Spectrum. (Kellic)

Chapter 9

This is the first time I've ever written with Vic as the narrator in any story ever. I'm strangely excited about this. -pøppi

*Vic's POV*

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Everyone was cheering me along as I attempted to down half a bottle of straight vodka. I'd only had three beers. I wanted to get to passing-out stage quickly.

I'd gone on a trip with Jaime and Tony. We travel together occasionally, set ourselves challenges like how many bars we can visit in a night, who can get drunk in the next state as quickly as possible. It was stupid, but it's not like we had much better to do with our time. I hadn't been home in almost three days, but I'm sure Kellin wasn't worrying. He should be used to it by now. Last night, I had planned to go home, but instead I was still at one of Tony's friends houses. I didn't know exactly where I was, but I recognised the part of the city I was in. I couldn't have been more than thirty minutes from my place.

I slammed the bottle down on a table, reaching out for someone to steady me. Vodka got me drunk instantly, and I could feel my vision starting to go blurry, my head beginning to swim with the effects of the alcohol. I could hear Jaime's voice, and then recognised his hands holding me up as I slumped to the floor, drained of all energy.

"Come on, dude." He said into my ear, loudly to block out the noise of everyone around us. "Shit, why do you keep drinking so much? it's like you're in love or something."

And that's all I could remember.

I woke up where I supposed I had fallen asleep a few hours before. I knew it wasn't morning, because a few people were still awake and drinking. Slouched over tables and chairs or sitting on the floor. As I sat up, I could tell that Jaime and Tony were two of the... I couldn't tell how many people there were. 5? I didn't have a hangover. I was still drunk. I couldn't help but let my head fall back to the ground. It made a loud thump, alerting the others that I was awake.

I could see Jaime slowly standing up from the ground, and coming to help me up, but not without stumbling over a few empty bottles before he reached me. Jaime drunk extremely slowly- I mean, I didn't know what time it was, probably early morning, 2, maybe 3am, but I reckoned he'd only had about 7 beers. On his way to stupid drunk, I guessed.

"Are you going home?" His words were slightly slurred.

"Yeah. I think." My voice croaked, I was tired and pissed off and still extremely drunk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, come on." H turned his back to me after leaning me up against a countertop, which I was grasping as if I was hanging off a cliff and it was the only shelf of rock I could see. "Tony. Are you coming home with me?"

Jaime lived in the same apartment building as me, and Tony stayed conveniently in between where we apparently were, and mine and Jaime's building.

By the time we had reached Jaime's place, I had sobered up quite a bit. He had stopped at a 24-hour fast food place and got me coffee, as that was how I would usually get better. Obscene amounts of caffeine and a few days of hibernation would have me up and ready.

His apartment was on the second floor, mine on the fourth, but he left me to make my way up on my own. My head was still in agony by the time I reached my door. I had to fish through the pockets of my hoodie, past packets of cigarettes and empty plastic bags and other things that definitely shouldn't be in there before reaching my door key. My hands were shaking terribly, so it took me a few tries to get the key to turn.

As soon as I entered the room, I had to close my eyes. There were lights on, and it was tricky to adjust from the darkness in the hallway outside. It took me a moment before I saw Kellin, standing facing me, holding a grilled cheese.

"Why are you awake?" I asked him.

"I have an essay to write." He replied. "Why have you been out so long?"

"I... Had to clear my head." I said, walking towards him and sitting on the counter next to where he was standing. "So, um, how have you been?"

"Uh...fine? I guess?" He replied. I watched him carefully, and I could tell he was deliberately avoiding my gaze. He had placed the grilled cheese on the table in front of him, and he was picking at his fingers, playing with the sleeves of his jumper and trying hard not to look at me. He was biting his lip, a nervous habit of his I had noticed, and as he looked at the floor his hair fell in his face. He didn't bother to move it, which he usually would have done instantly. It acted like a shield. He was intimated by me.

I couldn't help but smirk, "Did you miss me?"

His instant "No!" Was clearly unbelievable. It was cute when he got all defensive.

"Whatever." I chuckled, before deciding to turn the attention back to him. I loved hearing him talk. Even about boring shit like law. So I used all of my patience, energy, and a week's worth of social interaction and let him talk on and on about the essay he was in the middle of writing. I was bewildered by the fact that it actually excited him. He was fuelled by knowledge, he cared about the world. Almost everything he talked about went straight over my head, but I tried my best to keep him going. Even I could notice how happy it made him.

"How much do you have to write?" I asked, as I hopped off the counter and got myself a Pepsi.

"10,000 words. I'm almost halfway through." He replied.

"How do you even do that?" I shook my head.

"You get used to it." He said.

I returned to my place on the countertop, patting the spot next to me, silently requesting that he sit. I spoke to him for another few minutes about high school, and asked him about what university was like. As I watched him speak, I suddenly remembered why I'd left. He made such a mess inside my head, and he wasn't even trying. He didn't know what he was doing. It was like he had hypnotised me. No amount of alcohol made me forget about him.

And so I slid from my seat, stood in front of him and said softly, "You know, I've been wanting to kiss you for a few days."

He didn't reply. And I kissed him. My arm went around his waist, and I pushed myself between his legs, closer to him than I've ever been before. I expected him to push me away, but he didn't. It was me who finally pulled away. I don't know why. I suppose there was something in the back of my head telling me not to fuck him over. He was definitely too innocent for me.