Delaroux here, and yay, more people are in the Facebook group for this fic!
I love you all, sorry it took awhile, but I have a ton of deadlines and submissions on right now. Anyway, this is another REALLY long chapter; enjoy MY perspective of every clique's Bro Night. If you thought 'That's a lot of drinking!' in the last chapter... This chapter's gonna shock you xD
"Dude, pass the tequila."
Park reached over and took the tequila from Thad's side, handing it to Gerald by the neck.
Lorenzo lifted an eyebrow. "Not taking any, Park?" He asked. He wasn't encouraging the boy, but he wanted to know if Park honestly didn't want to drink. After all, the boy had shared with him privately that he was embarrassed about coming to school only half sober, and Lorenzo didn't want Park to feel compelled against drinking because of that. After all, he felt, personally at least, that it wasn't bad to drink to unwind...
It was just pretty bad to get pissed drunk.
Park smiled and shook his head, handing over a bucket of ice. "Nah man." He replied easily with a chuckle. "Me and tequila, our relationship is pretty rocky right now." Lorenzo nodded; fair enough.
Arnold took a glass. "You could have it with a mixer, if you want." He offered. "Sprite, Coca cola... Water?"
Park lifted a hand to signal no in reply.
Shrugging, Arnold took his drink on the rocks. Gerald lifted his arms jokingly.
"Woah, watch out guys." He pointed at Arnold knocking back a shot. "We got a badass over here."
Arnold elbowed Gerald with a laugh.
"So!" Lorenzo smiled at the faces of his guests. "Welcome, one and all, to Bro Night. Post exams, it's time for all hell to break loose!"
"I reckon that's the best thing I've heard all term!" Stinky grinned.
"Hear hear!" Relial saluted. He'd been invited, along with Alex, who sat between Peapod and Harold.
Lorenzo chuckled. "Some house rules, gentlemen." He flicked out his index finger. "Number one; don't secrete any strange body fluids on my flooring. Alcohol, water, blood, saliva or semen. It's parquet and I assure all of you, I love my flooring way more than I love any of you." He joked.
"You PRICK!" Peapod feigned anger. "You love your floor more than me?" He swept a hand through the air dramatically, narrowly missing the tequila bottle. "Relationship, OVER!" He declared, and everyone burst out laughing, Lorenzo included.
"You said I was the ONLY ONE FOR YOU!" Thad glared at Lorenzo, pointing at Peapod, and throwing another hand down to gesture at Lorenzo's parquet flooring. "YOU WERE THREE-TIMING ME, YOU JACKASS?" He yelled.
Lorenzo nearly died laughing. The rest of the boys were pretty damn close, too.
They calmed down after a few minutes. Lorenzo sighed, regaining his breath. "Alright, fellas, just kidding. I love you guys to hell and back, but seriously, nothing on my floor." He told them. "I'm a little anal about it, I know... Sorry 'bout that."
They all nodded, shrugging. It was just a floor; they could deal with that.
Lorenzo put up another finger. "Second and last thing; everyone needs to have fun tonight." He smirked. "If I see anyone skulking in a corner being a loner, I may have to kick you out." He threatened.
Alex chuckled. "I'll drink to that threat." He declared, lifting his glass. One by one, the rest of the boys raised their glasses and knocked back a mouthful. Alcohol for all of them, and coke for Park. Relial looked around and lifted an eyebrow.
"Yo, where's Sid?" He asked.
"He's on the way -" Peapod replied, reaching for a mixer. "He wanted to drop Cassidy off at Rhonda's place."
Arnold lifted an eyebrow. "Drop her off?" He questioned.
"Obviously it's love, then." Harold pointed out. "I only pick Patty up and drop her off if it's on the way."
"No going out of your way, ever?" Gerald asked, picking up the bottle of tequila and refilling the shot glass. He poured it into his larger glass and got himself some coca cola as a mixer. "I try to fetch Phoebe home if she stays late at my place." He confessed.
The boys muttered approvingly.
Harold lifted his hands up. "Hey, it isn't my fault. It's pretty much a requirement now."
"A requirement?" Stinky asked curiously.
"Yeah, seriously. She always says she doesn't want to inconvenience me, so now I literally HAVE to tell her where I'm at before she tells me where she is." Harold sighed heavily. "Couldn't pick her up if I tried."
The boys shared a group laugh.
"It's totally sexy though," Alex noted truthfully. "I like a woman who doesn't need me to ferry her around all the time." He thought about Sherilyn making her way around on her own and felt a little proud of her. then he thought about how hot she looked on a bike and coughed.
Arnold chuckled to himself, knowing who Alex was thinking about. Relial just smiled.
"Who ARE you with?" Thad asked curiously. "You've been hiding it all this time, man. You're too mysterious, dude. Not cool." The teen managed to actually pout, making Alex laugh.
"Me?" The 'Curie' smirked. "I think the real interesting stories are around the circle tonight, particularly the other blonde over there." He looked pointedly at Arnold, who blushed a little. Gerald crawled forward over the floor and clinked glasses with Alex in agreement.
Relial half snorted. "Now THAT'S a story I'd like to hear." He encouraged.
Arnold shifted nervously. "Come on, guys." He pleaded with them to stop teasing him.
Peapod lifted an eyebrow, reaching for a bag of chips. "Seriously though Arnold. You have to admit it's a pretty huge turnaround from the way things were." He chuckled. "I remember when she was tormenting you every single day."
Thad nodded. "It was almost as bad as Rhonda and I." He said, smiling with the wave of nostalgia that came over him.
Arnold nodded with a soft chuckle. "Yeah... It's a pretty huge change."
"I can't believe so much time has gone by." Peapod frowned. "Seems like only yesterday Nadine was wearing her hair in eight tight braids."
Gerald laughed, smirking at Thad. "And it seems like only yesterday Thad over here was into the bowl cut scene."
"Shut up, man..." Thad punched Gerald playfully.
"Oh, you want a piece of this?" Gerald lifted his arm and stuck a macho man pose, making everyone laugh.
"But if anyone should win an award for hugest turnaround, it'd be Helga." Arnold admitted. Everyone nodded absently. "I mean... she's changed so much. When she returned back here to Hillwood... When she came home..." He trailed off.
"Man, I didn't even recognize her."
Everyone turned to the door.
"I reckon you took your time, Sid!" Stinky grinned.
"Welcome to my house. Have fun and don't get anything on my floor." Lorenzo welcomed him, and Sid dropped his overnight bag where everyone else did, walking to join the strange circle they had in the center of the room. Sid nodded in response to Lorenzo's words and watched Arnold pouring a shot.
Gerald high-fived Sid. "Hey man, Cassidy alright with the other girls?"
"Oh brother," Peapod rolled his eyes with a half snort. "Next thing we know, we're referring to them as Our Women."
Park cleared his throat meaningfully.
"And boy." Peapod added hurriedly, as Arnold held out a shot to Sid. The latecomer lifted an eyebrow as he picked up the shot.
Arnold laughed. "You're late and you have to drink."
Alex smirked. "Arnold's our bartender today." He informed everyone, who nodded in agreement. Sid knocked back the shot and hissed.
"Damn, what IS this?" Sid asked, and Lorenzo took the bottle by the neck.
"Blue label." He commented.
"Woah woah woah, back to Helga." Relial chuckled. "Arnold hasn't quite evaded us yet."
Arnold sighed heavily.
"What man, spill." Gerald smirked. "My man here's been digging dirt on Helga from my girl and Rhonda for years, apparently." He told the rest. Everyone cheered and Arnold felt even more embarrassed than he'd been in the beginning. His face was red, and it wasn't the alcohol.
"Damn you, Gerald!" He punched his friend. "I was just asking how she was doing. I wasn't in contact with her or anything..." He complained.
"Oh, so all of that was friendly concern?" Harold teased. Alex reached over and they high-fived.
Arnold rolled his eyes but decided to be honest. "There was something about Helga that always fascinated me. I mean, she was really mean to me in the past, but she had something about her, I just knew it. Even when we were only nine." He smiled. Gerald patted his back encouragingly. "Anyway, when she came back I was stunned that I recognized her and no one else did." He shifted a little as Peapod poured him a jager. "And just these few months, learning so much about her..." He trailed off, sighing a little. "It just, you know... made me happy."
Thad chuckled. "She definitely had one of those personality overhauls. I was pretty freaked out at first."
Harold nodded reverently. "She complimented all of us at Rhonda's party and I was pretty surprised." He commented. Peapod nodded. "She used to call me pink boy and fatty and everything." He informed them.
Relial laughed hard. "Well, Helga and I had a rocky relationship to begin with..." He smiled. Arnold knew why, of course; Echelon. But no one else knew that Helga and Echelon had dated, so he kept his mouth shut. "She was kind of rough around the edges, but I guess her time in Firnest was good for her."
Alex lifted his glass as Stinky poured some Coca cola into his drink. He mixed it with a stirrer. "Hear hear." He commented simply.
"But she changed," Arnold continued with a smile. "And well... I couldn't help it... I fell in love."
"Awww." Peapod teased. He got a pillow in the face for it, and Thad instinctively snatched the liquor away from Peapod.
"Arnold, I've got nothing against you throwing a pillow around, but this is BLUE fucking LABEL." He scolded, feigning anger. "It is good and expensive liquor and I will make you do body shots off Gerald if you try something stupid like that again."
Gerald grimaced. "Oh, hell no."
"Ew." Arnold winced.
The boys grinned at one another goofily.
"What about you, Thad?" Lorenzo smiled. "You and Rhonda, that was another weird couple I NEVER in a million years would've thought up."
Thad shrugged. "When I had that little accident in the fifth grade, I took a year off. You ever watched National Geographic, guys?" He asked, and they nodded affirmatively, several of them mumbling about watching Shark Week. "Yeah well, think caterpillar and butterfly. I went under metamorphosis." He chuckled.
"I didn't recognize you when you came back" Peapod admitted.
Thad sighed and knocked back a shot of tequila. "Yeah," He hissed at the heavy bite in his tequila, "And apparently, neither did Rhonda." He laughed. "I thought it was a dream come true, you know? Just a few months and the girl of my dreams - all over me." He boasted a little.
"Check out Casanova over here," Lorenzo smirked, jerking a thumb at Thad.
Thad spread out his arms like Jesus and bowed.
The guys laughed.
"Then what happened?" Alex lifted an eyebrow. Thad and Rhonda were attached at the hip. He never thought that once upon a time, they were completely apart.
Thad shrugged. "We started talking. I found out she wasn't just a materialistic, bratty only-child. And she found out more about me." He smiled fondly as he remembered all the conversations they had. "Before I knew it, she and I were dating. And I still couldn't bring myself to tell her I was the same bowl-headed, irritating stalkerish kid I was in the ninth grade that she hated with a passion." He chuckled.
Relial poured himself a glass of water. He didn't want to get too drunk; he wasn't sleeping over and he had to bike it back to Echelon's place. "But you told her eventually?" He asked.
Thad nodded. "Yeah, and as predicted, she completely flipped." He grinned.
"She left school halfway." Park noted thoughtfully. "I remember that, Eugene and I were sitting in the same class and you came in totally emo'ed out. And Rhonda left school? I mean, there was definitely a connection."
Thad shrugged nonchalantly. "So I went over to her place after school. She didn't want to open the gate, so I..."
"Jumped the wall?" Arnold finished his sentence.
"Yup." Thad chuckled.
"The red one beside the garden, right?" Arnold added.
Thad nodded and they fist-bumped one another. "How did you know?"
"When I broke up with Lila," Arnold paused and looked at Stinky, who motioned for him to continue with a smile. The boy obviously didn't mind, especially not after all this time. "... Rhonda was the one who kind of helped me with being friends with her again. So I usually didn't wait for her to open the gate, it takes ages."
Thad nodded again. "But that time, I had no choice." He laughed and shrugged. "So I jumped her wall and thought, why stop there? So I hoofed it up to her bedroom on the third floor, too."
Relial whistled and Alex chuckled. "Respect." The blonde saluted, lifting his glass.
Thad sipped, feeling thirsty. "We spoke for hours... then we decided to make up and everything. One of those couple fights, you know."
Gerald rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "You two NEVER seem to have those."
"Phoebe is an extremely mild-mannered girl, Gerald." Relial reminded the dark-skinned boy, who nodded in agreement.
"Which keeps me on my toes anyway," He smiled. "We haven't really fought, but we disagree sometimes."
"And how did THAT happen again?" Sid smirked at all the boys, and then Gerald. "I don't see you sharing."
Gerald, unfazed, lifted an eyebrow. "Oh Sid, I'd shoot that right back at you, but you've told us about a million times over the past week about how you harbored Romeo feelings for Cassidy Knowling and I have had ENOUGH of it." He spread his arms out in a huge X and Sid laughed good-naturedly.
"Yeah, she's the bomb." Sid left it at that.
Park smiled.
Stinky patted him on the shoulder. "I reckon I can only be happy for you, Sid." The tall boy grinned. "Though I never knew you were into her."
Relial reminded them with a lifted hand that Gerald was supposed to share, and they quietened.
"What I got for Phoebe went WAY, WAY back." He shared. Arnold poured him a Jack Daniels with Coca cola and he sipped it. "I knew I liked her since we were what... eight? Nine?" He chuckled as Arnold elbowed him playfully. "Anyway, I can't remember a time when I never liked her. " He chuckled.
"That's cute." Alex said. "Is there any tequila left?"
Relial sighed and Park chuckled. "Random." The Asian commented.
"Yeah, over here. Last two shots, let's go." Arnold took a shot with Alex and they smirked at one another.
"How about you, dude?" Sid gestured at Lorenzo.
Stinky beamed. "Aww, that's right! We don't know much about you and Katrinka, 'cept that you got together and all!" The country boy remembered.
"It happened so quick, I'm not sure myself." Lorenzo shook his head.
"Come on." Thad laughed, shifting back to sit between Peapod and Relial. "There's got to be a story."
"Thad, pass me that bag of chips." Park requested.
Lorenzo smiled. "No story, sadly. I liked her for awhile, since early this year. She's real smart, and she's got a good head on her shoulders."
"Early this year..." Harold thought about it. "Isn't that when you had your braces out, man?"
Lorenzo nodded.
Sid suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh God, man. You didn't put off getting together with her till you got your braces out so you could kiss 'er, right?" He blurted, and Lorenzo turned red. The rest of the guys turned to look at Lorenzo and they started laughing as well at how scandalized he looked.
"No, I didn't!" Lorenzo protested hurriedly.
Alex patted the boy's shoulder with a laugh. "Come on, Lorenzo." He teased. "You were what, seventeen? It's a very hormonal age." The blonde smirked.
Lorenzo sighed heavily, resigned.
"Drink! You perv, you." Harold shoved a shot at him, and Lorenzo took it, faking a look of annoyance. The rest laughed.
"We have to drink for being late, drink for being a perv... soon we'll have to drink for breathing." Sid remarked sarcastically, and Gerald clapped.
"I'd live in that world, man." He said.
Park finally decided to have a drink. "Make it easy on me, man." He told Arnold, who nodded and poured Park a larger quantity of mixer. The Asian leaned forward and accepted the drink, taking a sip.
"What about you, Stinky?" Arnold smiled. "When did you get together with Lila? It was all kind of hushed up too, and you never really spoke about it."
Sid smirked. "Yeah. She just walked up to you one day and you kissed her on the cheek? I mean, shit."
The other boys laughed, including Stinky.
"Well, I reckon we started dating after her and Arnold already became good friends." He said truthfully. Peapod leaned back against the bed, and Thad sprawled lazily on the floor to listen to the tale. "I liked her for a long, long time."
"How long?" Arnold asked, honestly concerned. He'd hate to think that Stinky had feelings for Lila all the way through the years, especially when they'd been dating.
Stinky laughed. "Don't feel bad, but i liked her since fifth grade."
"Shit." Arnold breathed. Stinky doubled over and laughed at the look on Arnold's face.
"SHOT!" Relial announced, pouring Arnold a measure of Blue Label. The rest of the boys laughed as Arnold dutifully downed his punishment.
Alex shook his head. "Don't take this the wrong way, Arnold. I don't want to be offensive, but you can be oblivious."
"Can be?" Relial snorted. "It's borderline stupidity." He joked.
"Hey!" Arnold chuckled.
Gerald shrugged. "They're right though. I mean, you and Helga..." He sighed heavily. "We all knew it was bound to happen less than a week into the time she came back." The rest of the boys nodded affirmatively and Arnold had the sense to look a little ashamed of himself.
"Stop getting sidetracked!" Peapod scolded all of them. "It was just getting good!" He turned back to Stinky, causing the rest to do the same.
"Anyway... I 'fessed to Lila." Stinky chuckled in his cute, dorky way. "She blushed nine days to Sunday."
The rest of them stared at one another.
"The fuck is nine days to Sunday?" Alex whispered, wrinkling his nose like it was stinky. No pun intended.
"I don't know. Friday?" Relial rolled his eyes. He had already accepted he'd never understand Stinky. In fact, he was perfectly content being the city street boy he was, and letting Stinky be his own country born and bred self. Enigma Stinky was what he referred to the teen as in his head, and he was totally fine with that.
Thad motioned for Stinky to continue again.
"We thought about it for a long time, we were both fifteen. At first I think she ain't that into me right?" He laughed and drank some, his head tipping a little. "So after a couple'a months, I told her it was okay and I'd stop waiting."
"What did she do?" Arnold asked.
"Kissed me." Stinky replied simply.
Gerald threw his hands up. "WOAH!"
Alex, Peapod, Harold, Arnold, Relial and Park did the same. "WOAH!" They shouted at intervals.
"We got a badass over here." Peapod quoted Gerald, and they all laughed. Stinky smiled.
"Yeah, she said she was just worried about Arnold and stuff." Stinky confessed, making Arnold shift a little. "But it had already been over a year; we were almost fifteen. So she eventually said yes and we've been together from then."
Relial smiled. "How cute and innocent."
"I don't see you sharing. You and Mr. Echelon was the most shocking." Park scoffed, filling his glass with water.
Relial waved a hand dismissively. "Ahhh, teacher and student romances, you know how that is." He winked at everyone, and when they were laughing, he shot Alex a distinct smirk. The blonde shook his head, biting back his comments about Sherilyn and himself.
"Since?" Peapod asked curiously.
"Forever." Relial nodded, answering immediately. "... He basically took care of me for a very long time. And I was a street kid in Firnest. You guys don't want to know what that's like."
Alex chuckled. "Work? Oh, let me tell you about the work." He reached for the vodka. "Whoring gets you thirty for handjobs, fifty for blowjobs, seventy for a full screw. Kinks have a separate tab." He said crudely. "You stole or were stolen from. You beat, or you were beaten." He downed a shot as Relial looked away. The rest of the boys listened in an entranced horror. "Money made the world go round. It was eat or be eaten on the streets; you did what you had to do to live. Whore yourself. Steal ANYTHING. Sell drugs. And sometimes, hurt other people. A lot." He seemed casual talking about it, but there was an undertone of bitterness.
The boys thought about it for a long time.
Relial smiled. "Alex is right; we had to fight for our lives." He chuckled and high-fived Alex. The blonde boy lay down and put his head against Relial's thigh. "But Echelon took me in when Slaine dragged me off the streets... Sort of. I lived with the whole group for a long time, and that's when I fell for him."
"But he's almost twice your age." Peapod noted.
Alex shrugged. "I'm dating an older woman. Why's is such a great thing for dudes to date older chicks, and yet in other cases like when a dude or a chick is dating an older man, people are like, WOAH NOW?" He yelled, startling all of them. Peapod laughed.
"You don't have to tell everyone that you're dating an older woman."
Alex looked up and beamed. "Baby!"
"Baby?" Park lifted an eyebrow.
Sid leaned back, eyes wide. "Daaaaaamn." He hissed, looking at the woman.
Sherilyn had not removed her helmet, and was speaking through a built in voice scrambler. In full leather, she looked hot, sexy, and rugged. She had just come from a small side job Alex wasn't involved in. There were very small bloodstains on her boots and jacket that no one could see from her prior activities. Alex got up and wrapped his arms around her, and sniffed gingerly. She knew he could smell the blood on her and internally cursed his acute sense of smell. "Yes, it is." She informed him.
Alex sighed. "One night, no action except the bed. Can't we do that?" He whined. "Just once?"
The figure's shoulders were shaking and the biker seemed to be laughing. "Sure." She replied.
"Shit, is that Megan Fox?" Gerald lifted an eyebrow as Lorenzo's mother appeared in the doorway, looking a little wary. Lorenzo stood up politely, and the rest of the boys did so as well.
"Mother?" Lorenzo asked.
His mother lifted an eyebrow as Alex and Sherilyn linked hands. "This young lady told me that she was here to pick up two people." She gestured formally at Sherilyn, who nodded.
"Alex, and Relial." She turned to the redhead. "It's time to go."
Relial nodded and picked up his things. "I'll see you guys soon, this was cool."
Lorenzo's mother smiled and left them.
"Why do they have to leave?" Arnold asked Sherilyn with a smile. He knew who she was.
Sherilyn watched Relial and Alex knock each other's glasses, and finish the rest of their drinks. "I want my boyfriend in my bed, and so does Echelon I suppose." She said bluntly. She leaned down and grabbed the bottle of vodka. "Don't judge, we can be clingy." She tilted the neck and began drinking.
The boys stared in awe as she consumed alcohol with a vengeance.
"Shit." Park gasped.
Alex laughed and everyone's eyes widened.
"Speak for yourself, Sherilyn."
Relial looked up and laughed. "Echo!" He smiled. "I said I could get home on my own." He reminded the man.
Echelon tossed a bottle to Arnold, who caught it neatly. "It was on the way. I was at the bureau, settling some... important legal affairs." He looked meaningfully at Relial, Alex, Sherilyn and Arnold. "Anyway, that bottle's a gift. I'm leaving Hillwood soon."
The rest of the boys broke out into a collective, "NO WAY!"
"Aw man, come on!" Harold pleaded.
"Our next mentor is going to suck fish." Park complained.
Lorenzo crossed his arms. "And no way is he, or she, gonna be as fun."
Arnold nodded. "You've made Practical Design YOUR course, Mr. Echelon." He said. The rest of the guys nodded in agreement. "I mean, don't you want to stay? Continue teaching... Impact students' lives? Carry on your own legacy?" He smiled brightly.
Echelon thought about it for a moment.
"No." He replied. "Not really."
They stared at him.
"My next class will be my last. And I'm leaving Hillwood in a week and a half. I'll see you boys around, and about all this drinking..." Echelon smirked at them as he picked up Relial, throwing him over his shoulder. The redhead yelled. "... Just don't get caught."
"Echo!" Relial complained.
Sherilyn led Alex out, who shot a wave over his shoulder. "Later," He called out.
The door clicked shut.
"That was insane." Stinky blinked.
Sid waved his hands around dramatically. "WHAT just happened?" He asked.
Arnold chuckled. "We just received a bottle of Black LABEL 1847 THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED OHMYGOD!" His eyes widened, and his speech went faster and faster in shock. He reverently took in the label on the bottle Echelon had thrown to him. Lorenzo scooted over, as did Thad and Peapod. All four of them were alcohol buffs, should we say, and the bottle certainly impressed them.
"SHIT, that is good stuff." Thad breathed.
Peapod lifted his hands a centimeter from the glass surface. "Careful boys." He whispered. "This is the nectar of gods."
"1847... Wow." Lorenzo smiled.
"Tonight has only begun." Arnold announced with a loud laugh. The rest of the boys cheered. "Tonight, we drink, forget the world, and remember only our lovers!" He declared, and Park chuckled, knowing Arnold hadn't said girlfriends for his sole benefit now that Relial had left.
The boys cheered and Arnold handed the bottle to Thad. They began rationing the alcohol out into glasses for a toast.
Gerald walked up to Arnold and grinned. "Man, this year's been a wild ride... But we're lucky as hell." He smiled, leaning back.
Arnold looked up and thought about everything.
Helga coming back, him getting to know her. Meeting Echelon and Relial, and then the three strange men that came with the package, Slaine, Alaine and Jericho. Followed by Helga trusting him with her problems, talking to him, being truthful with him. And Nathaniel Cuvos... And his son, Alex Cuvos. Being kidnapped, being betrayed. The rescue. Sherilyn. Flite 11.
He turned to look at Gerald, who was flat on the floor, looking up out of the wall window in Lorenzo's bedroom. His best friend.
He looked at ALL his friends.
All the guys.
All the girls.
And Helga.
He smiled.
"Yeah... you're right."
Sorry I'm taking so long to churn out the chapters; I'm really busy lately. So yeap, things might slow down a bit, but these are already rounding off to the final chapters, I assure all of you.
10 reviews on the last chapter alone! I love you guys. Please review on this chapter too!