Doc and Etho were standing on the sidewalk to the party, cupcakes in a box held tightly in Doc's arms. One on top in a special individual box had more detailed icing, meant for the gracious host of the party who Doc had made it especially for.

Beef had said last minute that he couldn't drive Etho even though he was the one supposed to be dragging him along, because he had stayed too late at False's house and couldn't make it back there and to the party on time, so Doc had the honor of driving them both there. It wasn't a problem at all, except that Etho had to wait an extra 20 or so minutes for Doc to finish icing the cupcakes, which was spent in anxious waiting-mode, which only gave him more time to think and be nervous, something he really didn't need currently.

"This is fine. It's just a simple party with friends, and maybe Bdubs and Keralis will be there because they know Ren, but at least Keralis doesn't hate me anymore, and hey yeah it'll be fine!" Etho tried to reassure himself as he stepped up a very small flight of stairs.

"Know these stairs are so small it's a tripping hazard. Maybe if I just fell and got hurt I would have an excuse to go home early?" He was grasping at strings, really trying to find any reason that this was a bad idea and he shouldn't have to go in.

Hoo boy. They were standing at the door.

Last time he heard, Ren was sharing an apartment with some guy named Martyn and another named B-something? The former known as a bit of a party animal. Was he going to be here this time? And if so- was it still going to be chill? Maybe the B-guy was chill?

No. No. Etho trusted Doc, and Doc trusted Ren. So, in theory, Etho could trust Ren. This was going to be fine.

They opened the door all the way, taking in the sight in front of them. Doc dropped the cupcakes, mouth falling open slightly as well.

"What the fuck?" Doc deadpanned. Etho stilled next to him.

The music was booming as they opened the doors (a miracle they didn't hear it before then), and the reek of alcohol hit their noses immediately. There were other smells too, and Etho was both relieved and worried he couldn't recognize the scents of any of the other drugs being used.

Etho decided right then, that he could not trust Ren.

They stepped inside to make sure this was all real and they weren't just imagining it. Colored lights were swirling and bodies were tumbling around in what could almost be described as dancing as they got a good look of the place, and it was a complete mess.

Etho picked up the cupcakes and put them to the side of the door, trying to do something to distract himself from the overwhelming smells and lights. He stood up, and gulped, glancing at Doc slowly. This was not what he had agreed to. This was not anything he was prepared or ready for.

"What the heck." His heart sped up slightly and   anxiety was pounding in his chest.

Doc clearly knew Etho was looking at him and waiting for some form of recognition- saying something or just looking at him- but he kept his gaze forwards and his mouth shut, scanning the room with a glare- until a person waltzed over to the two.

"Hey Docy! Hey Emo!" A very drunk friend waved to them, unable to walk forwards in a straight line with a red solo cup in their hand. Etho recognized him as Grian, the barista that worked with Bdubs and Cleo and was usually cleaning. They hadn't met more than a few times he ordered something, but Etho was pretty sure Grian still knew his name for different reasons.

"It's Etho." Etho corrected.

"Yeeeaaaah! That's wha' I said mann.." He slurred, a dopey grin on his face from the alcohol that showed he was really out of it.

"Oh you guys jus' got 'ere!" Grian realized with squinted eyes, looking behind them at the door. "Since I'm so amazingly kind and shit, 'ere." Grian laughed at his own dramatical-ness, and shoved a red solo cup into Doc's hand. Doc immediately held it away from his face in disgust.

It wouldn't take an expert to guess what was in it.

"I'll get you one too Emo-"

"Etho." Etho whispered. Grian didn't hear it.

"-just in like- the room with the stuff. Yeah. I'll get on for ya'." Grian finished.

"No thanks." Etho spoke up a little, but Grian didn't hear that either (or he heard it and didn't care, or heard and didn't process, but probably still didn't care.), and he clumsily stumbled in the direction of what Etho assumed with the kitchen- if that's where they had the alcohol that is.

"Doc." Etho whispered, feeling almost silent against the buzz of the room. "We can leave right now." He said quietly. "Grian was out of his head, he won't remember we were ever here. We can leave now and no one will know the difference."

"Ren promised it was going to be a chill party." Doc growled under his breath. Etho could hear him more clearly than any words of the music playing.

"Doc?"

"He fucking promised me." Doc had more anger in the word "promise" than his actual swear, and Etho looked up to see him scanning the room over again.

Doc's head turned to Etho, and he paused his glare to look conflicted.

"Etho, can you drive tonight?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm giving that asshole a piece of my mind." Doc said definitely.

"What?" Etho furrowed his eyebrows. "Doc, Ren is probably just as bad as Grian, if not worse. He won't understand a thing."

"I don't care. He- he promised me. He promised me this would be a fun night with friends. Something chill. This is not chill."

Etho knew there was no room for negotiation; When Doc's mind was set on something, that was it, and only a hurting friend could snap him out of it. He barely noticed the glistening in Doc's eye with the flashing party lights, but Doc purposely avoiding eye contact said enough.

"Ok ok." Etho started, taking a shaky breath. "I can hold out until you're done with- well whatever you're planning. Please don't kill him by the way. I can just, like, stand in the corner and avoid people then?"

"Thanks, Etho. I really don't want to be stuck here longer than I need to be."

"Yeah." Etho said. "Yeah ok. I'll just wait here."

"If it's too much, you can just wait outside."

"Ok."

Doc gulped, and looked at the drink still in his hand with a reluctant grimace. He sighed and downed half of it in front of Etho, slamming the rest of the cup a little too harshly on the nearest surface.

"I'm going to need that." Doc said. "Did I already mention that you're driving?"

"Yeah." And Etho felt his throat close a little, feeling like he had repeated that word too many times already. Doc waved a hand backwards, set on finding Ren quickly as he turned and weaved through the messy crowds.

"Please don't kill him." Was all Etho could think clearly, and then he was alone. Well not really alone with the booming music and bodies moving around in the room, but he felt alone.

---

Etho chose a very comfortable corner to stand in.

"I'm just gonna wait here, and I can see when Doc is done, and head straight for the door. An-" Etho thought, until he was very rudely interrupted by a very touchy couple invading his space. He flinched away and then stumbled backwards as best he could as the two made out on the wall where he was standing, a deep blush blooming on his face in embarrassment when he scrambled away.

"Do people have no respect here?!"

He supposed the alcohol was to blame. And any other drugs that seemed to be wafting around them. It was blissful ignorance that he had no idea what it was.

Ok, so the corner was not so comfortable anymore, and Etho had to give up his spot and leave very quickly in the turn of events.

Outside! Outside had to be better! It was where to go when things got too much, and currently that felt about right. It was easy enough to find the door outside, only having to flinch away from a few bodies that bumped him in their dancing or jumping, and he made it safe and sound and away from the suffocating crowds inside.

He took a few heaving breaths of fresh(ish) air and his stiff shoulders relaxed slightly with the more open room.

Eyes closed, he leaned against the wall of the house, until he heard cackling laughter and screams that startled him out of it after only a few seconds of peace.

"Let me go!" An unamused voice screamed out, being completely ignored by the people who had captured him. It was a blonde guy he recognized from somewhere, (very vaguely and not in a familiar way) trying to avoid the hands that tried to pick him up and drag him towards the pool.

It was only then that Etho realized Ren even had a pool. And something about never actually going to Ren's place clicked in his mind. Ren was over at his and Doc's place all the time to hang out with Doc, but Etho never went to his until now. Huh.

The tall blonde screaming guy was picked up by another blonde guy in green pretty easily despite the tall one's height, and a few people started to chant to throw him in the pool.

Etho caught sight of a red sweater in all of the mess, loudest of them all, chanting:

"THROW TIM IN! THROW TIM IN! THROW TIM IN!"

"Let me go Martyn!" The tall guy yelled again, trying to hit his arm to struggle out. "All of you bastards are fuckin' drunk! Let me go!"

"THROW TIM IN!"

"Shut up Grian!" The tall guy yelled even louder.

Ah. So there was where Grian went.

"At least he forgot about me." Etho thought, feeling a bit of pity for the guy apparently named "Tim". There wasn't a way he could help without being thrown in himself, especially because he was pretty sure he couldn't overpower the Martyn guy in a wrestling match anytime soon.

Another guy in a darker green hoodie with a green streak in his hair joined the chanting, and poor Tim was thrown in the pool at last, floating back up with a hurt frown and soaking, dripping hair.

"At least he can swim." Etho winced.

"Oh hey! It's Emo!" Grian noticed him standing on the side. "Wannaaa swim? The water's great! Tell him how great the water is, Timmy." Grian cackled, and Etho considered that instead of being emotional or angry drunk, Grian seemed to be a psychopath when under the influence. Ok. Duly noted.

"It's Jimmy! Stop calling me Tim!"

Etho felt especially bad for Jimmy now, but with the drunken maniacal laugh from Grian and the grins on his friends' faces, he decided very quickly he did not want to be next to join Jimmy, and without a word, he rushed back inside.

"Ok, I'll just find as empty of a room as I can, and sit in the corner, and wait for Doc, and get home, and forget all about this. Everyone else will anyway! It can't be that hard."

The couch in a new room seemed safe. No one was on it. The colored lights barely reached the room from the doorway, and the music was muffled significantly. Fewer people were here, and the couch was leaning against a wall instead of the middle of the room. Etho could just sit here and wait for Doc, and then leave, and everything would be fine.

"Everything is fine," He told himself. He was saying that a lot. He didn't feel ok, but maybe if he said it enough, the pain in his chest would settle and it would be true.

He couldn't really relax, but as he was at least getting somewhat comfortable on the couch, he was snapped out of his fragile peace once again.

"Oh mon dieuuuu!" A surprisingly familiar voice called out in his direction. "Ethoo is that you? The white haired hottie at a frickin' frackin' party?"

Etho ignored the name, instead focusing on the slurred voice of the man stumbling in his direction.

Bdubs.

Bdubs was walking in a very messy line towards him.

"Hey Bdubs...." He said slowly. They weren't exactly on good terms, and Etho wasn't sure what Bdubs was like drunk, and he felt way out of his comfort zone.

"Where are his friends? Can I just shove him towards one of them?" Etho scanned the room for anyone Bdubs might know, but drew up blank. Most of the people at this party seemed to be unfamiliar faces actually. That only made it worse.

"How many drinks have you had?" Etho asked, turning his attention back to Bdubs who seemed to still be getting closer to him.

"Oh y'know! Like! Numbers! A number! Math. Fancy smart calculus stuff~"

"How drunk are you?" Etho asked more cautiously.

"Not much! Or maybe yeah.... Je ne sais pas, y'know?" Bdubs grinned, looking into Etho's eyes. Etho looked away quickly.

"Is that- french?" Etho squinted his eyes and glanced back at Bdubs for a second.

"Oui oui mon ami!" Bdubs cackled, head falling towards Etho more, ignoring personal space completely.

"My friend?" Etho translated in a whisper. "I thought you hated me."

"Eh, maybe for a bit." Bdubs shrugged. "But like, I dunno, you're cool. I don't hate cha. Just y'know. Tu es bête. Or was it embêter?" He said with an American accent. "Eh, I don't care. I dunno. You're annoying, but I don't hate you."

Etho felt his face heat and his mouth go dry. "Why are you speaking French anyways? Is it your first language or something?"

"Nah 'm not a baguette man. Jus' tryin' to impress ya' I guess." Bdubs giggled. He was sitting next to Etho now somehow, really closely actually, and Etho leaned away towards the edge of the couch.

"Impress?" Etho squeaked.

Bdubs ignored the question and scooted closer to Etho, staring into his eyes deeply. Etho could see the half lidded gaze and smell the alcohol in his breath, even though his mask.

"How many drinks has he had?"

Etho was pulled close- too close for comfort. But Bdubs seemed too out of it to notice at all how Etho froze under the touch. His hand was on Etho's arm, and all Etho could think about was that he was glad he was wearing long sleeves.

"You know you're really pretty?" Bdubs titled his head to the side, getting even closer.

Etho felt like he couldn't breathe.

"I mean. I noticed it the first time I saw you. But up close. It's different." Bdubs kept going.

"Oh?" Etho felt like he should say more. Even if Bdubs wouldn't remember any of this probably. "Thanks?"

"You got that silvery-ery hair and shtuff." Bdubs was slurring words even more, and Etho had half a thought to maybe get him to drink water, before it was rudely interrupted by Bdubs again.

Bdubs was combing his hands through Etho's hair, half seated in his lap with his legs to the side.

Etho couldn't find air when he tried to sharply inhale and shot up off the couch, Bdubs falling into the place he had been with it. His heart was pounding and skin was crawling. Bdubs was half laying on the couch now looking at Etho with a confused and worried look on his face.

"Stay here." Etho commanded quickly, rushing out of the room without looking back.

He felt eyes on him as he weaved through crowds, trying to avoid touching anyone close enough to. It was easy enough to find the kitchen, it was a pretty open floor plan.

"What the hell what the hell- what kind of hallucinatory drugs is he on?!" Etho panicked. He wasn't sure if water would even help if he took other stuff, and all he could hope was that it didn't make anything worse. Maybe he should call poison control? Wait no, he hated calls. But he could look it up instead.

He typed with one hand while the other continued to grab a glass of water, scanning through titles and wikipedia articles as fast as he could. For the most part it said it was fine, aside from some rare medications and drugs he was pretty sure some dumb college party couldn't get their hands on anyway.

With the glass in his hand, he tried to stick to the walls of the room more to avoid spilling it as he made his way back. Compared to everywhere else, the secluded room he found was much more comfortable space wise.

"Maybe he'll sober up and then I can leave." Etho thought, then he paused. Why couldn't he just leave now? It's not like Bdubs would remember anyways.

"No. I can't just leave him like this. Stupid morals and crap getting in the way." He sighed, and continued on his path back to the room. The music was still really loud, but it was more ignorable now, or maybe he had just gotten used to it.

He got back, ready to give Bdubs the water, when he heard a quiet whimper from the couch.

Bdubs was tearing up, sniffling and crying and half curled in the same place Etho left him.

"Shit-" He swore under his breath. "Bdubs what's wrong?"

"You hate me and you're uncomfy and I did that and I'm s- I'm sorryyyy!" Bdubs wailed, and Etho waved his free hand as gently as he could in Bdubs face to calm him down.

"No, no Bdubs, it's fine. I don't hate you."

"You don't?" Bdubs quietly asked. Etho felt really guilty seeing him like this. If Bdubs had half a mind he'd probably be super embarrassed, and acting like this in front of a negative acquaintance no less definitely made it worse.

"No. You're just- you're just super drunk. I got some water for you." Etho said and offered the glass forwards. He had a mental plan to never tell Bdubs any of this, to save his dignity.

"I don't want it." Bdubs pouted, sniffling a little, but calming down from the tears pretty quickly.

"It will make me happy if you drink it." Etho tempted, inching it closer to Bdubs face.

"Ok." Bdubs mumbled, grabbing the glass with dizzy hands that struggled to grasp it normally.

He split a little, but managed to down half the glass like his life depended on it before he stopped.

"Better?"

"Thanks, Etho. You're so nice."

"I wouldn't say that..." Etho mumbled.

"I don't know why I even argue with you. You're smart and cool and said sorry to Ker so I shouldn't even be mad but I still fight and I dunno. D'you hate me?"

"No." Etho said. He shifted from one foot to the other, watching Bdubs slouch back into the couch as he put the glass on the table next to them a little too hard.

"Sit down. You look tired." Bdubs said, shuffling to the side so Etho could sit down.

"I'm always tired." Etho chuckled, but obliged to Bdubs's request and sat back down. Bdubs seemed to be keeping more space between them this time, something Etho was grateful for.

"Whyyy?" Bdubs looked at him like he was studying him. Etho hated the focused attention, but at least he seemed to be sobering up a tiny bit.

"Lots of work to do all of the time, and emotional exhaustion. And other stuff."

"Why?"

"Life is just- difficult. People are hard to talk to, not like you'd know, you make it look so easy. And I love coding, but this class I'm taking is much harder than I thought it would be, which is just adding to the stress."

"Why?"

"I don't know! I guess it just deals with parts of code I'm not used to and it's being used for different projects than I expected."

"Why-"

"Well-" Etho paused and turned to Bdubs "Wait you're just saying "why" to everything aren't you?"

Bdubs giggled and shook his head, trying to hide a wide smile. Suddenly, the topic was the funniest thing in the world, and Bdubs was cackling, falling backwards on the couch even more so. When he sat back up slowly after the laughing fit that Etho only awkwardly chuckled along with, he yawned deeply, blinking slowly in a sleepy daze.

He giggled a little more with a whisper of "You fell for it!" and then yawned again, not even trying to hide it.

"Are you tired?" Etho asked.

Bdubs didn't answer, staring off into space.

"I'll get you a blanket. Maybe then you can just go to sleep for the rest of the night." Etho muttered the second half, standing up again to try to find one when he didn't even know the floorplan.

---

It wasn't actually hard to find, because the first doorway he went through had a few baskets lying around with blankets folded up in them Etho could use. That made it easy.

"Hey!" Someone called out towards Etho. It sounded surprisingly sober, so he turned around with the newly acquired blanket folded in his arms.

"Hey it's you, the guy Grian was taunting outside." They continued.

Etho recognized him as the tall guy thrown in the pool earlier pretty quickly, mostly because of his still wet wet hair sticking to his face.

"Ah shoot what was his name again?" Etho thought quickly, trying to remember what he had yelled out in the pool.

"I wouldn't say I was the one being taunted." Etho replied with the plan to avoid using his name until he knew it, looking the guy up and down to make a point that he clearly had it worse.

"Yeah." The guy tried to chuckle into his sigh to make it lighthearted, but his voice fell flat. "He's a psychopath when he's drunk, but I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry." Etho said, not really sure what support he could offer.

"I'm Jimmy by the way. Not Tim or Timmy or anything else Grian says." Jimmy introduced himself, much to the relief of Etho.

"Etho. Nice to meet you."

"I'm uh, I'm not stealing this blanket by the way. I'm just borrowing it since I couldn't find any towels." Jimmy said, wrapping it around his shoulders more.

"I won't tell if you won't." Etho smiled, holding up his own blanket subtly.

"Cold?"

"No. A drunk person is tired so I'm getting this for him."

"A drunk friend?"

"Not quite."

"Oh I'm sorry-"

"No it's not a big deal. We're just sort of rivals-ish. I don't think he knows exactly who I am to him right now." Etho said calmly.

"Well Grian knows plenty who I am." Jimmy scoffed. "I'm the guy he gets to pick on whenever he likes. Drunk or high or not."

Etho wasn't sure what to say, so he just blurted. "Well then don't let him."

"What?" Jimmy gave him a confused look.

Etho really didn't know what to say now. Was that the right thing to say? Did he sound stupid?

"You know what," Jimmy chuckled. "You're right! I shouldn't have to take his shit anymore! I'm going to stand up for myself for once."

"Uh...Maybe don't start a fight in Ren's house. I'm a little mad at him for lying about this party, but I would still feel bad if his house got trashed because of something I said." Etho said.

"No I can't fight them anyways." Jimmy considered. "But I think I'll ignore them all for a while. The good ol' silent treatment. Hell, I haven't had a drink tonight. I'll just drive home right now and do whatever the hell I want! Thanks Etho, you're a real pal."

Etho just nodded as Jimmy quickly turned around and walked out of the door with a wave behind his back.

That might've been horrible advice, or not. Etho had no idea. What he was sure of though, is that this blanket would suffice for passing out on the couch, and as long as Bdubs didn't throw up on it or anything, it would work well for the night. Maybe he should grab a waste basket as well actually.

On his way back, there was a rather loud conversation going on in an empty room Etho heard just by walking past. He didn't want to eavesdrop, but....

"How could you!?" A voice yelled. A normal person would have assumed it was a couple arguing from the desperate tone, but Etho recognized the voice as the friend who saved most of his computer, almost instantly.

Xisuma.

"It was just a prank, Zooma. Chill out about it!" And the other voice was clearly his sibling, Ex, seething with a scoff Etho could hear through the mostly closed door.

"Ex do you not understand what you did?" Xisuma continued. He sounded super mad, and Etho was almost scared to hear what the answer was.

There was a pause, and another scoff, "I just spiked the drinks a little." Ex defended. "Just to loosen up the party a little."

"Wait what? What did Ex do?"

Etho knew he shouldn't be hearing this, and this wasn't his business, so he left the two quick with his new blanket. He was honestly too tired to connect the dots currently, and just hoped that after he gave this blanket to Bdubs, Doc would be ready to leave. He was so tired of tonight.

---

Xisuma gave them a wide-eyed horrified frown. "Just to loosen up?" He whispered, glancing past Ex to get another look at the running screaming drunken friends, and strangers wreaking havoc through the house. This was not "loosening up" anything.

"I didn't bring the weed or anything! That was True and whoever else showed up." Ex scoffed, rolling their eyes.

"Ren doesn't know half of these people, do you know where they came from?! Why is True even here? I know for a fact that False didn't bring her, and her and Ren weren't on good terms either last time I checked either."

"Why are you blaming everything on me!?" Ex shouted. "It's a party! Of course everyones gonna catch word of it. I just helped bring a bit of fun."

"Helped?! You call this "helped"?!" Xisuma yelled. "Grian's gone mad, Jimmy was thrown in the pool, Stress was crying, Cleo's going to be out of employees tomorrow, I saw Etho panicking in a corner and I don't think he's even touched anything, and anyone who's not making out or destroying Ren's place is passed out drunk!"

"Can you chill a little?" Ex frowned. "I wasn't trying to hurt anyone or anything!"

"Well you did! You didn't think things through and you did!"

"Could you just relax! Its not a fucking big deal X." Ex shouted.

"No! This was a ridiculously stupid idea of yours! I'm making sure my friends haven't gotten alcohol poisoning, and then I'm leaving." Xisma said firmly with a frown. One of mixed hurt, worry, and anger.

"Zooma, we only have one car-"

"You're not coming back to the house tonight. Maybe for a few nights. This is the last straw. Find somewhere else to sleep."

"Wait what- Xisuma! What?!"

"You heard me." Xisuma turned away, going through the doorway to the next room to check on everyone that had too much to drink. He refused to look back, and barely hesitated when he walked through the door without any response from behind.

---

"Ethooooo?" Bdubs called out clutching the blanket wrapped around him.

"Bdubs go to sleep!" Etho groaned. This felt like babysitting. Babysitting a very drunk man-toddler.

"I'm not tireeeeeed- c-can we cuddle?"

Etho wanted to freeze up or run away, but took a deep breath instead. "You are drunk Bdubs. I'm leaving soon and-"

"Why are you leaving?"

"Because I don't like parties. Especially ones with drugs."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Etho sighed.

"Look-" He paused. "You know what? Here, take a hug. And then you can go to sleep on this comfy couch, and take the advil, and forget about all of this, ok?"

"I don't wanna forget." Bdubs said softly. "You're nice to talk to."

"How many drinks did you have?" Etho asked again, mostly to see if Bdubs could remember anything. He ignored the second statement, Bdubs was just out of it.

"I don't know.." Bdubs sighed, and it sounded like the most clear thing he had done that night. "Too many. You're right, I won't remember aaaanything."

"Do you want a hug?" Etho offered again.

"Yeah."

Etho expected it to be a quick, slightly uncomfortable pat on the back, but once Bdubs stood up and wrapped his arms around Etho, he held on tight and didn't let go.

"This is- it's not horrible." Etho realized and he put in some effort to squeeze back lightly.

It might have been a bit long, but Bdubs was a good hugger, even as drunk and clumsy as he was currently, half leaning on Etho to stay upright.

"Oh Bubbles there you are!" A chipper voice came up from behind just as Bdubs was letting go. Etho pulled away more quickly and spun around to see Keralis, who seemed to be doing much better than Bdubs even with a drink in his hand. Bdubs waved, before promptly falling backwards onto the couch again.

"Oh uh. Hey." Etho said, waving curtly quickly. Keralis didn't seem to mind the awkwardness, or at least didn't mention it.

"Bubbles hasn't been too much has he? He's clingy and emotional when he's drunk."

"No, he's fine." Etho said. Bdubs seemed to have already fallen asleep behinds when he glanced back quickly.

"Uhm actually...." He trailed off, feeling much more claustrophobic in the room even with just the three of them now, (when had everyone else left?) even when Bdubs wasn't conscious.

Keralis stayed quiet to let Etho finish kindly.

"You didn't- he doesn't-. He said- you know. "

"Take your time Eefo." Keralis said kindly.

Etho took a deeper breath, trying to think of the words in his head before repeating them.

"He said he doesn't hate me. Is that true?"

Keralis smiled. "Bubbles doesn't hate you. He just likes to hold a grudge as long as he can. Spank you for finding him before I did and keeping him company."

Etho nodded, subtly putting a little more distance between him and the other two. He saw Doc from the corner of his eye near the door.

"I uh- I have to go now."

Keralis hummed. "Have a nice night Eefo. Bubbles will be just fine I promise. I'm not nearly as drunk as he is and Ren will let us stay the night if no one sober can drive us."

"Yeah ok. Uh. See ya around." Etho waved quickly, turning to race out of the room as politely as he could.

He chuckled softly under his breath as he left the room, stealing a quick glance back at Bdubs and Keralis. Keralis was sitting next to Bdubs, tucking the blanket around him and placing both his drink and the water glass onto the table. "What even is tonight? Jeez, I'm so tired."

---

Doc avoided Etho's eyes and a quick glance gave Etho the answer. They were red and tired, the tears wiped off his cheeks in a sloppy half-drunk rush. Etho didn't look again, either in uncomfort, respect to Doc's dignity, or both; He wasn't sure.

"Let's go." Doc said in a low, raspy, slightly slurred voice. "You got the keys?"

"Yeah." Etho said flatly, staring towards the door. He wasn't sure Doc still knew where it was or could even process what room they were in, so he made it easy for Doc to just follow him.

He grabbed the untouched cupcakes still by the door before grabbing the handle, the gateway to freedom and relief from the overwhelming party.

It was a silent walk to the car on the sidewalk, until Etho broke it with a simple question.

"D'you think they'll remember anything?" Etho whispered it, trying to fish the keys out of his vest pocket.

"Ren will." Doc stepped into the passenger seat and slumped backwards onto the seat, his head tilted back.

The car ride was silent, save for the humming of the motor and quiet wind whistling in the car when Doc cracked his window open.

"I'm tired. Wanna play video games until we pass out?" Doc asked as they neared their apartment.

"Wouldn't it any other way." Etho smiled. "I'm beating you by the way. Being drunk and tired won't help your fine motor skills." He joked, wiggling his fingers to emphasize it.

"You can try Slab, but being a little drunk hasn't stopped me from destroying the competition before." Doc chuckled and Etho felt a little bit happy he managed to get Doc to smile.

And so that's what they did. Exhaustion (physical and emotional) and alcohol weren't helping either of them and they were playing horribly, but it was something to pass the hours of the night. And if chips and cold coffee wasn't enough to fill them and Doc grabbed the forgotten cupcakes to add to their unhealthy midnight snack, Etho didn't say anything.

And if Doc grabbed a certain specially frosted cupcake and took a meaningless bite into half of it without a second thought, then Etho only used the advantage of Doc only using one hand to win the match of whatever video game they had blindly put on, mentioning nothing. 

---------

(5584 words above the line! that might be the longest one i think!)

These bitches drunk! Bad for them!

Sorry this took so long, but a creative block and a vacation got in the way for awhile and i just needed a bit of a break. also i have plans for the end of summer, so warning in advance that the next one might be awhile, and if not the next one, then the one after. 

Maybe vote or comment or share with a friend if you liked it? writing takes a huge amount of time and effort and i super appreciate all of the above even if its just a quick "HA!" or a vote. 

thank you and have a great day or night!