Drunk At The Party

Laf walked out of the lecture hall into the crisp air of the fall afternoon. He shouldered his bag and began the long trek across campus back to the dorms.

The rest of his dorm mates were still in class when he arrived. He sat at his desk and pulled his phone out, plugged his earbuds into the headphone jack, put one of his playlists on shuffle, and then began to work on his homework.

This was one of the few times during the week that Laf had the dorm to himself. He enjoyed the peacefulness, glad for once that his friends weren't bugging him, because that only caused him to have to work later to finish his homework. Still, even though no one was interrupting him, his thoughts wandered.

Thomas is having that party tonight, right? What if I invited-no, he's probably busy. Laf sighed. But if I can get done with this, I could at least ask him. That can't hurt, right? I can ask Alex and John to come also, then maybe it'll seem like I'm not asking him out?

He bent back over his paper, trying to solve his current math problem.

"Hi."

Laf felt two hands on his shoulders, causing him to jump. He hadn't heard anyone enter the room because of his music. He paused it and ripped his earbuds out. "What were you think-" He began to scold the person behind him, expecting it to be John or Alexander. "Oh, Herc. Hi."

"Sorry, did I startle you?"

"Oui." Laf nodded, frowning.

"I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't." Laf swallowed his nerves. "Hey, I'm planning on going to Thomas' party tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I'm going to ask Alex and John too, but-"

"Sure, I'll come with." Herc cut him off.

"D'accord." Laf replied, grinning.

Herc had gotten used to Laf's random bursts of french. Though he could never entirely grasp the full sentences Alexander and Laf exchanged around the dorm, he could understand a few words.

"So, what time do you think we'll leave at?" Herc inquired.

"Well, Thomas' place is only about fifteen minutes away, so we probably don't have to leave until quarter before six."

"That's right, he doesn't stay at the dorms."

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess I'll work on my homework until we leave then."

"Alright." Laf started his music, unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face. Herc said he'd go with me! I know we're just going as friends, but this is something, right?" He finished his homework and tucked it back into his bag. He glanced over at Herc, who was sitting at the desk on the other side of their shared room.

Laf heard the door slam, signaling that either Alexander or John-or quite possibly both-were back from classes.

He stood up, shut his math book, and walked into the living room to see John and Alex curled up together on the couch.

"Hey, Laf." John said as he walked into the room. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." The frenchman shrugged. "Do either of you want to go to Thomas' party with me tonight?"

Alex let out a groan, which was expected. "Why do you hang out with him? He's insufferable!"

Laf rolled his eyes. "He's not insufferable. He's my cousin."

"Still!"

John gave his boyfriend a gentle shove. "Yeah, we'll go with you, Laf. But only if you invite Herc."

Laf blushed slightly, looking down at the carpet. "I already did."

Alex looked interested. "Did you really? And what'd he say?"

"He said he'd come with!"

"Then why are you asking us to come with?"

"Because I told him I'd invite you. I was afraid he'd say no, otherwise."

John chuckled. "I don't know why you don't just ask him out."

Laf made a strange, inhuman noise. "Are you kidding? He's never even shown any interest in me!"

"He's shown more interest than you think."

The frenchman shook his head. "John, mon ami, I think you are losing it. Herc has never given me any special attention."

"Alright, fine. I'm not going to argue with you about something as silly as this."

"It's not silly!" Laf pouted.

"What are you whining about now?"

Laf jumped and turned to see that once again, Herc had snuck up on him.

"Herc! Stop doing that!"

"I was just asking a question."

"He's upset that we keep asking about his love life."

"Oh? Who are you interested in?" Herc asked, sounding vaguely intrigued.

"No one, that's why we keep asking!" John said, his lie surprisingly convincing.

"No one? Really?" Was that disappointment Laf detected in Herc's voice?

Laf sent a quick glare at Alex and John before responding to Herc's question. "Oui, I like no one, and if I did, there is only a small chance they would like me anyway."

"I doubt that. You're a very likable person."

"Oh...thanks I guess?" Laf said. Did that mean Herc liked him? It gave him a glimmer of hope.

"Yeah, no problem." Herc replied. Was that a glimpse of a smile Laf caught on his face? "I gotta finish up my homework. I only came out to see what the yelling was about." He disappeared back into the room.

"You gotta at least tell him." Alexander said, keeping his voice low. "If he does like you, great. If he doesn't, then you can move on and stop stressing about."

"Alex," John interrupted. "I don't think you're helping."

"Sorry, you know I'm bad with love advice."

"No kidding." John shot back.

"Guys! Guys!" Laf said. "I'm not going to do anything about it right now."

"That sounds like a poor choice, but fine, do what you want." Alex muttered.

"I will, thank you." Laf replied, plopping down onto a chair. "Why are you bugging me so much about it, anyway? It took you long enough to work up the nerve to ask Laurens out."

"That's because I didn't know if Laurens liked guys." Alex argued.

"I am right here, you know."

"I know you are, and I love you." Alexander replied, kissing the freckled boy on the forehead.

Laf rolled his eyes. "You two are ridiculous."

"We know." John replied.

Alex grabbed the television remote. "Wanna watch something while we wait?"

Laf shrugged. "Sure."

Most of the time, they were just flipping through channels. Nothing good seemed to be on. Eventually, Herc came out to join them, and soon after that, it was time to leave.

The group piled into Laf's car and soon arrived at Thomas' rather large house. There was already a numerous amount of cars lined up on the driveway, and through the windows, many shadows were seen passing in front of the glass.

"Come on, let's go!" Laf said, climbing out of the car.

"Geez Laf, calm down." Alexander replied.

The four of them walked up to the door, Laf being the one to ring the doorbell.

"Hey," Thomas said, opening the door. "You brought Alex with you?"

"Thomas, he is my friend. Can we come in?"

"Of course you can come in. Just don't ruin anything." He replied, directing that last sentence at Alexander.

"We won't." Laf replied as the group walked into the house."

They had only walked a few steps when they bumped into the Schuyler sisters.

"You guys actually came?" Angelica asked, genuinely shocked. "That's a surprise."

"Why?" John asked.

Eliza giggled. "Other than the fact that Alex hates Thomas? Gee, I wonder."

"Hey, a party's a party." Alexander shrugged.

"Oh, there's Maria!" Peggy squealed, racing away from the group.

"Who?" Herc asked.

"Her girlfriend." Angelica replied. "Personally, I don't approve of her, but she makes Pegs so happy."

"Angie just doesn't want to see our sister crushed." Eliza piped up. "I don't either, but really, Maria's not that bad."

"Exactly." Angie confirmed.

"I just saw Sarah." Eliza said. "I'm going to go say hi."

"Well, it was nice to catch up with you all. Maybe we can talk more later." Angelica ended the conversation before drifting away from the group.

"Well, it was nice to see them again. Sometime we'll have to meet Maria." Alex commented.

"Oui. I am going to get a drink." Laf said. "Herc, do you want anything?" The frenchman looked up at him almost hopefully, wanting to do something for him.

"Nah, Laf. Someone has to be able to drive you three yahoos home safely."

"Alright." Laf walked over to the drinks table, and was soon followed by John and Alexander.

"Meanwhile, Herc ran into a few people from his high school, and was in the middle of a conversation with them. One of the girls-Elizabeth Sanders, he thought her name was-kept trying to flirt with him, but there were so many other things on his mind that he hardly paid attention to her.

Soon, and to Herc's pleasant surprise, Laf stumbled over to him.

"'Erc!" Laf exclaimed, his accent now greatly pronounced because he was so drunk.

The corner of Herc's mouth twitched upwards. That's so cute.

"'Erc!"

"Hey, Laf. What's up?"

Laf stumbled forward, Herc catching him before he collapsed on the floor.

"Careful." Herc said gently, righting the frenchman.

Laf looked at him, then grabbed the neckline of Herc's shirt, pulling him into a kiss.

For a moment, Herc was too shocked to do anything but kiss back. It tasted vaguely of alcohol-Laf must've been drinking quite a bit-but in all, it wasn't too bad.

No! Was Herc's first thought after he got past the shock of being kissed by his crush. He immediately pulled back. No. No, I won't take advantage of him when he's like this. He might not even mean it. He might have no affection for me at all, and this is just what he's like in his drunken state.

"'Erc?" Laf asked slowly, looking hurt. "Did I do something wrong?"

The look on Laf's face was almost enough to tempt Herc to kiss him again, but he resisted. "No, Laf. No, you did nothing wrong."

"Then why won't you kiss me?"

"I don't want to. Not right now." Herc said with difficulty. He wanted to kiss Laf so much, wanted to just pull Laf into a seperate room away from the loudness of the party. But he'd never forgive himself if he hurt Laf.

The frenchman looked to be on the verge of tears. "Oh...okay."

Alexander and John found Laf sobbing in a corner. Well, mainly Alex. John was so intoxicated at this point that he was trying to talk to a chair.

"Laf?" Alex said, crouching down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"'Erc...he...he wo-wouldn't…"

"What'd Herc do to you?"

"He-He wouldn't kiss me!"

Alexander accidentally let a small chuckle escape his lips.

"It's not funny!" Laf protested. "Can you make him kiss me? Please?"

"No, Laf. I can't. That's Herc's choice, not mine."

"B-but.."

"I can't do anything, Laf. Come on. Get up." Alex stood up and gave Laf his hands, pulling him up off the ground. It was a good thing Alex didn't completely lose his senses after a few drinks.

"I'm going to get another drink." The frenchman said, already beginning to stumble off.

"No. Dude, you are so drunk."

"So?"

"So you don't need anymore! Both you and John are going to have awful hangovers tomorrow, and you have classes! It's probably about time to go anyway. It must be close to ten by now. We've been here at least four hours."

"F-fine." Laf said, sniffling. "I-I will go find 'Erc."

"You sure you want to?"

"Oui, of course."

"'Erc," Laf said. After a few minutes of searching, he had found Herc surrounded by people. There was some girl next to him. "'Erc, it's time to go."

"Oh, okay." He pushed through the crowd, Laf following close behind.

The group got back into the car for the short drive to the dorms, Laf looking out the window the whole time.

Herc glanced over at him. Tomorrow I'll tell him what happened, and then I can find out how he feels about me.

When he woke up, Laf was already sitting up in bed, reading something.

"Hey, Laf."

Laf jumped, apparently not realizing that Herc had been awake. "Hey."

"You remember anything from last night?"

"Um...non." He shook his head. "Did something interesting happen?"

"You kissed me."

Laf froze. "I...I did?"

Herc nodded. "Did you mean it?"

Silence for a moment. Then; "Oui, I meant it."

Herc practically flew across the room and pressed his lips against Laf's own, pushing him down onto the bed.

Laf wrapped his arms around Herc, smiling into the kiss.

"Love you." Herc said, pushing himself off.

"Je t'aime."