Chapter Text
The scent of college youth plagued Angel's dorm room as loud house party music echoed off the walls, drowning out the surrounding conversations. Empty seltzer cans and beer bottles were scattered across furniture and the floor, with none of them being left with a single drop of alcohol. Laughter could be heard at every corner of the room. At this point in the night, everybody seemed to have been doing the most fuck-shit activities while having the most fuckass conversations.
Frankly, the majority of the people who were causing chaos in his dorm weren't even Angel’s friends; it just so happened that he lived in the most ideal hangout dorm that his university had to offer. Almost everyone in the dorm was Reze's friend, who was celebrating her 20th birthday. Angel was only going to allow her this favor once, given that Reze's living situation isn't necessarily the best for parties.
Angel didn't bother to really participate in the fun, despite living there. Being the host was already enough, and he knew that being hammered would only make him more miserable than he already is to let random strangers drink until their hearts' content. Angel simply sat on the arm of his couch, carefully watching and listening to the scenes unfolding before him, for he had no comfort in joining in on anything.
When Angel just about had it with the rowdiness of strangers, his best friend appeared next to him, reeking of alcohol. "Angel! You having fun?" Her words were slurred, and she could barely keep herself up without Angel's support.
"Enough fun to not have the urge to kick everyone out yet." He stated, defeated.
"C'mon, Ang, the night's still young! Live a little!" She tossed her arms around Angel and thrashed herself around with him, back and forth. Angel closed his eyes tightly to contain any outbursts he felt erupting.
"Just be glad that I let you have my dorm for tonight, Reze." Angel thought that he would completely collapse under her and end up on the floor, with how aggressively and roughly she was moving.
"And I am! Thank you, love!" She kissed him on the cheek before her eyes lit up, mostly from the alcohol in her system, "Oh! I totally forgot! The frat that my little boy toy is in is throwing tomorrow, and I got us an in for the pre-function hangout they have. A few other people will also be going. Kobeni's going to swing by, so if that's not a reason for you to go, then I don't know what is." Angel whipped his head around to meet Reze's face, disbelieving the drunken words that fell out of Reze's mouth that she had no control over.
"Kobeni? But she hates parties. How the hell did she agree to go?" Angel cocked an eyebrow at the idea of Kobeni being within a quarter-mile radius of a frat house, let alone going to an actual party, in a frat basement, most likely.
"She's good friends with one of the pledges. I heard that he follows her around like her lost dog!" Reze slapped her thigh and burst into laughter at the thought of Kobeni having to deal with a boy practically at her feet at all times. She was the most timid girl they knew on campus, so truly there was no way that she would be able to handle having a boy pinned at her hip at all times.
"Shocking." Angel blinked blankly at his friend's amusement.
"Anyways, you're going, whether you like it or not!" She brought Angel closer and shook him harder. At this point, Angel's brain must have been so shaken up that he was on the verge of a concussion.
"I didn't even agr-"
"I told them you're going! We're in college, Ang! I promise you won't regret going to at least one party. Listen, you'll be sitting there in your living room, 5 years from now, and think to yourself, 'Man, I wish I had gone out with the best person in the world when I had the chance. Now I'm just a miserable person, who's nothing but a slave to capitalism.'" Angel knew that at this point, Reze was completely gone, and the alcohol was doing all the talking.
"First of all, I don't, and will never have thoughts like that. That's all you. Second, you and everyone here needs to get their asses out of my dorm and into bed. I'm sleepy." Angel yawned with a sterness in his voice, which was coming from both annoyance and care.
"Party pooper." Reze threw a thumbs-down in Angel's face with a pout, "but if you insist, my lovely host. I know you need your beauty rest, especially since you'll be going out tomorrow." Reze giggled cheekily with energy that Angel had never seen before.
"Yeah, yeah. Just get everyone out. You can sleep on my couch tonight." Reze squealed in excitement. She loved sleeping on Angel's couch more than her own bed, and unfortunately, it's not an exaggeration.
In the blink of an eye, everybody but Reze was out of the dorm. Now, only the sound of faint music filled the empty space between the hammered girl and the exhausted boy. The room smelled of sweat and alcohol, and the place was a mess. But truly, Angel couldn't care less. All he cared about was getting Reze to sober up and to finally throw himself into bed.
"Come on. I'll get you a change of clothes and some water. I want to go to bed." Angel insisted with genuine concern.
Angel was eventually able to help Reze sober up and tuck her into bed. It took everything in his willpower to prevent himself from just leaving her and going to sleep on his end, but he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that she would still be awake, drunk.
After what felt like eternity, Angel threw himself onto his twin-sized bed, sinking into the mattress and allowing himself to sigh all of his stress away. The feeling of the duvet under him felt softer and warmer than ever, and it felt like he was getting engulfed by the softest hug that he knew he could never dare experience, not when the slightest touch sends him spiraling.
Angel let himself drift off to sleep by reminiscing, or more like trying to disremember, the night's mayhem. The unruliness of strangers drinking and smoking like they were going to die the next morning, the suffocating scent of weed and sweat, the sound of conversation that would soon be forgotten. Nothing about the college party life was nearly enjoyable to Angel in the slightest.
The party.
Angel winced at the thought of what could await him tomorrow. He shivered at the revolting thoughts of the image of what his first party could be like. A repeat of tonight, but worse. Far worse. Had he not been so exhausted, a pit would have formed in his stomach. But he was so engulfed in the comfort of his own bed that he simply slapped his hands over his face, drifting off into sleep with the hope that Reze's words were nothing but drunk chatter.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Turns out, Reze's words were in fact not drunk chatter. Before Angel knew it, Reze was chucking a multitude of outfits at him, straight from her closet. Luckily, Reze's bigger clothes fit Angel perfectly, which ended up being Angel's misfortune. Had this not been the case, Angel would have had an excuse not to go out, since not a single piece of his clothing suited the party scene. But alas, Reze was generous with what she offered to him and gave him some options that were "safe" for him. Angel has never had to pick outfits that weren't a basic tee and sweatpants before. Safe to say that Angel was introduced to a new world of clothes and fashion tonight.
After a lot of what felt like sisterly banter on Reze's end, the two of them came to a middle ground on what Angel's outfit should be: A black crop top with an open back and a pair of black jeans that were accompanied by an overly decorated belt that lay loosely across Angel's hips. Angel had to admit, as much as he wasn't used to himself in this style, he looked good. He had to give props to his best friend, who was now basking in her own pride. He strictly wore baggy clothes, specifically baggy tops. But somehow, seeing the inward curve of his dainty waist being curved by a tight cloth prompted his stomach to start churning from anticipatory thrill. He began to understand why Reze chose this lifestyle. So far.
"Didn't know you had this crazy of a bod, wow!" Reze fanned herself dramatically, gawking over how good Angel was looking in the outfit she so carefully fabricated.
"I look ridiculous." Angel lied blatantly between his teeth, not wanting to feed any more into Reze's ego.
"Ridiculous? Please, you're going to be the hottest one at the party." She twirled around in her dorm in her own tipsy fashion. She looked down at her phone, consistently checking the time and a group chat that was flooding with messages. "Kobeni is on her way right now. Let's meet her outside the house so we can walk in together, because Lord knows how hard it's going to be to get the two of you to step foot inside." Angel's face twisted, and his brows closed in together at the uncomfortable feeling of going inside a frat house. Reze found a lot of amusement in his expression.
She flung the door of her dorm room with a force that Angel had never seen before in celebration of Angel going to his first party, and walked out with the biggest pep in her step. Angel followed suit, although his steps were laced with uncertainty and anxiety rather than enthusiasm.
By the time Angel and Reze turned the corner of their campus's Fraternity Row, they saw Kobeni twiddling her thumbs outside the frat house. She had the utmost horrified and worried expression on her face, which could be observed from miles away. She shivered, not just from the piercing cold wind that blew through the air, but also from the nerves of the fact that her own two feet were planted onto the street of Frat Row. Reze could see how tense she was, so she tried her best to clear those nerves.
"Kobeni, love!" She shouted from the edge of the street. She elongated the last syllable of Kobeni's name, hoping to catch her attention more easily. Kobeni snapped her head in Angel and Reze's direction and seemed to relax just slightly. A smile appeared on her face as Reze and Angel inched closer and closer to her. When they were close enough, Kobeni wrapped her arm tightly around Reze's. With how strong her hold was on Reze, you would think that they were glued together.
"You guys are finally here!" Kobeni exclaimed in utter relief. Reze noted that Kobeni was shaking pretty badly, so of course, the only solution was to head inside the steaming, hot, and sweaty frat basement.
"Sorry we took so long, Angel was being a bitch about his outfit. Frankly, I don't know why. He's got the absolute perfect body for any outfit I have in my closet!" Reze playfully punched Angel's shoulder to tease him, but he just rolled his eyes back in response.
"I'm only doing this because you dragged me from my feet." He crossed his arms across his bare torso, and his mouth formed a straight line in disapproval. Reze waved him off while she turned around on her heels. She dragged Kobeni along while leaving Angel to sulk behind them alone. To soothe his jitters, Angel balled his hands together and rubbed his left thumb across the back of his right hand. As he did so, he looked down at the asphalt below his feet and avoided any cracks that were formed on the sidewalk. The feeling and the gestures made him stop thinking about where the night could possibly take him. But his train of thought, or the lack thereof, was quickly interrupted when he felt the tip of his shoe hit the first step of the frat house. He averted his gaze from the floor up towards the top of the staircase, where Kobeni held onto Reze for dear life. Reze was on the phone, most likely calling her so-called "boy toy," whatever that could have meant.
When Angel snapped out of his trance, the environment felt similar to the night before. Blasting music. The overwhelming scent of alcohol unpleasantly hits, even from outside. The burning smoke of weed is escaping from the terraces and patios above. Roaring conversations. Deep cheers. High-pitched screeches. It all would have felt eerily familiar, had everything not felt amplified from last night. Angel could barely handle Reze's birthday celebration; there was no way in hell that he would be able to survive whatever he was about to tread into.
"Denji's on his way to come grab us! Come on, Angel!" Reze called out to Angel with an overjoyed trill in her voice. Kobeni still had the same expression on her face, only it was less intense than before. Probably because she was holding onto Reze as if her life depended on it, and because her friend was already there waiting for her to walk through the front door. Angel peered up at the two with fearful and regretful eyes, his eyebrows pinched together, and his stature small. Reality started to hit Angel once more. If he didn't turn back now, he would be stuck in there for hours on end.
"I think I'm going to go home," Angel muttered under his breath as his fingers fumbled with his belt.
"Are you fucking serious! No way I dragged you all the way here looking like an absolute hottie just for you to back down now. Don't go pissing me off!" Reze scolded Angel like he was her disobedient son. Her voice was laced with an aggression that Angel had never heard from her before, and although that could have been caused by the few ounces of alcohol that she had at their pregame, her scolding really set him straight.
"Geez, angry, tipsy you is horrifying," Angel shivered as he heard the echoes of her scowl ringing in his head. As if his feet were afraid of getting scolded by Reze themselves, he hiked up the steps of the house and followed so closely behind Reze that the toes of his shoes kept grazing her heels.
Upon setting foot in the house, Angel was, shockingly, underwhelmed. What he thought was going to be another world felt eerily familiar. Other than the trash that lay around the house and a few curtains that concealed the interior of some of the rooms, the house felt like a, well, house. The first thing Angel saw was a staircase to the right of his peripheral vision, and then a kitchen straight ahead. To the right of the entrance was a big mirror where Angel allowed himself to admire how captivating he looked in his new, upgraded appearance. To the left of the entrance was an empty room with a pool table, which was covered in jackets. Composite pictures consisting of fraternity brothers from the past decorated every inch of the house's walls to the point where it felt like the walls were only covered in composites (and alcohol stains).
Angel stripped his jacket off his back and made his way into the pool-table room to his left. While placing his jacket onto the mound of abandoned clothing, he looked up to see the fraternity's motto plastered onto the ceiling, which read: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Angel raised an eyebrow at how stupid their motto sounded.
"Some motto they have," Angel remarked with a chuckle. He gestured towards the words that were on the ceiling.
"Oh, that? Yeah, those words are just for show. None of the brothers here have the brainpower to know what that actually means." Reze joked as she helped Kobeni find a place to put her stuff. "Come on, the real party is downstairs!"
The three of them made their way downstairs, but the staircase was so hidden and the steps were so slippery and steep that Angel was already over it before reaching the basement. It didn't help that Kobeni was still linking arms with Reze behind her as they went down the stairs. Angel would constantly bump into her since she would periodically stop out of nowhere and start protesting to go back upstairs. With a miracle, the three made it to the basement without anyone falling or retreating upstairs.
Now this is what Angel was expecting from a frat party. Frankly, it wasn't as packed as he originally imagined, but then he remembered Reze saying it was more like a pre-party than an actual party open to the public.
The layout of the basement was not ideal, to say the least. Two main rooms made up the basement: the bar room with tables for drinking games and an open room with an elevated ledge meant for dancing. While the two rooms seemed typical for a fraternity basement, the most notable nuance was the long, skinny hallway that separated the two rooms. Barely two people could walk side-by-side with the hallway empty, so trying to get through at a party was a straight nightmare. Especially for people like Angel, who hated any form of physical contact with strangers.
"God, I need a drink." Angel shuddered at the scene. The basement was stuffier than he imagined, and just as dirty as he thought it would be. Mud and dirt covered the floors, which made walking awfully dreadful. The lights that were set up were blinding, and the music that was blasting was deafening.
"Beam! It's so good to see you! Do you happen to know where Denji is?" Reze let go of Kobeni and ran towards the bar room with excitement, which happened to be very convenient for Angel. Kobeni made her way to the room to find her friend, who was most likely working the bar. Angel was the last to enter the barroom, and upon doing so, he got what felt like deja vu from the night before. The scene was all too similar, just louder music, more alcohol, and even more unfamiliar faces.
Angel hastily found himself at the bar, though he got there a little too hastily for comfort. The guy who was behind the bar took notice of him quickly and slid his way over. "Hey there, beautiful! What can I get for you tonight?"
"Um. What do you guys have?" Angel questioned flatly in a low tone. He doubted the guy could actually hear him over the ambitiously loud music that came from the speakers right next to him.
"We got seltzers, hard lemonade, hard iced tea, both in one if you're feeling a little bold, our signature punch, and our infamous Stella beers!"
"Punch? Can I have that?" The idea of a fraternity serving punch intrigued him, since he didn't really know what that meant exactly.
"Of course! One punch coming right up!" The bartender, or something of the sort, swiftly grabbed a cup from the upside-down stack of cups next to a ginourmous jug on the opposite side of the bar. Angel waited for his drink by turning to watch the highly competitive game of beer pong behind him. He really wouldn't have paid any mind to it, but the roaring cheers and the outbursts of screeching made it seem like this game of beer pong was the final for the World Cup.
However, the moment he turned, the chaos of the game no longer interested him. Instead, Angel caught himself looking at the player closest to him. He was a tall man, and although he wore a beige sweatshirt, Angel could see just how broad he was, even in the dark room lit only by purple lights for ambiance. His features were sharp and bold all around, with the only softness on his chiseled face coming from his lips, which would curl into a snarl when he missed a shot. His hands caressed the ping pong balls impatiently as he waited for his turn to shoot. The way his long fingers fumbled the ball had Angel feeling dizzy, and watching him focus so hard on the game made Angel star-struck. Angel could only imagine just how jacked this guy was underneath all the heavy cloth that concealed every inch of his skin.
"I got a punch for the lovely lady at the bar!" The frat's bartender announced to Angel, breaking him out of his trance and turning him back around. Angel could have sworn that a dirty smirk was on the bartender's face, but he paid no mind to it. He grabbed the cup out of the bartender's hand with no caution and started chugging the punch like water. Every drop went into his system in an instant, and soon after, Angel held his very empty cup out to the bartender to signal another round. "Another? Damn, you're one thirsty girl."
"I'm a guy..." Angel corrected him loudly, since the comments about him being a girl felt a little odd. Frankly, he could see where the guy would get confused, and it was really dark, but he figured the guy would at least hear that he was a guy in his tone of voice.
"Oh, really? Sorry about that, dude, I couldn't really tell! I'm pretty drunk right now! For what it's worth, you're prettier than half the girls on this campus!" The look of shock on his face amused Angel beyond comprehension. He sort of wished that he had kept the bit going.
Before the bartender left to refill Angel's cup, Angel could have sworn that he took a look at the guy Angel had been gawking at earlier with a smug smile and a glare that insinuated odd intentions. He couldn't care less though, because somehow, Angel started to feel a little dizzy.
What the fuck was in that drink?
The bartender was quick to hand the drink to Angel and move on to conversing with another girl who was parked at the bar. As Angel threw his head back to swallow all the alcohol in almost one full gulp, Reze crashed into him with a force that could have created a dent in the wall. The hard impact resulted in Angel almost choking on the abundance of alcohol in his mouth while also simultaneously spitting it all out. Yet by some miracle, Angel managed to drink every drop, not without a lot of struggle and an almost near-death experience.
"Dear! I've missed you so much! Watcha drinking there!?" Reze threw herself onto Angel and immediately became dead weight on his shoulders.
"It's their punch. I didn't think it would taste this good, to be honest. I can't really taste the alcohol, if there even is any." Angel remarked, shaking his cup in front of Reze's face and turning it upside down to show her that it was completely empty.
"Angel, love, don't drink too much of that! The first time I've ever thrown up at a frat was because of their punch. That shit is dangerous!"
Fuck...
"Oh... well, this is only my second cup, so I guess that was my last." Angel crushed the cup and placed it in the trash bag next to him, "Reze, I haven't seen you here at the bar. How the hell are you already like... this?" Angel questioned with some serious concern. Reze motioned to the front pockets of her jeans, where she had an open can of seltzer in each.
"Denji also gave me a few shooters of my favorite liquor, too! He's just the sweetest!" Reze trilled, "Come! Kobeni, Denji, and a few others are waiting for us in the other room! The others want to meet you so bad!" And with that, Reze hauled Angel out with a grip so unbelievably tight on his arm. Angel couldn't even process what was going on as the alcohol started to take effect. But, right before he left, Angel looked back at the guy who was playing beer pong, just to get another peek at him. He turned to his teammate in celebration, for he had just landed the winning cup for the two of them. The sound of his deep and rich voice reverberated throughout the room as he screamed with pride, and his voice kept ringing in Angel's head as he made his way down the hall.
With the sound of his voice and the sight of his infectious smile still fresh in his head, Angel could only hope that he sees him again in the other room.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────