Empty Bottles, Heavy Hearts

let's pretend it hasn't been months since i last posted a fic haha writer's block is a bitch but i'm trying to overcome it

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Avi really hates parties.

Call him antisocial or an introvert (he would not deny either accusation, in all honesty) but he would much rather spend his Friday nights at home, watching old episodes of Game of Thrones or re-reading The Hobbit or practicing guitar. Anything other than be here. But Mitch begged him to come because Mitch needs a DD and he also "really needs to get laid" (his words, not Avi's). And Avi never could resist those big brown eyes or his incessant pleading, so here he is - in the home of someone he doesn't even know, listening to music he doesn't even like, in the company of people hanging off of him like they're lifelong friends, even though he has no clue who they are.

To make matters worse, he's lost Mitch.

The younger boy is probably attached by the mouth to someone pretty, at least Avi hopes he is. Mitch is a good person; he deserves someone who can make him happy. Or just make him come, at the very least.

But as much as he encourages Mitch's slut escapades, he really wishes he hadn't been taken along for the ride. Because now he's alone and he wants to leave, but he can't, and he really, really hates parties.

With nothing else to do and no one to talk to, Avi just wanders around the house, bumping into people who are doing something akin to dancing, and spilling the drink he wasn't drinking in the first place onto the carpet. He feels bad for making even more of a mess for the homeowner to clean up. And somehow he makes his way upstairs and he decides that this is where he's going to spend the remainder of his evening - it's much quieter than it is downstairs, the awful music is muffled and distant, and there are significantly less people here. He drops down to the floor, leaning against a closed door, and he fishes his phone out of his pocket. Maybe he'll get lucky and find something in his iBooks that he can spend the rest of the night engrossed in. He's already checked and there isn't any wifi he can borrow for the evening and this shitty night isn't worth going over his data, so he needs to find something that'll occupy his attention and won't totally rack up his phone bill.

His head leans back against the closed door and as soon as his head touches wood, he hears a sound. He stills for a moment, listening to the noises he hears behind closed doors before he can talk himself out of eavesdropping or convince himself to go sit elsewhere. And he listens, the sounds - albeit muffled - becoming clearer to his ears and it doesn't take long for him to realize that someone is crying.

Avi is an empathetic person; he's always prided himself on his huge heart and how much he cares about others. Apparently strangers are no exception because he can't talk himself out of getting up to his feet and turning the knob on the door. He doesn't even bother to knock, he just lets himself inside. He rationalizes it to himself that he would want someone to do the same for him if he was curled up on a bathroom floor, crying his heart out.

There's a pang in his chest when he opens the door and the man who was previously curled into himself on the floor snaps his head up and looks at Avi with wide eyes. Tears are rolling down his cheeks and his beautiful blue eyes are rimmed red. Avi feels a tad guilty for intruding like this and he feels even worse when all he can say is "Hi."

The man sniffles and wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "I heard you crying," Avi continues, internally wincing at his choice of words because he's sure that this poor man does not need to be made aware that his sorrows were heard by the public. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," he continues, trying to make his thoughts coherent. He doesn't understand why he's fumbling with his words - yeah, this guy is attractive but Avi doesn't even know him, there's no reason for him to be nervous. "So, um, are you okay?"