The music beat in the background, the base thumping David's heart into an irregular rhythm as he made his way through throngs of party goers to the last place Jack had sat. He pushed up his sleeves as he muttered apologizes for bumping into people. It was already October, perfectly good weather for long sleeves but the mass of moving bodies made David sweat in his sweater and jeans. He found Jack, a red solo cup in his hand, in the middle of another story.
"…so anyway I told her there's no way I'm finishing the paper!" Everyone in the group of people laughed and other topics began to spring up as David sidled up next to Jack. Jack spared him a passing glance and a smile before jumping into another conversation. This is how it was sometimes, David, always willing but quietly reluctant to go to parties, and Jack, the people person who made loud jokes and basked in the rays of his hilarity. It's not that David didn't like parties, he did, but as the number of people and the volume of the music rose, David's enjoyment began to drain. Another topic ended and as the lull between conversations pulled out, David tapped on Jack's shoulder. Jack turned, the ghost of a smile still playing on his lips.
"Yeah Davey?" He asked, a little louder than necessary, the beat of the music dancing in his eyes. David smiled softy and pointed over his shoulder.
"Do you want to go sometime soon?" He asked, hoping he wasn't being too much of a downer but knowing he couldn't stand this party with its loud drunks for much longer. Jack nodded absent-mindedly, his attention already returning to the group of people in front of him.
"Sure thing, we'll leave after this game." He called, grabbing David by the back of the neck and kissing his cheek with more force than usual and leaving a distinct smell of alcohol in the air. The group Jack was with had pulled out a party game and were passing judgement on who should be on what team. David grimaced slightly, wiping the traces of booze off of his cheek. He had had a sip of Jack's drink at the beginning of the night but still wasn't used to the sharp burn it left in the back of his mouth.
They hadn't been in college long, only a couple of months but Jack acclimated to the social aspect amazingly quickly, leaving David to occasionally contribute to the academic front for both of them. It's not that he minded but he had managed to get into New York University, and the course work for his politics major was heavier than he had originally imagined. He thought of the paper he had to finish tomorrow, the paragraph beginning to write itself in his head, but the shout of Jack's victory in the game broke his concentration. He sighed and looked around for his sister Sarah. She was a year ahead of him at NYU and if she was here that probably meant David wouldn't have to drive all the way back from Jack's university. He didn't have a car and didn't want to take Jack's rust bucket that terrified him every time he sat in the worn seat.
By the time David got any information on Sarah's whereabouts, it was obvious she had already left. David went back over to Jack, slightly disappointed his venture was fruitless and getting more and more tired of this party by the minute. Jack took a sip from his drink-or was that a new drink? David didn't know but he thought that was only Jack's second, not too much to do damage, but enough to make Jack rosy cheeked and smiling. David slipped the cup from Jack's hand and put it on a table behind him, figuring the lack of alcohol would get Jack out of the dorm complex faster. Jack looked up from his seat expectantly, waiting to see why David had stripped him of his cup. David laced his fingers with Jack's and pushed up his sleeve with the other arm. He smelled like alcohol even though he hadn't had even a full cup and it bothered him.
"Let's go, I've got an early class." He told Jack, yelling over the music. His patience with this party was completely shot now. Jack rolled his eyes for the effect of the on-lookers and stood, tugging on David's hand.
"Whatever you say Davey." He muttered, throwing a smile to the guys now behind him. They said their goodbyes and David sighed when they finally got out the door. The cool night air felt good after being stuck inside that horrid dorm for so long. They stopped on the edge of the curb, still hand in hand and David looked up at Jack. He showed no sign of being truly intoxicated as he fished his car keys out of his pocket. Jack hadn't necessarily wanted to leave yet but he knew David would be mad if he overslept tomorrow. Jack didn't have class in the morning and almost wished he could just put David on a bus back to his university and be done with it for tonight, but the busses were closed at this late hour.
"How much did you have to drink?" David asked, eyeing Jack's keys warily. Jack shrugged off his concerns, putting his arm around David's shoulders and steering him near the car.
"Not that much, Davey, two half cups maybe? Hardly anything." He told him, already vaguely upset that he had to leave the party early. He didn't want to deal with David's worry-wort tendencies. David protested one more time but was ultimately shot down but Jack's slightly annoyed reassurances. Jack turned the key in his dark blue car and pulled open the door with a sigh, ignoring David's offer to drive.
"I'm fine Dave, really, don't worry." He called again, leaning across the seat and throwing open the passenger side door with a loud creak. David shook his head, almost more worried about Jack's car making it all the way back to campus than Jack himself. He sat down heavily in the seat, trying to ignore the second shudder the car made when he did so. He crossed his arms, this time pulling his sleeves down over his wrists, wishing he had his own car or that Sarah had been at the party longer. He didn't want to ride back with Jack, partially because he knew he had annoyed him by wanting to leave early. The silence stretched out between them as the car's engine attempted to roll over and come to life.
Once it did, Jack pulled out of the space and on to the highway a little faster than David was comfortable with. David bit his lip, wrestling with himself on whether or not to apologize and just tell Jack to turn around. He could stay at campus tonight and miss his first class. It was only Latin…but then again, he couldn't miss Latin.
"Jack, are you sure you're okay? We can go back?" He offered, ignoring the part of his brain that was yelling at him about conjugations and verb tenses that he would miss. Jack shook his head, and David sighed, pressing his short curls against the back of the head rest. He had managed to make Jack angry.
"I don't understand why you don't like parties." Jack started, muttering it under his breath with a shrug. David looked out the window, wishing Jack's stereo worked so there would be something else to focus on.
"It's just not my thing okay? I can't handle that many people all the time." He said, still facing away from Jack and unable to see the fed up gesture Jack made.
"Do you really just think that you're that much better than us? Then me? You're not better just because you've got smarts Dave." Jack said, his voice rising a little more. David turned back to him now, an incredulous look on his face.
"Better than you? That's what you think of me? That I'm some snob that went to good schools and had privilege?" David called, his blue eyes burning. He hated it when people thought he was some rich kid. He worked for what he got and even he didn't like it sometimes. All this because he didn't want to be around a bunch of drunks.
"If you're not than why don't you like going? It's fun and you're such a downer all the time!" Jack said again, causing David to turn and face the window again. He didn't want to be having this argument. Not now. He hated fighting with Jack.
"Fine Jack, if I'm such a downer than you can just start going by yourself." He called, his tone harsher as he continued to look out the window. His gaze was far out into the black night, the lights of the city slowly approaching. What he didn't see was Jack taking his eyes off of the road to glance at David.
David didn't feel a thing. But that tends to be the way of it.