Bad Habits

Welcome To The Dark Side

TW// alcohol consumption

"Big D!" Someone shouts, causing a chorus of other loud greetings to flow through the room as Dakota and Parker push through the door of the crowded house.

Dakota adopted the nickname 'Big D' from his college partying days. Sober Dakota hated it, but drunk Dakota embraced the name, grinning as his eyes land on a couple of his friends.

"Sup, boys," he winks.

Dakota became quite the party animal after Beck left; attending college parties every weekend with Parker tagging along sometimes. He had quickly become popular among the upperclassmen.

"Happy birthday, Big D," Dakota's friend, Benji, says as he pulls him into a hug. "Sup, bro," he nods his head at Parker who flashes him a smile.

They make their way through the sea of bodies towards the kitchen, Dakota being greeted by almost everyone. Once they get to the kitchen, Benji reaches into a cooler and pulls out two cans of beer, handing one to Dakota and one to Parker.

"Getting smashed tonight, Big D?" He asks, raising his eyebrows as he takes a sip from his own beer.

Dakota cracks open his can with his teeth and winks as he says, "do you even have to ask, Ben?"

Dakota didn't drink to have fun, he drunk to forget. Which meant every time he did drink, he would drink enough to black-out. The thought of Beck plagued his mind and when he was black-out drunk was the only time Dakota could forget about him. So that's what he did, every weekend since Beck left.

After downing a couple shots, the three boys move back through into the open expanse of the living room. The music is booming and Dakota falls into a steady rhythm, bouncing along to the beat of the song. His eyes are closed and his hands are in the air, letting his body take control for the night.

Then, the song changes and a chorus of cheers scatter throughout the crowded room, all eyes turning to Dakota who is now grinning.

There was a long-standing tradition that Dakota had started four years ago at one of the parties he and Parker had hosted. He had put the song 'Can I Get A Witness' over the speakers, stood on the table and sculled his drink, encouraging everyone to join in.

Now, every time the song came on at a party, everyone would turn to Dakota and force him up onto the table to scull his drink.

The words of the song sounds in his ears as he walks towards the kitchen bench and hoists himself up, pulling his shirt over his head and flinging it into the sea of people below him. 

I fell in love with you 'cause you made me feel
I fell in love with you 'cause you kept it real
Man you don' changed up on me, you changed your flow

Now I been hating on you everywhere I go
Um, hold up

He raises his can of beer in the air as he yells the lyrics of the chorus out to the crowd of drunk students, some joining in and some holding their drinks up in the air too.

"No, I ain't too flawless and no, I ain't the best. And no, I don't say sorry and no, I ain't perfect."

He thumps his fist to his bare chest as he continues to yell the lyrics, "but I am the man! I am the man!"

Everyone in the room cheers and yells out words of encouragement as Dakota raises his drink to his mouth as the lyrics say, shots fired.

And then everyone is joining in, downing their drinks and throwing their red cups and cans into the air, leftover liquid raining down on them. Dakota pulls his empty can away from his mouth, crushes it in his hand and screams, making his throat burn.

"LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!"

Parker reaches his hands up to Dakota's waist to help him down off the counter. As his fingers made contact with his skin, Dakota is suddenly transported to the day that he and Beck had gone swimming in the lake.

Beck's hand slapped the wooden slats of the jetty, motioning for Dakota to sit on the side and swing his legs over the water.

Once Dakota was in position, legs dangling, Beck reached his hands up to his waist. Dakota inhaled sharply at the touch he didn't realised he'd been yearning for since the kiss on top of the mountain.

Slowly, Dakota drifted down into the water, held steady by Beck's strong, masculine hands.

Another sharp inhale escaped his lips as he slid into the water, his own hands clutching onto Beck's shoulders. Once his body was fully submerged, Beck pulled him closer, their bodies pressed together in an unmatched comfort. They floated, letting the silence linger around them as they moved through the water as one.

Dakota felt soft hands slip under his t-shirt, fingers grazing over his back. His arms were wrapped around the blonde's neck and his forehead rested against Beck's. They could feel each others panting breathes as they tread water.

Beck's raspy voice broke the peaceful silence. The words seemed to travel from the boys mouth, down his body, reaching his fingertips to be transferred onto Dakota's back, emitting lightning strikes against his skin.

"I hate what you do to me." Small sparks of something flew from the touch of their foreheads, like soundless fireworks exploding all at once, at full brightness.

"What do you mean?"

Beck's breath shuddered as his lips swept softly over Dakota's. "You consume me. Everything about you runs through my veins."

With a burst of confidence, Dakota pressed his lips against Beck's.

Once Dakota's feet touch solid ground, he shakes his head clear of the memory and pulls away from Parker, who is now looking at him with a concerned look on his face. 

"Hey," Parker says, trying to meet Dakota's eyes, "you good?"

Dakota nods and reaches for another beer as he says, "yeah, I'm good." A smile takes over his pained expression and Parker thankfully lets it go.

Dakota places a hand on Parker's shoulder, flicks him a wink and says, "let's party."

~

The music's pumping even louder now, the night slowly creeping closer to an end as the morning sun is starting to rise.

Dakota is drunker than he's ever been, downing shots like it's his last day on Earth. Parker has been desperately searching the house for the boy-gone-wild, and he finally finds him in the kitchen, standing over a boy who's lying down on the kitchen bench, vodka being poured into his belly button.

"Koda! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" He's shushed by the drunk brunette as a finger is pressed to his lips.

Dakota turns back to face the boy, a hungry expression on his face. People cheer him on as he slowly runs his tongue down the centre of the boys stomach, until he comes to a stop at his belly button and sucks out the vodka, a bit dribbling down his chin. He reaches his arm up and hooks it around the boys neck as he sits up, pressing their lips together in a heated kiss. The boy kisses back, gripping at Dakota's waist as they're cheered on by the crowd surrounding them.

Dakota is openly gay now; everyone knows, and people quite often tried to hook up with him at parties. Usually he lets them, but that's all it would ever be: a drunken hook up with no emotions attached.

Suddenly, Dakota's being pulled away from the boy and he spins around to see Parker, a soft smile on his face.

"C'mon, bud. Let's not completely fuck up those lungs of yours tonight."

Dakota is silently thankful for the interruption, his head already starting to feel the intense hangover he's bound to have once he wakes up.

"Yeah," he slurs, "let's get the fuck out of here." He follows Parker through the house and out the front door, leaving the boy sitting on the bench, shirtless and used.