No Need to Sleep Living in a Dream (Boy × Boy) ✔

CHAPTER 22: Ice blue eyes

Evan Cooper

Evan had promised he wouldn't leave Junior alone during the evening, but it turned out Junior was more than fine on his own. Evan had also promised they wouldn't stay long, but it was already late and Junior was in no hurry to leave.

Evan was drunk, he could see it from the face staring back at him from the bathroom mirror. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes had the kind of astonished look they always had when he had had a couple too many.

It had been a nice evening without trouble, and Evan was planning on keeping it that way. Which also mean it would be about time to stop drinking, or he would likely cause trouble by puking his guts out.

Evan stopped by the kitchen, halting in the middle of a step as he thought he saw a glimpse of ice blue eyes staring at him from across the room. But then he blinked, letting out a relieved breath as he realized there was no Damien in sight. He was imagining things, which was another sign of him to stop drinking.

He picked up a plate and gathered a collection of snacks on it, before making his way back to the living room. This time, when he saw the pair of ice blue eyes, he knew it wasn't just his imagination.

"Who do you think you are?" Damien snarled, glaring down at Junior. "Did you tell them to not invite me?"

"I didn't have to." Junior explained, his voice low with warning. He stood up, facing Damien. "You did that all to yourself, prick."

"It's all because of you, you fucking freak." Damien's eyes were red and he was swaying on his feet, but that didn't keep him from gripping the collar of Junior's button up shirt and lifting his fist up ready for a punch.

Oh, no, you don't.

Dario Ortiz

Dario and Beau walked JK, Ruth, Brian and Alice out, when they had to leave. Apparently some of them still had curfews, even on their graduation day. It was past midnight already, so they were by no means the only guests who had had to leave.

"Enjoying the party?" Beau asked, pulling Dario to the makeshift smoking area with him.

"I never believed I'd say that, but yes." Dario grinned, leaning on the wall while Beau lit a cigarette. Beau chuckled, leaning on the wall next to Dario and entwining their fingers, while looking up at the stars. Dario was happy. Drunk, but oh so happy.

They swayed to pumb against each other on purpose, laughed with tears in their eyes and stopped to make out before eventually making it to the front door and opening it with a creak. Dario wasn't sure why he stopped, but it felt like something was.. wrong.

The music was still on, playing faintly on the background, but the ambience had lost its festivity. The air felt heavy, oppressive.

"Why is it so quiet?" Beau pinpointed the problem, stepping in front of Dario to make his way to the living room. The music was on, but the chatter had quieted down.

They made it there just in time to see a guy, who was big as a mountain, jostling a shorter black-haired guy's fists from Junior's collar. The mountain warned, so loud it could be heard across the room: "You're not welcomed here."

Then Evan was rushing past Beau and Dario, nearly stumbling on their backs in his hurry to get to him. He too walked in front of the black-haired guy, blocking his way to Junior. Then some guy with a buzz cut joined Evan and the mountain.

Junior Campbell

It all happened so fast. One moment Junior had been laughing and chatting with a guy named Nathan, and then the room had grown silent. He had lifted his head to meet the gaze of the all too familiar ice blue eyes.

The first thing Junior noticed was how drunk he was, when he sneered down at him and swayed on his feet. It reminded Junior of Paul, making the two merge into the same monster he kept seeing in his dreams. Junior felt his chest tightening with fear and his legs turning shaky, but he refused to let Damien see how scared he was.

Did Damien really think it was up to Junior to decide who got to come to a party and who did not? Like any of these people would give rat's ass about Junior's opinion.

"You did that all to yourself, prick." Junior told Damien, realizing how true it was. No one made Damien take things so far in the shower room, no one forced him to humiliate Junior like he did.

"It's all because of you, you stupid fucking freak." Damien's hands gripped Junior's collar and he prepared himself for a punch, but it never came. For a second or two he thought Evan had come to help him, thinking that no one else would care enough to actually put themselves in risk by trying to help him.

"You're not welcomed here." Kingston warned. He had stepped in between Junior and Damien. "I was the one to make sure your invitation got lost in the mail."

Junior had barely wrapped his head around the fact that Kingston was defending him, when Evan took his place to Kingston's side. Then Chase was there, followed by Luna, Iris, Nathan, Beau, Dario,.. and then the few from their class, who had still yet to leave the party, joined the crowd in front of Junior.

"Do you not remember who he is?" Damien snapped, his voice cracking with desperation. When his eyes darted around the room, he reminded Junior of a cornered wild animal. So much so that for the first time he actually felt bad for Damien. "He's the freak, he broke my brother's nose, he's nothing but —"

"Just go home, Damien." Junior cut him short, keeping the shakiness off his voice. He was done fighting. Paul was gone, so there was no need to find excuses for the bruises. There was no need to keep hurting anymore. His fight was over and he was more than happy to retire.

"Yeah, get the fuck out of here." Someone said and gripped Damien's arm, jostling him towards the door. All Junior could do was stare, and he had to blink his eyes to keep them dry. He had been wrong: they, at least not all of them, didn't hate him after all.

Beauregard Green

As Beau stood there, he wasn't quite sure what he was standing for or why it felt so meaningful. He didn't need to know, because whatever it was, it was for a good cause.

Beau could barely breathe, staring at the blue eyes, their color similar to James'. Or it might have been coldness in them, mixed with hatred and desperation, which brought him to Beau's mind. Whatever it was, and whoever the guy was, Beau was glad to see him gone. He was, most certainly, not welcomed to the party.

Only when he was gone, Beau let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. A dead silence fell in the room and for one prolonged moment no one dared to move or say a word.