Paul’s living room held the strong stench of marijuana and incense. Blaine never understood why Paul insisted on lighting the stuff whenever he had a session when he could simply crack one of the windows. Then again, Blaine never quite understood why he even bothered himself with attending these sessions Paul had in his parent’s game room. He didn’t smoke, he wasn’t exactly fond of any of Paul’s other friends, and when he did show up he felt as if Paul had a tendency to forget he was even there. Truth be told, the only reason Blaine agreed to come to Paul’s sessions was because he worried about his friend. He hated the fact that Paul smoked and drank and partied the way that he did.

Blaine sighed as he sank into an armchair in one of the far corners of the room. Everyone else had gathered around in a circle at the center of the room and was now passing around a bong in a counter-clockwise direction. One of the girls, a blond, leaned over and increased the volume on the stereo. Blaine hated this techno shit and inwardly cringed as the heavy bass and electronic nonsense filled his ears.

“Blainers!” Paul shouted over the music as he sat down on the armrest of Blaine’s chair. He wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders smiled down at him. “Why are you sitting over here by yourself? Join in on the fun!”

Blaine looked up into Paul’s dilated pupils, subtly shaking his head. He thought about asking Paul how much he’d smoked that night, how much he had had to drink, but decided against it since he knew better than to do so while Paul was still intoxicated. All that ever got him was a headache and a very angry best friend. The only thing Blaine could really do was sit back and make sure Paul didn’t pass out somewhere or end up bent over a toilet bowl crying as he emptied the contents of his stomach while he rubbed soothing circles into his best friend’s back. Blaine had been there with Paul way to many times and he didn’t really want to go back.

 “You know I’m not into that, Paul. I’m cool right where I am. ”

Blaine really just wanted to leave. He had homework he could have been doing; a twelve page research paper that was due that Monday afternoon. Blaine could be working on that instead of sitting in a room filled with a bunch of stoners while listening to crappy techno music. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to hide his obvious frustration. This happened every time. He would come to Paul’s sessions just so he could make sure his friend didn’t do anything stupid and he would regret it the moment he showed up. What bothered him further was that nothing ever even happened. He always ended up stewing in his own anger while Paul laughed and joked around with his other friends. Blaine always could have simply stayed home.

But he knew it, he felt it, that the one night he decided to stay inside and get some work done would be the one night that Paul wound up needing him all over again. So he came. Every time.

“Blaaaiinne,” Paul groaned, his head falling against his friend’s curls. “You are such a fucking buzz kill, you know that?”

Blaine shrugged, unable to come up with a response.

“Have a little fun,” Paul pressed, his lips moving against Blaine’s hair. “You don’t have to smoke if you don’t want to. Just… have a drink. Relax.” He lifted his head, his eyes meeting Blaine’s. “You’re so uptight, man. I just want you to have a good time.”

Blaine nodded, forcing a smile onto his lips. If he agreed to one drink maybe Paul would get off of his ass for the rest of the night and allow him to return to his chair. “Yeah, okay. Only one though.”

Paul grinned, jumping off the armrest and dragged Blaine across the room towards the pool table where everyone had placed the drinks. “He’s gonna have a drink, everyone!”

The circle turned to look at Blaine and smiled, a few randoms shouting out phrases like ‘it’s about time!’ or ‘whoo! Live it up!’

“Okay… how does vodka and cranberry sound?” Paul asked, grabbing a red plastic cup.

Blaine shrugged. “I guess. I don’t really know….”

Paul chuckled as he poured the cranberry juice in the cup. “You’ll like it, don’t worry.”

Blaine only grunted in response as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. It was only one drink. If anything, he would get a little buzz and that would probably wear off by the time he decided to call it a night. Nothing was really going to happen to him. Perhaps it was just the prospect of having his first drink. He’d never touched the stuff; not after he’d seen what it’d done to his uncle.

“Here,” Paul said, handing the cup over to Blaine. “Drink up!”

Blaine took hold of the cup, his hand shaking slightly. “Th-Thanks.”

“Calm down, dude,” Paul said, laughing lightly. “It’s just a drink. It’s not going to do anything to you.”

“I know, I know. I don’t know why I’m so fucking nervous,” Blaine responded, laughing along with him. It really was a little ridiculous. He knew that one drink wouldn’t lead him down a path of destruction, but the idea of placing the cup to his lips still made him feel a little uneasy.

“You don’t have –“

Before Paul could finish his sentence, Blaine had taken a sip from the cup, his mouth scrunching up at the taste of the cranberry juice.

“Why did I let you give me cranberry juice of all things?” He asked with a slight laugh. “I hate cranberry juice.”

Just as Paul was about to respond a tall, thin boy approached the pool table and reached for one of the cups. Paul offered him a small smile before turning back to Blaine who was simply staring at the boy with the near-translucent skin.

A heat rose up the boy’s neck as he felt Blaine’s eyes boring holes into his skin. He looked up, caught Blaine staring, and a sheepish grin made its way onto his lips. He shyly reached across the pool table and took hold of the cranberry juice before averting his gaze and pouring some into his cup.

“Have you two met before?” Paul asked, sending Blaine a knowing smile.

Blaine shook his head, taking another sip of his drink. He hated to admit it, but was starting to enjoy the taste and the subtle burn the alcohol sent down his throat. “No. I don’t think so.”

Paul turned to the tall, pale boy with the gentle features who was standing to his left sipping on a drink identical to Blaine’s. “This is Blaine; he’s a good friend of mine.”

Smiling, politely the boy offered his hand. “I’m Kurt; it’s good to meet you.”

Blaine reached in front of Paul, taking Kurt’s hand in his and shaking it briefly. His hands were surprisingly soft and his voice was a bit higher than he had expected it to be. Blaine took a moment to allow Kurt’s appearance to sink in. He was undoubtedly attractive. He was taller than Blaine, but not by a whole lot. His skin was almost frighteningly pale and his eyes were a shade of blue Blaine had never before seen on another person.

The only thought Blaine could seem to muster was that this had to be the most beautiful boy he’d ever laid eyes on.

“…a real good time,” Paul finished, looking to Blaine. “Hey. Dude. Are you listening?”

Blaine raised his eyebrows, realizing that Paul was actually talking to him. “Huh? Yeah. You said something about a good time?”

Kurt couldn’t help the small giggle that slipped past his lips. He shook his head, the smile never falling from his lips as he took another drink from his cup. “I’m gonna get back to the ‘circle of friends’,” he said using his fee hand to make air quotes as he crossed the room to reclaim his seat in the circle just as the bong was passed to the girl who had been sitting next to him.

“You didn’t hear a word I said,” Paul stated.

Blaine tore his eyes away from Kurt, instead, choosing to look at his best friend. “Yeah I did. You said it was a real good time.”

Paul raised his brows knowing Blaine was only trying to cover his ass. If there was one thing he knew about his best friend it was that he was shy when it came to these kinds of things. Blaine hated talking about guys or anything that concerned his feelings about another boy. Paul figured it was because Blaine thought it made him uncomfortable when, in reality, it didn’t; not even in the least.  “What was a good time?”

Blaine’s eyes widened a little as he turned back to the ‘circle of friends’ as Kurt had called it. One of the girls, a red head, was taking a hit and had started coughing as she passed it to the boy next to her. She was laughing and clutching at her chest as she asked if anyone had any water. “Uh… your… your last session?”

Paul shook his head. “Just admit it. You were checking the kid out. Don’t even try to act like you weren’t.”

Blaine’s face went a deep shade of red as he avoided Paul’s gaze, his free hand rubbed at the back of his neck. His eyes found Kurt and he found himself staring again. He wasn’t sure what it was about that kid. Blaine couldn’t stand hardly any of Paul’s friends. The only one that didn’t bother him was Marla and he only liked her when she was sober. Most of the time. Kurt caught him staring (again) and Blaine’s cheeks went an even deeper shade of red. Kurt ducked his head, but Blaine caught the smile that crept onto his face.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Paul offered, causing Blaine to look back at him. “I mean, he’s pretty… for a guy, that is.”

Blaine nearly choked on his drink. “I never…”

“Dude, it’s cool. He’s gay too, you know. “

“No,” Blaine said, shaking his head. “I mean it’s cool that he is and all, but I’m not going to do anything about it.”

Paul sighed. He wasn’t going to press the issue because he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere. He’d already gotten Blaine to sip at a vodka and cranberry and that was about as far as he was going to get for the night. Granted, it was the farthest he’d ever gotten in the three years that he and Blaine had known each other, but he kind of wished he’d used that pass he’d gotten for the night on getting Blaine to chat up the boy with the crystal blue eyes.

“I think I’m going to go back to my chair for now,” Blaine said, taking another small sip from his drink. He held up his drink, eyeing the cup with curious eyes. “You know, this isn’t that bad.” He looked at Paul and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m actually surprised. I kinda like this stuff.”

Paul watched as Blaine crossed the room and sat back down in the armchair. He sat there for the rest of the night and watched as Paul joined in on the circle of friends, watched as they passed the bong around, watched them laugh and smoke and drink. He watched until his eyes grew too heavy and he fell asleep in that armchair.

He watched it all. But he mostly watched Kurt.