himself daydreaming about Rhys: the way he smelled, the way his hips swayed when he took a step. Even when Rhys was not around, Indie could sometimes hear his voice, imagine that he was there. It seemed to Indie as though Rhys were omnipresent; he always seemed to be around the next corner. For a while, Indie began to entertain the idea that Rhys was following him. However, he dismissed the idea, wondering why anyone so consumed with himself would ever bother to track someone who preferred to remain in the shadows.

Indie began to observe a change in Rhys's behavior. He was no longer going out of his way to seek attention; he was quiet in class, attentive even, and kept to himself. It seemed as though he was preparing himself for something. One day, he cornered Indie in the men's locker room. The tension that had been building for months finally broke; Rhys told Indie that he'd like to be friends with him, that he felt drawn towards him in a way that he didn't understand. Though he didn't express himself very eloquently, Indie understood Rhys's feelings. He admired that he had been bold enough to break the heavy silence between them. Indie realized that he respected Rhys in a way that he had never noticed before. The way that Rhys leaned on his right arm, forcing Indie into the corner, left Indie with butterflies in his stomach. If he weren't mistaken, Rhys seemed to be contemplating kissing him.

The moment was interrupted by an oblivious classmate. Startled by his additional presence, the two boys leapt in opposite directions and erupted into laughter. The bond that the boys forged proved to be unbreakable.

From an outsider's perspective, Rhys and Indie were polar opposites. It was difficult for their classmates to understand how the two became such fast friends, but their relationship grew stronger throughout the years. As they grew closer, they began to develop a fondness for one another that extended outside of the boundaries of friendship, but neither of them chose to act on their feelings. They feared being rejected - not only by one another - but by the rest of society. They were new to love, confused by their feelings for one another, and often pondered whether or not their friend was interested in the same sex. Though Indie kept his sexuality undisclosed, his love for Rhys grew stronger and stronger. He began to appreciate his attitude, his fearlessness, and his stubbornness. He intervened on behalf of Rhys many times; he'd defend him at any cost. Indie's friendship with Rhys seemed to approach only one possible conclusion: a relationship.

Indie, eighteen years old, walked home from a trip to the local convenience store to pick up a pack of cigarettes. He wasn't particularly interested in smoking, but he'd decided to give it a try, just because he was finally old enough to indulge. As he opened the front door to his house, he was greeted by the echos of moaning and yelling in his corridor. The sounds seemed to be coming from his brother's room; he was thrilled to hear that his brother was home from his final year at the university, but he wasn't particularly pleased to witness him and his latest conquest in the act. Head down, Indie tried his best to make it into his room unnoticed. However, he heard a scream that sent blood rushing to his cheeks. Indie struggled to believe that the voice of the second person in his brother's room belonged to Rhys. Hoping to prove himself wrong, he boldly approached his brother's doorway. He would have given anything to erase the image of his best friend and his brother engaged in a sexual act. He rushed to the bathroom and immediately vomited, tears spilling involuntarily down his cheeks. Had Indie imagined the passion between him and Rhys? Had Rhys had long-lasting feelings for his brother? Indie was never even certain that Rhys was interested in men. Unfortunately, that mystery had been solved.

For weeks, Indie boiled over with emotion. He hadn't any right to be upset with either of them; he'd never acted on his feelings for Rhys, he'd never explicitly stated them. Perhaps the most difficult thing for Indie to accept was that, whatever Rhys's plan was for love, it hadn't included him. Hurt and confused, Indie silently stewed. He began to shut out his two closest friend; he preferred to spend more time alone in his room, allowing his thoughts to drift until he'd made himself sick from overthinking. Finally, Indie decided it wasn't healthy to contain all of his emotions. He decided to share his feelings with his sister, who was equally surprised by the boys' relationship. She suggested that Indie be honest with Rhys and his brother. He planned to talk to his brother first, to explain why he was being cold towards him. The conversation never came.

A few weeks after, Indie received the terrible news that his brother had been killed in an automobile accident. He was spending a night out with friends and consumed a few too many beers; brazenly, he'd put himself behind the wheel and tried to drive home. The resulting accident claimed the lives of Indie's brother and all of his friends. After the accident, guilt began to eat away at Indie. He had never been able to apologize to his brother for pushing him away; he'd never been able to explain his feelings. When was the last time that he'd called his brother to check on him? Indie couldn't remember.

Though depression lingered in the corners of Indie's mind, he decided that a visit to Rhys's house might help to clear his head, and perhaps even his conscience. Hope filled his chest as he considered confessing his love to Rhys, the possibilities that it would introduce. He was so excited to rekindle his relationship with his best friend after months of giving him the cold shoulder, that he didn't take the time to start his car. He ran.

When he arrived at Rhys's house, the driveway was empty. The lights in the house were turned off, and the doors were locked. Despite the sinking feeling in his stomach, Indie tried to give Rhys a call. No one answered the other line; his call was met with a three-dial tone. We're sorry, but the number you are trying to reach is no longer in service. This couldn't be happening. Indie spent the next few days staking out Rhys's house. Hours passed that he forgot to eat, forgot to sleep, and was entirely consumed by his need to see Rhys again, to know that he was still out there somewhere. Though he questioned all of Rhys's neighbors, shamelessly going door-to-door, they had no answers to offer him. When he mentioned that he was going to call the cops, a young neighbor finally coughed up some information. Rhys had moved away, and he hadn't wanted to let Indie know. For the third time in only a three-month span, devastation struck Indie.

Indie's life without Rhys was significantly altered. Though he continued living out his daily routine, he felt as though he were simply going through the motions. Nothing seemed to bring him joy. At college, he avoided reaching out to others. He attended his classes and retreated to his dorm, ignoring his roommate and burying his nose in a book. Though he accepted calls from his sister and his mother, he never tried to reach them first.

During the summer after Indie's sophomore year of college, he decided it was time for a change. Enrolling at the same university that his brother had attended was a mistake; he was constantly reminded of the days that his brother would come home wearing red and white Bears paraphernalia and the pictures that he'd taken next to all of the sculptures on campus. The college began to feel claustrophobic, like a ghost of his brother. He had the sudden urge to flee the city, to explore other options, to pick up the pieces of his broken life and start anew. After receiving his mother and sister's blessing, he moved to San Francisco and tried to make a name for himself in the fashion industry. He dreamed of building his own empire: his own models, his own clothing line, his own personal photoshoots, and a magazine named in his honor. As a junior in college, his willpower returned. He was living for himself again; allowing himself to seek out happiness. He started over, sought out new relationships, and allowed himself to love again. His hard work was proving to pay off... until he saw Rhys again.