I invited our three guests inside, taking the rather heavy bag of alcohol out of Lisa's hand.

She gasped when she walked in, immediately turning to give Rian the stinkeye. 

"You live here?" she asked petulantly. "And you only let Hanna come over?"

Rian rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips nonetheless. "Believe me, I didn't let her do anything," he drawled. "Your friend is a bona fide criminal, you know that?"

I gave him a cheeky grin, ignoring the confused look on Lisa's face. Rokim stepped in after her, Isaac in tow. They had pretty much the same reaction Lisa did.

"Oh, man, this is just unfair," Rokim complained. Rian's grin broadened, and, to my utter shock, he reached over and clapped him on the back. Rokim wasn't even mad. He was actually smiling!

What dimension was this?

"You shouldn't be allowed to exist," Rokim grumbled good-naturedly. 

I gaped. When they were standing side-by-side, not arguing or threatening violence, they made quite a nice pair. Rokim's fluid blond highlights contrasted Rian's pitch-black locks. Their builds were pretty similar, too; both lean, both tall. Though out of the two of them, Rokim was the more slight.

I got the sudden impression that if they were ever seen together in public, they'd be mobbed by hormonal suitors. It was a chilling thought.

"Um," squeaked a quiet voice, distracting me. "Hi."

I turned, placing the bag of whiskey on the counter. Isaac stood before me, fidgeting nervously. I grinned at him—so adorable—and brought him in for a hug.

"Isaac!" I gushed. "So good to see you!"

He tentatively returned the hug, blushing furiously when I pulled back. "It's nice to see you, too. Actually, I, um, have something for you?"

I glanced in down in surprise as he held out a clean white handkerchief, freshly washed and pressed. 

Upon seeing my confused expression, he rushed to explain. "Oh, it's just the handkerchief Rian gave me at the ball. When I cut my finger."

"Ah," I said, smiling warmly. I took it from him, glancing over at Rian across the room. He was busy talking to Rokim and Lisa. "Thanks. I'll make sure he gets it."

I tucked it into my pocket and slung an arm around his shoulder. I led him closer to the throng of people. "So, did you meet Prof? How'd you like our class?"

His eyes lit up with excitement, and he launched into an impassioned description of his visit. "Yeah! He was so nice! The university is really pretty, too, and Mr. Profeta introduced me to his husband, Adrian, and then they offered me ice cream—"

He barely even stopped for breath. I chuckled as he continued to outline his experience, listening attentively and nodded along. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that Isaac's happiness meant one other thing: Rian would no longer be the class AC. The tether that held him here was officially gone.

But then I caught Rian's eye. He smirked wickedly at me, and that was all I needed to banish my fears. He wouldn't leave. There was no chance.

I turned back to my conversation with Isaac, failing to notice when Rian's smirk melted away, or when the dark glimmer in his eyes spread over his face like a shadow. 

He returned his attention to Rokim and Lisa, the quiet torture in his gaze going unnoticed.

♛

"Cheers!"

We clinked glasses, sitting in a circle on a huge fluffy grey carpet. We all downed our whiskeys, making the appropriate faces when the burn slid down our throats.

This was our fourth or fifth round so far, and we still had plenty of bottles to go. Isaac had left early, since he was still under the legal drinking age. I, however, was already feeling a bit tipsy. 

I leaned back onto the floor, giggling when my head landed on Rian's thigh.

"Get off," he muttered, swirling the drink in his cup. He attempted to push my head away, but he was immediately distracted by my hair. Again.

His finger twirled a strand absentmindedly. I grinned at his upside-down face.

"What is it with you and her hair, dude?" Rokim slurred, his head propped on Lisa's shoulder. "You're, like, obsessed with it."

He chuckled, the amber liquid in his glass reflected in his eyes. "What, I'm not allowed to like her hair?"

Rokim scowled. He pointed an accusing finger in Rian's general direction, watching him lift his glass to his lips. His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. 

"Wait," he hissed, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do you have a fetish?"

Rian choked on his drink. I burst into laughter, while Lisa simply rolled her eyes. Rokim was such a lightweight. He was drunk already.

"I do not have a fetish," Rian snapped, the tips of his ears bright red. "I just—" 

He paused, looking down at me obscurely, before continuing with a hint of embarrassment. "It was the first thing I ever noticed about her, that's all. Back when we first met."

A chorus of 'awws' sounded through the room, and he scowled. "Alright, alright. Shut up now."

Lisa grinned. "You must be drunk," she teased. "Considering you're even talking to us at all."

He snorted and took another sip of his drink, his hand settling on my shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Tell me about it."

I barked out another laugh, my head lolling onto Rian's knee. Lisa rolled her eyes and grabbed another bottle, popping the top off.

"Alright, guys!" she announced, filling my cup to the brim. "Who's up for a few drinking games?"

I raised my hand eagerly. Drinking games were fun. Rokim groaned as Lisa poured more into his glass, a few drops sloshing over the side and onto his fingers.

Rian, of course, didn't say a thing. I reached up from my position on the floor and clinked my glass against his, smiling tauntingly when he raised a brow. 

"Wanna play?" I asked him innocently.

He scoffed, glancing away from me. "No. Drinking games are illogical and a waste of time."

"Well, drinking is illogical and a waste of time," I corrected him. 

"Is that so?" he asked, clearly not paying attention.

"Indeed it is," I rejoined in a slow drawl. "Alcohol is a chemical depressant and can lead to alcohol poisoning, cirrhosis, high cholesterol, as well as cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and colon." I pointed to his full cup. "And yet you don't seem to have a problem with it."

Stunned silence descended over the group. The quiet stretched for a while before I noticed that no one was speaking. 

I took a sip of my whiskey, glancing around confusedly. "What?"

Rian placed his glass on the floor, regarding me warily. "How did you know all that?"

I shrugged, idly balancing my cup on my forehead. "I wanted to understand the chemical mechanics of cooking a bit better," I admitted distractedly, eyes trained on my drink. "So I took a few science courses at the university."

Rian's eyes widened, and he glanced over at the other two for confirmation. They simply nodded, not surprised by the revelation. 

"And . . . you passed?" he asked me perplexedly.

I took the cup off my head and nodded, too tipsy to understand the underlying jab to his question. Rian stared, apparently waiting for a more verbose answer.

Rokim piped up in my stead. "Actually, she was the top student in her class," he supplied helpfully.

Rian's lips parted in shock. His brow furrowed. "The—the top student?" he repeated, completely flummoxed. He turned to me, indignation clear in the clench of his jaw. "How? You hated science in high school." 

I slowly sat up, my hair making an auburn curtain around my shoulders. "Well, I didn't care about it in high school, so I ignored it," I replied wryly, taking a long swig from my cup. Rian waited for me to finish, scowling impatiently.

I finally came up for air, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I raised a brow when I found him still staring expectantly. "Come on, Rian. I already told you I was good at memorizing stuff. Chemistry is just more of the same."

Apparently that was was the wrong thing to say, because he seemed absolutely appalled. He groaned and buried his face in his hands, long fingers digging into his hair. 

I frowned. "What?"

"That's just not right," he complained, his voice muffled by his palms. He looked up to glare at me. "You cannot possibly be good at everything. It's not fair to the rest of the world."

So that's what this was about. I snorted, draining my glass entirely and letting it clatter onto the floor. "I could say the same thing about you, pal. Don't pretend you weren't some crazy prodigy, either."

"That was different. I deserved the title, since I actually put in the work."

I raised both brows at him now. The gauntlet had been thrown. "Like hell you did," I replied mockingly. "You were goofing off with me ninety percent of the time. You didn't have to lift a finger to get the grades you wanted."

"I don't need to hear this from the girl who aced biochem the first time she took it." He scoffed again, muttering to himself. "Top of her class. What a joke."

We continued bickering, arguing over whose life was more unfair. Lisa and Rokim glanced between the two of us drily, shaking their heads. 

"Unbelievable," Lisa muttered. Rokim glared at us, clearly sharing the same sentiment. "They're both idiots."

"What was that?" Rian and I asked simultaneously, looking over at her.

She smiled sweetly in response. "Oh, nothing," she replied. "Wanna play that drinking game now?"

I looked at Rian sourly. He sighed and picked up his glass again. "Why not?" he drawled. "The world doesn't make sense anymore, anyways."

"Drama queen," I muttered, scooting closer to the others. Rian shot me a glare, but neither of us said anything beyond that.

"Okay, we're playing Never Have I Ever," Lisa announced, raising her cup in the air. It didn't sound like any of us had much of a choice, so we just went with it.

Lisa volunteered to go first. She smirked. "Let's start with an easy one," she suggested. "Never have I ever vandalized public property."

There was an awkward silence. Slowly, Rian and I raised our drinks and took a sip.

Lisa's eyes bulged. "What? You guys have—no, scratch that. Rian, you've vandalized something before?"

"It was only because of her!" he protested, glaring down at me. I glared back, shaking my head vehemently as he continued with his explanation. "She thought it would be fun to paint a mustache on the statue in the centre of town, and of course I got dragged into it."

"That's not true!" I argued defensively. "Sure, I wanted to mustachio something, but the statue was his idea!" I eyed him scornfully. "He said it gave him the creeps."

"That's because it was weird!" he shot back. "It had two faces!" 

"It was a statue of a roman god! They're all weird!"

"Okay!" Lisa yelled, waving her arms in a calming gesture. She glared at the both of us. "Obviously, starting with vandalism was a bad decision on my part, given Hanna's . . . colourful past." 

I bristled. "What's that sup—"

She raised a hand to cut me off, huffing irritatedly. She glanced over at Rokim. "You go next, Roke. And try to avoid criminal activity, alright? We don't want Hanna to permanently damage her liver."

I scowled, but didn't respond. Rokim scratched his head, trying to think of a statement.

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "Never have I ever . . . slept with a total stranger."

Lisa immediately downed her drink, and Rokim's jaw dropped. I swallowed mine next, and it dropped even further. I dimly registered the sound of Rian choking on air.

"What?" he asked, flabbergasted. "Both of you?"

I shrugged and shared a grin with Lisa. "France was fun, but kinda lonely," I offered as a response. "When Lisa and I became friends, we went clubbing every chance we got."

"Oh, yeah," she agreed, winking at me. "Those were good times." Suddenly, she gasped, her eyes lighting up with mischief. "Do you remember Jacques?"

"Hell yeah, I remember," I affirmed, smirking at her. We traded knowing looks. "Ah, Jacques. What a night that was."

Rokim shook his head distastefully. "Jacques?" he asked Lisa, a little jealousy in his tone.

Lisa smiled at him seductively, leaning over to whisper something into his ear. Rokim's eyes widened, and a surprised smile broke out over his face. 

"Oh really?" he echoed when she pulled away. She nodded, catching my eye amusedly.

Satisfied now, Rokim glanced over at Rian. He raised an eyebrow. "You alright, Haltie?"

Rian gripped his glass with unnatural ferocity, his face a mask of darkness. He made a noncommittal noise and turned away, but Lisa and Rokim immediately gave him amused smirks. 

I glanced between everyone confusedly, the buzz in my ears keeping me from making the connection. "What? What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Rokim answered nonchalantly. His smile turned a little evil. "It's your turn, Rian."

Rian glared at the ground, swirling his drink again. We all patiently waited for him to say something. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Never have I ever broken a bone while playing Just Dance," he said coolly.

My face went red. Lisa and Rokim raised twin eyebrows, glancing from him to my crimson cheeks. Slow grins spread across their lips.

I huffed and reluctantly took a sip.

Rokim roared with laughter, keeling over onto Lisa's lap. Her own shoulders shook with repressed mirth, but she forced herself to keep a straight face. Her mouth twitched. 

I glared fiercely at them all, turning an especially punishing gaze on Rian. He just kept swirling his drink, annoyingly smug.

"How—" Lisa cleared her throat, fighting back a grin. "How did it happen?"

I scowled, my cheeks still hot. "How do you think it happened?" I replied, irritated. "There was a particularly complex step, and I . . . slipped."

"She tried to do a backflip and broke her wrist," Rian corrected, not even flinching when I gasped and shoved him. My scowl deepened and I rubbed my arm. Was this lithops made of stone?

Rokim finally managed to rein in his laughter, straightening and giving me a broad smile. "This is the greatest day of my life."

"Shut up."

He chuckled and looked over at Rian, smirking. "But maybe you should've been a little more careful, Haltie," he added amusedly.

Rian frowned, still swirling his drink with one hand. "And why is that?"

"It's Hanna's turn next."

Rian's hand stilled. My scowl transformed into a demonic grin. 

I grabbed a bottle, topping off Rian's drink. He glared down at me, and my sharp-toothed smile widened in delicious anticipation. I sat back, pondering the possibilities.

"Hmm," I said, pursing my lips thoughtfully. This was going to be fun. My mouth popped into an excited 'o' as it hit me—the perfect thing to say.

"Never have I ever shat myself at an amusement park!"

Rian's jaw dropped open. Rokim keeled over again, gasping for breath. This time, Lisa couldn't keep her laughter contained and followed suit, her hand curling helplessly around her stomach. I smiled, throughly pleased with myself.

"That was when I was five!" Rian hissed accusingly, ears flaming.

"And yet I remember it like it was yesterday," I drawled smugly. 

This definitely topped the Just Dance thing from earlier—and judging by the enraged look on Rian's face, he knew it. I expected this would take him a long, long time to live down.

What I didn't expect, however, was for Rian to lunge in my direction. 

I yelped as he pinned my body to the floor, his own forming a muscled cage around me. His arms were on either side of my face, menacingly close. I was completely dwarfed by him.

I swallowed apprehensively at the pure sin in his eyes. Perhaps I had gone a bit too far.

"You have no shame," he growled, his voice deceptively soft. The slight slur to his words betrayed that he was more intoxicated than I'd originally thought. "You come into my house, eat my food, sleep in my bed."

The others' laughter tapered off. They straightened when they heard the word 'bed', both amusedly watching our display. I glared, making a mental note to chew them out later for not helping me, but immediately snapped back to attention when Rian's head lowered. 

"And then you have the audacity to say something like that?" he continued dangerously. 

I gulped again, just because he was so close now I could feel the warmth radiating from him. My hands remained limply at my sides.

"I, uh," I stumbled, staring up into his foreboding dark eyes. A few vestiges of my pride reared their heads, refusing to let me succumb to him so easily. "Do you want me to apologize?" I challenged, raising a brow despite myself.

"Ooh," said Lisa. Rokim shushed her, examining the two of us like we were a TV show. We both ignored them.

Rian hummed ominously, drawing even closer to my upturned face. "Hmm. No. I don't want you to apologize," he decided finally. 

I held my breath as he mulled over his next words. His eyes were alight with black fire. "I want you to be punished."

Pu—what?

My eyes widened. Lisa and Rokim's eyes both did the same as Rian leaned down, his lips brushing my cheek. His raven-dark hair tickled my skin. 

I couldn't breathe—his warm breath fanned over my jaw—he was so close so close so close too close—

He abruptly changed course, his teeth clamping down on the curve of my neck.

I shrieked, my prone hands reaching up to grip his shoulders. He chuckled against my overheated skin, sending the reverberations all the way down to my toes. His tongue trailed over the indentations his teeth had left, and I shuddered helplessly.

Oh my god oh my god oh my go—

Lisa and Rokim shot to their feet, pointing and yelling in shock, but neither of us paid them any attention. 

Rian slowly drew back, smirking down at me. I was gasping, my fingers still digging into his arms, but I forced myself to glare at his oh-so-smug face. 

"I told you I'd get you back," he said, his voice dark and teasing and liquid velvet.

My glare intensified, blood no doubt rushing to my cheeks. His smirk broadened and he brushed a stray hair away from my forehead. I shoved down the rising tide of desire that threatened to overwhelm me, that begged me to expose my neck so he could bite me again.

Oh god. I like the biting, I realized with horror and no small amount of lust. 

As if he knew what I was thinking, Rian drew an elegant finger over the area he'd bitten, glancing with a hint of pride at the mark he'd left. I shivered at the touch, the pad of his thumb dragging over the sensitive flesh. 

"Okay, lovebirds," Rokim announced wryly, stepping in. He grabbed Rian's arm, pulling him off me with a groan. "God, you're heavy."

Rian easily slipped out of his hold, his sculpted abdominals visible through the thin fabric of his shirt as he lifted himself away. I scrambled to the wall.

Across the room from each other now, I sat up, one hand pressed over the—the brand on my neck. I glared at him fiercely, not quite believing what had just happened. He bit me?

Lisa whistled, impressed. "How long have you been holding that in, Haltie?" she teased. 

My head snapped up to look at her, appalled. A dark laugh burst from the direction opposite her, and I turned in time to see Rian take a long draught straight from a whiskey bottle. 

When he finally came up for air, his smirk was no less potent. "Longer than you'd think," he answered, grinning over at me wolfishly. 

Rokim rubbed his face with his hands, smiling in pure amusement. "Wow," he said, amazed. "Drunk Rian is definitely the best Rian."

I turned to him, still gripping the angry red bite mark on my neck. "The—the best?" I sputtered in disbelief. "He just bit me!"

Rokim shrugged. "Yeah, but apparently you bit him first."

I threw my hands up in the air incredulously. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Rian and I talk."

"Since when—"

"Alright!" Lisa interrupted. She spread her arms in a defusing gesture. "Never Have I Ever was . . . interesting," she began, glancing over at my affronted expression gleefully. "But how about we go for a more traditional game?"

I huffed, crossing my arms and slumping against the wall. "Like what?"

"Truth or dare."

Rokim clapped his hands, grinning broadly. Rian quirked a brow and mirrored his expression, clearly drunk now. I rolled my eyes. This night was insane. "Sure, why not?"

"Excellent." Lisa crossed her legs. "Who wants to start?"

Rian raised his hand. Lisa pursed her lips; the look on his face was so blatantly wicked that it was obvious he was a bad choice. 

"Well, Rian, I think we all still need time to recover from your last shenanigan before we start a new one," she said drily, tilting her head in my direction. 

I nodded vehemently, stopping when the world began spinning a little. Apparently, I was drunk too.

Rian shrugged and took another swig. Lisa looked around the circle for other volunteers. Seeing none, she simply grabbed an empty bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle. "We'll just use this, then."

She spun the bottle, and we all watched it whip around on its axis. It slowed, and eventually stopped. We all glanced up at who it pointed to.

Lisa grinned. "Guess it's me," she said happily. She spun the bottle again, and this time it landed on Rian.

She blew out a breath. "Shenanigan time," she mumbled. Rian smirked lazily, letting his head lean against the wall behind him. 

"Alright, Rian. Truth or dare?"

His dark eyes darted to mine. I sucked in a breath, still hyper-aware of the bite mark emblazoned on my skin. 

"Dare," he answered, drawing the word out seductively.

Lisa's grin broadened. She looked over at me and raised her eyebrows. 

I paled, suspecting what she was about to do, and shook my head. She simply smirked and turned back to the group.

This was certainly gonna be something.

"Rian," Lisa began, pausing dramatically. "I dare you . . ."

We waited. I fidgeted anxiously.

"To kiss . . ."

I bristled, suddenly tense. Rokim's lips quirked into an amused smile. 

Rian raised an eyebrow; I guessed that he didn't think Lisa would actually go there. She looked over at me, that evil grin still intact. I braced myself for the next word.

"Rokim!"

I blinked. Not what I'd been expecting.

"W-what?" Rokim stuttered in surprise.

He whipped around to look in Lisa's direction, his eyes wide. She only grinned and shrugged her shoulders at his clear shock. I couldn't blame him for looking so apprehensive.

Rian, on the other hand, simply cocked his head. His black hair spilled over his forehead alluringly. He met Rokim's gaze with suave composure.

"Okay," he agreed easily. Rokim's jaw dropped.

Lisa clapped her hands in delight. My own mouth dropped open. He . . . he'd said yes?

A slow smile broke out over my face. He was so drunk.

"It can't be some peck on the lips, either," Lisa added a second later. "We're talking a real, veritable kiss. You gotta make him crumble."

"Lisa!" Rokim yelped in distress, but she ignored his protests.

Rian nodded, the corner of his lips lifting a little. "Make him crumble. Got it."

Rokim's head jerked between the two of them rapidly, his sleek blond hair a mess. His already saucer-like eyes widened even further when Rian reached over and smoothly grabbed his shirt collar.

"Now just a second," Rokim blurted. Rian yanked him forward anyways, and it became clear to me just what a difference their sizes made. 

Rokim, only a little slimmer than Rian, practically flew over at the tug of his arm. He yelped again, his hands flitting around madly. Rian expertly stopped his momentum, but by that point they were face to face. 

Rian's hand slid up to Rokim's square jawline. He looked panicked now, shooting one last desperate glance at Lisa. She just smirked back and waved. Rian's other hand turned him forward again.

"Sorry about this," Rian murmured, a slight smirk on his face. 

Rokim's mouth parted. "Wait," he said as Rian leaned closer. "Wait wait wait—"

It was too late. Rian pressed his lips against his.

My hands flew to my mouth in incredulous delight. Lisa whooped, totally excited, as Rian wrapped an arm around Rokim's waist. 

Rokim's eyes were wide open, his mouth moving against Rian's on pure instinct. His hands scrabbled for purchase against Rian's broad form, eventually settling on his shoulders. As if in resignation, his eyes squeezed shut. 

Crumble.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Rian withdrew. Rokim heaved in a breath, slumping away from him when Rian released his hold on his waist. 

He was flushed red, looking absolutely scandalised. Lisa and I clapped, impressed. 

Rian wiped his mouth with his thumb. He locked eyes with Rokim, whose cooling face immediately went crimson again. 

Rian nodded thoughtfully, like he'd just finished sampling an exotic new wine. "Not bad, Benet," he commented. "Lisa's a lucky girl."

Rokim somehow went even redder, and I momentarily worried about his blood pressure. He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Lisa grinned, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders. 

"Indeed I am," she affirmed cheerily, not even flinching when Rokim glanced up to glare at her.

"I can't believe you just pimped me out, and to Rian of all people," he complained, thoroughly affronted. "I feel so used."

Lisa simply smiled and booped his nose. "Cutie."

They continued to bicker. Their banter drew another bone-chilling laugh from Rian, whose mouth was still red from the kiss. A shiver ran down my spine against my will. Seeing Rian like that had done something to me.

Something bad.

I gnawed on my bottom lip. A kissing face is one I never expected to see on him, and it made me . . . feel things. It unseated a long-standing desire that I'd danced around but never fully acknowledged. And now I was looking straight at it, watching it swirl whiskey in a cup.

As though he knew what I was thinking, Rian tore his gaze from the happy couple and turned it on me. I was dangerously intoxicated, and my breath caught as he hit me with a smirk. Not just any smirk, either: that smirk, the one that made everything melt away except for the most filthy, devilishly tantalizing fantasies.

Oh, crap, I realized. I'm in trouble.

I broke the eye contact, promptly catching Lisa's gaze instead. She raised one amused eyebrow but didn't make any remarks, which I appreciated. In an effort to forget my sudden onslaught of—ugh—feelings, I took a long draught from a nearby whiskey bottle. 

The night became pretty foggy after that. We continued with our game of truth or dare, during which two more kisses occurred: one between Lisa and I (which was nothing new) and another between Rokim and his own foot (don't even ask). 

The one and only time I chose 'truth,' Rian was the one to ask me the question. I was nervous, thinking it'd be any number of deep, personal things. Instead, what I got was this:

"Who's Jacques?" he asked, eyeing me edgily.

I blinked, not quite believing it, and burst into laughter. Had he been stuck on that this entire time? 

Rian waited for me to finish, his expression steadily darkening. I tried to catch my breath, waving a hand to calm him down. Lisa and I shared amused glances.

"Well, Rian," I began, struggling to keep a straight face. "Jacques was someone Lisa and I both bedded, as you probably already know."

He scowled and opened his mouth, but I held up a finger to show I wasn't done.

"Really very talented, Jacques was," I continued, smirking. "Probably my best experience in France."

Rian gripped his drink tighter. "Alright," he ground out. "I get it."

"Oh, do you?"

His eyes seemed to suck away all the light in the room. "Yes."

"That's great, then," I answered casually. "Because Jacques also happened to be a girl."

His mouth parted in shock. The empty cup slipped out of his hand, clattering onto the floor. My smirk broadened as he looked over at Rokim, dumbfounded. 

Rokim simply nodded and grinned, having been told the truth about Jacques earlier. Rian turned back to me, floundering for words.

"Oh," he said, clearing his throat. "Erm. I see."

I raised a self-satisfied brow. "I'm glad you do," I drawled, propping my chin on my hand. "Any other questions, Haltie?"

He seemed to regain his composure then, scowling like usual at the nickname. "No."

"Excellent."

Things generally cooled down from there. Apart from the ill-advised makeout session between Rokim and his foot, everything was pretty kosher. Except, at one point, we all got it in our heads that it'd be a good idea to reenact the vandalism scene from my and Rian's youth. 

The four of us had left his apartment, stumbled around in the darkness, and finally managed to locate a local park that had a couple statues. I'd scrambled onto Rian's shoulders and sharpied an enormous, gloriously curled mustache onto the statue's proud face.

We'd run away as soon as it was done, giggling like mad. Rian had actually fallen onto the ground from sheer mirth, gasping something like 'it looked like the Monopoly Man!' between bouts of laughter. 

We only got moving again when someone opened a window and shouted for us to shut up.

I vaguely remembered Lisa and Rokim heading back to their places after that. Somehow, Rian and I made it home, too, where we both collapsed in exhausted, dangerously-intoxicated heaps. 

I drifted off to sleep, comfortable, unusually warm, and nightmare-free.