Out of reasons (Boy × Boy) ✔

Chapter Twelve

"What are you thinking about?" Joakim whispered, or rather yelled, in my ear.

"Nothing much", I smiled at him.

Then he asked whether I was having fun or not, which was nice. I felt cared for. Before I knew, I had already drunk the punch. The surroundings looked brighter and I had this sudden urge to talk with the others. And dance.

"Want another?" Joakim asked.

"I don't think so", I refused.

"Come on, just one more won't do you any harm." He wouldn't take no for an answer, but instead took my cup. And so I thought that maybe one more drink wouldn't be such a horrible idea.

"Who is your favorite character?" Aki asked me.

"I've never actually watched the movie, just like a few minutes from the beginning", I answered. I did know something about the real story of Peter Pan, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Are you for real? Everyone has seen it", Fareed exclaimed and the others nodded in approval.

"I wasn't allowed to watch movies as a kid. I did have a Grimm's story book." That was one of my dad's ways to make sure I didn't waste time with things that weren't educational, but the Grimm's stories did gave me a nightmare or two when I was a child.

For some reason the others seemed chocked about the lack of TV when I was growing up, but I had never really thought that was such a big thing. I listened to the conversation for a while before I decided to go look for a bathroom.

It ended up being more difficult than I had thought, but eventually I found it. I stared at my reflection from the mirror and noticed how huge my pupils were.

How was I already this drunk after just two cups of punch? Maybe it had something to do with the fact I didn't normally drink. I promised myself I wouldn't drink anymore, no matter how much Joakim tried to make me.

"Where are the others?" I asked as soon as I sat down. When I came back from the bathroom, Aki was the only one left at our table.

"They went for a smoke", he explained. Then there was a long pause, during which neither of us said anything.

"So, are you dating my brother?" Aki's head-on approach surprised me.

"No, I don't think so." I knitted my eyebrows and shook my head slightly.

"At least you're the first one he's introduced to me, so I guess that's a good sign", Aki smiled at me in a way that made me even more baffled.

It wasn't like I had been in a serious relationship and it wasn't like I had introduced any of my previous flings to my family either, so that didn't necessarily mean anything. The way he said it was what was making me uncertain.

"I'm the first one?" I asked bluntly. Aki nodded, and then someone came to say hello to him. I didn't pay attention to them, because an oppressive feeling of insecurity was building up in my chest. I tried my best to push it away.

Soon Joakim, Fareed and Viljo joined us again, bringing the smell of cigarettes with them. They were laughing and Joakim wrapped his arm around my shoulders when he sat back to his seat. I smiled at him and we started talking about what I had missed when I didn't go to school the day before.

"The teacher said you shouldn't miss all the classes and that you need to do some extra homework, but I don't know if that's possible with the cast", Joakim pondered.

"There's like five things I can do with my hand like this, and painting isn't one of those", I complained.

"I'm sure you can work something out", Joakim reassured me and gave me a peck on my forehead.