The first time Sebastian met Dave, it was late September, a slow Thursday night. He wasn't supposed to be out but really, what else was there to do in fucking Ohio? It was bad enough that his parents had decided to send him to the most remote private school they could find, he was supposed to just stay home and study? No way. So he'd decided to check out the local gay spot. Assess the fauna if you will. The Dalton boys, he knew them too well already.
Disappointment was all he found. Sure, he never expected to find a thriving, hip club, but seriously? Three forty-something men playing pool and one chubby boy at the bar? Kitschy '80's music and questionable lighting? It was worse than he'd envisioned.
He headed for the bar. Might as well start to get drunk right away if it was the only fun he was going to get.
"Long Island Iced Tea" he ordered. He wasn't going to trust this place with anything more refined. Once the barman had nodded his acknowledgment, he turned his attention to the guy at his left. Large, silent, sullen even, no fun, so not his type. All deduced in the three seconds it took to look him up and down.
It didn't mean he didn't have some potential. The guy was obviously used to the place. No harm in trying to get some intel from him.
Listening was his forte, his secret weapon. When you were the new kid everywhere, moving every six months, you didn't make waves. You kept quiet, observed the dynamics and most of all, listened to everyone and everything they said. By the fifth grade, he had figured out that people only wanted to talk about themselves. They would do so to anyone willing to listen, even more gladly to the nice, rich kid they wanted to impress. Then, without them even realizing, he would have all the ammunition to make them dance as he wished, which was always the second part of his plan. He had perfected this method to an art.
"Hello there." he started, low and slow. "I'm Sebastian." He leaned forward on the counter, one foot on the railing, the other stretched behind. A big grin, along with the suggestive pose, should have been enough to compel a positive response.
Not from this guy apparently, because all he got was a side look and a shrug.
"And you are..." he insisted.
"Karofsky. Well, Dave." the other replied flatly.
"Dave." Sebastian repeated. "Wonderful. So tell me, Dave, is it always like this in here?" He took a long, careful sip of his drink while waiting for the answer.
"I guess."
The smile disappeared from Sebastian's face. One thing he could never stand was apathy, especially when he was so actively trying himself.
"Come on… You can do better than this, Grizzly bear. What's the layout? Twinks, repressed married guys? Drag queens?" he pressed, nudging him with his shoulder.
"Only on Wednesdays." Dave replied. A small smile curled up his lips, although his gaze never left his beer.
"See, that wasn't so hard!" Sebastian said enthusiastically. "Now, just to be clear, you're not my type." he quickly added.
That last sentence did make Dave look at him, finally. "What? Where did that come from?" the guy asked.
Sebastian scoffed, took another sip. Building up the suspense was part of the routine, part of the act. It brought better control to any relationship. If you could have the attention, you could have the upper hand.
"Just establishing ground rules. I've been the object of too many unwanted affections in the past, especially when I'm the one initiating contact. I'm taking precautions, that's all." Another sip, a dedicated lick over his wet lips, a sideways glance.
"Oh, OK." Dave replied. Strangely, he didn't blush at the display, just gave him a firm, genuine happy smile.
It gave him a weird twitch in his stomach, and Sebastian decided right then and there that Dave was interesting. Refreshingly different. Not in a romantic way of course, but he could be someone to rely on eventually. Someone worth getting to know.
A danger, basically.
He smiled in return, a mere flash. Dave kept on smiling, in that open, sincere way. What was that?
Definitely, that boy meant trouble ahead, he had to be avoided.
He put a bill on the counter without even checking if it was too much for his drink and walked away. So what if Dave wouldn't understand. If Sebastian wasn't messing with the guy or seducing him, he had nothing to do with him. Dave was too… innocent, straightforward. For reasons unknown, Sebastian couldn't bring himself to fuck with his head. The choice was clear then. No contact. He found a secluded spot near the jukebox and settled there.
Scandals filled up pretty nicely soon after. He guessed he had just been a little early. It turned out the population coming in remained boring though. Time passed, he multiplied the drinks, since there wasn't anything better to do. By 2 am, he was beyond drunk, bitter and generally dissatisfied with the evening and his life in general.
He stumbled outside, barely making it to the curb before collapsing on the asphalt. Head between his knees, he took deep breaths and attempted to clear his head. He needed to be at least coherent when the cab would arrive.
It must have took what, a full minute, for someone to come annoy him. The price to pay for being a hot mess and normally, he wouldn't have minded. This time, he just wished it wouldn't have been a skanky 35 years-old who smelled weird.
The guy kept asking him luring questions. He responded with quick negations, except the lack of wit in them (his head wouldn't come up with any) made them ineffective. It got to the point where the creep had his arm looped around Sebastian's slumped shoulders. Under the influence as he was, there was no energy to push him away.
In the end he didn't have to.
"Hey, …Sebastian, right?"
Sebastian looked up groggily. Craning his neck over the guy's arm, he caught a glimpse of a tall figure standing behind them. It was that brooding, (sweet)boy from the bar… Dave?
"Hum.. What?" he replied in a thick, wavy voice. He didn't really have any control over it. Nor did he have any over his unwanted suitor, whose hand was now travelling down his arm and sneaking around his waist to bring him closer.
He knew something was wrong with the situation, wondered what was going on with Creepy and Dave and why was everything swaying so much?
He didn't have to wonder for very long. He looked around and as soon as his foggy eyes locked with Dave's, it all went very fast.
Dave marching up to him and ripping the guy off from him, tossing him several feet away… He was vaguely aware of it as it happened. He did hear Dave yell something unintelligible and immediately after he was right next to him.
"Whoa." he muttered. Suddenly he felt very tired and leaned on Dave's shoulder. It was pretty comfortable, quite broad and full. His eyes closed reflexively.
"You OK man? That guy seemed pretty handsy…"
"Mmh? Yeah… Uh-uh." he replied, off-handed. He was drifting away, he knew it and didn't want to care. The last part of him that was still remotely sober reminded him that he had to be awake for that cab. He just couldn't manage it very well. It didn't matter, Dave seemed like he understood, just staying put and silent and there.
Thankfully he didn't have to wait very long. A car pulled into the parking lot maybe 2 minutes later and stopped in front of him. Dave shook him gently, helped him get up and opened the door for him. Sebastian slumped inside and uttered his address to the driver. How he paid the cab fare and made his way to his room would always remain blurry in his memories. He did remember that his last thought before going dozing off was that he never thanked Dave.