Chapter 5 Party Time

Kiku checked his watch, it was 6:15, and Alfred was going to pick him up at 6:30. It was just a few hours ago that Kiku found out that Alfred could drive. Apparently he didn't really like to and his dad refused to pay for senior parking, which is why Alfred took the bus to school. Besides in New York City it's easier to take the bus than to drive anyway, so Alfred had never really minded. Kiku looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to wear to a party like this. For now he just had on a shirt that had thick stripes on the top and was solid white at the bottom. The stripes were black and grey. His pants were tan-colored and rolled up at the ankle - they were the only somewhat stylish pants he owned. He paired it all with a pair of white sneakers and his green jacket. Kiku's parents were happy that he was going out. His friends in Japan hardly ever invited him out, so this was a change for him. They were going to go out themselves tonight anyway, so before they left, his mother had made sure to tell him how handsome he looked. Kiku quickly tousled his hair a bit and went downstairs. On the table his mother had left dinner for him. He sat down by himself and lowered his head.

"itadakimasu"

He picked up his chopsticks and slowly ate his food, which was made up of rice, soup and vegetables. It was lonely eating alone for Kiku. Usually he was with his family, his parents didn't go out that much and it was really rare for Kiku to eat without them. He jumped when he heard a noise but it was just the cat. He ate as quickly as he could seeing that he only had about ten minutes before Alfred showed up. When he was finished he cleaned his bowl in the sink and left it on the rack to dry.

"gochiso sama deshita." He mumbled quietly to himself.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. He jumped and then checked his watch, it was already 6:35. He hastily made his way to the door. Alfred was standing there twirling a daisy in his fingers. He had on a baseball bomber jacket and a black shirt on underneath. His jeans were sort of a greenish color and he had sneakers on as well. He brightened when he saw Kiku.

"Kiku, hi!" He held out the small daisy. "I brought this for you! I mean, I picked it for you! But not out of your yard… I just found it and I thought of you…" He laughed nervously. "Sorry I'm just…I mean I'm looking forward to…" He scratched the back of his neck. Kiku had never seen him this nervous before, maybe before a football game but that was it. "What I'm trying to say is that- um, well I don't really know."

Kiku smiled and took the daisy. "Thank you, Alfred, this was really nice of you. You can calm down you know, or you're going to make me nervous for the party."

Alfred rocked back on his feet. "Okay…You look really nice tonight, Kiku."

Kiku grinned. "Thank you, you look handsome yourself."

Alfred beamed. "Really? Thanks!"

They stood at the door awkwardly for a moment. Kiku looked at his watch, it was getting later. Alfred spoke again. "What will you do with the daisy?"

Kiku looked down at it. He'd been twirling it around in his hand like Alfred had been doing a moment ago. "Oh, I don't know. Have you got an idea?"

Alfred hesitated for a moment until nodding his head. "Yes, but you might think it's stupid."

"I won't think it's stupid." Kiku shook his head and chuckled.

"Can I see the daisy then?"

Kiku nodded and placed the daisy in Alfred's hand. Alfred smiled and tucked the daisy behind Kiku's ear. Kiku couldn't help but blush, he lifted his hand up and touched it. He liked it there. But a rush of concern coursed through him. "Will it be alright there? Are the kids going to make fun of me?"

Alfred's smile faltered for a moment. "No, there are all kinds of kids there and I'm sure most of them will be wasted. Nothing will happen, I'll make sure of that."

Kiku smiled and looked down, he shuffled his feet. "Okay, we should probably go though. It's getting later."

"We're going to be there a long time."

"Yeah, but this jacket isn't very warm and I don't really want to stand outside anymore if that's okay." Kiku blushed more. He didn't like voicing his mind like this.

"What? Oh, um okay." Alfred laughed. "You should have said so earlier. Let me walk you to my car."

Kiku felt a warm arm drape over his shoulders. He looked up at Alfred and leaned into him as Alfred took him to his car. Alfred was so much bigger than he was. He could fit his arms around Kiku so easily. Alfred's car was a few blocks down because of the "No Parking" signs around Kiku's neighborhood. Alfred's car was fairly average. It wasn't anything extravagant but it wasn't a dump either. It was maybe only a few years old, probably his mom's old car. It was an Audi a6, fairly expensive but not overly done. Kiku rubbed his palms together and got in the passenger seat. The car wasn't messy. Kiku figured that, like Alfred's bedroom, his mom probably made him keep it tidy. Alfred sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. The music came on loudly it was Tie Your Mother Down from Queen. Alfred jumped and turned it down.

"Heh, sorry about that. Queen is my favorite band."

"It's okay, I just wasn't expecting it. I like Queen too." Kiku smiled and turned the volume up a little so the words were more audible.

They finally walked inside. Parking had been hectic. There were cars all the way down the street and then some. Finally the two of them had found a parking spot but they had to walk about a mile to get to the house. The door was open and loud music was coming from inside. It was a stereotypical high school party. Kiku and Alfred walked up to the front steps, Kiku glanced inside. Almost everyone had a red cup in their hand; the house wasn't trashed though. It was, however, very loud inside. There was a rave in another room. People were kissing, playing xbox, dancing, drinking, and more. Kiku was intimidated to say the least.

Alfred grabbed Kiku's hand and walked inside. It didn't look like he came to these parties often but it obviously wasn't his first. Maybe this was the only place, Kiku thought, that he could be open about his relationships here. Though currently he didn't have a fake girlfriend at school. Kiku looked around again now that he was inside. He saw Ludwig and Feliciano; Alfred scowled at them.

"You don't need to talk to them yet, besides they're drunk."

"I want to talk to them, they're my friends."

"Come on, we just got here."

"Exactly, I can talk to them now and spend the rest of the night with you. Stop acting jealous."

"I'm not acting jealous!" Alfred crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine, go talk to them. I'm going to use the bathroom in the meantime."

"Okay, I'll find you." Kiku smiled and, feeling oddly confident, stood on his tiptoes and kissed Alfred on the cheek.

Alfred smiled and kissed the top of Kiku's head before walking away. Kiku made his way through the crowds of people, feeling a little closed in. He walked up to Feliciano and Ludwig. Ludwig had a beer in his hand, he didn't look very drunk though. Feliciano looked a bit tipsier, but he was grimacing at the beer.

A loud crash made Kiku jump and stop in his tracks. "Shit!" Was all he heard, the whole crowd seemed to have frozen and was looking in one direction. Kiku was short so he tried to see his way through the crowd. He finally found a hole and looked through it. Gilbert was near the top of the stairs looking sort of concerned. His nose was bright red and you could tell he was fairly drunk. He wavered a bit and Elizabeta ran up to him. "Lizzy, I didn't mean to break your vase."

Elizabeta smiled tiredly. "It's not my vase, I just said it was nice earlier."

"Oh. Maybe wir koennen should..uhm…veileicht we can try and fix it kann." He was mixing German and English.

Elizabeta took his arm and started pulling him away. "No Gilbert, I'll just pay for it,"

"Aber Lizzzyyyy, das ist too much Geld viele. Ich cannot let you pay so much."

"Don't worry, Gilbert, my family has money. It'll be okay. Come with me." She started taking him down the stairs now.

"Mehr Bier?"

"I don't know, just come away from this mess." The two of them walked down the stairs and the party sort of resumed. Kiku finished making his way over to Feliciano and Ludwig.

Ludwig was pinching his nose again, he seemed to do that a lot when he was frustrated. "Ich glaub mein Bruder nicht." He mumbled to himself in German. "This is why I tried to quit drinking."

"Aw that didn't last very long though did it Luddy?" Feliciano giggled and leaned into him. "If I know my Ludwig it's that he likes beer."

Ludwig sighed heavily. "I'm not very proud of that, like Gilbert is."

"Hey" Kiku said, as he finally really got close to them. "How are you?"

"Ve~! Kiku!" Feliciano came over and hugged him. "You came! I'm glad to see you."

Ludwig clapped him on the shoulder. "Me too, we were almost afraid you wouldn't come."

"Do you want a beer?" Feliciano held out his red cup.

Kiku shook his head. "No, isn't that illegal here?"

Ludwig shrugged. "I always lived by Germany's rules, Feliciano lives by Italy's. Why not live for Japan's?"

Kiku smiled a little. "I still couldn't drink though, the legal age is twenty there."

"Oh, well that's okay Kiku you can still have a good time without drinking." Feliciano smiled and danced around a bit. "Like listen to the music! Isn't it fun to dance to?" He set his cup down and grabbed Kiku, twirling him around and then beginning to dance with him. The unfortunate thing was that he was really not a very good dancer. He thought he saw a flash of someone take a picture but when he went to look at who might have a camera, the only person he recognized was Elizabeta. He turned back to Feliciano who was still dancing.

He pulled away from him. "You know I'm not really much of a dancer either."

"Aw, but Kiku, how are you going to have any fun then?"

"Well Alfred is here."

"You and Alfred seem really close!" Feliciano leaned on Kiku a bit. "Almost as close as me and Ludwig."

Ludwig got up and pulled Feliciano on to him. "Okay Feli, maybe we should go somewhere else now."

"No, wait!" He broke away from Ludwig and came back over to Kiku. Ludwig's bright, blue eyes were now fully sober and pierced into Feliciano. "Do you like Alfred?"

"Uhm…" Kiku was uncomfortable, his face was red. Someone threw up in a plant next to him and he jumped into Feliciano as Ludwig was trying to apologize and pull him away.

"You do like him!" Feliciano kept talking. "I can tell! That's so cute! You should tell Elizabeta she'd be very interested in that…!"

"What?" Kiku was confused, the noise and music was all really loud and his head was starting to hurt too. "What does Elizabeta have to do with this?"

"Well don't you know? She's practically head of the GSA at our school. Not only that but…" He leaned over and whispered loudly at Kiku. "She has her own files, you know of men and men and women and women and all that. I've never really been one for that sort of thing myself but I never stopped her from taking a picture of me and Luddy. Don't tell him by the way I don't think he really knows…"

Kiku blushed a deeper shade of red. Ludwig pulled Feliciano off of him. "Feliciano! Go let Kiku see Alfred, we need to leave now anyway."

"Aw but why?" He whined and clung on to Ludwig's shirt.

"Because you're getting too nosy! Now come on, we can take the bus back."

"Aww, but Luddy!" He kind of tried to break free but Ludwig was lifting him up onto his shoulder.

Ludwig looked at Kiku. "I apologize for Feliciano's behavior. He's had quite a few beers tonight. It was nice seeing you Kiku. I hope we get to spend time together again soon."

Kiku nodded. "Yes I hope the same, and I wish you two luck on your ride home. Be safe."

With that Ludwig nodded curtly and left with Feliciano on his shoulder. Now Kiku had to look for Alfred. He walked through the crowd again. There were so many people here, he even thought he saw some teachers that went to his school. The younger ones anyway. He passed Gilbert again who was dancing on a table and giving out shots of vodka like a bartender, only he was also taking shots himself. Elizabeta wasn't nearby though, which might explain his current behavior. When she was around he seemed to try acting his best. He waved to Kiku as he passed by. Kiku waved back, hardly though.

Kiku had no idea where Alfred was. It was really hot in the house and Kiku was starting to get really frustrated. He decided to walk outside and send Alfred a text. At least outside there was fresh air. The opened the glass door only to find that outside wasn't much better. It stank of weed and other drugs that Kiku didn't know the smell of. There were a lot of people outside too, though not as many as inside thankfully. There was a swimming pool and it reflected blue onto the bricks of the surrounding patio. Kiku decided to go down by the grassy area and use his phone there.

Once again Kiku weaved his way through the various bodies, though this time it wasn't as difficult. He stepped out onto the grass. It was a little bit easier to breath here and the weed smell wasn't as strong. There were only maybe six or seven people this far out from what he could see. He went by some bushes and pulled his phone out. He was about to dial the number when he heard a voice that he couldn't mistake for anyone else's. He froze in place.

"Ouch! That hurt you fucking bastardo!" It was Lovino. "I don't know why I let you take me out here! We're going to get caught!"

"Lovi, we won't get caught. I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you." That was another voice that Kiku wouldn't mistake for another. It was Mr. Fernández Carriedo.

Kiku freaked out, he didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't want to think about what was behind the bushes and he didn't want to see it. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and jogged farther away. What a traumatizing night this had been for Kiku. When he felt that he'd gotten a safe distance away he pulled his phone out again and noticed that his hands were shaking. This time he dialed Alfred's number quickly.

"Hello?"

"Alfred where are you?"

"Inside, where have you been? I thought you said you'd be gone for a short time it's almost been an hour and a half."

"I know, I had trouble finding you."

"Oh, well I'm upstairs in someone's bedroom. There's no one in here and the music is quieter…"

"Alfred…"

"Kiku! We don't have to do anything up here unless you want to. But I'm not moving until you at least come find me."

Kiku sighed. "Tch fine. Which room are you in?"

"Second one to the left…or right. I don't remember. Second room to the left or right!"

"Alfred I think it would help if you knew that more specifically."

"Nah, I doubt you'll walk in on anything. You don't usually run into that stuff unless you're looking for it."

Kiku sighed heavily. "Okay I'll see you in a few minutes then."

"Great!" Alfred hung the phone up and Kiku sighed again. He turned around and looked at the house. It was so big, the guy throwing the party had to be some bored rich kid. That's what they did right? Luckily Kiku hadn't had any trouble with any bullies tonight. Alfred was right, any that he'd seen were drunk or high out of their mind and weren't really paying much attention to Kiku. With all the effort he could muster, he walked back into the loud house. As quickly as he could, Kiku made his way up the stairs and onto the second floor. He looked down the long hallway, contemplating if he should open the second door on the left or right. He decided to go with left because that was what Alfred had said first. He learned once that the answer you guess first is more likely to be right.

In Alfred's case he was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Kiku walked down the hall and opened the second door to the left. In that moment Kiku thought that he might faint. Either way the image was seared into his mind, like a branding of a cattle prod. There in that room were Arthur and Francis. Arthur was up against the wall and had his leg around Francis, who was in-between kissing him and saying things like. "Je te aime" (I love you) or "vous êtes la lumière de mon monde" (you're the light of my world). Kiku didn't really want to know what he was saying. Arthur was gripping him and kissing him back, sometimes one of them moaned a little. The whole thing was really disgusting for Kiku.

Finally Arthur said it. "Just fuck me you git."

That was it for Kiku. He'd seen enough for now. He shut the door quietly and stood outside for a moment. His face buzzed. A very, very deep and dark side of him wanted to see. But most of him was fairly traumatized from seeing his two friends in such a way. Kiku thought back to what Feliciano said earlier about Elizabeta and wondered if she might be getting it all on camera. He shook the thought out of his head. All these people were so weird. How did he get mixed up in such a crowd? He rubbed his hands into his face and thought about Japan. How nice it would be to go back to such a place, where old, normal friends were. He took a few deep breaths and tried to think about nice things in America. The cars were nice, and he had Alfred. He tried to think of more but he couldn't really. Normally he would count his friends here but in this moment he didn't really want to think about them.

He took a final deep breath and took his hands away from his face. He stared at the room across from him. That was the room Alfred was in. He mustered his courage all over again, for maybe the third time tonight and walked inside. A sigh of relief escaped him, Alfred was there on the bed.

"Oh, hi Kiku!" He grinned and waved, but Kiku could see he was still somewhat nervous.

"Oh Alfred, thank God it's you." Kiku beamed and charged at Alfred. He hugged him

tightly. "I've heard and seen the most horrible things tonight!"

"Worse than a horror movie?"

"Much worse."

Alfred chuckled and petted Kiku's head. He gently kissed the top of it. "It's okay Kiku, I'm here now. Nothing more to worry about."

Kiku laughed weakly. "Yeah, yeah you're right." He hugged Alfred tighter and kissed

Alfred's chest. "I really wanted to find you."

"Well, you found me" Alfred brought Kiku's head up and gently kissed his lips. Kiku kissed

Alfred back. He brought his hands up into Alfred's hair. It lasted for maybe less than a second. Kiku Kissed Alfred again, this time the kiss was longer. He couldn't stop kissing Alfred. This is what he had missed yesterday. This was what he had to look forward to.

Alfred kissed him back.

They must've been in the room for at least an hour. Their clothes never came off but they spent the time exploring and kissing each other a lot. It wasn't until Alfred checked his watch that he pulled away from Kiku.

"Aw shit! Kiku, my parents wanted me home kind of early tonight I have to drive back."

Kiku was a little dazed. "Huh?"

Alfred stood up and grabbed Kiku's hand. "Come on! We have to get going, Kiku."

"Kiku rubbed his neck, he knew there were a few hickies there. "Alfred, wait for me." He said as Alfred rushed out the door and down the stairs. Kiku tried to keep up with him. "Alfred, please wait up!"

Alfred paused and turned around. He walked back to Kiku. "I-I'm sorry I just…I don't know what to do. My parents and…"

Kiku continued to walk. "No, it's fine you just caught me off guard. Alfred, I know your parents, they're nice. Let's go back."

Alfred nodded. "Okay, thanks."

They both walked to the car quickly. Alfred jumped in and so did Kiku, the music started and they rode home in silence. It wasn't unlike Kiku to be quiet, but it was unlike Alfred. Finally after a few minutes Alfred spoke. "My dad…he doesn't really like the whole idea of me going to these kinds of parties but…" he trailed off, obviously he didn't talk about this very often.

"Alfred, you don't have to tell me."

"No, I want to tell you, it's just that well the parties are the only time that I can…be with a boyfriend. Sometimes when my dad isn't home, but you understand me, right?"

Kiku nodded. "Yes, I do, I take it he didn't know…or doesn't know about any parties?"

Alfred shook his head. "No, that's why I can't stay very late."

"It's okay. Thank you for telling me."

"Well I care about you a lot so I want you to know."

Kiku blushed, he didn't really know what to say. He was really very grateful to Alfred for telling him but he didn't know if he could express that gratitude very well. The rest of the car ride was quiet. Alfred dropped Kiku off at home and with a quick kiss, he was back inside of his own home feeling more tired than he remembered being. It wasn't long before he collapsed onto his bed. He didn't bother changing, he just laid on his bed and shut his eyes. It wasn't long before he fell asleep either, and he was dreaming of Alfred.

The next few months went by really fast. It was a lot of the same patterns. Alfred and Kiku would rehearse for the play. 'Rehearsals' were mostly just a lot of kissing in Alfred or Kiku's bedroom. Their relationship was a lot of kissing for the first few weeks, actually. Then it calmed down. They learned more about each other and grew to be very close, practically inseparable. The only times they were apart was when Alfred went out with his football friends and when Kiku was out with Ludwig and Feliciano. Sometimes Francis, Arthur, Alfred, and Kiku would all go out together. That was fun most of the time. For the most part though, there was school work to focus on. Sometimes Kiku would go to parties with Alfred, it really fell into a pattern of about every two weeks. Each time they'd go a little farther with their intimacy. For Christmas, Alfred had given Kiku an I Love New York tee shirt and Kiku had given Alfred a bento box for his own snacks. Arthur had given Francis some sort of wine that he heard was good and Francis gifted Arthur a cookbook. Though Kiku had heard that Arthur smacked him pretty hard with it. Ludwig gave Feliciano a really beautiful ring and Feliciano cooked Ludwig a dinner and gave him some nice Italian shoes. Gilbert gave Elizabeta a new frying pan. She was so disappointed that she hit him with it until he revealed that he'd also gotten her a pearl necklace. Elizabeta had gotten him a little yellow bird that he of course named after himself and began taking everywhere with him. It may have been the most annoying gift given this Christmas. After break and school started again, the teachers all started to really crack down, knowing that they had a deadline coming up. The school play would go on in April and May and the sets were already being built. Actors were getting fitted for costumes and so on. It really wasn't until February though until things began to really change again.

Hi guys I just wanted to say thank you once again for all the favorites, likes and reviews. I'm glad you like my story and I hope you continue to read it. This was another sort of short chapter but the next one is a really big one! (I always plan my stories out before writing them). Anyway I hope you enjoy it and have a fabulous week!

M.O.