We Found Love Lost Under The Shade

The week passed rather quickly and Jaime and Vic grew closer as the days went on. Both of the boys seemed a lot happier, having found a new companion. The two sat at lunch together everyday, as well as talking to each other when they had a class. Vic and Jaime were learning more and more about each other, causing a close friendship in a short amount of time.

Friday finally came and all the students were once again excited to have a few days of freedom. While Vic's group of friends talked and made plans, Vic felt like something was missing. Austin hadn't been at school all week, and that worried him. Not only was he worried, he was mad; it was as if no one cared, they just shrugged off his absence as nothing.

'Dude, Vic, do you want to go to Jesse's party tonight? His parents are going out of town for the weekend,' Jack asked, seemingly excited. 'There will be free beer,' he added, maybe trying to convince him. Vic only frowned, he knew how wild Jesse's parties get, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to get into that.

'I don't know man, I'll try. I actually have plans.' Jack shrugged and continued to talk to Jesse about the big plans they had tonight. Ever since Vic started to hang out with Jaime, his group of friends were slowly slipping away from him. They seemed to be turned off at the thought of having someone new into their 'group' or whatever it was. Vic honestly didn't mind. He really enjoyed being with Jaime; he was nice, they both had the same music taste, and he was fun to be around once he opened up.

Vic would have stayed longer but it was a bit boring just joining in the conversation a few times and staying silent the rest of the time. 'Hey guys, I'm going to head home. I might see you at the party later,' Vic said, trying to get the attention of everyone. They all simultaneously called out a 'bye Vic' as he walked off.

To Austin: Hey dude, you haven't been at school. Are you okay?

From Austin: Yeah...I need to talk to you. Can you come over?

To Austin: Sure, I'll be over in 5 minutes.

Because Mike was hanging out at a friend's house, Vic didn't have to worry about driving him home and could go straight to Austin's. While he drove to his house, he couldn't help but think about what he needed to talk to him about. He couldn't think of a single thing that he could possibly talk to him about. Vic tried ignoring the feeling at the pit in his stomach, telling himself it was nothing bad.

Vic pulled into Austin's driveway, noting there were no cars at his house. He thought it was a little weird, considering his mom stays at home most of the time. Vic knocked and waited a few seconds before Austin opened the door, looking like an absolute mess. He had bags under his eyes showing he hasn't slept for days, and his face looked drained.

'Austin, are you okay? What happened?' Vic questioned.

'Just come in, I'll tell you when you're sitting down,' he replied, moving out of the doorway so Vic could come in. They sat down on the couch and Vic looked at Austin with a worried expression, wondering what the hell is going on with him. Austin sat for a few moments, staring down at the floor before he spoke up. 'I-um, my mom....she had cancer. She...passed away before school started..' he said quietly, never making eye contact.

Vic's jaw literally dropped; he never talked about his mom having cancer, and now she's dead? He couldn't say anything, he was in shock. His first instinct was to grab him and hug him. Austin tried holding in his tears but it wasn't happening. While Vic had him in a tight hold, tears began spilling out and he quietly sobbed, feeling weak.

'Austin, I'm so sorry,' was all Vic could really say. He had never been in this position, so there were no words of comfort to say. The two sat on the couch for what seemed like an hour in a tight embrace, when it was only 10 minutes. Eventually they pulled away and Austin wiped his eyes, trying to compose himself. After he calmed down, Vic thought of something.

'Um, I'm not sure if you'd want to, but I thought it'd be a good way to get your mind off of this. Jesse's having a party tonight, we could go and just get drunk and forget about it, yeah?' Vic suggested. He was really hoping this was a good idea.

Austin hesitated but then nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, I guess. I mean, I haven't gone out and done anything for a while. I'm practically a hermit,' he joked. Vic laughed a bit, glad he was seemingly feeling a bit better.

'That's great man, I'm glad you agreed. I'll go back to my house and get ready. I'll be back around... 8? Does that sound good?'

Austin smiled and got up from the couch. 'Sounds good. See you at 8,' he said.

~

Jaime arrived home to find his parents moving about the house in a hurry. He wasn't too concerned with whatever his parents were doing so he went into his room and turned on some music. While listening his father opened the door without warning and Jaime jumped up and looked at him.

'Me and your mother are leaving for the weekend. You're going to be here alone, and everything you might need is at the house, so don't bother asking for money,' his father said in an agitated tone.

Jaime gave him a confused look. 'And you're telling me this now? Thanks for the short notice.' He shot him a menacing glance before closing the door and walking off. He honestly didn't mind being left alone; his parents leaving without letting him know is what bothered him. Either way, he had the house to himself and really, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted.

He heard a small knock on his door before his mom walked in, carrying her purse. She gave him a sympathetic smile before kissing the top of his head. 'We'll be back Sunday afternoon. Don't get into too much trouble,' she said quietly. 'I love you.'

Jaime mumbled a quick 'I love you' back before she left, closing the door. After 5 minutes or so, he heard his parents car drive off, letting him know he was finally alone. It felt nice to have a house all to himself, but it also felt weird and sad. The silence was too much to handle, so he turned on his stereo, hoping to make the house feel a bit more lively. After turning it on, Jaime noticed a scrap of paper on his dresser. He was curious as to what it was and opened it up, finding a number inside. He immediately knew it was Vic's, because who else's number would it be?

Thinking of Vic, he was wondering what he was up to. Here Jaime was, alone on a Friday night, maybe he could call Vic and ask to hang out. The last time they hung out it wasn't too bad, he thought it actually went quite well. Grabbing his phone, Jaime started to type in Vic's number, but stopped himself. Would he seem weird just randomly calling him asking to hang out? He hesitated but thought, why the fuck not? He hit the call button and put the phone up to his ear, feeling anxious.

After a few rings, the phone picked up and Jaime heard Vic's voice.

'Hello?'

'Uh, hey Vic, it's Jaime..' he said. Wow, I'm regretting this already, he thought.

'Hey Jaime! What's up?' Vic said, sounding a bit surprised and happy that he had actually kept his number. Jaime took this as a good sign and calmed down a bit. 'Oh, nothing really. I was actually calling to see if you wanted to hang out or something. My parents just left for the weekend so I'm home alone for a few days.'

Vic sat on the line for a few moments contemplating what he should say. He just got home to get ready for a party with Austin. Would he really mind Jaime tagging along? Probably not. 'Really? Well, actually, I was going to go to my friend's house party, so... Do you want to tag along? It'll be fun,' he asked.

Jaime smiled as he felt excitement bubble up inside him. He hasn't been to a real party before, so this should be fun. 'That's sounds awesome, I'd love to come.'

'Great, I'll pick you up around 7:30 then.'

'7:30, alright. Bye.'

Jaime hung up the phone and sighed happily. Tonight was going to be better than he expected.

~

The three boys pulled up a few houses down and began walking towards the house where the party was being held. Getting closer they could hear the music growing louder, and that made them even more excited. When they reached the front door, they could hear the yelling of guys playing beer pong and giggles of drunk girls inside. Vic walked in first, taking lead because he was the only one out of the three that was actually invited to the party.

Vic lead them into the kitchen where all the alcoholic beverages were served, obviously. Upon walking in, the first people they saw were Jesse and Rachel, hanging out by the punch bowl.

'Hey Vic! You made it dude! Austin, I haven't seen you in forever!' Jesse yelled over the loud music. 'And you brought your friend Jamie!' Vic shot him a concerned yet angry look, knowing he's had a lot to drink already. Austin continued to chat with him and get a cup of whatever was in that punch bowl.

Rachel smiled warmly and went to hug Vic. 'I'm glad you made it. I thought you wouldn't show up,' she said. Vic returned the smile. 'Yeah, I just figured I'd show up since I had nothing better to do.'

'Here,' Rachel said while handing him a 2 full cans of beer. Vic took them and figured she gave two so Jaime could have one. He wasn't even sure if Jaime drank, and he didn't want to peer pressure him. He nudged him with it and held out the can. 'Want some?'

Jaime was a little confused and felt weird about getting offered to drink. But he was at a party and what else do are you supposed to do? He took the drink shyly and opened it up, taking a sip. He gave a disgusted look and managed to get down the unfamiliar and gross tasting beverage.

'You don't have to drink if you don't want to you know,' Vic laughed, reading the expression on his face as dislike. Jaime just shook his head, 'No, it's okay. I just have to get used to it.'

And just like that, 45 minutes later, Jaime was on his however-many-it-takes-to-get-you-drunk can of beer. One moment he was completely sober and shy, and the next he was shit-faced drunk and the most sociable person at the party. Vic had drank before, so he knew how to control himself. He was only on his 5th can of beer, getting a little drunk, while Jaime was an embarrassing drunk. He thought it was funny, actually.

'H-hey Vic, this is-this party's a lotta fun,' Jaime slurred out. Vic laughed at him. 'It sure is fun Jaime, because you're drunk.' Jaime gave him a wide grin, and then grabbed his hand, leading him out to the front yard.

'What're you doing?' Vic asked. 'Shhhhh, hold on,' Jaime interrupted, stumbling a little. He dragged him off to the side of the house where none of the other stray and drunk party-goers were.

'You're really cute you know. With your long hair and stuff,' Jaime said, twirling Vic's hair with his finger. He could smell the alcohol on his breath because of how close he was.

'Thanks, you don't mean that though,' Vic quickly responded. He knew Jaime was drunk but he couldn't help but feel a few butterflies in his stomach when Jaime's hand brushed his face.

'Oh but I do mean it. You're cute Vic,' he said with a cute little smile. Vic couldn't help but smile back at him. Who would've known he was a flirty drunk. Flirty seemed like an understatement though when Jaime made another move. He grabbed Vic's face and pressed their lips together, forcing a kiss on him. Vic was taken by surprise and his stomach was doing flips. Was this really happening? Did he even like this? Jaime was really cute, and his feeling for him have grown since they met.

Vic decided to go along with it and closed his eyes, kissing him back. His hands fell onto Jaime waist, gently gripping him. After a few seconds Vic pulled back; this was wrong. Jaime's drunk, he doesn't know what he's doing. This was a mistake. Pulling away, Jaime looked at him confused, wondering why he stopped. Vic could only give him a sad look before walking away. He can't do do this, especially when he's drunk.