Chapter 42 - His First Party - Part 3

"What?" he blurted out in surprise. Maybe it was the alcohol in his blood, but he couldn't control his reaction. The supernatural and his friends have never appeared in the same conversation before.

"Told you it was stupid." Evan blinked. Only now did he realize that he had been lost in thought, completely forgetting that Rory was standing in front of him, still waiting for his next words. His question probably made him feel crazy, and Evan knew he had to fix it fast.

"What? No. That's not what I meant!" His voice was again louder than necessary. He subconsciously leaned closer to Rory and pulled him closer by his forearms. Of course, he underestimated his strength, and Rory slammed into his chest.

"It's okay, E," he murmured into his chest, trying to pull away from him. Evan wouldn't let him go, though, still determined to make it right. Except he had no idea how. He couldn't tell him that he was a werewolf, and thus, he couldn't tell him that he knew about warlocks. He couldn't even correct him for not using the correct term.

Taking advantage of his moment of thought, Rory yanked himself out of his grasp. Evan subconsciously reached for him again, but Rory took a step back.

"Stop with those puppy dog eyes." Evan couldn't help himself. His friend felt bad, and he didn't know what to do. Obviously, he was not the best adept for serious conversations in this state.

"But I want to help," he probably sounded like a little kid. All he had to do was stomp his foot sullenly.

"Forget it, E. It was stupid anyway," Rory sighed. Although Evan wasn't the best at reading other people's feelings, he could clearly see that Rory felt stupid and maybe even embarrassed. He was hugging himself with his arms and his gaze was directed everywhere but Evan.

"It's not," Evan stated flatly. His tone made Rory finally look at him. Evan immediately took advantage of this and continued, "Tell me more."

His friend looked confused as if he had momentarily forgotten what they were talking about. He was probably preparing for different scenarios, but he wasn't ready for one where Evan didn't outright laugh at him.

"C'mon, I want to know why you think that. The facts! Come on!" His gesturing probably looked comical, but it served its purpose.

With another loud sigh, Rory began to explain, "A lot of things happened that I can't explain. At least not logically." Evan was nodding his head, showing his support. After he paused for a moment, he gestured with his hand for him to continue.

"I could have sworn his eyes were glowing. And not just his." After these words, Evan frowned. The wolves were very careful not to draw attention to themselves. They could pull out their claws at any time even in human form, and so could their fangs. And of course, when they wanted, they could make their eyes shine with gold. But they knew how to control it, they learned it practically constantly after their first transformation. To hear someone carelessly show their other side in front of a human was something unusual.

"How?" fell out of him. His tone took on a seriousness, surprising Rory. He blinked a few times before answering.

"Alex's eyes are usually green. Regular green. But sometimes they seem to glow. And I don't mean because he's happy or anything. It's like you turn on a lamp, it's intense, and the light changes the colour of his eyes. Sometimes I even feel like the colours in his eyes were moving. It's like taking an emerald and spinning it in the light." Rory looked unhappy with his explanation like he didn't do it justice, but Evan knew exactly what he meant.

"What else?" Evan asked, completely engrossed in the conversation. It was the closest thing to a conversation he always wanted to have with his friends. He always wanted the thrill of telling someone close to him. Maybe he could trust Rory with his secret. He didn't even live here anymore, what could go wrong?

Evan's mind was clouded not only by alcohol but also by the excitement he felt during this conversation. For a moment, he seemed to forget that it could have serious consequences.

"Um." Rory's brow furrowed as he thought. He probably didn't have a problem remembering something, but rather he didn't know how to present it so he wouldn't sound like a fool.

"C'mon. I wanna know." Evan was jumping with anticipation. The combination of alcohol and a wolf was not exactly the best. Despite his nerves, Rory let out a bubbly laugh. Pleased with his reaction, Evan gave him his best grin in return.

"Okay, okay," he agreed and continued, "Sometimes I feel like the weather changes because of him. For example, one day it rained, and I said we were going to get wet, and he immediately said we weren't because when school ends, there won't be rain. He said it with such certainty, and indeed, it was still raining while I was changing my shoes, but when I went outside, the sun was already shining."

Evan's head bobbed in agreement again.

"More," he managed a single word. With every other word Rory said, he felt like it was a good idea to tell him about himself, so he needed more.

But before the other boy could open his mouth, the door behind them opened and a group of boys their age burst in.

"Later?" Evan wasn't going to give up on this conversation so easily. Rory agreed, and they walked out of the toilets together. They were immediately engulfed by the loud music, and the sight in front of them flickered between colourful lights.

...

It was no longer possible to say that it was night since it was supposed to be dawn in a few hours. The movements of the dancers on the floor were no longer as coordinated or as energetic as they had been in the beginning, and Evan could have sworn he smelled vomit somewhere in the corner. The beginning of the night had its charm, but after midnight it quickly began to fade like Cinderella after the ball.

"Has it always smelled like this in here?" Lola asked. Her Prince Charming had already gone home, so her fairy-tale night was over. Although judging by the smile she had on her face until now, it didn't ruin her good mood. Actually, they were all in good spirits, although they were starting to get tired.

"I don't know, but I need some fresh air. Now." They all immediately agreed with Angie and made their way to the back entrance. They got back together sometime an hour ago, and since then, no one has been running anywhere. The unwritten rule was that they stayed together until it was time to go home.

"Finally," Angie let out a dramatic sigh as the night breeze hit her face.

"Guess it's time to go home," Josh stated, and several hummed in agreement. Millie and Clara were barely able to stay on their feet, Lola even took off her shoes because her feet hurt, Angie had a bored expression on her face as if she wanted to be anywhere else, and the boys looked even worse.

"Agree. I feel like I'm sleeping standing up. And on the way out, I stepped into something I don't even want to know what it was." Aiden shuddered.

"Pretty sure it was vomit," Rory answered him without hesitation. He looked the best of them as he only had one shot all night.

"I need to sit down for a while so my legs can deflate, and we can go. That is if one of you wants to carry me," said Lola. Her proposal was to Rory, Evan, and Angie as they were spending the night at her place. However, none of them responded.

"Nobody said we all have to go together. We go in different directions anyway," Millie declared.

"True," Kieran agreed and leaned against the wall next to Evan. His eyes immediately closed, and he suddenly looked even more tired than before.

"So three teams?" Millie suggested. Millie, Clara, and Aiden lived in the same neighbourhood, while Kieran and Josh lived practically across the street from each other. Lola, on the other hand, lived on a completely different side of the city.

"Yup," said Lola, who had managed to sit on the ground by now.

"If you want, we can escort you first," Josh's suggestion was directed at the group, which was dominated by girls except for Aiden. Not that he couldn't protect them himself, but at night like this, everyone knew that there was strength in numbers. In addition, who knows if Jacob wasn't waiting for Clara in front of her door. He was a creep, after all.

"You don't have to," Clara immediately protested.

"It's no big deal honestly," Kieran immediately backed up his best friend's words. Evan immediately gave him a smile, even though he couldn't see it.

"Stop with the heart eyes." Angie playfully shoved him, and he swayed. Of course, he reciprocated it right away, and even though neither of them had much energy left, they managed to provoke each other without any problems.

"Okay, kids, time to go home," Josh interrupted their teasing. He clapped his hands as if to urge them on, and in a way, it worked as they all automatically moved to their assigned groups. Things went slower for Lola, as Rory and Evan had to help her up first.

"We'll at least escort you to the store and then split up, how about that?" Kieran proposed to the trio on his right, and they agreed this time.

"We're going ahead so the sweethearts can say goodbye," Josh stated before adding, "We'll be waiting for you at the corner." His words were directed at Kieran.

One group made their way back inside while the other headed off into the darkness of the night. And so only Kieran and Evan remained in the place by the door.

"I've always wondered what your morning hair looked like. I think I have my answer," Kieran chuckled.

"What? You don't like it?" Evan dramatically ran both hands into his hair and tousled it even more. This earned him another laugh from Kieran.

"I don't think I could find anything I don't like about you," he admitted, and Evan couldn't stop the blush from flooding his face. Even after a year, Kieran was able to evoke different reactions in him, and Evan couldn't say he minded.

"Come here," Kieran lowered his voice and took a step closer. Brown eyes immediately sought out his lips, and Evan's hand automatically shot to his neck. Their lips met in the middle. They both tasted like a mix of sweat, alcohol, and fruit, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"I should go," Kieran whispered as a gap finally formed between them. Evan just hummed in agreement and connected their lips again.

"I have an idea," Kieran took the opportunity again. His hands moved from Evan's waist across his torso to his forearms and then cupped Evan's hands in his own. He slowly turned them both around so that his back was facing the direction he was going to take home and then took one step back and then another and another.

"This will go," he declared as they stopped a few feet later and pressed his lips against Evan's again.

"Keep it PG!" a scream came from somewhere behind them, causing them to break away from each other. They both giggled like they were little kids who had just been caught having their first kiss.

Kieran pulled away from him, not letting go of his hands, and Evan gave him a pout. He wasn't ready to say goodbye, if only for this night. They had never spent so much time together, and Evan got used to it very quickly.

"See you tomorrow?" Kieran asked, swinging their arms from side to side.

„Tomorrow," he agreed right away. Again, the blue-eyed boy pulled him closer by his arms, placing Evan's hands on his waist and his own on his face. They shared one last kiss before silently agreeing that it was indeed time to go.

"Bye." Kieran planted a small kiss on the tip of his nose, and after Evan greeted him back, he turned and walked off into the darkness.

Evan stood there for a moment longer, enjoying the warm feeling that spread inside him. He stood there, the wind blowing his hair and he felt goosebumps. Only now did he start to realize how cold it really was outside and decided that it was time to go back inside to meet his friends.

He turned around and suddenly froze like a deer in headlights.

The only person he didn't expect there was leaning against the wall next to the door and it was clear from his look that he saw everything.

"Fuck, Ryan." His eyes blurred for a second and a chill ran down his spine. "You can't tell anyone."

Evan didn't even realize he had stepped closer to him and gripped his wrists tightly until Ryan hissed in pain and he let go in alarm. Only then did he realize how close he was to him and how strongly his heart was pounding. From panic, from being near him, from everything. He felt like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment. After all the jokes about his parents, that would be quite ironic.

"I won't if you explain," Ryan's words were quiet, almost inaudible. The black-haired boy was rubbing his wrists, and it was obvious that he was avoiding his gaze.

"I-" Evan started but couldn't find the right words. His chest was heaving up and down rapidly, and his hands were shaking like never before. He felt his throat tighten and suddenly had the feeling that breathing was the most difficult thing in the world.

Ryan's hands sought out his, and if he was in a state to think, he would have felt bad that Ryan could feel his sweaty palms. The boy in front of him lifted their joined hands and held them to his chest. And so Evan felt every beat of his heart as if it were a drum and he the drummer.

He had no idea what was going on, but Ryan's touch soothed him.

"Breathe with me." Their eyes met in the centre like two magnets like so many times before, but this time it was somehow different. More intimate. Evan's life was in Ryan's hands and although he betrayed him in a way, he wasn't letting him go.

Evan finally took a big breath, and his eyes closed for a little while. His world was still shaking, but it was no longer a devastating earthquake.

"You're okay, you're okay..." Ryan kept whispering to him over and over and Evan listened to every little change in his voice. Sometime after the fifth reassurance, Ryan moved even closer, and their foreheads touched. It was crazy, but for a moment Evan felt like his soul was singing.

Suddenly, the metal door of the back entrance slammed shut, taking them out of their little world. They both jumped away from each other, but their hands still remained connected between them. Luckily for Evan, the people who disturbed them were complete strangers and not his friends. Nevertheless, he carefully but quickly removed his hands from Ryan's grasp and put them in his pants pockets, not knowing what to do with them. It was a vile move on his part since the only reason Ryan was holding them in the first place was because he wanted to help him.

"I should go." Ryan's muttering drewEvan's attention back to him. He finally looked at him properly and noticedthat his face was screaming with disappointment and something that resembled hurt.Evan wanted to stop him but knew it wasn't a good idea. Andso, he watched as Ryan wordlessly turned and headed into the darkness of thestreets while he stood there shaken from life like never before.