Benny was on his feet. "It was before," he said. "I—It was before Thanksgiving, I swear. H-Hunter—"

"You kissed him?" Hunter said. "I asked you if you'd done anything with him—"

"I didn't! We didn't—James," Benny said, desperately, but James looked like he was about to be sick in the bushes.

He staggered to his feet, stumbling. Micah broke out of his horror to steady him, even as James threw a hand at Hunter, screaming, "You knew I loved him! You've known this whole fucking time! How could you still go after him?! We were friends."

Momentarily blindsided, Hunter sputtered. "A crush isn't love," he said. "Besides, you never would have done anything about it."

"This whole time?" Benny repeated, shaky. His eyes couldn't find a target. "How long is 'this whole time'?"

"Like it matters?" Hunter said as James sobbed:

"I've loved you since freshmen year. H-Hunter stopped being my friend when—when you two—I still love you."

"Buddy, you better be quiet right fucking now," Micah said, jostling his head upright.

"I love you!" James screamed, arms flopping off of Micah, half in Benny's direction. He looked about ready to collapse. "And you threw me away for—for—for him?!"

Hunter put his hands to his hair, gasping out a pained curse. Micah had never seen a look of such anguish on the bastard's face, but there he was, farming sympathy from anyone that had overheard. The numbers were growing, gathering at a distance as Benny chased after Hunter to grab his arm.

When Hunter turned, he threw his hand down, shaking Benny off. Micah lurched forward at the sight of Benny flinching back. Benny's hands were raised and shaking like they were facing a wild animal. The look on Hunter's face may as well have been one.

"Don't," Hunter started, voice raising.

Micah pulled Benny behind him with more force than intended. His body was tight, jerky, and hot with adrenaline as he hissed, "Don't fucking yell at him. Whatever happened was before you two reconnected."

"You believe him?" It came out as a gasp, barely words. He laughed, covering his eyes. "Of course you fucking do. How could I forget?"

Wrath was a white-hot flame in Micah's chest worse than any Taco Bell heartburn. "He's your fucking fiancé, I should hope you believe him. Benny doesn't lie."

"Micah, it's fine." Benny's voice was a whimper at Micah's back. Benny's grip on his arm was not only suffocating, but desperate for stability.

"I'm sorry—I'm sorry," James sobbed.

Benny's grip on Micah's arm slackened. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. This is my fault."

Micah watched Hunter's hand drop from his face, fidgeting in front of his shirt. The glint of the heirloom ring sent Micah's pulse into overdrive.

"What are you doing," Micah said, but Hunter was already winding his arm back. "Don't—!"

The railing was right there and just beyond it, the Hudson.

Hunter leveled the throw as Benny caught sight of the ring, screaming, "Stop! That's my grandmother's—!"

Micah lurched to intercept it, hands out and scrambling. It was too dark to see, the water too black, and whatever splash the ring may have made was obscured seconds later by James teetering off the railing, arms out and searching for the ring.

Benny scrambled to catch the back of his cloak, shrieking. Partygoers were screaming. James was half-over the edge, tethered only by Benny's grip on his costume.

Out of the corner of his eye, Micah saw black streak across the grass. It was Alistair, shedding his wings and taking a running leap off the bench, the railing, and into the Hudson.

A tear sounded on the cloak. Benny cried out, straining, and before anyone else could help hold James back, James tumbled. He flailed with a frantic, "Oh—shit!" before attempting a dive-belly-flop into the water.

Micah slapped the back of his hand over his mouth, shuddering in horror. People crowded at his back, pushing him toward the bench to look over the railing. Benny braced an arm around him. He clutched tightly as they waited with bated breath for someone to surface.

Micah's wrist slipped against the railing. Metal was digging into his palm. Most of the light was obscured from the crowd clamoring around him, but when he opened his palm, the gilded ruby was unmistakable even in the dark.

Benny did a double-take. His scream nearly deafened Micah. "Oh my God! You—?!"

Micah squeezed the ring tighter, holding it in above his head to avoid having it knocked out of his grip as Benny squeezed onto him, open-mouthed sobbing like a child. When the water below tossed a spray up, Benny was nearly too blinded by the tears to recognize his brother preparing to dive down again.

Someone behind him threw Micah's fist higher in the air, shouting at the top of their lungs, "He caught it! He caught the ring!"

Sopping wet, Alistair threw his hair back to look up at them. He shed water from his eyes, gasping, and swore a slew a colorful curses. Next to him, James buoyed to the surface, flopping his arms about. His costume ballooned twice the size as what it appeared on land.

There was a service ladder embedded in the concrete retaining wall that Alistair swam them to. He hauled James ahead of him, one hand on the slimy algae bar and the other gathering a fistful of James' costume.

Much to the party's entertainment, the police had been called and were circling red and blue lights all down the length of the park before James ever made it to the top. By then, Micah had helped Benny reattach the ring to the chain and been assured by nearby partygoers that Hunter had fled the scene.

The moment James surface, quivering like a leaf, Benny was on him. Exhaustion seeped from James, who looked like a drowned rat with his hair slicked flat atop his head, clothes sinking against his shoulders. He let Benny hold him up until the officers arrived to cart James off to the ambulance.

James glanced back at Benny, stumbling.

Seeing as Benny was speechless and fretfully glancing back down where Alistair was making the climb, Micah called after James, "He'll meet you at the ambulance later."

Micah's stomach was churning and threatening to upheave his dinner on behalf of Alistair and the look of abject horror on his face as he sloshed onto land, one ridged arm guided by an officer dragging him forward.

"You're lucky you made it up yourself. You'd've been fined for rescue expenses," the officer said, clapping Alistair on the back. The effect was like an electric shock.

Micah held Benny back by the arm. Benny's sleeve was damp and splotched with what had to be the most radioactive river water east of the Mississippi. Though Alistair was drenched with it, a hug right then might just pitch him back over the railing.

"Give him a minute," Micah said, thinking, Or a month!

"But—" Benny started, fidgeting desperately. Alistair didn't seem to be hearing anything the officer was saying, and was declining to have a checkin at the ambulance.

Micah steered Benny away, asking the nearest person if they'd seen Kennedy. Luckily, she wasn't far. She reached for them, parting the crowd, and caught Micah by the hand.

"James was taken to the ambulance. Can you take Benny there?"

"James?" Kennedy said, frowning. "I heard Alistair fell in the river! Did he punch the guy or something?"

Micah's shoulders sagged with a long exhale. "Long story. Don't ask Benny about it."

Kennedy gathered Benny up under her arm and together, they walked off to the spinning ambulance lights across the park. The officers had cleared the crowd away from the service ladder, which left Micah somewhat alone with Alistair and the officer that refused to leave him be.

"He's not being arrested, is he?" Micah asked, arms firmly crossed.

The officer shrugged, shaking his head. "No, but I need to take down his information."

For a heart-stopping moment, Micah feared Alistair's wallet had met a polluted fate at the bottom of the Hudson. Judging from the way Alistair stood, arms slightly out at his sides like he couldn't stand to touch himself, Micah suspected he was in no position to speak anyway.

"I'll see what I can answer for you," Micah offered.

After complying with the officer and giving both his and Alistair's information, Micah assured the man that they wouldn't be needing medical assistance.

Once the officers disbanded, people started to flock. Micah waved them all back, saying, "Give him some space." He distinctly felt like a zoo keeper warding patrons away from a stray zebra.

Alistair took one step, and then another, every muscle trembling. His voice was a rasp at the back of his throat, like he was trying to speak around a bubble of vomit. "A-Alcohol."

"Alcohol?" Micah repeated.

"Get this man some vodka!" someone shouted.

It was impossible for Alistair to speak his reasoning out loud, but if he managed to get blackout wasted, not only would he be too inebriated to care, but the alcohol would kill off any bacteria he might have consumed from the water. It was only marginally better than chugging straight hand sanitizer, and far more accessible given the circumstances.

A cup was produced. Micah took it from a girl who sloshed a hefty shot into it.

Alistair shook his head, reaching for the bottle. The second it was in his hand, he was chugging it. Two seconds later, Micah remembered that it wasn't water Alistair was guzzling, so he scrambled to lower the bottle.

"Easy now," Micah said. Someone had arrived with a bar towel, which Micah took and hoped Alistair hadn't seen the origins of. He wiped down the sides of Alistair's face and hair, smudging any makeup that remained.

"P-Please."

Micah held the bottle at a distance, but Alistair was still reaching for it. His lips were turning blue, and a rough fifth of the vodka was gone.

"Let's, um—Let's get outta here, yeah?" Micah suggested, and held the bottle even further, shaking it, and hoping someone would take it. The girl who gave it to him took it back. "Is it okay if I touch you?"

"I need more—they aren't gone—"

There were so few places Micah knew Alistair needed to be. Alistair's apartment wasn't one of them—that was sacred territory, one that entering would contaminate. Benny's apartment was a softer, better bet, but he didn't know what Hunter was planning on doing. He almost wanted to go there just to catch Hunter in the act of stealing things.

The only other option was...

"I have alcohol at my place," Micah said. "We'll go there, and you can wash up."

"But—"

"We're not that far from it. We could walk."

After a moment's hesitation, Alistair agreed with a hoarse, "Fine."

Micah led the charge, ignoring everyone that had grown awkward and silent watching them. Most of the people had dispersed. He imagined their conversation and Alistair's attitude appeared uncomfortably intimate for outsiders, and Micah was pissed that anyone was watching at all.

Alistair walked at a distance, arms crossed. They went in the opposite direction of the fluorescent ambulance lights where James was bundled up in a tinfoil-esque blanket, sitting on the ledge with Benny at his side.

James sniffed, pathetically, fingers pumping around two heat-warmer packs to charge them up. His muscles were still spasming, whether from the chill or the adrenaline, he didn't know. August was too warm to be cold enough for shivering, drenched in acid river water or not.

"I'm sorry," he said, though Benny had told him to shut up with the apologies enough times that James should have stopped. He couldn't help it.

Benny was silent.

When James looked, he found evidence of tear tracks down Benny's cheek. They streaked through his glittery makeup, smudged his eyeshadow, and made James' lip quiver all over again.

Benny's hand twisted around his necklace chain, his grip suffocating the ring. "You've liked me since freshmen year?" Benny's voice was firmer than James expected.

Ashamed, James tucked the hand warmers between his knees. "Yeah. Weird, I know. I'm just—I'm not good at asking people out. A-And Hunter knew."

"Can I ask how?" When their eyes met, Benny's were wide and mournful. "How did he know? I didn't know you two knew each other."

"We didn't. I mean, we pretend we don't. We were on the same dorm floor," he said. "Kinda neighbors. My roommate told him. I was embarrassed, and then he... Yeah. You two started dating and I just... gave up. I was happy for you."

"I-I wish I would've known," Benny said, finally breaking. He sniffed, hands up to his face. He brushed away tears. "This is so fucked. I feel so awful. I never meant to lead you on, I just—"

"It's fine. You weren't into me the same way, I get it. I can't blame you for not liking me like that—"

Benny groaned into his hands. "No, but I did like you like that. I do. I just—I'm so—Ugh! I feel like I'm losing my mind!"

Floored by the admission, James' heart dropped from where it'd made residence in his throat ever since North Carolina. He'd officially succumbed to his fate as a groomsmen at best, acquaintance at worst. He'd really thought Benny and Hunter would make it, but now the ring was Benny's necklace and hope threatened to soar.

He swallowed hard. "I'm—I mean, I was never asking you to hit the ground running with me. I've waited this long, clearly I'm a patient person."

Benny tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob. He lowered his hands, face wet with tears. He couldn't lift his eyes much higher than James' lap. "D-Do you really mean that? E-Even though I'm a mess and—and I just got broken up with..."

Fuck, right, maybe we should wait to have this conversation, James thought, but he wasn't in the position to tell Benny no. He was never in the position to do that—he'd been saying yes from the start and had no plans on changing that.

"Yeah," James said, smile trembling with barely restrained glee. "We'll take it slow. We don't have to talk about it right now."

"O-Okay."

When Benny started fidgeting with the necklace again, James said, "You said that's your grandmother's."

"Oh. Yeah." Sniffling, Benny unwound the necklace and trickled the chain into his palm. He set the ring atop it for James to see. "You can hold it, if you want."

James studied it. It was beautiful—a golden rose reflecting a crimson center. James wasn't much of a gold person. "When I first got my ears pierced," he started, mouth running on its own as it had that entire evening, "they gave me gold studs. My mom made me change them to silver the second I got home, which I'm pretty sure is against the rules. Hurt like hell."

Benny laughed. "Why would she do that? I think gold looks good on you."

Maybe it was was still absorbing, because now James' face was red-hot. "I'm more of a silver person. I'd propose to you with this." He took Benny's extended hand and demonstrated by slipping the ring onto his finger. He twisted it so the ruby stared back at Benny and, just as expected, it was perfect. "See? It was made for you."

Benny was staring at his hand like it never existed before then. He put it up to the light, staring, and then turned sharply to blink at James.

"Did you just propose to me?"

James smiled, innocently. "What?"

"Oh my God," Benny said. He slapped his hand to his mouth, ring and all, only to second-guess himself and resume staring at the ring. "Can this count as your proposal?"

James was so used to saying yes to Benny and too tipsy to want to say no that he said, "Yeah, if that's okay with you."

"Yes!" Benny threw himself at James, toppling them both into the back of the ambulance. The hug lasted as long as it took Benny to straighten with a gasp.

James attempted to rise. It took two tries to sit up. "What is it?"

Benny held him by the shoulders, positively wild. "This is so romantic! We can tell our kids that we got engaged before our first date."

James burst into laughter. When Benny insisted he was right, James could only nod in agreement, beside himself. Benny dragged him off the back of the ambulance, so he shed the blanket and ditched the hand warmers—he had his own personal space heater now anyway, insistent on intertwining their fingers together and dragging James across the park to announce the good news.

Kennedy was in the midst of discussing how best to break the news to the party. The band had stopped playing so as to hand the microphone of to her. This was the scene Benny and James burst in on, out of breath and looking elated for two people who'd just had two respective meltdowns.

Kennedy stared down at them, flabbergasted. Below her off the stage, Erika's voice was vaguely picked up by the mic saying, "What the hell happened?"

Benny threw their hands up. "I'm engaged!"

Kennedy handed the mic back to the singer, apologized, and scrambled off the stage in her platform heels. "Um, hun, I think Hunter left—"

"To James!" Benny put out his hand for them both to see. The lead singer of the band leaned over the edge to peer over their heads. "He proposed with my grandma's ring. He said it looked better on my hand than his."

If it were possible to hear blinking, Erika and Kennedy achieved this. Slowly, they glanced at each other. A consensus was met the moment Kennedy burst into a smile and shoved Erika.

"Stop—" Erika started.

"This... is... amazing!" Kennedy shrieked, squealed, and threw her arms around Benny and James respectively. "Congratulations!"

The singer crouched down, pointing to the mic. "What do you want me to...?" he started, but Kennedy confiscated the mic again.

She clamored up onto the stage, ass temporarily in the air. Erika put her hand up to preserve Kennedy's modesty until she was upright, gasping into the mic, and saying, "Alright, folks!"

The speakers screamed for a second, startling the partygoers.

Kennedy waved her hand to get their attention. "I know you all came for an engagement party, and I don't give a shit what you heard, but the party goes on! Benny's engaged again!"

No one said a word.

Kennedy's hand dropped, smile stiffening. She stomped her foot, irritated, and said, "I said he's fucking engaged, people! To James!"

At this, people who knew James were now at attention. The murmuring started but was promptly ended by Kennedy shouting into the mic, "That means clap! This is fucking fantastic news! Cue the music! Let's get this party fucking started already!"

She thrust the microphone back into the singer's hands, nearly taking him out at the throat. She tossed her hair, shuffled to the stage steps, and cursed the entire way. "Ungrateful bitches. They better be fucking happy for him."

Erika helped her down as she sighed, "We all are, babe."