Chapter Text
Polly’s place was huge, which struck a few students as odd. Mainly the students who she hadn’t already invited into her bed, which were few. Even still, such a large property felt more crammed than a can of sardines with the entire graduating class piled within. Some people were outside, most people indoors, sampling all the snacks and drinks and each other.
Liam, Damien and Amira came in together, but by the inevitable forces of mingling and dancing, ended up losing each other. It wasn’t a major loss to any of them. Damien tore it up on the dancefloor with Scott and Polly. Amira was by the punch tables, flirting with whoever caught her eye. Liam stood in the corner as a wallflower, along with a few others who either had no social life, or who wanted a good perch to observe the chaos.
And that was how he ended up hanging out with Vera Oberlin.
“No drink?” she commented over the booming music. She had a red cocktail she was nursing, her snakes occasionally leaning in for a little taste.
“My drink is on the dancefloor.” Liam didn’t bother glancing up from his phone. Mostly people posting about the party. Such clutter was frustrating. Where were his artsy culinary photoshoots?
Vera chuckled to herself. “You ought to be careful someone doesn’t spike it.”
“His tolerance is through the roof. I’m not concerned.”
“But is yours?”
Liam raised a brow and glanced up at Vera. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if you were to drink blood with high alcohol concentration, wouldn’t you get drunk?”
“Yes, that’s how that works. But since it’s such trace amounts, it really doesn’t amount to anything aside from initial warmth. Tipsiness, at worst.”
“Mmm, alright.” Vera’s words let the conversation rest there, but her tone implied she’d be opening it up again whenever she pleased. “It’s something I’m cautious about when I spend time with Polly. I love her to bits, but her company can be…” Vera stirred her drink. “Sometimes she gets tangled in with the wrong crowd.”
“That’s a fair concern.” Liam returned his attention to his phone.
“Did you hear about the game she’s hosting at ten?”
“No. Do I want to?”
“Your boyfriend is playing, so I thought you might.”
“Vera, they could play pin-the-plug-in-the-ass and I wouldn’t care. I’m here as a designated driver and nothing more. As long as I’m not involved, it doesn’t matter to me.”
“So you wouldn’t be jealous if your stud ended up in a closet with someone else for seven minutes?”
“He’s in bed with Amira every other night. If jealousy was a concern, we wouldn’t be together.” Still, his attention remained on his phone.
A light hum. “I see. I wasn’t sure how open your little…bizarre polycule was. And I only say bizarre because you’re involved. I have nothing against open relationships. It’s just odd to me that you’re with those two.”
“I’m with Damien. And he’s with Amira. It’s not that complicated.”
Vera sipped on her drink. “If you insist.”
For some time, there was an awkward silence between them. Vera took a few phone calls. Sighed and folded her arms whenever she wasn’t occupied with something else.
“This is horridly boring. Nobody has died or lost enough inhibition to publicly humiliate themselves.”
“I’m not surprised that’s your incentive for partying…”
“All of my peers gathered in one location with drugs and alcohol involved? Liam, the blackmail is writing itself.”
“I guess…”
“Suppose I’ll have to take things into my own hands.” She glanced at her manicure. “You said you can’t get drunk off of an intoxicated person’s blood?”
“I can feel it, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I’m asking if you can get shitfaced.”
“No. I can’t. Thankfully.”
A devilish grin. “Why don’t we see if we can prove that wrong? For science?”
Liam pocketed his phone. “Because, it’s just a fact.”
“You’re willing to take that to the grave with you?”
“I, I mean, no. I’m not willing to die over some stupid bet.”
“Let’s lower the stakes then,” she decided, hand on her hip. “You’re going to drink as much of Damien’s blood as you can before he passes out. If you don’t get drunk from that, you win, and I’ll join the Seven Minutes in Heaven group at ten. However, if you do get drunk, you’re joining the game.”
“I’m not gambling with you, of all people. I know better.”
“It’s not really a gamble, is it? If you say it’s fact that you won’t get drunk, you’ve got nothing to lose. I really don’t mind if I end up playing, anyway. Anything to make this party less dull.”
Tired of Vera’s companionship, Liam caved. “I guess, fine. It’s a bet.”
“Excellent. I’ll go and get your prince charming.”
Vera shuffled herself through a throng of sweaty students, her snakes hissing left and right, until she vanished from Liam’s sight. He almost pulled his phone out again, but a new figure soon filled Vera’s space, although they were far shorter and stouter, a red solo cup in hand rather than whatever classy drink Vera had.
“Hey Liam.” Vicky sounded a little breathless, face flushed. “You found a nice quiet spot over here, huh?”
“I don’t think the word quiet could be used to describe anything about this party.”
A little laugh. “I guess that’s true. Trust me though, it’s much quieter over here than it is on the dancefloor.”
“Well, that much is to be expected.” He eyed his watch while Vicky drank. “Is Calculester here?”
“Outside.” She caught her breath after a hearty sip. “I think he’s stuck out there. Polly has a nice garden and he got mega distracted by it.”
Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “If I were you, I’d break through a window and join him at this point. It’s only going to get worse.”
“Nah, I'm having fun dancing with my friends.” She shrugged. “Who knows if I’m gonna see these people again after graduation, you know? I wanna make our last moments count.”
“It’s not like they’re going off to the gallows…”
“Well, no, but they might move, or get demanding jobs, or…who knows what. I might never see them again for innocent reasons outside of our control. It’s just a big deal to me, okay, Liam?”
Liam smirked as she pouted dramatically. “Whatever you say, Vicky.”
Abruptly, the nearby crowd parted and belched out Vera and Damien. From the smell coming off him, Liam regretted placing his chips on the table. The gorgon grinned pridefully with one hand on each dopey shoulder. “I found your drink.”
She thrusted Damien towards Liam, and the demon almost toppled over him. Liam hardly caught him by the upper arms, searching for his gaze behind crooked sunglasses. “Jesus shit, what did you drink?”
Damien pointed the wrong direction. “Vera gave me some of this rat poison—”
“Shh, what did I tell you about our little secret?” Vera tugged on Damien’s ear, which had him wincing. “He meant to say Polly, didn’t he? Polly gave him rat poison!”
“Uh…yeah, sure…” Damien wobbled, then pointed at Vicky. “…whoa. Smurf.”
Vicky gasped, quite offended. Liam grabbed Damien by the collar to try and snap some sense into him. When his head just tipped forwards, near unconsciousness, Liam directed his hostility towards Vera. “I am not drinking rat poison Damien.”
Vera shrugged. “Then I guess you’re joining the party games.”
“This is unfair.” He snarled. “You rigged this!”
“You expected me to play fair?” Vera quirked a brow. “Now who’s the fool?”
“Hey, it’s fine.” Vicky tried to mediate things. “I’m gonna be in the game too, it’s not gonna be so bad.”
“It’s going to be terrible.” Liam tried to shake Damien awake. “Hey, can you purge that shit from your system somehow? Come on, can’t you burn poison or something?”
Damien laughed slowly. “Mmph, but it feels good…you should…totally drink me…”
Vera raised her palm, supporting Damien’s advertisement. “See, he agrees. This is a win-win, Liam. Besides, if you’re only drinking trace amounts of toxins, it shouldn’t bother you, right?”
“I’ve never had blood from someone who consumed literal rat poison, so this throws all my prior experiences out the window!” Liam raged.
“Good, it’s always nice to try new things.” Vera beamed in a haughty tone. “There’s still a chance you’ll win, you know. He’s almost unconscious. It’s not like you’ll have to drink much.”
Clenching his eyes shut and regretting every choice he made to get this far in his too-long life, Liam shoved Damien’s head aside and bit down onto the meaty junction of neck and shoulder. Damien moaned like a porn star, casting more than a few eyes on the feeding session.
Including Vicky, who’s flush nearly consumed her whole face. It was impossible to look away, especially as Liam worked his jaw into flesh to carve the wound deeper, allowing more fresh blood to pulse to the surface.
To his dismay, it took more blood than he was hoping until Damien’s knees buckled out from under him. Liam pulled away and licked the wound sealed, carefully supporting the demon on his descent to the floor. He gave him the dignity to slump up against the wall. And hey, at least he had a smile on his drowsy, unconscious face.
Vera eyed the vampire expectantly when he stood up and wiped the corner of his lips with a thumb. Vicky eyed him too, for a different reason altogether.
“Well? Feeling anything?” Vera probed.
“I’m feeling sick,” Liam replied with a crinkle over the bridge of his nose. “That tasted foul.”
“But you’re still sober.”
“For now.” Liam folded his arms. “I’d love to stoop to your level and let you take an easy loss, but there’s no saying it won’t take five to ten minutes to actually hit.”
“How chivalrous of you.” Vera laughed. “Well, let’s set a timer for ten minutes, and then we’ll see how you’re holding up.”
“The things you do for your own amusement…” Liam brooded as Vera once again dismissed herself into a crowd of students. Likely to go hand out the rest of her rat poison.
“Is, um…” Liam almost forgot Vicky was still there. “Is he gonna be okay?”
“Damien? He’s fine.” Liam cast him a fleeting glance. “I could always get Amira to bring him back to the car, if things get crazy.”
“I’ll go get her,” Vicky decided. “I wouldn’t want him to get seriously hurt.”
Liam shrugged as Vicky disappeared as well. It was only a matter of seconds before she reappeared with her best friend. He’d be more impressed if Amira couldn’t literally be the embodiment of fire at her choosing. Pretty easy to shove people away when you’re fire.
“Hey, there are my shades!” Amira pulled them off Damien’s face and set them over her eyes. “Oh, shit, is he dead?”
“No, he’s not dead.” Liam scoffed. “Vera made him drink rat poison.”
“Damn.” Amira snickered. “I dared him to drink the bottle of drain cleaner we found in Polly’s bathroom, too. And the toilet cleaner. And the—”
“Please, stop listing things you made him drink.” Liam looked like he might cry.
“In that case, we also snorted like seven lines of—”
“Enough!” Liam started pulling on his hair. “Goddammit, why did I agree to this stupid bet!?”
“Bet?” Amira raised a brow.
“Vera was bored, so she—”
Amira raised a hand and nodded solemnly, cutting him off. “Vera was bored. Enough said.”
“I got you because I feel like…I dunno, this place is a little dangerous to the unconscious.” Vicky looked down at Damien. Couldn’t help but feel bad for him. And maybe envy him a little. “I didn’t want him to get hurt.”
“Well ain’t you just the sweetest thing ever.” Amira pinched one of Vicky’s cheeks. “I got him. Liam, can I have your keys?”
“I do not trust you with my keys,” Liam grumbled, watching Amira hoist Damien over her shoulder with ease. “I’m coming with you.”
“I’ll stay here. Oh, and um, if you see Cal out there, could you tell him I’m doing okay?” Vicky called out to them. Liam waved and made a mental note to search for the cyborg, but soon that thought dissipated from his mind.
By the time his car was unlocked and the windows were rolled down, he was starting to feel it. Damien was sprawled out across the back seats on his side. Liam realized belatedly that if he did wake up and puke, it was going to totally ruin the entire floor of his car. But, that thought also fizzled to dust.
“Alright, think that’s good. He’ll probably be pissed that he missed most of the party but…eh, that’s a later issue.” Amira slapped a hand on the back of Liam’s shoulder. He was spaced out. “Hey, you good?”
“Am I…huh?” Liam blinked a few times. He was outside? With Amira. Right. Because Damien was wasted.
Fuck. He was starting to get inebriated.
Amira laughed a little. “You smokin’ some wild shit in there?”
“It’s…a long story…” he muttered, secretly thankful when Amira threw an arm around his shoulders and walked him back into the house. “You know how I said I’d be the designated driver?”
“Yeah?”
“How sober are you?”
“…eh? Depends on who’s asking.”
“Can you drive us home?”
“I can get us home alive. But there’s more party to have so, like…might turn into a sleepover kinda situation.” She broke away from him and took her shades off so she could meet his eye. “You are high, aren’t you?”
“I’m…not sober, that’s for sure…” He folded his arms, looking like an insecure, scolded schoolboy more than anything else. “Everything Damien’s on…I’m also on.”
Amira blinked a few times. “Why the fuck would you drink from him when he’s like this? Unless you wanted to get absolutely zooted?”
“I ran my mouth to Vera,” he admitted bitterly. “This whole day was a mistake…”
“Hey, lighten up. When’s the last time you were able to get truly wasted?” Amira was smiling as she firmly shook his shoulder, like trying to physically loosen him up. “Just for tonight, why don’t you yank that stick out of your ass and let loose?”
“Because that’s not who I am! I’m Liam de Lioncourt, I have a reputation to uphold, I have a brand, a status!”
Amira raised a brow. “Babe, I bet seventy-five-percent of the people at this party don’t even know who you are. It’s fine. Just let go.”
As he found himself tempted by Amira’s encouragements, Vera slunk into the conversation. “There you are. The game is starting soon. Are you joining, or am I?”
Amira eyed over Vera and smirked something sultry. “If you’re joining, I am.”
“You’re joining anyway. Don’t play around.”
Liam released a tense sigh. With it, his inhibitions. “Seeing as I lost the bet…I’m joining.”
“Ah, wonderful!” Vera clasped her hands together. “I’ll be rooting for you!”
Before he knew it, a circle of monsters had formed in the center of Polly’s living room. She floated overtop and chugged the remains of a wine bottle. The label had been torn off and replaced by a damp piece of paper with an arrow drawn on it. “Alright, party people!” Polly called as much attention to herself as she could. “Spin the Bottle 2.0 is beginning! Here’s how it’s gonna go down. Everyone gets a turn to spin the bottle! Whoever it lands on, you gotta go to my closet right that-a-way! Then you got seven minutes to get it on. Or duke it out. Or whatever! And then we pass the bottle to the next person over once the time is up. Everyone down?”
Liam eased himself into the group and eyed around at the others who were stupid enough, drunk enough, or horny enough to join in. Vera’s sister was seated in with the group, raising her hand as Polly positioned the bottle in the center of the group. “So…what happens if we roll ourselves?”
“Then you fuck yourself in the closet for seven minutes, boo!” Polly hovered over the bottle, hand around it, gravity drawing her shirt down to reveal her bra. “Everyone ready for the first spin?”
A mixed roar of responses called back. Polly gave it a good spin. The party fell quiet. Quieter than it had all night, even before guests arrived. Then, the arrow settled on Vicky.
Her face lit up bright red. “Oh, god. Okay, so I’m first. I just, spin?”
“Yup, and whoever you spin, you got seven minutes with!”
Vicky chewed on her bottom lip, leaning in to give the bottle a good, hard spin. Again, silence.
A quiet series of gasps echoed around the room when it landed on the leather-clad biker unicorn. Vicky raised a hand to her mouth, giggling nervously. “My god, I don’t even think I know your name…”
“Whiskey’s the name.” He stood up and offered a hand. Hoof? “Let’s hoof it to the closet, little lady!”
Vicky rushed alongside him, heart pounding as Polly closed the doors behind them. It was cramped, especially with a giant unicorn taking up most of the space.
Three seconds of solid silence weighed down on them.
“Um…so, I have a boyfriend—”
“I ain’t into women, you got nothin’ to worry about.”
“Phew! Oh, thank god.”
Whiskey chuckled. “Afraid I don’t know your name, either.”
“It’s Vicky.” She exhaled another sigh of relief. “I um, I’ve never played a game like this…probably bad timing, since I’m already with someone, but…I dunno, I just wanted to have one last stupid high school memory.”
“Nothin’ stupid about being young and unafraid,” he whinnied. “Gonna be tough to pass seven minutes with small-talk, though. You got any favorite musicians?”
As her eyes adapted to the darkness, she found herself smiling. “You look like you’re into metal.”
“Damn right. Metal, Rock, Country, Bluegrass, list goes on!”
“So, what if I told you I was the lead singer of a rock band?”
“Whoa! Say more, Momma, I’m all ears.”
Outside the closet, Polly sighed with defeat. “Boring. They’re just talking.”
A few people made audible noises of disappointment. Idle conversation filled the space until Polly yanked the doors open and nearly blinded the new friends. “Alright, your time’s up! Next spin, Amira!”
“Hell yea.” Amira grabbed onto the bottle before Vicky and Whiskey even had a chance to properly sit. Once it stilled, green eyes shifted up and landed on another set of green eyes. Or, well, eye.
“O. M. G!!!” Zoe shot up to her feet. “Amira, hell yea! Let’s go get our freak on!”
“Fuck yeah.” Amira got to her feet and glanced to Oz. “You cool if I rizz your girl, Oz?”
Oz laughed nervously. “Y-Yeah, I guess!”
Without any more hesitation, the girls ran to the closet. Polly shut the doors and pressed her ear to the panel, just like last time.
Zoe’s eyes were scouring Amira several times over, hand clasped over her tentacle nervously. “So um, I don’t want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Any hard turn-offs?”
“None.”
“Awesome.” Amira could hear her swallow hard. “In that case…can I ask you about the hottest threesome you’ve ever had with Liam and Damien?”
Amira’s eyes fluttered. “Uh, Liam and I are just friends. Not into him like that.”
“Oh, for real? Shit, I had no clue! How did I miss that? So it’s more of a QPR than anything else.”
“I guess? I mean, Damien and I fuck. A lot.”
“Heh, well, that much is obvious. I don’t think there are many monsters left in this school who haven’t caught you two in a closet somewhere.”
“What can I say? Class is boring. He’s not.”
“Well, let me ask a different question, in that case. I’ll make the most out of this if I can get a smokin’ hot new idea for a fic! And no offense of course, but cishet M/F is kind of…stale these days.”
Amira produced a haughty laugh. “I can tell you there is nothing stale about that boy.”
“Oh yeah?” A challenging glint caught in Zoe’s glowing green eye, nested amongst her tentacles. “Prove it.”
“You got panties on under that dress?”
“Y-Yes, I do…”
“Take ‘em off and turn around. I’ll show you a neat like trick he taught me that’ll change the whole game for you.”
After the thud of fabric hit the floor, Zoe felt the intense heat of Amira shuffling behind her, tugging her in so her ass was against Amira’s hips. Then, her hand wandered down, yanking her skirt up. Zoe gasped and Amira slapped a hand over her mouth. “Don’t wanna leak this secret, babe. Save the screams for tonight in bed when you’re thinking of me.”
“Goddamn…” Polly floated away from the closet doors. “They are gettin’ it on! That was a perfect spin.”
Brian, avoiding the game for the sake of keeping his head away from the merkingdom’s spears, kneeled down to speak with Oz. “So uh, our little nerd hangouts are gonna be…kind of awkward now that your girlfriend just fucked our best friend in a closet.”
Oz shrugged. “Pretty sure Polly and Amira had sex before, anyway.”
“We’ve done a whole lot of shit.” Polly floated in to join the conversation, hand on Oz’s shoulder. “And now we gotta invite Amira. It’s been ages since my last foursome. I had a fivesome last week but like, four is different.”
“I…don’t know if I could see Amira like that, but you three can have fun!” Oz gave Polly his cheerful blessings. “I’m sure whatever fic Zoe makes out of that would be a crazy good read, anyway.”
“Hell yeah it would!” Polly clapped her hands and flew across the room, just as the timer rang. “Time’s up, lovebirds!” The doors jolted open and Zoe scrambled to pull her panties up, wearing a flush and wobbly knees. Amira stepped out cool as ever, licking off her fingers.
“Wow…” Vicky’s eyes fluttered as Amira sat beside her. “You two really…?”
“That’s the point of the game, Vick.” Amira smirked. “Backin’ out yet?”
“No. It’s fine. I’m having fun. And living through you vicariously.”
“You could always go hang out with Cal. Hell, you two could always just…go scamper off to a private room and…” Amira raised her brows suggestively.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Vicky balled her hands into fists, then let her eyes wander across the circle, towards the aloof vampire who was starting to sway in place a little. “YOLO and all that…”
Amira followed her gaze, then lowered her voice and grinned something devious. “Oh, I see what’s going on.”
“…huh? You don’t see anything.” Vicky bit back curtly.
“Sure, Vick. Sure.” Amira passed the bottle over to the next participant.
The bull man huffed as he grasped the bottle and gave it a harsh spin, nearly breaking the glass. “I’ve only had sex three times at this party! Not nearly enough hands on me! Come on, come on, come on…”
The bottle spun a few more times, then settled on…Morty.
Polly laughed. “Time for some self-love, my dude!”
“Very well!” He stood up, although some could swear they saw tears in his eyes. “This will be different than every other lonely night in my bedroom because I have all of you lovely people as my hidden audience! I will be extra vocal for you.”
When the doors rattled shut, Vicky released a shuddered exhale. “God, I was panicking there for a minute when it slowed down near me…”
“Ouch. I’ll keep your secret safe from him.” Amira chuckled.
“Well, it’s just that he’s so…y’know…”
“Hairy?”
“No.”
“Loud?”
“No.”
“Charming?”
“He’s horny, Amira. He’s here to get laid.”
“So is everyone, Vick,” Amira teased. “There’s a better way to get what you want.”
“Shut up. I’m having fun. We’re all having fun here.”
“Whatever you say…”
Inevitably, Morty’s good time went mostly unheard by the raucous audience who was placing bets on the next spin. He was breathless when he stepped out, settling down and passing the bottle to his right.
“Me again, hehehe…” Zoe was still riding the high of her last spin. She fixed her hand around it and spun, landing on none other than Aaravi.
The hunter turned bright pink, jaw agape. Zoe giggled and stood. “C’mon, hunter! Let’s try some roleplay! I can be a big scary monster, and you can plunge your master sword in as deep as you can…”
Aaravi stood in a huff, flourishing her cape to hide her face as she rushed through the circle and met up with Zoe in the closet.
“Damn, I’m surprised she agreed to that,” Brian muttered to Oz.
“I’m surprised she’s here at all.” Polly added.
“Yeah…” Oz’s tone sounded a bit wistful and curious. “I think maybe there’s more to her than we first thought…on that note, I should go and run to the bathroom before it’s my turn!”
Two pairs of glowing green eyes met when the darkness sealed the pair in the closet.
“Um…so I was…kind of kidding, when I said that master sword joke.” Zoe released a light laugh. “I figure you kinda hate us, but, please don’t actually try to kill me in here. That would be pretty lame.”
“I’m not gonna try to kill you.” Aaravi had her arms folded firmly, heart absolutely pounding in her ears. “I…I also thought that joke was kind of funny.”
“Thanks!” Zoe beamed. “So um…did you want to…?”
Aaravi said nothing. She was too flustered to accept a proposition from her crush.
Unfortunately, Zoe misread this as rejection. “Sorry, that was upfront. You’re not like that, huh? I wonder if we have anything else in common. Are you into gaming?”
“W-Well…well yeah, of course. I mean, we could—”
“Ooh, what about comic books? I bet you’d love action hero stories! That’s kind of what you are, in an angstier sense. Ooh, I wonder if I could make a hunter OC in a world of monsters, that sounds super rad! Would you mind sharing some of your experiences so I could write about them?”
“Yeah, sure…” Aaravi coughed out. “That…sounds fun, actually. I feel like hunters are always portrayed wrong, so actually being heard for once…”
“Hell yeah! I’ll make it as lore-accurate as possible! Plus maybe some more sex scenes and like. Sex pollen.”
Aaravi’s eyes fluttered. “I guess everyone has their own creative vision…”
After a decent and intense brainstorming session, Polly yanked the doors open and the pair stepped out. Zoe was all smiles as she passed the bottle to Oz, who was…not there.
“Hmm. Well, I guess we’ll just skip him for now since he’s in the bathroom.” Polly nudged the bottle towards Liam. “Your turn, boo!”
The vampire leaned in towards the center of the group, spinning the bottle with a flick of the wrist. He felt good and floaty, so really, he couldn’t care who he landed on. He’d pass out eventually and probably forget this entire night anyway.
Vicky raised a hand to her mouth when the arrow landed between her and Amira. Amira rolled her eyes and lit a small flame from her foot, producing a subtle rush of hot air to nudge the arrow towards Vicky.
Vicky’s heartrate spiked. She couldn’t even find it within herself to stand. Sure, maybe this was the entire reason she was playing, but she didn’t think the bottle would actually land on Liam! It was just a dumb lingering crush, just a stupid lingering feeling that she couldn’t kill for some reason. But it didn’t make any sense! She was with Calculester. She loved Calculester. He was there for her at her worst, and she for him.
So why was she so fucking excited to go sit in a dark closet with Liam for seven minutes?
“Alright, you two, scram.” Polly shoved Liam off the floor when he dawdled, and Vicky found herself running to catch up with them before she befell the same fate.
And then the doors closed. And Vicky was afraid she’d stop breathing altogether.
“Well, this could’ve gone far worse,” Liam commented. Some part of Vicky was almost relieved she couldn’t see him. Made it feel less real.
“Yeah.” She agreed in a breathy tone. “I joked to Amira earlier that I was terrified of ending up with Morty…”
“Mmm, no risk, no reward, I guess.”
“And…what’s the reward? In this scenario?”
“A moment of peace and fucking quiet.”
Vicky found herself laughing. “Yeah…I guess so…” Logic began to creep into the corners of her mind. He was not sober. He was on whatever the hell Damien was on. Because he drank Damien’s blood. A lot of it. And then her mind replayed the image of Liam sucking on Damien’s neck and Vicky couldn’t take it anymore.
“Um, so, remember last year when I asked you to prom?”
“Last year…? Yeah, vaguely. Why?”
“Oh, I dunno…just…thought it was so silly!” Vicky laughed in a giddy, almost dizzy tone. “Like, what was I thinking, right?”
“Eh, don’t be so hard on yourself.” She realized despite the dimness of the closet, she could make out his eyes. They seemed to have their own glow, and right now, they were pointed at her. Pupils blown wide, sure, but it was still Liam. Liam without a filter, even better. “My cruelty at the time was a bit…excessive. I just didn’t want to see you go to prom and get swept up in all the mainstream bullshit like everyone else.”
“So, wait…” Her shoulders dropped. “You weren’t…rejecting me because of me, you just didn’t want me to go to prom?”
“I thought prom was stupid. And I thought it was stupid that you wanted to go.”
Vicky stared the black void that was the floor so she wouldn’t keep feeling things by looking into those eyes. “You could have just…said that.”
“Too late now, I suppose…”
A small swell of anger rushed through her, but she couldn’t validate why. Why would she feel angry about this? It didn’t matter. It was for the best that she ended up crying over him for weeks before Calculester entered the picture. It was for the best that she thought she was reprehensible and ugly and worthless and unlovable—
“Are you…crying?”
“No!” Yes. “I just, god, I’m always getting mixed messages from you and it drives me crazy! I got myself so attached and, and…” A muted sniff. “The rejection hurt because I was so sure you were into me, and then I felt so stupid…you ruined the entire end of my semester. So yeah. Maybe I am crying.”
“…Vicky, I had no idea, I’m…I’m sorry…At the time, I had just got together with Damien, and he was…an asshole, to put it lightly—”
“It’s…it’s fine.” Vicky shook her head and let a tense silence fill the air between them for only a few seconds. “I mean, I’d never end up with Calculester if we went to prom together, so…good thing, right? That’s a good thing?”
“…why are you asking me?”
“I—I’m not, it’s…rhetorical.” Vicky twiddled her thumbs furiously, wiping her tears away and forcing herself to think happy thoughts. This night didn’t need to be any more embarrassing than it was. “I’m…so happy with Calculester. It’s crazy. I love him so much, and I know he loves me back. People say machines aren’t capable of feelings or emotions or love but…he’s different. He’s not just a machine.”
“That’s…that’s good to hear.”
“He’s such a sweetheart. I guess physically he’s just a robot. Just a…hunk of metal…kind of cold and hard, but…it’s what’s inside.”
“…you sound…disappointed?”
“I’m not,” she told herself firmly. “He can’t control what he’s made of. It’s not his fault his hugs hurt sometimes and my skin gets caught between his knuckles when we hold hands. It’s a miracle we have him as he is now. I should be thankful.”
“I’m sure he values your needs, though. If he knew you felt this way, I don’t think he’d want you to carry on being uncomfortable for his sake.”
Vicky finally found the courage, or maybe stupidity, to meet his eyes again. Her heart only pounded harder. Felt like she was going to erupt into sparks. “You…you think?”
“I’m sure he’d be willing to come up with some sort of modifications to himself or something to be a more suitable lover for you. Theoretically he could, right?”
“Theoretically, he could…” Vicky near-whispered. “But that isn’t fair to him. Asking him to change for my sake…”
“Well, you’re not asking much. It’s not like you’re telling him to change a core part of his identity.”
“Or…”
“Or…?”
“I could satisfy my need for…comfort…elsewhere.”
“…yes, I suppose you could, provided he understood the situation.”
“Uh-huh. And he’s so understanding. He just wants me to be happy.”
“You’re a very kind and good person, Vicky. It isn’t surprising. You deserve him.”
“…but what if I want more?”
When Liam made a soft, inquisitive hum, Vicky pounced. She threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips against his. He was cold and smelled less than pleasant—a strange mixture of his cologne and drain cleaner—but the feeling of his lips against hers, the fuzz of his undercut in her grasp, the give of his palms when they settled on her arms…
It was as if the physical embodiment of lust possessed her, a beast hunting for soft flesh and wet mouths.
As quickly as it came, it ebbed. Vicky pulled away as dread and shame ate at the back of her mind. “My god, L-Liam, I’m so so—”
Vicky squeaked when Liam’s hands fixed around her ass and he dragged her in for another kiss. She was almost frozen with disbelief, wondering if she drank some sort of hallucinogen by accident. Well, even if she did, who was she to deny the moment? Felt like they’d been in this closet for hours now, like there were only seconds left. She needed to make the most of it.
Her hands travelled from his waist to his ribs, reveling in the sensation of skin under that shirt. Sure, maybe he was cold and undead, but it was a far cry from beams of metal. Besides, she was producing more than enough body heat for the both of them. Especially as the make-out got sloppier, her first proper make-out.
Liam clearly knew what he was doing, even while drunk off his ass. Vicky let her lips follow his lead, even if that meant his teeth were grazing her skin and she tasted blood. It had her brain short-circuiting, her voice escaping her in whimpered pants that were swallowed by his mouth on hers.
And then one of his hands ruffled up her sweater and grabbed a breast, groping at it with more vigor than she ever expected from someone like Liam. His other hand pulled at frizzy hair and she realized he was getting her in position to bite. He was going to drink from her. He was going to drink from her.
It was surprising, arousing, and addictive.
Vicky leaned into the touch and moaned in his ear to let him know that was exactly what she wanted, her whole body trembling with need. She threw her leg up around his waist, chest to chest, hips to hips, lips to neck.
Then suddenly, it got a lot brighter.
Liam’s face blanked and stared ahead into oblivion. Vicky felt a rush of cool air on her back and realized the doors must have opened. She was practically mounting this man in front of her entire class. A wolf-whistle from Amira confirmed that fact.
The shame and embarrassment hit Vicky like a monster truck. She almost threw up on the spot, tearing away from Liam and the closet, from the game as a whole. She ran past the whole ring of partygoers, out into the night. Liam, meanwhile, staggered out of the closet, looking somewhat composed, aside from the messy hair and lip gloss smeared on his lips.
“Shit, I should’ve figured something like this would happen…” Brian adjusted his coat. “I’ll go try and catch up to her.”
When Liam rejoined the circle, Oz had no clue what to say. It was obvious Vicky was upset about whatever happened. And it wouldn’t have happened if Oz didn’t decide to take the world’s most poorly timed bathroom break ever. In a way, this was all his fault.
“Damn, way to go, Liam.” Zoe, meanwhile, cheered him on. “You and Vicky, huh? I can totally see it! You’re both nerdy and smart! That’s so cute!”
Liam stared ahead vacantly and didn’t reply. Oz gently nudged him. “Liam, you okay?”
Liam leaned back in the direction of the touch, then kept leaning, and then collapsed, not moving. Somewhere distantly in the crowd, Vera’s shrill laugh could be heard.
Amira sighed and stood up, taking that as her cue. “Alright, I’m gonna take him home before he starts foaming at the mouth.” She scooped Liam off the floor.
“Aw, you’re leaving already?” Polly pouted. “Just drop him off and come back!”
“Something tells me he's gonna need some eyes on him when he returns to the land of the living.” Amira saluted her. “Thanks for the party, though! Hell of a time, I’ll see y’all around, right?”
The crowd cheered back at her before she made her way outside, plopping Liam’s unconscious body in the backseats next to Damien. She snorted when she realized it looked like they were spooning. Then she picked Liam’s pockets for the keys, got in the driver’s seat, took her shades off. When she looked up to drive, she screamed at the sight of a giant computer screen sticking in through her window.
“Jesus fuck, Calculester! You scared the shit out of me!”
“Apologies, friend Amira!” He was frowning. “I seemed to have lost track of Love Vicky. Have you seen her?”
“Uh…” Amira’s eyes wandered across the yard. “Sorry bud, think I lost her on the dancefloor. She’s having a great time, though.” Her smile was a little restrained. Good thing his facial recognition software wasn’t perfect. “I’m actually heading out now, but I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
“You are leaving? Is the party over?”
“Not yet! Just uh, taking these two losers home.” She pointed her thumb towards the bodies in the back. “They got a little drunk and high on weird shit.”
“Oh dear! If they are unconscious, they may need to be rescued! We need an ambulance!”
“Nah, nah, I’ve got it. Damien’s been knocked out like this before. And Liam…uh…well, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Would you like me to call emergency services?”
“Nope,” Amira said firmly, rolling up her window. “Bye Cal!”
As she pulled out of the winding parking lot, she heard Damien groan in the back. And then, she heard him vomit. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, she saw that most of it ended up on Liam’s shoulders.
Something told her maybe after tonight, he deserved that.