Timelines (Phan au)

Chapter nine: Drunk in love

June 12th, 2018

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"So while Dan and I were laughing uncontrollably, this grumpy old waiter looks down at us, hatred visible in his eyes." Louise tells a story about the time she, Dan and a couple of other friends went out for a fancy dinner. It's already past midnight and PJ lit up the campfire for us all to sit around and roast some marshmallows. Occasionally burning one. "It was so embarrassing." Dan adds, hiding his face against my shoulder as he softly chuckles at the memory. We all laugh along, even the ones who weren't there, like me. The way Dan and Louise still struggle to tell the story without bursting out in laughter, works really contagious. I wrap my arm around his waist to pull him just a tad bit closer. Dan smiles up from where his face is still resting on my shoulder and scoots closer. "I have an idea! Let's play circle of death!" Chris suddenly suggests. "I don't know, I've got work tomorrow." Caspar hesitates. "Your boss is literally sitting right there." Chris points at Louise who just puts a sticky marshmallow in her mouth. She quickly swallows it before replying. "He's right, I'm the boss and the boss says we'll unexpectedly be closed tomorrow cause of personal reasons." Louise announces. I grin brightly at Dan. "Looks like I'm free tomorrow. Wanna hang out?" I ask and he nods, showing off his dimples. "Of course." He replies before turning his head to Chris. "Can you repeat the rules again? I keep forgetting them." He asks. Chris nods in agreement, winking at me. I know it's Dan's subtle way of letting Chris explain the game without people giving me weird looks, though I doubt they will jump to conclusions about something so small and common. "Alright so we put a glass in the middle with a bunch of cards around it in a circle. Everyone takes out a card when it's their turn, without breaking the circle. When you pick number one or 'A', we have to do a waterfall. Meaning the person who took the card starts drinking and as soon as he does, the neighbor starts drinking and so on until the first person stops drinking again and everyone can stop when their neighbor does. When you pull a two from the cards, you can choose someone who has to take two sips of their drink. Three means you have to take three gulps yourself. Four is touching the floor the fastest. Last man standing has to drink. Five for the wives and six for the dicks meaning when you pull a five all woman take a sip and when you pull a six all men have to drink. Seven point to heaven means the opposite of four. So you have to jump up and point to the sky the fastest. Last one again has to drink. Eight pick a mate. You choose a victim who has to drink every single time you do. Nine is my personal favorite. The person who picks nine from the circle has to make ambulance noises while closing their eyes and counting to twenty. The others have to hide as fast as possible. First one to be found has to finish their drink in one go. Ten is sneaky one. You put your thumb on the table somewhere during the game and everyone has to mimic that move until the last one, the person who hasn't seen the thumbs yet, remains. This person of course:" Chris raises his hands. "Has to drink!" We all reply in unison. He nods. "Very well, class. But we're not done yet! We still have our royal family a.k.a. the 'B' or eleven, our lovely queen and her wealthy husband the king. 'B' is making up a rule that has to be respected during the rest of the game. Queen means becoming the  question master. Whatever question this person asks, that is until someone else picks this card, can't be answered or you'll have to drink. And last but not least the king! When you pull our amazing king you have to share a little of your drink with him by pouring it in the glass in the middle. Whoever pulls the fourth and last king from the pack has to down whatever mix of drinks is in the glass." Chris finally ends his explanation. No wonder no one looks up when Dan asked him to repeat the rules. There are so many! I'm not sure I'll remember them all, but it sounds fun. Everyone stands up to fill up their glasses while PJ goes inside to take a pack of cards. Chris grabs a big glass and puts it on the ground in the grass. We all settle around it in a circle, similar to the one of cards around the glass. Lucky for our lazy asses, all Dan, PJ and I have to do to fit in the circle is turn around. Our backs to the fire. "Alright birthday boy, you begin." Chris gestures and Dan takes a card from the circle without leaving a hole in it. "Two for you, Louise." He smirks devilish at the blond girl right in front of him. "How did I just know you were going to pick me." She sighs, taking two gulps from her wine.