Playing Games

Part 1: Friday Night Out

Connor glances around Alfie and Zoe's apartment, absorbing the amount of incredible people from all over the world currently in the room with him. A part of him still can't get a firm grip to accept that this is his life now, one where he is free to travel with amazing people. His life consists of butterflies having taken a permanent residence in his stomach, of his heart constantly racing at new and welcomed challenges, and of a strange kind of gratifying fear always flying around like a bird in his mind.

He knows too well where these feelings stem from; it's a seed he planted back in January, when after a long night, he finally came out to one of his closest friends, Tyler, at five in the morning. From that night on, what he had sown slowly began to bloom, threatening to overtake his entire life and being; he couldn't be more excited and terrified. He finally saw the wall in front of him beginning to fall, shrouded by the vines of his true self fighting to squeeze through. And even though he has still only come out to Tyler, his resolve to stay in the closet is slowly deteriorating as time goes by.

Connor blinks, watching Zoe and Alfie dance around to random oldies songs playing through a portable speaker with a small smile on his face. They had made the bold decision to move to America just a few short months ago, and after much difficult planning, they along with Connor, Troye, and Tyler have managed to make a trip to Brighton happen, as a final hurrah. They didn't know how permanent the move would be, but they were in love and eager and Connor was excited for them.

Louis, Tanya, Jim, Joey, and a few others also took time off from their busy schedules' to help kick off Zoe and Alfie's last week in Brighton, starting with an extensively planned Friday Night Out. They haven't made specific plans of where to go, they honestly just plan to bar hop, but it's the smaller details everyone has hyped up.

Everyone has been required to keep a list of different things to do collectively throughout the night, including: Try 3 drinks you haven't tried before (this one personally scares Connor, he's a lightweight afterall), dance with a stranger, kiss a stranger, steal something, dance on a bar, etc. Most of the boys are pumped to get on with the shenanigans, Connor mostly dreads them seeing as the list gets completely ridiculous towards the end. He hopes he doesn't end up having to do one of the more extreme ones.

Tyler plops himself onto the couch next to Connor, handing him his first beer of the night. The rest of the group either converse or begin to have their first or second beer to commence the occasion. The atmosphere is completely peaceful, until the shouting starts.

Troye has been sitting on a counter in the kitchen for the past half hour, away from the group, but now is pacing the kitchen. He'd been there the entire time since he had received an unexpected call a while ago from his boyfriend. His voice slowly has become louder and louder until it's full on shouting.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! Are you seriously trying to make this my fault right now?!"

Tyler and Connor both whip their heads' around to see what's going on and Zoe and Alfie stop dancing at the sound of Troye's escalating voice.

"I can't believe you would do that. I can't believe you would -"

A few others turn to look at Troye, too and Connor whispers to Tyler, "What's going on?"

Tyler only shakes his head, his eyes big with concern glued on Troye.

"How long, how many times?!"

Zoe gasps and covers her mouth while Alfie's face falls into a hard frown, shutting his eyes in disappointment. The rest of the room falls dead silent, the sound of Troye's yelling and a random Frank Sinatra song in the background echoing throughout the apartment. A couple of people jump, startled when Troye's voice almost turns into a full on roar.