Temporary Bliss

Chapter 6

The day went by quickly after that and he had twenty minutes before he had to be at Reese's party. He paced in front of the mirror, chewing his lip as he thought about excuses as to why he would invite the only group of people Reese hated in the entire school. 

Nothing was good enough. He would be dead by the end of the night. Maybe this was a sign he shouldn't go. His first night out and he was already fucking it up and he hadn't even left out the front door yet. Why was he so desperate to grow up anyway? But he knew the answer to that. 

Reese.

He wanted to be what Reese wanted him to be. He wanted to be good enough for his best friend. He wanted to be seen as more than a friend and even if that wasn't possible, he wanted to be worthy of him. 

Finally, he took a deep breath, adjusted his shirt for the tenth time and went downstairs. He passed by the living room where his parents were watching one of his mom's favourite reality TV shows. 

"I'm heading out now," he called in.

His mom turned to look at him from over the couch. "Do you remember your curfew?"

He rolled his eyes. "Ten."

"Okay," Angel turned to go when she called his name again. He waited for another lecture but she only gave him a small smile. "Remember to have fun, okay?"

Shocked, he nodded and headed out the door. 

Once he reached Reese's street, he could hear the noise from the party and it only got louder with every step in the direction of Reese's house. He knew it was going to be a big party but he didn't realize how big. The street was jam packed full of cars and the house was practically drowning in people. Angel had to push his way through the front lawn just to get to the front door which was already open and streaming with people. Maybe there was some hope that Reese wouldn't find Emmet and his friends though he wasn't sure how he would find anybody either. 

But of course, even in an overcrowded house, Charlie would manage to find him. "Hey," the redhead slurred, clearly already drunk. "You made it. I'm going to be honest, I didn't think you would actually come."

"Why?" Angel frowned, annoyed.

"You just don't seem like the party type." Charlie laughed as if he said something funny but Angel remained silent until he hit him roughly on the shoulder. "Lighten up. Here, have a drink." 

Charlie shoved his red solo cup into his hand but Angel shook his head, handing it back. "I can't go back home drunk."

"Come on, dude. Have you ever even been drunk before?"

Angel shook his head, blushing with embarrassment. 

"Thought so. Here, live a little. You're not always supposed to follow the rules you know." 

Angel didn't mention how he was literally chastising him for not following the rules the night he stayed at Reese's. It seemed that no matter what he did, Charlie would find some flaw with it. At this point, he knew the redhead didn't like him but he had no idea why. 

"I think I'm good, thanks." 

"Oh fuck." He followed Charlie's eyes down the hall where through the crowd, Angel could make out smooth dark skin and curly dark hair pressed up against something- A female. A short blonde female whose eyes were closed as her head tilted back so Reese could press his lips against her neck. 

Angel felt a twist in his heart before grabbing the cup from Charlie's hand and downed the contents, barely managing to get it down past the sting. His eyes welled up and he coughed but he held it down, knowing he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Charlie witnessed him spitting it out.