AKA

Chapter Nine

Five familiar faces looking down on him in worry...A shouting voice...Running feet going in all different directions...A pair of hands grabbing his shoulders while another pair of hands grabbing his feet...Being lifted and carried onto a big, soft cloud...Seeing nothing but black...Hearing voices from close yet faraway places...Feeling someone sit down next to him and try to talk to him...A close, worried voice...These were all the things that Jer felt and heard.

In speaking of feeling, he felt weird. He felt like he was in some sort of strange tug of war between being awake and asleep. He wanted to be fully awake but, for some strange reason, his body wasn't letting him. Instead, his body slipped into short periods of sleep and then halfway let him wake up. But when he halfway woke up, he couldn't say anything or do anything or see anything. All he could do was hear the voices and movements while he lay there doing nothing.

The other weird thing he felt was his memory being foggy. He knew there was a party...he knew he and his other friends were there...he knew Brandon was being annoying and trying to make him drink beer...he knew Min-joon was trying to do something with him and Samuel...but other than that, he couldn't think of anything. He couldn't remember why he was in the state that he was currently in. All he knew was that whatever was happening to him was highly unusual and never happened to him before.

And he wanted it to stop. Now.

I...I need to wake up..., Jer thought to himself intensely. I need to wake up. Wake up, Jer! Wake up, Jer!

"Wake up, Jer!"

Jer eyes popped open. He looked up in time to see Brandon repeat the phrase: "Wake up, Jer!"

"I'm...I'm awake...," Jer breathed out.

Brandon's concerned face shifted into a big smile. "Jer! Finally! We were all so concerned about you!"

Jer attempted to sit up, but his body felt so heavy.

"Hey! Hey! No trying to sit up. You're too weak. You need to keep lying down," Brandon led Jer's body back to its lying position on the couch.

As Jer began to lie back down, a wrenching sound sounded in his stomach. Jer felt all the contents in his stomach coming up, and he quickly leaned over the couch, mouth positioned downward.

"Aim for the trashcan! Aim for the trashcan!" Brandon exclaimed as he picked up the trashcan and placed it directly under Jer's face.

All of Jer's vomit made it into the trashcan. Brandon winced at the sight of the throw-up but smiled encouragingly to Jer anyway.

When Jer was fully done, Brandon moved the gross trashcan away from where he or Jer could see or smell it. Afterward, Brandon picked up a water bottle that was lying next to where the trashcan had just been sitting and made Jer drink until he could no longer taste his own vomit.

As Jer finished drinking, he asked Brandon: "What the...What happened to me?"

Brandon explained to Jer that he accidentally got himself too drunk to the point that he passed out on the floor. He also explained that everyone was so concerned about Jer, and he and Min-joon carried him to the couch. Brandon also told Jer that Min-joon looked really angry after setting Jer on the couch and declared that the party was over. Brandon laughed a bit when he described how Taiyang and Jimmy became scared and bolted out of the room after Min-joon's declaration of fury.

Lastly, Brandon explained how he decided to stay in the living room and wait for Jer to wake up. However, two hours passed since Jer passed out, which is why Brandon took it upon himself to try to wake Jer up.

Jer went pale. "Do you think...Do you think MJ got mad because I ruined the party?"

Brandon shook his head. "No. I actually think Min-joon got mad because he was upset about what happened to you."