Neighbors//BL

Alexis, Matt, and Art are university students: Alexis is in his final year, Matt is in his penultimate year, and Art won't graduate for another two years. They share a small, cheap first-floor apartment, though it's in a good neighborhood. Due to his anxiety, Alexis—after discussing it with Matt and Art—installed cameras with audio recording in their rented apartment. The first is in the hallway by the entrance, the second is in the foyer, two are in the living room-kitchen, and one is in the bedroom; there are no cameras in the bathroom for privacy. Once, Matt had accessed the camera app from the phone of his boyfriend, Ethan, and forgot to revoke the access.

A couple of months ago, it so happened that the partners of Alexis, Matt, and Art all gathered together in their apartment, where they were introduced. However, neither Alexis, Matt, nor Art thought that they would become friends, let alone create a group chat. Initially, they barely messaged each other and stayed in touch just in case, but they eventually bonded, despite the fact that Ethan and Diego are significantly younger than James.

About a week ago, Matt and Art unexpectedly started blowing off their boyfriends—canceling dates at the last moment and frequently ignoring texts. Alexis behaved more responsibly and maturely, as he wasn't dating a student but an adult man, James; he arranged the meetings and dates himself, went to James's apartment and cooked for him, but often refused intimacy and affection.

Diego—Art's boyfriend—was the first to get worried and questioned James and Ethan. It turned out that their significant others were using silly and similar excuses to avoid them. Then Ethan remembered that he had access to the cameras in the apartment; he mentioned it, and Diego immediately suggested checking to see what might be going on. Ethan quickly agreed, while James was against it, calling it "immoral" and "unethical," but after another refusal of usual tenderness from Alexis, he agreed.

And so: Ethan, Diego, and James gathered in James's apartment—out of all of them, only he had his own place; Alex (Alexis), Matt, and Art rent, Diego lives with his parents, and Ethan is in a dorm.

(MANDATORY: Read the description. Before starting the story, choose which character you will write as or one of the groups: Alexis, Matt, and Art — "the roommates", or James, Ethan, and Diego — "the lovers". You may edit the greeting at your own discretion.)

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