"Listen to the waves,

let them wash away your pain."

Alina Baraz Fantasy

0 3

Adrian

Adrian Lancaster's vision was covered in a blanket of fog. The fog was dense, accompanied by a skunky-like, pungent scent that stuck out well. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were hazy, being not more than dollops of flashy lights. An abiding laugh bubbled up his throat, his mind wandering from colour spectrums to greasy hamburgers and pizzas.

Another laugh echoed through the room, mimicking his own, loudly bouncing off the walls. "I'm hungry." Etienne lipped lazily, a satisfied smirk curling his lips. Smog swayed out of his mouth as he spoke, the thick joint in his hand doing the same. Adrian snickered for no reason, his mind calmly spinning. He went from thinking about fattening food to a certain, dark-haired goddess, one he'd met up with again just today.

From the moment he saw her dashing towards the elevator in The Palace, he was awestruck. Never had he seen such an unreserved, dazzling beauty. She was simply fascinating. Waves of dark—black, even—hair had cascaded down her back, nearly reaching her hips. She had soft, grey eyes, ones that contradicted with her sultry appearance. Long eyelashes, almond-shaped eyes, a memorable nose and the most inviting lips he'd ever seen. On top of that she'd sported the Dalton Prep uniform perfectly, his eyes had been stuck on her tan thighs all the time as she walked away.

Which she did seductively, rolling her hips so sensually he thought he was going to come just from the sight of her. And as if that wasn't enough, she'd been open. Friendly. Cocky. Adrian loved that. He was interested. He wanted to know more about her.

Why had Gigi never introduced her best friend to them till now? Why had she transferred? Why had he never seen her around after middle school? Was she single?

Not that Adrian wanted to get tied up to her. If there was one thing he didn't do, it was being in a relationship, for reasons he refused to think about right now. Either way, it didn't mean that he didn't want to bed Alia, again. In fact, somehow he now couldn't seem to stop thinking about having sex with her.

Or perhaps it was the weed speaking.

"It's been so long since we last got stoned." Etienne claimed, "We should do it tomorrow too. This shit's good."

"We can't. The team's line-up is tomorrow, we have to be there for Nate."

"Poor Nathaniel. Already studying his arse off and it's the first day of the school year."

"I know," Adrian sighed, "I'll call him in a bit and see if we can convince him to come."

Nate was easily the most motivated out of the four of them. He was the only one with a good-looking future, a future he'd created on his own. Nate studied, exercised and made sure he was making contacts, too. The guy practically lived off stress. His ultimate goal was to get scouted by one of the football scouts, and it seemed that he was damn near reaching that.

"Sounds like a plan."

Adrian, Tyler, Etienne and Nate met each other as freshmen. Etienne and Nate had already been acquainted since they usually had to go to the same soirées and fundraisers. Tyler and Adrian were rebellious kids and apparently had always objected to going to those events. Thus, before high school, no one had known them. Regardless, they'd instantly become a foursome of best friends. Adrian wouldn't trade them for the world. They knew everything about each other, truly.

Yeah right. His subconsciousness said, what about everything you've been doing?

He ignored it. His mind liked messing with him.

"Mr. Clayton?" the door opened, revealing a small, middle-aged lady. She didn't look surprised upon seeing the unavoidable smoke and the prickling smell of weed. "There are two guests outside. Saying you expect them?"

"Yes, send them up Victoria." Etienne spoke, smiling at his housekeeper. Victoria scrunched her face and closed the door.

Tyler froze. "That's Gigi, probably." It was the first thing coming out of his mouth for twenty minutes. He had been savouring the weed.

"Yes, Tyler. And Alia. You tend to forget her." Etienne added, one brow raised.

"I don't care about her." Tyler shrugged, "I care about Gigi."

Adrian stayed silent. Tyler was a complex person and it would take a genius to understand what went through his mind. He was quiet and reserved, unless under influence. He didn't like to open up in front of other people, mainly because he didn't like other people. The only ones he was comfortable with were Adrian, Nate and Etienne... and Gigi. And no one understood why.

"You know," Etienne said, "You've never told us why you're so infatuated with her. I understand she's beautiful, but the crush just came out of nowhere."

Tyler's brows downed on his eyes. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I like her and I don't like her boyfriend."

"He's not so nice, is he?" Adrian mumbled.

"No, he's not."

They were silent. Adrian trailed his eyes through the room, along the walls, past the overweening chandeliers, the archaic furniture and the paintings leaning against the sides. They weren't hung up, though he knew that Etienne's mother would be raging once she found out Victoria hadn't done it yet.

No worries, though. His mother was in Paris, claiming to be on a business trip.

A bitter laugh emitted Adrian's lips. Tyler only glanced at him knowingly, as if he was aware of the direction Adrian's thoughts had taken. His eyes were barely open but there was still a flicker of companionship, one Adrian recognized. He shrugged at his best friend, dropping the topic before it could even come up.

"I still don't get how you're ge—"

"The girls are taking awfully long to come upstairs." He instantly cut Tyler off, his eyelids feeling slightly heavier.

Tyler got the hint. "Yeah."

And then a rumble of girly giggles echoed through the big, empty mansion, and Etienne straightened his back, rolling his shoulders, while Adrian propped himself up. Tyler, however, didn't seem to care. He stayed slumped on the velvet couch, cautiously extinguishing the joint—or what was left of it—whilst eyeing the door with red eyes.

The door slammed open, followed by the two girls marching into the room. Gigi, now wearing leggings and a vest, scrunched her nose. She coughed, waving her hand in the air as if trying to get rid of the smoke. Tyler's lips curved, "What, you don't smoke, princess?"

"No." She mumbled, "And you shouldn't either."

He replied with a shrug. Adrian wasn't paying attention to them, his gaze was fixated on Alia, who just softly snickered.

Earlier he thought that she sported the Dalton Prep uniform better than anything else. Now, he was proven wrong. She wore jeans and a flashy top, but the simple combination was surprisingly sexy. God, she was sexy.

"You're drooling." Gigi remarked, cautiously sitting down beside Tyler. Adrian cracked a smile, not averting his eyes. "I'm just rejoicing in the view, Gigi."

"Yeah, with drool on your chin."

Adrian rolled his eyes, dumping the extinguished joint in the ashtray on the marble table.

"Just tell her to bugger off." Etienne spoke, shifting from his previous seat next to Tyler to the tiny couch Alia was currently sitting on. He put an arm on the back of the sofa and rested his thigh against hers, gazing at her flirtingly.

Alia let out a high-pitched laugh, clutching her stomach. "Bugger off?"

"Yes. Bugger off."

"That's so British."

"That's because, well, I am British." Etienne chuckled. Alia looked quite impressed, her interest clearly piqued. Adrian watched the scene unfold, feeling annoyance bubbling up as Alia turned her upper body completely to Etienne, who'd started explaining how his mom is French and his dad is British.

Adrian didn't understand. The only thing he wanted was to have sex with her again, and that was it. He wasn't interested in dating her and making her happy, yet he had pulled out all the photos he still had from middle school, trying to remember as much as he could. Besides, Etienne was a huge flirt. Everybody knew this, and it was obvious that he'd seen the same things in Alia Adrian had.

But still.

Slowly averting his gaze, Adrian saw how Tyler and Gigi were engaged in a hushed conversation. Tyler had his hand on Gigi's thigh, and so far she hasn't done anything yet to brush it off. Again, Adrian wondered what was going on between those two.

Now that conversations were being tossed to each other without Adrian being involved, he pushed himself off the sofa, making his way over to the door. He was feeling a tad lightheaded, but other than that he wasn't too ripped. In truth he had hoped he'd at least feel the weed, but that hadn't happened. Lately he couldn't bear his thoughts without being drunk or stoned so he made sure he didn't have to. It stung faintly as he looked at the four, but then he grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and darted out of the room.

Etienne's house was huge. It had over four floors and labyrinthine staircases and corridors throughout the entire house. They had a room for everything; a gaming room, gyms, several guest bedrooms, libraries, rooms Etienne used particularly for smoking weed or getting drunk...it was ridiculous. Then again, Manhattan—the Upper East Side precisely—was notorious for being ridiculous.

The floors are covered with a deep red velvet carpet, and the walls are garnished with valuable, abstract paintings. Adrian saunters from the room they were in to the kitchen downstairs, passing a myriad of vases and overdone flower bouquets. The kitchen was as extravagant as the rest of the house, but he'd gotten used to it. Everyone's house is like this one.

Victoria was scrubbing the sink when he entered, momentarily tilting her head to see who'd walked in. Upon seeing Adrian, she went back to scrubbing.

"I'm just here to get the drinks." He explained, though he didn't know why. It wasn't like Victoria, the maid, cared.

"You do that." She said, dropping the sponge into the sink and disappearing out of the kitchen. Adrian grit his teeth as he walked over to one of the many cabinets, taking out five glasses. He then changed his mind and put one back, because he wasn't planning on drinking out of a glass anyway. He'd drink straight from the bottle, as usually.

Turning around, he was taken aback by the short, dark-haired girl sitting on the kitchen table. "Adrian."

"Alia." He said, pulling up his eyebrows in surprise. Alia smiled softly, "You left."

"Just getting the drinks."

"Yeah, but," she shrugged, her hair moving along, "I hadn't gotten the chance to say hi to you yet."

Adrian purposely ignored the satisfied flush that surged through his veins. "Hi."

"Hi."

"You were busy with Etienne."

An incredulous expression crossed her face. "We were just talking about where he's from. Did you know he has a house in Paris and London too?" she waggled her feet, who didn't even reach the ground.

"Yes," Adrian snapped. Of course he knew, Etienne's been his best friend for years. In fact, he's even been to his houses on vacation. "He's my best friend. Of course I know this."

The air was weirdly strangled, asphyxiation vibing through the room. He continued pulling out bottles and putting them on the table with loud thuds, and Alia just watched him with a gaze he couldn't decipher. He hated that odd feeling thus he grabbed one of the nearest Vodka bottles and unscrewed it, putting it to his mouth. Almost instantly, the bitter and burning liquid washed away every unsettling feeling.

"Can I have some?" Alia asked. Adrian strolled over to the kitchen table, standing in front of where she was seated. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and her jeans were tight enough for him to notice every curve, every arc. She held out her delicate hand—nice hands, he had to add—and made grabby movements. Finally, he laughed. "What are you, a child?"

"I just want a drink!" She exclaimed, but she grinned. Adrian laughed again and shook his head, taking another large gulp. "No," he said, brushing his mouth with the back of his hand, "I'll mix you something. Drinking straight from the bottle is unladylike."

She snorted, her thick brows downing on her eyes. "Shut the fuck up. Didn't we drink straight from the bottle in the elevator?"

The elevator. Her eyes glinted mischievously, her red lips curling into a wide smirk. He smirked too, his forehead creasing. "That was a one-time-thing. We didn't have glasses there. Besides, that whole evening was a little messy."

She scrunched her face, which was so cute Adrian had to stifle a smile. "The only thing messy that evening was your cum on my dress. I'll have to admit, your pullout game is on point." She said. Adrian parted his lips to answer, but he was in complete shock. Instead, he left his spot in front of her and started rummaging through the cabinets again, trying to find a juice to soften the Vodka.

After a lot of shaking and pouring, Adrian schlepped back to the spot in front of Alia. She looked at him expectantly, and he blamed the pounding of his heart on the alcohol. Her lips curled slightly again, as though amused at herself over a private joke, and she opened her palm. Adrian snickered, shaking his head, putting the glass into her hand.

She swung her head back and emptied the contents down her throat, whilst he just riveted her tan, soft neck in lust. He couldn't help it; somehow everything about her was a hundred times more appealing since sleeping with her.

"This is good." She complimented, "Really, really good. You know what you're doing, huh?"

Adrian shrugged but smiled lightly, "I know alcohol. I don't know if that's a good thing."

"Well," Alia shrugged too, grabbing a random bottle off the table. "If you're good at it, you're good at it. You could work at a bar. Or start your own. I don't know." She drank again, handing it to Adrian afterwards. He scoffed, "A Lancaster owning a bar? I think my mom would disown me. Just like the rest of fucking Manhattan."

He guzzled and then glanced at the bottle. Ilegal Mezcal Anejo.

It was true. As a Lancaster, he had a name to uphold and a reputation to keep. The socialite community is the most judgemental ever, and never in a million years would they approve of a 'member' becoming something simple like a restaurant owner or a bar owner. Adrian was expected to be a lawyer, a doctor, a CEO or a professional athlete. None of these were appealing to him.

She hummed, "You're right."

Alia's legs slowly parted, which caused her to sit up straighter. Adrian narrowed his eyes, stepping closer until the table blocked him. Their chests were pressed together, her legs now on each side of him. He breathed deeply, admiring her velvet-like skin, her kissable lips, her sultry eyes... "I thought the elevator was a one-time thing." He gutturally whispered.

She nodded, hooking her legs around his waist as she cloaked both her arms around his neck. "Me too."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, a jolt of electricity perturbing his body. Alia's breathing hitched in her throat and she tightened her arms around him, her lips seeking his.

"Eager to kiss me?" He joked silently. She kicked him with her feet, but it wasn't hard and it definitely didn't hurt. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Adrian mumbled, instantly putting his lips to hers.

They had no time to enjoy the sudden kiss, because a shrill yell from upstairs startled them enough for them to halt. "You better not be shagging down there! I do not want to clean your fucking semen!"

Adrian groaned loudly, taking a few steps back. Alia unhooked her legs and arms and huffed in disappointment, not looking at him. "For fuck's sake."

"Fucking Etienne."

"Your best friend is annoying as hell."

"I know," Adrian hissed irritably, running a hand through his hair. "I know."

They glanced at each other, both awkwardly chuckling. Alia jumped off the table, almost falling forward if Adrian hadn't grabbed her waist. "Careful," he mumbled when he was certain she'd found her balance. "Let's go upstairs." She replied with a grateful smile.

Etienne, Tyler and Gigi were laughing about something when Adrian and Alia made it back into the room. Gigi was leaning against the sofa's side, though her legs were stretched out over Tyler's lap, who casually had his hands on her thighs. Etienne sat across from them, his legs wide and a relaxed grin gracing his lips.

"There they are," he mused "With booze! Awesome."

After dropping everything on the table, they gathered around it and started doing drinking games. Adrian found that he thoroughly enjoyed the company and desperately wished Nate was here too. Etienne and Alia laughed and joked around all night, and albeit Adrian had suspected that he wouldn't like that again (he still hadn't found out why), he didn't really care this time around. She paid him the same amount of attention regardless of how much she was kidding with Etienne too, only she gave him different attention. Almost...affectionate? Accidental touches. Hands bumping. Thighs resting next to each other.

It was the alcohol. He knew it had to be.

He had no time for girls, never mind nurturing and caring for one and one girl only. Adrian was only after quick fucks to settle his raging needs. His other raging needs. He was truly not in the position to be interested in a girl.

Which he wasn't, of course. Not in that way.

Gigi and Tyler stole quick glances at each other whilst indirectly addressing the other. Everyone could see and everyone joked about it, and although Gigi denied all of their claims, Tyler took them with pride. He smiled—as much as smiling was with Tyler—laughed, shrugged or nodded. Not once did he deny his admiration for Gigi, even when she flat out told the others she was not interested in anyone other than her boyfriend.

Adrian knew she was lying. She'd been quite the mess the last few weeks of school last year because of Ben, and now everything was perfect again? He doubted it.

"Okay, um... who's most likely to give the best blow job?" Etienne cried out, a series of laughter going through the group. It was undeniably clear that they'd all gotten pretty drunk.

Tyler, Gigi, and Alia pointed at Etienne, while Etienne pointed at Gigi and Adrian pointed at Alia.

Etienne's mouth gaped. "Me? I am not gay. I am not interested in dick."

"No," Tyler snickered, "But I bet you've experimented with a guy before."

Etienne scoffed, "Maybe."

Gigi shrieked, "Why the hell would you point at me? That makes zero sense!"

Etienne rolled his eyes and playfully nudged Gigi's shoulder. "Oh come on, Georgia. You act so innocent and inexperienced when I'm certain you're a fucking beast in bed."

She blushed. Adrian snickered, his eyes on Alia. "Believe me, guys, it's Alia."

"Hell yeah!" Etienne hooted, "Finally a real choice. You guys did freaky things in that elevator."

Gigi, Adrian and Tyler laughed. Alia grinned sheepishly, a blush rushing up her cheeks as she simply shrugged. The guys hollered, giving Adrian high-fives. Then, Etienne had to take three shots.

"My turn again." Etienne said, "Who is...most likely to drop out of school before graduation?"

Four pointed at Tyler, and Tyler himself pointed at Etienne. Etienne scrunched his nose, "That's a lie. You just didn't know who to pick."

"You're that person who drops out of school and goes travelling around the world." Tyler simply explained. Etienne seemed to think about it, "I am going to travel around the world. Just after I graduate."

Tyler took four shots.

As anticipated, one hour later, they were all sloshed. The room had a certain serrated scent—presumably from the many opened and half-drunken bottles, mixed with the prickling smell of marijuana. They were attempting to share memories and stories; keyword, attempting. They all slurred their words, dragging them along as if speaking was something they hadn't mastered yet. The clock ticked and periods of time went by, the five still unmoved and splitting their sides. With the alcohol fully worked in, everyone had loosened up. Gigi's head was on Tyler's firm shoulder, her wavy, blonde strands drooping off. There was a content flicker in her eyes, like she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Tyler, in return, watched her with big, brown eyes, adoration evident in every inch. He was truly mooning over her, touching her in all gentleness, speaking with a soft voice. It was like she was a delicate doll he had no intention of harming.

Adrian sat across from them, his back pressed against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. The alcohol had taken its biggest toll on him, since he had drunk more than all of them combined. His sight was a bit hazy and his body felt like it was floating, but other than that, he felt magnificent. His too-long hair flapped over his forehead, partly blocking his view, though he didn't really care. And when he looked down, he saw something he really, really liked.

Alia's head was in his lap, her eyes closed and her lashes unnoticeably quivering. He trailed his gaze from her eyes to her cute nose and her pinkish lips, fighting the urge to bend over and just kiss her. She looked peaceful. As peaceful as he never would be.

Her legs were on Etienne's lap, who had his hands on her ankles. Adrian ignored the annoying gut feeling he'd been having all night, deciding to take advantage of the fact that she was asleep.

"So..." he gruffly spoke, "You're interested in Alia?"

Etienne's head turned sharply, an incredulity crossing his features. "What makes you think that?" his voice was lower than usual, lugging his words. It was like he was speaking with a double tongue.

Adrian chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "The way you've been coming onto her." Etienne was his best friend—he shouldn't start this argument, he knew that. Nothing would come between him and Etienne. Not even a girl. One he wasn't that interested in, at that.

Etienne's glazy eyes stood perplexed. "No," he said. "She's a beauty, and I love me some harmless flirting, but that's all. You had sex with her, mate. I wouldn't go there."

"It seems like you've been trying to go there."

"Adrian." Etienne huffed, "I wouldn't. She's nice company, and she's a great laugh. Other than trying to be a good friend to her I wouldn't do. I promise."

Adrian pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't know why he was worried about this. It was messing with his head!

"We're best friends." Etienne garbled somewhat glumly, "I wouldn't do that."

Adrian drew in a sharp breath, glancing at Etienne. Etienne was a free-spirit and cared very little about a lot of things, but his best friends weren't part of that. He valued them and appreciated them more than anything, Adrian knew. Etienne would never betray or go behind one of his best friends' backs. They were brothers.

"He wouldn't." Tyler commented, apparently keeping up with the whole conversation. "And honestly? Even if he would, he wouldn't be doing anything wrong. You made clear that you were not interested in her."

"Yeah."

"Don't lie to yo' self, though." Gigi drawled, "You're in luuuuuuv with my bestie."

Adrian, Etienne and Tyler laughed. Gigi was a hilarious drunk.

"Shut up, Georgia. Nothing useful is coming out of your mouth." Etienne cried, albeit he was smiling throughout the whole thing. Gigi pouted. "Etienne is mean!" she nagged, tugging Tyler's sleeve.

"I know, sweetheart." Tyler mumbled, a little simper gracing his lips.

Etienne and Adrian looked at each other meaningfully.

"Whipped?" Etienne coughed. Adrian snickered, "Whipped."

And then Alia stirred in her sleep, and Adrian's heart plummeted at the thought of accidentally waking her up out of her calm nap.