“Instead of the rave, you want to go listen to the hill billies?” Roma groaned. “I hate country music.”

“It’s not country music. And you don’t hate it. You liked Clare Bowen.”

Roma stared at him blankly.

“’This town’.” Aiden added, “It was on Nashville.”

“Oh now I gotcha.” She nodded. “but no, still not going.”

“They’re a good band.” He turned over his pamphlet. He’d circled the performances he’d wanted to see and discovered that there was an alternative to the rave tonight. A series of bands would be doing a ‘laid-back’ performance on the stage to give everyone a taste of what was to come tomorrow.

“I’m up for watching some bands instead of the rave.” Connor sat at the table next to him and picked up his leaflet, looking at all the people he’d circled. “Wow. It’s like you went out of your way to highlight everyone I don’t know.”

“You don’t know Two Cellos? The Acagirls? Lindsey Sterling? I really want to see her.” Aiden murmured. She played the violin, and she was awesome. Every song she’d played -original or cover- Aiden had listened to. He needed to see her live.

“She’s playing at the same time as Ed Sheeran.” Connor pointed out.

“He’d be rubbish live anyway.”

There was a collective gasp from everyone in the tent. They all looked offended. Aiden snorted. “Babies.”

“Rubbish and Ed Sheeran don’t go in the same sentence together.” Lucas scoffed, joining them at the table. Hugh sat down between Lucas and Connor.

“He’ll only have the guitar, it won’t be nearly as good live as bands. The main draw for him is his voice, and he can’t nail that live every time.” Aiden argued, for some reason enjoying that they were all equally offended by him. It was the truth, though. Sheeran was okay, but far from Aiden’s favourite.

“I’m rethinking our friendship.” Connor said wryly.

Roma rubbed his shoulder like he had a terminal illness, and was to be pitied.

“You’re crossing the line.” Lucas said seriously.

For the first time since those words-that-shall-not-be-named had left Lucas’s mouth, Aiden found himself able to smile at him. “Oh yeah?”

“We can sort the performances out later” Roma said suddenly and forcefully, jerking Aiden’s attention back to her. Her eyes were narrowed at him, and he frowned back. Was she really that mad about him not liking Ed Sheeran? No. She already knew that. Possibly the fact he was sharing their schedule with everyone. “For now, we’re going to the showers to get changed for tonight.”

“Right.” The guilt came back. Ditching everyone.

“We can do a mix, can’t we?” Lucas suggested. “Hill billies first and then rave later. There’s loads of bars set up to help people get through the Camp Rock Cringe.”

“Why don’t all of you go to the rave and I’ll go sing Old McDonald with the hill billies?” Aiden suggested.

Lucas snorted.

“The bar doesn’t do much good for us.”

“Hugh’s over eighteen.” Lucas said immediately.

Roma looked at him with something other than contempt for the first time that night.

“You don’t mind getting us drinks?” Connor sounded surprised.

Hugh shrugged, eyes flicking to Lucas. “It’s fine.”

“Plan sorted?” Lucas checked them all for agreement. “Let’s go then.”

*

Roma was persuaded not to abandon everyone with Hugh’s offer to buy drinks, and Aiden was kind of glad. Or a little drunk. Not on alcohol – a little bit on alcohol – but also on the atmosphere. The volume of people at the bands was something he’d never seen before, but once you got into it, it didn’t matter that you were surrounded by an army. Aiden kind of liked the feeling of hot bodies pressing in on him from every angle. Possibly because one of those bodies was Lucas.

“I need a drink.” Roma stopped dancing long enough to down her plastic cup. “Hugh!” She leapt on him, tearing him away from a pair of hippie-dressed girls with long blonde curls and golden tans that actually looked real. “Bar.” She ordered, dragging him with her.

Aiden watched, noticing that he didn’t seem to mind.

“What – ah shit.” Lucas cursed, breaking away from his dance partners, a boy with black spiked hair and two girls – one with a black bun tightly bound to her head, and the other with red hair curled over her shoulder. Everyone had a lot of skin showing. “I have the money – I need to follow them, don’t split up!”

With that he was lost in the crowd.

Aiden stood there suddenly along, before realising Connor was a few feet in front of him, also looking dazed by everyone’s departure.

Aiden downed his vodka, spilling some over his lips with a cough, and crumpled up the plastic cup. He shoved it into Connor’s pocket as the next song started.

“Thanks.” Connor said wryly.

“Cause you’re trash.”

Connor turned to him fully, his lips quirking up. He put his arm over his shoulder and brought the rim of his cups to Aiden’s lips. It was not a still enough place for it to work without it getting spilled down Aiden’s chin.

“Remember when we were camping and you told me to slow down?” Connor’s breath smelt like beer and peppermint and his body was like a radiator shooting off heat.

“Yeah.”

“That’s where you are now, but you’re going to keep going.”

“Why?” Aiden was all for keeping going. He was happy. He was enjoying himself. He wasn’t hung up on anything right now, and it felt great.

“Because.” Connor shrugged. “Everyone’s getting along now. It’s fun.”

“You want me to get drunk, so I don’t fight with Hugh?”

“You’ve stopped giving Lucas the cold shoulder.”

“No I haven’t.”

“So you are mad at him.”

Aiden hesitated. Was there a reason to hide that he was mad at Lucas? Maybe because of the whole getting dumped thing. No – he pushed that thought away and titled his head back, gulping down the rest of Connor’s drink. He wasn’t dumped. They were testing the waters. Lucas wanted to build trust.

“How sweet.” Aiden muttered shoving the second plastic cup into Connor’s pocket.

“Uh huh.” Connor raised an eyebrow. “Very mad at him.”

“Let’s just dance.”

Connor agreed, and that’s what they did.

Aiden’s head swam. He was overwhelmed by the throbbing music and bouncing bodies, and dimly he realised that it wasn’t bands playing anymore, it was techno beats instead. It reminded him of the deafening music played at Electric, the nightclub in the city that was lax enough to allow students past the bowsers.

He’d snuck in with Roma once at the end of last summer. He’d finally agreed after losing weight, and it hadn’t been an experience he enjoyed. This was a lot better. Probably because there was no awkward seeking out of a dance partner, when his was already holding his hips.

“We’re being checked out.” Connor had to speak against his ear to be heard.

“Oh yeah?” Aiden glanced idly around. A few gazes were directed at them. Some surprised. Some curious. Some fascinated. One girl gave Aiden a thumbs up. “Oh.” Right. Two guys dancing together as closely as they were, was bound to draw attention.

Aiden wondered what Lucas would think, but a breath against his ear where Connor had just been distracted him. “Mind if I join?” It was an English accent with a deep husk to it. He craned his head back, and the guy chuckled.

“Here.” He caught Aiden’s hand, and looped it over his head to spin him around. Connor helped with the turning, so Aiden got the feeling he wasn’t objecting to the dance partner. The boy was an inch or two taller than Aiden and had white blonde hair, which stood out against his caramel coloured skin.

“Well?” The boy asked after Aiden had checked him out. He had on a confident grin, and his grey gaze seemed to sparkle. “Do I pass?”

Cocky.

Aiden made a point of looking him over. Connor edged them closer. “Yes.” he murmured.

The guy grinned at Connor, and his fingers skimmed down the outside of Connor’s arm, the one around Aiden’s side. Aiden felt Connor shiver.

“And do I meet your standards?” He asked with a teasing smile, one that implied he was fully aware he did meet anyone’s standards.

“Can you dance?” Aiden asked levelly, stoically resisting his charms.

The guy’s cocky smile faltered minutely, and Connor pinched Aiden’s side.

Aiden gave in to Connor’s pressure, and they were suddenly a trio of dancers. He was uncertain how he felt being so close to a stranger, but Connor seemed to like it. The boy at his back hummed. It wasn’t ‘like’ Aiden decided, it was excitement.

“I can dance.” The boy declared boldly. He pushed back against Aiden, sandwiching him between the two.

Aiden could barely move, let alone dance. Immediately he started to sweat. Hot bodies pressed and rubbed against him, and even hotter breaths made his exposed skin burn.

The guy gripped some part of Connor, who grunted, and jerked forwards, shoving Aiden into the guy’s chest. He stifled a groan as parts rubbed together.

There was more grinding than dancing going on. Aiden stopped fighting for his own balance, and just left it to the other two, since they clearly knew what they were doing. He turned his face to the side, trying to find a patch of air that could cool his lungs, and he spotted a green pair of eyes staring at him.

That moment made Aiden realise how little control he had over his body, because his insides went haywire, but for all the tension inside him, not a single muscle even flinched.

Lucas met his gaze.

Aiden didn’t stop freaking out, but the guilt didn’t surface. Lucas didn’t look upset. In fact, he looked the opposite of upset. His shoulders were heaving. His cheeks were red. His hand was clenched against the inside of his thigh. And his eyes were blazing. Transfixed on what was happening in front of him. Lucas was turned on.

Aiden noticed other people watching, but none looked as eager as Lucas did.

With Lucas watching, everything felt more intense; every touch made his skin spark, every breath was hotter, and the way they were moving made his body quake.

He slipped his hands around the stranger’s chest, looping his hands around his lower back, and pulled him forwards in a way much more deliberate than before. The stranger groaned, and Aiden kissed the exposed throat in front of him. He kept his eyes fixed on Lucas. Lucas kept his eyes them, his eyes darting around and taking in every detail.

The stranger did something that made Connor’s breath shudder out of him, and they both rolled their hips forward in quick jerks. Aiden’s chest was constricted, but when he saw Lucas’s hand on the front of his trousers, he muted any complaint.

“Right there.” The boy pressed his head against Connor’s shoulder, and panted into Aiden’s ear. “There’s perfect.” He groaned the same series of words over and over, until he moaned, shuddered, and then panted again. “Fuck.”

Aiden felt sweaty and uncomfortable.

The boy straightened, his gaze hooded as he looked between him and Connor. “Come back to my tent?”