If Only Bruises Could Heal.

Chapter 9

"The Pop-Punk drinking game." Aaron said as he poured the first six shots into the tiny glasses on the table.

"The what?" I asked, utterly confused.

"There's a lot to it, but it'll get you fucking hammered!" Tino answered, sitting back on the couch, shot in hand.

"Okay, so what exactly is it?" I said as I leaned back into Alan's embrace, ignoring the way Austin's eyes burned into me. I was a bit confused on how this all came about, seeing as no one but me really listened to the genre. I've never even heard of this game before.

He pulled out his phone, reading off some sort of list to me. "One shot for every time you hear the word 'friends' or 'girl', one shot for every nautical reference, one shot for every song that has more than five words in the title..." He continued on, but I couldn't help but gawk at him. This game would be the death of me, this would be impossible!

"...and a shot for for every reference to growing up, the past, not understanding, sympathy, regrets, or self-depreciation in an upbeat song." He finished off.

Everyone now had the same look on their face that I did.

"How did you even find this?" Alan asked.

Aaron shrugged. "A fan. Tino thought it would be fun to play when I showed him."

Of course he would.

"Oh!" Tino shouted, jumping up from his seat and jogging towards the bar down the hallway. He came back over with two more full bottles of vodka and tequila. "And three shots for every time a band implies that they wanna leave their hometown."

"Well no shit!" Alan threw his hands up in the air. Phil rolled his eyes.

"Are you trying to fucking kill us?" I shouted as I reached for his phone, reading through this game.

"No ones driving tonight!" Phil laughed.

"If I die of alcohol poisoning, you're paying for my funeral." I said pointedly at Tino, but couldn't help smiling. This would be an interesting night.

After the horror of these past few weeks, I felt like I was finally being myself again. Just letting loose and having a good time. Austin had kept quiet, Alan and I haven't fought since that night, and I was really looking forward to all of us hanging out again. It felt like life before Alan first laid hands on me. I felt truly happy tonight.

Aaron set up Spotify on his phone, finding a station for the said genre and put in on shuffle before turning it full volume and placing it in the center of the coffee table. The first song to fill the room, of course, was The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver by none other than All Time Low.

"Shit." Austin mumbled, a slight smile appearing on his face. It was the first time I actually saw him smile that night. It was calming to know he was loosening up too. I smiled and toasted everyone as we took our first shot for the seven-word song title.

By the end of the song, everyone at least seven shots each, though the actual count I got in my head was thirteen. No way I was doing that from just one song though. Profanities ran through the room as the song ended, everyone already complaining about the exasperation of this game. I was starting to have that warm feeling run through my chest, and I knew it wouldn't be much longer until I was completely wasted.

Man Overboard, Love Your Friends Die Laughing was the next to come one, and by the second line of the song we were already downing more shots.

I don't think I've ever been so drunk in my entire life! I wasn't even able to tell what number song we were on, but I knew it was somewhere past six. We had been going at it for a while and Alan had already started making cat noises. I couldn't even feel the sting of the alcohol anymore.