"Tyler? Are you awake?"
I shifted in my bed, straining my head to see if someone had indeed said something. The presence of four boys in the house did take some getting used to. A knock followed, and I pushed the duvets away, jumping up from the bed to unlock the door.
Yes, I had a lock placed.
The lock clicked open with ease, and I pulled the door open. Within a breath, I heard, "Would you rather have a small innocent soul die or show it some mercy?" The voice belonged to Leo who stood there, poking his head in my room from the small gap. His eyes twinkled with a dangerous tint, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What did you do this time?" I asked.Though Leo didn't need to say anything. The answer revealed itself in the form of a soft meow from the fur ball in his hands. I screamed, fumbling back in fear. "God!"
"Hey! You are scaring him," Leo replied, stroking the cat's small head as it meowed again. It rubbed itself against Leo's arm, purring, and I shuddered.
"Scaring him? You scared the shit out of me!" I hissed at him and the cat shrank back from me. "You brought a freaking cat inside the house?"
"Well... it was his idea." He motioned towards someone standing in the back, walking forward himself and entering my room like he owned it. I gave him space, not minding it at the moment, and craned my head to see the one who had this brilliant idea. Of course. Brandon entered the room.
"I thought you would like him," Brandon said, taking the cat from Leo's hand and burying his nose in the cat's body. He tickled it, and the cat meowed in pleasure.
Me? I stared at them with my mouth open.
"My mom will die if she sees a cat in our house," I said, eyeing the cat purring in pleasure under Brandon's affection. "You can't keep her!"
"Just for tonight, please?" Leo whined. I didn't relent. He tried again. "We had to ask you because we need to feed her. Please?"
I sighed. What was I supposed to do? Leo had a pout on his face, and I guess a failed attempt at a puppy dog face. Rules were on a breaking spree since the boys had come on board. How did another one matter? "Fine, just for tonight, follow me."
We made our way downstairs, trying to be silent and secretive so that my mother will not sniff out the creature in Brandon's hands. She slept at the end of the hall on the first floor, therefore I wasn't too worried about her being able to hear the meows. Whatever happened, I had all the plans to get the cat out of the house tomorrow morning.
"Thanks, Ty. I knew you were not that cruel," Leo said, and I rolled my eyes.
"Thank me later. Keep quiet." I shushed him, and opened the fridge. It's light reflected on our faces, and I couldn't help but think that we looked like we were burglars... just looting the fridge in this case. I searched for the can of milk and found a half filled one and then began to close the door.
"Are those cakes?" Leo pointed to the orange and coffee cake I had made yesterday, and I nodded.
"Do you want some?" I asked, already picking it up and adding it to the tray with the milk.
"We can?" His eyes followed the cake as the cat's followed the milk.
"Yeah, I'll take some for everyone." I took some plates out and saw that Brandon was perfectly busy kissing and cooing the cat.
God, he looked obsessed. I never took him as a cat-loving type of person.
We were close to finishing the cake, and the cat had gone into a deep slumber in Brandon's arms. Ever now and then the cat would rub his head against Brandon's hand and that would again lead to a heavy petting session.
"You guys don't need to sleep, do you?" I asked as I finished my slice of cake.
"We already slept the whole evening in, now's the time to chill!" Seth snickered, eating away the calorie filled creamy layered cake.
"Seriously you guys are an eyesore, " Brandon replied, his eyes fixed on the sleeping cat. He yawned just as the cat yawned, and laid down on his bed.
"Hey man! Not my fault that your pain killer is making you sleepy." He mimicked Brandon, and all of us tried not to laugh.
"Shut up and get out of my room all of you. I want to sleep." He groaned this time, but none of us even moved an inch from our places.
It was already after two at night and except Brandon, all of us felt wide awake. The sugar rush after eating the cake had not helped our case. I kind of felt bad for allowing them to stray away from their strict diet, but their puppy dog eyes had fooled me.
"Let's play a game." Leo popped the lollipop out of his mouth, and moved up into a sitting position, his defined chest rippling as he did so. I gracefully tried to hide the fact that I had just ogled him.
"Yeah! Let's play 'Never have I ever', it's been so long and I want to get all the dirty secrets out." Seth snickered, rubbing his palms as if he was an evil minion. His twinkling eyes landed on me, and I suddenly wanted to bolt out of the room.
"Why not? You'll play too, right Ty?" Liam looked over at me, and I had to swallow. Have all my petty little secrets spilled to the four hot boys?
Yeah, why not.
"Well I had something else in mind, but I'm fine with this too," Leo said with a distant expression, and I really didn't want to guess what he had been thinking about.
"I think, I'll go and see--" I tried to make an excuse but Brandon shot up from his bed in an instant. His face was twisted into a sinister expression, completely different from the affectionate one he had on for the cat.
"Now now, why are you so jumpy? What would you have to hide? She'll play." Brandon smirked, and I had the urge to throw him out of the building and let him die a slow painful death.
But since I didn't want to be signed up for anger management classes, I settled for glaring.
"You would?" Liam asked me, and the rest of them looked at me expectantly. I knew right then that I wouldn't be able to get out of this situation.
Stupid peer pressure.
"Fine, I'll play," I spoke through gritted teeth, and Seth hooted in encouragement.
"I'll be back!" he shouted and ran out of the room.
Leo plopped back down on his makeshift bed of pillows, putting his lollipop in his mouth. Liam sat beside me, his phone in his hand as he texted away. Brandon got up, and my eyes followed him as he went out of his way to sit away from me. Taking the seat right across mine, he leaned back on the cupboard and crossed his hands behind his head.
"Hey! You took my seat," Seth said with a pout. But almost immediately made his way towards the only empty space left next to me.
"Is that alcohol?" I asked, surprised.
"Yup. And here's some Coca-Cola." Seth grinned, shaking the bottle in front of me.
"We'll have to d-drink? Are you insane? You guys seriously have some guts to drink when my mom is in the house. She'll find out in the morning and that would be the end of you all," I started blabbering, and they stared at me like I was some new species that had sprouted up from the ground. "Don't you guys have practice in the morning? What will Richard say? He would definitely kill you if he finds out and not to mention that my mom would have already killed you onc-"
Seth pressed his hand on my mouth, effectively shutting me up.
"Don't tell me you haven't drank before?" Liam spoke, and I blushed. All of their eyes were strained on me and I felt heat rising up on my neck.
Seth was shaking his head in disappointment and Leo looked more amused than ever.
"Y-You are wrong! I have drunk alcohol a few times." I stammered, though speaking the truth. I lived in a boarding school after all. I had a few sips here and there.
But that's all.
"Okay." Liam drawled on that word, before he continued, "We don't have practice tomorrow because Richard has a brunch date. And we won't let Rose find out. I promise."
"If you say..." I trailed off, eyeing both the cat and the alcohol. Will it be okay?
Brandon noticed my gaze because he gave a short laugh and shook his head at me. "So shall we start?" He picked up the coke and vodka and handed out small glasses to everyone. I took mine a little hesitantly.
"Well, the rules are simple, if you have done whatever a person says, you have to take a drink. And if you have done it yourself, you'll have to take one too." Brandon put a little of both in everyone's glasses, but only cola in his.
"You won't drink?" I asked him.
"I am on medicine, and unless you want me in hospital, it's better I don't drink. And besides who would take care of Mister?"
"Mister?"
"That's the cat's name."
"So creative, huh? Fine, you stick to your cold drink."
"Okay! I'll start." Leo jumped up, his face twisted into a sly grin. I leaned back again, unaware that both of us had been talking a little heatedly.
Whatever.
"Never have I ever... Kissed a boy!" he shouted, and all of us rolled our eyes. Leave upon Leo to say the most ridiculous thing.
I looked at everyone, Liam was frowning, while Brandon and Seth were grinning at me. Yeah, I had to drink. But more than that I would be the only person who would have to drink. At this rate, they were really going to get me drunk. Exhaling, I brought the drink to my lips and scrunched up my nose to block out the strong smell.
"Liam?" Seth asked in an incredulous tone, and I choked on my drink as Liam put up his glass to his lips and took a long swig. Every one of us stared at an apparently blushing Liam. He was intentionally looking away, and nervous energy emitted out of him in waves.
He had kissed a boy. It hit me, and I couldn't keep my surprise hidden. I could already feel my heart sinking down as I looked at him.
"Woah man! You kissed who?" Leo asked, obviously pleased that his statement had turned out to be more shocking than he had thought.
"Just a guy, for CPR," he explained, and it was like I could breathe again.
"You mean, you touched his lips when you gave him CPR?" I asked to confirm and he nodded, his face showing his embarrassment.
"Does that even count as a kiss?" Seth looked both disappointed and relieved as he relaxed back.
Liam shrugged and Brandon clapped a hand on his back.
"You. Drink again," Brandon pointed his finger at me and motioned me to drink up, I had spit out most of it before.
"Fine," I spoke and took a short sip, and let my lips touch the glass longer. The burning liquid went down my throat, making me shudder.
"My turn... Never have I ever had a crush on a teacher." Seth grinned, his eyes looking devilishly at everyone.
Brandon, Liam, and Leo all three of them raised their glasses. My glass sat prettily on the floor.
"You haven't ever had a crush on a teacher?" Seth asked and I shook my head. Not my fault that all my teachers were either females or old duds.
"Well, never have I ever... applied makeup." I grinned, thankfully coming up with a good question.
My eyes went to each of them as they all sat still.
"None of you has ever used makeup?" I asked, a little disappointed, but Brandon groaned. He glared at me and picked up his glass, finishing the drink. Out of everyone, I would have never expected Brandon to be the one.
"Brandon...?" Liam looked as shocked as we had when he had admitted that he had kissed a guy.
"Whatever. I am not going to tell you the story." He gave me another glare and I giggled, happily drinking from my glass. Seth and I did a high-five, and Brandon made an impatient noise.
That was so worth it.
"Never have I ever accidentally walked in on someone having sex, " Liam asked next, and I immediately blushed at his blatant use of the term.
I had already guessed that this game was going to be far from being clean, but it still made me a little uncomfortable. I quickly took a long gulp, remembering the time when I had walked in on my roommate-best friend going on with her boyfriend.
"So everyone has done that," Liam muttered as he took his drink.
My head was already buzzing with three shots and I was trying to think how I was going to keep up. I blinked twice and refocused on what Brandon was saying.
"Never have I ever; never had sex."
My body went immediately on high alert and I looked up to everyone. My mind cleared on its own and I licked my lips in thought. This one was a very personal question, and I didn't know what to feel about it. Could I be honest with these guys? They had been funny and helpful to me, so far. I could act all nonchalant that the topic didn't affect me, but who was I lying to? Remembering the short time all of us had spent together, I realized that deep down I really did trust them. So with this new thought in my mind, I looked up again. My eyes immediately landed upon Brandon and I noticed that he was looking at me intently.
Taking a deep breath, my eyes locked with with his, I picked up my glass. I started bringing it to my lips, and Brandon looked down to my hand. Yes, I was a virgin.
A huge smile broke out on his face, and I felt the blush creeping up my neck. He raised his eyebrows and pointed downwards. His eyes twinkling as he did so. My breath caught in my throat as I watched that Brandon was mirroring my movement. His hand moved with mine as he raised his glass to his lips as well. His eyes screamed out to me, and I felt my face heat up as we both took the drink together.
He was a virgin too?
"So that makes the three of you!" Seth joked, and we both snapped out of it. I blushed as I realised that I had been staring at him. It was now two times that I had caught myself doing that.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw that Leo was also putting down his glass. I tried to avoid Brandon's searching eye after that but somehow they always landed on him. We played two more rounds and I had already drunk about eight shots or maybe nine shots of vodka. My head was swimming, and I could hear everyone chattering (or was that groaning) but they shut up when Brandon shouted.
"Last question guys! Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone in this room... " he trailed off, and I felt the silence that ensued after this.
I felt Brandon's body pressed on to my left side and I tried to remember when he had shifted seats. Because he was miraculously sitting next to me, or more like I was half sitting on him. I was holding myself up quite well for my first time heavy drinking and even Seth looked like he was holding his liquor well. Liam had had the most number of shots along with Leo and both of them were having trouble opening their eyes.
I processed what Brandon had said about kissing someone in the room or something. I tried to think about Liam, but Brandon's face swam in front of my eyes. Grabbing my drink, I watched as it sloshed around in the glass, making me realise that my hands were shaking a little. Brandon already had his glass in his hands, swallowing down his cola in one long gulp. Seth too picked up his glass and drank the liquid, his eyes closed as if he was in pain.
Wanting to kiss someone in this room.
Liam and Leo looked almost passed out, so I raised the cup to my mouth. The sentence kept repeating in my head,
... kiss someone in the room...
....never have... wanted to kiss.
I tried to think of Liam's lips, but eerily green eyes kept popping up in my head. "Fuck it." I groaned and took the last shot.
"Damn." I heard someone whisper in my ear and I turned my face to see Brandon, his face just an inch apart from my face. His green eyes were clear, and his gaze was fixed on my lips.
"Do you know how beautiful you look right now? I have never seen a girl with this much confidence before," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling it.
My mind only half understood what he had just said, so I just giggled in response. I grabbed his head in my hands and looked at him.
"Do you know I dreamed about you last night?" I murmured, in an attempt to say something back.
"Really? What were we doing?" he asked, intrigued. My mind replayed the scene in my head, as Brandon looked at me. "Well?"
"Nah, I don't remember. But it was definitely a nightmare," I replied and plopped down on his lap, covering my face.
"What the fuck? You sure know how to time your exit," he whispered, giving a snort. His hands wound up in my hair, and I tried to keep my breathing even.
His hands patted my hair in familiar patterns and I thought back to the cat that had rested almost similarly in his lap. My hyper aware ears, picked up his sigh as he continued patting my hair. I bit my lip, squeezing my eyes shut to block out the image of his face engraved in my head.
I hoped against the odds that he wouldn't find out that I was actually awake.
Or the fact that my heart was beating out of my chest or maybe that even in my drunken state, I exactly remembered what had happened in my dream.
*****
A Never Have I Ever question for everyone. Comment with "I have" if you have done it.
Never Have I Ever stayed up all night to read on Wattpad (or general)
Me: I have!