YAY FOR UPDATE! FINALLY!

Fang: Took you long enough.

Me: Hey, I'm making progress. Soon, I'll have a chapter for each one of my active fics done and I can post this for all to read!

Fang: So... What do we put in the author's note?

Me: ...I don't know.

Fang: Well, this is awkward.

Me: Not as awkward as you drunk!

Fang: ...-facepalm-

Iggy's POV

The whole day had been pretty quiet. Fang's parents and sister left early in the morning to go visit Fang's grandparents for the weekend. Fang claimed he had theatre stuff and couldn't leave.

'Theatre stuff' alright...

Not an hour after Fang's parents were gone, Jacy was over, bringing along all the 'supplies' she'd been able to collect. The... Controlled substances came in first, and quickly. There were two kegs and an assortment of bottles that were loaded into the fridge. This was followed by nacho chips, cheese, salsa, sour cream, soda (you mean there was more than just alcohol?), and, at Jacy's insistence, a boatload of M&M's.

"It's not a party without M&M's." She claimed. Fang just rolled his eyes.

From there, I was dragged out to pick up hot dogs and hamburg for hamburgers. All the while, Fang and Jacy laughed and chatted, having the time of their lives, while I silently walked behind them, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten with each step.

By the time we got home, I was resisting the urge to throw up from nerves. But, just when I thought Fang had forgotten I existed, he made me an offer I couldn't possibly refuse.

"Hey, Ig? Jacy and I have to get this place party-ready, so... You still like to cook, right?" Fang asked me, putting the groceries on the counter.

I looked up from where I had been staring at the floor. "Yeah, of course!" It'd been a while since I'd been let near an oven or a stove, not since I'd left my place to visit the Flock. I was itching to do some cooking.

"Ah, yes, the great cook." Jacy said, smiling in my direction.

A smile that was soon diminished by the warm glow of a grin from Fang. "An amazing cook, Jacy. He's sure kept me alive with his skills more than once." He handed me the hamburg and hotdogs. "I know it's not that exciting, but would you be willing to make up the hamburgers and stuff for us?"

"Sure, no prob." I said, taking the supplies from his hands. As I took hold of the packages, our hands gently brushed together. A jolt went down my arm and through my stomach, making my spine tingle. It was the first pleasant feeling my body had felt all day.

So there I was, happily cooking over a stove, enjoying the tingling, floating sensation going through all my limbs.

It wasn't until I was halfway done with the hamburgers, and the tingling sensations finally wore off that I remembered exactly what I was making this food for.

I felt my stomach drop to the floor.

I couldn't go through with this madness, it was insane! Having a party like this could only spell trouble. I had to wonder why Fang wanted to do this. I knew he had changed a bit, but this just seemed... Totally out of character, even now. Fang had a newly-developed sense of fun and excitement, but this was just recklessness. Stupidity, even. What was he thinking?

Was he thinking?

As I finished up the rest of the food, I tried to think of ways to get the party cancelled. Poisoning the food to make everyone sick seemed a little extreme and risky. I didn't know how to dump all the alcohol out without getting caught. I doubted I could successfully pretend to have a contagious tropical disease. And blowing the place up would just be stupid.

I could always just tell him I'm gay and see if that would shock him into reality.

The minute that last thought crossed my mind, I froze.

Did I really just think that? Am I... Gay?

Oh, Hell, who am I kidding? I'm mooning over Fang like a lovesick puppy. I'm at least bisexual.

..Why didn't I think about this before?

...Do I need to change my orientation on my Facebook account?

I made myself turn my focus back to the current problem at hand. How to I stop this crazy party idea?

I had a load of crazy schemes swimming through my head, but I knew none of them would really work. Sure, I could stop this party, but what about the ones in the future? I didn't know why Fang was going down this road, but I needed to find out and maybe get him to stop.

I was just going to have to straight-out ask him.

I had to step away from the food for a minute. The nerves in my stomach made me feel like seriously throwing up.

I closed my eyes, taking a couple deep breaths to calm myself before finishing up what was left of the food. I would just talk to him. Fang was one of my oldest friends. He respected me. He'd at least listen. If I approached this calmly, even if he didn't agree he might at least not get mad at me or anything. Maybe even stop this party, at least. I could talk to him, I could do this.

Just as I was turning to go find Fang, a sound chimed through the house, followed by voices at the front door.

The doorbell.

I was too late. The party-goers were already here.

I was seriously wishing I could be blind again. And deaf, too.

Someone had brought in a strobe light and it was making me feel like my head was going to explode. That, combinded with the metal music blaring over some unseen speakers just put me over the edge. I pushed and shoved my way to the door and let myself outside into the cool night air.

Only to have to quickly move away from the doorway so as not to disturb the couple that was practically having sex right next to it.

The party was a disaster from the beginning. It started out with a bang as about fifteen people all showed up at once. Within ten minutes I'd lost Fang and Jacy and spent an hour wading through unfamiliar faces, trying to find them. More people showed up, more people than I thought Fang knew, more people than I thought went to Fang's school. At least, it seemed like that. After a while, I just gave up and tried my best to melt into the corner as I watched the alcohol supplies slowly disappear down people's throats.

As I stood out by the barn, trying to clear my head, all I could think about was Fang, but this time, it wasn't all the nice feelings I'd been having before.

Why the heck was he doing this? Did he really think this was a good idea? And hey, what part of ditching your friend at a party with a load of complete strangers seemed ok to him here? Did he know where I was? Did he care? Or was he too drunk to remember who his friends were?

I kicked open the door to the barn, just wanting to distance myself from that party as much as possible. Fang was probably making out with his friend with benefits up in his room right now. I should never have come here. I should've known. How could I be so stupid?

Upset as I was, I hadn't noticed what stall I had wandered close to until a soft nose gently butted my arm. Startled, I jumped around to come face-to-face with Charon.

I froze.

The huge horse breathed into my face, snorting slightly, but not as threateningly as he had sounded when I first met him. For the longest moment, he just stared at me, head hanging over the stall door. Then he turned, nickering softly, to face his empty food bucket that hung from the wall.

"Oh, yeah. Guess your owner forgot to feed you in his mission to get wasted." I said. I looked around the barn, finally spotting a bag of feed off in a corner. I used a scoop I found sitting next to it and added a couple scoopfulls to Charon's bucket. He began munching immediately. I went on to feed the other couple horses in the barn, who were equally out of food, checking their water supplies as well.

I couldn't believe this whole situation, it was so ridiculous. It just blew my mind that Fang was involved in all this partying. I just wanted to go home. I didn't even want to see Fang's face at this point.

I found a horse blanket hanging on the wall and took it down, figuring it would be better than nothing. Sleeping in the barn was the only option I could see. I doubted I was going to get any sleep in that house tonight.

That's when I heard the sound of shattering glass.

I raced out of the barn, needing to make sure, for some moral reason, that nobody was hurt. I immediately saw a group of people crowded around one car. I raced toward the crowd and pushed through, trying to hold my breath against the smell of alcohol that surrounded everyone in the group.

Then I saw Fang, lying on the broken windshield of someone's car, trying to pull himself up.

"Did I tell you to get up?" A burly football-player type asked. He tossed a beer bottle at Fang, hitting him on the shoulder. "That's what you get for telling me what to do."

"'S my house..." Fang said, speech slightly slurred. "My rules, right?" He pulled himself onto the hood of the car, grabbing the beer bottle and tossing it back, hitting football jock in the leg.

"Fuck you, man, I don't play by no one's rules." He grabbed the bottle and clocked Fang on the side of the head with it. "By the way, I expect you to fix my car."

He moved to hit Fang again, but found that someone had grabbed the other end of the beer bottle and pried it out of his sausage-like hands. "Stop throwing people into it and your car won't need fixing." I told him, tossing the bottle away. "Now how about you head for home?"

"Now you're gonna tell me what to do?" He asked. He pulled himself up to his full height and looked surprised to find that I still stood a couple inches above him. His surprise quickly turned to anger. "Step aside, nerd. The theatre geek and I got business."

"I think your business is settled for the night." I told him. "Now get out of here before I blow you and your precious junk heap to bits." I said, gesturing to his car.

The guy laughed in my face, blowing the smell of beer and nacho cheese straight into my face. "Blow it to bits, huh?"

"Yeah." I said, reaching into my back pocket. "Blow it to bits." I held out my hand, showing off my newest project. I hadn't given up my love of bomb-making. In fact, I loved it now more than ever since I could actually see the explosions. This new baby was the epitome of portability. Small enough to fit in my back pocket with a large enough explosion to take out a couple cars. I hadn't tested this particular model out yet, but thought the jock's car might be a good place to start.

He looked at my creation, slightly bewildered. "What's that?"

"Bomb." Fang said from where he still sat on the ground. "Iggy, he... He makes bombs."

I nodded. "Care to see what this baby can do to your little vehicle?"

He paused, looking from me to Fang as if to figure out if we were bluffing or not, but before he could answer, yelling was heard from near the front door and everyone's attention shifted that way.

"Clark! God, what the Hell did you do this time?" A second guy had come running out of the house. He looked creepily like the jock in front of me, except with slightly longer hair.

"Dad is going to kill you!" The second guy said. "Look what you did to the car!"

"Well he-" Clark started to say, pointing at Fang, but his sibling cut him off.

"I don't care what he did! Oh my God, Clark! And I've gotta figure out how to drive that home?" He grabbed his sibling by the arm. "Sorry, dudes." He said, nodding in mine and Fang's direction. "I'll just take this neanderthal home."

"It's alright." I told him. Now my attention had turned to the rest of the crowd, who were still watching the scene warily (and drunkenly).

"Look, guys, shows over!" I called out over the crowd. "And I don't think it would be a bad idea if the party got moved elsewhere, too. I've seen enough crap for one night!"

I heard some minor protests ripple through the crowd, but for the most part, people seemed to get the picture and began to file off towards their cars.

I turned back to Fang, who barely seemed aware of the commotion going on around him. "Come on, Fang, time to go in." I told him, grabbing him by the arm.

He grabbed onto my arm with both of his and allowed me to pull him up. I let him lean on me as I led him back towards the house.

"'S my party over?" Fang asked, glancing at the vehicles that were pulling away.

"Yeah, it's over, thank God." I told him, waiting for a couple guys with a boom box to push their way out the back door. Some thoughtful guy held the door open for Fang and I to walk in.

"Alright." Fang answered. "Was it a good party?"

I rolled my eyes. "You tell me. Oh, wait, you can't. You're fucking drunk. And I spent most of it wedged in a corner or hiding out in the barn so I'll guess you'll have to ask one of your friends who came, if any of those people who came are actually your friends."

I was sure that Fang wasn't understanding half of what I was saying, so I was surprised when he responded. "A lot of Jacy's friends come... And people... Bring people. I jus' try to fit in and... Stuff..."

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, noticing someone curled up, sleeping on the couch. I almost went to wake the sleeping partier until I saw the bright red hair peeking out from under the pillow. Jacy.

I looked back at Fang, who looked like he didn't know which end was up, then up the stairs to where his room was and sighed. There was only one option I could think of.

Just as Fang had done the other day, I picked him up into my arms and began to carry him up the stairs.

"So, just trying to fit in?" I asked him.

Fang just nodded, looking around him, seeming bewildered by how everything was moving while he was standing still.

We got to the top of the stairs, but I kept him in my arms, figuring it'd be easier than trying to put him down and make him walk the short distance. "Is all this crap worth fitting in, Fang?" I asked him, kicking his bedroom door open. "Is being so drunk that I have to freaking carry you worth it?"

Fang managed the best shrug he could with the way I was holding him. "Don't really have anyone else 'round here. No Flock. Gotta... Have some people..."

I had been ready to berate him more, but my words caught in my throat. I guess the idea of Fang feeling... Alone had never entered my mind. Fang had always been the loner type when he was with the Flock, but... He'd always had the Flock for when he needed the back-up. Here, sure, he had his family, but not at school. Not in that place where social status was everything and peer pressure was the name of the game.

It was beginning to dawn on me why Fang had changed so much. It was a survival technique. He had to change to make it without the Flock to back him up. Some of the change was good; his personality and sense of humor being so much more prominent. But some of it, like this reckless behavior... That needed to stop.

At least now I understood.

I lowered Fang into his bed, then pulled him into a sitting position so I could get his jacket off. The shirt he was wearing wasn't one with any slits in the back, so I had to take that off, too, knowing how uncomfortable it could be at times to try to sleep with your wings trapped up against your back.

Fang, I then found out, was a very cuddly drunk. He had just inched closer and closer to me as I tried to help him remove his extra articles of clothing and, as soon as he was shirtless, he wrapped an arm around one of mine and nuzzled his face into my chest.

And there before me was the perfect picture of temptation.

I could understand how easy it must have been for Jacy and Fang to end up in bed together with how close Fang insisted on getting. And I could tell, by the way he was acting, he would put up no resistance to... Anything that anyone might try on him. I could make his little one-night-stand with Jacy seem like nothing if I wanted.

A small stab of fear suddenly shot down my spine as it occurred to me how lucky Fang had been. As I had discovered, when Fang was this drunk, he put up no resistance. What if someone else had tried something on Fang? Something more... Damaging?

Even the mildest thoughts of fulfilling any of my secret fantasies drifted off at that moment. I could never take advantage of anyone like that, especially Fang. If Fang needed anything from me, it was help to change this partying habit of his.

Wanting to move so I could head to bed myself, I tried to pry my arm free from Fang's grasp, but he was having none of it. He clung to me tighter, mumbling something unintelligible. I sighed, too tired to fight with him over my arm. Not having much else for options, I slowly lowered myself into Fang's bed, bringing him along with me. I figured I could pry myself free once Fang was asleep.

The minute I was lying down on that bed, Fang practically crawled on top of me, nestling his head into my chest. One of his dark wings came to drape over us both.

I sighed, bringing my hand up to stroke Fang's hair. It was going to be a long night.

But I can't say that I completely minded.

Me: AWWWWW!

Fang: How is that 'awwww'?

Me: 'Cause it's so true! You drunk = Annoyingly flirtatious. You drunk + tired = Cuddle bug.

Fang: Do you really need to tell people about this?

Me: No, but I will anyway.

Fang: I could start telling them secrets about you...

Me: You could also drink hemlock, which you will if you tell people my secrets.

Fang: Hemlock?

Me: It's lethal. Look up the Trial of Socrates.

Fang: I'll just take your word for it...

Anyway... R&R?