Let The Morning Come

Chapter 1- Oh, These Sour Times

The snow swirled around the blissful cabin, scattering around like tiny hurricanes before finally settling on the ground like blankets, making the area look even more picturesque. Oblivious to the natural beauty outside, eleven teenagers were having the time of their lives.

Or so they thought.

The music flared obnoxiously as Jess tapped the button on the portable speaker to raise the volume of Miley Cyrus' catchy pop anthem "We Can't Stop". Several of the party groaned, raising their objections about the song choice.

Jess danced her way back into the fray, twisting her hips expertly, dancing with everyone and anyone who would entertain her. Partying was a simple thing. You drank, you danced, you had fun laughing with your friends. People who didn't party puzzled her. She wasn't dumb like most of her friends believed, but she wasn't what anyone would call an empath. Some things just seemed natural and she didn't really get why people would want to sit down at a party.

Matt shrugged, tapping his foot idly. His party experience was always best described as a place to people-watch. He had a rather interesting group of friends who were vastly different in every way and he was always very intrigued to learn how such a diverse bunch had assembled to form the tightest knit friendships Matt had ever witnessed.

Emily huffed loudly. Miley Cyrus was not her idea of a good time. She looked up at her boyfriend, Matt and tried to block out the unwelcome intrusion of another. Emily tried very hard to block out the actual melody of the song and let the background beats surround her in a dull haze. The sooner this song was over, the better. Then she could commandeer the iPod and actually pick a decent music selection which wasn't centered around trashy pop music.

Beth sighed as she watched her sister dancing. Not that she was a bad mover, she was just obvious in her direction. Everyone in the room knew what was going on there and the more Beth had tried to point that out, her sister would clam up and deny everything. It was slightly infuriating. So, instead of dwelling on sibling issues, she decided to have her own fun, fun that didn't involve worrying about her sister or her brother for that matter. Letting the cheesy dance music wash over her, Beth threw her hands up in the air, perhaps over-dancing considering the song choice.

Hannah sighed as she looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be getting exactly what they wanted, bar one or two of them. It wasn't fair. Hannah wanted so badly to just take off her glasses, stick some contact lenses in and be the girl that he wanted her to be. The girl that she wanted to be for him. It wasn't a big secret, it was just something that she didn't want to talk about because it made her upset. So she avoided it. She knew that it annoyed her siblings, but that was how it had to be or else Hannah would have no shot at happiness, only misfortune and loneliness.

Chris didn't really mind the music too much. He was more interested in watching another as he had plenty of fun. Chris loved to party, especially with his best buds, but something was off about this particular night. He didn't know what it was, but there was something. Nobody was even paying attention to his doubts, which was definitely a good thing. Chris didn't want to be responsible for ruining the fun. Shrugging to himself, he downed the rest of his beer and threw the cup aside lazily, settling for dancing beside Emily, who glared at him with an unimpressed roll of her eyes.

Ashley loved Miley Cyrus. Secretly, of course, she had an image to maintain. Her public music tastes were more old-school, with The Clash and Led Zeppelin monopolising most of her musical discussion. But in the privacy of her own Spotify playlist, she was allowed to indulge in more of her guilty pleasures. She wasn't going to lie and say that she ignored chart music. It wasn't the best music by any means and some of the artists were incredibly arrogant, but she enjoyed listening to a lot of it. She blamed a select few of her friends for that one.

Josh smiled and nodded to everyone as eye contact was fleetingly made. He was sat down, one of only two to be seated. His red cup grasped tightly in his hand, Josh tried to ignore the fact that everyone was silently judging him for not having enough fun at his own party. Well, he shared the party hosting with his two sisters, but it had been his idea for them to have a weekend long blowout at the family lodge. He glanced up at his friends, just happy that they were enjoying themselves to be too preoccupied with his own sense of fun. The only major obstacle was that he didn't really dance. Not that that was stopping Chris from enjoying himself. Josh tilted his head as an unreadable expression passed over Chris' stony face. He wondered what the issue was there. Probably some more Ashley angst. Figures. Josh thought Ashley was smoking and wished Chris would make a move already so he would have an actual excuse not to ask her out. Though, the more he thought about it, the more he questioned which member of that pair he actually wanted to ask out. Maybe it was both. That was a thing, right? Both?

Sam considered herself the only one besides Jess who was truly enjoying herself. In her group of eleven, she was the one they all went to for advice, unless it was concerning her. Then they went to Ashley, but it was mostly her. She glanced around the room and knew what one thing was stopping each and every one of them from having the most fun they could. For example, Emily wasn't happy in her relationship but was too insecure and nervous to leave it. On the opposite side, Matt could feel his girlfriend slipping away from him but didn't know how to keep her close. Sam had to say, alcohol was not a great solution. It made them all dizzy and unthinking, unfeeling. The last party had almost ended in disaster when Josh had tried to play a prank on Jess, who threatened to cut his ears off for scaring her. Josh had ran around the kitchen table trying to make her dizzy but only resulted in falling over himself. It had taken her, Chris and Matt to subdue Jess for long enough to safely remove Josh from the situation after an apology had been expressed.

Kurt sighed as his cup was once again made empty. By his own doing, of course. He downed his double vodka with Red Bull in what felt like four seconds flat, earning a whoop from both Jess and Josh. The two were surprisingly alike, not that the two of them recognised that, of course. Jess maintained that Josh was a moron and Josh maintained that Jess was an airhead. But they were friends, they were all friends. There wasn't one weak link. Except for maybe Emily and Jess, though they'd made a better effort to get along of late. There was also Hannah, who Kurt suspected didn't like him very much, due to their mutual crush. Kurt looked at the guy in question, who winked quickly before Kurt twirled so that his blush wasn't noticed. It also gave him a chance to shake his ass the way his dance lessons had taught him. He caught Emily's eye and she smirked, nodding behind him. He's watching you, she mouthed. Kurt would've considered it creepy if he wasn't excited by the fact that those beautiful light brown eyes were watching him. Mixing himself another drink, his usual, Kurt tried to forget about it and have some more fun with his best friends.

Mike, who was sat to Josh's left, groaned at the alcohol hit his head all at once, unrelenting and fierce. He looked at Kurt, who looked to be having the best time ever with a red cup always in his hand. He winked at him, not realising that Hannah's eyes were also on him, rather hungrily. Kurt turned away from him and Mike felt a cold chill run through his body. He wasn't supposed to be appreciating Kurt's ass like this. He was supposed to be looking at Jess and the way her body moved. Guys didn't look at other guys...except for Kurt. Maybe, then, it was okay that he wanted to hold Kurt close to him and not let go...and not in a friend kind of way. He wanted to rub up against Kurt while he was dancing and it seemed as though Kurt wanted to do the same. From the looks he was getting, it seemed that way at least. Maybe something would come at that. Actually, Mike was sure it would...because he was going to make it happen.

As each had a good time in their own ways, Emily was the first to break the silence regarding the music choice.

"Okay! That's it! I've had enough of Miss Hannah Montana screeching down my ears about having a good time. I'm changing the song and I don't care who's bothered by it!"

A few groans of relief mixed with some of reluctant sadness about the song change, as Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" followed.

"Finally," Kurt crowed above the music, shooting his arms up into the air and grabbing Jess, the pair spinning and strutting in a complex choreography only those two could have designed. Mike chuckled, again not noticing Hannah's lustful looks. Beth sighed, walking over to a now standing Mike. Enough was enough.

"Over here, asshole," she snapped, dragging him over to the kitchen area.

Mike frowned, wondering what had gotten Beth so agitated towards him. He hadn't done anything that he could think of.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Mike gaped. "I don't follow."

"Oh, don't play dense, it doesn't suit you."

Mike grinned. "Maybe I am just dense because I have no idea what you're talking about, Beth."

"Fuck, Mike, I'm talking about Hannah! You know, my twin sister, the girl who's been in love with you for six years!"

This was definitely news to Mike. Sure, Hannah was extremely friendly towards him and sometimes made excuses to talk to him about random trivia that nobody really cared for, but that did mean she loved him? Mike didn't think so. There had been no clear signs, or was he just not looking hard enough? He didn't think the latter was the case, however.

"Shit, Beth, I had no idea, I swear." One thing about Mike Munroe was that he was always honest. He told white lies as everybody did, but honesty was written all over his face. Beth could tell.

"Jesus, you really had no idea...so does that mean…"

"What?"

"Hannah isn't the only one in this group who's been crushing on you. But I've already said too much today. I'm sorry for snapping at you, I thought you were being an asshole."

Mike shook his head. "Man, I'm sorry, I should've been paying more attention. She must think I'm a jackass."

"Don't sweat it, dude. In fact, I think Hannah needs to learn a vital lesson from all of this. She attaches herself too quickly and that isn't good."

Mike frowned. "Wait, you said something about someone else in the group?"

But Beth was gone, lost in a haze of drunken dancing people. Mike groaned and resumed his seat. Looking around the room, he tried to deduce who his other mystery admirer was. His gaze quickly running over Hannah, he appraised the room. Head tipping back in his seat, he sighed and realised that he was doing way too much thinking at a party. Fortunately for him, he was saved from this by the arrival of Sam, who offered him a freshly made cup of...something.

"You're definitely not drunk enough," Sam commented as he took a sip.

"JD and Coke," Mike commented approvingly. "You know my drink."

Sam slapped his head playfully. "Duh, Mikey, we've been friends since third grade."

Mike smirked. "Yeah, because I was secretly drinking JD and Coke as a third grader. I'm badass, Sammy, but I'm not a train-wreck."

"You sure about that? Because I know that you've been sat here for the past half hour, not because you're bored, but because you've been watching Kurt and thinking about whether or not you're actually going to make a damn move."

"Jesus, Sam, tell me how you really feel."

Sam shrugged. "I'm just tired of watching you make puppy eyes at someone who is so clearly into you."

"He is, isn't he?" Mike smirked smugly. Sam slapped his arm.

"That's precisely what Kurt doesn't need. You being your simian self. Just be the guy he knows you are and you'll be fine. Dance with him, do a little grinding, you'll find yourself in Josh's bedroom in about five minutes flat."

Mike shook his head. "I can't do that tonight."

"Why, you ran out of Viagra?"

Mike snorted but shook his head again. "Beth told me about Hannah."

"Wait, you didn't know? Wow Mike, I knew you were oblivious, but is a new record. She doesn't exactly make herself subtle."

"Whether I knew or not, I can't just go up to Kurt and kiss him when I know Hannah's going to be watching. It's not fair to her. I probably need to talk to her about it first."

Sam downed her drink and licked her lips. "Okay, that's what you don't do. That'll just upset her."

"You're the one saying I should kiss someone else right in front of her!"

Sam frowned. "Wait…"

Mike rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Han isn't here."

"She's probably in the bathroom or something."

Sam nodded to Kurt, who was busy bumping and grinding with Jess. "Well now's your chance."

Mike rubbed his hands together. "I can't. I'm nervous."

"Dude, you're like the most confident guy I know. And there's no way this could go wrong. Just…do it."

Mike laughed. "I'll talk to him later tonight. We're sharing a room anyway."

Sam's eyes widened in false surprise. "Look how that turned out. Almost as if someone manufactured the sleeping arrangements so that would happen. Almost as if someone likes you."

"Alright, you've had your fun. Let's just go and dance, people are starting to stare at us."

"That's Kurt and he's staring at you."

Mike got to his feet and led Sam into the fray of dancers. Some remix Mike didn't know the name of was playing from the speakers and everyone was enjoying it. He knocked back his drink, quickly realising that Sam had brought him a double and felt his head start to throb lightly. He was greeted with a familiar pair of hands on his hips.

"You could stand to loosen up a bit more. You know, get your hips into it."

Mike looked at Kurt swayed, shaking his hips the way he knew how to. "And just how drunk are you?"

Kurt shrugged. "Drunk enough that I'm very aware of how close you are."

"Kurt!" Emily called from behind him. He turned around, accepting the shot glass she was holding and knocked back the tequila without a care in the world. Emily and Kurt could go for hours longer than the rest of them. They consumed alcohol like it was water and they rarely got hangovers. Mike was curious and envious of this talent.

"What were you saying?" Kurt smiled as he turned back around.

Mike decided it was now or never. Initiate some kind of move or back down like a total pussy. He could hear Sam's voice yelling at him from her position now over by Ashley and Josh.

"I really want to kiss you right now," Mike mumbled pathetically.

Kurt, not being able to lip read, frowned. "What?"

Over by the music, Matt was swaying dizzily, more drunk than he should have allowed himself to get.

"I really want to kiss you right now." Mike's latest attempt at the truth was drowned out by a spike in the volume.

Kurt shrugged again.

Mike decided to just go for it. He coiled a hand around the back of Kurt's waist and yanked him closer, their lips smashing together like they were made to do it. Cheers and whoops sounded from around them as their kiss deepened. Mike's cup clattered to the floor as his other hand nested itself in Kurt's usually pristine hair. He smirked into the kiss as he pulled a small handful. Kurt's groin pushed up into Mike's own at the action and Mike felt a light nibble on his bottom lip.

Holy. Shit.

This was everything. Why hadn't Mike done this before? He had certainly thought about it, but something had always stopped him. He didn't think Kurt would take him seriously. In fact, he still had doubts about that.

As the kiss broke, nobody but Beth saw Hannah lurking at the top of the stairs, sitting with her body obscured but so her eyes could witness everything that was going on below her. And she was not pleased at all.

Kurt knew how much she liked Mike. Granted, she also knew how much he liked Mike and had done since before she had even thought about boys in a romantic way. She figured that they should have formed some kind of pact not to do anything about it, but Hannah hadn't thought Mike would make a move on either of them. Not because Kurt wasn't desirable, he definitely was, because she hadn't thought that Mike was gay or even had any interest whatsoever in Kurt. Hannah knew that they were quite close friends, possibly the closest in the group besides Sam and Josh and her and Beth, but she didn't think Kurt's interest was reciprocated. She knew that hers wasn't, it was just obvious from all the times Beth had told her to just move on already. Had she known that Mike was into Kurt? Did anyone know? Did Mike even know before tonight?

Either way, this hurt. It would hurt her for Mike to be with anyone, but another member of the group was just too much. They were always together, the eleven of them, it would be painful to see Mike always being coupled up with someone who wasn't her.

There was a lot that Hannah could deal with, but this was her limit. Walking all around the first floor, she slipped down the back stairs and exited the lodge through the storeroom door. The snow hit her directly in the face, but she didn't care. She just needed to walk and she needed to get away from the fun and kisses that were being had in the lodge.

"Hannah!" She heard Beth's voice behind her. She was tempted to stop, but didn't want to face the questions and the obvious eye rolling.

So she ran. Deep into the woods.

Which turned out to be the first mistake of many that would happen over that weekend. The first mistake that would set into motion a sequence of events that would change everything forever.