Music was blaring through my laptop speakers, drowning out my incessant muttering as I drove myself into a panicked state about the party. Mike was nice enough but if any of his friends were remotely similar to Vic, I was not going to get along with them. I rummaged through my open duffle bag trying to figure out what to wear tonight.

In high school I was never one to go to parties, I had my own small group of friends who much rather preferred to mess around with instruments in my basement makeshift studio. We were into rock and punk music and enjoyed playing cover songs from our favorite bands, high school parties were usually filled with top 40's pop and ghastly guys attempting to hit on our female classmates. Not my scene.

I fished out my favorite red flannel shirt and pulled it on, sliding my feet into my checkered sneakers and brushing more hair from my eyes. My phone lit up with a text from Mike containing the address for his friend Jaime's house. I plugged it into my phone's GPS and saw that it was only an six minute walk from here.

I shoved the house key that my dad left on my bureau into my pocket and made my way out the door. My dad wasn't a fan of cell phones so I left a quick message on a sticky note saying I was going to a party and stuck it on the fridge.

As I stepped onto the front porch I was hit with a wave of salt in the air. I could smell it, I could feel it all around me, it was so prominent I felt like I could even taste it. There was a cool breeze engulfing me as I headed down the cobblestone main street of town.

Even at 10:03 in the evening this place still had a quiet life to it. The way the air shook the leaves in the trees, it made them look like they were dancing, coaxing me to join in. The rolling sheets of sand moving forward, pulling me closer to the destination.

As I made my way around a corner I was hit with a bright light coming from an ornate house perched up on a tall hill. This must be the place, I thought to myself as I started the trek up the curved driveway.

As I got closer the music pouring from the windows of the house became louder, so loud that it felt like the seams of the house would crack.

I pushed open the cumbersome wooden door and instantly felt the thickness in the air. I couldn't even shut it behind me when I heard someone calling out my name and felt an arm wrap around my shoulders.

"Kellin dude, I've been waiting for you. Follow me I'll introduce you to the guys." Mike exclaimed as he pulled me through a sea of bodies, my feet tripping over all the empty beer cans that covered the dark cherry stained floors. We rounded a corner and approached a group of people crowded together in a big circle.

"Hey everybody I'm back and I found Kellin, the guy I was telling y'all about." Mike spoke and I suddenly felt the gaze of six eyeballs scanning me up and down. A shorter guy with spiked up brown hair stepped forward with a huge grin on his face; I grabbed his outstretched hand and shook it lightly.

"Hey man, I'm Jamie! Mike here hasn't stopped talking about how hilarious and fun you are. Thanks for coming to my party. Do you play soccer? You look like you play soccer, we need a striker on our team. You don't look as clumsy as Vic says you are." Jamie rattled off with so much energy he could've given an energy drink a run for its money.

I didn't even have time to process anything Jamie had said let alone answer his question, when a soccer ball came zooming past my face almost knocking me out.

"Holy shit! GOOOOOAL!" Jamie screamed out and ran out of the room in the direction of where the ball came from.

"So that's Jamie." I laughed and turned towards Mike who was holding two beer bottles in his hands. He handed me one and I reluctantly accepted. One drink wouldn't hurt.

"That's Jamie alright." Mike responded.
The second guy shook my hand and introduced himself as Tony. He was tall, even taller than Mike and had stick thin long brown hair that clung to the sides of his cheeks. He also was covered in tattoos trailing up his arms all the way to his neck. He seemed shy like me and I appreciated that. I followed the two guys out into the backyard where the majority of the party was happening.

Large torches lined the sides of the property that stretched all the way to the beach front, casting a warm glow across people's faces. There was an oblong shaped swimming pool in the center of the patio; a bunch of people lazily hanging their feet over the edge whilst they chatted amongst themselves.

There was even a guy spinning a Jimmy Eat World record on a huge DJ set-up to the left of the pool with a dedicated dance floor. A bit my lip and hung in the background as throngs of people kept coming up to Mike and Tony. It seemed like Mike's group was the center of attention and I started realizing that they were the "popular guys," the type of group I would never have been in during high school.

As I sat on a pool chair sipping my beer, I felt the weight of the chair sink down as I turned my gaze upon a handsome guy with sandy blonde hair. He had icy emerald eyes and angled features that made him look almost European. He ran a hand through his already tousled hair and grinned at me as he voice spoke like sweet agave over toast.

"Who might you be? I haven't ever seen you around and with a smile like yours, I would've remembered you." he spoke.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as I brought the beer can close to my lips so I could swallow back another gulp.

"I'm Kellin, I'm here visiting my dad for the summer before I go to college." I replied.

"Ah I knew it. I'm Alex. It's an absolute pleasure to be meeting you tonight Kellin." Alex answered.

"Likewise." I smiled shyly and started picking at the hole in the knee of my black skinny jeans. I couldn't believe someone as attractive as Alex was talking to me! And interested in me! There weren't any other gay guys in my high school and with not even being out of the closet myself, I never had experience dating guys.

"CANNONBALL!" Jamie yelled out of nowhere and I looked up to see him flinging himself into the pool. I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt a hand on my leg.

"Do you want to go in the pool? It looks like fun. I bet I can beat you in a handstand contest." Alex's friendly and calm voice pulled me from my thoughts.

Normally, stripping down and jumping into a pool in front of a bunch of strangers would be my literal hell, but when would I ever get the shot at hanging out with such a cute guy like Alex?

"You know what? I just happen to be a handstand master." I replied and stood up off the pool chair. I stretched my limbs and gulped, noticing the one and only Vic making his way towards our group. He was holding a baseball hat and was handing out little pieces of paper and pens to everyone.

"Alright, write your name on a piece of paper and put it back in the hat." Vic spoke.

"Hey bro are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mike grinned devilishly. Vic nodded and locked eyes with me briefly as he scanned over the crowd.

"CHICKEN FIGHT TOURNAMENT!" Vic screamed out to his friends who all rushed over and started scribbling their names down.

"Hey Kellin, Alex, are you two down to be in the chicken fight tournament? It's a fucking blast!" Jamie spoke as he popped up from the side of the pool.

"It sure does sound like fun, but I think I might sit this one out." I shrugged and turned to Alex.

"Aw come on Kellin! Chicken fight tournaments are a Jamie party TRADITION. And since you're an official member of our club of friendship you have to participate!" Jamie pulled himself up and out of the pool, squeezed in between Alex and me and slung his arms around our shoulders.

Jamie was super nice, a little goofy but nice, and he had accepted me and all my awkwardness into his friend group; the least I could do was join in on this chicken fight tournament.

"Alright I'm in." I said as I grabbed a piece of paper and signed my name sloppily, dropping it into the baseball hat that Vic had stretched out towards me.

"I hope we get paired together! I would be insanely jealous if someone else got the chance to be your partner." Alex joked and loosely put his arm around my waist.

My breath hitched at the sudden contact as I felt a pair of eyes on me. I smiled at Alex but couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at me. I dismissed it immediately as I saw people starting to strip down to their underwear and it dawned on me that I didn't bring a bathing suit.

I turned to Alex and saw that he had already pulled his shirt over his head as he started unbuttoning his jeans. Oh my god was I really doing this? I peeled off my flannel and folded it along the back of the pool chair, following with my t-shirt, and finally sliding out of my jeans, leaving me in just my black boxer briefs.

Everyone gathered around Vic who was standing atop a table, waving around the baseball hat full of names.

"Alright everybody listen up! In order to make the tournament fair, I will be randomly pairing people up by pulling names out of this hat. We don't want a repeat of last year when all the strongest guys paired up with each other. We want this year's tournament to have a level playing field. If you're so good then you should be able to win with any partner, regardless of strength or athletic ability." Vic explained to the crowd.

As Vic started reading off names I saw teams of all different combinations lining up on the side of the pool. Jamie was paired with some blonde girl, while Mike got paired with the redhead from the fried dough stand. The amount of people left was dwindling and Alex looked at me hopeful that we'd get paired up together.

"Alex, you're paired up with...." Vic's voice trailed off as he mixed up the remaining pieces of paper with his eyes closed.

"Carmen." Vic finished.

Alex let out a huge sigh and dropped his head gloomily as he made his way to stand next to Carmen.

"And I guess that means I'm paired up with.... Kellin." Vic spoke as he rolled his eyes.

You've got to be kidding me, I thought to myself as Vic made his way through the sea of people and stood next to me, looking just as displeased as I did.

I couldn't help but feel the instant warmth his body gave off and I found myself inching closer to him. How could someone so physically warm have a heart so goddamn numbing?

I caught myself staring at his toned and chiseled body, a pair of blue plaid boxers hung loosely around his waist. Curse my eighteen year old boy hormones.

"You'll be on top, got it? I'm reigning champ and even though I'm way stronger than you, there's no way you'd be able to hold me up." Vic snapped as his warm brown eyes trailed up my own body.

"Just try not to lose your balance out there and we'll be fine." I retorted and pushed passed him toward the shallow end, wading into the warm water. I dropped below the surface and swam across the pool to relax my muscles.

When I came up for air I noticed Vic slowly walking down the steps, wincing slightly as the water came up to his chest.

"Oh is the water too cold for the all mighty Vic?" I spoke with attitude on my tongue as I made my way over to him.

"Why are you being so rude tonight, Kellin?" Vic looked genuinely confused as he gazed at me like a lost puppy dog.

"Are you serious? You've been nothing but rude from the minute you met me, when all I did was accidently trip you, geez. So don't give me that confused look when someone actually stands up to you." I huffed and crossed my arms.

Vic's eyes actually softened as his voice cracked, "I.." he started to speak but was interrupted by Jamie.

"Alright! Round one starts now! I wrote down a bracket on this dry erase board, so just follow along and meet the opposite team in the shallow end of the pool." said Jamie.

"Um, here, let me just crouch down a bit and you can hop on my shoulders, okay?" Vic spoke softly to me.

"Uh.. yeah, I yeah got it." I responded, feeling a tingle run up my arms as I placed my hands atop his shoulders.

I jumped up a little, sliding my legs over Vic's shoulders as he instantly hooked his arms over my calves to keep me steady.

"Are you okay? Do you feel secure?" I heard Vic ask.

"I do actually, thank you." I responded and felt Vic's hands snake their way onto my legs, tightening his grip a bit as he slowly stood completely upright.

"Okay so now you can hold onto my hair or head if you feel wobbly. I'm going to start walking around so you can get used to how to keep your balance." Vic said.

The first match began and we started off a little rocky, our communication wasn't that great. I didn't feel like I could trust Vic and I think he noticed my apprehension by the way my legs tensed up whenever I felt like I was going to fall.

I suddenly felt Vic's finger being traced in a squiggly motion up and down my leg as we stood against the wall of the pool, taking a quick break in between matches.

"Hey." Vic whispered.
"Yeah?" I glanced down at him and met his gaze.

"I got you. I'm not going to let you fall. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise." Vic stuttered.

"Um..." I got quiet and ran my fingers through my hair. My brain was telling me not to believe a word Vic said but my heart saw right through those brown eyes and wanted to believe him so bad.

"Plus you're a little clumsy and I can help hold you up. Figuratively and physically." Vic cracked a small smile. I couldn't help but to hide mine that was creeping onto my face.

"Okay I believe you. Only because you're right, I am clumsy and can't risk hurting this pretty face." I laughed and pointed at myself. I watched Vic bite his lip and turn back towards our new opponents.

"Alright round two, let's crush 'em!" Vic exclaimed.

We ended up winning the next five rounds. We were in the final matchup against Jamie and his blonde partner that I learned was named Michelle.

She was putting up a real fight and I was struggling to hold her off, but whenever I felt unsteady, it was like Vic sensed it, and he would tighten his grip around my legs.

I knew I had one last push left in me so with all my strength, I pushed my hands as hard as I could against hers and she fell backwards underneath the water.

We won! Vic and I won!

Vic was cheering so loudly and pumping his fists into the air when he suddenly lifted me off his shoulders, scooped me up bridal style and held me close against him in the water.

"I can't believe we did that! We won!" Vic exclaimed and beamed at me.

"We made a pretty great team if I do say so myself." I smiled back at him.

Vic lifted his hand from around my back and gazed into my eyes. He brought his hand up against my cheek and slowly tucked a piece of my wet matted hair behind my ear. His eyes were searching mine, searching for what I had no idea.

"I um.." Vic started speaking but was interrupted by a bunch of people shrieking.

"Oh my god Michelle! Your tampon came out! It's like a massacre in this pool!" Jamie started teasing her as everyone started scrambling out of the pool.

I looked around and saw a very light amount of red blood mixing in the water. Vic saw it too and instantly let go of his hold on me and started rushing out of the water.

I was quick to follow and pulled myself over the side, grabbing a towel off of a nearby stack.
Since the tournament had ended, chaos had resumed as people flooded the dancefloor and I could no longer find Vic.

"Hey Kellin! Dude I can't believe you beat Jamie and Michelle! Jamie usually always wins." Mike popped up next to me and gave me a high five.

"Uh yeah, I know, especially since I'm such a klutz." I responded, my eyes scanning the crowd for Vic.

You're no klutz! You were so poised up there on Vic's shoulders. Anyways, me and Jade really hit it off so I'm going to go spend some quality time with her if you know what I mean." Mike smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh that's great dude. I think.. I think I'm going to head home. It's getting kind of late but I'll catch you tomorrow?" I asked, my mind still in a fog.

"Definitely. We hit the beach everyday around noon but after tonight's party I'd say it'll be closer to two." Mike laughed and I nodded, pulling my clothes on over my wet boxers.

"Sounds great! I'll see you then." I smiled at Mike and headed back through the house, looking for Vic one last time before giving up and heading home.

I stumbled through the door to my dads house around 2:00 AM, not even bothering to change out of my chlorine smelling boxers as I passed out from exhaustion on my bed. Dreaming of dancing through the water and Vic's voice telling me he wasn't going to let me fall.

___________Author's Note_________

Okay so this whole chapter has probably been one of my favorites that I have written so far. It sends me all over the place emotions wise, did it do the same for y'all?!

Can we just talk about how adorable it is for Kellin and Vic to be in a chicken fight together? My heart!

And to see Vic finally be a lil nice to our Kellin? Friendly reminder to VOTE if you're enjoying :)