(yes another ao'nung pov so soon idc i love writing him it comes so naturally to me somehow. it's fine.)
It was Saturday night. Ao'nung was with his friends. Not his sister. Not even Rotxo. He had told himself he should go spend time with them, because it was the right thing to do. He knew they would get suspicious if he spent too much time around Neteyam - someone he just met a few weeks ago, someone so different from how Ao'nung was. Or, at least how his friends thought he was. The longer he was with them, though, the more embarrassed he was. Ao'nung sat in silence on the floor, observing. He was watching Oliver try to smoke one of Jack's father's cigars. Leo kept handing Ao'nung drinks, and he drank them quickly, in an effort to enjoy their company. He seemed to have outgrown the part of himself that could enjoy something so mundane and idiotic. There was no real humor or fun, just stupidity and unfunny statements. Oli was talking about some girl from a few towns over. Ao'nung wished he would just shut up. He was so sick of this. He wanted to go home. He couldn't remember why he decided to do this. The more he drank, the harder it became to find the filter that kept his real thoughts from slipping from his mouth. Their jokes hadn't changed since middle school. They hadn't changed at all. It was sick. He grabbed for his phone, fingers slightly clumsier than usual.
teyam:
(ao) hi
(teyam) hi
(ao) hi
(teyam) hi
(ao) how's your nose?
(teyam) It's okay (teyam) A little swollen, but Kiri says it's only crooked from the side
(ao) i'm really really sorry (ao) i'll pay for surgery to fix it if you want me to.
(teyam) What (teyam) No (teyam) I don't care what my nose looks like and it's not bad enough to make it hard to breathe
(ao) r u sure
(teyam) Yes
(ao) ok (ao) that's good
He sighed, shutting his phone off. "Poor boy," he whispered, shaking his head. "What?" Oliver asked, glancing up from his cigar. He coughed like a child as he did so. "My students know to cover their mouths when they cough," he mumbled, glaring at him. "What?" he repeated, blinking at him. "If you can't handle what you're smoking, at least don't open-mouth gag like a toddler," he hissed, unable to hold his words back. "Hey man, it's okay," Jack said, giving Ao'nung a confused and worried look. "It's super fucking annoying, actually. Are you not annoyed by him? By both of them? By yourself?" Jack clenched his jaw. "No, I'm not. You shouldn't be, either. We're just having fun." Ao'nung scoffed. "Oh, yeah, another wasted night getting drunk and high off of your poor parent's things. Oli should disappear to go fuck some random girl he doesn't even know in about," he checked his phone. 8 pm. "Two hours, maybe. Leo will drink so much he throws up in about 3 and a half. You'll end up cleaning his mess while I sit here and do what?" Ao'nung held his hands up in front of him. "This is just boring, man. You guys suck. Like, actually."
The three of them looked at him in horror. He didn't care. He couldn't care less what they thought. He thought Oliver was about to yell at him, but he grinned. "Here, drink this," he said, tossing a clear glass bottle to him. Ao'nung opened the lid and sniffed it, recoiling instantly. "This smells like nail polish remover and bad breath," he muttered, eyes watering. "Yeah, tastes like it too. Drink all of it. Now." Ao'nung shook his head in dismay, pinching his nose and taking a long sip. His vision sparkled as he blinked. He felt it burn all the way down to his stomach, nearly spitting it back up. He kept it down, gasping for a breath. "What the fuck is that?" he demanded, looking at Oliver in disgust. "A mix of every single thing in my parent's cabinet," Jack explained, grinning. "Fuck you, man," Ao'nung coughed, covering his mouth with both hands to hide his deep frown.
Ao'nung was leaned against the tv stand in Jack's basement, staring at the three of them playing some stupid game. Their reactions were slow and sluggish. Ao'nung's vision was spinning and all he could focus on was blinking. He watched Oliver check his phone and get to his feet, stumbling up the stairs. He returned with some girl, with long brown curls and hazel eyes. Ao'nung seemed to be the only one phased by it. "Hey, Ao," he called, pointing at her. "Doesn't she look like Tsireya?" Ao'nung thought he misheard. Surely Oli wasn't that stupid. "What?" he asked, attempting to get to his feet. "She looks like your sister. At least, she does where it counts." Jack's jaw dropped. "Shut up, Oli," he hissed, looking between Oliver and Ao'nung nervously. "You sick little-" "Oh, shut up," Oliver scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "Just shut up. What makes you any better?" Ao'nung's tongue felt heavy in his mouth. He blinked hard, trying to clear his head. "Well, for starters, I wouldn't tell the girl I was with how much she looks like my friend's little sister." Oli blinked. "Why?" "Because, idiot, it's weird, it's creepy, and it probably hurts her feelings." "Aw," the girl whispered, gazing up at Ao'nung with wide eyes.
Oliver watched her posture subconsciously lean towards Ao'nung. Jealousy flashed across his face. "Well, Ao, I'm going to go take her into the other room." He grinned. "Try not to think about how much she looks like your sister when I do." "Oliver, jesus fuck, don't make him mad," Jack shouted, eyes angry. "I don't care if he's mad. He's too drunk to do anything to me, anyways." Leo shook his head, eyes wide. Oliver grinned and led her out of the room by the hand. She trailed after him, looking back over her shoulder at Ao'nung. No. Absolutely not. He quickly walked over to them, opening the door Oliver had slammed behind himself. She looked up at him in surprise. He beckoned with his head, not looking at Oli. He wasn't worth it. She scrambled to her feet, following Ao'nung out of the house. In the driveway, he handed her his phone. "Uber," he grunted, knowing he was too drunk to drive her anywhere. She hesitated. "Unless you want to fuck him," Ao'nung said bluntly, gesturing to the house. She shook her head and grabbed Ao'nung's phone. She didn't look like Tsireya past the hair, but the hurt in her eyes certainly reminded him of her. Ao'nung waited with her for her ride to come, not speaking. "Thank you," she whispered, looking up at him. "Mhm," he nodded, pursing his lips. She for in the car, rolling down the window and waving as they drove off.
Ao'nung knew what he wanted to do now. He knew what he wanted, who he wanted to see. In that moment, he came to the decision to stop referring to those boys as his friends. They weren't. They were embarrassing reminders of how immature and obnoxious he used to be. He felt as if he hadn't been on their level in many, many years. Ao'nung got out his phone and called Neteyam, begging him to come pick him up.
After an hour of sitting on Jack's driveway in the dark, waiting, the headlights of Neteyam's car appeared at the end of the road. Ao'nung jumped to his feet, laughing in excitement. He barely waited for Neteyam's car to stop before he opened the passenger side door, diving into Neteyam's lap. He ignored the armrest knocking the air out of his lungs. He didn't care. His vision was spinning as Neteyam reached over and shut the door behind him. "Put your seatbelt on," Neteyam whispered, gently removing Ao'nung's arms from around his waist. "No," he grumbled, shaking his head. "No, I won't."
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