Brendon sat in the back of Pete's car, arms crossed and staring out the window. Patrick would look back often and giggle at Brendon pouting and mumbling to himself.
"Lighten up," Pete laughed when he saw Brendon in the rearview mirror. "You think I'd let you skip out on one of Devon's parties? You're close to getting laid at his parties."
"Yeah but you two drink too much," Patrick added with a frown. Pete shrunk sheepishly in his seat. Brendon flushed, remembering making out with Pete after getting drunk at one of Devon's parties. Patrick clung to Pete more when his boyfriend and friend had alcohol in them.
"Sorry Pat."
"Sorry babe." The two said simultaneously. "But Brendon's got a man now, so he'll be too busy with him."
"He's not my man," Brendon interjected.
"What do you mean? You two aren't together yet?" Pete sounded genuinely surprised.
"We've only gone on a couple dates that's all, but nothing's official or anything," Brendon shrugged. He looked back out the window, sighing softly. Pete looked over at Pete with a frown. Patrick's eyes widened when the frown flipped into a sly grin.
Soon enough, Pete parked outside Devon's house. There were cars crowding the block and some even parked on the host's lawn. The house was lit up and party guests could be seen through the windows.
"Alright, we're here." Pete hurried out of the car excitedly. He rounded the car and helped Patrick out. Brendon begrudgingly followed the couple into the house. The music was pounding his eardrums before he even completely passed the front door. Pete and Patrick weaved the crowd and out of sight.
Looking around, Brendon spotted the table containing open bottles and made a b line for the alcohol. He felt more at ease when he had a red solo cup in his hands. The point of Pete dragging Brendon to parties was to give him a chance to hookup with some guy with no strings attached. It never worked out and Brendon always only made friends with the liquor.
He found a secure spot along the wall where he could watch his classmates party. Many of them were throwing back their drinks while Brendon nursed his own. As much as he liked drinking, getting drunk on a Sunday probably wasn't the greatest idea.
He was not ten minutes into observing the party before his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a new text message.
Ryan: you changed your clothes
Brendon looked down at his outfit. He was now wearing a black tshirt and blue skinny jeans, his usual party outfit. He frowned and looked back at the message, now realizing who sent it to him. His head snapped up and quickly scanned the room, not spotting the familiar face.
Ryan: you still look good
Brendon: where are you?
Ryan: closer than you think :)
Brendon frowned at his screen. He didn't see Ryan and he swore he'd seen everyone's face that was in the room.
"Hey." Brendon jumped at the voice right next to his ear. He turned and saw Ryan laughing at his reaction. He stood frozen for a moment, surprised to see the boy for a second.
"What are you doing here?" Ryan shrugged when his laughter calmed down.
"Devon texted me last minute asking me to come." Brendon mouthed an 'oh' and looked away. Even though he wasn't expecting Ryan to be there, a part of him felt relieved to have the boy there. Maybe this party wouldn't be as bad as the others?
"Hey Ryan, get over here," Brendon heard a voice call out. The two looked up to see one of Ryan's teammates calling for him. Brendon slouched against the wall. He forgot Ryan was actually popular and wouldn't want to lean against the wall with him all night.
"I'll see you later. Save me a drink later," Ryan said before moving away. Brendon watched him leave and chugged the rest of his drink. Ryan had on a bright smile when he joined teammates and started drinking. Brendon was left alone against the wall. It looked like this party would be just as disappointing as the rest for Brendon.
