Nathan

I'm awestruck at the size of the frat house. It's teeming with people, promising of a great party.

"Meet at the entrance by 1 am and don't get lost wandering around. Keep your cellphones on!" Aaron says.

Ryan's cousin welcomes us. He's a tall, lanky guy with dreadlocks and several tattoos. Red solo cups are thrust into our hands as soon as we enter. There's a smoke machine somewhere because the air is already hazy.

"Who's ready to partayyy!" Bella shouts. The drunk crowd on the makeshift dance floor cheers. She and Max get lost in it.

I stick with Raven and Kaiden. We do a couple of shots in the huge ass kitchen and a comfortable buzz sets in.

"This is crazy! They're having a pool out back, come let's go!" Daniel says, appearing from the throng of people.

The party's even crazier outside.

Dan disappears into the crowd near the poolside bar and comes back with three fruity looking drinks, balancing them awkwardly.

"These are lethal! Have fun!" he laughs, downing the entire thing.

"Max said to not get too drunk!" Aaron says quickly. "You have a game tomorrow evening!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Dan grumbles and walks off.

Aaron continues ranting about something but I'm not paying attention. My eyes keep wandering to Kaiden. He looks exquisite in all black, with Doc Martens and a silver chain in his neck. The skinny distressed jeans make his legs look even longer.

"Penny for your thoughts? You're looking at me like you want to kill me," he laughs, handing me another of the punch things.

"Not kill you, definitely," I laugh.

Maybe... kiss you? Fuck, I'm going mad. I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts.

"You haven't been drinking. Scared of Max?" He taunts, running his tongue on his lip.

"I am drinking, just don't tell him!" I roll my eyes, trying to not fixate on his mouth.

"Fine, you goody two shoes!" He laughs and walks off with Raven, leaving me alone.

A couple more drinks later, I'm wasted and the world seems like a better place. A random girl pulls me to the dance floor.

Time to forget about everything!

*****

I keep missing the target. Miserably.

"Nathan we're playing darts! At least try to focus!" A girl called Penelope giggles, equally as drunk.

"It's darts to you, but I call it freestyle acupuncture!" I laugh.

I feel extremely good. I have lost track of how many drinks I had, Max is going to whoop my ass. The crowd is super chill and I can't remember how many girl's and guy's phone numbers I have in my pockets, sloppily written on tissue papers.

I'm gonna forget them anyway.

I haven't seen Kai in a while. I wonder where he is but I'm too drunk to look for him.

"You're sloshed, man come on, let's try a safer game!" Aaron says, pulling me away from the darts. I pout, making puppy eyes at him.

"You were going to take someone's eye out if you had kept at it!"

"I'm gonna go get a drink of water!"

"Yeah you should. Don't let Max see you, he will end you!"

The music is pounding in my chest, making me dizzy. I need air.

I stumble among the hoard of people and upstairs. I open a random door and it's a balcony. I inhale deeply, leaning against the railing. Feeling a bit better, I go back out to an adjacent room.

It's very quiet here, the music muffled. It lessens the dizziness a lot.

Those are some quality soundproof doors!

A group of guys inside are passing a joint between them.

"Hey, you wanna puff?" A deep voice asks. I glance at the guy offering me the joint. He has a sleeve tattoo.

"That must have been painful," I smile, sitting down beside him. I accept the joint, taking a drag. It burns my throat and lungs.

"What?"

"Your tattoo?"

"Ah no. It only feels like a hundred bees stinging!" he chuckles.

"I know! I only have one and I think I'm done for this lifetime!"

The other three laugh.

I take another puff and hand the joint to the tattoo guy. He is handsome. The stubble he keeps adds to the allure of his chiseled cheekbones.

"You're all from here?" I ask.

The puff puff pass turns into me knowing about these random strangers. The tattoo guy's name is Theo. The others are called Fred, Rick and Andrew. They're all in the second year of their courses and let's just say, they're trust fund kids.

Fred narrates some weird conspiracy theories and I am half tempted to believe him, he's so intense.

Theo lights another joint, asking me everything about myself. His gaze is making my hair stand on end. I know this look.

How the fuck did he know?!

"You wanna dance?" He asks me, handing the blunt from my hand to Fred.

I nod and he pulls me up with ease, his hand slipping on my waist.

"Later, lil guy!" Fred bumps his fist against mine.

I wave, walking behind Theo. I feel so cool! And extremely light! Like I could fly if I wanted to. The room is brighter.

We make our way to the dance floor, Theo guiding me. There's a face off going on, with a guy doing impressive moves. Theo cheers, gassing him up. The music changes and we join the crowd. A random chick I vaguely remember seeing before, joins us.

The strobe lights and the pounding bass makes the weed hit.

Everything seems to slow down.

The girl dances with me. Behind her, Theo is dancing to his own rhythm. I laugh. It sounds like a cracked record. The girl pulls me to her and kisses me. She tastes of Cherry vodka... it's not a very nice kiss, she should use lipbalm.

Why am I kissing her?

I look at Theo, to find he's already staring. He smirks. His gaze is wild, lustful. I smile into the kiss, sending him a wink. He gulps, making me focus only on him.

Theo pushes the girl away and grabs my face, before kissing me hard.

Holy shitbiscuits!

His tongue slides in with ease and the heady feeling intensifies. I moan into his mouth, when he sways into me. His arms are around my torso, pressing me flush against him.

Someone cheers.

He bites my bottom lip. I pull his hair, wanting no space between us. He chuckles deeply, pulling away.

"Don't stop Kaiden..."

"My name's Theo."

My eyes fly open and I push him away. He looks confused and a little hurt.

Did I just say Kaiden?!

The world is still spinning but it feels as though time has stopped. I am hyper aware of everyone around me and my eyes land on Bella, who's staring at me, mouth wide open.

I have a lot of explaining to do.

*******

Kaiden

I'm comfortably tipsy. As I'm supposed to drive, I cannot drink much but this is enough buzz where it will be leaving my body in a few hours.

A very familiar face makes me halt in surprise.

"Sam?! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Kai! So these were your plans for the evening?" He smirks. I grin.

"Well, yeah. How come you're here?"

"I had nothing better to do since my date rainchecked," He winks. I stick my tongue out, going red.

"And Seth invited me here, his band member attends the uni. Nice party, huh?"

"Yup, very nice!"

Sam looks exquisite as usual, like a model. He can make even a simple white tshirt and blue jeans look so elegant. A beautiful girl is clinging on his arm and she smiles at me. I smile back.

"Hi Seth!" I wave at him.

"How do you manage to show up everywhere I am, Kai?"

"I'm stalking you! Tell Anastasia that I intend to have my way with you!" I laugh but my eyes are on Sam, who bites his lip.

"Haha, very funny Kaiden!" Seth snorts.

"And who are you?" I ask the girl. She is very Gothic looking and fragile.

"Amelia. I am a freshman here," she sings, clearly wasted, all over Sam. She gets pulled away by a group of tipsy college girls and leaves, pouting slightly.

"Nice pick!" I tease Sam who simply rolls his eyes.

Max, Luke and Ryan walk to us. They talk to Seth and the other guys I don't know.

"They're having a pool outside, let's do a backflip for old times sake?" I grin.

"Old times?" He chuckles. "We can do a lot of other things for old times!"

I blush furiously. He's flirting with me?

Ryan grabs my hand, quietly pulling me to the side. I raise a questioning brow.

"Don't go making out with him again! Daniel's here. We don't want things to turn ugly!" he says, dark eyes firm.

"Daniel doesn't get to tell me who I can or cannot be with!" I frown.

Ryan throws his hands up and leaves, muttering something. I know he's just looking out for me.

I turn to Sam, who looks like he heard every word. He pulls me away from everyone into a deserted hallway.

"You told your friends about that night? I told you to fucking keep it a secret!" He snaps.

"It wasn't me. It was Sasha," I sigh. "I already told you about the photo. Well, she sent it to my friend who put it on our group chat. But they're good people, they won't tell anyone else."

"Are you sure? I don't trust them."

I roll my eyes.

"They're my friends, Sam. I promise your secret won't get out. I don't want trouble either."

My dad would end us if he found out but I say nothing. He looks at me for a minute and then, smiles, his cocky expression back in place.

"God Kai, stop being so fucking attractive!" he whispers, his head falling on my shoulder. "I have a reputation to maintain! And everytime you're near me, I want to slam you against a surface and have my way with you!" 

My ears warm. He runs his finger along my face and rests it on my lips, closing the distance between us. His eyes are almost black with lust. I moan when he kisses my neck, just below my ear. His tongue piercing leaves a cool feeling against my flushed skin.

"I want you. But this, us, cannot get out anywhere. I can't date so don't expect anything public. If I kiss you, this has to stay a secret."

His kisses go lower, slowly grazing his teeth on my collarbone.

Fuck.

"I like you, but I like someone else more."

He pulls away. I almost arch my neck, missing the touch.

Then, he smirks.

"Do they know?"

"What?" I whisper hoarsely, breath hitching when he runs his hands on my V-lines.

"Does the person you like, know that you like them? Do they know of your soft spots? Like this - " He bites my earlobe. "And this -"

His hands tease my nipple and I gasp. I am clay in his hands, moulding perfectly against his touch. He places a feather light kiss on my lips, tasting of the cigarette.

I gaze into his hungry eyes, contemplating. Something inside me is telling me not to. I don't know if I should give in. I like Nathan but Sam is just irresistible physically. But... I don't even know if Nathan likes me. He probably never will.

Sam will also help me discover my sexuality more. I've already done things with him so it wouldn't be awkward either. He's not asking for a relationship anyway.

Could I get physical with him if my heart is leaning towards Nathan?

Fuck, I'm confused.

"What? What are you thinking?"

"About this, us."

"Kaiden, Sam, are you in there?!" Ryan calls.

Sam groans and I chuckle. I push him away but he grabs my jaw and pecks my lips quickly. I kiss him back briefly.

All I can think about is if this is how it would feel kissing Nathan.

Ryan calls us again.

"Come on let's go see what he's yelling about," I smile against Sam's lips.

"Fucking buzzkill," He pouts, following me out of the hallway.

We find Ryan looking panicky.

"Ryan?! What's up? Are you okay?"

"We can't find Nathan. Bella said she saw him doing something and she wanted to talk to him but he bolted. We've looked everywhere and he's not here!"

"What?!" I yell. "He has a game tomorrow!"

I sprint out of the stuffy frat house and start my car, Sam following me inside.

"If he's not here, he left. Since he can't go home I'm hundred percent sure he is wandering around somewhere drunk as hell, that fucking idiot!" I groan. If he gets caught by campus security or by the police, he is done for.

"Uh, we're looking for a tall, well built, curly haired guy," I tell Sam. He nods.

We take a ride in campus. For fuck's sake, he could be anywhere! After two more rounds of looking in the campus, we head out. If he made it out, he's been gone for very long.

"Kaiden, calm down, we'll find him," Sam says squeezing my hand.

I am worried sick. I drive on the main roads, keeping my eyes peeled. To my utter relief, I see him, sitting on the curb outside a house. I hit the breaks and jump out.

"Nate! Nathan!"

He looks up. I run to him, hoping it is actually him and not a figment of my imagination. He blinks, probably thinking the same. Then he laughs.

"Kaiden? What are you doing here? I am dreaming, aren't I?"

"What?"

"I'm definitely hallucinating. You're not real, are you? God dammit, Theo must have given me lethal stuff. I'm never touching weed again! Go away, imaginary Kaiden!"

He shoos me away with his hands. The action is so comical, I almost laugh.

"Weed?! You did weed?!" I ask, incredulous.

"Go awayyy, before I do something stupid, like kiss you!"

He's wasted. Actually, he's beyond wasted. I'm exasperated but so extremely relieved to see him in one piece, that I slap him. He clutches his cheek, eyes wide.

"What the hell, Imaginary Kai? Go fuck your girlfriend!"

"What the absolute fuck Nathan?! Have you lost your mind? The others are worried sick about you and you're here, wandering around an unknown area, and you have the audacity to joke about my sex life?! Get in the fucking car, Nathaniel!"

"Make me." He challenges.

Then he giggles, putting his arms around my neck, forehead against mine. I suddenly become very aware of his big eyes, staring right into mine and oh my god, I want to kiss him so bad.

"Come on Nathan, the others are waiting."

I lead him to the car, him playing with my hair, leaning on my shoulder.

"I love your hair!" he sings. "And your shampoo. It's so soft and silky and you always smell so good!"

He can barely walk but whatever he's saying is making me blush like crazy.

"I'm literally talking to myself, aren't I? Because you're not real. Wait, everything's spinning. You look weird."

He bends over, hands on his knees.

"Nathan?!"

The next second, all of the contents of his stomach are emptied in the bush beside the car. I gag. I hate seeing people throw up. I rub his back gingerly, not looking at him. He heaves until he's dry retching.

"Better now?"

He looks at me and gives me a dazed nod, before collapsing in my arms.

Great.

"He did weed?" Sam chuckles, helping me put him in the backseat. Nathan looks dead to the world.

"Apparently," I laugh, feeling the adrenaline leave my body slowly.

We drive back to the party, to find our whole group waiting outside the gate, already in their cars. I stop near Ryan's car and roll my windows down.

"Are you guys sober enough to drive?" I ask.

Max nods. Luke, Alex and Bella are in his car. Ryan, Aaron, Daniel and Raven are in Ryan's car.

"Good, you can go ahead wait in my driveway. I'll be with you in five minutes," I tell them.

They drive off.

Sam leaves my car and I follow him. He pushes me against the bonnet, pinning me between his toned arms.

"Well, we got interrupted. Next time, let's catch up where we left off," He grins, brushing his nose against mine.

"About that, I don't want to be your slam piece."

"Ouch, slam piece sounds so vulgar and degrading!" He chuckles. " That's not what I want. I wanna make out and do sexy stuff with you because I like you."

"Why do you like me?" I laugh when he kisses my cheek.

"I don't know. What kind of a question is that? You're hot and available and I'm into guys. Lucky me, you're into guys too! So yeah."

"So it's just physical."

"Is that a problem? Eventually you might even get over this other person, who you like more than me!" He winks.

"You wish," I laugh, pushing him away.

"See you around Kai. Next time we should actually do something worthwhile!"

I shake my head, laughing. He kisses me quickly before going back inside, leaving me a blushing mess.