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The party was in full swing: music, dancing, and plenty of alcohol, which was running out, and the drunken students were having a great time. Sitting on the couch, the college's queen, Emz, was taking selfies with a drunken athlete who was flexing his muscles for the camera. As she posted another photo on social media, she hinted to the guy that the "respected" nerd was about to arrive.
"So why did you invite him? He's a total loser." Stu didn't understand why he should invite someone he wasn't particularly interested in.
— Like why, to laugh. Remember, he accidentally spilled some jelly on my new skirt, it didn't rub off at all... by the way, he should be here any minute. I told him how much I love him and I want him to come as soon as possible. — Emz began to tell how she brilliantly became a disgrace because of some fucking nerd.
"Come on, it's just a skirt. He's not worth this celebration. The guy really didn't want Squick to come, because then God knows where their carelessness would lead.
"It's not worth it! It's the most fashionable clothing, and I was completely shocked." The girl started talking about fashion again, and how much she liked the dirty skirt.
There was a knock on the door, and there was a neatly dressed Squick standing at the entrance, carefully adjusting his tie and holding a single, crumpled flower that had been plucked from God knows where. The girl made a face of delight and opened the door, revealing a wide-smiling botanist who was surprisingly happy to see her, despite the fact that he had hated it when the bully Ems had thrown her notebook on his desk and ordered him to complete an essay in the shortest amount of time. Stu tipped his head over the back of the sofa from intoxication, with his arms and legs spread wide, the guy sighed wearily, he did not want to see this terrible evening, again the head of this unfortunate nerd would end up in the trash.
— Oh, hi, how are you... bitch... bitch... it doesn't matter! Come on, did I tell you how much I love you? You're such a sweetheart. — the girl leaned over to the guy, slightly tucking her hair behind her ear, she whispered to him how much she loved him, etc.
— P-really? I picked a flower for t-you...” Blushing with embarrassment, the botanist held out his hand with a flower that was about to break.
"Um, thank you..." Taking the gift with her fingernails, she discreetly threw it out of sight.
"Hey, nerd, come here." A guy's voice came from the other side of the room.
Turning around, Squick saw the same prankster named Chester standing near the table with the remaining juices. As he approached hesitantly, the nerd recalled how much he had been bullied by this troublemaker. The guy finished his cigarette and blew smoke in the bespectacled guy's face. The guy coughed and grimaced, trying to dispel the acrid fumes.
"Come on, drink up." — Chester was pointing at a glass with a clear liquid with a bull, grinning maliciously, he stared intently at this picture.
"Chas, why would he drink?" I told you, he's going to hit the pinata today! — Emz quickly joined in when she saw that the buffoon wanted to get the guest drunk.
Squick was looking forward to finally being allowed to beat the pinata. He didn't understand why, but he was all for it, meaning it was a reward for his hard work. Penny ran up to him, blindfolding him with some kind of cloth, she deliberately stepped on his foot, but then allegedly apologized. They gave the guy a bat in his hands, and spun it around as many times on the spot.
— And now I'll tell you when we hang the pinata and then you can beat her. Emz put her phone on camera and prepared to count to three.
All the partygoers, except for Stu, who was lying on the couch, prepared to throw various wet, slimy foods at Squick. Giggling, they eagerly awaited the signal, each holding a mess of leftover food in their hands: pieces of pizza, scraps of cake, and fruit peels. Upon the girl's command, the group members began to shower the boy with everything that would look terrible on a nerd. Squick shielded his face with his hands, protecting himself from the onslaught. Chester then opened the sliding door that led to the pool. The guests got the hint and aggressively pushed him outside.
Someone even threw empty glass bottles of alcohol at him, and the guy begged them to stop, but his words fell on deaf ears. Losing his balance, he fell into the cold water, followed by the glass and bits of food. Stu didn't realize he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up to the noise of his peers, he sleepily made his way to the source of the commotion. When he asked where Squick was, they told him he had decided to go for a swim, but the guy hadn't surfaced in a couple of minutes.
"He'll come up, he's just pretending." Emz continued taking photos with a cheerful smile, waving off Stu's question.
"You're a fool, isn't he going to drown?" — Stu was very worried that bullying a classmate might end with his death.
Unbuttoning his sweatshirt, he threw it in the girl's face, which, despite the insult from the college crush, she was happy to hold his clothes. Stu realized that he would not have time to undress completely, taking off his jeans and T-shirt, having already jumped into the water with his bare torso, he purposefully swam towards the drowning man.
"Why did he jump after him? Did he fall in love with him?" Chester asked Ems about the athlete's aggressive behavior.
"What kind of moron?" He's saving this nerd for his popularity. I'm even filming it on camera. — Emz photographed and filmed everything on her phone, posting it to her profile along the way.
The guy, swimming up to Squick's body, saw how he held back the air for a while, and then abruptly freed his lungs from oxygen. Stu grabbed his hand and pulled him to himself in order to come up together. Up above, the other students were shouting and cheering for the athlete, and then the nerd's head appeared, gasping for air as he removed the bandage from his eyes. Stu followed, patting the guy on the back to help him cough up the chlorine water.
— Oh, my savior! Hashtag savior, hashtag my husband, hashtag loser nerd. Send it, now he's definitely going to be a college shame. — Emz was leaving captions under the video and several photos of the loser.
— Are you trying to drown him? You guys are sick. — Stu was angry at his classmates, who were always causing trouble.
— Why are you so concerned about him? Penny asked suspiciously as she handed the towel to the guy.
I saved your driver, and he's more sober than all of you put together! — Stu imperceptibly hesitated, but found a way to get out, getting to his feet, he raised his hands in the air with a shout of victory.
Suddenly, the crowd became animated, shouting and cheering. Stu leaned over to the hunched-over Squick, patting him on the back and asking if he had a driver's license, to which Squick replied in the affirmative, spitting out the remaining water.
"Great, you'll be driving my Jeep." Stu picked up his jeans, discussing the recent events as he went.
When the students were already sleepy and the moon was shining outside, the guests decided it was time to go home. They all piled into Stu's Jeep, with the botanist Squick driving and the athlete himself guiding them. In the back seat, Penny was quietly snoring on Chester's shoulder, while Chester was slobbering on the car window.
"Take a left here... then a straight shot and a right." — Stu leaned against the open window, propped his head, trying not to throw up in his own salon.
—H-good. To the athlete's surprise, Squick drove smoothly, dodging all the holes in the asphalt.
The guy watched with interest as the nerd carefully held the steering wheel and followed all the rules of the road. Despite the fact that Stu was like crazy, trying to do everything at speed. Having shown where Penny's house was, the athlete was preparing to get out of the car in order to carry the girl into the house. After getting out, he pulled a classmate out of the jeep, leaving her in the gazebo, and they set off on their way.
— Now let's go to the center. — sitting back down, the guy sighed heavily.
"Yes, sir." Squick's voice was monotonous, as if he had been held in slavery.
Arriving at the designated location, Stu carried Chester over his shoulder and headed towards his house. He wondered how the botanist would get home, as it was only a three-step journey from Emz. Stu noticed that the house was illuminated, and when he knocked on the door, a girl immediately came running. Her expression was filled with anger, and as Stu placed Chester on the couch, he could hear the botanist's cries of pain. As he approached the car, he opened the door and saw Squick leaning against the steering wheel, waiting for the guy, who looked like he was about to cry.
"Now let's go to my house." Stu looked at the other guy, waiting for an answer.
"Okay." Wiping away tears, the nerd carefully adjusted his glasses, and with a sniffle, he set off.
"It's been a lousy day, hasn't it?" The athlete stretched out, placing his hand on the back of the guy's chair, causing him to jerk the steering wheel. "Quiet! Calm down, it's okay..." Grasping the steering wheel with his other hand, he steered back, slightly startled by the unexpected reaction, which could sober him up in seconds.
"It was terrible! You all tricked me, and now I'm even more of a joke!" As Squick began to cry, he decided to confront the guy.
