Damien checked the mirror and couldn't help but smile. It was a departure for him, but he liked making an impression. It had been a rather painful call to change his look so completely, but when he looked in the mirror, Damien had to admit that he looked pretty good with the heavy dreadlocks chopped off. His dark hair was gently gelled - just enough to keep the natural waves in control. And, okay, he was willing to admit that his build and skin tone were all wrong, but the tight pants and open shirt still did nice things for him. Overall, Damien was satisfied that he made a passable Han.

The sound of a horn honking out front brought the young man out of himself, and he sprinted to the cab with barely a good-bye for his parents. They hadn't bothered to so much as ask where he was going anyway. When they pulled up in front of Finn's house, Damien told the driver to keep it quiet and ran up to the door himself in case Finn needed some assistance climbing in so that they could get on the road.

It had been a fairly easy task making himself look the part of a horrific accident victim. Thanks to his still being pretty banged up, shredding some old clothes and applying fake blood was all it had taken. Finn glanced at himself approvingly in the mirror before opening the door for Damien. "Hi - woah!" he exclaimed, taking in the other teen's radical new appearance. "Well, damn... You look awesome..."

"Yeah?" Damien beamed, obviously pleased by the stamp of approval. He ran a hand over his hair and shrugged. "Kinda killed me, but... hell, the costume's worth it. Unless you're a big Bob Marley fan, there's just not much ya can pull off with dreads. And I fucking hate reggae." The young man stuck close to Finn in case he needed help but was pleased to see that the other teen was making progress in figuring out the issue of balancing himself on one leg and one crutch. "They tell ya whether you'll need physical therapy?" he asked as they piled into the back of the cab.

"Yeah, when my leg's out of this cast," Finn answered, grimacing at the lump of plaster. In the darkness of the cab's back seat, it was difficult to make out the names scrawled out before him, but one in particular drew his attention: Kurt's. Another deep ache tugged at Finn's heart. //You've got to stop doing this to yourself...// He turned his attention back to Damien, taking in his friend's costume as well as his mind-blowing new look. "Sorry for staring, man, but I can't get over the difference." Finn shifted, his mind still getting used to the idea of finding others guys attractive. "You look really good..."

"You say the sweetest things," Damien replied, fluttering his eyelashes before smirking. "Seriously, though, thanks. Always kind of a crapshoot making such a big change. Couldn't say no to the piercings, though. Those I like too much. Besides, nipple rings can be a lot of fun." He'd said it mostly to make Finn blush and wasn't the least bit disappointed. "Tell ya what, we'll figure out a way for a cripple to dance tonight if Ryan's not game to monopolize your attention. But since he was talking to you willingly, I'm guessing that won't be a problem. He's not exactly social unless he likes somebody. Tends to just stare at you like you're a particularly annoying kind of bug otherwise."

"Oh, really?" Finn felt more at ease with Damien than he had been with anyone in a long time. He could be himself and not worry about his feelings for Kurt. Of course Damien seemed to get a kick out of teasing him, and Finn couldn't help warming all over every time. "He's cool... I just can't get over how much he reminds me of Kurt." There was that subject again. Was that the reason why he was suddenly so interested in Ryan? Or was there something more to it? "So, erm, nipple rings?" He could barely get the words out. "You... have one?"

"Two." With no apparent trace of shame, Damien unbuttoned a single button on the shirt - it was already half open - and dragged it to one side to show Finn one slender silver hoop before letting the shirt fall back into place. "There are advantages to my parents really, really not wanting any idea what my social life involves." He nodded toward the window. "We're here." Mansion barely began to describe the place, and Damien had to shake his head at the ridiculously extravagant nature of it. "Dude's parents are out of town, so he gets the run of it and maids to clean up the mess for him. Crazy shit." After getting out of the cab himself, Damien crossed over to Finn's side and immediately offered a hand to help him out.

Finn's eyes widened and he swallowed hard at the sight of Damien's nipple ring. It alternately fascinated and excited him, and he actually felt his fingers itching with the temptation to reach out and touch him... //Woah, what's happening to you, Hudson?// Finn caught his breath, swiping his tongue across his bottom lip. He blinked himself out of the apparent trance he was in only to realize that Damien was out of the cab and offering his help. "Thanks, man..." Finn glanced between the house and Damien, wondering aloud, "Ah, you'll probably hook up with somebody tonight looking like that..." Blushing again, Finn stammered, "Y-you know what I mean... Erm, what should I do about getting home?"

"Well, if you run off with somebody, no big... but I'll be out front at one or so if ya don't find me sooner and we can call up a cab." Damien was sometimes reckless at parties - the whole point was to let go - but he tried hard not to be stupid. If he hadn't been cautious before, his time working at the hospital would have decided that issue for him easily. "Meantime, you take care of yourself, huh? I know it's been a rough week, just..." He searched for the right words. It wasn't like he wanted Finn to hold back or not enjoy himself, but some things were worth waiting on a little. Unable to think of anything that didn't sound way too judgmental, he just shrugged. "Just watch yourself and have fun." He scanned the room as soon as they were inside and nudged Finn with his elbow. "Looks like your favorite new person's here." The young man jerked his head in the direction he'd been gazing to indicate Ryan where he stood looking bored out of his mind being chatted up by a taller boy with dark hair.

//Damn...// Ryan looked absolutely incredible. A Heavenly angel? Maybe outwardly, but inwardly Finn decided there was a seductive devil lurking. It shocked more than just his heart to find himself lusting over a guy who wasn't Kurt. "Thanks, Damien," he told his new friend before making his way across the room toward the beautiful vision. It was a chore on the crutches using one good arm, and Finn grunted and strained as if he were acting the part of a zombie accident victim. "Hey, Ryan," he called out once he was only a few feet away. Finn wobbled precariously. "See, I made it... sorta..."

Though the joke was lame, Ryan found himself smiling at the other boy anyway. He glanced over at the dark-haired teen who looked more than a little miffed at having someone else join the party. "You can go," he pronounced, staring stonily until his suitor grumbled something under his breath and took off. "I've been trying to get rid of him for half an hour," Ryan told Finn with obvious distaste once it was just the two of them. "Thanks for the rescue." He wore small wings designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, a gold circlet for a halo, and what amounted to a short, white dress. Tilting his head to the side, Ryan studied Finn closely for a few moments. "And here I thought being in the hospital was supposed to leave you in better shape."

Finn chuckled at himself, glancing down at the state of his homemade costume. "Yeah, well, I figured I wouldn't have to go to too much trouble getting something together," he replied, still finding it difficult to stay on upright on his crutches. "And, yeah, no worries... about the rescue, I mean." Finn glanced over his shoulder at Ryan's prospective suitor, who had already disappeared into the crowd. "I can't really blame the guy for trying," he said, turning his attention back to Ryan. "You look really great." Finn blushed.

Ryan smiled brightly at the praise, the happiest he'd looked since the pair met. "Thank you. Honestly, all the blood aside, I could say the same for you." He'd always been a fan of tall men, and Finn was pretty cute to boot. He didn't seem like the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but that didn't really matter. Who needed brains to make out? "Too bad I can't ask you to dance, but I can get you a drink if you'd like something." He nodded toward a table that held a collection of liquor and was capped off with a keg and pile of plastic cups at one end. The irony of getting drunk considering the way they'd met was lost entirely on Ryan. He was more annoyed by the inconvenience of having to do community service than regretful that he'd made the mistake to start with.

Although he had promised not to go near a drink again, the temptation was far too great for Finn. "Thanks, that'd be great," he said, hobbling over to a corner sofa, which was blissfully empty. He sank down into the cushions with a grateful sigh, the pressure on his arm and leg lessening. His eyes followed Ryan, his attention never wavering even when Finn thought he recognized Mercedes passing by. Ryan was gorgeous, and Finn was shocked by how badly he wanted to grab the other boy and kiss him senseless.

Ryan returned with two Jello shots in one hand and a cup of beer on the other. He passed the beer and one of the shots into Finn's keeping. "To being almost home free," he proclaimed before clicking the plastic shot glasses together and tossing his back. "Honestly, I'm glad you're here. I love Dalton, but some of the people..." His gaze scanned over the crowd, and he leaned in a little closer to Finn as he sank back into the plush cushions, "are well and truly boring. I think that's why I put up with Damien. At least he's fun."

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," Finn agreed, catching his breath at Ryan's sudden close proximity. Ryan smelled wonderful, and Finn wasn't entirely sure if the other boy was wearing cologne or if it was his natural scent. "Erm, thanks for the drink..." He slugged it back, only to cough at the intensity of the alcohol. "That's... strong," he spluttered, wiping at his mouth. "How's yours?"

"Perfect," Ryan answered with a smooth smile. He'd suspected that Finn wasn't exactly a heavy drinker despite his community service stint and the accident. Apparently he hadn't been too far off the mark. "Don't worry, the beer should be a bit less... strong." Getting the guy so smashed that he passed out would certainly put a damper on the evening's fun, and if he was reading Finn's signals right, it would definitely be fun.

Finn had very quickly discovered that it didn't take very much to get him drunk. One was just about his limit. "Listen, just be sure to stop me if I try to drive, okay?" Of course there was no way he could get behind the wheel with a busted leg, but he wanted to keep part of his promise intact at least. "Damien's probably already hooked up with someone, and I'm going to need a ride home. A safe one."

"Of course," Ryan agreed earnestly. He was willing to venture that Finn was a bit over-optimistic about Damien's chances, but it didn't really matter. He didn't care enough to discuss the other boy or the fact that Damien was too hung up on Blaine to do much hooking up even when he could. "We'll figure something out. I'm sure that in a place this big, there's an empty room or two to crash in. You're looking a little fuzzy already, actually... there's a sunroom with a bit of a breeze not far from here. We could go, get some air... a little privacy."

As the party goers started to fill the room, Ryan's proposal sounded more and more like a great idea. Of course Finn being Finn didn't quite catch on to the other boy's blatant come-on. "Sure... Just give me a hand..." Another round of grunting and groaning and Finn was off the sofa and following Ryan into the sunroom. "Oh yeah, this's a lot better," he decided, finding another couch and settling back down. "You know... you really look nice. I suggested that costume to... someone else, but you... you make it look great."

Ryan gave a little twirl for Finn before he laughed and flung himself down carelessly onto the couch next to the other teen. He was already feeling a bit tipsy in the most pleasant of ways. "Well, I do try. I'm glad you like it." He slid in a little closer to Finn. "Stop me if I'm on entirely the wrong track, but I've never been much for beating around the bush. I think you're cute. You seem to think I'm cute. We're at a party, we're here to have fun..." The young man put his hand on Finn's uninjured leg and slowly slid it up a little. "Want to have some fun?"