Tuesday breezed by with Kieran seemingly still wanting to be friends with Artemis. Artemis was getting used to the somewhat alien concept. Kieran talked all through class much to Artemis’ amusement and the teacher’s irritation.

They sat together at lunch and Artemis helped Kieran with homework while Kieran tried to explain to Artemis the intricacies of social interaction.

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On Tuesday night Artemis knocked on Kieran’s door half an hour before the party as planned.

The door swung open, and Kieran looked at Artemis with barely disguised horror, “What are you wearing?”

Artemis looked down at himself, “A suit.”

Scandalized Kieran shook his head, “That simply will not do.” He pulled Artemis into his room and began to rifle through his chest of drawers.

Thoroughly bewildered Artemis said, “It’s what I usually wear.”

Kieran used his most camp voice, “That is tragic. Tragic I say.” He pulled out a T-shirt and jeans.

“No.” Artemis said resolutely

“Why not?” Kieran asked

Artemis sniffed, “I will not wear a T-shirt.”

Kieran huffed, “Very well. You might wear…” He presented a blue button down, “What do you think?”

“I don’t see why I can’t wear my suit.”

Kieran rolled his eyes, “Because you look like a funeral director, at least is it was a fun suit that would have been original. It’s a classic black and white suit with a tie for-god’s-sake.”

Artemis stared at the button down for a long moment, “I suppose it is better that a T-Shirt.”

Kieran clapped him on the back, “There we go.”

Artemis changed into the button down and looked at himself in the mirror.

“Just one thing.” Kieran undid the top two buttons.

It was Artemis turn to look scandalised.

Kieran rolled his eyes, “What? You look good.”

“That, is entirely subjective. I feel ridiculous.”

Kieran appraised him, “A different pair of trousers is called for perhaps.” He handed a pair of jeans to Artemis, “And the shoes need to go.” Kieran muttered to himself and finally picked out a pair of trainers.

Artemis slumped, “I cannot believe I am doing this.”

After a quick-change Artemis tied the laces on the trainers.

Kieran smiled, “You look stunning.”

“I look like a hooligan.” Artemis decided

“Exactly.” Kieran said, looking like the cat that ate the canary.

“We had better get this over with then.”

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They turned up to the party ten minutes late which Kieran had assured him constituted being ‘fashionably late’.

Due to the fact that the chaperones were supposedly prowling the corridors making sure they were all asleep, the music was quiet, and conversation muted.

Kieran began to mingle and mix before looking over at Artemis, “Don’t look so uptight. Drink something.” He picked up a cup of something and pressed it into Artemis grip who looked dusubus. Kieran sighed and picked a cup up for himself, “How about we both down one at once?”

Artemis tried a slang word, “Okay.” They drank the entire contents of the cup and Artemis grimaced, “What was that?”

Kieran hummed to himself, “I think it was a mix of… gin, vodka, and lemonade.”

“It’s disgusting.”

Kieran laughed, “I won’t argue with you there.” He pushed Artemis into the crowd, “Go, talk to people, you hermit.”

“I am not a Hermit; I am merely reserved.” Artemis hissed

Kieran waved his excuses away, “Yeah, yeah.”

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Half an hour later, a scout had declared gleefully that the chaperones had been seen going to their rooms in a separate accommodation block and so the party had spilled out into the hallway and into several other dorm rooms (at least eleven rooms in all). Artemis was considerably drunk, sat on the couch, and having a riveting conversation about Astro-physics with a young woman named Jessica, which he didn’t identify as odd until now, “Jessica, I hope you don’t mind me asking but how did you get in? This is a boy’s school, and the doors are locked at eight.”

Jessica laughed, her chestnut hair falling over her face, “I’m trans. I came to this school four years ago back when I was Jake. I guess the school just didn’t know what to do with me, so they did nothing.”

“Oh.” Artemis said dumbly.

Jessica smiled, “It’s good knowing I pass as a woman, I only just started hormone treatment. Thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Usually, physical contact from a stranger would make him freeze up but in his intoxicated state he just laughed, “What year are you in?”

“Fifth year, I skipped fourth year.” Jessica elaborated.

“Oh, so you’re a year older than me. What floor are you on?”

“Second floor, room fifty-six.” Said Jessica.

Kieran took this moment to jump over the back of the couch and squeeze between Jessica and Artemis, with both arms draped over both of them. Kieran grinned, “Hello my hombres.”

Artemis sighed, “This is Kieran.” He said to a slightly shocked looking Jessica.

Kieran smiled dopily and reached out to shake her hand, “Pleased to meet you, and who might you be?”

Jessica shook his hand, “I’m Jessica, from fifth year.”

Kieran gasped, “I love your dress; I wish I could pull it off but I just don’t have the hips.”

Jessica laughed.

Artemis cringed.

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Kieran and Artemis lent against the wall, Kieran being more than a little drunk.

“Whose whiskey is that” Kieran asked.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Artemis took another swig from the bottle in his hand, “I don’t know.”

“It looks too expensive to be just lying about.”

Artemis lifted the bottle to eye level and blinked, “Oh, shit.”

Kieran loosed a mock gasp and raised a hand to his heart, “Did I just hear you swear?”

Artemis winced, “It’s labelled: ‘Fitz do not touch’.”

“Oh crap.” Kieran said

Artemis nodded, “Indeed. What do we do?”

“I propose we make away to Switzerland, forge new identities and never return. You shall Be Gustav Brunner the infamous but elusive millionaire and I shall be Lorenzo Brunner, the dashing young Giglio on his arm.” Kieran swayed drunkenly, “How good is your German?”

“Sufficient.” Artemis admitted.

“French?” Kieran asked.

“Outstanding, my dear Lorenzo.” Artemis said with as much gusto as he could muster.

“Very well then, off to Bern we shall flee, but first” Kieran said looking nauseous, “I need to vomit in the bathroom.” As Artemis put his arm around Kieran to help the boy get to the bathroom, Kieran said in the most dramatic voice in his arsenal, “Make haste my dear Gustav, for the sickness is nearly upon me.”

They made it to the bathroom just in time and Kieran spent the next five minutes regretting all the decisions he had made that led him here, vomiting in someone else’s dorm while completely shitfaced.

Artemis looked at his friend, “Do you feel better?”

Kieran was slumped against the wall, “Yep, I think everything I drank just went down the toilet.”

“Lovely.” Artemis remarked.

Kieran waved him away, “Just leave me here for a moment, I need to catch my breath. Go, go on.”

Eyeing him sceptically, Artemis asked “Are you sure?”

Kieran rolled his eyes, “I will be fine. Allow me to preserve some of my dignity.”

This made Artemis snicker, “What dignity? It was gone over half an hour ago when you challenged a boy twice your size to an arm wrestle.”

“I would have won, he just caught me off guard, is all. He cheated.” Kieran sulked.

“Yes, and pigs could fly if they weren’t so fat.” Artemis Deadpanned.

“What?” Kieran asked, unable to hear over the music and chatter.

“Nothing.” Artemis said, walking away still holding the almost full whiskey bottle. If the bottle went missing, Fitz probably wouldn’t miss it. He shouldn’t have just left it lying about either. Although now Artemis thought about it, he did remember taking the bottle from a windowsill less than a metre from where Fitz was standing.

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Artemis was sat in a different dorm with a group sitting on bean bags in a circle, sharing joints.

“Hi, I’m Tom.” Said a young man a few years older than Artemis with light skin and bleach blond hair. Tom was sat on the bean bag next to Artemis’.

Artemis looked up and said perhaps for the third time in his life, “Hi,” the word feeling strange in his mouth, “I’m Artemis.”

“Enjoying the party?” Tom asked, taking a drag of his joint and blowing the smoke out.

“Yes. I didn’t really want to come but my friend insisted.” Artemis said his tongue loosened by the alcohol, “I didn’t have anything better to do, I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.”

Tom nodded, “I know the feeling. Want some weed? It might help.”

Artemis nodded, “Alright.” He took the joint and attempted to smoke it but ended up in a coughing fit.

Tom laughed, “Never smoked before.”

Artemis shook his head and attempted another drag, this time successfully, “I’ve never had the occasion. Never really thought about it either.” He passed the joint back to Tom.

“I’ve never seen you at one of these things before.” Tom noted.

“I’m not generally very sociable.” Artemis said.

“So, what are you into?” asked Tom.

“Right now, I’m researching dark matter and its effects on the universe.”

Tom looked at him blankly, “That went right over my head, you’re gonna have to explain.”

Leaning forward Artemis launched into his explanation, “Well, scientists observed how fast galaxies were spinning and they found that galaxies were moving faster than they should for how much mass was in the galaxy. They calculated that eighty-five percent of the universe is made of some kind of matter that we can’t see, and we call that dark matter.”

Tom still looked perplexed, “So, what’s dark matter?”

“If I could answer that I would have won a Nobel prize. We have no idea; we know more about what it isn’t than what it is. We can measure its effects but that’s pretty much it. It’s just one of science’s great mysteries I guess.”

Tom blinked, “That is… actually quite cool. Also, super nerdy but whoever said that was a bad thing?”

A minute later Artemis began to feel… odd. Everything slowed down and he felt… giddy almost.

An easy smile pulled at Tom’s lips, “Is the weed hitting you?”

Artemis giggled, “Yeah. Feels nice.”

Artemis took two more drags in the next five minutes and was high as a kite.

Standing, Tom pulled something from his pocket, “Hey, I’m gonna go to bed mate, but if you’re having trouble sleeping, I can give you something for that.” he handed Artemis a plastic bag half filled with pills, “Just some Benzos. They should chill you out, and hey, some people really enjoy being on them.”

Artemis took the bag with curiosity and slipped it into his pocket, “Benzos?” He slurred.

Tom nodded, “Yeah, those ones are Xanax.” He slipped Artemis a piece of paper, “Here’s my number if you need it.”

“Thank you.” Artemis mumbled.

Tom exited with a salute and a marble white grin.

Artemis took another swig of whiskey. The alcohol was really hitting him now, his limbs felt jelly-like and sluggish, and his thoughts were jumbled and rambling.

The party was still in full swing in the other rooms but in this dorm a steady trickle of people had left leaving the room all but empty.

A boy Artemis recognised shut the door (James, he recalled). James approached and climbed onto his lap and started to kiss him.

Artemis froze, still very much drunk. A hand riding up his leg was enough to snap him out of his stupor, he pushed at James’ chest with little affect due to the fact the alcohol had rendered him weak and feeble. He struggled and let out a slurred, “Get off me.” To no avail.

James hauled him up and placed him on the bed, holding his wrists in one hand and sitting in his legs saying, “Just let me.”

Artemis did not like this, not at all. He struggled for as long as he could which in his current state was about half a minute. After that he went limp and released a sound between a groan of frustration and a sob.

It was quieter than Artemis would have expected, the sound of rustling material and breathing deafening in the silence. Artemis was staring at the ceiling, numbly. Distantly, he heard a zipper coming undone and a low groan. He felt his trousers being pulled down his hips, taking his boxers with them.

James pulled his trousers and underwear fully off him, while still holding him down securely and flipped him onto his stomach.

A pain filled him, one that he never felt before but all he could do was release a shocked gasp. As James pushed in further the pain intensified and he felt something rip. James began to move, and Artemis thought he was going to be sick. He cried out but James used his other hand to cover his mouth, muffling the sounds of distress.

The world faded in and out of being as Artemis fought for consciousness through the pain. After a while, the pain faded from a razer sharp agony to a dull ache. James was still moving on top of him, breathing heavily and groaning.

James adjusted and changed angle making Artemis gasp. James had hit something that sent fireworks down Artemis’ spine. The pain was still present but now a dull pleasure built, much to his embarrassment. James continued to rut on top of him for another ten minutes before his rhythm became irregular and he stilled with a groan.

James rolled off and the click of the door signified his exit.

Artemis lay there, not moving for a time, still frozen in shock. He was in so much pain.

When he did attempt to move the pain hit him even harder. He managed to sit on the bed, the pain blurring his vision. Artemis realised belatedly that he had climaxed. He felt sick.

Standing was not easy, and he groaned with the effort. The word spun on its axis and daggers of pain jabbed into his insides every time he took a step.

He staggered to the ensuit bathroom and remembered Kieran. Shit. He had left Kieran drunk and vomiting in the bathroom of one of the dorms. In hindsight that was a very bad idea.

Artemis sat on the toilet and did his best to… clean up. There was blood. A lot of blood and… other bodily fluids. He threw up.

Leaving the bathroom, he felt mildly more sober. The whiskey bottle was still on the floor where he had left it, he picked it up. The party outside was the same as it was when Artemis left. That didn’t seem right somehow, everything else being unchanged. Artemis felt lost, wading through the crowd. A hand tapped him on the shoulder, and he flinched. He turned; it was just Kieran.

“Hey.” Kieran said, “I’m feeling better now, I was going to talk to Mikhail, wanna come?”

Artemis shook his head, “I’m going to leave.”

Kieran paused, “We haven’t even been here two hours.”

“I need to go.” Artemis repeated.

Kieran frowned, “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Fine.” Artemis said robotically.

Kieran frowned, “I should probably be getting back by now as well.”

They made their way to the stairwell and stumbled up the stairs and as they did Kieran was sparing Artemis worried glances, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Just tired.” Artemis assured hum

Kieran disappeared into his room and Artemis did the same.

Depositing the whiskey bottle on his nightstand Artemis released a shaky sob. Artemis got in the shower and scrubbed his body clean three times and still didn’t feel… clean. He got out, dried off, changed, and promptly fell asleep under the covers of his duvet, courtesy of the alcohol.