(this even takes place in the past)

His body stiffened as he got closer to the house. His wish to leave rose in pace with the volume of the music. After the last party, Daniel had promised himself; no more. But here he was, at the same fucking house as last time. Emily’s house was literally bursting of people. Outside there were small crowds of people drinking, having a smoke, or making out. There were people on the roof whom were way too drunk to be up there. Daniel fought the urge to pull up his hood as he made his way through the mass of people and towards the front door. He was happy to see that it wasn’t too many people inside. He scanned the room quickly, but couldn’t find Noah. He looked again and cursed when he couldn’t see him. Noah was the only reason he was here in the first place. What was the point of being here if Noah wasn’t? He made his way deeper into the house, pushing past drunken people who grunted offended. He gave them a glare, and they backed off with a shrug, or an eye roll. He got to the kitchen, and felt his heart sink when he realized that Noah wasn’t here either. Emily’s house was too big, and there were too many people for Daniel to check every single corner. The smart thing, he thought, would be to just leave. He had made an effort and he felt quite proud of himself. No one would blame him for bailing now, no one even wanted him here, except from Noah. Instead of leaving, as he should be doing, he leaned against the kitchen counter and pulled up his phone. As he waited for Noah to answer, he took a sip of a red cup that stood besides him. He wrinkled his nose and grimaced as the taste of alcohol burned in his throat, and took another sip. When he got to Noah’s voicemail, he hung up. He hadn’t expected him to pick up, it would be impossible to hear the phone over the music. Daniel took another sip of the cup before putting it down where he found it and exited the kitchen.

He would have to walk through the living room again to get to the front door, as he now was determined to leave this party and go home. There were too many people around him for him to keep track of his surroundings, and he was unable to see the hand grabbing him from the side and dragging him into a corridor. He stumbled back a few steps before finding his balance. As he looked up he rolled his eyes when he saw who was blocking the way.

“Get the hell out of my way, Sebastian”, Daniel said, and tried to move past him. Sebastian easily pushed him back and took a step forward.

“Or what, loser”, Sebastian said as he pushed Daniel in the chest. Daniel had to take a few steps back, and he felt his heart pick up the pace. Four of Sebastian’s friends came up behind him and blocked the way completely. He looked behind him and cursed as he saw it ended in a wall, which meant he was trapped. There was no one else around, and even if it was, there was no way anyone was going to help him. He knew he could take down Sebastian – on a good day, probably – but he was clearly drunk, which made him even more unpredictable. There was also no way he would be able to take down five guys, all of them which was bigger than him. He tried once more to get past Sebastian. He wanted to get the hell out of there before it turned into a fight, but he was once more pushed back. Before he knew of it, he got a fist right in the nose. He bent over, his hand reaching for his nose. He cursed under his breath as it came back red. He glared at Sebastian who had a dark smirk on his face.

“What are you going to do, huh?” Sebastian mocked.

Daniel tried to keep an as neutral expression as possible as he stared at him.

“Are you going to cry, like the faggot you are?”

Daniel couldn’t help the flinch at the word faggot, and he knew Sebastian noticed it as his smirk grew bigger. He let out a chuckle.

“You think we couldn’t notice? Your little crush on poor, poor, Noah? The way you follow him around like a lost puppy?”

Daniel felt panic rise inside him. There was no way they could know. They couldn’t. But they did. How?

“What do you think would happened if he knew, huh? If he knew just how disgusting, you are? That his so-called best friend is a fucking fag. Do you think he would still be your friend? Or do you think he would do to you, what we are going to do now?”

Daniel couldn’t help himself from taking a step back. He clenched and un-clenched his fists. He felt his heart race and he gasped for air. He felt tears pushing behind his eyes and fought them back. He felt his body turning in on himself, his shoulders slouching forward and his body shrinking as he backed up. He had fought Sebastian many times before. They had always been bickering and getting into fights, but he had never seen him like this. Sebastian moved forward, his body towering. There was nothing but hatred in his eyes, his face turned into a sickening grin as he let out a laugh. Daniel felt pure fear as he kept backing up until his back hit the wall. His chest was pounding, and he felt like someone was squeezing his lungs, making it impossible for him to take a breath. He should be calling for help, do anything, but he couldn’t make a single noise. His body was frozen as he watched Sebastian and his friends get closer. He couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything as Sebastian rose his arm. Sebastian’s arm stopped mid-air as they heard shouting behind them. As he looked past Sebastian, Daniel could see a blond head bolting down the corridor. He could recognize that head anywhere, and his stomach turned. He watched as Noah pushed through the human barricade and dragged Sebastian away as he shouted at them. He watched Sebastian and his gang dissolve and flee the scene and Noah turned his eyes to Daniel.

“Are you okay?” He asked concerned. “What was that all about?”

Daniel couldn’t look at him.

“I’m fine”, he said as he pushed past Noah. “I don’t need your help”, he said with his back to Noah. He slipped through the mass of people in the living room, tears blurring his vision. He bolted into the nearest room and slammed the door close behind him.

He knew he probably should be thankful that Noah interfered. He had saved him, after all, but instead he felt anger rise inside him. Daniel was mad. Of course, he was mad. He was infuriated. And he knew the anger wasn’t validated. He knew he was just mad at himself and that it technically wasn’t Noah’s fault, but god dammit! It felt as if fire was running through his veins. He breathed deeply three times. It didn’t do anything.