"Wanna--" Ethan hiccups, wavering on his feet, "wanna come back to my room?"
The girl he's speaking to, Stella, is a little less drunk than he is, but she nods with a smile. She thought he was just flirting with her for fun because he was drunk out of his mind, but is glad to see it actually went somewhere. It's no secret that most of the girls on the trip find him attractive--he just hasn't done anything more than flirt with them.
The truth is that he doesn't really want to sleep with anyone other than Blake, but is so drunk right now he thinks maybe getting back into old habits will help him get over her. If not, he's getting laid, so can he really be mad about it?
Today is Friday, and they finished their build in El Salvador sometime in the late afternoon. After finishing, the HFH team threw a celebration party, and well, he didn't have to worry about being hungover on the site tomorrow so he drank as much as he wanted (and that was a lot). They have some bullshit plans on their own that his friends are dragging him to in the morning, but that isn't important. What is important now is Stella, and getting his dick wet.
He locks the door to his room behind them, the girl instantly pulling his lips onto hers. She tastes like vodka and coke, and he isn't really a fan of how wet her lips were, but that doesn't matter much considering everything.
Ethan brings his hands up to her chest, groping her tits through her shirt--which has no bra underneath--as he hovers over her on his bed. One of his knees rests between her spread legs, her hand finding his hair and the other moving to palm him through his shorts.
He isn't getting hard. Like, at all.
With Blake, it took practically nothing for him to get hard. Ethan chalks it up to all of the alcohol in his system and the fact that they haven't really gotten started yet as he kisses her neck, feeling her grind herself on his leg. Stella's skin tastes like cheap perfume--it isn't pleasant.
The sound of a phone ringing interrupts them, and Stella huffs when he actually picks it up. It's Grayson. "Stay the fuck out of our room and don't call me, I'm busy," he hisses, tossing his phone to the other side. "S-sorry, babe. Roommate."
"Are you gonna fuck me or what, Ethan?" Stella purrs, nipping at his earlobe and undoing his belt. Still not hard. As she spits on her hand to start stroking him, Ethan pictures Blake in his mind.
"Mhm, but first you're gonna suck me off, yeah?" The girl smirks and moves to kneel on the floor, and Ethan thinks about Blake again. He pictures the way Blake looks up at him and bats her eyelashes, how she'll choke and sputter and look so pretty doing it, the little sounds she makes--Stella gags with only two inches of him in her mouth, but he can work with that. Ethan thinks about Blake once more, about the noises she makes when he bends over to finger her while she sucks his dick. "Ohh fuck, Blake."
Stella, with Ethan's cock in her mouth, immediately stops and pulls off. "Excuse me? Did you just call me Blake?"
"W-wait!" He groans, watching her wipe her mouth with a glare before stomping out of the room. He doesn't protest much--it's not like he's really that into her. Or that hard yet. Ethan was just trying to force something that he wasn't even sure he wanted.
Sighing, Ethan squints in the darkness instead of finding a light and looks for his belt again. He's going back to the party--but first he brushes his teeth to get the taste of Stella out of his mouth.
Before he can leave, Grayson let's himself in. "E! Ethan! Where are you, dumbass?"
"I'm--I'm in here," Ethan mumbles, his words slurred. He blinks slowly at his brother as he trudges out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall to stand straight. "What?"
Lara pops into the room behind him, obviously rushed as she looks around the room. "Where's your hookup?"
"Left," he pouts, reaching for his room key and slinging it around his neck. "Going to--going back to the party."
"She left? Like, you guys already finished left, or..?" Ryan asks, also appearing in the doorway, with Ava right next to him. Apparently everyone felt the need to come check on him. "Did you sleep with her?"
"No, god, what the h-hell does it matter to you guys?"
They were all worried about Ethan sleeping with someone else because of Blake. Sure, they aren't together, but their friends aren't stupid either.
First of all, Ethan's drunk off of his ass. He has a pretty high tolerance, and will likely remember all of this in the morning, but he isn't thinking clearly right now. They know that he'll feel like shit after sleeping with anyone else. He specifically hasn't tried to because he didn't feel ready, until he drank so much.
Second, as much as Blake pretends she doesn't care, it would hurt her like hell that Ethan was already back to sleeping around like his old self. None of them want that to happen either. If not for Ethan and Blake, this is for their own sakes as well considering the six have group plans after breakfast tomorrow, and Ethan drunkenly hooking up with someone might make things extra awkward.
"What happened?" Ava cocks a brow, watching him sway on his feet. "God, he's so drunk."
Ethan drinks decently often, that's no secret. Him being this drunk though is rare, at least recently. Honesty, ever since he started pursuing Blake he's been drinking much less at parties. He's turned into mostly a social drinker, often not having more than a buzz. Grayson nods, "Yeah, I think you should go to bed, E."
"I don't fucking--I'm not--can't I just go flirt with some chick in peace?"
"Nope, bedtime," Lara smiles, thrusting a pair of sweats into his hand. "Here's the thing: I'm sleeping in here tonight with Grayson. So..."
At about that time, Blake is getting texts from Ava as a warning that she's missing. She's strutting around her room in just shorts while she brushes her teeth--pacing and listening to music while she does it of course--and not hearing her phone buzz. She flips through some shirts with her spare hand, trying to find one that's light enough for the warm room.
She had a little bit to drink, but now is mostly sober. No clue where her friends have gone off to, she's planning to get a good nights sleep. Normally, she has a pact with Ava and Lara to keep their eyes on each other at parties, but she texted them she was okay and knew they were with their boyfriends. Blake's actually going to get to sleep early for the first time in a while.
Until the five of them see fit to let themselves in and drop an annoyed Ethan off.
Blake turns around just as the door opens, flashing all of them her tits with wide eyes. She lets out a squeal and turns around, toothbrush still in her mouth as she awkwardly tugs a shirt over her head.
That sight gets Ethan a lot harder than Stella did, that's for sure, and it's only a split second. His eyes are widened in return, but so are everyone else's.
She tries to say something with the toothbrush in her mouth, but instead moves into the bathroom. She wouldn't care if she'd flashed just Lara or Ava, but seriously? All of them? Her face is burning. From embarrassment, and annoyance.
When she comes back out she's wearing a glare, crossing her arms. She had no idea where they were before and definitely wasn't expecting them to barge in. "What the hell, guys?"
"Let's... not talk about it," Grayson laughs, shaking his head. "We brought Ethan."
"Why?" Blake sighs, looking at the drunk boy, still wide-eyed staring at her. "I was getting ready for bed. He has his own room."
"Yeah, about that..." Lara grins, pushing Ethan toward her bed. He frowns, but takes a seat on the edge knowing he's outnumbered. "I'm spending the night in Gray's room, so you get to babysit drunk Ethan."
"I don't need a fucking babysitter--"
"I texted you," Ava shrugs, making Blake's eyes roll as she reaches for her phone. "Have fun, kids."
"Sorry about barging in," Ryan says sheepishly, the door shutting as they pile out before Blake can protest. This is not how she wanted to spend the night. They know that the situation isn't ideal, but her friends all have plans for their own long nights, leaving Blake and Ethan to tough it out on their own.
Ava: ethans really drunk
Ava: and lar wants to spend the night with grayson
Ava: and ryan and i are trying something new tonight sooooo
Ava: we're bringing him to your room to spend the night. he'll probably fall right asleep tho
Ava: and heads up... he tried to hookup with someone. didn't succeed but we don't know exactly what happened :/ he's in a mood
Blake sighs as she reads through them, glancing at Ethan, who's staring at the ceiling with a bored expression. He tried to hookup with someone, which kind of stings to hear even though she has no real reason to be upset about it.
"I'm going to bed. You can change or do what you want, but try to keep it down?"
"Whatever," Ethan huffs, clumsily tearing his shirt off. Without getting up, he manages to get his shoes and pants off too, tucking himself under the covers. The sweats he brought over sit folded on the night table. "It's hot as balls in here." Blake snorts, but doesn't say anything and gets into her own bed after turning the light off. "Blaaaaake," he whines, voice muffled by his pillow, "I can't sleep."
"Shut up and try for more than two minutes."
"My dick is kinda hard though."
"Okay first, kinda?" She asks, raising her eyebrows despite them not being able to see each other. "Second, why the hell are you telling me this?"
Ethan shrugs. He doesn't really have a filter at the moment. "Yeah, kinda. Like, half-hard. It--it's un-comfy," he frowns, shifting in bed. He rolls over to face Blake, but she's facing the opposite way. "And I'm telling you because... you're the only one in here? 'N it's a little bit your fault for--for flashing me."
"You're so annoying," she mumbles, rubbing her tired eyes. "What, your hookup walk out on you?"
"Yeah." It's obvious how truly drunk and out-of-sorts Ethan is by the way this conversation is going. Everything he says is casual, with no trace of either flirtation or anger or even shame lingering underneath. In the morning, he'll probably regret some of the things he's said and done, but that's not unusual for people who get this drunk. "I didn't... really wanna s-sleep with her anyway. But she got mad at me."
Blake smiles the slightly bit at the very light lisp that comes out. It's more rare from sober Ethan, but she always found it cute. The lisp is slightly more prominent from drunk Ethan.
"How'd you piss her off?"
"Well, I-I don't think she liked it when I moaned someo--your name when she had my dick in her mouth, so..."
"Oh my god, Dolan. You're an idiot. I--why would you--?"
Ethan giggles to himself listening to her gasp, though it really isn't a funny situation. It probably won't be one for him in the morning either. "Had to think about you to get hard, cher-che--Blake."
"Or you're just way too fucking drunk," Blake rolls her eyes. The image of Ethan with another girl is still stuck in her mind, but she ignores it. "Get some sleep, Dolan. We're hiking the volcano tomorrow, so you're gonna need it."
He huffs to himself, but Blake stops answering him after that. She's not asleep, and she doesn't get to sleep for a while. Ethan's out, snoring, before she is, only fueling her thoughts of him.
Come morning, Ethan's waking up to Blake shaking him, his head pounding and the room far too hot and bright for his liking. But she stands over him, sun beaming from behind her and making it look like she's glowing, her hair tied back with a few strands dangling, and he thinks he's still dreaming for a minute before remembering why he's in her room.
"If you don't get up now you're gonna miss the hike."
"It's so fucking bright in here," he groans, throat dry, voice gruff and deep from sleeping. "My head is killing me."
"Yeah, that'll happen when you're so drunk you can't stand straight," she laughs, reaching for her sunscreen. "Get up, Dolan. Unless you're not coming, but our friends might yell at you for skipping."
Ethan nods, stretching in bed and watching her rub the lotion into her skin. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Sorry about last night, by the way."
She shrugs, continuing to to apply the sunscreen and not even looking at him. "You missed breakfast."
That isn't surprising, but it is disappointing. Ethan's starving, and definitely needs some caffeine before this hike. Probably a gallon of water too, because it's extremely hot and he hasn't had anything other than alcohol to drink in at least ten hours.
He's pretty annoyed with himself for how he acted last night. Like a complete asshole--getting drunk and being stupid. Luckily, he'll never have to see Stella again after this trip, so that's one thing he doesn't have to worry about.
"It's whatever," he says, walking into the bathroom. Sitting on the sink is some pills, which he takes, and clean clothes for him, to which his eyebrows furrow, but he changes into them anyway. "Did Grayson bring clothes for me?"
"No, I grabbed them after breakfast. Figured it was easier since you were sleeping so late," Blake hums, reaching for a pair of her shoes. "I uh, brought some breakfast back for you. Figured you should eat something since we aren't having lunch until after the hike. And there's a Red Bull in the mini fridge for you... you should probably drink some water too though."
"Oh... thanks, chérie."
She nods, shrugging again and tying her shoes. "Don't need your passing out on our hike, do we?" Making the decision to bring something back for him wasn't as easy as it should've been. She ultimately did, but all of their friends smirked and teased her about it. "Alright, Dolan, I'm gonna go wait outside. Don't take too long."
"Wait, Blake," Ethan says, turning around and biting his lip. One of his hands has fingers tapping the can he's holding, the other has his thumb toying uncomfortably with the strap of his bag. He wants to kiss her, mostly, and ask her why things have to be like this. Instead, he just smiles softly, "Thanks again."
Blake gives a nod and a tight-lipped smile back, her muscles relaxing the second she leaves the room. It shouldn't be this hard to be near him, but god is she struggling.
--
Campus is bustling a few days after getting back from spring break, everyone tired, sunburnt, and missing their vacation. They're all just glad that it's finally warm enough to wear shorts back in town, after months of a bitter winter.
"How was El Salvador?" Todd asks Blake as they walk out of class and toward the quad.
"It was really cool! Kind of a life-changing experience, getting to do that kind of thing," Blake gushes, zipping up her bag. Even with everything involving Ethan, it was a good trip overall. "And we had a lot more downtime than I thought we would to explore. But how was your break, Evans?"
"I actually ended up spending it with Bianca, we--"
Todd is cut off by loud yelling from somewhere in the quad, along with laughter and shrieks. Both of their eyebrows scrunch up, turning toward the sound of commotion to see water balloons being thrown at several members of Beta. The perpetrators are none other than Kappa Sigma, which really isn't surprising to anyone other than Blake.
Their assault leaves Beta drenched in not just water, but paint. Blake's eyes land on Ethan as he wrenches his arm back, launching a balloon and splattering red paint all over Reece. She'd recognize his stupid backwards hat and orange Kith hoodie anywhere.
Immediately after running out of balloons they scatter, and Ethan runs straight to Blake--not knowing she's over there, of course. He's slightly out of breath, but stops when he sees her, noting that Beta are too busy wringing out their shirts to pick him out of the crowd.
"Really, Dolan?" She sighs, placing a hand on her hip. "What happened to you wanting to end the prank war?"
It isn't her business anymore, but she's disappointed that they retaliated. Things had dwindled and calmed down, but of course, they had to hit back.
This time, Blake does not want to be involved. Last time around it started fun, but being drugged and waking up with no memories sure as hell wasn't. Beta is too screwed up for it to be fun--the biggest thing that sucks about it is there wasn't really any proof, and Kappa surely wouldn't snitch anyway.
Ethan shrugs, glancing at Todd. "I'm gonna steal her from you. See ya, dude."
"Uh, okay, bye--"
He grabs Blake by the arm and starts dragging her off the quad. "Dolan! Asshole! Let me go!"
"I just wanna talk to you, chérie, calm down," he laughs, unnervingly calm. There's blue paint on his knuckles, purple on his fingertips that he hasn't washed off yet, some smudged under his jaw. "So, back to school party at Kappa this weekend. You should swing by."
"What? What's up with you?" Blake huffs, walking beside him now.
Ethan's acting like nothing happened between them. He has a shit-eating grin on his face, swinging his arm around her shoulder and ignoring how she looks at him and scoffs.
He missed being carefree with her, flirting with her, hanging out with her... he missed her. Ethan doesn't want to think about how they broke up, how they kept fighting, how they weren't good when they were dating. Instead, he's just going to act like everything is fine and hope for the best.
"C'mon, chérie. It's just a party. You can come to hangout with me," he smirks, tapping his chin. Blake rolls her eyes and gets ready to walk away from him. "If that's not enough motivation, we can make a little bet."
"A bet? Really?"
"Mhm. I bet that if you pop in, I can get you upstairs and make you cum so many times you're begging me to stop."
Blake stops cold, glaring up at him through her lashes with dark eyes. She can't believe the audacity he has right now. His offer might've been tempting under different circumstances, but not today. "I'm never coming to one of your stupid parties again, Dolan."
A/N
I hope everyone had a good Christmas if you celebrate!! Or a good holiday if you celebrate something else!! Or at least a good weekend :)