so... this chapter has been rewritten like 4 times since my last update in february. i apologize for the daily if anyone still reads this, but i couldn't find it in myself to care about writing or posting anything because of stress, work, conventions, playing (and getting addicted to) destiny, and my grandmother dying. sorry for the excuses. i've already started the next chapter, so there's always that.

enjoy... or don't, that's cool.

NECESSARY WARNING: underage drinking.

The last coherent thought Mello had was that he probably shouldn't be as comfortable as he was with Matt sitting in his lap. His second to last coherent thought was that if they stayed in the same position for the rest of the night he wouldn't complain. Scratch that, he would complain when everyone came back to the room and he had to walk back to his a few blocks down.

Mello lost count of how many shots they took before Matt stood up, tried to take a step forward, and fell against the bed. Luckily, he turned around in time to land in a seated position and didn't face plant into the mattress. Matt laughed at himself, which made the blond chuckle. He momentarily— and drunkenly —thought that they'd be okay after tonight. That things would slowly start to fall back into place.

There wasn't anything wrong in thinking that they'd be okay come morning, especially if it meant that he'd once again have Matt's affections. That thought alone made Mello smile in that totally creepy I've finally won kind of way. He was happy with how things were progressing, even if it was a drunk happy.

"And, and, he totally said that..." Matt rambled. Mello honestly had no idea what he was talking about. He stopped listening when Matt started talking about some guy he'd met that turned out to be a total douche. The blond vaguely found himself remembering back to Matt first entering the room and yelling about someone. Was that the same guy?

"Yo, Mels. You listenin'?"

Nope. Not really.

"Yeah," he lied.

"Okay. Awesome!" Matt said from his spot on the bed, a smile on his face. Mello missed his smile, wasted or not.

"Hey, hey... let's go back down." Matt suggested, standing up and keeping one hand planted on the bed for support.

"Okay," the blond agreed, joining Matt by standing on wobbly legs. "Gimme, uh... a bottle. I need a drink for this journey."

"Sure thing, Chief." the redhead said before digging through a plastic bag full of empty water bottles. They'd been smart and emptied them out beforehand, making sure that they were there and ready to use at moment's notice.

"Lemonade and what?" Mello asked Matt, holding onto the two liter bottle of generic lemonade. The bottle provided the right amount of support he needed to keep from falling into the desk in front of him. "Vodka?"

"Yeah."

"What flavor?"

"Uh... strawberry! For... like, y'know, strawberry lemonade!" Matt shouted, throwing an arm around Mello's neck and grabbing the cheap bottle of strawberry vodka. "It's amazing!"

"I trust you," the blond said, taking the bottle from Matt and instructing him to bring the lemonade into the bathroom. He may have been drinking, but he wasn't dumb enough to try pouring other liquids into a smaller bottle without being over a sink. Honestly, Sayu's wrath over the spill and permanent alcohol smell on the carpet scared him. He didn't feel like dealing with it.

After mixing both drinks, checking to make sure they had their badges, room keys, and gum to mask the smell of the alcohol in case they were stopped by anyone, the pair headed out the room and towards the elevator. Matt made sure to push both button options, claiming that "if the only one coming goes up then we can ride up and down!". Mello couldn't help but agree with this logic.

The elevator came to stop with a loud ding and they stepped on, fitting into the cramped space like stuffed animals in a claw machine. Mello had a paranoid moment where he just knew that everyone knew he'd been drinking. He knew that someone was going to stop him and giving him a breathing test. This was something he didn't need happening. He prayed for the doors to open sooner than they had— apparently they decided to ride up, add some more people into their already limited space, and ride down to the bottom.

It definitely wasn't the elevator party he'd convinced himself that they would have.

Mello froze when the elevator stopped. Why? Because Matt grabbed his hand, laced their fingers together, pulled him towards the non-revolving doors and into the nighttime summer air. Several people watched their awkward exit, staring at the two as they headed off towards the convention center. Matt didn't bother to let his hand go.

Instead, he tightened his grip and pulled the blond closer. The cogs in Mello's brain turned slowly (thanks bad decisions), and he realized that maybe his earlier assumption was correct and things would actually go back to normal once the sun came up. Or, maybe, it was just the booze directing Matt's actions and he would learn the error of his ways after sobering up while he slept.

Mello was so lost in his own little world— and happiness — that he didn't realize Matt had stopped walking and was pointing towards a small group of cosplayers. Matt's eyes were shifting between him and the character that held his interest.

"Is that Levi!?" Matt said a little too loudly, dropping Mello's hand and running over to the group.

Mello watched with a raised eyebrow. Seriously? Did that actually happen?

There was no way in hell...

Okay, he was being delusional. That definitely happened.

The blond slowly walked towards the group, his hands in his pockets as he came to stop next to the redhead, who was leaning against the cosplayer. One that was actually a guy.

He totally wasn't jealous as Matt wrapped his arms around the unknown guy's waist and hugged him a little too tightly. Nope, he most definitely didn't take a swig of his drink when said cosplayer returned the hug and dropped one hand down to rest on Matt's ass. And, of course, he didn't roll his eyes when Matt leaned in and whispered something to the dude.

Mello also didn't walk away when it became obvious that he didn't have a chance in hell with Matt and that his heart felt like it was breaking into tiny pieces on the sidewalk. This made him take another sip of his drink. A single bottle of liquid sin that would be his distraction for the rest of the night.

He decided that he would find his group and force himself to have a good night. It seemed unlikely, but he was sure as hell willing to try. Maybe he could find someone else to help ease the sting of rejection. If he was being honest, the person would be used to hopefully make Matt as jealous as he'd been not even five minutes ago.

The rest of the walk to convention center was much longer than he anticipated; the trip to the main events room took much longer. Mello tried to walk as slow as he could with hopes that the redhead would come to his (drunk) senses and realize that he'd ditched the blond. He scoffed at the idea of Matt actually thinking about him when he had someone else— someone better —to occupy his time with.

Mello pulled out his phone and texted Sayu, hoping that she could decipher his sloppy words and abbreviations. He also hoped that she would actually notice her phone going off and answer him. Mello was tired of watching everyone wander around like they had no cares in the world. The blond wanted something to do to keep himself from going crazy or to keep him from retiring back to his hotel room for the remainder of the night.

"Mel?" came a loud voice from behind him.

He spun around on his heels and almost immediately regretted the action. The room looked like it would never stop moving and the only thing that kept him centered was Sayu headed in his direction with a smile on her face and a pep in her step. It was way too obvious to tell that she had more than a couple drinks to get her Friday night started.

...'Sup?" Mello asked, slinking an arm around her waist. She giggled and leaned against him, turning them around and pointing with an unsteady hand at the rest of their group waiting a little way behind them.

"Didn't go downstairs 'til you got here," she told him.

"Why?" he asked, using his free to pull out the plastic bottle. Mello waited for an answer as he twisted the top off and took a sip.

"Wouldn't be as fun," she answered truthfully.

"Oh." Mello hummed in response. "Thanks, I guess?"

"For what?" Sayu asked, apparently having already forgotten what they were talking about.

"Waiting for me," he shrugged, sliding the bottle back into his pocket and pulling his shirt down to cover it.

"Mello's welcome!" Misa shouted, running over to them with her arms wide open. She wrapped them around the pair. "It wouldn't be the same without chuuu!"

Before Mello could register that she'd basically said the same thing Sayu said, he found himself wondering how she was able to run in heels. Tipsy. He couldn't even walk in them sober— if ever asked when he attempted this, he would deny it ever happened. And no, there was no video floating around Youtube from some of his friends from military school cheering him on and laughing at him when he fell flat on his ass.

"Thanks again," he said, hoping that he wouldn't have to repeat himself a second time on why he was thanking them.

People cut through their group in search of the stairs leading down to the lowest level of the convention center. Some were on (or near) the level of his friends and he found himself slightly annoyed that he wasn't as good as he wanted to be. Stupid walk making him sweat the alcohol out.

Stupid Matt for forcing him to sober up on his stupid walk.

Stupid him for not bringing more than one bottle.

"What the fuck are we waiting for?" Mello asked his friends as he shook his head to rid it of negative thoughts. He was drinking at a convention dance with his friends and Mello was supposed to be having fun. The hell with Matt for not wanting to enjoy with them.

Sayu looked at him with a grin, eyes glassy and twinkling. Misa jumped for joy when she realized that were going to continue their partying. Near rolled his eyes at Misa's reaction and, like Mello, pulled a bottle out of his pants pocket for a quick drink.

"Let's do this!" Misa shouted excitedly, pushing through her friends and following behind a group much larger than their own towards the stairs. Mello told Near to make sure his drink was more hidden because he could tell that it was in his pocket. The convention staff was really particular about letting people in once they found out someone had a drink. Especially if the person smuggling the drink in was already gone.

The music could be heard from the middle stairwell. A slight bass tremor could be felt through the floor and, with each note that flew through the air to hit him head on, Mello saw his mood improve. He started to follow Misa's lead and walk with the beat, forcing Sayu to join him on his musical experience.

"Badges!" the volunteer staff member shouted. "Turn your badges around!"

The person looked at each badge with a black light, making sure that the glow-in-the-dark watermark was present before allowing anyone to pass through the door and into the biggest event of the night. Mello held his badge up high enough for the person to check; he wondered if if he was one of the only people to tie their badge string around a belt loop. He let the xeroxed badge fall back down to his thigh once he was given the okay to enter, Sayu still attached to his side like she belonged there.

Designs from the flashing lights decorated the walls and people bumped into him as they searched for a good spot to call their own. A circle was forming in the middle of the crowded room; freestyle raving and the hardstyle shuffle being the go-to dances. Mello almost joined, but he decided against it because his moves were rusty due to only attending military balls during the holidays. He wasn't up for making a total fool of himself.

Mello turned around harshly as he felt a tug on his arm. Sayu was moving away from him and following the other two members of their group to a secluded spot near the wall, a tight grip on his hand. He frowned at having to miss the duo that was spinning poi in the middle of the circle. Mello made a mental (that he wouldn't remember in the morning) to take up poi once he got home.

"This spot okay?" Misa questioned, side-stepping with the beat. Everyone nodded.

"Dance with me?" Sayu asked him, loosening her grip on his hand.

"Sure."

The blond watched her as she began to sway with the music, allowing the barely there beat to work its way through her body. Mello knew that she was waiting for the drop and for the song to speed up before she actually let herself go. Sayu, from what he remembered, was always one of the best dancers he'd ever seen. It was almost like she was made for the scene.

Mello wasn't familiar with the song, but he eventually found the beat and inched closer to his best friend. Misa danced beside them, twirling and making shapes with her LED gloves. Mello was impressed that she could do more than just step from side to side. Near, however, didn't exactly dance. That didn't stop him from coming up on the other side to complete their off shaped circle.

It didn't take long for the music to speed up. It took less time for them to fully loose themselves— Near included. Sayu closed her eyes, Mello stepped closer, and the others pulled their sides in. Misa moved closer, manuevered Sayu away from Mello and placed her hands on the girl's hips. They danced together as one. Mello felt weirdly out of place, especially when curious eyes started to look at their group— mainly at Sayu and Misa.

"I missed this, you guys!" Sayu shouted. She was looking over at Mello with a wide grin on her face. "Been so long!"

Mello had to agree.

At some point between drinking the rest of his bottle, loosening up a bit more, and not knowing where his friends had scurried off to with random people, Mello decided it would be a good idea to take a break. He found a spot against the wall and sat down, fiddling with the empty bottle. He bobbed his head to the music as he watched the room around him get lost and he knew that he wouldn't be sitting down for very long. He wanted to dance; to keep his night going.

Mello realized as he rejoined the dancing population that he hadn't thought about Matt much since he'd found his friends almost an hour ago. They had been a good distraction. The dance had been an excellent distraction. Hell, the empty bottle that he chucked behind the curtain hiding the emergency exit door had also been good for him. Mello was finally in a spot he wanted to be in.

"Hey!" a voice called out to him, forcing him to look up at a guy wearing tripp pants and green cyberlox. Mello caught himself wondering where his shirt had gone, but he found that he really didn't care because the guy was hot as hell.

"Hey," Mello responded, pushing up from his spot on the floor.

"What's a cutie like you sitting out for?" the guy asked, shuffling closer to the blond and holding a hand out for Mello to take.

"Needed a break," Mello explained loudly, taking his hand. "Got hot as fuck."

"You mean you weren't already hot to start with?" he asked Mello. The guy placed his free hand on Mello's hips as he started to rock their bodies with the music.

"Well, I mean... y'know." Mello stammered.

"Of course," the random purred with a smirk. Mello felt like his knees were going to give out because of the look he was being given. It was just...

Hot? Sexy? Amazing?

Check option D for all of thee above.

The look that his random romeo wore was all it took for Mello to wrap his arms around the guy's waist, locking his hands behind his back and following his lead. They kept the beat as the guy started to grind against him. Mello was lost in the moment— in the feeling of someone taking the time to be with him, even though it was someone he'd never seen before and would probably never see after the night was over.

The guy had captured his attention and he was fully prepared to ask the guy to go back to hotel room. Mello was ready to end the rest of the night with a one night stand and he didn't care. Fuck it. Literally.

It was during the slowest part in one of the songs they'd been dancing to that the guy leaned in and captured Mello's lips. Mello nearly moaned at the sudden contact. He'd not been kissed in the longest time and it felt nice. More than nice— it felt amazing.

During their heated kiss was when Sayu practically ripped Mello from the random person and pulled him close. Both Mello and the guy were shocked, eyes wide as they stared at one another. Sayu glared at the guy, which made him shrug and thank Mello for a good time. The blond was sure that his hot should-have-been partner was going to look for someone else.

Someone that didn't have a female friend that looked suspiciously like an angry girlfriend.

"What the fuck?" Mello shouted, jerking his arm from her grasp.

"The hell was that, Mel?" she shot back.

"I was trying to fucking get some!" he said loud enough for her to hear.

"With that asshole?"

"No, with you!" Mello answered. Sayu looked momentarily shocked. "Of fucking course with him. And, he's not an asshole! He actually wanted me, Sayu!"

"No, he wanted a hot fuck."

"A hot fuck it would have been."

"You're not even trying with him, Mello." Sayu said, not having to place a name on the person she was talking about. Mello automatically knew.

"There's no point in trying," Mello told her over the music. "He ran off with some prick that was cosplaying from that one show you like. Y'know, the one with the giant people eating people or whatever. I hope the new guy is better than I am. Fuck him."

"You don't mean that." Sayu said, grabbing his hand and pulling Mello away from the center of the room and towards a dark spot in the corner. Mello reluctantly followed.

"The hell I don't," Mello retorted.

Sayu shook her head. Things weren't supposed to be going the way they were.

"You know you still love him, Mel."

"Not tonight," he said. "I would've loved that hot piece of ass you scared off."

That hurt and it wasn't even directed at her.

Sayu opened her mouth to speak, ready to tell him that he was acting like a complete jerk, but the moment was ruined when Misa came prancing over happily and waving her arms madly in the air. They looked over at her, both wearing similar annoyed expressions— at the current situation and Misa's intrusion. Oblivious to their drama, she dropped a bomb neither of them wanted to hear.

"Guys! Guys!" she shouted, pointing over Mello's right shoulder. "Can we take a second to..."

"Yo," Matt greeted them, stepping around Misa and standing beside the girl as she bounced on her heels.

"H-hey," Mello stuttered.

"Shit." Sayu muttered. "I need to find Near. I just remembered something he told me to tell him. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

She walked behind Matt, grabbed one of Misa's flailing arms, and stalked off into the crowd still dancing.

"What?" Matt asked, confused. "Seriously. What?"

"Don't know," Mello answered.

If he were being honest with himself (which, he wasn't being) then he would know exactly what just happened. Sayu was getting the hell out of dodge. He didn't blame her. Hell, he couldn't blame her because he would do the same thing if the tables were turned.

Time passed in a series of bass drops and strobe lights. Mello wasn't sure how long they spent standing in the far corner and awkwardly looking around to avoid having to look at each other. He wasn't ready to look at Matt and he was certain that the redhead felt the same.

Mello was honestly afraid to look at Matt. He was afraid of what would or wouldn't happen if he let his eyes trail over to Matt. Mello didn't want to look at him or say anything in fear of ruining everything. Mello knew not to try in his intoxicated state.

Apparently, Matt didn't.

"So..." Matt began. "That... uh, looked interesting."

"What did?" Mello asked, feigning ignorance. If he could kick himself then he would because he knew damn well what Matt was talking about.

"With that... uh, that dude." Matt finally managed to say.

"Oh, yeah."

"Why didn't you leave with him?" Matt asked, head tilted to the side.

"Sayu interrupted me," the blond answered truthfully.

"Why? He was hot. I would've tapped that, too." Matt told him, the blush on his face barely visible in the dark room. If it weren't for the lights then Mello wouldn't have seen it.

"That was my plan."

"No shit? I couldn't tell by the way you were sucking face." Matt said, looking down at his hands.

Mello looked at him, an eyebrow cocked. Was he really? Seriously?

He had no right to feel that way. Not after he'd basically done the same to him hours before with some stupid, poorly done cosplay from some stupid show he'd never bothered to watch.

Mello couldn't help but grow annoyed with the redhead.

"You didn't like the show?" he asked, throwing all inhibitions into the wind and testing the waters.

"H-huh?"

"You were watching since you called it interesting," Mello said. All traces of his lack in sobriety vanishing. "Did you like it or no?"

Matt continued to look down at his hands as he played with the green glowsticks adorning both his wrists— objects he hadn't been wearing when they left the room together, Mello noted.

"N-not really," Matt's voice was almost like a whisper and had Mello not stepped closer to him because their corner was filling up with people who wanted a dark place to make-out he probably wouldn't have heard Matt's confession.

"Oh? Really?" he continued to push.

"Yeah, asshole." Matt shot back.

"Why not? I enjoyed it. A lot, actually. I bet he's great in bed."

The look on Matt's face was absolutely priceless. His expressions went from seriously aggravated at being asked such a ridiculous question, to a brief look of shock over Mello saying that he enjoyed it, and finally settling on a look of pure hurt. Matt looked torn between wanting to walk out and leave for good, and wanting to stand in front of Mello and cry his heart out.

Mello pushed his lapse in judgement aside, arguing with himself that he needed to keep up the jerk persona because then he wouldn't be able to get hurt. He wanted to get back at Matt for how he blew him off earlier in the evening, but even he knew that he was going too far.

It wasn't like Matt was actually making out with the cosplayer in front of him or even had intentions to. He was just hanging on him, whispering to him, and god only knows what they did after Mello walked away.

Shit, it wasn't like they were together.

"He probably is," Matt finally said after some time, his voice cracking like he was trying to collect himself. Mello had to think for a moment before realizing that the redhead had just agreed to the random guy looking like he knew his stuff.

Mello stared at him.

"Probably better than me, yeah?" Matt asked, creeping closer to Mello.

"I didn't... didn't, uh, say that." Mello nearly choked.

"You didn't have to. It was there," the redhead whispered when he was close enough.

"It wasn't."

"You're lying, Mel." Matt said, reaching out and tracing a finger down Mello's arm.

The contact sent a shiver down Mello's spine. Blue eyes widened as he caught Matt's green ones, challenging him to continue with what he started.

"Too bad you won't find out, yeah?" Matt questioned, leaning in and placing his lips next to Mello's left ear. "He's gone, you're alone, and I'm over this."

Those were the words that swam through Mello's mind as he watched Matt walk away, purposely swaying his hips with the music and flashing grins at people who tried to grab at him or guys that stood in front of him, ready to put their hands on him.

For the second time that night Mello was left asking himself if that had seriously happened.

Because, seriously.

What the fuck?

This wasn't the same Matt he left behind all those years ago. Mello was well aware that Matt had changed since then (as was expected), but he didn't know that the redhead had become such a tease. Matt was never like that— his moods never changed so drastically and so fast and he never played Mello. What the hell happened after he was forced to leave?

Not that he didn't like it. On the contrary, the blond kind of liked this feistier version of the boy he left behind.

As he stood, staring at Matt's retreating back, Mello finalized his resolve to have Matt back in his arms by the time Sunday evening came and the convention officially closed for the year. And, he would start by chasing after him, up the stairs, and onto the sidewalk in front of the convention center with a strangled cry of Matt's name. Curious cosplayers, ravers, and drunks be damned.

yes? no? questions? comments? ideas?

i'm having fun with their drinking problems. also, the convention center is kind of being based on a mix of otakon's space and nekocon's space... for those who live in the md/va/nc area and have attended both.

review, please. thank you.

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