My Brother's Best Friend • Prucan

Jungle Juice

As soon as the six arrived at the party they knew they were in for a long night. Francis's entire street was filled with cars and the music blaring from the home was loud enough to hear from outside. Before they entered the house, they all made sure to change into more comfortable clothes and be as quiet as possible for the sake of Francis's neighbors, though the roaring music didn't help much with that.

As soon as Matthew walked in he noticed that they were on time, unlike Ivan's party, so no one was wasted yet and they could actually enjoy themselves. On the ride to the party, Gilbert had warned Matthew that after the first hour and thirty minutes, all hell would break loose, but Matthew simply laughed and diregarded his warning. Matthew regretted that decision as soon as he realized that within a minute of being in the house, they had already lost Alfred and Arthur, and Antonio and Lovino had already gone off to find the sangria.

As the two ventured past the front door, they noticed nearly their entire school packed into Francis's house. Kids were dancing in the living room, others were playing pong in the dining room, and every so often a group of kids would make their way down to the basement. From having Francis as a tutor, Matthew knew the basement had a Tv and a few couches, so he figured that would be the designated "hookup" area. Not wanting to involve himself in any of that business, Matthew decided to wander to the kitchen.

"Want to come find food with me? My heart told me to pick some cookies up off the ground at the dance but my brain told me no" Matthew asked, looking over at Gilbert as he pouted and placed a hand on his stomach like a child waiting to be fed. Gilbert snorted at the dramatic exaggeration of his hunger and proceeded to follow him into the kitchen, where Francis was sipping a glass of wine and talking to Roderich, who was rolling his eyes at whatever ridiculous story the blond was dramatizing. As soon as Francis saw them enter the kitchen, his eyes lit up, and he waved Roderich away as he set his wine glass on the counter.

"Mes amies!" he called, holding out his arms as he wrapped both of them in a big hug. "I'm so glad you came. I know you two just looooove parties" he teased, winking as Gilbert and Matthew remembered falling out of the closet, literally and figuratively, at Ivan's party.

"Do you have any snacks?" Matthew blurted, his face turning red as he tried to change the subject.

"Well I have jello..." Francis trailed, trying not to chuckle as Gilbert shot him a death stare. Francis's goal for the night was to see innocent little Matthew drunk, and failing to mention the vodka-soaked gelatin would be the perfect way to do it.

"I love jello!" Matthew exclaimed, eliciting a laugh from Francis. The Frenchman could barely believe the naiveté of the junior.

"It's not that kind of jello Birdie" Gilbert said curtly, continuing to give Francis the death stare as Francis chuckled and took a box of Cheez-Its out from his pantry.

"Calm down, Gil. I'm just messing with you. Here, Matthew. I keep these for when you or your brother come over. You guys hate everything I suggest for snacks, so I keep a box of these for you picky North Americans" Francis spoke before handing Matthew the box of crackers.

"Thanks" Matthew responded, "We're going to go mingle now. If you need us we'll be in the dining room." Francis simply nodded in response and the two were on their way into the dining room, where Feliks and Elizaveta were playing beer pong against Feliciano and Sadik. Other than the huge table set up for pong, the dining room was filled with coolers of alcohol and a table with any liquor and mixer imaginable. Along with the coolers and mixing table, there was also a huge plastic tub with the words "Jungle Juice" written on it that was filled with a bluish liquid filled with floating pieces of sliced fruit.

"What the heck is that?!" Matthew asked, pointing at the tub.

"I don't know, but it looks sugary" Gilbert replied, shrugging as he watched Feliciano try to throw a beer-soaked ping pong ball into a cup at the other side of the table. The Italian missed by a mile, and Gilbert groaned as he watched on in agony. Gilbert was well-known as the king of pong, and would often spend the entire night in the same room challenging everyone who walked in to a game, regardless of whether he had already beaten them or not. Matthew frowned a little after a few minutes of Gilbert ignoring him to watch the game. Deciding to give it some time, Matthew sat down in the corner and munched on his crackers before the game finally ended. But as soon as the game ended, Gilbert decided he wanted to play for himself.