Sebastian was holding a beer in hand and leaning his back against the counter, looking at the dance floor. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't a busy night at Scandals, and he couldn't find someone attractive enough to spend the night with. Or at least… most of it.
He sighed and turned toward the bar. "Hey, Jordan… can I have another drink?"
"Sure, Seb."
The bartender nodded, opening the fridge for a fresh drink.
"Slow night. Thinking of heading home?"
"Uh…"
Sebastian said and took another look at the dance floor over his shoulder.
"Maybe. After a few more beers, though."
"Here you go," Jordan said, placing the open beer bottle in front of him.
Sebastian grabbed his drink and looked Jordan up and down. "You know… my offer is still standing."
Jordan laughed and shook his head. "You don't give up, do you?"
Sebastian shrugged and sipped his drink, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Sebastian, you're seventeen. I'm twenty-four. I don't date younger people—and not to mention, it's illegal," Jordan said, serving another customer.
"First of all, I'm going to be eighteen in three months. And besides, who says anything about dating? I hate dating. I'm just talking about one perfect night with me."
He leaned further against the counter.
"Yeah, because that makes it better!"
Jordan scoffed.
"Well, it doesn't make it worse."
"Sebastian," Jordan said with a chuckle. "There are plenty of people your age who'd love to be with you."
"Maybe I'm done with people my age. Maybe I'm into older men now." Sebastian shook his head.
"Older men, you say?" a voice said from behind him.
Sebastian looked over his shoulder and saw an elderly man approaching with a strange, drunken smile. He was clearly drunk and Sebastian could smell the cheap alcohol from miles away.
He let out a laugh. "Not this old, buddy!"
"Oh, come on. Just give me an hour or two… I'm so good, I can make you forget everyone you've ever been with. I'll surprise you."
The man leaned a hand on the counter to keep his balance and got closer to Sebastian.
Sebastian leaned back slightly, but didn't drop the smirk from his face. "I think the fact that you can still remember how to do it surprised me more."
"Playing hard to get… I like it."
The man chuckled.
"But I bet I can treat you better than whoever hurt that pretty little face of yours."
He raised his hand to touch Sebastian's bruised cheekbone.
"Okay, buddy." Sebastian leaned farther back and pushed the man's hand away.
"Let me make something clear. You're older than my dad, you stink of alcohol and an old rag. You can't even stand on your feet and I doubt you can even last for two minutes let alone two hours. And the fact that you really think you can get someone like me? That's just sad. So can you fuck off so I can drink in peace?"
His tone wasn't angry or even annoyed—in fact, he was almost enjoying it.
He just wanted to set the record straight and get the guy to back off. He wasn't worth another second.
The man was a bit more alarmed by the way Sebastian talked to him so he took a step towards him. "You just—"
"Are you deaf? He said he's not interested!"
Jordan put a hand on the man's shoulder to keep him away from Sebastian.
"Do you want me to call the police for harassment?"
The man looked at Jordan and shrugged his hand away. Then he looked at Sebastian who was watching him with a look of amusement.
"Whatever. This place is dead anyway," he muttered under his breath, walking toward the exit.
Sebastian raised his eyebrows as he watched the man leave. "Crazy…" he muttered, then turned to Jordan with a smile. "My hero." He took a sip of his beer. "Want to protect me in bed, too?"
"You just don't stop, do you?"
Jordan shook his head in disbelief.
"Why don't you go home, Seb? That creep was right about one thing. This place is dead."
"I—" Sebastian sighed. "I don't want to."
"Why not?"
Sebastian looked away with a quiet groan. He'd been avoiding Dalton Academy since the afternoon, and he wasn't ready to go back tonight. That's why he'd been so desperate to find someone to spend the night with.
"I had a fight with my roommate."
He said quietly.
"Uh… hence the bruise."
Jordan nodded with a small smile.
Sebastian looked at him and nodded back.
"What did you do?"
"What makes you think I did something?"
Sebastian raised his brows a little.
"Do you really want me to answer that? After the way you just told that guy off?" Jordan asked, polishing a glass.
"The question is, did your roommate deserve it?"
"Yeah, of course!" Sebastian said without hesitation.
"Okay."
Jordan muttered under his breath.
Sebastian sighed and shook his head. "No… I don't know. He just… pissed me off."
"Why? What did he do?"
"He used steroids to win competitions—him and the Warblers. And they didn't even tell me."
Sebastian took a sip, then pushed the drink away. It was getting warm, and he needed a fresh one.
"Why are you so mad at him? I remember when you tried to impress me with all your stories—cheating, almost blackmailing your competitors…"
Jordan opened another bottle for him.
"Yeah… but this is different. It's… drugs. The Warblers don't do drugs!"
"Yeah… but this is different. It's drugs. The Warblers don't do drugs!" Sebastian's voice grew sharper.
"Hmm…"
Jordan nodded.
"I get it. It's a sensitive matter. Especially with your brother."
"My—what do you mean?" Sebastian frowned slightly.
"You… talked about him one night when you were too wasted. I think you forgot the next day," Jordan said quietly.
"I—I—" Sebastian had no words. He'd never told anyone about his brother—except Trent, Nick, and Jeff. He wasn't allowed to talk about it.
"Seb, don't worry. I didn't tell anyone,"
Jordan assured him.
"I only brought it up now because… maybe this whole steroid thing is triggering for you?"
"Nothing triggers me, Jordan,"
Sebastian said casually.
"You just don't want your teammates to get hurt."
"Yeah, and I also want that asshole off my team. He's gonna destroy the Warblers. He can't be a good captain if he's not even remotely sorry for what he did."
He let out a sigh and looked away. The bar was even emptier than before.
"Look, a few months ago you told me you were trying to be better. So maybe you should talk like civilized people instead of fighting? This is what a better person would do."
Jordan raised his brows.
Sebastian smirked. "You know me, Jordan. Never been the civilized type. Or human."
Jordan let out a chuckle and shook his head. Then he walked to the end of the bar where another customer was calling him.
Sebastian sighed softly and looked down at the table. He wasn't sure if Jordan was right. He didn't know if he and Hunter could ever get along again—or if one of them had to walk away from the Warblers.
But he knew it wouldn't be him.
To him, the Warblers were more than just a team.
He turned his back to the bar and stared at the almost empty room.
For now, he didn't want to think about any of that.
He just needed to choose between the two guys dancing together.
*
Trent and Jeff were getting ready for bed when a knock sounded at their dorm room. Trent opened the door.
Hunter was standing in the hallway. "Is Smythe with you?"
Jeff glanced around the room before looking back at Hunter. "Do you see him here?"
"Well, where is he?" Hunter asked, already annoyed at Jeff's usual sarcasm.
"How would I know? I haven't seen him since you kicked him out of rehearsal room." Jeff raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Well, it's almost eleven, and he's still not in our room." Hunter stepped inside.
And maybe, he was a little bit annoyed at himself too for the fact that he even cared about Sebastian's whereabouts, when at the same time, he could barely tolerate the guy.
"Aww, are you worried about him?"
Jeff teased him.
"What? Are you crazy?"
Hunter frowned, surprised Jeff would even think that—let alone say it out loud.
"If he doesn't get enough sleep tonight he can't practice tomorrow. This is our last chance before we go on stage—before they pick the group who makes it to the Sectionals. Believe it or not, I care more about our performance than a stupid fight with an asshole."
"I'm sure he'll be there on time, Hunter. He won't miss the rehearsals or the competition."
"Not if he's hungover,"
Trent said quietly.
Jeff and Hunter turned their attention to him.
"What?"
Hunter said, narrowing his eyes.
"Forget it. I was just kidding."
Trent shook his head, avoiding eye contact as he walked to his bed.
Hunter quickly grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "No, Trent. Once a rat, always a rat. Do you know where he is? Spill."
Trent shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea. He said not to tell. Especially to you."
Hunter raised his brows in a threatening manner. "Trent?"
"I— well— he—"
Trent stammered, unsure what to say.
"Come on, Trent. Just tell him. I just wanna go to bed—and even I'm tired of these two fighting," Jeff said, throwing himself onto his bed.
"Well… I saw him in the hallway by accident. He was all dressed up with his car keys in his hand. Everything we need is nearby so he only drives when he's going to the—"
Trent said.
"Scandals."
Hunter let out a sigh and shook his head.
"Is he kidding?!"
He turned to Jeff in disbelief.
Jeff shook his head. "Almost never."
"I can't believe him. I told you not to go out until after the contest. He's doing this just to get back at me!"
Hunter ran a hand through his hair.
"Can you blame him? You punched him in the face!"
Jeff said.
"He deserved it!" Hunter muttered defensively, avoiding their eyes.
"Hunter, you should apologize. For hitting him and for—"
"If you say steroids…"
Hunter warned.
"…the steroids."
Jeff finished anyway.
Hunter didn't say anything. Instead, he just crossed his arms and stared at the other boy with a frown on his face.
"Hunter… we made a mistake. We never should've used anything to cheat. And on top of that, we all lied to Seb and broke his trust."
He looked at Trent.
"We should've known better. We knew about what happened with his brother but we lied to him anyway."
Trent exhaled and sat down slowly on his bed. "Yeah…"
"Wait… what about his brother?"
Hunter looked between the other two.
Jeff shook his head dismissively "Doesn't matter. The point is—you need to apologize. At least for the drugs."
Hunter looked at Jeff for a good moment without saying anything. It looked like he was thinking about what Jeff said.
Then he glanced down at his watch. "If he's not back by midnight, I'll go to Scandals myself and drag him out of that shithole."
"What if he doesn't want to come with you?"
Trent asked.
"Then I'll make him. I need him to be sharp and ready for this contest and as much as I want to, I can't give his solo to someone else this late. We'll talk about if he should stay in this group or not after the competition."
"You want to kick him out of the Warblers?!"
Trent asked, eyes wide.
"Are you joking?!"
Jeff asked in disbelief.
Hunter shook his head. "Almost never."
*
Turns out the guys on the dance floor were a couple—committed to each other. (Maybe a little too committed, if you asked Sebastian.) They weren't interested, and since Sebastian was trying to be a better person—or whatever—he didn't push it. He just went back to his seat for another drink.
Eventually, Jordan convinced him to stop drinking and head home. So here he was, digging through his pockets for his car keys, standing in the nearly empty parking lot.
"Oh my god," he whispered, resting his forehead against the car door.
He couldn't find his keys. He knew he'd put them in one of his pockets, but he was too drunk to remember which.
Maybe that was a good enough reason to go back and ask Jordan to call a cab. He could always grab the car tomorrow once he sobered up.
He sighed and turned to walk back toward the bar. He'd only taken a couple of steps before someone stopped him.
"Hey!"
He looked up to see someone stepping out of a car a few meters away.
"Yeah! You! P—pretty boy!"
It was the man from earlier, staggering toward him.
"Where d'you think you're going?"
"Seriously?!"
Sebastian let out a chuckle when he realized who the man was.
"I think it's past your bedtime, old man. You should go home."
"Hey, no! I want to talk to you,"
The man said as he was getting closer to Sebastian.
"Why'd… why'd you say all that to me?"
He stopped just a few steps away—close enough for Sebastian to smell his breath.
"What?"
Sebastian raised his brow as a small smirk grew on his lips.
"All… all that shit."
The guy was so drunk he could barely string thoughts together.
"What's wrong with me?"
Sebastian scoffed. Eyes raking the man up and down with visible disgust. He opened his mouth to mock him again but he remembered that maybe a better person won't do something like this.
And tonight, Jordan reminded him that he's at least trying to be one.
God, so boring.
"Nothing. I'm just not into you."
He tried hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
"Why not?"
The man took another step forward.
"I'm just… not!"
He had a thousand comebacks in his head, and biting them back was killing him.
"But you said you were into older men."
The guy stepped in so close that Sebastian's back hit the car door.
"Well, I was wrong. Can you just… go back to your car or something?"
Sebastian was losing his patience. What was wrong with this guy?
"Come on… I'm sure you'll like me."
The man's hand slid onto Sebastian's waist.
"God… you're so fit."
He was looking at him like a starving animal.
"Fuck! you're disgusting!"
Sebastian couldn't take it anymore. He yanked himself out of the man's grasp and shoved him back.
"No… don't go… I— I haven't fucked anyone in so long."
The man was almost begging him and it made Sebastian sick to his stomach.
"That's not my fucking problem, you fucking perv! Get your disgusting hands off me—and off my car!"
Sebastian tried not to scream, but he was getting angrier by the second.
"But… goddamn it! You look so good."
The man looked at him with thirsty eyes and he was mostly talking to himself now, not Sebastian.
Then, with both hands, he started groping Sebastian again.
"Get off me!"
Sebastian stepped away in disgust and disbelief.
He punch the guy in the face since he couldn't understand the meaning of the word no.
The man groaned in pain, clutching his nose.
Sebastian stared down at him, fury twisting in his chest.
"There's more where that came from,"
He spat.
"No, I'm sorry—I'm sorry!"
The man whimpered, shaking his head.
Sebastian exhaled and turned back to his car. He was sober enough to drive now.
This time, his keys were there. He ignored the man behind him, now nearly sobbing.
He reached for the door, but a hand slammed it shut before he could get in.
"What the—"
Sebastian turned to the man to object but when he felt a sharp, cold knife on his throat he stopped and his breath suddenly hitched in his throat.
The man pressed the knife closer, forcing Sebastian's chin up.
His eyes dropped—filled with sudden panic. The knife was so close that it was almost scratching his throat.
"What—"
He choked on the word, swallowing hard.
"What are you doing?" he whispered.
"I asked you nicely and you said no."
The man said quietly in a threatening tone.
"It's your fault, really."
"Please… you don't have to do this."
Sebastian let out a shaky breath.
"I know… but I want to," the man said simply.
Sebastian stayed silent. The man raised his eyebrows. "What? No snarky comments this time? About my age, maybe? My smell?"
He pushed the knife into Sebastian's throat a little too hard till a point a drop of blood started running down his skin.
"Huh?!"
He hissed.
"No… no."
Sebastian shook his head, slow and careful, voice cracking.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I offended you."
"Oh…"
The man laughed.
"You're not sorry yet. But I'll make sure you will be."
"Look," Sebastian whispered.
"You want money? I'll give you whatever you want. Just—just name the number."
The man let out a laugh again, shaking his head. "You fucking rich people think you can do anything you want with money. Just throw it at the problem, yeah?"
Sebastian let out a shaky breath, looking at the man with fear. He hated how helpless he looked right now. How vulnerable.
""Maybe everyone wants you for your money—but not me. I'm looking for something else, pretty boy,"
the man said, slowly tugging up Sebastian's shirt to touch his stomach. His hand felt rough and cold on his skin.
"Oh, god… what the fuck are you doing?"
Sebastian's voice trembled as much as his body. He couldn't stop shaking under the man's touch.
"Wow… look at those abs!"
The man laughed to himself.
Sebastian couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take those unwanted touches from that horrible man. He had to do something.
He slipped a hand into his pocket, fingers brushing his phone. Carefully, he turned it in his palm, trying to unlock it. But before he could even attempt, the man noticed and quickly threw the phone off his hand on the ground.
"Don't be smart, kid!"
The man said harshly, dragging the knife away from his throat and holding it near his eye.
Sebastian let out a small gasp as he stared at the sharp edge of the knife, only a few inches away from blinding him.
"You can't save yourself," he whispered into Sebastian's ear, sending chills down his spine.
Then he slowly pulled the knife on his cheek. Sebastian squeezed his eyes in pain, trying not to make a sound. He didn't want to give that psycho the satisfaction.
He felt the warm blood slowly running down his already bruised cheek.
The man suddenly grabbed his arm and shoved him forward, pressing the blade against his throat again.
Sebastian's eyes flew open.
"Move!"
"Wh— what are you doing?"
Sebastian asked with a shaky voice, looking around the parking lot to see if anyone was there to help him.
Everything was happening so quickly that he didn't have time to comprehend it. This guy was almost crying like a minute ago and now he was holding a knife to his throat? What was wrong with him? Why was he doing this to him?
"Just going somewhere no one can see us," the man said. "And if you make a sound, I'll slash that beautiful neck of yours—then I'll fuck your corpse. Got it?"
Sebastian nodded, feeling a shiver running down his spine at the thought. He wished he could call for help. He wished he'd stayed in his room tonight. He wished he hadn't picked up a fight with Hunter. He wished he hadn't said all those things to that man.
He wished for a lot of things at that moment.
But it didn't change the fact that the man was about to do god knows what to him in just a few moments.
And no one was coming to help him.
