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He was awakened by the sound of a soft click. In his head, though, it felt so much louder, echoing between his ears and making his brain vibrate painfully. Every time his heart was beating, a new wave of pain would go through his skull. His mouth felt pasty and parched. Is that how a hangover felt? He hated it.
He should never have allowed Sylvain to convince him to accompany him to this party. But Dimitri had felt a bit bad that all their friends refused or were too busy, and he kept saying how lame it would be to go to the party of the year alone. Also, he needed a lift. He ended giving in when the redhead had argued that he needed to live a little, that he was 23 years old and never went to a party before. That he might regret not doing more crazy things, later in life. Yeah, he isn't sure he would ever regret this hangover…
He didn't mean to drink this much. They had arrived at the house where the party was, a bit out of the college campus in the student residential district. Immediately, Sylvain had dragged him in. The place was packed with people, even spilling outside and in the neighbors' yards. Since everyone around was students, they must have been themselves at the party. It looked like a scene straight up from a movie. People dancing, playing games, talking, making out. Alcohol and snacks all over. Dimitri had tried to stick with his friend, but after he decided to go on the dance floor with a girl he had started to talk to, Dimitri had retreated to the much less crowded kitchen where he proceeded to eat the salty snacks that lead him to drink more beer until everything got a bit too fuzzy in his head. He vaguely remembers sitting in the living room on the couch at some point.
He groaned into the pillow as he hugged it and shoved his face in the soft surface. Good thing it was the weekend. He wanted to sleep all day and never accept an invitation of Sylvain to a party again. The soft smell of coconut mixed with pine needles coming from the pillow was quite comforting. It was sweet and fresh, somehow soothing his fragile stomach. Maybe he should buy coconut shampoo too so he could always have this smell on his pillow.
…
He sat up suddenly as the realization hit him like a train. This wasn't his pillow. This wasn't his bed. This wasn't his room. Where the hell was he?!
The bedroom he was in didn't look anything like his. Posters taped every wall in a crooked way, sometimes overlapping a little. Bands and movies, mostly. There was a library, but it was almost empty due to all the books being pilled up a little bit everywhere on the floor and furniture. Figurines were displayed a bit everywhere, mostly dragons and tiny knights and mages. Reminded him of the figurines Ashe used for his Dungeon and Dragon games. The color of the room was dark gold and green. Colorful drapes were hanging a bit everywhere, too.
A sudden fear grappled him as he pats himself down. First, he was fully dressed. Good. That wasn't something he would ever want to happen. But he was missing his phone and wallet. Fortunately, a quick look around allowed him to locate them on the nightstand next to him. His wallet had everything inside, and his phone was still working. Looking at the lock screen told him it was currently 10:23 AM and he had one missed call from an unknown number. He simply shoved the two items in his pockets where his keys were still inside.
He got up from the bed, his headache begging him to slow down, also worsen by the panic coursing through his veins. Where was he? He didn't remember leaving the party, was he still in the house? Or had someone brought him somewhere else?
He walked to the window, pushing the curtains open and hissing at the sunlight. His hangover really didn't appreciate the light. He forced himself to look outside and felt relieved to find his car exactly where he left it on the other side of the street. So he was still in the house of the party. But where the hell was Sylvain? He pulled out his phone, ignoring the unknown number, and tried to call his friend. It rang for a bit before going into his voicemail. Great…
Only thing left to do is to leave this room. He felt a bit awkward being in the bedroom of a stranger. It was a personal space that he was invading. He hoped he hadn't just walked in and crashed in his drunkenness. That would be so shameful.
He opened the door silently, watching carefully for any sign of life. Instead, he found an utter chaos left by the party. It felt like a tornado filled with party supplies had gone through the house, throwing things everywhere and leaving empty cups of beer and other things. In the light of the day, it looked like a total mess.
Going down the stair, he found himself in a familiar living room that was also completely destroyed. The couch wasn't even upright, anymore. There was trash and stains all over the floor. He felt terribly bad for whoever was going to have to clean all that up.
A person emerged from the kitchen at the back of the living room, peaking out curiously before smiling when he spotted him. “Ah, you're awake!”
“Y-Yeah!” he exclaimed nervously in return.
It was a man, around his age, probably a student too. His casual clothes were pleated like he had slept in them just like his. His brown hair was all over the place, falling in his face and curling upward and sideways. Green eyes, a tanned skin, a chinstrap beard, and really nice smile. He was holding a coffee mug in his hand.
“I went to check up on you, earlier, but you were still out like a light,” the man said, smiling still. “You got knocked out pretty hard, last night.”
Dimitri felt blood rush to his cheek in embarrassment. “I don't really remember what happened, last night.”
A chuckle. “I found you pass out drunk on the couch. I didn't want something to happen to you, so I dragged you up to my room so you could sleep. The door has a key lock due to the old configuration of the house, so I made sure you wouldn't be bothered.”
“Ah. You're the host of the party, then? I am very confused. I never went to a party like this, before, I came with a friend, and I never meant to drink that much.”
“Yeah, I figured you weren't the party type.” He smirked playfully at the puzzled look Dimitri sent him. “I mean, look at you. Those aren't the type of clothes you go to a college party in.”
The blond looked down at his outfit. It was a dark blue dress shirt with black dress pants. There was a stain on them, damn it. His blush spread to his ears.
“I tried to find whoever you were with, but there were so many people and nobody answered when I yelled over the music. I tried to look on your phone, but it was locked, and then your wallet. I found a phone number, and I tried to call it, but your phone was the one who rang,” the other explained.
“Oh. That's my phone number in case I lose my wallet. Sorry about that.”
“No worries. Can't say I didn't try!” He laughed. “Oh, I'm Claude, by the way.” He extended his hand.
He grabbed his hand and shook it. “Dimitri.”
Claude whistled at the handshake. “You're pretty strong. Do you do sports?”
“Hockey, actually. I'm the captain of the college's team.”
“The Blue Lions? No way, that's cool. Didn't see you as the jock type!”
He awkwardly smiled. “Yeah… A lot of people say that to me. Apparently I'm too polite and shy to be a jock.”
“Hey, destroying the stereotypes is cool,” Claude said with a shrug, then smirking at him.
Dimitri's smile grew a little bit, feeling a thump in his chest.
“What about you?” he asked.
“I do jogging on the weekend, but not much else.”
“That's already pretty good. Keeping yourself healthy and active.”
“Yeah, well except for today,” Claude said, running a hand through his hair. “With my hangover, going for a jog is the last thing I want to do.”
“I understand. My head feels like it's going to explode,” Dimitri said while rubbing his forehead.
“Yeah, that's a thing that happens too when you drink way too much.” He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Go sit in the kitchen, I'll get you some painkiller and a glass of water.”
He nodded slowly. “Thank you, Claude.”
After he had taken the painkillers, they both sat in the kitchen for a while, just chatting while Dimitri's headache cleared up. Claude told him how this party came to be. Apparently, he had just invited a couple of friends for the night, and a few of them had asked if they could also bring their own friends. Being a social butterfly, Claude had accepted, saying “the more, the merrier” and before he knew it, the party was widespread throughout the campus and at least a hundred people were coming. There was no way for Claude to cancel this, so he instead changed his plans and prepared a huge party. Dimitri felt a bit embarrassed to be one of the people who crashed his calm night with his friends.
They kept chatting afterward. First, it was mostly small talk, college talk, then it became a more personal talk. Interests, hobbies, daily life, Dimitri learned to know Claude a bit better. He was a pretty interesting person. He had come in their country to study and was quite enjoying his stay. He lived with two other people, here. A girl named Hilda, and a boy named Lorenz. Apparently Lorenz was out of town for the weekend, otherwise, he would have freaked out about this party. And Hilda had apparently ditched the party at some point.
“Pretty sure she just ran away so she wouldn't have to help me clean this mess before Lorenz comes back,” Claude said, rolling his eyes. “She's the laziest person I ever met. I have no idea how she still manages to have decent grades.”
“So you're stuck cleaning all of this by yourself?” Dimitri said with a frown. “That seems rather unfair when this huge party wasn't your idea in the first place.”
The other shrugged with an easy smile. “Hey, it was still a lot of fun. And I don't think anybody is going to forget it for a while. I'll manage the cleanup. Hopefully, before Lorenz is back in town tomorrow.”
Dimitri bit his lip, glancing around at the total chaos that was left behind. “So please, allow me to help you,” he said after a moment.
Claude waved his hand above his head. “Nah, it's cool. You should go home and rest. And you probably have better things to do with your weekend than cleaning up.”
“Please, I insist. I'm pretty strong, so I could help you lift the heavy stuff that was displaced.”
Claude looked at him, his smile turning into a grin and he chuckled and shook his head. “Well, if you really want to, I guess I can't stop you.” He put his empty cup of coffee in the sink. “Well, if you're feeling better, let's get to work. There's a lot to do.”
The place was even more of a mess when Dimitri had to actually do something about it. He picked up so much trash all around the house, some he was so thankful to have gloves on for, that he filled multiples garbage bags. Meanwhile, Claude was busy cleaning every surface of the house, replacing the items he had taken away and hidden so they wouldn't be broken by drunk people. They kept chatting throughout the whole thing, and Dimitri found himself not even bothered about cleaning up. Talking with Claude was just so easy and fun. He could keep going all day, listening to his stories about him and his friends, and telling him a few of his own in return.
In the afternoon, they stopped for a bit to take a lunch break consisting of a pizza Claude had ordered without telling him. Dimitri had wanted to pay half of it, but Claude insisted it was fine. It was to thank him for helping him, he said. Though, if you asked Dimitri, he was the one returning the favor for allowing him to sleep in his bed after passing out.
They sat on the steps of the porch, the pizza between them with a bottle of water in their hands. It was a sunny, outside, a bit chilly for a spring day. He felt good in his current clothes, but Claude had put a small coat over his shirt. At some point during their cleaning, he had taken the time to brush his hair, slicking them back though a few strands would curl back and fall in his face. He looked quite handsome, like that, and it made Dimitri's stomach twist a bit.
His phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts. He pulled it out of his pocket, noticing Sylvain's name before he picked up. Claude was glancing at him curiously from the corner of his eye.
“Hello, Sylvain.”
“Dimitri! Man, where the hell are you?!”
“At the house of the party where you forgot me.”
Claude snorted beside him. He felt his cheeks warm up.
“Oh god, I'm so sorry! That girl we met was pretty cool, and we clicked, and I left with her after a few beers. You completely escaped my mind. I'm so sorry!”
He chuckled. “It's okay. I mean, I'm a bit mad at you, don't get me wrong. And I will never accept an invitation to go to a party from you again, but I'm fine.”
“You sure? What happened?”
“I got too drunk myself and passed out,” he said ashamedly. “But the host of the party, Claude, put me in his bed and I slept there the whole night. I'm helping him clean up, right now.”
Claude leaned close to his shoulder, speaking into the phone. He could smell the coconut and pine needles again. “Sup. Thanks for coming to the party, but please be more careful with your friends. You never know what can happen.”
“Yeah, yeah… Sorry…” Sylvain responded. He sounded very guilty about it.
“I won't tell the others, Sylvain,” Dimitri said. “And it's okay. Claude is pretty great, so I'm happy to be here.”
Claude gave him an indescribable glance with a smirk.
Sylvain sighed in relief. “Oh please, I don't want the others to murder me after I said I would be with you the whole time. I swear I will make it up for it! Anything you want!”
“I'll think about it. Talk to you later, Sylvain.”
“Okay. Have fun on your cleaning date, then!”
“Sylvain!!”
There was a laugh, and he hanged up, leaving Dimitri completely flustered. He turned to Claude who was grinning playfully.
“Interesting guy. He reminds me of Lorenz. Without the entitlement.”
“A-Ah, really? Well, Sylvain is a childhood friend. I know he didn't mean anything bad.”
“I believe you.” He got on his feet. “So now, let's go back to our cleaning date, shall we?” he said with a joking tone that still managed to leave Dimitri blushing to his ears.
“Y-Yeah. I think we can be done before dinner time.”
Cleaning the stained carpet and couch had been… quite troublesome. They tried multiple tricks found on google before they finally got rid of most of them. As long as you didn't look too closely, it was almost invisible. Claude decided it was good enough, and he would still get a lecture from Lorenz because no way he wouldn't hear about the party at some point.
But with all their effort, the house was finally cleaned up by 6 PM. Claude was just glad no one had punched a hole into a wall, or something. They both tiredly dropped on the couch for a few minutes, before Dimitri decided he should go home so his friends wouldn't get too worried and start looking for him. He had made a promise to Sylvain, after all.
“Alright. Thanks for the help. Couldn't have done so quickly without you,” Claude said with a smirk.
“No, thank you for helping me, last night. I won't drink like that again, that's for sure.”
He laughed. “You have to take some glass of water in between. Makes all the difference, I swear.”
“I'll keep that in mind if I ever get stuck in another college party,” Dimitri joked.
Claude accompanied him to his car, and Dimitri couldn't help the slight disappointment of leaving in his chest. He had never been good with people. All the friends he made were because they came to him, never him asking them to be. He looked at Claude for a moment, trying to find the words, before he sighed and gave up, climbing in his car.
“Thanks again for the help, Dimitri,” Claude said through the window. “See ya!” He grinned and walked back toward his house.
Dimitri bit his lip, feeling stupid. He had just been an inconvenience to Claude, last night. As fun he is to be around, he was just helping him out with cleaning up. Claude was a friendly, extrovert guy. He probably made friends with anyone and never saw again most of them. He turned the key in the ignition.
“Hey!” Claude's voice called out from his porch. He looked up to see Claude grinning. “We should totally hang out again! Give me a call, okay?”
Dimitri blinked, his cheeks turning pink again. “I don't have your number, though,” he replied.
“Of course you do, remember? I called your phone, last night. My number should be in your incoming call list!”
The realization startled him as he pulled out his phone, opening the call list to see the unknown number still there. Right. He did have his number.
He looked back at Claude and smiled. “You're right. And I will. Despite the chore, I really enjoyed my day.”
Claude's grin seemed to widen if it was even possible. “Alright, cool. And maybe next time, we can have an actual date,” he said before walking back in and closing the door, leaving Dimitri completely stunned.
A date? Dimitri's face turned a crimson red and butterflies fluttered into his stomach. Was it a joke, or was he serious? Claude was somewhat hard to read. Nevertheless, the idea of seeing Claude again brought him happiness.
With a smile, he added the number as a contact, giving it simply the name of “Claude”. He stared at it for a moment, before sheepishly adding a yellow heart.
Claude 💛
Yes, perfect. Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he grabbed the steering wheel and drove off. He smiled and shook his head. Neither Sylvain or himself were going to let the other live down this party, he was sure of it.