Liz was 95% sure Kid had just done a line in his tent. She wasn't sure if she should check in or call him out on not sharing with the class. Choosing a middle line until she knew a little more, both about him and the general group dynamics, Liz leaned into the energy of the night. It was starting to devolve into just the right amount of chaos, where anything could happen. She tried to quash a grin by covering her mouth and coughing, but wasn't sure she was successful when BlackStar gave her a sly side eye.

Tsu was starting to settle, in large part Liz assumed because of the ministrations of BlackStar's fingers through her hair. Liz had thought Tsu was obsessed, but this drummer was well and truly fucked, and Liz delighted in the way he stumbled over his own words and how whenever she looked over at Tsu, his eyes were either just leaving or returning to glance at her, too. That was the kind of devotion her friend deserved. Much better than that shit head. Fuck him and his needy ass "can't write my own papers because I'm in stem." I took some stem classes too fucktard, and I could still write all my own….

"Hey, where'd you go?" For the first time, she found Kid smiling broadly at her and initiating a conversation. Even going so far as to wave a hand in front of her face. "I brought you a beer, cause I noticed yours was either light or empty, but the expression on your face was comical. A mix of murder and hmmm like disgust, but also like this tinge of obviousness? Does that make sense?"

Liz couldn't help it, she laughed, and it wasn't her cute flirty laugh. It was her full-on snort guffaw she used with Patty, Tsu, and Maka. "Thanks," she managed between gulps of air. "I was just thinking of this waste of space and old college classes, actually."

"Fair, a waste of space for you? Or…."

"Nah, I don't indulge in wasted time or energy." Her eyes flicked unintentionally to Tsu before she caught herself. "Other people are a lot nicer than me though."

"What'd you do in college? I majored in music and business, obviously."

"Business, too?" Her mouth scrunched, "I was also a double major, but more because of indecisiveness, it meant I was a six year student. But also meant I ended up with credits toward a higher degree and ended up just doing that afterwards"

"In….." Kid leaned forward dramatically and raised his eyebrows comically.

"You really are dragging it out, sisi." Patty said from below them.

"Oh fuck you both." Liz said laughing before taking a sip of her new drink, "Psychology and social work. I went on to get my masters in psych. The clinical hours killed me."

"Ya'll wanna play a game?" BlackStar turned toward them as Tsu roused herself and whispered something to him.

Kid flinched slightly when BlackStar spoke, but moved around the chair Patty sat in to pull one of the coolers further into the light into a semi circle. "Here Liz, let me grab you one too." He pulled the final cooler into the space between him and Patty, "Sorry we don't have any more chairs." He smiled sheepishly at her before turning into the middle of the circle. "If we play King's Cup, it's by Soul's rules not BlackStar's."

"Awww come on, man!" BlackStar grinned and goodnaturedly punched him in the shoulder, "It's never that bad."

"Agree to disagree on that one, dude." Soul stood up, popped his cooler open to grab a beer, and sat back down, "Your rules make zero fucking sense. Last time, Killik had to get his stomach pumped. It was insane."

"That wasn't cause of King's Cup!" BlackStar turned to Tsu frantically, to see she was laughing along with the rest of the group, "Oh hahaha. Very funny." He rolled his eyes.

"I say we play Cheers to the Govner!" Patty called gleefully from her chair with her legs folded neatly beneath her. "I can't tell you if I'd follow anything else super well. I'm vibing soooo nicely right now. But that game isn't too hard. Mostly." She smirked, while Liz, Maka and Tsu groaned.

"I don't think I know that one." Kid scratched his nose nervously and looked over at Liz and Maka who both just shook their heads in defeat.

"It's eeeassy! We just go around and count to 21." Patty smiled impishly, "And then we add a rule," she studied the fingers of her left hand nonchalantly as if this wasn't a big deal.

"That doesn't sound that hard." BlackStar looked at Kid and Soul and shrugged. "Why not?"

They were only on round five, and Kid wasn't sure why he couldn't breathe, the rules were simple. Instead of 5 you say 3. When you get to 7 you clap. If the number has a zero at the end you have to take a drink. And the first rule that was made was to say Cheers for 'Roo instead of 21. I know them. I know them better than Soul who said 21 the first time at the end of round 2. Better than Tsu who had said 7 each round so far instead of clapping. Better than BlackStar who mixed 5 and 3 in round two. I haven't messed up once. But it's fading, and I can't breathe. I feel like my lungs are slowly filling with sand. I can't get enough air. I just need a moment of quick, clean, bright…. And it'll push me up… it'll be enough to make me better and…and… and… the sand will recede. It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. Just one excuse and one more hit and then I'll…

"Hahaha Kid! That's a hesitation! Drink up, dude!" Someone called and his attention snapped back.

Kid grinned and laughed with them. "Yeah, yeah. I was thirsty anyway." He finished his drink, "I'm gonna throw some of these cans in the trash back here. Give me a second before we keep going, yeah?"

"Sure, no problem!" Tsu said, "You need any help?"

"Nah, it's good!" He called quickly. He knew it was too quickly because he felt Soul's eyes glance over. He couldn't tell if it was in disapproval, and he didn't wait to see. He grabbed the cans to clear the area because it really was becoming cluttered. Then went to his tent for the recycling bags as well as a quick bump of coke to keep the sand from filling his lungs and choking him.

Maka saw Kid's breathing grow shallower for such a short interlude if she didn't know the experience so well, she'd have believed she'd have imagined it. Cheers to the Guvner was a difficult game for sure, but it wasn't anxiety inducing. It was a silly drinking game to play to get fucked up. She'd really only noticed because she'd been counting ahead. She was absolutely terrible at this game and Patty knew it. So, as soon as her turn had ended, Maka had begun counting by trying to covertly glance at each person around the circle while naming their number or rule to help reinforce them in her own head. However, when her eyes settled on Kid, she easily recognized the forced rigid type of relaxed and then when she focused a little harder, damn drunk goggles, she saw the short breaths through the cords in his neck, and the tight fall of his chest versus the relaxed fall of what had been his normal breathing a mere round before. So, it was with utter surprise when Soul, Liz, BlackStar, and Tsu simultaneously called him out for a hesitation, there was such a glide in his response and such a normal lilt to his laughter.

As Kid laughed and called for a quick intermission, the group fell into small side chats. Tsu and Patty were debating the perks of getting breakfast versus making it tomorrow and Soul, BlackStar , and Liz were all discussing the final MCR set with an animation that Maka couldn't quite hope to match. She had felt it earlier, just a little, when she'd been surrounded by everyone, but it'd been fleeting. Here disconnected from the crowd and the immediate presence of the stage, the music felt like so much background static again. She slipped quietly from her seat, testing her ankle carefully. Pleased to find it was only slightly achy, she collected a couple of cans and limped over to where Kid had taken the other cans.

She turned past the small makeshift sheet walls toward the right where there was an unofficial door to where she assumed they'd set up their tents. Her guess was rewarded; however, she was also quite surprised to see Kid crouching fully outlined by his phone light in front of his tent holding car keys and a small bag. He'd just lifted the key out of the bag and to his nose when she stepped back, and her ankle gave out. She hissed in pain, closing her eyes in a quick grimace, to keep herself from cursing. She opened one eye and bit her lip, trying to make herself smaller. She looked back, hoping she could still possibly escape unnoticed. It really wasn't any of her business how Kid chose to deal with his anxious tendencies. She usually preferred muting hers, she found coke aggravated her more anxious spirals rather than helping her deal with them.

"Here let me help you."

Maka looked up to see Kid reaching a hand out to her and smiling like nothing had just happened. She let him pull her up from her half crouch and followed him over to the trash bag he'd grabbed from his tent. As he turned to go back, she made a snap decision. Grabbing his elbow to stop him, she pulled him back, "Wait…."

He'd taken a half step forward and looked back comically at her with a sardonic grin, "Oh, sorry. I didn't think. Do you need help walking back? Your ankle gave out again, right?"

"No… wait." Maka pressed a hand against his shoulder, not forcing him back, only resting it there, as Kid made the move to help her. "I just wanted to say something."

Kid snorted a little, "Haha alright?" He moved his arm to support her, but also turned to look at her so they were in a semi half hug at this point. "What's up?"

"You know it's ok to ask for help, right?"

Kid stepped back a little, almost but not quite dropping her, as the grin slipped from his face. Maka forged ahead anyway, "Look I don't know what you're going through, and I can't say my anxiety is yours, but I will say the best thing someone ever told me and that has helped me…" She looked up to catch his eye, and waited until he looked at her, "is that it is ok to not be ok, and it is ok to ask for help when you need it. Look, do what you need to and if this helps…" She gestured toward his tent, "then by all means. But I was counting in the game too," She stopped and her eyes softened in recognition of a shared ache, "but I wasn't choking on it."

Kid laid his head on her shoulder and she could barely hear the whispered, "it's just cleaner and brighter….. I'm enough with…"

A moment later it was as if she'd imagined it, as the weight of Kid's head disappeared and he moved to her side supporting her as if they hadn't been talking at all, when the stumbling sound of a pair of feet became BlackStar moving the sheet door aside to say, "Hey you two coming?"

"Dude, Maka's ankle's busted. You couldn't have taken these cans for her? Why'd you make her come back anyway?" Kid teased, his voice once again warm and bright, as he walked with her toward the doorway of the sheet opening.

"I'm going to see what the fuck's taking so long with these cans." BlackStar stood up from his chair, and Patty couldn't help but snort as he moved toward the makeshift doorway where Maka and Kid had disappeared. She held back from rolling her eyes, but her snide grin and snort seemed to catch Soul's attention.

He leaned across the cooler where Kid had been sitting, quirking his head and biting his lip in a half laugh, he asked, "What's so funny?"

Patty pulled her feet up under her again and leaned over the arm of her chair toward Soul to whisper, "Your drummer know about your friend's habits?" She thumbed her nose, "Because he's definitely not the observant kind, but there's no way he could miss it now."

"Shit, you noticed too? Fuck. Kid's wildin."

"Nah…. more like," she paused pursing her lips, "I guess I've seen the signs before."

Soul opened his mouth to question further, but was interrupted by the trio coming back through the curtain, and Kid's loud scolding of the group for making Maka walk back with a busted ankle.

Everyone took their seats and the game resumed. Patty enjoyed Cheers to the Guvnor for multiple reasons. First, it was just a fun game to get fucked up to, second, it was interesting to see the rules that people created. It was a small insight into who they were, how devious or kind they might be. For example, switching number rules were always people who were chaos goblins, action based rules were more grounded people focused on trying to get a round to go through the entire group, then there were the nonsense based socially nosy people… Like herself.

"Everytime the number 13 comes up you have to tell two truths and a lie. The person to your right has to guess which one is the lie."

"Patty!" Tsu and Liz groaned collectively. Maka just sighed heavily obviously wishing she had a notebook as they'd now made it round seven. BlackStar was beginning to look faded as fuck, as he hadn't switched from his moonshine, Soul was staring at her a little dazed, and Kid had a very bright smile on and seemed the only one ready to match her energy. Her heart ached that the smile was overly bright and was the only part of Kid that seemed to exude a sense of happiness even if manufactured.

"Promise it's the last round! My sunrise set starts soon anyway, so I'm headed out in about 20. Besides Maka's phone's probably charged by now."

"Ummm." Uncharacteristically, a blush moved across the back of Soul's neck and into his ears, "I might've forgot to charge it when we got back…"

"To be fair… I didn't give it to you either." Maka cringed and pulled her feet in under her, so she was as far away from Liz and her cooler as possible.

"You absolute, dipshits." Liz rolled her eyes.

"But on the opposite side of that," Tsu stretched luxuriously in her chair, grinning mischievously at them, "I can finally remember the camp number. Like I TOLD both of you two to do." Then she leaned forward to whisper in BlackStar's ear. He'd moved from his cooler, onto the ground in front of her, and they'd effectively switched positions as Tsu had slowly started to run her fingers through his hair throughout the game. When she leaned forward her own hair had moved forward in a screen, and Patty hadn't been able to see what she'd said, but could guess at the intent when Tsu held out her hand and BlackStar grimaced and handed his flask back to her without argument. Tsu's returning smile made the boy blush, and Patty look away.

She didn't begrudge her friends their interests, she just didn't quite see the actual attraction. People were interesting and she liked the idea of becoming emotionally invested and involved with people, but the physical aspect and the touching and the attraction in that manner… she didn't get it. She understood how people were attractive, sure. Maka was beautiful, Tsu so sexy, and she loved both of them dearly, but she did not want in any way to kiss or hug or have sex with them. Same for all the boys here, she could appreciate what Tsu saw in this blue-haired mass of energy, he was beautiful, and she could see he had a nice body though he had finally put a shirt on as the weather had gotten chillier, the other two were leaner, but she could see why people would be attracted to them. She just didn't feel the same. She'd tried to explain it to Liz, but Liz had said she might just not have met the right person yet. Patty wasn't sure that was it. She'd met a lot of people she loved. She just didn't want to fuck them.

"Doesn't matter! You guys are probably going to play King's Cup when I leave anyway." She smiled and laughed, to soften her tone, "Let's finish this round!"

Soul didn't know what to make of the night. He'd thought it'd just be a drunken boys shenanigans, and they'd wake up tomorrow too hung over to do much but go to the various afternoon shows they'd had planned to see.

"Yo, BlackStar, toss me your phone dude."

Without a moment's hesitation, BlackStar pulled his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to him, and Soul changed up the music to some of the bands they were planning to see tomorrow. The game continued, as they continued to make several mistakes, until they got to the number 13 on Kid.

Kid gave him a quick desperate look, his eyes asking the question, and begging for something Kid could never ask himself. Soul sighed, jerked his head slightly in a half response, before immediately feeling bad when he saw the wave of relief that overtook Kid's body.

"I have a business and music degree, I have an older brother, I write most of the music myself."

"Lie is the older brother." Soul shrugged and let Kid take the small out on an easy answer.

"Oh, booooooo. That was too easy." Tsu called looking up a little rosy cheeked, obviously drinking from BlackStar's flask again.

Soul shrugged again, "Rules of the game, luv." He drew her attention away from Kid's answers with a poor imitation of a British accent, and he was rewarded with her easy laugh and the continuation of the game. He continued into 14 and was immensely grateful no one else called Kid out on the easy fact that his best friend was on his right, and he'd given shitty non-answers to Patty's very obvious attempt at nosy poking.

They somehow brought the game to a close, as they'd only had one more rule between 13 and 21 and Patty'd given up on the restarting rule since her show was about to start.

"Cheers to Roo!" Soul finally said as they made it to the final set. Everyone made a cheers motion and they finished their respective drinks. Patty and Liz begin to immediately argue about when she needed to be home and Tsu began to chime in with their lot number as their argument included the location of the set.

"Alright, since you are all lame and apparently want to 'sleep' at some point," Patty air-quoted sleep as if it were offensive, "my sister said that none of ya'll would be interested in the electronica set, which is fine I guess…"

"Patty."

"It's fine! Really." Her exaggerated voice made it clear she was teasing, "but I'll be out till late so if I see you tomorrow it'll be evening sets. Have a good one!" She smiled and gave them all a two finger salute from her eyebrow and a wink before sauntering off.

With this final declaration, the energy seemed to dissipate with her, and Soul felt the night beginning its final descent into closure.

BlackStar stretched and yawned heavily before saying, "I think that might be it for me…" He glanced behind him, "You all are welcome to chill here as late as you want, though. Or if you need to pass out here, we can figure that out too."

"I might take you up on that." Tsu yawned, and everyone pretended that it was genuine and not an exaggeration. But, Soul couldn't contain his smirk, as his best friend grinned happily and a blush stole over the back of neck.

"Uh, yeah, o'course. I'll show you where you can…um… pass out."

Soul snorted and when BlackStar looked over at him, he just mouthed smooth, before shaking his head.

BlackStar shrugged helplessly, but it was a half-hearted admission, and Soul could tell he had sobered up as he carefully led Tsu toward the tents in the semi-darkness.

"Well that was subtle as fuck," Liz drawled.

And Soul couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Tsu woke slightly disoriented to the slight half light of dawn breaking through the tent's flimsy walls. She vaguely remembered drinking more, Patty heading out, and then heading to bed when Patty left. She looked around and realized the tent she was in was not her own. She, herself, only had a light sleeping bag, and she was tucked into a little blown up air mattress, with a blanket she'd wrapped herself up in.

As she looked over and began to recall the entirety of the night before, she saw BlackStar laid out on the ground next to her, using a few t-shirts, and one ratty sweatshirt as a blanket.

Her heart twinged at the sight, and the remainder of the night came back in an embarrassing rush.

"Come to bed with me," she'd tried smiling coyly at him and was 99% sure she'd succeeded. Though it was a little difficult to discern anything very clearly with the blur at the edges of her vision.

"I want to… but you're in a bad state." BlackStar sat next to the bed and held his hand out to her, smiling ruefully. "You've never really had moonshine before, huh?" He chuckled and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. "My bad."

She'd tried to tug him into bed. She'd thrown her arms around him, and kissed him, and… he hadn't really kissed her back. He'd just gently removed her arms, smiled at her, and smoothed her hair back. He'd said something, but it'd been lost in the tinge of embarrassed rejection.

From there… she must have passed out because she didn't remember him moving from the side of the bed.

A rough, scratchy, "Hey," caught her off guard.

"Aren't you cold?" She blurted out.

He shrugged under the sweatshirt, "nothing I can't handle," he whispered. "Sleep ok?"

"I can see the goosebumps on your arms!" Tsu murmured back indignantly.

"Well," he shrugged helplessly again, "you weren't in a state to consent. So, even if I wanted to, I wasn't going to sleep in the bed with you…" he paused before he winced and continued, "or anything else of course!"

"I can consent now…"

BlackStar's eyes widened, before he slowly moved from his spot on the ground toward her. "I mean, it might be colder than I admitted to at first."

Tsu lifted the blanket, patted the place next to her, while scooting to the edge of the blown up camping mattress.

She was rewarded as BlackStar moved to the edge of the bed before leaning toward her and whispering, "Are you sure?"

In answer she reached a hand out and tugged him closer, so that their lips brushed slightly. "Yes. Please come here." With her own whispered omission, BlackStar slipped into the bed next to her. Before she lost her nerve, she wrapped an arm around his back and snaked her hand into his hair, scratching her fingernails along his scalp before grabbing a bit and pushing him closer from the edge he'd stopped himself on.

He shuddered under her hand, "Fuck, Tsu." His eyes shuttered and a grin blooming across his face.

"That's the idea," She smiled as his eyes snapped open, "I hope." Then she moved to kiss him, and this time was rewarded by an enthusiastic response.

"You're absolutely 100% sure?" He murmured against her lips.

"Yes," her hands skated down his back, before ducking under the hem of his sweatshirt and retracing their way slowly back up his back as she deepened the kiss. BlackStar's hand had started timidly lightly rubbing her arm, but with this final agreement, he mimicked her earlier action by running the hand up the tendons of her neck before fisting it into her hair.

She gasped against his mouth as he pulled her on top and his hand left her hair and followed the curves of her body to settle on her hip. She pulled his sweatshirt off with the hands she'd snuck under it, before she sat up and settled herself against his rapidly hardening dick.

"Ya gonna ride me?"

She grinned, biting the side of her lip slightly, before laughingly leaning down to whisper in his left ear, "I'd like to…"

Thunk Thump thump "Shhhhh!"

"Fuuuucck," Soul groaned from Kid's tent. Everyone had ended up crashing at their campground because as Patty had predicted even after Tsu and BlackStar had gone to bed, everyone else had stayed and drank more until they'd all been a bit too fucked up. So, Soul had offered his tent to Liz and Maka and slept with Kid.

Now, someone was in the front room trying to be quiet and not succeeding. Soul hated that he was a light sleeper. He rolled out from under Kid's arm, reset the blanket, and blearily unzipped the tent door to peer into the hazy morning light.

"Patty? What the fuck?"

"Sorry, Soul!" Patty stood next to the cooler she'd bumped into and the chair she'd knocked over. "We went to our campground, but no one was there."

"We?"

Patty picked up the chair and lightly tried to set it down. She moved aside and gestured behind her. "Yeah! This is Crona!"