IT'S A FOCUS

lucian huffed a breath through his nose, the sound flat even as charles' weight settled on him, limbs sloppy and almost hitting lucian in the face. he wasn't drunk enough for this and reached for his drink to remedy that immediately. "jesus, charles." voice low and dry, one eyebrow already up in practiced irritation. his hand came up anyways, fingers brushing their wrist to push their hand down. "you're already slurring my name. how much more fun you want?" but the growing smirk on his lips said another story.

“mhmmmm,” charles said slowly, dragging the sound out. “but you like me being a menace, i knoooow it.” he had to, right? otherwise, why would the two of them keep finding their way back into each other’s orbit? that was what charles told themself, anyway, because it was easier than thinking too hard about it. easier than thinking about how much fun they wanted, which was really just enough to forget about all the shit happening in their personal life, all the ugly little things they kept shoved behind a locked door and pretended didn’t exist. their grin turned wicked the second lucian produced exactly what they wanted, eyes bright as they looked him over. then, like he was asking for something as casual as a lighter, charles tilted his head and asked, “you gonna let me do a line off your stomach?”

charles was used to nice parties.  nice parties full of people who didn’t give a single fuck about anything or anyone in the room, no matter how politely they smiled over champagne flutes. it was tiring. growing up with old money meant charles was used to suits and expensive dresses, to people sticking their noses up at shit that didn’t matter, to playing nice with everyone their grandmother would’ve approved of. their dad had tried to instill a little more kindness in his heart, and maybe some of it had taken, but still. charles knew how to move through rooms like this. knew how to smile, how to flirt, how to look untouchable. so, whatever the context, he knew a nice party. what they weren’t used to was the feeling of teagan’s fingers tangled at the nape of their neck, looking up at them with darkened eyes while they were supposed to be just dancing. charles hummed, smile curving when teagan leaned closer, like that closeness hadn’t already done something terrible to their pulse.  “you wanna get away that bad, huh, baby?” he asked, voice low and teasing even as his heart raced in his chest. “you don’t think anyone’s gonna miss us?” they were teasing, of course, because it was easier than admitting they wanted nothing more than to hear those begging sounds in a very different context.

charles never apologized. that was the thing. if they upset someone, who fucking cared? life wasn’t fair. life was mean. he’d learned that lesson early, and he’d been more than happy to pass it along to anyone who didn’t matter. but the problem was, teagan kind of mattered. teagan kind of mattered a lot, actually, and charles hated how badly that complicated things.  he was fucking annoying and obnoxious, sure, but he was funny. he made charles laugh, made them feel seen in a way that had nothing to do with cash or status or whatever else people usually wanted from them. and now that they actually had a chance to talk, charles was stuck with the horrible realization that they really fucking liked him. “i didn’t, actually,” he said quietly, biting the inside of his cheek like that might keep the rest of the words from spilling out too fast. “i – i didn’t mean any of that.” they groaned, carding a hand through their hair, visibly uncomfortable with the whole concept of sincerity. what the fuck were they supposed to do? be honest about their feelings? apparently. “come on, baby,” he said, lower lip jutting into a pout that was half-deflection, half-plea. “i’m sorry.”

oh, they really liked the way they could see him swallow, like charles was making him nervous. it made something sick and mischievous burn low in their stomach, and they could’ve giggled from the delight of it if they weren’t so busy pretending to be composed. instead, he pressed closer, shrinking the space between them until it was almost impossible to breathe around. “you think talking’ll jog your memory?” they asked, voice low and taunting. his grin spread slowly, sharp at the edges. “yeah? don’t you think kissing me might help more?” a beat passed, and then charles laughed, warm and mean and entirely too pleased with themself. “as for playing hard to get, i think you just like pissing me off.” which, well – that part was certainly true.

he's a sucker, really. a sucker with no restraint, apparently, as he seemed to crumble under charles' look and touch. that's all it took - a bat of eyelashes here, a lingering hand there and chase was a goner.

something self-satisfied bloomed in charles’ chest when they saw the way chase’s cheeks went red, and they kept their head tilted, eyes narrowing slightly, openly delighted. “you’re so cute when you get all fuckin’ red,” he said, voice warm and teasing as his hand moved from chase’s cheek to just under his chin. he pressed there gently, giving his face the tiniest little shake like he couldn’t help himself. “so cute.” then charles took a step back and crossed their arms, letting their lower lip jut out in an exaggerated pout. “don’t tell me you’re not gonna let me pay?” their nose scrunched, like the very idea offended them. “c’mon, baby, i think you should let me take care of you.” they leaned back into chase’s space again, clearly chasing more of that warmth spreading across his cheeks. “anywhere you want.”

felix grinned over the table, "nervous?" he repeated, brow lifting as his gaze dragged slowly from the cup arrangement to their face. "no. confused? maybe. i thought you were supposed to be good at this." he knew exactly what charles was trying to do. trying to flirt until felix was thrown off his game and inevitably missed. it almost worked, which was annoying enough that felix immediately decided that had to be someone else's problem. felix's mouth curved into a slow smile. "don't worry though. i know why you need to talk so much."

oh. piece of shit. their fingers twitched as they stared at felix, humming under their breath in annoyance. stupid boy. and he was hot, too, which somehow made it even worse. charles didn’t say anything when the ball landed in the cup. they simply plucked it out and lifted the drink.  sure, not everyone actually drank whatever had been poured into the cups, but charles threw parties to get fucked up and stupid. so, they stared at felix over the rim of the solo cup and downed it, eyes narrowed the entire time. the cup crumpled in their hand afterward, the only real indication of just how annoyed they were. someone beside them laughed, and charles tilted their head. “i think it’s more fun if we get naked.” they peeled off the first layer of clothing, leaving the tank top underneath. the shrug dropped to the floor before charles took their shot, sending the ball neatly into the cup. their grin widened. “okay. take something off.” a beat. “unless you’re a fuckin’ pussy. or you’re ugly. i don’t know. can’t relate.”