College Daze

3

The reunion party signifying the start of the new school year was notoriously more wild than the end-of-year celebration. Students flocked to the Uni campus from other colleges all over the county. Most of the campus would be flooded with people having the time of their lives. It was surely a night to remember, and one Irwin seemed to have somehow forgotten.

He'd spent the night throwing back shots and chugging beers with the boys, throwing their hands up and cheering to the reunion of the fraternity. He stumbled around house proudly, as he and Pez had worked to make it into a real home over the summer. They'd cleaned every surface - as it was desperately necessary - hung some posters, tacked up the typical nude calendar in the kitchen, and even bought a new coffee maker. He was happy to live here, but recalled that with the return of the frat boys, he'd lost the room he'd lived in over the summer. He'd decided that the new couch Pez had brought in only a couple months back would do well enough. After all, it was perfectly plush and looked quite supportive for his back.

"3...2...1...DRINK!" voices rang out in the kitchen, followed by everyone throwing their heads back for another shot. Irwin chuckled, and downed the rest of his beer. 'Nice to see things back to normal' he made his way upstairs to the bathroom.

To his surprise, he'd mistakenly opened the door to a bedroom and came face to face with a couple tangled in themselves under a blanket. They looked at him with dazed expressions.

"Whoops, sorry 'bout that!" he snickered as he backed out of the room. The door clicked shut and he made his way to the bathroom properly.

The bright light scorched his already blurred vision, forcing him to squint while standing before the toilet. As he relieved his bladder, the images of that couple pulsed in his mind. 'How cute...' he tried to convince himself he wasn't jealous.

By the time Irwin had left the bathroom, his mood had shifted. It seemed that every couple he passed by were making out only to spite him, and he was finding himself distressed. He snagged a liquor bottle & staggered through the house. Next he knew, he was standing out on the front lawn, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. It felt like the kissing kids from Secondary School were coming back to haunt the hallways of his brain.

"Fuck man," he slurred, "noone even notices me." He swayed as he slipped a cigarette between his lips & struggled to light it. The flame of the lighter danced wildly in multiples in Irwin's eyes. The edges of his world waned to black as the alcohol consumed him.

He went on to take another swig anyways. "I just want a love like that... is that too fucking much to ask?" he breathed heavily as he took tipped the bottle up to his lips. "That fiery, passionate shit."

Irwin drifted across campus, weaving & dodging people the best he could. He just wanted to be alone now. He collapsed onto a bench in the courtyard, just in front of the signature campus fountain. Breathing a final sigh of relief, he closed his eyes and took another mouthful of liquor. He attempted to steady his shaky breathing, when a shadow darkened the world behind his closed eyes further. A hand rested gently on his shoulder, and he pulled himself up to look at the person before him.

"Hey," a silhouette towered over him, "got room for one more?"

"Uh, yeah man. Have a seat." Irwin managed to shift over on the bench, allowing the shadowy figure room to sit beside him.

"Hell of a party, huh?"

Irwin tried hard to collect his intoxicated thoughts as light washed over the figure before him. He was suddenly stricken by the features before him. Sparkling oceanic eyes, light lips, curved into a nervous smile. 'My god' he swallowed hard, as his heart pounded against his chest.

He choked a bit, before forcing a "Yeah, great party"

The figure's head dropped a bit, "Sorry if I'm bothering you, I just wanted a place to escape the noise for a while. Party's, while great, aren't really my thing."

Irwin instinctually reached out and placed his hand tenderly on the man's thigh. The denim beneath his fingers was softer than he'd expected, and he couldn't help but remark it silently to himself. He'd thought that guys usually wore rougher jeans.

"No, you're not a bother!" Irwin ran a nervous hand through his golden hair. "I know a good place to go, if you wanna get out of here. It's not far." he continued, with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, I'd like that." And with that, they were up and off. "My name's Barry, by the way."

"Irwin...it's nice to meet you, Barry." a shy smile painted on his lips.