First Impressions (boyxboy)

Chapter Two: Back to Life, Back to Reality

'The rules are simple. You throw the ping-pong ball onto the table and if it bounces into the cup of your competition then they have to down the beer.' Mike says as he stands at the side of the table acting like a referee of this ridiculous match. 'Now, you both can choose a teammate to add to your side and then we can begin. Flip a coin to see who goes first?'

'I'll be a gentleman and let the virgin pick first.' Jake says as he winks at me. I roll my eyes and look around the room. From what I can remember Lukas is pretty good at this type of thing. Everybody has a skill set, some much more useful than others, but everybody has their moment to shine.

'I'll have, Lukas.' The crowd all cheer around me as Lukas walks up to the table with a smile and gives me a high-five. This is the most laddish I have ever felt and it isn't the worst feeling in the world, in fact, I am attempting to keep from smiling but the electric atmosphere around the room is making it rather difficult.

'Good choice.' Mike says while giving me a thumbs up.

'I'll take, Cody.'

'Okay, so now that you both have your teams, it is time to begin!' Mike throws me the ping-pong ball. 'Game on!' Mike screams and the crowd around once again drunkenly cheer.

'Good luck, pretty boy.' I feel my cheeks flush both with anger and the fact he called me "pretty" which both sickens and confuses me. I cannot let him distract me from this. I need to win or my pride my never fully recover.

'Luck is a rather subjective thing.' I say before throwing my first shot. The ball bounces and lands in the middle of Jake's cups. I cannot hold back the large smile that creeps onto my face as the lads around all yell out in both surprise and good humour. 'Drink up, pretty boy.' This causes Jake to flush as he picks up the drink and downs it within ten seconds. He burps and I give him a look of pure disgust. Jake takes the ping-pong ball and throws it towards my cups but misses it completely. 'What was it that you said about luck?'

'You're going down. Beginners luck, that's all.' Jake snaps back. I believe that I have struck a nerve with him but I did notice that when I first scored, before anybody else noticed, he smiled.

'I am terrified.' I step aside and let Lukas take his place. Lukas aims and scores our second drink in a row, only eight more drinks to go and we have won. Cody takes his stance and fires and scores. Jake and Cody both scream together and then fist bump. I cannot help but let out a sigh of frustration as I watch Lukas pick-up his drink and begin to down it. I cannot let this small setback knock my confidence, I need to keep a clear head and aim. I pick up the wet ball and give it a wipe on my shirt before setting my eyes on the goal and shooting my shot. I land it and the crowd goes wild.

'Three in a row!' Mike exclaims and looks at me with brotherly pride. If this is his world that he has invited me into then I can see myself visiting it a few times a year. Not too many though, I still need my braincells.

'How does being a loser taste?'

'Pretty damn good.' Jake smiles at me, it is not a wicked smile but one which shows that he never really had any malicious intent at all. Jake wanted to show me that this world which I have frowned upon for year and often dragged was not something to hate upon. I smile back before my smile drops as Jake lands his shot straight into the drink in front of me, splashing my jeans. 'Thought you looked a little parched.' Jake winks at me and I shake my head back at him while rolling my eyes.

'How considerate of you.' I hold the drink into the air as the crowd begin to rumble. As soon as I begin to drink the boys all scream. I finish the drink and throw it onto the floor and wipe my mouth with my hand. 'Refreshing.' The game goes like this for a good twenty or so minutes until Jake has one cup left and I have three. By this point in time I am so drunk that I am slurring my words and struggling to aim properly. I don't drink often and when I do it is only in small volumes over an extended period of time, to drink this much in quick succession I am pretty sure I am a few cups away from either alcohol poisoning or vomiting. It is my shot. 'You're going down to the floor, sir.' I say as I sway and struggling to stand straight. Lukas sees this and puts his hands on my waist and helps me stand still and firm as I shoot my shot. The ball bounces on the table and just narrowly misses.