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Today is the day that Gemini finally finished his studies. As he glanced down at the academic regalia that he was wearing and the achievements that he received, he felt accomplished but he was feeling an emptiness inside him. He spent years of his life prioritizing his studies, making sure that his future was set straight. All his youth was spent dedicated to his future self and pleasing his parents, mostly his dad, so he forgot to take care of his present self. Throughout Gemini’s time studying his ass off, he never got to enjoy what was supposed to be the best time of someone’s life. He never got to make friends, date around, or sneak out at night to get wasted in parties, something that people his age were supposed to enjoy. Now that he’s finished, Gemini had a hard time finding another purpose in life. He figured that since he spent so much time worrying about his future, he might as well enjoy his life before he hits his mid-20s.
Darkness already surrounded the sky. It was 1:00 in the morning and Gemini was supposed to be sleeping but his thoughts earlier were still bugging him. He got off his bed and went to his desk. He took out a notepad and began to write on it. It took him a few minutes before he finished writing. Gemini listed down the things that he didn’t get to do when he was still busy, studying his ass off. He stared at the list for a while before deciding to do it. First, off the list, sneak out at night. Gemini is someone who never wants to disappoint his parents. As a result, he never did anything to get himself in trouble and so sneaking out at night was something that he was nervous about but hearing his classmates rave about the thrill of sneaking out was making Gemini intrigued.
After thorough research on how to sneak out without getting caught, he began to dress up quite warmly, wearing a jacket, pants, and a black cap, and pack his bag with things he found necessary when sneaking out. He then proceeded to fix his bed, placing pillows inside his comforter to mimic him, sleeping, just to be cautious. When all is done, he double-checked everything before heading out through the window. As he was out, he found the moon gleaming with light and the cold breeze hitting his skin. Now he understood the hype of going out at night. He found himself walking around the empty road with only the moon, stars, streetlights, as well as the headlights of cars that passed by every now and then lighting up his way. After quite some time, he passed by a convenience store that reminded him of the second thing on the list, smoke/drink.
It’s hard to believe that someone at that age had never drunk nor smoked before but Gemini was someone who always think rationally. He thought that time would come when he would eventually try it but not while he was studying. When he saw the convenience store, he figured that it might be the right time to try those things as he is of legal age and is completely done with his studies. The cold air from the aircon of the convenience store was blown into him as he opened the glass door. He removed his cap as he walked around the store to the liquor section. He looked around and hesitated for a while before picking out two cans of beer. As he was coming up to the cashier, he was contemplating buying a pack of cigarettes as he thought that it would be a waste to buy a pack if he was just going to try it out. He was already up at the counter and he was still thinking but his thoughts were ended by the cashier asking for his I.D. before ringing up the beers. As the cashier was ringing up his beer, he took a pack of gum near the counter and saw menthol-flavored cigarettes, that caught his eyes, behind the counter.
“ Can you ring up those too?” he pointed behind the cashier, towards the cigarettes.
“Which one?” the cashier asked with a voice that lacked enthusiasm.
“The menthol ones.” while waiting for the cashier to get the cigarettes, the door to the convenience store chimed open, gaining Gemini’s attention. As he took a glance at the man who entered, he made eye contact with the latter before his attention was bought back to the counter when the cashier handed him a bag of what he bought.
He went out of the store and decided to stay at the bench nearby. He took a look at the time that was now past 2:00 in the morning. He rummaged through the plastic bag taking out a can of beer and a pack of cigarettes. He felt the beer’s fizz run down his throat. His face turned sour to the taste of the alcohol. Maybe liquor was just not for Gemini. As he took out a stick of cigarette, he realized that he did not purchase anything to light it with.
“You need a light?” he followed the voice with his gaze and behind him, he saw the man who entered the convenience store earlier standing with a lighter in his hand. Gemini was captivated by the man’s slight smirk while offering him his lighter. Gemini took the lighter and began placing the stick of cigarette between his lips. Due to the strong breeze, Gemini had a hard time lighting his cigarette. The man from the convenience store sat beside him and held his hands around the lighter to prevent the air from blowing the flame out. Once Gemini lit the cigarette, he took a puff and immediately began coughing his guts out. The menthol taste along with the smoke dragging down his throat didn’t feel pleasant for him.
“I don’t think I can finish this.” he glanced at the man beside him and offered him the cigarette which the man gladly took.
“I’m Fourth.” the other introduced himself after taking a hit of the cigarette.
“Gemini.” he replied.
“What are you doing out this late?” Fourth took the can of beer that Gemini was drinking and drank it.
“Trying things I never got to try before.” another thing off his list was making friends with a stranger and while this sounds like a dumb idea, Gemini had a hard time making friends and for him, this was a big accomplishment to check off his list.
“That’s why you looked like you were gonna die when you took a puff off that cigarette.” Fourth chuckled while Gemini felt embarrassed, looking down his lap.
The rest of their night was spent talking about anything and everything. They were so invested in each other that they lost track of the time. Their conversation was cut when Gemini noticed that it was already dawn. He was supposed to go back home before 4:00 but it was way past 4:00 already. He told Fourth that he needed to go back home but before he did, he gave Fourth the pack of cigarettes and the can of beer that he was unable to drink. He told him that he did not get the hype about them because they tasted nasty to him. Fourth laughed at him and asked him for his number before they pleaded goodbyes.
Gemini was sprinting towards their house. As soon as he got into his room through the window, he felt a sigh of relief knowing his parents were still asleep and he was not caught. He changed clothes and flopped down on his bed. He felt his body sink and melt into his bed. He was about to drift to sleep when his phone lit up. He glanced at the screen to see a message notification from an unknown number. “ Hey, Gem. It’s Fourth. Hope you got home safe. Let's meet again soon.” Gemini did not even get to reply as drowsiness took over him.
When Gemini thought that he got past his parents when sneaking out, he was woken up by his father banging on his door. He went out to go to the bathroom but he cannot get past his father who was shouting at him. Turns out, his father went to his room late at night only to find his window open. There are plenty of thoughts going through his mind. He admits that he is wrong for sneaking out or not telling his parents that he was going to head out but they would probably not let him so he did not bother doing so. There’s also a part of him where he thought that he should be able to do whatever he wants. He already did what his parents want which is to graduate with excellent grades which he did. After going to the bathroom, he went back to his room, not giving a single shit about his father.
The clock turns noon and he was still mad about how his father invaded his privacy. Out of spite, he decided to go out again. He did everything he did last night except this time, he locked his door and put a chair against his door so his father would not be able to go into his room in the middle of the night. He went out and did not forget to close his bedroom window. As he was walking past the convenience store that he went to last time, he remembered Fourth. He took out his phone and figured that he might need a company and so he invited Fourth to come with him. As Gemini was waiting for Fourth to respond to his message, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders.
“Hey.” he shifted his gaze and saw the younger beside him.
“You got here fast.” Gemini smiled at Fourth.
“I was already out when you texted me.” they sat there for a while to catch up when Fourth asked Gem if he wanted to explore more.
As they were walking with no idea where they were going, Fourth suddenly got an idea. He held Gemini by the wrist and started to tug him slightly. Gem followed where Fourth was going. Finally, they got to a club and Gemini was met with meticulously loud music and blinding lights. This was the first time that Gemini had gone to a bar and he was flabbergasted, to say the least. As they enter deeper into the bar, they were pushed closer together by the party-goers getting drunk and grinding bodies against each other. This was a new environment for Gemini. For so long, he was contained in his own little box that he had not been to an environment such as this. This was not on Gemini’s list of things to do as he had never thought of going into a club. Fourth took Gem to get drinks by the bar. Gem thought that he was finally going to be able to like liquor but apparently, alcohol was just not for him and Fourth ended up drinking his drink. They stayed there for quite some time, talking, but they were interrupted by a guy who came up to Fourth.
“Can I buy you a drink?” a smirk formed on the guy’s lips as he stared up and down at Fourth.
“No. He’s with me.” the guy was cut off by Gemini’s stern voice. Gem got closer to Fourth as the guy left.
“How possessive. I was about to get a free drink.” Fourth chuckled. He was kind of surprised by the latter’s actions.
“I could buy you a drink, you know.” Gem sarcastically replied.
Their chit-chats were cut short when Fourth’s favorite song played. He invited Gemini to accompany him to dance but he was quick to refuse. It was visible that Gemini was flustered but Fourth was able to convince Gemini to come with him. Fourth tangled his hands with Gem’s as they went to the center of the club’s dance floor. They were getting squished by the ocean of people dancing so Gemini tightened his grip on Fourth’s hand. When they got to the dance floor, Fourth started to dance to the beat of the music. Gemini, on the other hand, was just watching Fourth dance. Fourth took both of Gem’s hands and began to dance with him to ease his shyness. Soon, Gemini finally got the hang of it.
They were both dancing when Fourth wrapped his arms around Gemini’s neck. Gemini stopped for a moment as their eyes locked with each other. Gem began to wrap his arms around Fourth’s waist pulling him closer. In the heat of the moment, their faces started to get closer to each other. Gem could feel Fourth’s breath touch his lips as the scent of liquor surrounded them. Gemini felt his heart beat out of his chest. He felt like he was in a sort of trance, being drawn towards the younger. This was something he had never done before. He doesn’t even know how to kiss but it’s too late. Fourth pressed his lips against Gemini’s. At first, it was awkward but he eventually fell deeper into the kiss, following Fourth’s moves as they sink into each other. They were both feeling each other’s warmth when they were stopped when a group of guys bumped into them. They were both brought back to reality as they realized what they just did. It was probably the right time to go.
As they left the club, silence filled the streets that they were walking into. None of them dared to break the silence. They were probably both flustered by what happened. Surprisingly, both of them did not feel uncomfortable but they did feel slightly awkward.
“Are you going home now?” Fourth broke the silence that had been surrounding them.
“I probably should but I won't leave you until you’re completely sober.” Gemini's gaze was towards the concrete ground, unable to make eye contact.
“I’m fine now. You can go” Fourth assured him.
“I’ll stay out for a bit. I don’t want to go home yet.” Gemini replied.
“Wanna stay at my place for a bit?” by this time, it was already early in the morning. Gemini knew that if he went home, he would be welcomed by endless nagging by his father so he figured why not. He texted his mom that he went out for a jog and will be staying at a friend’s place after.
They got to Fourth’s place and both of them were exhausted. Fourth took out clothes for Gemini to change into. After they both got freshened up, Fourth told Gemini that he could sleep in his bed if he was tired. Gemini then flopped into Fourth’s bed and before Fourth could get out of the room to sleep on the couch, Gemini pulled him into the bed and told him that they could sleep beside each other. They lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling when Gemini glanced towards Fourth, laying his eyes on every feature on Fourth’s face. Gemini couldn’t hold himself back as he started to lay his fingers on Fourth’s hair. Fourth moved his gaze towards Gem when he felt his fingers trace his face. They stared at each other for a while before Fourth cuddled closer to Gemini. Moments had gone by and they were both asleep in each other’s arms.