Pairing: SyndiSparklez (Syndicate x Sparklez)
Summary: When Jordan gets way too stressed, his favorite party animal saves the day with a little vodka and some kisses.

I hate editing with a burning passion. I really do.

I've been sitting at my desk for hours now, cutting and formatting the video I had made earlier. As much as I love YouTube, it's really hard work. Sitting at a desk for hours on end wasn't something I necessarily enjoyed. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. This computer screen is hurting my head.

I don't really remember falling asleep. My phone ringing was what woke me up. I leaned my head up from my keyboard and groggily grabbed for my phone. I pressed the blurry green button and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I didn't even look at the caller ID.

"Jordan! How's-...how's it goin man?" A deep and extremely slurred British accent answered.

"Who is this?" I listed all the British people I knew in my head, and a large throb of pain struck across my head as I did. I really needed some sleep. I couldn't even think without getting a head ache.

"It's Tony! You remember me! I'm from the...the thing. I'm the penguin, yeah?" He laughed and I heard others laughing in the background too. Why was Tony Modestep calling me at two o'clock in the morning?

"Yeah...I remember you. Do you uh...need something?"

"Just wanted to talk man! Plus Tom wanted to say somethin...cant member what it was. TOM!"

I pulled the phone away as Tony yelled, making my head hurt even worse. He was obviously drunk off his mind.

"Hiii Sparklez! What-hiccup- are you doin?" It was Tom, and he was drunk as well.

"Editing. Are you having a nice night?" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sighed. It was a little disheartening seeing someone with the same job as me having the time of their life.

"I drank two bottles of vod! I feel amazzzing!" Loud music played in the background of the call. They must be at a bar.

"That's nice, but I can't really talk at the moment. Do you mind calling me back when you're sober?" I really just wanted some sleep.

"Sparklez can I tell you somethin?" Tom slurred over the music.

"Sure. What is it?" I rubbed my aching temples and began to exit off the tabs on my computer.

Loud music was the only thing I heard for a minute or two.

"Tom says he wants to kiss you! But only thirty percent with tongue!" I heard Tony shout through the phone. My cheeks burned as Tony said the words. They were extremely drunk.

"Uh...that's-"

"Sparklez! I'm coming to...your house!" I heard Tom shout in the background. Oh no. I didn't want him at my house. Especially when he was so drunk.

"Tom, that's not a good idea. Why don't you just go back to Tucker's? He's probably looking for you."

"Nah...I wanna look at your face. Bye Sparklez!" The phone beeped, signaling he had hung up.

I prayed that he was gonna forget about saying that. I really don't want a drunk person in my apartment in the middle of the night.

An hour had passed, so I figured Tom had forgotten about his plans. Maybe now I could get at least another hour of editing in. Yay. I sat back down once again in my rolling chair and opened up the YouTube tab on the screen. All I had to do was insert the outro into the video, and then I was good for the rest of the night.

Just as I was about to insert the clip, YouTube stopped working. A small box popped up on the screen that read under maintenance.

I wanted to scream from frustration. Why now? It's moments like this that make me question why I even put up with this stuff. I haven't had a decent amount of sleep in weeks! I never eat anything because I never have time! Why am I doing all of this torture all for-

"SPARKLEZZZZZ!!!" I heard a loud yell come from my apartment door, and I jumped fifty feet out of my chair. Oh no. Tom didn't forget. Why me? This was the last thing I needed right now. A drunk British idiot in my apartment.

I sighed and stood from my chair. My feet ached and so did my back. I'd never felt this much exhaustion in all my life.

I reached the door that Tom was still beating down with his fists. When I opened it, Toms loopy smiling face greeted mine. He was wearing one of his own original shirts with some faded out jeans and some converse. His blue hair was sticking out in all places and he was leaning on the door way for support.

"Ayyyyy! You're still alive!" He gave a huge laugh and stepped in, slamming the door behind him. He didn't sound as drunk as he did over the phone, but he was drunk.

"Can you be quiet? I have neighbors..." I didn't want an angry mob of neighbors beating down my door.

Tom stalked over to my couch and fell on top of it. "I'm sure they can a handle a couple of bangs," he took a sip from the huge bottle of clear liquid in his hands. It was probably vodka.

"Tom, how did you get here? You didn't drive here did you? I told you not to-"

"Relax your tits, I called a cab. Why you so uptight, Sparkley dick?" He stretched his legs over the arm of the couch and sighed.

"I'm not uptight. I just don't like when drunk people show up at my door at three o'clock in the morning. I wish you wouldn't have come here. I have a lot of things I have to do." The mere thought of going back to the land of YouTube made my head throb. I really wanted to sleep.

"What? In the middle of the freaking night? Couldn't be that important."
His carelessness was making me extremely irritated. Does he not understand what I go through to post these videos?

"It is important. I have to edit my latest vid, and YouTube just stopped working. Now I have to wait at least another hour before it comes back up. Then I have to redo the outro clip and insert back in and I don't even know if it's gonna-"

"Sparklez, whens the last time you slept?"
The question caught me off guard. Why would he ask me that? Could he tell that I haven't slept?

"I don't know. I don't have time anyway. I have to get all of this done before tomorrow so I can at least have some time to stream and-"

"You can't just put off sleeping. The fans can wait, you need to stop being an insomniac freak." He sat his bottle of vodka on the coffee table.

I groaned at his ignorance and his carefree attitude. "Tom you don't understand. I don't have any time."

"Make time. I can see bags under your eyes and how terrible your posture is. You're exhausted Sparklez. Just chill and sleep for awhile."

"I really wish you'd stop interrupting me..."

"I really wish you'd stop dragging out your sentences. Sleep. Now."

"Why are you even here? And where's Tony? I thought he was with you." He was in the call earlier.

Tom stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. He continued to talk as he rummaged through my fridge and cabinets. "Tonys still at the club. And I'm here because I don't want to go to Tucker's. Mind if I crash here?" He pulled out a jug of milk and took large gulps from it.

"No, you can't crash here. I have work to do Tom. I'm not like you. I can't just get up and fly across the country whenever I want and go to strip clubs and bars all night long. I have responsibilities." Gee, I sounded like my parents.

"I have em too, but I'm not a stick in the ass about them. You could let up a little on the dad attitude Sparklez." He drank the rest of the milk down and let out a satisfying burp.

"Are you even drunk right now? You sound perfectly fine. You're not even slurring like you were on the phone."

"I am drunk. Im just smarter than most people when I am. And I sober up pretty quick. Milk helps a bunch." He opened the cabinet and pulled out a glass, which he dropped no more than three seconds after. The shattering of the glass made my head pound with pain and I winced at it.

"Sorry, don't have that much coordination though. You want some vod?" He pulled out another glass from the cabinet and went to the coffee table to pour the vodka in it.

"No! I want you to leave! Stop breaking things and drinking up all of my milk!" I put a hand to my temple and tried to soothe the throbbing, but it wasn't working.

"Can't leave, don't have anywhere else to go. I ain't going to Tucker's. He's being an ass and I don't want to put up with his salt. Come on, just tonight? I won't break any more of your stuff. Promise."

"Tom please...just go somewhere else. I can't do this tonight." I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes. The cramping pain was still there. It hurt so bad I could feel my eyes stinging from tears.

"I'll leave if you go to bed. I'm not leaving until you're fast asleep. Chop chop, Captain." He plopped down on the couch and took another sip of his vodka.

I decided to give up. I went back to my computer room and sat down in the same chair I always sat in. I laid my head down on the desk and let out shaky sigh. My head was pulsating and cramping with stress and worries and irritation from Toms actions. I felt tears dripping down my cheeks. It felt good to cry a little. It always did.

"Jordan...I'll leave if you really want me to. No need to cry about it..." I heard Tom say in a small voice. How long had he been in here? Forget it, it doesn't matter anyway. I don't care who sees me cry anymore.

"It's not you. It's everything. I'm sick of this job. I'm sick of my life. I can't even breathe without thinking about editing and posting and streaming...it's too much. How are you even able to go out and have fun? I haven't left this house in a solid week. I don't leave this chair unless it's because I need to eat or use the bathroom. I want to sleep but I can't. There's too much to do. Why am I so miserable?"

"Dude...for one thing, you can't just let your job take over your life like this. Another thing, you need a stress release. Besides crying about your problems, what makes you feel better?"

"I don't know..." I couldn't think right because of the pain in my head.

"You don't know? Alright, I'll just list a bunch of stuff I like to use to release my stress. Maybe some of these you can use to release it. Drinking, playing video games, eating tons of junk food, having sex-"

I scoffed at his last suggestion. I'd never had sex with anyone. I'd never even had my first kiss. I always wondered what it was like to have someone to cling to in times like this. It must be nice.

"What? You don't like having sex? You're all kinds of awkward Sparklez."

"I've never had sex," I snapped at him.

"Oh...virgin eh? That needs to change. Let's go to a strip club. I'll pay for your lady free of charge."

"Tom. No. That's just-...no. I'm fine being a virgin, thanks."

"Sparklez, you're missing out. It's the best feeling in the world."

"Maybe it is, but I'm not wasting my first time on some girl who doesn't care about me. It has to be natural...why am I even telling you this?"

"Because you've never told anyone this and you've wanted to for a long time? That's my guess. I think you're ronery, Sparklez. You need a mate."

"What's ronery? And no, I don't."

"It means lonely, you socially awkward weirdo. And yeah you do. Have you ever even kissed a girl before? You sure don't act like it."

"I haven't. I don't need to either. I wish you'd just leave me alone about this."

"Welllll I'm not gonna. I think the reason behind all this stress is because you need undivided attention from a lady."

"You're not Dr. Phil, and I don't need a therapist. I don't need a girlfriend and I don't need to kiss anyone. I'm fine where I am."

"You need a smooch, and you're gonna get one. No matter who it's from!"
I was fed up with his invading of my personal life. I sat up from the desk and faced him with an angry glare. He stood beside me with a confident smirk on his face, his glass empty of vodka. He was planning something and I knew it.

"You are not going to force-" Tom lurched forward and grabbed my face with his hands. He pressed his lips to mine with the taste of alcohol still lingering on them.

I didn't know what to do. I just sat there awkwardly as Toms lips moved on mine, his eyes closed and his hands pressing my face to his. But after a moment or two...I felt something. I felt like a string had just been pulled away from my stomach, and all of the pain and stress had disappeared. I moved my lips an inch, and then began to try to copy Toms movements. And after a long minute, we were in sync. I was making out with Tom Cassell. And it felt amazing. It was the best feeling in the world. It was wrong and gross and the most idiotic thing I've ever done, but I loved it. His tongue slid across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth a bit wider. His tongue danced with mine and I wanted to fly at the many feelings swirling in my head and my stomach.

Tom wasn't gay. I knew this. He's had dozens of girlfriends before. But why would he kiss me then? Was this a prank? Did Tony tell him to do this? If it was a prank, then I didn't care. I cared about this moment. I never wanted it to go. So when Tom finally pulled away, I felt like someone had taken away my wings. I didn't want him to stop kissing me.

"See? Isn't it great? I told ya you'd love it." He smirked.

"Tom...why did you do that?"

"Because I'm your best friend, right? No one better to have your first kiss with than someone you know. Just wait until you start dating someone, you'll already be a pro at kissing. You feeling a bit better now?" He picked up his glass from my desk. He was so casual about the fact that we just made out.

I decided it wasn't real. He hadn't felt the same thing when we kissed. He only did it to prove a point. Tom isn't gay. He doesn't like me like that. I was only fooling myself.

"Sparklez? You alright?" He waved a hand in front of my face.

"Yeah...I'm fine." I sighed.

"Let me guess, you like me now don't you?"

"..."

"You know I like you too, or else I wouldn't put up with you and your up tightness all the time."

He did? He felt the same way?

"But...you aren't gay. You like women."

"I like women, but I don't love them. Not like I do you. There's a difference between lust and love."

Did he just admit he loved me?

"Y-You...you love me?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't tell the world just yet. Don't think anyone's prepared for Syndisparklez this soon. I'll be crashing on your couch if you need me. Get some sleep, I worry about you. Night Sparklez." He walked off into the hallway without a single glance back.

What did this all mean? He said not to tell anyone yet. I wasn't going to...but what happens when I do? I can't just causally tell my viewers that because of a small kiss I learned that I liked guys. That's weird.

I guess I would just have to keep it a secret for now. Looking back on the drunk phone call, I was glad they called me. I would still be facing painful stress and I'd still be a kiss virgin if they hadn't. What had Tony said again?

'Tom wants to kiss you, but only thirty percent with tongue.'

Wait a second.

'I am drunk. I'm just smarter than most people when I am.'

Did Tom plan this? Did he plan on coming to my apartment and making out with me?
I didnt elaborate on the thought anymore. My mind started to go blank as I began to drift off into sleep. My dreams consisted of Tom Cassell kissing me over and over again.
~~~~~~~
OKAY LOOK IM SORRY I ABANDONED YOU ALL FOR TWO DAYS BUT I HAD IMPORTANT THINGS GOIN ON IN THE REAL WORLD AND IM BACK SO ITS KAY NOW.

I WILL POST ANOTHER ONE OF THESE TONIGHT IF IT PLEASES YOU ALL

GOODBYE NOW

- Lee