Metanoia |BxB|

Chapter Five

(Spencer Pictured)

JASPER:

Fall has settled heavily over the city by the time mid-september comes around. The leaves have started changing colors almost completely, and the Caf houses pumpkin flavors during every meal, and Jasper feels content with the way the weather has begun to cool, leaving him comfy in his sweaters rather than stifled.

However, due to the quickly dropping degrees, the level of house parties has risen higher than ever, and the amount of nights that Diana tries to convince them to attend one of these parties begins to climb in frequency.

"Please. Just this once, will you guys come?" Diana pleads and stomps her foot when the three of them pretend not to have heard her and don't even glance up from their game of blackjack.

Eventually, however, her pleading and borderline temper tantrum force them all to leave their game behind in order to follow her off campus and to a white house that hums with music and conversation.

There's plenty of drinking going on. Kegs and tall bottles of liquor are on every flat surface. There's an impressive tower if beer cans in one corner where two burly guys carefully try to make it taller. Somehow, in the midst of shuffling through the house and past the front room where crappy indie rick filters through speakers, Jasper manages to get a red solo cup in his hand. It tastes like watered down pineapples, and although it makes Jasper flinch, he takes sips from it and welcomes the feeling of floating. Diana leads them through the back door and they stay at the edge of the pool, sipping from their cups and talking as if they were in Jasper's room rather than at a frat house.

There are drunk girls playing chicken in the pool next to them, their skin riddled with goosebumps and black lines. There are guys making too much noise on the back patio i the midst of a beer pong game and shouts across the back lawn but it all becomes background noise to Jasper soon enough. He finds himself having fun, laughing with his friends at the antics that are happening around them. He recognizes faces from campus and a few from his lectures. As the crowd thickens, however, there seems to be less and less familiarity and soon enough he forgets that he came against his will.

"It just can't be!" Diana's story is cut off by a loud voice and an arm that wraps around Jasper's shoulders loosely. "What a small world."

"Declan." Spencer greets and raises his cup in greeting to the guy that's smirking and leaning against Jasper heavily.

"What are you doing here?" Diana asks, but her smile is friendly and Jasper relaxes slightly as they all delve into a conversation with their new addition.

Jasper had only spoken to Declan a handful of times. Mostly because Diana and Spencer seemed to know him from around campus, but he seemed nice enough. Blunt sometimes and dense at others, sure, but he always meant well from what Jasper had seen and so he let the fact that Declan was using him as bodily support slide.

"Hey, winter can go right on and fuck itself." Declan slurs and looks at Jasper for a second before grinning. "Am I right, Jas?"

Jasper offers a tight smile and shifts his weight to reposition Declan.

"Jasper. It's Jasper." he says and carefully watches Declan who's swaying and humming to himself.

Declan frowns for a second at Jasper's curt comment, his nose scrunching and his eyes narrowing as if he doesn't believe Jasper. Then he smiles and lets out a small laugh before nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm right. Hey, Jasper?" Declan leans close and brings a hand up to tap his nose twice. "I know something you don't." he sing songs and lets his head fall onto Jasper's shoulder.