Guy's Night
"What the hell is that?"
It was 8:00 on a Friday night and Adam had invited his new friend, Eli, over to the Torres residence for an event he had entitled "Guy's Night". The two had become quick friends after bonding over a Dead Hand concert and their mutual hatred towards a certain Mark Fitzgerald.
The item Eli spoke of was a large contraption constructed of what appeared to be straws and various sized rubbers balls, sitting in the center of the coffee table in the Torres basement.
"It's a model of an atom."Adam said, somewhat defensively.
"And you just build these in your spare time for kicks and giggles?"
"Nah, it's for the science team. There's a competition next week and some guys from the team are stopping by tonight to pick it up so they can put on the finishing touches."
Eli smirked, "You listen to Dead Hand, you read Goon comics, and you build model atoms in your spare time. You're a complicated man, Grasshopper"
Adam panicked inside, fearing that the one guy friend he had acquired at Degrassi, and to be honest in his life, had realized how lame he was. "Well, I only joined the science team because my mom wanted me to." He said quickly. "She's really into me and Drew being good in school and stuff and she was all worried that I wouldn't make friends being new and all that, so she wanted me to join clubs and-"
Eli's eyes widened in surprise at Adam's verbal rampage, "Dude, chill." He said. "Look, Adam. I'm just messing with you, you know, like guys do."
Adam felt like smacking himself in the face. Thank god Eli didn't know his secret. Why did he have to be so over-sensitive?
"If you're into science," Eli continued. "That's cool. And even if I didn't think it was cool, so what? Don't care so much what other people think."
Eli smiled wistfully to himself.
"What?" Adam asked.
Eli shook his head, coming out of his thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. That just reminded me of another friend of mine who's too concerned with what people think."
Adam looked at his friend curiously, waiting for him to elaborate.
But Eli suddenly clapped his hands together loudly. "Anyway!" he said, studying the Torres' basement, it was set up to be a sort of lounge are with plush blue carpeting, a pool table, overstuffed blue couches (one three seater with a loveseat on each side), and a large flat screen TV . It was one large room, located underground and with no windows, the sole, dim lighting coming from one overhead light bulb. "What have you got planned for tonight's festivities?"
"Oh!" Adam said instantly forgetting the proceeding conversation and getting hyped. He wouldn't admit it to even himself but he was thrilled to be, for first time, engaging in downtime with another guy who was not his step-brother, an act he had been deprived of all his life. In the back of his mind he kept on repeating the phrase, 'Just two guys, chilling out.' It had a nice ring to it.
"Well there's lots of stuff we could do." He told Eli. "I could get out my comic book collection. You said you're a Shadowland fan right? I have some of the issues. Or if you're up for some gaming, I've got the Wii and the Xbox 360 or if you're not up for video games we could always watch movies or-"
Eli watched the younger boy ramble on. For a small guy he could really talk. It was charming in its own way.
Adam was cut off by the sound of the door to the basement opening then slamming shut, followed by the footsteps of two people coming down the staircase, one walking in a normal, even-paced manner, the other stomping in an erratic pattern.
"Hey! Look man!" A voice said in an obnoxiously loud tone.
Eli and Adam looked up to see two other teenage boys standing at the bottom of the steps that led to the basement. The taller one had sandy brown hair and was quite tall. Neither Adam nor Eli knew him, but both had seen him around the halls of Degrassi and recognized him as a football player. The other boy was Drew Torres, Adam's stepbrother. K.C. stood straight, though he looked slightly anxious and peeved at the same time. Drew on the other hand, swayed softly back and forth on his feet with a large goofy, grin on his face. In his left hand, K.C. held a plastic bag, with what Eli could make out as a case of beer inside.
"What's up with him?" Adam asked, slightly irritated at his step-brother's tipsy state.
K.C. shrugged sheepishly. "We may have done some pre-gaming with the guys from the football team."
Eli smirked. He had never been the type who could keep a quip to himself. "The team that drinks together, loses together, eh?"
K.C. scowled but decided to ignore him. "Anyway, we have to keep your parents from seeing him like this. You know how your mom is."
"Yeah, she'd freak."
"So can we just hang down here with you guys for the night?"
Adam shrugged. Initially, he felt a bit disappointed that the night he had planned had been intruded on so unexpectedly, but he reasoned that there was no harm in having more guys at Guys Night. It just seemed that K.C. and Drew hung out in a much different circle. They were jocks, constantly surrounded by cheerleaders and other fans. He and Eli, on the other hand, well, neither of them really had a circle. They were both loners. Him, because he had only just eased into being Adam freely a short period ago and to try and ease his way into any sort of clique seemed frightening. Complications might arise; they might get suspicious of him or realize something was off. Better to become comfortable with himself before attempting to establish any major social life, he decided. And Eli was…Eli. Adam didn't know his reasons for keeping to himself, but perhaps they could keep to themselves together. In the meantime, there was nothing wrong with establishing friendly relations with his stepbrother's new friend.
"Sure," he said to K.C. "Feel free to stick around."
"Sweet," K.C. said in relief.
He walked over to the couch directly in front of the TV and threw himself into the middle of it, settling the plastic bag containing the beer, on the floor, next to his feet.
Between the TV and the couch sat the coffee table where Adam's model stood.
K.C.'s eyes drifted to it. "Nice atom," he remarked. "Lithium?"
Adam smiled hesitantly, surprised that the jock had identified it so quickly, "Yeah."
K.C. nodded.
Drew stumbled over to the couch and practically tripped into a sitting position, just narrowly landing on the seat.
K.C. laughed loudly, "Nice job, dumbass."
Adam and Eli laughed as well and Adam thought maybe the addition of Drew and K.C. would not be so bad. Besides they were all guys, what major differences could they have that would result in any unpleasantness?
K.C. grabbed the remote and switched the T.V. on. Eli and Adam settled themselves on the couches, one on each loveseat, and watched as K.C. flipped through the channels. It occurred to Adam that perhaps all his planning had been unnecessary: it seemed that they had all just settled into their current state, all of them content to just relax there.
"Question?" Eli said after a short period of silence. "Why did you get that," he gestured towards the bag by K.C.'s feet, "if Bright Eyes here," he gestured towards Drew, who sat silently but groggily "Was already so intoxicated?"
"Better yet," Adam said sitting up a little, intrigued. "How did you even get it in the first place? You're both underage?"
"We got this before Drew got smashed." K.C. explained. "And we got a guy on the football team to buy it for us. He has a fake I.D. Kind of a shady, dude, but why would we complain? We give him the money, he gives us the booze. Good deal."
"Well," Eli started. "I'm assuming you don't need it for its original purposes, therefore, you wouldn't mind parting with a bit of it."
K.C. grinned. "Dude, are you trying to ask me if you can have a beer?"
"Yes. Yes, I am."
"Go for it." K.C. ripped the thin cardboard box open took out a beer and tossed it to Eli who caught it easily.
There was fizzy popping sound when Eli pulled the tab of the can back before lifting it to his lips and taking a long sip. "Thanks man," he said. "It's been a while since I got my hands a nice, cold one."
Adam shifted uncomfortably. It had been never since he had a nice, cold one. He felt slightly inexperienced.
"Might as well have one myself." K.C. decided pulling another can out. "You want one?" he moved to open it but paused when he noticed Adam sitting empty handed.
"You want one?" he asked, lifting the can slightly in the smaller boy's direction
Before Adam could answer the previously silent Drew interjected. "K.C.!" he exclaimed looking scandalized, as if he were a teenage girl, and K.C. had just attempted to cop a feel. "That-" he said loudly, his voice slightly shaky. "Is my baby sister-"
Adam blanched.
"I mean brother!" Drew corrected quickly.
Eli and K.C both scoffed.
"Dude, you are so wasted." K.C. said.
Adam felt his heartbeat slow down, having quickened when he thought Drew's drunken state would cost him his secret.
"Shut up!" Drew cried emotionally to K.C. who, along with, Eli was attempting not to laugh at the tipsy quarterback.
"That," he said jabbing his finger in Adam's direction once more and looking like a man taking a stand in the name of righteousness, "Is my baby brother! And I will not let you lead him down a path of drinking and debakery!"
"You mean debauchery?" Eli questioned, looking smug.
Adam had to laugh at that. He knew Drew's confusion with words had nothing to do with him being drunk.
"Shut up!" Drew cried once more. He opened his mouth to continue chastising K.C., but his tirade was cut short by the door to the basement opening once more.
"Shit!" Adam whispered loudly, thinking it was his mother. She would NOT be pleased with Drew's drunken state, not to mention the other two boys holding beer cans.
"Quick!" he whispered to K.C. and Eli. "Hide those cans! Drew, for the love of all that is holy, try to act sober!" The last thing anyone wanted was raging Mrs. Torres. Ever.
Eli quickly hid his can behind one of the sofa cushions while K.C. looked around quickly before shoving the can under his shirt, making it appear as if he had a large growth growing from his stomach.
The door shut and, to the boys' surprise, the voice they heard was not that of a potentially lethal middle-aged woman, but of another teenage boy.
"Yo, she said to come down here right?" the voice asked someone.
"I believe she did," replied the owner of the voice's nasally companion.
The three petrified boys and a calm Drew looked up to see three more boys staring at them; one, a lanky, black boy with a shaven head; the other a white, glasses-wearing boy with a curly Jew-fro going on; and the last, a tall black boy with glasses.
"Oh!" Adam explained. "Hey guys." He said standing up. "You're here to pick up the model, right?"
They nodded and Adam led them to the coffee table.
"Your mom said to tell you that she and your dad are going out, and they'll be back around midnight." Dave told Adam who nodded.
"Yo, Conner, Dave," K.C. said with a nod. "I haven't seen you two in a while."
"Yeah, well, you must be real busy being a star running back, right?" Dave said in a friendly manner, though there was an undertone of envy in his voice. What he wouldn't give to have the respect and reputation K.C. had.
K.C. nodded awkwardly, feeling bad about ditching his friends since football season had started. But what could he do? Not only was Drew in a lot of his classes, but at football practice too. It was only natural that the two had formed a bond. They had so much in common. All he had left in common with Dave and Conner was the past. He couldn't talk to them about football plays or chasing cheerleaders. It was as if they inhabited different worlds.
Conner studied Adam's model. "Nice work." He said. "It looks great. We're sure to blow the other schools out of the water with this."
Wesley nervously moved towards the table in an attempt to lift the model. "Now, we'll just take this back to the lab and-"
"Wait!" Drew exclaimed, startling the poor boy, and almost making him trip onto model. "Don't go. You can't just leave my baby brother's Guy's Night! He's been planning it forever! Don't be rude!"
Adam sighed inwardly. Great, now he looked like an overzealous loser.
The three newcomers stood in front of the model, looking awkward and not knowing how to reply to the unusually loud boy's invitation.
Drew's eyes danced across the room and seemed to land on something that pleased him. "Hey!"Drew said. He dove for the case of beer at K.C.'s feet and pulled one out. "Have a beer!" he said holding it out to the three Science Team members.
"Well…" Dave said, looking around at his two friends in an expression that clearly said, 'What the hell?', "I guess we could stay for one beer." He took the beer and walked to sit down on the other side of K.C.
"Great," Drew said, the large grin still on his face. He pulled two more beers out and handed them to Conner and Wesley. "Here, here." He said. The two boys took the beers uneasily and went to sit down in the two empty seats, Conner next to Adam and Wesley next to Eli.
The sound of a football game on T.V. played in the background and the boys all stared at the screen absentmindedly.
"Those cheerleaders are quite enjoyable to watch." Wesley remarked when the halftime show began.
"Right on, little afro-dude!" Drew said. At some point he had grabbed a beer for himself and happily began draining the can of its contents.
"Yeah, you don't see girls like that walking around everywhere you go." K.C. remarked.
Adam nodded in agreement. He took a second to look around and noticed that the display on the television had each boy's attention, even his Goth friend. Despite his attempt to seem so beyond it all, Adam knew Eli was only a man.
"Okay," Dave said, a wily smile playing on his face when the routine came to a close. He took a sip from his can, feeling more at ease. "Hottest girls in school, go."
"I don't know man, they're so many, and then they expect us to choose just one." Drew said. "Come one, now. That's not fair. We should all just be able to live in a nice polygamous place, you know. Hook up with any hot girl any time without people getting all angry and stuff."
"What a lovely sentiment." Eli said sarcastically.
Adam laughed realizing he'd missed his friend's sarcasm, for his darkly clothed friend had not spoken since he had gotten his beer from K.C. What was his reason from shying away from people?
"I've got to say, I think I've got the best girl in the school." K.C. said with a self-satisfied smile.
"She's kinda chunky!" Drew exclaimed, the alcohol having taken away any sort of reservations he would possess while sober. "Chunky wunky!" He chanted happily.
"Well, yeah," K.C. said defensively. "Who wants to date a stick? Then you'd always be afraid of breaking her or something."
"Bianca's really hot." Adam said loudly, in order to defuse any possible drunken drama between his stepbrother and the angry looking running back. He had to admit, being sober and watching the actions of a group of drunken teenage boys was rather amusing. K.C. grabbed another beer and tossed one to Eli after the other boy gestured to the box. "She's like…really pretty and stuff. I'd like, totally hit that or something."
"Dude, 'hit that'?" Dave said questioningly.
Adam shrugged self-consciously. "What?"
"She looks like she'd stab you in your sleep and run off with everything you own." Eli said, suddenly more talkative.
"It'd be worth it." Dave said.
"But wouldn't it be more logical to find a hot girl who won't maim and rob you?" Conner asked.
"Webster's got a point!" Drew said, as if someone had been arguing adamantly against Conner's query.
"Dude, it's called your inside voice." Eli commented.
"And my name's Conner." Conner said, irritated.
"What about you, Wes? What girl tickles your fancy?" asked Dave
Wesley fidgeted, not liking being put on the spot.
"I don't know." He said. "I think Clare Edwards is pretty nice."
Eli's head snapped up, but then he attempted to look disinterested. His action went unnoticed by everyone but Adam, who had looked at Eli instantly, having seen him hang around the curly haired sophomore countless times. He had never actually talked to Clare himself, but he had a feeling Eli had a bit of a crush on her. Adam had first become suspicious that the other boy had feelings for the redhead after noticing the way Eli waited by her locker every morning and afternoon, the way a puppy waits by the door for its owner to return home with large eyes, looking starved for love. But maybe they were just friends…
"Wes, my man, we're not talking about nice, we're talking about hot." Dave interjected.
"Doesn't personality factor into hotness?" Wesley questioned.
"Who is this guy?" Drew asked jabbing his thumb in Wesley's direction in a questioning gesture.
"Anyway, with Clare's new hair and the whole laser eye surgery thing, I'd say she might have traveled the gap from 'kind-of-cute' to 'hot'." Dave said, a contemplative look on his face.
"She," Drew slurred out loudly, lifting his right arm up jerkily, a bit of the contents of the beer in his hand sloshing out and falling onto the carpet, "Has magnificent breasts."
"Hey!" Eli exclaimed angrily, causing all of the occupants of the room to look t him in surprise. "Um, pass me another beer," he said. K.C. did so, along with passing one to Drew and Dave who also gestured for another.
"I must agree." Conner said. "She's in my Calculus class and it's seriously distracting. Those definitely weren't there last year. I'd say she had a very developmental summer."
Out of the corner of his eye, Adam saw Eli shift uncomfortably.
"Yeah well, the problem with Saint Clare is you can look, but you can't touch." K.C. laughed. "Unless you're willing to wait until marriage, and I don't think her boobs are magnificent enough for that."
"Did it ever occur to you that there's more to girls than their body parts?" Eli asked, venom dripping from his voice.
K.C. looked up at the other boy shocked, surprised by the sudden hostility. "Hey, man, don't give me that. I went out with Clare last year-"
Eli's eyes raised in surprised but he quickly adjusted his expression to one of boredom.
"Because I genuinely liked her." K.C. continued. "Because she was "good", or whatever, but what's wrong with dating a girl who's good and less uptight and will give me some action? I'm a guy. I have needs."
"Here, here!" Drew exclaimed raising his can of beer in a "cheers" motion.
"Well, excuse me for being a revolutionary, but I think it's refreshing to meet a girl with some sort of standards." Eli said.
"Wesley, you ought to drop this whole thing you have for Clare, anyhow." Dave declared. "She gave you one hickey, and she regretted it with every fiber in her being, no offense."
"She gave you a hickey?" Drew asked. "That's kind of kinky for a Christian girl!"
Eli's grip around his can tightened, creating tiny indents in the metal.
"You know what's kinky?" K.C. said grinning, feeling rather at ease and over Drew's assault on his girlfriend's weight and Eli's unexpected attack on his values (what was it pick on K.C. night?) "A Christian girl brining a vibrator to school."
"What?" Eli, Adam, and Drew simultaneously exclaimed, of course with Drew exclaiming with a much higher volume than the other two.
Dave and Conner and Wesley only smiled, already knowing the story.
"Yeah, in the middle of math class last year." K.C. continued. "We're sitting there, and all of a sudden we hear a buzzing sound. And Coach Armstrong is like, 'Clare, no cell phones allowed.' And Clare is like, 'I don't have a cell phone.' And Armstrong has this 'yeah right' look on his face and goes to grab it out of her bag but it's not a cell phone…it's a vibrator!"
Conner, Wesley and Dave broke out into laughter at the familiar story and were soon followed by Adam and Drew.
"That doesn't sound like Clare." Eli said in disbelief.
"No, it's true." Conner said. "I was there."
"Apparently it was a whole misunderstanding or something." K.C. clarified coming down from his laughter. "But she looked so flustered. It was kind of cute." He said, a far of memory in his eyes. "She was always kind of cute."
"Yeah, but you're not dating her anymore, now, are you?" Eli snapped.
"Dude! What the fuck is it with you and Clare?" K.C. questioned, fed-up with the other boy's inexplicable hostility. However, in his drunken haze, he'd still been able to realize that Eli only got snippy whenever Clare was mentioned. "Do you like her or something?"
"What?" Eli asked nervously. He realized that the atmosphere had become quite hushed and all eyes had turned to him. He began to feel nervous.
"No, I hardly know her-"
"Good," K.C. said realizing he'd backed the other boy into a corner. "Because it'd never happen anyway."
Eli furrowed his eyebrows. "And why not?"
K.C. smiled. "Don't take it the wrong way, man." He said smiling, looking every bit the part of the laid back friend telling another guy a harsh reality of life. "No offense to you, or anything. She's a good little Christian girl, and you're a hearse-driving dude who wears all black. It's practically against her religion to date someone like you. But you don't like her so it's not a problem, is it?"
"No." Eli said. He suddenly looked more reclusive than Adam had ever seen him, as if the effects of the alcohol had he had consumed had just melted away, and , for some reason, Adam felt like Eli had more than his seemingly doomed infatuation with Clare on his mind. "It's not."
The air had suddenly become very heavy for everyone in the basement. No one said anything. It occurred to Adam that perhaps he had not been the only one who had noticed Eli's constant presence around the blue-eyed sophomore.
"Look." Dave said suddenly, trying to look amused, though the smile did not quite reach his eyes. "Drew's passed out."
They all looked towards the quarterback and discovered that those hours he'd spent shouting everything he said and guzzling beer had finally done him in for the night.
"That's probably our cue to leave." Wesley said.
Dave and Conner nodded and the three of them went to grab the atom model.
"Thanks for the model, Adam." Conner said. "And the beer and stuff."
"Yeah," Dave said. "It was good times."
And the three tenors were off.
"I should go too." K.C. said quickly. "Tell Drew I'll see him around."
Adam nodded and the tall sophomore dashed up the stairs.
Adam looked at his slumbering brother then at Eli.
"I supposed it's safe to say guy's night is over." Adam said with a crooked, unsure smile.
Eli nodded without smiling.
"Yeah," he said.