When truth or dare finally ended Lucas was half slumped over, and drunk out of his mind. Vincent was doing better; but only slightly. He attempted to stand up and almost lost his balance. Vincent was not accustomed to drinking and was proving to be somewhat of a lightweight.
"Let's go big guy." Vincent attempted to lift Lucas, up, but Lucas grabbed onto his shirt.
"I want to st-stay" Lucas half whined half slurred. Vincent had never seen him like this before and it was both strange and interesting.
"We have to go." Vincent said, trying to hoist Lucas up. "You could help you know."
"You c-could help youse knows." Lucas slurred as Vincent wrapped his arm around his neck trying to stumble him over towards the door. "Stop." Lucas said surprisingly clear. "I want to tell you something."
"Alright. Go ahead."
"I like you." He began slowly, desperately trying to make it clear.
"I know Lu. I like you too." Vinny said shifting his weight back up to keep Lucas from falling, but the boy slid to the floor anyway.
"Nooooo-ah." He slurred. "Not likes thaaat." He pushed himself onto his knees, and Vincent knelt down to meet him. "I like like you." He said, then pushed a sloppy kiss onto Vinny's cheek.
"Lu. You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying." Vincent assured more to himself than to Lucas.
"I'm not drunk." He shouted. "Or am I?"
"Yes you are. You're very very drunk." Vinny scolded.
"Is that so? Iii'mmmh goin-g to hurl." He said then turned and ran to a trash can. Afterwards he slumped down around the bin and hugged it.
"Lucas!" Vinny called. "We've got to go." He attempted to lift Lucas up around his shoulder again, slightly dragging the taller boy towards the door.
"How are you getting home?" Marty stopped Vincent, coming from nowhere.
"He's got his car. I'll just drive him back."
"You can't drive like this. You're both drunk." He asserted, and Vincent sighed knowing he was correct.
"How do you suppose we get home then?" Vincent asked honestly.
"I'll drive you." Marty stated. It wasn't the most attractive offer, but as the only one... it'd have to do. "Not for you. For Lucas." Marty pointed accusingly as he wrapped Lucas' other arm around his shoulder. Together they were able to get the boy over to Marty's car. It was an old fifty's style Chevy Vega, in a cherry red color.
With a car like that, and an attitude so in need of adjustment it was clear to Vincent that Marty was just another of Lucas' snobbish spoiled rich friends, even if it was kind of him to help out. Vinny didn't understand it, Lucas was better than these people.
"Woah. Nice car." Vinny asserted.
"Yeah. She's my baby." Marty grinned with pride. "Nobody throws up in her. Got that?" He lifted Lucas' slightly limp head.
"Thank you." Vincent said again as he sat in the front seat of Marty's car.
"You don't need to thank me."
"Yes I do. I couldn't.." Vinny began
"I said I didn't do it for you." He cut Vincent off. "I did it for Lucas." Marty said in a hushed tone. At hearing his name Lucas began to stir in the backseat of the car.
"Whaaaaaahhht?" He said sitting up slightly.
"Nothing Lu go back to sleep." Vincent whispered.
"Are you alright buddy?" Marty sat up and looked in his rear view mirror to check on Lucas.
"Vinny t-took care of me... we's married youse know." Lucas slurred and Vincent flinched at the memory he brought back.
"Aren't you a little young to be married?" Marty asked shooting a look.
"No. I mean yes, but we aren't married." Vincent assured, and was immediately met with sniffles from the back of the car. "Are you crying Lu?"
"You d-don't want to be m-married to me anymore." He cried.
"Of course I do." Vinny said softly.
"So you are married?" Marty said with a grin.
"No." Vincent half shouted.
"Aaaahhhhhhhh?" Lucas whined.
"Lucas!" Vincent shouted. He sat up and wiped his eyes.
"I don't like it when you call me Lucas. I like it when you call me Lu." He said almost clearly then slumped back over.
"You didn't make that any easier on me. You know that?" Vincent scolded Marty once Lucas seemed to be out for the time being.
"Wasn't trying to." He smirked.
"Of course you weren't. That would be helpful." Vincent shot back.
"I am driving you home aren't I?" Marty half shouted.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONLY DOING THAT FOR LUCAS!" Vincent's voice rose, earning a groan from Lucas in the back.
"You're cute when you're angry." Marty chuckled.
"Shut up." Vincent shot back, being sure to whisper for Lucas' sake. "If Lucas didn't need you I'd kill you."
"Yeah.. if he didn't need me. Speaking of, you'd better be careful around Lucas. You know that, right?" Marty asked, changing the subject.
"What do you mean?" Vincent prodded.
"Just be careful is all I'm saying. Lucas is a good dude, don't take him for granted. He's... talked about you before, and he said you weren't friends anymore, but now you're back, and you're friends again, so just..."
"Be careful?" Vinny finished for him. "I would never try to hurt Lucas."
"I should hope not.. but you certainly have before." Marty accused.
"That's not entirely fair. I've hurt Lucas, sure, but Lucas has definitely hurt me too. It took two people to end a friendship."
"Yeah but Lucas is my friend, so I care if he gets hurt. So if you don't want to be back in his life, then you should just go now before you can cause any more damage." Marty suggested.
"Lucas is my friend too, and I've known him a whole lot longer than you have." Vincent stated. "I don't want to hurt him. I never wanted to hurt him, we just grew up and things got complicated. Life got complicated."
"So what?" Marty asked, his thick eyebrows arched in genuine interest. "My life is complicated and I still have friends."
"Count your blessings for that. Things can change." Vincent said, trying to remember exactly what happened, but he couldn't quite.
"What changed for you?" He asked looking over at Vincent.
"We changed, Lucas and I. That was the change. Our friendship was built on... on us being similar... he used to have asthma, he used to be short, he and I used to like all the same things."
"So you dropped him because he decided he liked sports?" Marty teased.
"No. It was just... we weren't the same anymore. We weren't even really similar. Things just got complicated because our relationship was changing... we weren't like brothers anymore, we weren't even like friends... we were just different. It wasn't like we didn't fit together we just fit together differently and I don't think we were ready to figure out what that different kind of friendship was like. It was like somehow we became biologically different. Not uncomplimentary almost too..."
"Complementary?" He cut me off.
"I don't know? When you say it like that it sounds so..." Vinny thought deeply. "Anyway, the things we used to do felt... strange to still do. It was like all of a sudden I didn't feel comfortable in the same bed as him, or when he would touch me, or when he would..."
"Have girlfriends?" Marty suggested and Vincent felt like the life was stomped out of him.
"Oh." Vinny chuckled bitterly. "You have no idea. He had this awful girlfriend towards the end. She was so nasty to me and I just... I hated her, I really did, and Lucas wanted us to be friends, and I just couldn't stand her. She'd be touching him and whispering in his ear and it was just—"
"Sounds like a real bitch."
"I know that doesn't sound bad! I know she doesn't sound bad, but once Lucas had a girlfriend... he started hanging out with her, and then he started cancelling plans and I felt like... like... I don't know. I guess I thought she hadn't really earned our trust. I feel awful saying this even now. I mean why am I talking to you? You're a perfect stranger." Vincent ran his hand over his throbbing temple.
"Eh. I'm a friend of a friend." Marty chuckled. "And it sounds like you don't plan on leaving Lucas any time soon, so we'd better learn to live with each other."
"I suppose that would be for the best." Vinny mumbled wistfully.
"If it's any consolation... I don't really think you need to worry about Lucas having new girlfriends," Marty smirked.
"Yeah.. he's really busy with soccer and everything else. I don't even know why I hated her so much... I guess once the season ends I'll have to adjust again......Geez, that sounded so... I'm so selfish."
"Yeah... soccer. That's totally the reason he doesn't have a girlfriend." Marty stated, eyes trained out his window. "Well if Lucas does have a girlfriend again you can't go off on your own again. You've got to just suck it up."
"I know," Vinny shrugged. "I will."
"Good. That's all I ask." Marty said with a knowing look. After that they spent the rest of the drive in silence until he pulled up to Lucas' fancy apartment complex.
"How do we get him inside?" Marty asked.
"I... I don't know. I guess I thought he was still living at his parents house. Do you think..? I'm sure he has the key on him." Vinny turned around and eyed the softly snoring Lucas in the backseat.
"Oh no. No way. We are not fondling Lucas until we find the key." Marty shook his head.
"It's probably just in his pocket. You could just-"
"I'll do nothing of the sort." Marty said firmly. "If you want to run your hands down his pants, then be my guest."
"You are being ridiculous." Vinny walked swiftly to the back seat and opened the door. Inside, Lucas was slumped back, and Vinny reached slowly into his pocket. Thankfully there was a key there, and Vincent pulled it out swiftly. "Come on."
"I'm going home." Marty called from the drivers seat.
"Wait!" Vincent called through the passenger window. "I can't lift him. Can you help me get him upstairs?"
"Wimp." He taunted, but got out anyway.
"Alright I'll grab his head you grab his feet." Vinny began as he attempted to lift Lucas out of the backseat of the car. Marty simply walked over and hoisted the boy over his shoulder and walked towards the lobby. "That works too!" Vincent called after him.
Vincent never felt more suspicious in his life then walking past the doorman with a drunk boy over his friend's shoulder, but aside from a strange look, the man moved to make no interference. Thankfully there was an elevator in Lucas' building, and Vincent darted out ahead of Marty and unlocked the door. Marty dropped Lucas off on his bed and came back out of the bedroom to meet Vincent at the door.
"Thanks. Again." Vinny shuffled his feet nervously.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen. Again." Marty said annoyingly, then walked from the house without saying goodbye.
"Goodbye!" Vinny shouted after him, and locked the door. Then he made his way back into the bedroom. Lucas lived in a nice apartment, Lucas' parents were wealthy, so that wasn't surprising, but it was surprising to see Lucas so independent, even if he did just have to be bridal carried drunk from a party.
Lucas lay sprawled out on the bed. His hair was a mass of blonde fluff and it blocked the view of his eyes. His jeans and t-shirt looked particularly uncomfortable, but Vinny wagered Lucas was just going to have to deal with that until morning. Vinny didn't have a car with him, so he grabbed a throw pillow and plopped down on the floor, guessing he'd probably end up on the couch, but wanting to stay in case Lucas threw up or something.
"Nooo-ah." Lucas sat up, hair splayed across his forehead. "Sleep in the bed." He whined.
"No."
"Then..." Lucas began to shift himself uncomfortably, then tumbled out of the bed, still attached to the sheets. "I'll sleep on the floor with you."
"No." Vinny stood up, and hoisted Lucas back onto the bed. "You will do nothing of the sort. Just get to sleep."
"I can't sleep alone."
"You live alone." Vincent countered.
"Augh?!"
"Fine. Fine. If it will shut you up, I'll sleep in the bed." Vinny sighed sliding into the bed next to him. "For an hour, and then I'm going back to the floor, and you don't complain."
"Don't worry.. I'll stays on my side. Promise." Lucas said then rolled over and happily went to sleep. Vinny sat awake for a while but was slowly lulled to sleep by the slightly labored breaths of the boy next to him.
Being next to Lucas reminded Vincent of being a child and all the times they'd shared a bed. It was different now, he thought, but he couldn't quite tell why.