Three chapters in now and you have no clue what the oh-so-important 'chaotic intoxicated night' was. If you're confused, it's the one that I allude to in the description of this story. Fear not, I will deliver—"It's perpetually preposterous. Wait til' the fanfiction writers hear about this." Joel broke the silence of his quiet bedroom.
He stared up at the popcorn ceiling, tracing his gaze around the shapes he could make out with the various bumps and dips.
"Wait til' they find out that in real life I think he's hot." He wouldn't have been able to utter the words he just strung together anywhere else and at any other time. Late-night pondering in bed lets you explore all your emotions and the minor mistakes you made 6 years ago. Joel spent his time thinking of Ender.
He found the topic of choice he chose to be mortifying, but Joel still thought about him. Like something was tying him to the subject, he couldn't be get away even if he tried. A red string of fate, Joel presumes. He mentally listed what he liked and didn't like about Ender (2 for dislike, 7 for like by the way), trying to rationalize why dating him was off the table.
However, unfortunately, he came to the conclusion that dating Ender was most definitely on the table. It's not like anyone besides Ender's opinion matters. In fact, he knew most people would be excited. They loved to shove their personas together. His plan had backfired horribly.
6 years ago – 21 Years Old
"The first-ever party for heroes! And you're invited!" Hotguy seemed very excited as he handed Joel the invitation. It was thick card stock with a glittery gold border. "I... do I have to attend?" Joel may be a menace at times (most of the time) but he wasn't the fondest of loud parties. Especially transformed, the power of enhanced hearing bites him in the ass with the blaring music from speakers along with the shouting over said loud music.
"Come on! It'll be awesome!" Hotguy grinned, patting him on the back. "Plus, aren't you 21 now? Have some drinks!" Joel was slightly interested in that, he only ever drank on his 21st birthday a month ago. "I guess I'll go." Joel agreed, Hotguy was ecstatic. "Yes! This is going to be great!" Hotguy hugged him, his grip was deadly.
"W-Who else is going?" Joel managed to ask, it was hard to breathe. "Let me think... Doctor Potato, Ender, Bubbles, Nano, Titan, Blaze, Lunar, Mercury... I think that's all I've invited. None of the older uncool heroes because they're lame." Hotguy giggled, stepping back from the hug.
Joel was relieved because if he hadn't stepped back, Joel might've passed out. "I'd like to argue Ender's old and uncool but to each their own." He snickered as he saw the older walking into their headquarters right as he said that. Ender's footsteps weren't easily detectable, even with his enhanced hearing.
"You're gossiping about me to Hotguy? You really have nobody else to obsess over?" Ender's banter was expected, honestly. Their dynamic was a lot of jokes, jabs, sarcasm, and teasing. "No, you're just that horrible. I have to make sure Hotguy wasn't misled by your fabrications." Joel's words were venomous, however his smile and tone soothed any sort of pain he may have caused
"I wasn't! I'm too smart!" Hotguy grinned, Joel chuckled. Hotguy had that effect of laughter. "Yeah, yeah, where are the documents of Hades?" Ender asked, looking around the meeting table. "Right here. Here ya' go!" Hotguy slid the files to the edge of the table before picking them up, handing them to Ender.
"Thanks, B needs these." Ender held the files tight to his chest as he walked out. Hades' information and leads were confidential. Not just anyone could know of and view the files. Joel wasn't on the Hades case. He was more on the scent of Atlas, another supervillain. The 'mastermind' behind other attacks, mainly in Queens as opposed to Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Atlas' case was deliberately less complex yet still difficult to solve. Atlas was careful, very careful. He never left any evidence, clues, nothing. Only when he revealed himself was he ever seen. "When's the party?" Joel asked, his mental calendar was a bit full. College was eating up his time like mad.
"Friday night! You can keep the invitation." Hotguy flipped the card-stock to reveal the further information. Joel read through it, he could make it. "Right..."
Why did he come to the party?
Joel scoffed to himself, "What a bloody idiot, attending a loud party and standing in the corner drinking normal fruit punch because you're too scared to talk to the bartender and ask for a real drink because you have a reputation to hold up." He held his drink anxiously close to his chest, watching other heros dance and laugh.
"Lykos! Come play spin the bottle!" Lunar waved, shouting. Joel followed and sat down in the circle of heros. He could smell the alcohol hot on most peoples' breaths, Titan was leaning on his side. "Okay, so has everyone played before?" Hotguy asked, he didn't seem drunk at least.
Joel looked around, most people seemed to have played at least once prior to this. The only three who hadn't were the heros still under 20, Doctor Potato, Mercury, and Lunar. They were were just spectating. Joel hadn't, but he just agreed with the crowd. Call him a coward, but he wasn't going to make the other heros think he was a loser who never went outside.
It was true, but they didn't need to know that. "Who wants to go first then?" Hotguy looked around, his eyes drew back to the glass bottle. Joel vaguely knew the premise, spin the bottle, whoever it lands on you slap or something like that. Joel quite wanted to hit someone and get away with it, it'd be hilarious.
"Come on, you go first." Bubbles nudged Hotguy, who sat beside him. He took a spin, flicking it with his wrist as everyone waited in anticipation. The bottle landed on Joel, oh well. He shrugged, letting out a small scoff of amusement. He honestly didn't care if he got slapped in the face, he was gonna spin it next anyway.
He just sat there, cross-legged, waiting and watching Hotguy scoot closer. Joel was only half aware of how Titan moved away. "You okay with this, Lykos?" Hotguy asked before taking another sip of his drink. He was weirdly close... "Yeah, just do it. I don't care." Joel heard the drunk cheers of the others in the circle.
He was bracing himself for some sort of slap, punch, kick—not a hand on the back of his head and a kiss to the lips. Joel was caught off guard, his eyes wide open as Hotguy gave him a kiss. It lasted for less than a second, he felt the hand leave the back of his head almost as quickly as it came. Hotguy, ironically, was incredibly sweaty.
Joel watched as Hotguy awkwardly scooted back. He instinctively brought up his hand to touch his lips, now he smelled of alcohol too. "How was it? Was it your first kiss?" Joel could practically feel the hazy smirk behind Hotguy's hand covering his mouth. He didn't hate it... why didn't he hate it?
"N-No, it's not my first kiss. If it was, I'd be upset... to say the least." He noticed how Hotguy seemed to deflate at his second comment. "It wasn't bad—if that's what you were wondering." He interjected. Joel wasn't lying, he liked it more than he wanted to admit.
It gave him a short-lived zap. A spark, of euphoria? Not exactly happiness, but it was being compared to his kisses with Lizzie when they had briefly dated. Hers were charming, he had more feelings toward Lizzie than he did Hotguy. Joel hadn't considered the possibility of him liking guys up until now.
Joel could ask Ender. He knew Ender wasn't straight. He liked girls, but Joel knew Ender and Bubbles had dated before as well. "Of course, Hotguy's practically the best kisser out of all of us." Titan spoke so matter-of-factly, like it was common knowledge. Hotguy laughed, hiccuping a bit.
"Thanks, Lykos and Titan! Go on, it's your turn Lykos!" Now that Joel knew what spin the bottle was, he was slightly less enthusiastic about it. But he played along nonetheless. Partially because he wanted to explore the new spark he felt when he kissed Hotguy. Joel gave the glass bottle a spin, he spun it with a lot of force.
"Woah! Mate, it's going 10km/h!" Doctor Potato commented as Joel was situated on the spinning. His eyes glued at the blur of a bottle.
It landed on Bubbles.
Joel almost choked on air as he realized the result, his heart was basically rolling through turmoil now. As Ender's self-proclaimed biggest fan and best hero-friend, it did feel odd approaching Bubbles with this action in mind. "You okay with this?" Joel asked, half-heartedly hoping he would say no and they could move on.
But the other half of his heart was holding onto the spark. Joel didn't plan for his best friend's ex to supposed to his gay awakening, but in his defence—It was Hotguy, Bubbles has nothing to do with it. "Yeah, go ahead." Bubbles' voice was so encouraging, he even held a small smile.
Joel simply leaned in to kiss him, his eyes closed this time.
Bubbles' lips were more bruised and busted than Hotguy's. Considering the amount if bruises and cuts he had littered all over him from fights, it was kinda expected. Bubbles tasted of pineapple juice and beer. Joel left slowly, backing up to his original position, Bubbles didn't say anything.
Joel looked over to Ender once he made it back. He wanted to silently convey a look that said 'The kiss with Bubbles wasn't anything special.' Ender's eyes peered over him like a looming hawk's. His mask concealed his emotions very well, Joel couldn't tell what he thought about the kiss.
Knowing Ender, he'd be okay with it. Him and Bubbles ended their relationship on a positive note. Joel watched as the others continued to play the game of spin the bottle. "I'll be back, I want a drink." He told Titan quietly, who nodded and patted him gently on the back. "Alright! Be quick!"
Joel got up, his tail wrapped around his hips as he stumbled over to the bar. All the counters were just wiped, Joel could smell the scent of puke around the corner. "Hey! Over here!" He used his best voice to call over the distracted bartender. However Joel ended up sounding so hoarse and dire he almost shut himself up mid-sentence.
"Yup, what can I get for you Lykos?" He thought about it for a moment, what did he want? "Uh..." He dragged out his sentences, what was that one news outlet named after the drink? "A cosmopolitan on the rocks, please." He didn't know drinks, he didn't even know what a cosmopolitan was besides the fact it's an alcoholic drink you can order.
"Alright, one cocktail coming right up!" The bartender walked off to make the drink. "So it's a cocktail, okay." You learn something new everyday. Joel waited for his drink, turning back to the spin the bottle game to watch from afar for a bit. Hotguy was a genuinely good guy, everyone was having a seemingly enjoyable time.
They were all laughing and being loud. Joel couldn't help himself from smiling at the interactions and genuine enjoyment people had. He liked this party, Joel concluded. Especially since the music toned down after people stopped dancing.
"You having fun?" He jumped a bit, snapping his head to see Ender. "Gosh, stop doing that!" Joel gently pushed Ender by the shoulder, who just laughed. "What? You didn't hear me? I was walking with thuds." Joel was given his drink, it was cold to the touch with the amount of ice put in it.
"But you're... you're the only person who I can't hear for some reason! Like you're silent! A ninja!" He exclaimed before drinking his cocktail. It was citrus and with vodka. "You like your drink?" Ender asked as he took a sip of his own, his was red. "Kinda tastes like lemonade... wow, the vodka's strong though." Joel found himself slurring words as he continued to drink it. He finished 3/4 of it by just purely drinking the whole time.
"Are you a heavyweight?" Ender's voice was starting to drown out in the music. Did they turn it up again? Joel shrugged, he wasn't sure. He didn't really drink. Ender slowly took his drink away, his voice really sounded like mush. "Got that?" That persisted through all the sudden loud noises.
Joel shook his head, he didn't got that. And this is why you don't drink for the second time ever at a coworkers party! Granted most coworker parties don't feature spin the bottle, so it wasn't your average workplace get-together. He brought his hands to his wolf ears, flattening them against his head to try and muffle all sounds.
He felt Ender's hand on his forearm, he was speaking to Joel. It was useless considering Joel was practically dead with the current circumstances. He slowly let go of his ears, opting to instead grab his drink once more. "No, don't do that—" Too late, Ender. He chugged the rest of it, grinning hazily as he put the drink down.
"Lykos and Ender! We're about to play Never Have I Ever!" Mercury stood next to Joel, who seemed to be on another plain of existence. Joel nodded, slowly sliding off the stool-chair. He took a second to balance himself, trying to walk back to the ground. He found himself grasping onto Ender's shirt to try and keep balance.
"Never have I ever kissed Hotguy!"
Joel drank a total of 3 drinks that night, two within the last hour. By the time he was finished, he hadn't even won the drinking contest, he just didn't want to be last. The male was being carried by someone, he was being transported back to the Society's car.
Joel stared at the mysterious person, eyes locked. "I love you." His voice was loud and clear, he could tell the person wasn't expecting it. They were simply trying to buckle his seatbelt as that was a basic safety precaution. He leaned in and kissed them. It wasn't on the lips, more on the forehead.
Third person he kissed tonight... right.
"Why did I do that?" Joel muttered. 6 years later, he was hyperaware of who it was. It's the reason why he and Ender don't talk one on one as much. They never addressed it. He kissed Ender on the forehead, he knew that 100%.
What he didn't know was how Ender felt about it.
"He was disgusted! That's why!" It's so childish to avoid someone just because you're embarrassed you made a mistake when you were drunk. At least own up to it. It wasn't any major anyway, so why was he making it so difficult?
heros
doctor potato - mumbo - based off super potato from s8!hc
bubbles - bdubs - bc his nickname is bubbles :D
nano - impulse - greek for dwarf. based off his power + s9!hc his character is a dwarf
titan - skizz - based off his power
blaze - tango - based off power + minecraft
lunar - pearl - pearlescentMOON; moon = lunar
mercury - gem - mercury is the planet of gemini so i thought itd be funny