Obligatory mention: This didn't happen today. It happened sometime back in the late 90s, 97 most likely.
I haven't thought about this in years and I don't know why I thought of it now, but it almost put me on the floor laughing so I thought I'd share.
My younger brother (3 years) and I lived in different places, about 5 hours apart and he made his way to visit. I don't think he was in his 20s yet. The day before he left we got together with some work buddies of mine and commenced to drinking and celebrating brotherhood and fellowship. We had a great night. He and one of my buddies in particular seemed to really hit it off, like they had been friends for years. After he left, said buddy was reminiscing about how cool he thought he was, and seemingly grateful to have had the opportunity to have met and gotten to know him.
Before I continue I should fill in some atmosphere. This is happening in the southern U.S., fairly deep in the Bible Belt.
From out of nowhere a flicker of mischief sparked in my mind and without even thinking about it I told my buddy that my brother thought he was cute.
My brother had not said that. To this day I still don't know why I did it, but I still don't really regret it. :D
My buddy wasn't a bad guy. He was what one might call "country innocent", meaning he didn't have hate in his heart, but he had never bothered to think outside his small town to the larger world outside. There was a tremor in his eyes so intense it rippled across his face and he shut down with a murmur of "Naw, man".
His eyes looked straight ahead, locking onto nothing as the color faded from his cheeks. You could literally see him remembering each and every "bro moment" from the previous night and realizing it in a whole new light. I'm certain that for a brief moment his spirit left his body. I immediately burst out laughing and told him I was just joking, but it was just too late. He drifted farther and farther until he just wondered off in silence. I had shattered his perception of everything.
When I told my brother he didn't find it as funny as I did. He leaned more toward the mad as hell end of the spectrum. But his buddy thought it was hilarious, too, so I think the score is still in my favor.