warning: underage drinking

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"Taeil, baby... it's gonna be fine."

"But Johnny!" Taeil whined back, frantically looking around his living room. "There's gonna be people I don't know! And I'll have to talk to them!" 

Johnny chuckled, putting a bottle of vodka down on a table and pecking Taeil's forehead. "That's the point. It's a party." 

Earlier that week, Johnny had remembered his promise to Taeil to help him be more social, and show him off at parties. So, as one of the most popular boys in the senior class, Johnny thought it would be a good idea to have Taeil help him throw an end of winter break party, especially since his parents were out of town. Taeil was hesitant to agree, but once Johnny promised Taeil's friends could come too, Taeil had agreed. 

Now though, Taeil was absolutely freaking out. It wasn't annoying to Johnny though, just cute. 

"Everyone's gonna think I'm annoying and weird," Taeil complained. 

"No they won't," Johnny responded as Taeil hugged him tightly. "And if they say anything mean, I'll kick them out. They'll be mad because that means no more alcohol. Alright?" 

"Alright," Taeil said, nervousness still in his tone.

"Do want some alcohol? It might make you feel more at ease," Johnny spoke. 

"S-sure," Taeil stuttered back. "Nothing too strong though. I've never really drank before." Johnny opened up a beer and handed it to his boyfriend. 

"I can't believe you've never drank though." 

"Like I said, I've never been to a high school party before." Taeil took a sip and immediately gagged, but held back his complaints. "Wait, this won't be enough for everyone. Didn't you say you invited the whole school?" Johnny had a few dozen beers, a bottle of vodka, and some jack daniel's along with some mixers laid out on his kitchen's island.

"Other people are bringing some," Johnny responded.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Taeil squeaked and covered his mouth as Johnny went to the front door, greeting their first guests. 

"Hey dudes!" Johnny said excitedly, hugging his old baseball teammates and inviting them inside. Taeil waved a little bit, sitting on his other hand to hide their shaking. This was not only a big party, this was also when Taeil had to meet Johnny's immense amount of friends. He couldn't help but be nervous. 

"This is my soulmate, Taeil," Johnny introduced, wrapping his arm protectively around his shoulder. 

"H-hi," he stammered. 

"Johnny, you got a cute one," one of Johnny's old teammates commented.  

"You two look so good together," another spoke. Taeil blushed and hid his smile, but Johnny proudly kissed Taeil's cheek. 

"I got lucky," Johnny responded, giving Taeil a soft smile. Immediately his nerves were calmed slightly, giving Johnny a grateful smile. 

"Now where's the ing liquor!" One of them shouted. Another teammate pulled the largest container of alcohol Taeil had ever seen out of his bag. 

"Is that a ing gallon?" Johnny asked. 

"Hell yeah! A gallon of Captain Morgan!" He responded. The guys all went towards the kitchen to grab red solo cups and Johnny gave Taeil a grin. 

"It's gonna be great." 

Just then, the doorbell rang. Taeil knew he was in for a wild night. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Taeyong squeezed Ten's hand as the two of them rang Johnny's doorbell. Both of them were beyond excited; this was their first party as a couple, and they were more than ready to show each other off. 

Johnny opened the door, Taeil clinging onto his arm, and grinned widely. 

"Hey dude!" He said, wrapping Taeyong in a friendly hug. "You must be Yong's boyfriend." 

"Yeah, I'm Ten." 

"I hope he hasn't given you too much trouble." 

"Oh, he has," Ten responded with a grin, shared by Taeyong. 

"Oh, Ten, this is Johnny's boyfriend Taeil," Taeyong introduced. Ten smiled back at the still nervous Taeil, but Taeil felt a little more at ease. 

"Okay, enough small talk, I need to know where the alcohol is," Ten said. 

"Please say you have vodka," Taeyong added. 

"I got some special just for you," Johnny responded. Taeyong fist pumped and smiled. 

"You're a real one," he spoke, turning to Taeil. "Keep him. He's a good boy." Ten started to tug at his arm and the two of them made their way to the island, filing past the many other high school kids at this party. 

Taeyong poured them each a substantial cup of vodka, throwing a bit of cranberry juice in for good measure. 

"Cheers," Taeyong said. 

"Cheers, babe," Ten responded, winking at Taeyong before the two of them drained their cups. Grimacing slighty as Taeil watched on in shock, they shared a smile. 

The alcohol took effect soon enough, and before they new it they were pressed up against one another, making out in front of all their classmates. 

"This is so hot," Ten said in a low voice, mumbled against Taeyong's lips. 

"But I wanna ," Taeyong whined. 

"Then let's do it." Ten grinned. "We need to claim a bedroom before people's matches get here." 

"True, true," Taeyong responded, losing his balance for a moment and almost toppling both of them over. 

"Will Johnny mind?" Ten whispered. 

"No way," Taeyong responded. "It wouldn't be the first time I've had in his bed. His parties usually get pretty wild." 

"Then let's ing go," Ten responded. Taeyong giggled and tugged on Ten's shoulder, leading him down the hall into Johnny's bedroom. 

Ten's vision was too clouded to notice the decor of Taeyong's bedroom, Taeyong pressing Ten against the door and kissing him as soon as it was shut. Their lips pressed passionate against each other's, scrambling to touch and taste whatever of each other they could. Taeyong hoisted Ten's legs around his waist, pressing themselves together and tangling fingers in each other's dark hair. 

"Want you..." Ten breathed against Taeyong's mouth. Taeyong smirked back. 

"You always want me," he responded. 

"Don't act like you aren't desperate either," Ten responded with a giggle. 

"We're both desperate for each other," Taeyong said, pressing his lips against Ten's neck. "That's why I love you." 

~~~~~~~~~~

When Yuta and Sicheng walked up to the front door of Johnny's house, they could hear the laughter and music from far away. The party was in full swing, and Sicheng clung desperately to Yuta's side. 

"I've never been to a high school party like this before," Sicheng said softly. 

"It's gonna be great, babe," Yuta responded, ringing the doorbell and kissing the top of Sicheng's head. 

Johnny and Taeil opened the door, Taeil relieved to finally have one of his close friends around, even if he was feeling a lot better. 

"I didn't expect to see you alive," Taeil teased, smiling at his friend and his boyfriend. 

"What do you mean?" Yuta responded with a laugh. 

"I thought Sicheng's parents were gonna kill you." 

"No way," Yuta said. "They love me." 

"Surprisingly," Sicheng mumbled. 

"Hey!" Yuta whined, giggling. 

"You know it's no surprise," Sicheng responded. 

"Come inside, guys, it's cold out," Johnny responded, and the two stepped inside. 

Sicheng immediately froze. He wasn't expecting it to be so much like the movies, high school kids crammed together in hallways and tiny spaces drinking what looked like alcohol out of red solo cups. He clung to Yuta harder, looking around nervously. 

"It's so..." 

"I know, right?" Yuta responded with a laugh. 

"There's mixers if you don't want to drink," Taeil said. 

"A soda sounds nice," Sicheng spoke, and the two of them started down the hall to grab something to drink. 

As they passed by more and more rooms, Sicheng got more and more nervous. People seemed super drunk, laughing loud and making out in corners of the room, plus he thought he heard noises coming from a closed off door. 

"People are weird," Sicheng could only say when they finally reached the kitchen, both grabbing a can of coke (Yuta drank sometimes, but he wanted to be able to take care of Sicheng if something happened). 

"Yeah, definitely," Yuta responded. 

"I feel like nobody will like me here," Sicheng said quietly. 

"Trust me," Yuta said, his eyes suddenly turning aggressive and dark. Sicheng looked confused and followed his boyfriend's line of vision, and noticed only a random kid from their school, probably a sophomore, walking towards them. 

"Hey babe," the kid spoke, leaning on the island next to where Sicheng was standing. "You're the ing iest guy I've seen all night. Can I offer you an invitation to...ride this ?" Sicheng fDlushed all the way from his ears to his neck and froze still, not quite knowing what to do. 

"Can I offer you an invitation to  off, little ?" Yuta suddenly responded. He stood over the kid, his height making him look a lot more intimidating than he actually was. 

"D-dude, I--"

"Don't say that to my soulmate, okay? Get your own," Yuta responded, giving the kid a last glare before tugging Sicheng away and walking back towards the living room. 

"Let's hang out with Taeil and Johnny now; their friends are nice," Yuta said angrily. "I'm so ing sorry that guy said that to you, that was so uncalled for and rude, ugh I hate people so much sometimes-" 

"Th-thank you," Sicheng stuttered, looking up at Yuta with a gentle smile. Yuta paused and looked back at him, the anger suddenly leaving him. 

"It's nothing," Yuta smiled back. "Anything for you." And when Yuta wrapped him in a tight hug, Sicheng knew that maybe this party would be fun. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ay! You finally made it!" Johnny cried once Doyoung and Jaehyun arrived, hugging both of them tight. Taeil just chuckled at his boyfriend, the tipsiness getting to him. 

"Yeah dude, we had a choir thing first," Jaehyun responded, squeezing Doyoung's hand. Doyoung smiled back at him, looking around curiously; the last time he went to a high school party was in freshman year. 

"Come in!" Johnny said, and the two of them stepped inside to escape the freezing cold night air. Doyoung waved at Yuta, who had Sicheng on his lap and his arms wrapped protectively around him, but Sicheng looked happy. 

"Where's Taeyong?" Jaehyun asked. 

" if I know," Johnny responded. 

"Come on," Jaehyun said to Doyoung. "Let's look for him. I want to meet his soulmate." Doyoung nodded and the two pushed their way down the hall into the kitchen. They looked around everywhere, but couldn't spot Taeyong's bleached out hair in the crowd of people. 

"Thirsty?" Doyoung asked, pointing to the crowd of alcohol right behind him. 

"I've never really drank before," Jaehyun spoke. 

"Me neither." 

"But you know what? it. I wanna try; if not now than when?" 

"You're right; it. Pour me a cup too," Doyoung responded. 

Jaehyun poured them both a solo cup full almost to the brim with rum. The clinked the plastic together and took a sip, both immediately coughing and gagging at the taste. 

"That's disgusting!" Doyoung whined. 

"Tell me about it," Jaehyun added. But the two of them both drank some more, draining half of their over filled cups. 

Obviously they were a pair of lightweights so the alcohol hit them quickly, toppling over one another and threatening their balance. 

"Let's grab that seat baby," Jaehyun said, pointing to an empty armchair. 

"Mmh," Doyoung responded, and Jaehyun plopped down on it. Doyoung squeezed in next to him, the armchair barely fitting the two fairly tall teenage boys. 

"It's cozy," Doyoung said simply. Jaehyun laughed a little too loudly, and Doyoung began to nuzzle his face in the crook of Jaehyun's neck. 

"It's so hot," Jaehyun whined, taking his hoodie off and throwing it on Doyoung's lap. 

"y boy," Doyoung mumbled, kissing Jaehyun's neck lightly and giggling. 

"No! You're the y boy," Jaehyun responded, playing with Doyoung's ear and giggling. 

"What on earth happened to you two?" Taeil asked, suddenly standing over the two of them. Doyoung laughed loudly as his vision swam. 

"You're two!" Jaehyun said, pointing at Taeil and laughing. 

"Johnny, they've been here fifteen minutes and they're drunk already!" Taeil shouted, leaving the two of them be. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Bro!" Johnny said excitedly when he opened the door and Yukhei and Jungwoo were standing in front of him. "I haven't seen you in ages!" 

"Yeah man! I've missed you," Yukhei responded, hugging his best friend tightly. He suddenly smiled proudly, wrapping his arm around Jungwoo's shoulder. 

"This is my soulmate," Yukhei introduced. 

"I'm Jungwoo," Jungwoo spoke softly. 

"Oh I see," Johnny said with a chuckle. "You finally found your soulmate; of course you two are gonna be holed up together." 

"Something like that," Jungwoo responded, and the two shook hands. Johnny invited them both inside, tugging Yukhei away so they could go talk. 

Jungwoo was left alone with nobody he knew, suddenly feeling very very nervous without Yukhei by his side. But soon enough, he saw a face he hadn't seen in ages: his old best friend, Sicheng. 

Even though he was incredibly nervous, he knew he had to go talk to him. So with an inhale and an exhale, he walked over to where Sicheng and Yuta were sitting. 

"H-hi," he spoke nervously. 

"Jungwoo?" Sicheng asked with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Should I go?" Yuta whispered to Sicheng. Sicheng nodded slightly, and Yuta went to go talk to Taeil. 

Jungwoo hesitantly sat down next to Sicheng, contemplating what to say for a moment before speaking. 

"I know this isn't the best time to do this, but....I want to apologize. For what I said at Christian club that day, for not being a good friend and staying by your side no matter what. For everything. I-I....I know better now." 

"I didn't think you would ever change..." Sicheng admitted. 

"I know I can't make everything up to you right away...but I'll try. I want to be your friend again. I miss you so much." 

"I miss you too, Jungwoo," Sicheng responded, and the two of them suddenly gave each other a long needed hug. 

"I'm so glad to have you back in my life," Jungwoo said. 

"Me too, me too. But I'm curious," Sicheng responded, pulling away from the hug. "What changed your mind?" 

Jungwoo flushed pink. He didn't want to lie to Sicheng, but telling him would be his first coming out (other than Yukhei). But if Jungwoo was to come out to anyone, Sicheng was his first pick. 

"I...I-I'm gay, Sicheng. M-my soulmate is a boy." 

"That...that must have been hard," Sicheng responded sympathetically. 

"It was," Jungwoo responded. "I was so mean to him at first. But for some reason, he stuck by me...and now I feel more okay with myself." 

"Who is it?" Sicheng asked. Just then, Yukhei came up behind Jungwoo and wrapped his arms around him. Jungwoo snuggled Yukhei back, letting him know it was okay to be affectionate. 

"Hi angel," Yukhei said softly, and Sicheng's eyes widened in surprise at the match. 

"Hi!" Jungwoo responded happily, smiling up at him with the widest eyes. "This is my friend Sicheng," Jungwoo introduced. 

"His best friend," Sicheng clarified. Jungwoo grinned at him, and they shared a knowing smile. Even though their time apart was hard, they knew that now they could be better friends for it. And that was all that really mattered. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Dude, you're glowing," Mark commented as soon as Taeil opened the front door. Mark stood there with Donghyuck, the two of them hand in hand as Donghyuck's mother drove away. 

"What do you mean?" Taeil asked, looking himself over. 

"Someone just got laid," Donghyuck responded. Taeil froze still and turned red, his eyes widening. Mark and Donghyuck immediately laughed, his reaction in itself a confession of guilt. 

"Oh look, it's little one and two," Johnny spoke. He knew the couple well; as he often accompanied Taeil when picked Mark up from dates. 

"Oh look, it's little one and two," Donghyuck responded. "Now come on, I want to meet your other friends." 

Mark gave Taeil a eating grin before the couple walked down the hall, Taeil shouting, "He's not little!" after them. They shared a laugh before moving into the kitchen. 

"Oh look, there's Doyoung! Let me introduce you," Mark spoke. 

"My son! Mark, come give your dad a hug," Doyoung drawled from the chair he and Jaehyun had now claimed. Mark and Donghyuck hesitantly walked over to them, noticing their cups were now drained. 

Mark gave Doyoung a light hug before gesturing to Donghyuck. "This is my soulmate," Mark commented. Doyoung look them up and down, nodding either out of understanding or drunkenness, Mark couldn't tell which. 

"You two are...couple?" Doyoung asked. 

"Uh, duh," Donghyuck responded. 

"You should...know something. Very important. You know...when two people love each other very much, they...do things. Together," Doyoung started. Donghyuck and Mark covered their mouths to keep from laughing out loud, but Doyoung noticed anyways. 

"Don't laugh at my boyfriend! He's trying to edumacate you," Jaehyun whined, and Donghyuck and Mark shared an incredulous look. 

"So the first thing they do is kiss," Doyoung continued, ignoring everything else going on around them. "And then they...do the grind thing, and then there's a . And now, you have to get condoms and stuff, so you can the thing with it..."

"I'm going to be honest with you, Doyoung," Donghyuck interrupted. "I honestly think I have a better idea of how works than you do." 

"You're a freshman! A baby! You don't know!" Doyoung cried. 

"Come on, let's go," Mark said, leading Donghyuck away. 

"Wait! I never told you about the thing," Doyoung cried, but the couple ignored his words. As soon as they were away, they immediately burst into laughter. 

"I swear he's usually such a goody two shoes! I've never seen him like that before," Mark said. 

"And you're not a goody two shoes?" 

"Hey!" Mark whined. 

"Dont' worry, it's cute," Donghyuck responded. "But seriously, your friends are crazy." 

"Now, you're just lucky that your friends aren't here," Mark responded. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeno and Jaemin rang the doorbell excitedly. This was their first high school party, and they weren't going to the opportunity for a good time up. 

Senior Johnny Seo opened the door and gave them a smile. "Hey! You're Donghyuck's friends, right?"

"Yup, I promise we're not as crazy as him though," Jeno responded. 

"We're still crazy though," Jaemin added with a grin. 

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Johnny." 

"That's my soumate Jeno, and I'm Jaemin," he repsonded with a smile. 

"Come on in guys," Johnny responded. 

The two walked in, taking around the surrounding sights: the smell of alcohol, the people making out in every corner of the rooms. They shared a grin though; this was the most exciting thing that had happened to them in a while. 

Firmly gripping onto each other's hands, they began to walk down the hallway. In one room they could see junior Ten and senior Taeyong doing...something, the door slightly pushed open. 

"Oh god," Jeno said, his eyes blown wide as they walked further down. 

In the bathroom, they saw juniors Jaehyun and Doyoung taking turns vomiting into the toilet bowl. 

"Ew," Jaemin commented. 

"Isn't Doyoung Mark's friend?" Jeno asked. 

"Yup. Mark and Donghyuck better not be drinking; I'm not holding their hair back. 

"Agreed." 

Finally they reached the kitchen. This and the living room seemed to be the centers of people; dancing and making out and doing both at the same time, pools of spilled liquor everywhere. They spotted Mark and Donghyuck in an armchair and immediately smiled, walking over to them. 

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it," Donghyuck spoke, with Mark sitting on his lap in the fairly small armchair. 

"We stole this seat from Doyoung and Jaehyun," Mark commented. 

"How long ago did the party start?" Jeno asked. 

"I think, like, three hours ago or something," Mark responded. "Taeil said Jaehyun and Johnny got here pretty early." 

"Yeah, we just saw them puking their guts out in the bathroom," Jaemin said. 

"They were so ing drunk when we got here," Mark commented. 

"Those s tried to give us the talk," Donghyuck complained. Jeno and Jaemin laughed at the very idea. 

"This whole thing is kinda gross," Jeno admitted. 

"But I like it somehow, you know?" Jaemin responded. "Everyone at school coming together; people meeting people they normally wouldn't, single kids having another chance to find their match. It's great." 

"You're great," Jeno responded. 

Jaemin sighed. "Were you even listening to me?" He whined. 

"Of course I was, babe! Doesn't mean you're not great though." 

Jaemin giggled and they leaned up for a kiss. And finally, at Morrisville high, everything was mostly right.