Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 20: Touch

When Joe had said he wanted to have the party of his lifetime, he wasn't kidding.

Around eleven, when Grace was already heading her way to pick everyone up and drive them back to home, a motionless, blacked-out drunk Joe laid on the lawn of Troye's backyard under a bush, where he had barfed to hell and beyond. To say Caspar was freaking out was an understatement, and Lilly and Connor were both very much sick of trying to get their short friend to stand up on his own two feet. Everybody else was gone, and Alexis, Mikey, Tyde and Luke watched as their elders did their best to attend the birthday boy. And failing. Miserably.

Connor had already accepted that it was pretty much a lost cause; Joe's dead weight proving to be more than what it looked. But for Lilly's sake, who kept insisting they had to help him, he remained put.

-"I wasn't really expecting this..."—Connor said, as he tried to move Joe away from his puddle of puke—"... Should I be surprised?"

-"Actually yes!"—Lilly said with a sarcastic note to her voice tone—"I guess little Sugg wasn't kidding when he said his sister's boyfriend had taken him clubbing in the UK... I guess he got the wrong impression from the whole idea..."

-"We are so screwed..."—Caspar said, shaking his head whilst sitting on the lawn, completely given up on life—"I'm supposed to sleep over at his place tonight, too... his dad is going to kill him. He's then going to kill me for letting this happen..."

-"Awe, dammit Caspar!"—Lilly snapped—"Stop whining and help us out with this—whatever this is!"

-"What's the point? We might as well dig up a pit for the body."

Caspar's humor wasn't being well accepted.

-"Look!"—Alexis called out—"There comes Troye!"

As Alexis had observed, Troye was effectively heading their way back from the kitchen, clearly annoyed with the entire ordeal, taken from his red cheeks and clenched up nose. It was either that or he was having a severe allergic reaction.

-"This bloody drongo... He is SO DEAD!"—Troye whispered-yelled, as he brought another bin of warm water—"Move his head so that I can see him!"

-"Geez, ok doc..."—Lilly said, rolling her eyes and obliging—"You don't have to go all Australian slang on us..."

Lilly and Connor made way for Troye to kneel down besides Joe, who was grunting in his semi-sleep. Connor watched how with avid hands he drenched a rag in the bowl of water and cleaned up Joe's face, positioning it so that he wouldn't choke.

-"You sure you know what you're doing?"—Connor asked naïvely.

-"Well, our dad's a doctor..."—Tyde murmured shyly—"So, we know the basics of first aid stuff..."

-"Which means that yes, I know what I'm doing."—Troye said, clearly annoyed, and then exhaling in exhaustion—"Tyde do me a favor and fetch me a glass of faucet water? Make it a plastic vase I don't wanna break anything..."

Tyde nodded, turning on his heels and heading back into the house. As he did, Troye's phone started ringing.

-"Ugh, what now...!?"—Troye complained, picking out his phone and seeing that the caller was Lia.

Instead of answering right away, Troye's factions changed from those of 'annoyed' to 'I'm so fucking done.' Connor thought it was funny, but Lilly just shook her head in disappointment.

-"You know what? I got it."—she said, taking the phone away from Troye and answering herself instead—"Sup Johnson? Yes of course it's Lilly, who else did you expect? Mother Teresa? ... No he can't talk right now. Because he's taking care of Joe. Yeah, you heard that right... Yes, Lia, yes of course I'm lying to you, I'm actually covering for Troye who is currently making out with a D-cupped Victoria's Secret model he was secretly hiding inside his bathroom cabinet. Yeah, listen, it's pretty effing late? And I'm sure your boy here will call you tomorrow? You know, like normal human beings do? I'll send him your regards. Good luck in hell. Hate you too."