Wow, you guys! I am so happy with the response I got for the first two chapters! Reviews, alerts and favourites! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated sooner, but I haven't had the time to type up the chapter (it's been written since I posted the first two) *grovels* Sorry! Chapter four is just over half written, and everything so far has been typed, so hopefully it won't take as long as this one!

Another apology: Sorry for the copious amounts of description in this chapter (the end might make up for it (slightly)) - it is necessary. Also, you get to see what The Penguin Society is (if the story summary didn't give it away) and meet some new characters! I'll explain about them in my A/N at the end of the chapter.

So, without further ado, I present to you (hey, that rhymes!)... Chapter three! Go, read, now! :)

After falling asleep at an ungodly hour, Ciel was woken, most unpleasantly, from his restless sleep by the incessant bleeping of his alarm clock. He removed a pale arm from his warm duvet cocoon and fumbled for the 'off' button before he rolled over and groaned.

"Ugghhh!" His arm flopped down hard over his brow and he used it to sloppily rub the last dregs of sleep from his face before opening his eye. He could see the faint glare of light seeping round the edges of his curtains and for some reason, there was an awful nagging in his head, telling him that he's forgotten something terribly important.

As he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, it suddenly hit him. "Shit!" he cursed, grinding his forehead into his palm and then wincing in pain. "Oh bloody hell! How did I forget-" he cut himself off, and when he spoke again, his voice had risen to a frantic, high pitch. "How did I sleep with him barely five meters away?" He fell back limply onto the mattress, replaying the previous night, with all its interruptions, back over in his head.

"So he broke up with Claude again. Well nothing new there. And then he passed out in front of me. Nothing new there either. And then he woke Lizzie and me up about" he glanced at the clock, "five hours ago."

Ciel suddenly sat up. "And he- oh, thank God, said he had a lecture early this morning, so I won't have to face him!" Relief rushed over him, calming his pulse and relaxing all his tensed muscles. As much as he still considered Alois his best and closest friend, Ciel's confession (that, unfortunately, Alois had remembered) had shaken their friendship right to the core and it was still in the process of being fitted back together, much like a city after an earthquake, although by now, only a few less obvious cracks remained.

After getting up and dressed, Ciel grabbed a chocolate croissant and left to make the 20 minute walk to the university campus. He liked uni and found his course interesting and useful, if a little tedious in places; after all, business and economics wasn't renowned for being fun.

On arrival, he took the long route round the buildings to the theatre where his lecture was being held, taking care to avoid the building that the psychology classes were held in. He knew he was acting silly, and just delaying the inevitable, for he couldn't avoid Alois for the rest of his life, but he found it painful to see his friend just after a breakup, because it just reminded him firstly of his own feelings, which he would rather push to the back of his mind and never think about, and secondly, the fact that Alois was not, and would never be his in the way that he so wanted him to be.

So Ciel chose to delay the inevitable and avoid Alois for as long as possible, knowing that when he did finally see him, it would hurt as much as if he saw him now, but it saved him from the pain for just that little bit longer.

He managed to evade the blond all day, until as he was leaving through the main gates, he walked directly into his friend's path. Knowing that there was no way he could pretend not to have seen him, he resigned himself and smiled broadly, albeit a little faked, and waved enthusiastically.

"Ciel!" Alois bounded up to him and enveloped Ciel's petite body in a hug, pounding his back in greeting before pulling away and regarding him with a sincere expression. "I really am so incredibly sorry about turning up at your flat like that last night, too drunk to retain consciousness and then waking you up so early this morning. If it makes you feel any better, I had the worst hangover when I tried to get up this morning. Lizzie literally had to drag me off the sofa and into the bathroom so I could splash cold water on my face. Which didn't really help." He paused for a second to take a breath then carried on before Ciel could reply. "I already apologized to her and bought her breakfast at that little café she loves, so to make it up to you, I'm going to take you out to this clubby society thing I go to tonight."

"Um, clubby society thing?" Ciel questioned.

"It's this LGBT group called The Penguin Society. I've been going for about six months now. Erm, Claude introduced me to it. I love it there; it's great hanging out with a load of like minded people."

Ciel looked a little confused. "Okay, few questions here, firstly, aren't I a like minded person?"

"Oh, yes, of course, but this is a huge group of them."

"Right, okay. Second question. If Claude introduced you, won't he be there?"

"Nope." Alois tried to look unaffected by the mention of Claude. "He doesn't have enough time to go now, what with work commitments and stuff."

"Well, okay then."

Alois smiled brightly. "Next question!"

"I'm not entirely sure I want to know, but I'm going to ask anyway. Why haven't you taken me before?"

His friend did actually have the decency to look embarrassed. "Um, well, it was something I wasn't sure if you'd want to do - I mean, I know you're totally open about your orientation but even I felt a bit awkward the first time I went and you're a lot more easily embarrassed than I am…" his voice trailed off as he looked at Ciel's expression of disbelief and slight irritation.

"Alois, stop bullshitting and tell me the actual reason."

The blond shuffled his feet a little, hands twisting as he looked down. "I-I'd rather not say it."

"Alois." Ciel's voice had a cold warning tone to it that said 'Don't make me ask again.'

""Okay! Okay! Um, I erm, well, I… I didn't want to take you to a gay society with my boyfriend because… becauseofyourfeelingsforme." He garbled the last bit at a speed that only just allowed Ciel to understand what he's said. Suddenly, both of them were shuffling their toes whilst finding the pavement incredibly fascinating. It was the first time it had been spoken out loud since that drunken late night confession all those months ago.

"Well," Ciel said, finally breaking the embarrassed silence. "Thanks for telling the truth." He looked back up at his friend. "I'd be happy to come with you tonight. What time and where?"

Alois' face was still blanched from the shock of broaching the forbidden subject and it took him a moment gather a reply together. "I'll pick you up around eight. Dress nice, but not too fancy, and don't bother bringing any money for entrance or the bar - I'm paying.

"Okay." Ciel smiled slightly. "See you at eight."

At two minutes past eight, Alois knocked on the beige wood door of Ciel's apartment, wearing a white high necked shirt with a large black bow tied round his neck, a pair of straight legged navy trousers, a dark green waistcoat and a purple coat that came in at the waist and flared out down to his knees. His feet were shoed in navy boots that had a slight heel and clacked against the floor as he walked. He knew what suited him, and he wore it with confidence; not caring about any odd looks he received in public.

Ciel, on the other hand, merely threw clothes on with barely a second thought, so when he opened the door, Alois couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"You actually made an effort with your outfit." He said after a shocked moment.

"Do you like it?" Ciel looked anxious and was chewing his bottom lip slightly.

Alois drew a small circle in the air with his index finger and Ciel followed his instructions, rotating slowly on the spot so his friend could see his entire outfit.

He was wearing a pair of impossibly tiny black skinny jeans (that still managed to look loose around his miniscule hips) that were held up by a pair of teal suspenders with silver clasps over a loose white shirt. The shirt was half untucked; the sleeves were rolled up to Ciel's elbows and the two top buttons and the last button were unfastened. On his feet was a pair of black buckled boots that reached halfway up his calves, but were only laced through two thirds of the holes, leaving the tops of the boots to fall slightly away from his slim legs, breaking up the narrow silhouette of them.

Alois whistled slowly. "Fuck… Well, how about that… You actually have a decent sense of style. Who'd have guessed it? Although won't you be cold? It's October."

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Ciel dashed back inside before returning a moment later with a Black double-breasted wool coat slung over his arm. "Let's go!" he called and set off down the corridor with an astonished Alois following in his wake.

Alois had a taxi waiting that dropped them off outside an inconspicuous looking building set back from the road mad of brownish red brick and mildew. Ciel glanced at it, and then at Alois with a 'what the fuck is the place?' expression plastered over his delicate features.

"It's okay," the blond reassured him. "It's a lot nicer on the inside. We've got the bar on the top floor."

Ciel was left with no choice but to follow his friend towards the damp, old building on the corner of an even damper, older street. "I thought you said we had to pay for entrance." he questioned as they passed through the front door without challenge.

Alois began climbing a narrow staircase, treading a worn path on the carpet in his little boots and as Ciel started the ascent behind him, he called over his shoulder "We pay entrance to the room we hired, so at the top of these stairs - not the front door."

"Oh." was the only response Ciel could come up with as he focused on manoeuvring his tight-jean-clad legs up the ridiculously steep stairs.

As they reached the top and rounded a corner, Ciel saw a slim but strong looking man lounging on a chair outside the door, smoking a cigarette. To his surprise, he found that he recognised the man.

"Cam?" he asked, before even realising he had spoken.

The man looked up, his dark blond hair flopping over his forehead and ears. His eyes widened in recognition as he saw the boys. "Ciel! Alois! Haven't seen you in a while, blondie. And Ciel, this your first time?" He took a drag on the cigarette then exhaled slowly.

Alois, seemingly comfortable with the man, spoke first. "Yeah, I haven't been able to get here in a while and it is Ciel's first venture into The Penguin."

Ciel made a mental note to ask about the group's name later.

"Well then guys. Five pounds each." He held out his hand expectantly and Alois slid a tenner between Cam's index and middle fingers. He turned back to Ciel who was just opening his wallet. "Hey! I told you not to bring money! I'm bringing you here to make up for passing out on your sofa last night and so I will pay."

Ciel put his wallet away without hesitation. Alois was loaded anyway, and he wasn't going to argue when someone insisted on paying for him. He looked back over at Cam who was taking lazy drags on his cigarette and watching the boys with an expression that seemed to combine boredom and interest at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked him. "I thought you were straight? Well, you always seem to be surrounded by girls, or is that your way of hiding it?"

Cam laughed, and some ash from the cigarette fell onto his thighs, which was quickly flicked away by a lethargic hand movement. "Just because I'm straight doesn't mean I can't earn some extra money working as a 'bouncer' a few times a week. I mean, I don't really care where I work, and I have nothing against gays; as long as I get paid - and who wouldn't want to get paid for sitting around - I don't care where I am."

"Well, fair's fair, I supp-" he was cut off as Alois grabbed his arm and headed towards the door.

"Stop flirting!" the blond chided playfully.

"Oh! Wait, no, no!" He looked back at Cam. "I wasn't flirting, I swear!"

Cam laughed loudly. "It's okay, mate. I know you weren't. Have a good evening!" he called after them, voice muffled as the door swung shut behind them.

"How on earth do you know Cam?" Alois asked, turning around and releasing his grip on Ciel's arm.

Ciel stared at him. "Seriously? You don't know? He goes to the same university as us. Studies PE. He and Lizzie had a 'thing' once. He's got a bit of a reputation as a man whore, but he's lovely really.

"Oh right." Alois' look of confusion cleared. "Anyway, you want me to tell you who everyone is?"

For the first time since entering the room, Ciel looked around, taking in his surroundings. They were in a relatively large room, with round tables of various heights everywhere and over a dozen people dotted around, some deep in conversation, some drinking and one couple getting pretty well acquainted with each other's mouths. There was a longish bar along half of one of the walls with a single man in black standing behind it pouring drinks for a couple of guys who'd just ordered.

"That's Dan, the barman, although his grand ambition is to be a mixologist," Alois muttered in his ear as he let him over to a table at the side. He's a great laugh, although unless you want to get completely hammered in seconds, neverorder his special concoction. He calls it 'Fresh', but the only thing it'll do is leave you fresh out of brain cells."

Ciel laughed. "I'll try to remember that. Who are the guys ordering?"

Alois glanced up and then back to Ciel. "Bash and James. Best friends, nothing more. Ridiculously intelligent - three PhDs between them. They have a rather specific sense of humour, but are really great guys." He not-so-subtly pointed at two other men that the aforementioned were walking towards. "Tom and Josh. In a relationship. Cutest fucking couple you'll ever meet. They've been together for years. The two of them plus Bash and James make one big happy friendship group. Josh is at uni - not ours - and Tom works on films. He's training to be an editor."

Ciel went to ask a question but Alois had already started on the next table.

"Bard and Finny," he said, nodding towards a pair of blond guys leaning on a higher table, deep in an animated conversation with two girls. "Those two are the most regular attendees here. Bard's training to be a chef and Finny is an agriculture student."

"Who are the girls they're talking to? Ciel asked, his interest piqued by the odd outfits they were wearing. One was in a frilly violet Victorian-esque dress that flared out to her knees with matching bows in her wavy brown bunches and the other was in a top hat and tail coat.

"Jess and Saffron. Anime lovers. Artists. Best friends. Nothing romantic about it but they live together. Both ridiculously quirky but they don't care what anyone thinks."

Ciel nodded and then pointed towards a small group sitting around one of the lower tables. "And them?"

"The ginger girl is Melissa. She's got a reputation, and not a great one either. She'll sleep with most people, and there's a rumour that she used to be, and possibly still is, a call girl. The mousey haired girl is Constance. She's half French, half Argentinean, and she has the most infectious smile you've ever seen. She's also madly in love with Jane - the girl with the blonde pixie cut, although Jane is actually a guy called James - she just hasn't had the operation yet. She's on a course of hormone treatment right now. And the crazily tall ginger guy is Diarmuid. He's Irish, if you couldn't tell, and studying for a masters in History. He has a huge fan club of women, and some men," he winked at Ciel, "that he's not exactly aware of. Oh and he blushes an awful lot."

Diarmuid must have felt their eyes on him, for he turned his head round a moment later, smiling. He waved at Alois and stared curiously at Ciel for a moment, before returning to his conversation.

At that moment, two more girls walked in and Alois needed no hint to introduce them quietly into Ciel's ear.

"The short gothic one is Amy, and the blonde one with the massive boobs is the other Jess. They... have an arrangement, let's say."

"You mean friends with benefits?" Ciel suggested.

"That's the one. Personally, I couldn't do that, but it seems to work for them.

"Yeah, each to their own," Ciel agreed, before scanning the room and noticing the couple making out in the corner that he had seen on entry. "What about them?" he asked.

Alois' eyes followed the direction of Ciel's gaze. "Oh, Izzy and Luca? Yeah, no one knows much about them except one is bi - that's all they'll say; we don't know which one - and they love eating each other's faces."

"So why are they here if they only came to make out?"

"Oh, Izzy is friends with quite a few people here so she comes to socialise sometimes, although when she brings Luca, there isn't much socialising on the menu." He said, laughing.

"Right," said Ciel, getting up. "If that's everyone, I want a drink. And once I have some alcohol in me, I'm going to introduce myself to all these people."

They walked over to the bar together and ordered their respective drinks, although once again, Alois refused to let Ciel pay.

"What was the point of bringing money if you're not going to let me spend it?" Ciel moaned once they were sitting back down and Alois was sipping his rum and coke.

"I told you not to bring any. This is my way of apologising. Now shut up and drink your beer."

They sat, drinking, in companionable silence for a while, just observing the other people in the room, and Ciel did have to admit that it was nice to be in a place where he was one hundred per cent sure that no one was going to judge him for his sexuality.

Suddenly, a movement caught his eye and he flicked his blue eye over to the door that had just been pulled open.

He barely felt his bottle slip from his grasp or heard his sharp intake of breath as he took in the sight of the man who had just entered. He didn't even notice Alois turning to look at him until he felt his friend's breath tickling his ear.

"And that... is Sebastian."

Mmmmmmmm... Sebastian... Nom. Very nom. Oh! Sorry! Didn't see you guys there! Please, join me in my Sebastian perving. You'll get more Sebby in the next chapter! *cheers and squeals* Okay! Calm down! :P

So, as I said in my A/N at the start, all the other characters in the society are based on my real friends :3 Yes, I do actually have friends outside of the internet. I say based, because not all their characteristics in the story are real, for example my friend Melissa is NOT a call girl (prostitute), and she hasn't slept with hundreds of people, and James (Jane) is NOT transgender. Also, most of them are straight, instead of having varying degrees of sexuality as they do in here. And the only real couple in real life is James (Jane) and Constance. They've been together for nearly two years!

Oh right, sorry for rambling! But yeah, reviews make me happy :)))))) and the next chapter should be up soon!

And here's a final thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed already! 3