Chapter Text
Phone
05:20 Missed Call from mitya
Messages
02:41 mitya
big day tm, feeling ready?
can’t sleep for some reason
03:07 mitya
hihi
are you still up by any chance?
you’ve been playing so much tcg lately, i bet you’re up :p
03:20 mitya
you’re supposed to reply “yes im up and i’m so down for a yap”
03:49 mitya
tms going to be wild i’m sure
still can’t sleep for some reason
goodnight! :D
Alyosha groaned into his pillow as he reached a lazy hand over to grab the vibrating phone off his nightstand. He blinked in quick succession as he swiped away the chiming alarm, struggling to adjust to the sudden flash of light dragging him out of his daze. He was quickly met with a wall of notifications, and it was all thanks to one culprit in particular.
“Holy shit,” he muttered to himself as he flicked through what Mitya had spammed him with overnight. Rubbing at his eyes with his free hand, he chuckled as he caught up with it all. Typical Mitya. That guy could never fall asleep, and yet could always somehow wholly function the next day as if nothing had happened. It’d turned out that the missed call he’d spotted hadn’t taken place too long ago, his friend seemingly timing it close to the ring of his alarm. He tapped on the notification to dial him back, and it only took a few seconds for Mitya to come on the line.
“Hey, dude, wakey wakey!”
“Shut up,” Alyosha groaned, smirking to himself. “Morning, Mitya. You alright?”
“Yeah, as bright as ever! I had a little trouble getting to sleep but got in a couple of hours in the end.”
“Glad to hear it, man. Where are we meeting?”
“Let me think…Let’s do outside our accom at say, 5:50, and then we can head over together.”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
Cutting the call, Alyosha raised his arms into a big stretch before heading over to the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth. He’d already showered and washed his hair before heading to bed, so he quickly slipped into an old pair of clothing and trainers he’d prepared the night before, just as instructed. Stuffing his phone and keycard into the pockets of his sweatpants, he gave himself one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs. Mitya was already stood beside the door, hands in his pockets, taking in the view. Alyosha was greeted by the sight of the man flashing him a kind smile as it swung open.
“Hey, good morning. Ready to head?”
Alyosha gave him a casual nod as they began making their way over to the meeting point indicated in the group chat. As they arrived at the stretch of grass at the centre of the campus, they were beckoned into the circle by a bunch of second years who were all decked out in aviator glasses, fedoras, and crisp black tuxedos. The first years looked astonishingly out of place next to them, exactly as the seniors had intended.
“Mitya, Alyosha, glad you could make it!” Childe gave them a friendly nod from across the circle, and they returned it nonchalantly. It appeared that around twenty guys had been invited, near equal numbers present across the two year groups. A flurry of nerves and excitement could be felt in the air, which were solely emanating from the freshers huddled around in anticipation.
It was drinking soc initiation day, an invite-only event organised by the second-year men who had been recruited the year prior. This particular hazing ritual consisted of an early start to a day packed full of activities and challenges, many of which borderlined on outright public nuisance and humiliation. While it was designed to be embarrassing, it was ultimately meant to be a little bit of fun, with only selection and participation requirement enough for a fresher to initiate.
Childe had reached out to Mitya and Alyosha over Insta a week ago, informing them of their selection. The two of them had felt that it was rather out of the blue, and they had questioned whether to participate or not. Alyosha had never cared too much for these sorts of things, and neither had Mitya to be fair. But Mitya had found himself seeking out new experiences ever since he came out as bi to his friends just before the holidays.
∞
It was an early winter evening, and a group consisting of Mitya, Alyosha, Odette, and Vodyanitsa were seated around a table at their local pub, celebrating with drinks in hand. They had performed earlier in the day at one of the campus Christmas parties, the energy from the crowd ecstatic. It was one of their biggest audiences as of yet, and the amount of practice they’d put in had felt like it had truly paid off. Their sound was really starting to improve as a group, and they’d had ambitions to start competing against other student bands in the region.
“Cheers, you guys!”
The four of them brought their glasses together with a clink. The pub was chocked full of students and townies alike, and it was a well needed change of pace from the library they’d spent the last month cooped up in. Odette was sporting a Hugo Spritz next to Vodyanitsa’s Aperol, while Alyosha sipped on an Estrella and Mitya a random pick of cider. The others had entered into some light conversation, however Mitya remained oddly silent, mindlessly spinning his glass around with his fingers. Alyosha took notice of his behaviour, turning his head to face him.
“You alright?”
Mitya finally took a hold of his pint, taking a protracted sip before setting it back down again.
“Heyyy, you guys. I’ve got something rather personal to tell you.”
They all paused their conversations and looked at him expectantly, a little taken aback by his understated demeanour.
“I think I’m bi.”
Vodyanitsa leaned back in her seat and clapped her hands in vindication, laughing to herself all the while. “I knew it! I knew it. One of us!” Odette gave her girlfriend a little shove as she chanted from across the table, cheering. After calming herself down with a few quick sips of her cocktail, Vodyanitsa’s expression melted into that of an earnest smile. “But seriously, I’m so proud of you. Welcome to the club.” She reached her hand over to give him a soft squeeze on the shoulder.
Odette gave him a nod in support. “Congrats.” She sipped at her cocktail once again as the group set their sights on Alyosha, who was still yet to pass comment.
“Cool,” he nodded, lightly clapping his friend on the back. “I’m really happy for you.” As someone who had never really thought to question their sexuality before, this was his bog-standard, go-to response. After all, many people on campus were anything but straight – far from it even. Odette and Vodyanitsa were dating, for example, having had met during Freshers’ week at a LesSoc club night where they’d fallen in love at first sight. Alyosha was more than glad people felt happy to live their truths, but didn’t necessarily think anything more on the topic as a straight guy.
The only thing was, this time felt…different. This was his best friend we were talking about, after all. So why did his heart begin constricting in his chest? Why did he suddenly feel sick to his stomach?
“Thank you, everyone. I don’t really know why I turned that into some big announcement, but boy do I feel better!” Mitya laughed at himself sheepishly, running an awkward hand through his hair. He glanced over at Alyosha, giving him a heartfelt smile. Alyosha could only give him a small one in return, desperately trying to ignore the intensifying squeeze in his chest. His mind raced as he struggled to come up with words to break the silence with.
“How did you, uh, know?” The girls instantly shot him a look from across the table. “Fuck, sorry, that was a stupid question.” He’d realised it as soon as the words left his mouth, but a part of him was curious. Had Mitya met someone perchance?
“Mhm, too soon, Alyosha. Let’s not rush the poor guy!” Vodyanitsa affirmed while taking another sip.
Mitya suddenly interjected in protest, turning to give his friend a kind look. “Actually, it’s alright in my case – I’m keen to share.” He looked around the table as he spoke. “I suppose I sort of just, knew. ‘Straight’ was never really a word that felt right coming from my mouth.”
“Well, duh, you fruitcake.” Vodyanitsa blew him a raspberry, with the man chuckling in return.
“I see,” was the only response Alyosha could muster as he took a swig of his pint. He decided to put his curiosity aside for the moment and get back to the real reason they were drinking in the first place. “Anyways,” he coughed. “Real good shit today guys. I think we could give Varsity a proper shot.”
Their conversation moved onto the group reflecting on their recent performances and plans for the near future. Alyosha began to feel more at ease as his friends started being their usual selves again, with Vodyanitsa giving Odette lots of kisses on the cheek for doing so well (she would’ve given her a million kisses regardless, who was she kidding), and Mitya cracking jokes about the shirtless man epidemic that’d taken place that summer in particular.
“Such a double standard, though! You know I’m right, Vodyanitsa. There are even Free The Nip protests which I wholeheartedly support, of course.”
She rolled her eyes at him in response. “Mm, that’s different though. We should just ban shirtless men entirely, I fear.”
Letting himself get absorbed into their conversation, Alyosha had just about forgotten what had been touched upon not too long prior. But when the group had had their fill and agreed that it was high time to head back, Alyosha had left behind a barely touched pint.
∞
“Childe’s a nice enough guy,” Mitya reasoned as he walked alongside Alyosha. They were headed to their joint class together: calculus. Mitya studied natural sciences as a massive enthusiast, physics his favourite in particular. Alyosha, on the other hand, was a mechanical engineer, and he’d struggled with his degree choice during his final year of school. He hadn’t been too fond of school during his time there, but he had taken a liking to his engineering science classes at the very least. He had fond memories of shooting at the range with his dad, and had enjoyed learning about the makeup of a gun. Alyosha was also from a lower-income household, so a degree of consideration went into that aspect as well. Hoping to make his parents proud, he settled on the rough, soul-sucking life of an engineer.
Alyosha decided to hear his friend out. He’d heard horror stories about drinking soc over the course of the year: its cliquishness, its mysterious practices, and of course, its notorious initiation day. But seeing the excitement on Mitya’s face, who was he to deny him? Plus, he wanted to make sure he was alright (or that’s what he told himself was the reason, in any case).
“Alright, let’s do it.”
Mitya beamed as he pulled his phone out from his pocket.
“Grand! I’ll shoot him a message for the both of us.”
Alyosha gave him a nod as they continued on their way to class, and that was how they’d ended up going along to the infamous drinking soc on campus.
∞
A handful of first years had arrived late to the circle, although only by about five minutes max. Childe smirked as he pointed them all out.
“You, you, and…you. Fifty push ups for me.”
They blinked at him in bewilderment, pointing at themselves in a “You talking to me?” sort of way. As it slowly dawned on them that he was in fact, not kidding, and with the rest of the second years pointedly staring at them, they reluctantly obliged and got onto the ground. The circle began egging them on, chanting as the poor guys huffed and puffed first thing in the morning. One of the second years was holding a professional style filming camera, walking around and recording the freshers as they attempted the challenge.
“Ayyyyyyy!”
One of the guys got to around twenty push ups before slumping into the ground, and the second years gave him playful boos in response.
“You’ve got it in you, man. Back to it!”
Mitya and Alyosha shot each other a knowing look, realising that this was going to be a long day. As the freshers finally got to their assigned fifty and lay on the ground to catch their breaths, Childe finally debriefed the rest of the group.
“Hey guys, welcome to Initiation Day. We’re here to have a little fun, aren’t we boys?” The second years whooped as he pulled out his phone from his tux, flicking through to his notes app.
“It is currently 6:17am. We were supposed to start the challenge at 6:05am, but some of your fellow comrades have unfortunately eaten into your time.”
Some of the freshers shot glances at the men still plastered on the floor.
“Listen up for the first challenge. You will have until 7am on the dot to find a pair of underwear. And not just any pair of underwear. A pair of women’s underwear.”
The freshers smirked around the circle as they took in the weight of his words.
“I don’t care if you steal them, if they’re from your bird, or hell, if you’re secretly a femboy.”
Cackles burst out across the group as he spoke.
“Pair up even, if you’d like. But if you’re not back, right here on this patch of grass, by 7am, you my friends will be joining your dear compatriots. On. The. FLOOR!!!”
“Ayyyyyyyy!”
Mitya and Alyosha glanced at one another, trying to read each other’s thoughts. As far as they both knew, neither one of them were dating a girl. Tough luck. Maybe becoming a femboy was actually a shout. They had also noted the genius behind the timing of the challenge: one, it was so early in the morning that no shops would be open for at least another hour and a half, and two, the laundry rooms around campus didn’t unlock until – you guessed it – 7am on the dot. No one would have enough time to make it back even if they waited around patiently. The two of them already knew they were going to have to get creative for this one.
“Alright, folks, it is now 6:19am. I’ve spoken enough. Your time…starts…NOW!”
The freshers scrambled in all different directions as he sent them off on their mission. Mitya ran after Alyosha as he headed in the direction of A Block.
“What did you have in mind?” Mitya shouted after him, hot on his heel. Alyosha slowed to a stop in response, realising they had more than enough time for what he was planning. He planted his hands onto Mitya’s shoulders, staring into his eyes with a smirk having formed on his lips.
“We may not have a bird…but we do have a Vodyanitsa.”
Mitya flashed him a knowing smile, and they continued excitedly on their journey towards the accommodation blocks.
Once they arrived, Alyosha pressed his keycard against the lock and pushed into the door with his bodyweight.
“Let’s take the stairs. Don’t wanna jinx it,” he suggested, wary about the current unreliable state of the lifts. They passed through another door into the stairwell and jogged their way up to Vodyanitsa’s floor.
“I know we don’t have keycard access to her specific flat, but I’ll ring her.”
Alyosha pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialled Vodyanitsa. He knew to ring her twice, as she had a phone perpetually in Do Not Disturb for some reason. She would also always be the one to complain when she couldn’t ring her phone to find it, before remembering Find My iPhone was indeed a thing.
It was also unfortunate that the flat that Mitya and Alyosha lived in was solely occupied by guys. They’d put down preferences before move-in day for mixed accom to meet a more diverse range of people, but the student accom overlords did not heed their prayers. Alyosha’s phone rang for a couple of moments before a groggy Vodyanitsa was heard on the other end of the line.
“Morning, Vodyanitsa. Sorry to wake you so early.”
“All good, all good. What’s up? This better be worth it.”
“We don’t have much time to explain, but we really need to borrow a pair of knickers.” Alyosha scratched his head. “They don’t have to be yours. Just any pair of women’s knickers would do.”
Vodyanitsa cracked up so hard over the phone, the sound cut out for a few seconds. Mitya struggled to hold back his laughter, quickly cupping a hand over his mouth so as to not wake anyone in the building.
“I didn’t take you for a panty sniffer, Alyosha. You know, there’s sites for that. I don’t judge."
Mitya put a hand up against the wall to steady himself, trying so hard not to snort.
“Shut up, Vodyanitsa.” He then turned to glare at a struggling Mitya. “And you. You’re not helping.”
Alyosha switched his focus back to the call. “We told you we were doing drinking soc initiation today, remember?”
She hummed to herself for a moment, recalling recent events. “Hmmmm, sorry. Forgot about that.”
Alyosha suddenly furrowed his brows as he heard a yawn. That yawn didn’t belong to Mitya, duh, but it was far too mild to be Vodyanitsa’s. The group joked that Vodyanitsa yawned like a whale, and honestly, she agreed. Wait. Was that Odette?!
“Hang on. Vodyanitsa. Where are you right now? Is Odette with you?”
The ruffle of bedsheets could be heard over the phone as Vodyanitsa snuggled up to her girlfriend and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Shhh, you can go back to sleep, baby. Uh, more like I’m with Odette.”
All the colour drained from Alyosha’s face right that instant, and Mitya mushed his face up against the wall.
Odette didn’t live on campus.
“Fuckkk!”
Alyosha paced around the landing as he assessed the situation. Odette didn’t live that far away from campus in general, staying in a flat only a short bus ride away. But that was a thirty minute walk at least. One way. It was so over.
“I’m sorry guys, but yeah, I’m not in right now. I wish I could be of more help.”
“It’s not your fault, don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
Vodyanitsa blew them a kiss over the phone.
“You’ve got this guys. Love ya.”
Only the beep of the call cutting out could be heard as the two friends stared at one another in bewilderment.
“Fuck me, man,” Alyosha cursed, bringing his hands to his head. “It’s too early for this shit.”
Mitya had leaned up against the wall, biting his lip in deep concentration. They didn’t really have many more options. And breaking into someone’s room most definitely wasn’t on the table, lest they wanted to get on a list or something. Hm.
Mitya suddenly stood upright, pulling his phone out to check the time. 6:36am.
“I think I know what to do. But you’re not going to like it.”
He legged it down the stairs, Alyosha following not too far behind. Bursting out into the open again, Mitya stopped to take in his surroundings. The campus was exceedingly empty in the mornings, but as the landscape lay particularly flat, you could see out for miles at a time all around. His eyes darted around rapidly before landing on someone who appeared to be a female student across two lengths of fields.
“She’s our only hope, Alyosha. Just trust me on this.”
Alyosha brought a palm to his face and squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment, eventually giving him a nod of the head.
“Ready when you are, man.”
They were going to be pressed for time. The student they’d spotted was headed in a direction away from their reconnaissance spot, meaning they would have to sprint back with all their might to make it on time. There wasn’t enough time to think, just to do. They’d got this.
The two guys launched themselves in her direction at a pace that should honestly make anyone run away in crippling fear. Their hair billowed in the wind as adrenaline pumped voraciously through their veins, their legs carrying them faster than the rest of their bodies could keep up. As they approached a section of road, they made sure to look both ways before quickly picking up speed again. Around five minutes had passed since they’d left A Block, and the student was finally clearly in sight. Sweet, sweet victory was almost theirs. Almost. Alyosha just about stopped right in his tracks as he realised who the woman was. Of all fucking people.
Danica.
“Keep going, Alyosha!” Mitya shouted over his shoulder, noticing the considerable slowdown in the man’s pace. “We’re so close!”
He sprinted up to the student, giving her a quick tap on shoulder as he came to a stop. She turned her body around to face him as she stopped walking, Alyosha catching up to them not long after.
“Mitya. To what do I owe the pleasure this early morning?” She suddenly quirked her head at Alyosha as he approached.
“Alyosha.”
“Danica.”
Their two gazes interlocked, their expressions neutral. Mitya couldn’t remember in the moment why the two weren’t more amicable with one another. All he knew was that Danica was also an engineer, and that Alyosha had done some group projects with her in the past.
Mitya put a finger up in the air, needing a moment as he bent forward to catch his breath, his other hand planting firmly into his thigh.
“Sorry, need a sec,” he heaved.
Alyosha, who was in much better shape, decided to speak up instead.
“We don’t have much time to explain, and please don’t freak out and think we’re pervs or something, but we really need your underwear.”
Danica didn’t react for a moment and just stood there staring at him in the same way as before. She brought a hand to her chin, making it seem like she was actually considering their proposal, then pivoted on her heel and continued walking.
“Danica, wait!”
The two men ran after her, pleading, and she continued to tune them out. This was not going as intended.
Quickly tiring of their incessant begging, she came to a sudden stop, and the two guys crashed into her like a couple of cartoon characters. She remained completely unmoving, and only angled her eyes to glare down at them.
“I’m only doing this for you because I like your band.”
No way. Mitya’s eyes lit up in appreciation, and Alyosha breathed out a sigh of relief.
“But I have two conditions.”
Alyosha’s breath hitched. He was usually a very composed person, entirely unphased by just about everyone he came across. But Danica was different. There was something so obscenely terrifying about her that even the sight of her put the fear of god in him. Mitya simply couldn’t understand it. She seemed nice enough to him.
“One, you pay me 100 quid, right now.”
“Done.”
Alyosha jerked his head around to shoot daggers at Mitya, who had folded under absolutely zero pressure. He fished into his pockets to pull out a couple of twenties, counting through them before handing them over feebly. She flicked through them for a couple of moments, shooting him a pointed look, before stuffing them deep into her jacket pocket.
“And two. I’d like two free tickets to your next show.”
Mitya and Alyosha looked at one another for a moment before turning back to face her in bewilderment.
“That’s it?” Alyosha questioned, donning a baffled expression.
“Well, what will it be? Yes, or no? And quickly, before I change my mind.”
Mitya waved his hands at her frantically, coming around to wrap her in a big hug. “Also done! We promise.” Mitya gave Alyosha a small smile as the woman stayed entirely unmoving in his grasp.
Danica nodded at them both, satisfied. “Now turn around, you perverts.”
They scrambled around to face in the opposite direction, apologising profusely all the while. She scanned around the field, making sure the coast was all clear. It was completely devoid of life this early in the morning, and honestly, it was even a miracle they had spotted her. She couldn’t sleep for reasons rather personal to her, and so she had decided to let out her pent up restlessness through a peaceful morning stroll. Or, well, what was a peaceful morning stroll before these two buffoons decided to interrupt her. She reached under her maxi skirt and stripped off the goods, shaking them past her boots as they reached her feet. Thank god I’m a trad goth, she thought to herself.
“You can turn around now. Here you go.”
Both of the mens’ eyes went wide in wonder as they finally got their hands on the prized possession. Mitya looked up at her, gratitude painted all over his face.
“Thank you so, soooo much. I will reach out to you on Insta, promise!”
Danica rolled her eyes at their grovelling.
“I know it’s for your stupid drinking soc thing. You better make it, then.”
Alyosha had already pulled his phone out to check the time. 6:47am. Fuck.
“Mitya, we’ve gotta go.”
Danica swivelled on her heel and continued her walk as if nothing had happened in the slightest.
“Thank you!!!” Mitya shouted after her as Alyosha grabbed his arm and began sprinting. They were noticeably far from the meeting point, but there was just enough time to make it back if they really hopped to it.
Using all their might and sheer willpower, the two men hauled ass like they’d never hauled before back towards the rest of the group. They could both taste metal on their tongues, and their heads were absolutely banging, but they couldn’t even stop to care. All of their humiliation (and that 100 quid of course) needed to be worth something in the end. This was their dignity they were talking about (or perhaps their lack of it in this case). And in Alyosha’s case in particular, he knew that Danica would never let him live it down if they came this close and still fell short of victory.
Time seemed to pass infinitesimally slow as they made their rapid advance. Relief began to wash through their bodies as they started seeing other freshers also sprinting back over, and eventually the signature black tuxedos came back into view.
“We’re nearly there, Mitya. Go, go, go!”
As the second years came closer and closer into their line of sight, Mitya and Alyosha could suddenly see a wash of colour that didn’t appear to have been there before. What on earth were they holding in their hands?
It was only after they practically flew into the circle that they could finally catch their breaths and take a proper look.
But hang on. What was the time?
Alyosha yanked his phone out one last time. No fucking way.
“6:59am.” He laughed as he buried his face into the grass beneath, his arms spread out wide across the surface.
Sweet, sweet victory.
Mitya sank to his knees and launched his arms into the air, cheering at the top of his lungs.
“Woooooooooooo!”
The sights and sounds of just under a dozen exhausted freshers could be observed around the meeting point, with a bunch of knickers being waved in the air as they celebrated. They were lucky it was so early in the morning, or otherwise they would most definitely end up on some sort of list.
“And…TIME!”
Childe swiped away the timer notification as the challenge came to an outstanding close. In the distance, two freshers could be seen waving frantically as they ran, and the rest of the group burst out laughing, motioning at them that it was all over. They eventually slowed to a jog, hanging their heads in defeat at they approached.
It became evidently clear what the objects the second years were holding were for. As they collected and inspected the…articles of clothing the freshers had gotten a hold of, they took note of who’d failed the challenge, either through lateness or emptyhandedness. The ones who failed were tasked with fifty burpees, all while getting beat by the multicoloured pool noodles in the hands of the second years. The sight was utterly ridiculous.
“Awesome work, you guys! I can’t wait to hear about your escapades at the party tonight.”
Childe instructed the second years to pass around bottles of water amongst the group, and the freshers lay down on the grass rehydrating themselves. Once enough time had passed, Childe beckoned them to all follow him through the campus. They made their way across a few fields and into the woods in the surrounding area. Following the designated path, they eventually made their way to the bottom of a downhill section, appearing next to a river as they emerged through the other side.
“Huddle in, guys.”
He went on to explain that this next challenge would require them to swim across the width of the river while holding a cup of beer by the teeth. Whatever came out with them at the other side was what they were going to have to take a sip of, so they had to give it their all to keep it uncontaminated.
They were rather lucky the river was a particularly clean one, but the idea of it was still pretty rank. Emptying their pockets of their valuables, Alyosha and Mitya nodded their heads at one another in encouragement as they slipped into the freezing cold water, its temperature hitting their bodies harder than expected. The freshers who’d indicated that they weren’t the strongest of swimmers were handed the pool noodles from earlier. How handy. The two friends laughed at one another as they took in the absurdity of their situation, kind of in the way people laugh and kick their feet when they hit cold bedsheets.
The second years helped to place the plastic cups filled with beer in between the freshers’ teeth, confirming it was secure through a small thumbs up. Once everyone was ready and rearing to go, Childe set them off eagerly. The two friends decided to take the challenge slow and steady. There appeared to be no time limit on purpose, so the method seemed rather implied by the second years. Breaststroke was the easiest way to make it across, and the both of them were rather adept swimmers. Crossing the width only took them about ten minutes, the river particularly narrow as it weaved its way into the campus.
Some of the freshers struggled frantically on the other hand, even a few with the pool noodles. All of their beer got displaced by the river water, and they slowly accepted their fates. Childe wiped his brow, relieved no one was drowning (yet).
As Alyosha and Mitya sat up on the bank, absolutely soaked from head to toe, they wondered when the second years were going to jump in and make it over to the other side. Oh. Oh dear.
The second years had began motioning at them, signalling for their return. Fuck this.
“We should’ve honestly expected this, to be fair,” Alyosha mused. Mitya shook his hair, sending droplets of water flying all around, and making Alyosha shield his face with his arms. Typical Mitya. He smiled at him fondly.
Just like before, they slowly made their way back across the expanse of water, taking care not to contaminate their inevitable beverage.
“Nicely done, you two,” Childe commended as he gave them both a clap on the back. “Bottoms up.”
Bringing their cups together, Mitya winked at Alyosha before joining him in chugging it all down. They swiped at their lips and passed the now empty cups back to the second years to recycle later.
The guys who had failed the challenge could choose how much of their contaminated drink they wanted to consume (Childe decided that he didn’t want to be slapped with a personal liability lawsuit in the absolute worst possible case). Most of the guys just dipped a finger in and licked at the contents, deciding it was too rank to go through with, but one particularly insane fresher decided he would down the whole thing.
The second years turned their heads to look at one another momentarily before goading him on.
“Drink, drink, drink!”
As he chugged it down, he could be seen to be audibly gagging from its taste, and Mitya could feel himself recoil from the discomfort of watching him. The fresher let out the nastiest burp afterwards, and the second years lifted him up onto their shoulders as they cheered. Well, that is, until he heaved, and then projectile vomited all over the grass in front of them. They damn well nearly dropped his ass, all clamouring to get away from him (and the godawful stench of course). Alyosha and Mitya struggled to hold themselves together as the entire group burst into laughter, tears forming in the corners of their eyes. It was barely 8am and so much had happened already. What a day this was going to be.
The rest of the day comprised of many more challenges and a lot more beer, of course. One, for example, was using giant water pistols to terrorise people around campus. That one eventually got shut down by security, after they too got sprayed one too many times. Another one was standing by the stretch of road leading in and out of the campus and giving people the middle finger as they drove on by. Most of the drivers cracked open their windows to curse back at them, but one group of freshers ended up getting chased after by this one third year who was not having it that day. He literally stopped his car in the middle of the road, set the gear into neutral, and stomped out of it, screaming profanities at them whilst in pursuit.
Mitya and Alyosha’s personal favourite was the initiation speech challenge, where they had to give an impromptu presentation on a low stakes conspiracy theory of their choice. Mitya chose to speak about how Eduroam was a psyop created by governments around the world to sabotage students’ educations and therefore make them more likely to fall for populist messaging in the future.
“Mitya, I think that’s more than just a low stakes theory at this point.”
The rest of the group nodded along to his speech in furious agreement, cussing the hell out of Eduroam all the while. Fuck Eduroam.
Alyosha decided to speak about how the third floor cafeteria’s vending machine was purposefully designed to eat people’s money, bringing up literal photo and video evidence on his phone for the rest of the group to see. He’d had one too many crashouts at that particular vending machine in the past year, especially as an engineer. If you know, you know. You don’t want to know.
The day had truly flown by, because it was now finally time to celebrate their feats at Childe’s house party. The freshers grabbed a ride over to his in the backs of the cars of the second years. They’d also been given some free time to return to their rooms to freshen up and grab anything they needed before heading. Mitya and Alyosha had brought along some drinks as a courtesy: Mitya a bottle of white wine, and Alyosha vodka.
Childe had headed over a little early on to get everything set up, and he welcomed them in as they began arriving in waves at the door.
“Thanks for the drinks, guys, super kind of you. Feel free to get settled in.”
The two friends gave him a polite nod as they made their way into the living room. It had been transformed into a mini nightclub of sorts, with speakers in the corners blasting dance music and strobe lighting flashing all over.
“What would you like, Mitya?” Alyosha questioned, offering to grab him a drink from the kitchen.
“A Vodka Red Bull would do me some good, if that’s alright. I’m a little knackered.”
Alyosha gave him a fist bump before making his way over to the kitchen island. Childe and some of the other second years had finally removed their sunglasses, making some polite conversation with him as he cooked up the drink for his friend.
“Your band is so fucking sick, bro.”
“Yeah, I still remember Christmas, man. So fucking hype.”
“Don’t forget us when you’re famous.”
Alyosha smiled back at them wholeheartedly as they clapped him on the back and ruffled his hair. Childe had finally welcomed everyone inside, and poked his head briefly through the archway.
“Grab your drinks and then take a seat, guys.”
Alyosha decided to treat himself to the same thing as Mitya, holding both cups in his hands as he made his way back into the living room. He returned to the sight of Mitya, in his V-necked jumper and collared shirt, looking oh so mesmerising, who was deep in conversation with one of the second years. The man towered over his friend, and sported the most majestic red hair tied back into a neat ponytail.
“Here you go, man.” He passed Mitya his drink who thanked him as he took a sip.
“Oh yeah, Alyosha, this is Noy – remember him from the winter ball? He was the magician the student union hired out.”
Yeah, Noy was cool as hell. He was a classicist, proficient in both Latin and Ancient Greek. He was also an exceptionally talented magician, exceedingly tricky to book out for events across the country. Alyosha wondered why someone with so much talent would even choose to bother with uni.
“Good to see you again, man. How’re you keeping?”
Alyosha clapped him into a handshake as he shared details of the past few months.
“I got to perform for Queen Anastasya for the first time, a personal goal of mine.” Mitya nodded his head in amazement.
“I swear I saw that on TV! I’m really happy for you.”
They continued making some polite chit-chat until Childe beckoned them all round into a big circle on the floor.
“I hope you’ve all enjoyed the events of today and are ready to celebrate!”
The group gave him loud whoops in response as he continued.
“First of all, I’d like to hear some of your underwear stories.”
He pointed at one guy across the room, who shared that he’d actually managed to sneak his way into one of the locked laundry rooms. A chorus of how’s echoed their way around the circle, as the campus laundry rooms were nicknamed ‘Alcatraz’ by the student body – impenetrable outside of working hours.
He then proceeded to share a TMI story of having gotten locked in that laundry room once before while sleeping with this one girl, where they had to break the hinges on one of the windows in order to eventually be able to climb out. Before sharing this with the group, him and this random girl were the only ones who knew of it.
“Even worse,” he continued, “I was so fucking faded, I don’t even remember what she looked like.”
Boos echoed out across the room as they roasted him for his dumbass story. Deserved, Alyosha thought.
Childe then asked someone else, who said they did the polite thing and borrowed theirs from a girl in their flat. More and more girlfriend and girl best friend stories were shared around the group, and Mitya and Alyosha realised that it was rigged against them from the very beginning.
The gaze of the ginger haired man finally landed on the pair, and they gulped in realisation. Mitya was about to give in and blurt out what had happened, but Alyosha quickly put a hand on his thigh and spoke in his place.
“Yeah, girl best friend as well.”
Childe cocked his head at them in curiosity, casting a glance at the sudden contact between them, before nodding and continuing to make his way around the circle. Mitya turned to give Alyosha a look.
“Don’t want to embarrass Danica,” Alyosha faintly whispered into his friend’s ear. Mitya nodded his head in agreement.
Once Childe was satisfied, he brandished what appeared to be a handmade box from how battered it was.
“This…is the drinking soc heirloom. It’s called the Black Box. Because it’s a black box.”
A few chuckles were let out across the room.
“It has some dares inside, things that are done every year by the new drinking soc members. Ready?”
The group nodded as he slowly pulled off the cover and gathered the pile of cards in his hands.
“Alright, for the first one, someone needs to unlock their phone.”
A chorus of ooooo’s could be heard around the room as Childe pointed at one poor fresher in particular. He reluctantly obliged, typing in the password for him. The ginger haired man brought the phone to his face as he tapped through it, the light from it showing everyone his devious smile. He eventually turned the device around to show what was onscreen.
“Who’s Lila?”
The fresher threw his head back in shame as the guys around him egged him on for an answer.
“My situationship, man.”
Childe flashed him a wicked smile.
“I just messaged her ‘I love you.’”
The circle erupted into cheers as the fresher buried his face in his hands, cackling. Childe handed him back his phone.
“Keep me updated on how it goes with her, bud.”
Childe then pulled out another card and yelped.
“Boy, I don’t think this one came up last year, thank fuck,” he laughed.
“Someone’s gotta shave at least an eyebrow.”
The freshers groaned in unison as they all avoided the ginger’s eager gaze. Luckily for him, one of them volunteered for some stupid reason, raising an enthusiastic hand into the air. A second year then came around and handed him a shaving stick and a handheld mirror. Without a moment of hesitation, he rid himself of not just one, but both eyebrows as wild cheers broke out around the circle. He decided not to mention that he was a part-time model who needed to shave them off for his next shoot anyways. What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.
“Nice going, guys. Let’s do one more for now before we go and grab some more drinks.”
Placing the previous card at the bottom of the pile, he slowly pulled out another.
“Huh.”
He looked around the room and studied everyone’s faces in focused silence, eventually setting his sights on Mitya and Alyosha. Oh god. What did he want?
Childe read out what the dare was, and all the life drained from Alyosha’s face.
“Pick the two people who would look the best together as a couple, and make them kiss.”
All the eyes in the room suddenly turned to face them. There were no cheers; there were no boos. Just pure, crisp, unadulterated silence. Childe pointed right at them.
“You two.”
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
This could not be happening right now.
Alyosha jerked his head around, firstly to glower at the man who simply flashed him a shit-eating grin, and then to face Mitya. Both of their eyes had gone wide, and all he could do was stare at his friend as he so desperately tried to tell himself that this wasn’t actually happening. Surely this was all just a really weird dream, and he’d eventually wake up, hopefully having had forgotten about it all.
So why did everything feel so real? The clamminess of his hands against the hardwood floor. The feeling of his face burning up like never before. His heart fluttering to the point he thought he was going to pass out right then and there. And Mitya, oh Mitya. His friend gazed over at him with the softest, most heartfelt expression he had ever witnessed, his eyes glazed over and searching, desperately trying to transmit his thoughts through the air and directly into Alyosha’s brain. Desperate to tell him that he didn’t have to do this, that it was all going to be okay, and that it really was just a bad dream that they’d inevitably wake up from – together.
So why was all Alyosha saw a man gazing back at him so patiently, so stoically in the face of immense peer pressure? Why was all Alyosha felt his friend placing a hesitant hand on his thigh, and an even shakier one against his cheek? Why was all Alyosha said absolutely nothing in the slightest? Why couldn’t he bring himself to say no?
But it was Mitya. Mitya, who lit up every room he walked into. Mitya, whose hands would have already moved mid-sentence to sketch out whatever idea had seized him in the moment. Mitya, who would laugh too loud at his own jokes and then sincerely apologise for it, as if they weren’t some of the most beautiful sounds Alyosha had ever heard. Mitya, who treated other people’s comfort as though they mattered more to him than his very own.
Alyosha knew how easy it would have been to say no to anyone else. He had said many no’s before, to gentler people, to easier moments. But there was something about Mitya, something about the fullness of him that had never once felt like too much for Alyosha. He was the one person he couldn’t deny, because denying him felt as if damnation itself would be kinder.
Alyosha’s eyes fluttered shut as his friend pressed his lips into his, and he could almost feel his heart stop. Why did it feel so wrong right?
He couldn’t help but bring a hand over his friend’s as he steadied himself against his delicate touch. He kissed him back slowly, carefully, in the way you’d touch something you were terrified of shattering. And Mitya let him – let him take his time, let him learn the shape of his lips, answering him with only tender, unhurried movements. There were none of Mitya’s usual sounds in their embrace. There was just his breath, uneven, his warmth, and the quiet astonishment of feeling wanted by someone who couldn’t possibly want him at all.
When they parted for air, Alyosha was this close to grabbing him by the collar and pulling him back in for more. But feeling all the eyes on them again, hearing the quiet whoops and whistles resound throughout the room, he was immediately pulled away from his trance. He looked at Mitya as though he’d been given something he didn’t know how to deserve.
“Haha, no homo though!” someone shouted from across the room, and Childe turned to glower at the culprit in response. Nonetheless, Mitya and Alyosha had already turned away from one another off the back of that, awkwardly joining in on the laughter that had broken out amongst their peers. But they were no longer truly present in that room, for all they could think about was trying not to think about one another.
The party then got into full swing, the music turned back up to max, and drink after drink being thrown back with no care in the world. The two friends kept heading into the kitchen to grab one, and then another, and yet another, every one mixed in with a spirit. But for every drink Mitya had, Alyosha downed two. He ended up being the first to feel utterly sick to his stomach.
“Bathroom,” he choked out, stumbling his way through the corridors to the one pointed out as he’d arrived.
Slamming the door shut behind him as he entered, he collapsed to his knees and heaved into the porcelain bowl. He yanked his phone out from his pocket, drunkenly ringing Vodyanitsa as he continued emptying out all the contents of his stomach.
He needed to speak to someone. Anyone. As long as they weren’t from drinking soc. As long as they weren’t Mitya. He gripped the bowl as his phone rang once, and then twice, and yet again, but to no avail. Vodyanitsa never came on the line except for her quirky voicemail.
“Hey, it’s Vodyanitsa here. Or rather, Vodyanitsa isn’t here, I should say. Leave me a message after the tone. You know I love gossip.”
He responded to her weakly, his voice almost entirely gone.
“I need help. I need to talk to someone. Please.”
It took a few tries for him to press the End Call button, and he groggily swiped through to book himself an Uber before he couldn’t anymore. Stumbling to his feet with his phone in hand, he couldn’t even coordinate to flush the toilet before making his way out. Mitya had just come to the door, searching for him in worry.
“Uber…home…” Alyosha croaked, and Mitya understood.
“I’m coming with you.”
Alyosha couldn’t even bring himself to shake his head at him in protest. Mitya turned to look behind him, and everyone appeared to be preoccupied. They slipped out of the house in the dead of the night, their Uber arriving not too long after. He didn’t give a shit whether they’d made it into drinking soc or not for leaving early. He just needed to get his best friend home.
Alyosha fell asleep in his arms the instant they slumped against one another in the back of the taxi, and Mitya gazed down at him tenderly. Alyosha was so, so beautiful, he thought. He swiped away the strands of hair covering his friend’s face, allowing him to rest up softly against his beating chest. Mitya’s heart ached all the while, knowing he would never have this for real. Alyosha was straight. He always had been. All he could do was enjoy the moment while it still lasted.
∞
Alyosha woke up confused from his slumber, feeling a sharp pain in the side of the head as he sat up in the bed. Fuck. He struggled to piece together how he’d ended up back home again. Was last night really just a dream? But as he turned over to the side and grabbed his phone from the nightstand, everything suddenly came rushing back to him.
Phone
00:13 Missed Call from mitya
00:16 Missed Call from vodyanitsa
00:17 Missed Call from vodyanitsa
00:17 Missed Call from odette
Messages
00:15 vodyanitsa
hiiiii, i’m so sorry i missed your call i dropped my phone behind my bed by accident lol 😭😭😭
u alright hun?
holy shit are you safe alyosha?
00:17 vodyanitsa
hey hun i’m ringing you back, please pick up when you can
i’m worried about you
i’ll ring mitya for you okay hun
i’m here for you
00:19 vodyanitsa
i’m on the phone with mitya ml
he says he's looking for you
ur vm was pretty echoey and you were heaving so i assumed bathroom
he’s just told me he's outside waiting for you hun
he’s here to help i promise
just hang in there, okay? ❤️
00:49 vodyanitsa
mitya’s just let me know he’s tucked you into bed
i’m so glad ur safe ml, you gave me a bit of a fright
message me once ur up, okay? 💗 just wanna make sure ur alright 🫂
Mitya had also left him a handwritten note next to his phone. Alyosha peeled off the sticky note from the nightstand.
Hey, Alyosha.
I just wanted to let you know that I helped you home from drinking soc last night.
I helped you get your shoes off and put your phone on the charger.
I’m here for you if you need anything at all, you know I’m always just a text away.
Yours truly,
Mitya
P.S. Let me know how much the Uber was – we’ll split it :)
Alyosha couldn’t feel anything at all. He didn’t want to feel anything. He would rather stay numb for the rest of his waking hours than to feel any of feelings that he felt the night before. Struggling not to cry, he squeezed his eyes shut as he slumped back into the sheets from exhaustion.