I sat in the dimly lit room with my fellow club members sprawled over the floor. The remaining members, including me, sat in a tight knit circle, enthusiastically playing a game of drunken spin-the-bottle. I watched as my friends stumbled around, laughing uncontrollably.
Before I knew it, the bottle had landed on me. My fellow victim was... 7, a more recent club member whom I share an elective with. I could tell he wasn't feeling too comfortable throughout the night, sticking with one or two people in the corner of the room.
"Hmmm... why don' y'alll hold hands an' giveee each oder a gooood loonng stare~" 0 exclaimed, her words slurred. I smiled at 7 apologetically, and he gave me a pitiful smile back.
As I reached out to take 7's hand, the group started to chant a disjoint countdown from 30. I felt my cheeks start to flush as we locked eyes. My reflexes begged me to tear my eyes away, but for some reason, I couldn't.
"I must be tipsier than I thought..."
Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. 30 seconds felt like minutes. The drunken laughter and loud music became distant background noise as I focused solely on 7's gaze. I couldn't help but notice the slight golden flecks in his crimson eyes and his long eyelashes.
When the minute was up, I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding and we both laughed nervously.
"Ah, your hand..." 7 glanced down to our hands, still intertwined.
I quickly snatched my hand away.
"Sorry, I guess I'm pretty out of it," I muttered, turning away. That must be it. That must be why my heart's still pounding.
As the night went on, I watched as my friends went down one by one, until only 7 and I were left.
"Well, that was something," he slumped onto the couch next to me.
"There's basically no-one I know here but you," he added, sighing. "I can't handle crowds more than three, really."
"I get what you mean," I responded wholeheartedly, shuffling to the left to slightly increase the space between us. 7 sighed, and without warning, leaned his head against my shoulder.
"I just prefer the two of us," I heard him mumble.
My body grew stiff. "I can't just push him off, can I?" I thought. My heart was ready to burst, and it felt like the whole room could hear. "U-uh, 7..." I stammered, until I realised he wasn't responding. His breathing slow and rhythmic; he had fallen asleep, just like that. I stared at him, speechless.
"It's a force of habit... and I must've drank too much."
and then Add to home screen.