Smile - CrankGameplays

2. Transfixed

It was uncommon, or unusual, for Ethan Nestor to drink. More or less, get drunk. The drinking was typically saved for special occasions, a few parties sprinkled throughout the year. He didn't drink in high school, smoke... and those same tendencies carried on through college. Maybe that's why tonight was so odd because he actually was drinking. And for that matter, he was drinking enough to not fully process what he was doing or saying.

"3, 2, 1... Shot ski!" Ethan placed his hands beneath the ski board and wrapped his mouth around the shot glass, feeling the dark and hard liquor travel down his throat. The alcohol instantly warming him up as he pushed the board away from his face, wiping the contents away from his lips.

The two girls between him cheered him on to take another but he obliged, already having trouble figuring out where his friends wandered off too.

"Tyler?" he called out, weaving his way through the partiers, "Mark?"

The booming music vibrated through the ground, feeling the pounding sensations up through his chest. The dim lighting that was strung from wall to wall caused him to strain his eyes, aimlessly wandering through the room in hopes to find his friends.

He stumbled through the crowd, his height being a severe disadvantage.

"Ethan!" a girl voiced out which caused him to lose focus, "Come here!"

He found himself trailing towards the voice, meeting eye to eye with the girl. Her cobalt blue eyes blinked at him as she combed through her bleached blonde locks.

For the life of him, he couldn't identify who she was. Had he met her here? Was she in one of his classes?

"Want to be my partner?"

Ethan turned his head and saw the table he was at over an hour ago, red solo cups all formed in their respected structures.

"I hear you're pretty good..." the blonde jokingly said as she brushed her arm down the length of his own arm. "What do you say?"

He immediately took notice of the contact she initiated and his first response was to retreat back, "Sorry... I-I'm drunk."

She retracted her arm back to her side and lifted a penciled in eyebrow, "We all are, silly."

"... Excuse me."

Ethan and the blonde both cast their eyes to the new emerging voice and the blue-haired boy was glad he had to glance down to see the one who talked.

"I'm just going to take him from you."

"Reese...?"

"Wait a minute?" the other girl perked up.

"Let's go." Reese tugged his shirt towards her and dragged him through the crowd, "Work with me here, Ethan."

Ethan shuffled his feet against the wood paneling, wondering where on earth this girl could possibly be taking him. He staggered, accidentally bumping into people left and right with each maneuver they made.

He managed to utter a complete sentence, "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see when we get there," she flashed a grin and he suddenly realized any answer to a question he asked wouldn't matter to him at this point, he was just happy he was able to witness her smile again.

She pulled him again and stood at the end of the staircase, eyeing the steps in front of her.

"I think I'm going to be sick." He slurred, peeking one eye open at Resse.

"You think you can make it up these steps?"

Ethan took one step and climbed up a single level, "Maybe."

She then interlaced her hand with his and guided him up the staircase, her fingers brushing against his skin. Her hand was soft, and rough. Incredibly warm and even though he was pretty wasted at this point, he would remember exactly how perfectly her hand fit into his.

"One foot forward, Ethan." She encouraged as she gently massaged her thumb over his knuckles.

"Mmhmm," he hummed as they successfully made it up the staircase, "N-now where?"

"In here." She directed, opening a grand white door and flipping on the light switch. "Want me to step out for a second?"

"A bathroom," Ethan gave a closed mouth smile and tripped towards the toilet, "Shit."

"All right," Reese guided Ethan once again farther into the bathroom, making sure to shut the door and twist the lock. "I got you." She peeled open the toilet seat cover and sat on the edge of the adjacent bathtub.

"I'm so sorry," Ethan then immediately released the contents of the night into the bowl of the toilet.

"I've been in this exact position," she shrugged her shoulders, "We all have."

And everything kept spilling out of his system, the beer, and the liquor, the dinner from earlier.

"I'll be okay, right?"

Reese released a small giggle, "Of course."

"I need to find my friends."

"I'll find them for you," she reassured, "You just stay here and make sure you get all that stuff out of your tummy, okay?"

A few light knocks were sent to the door, "Reese? Are you in there?"

"Shit," she mumbled, "Yeah."

"Why is the door locked?" a couple tugs were placed around the knob of the ingress. "Hello?"

"I'm coming." Reese stood to her feet and flattened down her flowy shirt, releasing the lock and opening the door. "I'll be right down, okay?"

"Is everything okay?" he pushed past Reese and watched Ethan vomit, "What the fuck?"

"I was just making sure he was okay," she sighed, "He obviously drank too much and I didn't need him yakking all over the house."

Her boyfriend scoffed, "He had friends who could do that for him, ya know?"

"It's not that big of a deal," she admitted. "Just wait for me downstairs, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, leaning down to her short height to pull her in for a sweet kiss. "I'll be waiting."

"Love you." She called out as she shut the door again, "How you feeling, Ethan?"

Ethan lifted his head away from the can, "Like a million bucks." Trails of spit hung out of his mouth as they clung to his chin and lips.

"Oh boy." She chortled, walking over the rack of towels and washcloths. She plucked one from the stack and allowed the faucet to run lukewarm water over the fabric. She wrung out the cloth and kneeled down, "Let me help you?"

He nodded and watched as she took both her hands and cupped his cheeks, dabbing the moist washcloth around his lips. "I'm sorry for looking at your boobs earlier."

Reese laughed again and continued to press the cloth all over his face, "Don't worry about it."

"I am sorry though," he spat out, tripping over his words. "That was wrong of me to do."

"Stop apologizing."

"But I feel like I have to."

"You know I do it on purpose, right?"

Ethan closed one eye and used the other to squint at the brunette in front of him, "Yeah."

"Then don't apologize for looking at what I meant for you to look at."

Did he hear that correctly? She wasn't flirting... was she? Why would she say that? Well, she did have an immense amount of confidence that he found strangely attractive but that doesn't excuse what she just said.

And even as stupid and joking as her comment was, the blue-haired boy couldn't help but break into a cheesy smile.

———————
Remembering how awful it is to throw up alcohol takes me back to a few of the college parties I went to... rip.
- domducky