Word Count; 2232
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Arin whipped around, his heart and mind racing together and creating a storm of regret and panic. He almost spilled Suzy's punch but was thankful he hadn't thrown it instead of the water. He was so embarrassed and upset with himself that he managed to earn a look of sympathy from the person behind him, who unluckily was Brian. He held a rather disturbing Oni mask in one hand, an unexplained juice box in the other. " Brian, please, listen. It was an accident-"
Brian hit in on the head with his mask before he could finish his plead. " Don't fucking apologize to me. I'm not the one who's night you've ruined." he growled. Even more guilt settled on Arin's ribcage, seemingly crushing his heart and lungs. He almost felt on the verge of tears under Brian's forever disapproving gaze.
Brian sighed and looked toward the bathroom. " Don't tell him i said this, but if you don't actually go an apologize, i will kill you," he threatened. Brian did stand taller than him and was know for his brain and brawn. The scary part is that he almost never lied and probably knows exactly how to kill him anyway. Arin set his punch down, running his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath.
This was terrible. The fragility of teenage emotions was insane, as well as the state of mind they put themselves in when something like this happened.
" And he really likes you though. A lot, but you didn't hear that from me, but it's kinda obvious anyway. "
Arin was absolutely unable to function. " Fuck, i....what do I say? Brian, please. I knew he did but I just....what's wrong with me. " Arin spoke in fractured sentences. Brian patted Arin's shoulder with the juice box sympathetically, a gesture that thankfully didn't result in a nasty bruise. " Just make it better. You can if you really mean it. " Brian encouraged him. A spark of hope was there for Arin, slightly scaring away the regret and the angry wasps in his stomach. " I'll try....but please don't actually hurt me if anything goes wrong."
Brian lightly chuckled, his eyes squinted in amusement. He lightly pushed Arin towards the bathroom. His silence wasn't as reassuring as his previous words. Arin would have to definitely have to not fuck this up if he wanted to beat Ross for this stupid ass situation later.
He shoved his way through the innocent dancers again. They had disclosed Dan's path after his escape, and it was almost if they didn't want Arin to see him. That of course was very wrong and dramatic, but how else is the teenage mind supposed to perceive this coincidence? Arin untied his mask from his neck, using it to lightly fan himself as the doors came into view. The gym of course just used the locker rooms, making Arin think of the smell. Nothing built romance better than sweaty teens and possible vomit from stashed liquor that made its way into the dance.
He pushed open the door, quickly slipping inside. The locker room was dimly lit to most likely save power, the school already spending quite a bit on sound systems and whatever other electronics were being used. It gave the space an eerie, horror movie vibe, even if the only danger was contracting a nasty surprise from the unsanitary...
everything.
It wasn't surprising when it did in fact, smell like sweat and vomit. Only so much the poor janitor could do to cleanse the generations old bathrooms that have been used almost exclusively by awkward and pubescent teens. The only upside was that even if the dance's music still seemed to shake the floor and make Arin's brain throb, it was quiet. There was almost no other sound than some sick bass, and the occasional sniffle.
Arin noticed all the bathroom stall doors were swung open aside from one. It was shut, and the stray shoe dared to poke out of the space at the bottom of it. Arin carefully stepped towards it, almost cringing away as he watched the shoe retract. Assuming it was Dan, he was going through quite a bit of trouble to stay out of Arin's sight. He lightly rapped on the thick plastic door with a forced smile. " Hey...Dan? Is this you?"
