Fish Upon the Sky - Swapped Jackets & Stolen Kisses [LukeNeo]

Chapter 2

"—Shia Ai'Pond! Slow down you asshole! I'm gonna be sick!"

Unlike the lively, cozy appearance at night the small pub looks ghastly dreary and cold in the morning barren of any form of life in the eyesight. Occasionally, it tends to rain non-stop starting from the last two weeks of December to the first week of January making the early hours unpleasantly cold at times. Neo slumps against the wall as soon as they bypass the last step, weakly batting away Pond's hand from his collar. A wave of nausea passes through his belly, up his chest, and settles an ache in his shoulders.

"D-damn..." He says through chattering teeth and makes a sour expression smacking his lips again. "My mouth tastes like a sewer," He groans pulling the jacket over his head and wrapping it around his shivering frame like a thief.

Pond snorts looking at the red nose poking out of the cloth and tucks his phone inside his back pocket, and mercilessly tugs the material out of his eyes. "Stop drinking or quit complaining, choose one. You're a champion at both."

Neo hisses like an aggravated cat, tottering behind Pond who hooks a finger under a buckle and steers him across the parking lot, complaining yet again that he's not a dog on a leash.

"Wait, wait, wait!—" He shrugs him and hunches by the dumpster, slamming a palm against the metal and leaning his weight over it, blinking several times to get used to the light, presses a hand over his stomach, and growls at Pond with bated breath. "Where the hell are you dragging me this early? Couldn't you let me sleep 3 more hours? I feel like I'm about to die Ai'hee-ah."

"It's close to noon." Pond deadpans. "You even remember what day it is?"

Neo kneads his throbbing temples grimacing, trying to summon a coherent thought from his hazy, muddled mess of a mind. Even though his body's been kicked started awake thanks to Pond's manhandling his thoughts still take a while to come back fully online. 

"First-year doesn't start till Monday right?"

"Good, at least you remember that. It's Saturday."

"....."

"Well?"

He frowns at Pond's tucked-in shirt, sleeves neatly folded at the elbows showing off a good portion of forearms— isn't he cold?— wrist adorned with a fancy watch, arms folded over each other in his typical impatient pose. Neo doesn't have a clue what he wants him to say.

"Happy birthday?"

Pond drops his hands at his sides looking as if listening to Neo physically pains him. He wordlessly caresses the bruise on his forehead sidetracked, but snaps when he realizes Neo's trying to lay down on the floor.

"How much did you drink?!"

"Why are you yelling?! —Stop pulling me! I can't move an inch without seeing merry go round!"

"Get up! We don't have much time before grandgrands get there! You want to get your ass beaten?"

Pond's deep voice uncharacteristically raises a few notches to par with Neo's obnoxious hoarse yelling. Their ruckus echoes in the otherwise quiet parking area drawing the attention of some of the passersby on the other side of the main road.

"As if you ever care what happens to my ass! Ai'Pond you asshole, you think you can fool me because I'm plastered ah? You'd never come after me like someone lit your ass on fire if it doesn't have anything to do with N'Phuwin—!"

He suddenly comes to halt staring dumbly at the gravel, hand losing its grip on Pond's wrist as a flicker of realization flashes past cloudy eyes which eventually widens to the size of saucers. "FUCK! Help me up! Help me up!"