He was always a quiet person. Ronald Speirs had a reputation at Toccoa Academy Boarding, so when he was moved down from Fox floor, to the fifth, all the Easy boys gave him a wide birth. He silently moved into Lipton's room, replacing one of their previous prefects, Norman Dike, who cracked under the pressure of a history midterm. He settled in nicely, getting along with the other prefects, Nixon, Winters, and Welsh (and by extension, Kitty Grogan from the girls' school across the way), and it didn't take long for him to know everyone else's names. However, names weren't enough for him.
It took everyone by surprise when he casually invited the entire floor to his parent's house for the long weekend. It was a huge house and easily fit them all. They were all glad to get away from their dorms and enjoy some time off campus, away from adults, since Mr. and Mrs. Speirs were away. So, they all piled into a few of the seniors' vans and headed to the Speirs house. When they got there, they all sat in the living room and started to play truth or dare.
He never really liked truth or dare. Nothing really substantial came from it. He wanted to actually know the guys he'd be living with, not how many times Dick had seen another guy's dick. He didn't care much for the silly dares either; he was Captain Badass after all.
Silent as ever, he snuck off. Then, he could hear shouting and a rather high pitched yelp that didn't come from Kitty, who had offered to drive up in exchange for a weekend with her boyfriend. Everyone was now sitting in the dark. The lights had cut out and the sun was starting to set.
The boys had split up into pairs to search Ron's large house for the candles, flashlights, and batteries. Well, Dick, Eugene, Carwood, and Ron went looking while the other guys goofed.
Ron and Lip were roaming the Speirs' house keeping an eye on everyone. Every once in a while, Lip would open some drawers, in hopes of finding some candles, but he had no luck. Ron was much more interested in what the other guys were doing.
Lew went with Dick, naturally, and clung to him like a burr. He reminded Ron of the little dog that Nix always talked about. When Nix left for boarding school, it ran away, so Nix replaced it with Winters. Dick was very level headed, keeping his eye on the objective.
"Why don't you know where things are in your own house, Ron?" Winters asked. In truth, Ron did know where things were, he just didn't say anything.
Eugene had paired up with Babe and went looking for a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and other things that could be useful in an emergency, aside from the coveted light sources. Babe trailed behind him talking about his home to fill the silence.
It was getting darker and harder to see.
"Are you going to help or what?" Speirs had snuck up behind George and Frank in his bedroom, laughing at his baby albums.
"Shit! Don't sneak up on a guy!" screamed Frank. Little Perco didn't do so well in the dark.
"You guys have some jumpy kids on your floor," Speirs scoffed, "Well, don't go touching things that shouldn't be touched. That includes bottoms, Luz." There was a chuckle from one of the other rooms.
"Y'know, if we had our phones, we'd be able to see better." Webster and Joe Liebgott were in Ron's dad's office, looking at books, or trying to, considering how little light they had.
Then, there was a crashing sound coming from downstairs. Speirs and Lip ran to the first floor, past Kitty and Welsh cuddling on the couch, around Joe Toye and Wild Bill, who were also very well occupied with each other (who'd have thought they'd go for tongues over tricks, considering this prime opportunity), and into the kitchen where he found three boys surrounded by pots and pans. Malarkey and Penkala had taken it upon themselves to cook something, in the dark, for the other guys, while Skip stood watching them with a spoon in hand.
"We were gonna make something nice for you on your fancy stove, but we couldn't find the right pot in the dark," Don explained. Harry entered the kitchen, Kitty on his arm, rubbing his tummy.
"Why don't we just make s'mores? I saw a fire pit in your backyard, Ron."
With that simple suggestion, they all convened in the backyard. They had found that Buck, Shifty, Skinny, Tab, and Chuck were all out there already; Buck was kicking around a ball with Skinny and Tab, while Chuck and shifty talked and watched. As they sat around the fire, roasting some marshmallows and hot dogs, they told stories about their homes, eventually turning into ghost stories. Eugene told some old Cajun tales, while Bill and Joe got Perco to jump three feet in the air (That's why they call us screaming eagles, Frank!). Luz did some impressions and Nix and Winters dished out advice, Nix even giving insight on their upcoming finals. Shifty sang a few songs, Chuck playing along with the guitar of Ron's mom. The fire slowly died down and so did the boys. Eventually, all of them were lying on top of each other, snuggling away on the thick grass.
Speirs looked at the boys and grinned. Now, he knew more about them without having to ask. All he needed to do was put 'em in the dark to shed a little more light. He walked inside and flipped the breaker. The house lit up.