House Party
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck,
Some nights, I call it a draw,
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle,
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off,

Fun. Some Nights

The engine stopped and John gulped hard as he pulled the key from the car's ignition. "Is it weird that I'm nervous?" he asked his little brother who sat in the passenger's seat.

Arthur guffawed. "She's gorgeous, course you should be nervous. Just be careful, I hear a lot of bad things about her."

John smiled at his little brother, nervous that he'd be excluded for his quiet nature. "I know. She's supposed to be easy, floozy, slutty... but there's something about her that I really like."

"Confidence is key, man. Who knows, maybe you'll be the guy to tame the wild beast!" Arthur joked before getting out of the car. He pulled his red hoody straight before giving his brother a bear hug. "I have my phone. Anything goes wrong, you find me, okay?"

"Ditto."

The Emerson brothers turned to the high rise building and John scanned his phone, looking for the text he'd gotten from Jane that contained the address. He led Arthur up and, at the door, they parted ways, John almost immediately spotting a scantily clad Jane Legates. Arthur sighed and went through to the living room where techno music was blasting out of the speakers that had been set up. Now, to find a familiar face.

"Hey," he heard over the blasting music. He looked around and felt his stomach leap as his eyes settled on Nathan, all alone. His black t-shirt was stretched to bursting point over his muscular chest, the open hoody he wore over it clinging to his broad frame.

Arthur gulped hard and choked out, "Hi."

Perhaps he just hadn't noticed when the guy was surrounded by his cronies and looking menacing, but Nathan genuinely made Arthur nervous and not because he was scary. Nathan was the type of person that made your heart skip a beat, he had that rare quality about him.

"Liking it here?"

"Er, yeah! Much more exciting," Arthur replied truthfully, swallowing hard and trying to act cool. He'd seen a lot of pretty guys in his time and he didn't understand why this one had him stuttering over his words.

"I bet you didn't get thugs like me bench pressing sixteen stones in your poncy old private school," Nathan said with a grin.

Arthur chuckled and flattened his hair idly. "No, that was something new!" he admitted, his eyes glittering with mirth.

Nathan's smile grew wider as he pulled the lid off of a cooler that sat behind him. He pulled out two soaking bottles. "Beer?"

"I... I don't like drinking," Arthur lied quickly, his throat growing tight.

Nathan raised an eyebrow and Arthur knew he'd sensed the wobble in his voice. "Come on, mate. Just one, it's a party. Bet the snob dorms never had parties like this!" he said with a laugh.

Arthur considered this, watching the icy water on the bottles roll down Nathan's heavily tattooed forearms.

Then, Rosie appeared out of the crowds, a half drunk can of energy juice in hand. "You of all people shouldn't be pressurising people into drinking, Nathan," she said, smiling kindly at Arthur.

Nathan grinned and set the beers down on the floor, pulling Rosie into his arms and kissing her on the forehead. "Hey, sweetie," he greeted merrily. She hugged him hard and Arthur had to smile. "You're not still mad about that, are you?" Nathan asked in disbelief as he let her go.

"When you get me pissed out of my mind and let me face my parents on my own, I'm going to hold a grudge. You can't just wink at me and expect me to melt like butter, which is what happens with pretty much everyone else," Rosie pointed out, elbowing her friend roughly.

"We go back a long way," Nathan explained to Arthur with a grin. "What about that beer, cutie? Or are you going to be as stubborn as my darling little princess?"

Arthur sighed, melting under Nathan's gaze. "One, and that's it," he replied and keeled down to get one of the bottles. "Got an opener?"

"Don't need one," Nathan answered, grabbing the second and putting the top in his mouth. With a swift yank, the bottle was open, leaving Nathan to pass it onto Arthur and take the closed one. He took the cap out of his mouth and threw it into the masses that danced in the middle of the room, repeating his actions on the second bottle.

Arthur tentatively wiped the neck of his bottle, causing Nathan to laugh. "What a fancy twat!" he guffawed and watched in satisfaction as Arthur blushed furiously.

"Sorry, bro, but I don't know where you've been!" he replied gruffly, causing Rosie to giggle.

Nathan just snorted. "I'm not a total animal," he insisted with a grin.

Rosie raised an eyebrow. "Don't flatter yourself," she said, taking a gulp of her own drink. Nathan quickly tipped the end of the can up whilst Rosie drunk, causing it to spill down her face. He laughed uncontrollably whilst she scowled and wiped her face, shoving him to the side. "I'm gonna go talk to Russell," she said with a wink, causing Nathan to snort. Then, she went towards the blond haired, blue eyed boy that Arthur knew was one of Nathan's closest friends.

"She's got a thing for Russell? Great, won't here the end of this for months, darling, Russell's taken a fancy to her too," Nathan said with a sigh, his face crumpling at the thought of the sickly conversation he was bound to have with Russell the following morning.

Arthur chuckled and took a sip of the vile drink, his face scrunching up at the taste. "C'mon, then, exactly how disease ridden are you?" he asked Nathan with a smirk.

Nathan shot him a bemused look. "Shut your trap, you Yank! I'm as clean as a whistle, thank you very much. And I get tested. When the last two generations got their throats sliced when they were in their thirties, I'm looking for a little more spectacular death than some shitty STI at seventeen," Nathan pointed out, downing a gulp of beer like it was air.

"That's where you see your life going, then, sliced throat at thirty?" Arthur asked edgily, almost shivering at the thought.

"I ain't got no choice, mate. Lindsey says I'd be bloody lucky to see thirty, I'm not exactly as careful as the predecessors. The thrill of it all sometimes takes over with me," be admitted.

"I can't believe you aren't behind bars!"

"Every man has his price, boyo, and even the police can be held off in my lot's case. Not to mention we slip through their fingers like sand!" he replied.

"Really? You don't seem like the type to run," Arthur said.

Nathan raised an eyebrow and thought Arthur had a point. He was a fighter, skilled and powerful to take down almost anyone. But he thought of how it felt, a good chase, and knew that there was only one true answer. "I don't like running when there's no one to chase me."

"So it's all about the thrill?"

"Of course. There's nothing better than knowing your will and physical ability is all that stands between you and disaster. Makes you feel... alive, like absolutely anything could happen. Like you could fly, if you really wanted! But you wouldn't know, would you, posh boy?" Nathan said, his eyes glistening as he spoke.

Arthur grinned, averting his eyes to his shoes. "I have to say, I have lived a very sheltered life. But that sounds amazing. Show me sometime?"

Nathan smiled slowly. "Yeah... alright."

Arthur smiled back. "So, what's so badass about you that people chase you? Other than you look like somebody out of the Godfather."

"No, my turn to ask a question," Nathan insisted, setting down a third empty bottle and reaching for a fourth. "Seeing as you're a sheltered posh boy that's probably never tasted adventure, what was the best day of your life?"

Arthur grinned, "Easy. The day I found out I was going to public school," he replied.

"Why?"

"Sick of the snobs, the preps, the complete lack of adventure," Arthur answered, choking down the dregs of his second bottle. Nathan tossed him a third and uncapped his own with his teeth. "How do you do that?"

"How do you think?" Nathan asked with a chuckle.

Arthur sighed. "What if I chip a tooth?"

Nathan snorted and laughed. "It happens. I wish I could say these were from bar fights but I've just cracked them on bottles," he admitted, smiling widely to reveal a mouthful of oddly charming crooked teeth. "But I bet you could afford the cosmetic dentistry."

Arthur smiled a slow smile, his white teeth shining in the dim light of the room that was practically shaking under the bass pounding from the speakers. "Yeah, but I wouldn't want it fixed," he answered and gripped the cap of the bottle with his teeth, yanking sharply. With a twinge of pain and a crack of whiplash, the top came clean off. Arthur spat it out and took a gulp, seeing Nathan grinning at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What's more adventurous about public school anyway?" the older boy asked.

Arthur considered this for a second, not minding the now familiar stench of beer as it seared a path to his stomach. "Would you believe I've never drunk before?"

Nathan scoffed for a second but the laughs soon ran out when he caught sight of Arthur's pink cheeks. "Wait... Are you serious?"

Arthur nodded grimly.

"Never had a little poof juice at a party?"

"We couldn't get drink on campus."

"Never sneaked a bottle of Smirnoff out of the cupboard?"

"No."

"Christ... Mate, you haven't lived," Nathan pointed out.

Arthur snorted. "I need to get pissed to have a life?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I'm just making the assumption that if you've never drunk, there's a lot of stuff you've never done," Nathan answered, his eyes wide. "Be honest, do you feel like a normal teenager?"

Arthur smiled slowly, his warm chocolate eyes searching Nathan's blue ones and all sense of what Nathan had asked departing him. "Your eyes..." he murmured absently.

"Yeah?" Nathan prompted, leaning forward slightly.

"They're..." Arthur muttered, unable to fathom a description. The purest blue with flecks of aqua and slate grey. Beautiful. Captivating. He looked away sharply. "Cute," he said quietly, upending his bottle into his mouth, gulping down the acrid liquid like there was no tomorrow.

Nathan smiled sweetly. "Watch it, mate. You'll be a real lightweight, take it easy," he heeded as Arthur put the empty bottle down.

"Fuck that. This is a party, I am a teenager... Let's get smashed," Arthur said, more instructing than proposing.

Nathan gaped at Arthur. It was a bad idea. A shitty one. But since when did he make smart decisions? "Good," was all he said, chugging his fourth beer and opening another two.

Two beers each later, they were on their feet, dancing like madmen. They didn't stand out for everyone was at least tipsy, but they sure added to the raucous noise.

It wasn't until late at night that John reappeared, his eyes going wide at the sight of his drunken little brother. He glared at Nathan, who just smirked back. He was edging on tipsy but was by no means drunk. "How much has be had?"

Nathan grinned, watching as John took a firm grip of Arthur's shoulder, holding him still. "Four beers since he came to me, so about six units. Real lightweight, this one!"

"He's just a kid-"

"He's sixteen."

"Still illegal, even for you and half the kids in here."

"The laws in this country are bogus. I could legally shag anyone in this room right now, yet I can't buy a beer in a pub," Nathan pointed out with a roll of his eyes.

John grimaced at him. "Laws are laws, kid. Not that you care. According to Anthony, you've broken just about every rule in the book and you think you're so badass," he snapped sourly.

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "What else has that faggot been saying about me, then? Seeing as you're so driven on getting into his good books so you can screw his sister."

"Not much... just that you're gay. True or not?"

Nathan scoffed. "Mate, who and what I do in the bedroom is none of your business. But if you must know, if they're good looking and willing... Heck, why not?" He said with a shark like grin.

John sighed. The guy was honest and unprejudiced, he could give him that. "Just... stay away from Arthur. He's too inexperienced to take care of himself in these parts," he explained wearily.

Nathan scoffed, gulping down more beer. "You tell your little brother I'm willing to take care of him if he is," he offered with a devilish wink, John's squirming making him grin.

John rolled his eyes. "I'm taking him home before you start slipping him pills," he snapped, pulling Arthur towards the front door.

Nathan chortled, ruffling his hair idly before upending what must have been his seventh bottle. His phone shrilled in his pocket and he stepped outside, pressing it to his ear as he watched John and Arthur climb into a cab. "Lindsey, darling," he greeted with a smile.

A/N: Aha, I hope you appreciate this! My music is the only thing keeping me awake right now! -_- zzzzzz If the editing is a little iffy, that's why! October hols coming up, I'll be updating more often (yay!) Please tap the review button and let me know what you think, it means a lot! S xxxxx