At Dare's House

[Mike Spruill]

"Dude thats just creepy...you following me around...I knew it Evan...you wanna stalk me don't you..you probably have a Mike shrine hidden some where..." Mike said joking around. "I am flattered really, but you just aren't my type man...sorry to break your heart." Mike patted Evan on the back laughing as he did so.

"Wait you both aren't staying?" Mike asked Kian and Connor, "Traitors you promised not to leave me alone with the Candy man..he might mistake me for candy and eat me..." Mike said referring to Evan. He was feeling good. Joking around and crap...perhaps he was missing out by being high the whole time. it was amazing how getting shot and seeing someone genuinely care about your well being like he saw in Julia's eyes.

Something in her eyes...made Mike want to do something more then get high. Although it was really hard. He could feel the itch and the craving to shoot up and spend his days in a stupor. But for now he was around friends and a really hot guy, so for now, perhaps he could pretend he was not a druggie.

"Yeah i would love to see this house man...besides I feel like we are in a fish bowl..Evan is way to happy..." Mike did not get it, but still it was noticeable how happy Evan was. "I am glad to see you again man. Really glad." he said to Dare as he smiled a bit shyly at the boy.

[Dare Madison]

Dare smiled shyly back at Mike and took his hand to lead him to the main part of their complex. "This is where we spend most of our time. he put his free hand on a rope ladder leading to a 10 x 10 platform that hung from the ceiling. This goes up to my 'room'. be careful if you go up, it sways so is a bit like learning to walk on a boat. That must be cool living on a boat. I haven't been on many. Mostly gondolas when I was in Europe. Dad is talking about performing on a cruise ship over the summer, they are talking to Disney about going on their line maybe. He led Mike to the couch where he sat down. "I don't think I thanked you enough last night. After listening to the radio today about Zach Doyle, I realize how lucky I was that you saved me. Would it freak you out if I kissed you?"

[Mike Spruill]

"Dude I am going to have to climb this thing, you might have a frequent visitor." Mike said touching the rope ladder and looking up to see where it led. "Your room huh...all the way up there...now thats privacy." He told Dare with a smile. "Thanks for the warning. I have never really been on a boat before so I guess I will have to get use to it."

He had never been anywhere. If they took a vacation Mike spent his days high or in his room cause of being beaten. "A cruise, man you are lucky. I would love to go on a cruise." Although how would he get drugs ona cruise...Bad Mike...he scolded himself. No...no thinking about drugs...what he needed ws an NA meeting but that was easier said then done.

Mike followed Dare over to the couch and took a seat. He stretched one hand over the back of the couch and slouched a little to get a good look at Dare. "Yeah, i don't really know that Zach kid, but I heard about the fight he was in earlier that day at the school. He saved some chick, and then this...man...I am glad he survived."

Mike nodded, "Your welcome..i was just lucky to be in the right place." He told Dare. Mike's head snapped and he immediatly sat up when Dare asked if he could kiss him. Mike had not expected that, but her was plesantly surprised. He moved his hand to lightly play with Dare's hair and smiled. "I would be upset if you didn't." With that said Mike leaned into the kiss.

[Dare Madison]

Dare didn't need to hear more and he leaned to kiss Mike and almost missed him when Mike moved too. He didn't have much experience but it seemed to him that there was some kind of connection between them. Kissing Mike was so much better than kissing Isaac had been. Without consciously deciding to, Dare climbed onto Mikes lap and deepened the kiss. Winding his arms around Mike's neck he gave his all feeling a kiss was kind of a chintzy reward. He had a random thought of taking Mike up to his room, but he felt with his level of experience, Mike might find that more of a punishment than a reward. "You have beautiful eyes. It is all I have been able to think about since last night," he said softly, wishing they could just stay there, but he needed to be holding his guitar about now. He ran his fingers over Mike's close cropped head, enjoying the feel of his soft hair on his fingers. "I should go back," he said reluctantly.

[Mike Spruill]

Mike kissed back. As Dare settled on Mike's lap he leaned into the back of the couch. As long as Dare stayed away from the chest area Mike's secret was safe. Hopefully it would stay that way. Now that he moved out, he could heal, the bruises could diappear and no one but Julia, assuming she kept her mouth shut, no one would know about Mike's abuse. It made him feel weak, that a strong man like he, could be abused.

Mike lost himself in happiness, the hedonist in Mike was coming out. The one who wanted to enjoy the pleasures of.....Dare's company. He sighed as the kiss came to an end. "Alli could think about was your long hair and how I wished I could move my fingers through it." Mike purred as he nipped at Dare's neck. Mike had one hand playing in Dare's hair and the other was moving up and down Dare's thigh.

"You do have guest....which I bet won't miss us...not with Evan yapping their ear off about with Brit or candy....I think we may have a few more minutes." Mike said as he kissed Dare's lips again. Mike had no idea what this meant. Did Dare just want to do this once to thank him for saving his life, or perhaps Dare wnted to try it more. Mike had plenty of experience with both men and women.

[fryn]

"They are taking a long time," Takumi pointed out. "Perhaps I should go find them and..." He half turned to seek out Dare and Mike, stopping only when Evan's hand clamped around his left wrist. "No?"

"No."

Takumi frowned and shot Lace a quizzical look. She looked equally as confused by it all but Mike was Evan's friend and he knew best. Instead he picked up his bass and began warming up. He ran through a short song and one probably not known to either of his companions. Even if it had been familiar it was hard to pick up a tune just from the bass notes. He strummed some more and then tweaked the strings a little tighter before taking a sip from his bottle of water.

He slowly turned to face Evan, one forearm resting lightly across the body of his bass and with the uncapped bottle hanging from his other hand.

Taki tilted his head slightly to one side.

"So tell us, Evan. What is the big secret surrounding Mike? You are making my curiosity reach heights I think I am unable to contain..."

Something was going on for sure and rather than put his foot in something Takumi would much rather know what that was!

[Evan Hughes]

Watching Mike and Dare walk off, both guys seeming quite interested in the other, it was all Evan could do not to do a happy dance and brag about his matchmaking skills, even though the matchmaking wasn’t completely because of him, and that the guys had apparently already met and hit it off before, and this was the first pair that Evan had actually tried to set up. So it might be a little too early to brag just yet, though he wasn’t the type to let something so small stop him.

He grinned at Takumi as the guy helped him adjust the drums, which didn’t take much work, the set up was already just about perfect. He didn’t say anything to his questioning though, knowing it would just make his curiosity bigger, and that was just plain old fashioned fun.

And it seemed it was all forgotten for a moment, Takumi happy to turn his attention to the bass, after one hairy moment where Evan had to stop him from going after the pair. The fact that they were taking so long had to be a good sign, he figured. Evan joined Lace in sitting quietly (which was a massive achievement for Evan) and watching him play. He was just itching to be set loose on the drums but he waited a bit longer, content to just listen.

As soon as the song finished, it seemed like it was question time again. “Well...just a sec.” he started, rushing out of the room. A few moments later he returned with a bottle of Red Bull in one hand, and balancing a huge bowl of candy in the other. He offered Lace and Takumi some before flopping down onto the floor, raiding the bowl.

And after munching down on a few mouthfuls, he started to answer. “You see, and this is genius, right, Dare’s been through a rough patch and I figured that maybe he could use some company, ya know. Like, of the romantic kind.” He wasn’t sure if he should say Dare asked him to help in a way, so he didn’t. “And Kian and Connor helped me think, that Mike’s been through a rough patch, and maybe he could use some company. So, it’s a set-up. It’s working, I reckon.”

[fryn]

"Romantic?" Takumi's face cleared. "Aah... daijobu desu... I see," he said. "Mike and Dare like each other, hai?"

"Hai," Evan stated and Takumi reached over to remove the bowl of sugar-infested treats from Dare's hands. "I think you've had enough sugar already, kyodai," he added with a short laugh. He held the dish well clear of Evan's flailing hand and passed it to Lace. He dropped down to sit next to his friend. "I knew Dare to be gay so assume Mike is also... right?" Evan nodded. "And so are Connor and Kian?" Another nod. "The entire school seems to be gay," Takumi murmured. Ok, not true as neither he nore Evan were. Lace he couldn't say either way as he only knew her recently. Not that any of it mattered to him. Live and let live.

"So Evan," he began, "... how long have you been dating Brittany? I am very much looking forward to meeting her tomorrow!" Evan had spoken of his girlfriend so many times that Takumi already felt as if he knew her. At least a little.

"Fine," he muttered and he passed the dish back to Evan. "But I will not be responsible for when you fall back down from the sugar rush!" For that reason alone Takumi was determined to avoid tasting the candy for himself. He was already wound up tightly enough as it was!

[Evan Hughes]

“Hai.” Evan grinned, so distracted by his own awesomeness, and pleased that his plan actually worked (believe it or not, his plans, and those he had some input in, often backfired. Just a little), he didn’t pay attention to Takumi pulling the bowl of candy away from him until his hands were sadly empty of the yummy treats. “You can’t have too much sugar!” he protested weakly, starting at the bowl longingly as it was placed into Lace’s hands.

There was another bowl of candy he could raid, but it was in the other room, and now that seemed so far away. Besides, he had been saving that one for later, when he had emptied the first. So he contented himself with glances at the yummy treats and long sips from his Red Bull.

He nodded at the continued questioning of his friends’ sexuality, not minding in the least. “Mike is bi, but yeah, Connor and Kian are gay. And pretty stuck on each other. I think they gross Patch out.” he chuckled. “Patch is my best mate! And he doesn’t care that they’re gay, he just doesn’t like the whole couple thing. Me and Brit gross him out too. So it’s fun to try and kiss her when he’s around.” Evan laughed, loudly as always. He and Patch weren’t strangers to teasing and picking on each other, it was all in good fun.

“Um, just under a couple of months.” Evan guessed, frantically trying to remember the ‘official’ date that they started going out. Cause even though it was still ages away, if he was lucky to still be dating her at the one year mark, he knew he was meant to make the occasion and all that, buy her a present. Girls liked that sort of thing. But to do that, he needed to know the date in the first place. “Yeah, you’ll love her! She’s awesome! And I’m not just saying that cause I’m biased, she really is! She’s gorgeous, and funny, and she’s in a band. And she puts up with me! How cool is that?”

He gave the candy bowl one more look of longing, grinning in victory as it worked, Takumi passing it back over. “Nah, this is nothing. I go through this much candy ever day. I love candy! So yummy!” This affection was probably obvious already though, with the sheer joy with which he now attacked the junk food.

“What about you and Izzy? And what about you Lace, seeing anyone?” he asked, not wanting the girl to feel left out, though she did seem like the quiet type. “Actually, Izzy, yeah, I think her and Connor are friends. They’re on the newspaper together, I’m pretty sure. You and her should like, double date him and Kian. That way you can meet them too, seeing how they couldn’t stay.” Evan reasoned.

[fryn]

"A couple of months? That's quite some time!" Takumi replied, taking a handful of candies out of Evan's bowl and earning himself a mock scowl for his efforts. "Izzy and I have only been seeing each other for a few days. I asked her out on Tuesday," he replied. "It was after I'd just scared her into throwing crackers all over the library floor," he added with a grin. "I have met some of Izzy's friends already. I talked to her brother for the first time yesterday. He seems nice but what is double date? Go out two times in the same night?" Like a meal after the movies maybe. That sounded like fun to him! And if Connor and Kina wanted to join them then even better.

Takumi popped another sweet into his mouth as he turned to look at Lace. She'd been quiet for some time now. More likely she'd been unable to find a space in Taki and Evan's chatter to say anything! "Yes, Lace... Are you seeing anyone?" He liked her and could see no reason why the answer would be anything but 'yes'. "And you and Dare must come and see Ginger again soon. Perhaps another meal at my house?"