A/N: So this story. It's a Dead of Summer fanfic, as I stated. If you plan on watching the show, don't fucking read this, because while some things are definitely imaginary and some characters are OOC (drunk Alex is so funny to me I can't even), this is still a fanfic. And it's based on the show's dynamics and everything that's going on there. Even if I did change some stuff.
On another note, this is the first of two parts. Or maybe three. Definitely not more than three, but it really depends on how much I'll want to write into this AU. It's very difficult for me as it is right now (seeing as I must go to sleep some things about Drew are still unclear to me, and will stay this way until tomorrow) and I may end up writing two chapters instead of one because ideas. So, we'll see.
This story contains profanity and adult themes. It does not contain explicit sex, of course, but there are themes. Just as a heads-up.
"No."
"Drew, baby, you have to."
"I said no. Jessie, can you just leave it?"
"Blair's in."
"And I'm not."
"Drew. It's prom. You can't not go."
"Want to see me not going?"
"Well, Blair will be very disappointed if you won't come." She turned and left. Well, she was right. Blair will be disappointed if Drew didn't go. But he also knew that Drew detested those kinds of events. But… He just didn't know what to do.
He heard Jessie talk to Blair and Cricket outside. It was the usual thing – "He says he won't go."
"Did you break our plan to him?"
"No. He's just not into it!"
"He'll be fine. I'll just go with Cricket."
"Blair, go talk to him. Try to convince him to come."
Drew kept listening to his music when Blair came in. He sat on the couch, next to his legs, and rubbed his thigh. Drew gave him a look and Blair took off his headphones.
"I already told you I'm not going."
"We'll have fun," Blair insisted. "My parents will be gone, we have that strap-on Jessie got you as a gag return gift…"
"So this is about the sex thing? I can always fuck you. Just ask."
"This is not about the sex thing!" Blair found a way to force Drew to cuddle him, laying on his side and halfway on top of his boyfriend. "We don't get to have another prom. I want us to have fun and be with our friends. Prom isn't all about a secret competition between who's the most popular. And if you want to I'll spend that night with you doing nothing, you know that, but I just really want to be there."
"Do you really think it will be a good idea?"
"Well, as someone on the planning committee, I'm not supposed to tell you this but we're having a seventies-eighties-nineties theme. You can go with your flannels and baggy jeans and no one will judge you." Blair smiled and Drew turned his head to the other side. "I'm going as Ziggy Stardust, if that helps." Drew looked back at Blair and kissed him. "Is that a yes?"
"Just don't make me go on stage and sing."
"Yes!" Blair kissed him. "You'll have fun, I promise you."
"Yeah, yeah. You're crushing me."
"Have I told you you're a huge romantic in disguise yet?" Blair rolled off the couch and went to the girls, squealing in joy that Drew said yes. Drew snorted, smiled to himself and put on his headphones. Blair's joy was worth the suffering of going to prom.
Outside the room, Jessie took her phone and went to send Alex a text that read-
'He's in. Operation king Drew is on.'
"So, Amy." Alex raised his brows at his girlfriend. "Are you going to prom?"
"I already told you I can't." She turned to scribble on a cup. "So a grande espresso macchiato for you, what do the others want?"
"Two venti white chocolate frappuccinos with each two pumps of each toffee nut and hazelnut syrups for Jessie and Blair, a venti vanilla iced coffee with coconut milk for Cricket and I don't think Joel or Drew want anything. Blair, does Drew usually want anything?"
"He doesn't like Starbucks coffee."
"So nothing else." She scribbled on three more cups. "Amy, please. It's important that you do come to prom."
"That will be sixteen and thirty cents. Alex, we'll talk about this after I finish my shift."
He paid and drove to the pick-up window. Cricket connected her phone to the audio cable and started playing some music. He didn't tell her not to. She could do whatever she wanted to.
"I asked for a butter croissant too, Alex," she insisted.
"I told him specifically not to get anyone anything to eat," Jessie said calmly. "Only drinks."
"Why?"
"Because I have planned everything for today. Now we're going to my home to decorate and bake a cake before Amy finishes her shift, which is when Joel will pick Drew up from the shelter and-"
"Oh shit." Blair jumped and started hitting Alex. "We have to stop by my house!"
"What's going on, guys? Can anyone tell me?" Cricket turned around and glared at Jessie and Blair.
"It's March sixteenth," Blair explained. "It's Drew's birthday. And I totally forgot!"
"Wait, it's his birthday?" Cricket turned back and stared into open space, clearly shocked. "So he's the oldest of all of us."
"Except for Joel," Jessie reminded. "And Townie. And did you seriously not remember he's the second-oldest, Cricket? You only know him since you were born."
"Those are for you, ladies," Alex said as he passed Jessie and Blair's drinks to them. "Jess, Townie doesn't count. He's your boyfriend, we get it."
"Ex-boyfriend, if you will."
"Drink of the gods," Cricket sighed in the front seat, to everyone's amusement. "What?"
"We're talking about Garrett Skyes and you're all in your coffee, Cricket," Blair said, rolling his eyes. "Typical."
"Don't tell me coffee is any less than heavenly."
"Oh, it is. My boyfriend, however, hates coffee that wasn't made for himself by himself." He sipped on his drink. "Good lord, that's amazing."
"He's an idiot, that's probably why."
"Okay, guys, what cake are we making for him?" Jessie asked, breaking the weird conversation.
Drew had to take his headphones off since Amy threatened to blindfold him. She didn't do that, and he felt very cheated since he didn't want to take them off. But he was forced to go with Amy and Joel to Jessie's home, and at least that fact had him sighing in relief – Jessie won't do anything to him. He was sure of it.
At least until he opened the door and was greeted with birthday extravaganza, everyone jumping and screaming "happy birthday" and Jessie throwing herself at him.
"But why did you do this?" He growled at Jessie. She leaned in and whispered in his ear-
"Because we know you, we've known each other since we were babies, and even if now you're feeling very angry at this I know that deep inside, you're grateful and happy and a bit shocked that someone remembered your birthday since you love forgetting it. And five people are better than one."
"Dude, you should have told us you'll be eighteen in March," Alex drawled in a slight Russian accent, which Cricket took to apologize for and explain that he had some beers already. "Who's next?"
"Dude, you totally knew today's my birthday." Drew rolled his eyes. Of course drunk Alex won't remember anything.
"That would be me," Jessie said and pointed at herself with her thumb. "Now come on. We've got cake and stuff to celebrate with." She dragged him to the living room, where he took his usual place on the chair, letting everyone go on with their business and trying to forget them all and listen to music if not for Blair, who jumped in his lap.
"It's your birthday, Drew," he said with a smile. "Pay the rest of us a little attention. You have three hundred and sixty-four other days in the year to ignore us."
"I hate my birthday."
"I know you do, but now we're going to change that." Blair stood up and for a second, Drew thought he went to sit with Cricket. But then he returned with two open cans of beer, handed one to Drew and remained standing. "Here's to Drew's birthday!"
Everyone else also lifted their drinks, so Drew half-assed his lift and started drinking his beer. Things were going on with their business until Alex stood up.
"No, Alex," Cricket said desperately. "Not now."
"Shush, Cricket Diaz." Alex raised his beer. "I think we should all raise a can to Drew. Who's with me?"
"Can I start?" Jessie asked with a smile. Alex sat down and let her. "Okay, so. I have most definitely not been planning this since forever and ever." Cricket and Blair snickered. "Today we raise a can to our dearest Kurt Cobain clone, the one, the only, guitarist and singer extraordinaire, Drew Reeves." Jessie saw Drew turn his head to hide a smile. "Remember back in the day when you liked saying 'when I was your age' and describe whatever you were doing two weeks earlier to me? Well, now you have permission to do this. But only now. For the next two weeks and a day. When my birthday comes you don't get to do this anymore. You know you're my soul-brother, through fire and brimstone. And you'll always be my older brother, dude. Always. And I raise a can in hopes that this will stay on for years to come, and that even when we're old and can't really do anything anymore, you'll still be the coolest person I know."
"Here, here!" Alex called and hiccupped.
"Oh, and Amy," Jessie said in an attacking tone. "Raising a can is our version of raising a glass. It's tradition."
"Stillwater tradition, established 2002," Cricket said and fist-bumped Jessie.
"You know it. Who's next? And I'm pretty sure I bombed this because the poor guy is smiling. You see this? He's smiling. No one can beat that."
"Braces one, the world zero, and then comes Alex." Everyone but Amy rolled their eyes when Alex said that. "Now's my turn." Drew covered his face with hair. Blair moved it behind his ear. "Ya predlagayu vypit' za-"
"Alex, we don't know Russian!" Cricket laughed.
"Prosti. Izvinite. Ugh, excuse me." Everyone laughed, including Alex. "I propose we raise a can to Drew. This is a real Russian saying, everyone, don't laugh at me. Again, I propose we raise a can to Drew. I know I can't really talk for everyone in this matter but you really have changed, dude. You were a talkative piece of shit when we were younger and now you're a silent piece of shit and both types of Drew are acceptable to me. You were the one who talked me into so many things that I don't even remember, and I don't know what else to say, so let me read you a poem."
"Ooh, the birthday poem," Joel sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can you not read it this time?"
"Yeah," Jessie said. "I don't want you to beat me in birthday blessings."
"Nyet! Now let me read it." Alex cleared his throat and started.
"Roses are blue,
violets are red,
wait, I fucked that up,
let me start again instead.
Roses are red,
violets are blue,
but violets are purple,
not fucking blue.
One more time… ooh.
Roses are red,
violets are purple,
have a happy birthday, dude,
with joy and murple.
Love, Alexei-Alex-Fayvinov-Powell."
At the end of the poem, some people were on the floor. Joel put the camera on the coffee table so he could hold his stomach and wipe his eyes. Drew was covering his face with his hands and laughing loudly. And then Amy asked, "what is this thing? Who wrote this? And what is a murple?"
"This is something Alex wrote when we were eleven and just learned the word 'fucking'," Blair said between bursts of laughter.
"And murple is the only word that rhymes with purple, obviously," Alex said.
"So you all know each other since you were kids?"
"Let me explain the dynamic here," Jessie said when she relaxed. "We all grew up here. Most of us since we were babies, Alex joined when we were five or six, depending whose birthday you're taking into consideration. When we were ten Cricket and Blair moved to Iowa, we kept contact, Alex moved to Illinois five months later and then Drew moved to Chicago and we only kept contact for two years before he cut it at fifteen because of family issues. And then everyone moved back, eventually. Some of us to shelters and some of us with broken families, but at least we're reunited."
"But I thought your sixth was a – " Everyone fell silent. Some snickering could be heard around the room. "Never mind. I answered my own question." And then, "murple."
Everyone was laughing again.
"I guess I go next," Amy said as the others caught their breath and Joel took his camera back to his hands. "So I raise a can to Drew, who I have known for the shortest time of all of us. And I still believe we're both new kids, since neither of us really was here in freshman year of high school. So I'm raising my can to both of us being new kids and to years of friendship, like those you have with the rest of them."
"Yeah, Amy!" Joel called.
When Blair stood up and said he's willing to go next, Cricket cut him. "You're his boyfriend," she said. "You're going last. It's Joel's turn."
"Yeah, Joel!" Alex called. "Speech! Speech! Speech!"
"Okay, Cricket, hold the camera for a bit." He handed her the camera and raised a can of beer. "So I don't know what to say that hadn't been said already-"
"Joy and murple," Alex snickered.
"Very mature, Alex," Cricket scolded. "Go on, Joel."
"Today we raise a can to Drew, who is one of the coolest men I know. I mean it, man. I know you don't talk much because of your own personal reasons but that doesn't stop you from becoming the talking monster we all know and love when you're comfortable enough in the situation. I may be the only one here old enough to have the right to say this – "
"You know you are," Drew said.
" – but eighteen isn't that much different than seventeen," Joel returned to his speech. "You don't feel odd or anything. You don't feel more mature. Because what is a day? It's in our perspective of how much time passes between waking and going back to sleep –"
"Let's cut it, Joel! We've heard this all before."
"Okay, Braces, you don't need to get mad. So yeah. You're staying the same, regardless of if you're a year younger and older. And this is exactly what I want to say to you. Stay the same, dude. This is what I raise my can for."
"And we're left with Cricket," Blair said, throwing her a can from the cooler.
She stood up and opened the can, drinking some and raising it. "I am delighted to be raising my can to Drew Reeves. I know my reason this time is pretty idiotic, but I raise a can to you because of what I envy about you." Drew raised an eyebrow. "What I envy about you is your resilience and inner strength, which you probably know are two different things. And also your sense of identity. You're proud of who you are and that's amazing. You can gather up courage whenever the situation calls for it, like when you asked Blair out or when you ran away to come here. I could only wish to have half the hidden powers and senses you have, because if I had them, I would be a better person."
"We love you, Cricket," Drew said with a smile.
"And we love you, Drew."
"Blair, it's your turn," Drew said and pushed Blair to stand. His boyfriend turned to him and held his beer like he usually did.
"I'm raising a can to my boyfriend, but more importantly, to one of my best friends." The girls started aww-ing. "Drew, I love you. I love you as a friend and I love you as my boyfriend. I can see no life without you in it. You've been here since we were babies and always a cheery little ray of sunshine, and I know you're going to comment on that so let me tell you that to me, you're still a cheery little ray of sunshine, even if you hide it deep inside you. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I raise a can to your sheer existence, love. And I'm the only one in the group who got you a gift. This alone should show you how serious I am about making this work."
"You don't need to make this work," Drew said, choking. "It's already working."
Blair leaned down to kiss Drew and a few seconds later Joel screamed "guys, this is not a pornographic movie, let's eat cake and then Blair can give you his gift."
Drew flipped him the finger and took Blair by his waist. The Latino had his hands in his boyfriend's hair. Cricket jumped in to physically separate them.
"You guys, if you don't wait with this, we're not going to have any cake."
"Ugh, fine." Drew groaned in annoyance. "Blair, get off, I need to actually stand up to have cake."
"No you don't!" Blair jumped up. "I'll get you cake, okay?"
"No!" Jessie screamed. "He has to blow out candles!" Drew groaned again in frustration. "Oh no, mister, everyone does that. You have to do this too."
After the cake, Blair went to the kitchen and brought back a small black plastic bag. "Open it."
Drew looked inside and quickly looked at his boyfriend. "This is… In Utero." He took the disc case out and started flipping it in his hand.
"You told me it was your favorite album."
"So you had to get me a physical copy of it." Blair pulled his shoulder and winked. Cricket laughed. "You know, I had downloaded it to my phone a few months ago – "
"Just say thank you, you ungrateful prick, and shut the fuck up!"
Drew laughed. "Thank you, Blair."
Blair smiled. "Now, was that so hard to do?" He went back to sitting in Drew's lap and they were kissing again quickly enough. Jessie started snorting. As soon as their lips locked, Joel turned his camera off and hit it in the couch, signaling to everyone to leave the room.
He would have done it no matter what, because when Drew and Blair showed affection in public, it turned pornographic very quickly.
"Mr. Reeves," Deb called for the third time. "I would like it if you answered the question."
"I didn't hear it."
"Why is Sybil's vision Seymour's turning point?" Drew raised his head. "What in Sybil's sight of bananafish made Seymour decide this was the perfect moment to commit suicide?"
"Seymour over-analyzes things, and always too much, so when a four-year old girl told him she sees bananafish, he took it as if she said she saw him committing suicide and decided it was the perfect moment. Because he over-analyzes everything, like colors and games made up by four-year old girls."
"That's a good answer, Drew. If only you'd participate more. This class could use some of your knowledge."
Drew heard some people making noises and calling him names, but he turned his head to the window and slowly made their voices drown in his thoughts. And then the bell rang. He shoved his things to his bag quickly, hoping to get out of there as quickly as possible.
"Oh, class, just before you're leaving." Deb stood up. "Prom ticket sales are starting tomorrow. I was asked to tell you this and that the tickets are couples' tickets only. There's no going solo this year." A few moments later, she said "you're free to leave."
Drew took his time going to the exit. He was planning on going out to smoke and do nothing. Free hours were everything for him during the last few days, mostly because they meant getting away from everyone and having time to forget about things. This prom thing was getting on his nerves.
As he passed Blair and Cricket's lockers he heard them talking about prom. Well, there went his happy thoughts.
"Hey Drew." Blair smiled but Drew just signaled with his finger and kept going.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing, Cricket. Everyone is stressful at prom season." Blair closed his locker. "Now, what about your stuff? You're not coming to calc two today?"
"But I like your locker better." They shared awkward smiles and Cricket took the five steps across the hallway to her locker. She took what she had to take and went back to take Blair by the arm. "He's very weird anyway."
"He was always weird."
"Yeah, but since moving to Chicago…"
"Things didn't go very well with his mom, Cricket. He hates talking about it. Cut it."
"I'm going with Blotter, you know." Blair turned to his best friend in shock. "What? Why are you so surprised?"
"Because you hate Blotter."
"I don't. Like you always say, I used to be all over him when we were younger. And Alex is probably going with Amy, so I have to settle for second best." Blair glared at her. "I know, you want me to go after Alex actively, but who cares? Really."
"I care. Jessie cares. Joel cares."
"I'm so happy you didn't say 'Drew doesn't show it but he cares' because if you had I would've kicked you."
"But he does."
"Whatever. I'm still going with Blotter. So I need you to help me ask him out."
"Amy, I hate repeating myself."
"So don't repeat yourself."
"I want you to go to prom with me." Amy gave Alex a weird look. "Look, we're having an operation. It's called Operation King Drew."
"Isn't it a pretty dumb idea?"
"But you understand why we're doing this."
"Alex, of course I will go to prom with you. But why are you so stressed out about this?"
"Because we need you to vote for Drew and Blair for prom king and queen. Respectively, that is."
Alex didn't see what Amy was doing with her phone. She texted Jessie, and Jessie texted back. She wrote 'but how are we going to get alex and cricket chosen together as royalty?'
Jessie replied with a 'Don't worry, I'm on it'.
'are you going to open that group we talked about?'
'I told you I'm on it, Amy, don't worry. It's okay'
"Amy? Who are you texting there?"
Amy looked up, closed her phone and quickly pushed it in her bag. "Just a group chat. Us on the planning committee." She stirred her drink obsessively. There was no way she was going to be able to pronounce the name of this thing, but at least it was good. "You know, your mom really shouldn't have made this just for us to not end up frozen solid."
"In Russia, fifty-four degrees on a winter day is a good day," Alex remarked. "Doesn't your mom ever make you anything hot to drink during the winter?"
"It's April. It would get better."
"In Russia – "
"Yes, I know it's warmer in Russia. You told me a million times that it's not as freezing in there all year long as most people think it is. Don't remind me of what us poor midwesterns are going through during what is supposed to be springtime." She smiled at him and drank the rest of… whatever that was. "What is this drink called again?"
"Sbiten. And who is with you on the planning committee?"
"You know. I'm on it, Blair's on it, Margot Tate's on it… It's mostly our group, the others didn't really want to be on it. Blair can explain this better than I do, I think." Alex hummed and squinted his eyes. "I'm serious! Ask Margot."
"I believe you," he said with the same look. "I'm just wondering why Margot Tate, of all people, would be on planning committee."
"Alyosha, ya idu, vy khotite chto-nibud?" Katya rushed to the door, wearing her coat. Alex rolled his eyes.
"Nichego, mama."
"Khorosho. Yesli chto-nibud sluchitsya, posvonite mne."
"Ladno. Do svidaniya, mama!"
When Katya left, Amy looked at Alex, shocked. "What was that?"
"That was my mom asking me if I wanted anything and reminding me to call her if anything goes terribly wrong." He took her empty cup and went to refill it. "And Alyosha is my mother's version of you guys calling me Alex."
"So what did you invite me here for?"
"For the most part? Telling you about the operation and making you join it."
"Well, I'm in." Amy took advantage of Alex being in the kitchen and quickly texted Jessie.
'Operation crilex-for-royalty is officially on, girl. Open that goddamned group already!'
A/N 2: I hope I'm not the only one who thinks drunk Alex is funny.
I am aware of the fact that the legal drinking age in the US is twenty-one and that they're all seventeen/eighteen, but in the show they do drink. So I take this into consideration. And besides, I do believe they had supervision (unless what I told myself about Jessie's mom being out really happened, but that's up for me to decide).
A/N 3: The birthday poem is from an old story on FictionPress, so I totally credit its writer for it. And Alyosha is really the Russian diminutive for Alexei, I would know, I had an Alexei in drama and was almost killed for pronouncing it wrong in class once (it's pronounced 'lyosha). And Russia is really not that cold. I have actual Russians to credit for this knowledge.