And They Were Roommates (4/4)

Callista shuddered. She, along with her snakes, had extremely sensitive noses and she did not have a fun time during any time someone had an upset stomach. "I am all for that rule."

“Don’t worry, if I end up puking I’ll make sure it lands on Ari,” Mitch said with a laugh, playfully shoving the man next to him, “Payback for last time.” Though if Mitch did end up to the point of puking, he’d probably be at some other girl’s house by then so overall it really didn’t matter.

"In my defense, at least the headband only smelled like puke." Ari replied. He rolled his eyes at Mitch. "Please don't. That was an accident. A spectacular one, to be honest, but an accident." It had been one of the first times he had had that much alcohol, and he hadn't realized the effect it would have on him. Which had been a mistake.

Mitch laughed, “Alright, alright, I’ll try my best,” He stuck out his tongue, and the car moved a little and he wasn’t prepared for it and squished his wings beneath his back as he flopped back on it. He visibly winced, but panicked and tried to cover it up with a smile afterwards.

Ari chuckled, then raised an eyebrow slightly. "You alright?" He asked, sitting up straight and looking at Mitch carefully. "Is your back hurt?" His hat had slipped to one side, now lopsided on his head.

"We're here, worry about your back later." Kyo sniffed, parking the car and wrinkling his nose at a swamp like pond. "I hate the water here." He muttered.

“N-No,” Mitch lied and looked away, but he was never a very good liar. His wings still ached since they were so sensitive, and it certainly didn’t help that he hadn’t gotten a chance to stretch them in a while. But how could he tell them they he had wings? The answer: he couldn’t. His mind was already running circles to try to come up with excuses in case they questioned him further.

Ari frowned slightly. Liar… He sighed. "Alright. But if you need help with anything, just let me know." He said, giving Mitch a light smile. He was tempted to add a flirtatious comment to that, but decided against it, unbuckling and getting out of the car.

“Eh, if alcohol can’t fix it I don’t think anything can,” Mitch replied with a slightly forced laugh, unbuckling himself and getting out of the car. Indeed, Mitch decided he’d probably start drinking earlier than planned. He was a lightweight, so he hoped he wouldn’t be too much of a handful.

Ari chuckled. "Mm. Alcohol fixes most things." Even loneliness? A little voice inside him whispered, a tendril of cold winding through his heart. He sighed softly. Especially loneliness. He told himself, looking at the house they had arrived at.

Mitch smiled, then walked up the the front porch. The house was huge, and you could here the music even from the outside. Mitch knocked on the door, and a girl with a red solo cup in hand answered it, “Shorty! I’m so glad you could make it!” She laughed at Mitch’s returning frown, “And you brought friends! Come on in!” She stepped aside to let them into the party, where a couple people where dancing, others were drinking, other drinking and dancing.

Ari rolled his shoulders, a grin already on his face, and followed Mitch. "Shorty?" He asked Mitch. "Huh. Guess I'm not the only one who thinks so." He gave him a teasing smile, grabbing himself a drink and downing half of it in one go.

“Hey!” He grinned and gave Ari a playful shove, then reached over to grab his own drink. He took a hearty gulp, that familiar taste of bliss already helping him feel better. He glanced at the area where a lot of the people had shoved a few couches away and deemed the dance floor, then looked back to Ari. He was about to ask if he wanted to go dance with him, but heavens that would be much too far. Though I wouldn’t say no if he asked me… only if he asked me.

Callista followed behind her friends and got a drink of her own. She caught Mitch's gaze at Ari and grinned to herself, before lightly kicking the back of Mitch's knee. It wouldn't be enough to knock him over, but he'd be forced to take a step forward. "Go have fun, you dorks," she said before stepping towards one of the couches.

Ari smiled back at him, feeling a light tingle from the alcohol he had drunk. Sure, it would take a hell of a lot more to actually get him drunk, but at least there was a little buzz now. He rocked with the push, chuckling. "Someone's very physical today." He teased lightly. He raised an eyebrow at Callista. "I'm not a dork. It's already established, apparently, that i am a man-baby. So pick one, but not both."

She laughed lightly at Ari. "You are a dork, man-baby, and a nerd all at once," she called without turning around. She found an empty seat and relaxed, taking a sip from her drink.

Mitch was taken by surprise and almost spilled his drink as he fell into Ari’s chest. He turned beat red, but couldn’t bring himself to step away too far. He honestly had no idea what to say, and he just stood there -very close- looking up at Ari and biting his lip. Please ask me to dance. Please don’t ask me to dance. Please ask me. Please don’t. Please.

Ari blinked, one arm automatically coming up to steady Mitch. "Would you ah…would you like to dance?" He asked slowly, looking down at the shorter man. God why did I ask?? Isn't there someone sort of unspoken rule against dancing or anything with your roommate? He wondered.

Kyo gave a wicked smirk and patted Aris shoulder, whispering in his ear. "Ask him to dance." He said before winking and heading to the drink table to pour some soda for himself.

Mitch nodded immediately, then added in hopes of not seeming too desperate, “Uh, yeah, sure.” He downed the rest of his drink, welcoming the tingle from it. He glanced away shyly, but only for a second before looking back to Ari. So maybe I could blur the lines a little, but just for tonight.

Ari smiled, looking over at Kyo. "I did." He replied, wrinkling his nose. He smiled at Mitch, and led him out onto the dance floor after setting his drink down. "So. What kind of dance are you best at?" He asked. "Or, which do you want to do? Because I can do traditional Arabian dance, but i don't think you can." He chuckled softly, eyes bright.

Mitch turned a little red, “I have a bit of a confession to make. I- uh- don’t really know much dancing.” Other than just swaying side to side holding someone that he didn’t even have feelings for. Now, he actually had feeling for the person he was dancing with, so dancing actually mattered. Usually by the time he really started dancing, he was too drunk to remember.

Ari laughed softly, white teeth flashing in the lighting. "Alright. We'll just do this." He replied, swaying with Mitch to the music gently. His black, curly hair peeked out from under the cap, laying across his forehead a little.

Mitch blushed even more -curse his traitorous face- and began swaying with Ari. Why did his heart have to be pounding so much? He kept telling himself that this would only last a couple hours and then it’ll all disappear like a dream, but it was harder and harder to remind himself as he gazed into Ari’s eyes.

Callista wandered over to Kyo and gestured to their roommates. "Look at these dorks. I'm so proud." She placed her hand on her chest as if it touched her heart. "But they may have found a loophole around your rule. Technically they're not bringing someone home to fuck if they both live there," she commented. Her face scrunched up a little at the thought. She did not need to hear the sounds her friends made during sex, especially at the same time.

"I stole their keys." Kyo said plainly, taking a sip of the Cola they had poured. "They won't be able to get in." He hummed, smiling softly at the sight of his little human friends. humans are weird, it's so funky how they fall in love. Last time I fell in love, I got my whole world snatched from me.

Ari smiled down at him. Wait…is it breaking the rule if we both live there? He suddenly wondered. He blushed at that thought. No no no no, there's no way that's happening. He just danced with you because you asked, that's all. He told himself.

Mitch wasn’t typically very bold, maybe it was because he already had one drink, but he leaned in a little closer as he swayed with Ari. “So… Arabian dance? Did you grow up in the Middle East?” He asked curiously as he looked up at Ari. Wow he’s really handsome… no, he isn’t. He can’t be, I’m not allowed to think he’s handsome.

Ari blinked. "I uhm…yes. For a while." He replied. He still had a bit of a strange accent from then. Of course, as a Djinn, he knew quite a lot about a lot of things. However, he came from the Middle East. Most Djinn came from what used to be Arabia.

“That’s cool, did you like it there?” He asked softly, smiling up at him. Heavens, here he was, dancing with Ari. Mitch was struggling to keep reminding himself that this -whatever was going on between them right now- would only be for a couple hours. We’re probably just dancing as friends. That’s it, he’s just dancing with me as a friend.