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Riley brushed his forehead with his forearm as he finished sweeping the floor of the Dinobite Cafe. Koda and him were tasked with closing up. He started placing chairs on top of a table when a buzz coming from his back pocket caught his attention. Riley retrieved his cell phone and saw he was getting a call from Shelby.
"Hello?" Riley said as he continued lifting chairs onto the table's surface.
"Hey Riley - you want to go to a party tonight?"
"Huh?" Riley said with an incredulous smirk on his face, "why?"
"Why not?"
"Uh, I don't really see myself as the party type."
"Well there's a first time for everything isn't there?"
"I guess, what's going on?"
"Just a friend from school, he's going to have some people over and I thought we all needed a break."
"Wait a minute," Riley said lowering the phone in his hand, "hey Koda!" He called into the kitchen.
Koda peeked his head from under the counter, his mouth stuffed with something.
"Koda! If Miss Kendall finds out you're sneaking chips again she's going to kill us!"
"I not sneak chip," Koda's words were muffled through a full mouth.
Riley rolled his eyes, "you want to go to a party tonight?"
"What is 'party'?" Koda said standing up.
"Um... there'll be lots of food there?"
"Oh yeah! Me go!" Koda burst forth, sliding over the counter top out of the kitchen.
Riley placed the phone back to his ear, "yeah I guess I'll come with Koda."
"That sounds great, trust me you'll have a great time!"
Shelby texted Riley the address and later that night the Rangers convened with Shelby's class mates. People talked inside over the hum of music. A table full of drinks provided an enticing lure for Koda who approached a bowl filled with chips. Riley noticed alcohol sitting on the table, and went to intercept Koda.
"Uh Koda?" Riley said as he crossed to step in front of Koda. "Uh," Riley continued as he let out an awkward smile. He then looked over at Shelby and gave her a stern look prompting her to walk over. "Koda doesn't know what all of this is."
"I think he was heading for the chips," Shelby rolled her eyes as she reached behind Riley and grabbed the bowl of chips. "Here you go Koda." Koda walked off contently.
"Maybe you need to relax," Shelby put her hands on Riley's shoulders and smiled.
Riley looked up, over at Chase, who had his arm around Kaylee while he talked with Tyler. "Yeah."
Shelby looked over, noticing where Riley's eyes had landed. "Here," she said reaching over and grabbing a bottle of vodka. "Let's go to the kitchen." Shelby guided Riley into the kitchen and grabbed some cranberry juice.
"Shelby!" Riley yelped astonished. "We're not... old enough to drink that."
Shelby looked over at Riley and chuckled. "Just try one, maybe it'll loosen you up." She poured the cranberry juice over some vodka and mixed it together, and then handed Riley the concoction. Riley sipped at it, then looked back at Shelby wide-eyed.
"Hey," he said fondly, "it's not that bad."
"C'mon I'll introduce you to some people."
Shelby walked around the party with Riley, introducing him to different class mates, but his eyes stayed on Chase who was walking over to the drink table with Kaylee. Riley watched intently as Chase poured Kaylee a drink. Every drink he took drew his eyes to Chase; however, after a while he started to feel a little... bright. And Chase wasn't as noticeable. Then he was laughing, and talking... embarrassingly.
"Yeah this one time on the farm-" he'd start all his stories, eliciting some raised eyebrows from the urbanites. Even Shelby had to roll her eyes and draw her drink to her mouth as Riley carried on about being outsmarted by a pig in the pin one hot summer's day. "Oh and the smell, pyyyyuuuu! I was covered in pig -"
How many drinks had he had, Shelby thought as she saw him waving his hands around telling yet another farm story to her bewildered friends.
"Shelby!" He said dramatically, "I've got to go to the bathroom!"
One of Shelby's classmates spoke up, "Uh, the one downstairs may be occupied, you can go upstairs and use that bathroom, but don't lock the door, the knob is broken and doesn't open from the inside if you lock it."
"Okay, hold this Shelby," the drunken Riley said handing her the drink," I'll be- right back!" He declared with inebriated enthusiasm.
Riley ran awkwardly up the stairs, and into the bathroom where he relieved himself. Afterward he stood in front of the mirror and opened his mouth. His tongue was stained red from the drinks. Riley exhaled heavily, fogging up the mirror some, and then cupped his hand to his mouth and exhaled again.
"Phew, my breath smells," he said to himself. Riley didn't have a tooth brush though, maybe he could gargle some mouth wash; however, there was no mouth wash on the counter, but there was a tube of tooth paste! Riley grabbed the tube of tooth paste and began pouring the contents into his mouth, and then cupped his hand to collect some water from the faucet. He threw the water into his mouth and started to gargle the mixture. He then spewed the liquid out of his mouth, and noticed he had dribbled some of the foam onto his shirt. Ew, he thought. Riley walked over to the closet and began rummaging for a towel to wipe himself off.
Chase walked into the bathroom, and because Riley was obscured behind the closet door, didn't notice Riley. He then locked the door behind him. Hearing the clicking mechanism Riley emerged from behind the closet door and looked at Chase in horror.
"You locked it!"
"Eyow!" Chase yelled, jumping in terror at Riley's sudden emergence. "What're you doin' in here?"
"I could ask the same of you!" Riley slurred drunkenly. He walked over to the door and turned the knob, but the door didn't open. Throwing his hands up into the air, he gave Chase an uncoordinated glance.
"They told me to come up here because the bathroom down stairs was occupied," Chase said leaning back against the counter.
"Well that's just great Chase, now we're locked in here," Riley said as he sat on the floor, a defeated look across his face.
"Mate uh... could you," Chase said motioning for Riley to turn away, "I'm a little... shy."
Riley gave Chase a puzzled glare before realizing what he was talking about. "Oh! Right!" Riley said standing up, facing the door, and covering his eyes with his hands. Chase nervously made his way over to the commode and started to use it. Riley slightly uncovered one of his eyes and turned his head moderately, peaking at Chase, before quickly turning back around.
"Alright mate, lets get out of here," Chase exclaimed as he wiped his hands off on a towel. Riley and Chase pushed, pulled, twisted, everything they could to get the door open. "Well uh, we could both kick it in?"
"Chase, this isn't our house, we can't just break the door!" Riley said through garbled speech.
Chase sniffed the air and drew his face close to Riley's, Riley stepped back slightly, angling his face away from Chase. "Riley?" Chase said with a laugh, "have you been drinking?"
"No!" Riley responded defensively, turning his face upward with a frown. He looked at Chase who had sprung an enormous smile. "Maybe a little," he said through the corner of his mouth.
"Ha!" Chase guffawed, placing his hands on his hips and turning in a circle only to face Riley again. "Are you serious?"
"Leave me alone Chase," Riley said with a pout. "Let's just wait till someone comes and opens the door."
"Okay," Chase chuckled as he sat on the rim of the Jacuzzi style tub that sat opposite the mirror and counter.
The two sat awkwardly for a minute or two, Riley sat atop the counter kicking his legs. Chase bit his nails.
"Why're you with her, you barely know her?" Riley blurted unthinkingly.
"What?" Chase looked up at Riley confused.
"Kaylee, you barely even know her," Riley continued.
"Huh?"
"You don't even know her, she could be a monster for all you know, she'll lure you in and break your heart, or steal it, or something, and then you won't be able to use your energem."
"Bro?" Chase said as a smile crept across his face, "she's not a monster."
"Hmph, that's what you think," Riley muttered looking down at his feet.
Chase's eyes widened, and his mouth parted into another clever smile. His eyes squinted and he laughed out loud, "are you jealous?"
"No!" Riley deflected, too dramatic to be honest, " why would I be jealous! I'm just saying."
"You're jealous!" Chase said standing up proudly. "Why're you jealous?" Chase said as he walked over to Riley.
"I'm not jealous!" Riley retorted angrily. "Shut up!"
Chase put his hands in his back pockets, looked down at the floor, and kicked one of his feet, he then looked up at Riley again.
"It's cus I like you okay? You happy now!" Riley blurted out. A level of honesty that wouldn't have manifested under different circumstances. Riley caught himself and quickly placed his hands over his mouth. Chase's eyes widened, his cocky smirk melted away.
"You... like me?" Chase said, his easy going demeanor giving way to his awkwardness. "Really? Wow..." He said as he walked over and sat against the tub again.
"Yeah, there I said it okay, I like you, I have for a long time okay?"
Chase looked up at Riley who had started looking at his feet. "You're just too dumb to figure that out!" Riley called out at Chase.
"Hey bro," Chase said standing up defensively, "that ain't fair!"
"No? You'd rather go after some girl you just met than the guy that's saved your life over and over and over again!"
"Hey!" Chase started walking over to Riley.
"You'd rather go for some girl who didn't even like you at first, over some guy who's watched every move you've made since we met," Riley's eyes started to tear up in the corners.
"Hey!" Chase said angrily as he grabbed one of Riley's wrists.
They stopped. Chase was holding Riley's wrist tightly. Riley was looking into Chase's eyes, and Chase returned the gaze. Riley grabbed Chase's face and drew him in. Chase didn't resist. Riley pressed his lips to Chase's, squeezing the sides of his face as he kissed him. Chase placed his hands on Riley's knees and leaned into the kiss. Riley took his lips off of Chase's and opened his eyes, looking into Chase's eyes as he tightly held his face, Chase returned the stare. Riley closed his eyes again and reeled in Chase's lips with his own. The door to the bathroom opened and Shelby walked in with Tyler.
"Oh!" Tyler and Shelby both yelped, breaking Riley and Chase's embrace.
The shocked Riley jumped off the counter, and rushed passed Tyler and Shelby, his face flushed. Chase looked over at Tyler and Shelby who looked at each other awkwardly then back at Chase. He exhaled heavily.
"You were gone for a while, so we came looking for you," Shelby said awkwardly.
"Yeah, 'scuse me guys," Chase said walking past them. Tyler and Shelby looked at each other with a mixture of amusement and shock, and then both placed their hands over their mouths as they started chuckling.
"Oh no! What about Kaylee!" Shelby said. Tyler lifted his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
Riley walked out to the pool, no one was outside. He was sobbing uncontrollably. He curled up on the ground next to the pool. Inside Chase walked passed Koda who was funneling some beer while being encouraged by some students, passed Ivan who was attempting to show some of the party guests how to use a sword properly. He was looking for Kaylee. Shelby and Tyler came downstairs and saw Chase.
"You guys seen Kaylee?" Chase asked.
"Ah yes, the lady Kaylee, I believe she said she would see you tomorrow and left when we couldn't find you," Ivan interrupted. Chase looked up at Tyler and Shelby knowingly, but Shelby gestured zipping her mouth shut, and Tyler nodded his head in agreement. Chase sighed and walked outside toward the pool. When he stepped out onto the back porch he saw Riley laying down by the water, asleep. Chase walked down to the pool side and hovered over Riley. Tyler and Shelby walked out onto the back porch and saw Chase standing over Riley.
"I'm going to take him home," Chase said as he looked over at Tyler and Shelby.
"You want a ride?" Tyler returned.
"Nah," Chase said as he picked Riley up and began carrying him on his back. He wrapped Riley's hands around his neck, and held him up using his legs, allowing Riley to keep sleeping as he lay his head on Chase's back. "I think Riley lives close to here anyways."
Chase walked off, carrying Riley. He walked through the suburban neighborhood. Under hazy street lights. Down lonely streets where the only sound Chase could hear was Riley's soft breathing. Where the only thing he could feel was Riley's heart beat against his back.
"I really... like you... Chase," the sleeping Riley muttered through a dream. Chase smiled and kept walking. He walked Riley all the way home- he sat Riley down next to his door, found his key, and let himself in. He then picked Riley up, this time he scooted his hands under Riley's legs and back and picked him up so Riley was facing him. Chase walked over to Riley's bed, laying him down in it, and covering him up with his blankets. Making his way to the door, he turned and gave Riley one last glance before making his way out of Riley's apartment.