chapter eight

There was something very, very wrong with Oliver.

That wasn't in a funny way either--there was something genuinely wrong with him. When it came to certain people, he lost all self-control. His nerves lit up like fire all throughout his body, his heart pounded in his chest, and his mouth dried up like a desert.

It had been a terrible night. Unsurprisingly, it all began with Celia.

At the peak of dawn, the phone in the hotel room had rung.

"Someone make it fucking stop," Holden groaned, eyes still shut.

Oliver had rolled over and groggily, with his face stuffed into his pillow, searched for the phone with his hand. When his hand met the device, he answered it and tiredly greeted the caller with, "Hello?"

It was the front desk. One man and one woman, claiming to be Mr. and Mrs. Laurent were at the front desk, wanting to be let up.

Oliver was thoroughly fucked.

He, suddenly much more awake, hastily told the caller to send his parents up. He sprang up, the sun barely breaking over the skyline, the watercolor sky painted in shades of red, pink and yellow. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at Holden, before hitting Celia over the head with another pillow. He kicked Nico--who was still on the ground--lightly with his foot, but didn't dare to touch Carson.

"Wake up," he urged, "I'm about to die, so you might wanna witness it."

"Shut the fuck up, Laurent," Holden murmured.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "My parents are on their way. Get the hell up."

"Wait," Celia asked, sheets pulled up and over her head, "why are they here?" Celia'd never had the greatest relationship with her parents.

"I crashed the fucking car? Remember that?"

"Oh. Right."

The room was still dark, but when a knock sounded on the door, Oliver froze. He jumped over Nico and opened the door, revealing a cheery Carson. Oliver's brow furrowed as he looked towards where Carson was last night and finding the place to be empty.

"Why are you awake?" he asked.

Carson shrugged, holding a cup of coffee. "I like mornings."

Oliver wrinkled his nose. "Gross."

Carson smiled and came in, and Oliver briefly recapped him on the events that were about to occur. "They're gonna be fucking pissed," he continued. "Not only did I crash their super expensive car, but they also had to drive like, two hours to get here." He winced. "Just expect the worst."

Celia was sitting up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Nico was scrolling through his phone and Holden appeared to still be asleep. Carson rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed, shaking Holden back and forth.

"Fuck you all, let me sleep," he said. When Carson kept shaking him, he huffed and sat up, looking grumpy. "I will fucking punch you."

Carson grinned. Oliver melted a little. "Just get up," Carson ordered.

Another knock sounded on the door. Oliver's heart dropped. He doubted that it was someone other than his parents. He winced and went to open the door. As soon as he had unlocked it, it swung open and Oliver jumped back, preparing himself.

The first thing he heard was a yell. "Dominic Oliver Laurent!" his mother screamed. Her voice was loud enough to wake up the entire motel. Oliver's lungs constricted. "You fucking idiot." Oliver grimaced. "You're paying for that shit yourself. I don't care if you have to give me every penny you have, but those costs are coming out of your fucking wallet."

"Mom, it was an accident."

"Well I sure fucking hope you didn't mean to get into a car wreck," she replied bitterly.

Oliver's dad was staring at him stoically, and Oliver avoided his gaze. "Hey, dad," he said.

His father didn't answer back.

Oliver bit his lip, looking at the carpet. It was going well, so far. "I'm sorry, okay? I got distracted, and it was my last intention to put everybody in danger."

A vein starting to pop out of his mother's forehead. "Get out of my face I don't wanna fucking hear it." She opened her mouth to say something else, when her gaze swept around the room, just now noticing the other people. "Oh," she said. Her voice lost some of its anger. "You must be Dominic's friends. I hope you're all alright and that you've called your parents. I'll talk to them if they want, but I really am sorry for my son's dumb ass. I'm Marissa Laurent and this is my husband, Eric." She smiled politely. "Sorry, but I don't think I know who any of you are," she admitted. She peered around the corner, "Except you, Celia."

Celia smiled, relatively unfazed by her complete personality change. "Hey, Marissa."

Everybody else, however, had shock frozen across their faces. Oliver rolled his eyes. Holden halfheartedly waved and introduced himself, followed by Nico. Carson gave Oliver a concerned look, but stepped forward and smiled nonetheless. "I'm Carson Katsaros, nice to meet you." He held out his hand to shake. After shaking hands, he craned his head slightly and in a low murmur so that only Oliver could hear, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Of course. My parents are... well, it's complicated to explain," he responded. It was complicated to explain, especially to someone who lived such a drastically different life. "It's all good."

Carson, still not convinced, stepped back and nudged Oliver lightly, changing the subject. "I didn't know that your name was Dominic."

Oliver laughed. "I make it a point not to let people know. It's kinda stupid--a kid in the first grade once called me 'domino' for an entire year--so I go by Oliver."

Carson shrugged and in the same tone, whispered, "I like it."

Oliver's mom looked between them suspiciously, but turned towards Oliver. "We've got to go find this fucking car now. All of you just need to stay put for the time being. Can you do that?" Her mocking tone was directed towards Oliver.

The side of Celia's mouth turned up. "Will do, Mrs. L."

***

Oliver was not surprised when Celia turned out to be lying.

It was kind of her thing.

Oliver didn't think that she even knew how to sit still, much less stay inside of a small motel room and obey orders. She was never that type of person.

She now smiled, and Oliver's mood instantly soured. "So," she said, "I have an idea."

"No."

"Oliver, come on, it'll be fun-"

"I'm not getting my ass skinned because you want to-"

"Your parents are the coolest people I've ever met, they won't-"

"That's because you're not me. You're staying still," Oliver ordered.

Celia huffed. "You're so boring."

"I'm with Celia," Holden objected, "I'm bored."

"Great," Oliver drawled, "you can be bored here."

Celia stared at Oliver pointedly. "You've never refused to do anything before."

"I didn't almost kill people before," Oliver retorted.

Celia's glare softened and she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. Hesitantly, she said, "You know we don't blame you, right?"

Oliver swallowed. "It doesn't matter."

"We don't even have to drive!" Celia suggested.

"Then how do you suggest we get there? Wherever you want to go, that is."

"Hitchhike," Celia answered.

Oliver blinked. Once, twice. "Wow, that's actually a terrible fucking idea--as in, it's rare that I hear ideas that are as shit as that."

Celia pouted. "Come on--we're in the middle of nowhere. Nothing bad can happen, it's not like last time."

"Incredibly untrue," Carson inputted.

"Shut up--it's fine," she reassured.

Holden shrugged. "I'm up for it."

Carson laughed a little. "You're all horrible influences. This is a really bad idea."

"Oh come on, Mr. Popular, don't you ever want to do anything reckless? It's not like anyone at school will know and kick you off the swim team. Just stop thinking for once," Celia said.

Carson scrunched up his nose. He pondered it for a bit. "You can't be seriously considering this, Carson. You're supposed to be the responsible one!" Oliver exclaimed.

Carson smiled apologetically. "Sorry Olly, I'm in." He looked to Nico, who was watching the argument carefully. Nico shrugged in response.

"Fuck," Oliver spat. "So I have no choice?"

***

Carson wasn't sure why he'd agreed.

It was a bad idea. An idiotic, stupid idea. He knew this. Yet, he'd still agreed.

Carson wasn't sure that he'd done anything foolish in his life. He had studied hard, trained five hours a day, was friendly to everyone, didn't do drugs or drink alcohol; his parents had always told him that he was practically an idyllic son. Whenever the opportunity had come up, though, his conscience had fought with him--and had always won. But, deep down, he itched to do something irresponsible--forget about consequences and tasks and have fun. He wanted to do it just because he could--just because he wouldn't worry or overthink, just for once. The want tugged at his heart painfully. He would regret it later. He knew he would. But for now, Carson couldn't bring himself to care.

He had snuck out of the motel room quietly along with everybody else, letting Celia take the lead. Oliver was pouting silently behind them, and Carson secretly smiled to himself because of it. When they made it to the sidewalk, Celia had walked to the edge of the road and stuck her thumb up.

"I don't even wanna know how she knows what to do," Carson murmured.

"Ninth grade," Oliver replied as a way of explanation, "dumb shit."

Soon enough a car had pulled over and rolled down the window. Celia stood up on her tippy toes. A sweet smile on her face, she asked, "Can you take us to the nearest club?"

Oliver's face grew red with anger.

***

Irritation brewed inside of Oliver dangerously.

His annoyance wasn't pointless either--there was a reason behind it. In ninth grade, he had done this exact thing. He had followed another one of Celia's dumb plans and had ended up in a random car, hitchhiking to Baltimore. Back then, he hadn't thought. It wasn't like he was an overly thoughtful person now, either--some things, like Mr. Kumar's dumbass plants, he didn't care much about--but he was practically a kid then, and couldn't even fathom the possibility of anything going wrong.

Which was a mistake.

By the time they had gotten to Baltimore, all of his items were gone--clothes, money, phone. Just before they hit the edge of the city, the driver'd kicked them out, keeping a knife pointed at them as a warning. He wouldn't use it--everybody in the car knew that--but he could've. Celia and Oliver were left stranded on the side of the highway for two hours. Celia--though she wouldn't admit it--was crying, and Oliver had felt a knot of panic rising in his chest. He had started hyperventilating, dug his fingers into his palms until they had bled. He didn't leave the house for a week after that.

Celia, however, had bounced back two days later, with a new idea in her head and a gleam in her eye.

Oliver hadn't understood it, but he didn't understand a lot of things.

Now, they were all sitting together in a cramped car. Oliver's knee bobbed up and down as he swallowed down his anxiety. He wiped his sweaty hands down the length of his jeans and ran one through his curly hair, tugging on it lightly.

"Are you okay?" Carson asked.

"I'm fine," Oliver replied.

Carson opened his mouth to speak again, but Oliver turned his head to look outside the window, promptly ignoring him.

He needed to get out.

***

Small towns meant bendable laws.

They had been let in fairly easily, much to Oliver's displeasure. The music thumped in tune to his heartbeat, and the distinct smell of smoke and sweat permeated the air like a bad stain on a white shirt. Multicolored lights flashed down onto the dance floor, and surprisingly, many people were present. While some were sitting at the bar, others had their arms thrown up as they rhythmically moved to the bass. Joyous laughter glittered in the air, but Oliver winced. He would much rather prefer to be doing anything else.

Celia grabbed Holden and Nico's hands, dragging them to the dance floor, directing a sly wink at Oliver. "I'm taking these two. You guys have fun."

Oliver bit his tongue and glared at Celia. Smiling tightly, he quickly moved out of the way and into a small section that was crowded with couches. It was the only empty place in the entire club. He plopped down and huffed. Carson fell down next to him.

"I take it you're not enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Are you?"

"Not really. I hate the club scene."

Oliver gave him a weird look. "You wanted to come here, remember?"

Carson looked down. "I wanted to do something stupid. I didn't know we were going to a club."

"Why did you want to do something stupid?" Oliver asked. His eardrums thrummed.

Carson sighed. It was a little disappointed. "I've never done anything dumb before. I've always had a plan and a goal. I've never been like any regular kid. I've never made a big mistake."

Oliver couldn't help himself. His voice raised slightly. "Why the fuck do you want to make a mistake?"

"You wouldn't get it."

"Try me."

Carson angled his body towards Oliver and leaned in, trying to speak over the music. Oliver gulped. "What kind of life is a life where you don't make any mistakes? You screw up, sure. But you learn, don't you? I guess I'm just curious--drawn to it, in some sick way? I can't help but wonder, that for someone with so much to lose, how much would be messed up if I made a mistake?"

"You shouldn't want that. Trust me."

"But I do. People want things they're not supposed to want."

I know I fucking do, Oliver thought.

Carson continued. "I just feel like I'm not living. I know I have a great life. But, people aren't supposed to, right? Something is supposed to go wrong. That's how life works. Something is supposed to screw me up. But nothing has." Carson's eyebrows furrowed as he looked up innocently at Oliver. "Why hasn't it?"

Oliver's voice lowered as he searched Carson's eyes. "I don't know."

Carson bit his lip. "Is it bad that I want it to happen? To get it over with?"

The music faded. Oliver's breath hitched. They were closer. Oliver tried to convince himself it was because they couldn't hear each other. "No," he said, "I get it now. There's nothing wrong with that."

"There's nothing wrong with me?" Carson asked quietly, tentatively.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Oliver echoed.

Carson's shallow breaths fanned Oliver's face lightly. Oliver couldn't breathe. Panic started to build up in his chest again, but something else emerged too. Want. It settled into his hands and his fingers and his pores and his temples and his head. It dug its way into his scalp and into his blood. It burned.

Oliver wanted. He wanted badly.

His hand trembled slightly when he softly put his hand to Carson's cheek. Carson didn't stop him.

What the fuck was happening?

Oliver's thoughts blurred into one stream of white noise. He wasn't thinking straight. He wasn't thinking at all. How could he? Carson's freckles were inches away. His hazel eyes bore into Oliver's. There was brown and green and gold all at once.

Without knowing he had done it, Oliver licked his lips.

Without knowing he had done it, Oliver had moved closer.

Without knowing he had done it, Oliver Laurent had kissed Carson Katsaros.

---

A/N: Hey guys! I know this is late but technically it's still Friday my time, so I've somehow managed to still stick to my schedule? Don't know how... but I really don't like school so maybe that has something to do with it.

Anywho, what did you think?? It's the first official kiss. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure about this chapter in the beginning, but I felt a little better about how it was written towards the end ;). Tell me all your thoughts, feelings, opinions-- I'd love to know! Also tell me if you like the way this chapter was paced or if it was too fast, too slow, etc. Tell me the truth! It helps me become a better writer and produce better chapters for you guys.

What do you think of Oliver's parents? Celia? Carson? Oliver? What do you think about Carson and Oliver together now? Anyone else? Tell me everything!

I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I hope to have another update soon. Goodnight guys (or good morning?)

Xoxo,

A Shadowhunter Wannabe,

herondaledevices <3