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Gilbert walked into the Phi Tau Alpha house halfway there to already being blackout drunk. Mathias had texted him about the party earlier that evening, and Gilbert had actually forgotten about it until nearly eleven, when he suddenly remembered that out there, there was free alcohol he could be drinking instead of his backup stash from the dorm room closet.
By the time he showed up, the party was full on raging. Phi Tau Alpha (known as PTA by students and affectionately as "PETA" by the brothers) was one of the most popular fraternities on campus, and although their parties were pretty well-known by nearly everyone, it still took knowing the right people to get an invite—especially by second semester, when the rush period was over and unless you had big breasts and a blonde smile, getting inside was next to impossible.
Gilbert had neither of these assets, but he did have Mathias—a rather gregarious Sports Medicine major he'd met in his first semester of college. And while Gilbert himself wasn't really one for Greek life, he couldn't deny that he certainly benefitted from it.
Again, the free alcohol.
Within three minutes of arriving, Gilbert was at the makeshift bar, the rather unsturdy-looking foldout table blinking red green yellow from the Christmas lights strung up behind it. Gilbert sobered himself up and leaned on it obnoxiously, towards the female student serving as bartender.
"Stuck with bar duty again, Alice? Man, Alfred sure does have you trained."
A tight blonde pigtail swung in front of him, nearly hitting him in the face as a pair of bright green eyes glared his way. The second year student was wearing corseted petticoat with a short, but full skirt; a rather odd attire for a college frat party, but beyond a few gawking freshmen, nobody really paid it any mind, already being used to such a sight.
"Beilschmidt. What a surprise. I'd almost dared to hope you weren't going to show up tonight," Alice replied. Her nose was upturned in a pugish way, and without her glasses there was no protection against the full on death glare Gilbert was receiving.
Gilbert simply flashed her a grin in response. "Missed the Awesomeness, did you?"
The other student simply rolled her eyes. "Shove off it, Beilschmidt. Do you want your usual or not?"
She gave him a bored look that suddenly morphed into a more serious frown. "Hold on a second," she said, leaning forward a bit. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him, and Gilbert darted his eyes around self-consciously.
"You're already drunk, aren't you?"
The back of Gilbert's neck grew hot. "What?" he said, "uh, no I'm not."
Alice swore under her breath. "Bloody moron. How much have you had to drink?" she demanded.
"Not that much!" he tried to protest. "Alice, c'mon, you know—"
"Gil!"
Gilbert's next words were cut off as a tall blond man crashed into him, looping an arm around his shoulders and punching him in the arm. They teetered to one side, threatening to fall, before the Dane pulled back and straightened them both on their feet.
"Gil, man! How's it going? I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up!" the newcomer greeted enthusiastically, his arm still tight around Gilbert's neck.
Somehow Gilbert managed to escape the partial-chokehold and return the other's grin. "Like I'd pass up a chance for free alcohol," he smirked. Alice scoffed behind them and Gilbert threw a wink in her direction. "Speaking of which, get your barmaid here to serve me, will ya? She's trying to cut me off before the party's even started."
Alice rolled her eyes in response. "He's already pissed, Mathias," she said by way of explanation.
"Aw, c'mon, Alice, don't be a stick in the mud!" Mathias whined. "It's just Gil, he can handle a few more."
"You heard the man," Gilbert grinned.
"A bunch of drunkards," Alice muttered under her breath before ducking below the table and handing them a beer each. "Alright, now scram."
Gilbert gave her a mocking salute and turned away with Mathias, examining the beer bottle as he did so. "You still getting the frat to buy this Danish crap?" he asked, reading over the foreign label.
"Nah, this is from my personal stash. I just get Alice to stock a few under the table," the blond grinned before cracking the top off on the kitchen counter. "C'mon, let's go upstairs. Everybody else is already up there."
Gilbert nodded, opening his own bottle in a similar fashion. He took a sip and followed Mathias up the stairs, feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu to the night he'd first met the Dane. He'd run into the blond a few times before, since he lived in the same dorm building but on a different floor.
Like Gilbert, Mathias had taken full advantage of Orientation Week, and every single run-in Gilbert'd had with the other, the Dane had been drunk. They finally made formal introductions at a Phi Theta Alpha party and ended up going to the upstairs to smoke.
Mathias had never been crossed before and Gilbert wasn't quite sure how they'd made it back in one piece, but ever since that night they'd remained friends. And now that Mathias was officially a member of Phi Theta Alpha, Gilbert got a free pass to all the parties.
The parties were usually swarming with people every floor, but as they retreated up the stairs, the number of partygoers thinned considerably. Other than a few voices coming from a closed bedroom door, the second floor was quiet. It was actually much quieter than Gilbert had been expecting, prompting him to ask.
"You guys not letting people smoke tonight?" he asked.
Mathias shook his head and jerked his thumb to the downstairs. "We moved it outside. It's just VIP up here tonight," he grinned.
Gilbert still wasn't sure what the other meant but when they turned the corner, he heard what sounded like Alfred swearing loudly and fast-paced electronic music coming from a TV.
Only a few people were gathered in the surprisingly spacious bedroom. A GameCube was connected to the flatscreen where a determined-looking blond and a younger, calmer looking kid were sitting in front of it. Their fingers were rapidly smashing over buttons on the controllers while another college-aged male leaned against the bed behind them, sipping his beer and watching the screen with an emotionless expression on his face.
It was clear that Alfred had no idea what he was doing and was losing pretty badly.
"Shit!" he swore as the MC shouted Game! and Sheik was declared the winner.
"Aw, c'mon, Al, don't swear in front of the kid," Mathias complained as they walked in. The blond man with glasses turned towards them and his face immediately lit up once they landed on Gilbert.
"Gil! I thought you weren't gonna make it, bro!" he said enthusiastically.
Gilbert grinned. "Y'know, Mathias said the exact same thing to me. Like I'd ever miss the opportunity for free alcohol."
"Ha ha! Right on! You drinking that Danish crap of Mathias'—"
"You gonna play, or what?" the teenager muttered next to him, eyes already glued to the tv as he clicked back to the character selection screen. Gilbert chuckled as Alfred immediately scrambled to face the screen where Erik had already started the next game. He looked around the rest of the room.
"Mathias drag you here?" he asked, raising his beer in greeting to the other man leaning on the bed, who still had the same flat expression on his face.
The blond's expression didn't change. "I'm just here to make sure nothing stupid happens to Erik."
"Aleks loves PETA's parties!" Mathias cut in brightly, going over to sling an arm around the other blond. "He just can't stop coming to them with me!"
Without missing a beat, Aleks shoved Mathias off of him, hardly sparing the other more than a slow blink. The rejection reminded him of Roderich, who had given the exact same reaction to Gilbert on more than one occasion.
As he watched Mathias laugh off the rejection like it happened all the time, Gilbert tried to push any thoughts of the violet-eyed brunet out of his mind. He was here to enjoy himself—not get caught up on some prissy, glasses-wearing pansy.
"Al's right," he interrupted loudly, catching the attention of the other occupants in the room. "I didn't come here for this weak shit—where's the harder stuff, man? Let's get this party fucking started!"
Alfred whooped from his spot on the floor. "Der König is back!" he punched the air.
Mathias slung an arm around Gilbert's shoulders, a large grin on his face. "You looking for a rematch at vodka pong?" he smirked.
"Not without Antonio to back him up," Alfred snickered.
Gilbert pushed Mathias off and snagged him in a chokehold, grinning wildly as he gave him a noggie. "The Awesome Me doesn't need anyone's help in kicking your ass at beer pong."
"Yeah, but you sure did need Antonio's help against Erzsébet, didn't you, Gil?" Alfred pipped up again from the floor.
Gilbert scoffed. "He helped. Maybe." He squeezed his arm tighter when Mathias snickered.
Aleks raised a skeptical eyebrow as he watched their wrestling match from the bed. "Didn't the three of you get banned from that Alpha Rho for that match?"
"The Incident of Spring 2015," Alfred quipped sagely.
"Psh, no," Gilbert dismissed. Then, "Well, maybe. The point is, I can still beat your ass at beer pong any time I want. I only lost last time because Al was being a shitty partner."
"Hey!"
"Strong words from der König," Mathias grinned, managing to escape Gilbert's chokehold. "You're on."
To nobody's surprise, Mathias had a beer pong table stashed away in the upstairs hall closet. They quickly set it up and poured vodka into the cups, Gilbert sneaking his own swig when nobody was paying attention. The cheap liquor stung as it went down.
"Alright, you losers, you ready to suck it?!" Gilbert shouted, grinning maniacally. He and Alfred stood on one side of the table while Mathias and Aleks took up the other. Erik looked bored, but he stayed on the side to watch nonetheless.
Gilbert raised his arm in the air, ready to fucking slam dunk the ball into the other team's cup, when the music suddenly shut off from downstairs. Alfred looked up in confusion.
"What the fu—"
One of the frat brothers charged up the stairs. "Cops!" he hissed.
Alfred groaned. "Not again," he complained.
They were all underage. And having a fifteen year old probably wouldn't help their case, Gilbert realized as he glanced at Erik. "Shit," he swore.
To make matters worse, he was beginning to feel that last drink, and it was not sitting well in his stomach.
"We need to dump the alcohol," Mathias said, and for once Aleks nodded in agreement, already grabbing several of the red solo cups. Without even needing direction, he began carrying them to the upstairs bathroom, Alfred following close behind. "Erik," Mathias turned to the teen, "go hide in the bedroom. Hopefully this'll just be a warning and they won't check upstairs."
"Fuck, man," Alfred muttered, "I can't get written up again. Coach'll kill me."
"…I'm not staying."
Three different expressions turned Gilbert's way.
"Don't be stupid," Aleks retorted the same time Alfred said, "Dude, not a good idea."
Mathias' brows had furrowed. "Gil, you know that's just gonna get you caught."
"I won't get caught," Gilbert replied stubbornly. "And like you said, this is probably just a warning. But I'm not staying."
Mathias set a hand on his shoulder, a deeper frown etched on his features. "C'mon, man, what's this about?" he asked, looking far too perceptive for Gilbert's liking. "It's not like you to abandon ship."
Gilbert shook his head, the lights smearing just a bit. "Not right now," he said.
He shook Mathias' hand off and walked over to one of the other bedrooms, hardly noticing when Alfred took a step forward, Mathias stopping the blond with a shake of his head. They were only on the second story, and Gilbert knew there was a grassy patch underneath the bedroom window.
As he opened the window, the red and blue lights of the cop cars out front flashing against the side of the house, Gilbert was reminded of all the times he'd snuck out of his family's house when he was younger. He took a deep breath to steady himself.
It was just like visiting Francis, or Antonio…or Roderich.
Deep breath in.
Gilbert jumped.