„GAAH!“
Felix screamed, as he was woken up by the blast of a water gun, directly at his face. Still more asleep than awake, not sure what just happened, he tried to get away from the continues stream of water.
It ended, with him getting caught up in his blanket, unable to get out of the soft material, screaming for the attack to end. Only after the stream stopped, did he hear the laughter of Shawn and Max.
“Don't hurt yourself, birthday boy!”, the former said, holding the water gun up like an action hero. Max kept on laughing, as he helped his roommate out of the blanket.
“What the hell, guys? Do you want me to have a heart attack? Today?”
Felix took Max' hand, who helped him get up, before pulling him closer for a hug. “Happy Birthday, Felix! Sorry, we just couldn't wait for you to open your present.”
A second hug and well-wishes by Shawn followed. “Happy Birthday! And don't worry, your first birthday at college will be very special, I promise.”
Felix was still not quite awake enough, to see the wink between his two roommates.
He rubbed his eyes. He had stayed up long the day before, expecting to sleep long, as it was Saturday. “Thanks, guys, that's very sweet. I just wished your present would have been “sleep as long as you want”.” At this moment, he spotted the blue present, sitting on the table in the middle of the room.
“Hey, the present you promised. I...”, he stopped, realizing something. “Uh, go to the bathroom first, but then, I want to know what was so important that you had to wake me up. Jerks!”
Smiling, he hugged his roommates a second time, before leaving the room. Max looked at Shawn, who played around with his messy, black hair. “You still sure about it? We can still back out”, he said, slightly nervous. Shawn didn't even look at him, but grinned. “Don't worry, it will be a lot of fun. Trust me.”
When Felix was finally back, he immediately made his way to the present. The sound of ripped paper filled the room, while his roommates watched, grinning. Excited, he opened the top of the brown box that appeared under the wrapping, only to be left in confusion.
“Uh, guys, umm...not to sound ungrateful, but where did you get the idea for this stuff?”, he asked, turning around. Max and Shawn kept grinning, as the birthday boy pulled out a bright, pink dress shirt and dark-blue chino shorts. “I don't wear dress shirts, certainly not in this color. And I'm not big on shorts, either. Also...”
He put the shirt and the shorts onto the table, before getting out the other content.
“Suspenders and a bow tie? Where did you get that idea from? I'm really sorry, and I appreciate the gesture, but why would you think this would be something I like? I mean, who wears bow ties? Or knee socks and suspenders?”
Shawn and Max shared a mischievous look. “You are”, the former said.
Before Felix could react, Max chimed in. “We just wanted to make sure, that you have something fitting to wear, for your great day. You really should look your best.”
There was something weird in the voices and the looks. Without even realizing it, Felix backed of, slightly.
“I don't think I get the joke, guys”, Felix said, putting everything back into the box. You can send the stuff back. How about getting some breakfast. It's on me.”
While Max turned back, getting something out of his backpack, Shawn kept on smiling at Felix.
“Look, you are going to wear this today”, he said. “The shirt, the shorts, the suspenders, the bow tie. The shirt nicely tucked in, the collar closed. You don't have a choice.”
Felix sighed. He should have known better, than to assume that his weirdo friends wouldn't try to pull something like this on his birthday.
“Come on, guys, I'm not wearing this. I'll look like the worst dork in the world. And seriously, this bright pink? No way.”
At this moment, Max had made his way back, two rolls of duct tape in his hands. Unable to suppress the light laughter, he said: “You don't have a choice. You will wear this, if you like it or not. And if you don't...”
He held up one of the rolls.
“Look, what do you prefer? Everyone seeing you in those clothes, or everyone seeing you in those clothes, bound and gagged?”, Shawn asked.
Felix thought about the situation, before accepting that he wouldn't be able to get out of it.
“Good, fine, I'll dress up”, he said, sighing. “But can I just wear my suit? I'll even wear a tie, no problem, but don't make me show of this embarrassing stuff. Please!”
Shawn thought about the suggestion. “You want to wear a suit? With a tie? And you won't make trouble?”, he asked. Felix nodded, hoping that he might get away. He hated wearing dress clothes, never even wearing button-up shirts, but everything was better than what his roommates had prepared for him.
“Well, than you will wear that next Sunday!”, Shawn said, gleefully. Felix shook his head. “What? No!”
But Shawn wasn't backing down. “Yeah, you will. And now, put on the shirt. Come on, get dressed. Or, no, complain some more. I'd love to tie you up.”
Thinking about his options, Felix accepted defeat. Groaning, he took the shirt, and slowly buttoned it up, feeling annoyed with every button.
“Ok, can we at least make this short? We do something outside for two hours, so that everyone can see me. I know that that's what you weirdos want. And then I change into something that's actually comfortable. You know, because it's my birthday, and all that? I just wanted to play video games. So, how long are you going to be annoying?”
His roommates laughed. “Haha, right. No, you'll stay in these clothes for the whole day. Don't worry, we have planned a lot of fun activities, so that everyone can see you”, Shawn said.
Felix' stomach didn't agree with what he was hearing, betraying that he was getting nervous again.
“What do you mean? The whole day?”, he said, while tucking in his shirt, already annoyed by how strict the fabric immediately felt.
“You'll see. We don't want to spoil it, you know? Don't worry, you'll love it.”
Frustrated, the birthday boy fastened his collar, before adding the bow tie. “Yeah, right, as much as I love this horrible thing on my neck.” He pulled lightly on the collar. “God, I hate it already. You seriously expect me to wear this the whole day? The collar is way too small.”
Felix couldn't stop pulling on the tight shirt. The collar was the worst part, but it felt tight and restrictive everywhere.
Max patted him on the back, before handing him the suspenders. “You'll get used to it. And now stop your whining.”
-------------------------------------------
Soon, after adding the knee socks and dress shoes, the outfit was complete, and Felix was forced to look at himself in the mirror. “Can't you just shoot me? That would be less embarrassing.” He still couldn't stop tugging on his shirt, but it kept on feeling restrictive and annoying. “That's the outfit of a six-year old.”
“What are you talking about, Felix, you look great. Can't wait for everyone to see you”, Max said, his grin getting even wider than it already was. “But first, we have to do some additional preparations.”
Felix looked frustrated at his roommate.
“What now? Do I have to wear a wig?”
And suddenly, it went dark. Shawn had pulled a knit hat over Felix' head and eyes. In confusion, he struggled around with his arms, only for him to be pushed forward. In the confusion, he was too much caught by surprise, as his hands were forced behind his back, and he heard the sound of ripping duct tape, as it started to stick to his hands.
When he started to react, it was already too late, and his hands were bound, helplessly stuck behind his back.
“What the hell? What are you doing now?!”
Felix struggled in anger, but earned only laughter by doing so. “I already told you, we have to prepare you”, Max said, as he rolled the tape around his roommates upper arms and torso. “What the hell, guys? I did dress up, why are you tying me now? Let me go!”
Shawn pulled of the knit hat, letting his roommate see again. “Yeah, that was just so it would be easier for us. And now, shut up. In a minute or two, you won't have a choice in there, anyway.”
Felix wanted to answer something, as he felt his feet being taped together. But as soon as he opened his mouth, a sock was forced inside.
“HMMPH!!”
More tape was torn of the roll, until his lower face was completely covered in the silver material. As Max dealt with this, Shawn added some more rounds to the upper legs of their prisoner.
Soon enough, it was done. Max and Shawn looked laughing at their roommate, who tried to kill them with his eyes.
“HMM MMM GMM!!”, he said, while trying to get out of the tape, without success.
“What? I can't hear you”, Max said, barely able to not keep laughing.
“I think he wants to thank us. Look at him, he obviously enjoys being tied up.”
Felix screamed into his gag. It was all he could do.
“Well, great then. I'm glad he has fun with his presents.” Shawn got closer, putting his arm over Felix' shoulder. “If you ever DO want to get out, just say so. I mean, it has to be loud and clear. We don't want to stop you having fun, by misunderstanding you, you know?”
At this point, the birthday boy had stopped struggling. They had won, for today. But there would be revenge.
All he could hope, for now, was that whatever his roommates had planned for him, wouldn't be too bad.