Chapter Four: Party Time
Yong Soo bounced excitedly in his seat beside Ivan. Maybe he should be nervous, but this was just too cool! He couldn't wait to tell Lee and Alfred about this at school tomorrow. Alfred is going to be so jealous!
Ivan raised an eyebrow when the boy beside him suddenly threw his head back and laughed. He rapidly stomped his feet on the ground then turned to grin up at Ivan. "This is so cool, da ze!"
"Da," Ivan responded stoically, taking a large swig of his vodka. He wasn't really too happy. It was loud, the alcohol was terrible, and no one was talking to him. In fact, beside Yong Soo, no one was anywhere near him. They were like an island sitting on folding chairs by the door. That didn't seem to curb the Korean's enthusiasm though.
"Oh, oh!" Yong Soo grabbed Ivan's sleeve. "Let's dance! Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Nyet," Ivan frowned at the younger boy. "I do not dance."
"Awww, come on, Ivan. Please? Isn't that what you do at parties?"
"Is not vhat I do."
"And what do you do?" Yong Soo asked, pouting.
"This." Ivan stated and he took another drink from his bottle.
"That. Is. So. Booooring." Yong Soo whined as he tugged on Ivan's sleeve. "Come on…"
"Nyet," Ivan said and pulled his arm away from the other boy. "I do not dance."
"Fine, be that way," Yong Soo sulked and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll go and dance by myself then, da ze."
-o-o-o-
Yong Soo didn't understand what Ivan's problem was. The music was good, nice and loud with a killer beat. He wasn't really sure what the song was since he didn't listen to a lot of American music, but it was pretty cool. In fact, it sounded like the kind of music Alfred would listen to.
"Whoa, Yong Soo? What are you doing here?" Yong Soo turned around to see the very person he had been thinking about standing about a foot away from him with a confused, and slightly drunk, look on his face.
"Alfred? No way! That is so not fair, da ze! I was gonna brag to you about this tomorrow and everything!" Yong Soo moaned overdramatically as he walked up to his friend.
"Did one of your brothers get you in here or something?" The blonde asked, tilting his head and sloshing his plastic cup half filled with cheap beer.
"Nah, you really think either of them would come to a party like this?" He shook as head and gave a hopeless shrug. "They're both kind of boring, da ze."
Alfred laughed loudly at this. "Yeah, yeah, I can totally see that."
"Oh!" The Korean exclaimed, looking as though he just remembered something crucial. "Alfred~ You'll dance with me, right?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sure thing, buddy." Alfred smiled, chugged the rest of his beer, and tossed the cup to the side. "Whoops, missed the can." He giggled.
Yong Soo laughed and grabbed Alfred's hand, pulling him to the dance floor and ignoring his drunken stumbling.
-o-o-o-
Ivan watched, frowning, as Yong Soo talked and laughed with the blonde boy by the keg. He almost broke his vodka bottle in his hand as Yong Soo grabbed the other boy and started pulling him away somewhere. Somewhere where Ivan wouldn't be able to see them. He giggled. "I vill have to talk vith Yong Soo, da?"
-o-o-o-
Yong Soo laughed as Alfred twirled him in some weird version of a classic dance spin.
"And, dip!" Alfred announced as he did, in fact, dip Yong Soo low to the ground. And dropped him. Then fell. On top of him. "Oopsies." He grinned sheepishly, hovering over the other boy.
"Owwww," Yong Soo whined as he rubbed the back of his head. "My head… and my butt…"
"You vill… get off now, da?"
"Huh?" Alfred looked up at the Russian looming over them. "Oh, right." He stumbled to his feet and extended a hand to his friend lying on the floor. "Sorry about that, Yong Soo."
"Eh, no problem, da ze." Yong Soo replied as he stood up. "What are you doing here, Ivan? I thought you didn't dance." Yong Soo grinned at him. "Have you changed your mind then?"
"Nyet, ve are going now," Ivan said, frowning at the two boys.
"Awww, already? But we just got here!"
"Ve are going."
"Hey," Alfred steps between the two. "He can stay if he wants to. Stop bullying him."
"Am not bullying."
"Whatever man. Don't worry, Yong Soo, I'm here to protect you and you can just ride home with me, okay?"
Yong Soo frowned, he did want to stay longer and it wasn't like Ivan was having much fun anyway. "Well… I suppose I-"
"Cool!" Alfred grabbed Yong Soo's hand and started pulling him back towards to keg. "Come on then, let's get you a drink!"
"Let go of Yao!" Ivan growled.
"Yao?" Alfred turned to his friend. "I thought your brother wasn't here."
"…He's not." Yong Soo replied after a moment of silence. "I think I'm gonna just go home after all, Alfred."
"Huh? But-"
"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Yong Soo cut him off and pulled away.
"O-okay…" Alfred responded, biting his lower lip, looking worried and not too sure about letting his friend leave.
"Yong Soo?" Ivan tilted his head and followed after him.
Once they were out on the sidewalk, Yong Soo pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "Hey, Lee? …" He laughed, in a hollow sort of way. "Yeah, I did. … Could you? … At the college. … Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! … Kay, see you soon!"
The false happiness in his voice stung Ivan's ears. He stood there, on the sidewalk two feet from the other boy, for about twenty minutes. Ivan tried to talk to him, but Yong Soo never answered. Then the Asian boy he had seen Yong Soo with earlier that day rode up on a bicycle and without a word Yong Soo hopped on the handlebars and they left.
Ivan watched them until they rounded a corner and he couldn't see them anymore.
-o-o-o-
When Lee asked, Yong Soo told him that Alfred had gotten him into the party, but was too drunk to drive him back. He assured Lee that he hadn't known Ivan was going to be at the party. Lee accepted this story silently.
When Lee asked him if he wanted to go to an arcade before heading home, Yong Soo shook his head. "Nah, I wanna get home before Yao-hyung notices I'm gone. He's gonna be so maaaad! Besides, we have school tomorrow, right?"
Lee only nodded, though he didn't miss the way Yong Soo's voice caught when he said his brother's name.
A/N: Ahhh! I'm sorry it's been so long! I don't really have any excuses. Please forgive me?