hey i'm back. i'm at school now. classes haven't started yet so i'm trying to fill the time with creative pursuits (writing included). as always, my schedule gets tighter during the academic year, but i stg we're about halfway through this fic and i'm going to finish it damn it. hopefully this chapter is good? it's fun and games with light angst, so enjoy~

edit: I FORGOT TO ADD SOMEONE DREW FANART HERE LOOK AT IT art/What-are-you-implying-695040197

"You didn't have to tell her," Connor said later, while they were driving to the karaoke place. He, Annabeth, and Nico were sitting in the wayback of Katie's van.

"I think I did." Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "She's going to be your sister-in-law. You seemed pretty upset. She's already thinking of how to kick Neil out of the wedding party."

"Travis will probably beat her to it. I hope."

"Anyway, I don't know what you expected by calling me. They need me to be the designated driver, so it's not as if I could drop everything to take care of you."

Connor folded his arms. "I wasn't that upset."

Annabeth gave him a skeptical look.

Nico leaned around Connor to address Annabeth. "Are you sure it's okay? We're the only guys."

"Yes, but I don't think it matters. After all, they think you two are in a committed relationship." She scanned the van-full of women. It wasn't a large bachelorette party, but every seat was filled, and they were loud. "You're welcome, by the way. I told Katie to let them know before we picked you up. Just in case they mistook you for strippers."

Connor laughed. "We'd be the worst strippers. Don't you need muscles for that?"

Annabeth looked them both up and down. "Good point. Don't be nervous. They think you're gay and the fact that you're even willing to come along makes you one of the gang."

"I am gay," Nico said. Then both he and Annabeth looked at Connor.

"Alright, cut it out. What do you want from me?"

They looked away. Connor wasn't sure if he should be relieved or more worried. What was their deal? It didn't matter. It wasn't as if he was lying about his sexuality for nefarious purposes.

"I'm sorry we don't have party favors for you guys," Katie called from the front. The rest of the women had matching t-shirts and plastic beads—all pink. Katie was wearing a plastic tiara with a veil on it.

"We're good," Nico said. He looked like he might break out in hives if something pink touched him. Annabeth had offered to share her beads, but he'd refused. (Connor, who didn't have the same hang-ups, was wearing some like a bracelet.)

They'd had a quick introduction to the bridesmaids earlier. Lauren was sitting in front with Katie, while Drew and Amy were in the middle. They were all exclusively Katie's friends, so Annabeth was in the same boat as Connor and Nico. But they'd been given a hearty welcome. (Except for Drew, who thought it was a bad idea to bring boys along at all.) The act had passed muster with them easier than it had his family. They'd never met before, so they'd immediately accepted Nico as his boyfriend.

Connor hoped Travis was having fun, despite the drama earlier. Travis deserved to have fun. This was his wedding and bachelor party. Connor had learned to accept a long time ago that Travis did things without him and Travis had accepted the same of Connor. The only thing they weren't allowed to do was keep secrets. That rule wasn't holding up so well right now.

It was not, as Connor had been expecting, a karaoke bar. He'd been picturing a large, public room full of tables with a stage. Instead, this place offered private, sound proofed rooms. As soon as Katie mentioned it, Connor felt relief roll off Nico in waves. Their only audience would be each other. Connor was a tad disappointed. It was easier to play to a crowd, especially when his singing voice could best be described as "average." On a stage, he would've been able to dance around and pull weird faces. He didn't think a room would allow him the same freedom.

But they could order drinks and have them brought straight to the room. So that was a plus.

"I didn't think there were places like this in the U.S.," Annabeth said.

Katie shrugged. "Yeah, they're kind of few and far between. The reviews said a lot of the songs on the machine are in Korean, but they have stuff in English, too."

Lauren was already flipping through the catalog. She squealed happily when she came across "Party in the U.S.A." She grabbed Drew's arm and said, "Oh my God, do you remember this? I used to sing along every time it was on the radio."

"Super nostalgic," Amy said with a sigh. She turned to Connor. "What kind of music are you into?"

Connor shrugged. He listened to everything. Some might call it bad taste, but he thought of himself as open-minded.

"What about you, Nico? What should we put you down for?"

"I don't—" Nico started to say, then stopped. "Is that 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies'?"

Connor almost swallowed his tongue trying not to laugh. He settled for nudging Nico in the ribs and mouthing "emo" at him. He got a hard nudge back. To his surprise, however, Nico let the girls sign him up for a song.

The room had a small table and two couches. The couches were made of pleather—probably easier to clean spills off of—and the cushions were firm. So firm that Connor could bounce on them like a weak trampoline until both Annabeth and Nico stared at him.

When someone came around to take their orders, everyone ordered drinks as well as food. Nico looked overwhelmed for a second. He was holding a menu, but he wasn't really looking at it.

"Need a few more minutes?" Connor asked. "The girls are getting enough to share."

"I've never had some of this stuff," Nico muttered. "What's daikon?"

"Don't ask me. It comes free with wings."

Annabeth sighed. "It's a kind of radish. You've had Asian food before; you should know that."

Connor had never voluntarily eaten a radish in his entire life. "We'll just share," he said, taking the menu and handing it back to the server. "I'll chip in for a pitcher or whatever, Katie."

The server glanced at Nico. He seemed apologetic. He probably wasn't much older than them and was already regretting what he was about to ask. "Sorry, but can I see your ID?"

While Nico was getting his wallet, Connor whispered, "See, what did I say?"

"Um, can I get yours, too?"

Connor decided now was a good time to shut up. Nico smirked at him as he took out his driver's license. He also resolved to put a moratorium on drawing attention to Nico's stature or teasing him about it.

As soon as they had food and alcohol, Katie and the bridesmaids put on the music. Connor sat back while they cycled through early 2000s pop hits. They even got Annabeth to join them. He almost forgot Nico had agreed to participate until Panic! popped up on the setlist.

Nico seemed to have forgotten as well. He froze with a fry halfway to his mouth.

"Come on, Nico!" Katie said. She gestured for him to get up. "I'll do it with you. I love this song."

"Um…"

"Do it," Connor whispered. "She said she'll do it with you."

Nico shook his head. "I can't. Earlier… I was just joking."

Like hell. You're chickening out. "I know you know all the words."

"Shut up. I thought I could, but I can't." Nico looked apologetically at Katie. It looked like she understood.

Katie picked up the microphone. "Okay. I'll sing it for you."

"That's not fair," Drew said, folding her arms. "Everyone else did it."

"Nico's shy," Katie said and that was enough. She hit play on the screen.

Connor watched Katie for the first five seconds, then turned his gaze to Nico. The moment Katie started singing, Nico started mouthing the words. Not super noticeably. His lips were moving and they were matching the rhythm of the lyrics. Connor had been right. He did know all the words. He was actually a beat ahead of Katie.

They were headed for the drop. Connor grabbed Nico's arm. He didn't say anything; he didn't have time. Nico's eyes flickered to him. Connor didn't know what expression he made exactly. It was dark in the room and it only lasted a second. He wished he knew what went through Nico's head that moment, because the next second, Nico was on his feet and joining Katie in the chorus.

And it turned out that Nico could sing. That was a plot twist Connor hadn't been prepared for. He wasn't amazing. He hadn't taken lessons or anything, that was obvious. However, he could carry a tune and stay on it and his voice didn't crack. Connor sat there in utter shock for a minute. He felt offended that he hadn't realized. Shit, he hadn't even bothered to ask. Nico never would've told him on his own. Now he had to process this.

Katie and Nico finished the song with a bang. Katie gave Nico a high-five. He was breathless and… smiling? Genuinely smiling. It felt like a kick to the stomach. Connor wished he had known earlier that the way to Nico's heart was through 2000's era pop punk songs. He guessed he'd had hints. Ones he didn't bother investigating.

"You sing?" were the first two words out of Connor's mouth when Nico sat down beside him.

"No."

"But you…" Connor ran out of brain power and gestured at the place where Nico and Katie had just been belting out "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." He needed to know if Nico sang when he wasn't around. Did he do it in the shower? What about in the car?

"I'd have to sing a lot to say I sing," Nico said. He hunched in on himself. "I don't usually do it front of other people. After I failed choirboy auditions…"

"You were almost a choirboy. Jesus Christ."

"Don't start getting ideas. It wasn't 'almost.' That's being way too generous."

"I learn something new about you every day," Connor said, pouring himself a drink from the communal pitcher.

Nico returned his attention to his fries. "And I learn the same things about you. When are you going to show me something new, Connor?"

Connor drank instead of answering. What was Nico trying to get at? He didn't like the thought of Nico examining him. Like a body on a table. His brain ricocheted off that topic and hurried to the safety of wondering how Travis's bachelor party was going.

Watching the girls laughing and having a good time, Connor realized that he didn't mind being excluded from the burlesque outing. Nico seemed more comfortable here. He'd actually joined in. Now he was quietly eating and drumming his toes in time to the music. It wasn't the alcohol; Nico had taken one sip, made a face, and put it down. ("Too much sugar.") He was genuinely having fun and it was doing something to Connor's chest. Tightening it.

Annabeth slid over. "Don't drink too much," she warned. "You don't want to do something stupid."

"Like what? I already made a scene with one of Travis's groomsmen."

"You know what I mean." And then she looked pointedly at Nico, who was watching Lauren and Amy perform a stirring cover of "Firework."

The implication dropped on Connor's head like a lead pipe. He almost dropped his glass but managed to transfer it to the table just in time. He laughed—more of a nervous laugh than a genuine one, but whatever.

"That's funny," he said. "We're not actually dating, Annabeth."

"I know, and that's why I think you should come clean before…"

"Before what?"

"Before you do something to get yourself hurt."

Connor stared at her. Had she really just said what he thought she said? She wasn't meeting his eyes. It reminded him of that conversation in her car, the promise he'd made. Even if I don't know who I am now, I'll find myself again. And I'll listen to you next time. It wasn't the same, but he was thinking of it anyway. She was looking out for him. Trying to, anyway. Except he didn't know what she was talking about. Was he going to get hurt because of the lies or because of…?

"You have to stop," Annabeth said as the song ended, "otherwise you're going to bury yourself neck deep."

"I need a break," Drew announced, flopping onto a couch. She fanned herself and picked up her drink. "At least I don't have to feel bad about skipping cardio tomorrow."

"Karaoke, the new fitness craze," Amy joked.

Katie turned to Connor with a huge smile on her face. "When are you going to perform for us?"

"You hogged the machine, so I didn't get a chance to pick a song. And you're all better than me anyway."

"Sounds like you're trying to weasel out," Lauren said.

"No way," Connor said. "I'm just saying it's not going to be as top quality. I can be funny, but it won't be good."

"Do you actually not want to be the center of attention for once?" Nico said. "I'm shocked. You made me do it."

"I said I'd do it. This is my warning that I can't belt out showtunes like Hugh Jackman, so don't expect any of that. Plus, you should be thanking me for that. Otherwise you would've been miserable for the rest of the night."

Nico snorted. Connor would've offered an additional comeback, but Annabeth cut him off.

"For a couple, you two aren't very affectionate," she said.

What the hell is she trying to pull? Connor raised both eyebrows. "What are you implying?"

"You're friendly enough, but you and Nico were never that close at school. It's surprising that you're suddenly into each other enough to go to a wedding together."

"We were keeping it low key, remember?" Connor said. He'd started jogging his leg without realizing and made himself stop.

"Fair point. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't seem very comfortable with each other." She cut her eyes at him. "I'm not the only one who noticed, right?"

"Annabeth," Katie said with a laugh. "You're being weird. Let them be."

"I just think honesty is important." Annabeth sipped her drink.

"So… what? You think they're faking?"

I thought you were our friend, Connor thought. She was trying to make him fess up. To protect him or whatever. Then he realized he'd never made Annabeth promise not to tell Katie. Shit.

"He's a Stoll," Annabeth said. "You know what he's like. He loves to perform."

Katie laughed again, nervously this time. "That's kind of mean."

"I agree," Connor said. He was trying to send Annabeth a message with his eyes. (The message was NO, in capital neon letters.)

Lauren chimed in. "Annabeth has a point. They tagged along because the guys thought they were too gay to go with them. Maybe they're faking it to hang out with us and score dates?"

Nico made a face.

"Oh, come on," Katie started to say, but Drew jumped in. She was pointing at him with her straw.

"He used to date Miranda, remember? Didn't you say they broke up last year? This guy has gone out with girls before."

"One girl," Connor muttered. And I've been wondering if I was ever attracted to her.

"Excuse me," Nico said. "Who are you again?"

Drew looked stunned. Annabeth seemed a little surprised, too. Connor was struggling not show how startled he was by Nico speaking up. He had been worried that Nico was going to run from the room.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Drew said.

"Yeah, and I'm the pope. Just leave us alone. If you didn't want us here, you could've just said." And with that, he got up and left the room.

"Awk-ward," Lauren sang.

Katie turned to her so fast her ponytail whipped her in the face. "Shut up. This isn't funny. I'm sorry, Connor."

Connor shrugged. It wasn't Katie's fault. He looked at Annabeth. She seemed chastened. When she met his gaze, he could read the regret in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay. I'm going to get Nico." He put down his drink and left the same way Nico had. He didn't have to look far. Nico was leaning against the wall in the hallway, his hands in his pockets.

"I kind of blew up in there," he said. "Sorry."

"Wow, everyone's apologizing to me today. It's not as satisfying as I thought it'd be."

Nico scuffed the floor. "Why did she have to bring it up?"

He didn't want to get into what Annabeth had said earlier. "I guess she's trying to do what she thinks is best. Annabeth has one of those strict moral codes I've heard so much about."

"Should… should we be playing it up more?" Nico looked up. "Some of them were onto us."

Connor shook his head. "They'll know for sure we're faking then. Our relationship isn't defined by PDA. Come here." He held out his hand.

Nico hesitated, then took it. Connor led him back into the karaoke room.

Connor wasn't usually that self-conscious, but after a few drinks, the last walls around his inhibitions fell away. So, as long as he had the mic, he was going to make a full performance of it. That meant dancing, winking at his "audience", and generally playing it up. He was currently killing "Come Into My World."

On, "take these eyes that were meant for watching over you" Connor pointed at his own eyes then Nico's. He took it a step further on "these hands that were meant to touch and feel you" by running his fingers along Nico's jaw, all the way to his chin. While the girls were falling over themselves laughing at Connor's imitation of Kylie Minogue's breathy singing voice, Nico's expression of sardonic amusement changed. Connor felt an acute sensation of satisfaction as Nico's head tilted up to follow the motion of his hand. There was a softness in Nico's eyes that hadn't been there before.

After the song was over and everyone had applauded, Connor fell onto the seat beside Nico, giddy and a little dizzy from the alcohol. "How was that?" he asked.

"You were good." Nico patted his shoulder.

"Mmm." Connor couldn't have asked for more. On impulse, he grabbed Nico's hand and kissed the back.

Nico seemed to be humoring him. He gently extricated his hand from Connor's grasp and smiled in a slightly strained—but not forced—way. "Don't get carried away," he said. "Drink some water."

Connor did as he asked. Katie was pushing Annabeth to sing the next song. Despite looking incredibly uncomfortable, Annabeth took the mic and started scrolling through songs. It was slightly quieter in the room. It was sheer luck that Connor heard Nico's ringtone.

"Oh," Nico said, fishing it out. "It's my mom."

"Weird. Why is she calling you so late?"

"I don't know. It might be an emergency." Nico glanced up apologetically. "I have to take this."

"It's fine. Take as long as you need."

After Nico left, Annabeth started her round. She noticed Nico leaving and made eye contact with Connor. Did she know something he didn't? However, the thought was soon pushed out of Connor's head by Katie passing him another glass.

Nico never came back into the room. It took Connor a while to worry about it. He was having fun and was soon over the edge of "buzzed" and deep into "smashed." He noticed when the girls' energy started to flag. Once there was less noise and off-key singing, Connor was able to identify the missing person.

A flash of panic hit him. Maybe something had happened. Connor stood up so fast he nearly knocked over their empty glasses. He was prepared to run out and start searching, forgetting that he was wearing Katie's plastic tiara and one of the girls' jackets.

"What's the matter?" Katie asked.

"Nico. He left a while ago and he isn't back yet."

Annabeth checked her phone. "He might still be outside. We should be heading back anyway. It's getting late."

The cold night air was a welcome change of pace. Connor felt less wobbly as soon as they opened the doors. He felt even less wobbly when he spotted Nico pacing the sidewalk outside with his phone pressed to his ear. He's really been talking to his mom this whole time?

Nico spotted the party coming out. He said something into the phone and hung up. "Is it over?" he asked. "I wasn't keeping track of time."

"It's alright," Katie said. She yawned. "Annabeth, you can get us home, right? I'm exhausted."

"Sure."

Everyone started climbing into Katie's van. Connor lingered. He wanted to know if Nico and/or his mom was okay. "There's no emergency, right? All good, right?"

"She just wanted to touch base."

"Oh thank God." Connor flapped his arms. "I was scared I had to ship you back. Can't drive. Tonight or tomorrow. We gotta FedEx you to D.C."

"You're a mess," Nico said, laughing. "How much did you have?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty drunk."

Nico reached up for the tiara. For a brief second, Connor thought he was going to take it off, but all he did was adjust it. Then he rearranged the veil so it hung gracefully down the back of Connor's head. He smiled with such genuine warmth that Connor was startled.

"Looks good on you," Nico said. "Sei molto bello."

Connor only understood one word of that, but it was the one word that mattered. Nico had never bothered to call him handsome before.

Annabeth had to ruin the moment by leaning in. "Stop flirting."

"Excuse you. We're a couple."

"No, you're not." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If I promise not to pressure you again, will you tell the truth on your own?"

"Never." Connor swayed. Nico put a hand against his side to steady him. "My fake relationship is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Nico stifled a laugh. Annabeth snatched the tiara from Connor's head.

"This is for the bride," she said.

"Katie said I could have it."

Annabeth clearly did not believe him. She turned to catch up with Katie and the rest of the bridal party. Nico and Connor lingered behind. Nico hadn't let go of Connor yet.

Connor pouted. "She said I could have it," he whined.

"You can get it back later if you still want it."

It was a big car, but Connor and Nico still ended up crushed in the wayback. Nico, being the smallest, was in the middle. Drew had passed out the second her seatbelt was on and was now slumped to Nico's right.

"I'm going to drop you off first, Connor," Annabeth said. "Is that okay?"

"Sure," Nico answered for him.

Connor didn't remember much of the ride home. Katie and the rest of the bridal party sang along to the radio a few times (they weren't done singing, it seemed). At one point, Nico put a hand on his leg and whispered, "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm good. I haven't puked since I was a freshman."

Annabeth pulled up outside Connor's house. It turned out to be more difficult getting out of the car than he'd thought. Connor's long limbs combined with severely dampened motor skills meant nearly falling on everyone as they tried to leave. Luckily, everyone was in a good mood and just laughed when he almost elbow dropped Lauren.

Nico held him up as they crossed the front lawn. On a flat surface, Connor felt fine, but he didn't want Nico to let go of him. He actually played it up a bit, crossing his feet on purpose.

"Knock it off," Nico whispered as they climbed the steps. "This is harder than it looks."

"But you look cute helping your drunk boyfriend make it to his front door in one piece."

"You're honestly not that different drunk from sober. Keys?"

"Back pocket. Hang on, I—"

Nico reached into the back pocket of Connor's jeans and fished out his key ring.

"Hey, I had it," Connor said. "And you just grabbed my ass."

"As if. Even if I did—fake boyfriend. I have a right."

The girls were still waiting in the car. They hadn't driven off yet. Connor guessed that Annabeth was waiting to see that they got inside safely. Nico still had an arm around Connor to keep him upright. He looked from the car and back up to Connor.

"Want to prove a point?" Nico asked.

"Boy do I."

Nico rose up onto his toes. He had Connor's face cupped in his hands. His breath was warm and heavily scented with alcohol. "Close your eyes," Nico said.

Connor did as he asked. He felt Nico coming closer. Nico's mouth brushed tentatively against his, then closed the distance. It took Connor a moment to process what was happening. Nico was kissing him. Chastely, but tenderly, the gentlest pressure on Connor's lips.

"How was that?" Nico asked as he pulled back.

Fucking wonderful, Connor wanted to say. Instead, he managed to get enough of a hold of himself to say, "Good. I think that was pretty convincing."

"Whoo!" Katie waved at them from the passenger seat. "Get it!"

Nico turned red. He quickly fitted the house keys into the lock. Connor heard the girls laughing as the car pulled away.