Chapter Text
“WHAT THE HELL, BENNY?!” Bones shouted.
The yelling spread through the hallway, notifying the few students who were preparing to leave school after a long day. A couple of kids even turned around to see what all the commotion was about, rolling their eyes when they saw the tall, white haired boy yelling at his boyfriend. Well, not “boyfriend” for much longer.
“Oh, Bones! I’m kinda in the middle of something, could you leave?” Benny said, smiling. He leaned against the locker next to the girl he had clearly been flirting with.
Bones clenched his fists. He grabbed Benny’s collar, taking the other boy by surprise.
“The fuck you mean in the middle of something?! You had that bitch pinned to the locker!”
Benny yanked himself away from them. “So?! How does that concern you?!”
“BECAUSE WE’RE BOYFRIENDS, IDIOT!” the white-haired boy yelled even louder.
He hadn’t wanted to make a scene–he remembered what had happened last time. But when it came to Benny, he just couldn’t control his emotions.
Said redhead currently had a baffled look on his face. “What?” His nose scrunched up. “Don’t tell me you thought that was for real,” he laughed. “The very same person who’s probably had even more flings than me seriously thought this was an actual relationship?! As if you even have the capacity for something like that!”
“I-” Bones started. A lump in his throat stopped him from continuing. Tears started to slightly prick at their eyes, but he forced them back. With all the voice he had left, he managed to choke out two words.
“We’re done.”
With that, he slammed Benny against the locker and stormed off.
—
Elise was many things. They were annoying. Sadistic. Hyper. One thing they lacked, however, was empathy. The ability to comfort someone after they were wronged, the ability to feel bad for others.
So when Bones came storming into the student council room, obviously on the verge of crying, it didn’t know how to react.
“Eh? What is it, Skelly? Ya look like a blobfish,” they remarked.
Next to them, Vick was leaning against the chalkboard with his arms crossed. He took one look at Bones and sighed. “What happened?”
The sophomore pulled up a chair and crossed his legs. He looked away from the two, trying to rein in his emotions. “Nothing happened. And shut up, Elise.”
Vick narrowed his eyes. “You’re clearly not okay. No use in hiding it.”
“As if you even know anything, Vick…” He muttered.
“Woah there, someone’s being moody! Acting like quite the angsty teenager, Bones~! It’s not a phase, Vi-”
Bones couldn’t take it anymore.
“Benny cheated on me, okay?!”
“...”
“...”
“That bitch did what?!”
Elise couldn’t comfort others, but he sure as hell could be angry.
“Let’s beat him up! We’ll humiliate him in front of the entire school!” Its smile grew wider and wider by the second. “Or–hey, let's go egg his car! Tie his shoelaces together! Kill someone and frame it on him!” They turned to Vick. “C’mon big guy, you’ve got to have dirt on Benny! Spill!”
Vick ignored Elise, turning to Bones. “...You didn’t know he was having flings with other people?”
“What, was I supposed to?” he asked, rolling his eyes.
“…”
Then it clicked.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“...I didn’t think it was serious.”
“You thought my boyfriend cheating on me wasn’t serious?!”
Vick sighed. “You’ve had several flings in the past. I thought this was just another one of them.”
“I-” Bones’s eyes trailed to the floor. “I liked him…”
They stayed there in silence for a while.
Finally, Elise perked up. “Y’know, there’s a party on the street at Lynette’s house,” it smiled deviously. “Wanna go get wasted?”
“Fine…” Bones muttered.
“I guess I’m driving? Again?” Vick said, sighing for the third time that day.
“Not our fault you can’t get drunk.” Elise retorted.
Vick got off the chalkboard, walking over to his desk in the office. “You two go ahead and get ready. I’ll pick you up from Elise’s place.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Bones questioned.
“Still have to fill out budgeting documents.”
Elise rolled its eyes, getting impatient. “Whatever nerd! We’re gonna go have FUN!” it said, dragging Bones with it by his elbow.
Vick waited until they left, the distant chattering of Elise getting softer and softer.
After a few seconds of waiting, he spoke.
“I know you’re here, Cecilia.”
For a few seconds, it was dead silent. Then, a tall woman with curly blonde hair and a sleek, expensive uniform gracefully slipped into the office. Her skirt was long, swishing past her ankles as she walked.
“Oh, Vick, you ruin the fun sometimes,” Cecilia said, laughing.
“Eavesdropping isn’t a very good look for the student council president.”
Cecilia chuckled. “As if you don’t use the same little tricks for your own business, my dear friend!” She continued, putting a hand over her heart as she spoke. “Now then. Are the budgeting reports ready?”
“They will be in around half an hour, if you can wait that long,” Vick responded.
Cecilia leaned against the wall, locking her ankles. “You know, if you’d like, I can extend your time limit for the reports. Go with your friends and have fun at Lynette’s party.”
Vick massaged his temples, groaning under his breath. “You know I don’t want to go to that party. I’d rather just enjoy the silence of the office without having to see her.”
“You need to drop your friends off anyway. Why don’t you go entertain her a bit?” Her expression grew slightly less friendly. “I’ve had to deal with that woman for months. You can’t be let off the hook simply because you two have no classes together,” she said softly, smiling.
What a poisonous smile that was.
“Fine.”
“Good! We have an agreement.”
Vick put away the reports, stashing them in a folder for safekeeping. He made a point to avoid Cecilia as he walked out of the office.
It’s only one party. I’ll just have to keep Bones and Elise in check.
–
Ring, Ring.
“Elise. I’m outside.” Vick whispered into the phone.
He was currently standing in front of Elise’s mansion, waiting to pick them and Bones up. Elise was a rich kid, and their family was way more lenient than they should have been raising a kid like Elise. If Vick was its father, it would definitely have much less free will and privileges than it currently had.
How their family could let a nonsensical jokester like Elise run wild, Vick would never understand.
“We’re here!” Elise yelled. He slammed open the door, doing a cartwheel in the front lawn for absolutely no reason. Vick turned his head away as a few neighbors looked to see what was happening. He did not need people knowing he was associated with these two.
Bones was wearing a full goth ensemble, with revealing fishnets and black eyeshadow. He faced Vick. “C’mon, I call shotgun.”
Vick regarded him with a nod, turning to his car. Elise was smugly sitting in the passenger seat, flipping the two men off. “First come first eat, losers!”
Bones snorted, making his way to the backseat. Vick finally sat in the driver's seat and started the car, driving to Lynette’s house.
“Don’t you need the address?” Bones asked, leaning a little in the cushions.
Elise laughed. “Let him guess and see where it takes us!”
Vick stopped the car. That was close. “...What’s the address, Elise?”
“Boring~! Why don’t you figure it out yourself, wise guy?”
“Do you want to go to this party or not?”
“You’ll have to pry that address out of my COLD, DEAD-hey, where’s my phone?!”
Bones smirked, dangling the phone in front of his face. He was a good pickpocket, that was for sure. After turning the volume up a bit, he let the GPS read the directions for Vick to hear.
“NO FAIR! Humph! I’m telling Lyney you’re all boring!”
“You’re actually friends with her? We’re not just crashing a random party?” Bones asked.
Elise turned its body around. “Yeah, and she’s way more fun than Mr. Grumpy Pants over here!”
Vick grimaced. “Shut up and get out of the car. We’re here.”
The three of them exited, looking at the mansion currently exploding with colorful lights and music. Lynette was clearly wealthy. As the unlikely trio approached the front door, they tried their best not to step in the puddles of alcohol spilt all over the front lawn. Well, except for Elise, who started purposefully jumping in them.
Bones opened the door, which was (not so surprisingly) unlocked.
A girl with black bows in messy pink hair noticed the three and skipped over to them. Under further inspection, she was wearing a black ruffled miniskirt and a deep-necked blouse.
“There you are, Elise!” Lynette chirped. Her eyes traveled to Bones. “Ooh, who’s this looker you brought?” she asked, making eye contact with Bones. “Bet you get a lot of girls and guys, hm?”
“Sure do.” Bones said, smiling cockily. Lynette continued to look at him, and after a few seconds he hesitantly averted his eyes. Creepy.
Lynette’s eyes widened as she looked at Vick. As if she hadn’t seen him when he first came in. “Oh, what a lovely surprise! The trivial tycoon is at my party!”
Vick’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at her.
Lynette smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “Really can’t believe Mr. Treasurer willingly came here! Tell me, how’s our dear Cecilia doing?”
“...Fine.”
She grimaced. “Ugh. I wanted a better answer, that bitch never comes to my parties. And hey, you don’t either! What happened to that, hm?”
“You have a party practically every week.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t come to one!” Lynette retorted.
Vick massaged his temples. “I don’t have time for this…” he muttered. That was when he started to feel eyes on him.
Bones was gawking at him, and Elise was glaring.
“What?” he asked, unimpressed.
Bones’ eyes were darting between Vick and Lynette. “W-You? And-and-her-”
“Are you two done or can we go already?” Elise interrupted, sticking his tongue out.
Vick sighed. “Yes, we’re do-”
“Oh, you go along Elise!” Lynette said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand.
The blonde boy smirked and yanked Bones so hard Vick thought his arm would pop off. “C’mon, let’s go get drunk!”
Bones smiled slightly. It seemed to fade when he noticed all the couples kissing their partners or flirting together.
He really did care, didn’t he? Vick thought.
“Oi! Prick!”
Vick immediately returned to his resigned frown, looking back down at Lynette. Her voice got quieter, darker.
“Listen. I don’t care if you drink. I don’t care if you bully. I don’t care if you spike someone’s glass. Just don’t make a scene.”
Vick rolled his eyes, stepping past Lynette.
“I know what that pretty friend of yours did. And I don’t need that happening at one of my parties too.”
He ignored her.
–
Bones downed another cup of beer, gasping as the alcohol burned down his throat. He smiled, eyes slightly dazed. Elise had left a few minutes ago to find some stronger drinks, claiming it wasn’t buzzed enough. So Bones was left alone, drinking in peace.
He fiddled with his jacket pocket, trying to find the pack of cigarettes he usually kept on hand. He carefully picked one out, only then realizing he had no way to light it.
As Bones looked around, trying to find someone who looked like they smoked, a familiar face stuck out to him. It was a girl with dark brown hair, with a portion of her bangs dyed a yellowish cream color. Even better, she was holding a lighter while digging through her own pockets for something.
“How’s my favorite detective doing~?” Bones called out, smirking. He ignored the glare on her face as he got closer.
The woman, who was currently wearing a light brown trenchcoat, sighed. Her eyebags were more prominent than ever. “The hell do you want, Bones?”
“Aww C.D, all I wanted was that lighter you got there! You wouldn’t want your poor friend to get withdrawals, would you~?” He said slyly.
“Only if you give me a cig in return.”
“Good.”
Bones reached into his pocket and retrieved another cigarette, passing it to C.D. The cynical detective lit both of them, the two starting to smoke peacefully.
The silence was interrupted when the dreamboat spoke. “Y’know, there’s been a rumour going around that you’re leaving soon.” he said softly.
C.D paused to take a drag. “...and?”
“Well, is it true?”
“...it is.”
Bones let out a low whistle, locking his ankles. “Guess I’m just wondering…why? Your folks made you?”
“Really trying to suck all the information out of me, eh?” She let out a breath.
Bones rolled his eyes. He prepared to leave, taking his cup with him.
“...I can’t tell you why I’m leaving,” C.D started. “But I will tell you this.”
He turned around. The detective made eye contact with him.
“Don’t trust Lynette.”
The dreamboat gave her a confused look, but regarded the warning anyways.
“Guess I’ll see you around, Ms. Vice President.”
With that, he left.
–
2 hours.
It had been 2 hours since Vick had come to Lyney’s Lynette’s party.
He already wanted to go home.
In between rounds of alcohol, rejecting flirtations, and avoiding the host, Vick was tired of the party he had been dragged into. He pulled out his phone, checking if he had any notifications.
[You have 1 unread notification from Cecilia]
Sighing, the capitalist clicked on the message.
Cecilia: How’s the party? :)
Vick: I’m leaving.
Cecilia: So soon? Aww
Cecilia: But she’ll be sad to see you leaving :(
Vick: If you care so much about her feelings come here yourself.
Cecilia: Oh no, how could I forget~
Cecilia: I have a prior commitment I totally forgot about! Bye Bye! Don’t have too much fun :D
[You disliked one message]
Vick scoffed, exiting out of her contact. That was when he saw a few texts from Bones. He opened them, curious to see what the sophomore wanted to tell him.
Bones: uwajasfkl aa vckkkk
Bones: u shud try thsss sbit hehe
Bones: fckkk bennnyyyy my hed hrtsssss :(((((
Vick looked at the string of messages with barely contained disgust, choosing to quickly reply.
Vick: Where are you? We’re leaving.
He waited a few minutes, only to get no response.
Guess I’ll have to find them myself.
Vick put his phone back in his pocket, deciding to check the kitchen first. He was met with the sight of Bones passionately making out with someone Vick was very sure Bones had never met prior to the party. The senior briskly walked up to the stranger and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Eh?” the boy said, turning around. Bones groaned, trying to pull him in for more, until he noticed Vick.
Vick wasn’t a very aggressive person. At least, that’s what he told himself. But right now, he was slightly thankful for the intimidating presence he had on others. The boy took one look at him and shrunk into himself. He distanced himself away from Bones, leaving the two of them together.
“The-ugh, the hell was that for…” Bones slurred, glaring at Vick.
Vick pinched his temples, dragging Bones with him. “I’m making sure you don’t make decisions you’ll regret tomorrow morning. Now come, we’re finding Elise.”
The sophomore stuck his tongue out, but still let himself be dragged. They cruised around until they saw familiar flamingos near the drink table.
Elise was currently downing what was probably their 4th cup of alcohol. At the same time, it had a short girl in a ladybug dress pinned against the table. Vick recognized the girl as Poppy, one of Elise’s many friends.
“C’mon! It’ll be fun!” they chirped.
Poppy was clearly wasted, looking pretty uninterested, but still going along with Elise’s antics. “Ugh…ok…” she slurred.
Elise grabbed a fistful of Poppy’s blouse, leaning in close.
Oh god, Vick was NOT letting it do that.
“No,” he said harshly, yanking Elise away from their friend. Poppy didn’t seem to understand what was going on, just letting the interception happen.
Elise, on the other hand, screamed like a child.
“VICKK! UGH, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHINGGG?! I was just getting to the good parrtttt!!” it bawled, trying to steal a bottle of alcohol from the table. Vick quickly confiscated it, dragging Elise and Bones by their collars. At least drunk Elise really wasn’t all too different from normal Elise.
“Ow, that hurt!” Bones whined, trying to drag Vick’s fingers away from his collar. This, combined with Elise’s whining, was proving to really aggravate him. Whatever, all he really needed to do was drag his idiots to the car.
A hand clamped over his shoulder.
“Hic…Oi, Vick~! There you are! Y’know, you look really hot in that suit…”
Oh God no.
The person currently leaning his entire weight onto him had his hair tied in a small ponytail, hair redder than his face. It was Cupid, clearly drunk off his mind.
Bones hiccuped. “Eh..? Cupid? The fuck’re you doin’ here?” he slurred. Cupid didn’t seem to notice him, eyes completely trained onto the senior.
Vick was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the music of the party, by the slurring drunkards latched onto him, by the annoying secretary who just wouldn’t take no for an answer. The few cups of alcohol he had drunk were starting to get to him, making his reasoning worse.
He pushed Cupid to the floor, brandishing the bottle of alcohol he had taken from Elise.
“Wha-eh?” Cupid instinctively said, flinching in pain.
Vick stood right over Cupid, making sure there were people watching the two of them. Slowly, he tipped the bottle to its side. The cool liquid started steadily spilling out.
Right onto Cupid.
At this point, there was a small crowd filming the scene. The boy’s suit was getting stained with dark beer, only getting wetter the longer Vick held the bottle over him.
It was satisfying in a way–satisfying to watch someone he hated so much be laughed at by other people. It was enough to make the corner of Vick’s mouth tilt upwards in a grin, relishing in the control.
Relishing in the power.
By the time the contents of the bottle had been poured, Cupid was coughing and fisting at his clothes. They were ruined, stained beyond repair. He looked up at Vick with an expression that could only be described as anger, with a hint of drunken confusion mixed in.
Vick rolled his eyes, dropping the bottle onto Cupid’s face without a second thought. A greater ruckus started to spread among the bystanders around them, who were laughing at the spectacle. As the tycoon stared down at Cupid’s bruised face, he was almost a little disappointed that the glass hadn’t broken into a million pieces right then and there.
He grabbed hold of Bones and Elise again, turning to leave.
A flash of long pink hair slipped past his peripheral vision.
“You didn’t listen to me,” it said.