An Hour Later

Lucas is having more fun at Rory's party than Joshua.

They've barely been here for an hour and Joshua is already on the verge of calling it quits and going home.

After Rory gave a quick tour of the house, he quickly fell back into the heart of the party and Joshua hasn't seen him since. As for Lucas, he’s been living his best life tonight. He's currently posted up in a corner making out with some guy that he met no less than twenty minutes ago. Joshua, on the other hand, sits alone on a couch with a beer in his hand, looking every bit sad and pitiful.

Joshua finishes his second beer of the night and then places the empty can on the messy coffee table in front of him. Joshua has never been much of a drinker, but he thought that drinking a little bit of something would help calm his nerves, make him feel more confident like how everyone else around him seemed to be.

Instead, the alcohol has no effect on him whatsoever.

The loud music playing has become annoying to listen to. The people standing around him are too close for comfort and he's on the verge of catching a headache because of all the overwhelming smells currently polluting the air. Joshua's endurance for this party is dropping at a fast rate and he can only take so much more before his patience completely runs out.

Why can't I be normal like everyone else? Why can't any of this be fun for me? Joshua wonders while looking around at all the smiling faces of strangers he'll never see again.

Joshua hates how he is having such a tough time right now when what he should be having is fun. He hates that he can't be more outgoing and sociable like Lucas and Tamia. Unfortunately, this scene just isn't for him and he knew that from the beginning when Rory had asked if he wanted to come to the party. Joshua knew this party would force him out of his comfort zone, but still he came anyway. Not for the free food or free booze.

Joshua came for Rory…a boy that he’s only seen once since he got here. 

After a couple crashes next to Joshua on the couch, he sighs in aggravation and hops up to take a walk. Joshua pushes his way through the thick crowd, headed for the stairs. While doing so, Joshua suddenly remembers that Rory had mentioned something earlier about not allowing company on the second floor. He's tempted to turn around and go back to the party, but ultimately decides against it, the need to have just a few moments of silence outweighing the need to respect Rory's wishes.

"Damn it!" The second floor must be where Rory keeps all his equipment because every room appears to be locked. Joshua sighs in frustration, finally giving in to the desire to give up and go home. Joshua turns around a bit too fast and loses his balance. He falls but never hits the ground because someone catches him just in time.

"What are you doing up here?" Rory asks after Joshua regains his balance.

“Uh, the bathroom,” Joshua lies. “There was a line for the one downstairs, and I didn’t know where else to go, so…”

“Gotcha. It's no problem. You can use the one in my bedroom. I came up here to change shirts anyway." Rory points to a huge wet spot on his shirt where someone had accidentally spilled their drink on him. "Follow me."

"O-Okay," Joshua stammers, doing as he’s told.