Back in the Saddle

Curiosity Only Leads to Unanswered Questions

Nick's POV:

Clay and I are chilling at his house, waiting for it to be time to pick up George and Karl. Normally I wouldn't be over the moon excited for a party, especially not one that Alex is throwing, but because Karl is coming, I'm thrilled.

Clay seems pretty excited as well, but I don't see a reason why he would be. Nothing is out of the ordinary for him, so I'm not sure why he'd be acting this anxious. I asked him about it already and he dodged the question, getting defensive quickly, so I just dropped it. That doesn't mean I'm not still curious, though.

"You excited?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh, yeah I am," he answers, coming away from his daydreaming.

I raise a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because you seem just a little bit distracted."

"I'm not distracted, just bored. I want to leave because I'm excited."

"Okay okay, whatever you say."

Finally, it hits nine, and we can leave. We go straight to the gas station and pick up a few six packs, ignoring the suspicious looks from the cashier, and head over to Karl and George's. I text Karl when we pull up outside of the house, telling him to come outside, but when he does he's not only followed by George, but also Wilbur, Toby, Tommy, and Ranboo.

Only Karl and George come to Clay's truck, though. Wil and the others wander over to Wilbur's car and pile in. When the two brunets reach the car, I hop out and let George take my seat while I get in the back with Karl.

George is wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants... which is a very George thing to do. Karl has on a maroon shirt that is tucked into his white shorts with white hightop Adidas. As usual, he's wearing his rings and necklace along with a new bracelet. It amazes me how he's able to afford these nice looking pieces of jewelry with the amount he makes at the ranch.

As for Clay, he has his typical green flannel on with gray jeans. Nothing special there. I'm wearing a long sleeved black shirt that is made out of workout material so it's airy and some jean shorts. The only other notable feature is that I've traded my cowboy hat for my favorite white bandana.

Based on everyone else's outfits, I'd say Karl is dressing up, but we all know that he wears clothes like this 24/7.

"Who's excited?" Clay asks after beginning to drive again.

"Me!" I answer and George raises his hands, but Karl merely shrugs. "Why aren't you more excited, sugar?"

"Uh, I don't know, just not a party person, I guess."

"Well, you should be excited. Alex's parties are always amazing because he's not afraid to get in trouble with his parents. They're also pretty laid back, so they seldom get mad at him in the first place."

"Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, I would stand no chance in a competition with him to see who can throw the best party," Clay says.

"No one would," George scoffs. "Alex is a certified dumbass, so obviously his party is going to outrank everyone else's."

"He makes a good point. Alex makes a lot of dumb decisions, therefore he can throw a banger party with little regard for... well, anything. Speaking of dumb decisions, why are Ranboo, Tommy, and Toby coming? You guys do realize there will be alcohol at this party, right?"

"Yes, we do," George laughs. "That's one of the reasons why Wilbur is coming: he's gonna keep an eye on them so they don't do anything they're not supposed to. More specifically so that Tommy doesn't do anything he's not supposed to, seeing as Ranboo is a good kid and Toby only does stuff when Tommy does it first. So don't worry, they're only coming to have a good time."

"One of the reasons? Why else is Wil coming?" Clay asks.

Karl and George make awkward and panicked eye contact. For a moment I feel like I imagined it because it was gone as soon as it appeared. The only reason I know I didn't is because of how enthusiastic Karl becomes while answering when compared to his attitude literally five seconds prior.

"'Cuz he's excited for a good time, duh!" he whoops with a little giggle.

Though I love the energy and my heart beats a little faster every time he laughs, I watch him skeptically, hoping he'll tell me what's wrong when I manage to get him alone. Clay, stupid as ever, doesn't notice anything different in their mannerisms and soon he's got the music turned up to dangerous levels, nearly blowing the roof of the car off. This song is 'Dancing in the Moonlight' which is a song every age group can enjoy and if you don't then you're lying.

By the time we make it Alex's, the song isn't over, so we wait in the car and let it play through, still on full blast. I'm sure the neighbors really appreciate that, but we could care less, to be honest.

"Everybody here is out of sight. They don't bark and they don't bite. They keep things loose, they keep things light. Everybody was dancing in the moonlight."

Such a groovy song.

Anyways, when it's done, we decide we should probably go inside. Wilbur, who was trailing behind the truck the whole drive, is shouting at Tommy for poking him in the neck during the entire drive.

"Why do you act like an actual child? You are eighteen," Wilbur says.

"If I'm not a child then I should be able to drink," Tommy spits back. "If we were back home we would be able to."

"Well we're not in Britain, Tommy," Ranboo says. "Here in America you may be an adult, but you are not allowed to drink. It's a faulty system and it doesn't make any sense, but it's the way it is. Laws are laws."

"Screw that. I don't play by the rules: I make them, and when necessary I break them."

"Isn't that..." Toby starts. "I'm like ninety percent sure that's a Riverdale quote."

"Shut up."

While everyone laughs at Tommy and begins to head inside, I take the opportunity to talk to Karl. He's lingering towards the back of the group, which isn't like him: he prefers to be in the middle of the action. Yeah, it's obvious that something's wrong, and I'm nothing if not curious.

"Karl, are you sure everything's okay? You seem off."

"I'm fine," he says with a half-hearted smile. "Like I said, I just don't like parties all that much. They make me nervous."

I know that isn't the whole truth. It's clear. But, I know better than to push him, so instead I just say, "Well, if you ever get too anxious or if you're not having a good time or anything, tell me and I'll take you somewhere you can be alone to calm down. Sound good?"

"What did I do to deserve you?" he responds, laughing.

"I'm not sure anyone really deserves me."

He rolls his eyes and hits me on the arm before jogging to catch up with Wilbur. I smile, glad to have cheered him up even a little bit, and prepare myself for whatever this party may bring. However, I never would've guessed it. Let's just say that if I had known how the night would end at the time, I probably wouldn't have gone.

Word Count- 1227

a/n- cant you just tell that this party is going to go so well!!!