"Thanks," he said as he slid in on his back, injecting as much bright chipperness into the word as he could manage, rubbing it in that little bit more.
Damn, but what Ashton wouldn't give to have been able to stay; to be a fly on the wall for the whole dressing down Dylan was getting as he left. Ashton had only caught a part of it, Randall's voice following Ashton out of the building with words like 'irresponsible' and 'better judgment' ringing in his ears.
Ashton whistled as he stepped into the sunlight once again. Feet automatically turning for the student union, he decided that, yeah — hewouldget that breakfast after all.
CHAPTER 3
Heaven
"Hey, sick kicks, bro," a guy said as Ashton passed him, leaving the kitchen just as Ashton entered, looking for a drink.
"Thankyou," he slurred grandly, before muttering, "Glad someone's finally noticed."
He fished the cheap plastic ladle from the alcoholic fruit slurry known far and wide only as 'jungle juice', filling his red plastic cup back up to the brim. This was only Ashton's second cup tonight, but he'd had to skip dinner to make his evening class, and the handful of cool ranch chips he'd just stuffed into his mouth did not a nutritionally balanced meal make, now did it?
Ashton giggled, muffling it in his drink.
A roar of laughter spilled into the little kitchen from the living room. Trevor and Jeremy's house party was already in full swing by the time Ashton had gotten here tonight.
He wandered in that direction, curiosity eating at him, finding the whole room crowded with people forming a ring around a circular patch of carpet, at the very center of which lay a brown beer bottle on its side.
Spin the bottle? Isn't that a little childish?
Ashton watched as the bottle whirled around, before finally landing on a cute brunette. She laughed as the — hey, is that Matt?Nice. — as Matt offered her a hand up, pulling her into a nearby waiting closet.
"Good luck you two," sing-songed a deeply tanned bottle blond as she shut the door. "Start the timer!"
Ah — Spin the BottleandSeven Minutes in Heaven. Guess that could be interesting.
It might be about the only thing at this party that was. Noah was …around here, somewhere. He didn't usually come to these things for very long, though, more to make an appearance than anything else. Ashton had seen the seniors rushing around, too; making sure their party went smoothly, probably. So were a lot of the other guys from Minotaur House, and even Logan had promised to swing by at some point.
If he can bother to stop being so gay for studying, even for just an hour. God, it's like that's all he does anymore, aside from football practice and games and classes. Always up in that room he shares with Oz, their door locked as if he's worried someone's gonna come busting it and interrupt his precious essay writing, or whatever he's doing up there.
Ashton scowled into his reflection, undulating on the dark magenta surface of his drink. He thought it'd be cool having one of the university's football players for a fraternity brother. Bring a lot more girls to parties like these, at the very least. And sure, Loganhadtried to warn him that first day there when Ashton had given him a tour of the house, hadn't he? Still, Ashton had figured they'd have at leastsometime to hang out. Meals in the house dining room, parties like this, functions…
TimewithoutOz that was. Ashton's eyes narrowed to see the front door open, Oz too busy talking excitedly about somenerd thing or other to watch where he was going as he stepped through. He stumbled, bumping into people like the klutz he was, Logan having to grab his roommate by the shoulders to help keep him steady, following like a big St. Bernard just behind.
Behind him came a zoo full of catcalls, hooting, and wolf whistles, and Ashton twisted around just in time to see Matt and the brunette emerging bashfully from the closet, holding hands.
"Who's next?" the bottle-blond asked.
"Me," Ashton said loudly, throwing back the rest of his drink as he turned and set his cup down on a nearby table covered with its fellows. "She better be hot though."
The room tittered — tilted? — laughed, the blond spinning the bottle with the sparkly white grin of a Cheshire cat.
It made Ashton dizzy to watch, wobbling slightly as he tried to follow where it would land…
Oh,shit.
"Oh,mierda."
Ashton stared in shock at a furious pair of dark eyes set into a too-familiar face, the mockingly bright pink mohawk an even more unwelcome sight than it'd been in the computer lab this morning.
"I saidhot,Ashton called out, trying to play it off with a lopsided, 'what can you do?' grin. "Redo!"
"Uh-uh, no re-spins!" The blond wagged her finger at him. "Now get into the closet and take it like a man."
"Nope," Dylan said, already standing and backing away for the safety of a doorway waiting on the far side of the room. "I'm out. Peace and good night."
