in between, kit connor

eighteen

gracie arrived to will's party a little late, so when she walked in, it was very loud and there were a lot of people. she searched the room for her friends and thankfully found her brother taking shots with kit. that wasn't good.

"hey," she says, walking up to the two.

"oh my god, gracie!" joe shouts, wrapping his arms around her. "i was just telling kit like, where the fuck is my sister? why are you late, bitch?"

"sorry, sorry, i had to stop at my place to change and stuff before i came here," she replies, laughing as she breaks free of his grip. "you thought giving my brother shots was a good idea?" she asks kit.

"he's just living his life!" kit shouts back, stumbling over his own feet as he had moved his hand too much when he spoke.

"so you're just as bad as him. great."

"it's like that other night," kit continues. "do you remember when you were drunk at the club and—"

"that's enough!" gracie says loudly, not wanting what she had said to kit that night to be said in front of joe. "can i take a shot with you guys then?"

"yes! yes, you can," joe replies. "do you want the vodka or the tito's?"

"that's the same thing."

"oh, fuck, you're right, oops. let me pour it." he manages to pour three shots for each of them, still spilling a decent amount on the table too. after downing her shot, gracie looks at the table and pours herself another one, downing that one too. afterwards, she settles on making herself a mixed drink.

"you're going to be sooo drunk," joe says, throwing his arms around her again. "just like me! we can be drunk twins!"

"you're ridiculous," gracie laughs.

"hey, can i grab you for a second?" kit asks gracie. "like, by ourselves. no joe. no brother."

"you're being joephobic," gracie's brother mutters. "but fine. i'll leave you alone with your secrets." after he makes his way to the other side of the room, kit looks at her before pulling her in for a hug, lifting her off the ground.

"oh my god!" she squeals. "put me down. you're crazy."

"i wanted to do that," he grins, setting her down. "i also wanted to tell you that i'm so sorry that you're going through a breakup, and that you're amazing and fuck anyone who doesn't want to be with you."

"you know that's not really how my breakup happened but i appreciate you saying that," she giggles, putting a hand around his waist to stop him from stumbling around.

"you don't have to hold on to me like you're my mum, i'm fine," he grumbles, wiggling out of her grip. "and that'd be weird if you were my mum."

"maybe we should take a seat down?" she suggests.

"oh, come with me outside. i need a cigarette," he says, grabbing her hand and dragging her out to the balcony.

"okay, but please sit down because i'm nervous you'll fall the balcony," says gracie, and kit complies, sitting down against the rail.

"you're so caring," he slurs, pulling out a lighter from his pocket. "can you light this? i might set my hand on fire."

"yeah," gracie says, flicking the lighter on and bringing it up to the cigarette between the boy's lips. "there."

"thank you, love," he says before exhaling a cloud of smoke. "i'm a little drunk."

"yeah, i know."

"are you?"

"not yet. trying to get there. i'm a little tipsy, though," gracie replies, taking another sip of her drink. "where is the birthday boy, anyways?"

"don't know, don't care."

"wow. you're normally obsessed with will!"

"i'm more obsessed with you, though," kit admits, looking over at gracie.

"oh, wow. you are drunk."

"mhm," he giggles, his head falling so that it lays on gracie's shoulder. "you're like, a hard pillow."

"wow. that's nice," she replies, trying not to laugh. "okay, i'm getting cold. can we go inside and sit on the couch or something?"

"fine," kit replies, exhaling the cigarette smoke one more time before putting it out on the ground. "but stay with me. i don't want to hang out with anyone else tonight if you're not with me."

"okay, okay," gracie says, pushing him back inside, making sure the door is shut behind them. she eyes the couch, but spots a couple making out on it. "okay, no couch. uh..."

"will's room!" kit exclaims. "we can go to will's room. it's quiet in there."

"okay," gracie replies, a little unsure about that. "he won't care?"

"no! fuck no, he's my best friend, i'm always in there. let's go!" before gracie can stop him, he practically runs across the room to the bedroom. she quickly downs what was left of her drink and walks over to the table with drinks. she goes for a third shot before getting another drink and walking into will's room, closing the door behind her. she was now starting to feel her drinks. when she looked at the bed, she saw kit sitting on it, counting his fingers.

"what are you doing?" she laughs.

"counting my fingers. i have eleven, not ten! that's crazy, right?"

"you definitely only have ten," she continues, sitting down across from him. "woahhh, the room is kind of spinny."

"you're kind of drunk now," kit states. "oh my god, let's compare hand sizes." he grabs her hand, putting his up to hers. "wow. you have tiny hands."

"you're also a man," gracie points out, and kit rolls his eyes.

"whatever," he murmurs. "guess what."

"what?"

"i think i have a crush on you," he says, grinning. "like, a big crush."

all of a sudden, will's bathroom door opened, and he walked out. "what the fuck?"

"he told me we could come in here," gracie says quickly.

"yeah, i don't care, i was just surprised."

"will. i have eleven fingers," kit says.

"think you're a bit sloshed, mate," will laughs. "i'll see you guys later. if you need to crash in here, feel free. i'll just take the guest room."

"thanks," says gracie. after will leave the room, gracie looks back at kit and he's fully asleep. she sighs, still sober enough to make sure he's comfortable. she moves his head in a more comfortable position and pulls the throw blanket that was on the bed over his body.

—

in the morning, gracie wakes up beside kit. she had a slight headache, but nothing too bad for a hangover. thankfully, he was still asleep. gracie then noticed that his arms were around her, and she couldn't help but smile. she then remembered what he had told her last night; he had a crush on her. she wasn't sure how true that was since he was very drunk, but she had a feeling there was some truth in it. he was an attractive guy, and one of the nicest people she'd ever become friends with. he would be an amazing boyfriend, but gracie wasn't sure yet if she was ready to move on from olivia. with a sigh, she tried to fall back asleep before kit woke up and inevitably got sick.