The bottle was almost empty. Naib was already drunk. His whole body was warm and tingly as he leaned against the wall. Jack had gone to pay, seeing as he had the highest alcohol tolerance amongst the three of them and was probably the only one that could walk normally. Norton had accompanied him, insisting on splitting the bill.
"Just wait for us here, okay?"
Norton brought Naib over to a wall before following Jack to the counter. Naib plastered himself against the wall, looking down at his feet. The marble floor seemed to be spinning underneath him, and he dared not take a step. A few people passed by him to get to the elevator, making him wince as he heard high-pitched laughter from a group of girls. As they passed by, one of them stopped in front of Naib.
"Hey cutie~ What are you doing here all alone..?"
Her friends were at the end of the corridor, waiting for her. She waved them off and turned back to Naib. He wanted her to leave, but she seemed very persistent.
"Just go away..."
"What?"
"Just leave me alone."
She stomped her feet and crossed her arms.
"I'm just trying to help!"
"How would you help?"
Naib expected her to just leave, but he felt her grip his arm and yank.
"Follow me-"
"Where the fuck-"
"Just follow me!"
"Let. Him. Go."
Naib, with much pain, looked up. Jack towered over the both of them, eyes glinting. Norton was behind the girl, arms crossed. She let go of Naib's arm, looking at Jack defiantly.
"He was looking sick so I wanted to help-"
"But did he want you to?"
Norton interrupted. She scoffed.
"Who even are you? Aren't you just a bunch of strangers too?"
"How bold of you to assume."
Norton slowly strode over to her, taunting. Jack went to check up on Naib, startled when he realized how heavily the other male was breathing. The other male leaned down so his gaze was level with the girl's.
"Sorry girlie, we don't feel like sharing him with you."
He smirked as realization crept into the girl's eyes. She stuttered to find something to say before leaving out of embarrassment. He turned back to Naib, who was already leaning against Jack at this point.
"Naib?"Are you okay?"
"... Can we..."
Naib trailed off as he held the urge to throw up on the ground. He could still smell the strong scent of perfume the girl had left in her presence. Jack was rubbing circles on his back while Norton held him up. Vaguely he heard Jack tell Norton to help him to the elevator so they could get to the car and send him home.
"Can we... Get a room here for the night..?"
The other males turned to look at him.
"Naib we can send you home-"
He shook his head. He didn't want to go home, not yet. There was a moment of silence as the other two debated whether or not Naib was serious about it. Jack broke the silence, though his voice was slightly hoarse.
"I'll go down to the lobby. Stay here with him Norton."
---------------------------------------------
"So many flowers..."
Eli gasped as he looked around them. Aesop had taken them to a small hill outside of the city. The moon hung right above them as they strolled through the fields of flowers. Eli noticed that most of them seem to be dandelions as they made their way up. He almost felt his soul slip out of his body when he stepped on something and it screamed.
"Mr Desaulniers?"
Joseph looked up at him, startled. He got up and dusted himself off as Eli apologised quickly.
"I never saw you there Joseph! I'm so sorry are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Joseph chuckled.
"No, not at all. Ah... Are you two here on a date?"
Eli looked away as he nodded. He could already feel the smirk on Aesop's face even without looking at him.
"I heard the view up here was nice, so I brought him here. May I be so curious to ask what you're doing here by yourself, Joseph?"
Aesop asked. Joseph looked around them at the dandelions and wild flowers that grew.
"This used to be where my brother and I would spend time... Before he passed away that is."
He let out a bitter chuckle as he sat down. Eli noticed Joseph had cleared out an area so he could sit, but next to him was an empty patch.
"We would spend so many hours here just messing around, chasing each other... Eventually mother said we needed to move closer to the city because Claude needed hospital access, so we never came back here. I know he blamed himself so much for it..."
Joseph trailed off, reaching into his pocket and took out a small blue ribbon. He tied it around the stems of a bunch of flowers and placed it on the empty spot beside him. Grabbing a handful of dandelions in front of him, he closed his eyes and made a wish.
I wish for Joseph to have eternal happiness, and have all the good luck he could ever have come in his life.
"I wish for Claude to have eternal peace, never to be disturbed by any sort of disease ever again in the afterlife."
He released the dandelion seeds. Behind him, Eli and Aesop released the seeds in their hands as well. Joseph got up and sighed.
"Time for me to get going. I hope you two have a nice evening."
He bowed to the both of them and left. The two continued their stroll, picking flowers on the way. Just before they left, they went back to where Joseph had been sitting. Aesop pulled up a blade of grass and tied it around the stems of the flowers they collected.
"This will have to do for now..."
He placed it next to the bunch of flowers Joseph left. Eli smiled softly as he slipped his hand into Aesop's, enjoying the warmth of it as Aesop pulled him closer. Yawning, they made their way down the hill as well, tired and longing for a good night's sleep.
