this is the place ⇝ george x will

3

They go out again that night - Fraser, Will, Mia, Alex, James, George. There's a nightclub James had recommended; he'd said it had good music and flashing lights. Mia brings her friend, who's beautiful and tan, with glossy dark hair in a sleek ponytail. Alex keeps nudging him every five minutes to go and speak to her, but it seems pointless as she's curling a lock of hair around a manicured finger while she talks with Fraser. They're both laughing, and George knows there's no point trying when she's already talking to his mate.

"So what if she's talking to Fraser?" Alex says, leaning against the bar with his drink. "She can talk to more than one person at a time."

"Mhm," George says, "But more importantly, I haven't seen you talk to James since the night began."

Alex looks terrified like George has exposed him in front of the entire club. "What do you mean?"

George shakes his head. "Alex, I...I know you like him."

Alex visibly reels back, eyes wide as saucers. "I never told you that."

"A few months ago...You were drunk," George says. "It's okay."

Alex seems to deem this acceptable because he doesn't reply and just nods into his beer, swirling it around like he's trying to hypnotise himself.

"Talk to him though," George adds with finality. "Think he fancies you too. I've seen how he looks in your direction."

Alex gives him a final hopeful nod before he's taking his beer and walking over to where James is leaning against the bar, taste-testing the beers. He grins as he notices Alex, slips a hand around his waist like it's easy. Alex's cheeks turn a ruddy shade of pink, and George rolls his eyes endearingly and focuses back on the dance floor. Fraser's dancing with Mia's friend now, both pressed close to each other and moving to the music. He looks happy, a soppy smile planted on his face as she looks adoringly up at him. George finishes his beer. He guesses he's happy for them too.

Will's suddenly at the centre of his vision, haloed by strobe lights on the dance-floor. He's too tall and too handsome, as Mia shakes her dark hair over her shoulders and reaches up to lovingly wrap her arms around his neck. Mia is beautiful and ever so lucky. They dance together as some heavy music plays in the background, everyone else forgotten. George guesses that Will's forgotten about him too.

So George buys a couple more beers, declares himself a lone drinker to whoever asks, and falls deeper into a haze. During some point in the night, a tall bearded man with a nice smile approaches him and buys him another drink. George thanks him graciously before not even ten minutes later, he's leaving the bathroom with a woozy smile and an embellishment of hickeys adorned from his jaw to his collarbones.

He finds Alex and James by the bar where he'd left them, but the smaller of the two is considerably more inebriated, pink hoodie slipping half off one of his shoulders as he leans against the bar.

"There you are," James says triumphantly as George stumbles towards them, hazily smiling. "I'm just about to take Alex back."

George's head pulses, lights around the nightclub blurring into one. "Can...do you think you can take me back too, please?"

"Are you alright-" James starts, but then his eyes dart to the massacre that's taken place on George's milky skin. "Holy shit."

Alex lets out a slurred laugh. "Woah, George, that's a lot of hickeys," he says, stumbling and attempting to lean against the bar. James grips onto his shoulder to steady him.

"What kind of psycho girl gave you that?" James then asks incredulously, pressing a thumb to his neck. The hickey burns under his touch and George flinches away, vision distorting in his intoxication.