Nate glanced down at Zack from behind his notepad, trying to seem interested in the conversation they'd been having. Thank god Saturday nights at Ruby's Diner were slow, because his brain was turning into a complete pile of mush with thoughts of Sean and whatever repercussions that might come from the little get together he'd had with Erik replacing any otherwise productive notions he might have.
"Nate?"
Nate blinked twice, his mind pulled back to the present by Zack's worried voice.
"Huh?"
"Nate, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Nate assured him, mustering a small smile.
Zack appeared unconvinced, continuing to peg Nate with a worried stare. "Those guys giving you trouble again?"
Nate shook his head. "No." He really hoped Zack would quit with all the questions. He didn't plan on having a little Oprah session with him on his break about his fucked up love life.
Zack seemed to take the hint, though he still had a look in his eyes that told Nate he wasn't done. "Nate, maybe you just need a little down time. I'm sure you're overworked between work and school. Look, there's this party tonight my friends invited me to. You should come. "
Nate hesitated, contemplating his proposition. Well...maybe. He hadn't hung out with his friends...alright, maybe just Amber, all week. And with all the drama going on between him and Erik and Sean, he could really use something to take his mind off the whole ordeal.
"Sure."
Zack smiled up at him widely like he'd just won the lottery.
"Great. I'll be back at the end of your shift to pick you up."
At 10:01, Nate spotted Zack's car pull up in front of Ruby's Diner. Crap. How had he ever thought this was a good idea? Zack liked him. And they both knew it. And now he was going to a late night party with him. Alone.
He couldn't help but feel like he was going behind Erik's back by doing so, almost like cheating. Except he wasn't, because they weren't going out. And he didn't owe him anything. Nope. Not a thing.
Since when had he become such a compulsive liar?
Honestly, though, how was he supposed to know if he liked naughty or nice if he didn't try them both? He was still young, a teenager. This was the time you were supposed to spend exploring different things to figure out what you liked and didn't like.
Taking a deep breath, Nate made his way out to Zack's black pickup truck, hopping into the passenger seat and giving him a friendly smile.
"So, how was your shift?" Zack asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Good." Nate said, noticing the overpowering scent of fast food and sweat saturating the car. Ah, the telltale signs of construction work. Nate hated himself for it, but he couldn't help but compare it to the pleasant peppermint aroma that had welcomed him when he'd first rode in Erik's car.
"You alright? You've been real quiet lately." Zack said, casting another worried glance Nate's way.
"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind." Nate mumbled, looking down at his hands and feeling slightly guilty for not being the good company he knew Zack deserved. He was a nice guy. Really. He just...
"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." Zack said, reaching over and giving Nate a small pat on the shoulder. His hands were heavy, and slightly calloused from his work. Erik's had been-
Gah. He seriously had to stop this.
Nate had to keep himself from flinching at the physical contact. It had never bothered him before. Maybe it was just his nerves, he told himself, at having accepted such an impromptu party invitation which would undoubtedly be filled with a bunch of people he didn't know. And older people, at that.
"Nate, just to warn you, there'll be alcohol at the party. I'm not sure if you're into that type of thing or not, but..."
"Oh yeah. I get drunk. All the time." Nate assured him, trying to play it off like it was nothing. A little white lie never hurt anyone, right?
Zack glanced over at Nate, letting out a hearty laugh. "Yeah? Well, just don't drink too much tonight. The last thing you need is a killer hangover."
Nate nodded his head in agreement. Yeah, perhaps a few drinks would do him some good.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Nate groaned, forcing one eye open, then the other.
God, he felt like crap. Like someone had pounded his head in, and scratched his eyes out. And sat on his chest-
"Gah!"
Nate tried jerking away from Zack's limp body, which had apparently been resting against his chest
Holy. Shit. What the hell had happened?
Zack was out cold. He barely even groaned as Nate pushed his body off of him and onto the cold linoleum he'd apparently been sleeping on for the past umpteen hours.
.Beep.
Nate averted his gaze back down to the source of the noise that had woken him in the first place, digging into his pocket for his cell phone. It was a text from Amber.
OMG! You dirty little whore!
Crap. What was she talking about? Nate tried to rack his mind for any memories of the night before. The last thing he could remember was...riding in Zack's car, carrying on small talk. That's right...they had been going to a party...where there was alcohol.
He must have gotten totally wasted last night. Judging by the looks of it, Zack had as well. Well, at least they were both still fully-
Shit! Nate threw his arms out in front of his bare chest as if to cover himself from an audience that wasn't there. Where the hell was his shirt? And what had the two of them done last night? Crap. What if Erik found out?
He had to get out of here. Now. Nate didn't bother looking for his shirt, maneuvering his way around the passed out bodies between him and the front door. Stumbling outside, he took out his phone again.
Come get me. Now. I'm at...
He didn't even know the address. Looking back at the house and then down the street for the name, he finished his text to Amber.
5938 Willows Brooke.
10 minutes later, Amber's hot pink slug bug pulled up in front of the house. She had a silly grin on her face, one that scared the hell out of Nate. Obviously, she knew a lot more about what had gone on last night than he did.
Sliding into her car, Nate opened his mouth to ask Amber about last night, only to be interrupted.
"You didn't bother putting a shirt on? Well, at least you have some pants on now."
"What?" Nate choked out, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.
Amber gave him a curious look. "Last night...don't you remember sending me the picture?"
Nate's eyes narrowed. "I don't even remember going to the party last night. The last thing I remember, I was in Zack's car, talking to him..."
Amber's jaw dropped open. "Oh. My. God. Nate! I knew you were wasted last night, but not this bad..."
"So what exactly happened last night?"
Amber hesitated, as if not sure he could handle the truth, before whipping out her phone, skimming through it for a second, and then handing it to him. On it was a picture of Nate, stripped down to his boxers with a bottle of beer in one hand and the cell phone he was obviously taking the picture with in the other, kissing Zack.
Holy. Shit.
What if they'd done more than just kiss? What if they'd- gah! Nate shuttered at the very thought that for his first time, he might never be able to remember it because he was drunk off his ass and probably didn't know what the hell he was doing...not that he would have anyways, but still. Not being able to remember it...
Not exactly most people's ideal way of losing their virginity.
Nate cursed inwardly, hoping to god that wasn't what had happened. He needed to talk to Zack and ask him about it...after he was less awkward...and freaked out. Hopefully he would remember what happened last night.
"You've got to delete this. Now." Nate said, doing it for her before she could object.
"Uh....well, see, there's one other thing..."
Nate could feel dread consume him as he recognized that tone in her voice.
"Amber, what the hell did you do?"
"See, I thought you were with Zack now, ya know, since you sent me a picture of you kissing him and all. So...I tried to tell Erik...like, I tried to tell him you weren't interested anymore...you know, so he wouldn't be all heartbroken and strung along...but he didn't believe me....so...I kinda...sent him the picture."
Nate felt as if someone had a chokehold on his throat. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
"Amber!"
Amber flinched in her seat, a remorseful look on her face. "I'm sorry! I was just trying to help."
"Well stop trying to help! Because you're not!"
"It's not like you didn't just finish talking to me about how you weren't even sure you were going to give him a chance. How was I supposed to know any differently?"
She had a point. A now irrelevant point, but still a point. This was his fault. He had been the one that had gone to the party. He had been the one trying to convince both Amber and Erik he wasn't totally crushing on Erik when he was. And, apparently, he'd been the one to kiss Zack. Which he wasn't even sure why. He hadn't even felt attracted to him lately...not since things had started up with Erik.
"Gah. Whatever...what did he say back?"
"Well...nothing."
He had never once seen Erik at a loss for words. Not once.
Nate paced back and forth behind the counter of Ruby's Diner. He hadn't talked to Zack...or Erik...all day, not that that had been all that long. After getting picked up from whoever's house he'd crashed at, he'd had just enough time to run home and get changed before having to start his shift here. It was Sunday night, and he was sure Erik would come in. He had to, right? I mean, after everything...
"Nate. You've got a waiter request. Table six."
Nate had never been more relieved to hear his boss say those eight words. Stumbling forward, he made his way over to the table as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself. Maybe if he could just explain himself then-
Whoa.
Erik looked up at him, sporting a black eye and a busted lip. He had a few other cuts and scrapes on his face, and from what he could see his knuckles were scraped up. Bad.
Nate opened his mouth to ask what had happened, only to feel a small tap on his shoulder.
"What?" Nate snapped, glancing over his shoulder.
There was Zack, standing behind him with his eyes drifting from Nate to Erik and then back."You forgot your shirt earlier."
A/N: Please vote if you liked the chapter, and if not let me know why. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.