Vic’s Birthday party went on for another few hours, everyone either eating leftover food or cake, laughing at the latest person to make a joke, or just plain drinking. I was doing a little bit of all 3, and earlier in the evening, I had promised myself that I wasn’t going to get too crazy or drink too much. All those promises vanished though as soon as I got into a drinking competition with Kellin.

“Dude, you’ve like barely had anything to drink tonight,” Kellin complained.

“So?” I say with a shrug.

“So?” Kellin repeats. “Dean, this is a party! You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself, drinking, and doing stuff like that! Lighten up a bit.”

“This isn’t my party, Kellin-”

“Well it isn’t mine either but do you see me being a buzzkill?” Kellin sassed, placing his hand on his hip.

I simply gave Kellin a look before shaking my head and saying, “You know what? Fine.” I pointed a finger at Kellin’s chest and added, “You, me, drinking contest. That sound like fun to you?”

Kellin gave me a wicked grin and punched the air with his fist. “Hell yeah, girl!” he cheered. “Just as long as I get to make some of the rules-”

“Rules?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest. “I thought the point of this thing was too see who could take shots faster-”

“Pssh, that’s no competition,” Kellin said with a dismissive wave. “But, being able to down an odd mix of alcohol, take shots, and maybe chug a beer or two and then seeing who can walk in a straight line afterwards? That’s a competition.”

A loud laugh escaped my lips and I shook my head as my laughter died out. “Alright, whatever you say Kellin.”

Kellin grinned and let out a whoop of excitement before grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the house. “Vic!” Kellin called out. “We need to borrow the liquor cabinet!”

Vic almost immediately popped his head out of the back door and gave both Kellin and I a strange look. “Um why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Kellin thinks I’m a buzzkill so I challenged him to a drinking contest,” I told him simply.

An amused smirk spread across Vic’s face and I could tell he was biting back a laugh. “Well, getting access to the liquor cabinet is up to my parents, not me, but Jaime and I did manage to bring some of our stash-”

“Please?” Kellin used his best dog eyes on Vic. “It’s not a drinking contest without Chemical X-”

Vic didn’t even try to hold back his laughter at this. “Jesus, Kellin, are you trying to kill her?”

Kellin shrugged a bit and gave Vic an innocent smile. “Maybe- OW!” Kellin took a step back from me and was rubbing the sore spot on his arm. “What the-”

“Killing me was not part of the contest rules,” I scold, giving Kellin a pointed look. Vic let out another loud laugh and jumped in to save his friend.

“Dean, we’re kidding. It’s just a shit ton of alcohol thrown together and it's been known to have some killer headaches for the morning after,” Vic explains.

“Sounds like fun,” I say a bit sarcastically, giggling nonetheless.

“So we still get access to the stash, right?” Kellin asked with bright, puppy dog eyes.

Vic smiled and nodded. “‘Course, Kell, it’s on the kitchen counter-”

“THANKS VIC!” Kellin shouted, dragging me along with him again as he rushed inside and went straight for the kitchen. There was an assortment of bottled liquor like Vic had said laying out on the counter and Kellin immediately ran over. He grabbed two plastic cups and started pouring different amounts of practically everything from each bottle.

“So why do you guys call it ‘Chemical X’?” I asked.

Kellin gave me a wicked grin before saying, “Because this stuff is just that deadly, Dean. That, and it burns like hell going down.”

I let out a bit of a deep chuckle and shook my head at him. “Lovely,” I mumble under my breath.

Kellin just gave me a sweet, innocent smile and continued mixing all the alcohol together, then, he grabbed a few shot glasses that were sitting out and grabbed the bottle of tequila sitting out. “Hey, you mind grabbing the cups?” he asked, nodding his head towards the plastic cups filled with ‘Chemical X’.

“Of course not,” I say, grabbing the cups and walking out to the backyard with him. When we got out there, Vic was standing off the side talking with Mike, but as soon as Kellin and I stepped outside, the two brothers immediately turned to us and started to smirk.

“So you guys are actually doing this?” Mike asked, walking over with Vic on his heels.

“Hell yeah!” Kellin said with a grin, placing down the shots and tequila before high-fiving Mike.

“Aww, dude,” Jaime whined as he came over as well with Tony at his side, “don’t tell me you’re trying to kill our friend-”

“‘Course not, Jaime,” Kellin told him innocently. “I wouldn’t ever dream of killing this little lady over here.”

A soft smile spread across my lips and I said, “Aw, thanks Kellin-”

“Now getting her totally shitfaced, that’s a completely different story,” Kelling added with a small shrug, turning to pour the shots.

My smile turned down into a frown. “And just when I thought you really cared…”

All five guys laughed at me and Tony gave me a small, reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Leia, you’ll be totally fine,” he told me.

“Yeah,” Jaime added with a bright smile. “I mean, the worst thing that could happen is that you get a killer hangover tomorrow morning.”

“Oh boy, don’t I look forward to that!” I say with mock enthusiasm.

“You know Dean,” Kellin says coolly, “it’s still not too late to back out of this-”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I say with a cocked eyebrow. “There’s no way in hell I’m back out now. Just pour the shots and explain how this works.”

Kellin chuckled at me and said, “The shots are already poured. Now, the rules.” Kellin cleared his throat and assumed a professional air about him. “The rules are simple; nothing is going to be timed and it doesn’t matter who finishes what first- but bonus points to the person who down all the alcohol first.

“The first thing we’ll be doing is drinking all the contents in this cup,” Kellin continues, holding up one of the plastic cups. “Once you have successfully downed the contents in the cup, you may move on to the shots. Once you have successfully drank all 3 shots, my lovely assistant Vic will spin you around 5 times before you are asked to walk along the straight line of chalk over yonder.” Kellin points to the two straight lines of chalk drawn out before looking back at me and adding, “Any questions?”

“Nope, I’ve basically got it,” I say with a nod.

“Great!” Kellin says with a smile. We both go stand in front of the picnic table that our liquor was sitting on and Kellin looks over to Mike. “Do you mind counting us off?”

“Not at all,” Mike says with a smirk. He clears his throat and cracks his knuckles. He looks from Kellin to me before saying, “On your marks...get set….DRINK MOTHERFUCKERS DRINK!”

Both Kellin and I reach for the cups at the same time and immediately start chugging. At first, I had to stop because I wasn’t prepared for the immediate burn or bitter taste that came from whatever the hell it was that Kellin had just mixed up. “Fuck,” I mumble, clearing my throat a bit before I start chugging the liquid again. Don’t get me wrong, I was used to the usual burn of alcohol and I often ended up welcoming it, but the burn traveling down my throat was nothing I had ever experienced before. It was like someone was pouring liquid fire down my throat and I already knew my throat was going to be raw tomorrow morning.

There were a few whoops, hollers, and cheers of encouragement from the guys, but Kellin and I both seemed to be tuning them out. We finished our drinks almost simultaneous and I immediately started on my shots. Kellin fumbled a bit with his, so I had the upper hand and ultimately ended up finishing off my liquor first. I ran over to where Vic was standing and almost stumbled over a bit of loose gravel on the way.

Vic tried not to laugh at my little trip up but failed miserably at hiding it. “Shut up,” I mumbled, with Vic wasting no time in spinning me around. He was only supposed to do it five times, but it felt like a bit more than five. As I stumbled again and tried to stop the world from spinning, Vic did the same thing to Kellin and I attempted to walk forward. Between the dizziness and the liquor already beginning to affect my system, walking in a straight line was harder than it looked. Kellin was beginning to do the same, but I tried not to focus too much on my peripherals. It made everything way too dizzy.

It took a lot of effort, but I managed to walk the entire straight line without falling flat on my face. I wobbled a bit and almost lost my footing, but I got it under control. Kellin on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. He hadn’t even gotten halfway down the line before he tripped and fell flat on his face. Of course, he was being a sore loser about the entire thing and decided I was cheating somehow.

“You cheated!” Kellin pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

I busted up laughing and just gave Kellin a look. “How?”

“I...I don’t know, but you did!” he protested. Then he curled his hands into fists and slammed them on the ground. “I demand a rematch!”

“Yeah, uh, no,” I say through my fits of giggles.

“But-”

“Kellin buddy,” Vic spoke up, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, “I don’t think doing that particular contest again is a good idea.”

“You’re right,” Kellin said rather thoughtfully. He was silent for a few moments before bursting out with, “BEER! Let’s have a beer chugging contest!”

Vic grimaced a bit but also looked like he wanted to laugh. “Kellin, I-”

“You’re on, asshole!” I shout, laughing again as Kellin scrambled off the ground and we both rushed towards the nearest cooler.

“This is going to end horribly, isn’t it?” Tony asked, looking from Kellin and I to Vic.

Vic sighed in response and said, “It just might…”

Mike started laughing and added, “Who cares? We’re about to see Dean and Kellin totally shit faced- this is going to be fucking hilarious!” He punched the air with his fist and said, “C’mon losers, let’s watch this now while they’re still funny.”



A couple more hours passed and Kellin and I had had more than our fair share of liquor. He was intent on winning one of the many drinking contests we had, but much to everyone’s amusement, he hadn’t won a single contest. I was very pleased with my victory, but it had come at a cost. I was very, very drunk and was barely able to stand. I really wanted to go home though, but Mike was nowhere to be found.

Vic soon found me plopped down on the ground pouting, because in my drunken state, sitting down in the middle of the lawn and pouting was the best way to handle not being able to find Mike, and he started to chuckle a bit at me.

“You okay Dean?” he asked with a light teasing tone.

“I wanna go home but I can’t find Mikey,” I pout, looking up at Vic and giving him a rather pathetic look.

Vic let out another chuckle and smiled down at me. “Right, he left a few minutes ago to take Kellin back to his hotel room,” he explained. “He must have forgotten he was your ride…”

I huffed and folded my arms across my chest. “Meanie,” I mumbled.

“You’re right, Mike is a meanie,” Vic agreed with a nod. Then he held out his arms to me and said, “Alright, c’mere.”

I took Vic’s hands without hesitation and he pulled me up from the ground. I wobbled for a few moments as the world started spinning but I quickly got over it. “Where- where’re we goin’?” I asked.

“I’m taking you home, silly,” Vic told me as if it was obvious.

“Vicky, you really don’t have to-”

“Nonsense,” he told me. “We’re neighbors, so really its no problem.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Vic said sternly as we got into the house. “I’m taking you home.” I just huffed and accepted my defeat in the argument. I started to have trouble walking, so Vic slipped an arm underneath my shoulder and let me lean on him. At that moment, Vivian came out from the kitchen and asked a bit in surprised, “You’re still here, Vic?”

“Yeah, but I’m taking Dean home now,” Vic explains. “Thanks again Mama for a great birthday.”

She gave him a warm smile and said, “You’re more than welcome, mi hijo. Though, I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to be driving home-”

Vic’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Why Mama?”

“Mi hijo, it’s late,” she told him, “and you may not be drunk, but I can tell you’re still intoxicated. You don’t need to be driving or be putting Dean in danger like that.”

“Mama, I’ll be fine-”

“Victor Vincent Fuentes,” she stated, making Vic cringe a bit at the use of his full name, “you two are staying here tonight and that’s final.” She nodded a bit to prove her point and gave Vic a look that challenged him to defy her orders.

Vic looked like he definitely wanted to protest, but he just sighed and nodded. “Alright,” he sighed.

She nodded again at him and then softened up. “You two can take your old room upstairs and use Mike’s too if you need it,” she told him, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks again Mama,” he told her.

“Of course, mi hijo,” she said. “Get some rest now, we’ll see you in the morning.”

Vic nodded at her and Vivian took that moment to leave and walk up the stairs. I weakly waved after her and then looked over at Vic. “Are we going sleep now?” I slurred.

“Yep,” Vic told me with a chuckle. “C’mon Sleepy Head, let’s get you upstairs-”

“Carry me?” I pleaded, giving him my best puppy dog eyes, but since I was drunk, I wasn’t sure how well that was working out.

Vic shook his head at me but ended up smiling and nodding. “Alright, jump on,” he said, kneeling down. I awkwardly jumped on and Vic somehow managed to get a decent hold on me before standing back up and beginning his trek upstairs.

When we got to his room, he fumbled with the door knob for a moment before finally opening it and walking us inside. He closed the door behind him and I hopped off of his back, losing my balance for a moment before I finally just fell to the ground. I looked around in confusion for a few moments before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

Vic watched me with amusement clearly written on his face. “Well at least we know you’re a happy drunk,” he joked.

I gave Vic a look and then said, “No, I’m a mean, mean drunk.” I tried to screw my face up in anger and glare at him, but I just ended up looking like a constipated clown.

A light laugh fell from Vic’s lips and he shook his head at me. “Uh huh, sure,” he said. He looked me over for a few moments before asking, “Do you need any sort of extra clothes to sleep in?”

I shook my head and said, “Nope, I’m good. I’ll just stay in my shirt.”

Vic’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Your shirt? I- woah okay, I’ll just look away now,” he quickly said, his cheeks turning a bright pink as he looked away from me. I personally didn’t see the problem here- I was just taking off my pants, what was the big deal?

I managed to kick my pants off and I rid myself of my flannel in the process, leaving me only in my Metallica shirt. I look down at myself thoughtfully before I looked back at Vic and asked, “Do you have any shorts?”

Vic glanced at me for a moment and I saw his eyes rake over my body momentarily before he looked away and blushed even more. “Um, I might have some boxers or something you could use,” he quietly mumbled, going over to his dresser and searching through one of the drawers. After a few moments, he pulled out a black and white checkered pair of boxers and asked, “These okay?”

I nodded cheerfully at him and took the boxers from him. “Thanks Vicky,” I say, smiling brightly at him.

“Don’t mention it,” he finally told me, smiling back after a few moments. He then grabbed a few articles of clothing for himself before heading out of the room and off to the bathroom, I assume. I slipped into the boxers Vic gave me and then flopped down onto Vic’s bed. It was sooooooo soft and squishy…

Vic came back in a few minutes later and smiled a bit when he saw me rolling around like an idiot on his bed. “Comfortable?” he teases.

“Mhm,” I mumbled, looking up at him and smiling. He just chuckled and shook his head, grabbing a pillow and blanket sitting on the edge of the bed and heading off towards the small futon in the corner of the room. I gave him an odd look and asked, “Whatcha doing?”

“I’m giving you the bed,” Vic told me with a casual shrug, throwing the pillow onto the futon and then fixing it up a bit for a bed.

I frowned and said, “I don’t have to sleep on the bed-”

“Dean, I was going to give you the bed whether you liked it or not,” Vic told me pointedly, smiling at me for a moment before going back to fixing up his makeshift bed. “Besides, this is what friends are for, right?” he asked.

I thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Yeah, I guess, but-”

“No buts,” he told me, playfully wagging a finger at me. “Just get some sleep, okay?”

I smiled softly at Vic and then flopped down on the bed. “M’kay,” I mumbled, snuggling down onto the soft mattress. “Night Vicky.”

I closed my eyes and the last thing I heard before slipping into unconsciousness was a soft chuckle coming from the other side of the room and Vic’s voice quietly saying, “Goodnight, Dean.”

---

Vic's P.O.V.

You know those nights where your brain wakes up at 3 in the morning just to ask you stupid questions about life? Well, tonight was one of those nights. Dean and I had finally drifted off to sleep sometime between 1 and 2 am and I had had the full intent to stay asleep until the sun was shining in my eyes. My brain on the other hand decided that it was more important to be up right now and ask all those important questions like What is the meaning to life? and Why are Trix just for kids?

I let out a small sigh and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will myself back to sleep and shut up my brain in the process, when I heard it; soft, faint sniffling and heartbreaking whimpers that came from the other side of the room. At first, I thought it was my imagination and just another thing my brain was doing to keep me awake, but as I laid there and listened for a few more moments, I heard it again- this time more pronounced. I didn’t sit up right away, but I propped myself up a bit on my elbow and turned to look where the sound was coming from. Dean was sitting up on my bed, her knees drawn to her chest while her chin rested on top of them. I could see from here that she was shaking and the moonlight shining the through the windows illuminated the tears that fell down her cheek now and then.

“Dean?” I quietly rasped, concern lacing my tired voice.

Dean’s head quickly shot up and looked over in my direction. She clearly hadn’t been expecting me to call out let alone be awake. She quickly wiped her face with her sleeve and let out a small breath. “Yeah?” she weakly managed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice still heavy with sleep. “Why are you-”

“It’s nothing,” she quickly defended, her voice cracking a little. “I’m fine. Just go back to bed.”

“Well you don’t sound fine,” I tell her, getting up from the futon and padding over to her. “You don’t look fine either. What’s wrong?”

Dean shook her head at me, refusing to meet my gaze. “I- I already told you, it’s nothing-”

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” I counter, sitting on the bed next to her and looking over her. “Dean I-”

“Just stop,” she quietly pleaded, her voice sounding dead and emotionless. Her face looked stone cold and it was obvious that she had sobered up quite a bit since we went to bed. “Please. I was just having some troubles sleeping, that’s all.”

I stare at her for a long moment before shaking my head. “I have a hard time believing that,” I say.

Dean let out a breath through her nose and her eyes squeezed shut. “You wouldn’t believe me anyway,” she quietly mumbled, her voice muffled a bit by her knees.

“So there is something going on?” I asked in worry.

She was silent for a moment, almost as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. “Sort of,” she finally whispered.

“What is it?” I quietly encouraged for her to go on. Dean just sat there though and shook her head, burying her face in her knees and beginning to shake again. “Dean, please- tell me what’s going on. I want to help you and I know I can, but you’ve got to let me in first,” I tell her, my voice cracking a bit from all the raw emotions.

She stayed silent for so long, and it seemed like an eternity, but eventually, she pulled her face out from her knees and spoke. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

I looked at her curiously and studied her tear stained face for quite some time. “Of what?” I asked.

“Everything,” Dean said with a light, bitter laugh. “I’m scared of the dark, the future, my dreams- hell, I’m even scared of you.” She shook her head and focused her eyes on the comforter scrunched up between her toes.

I was honestly taken aback at bit by her words. “Me?” I quietly asked. “Why me?”

“Because,” she whispered. “Because you’re a nice guy, Vic. You actually care about me, and you’re the first person that genuinely has for a while now. You let me into your life so fast and I started to let you into mine.” Dean let out a slow, shaky breath and shook her head. “Letting people get close to me never works out for me. I get too attached, people leave me, and all I ever get is a world full of pain. That’s why I’m afraid. I’m afraid that you and the rest of the guys are just like everyone else and that it’s only a matter of time before you all leave me just like everyone else. Or at least that’s what my dreams keep reminding me of.”

My heart broke at her words. It hurt to know that she just thought we’d all just leave her like that. “Dean, I-”

“No Vic, you just don’t understand,” she said, her voice cracking from the emotional strain she was feeling. “Everyone that I’ve ever loved or cared about has either hurt me or left me. I know that you and the guys are different from them, but at the same time, I can’t believe it. I’ve already grown too attached, and as much as I wish for things to be different, I’m constantly plagued with this fear that nothing’s changed and I’m just going to lose you all in the end.”

At this point, Dean wasn’t even attempting to hold back the tears or even hide them. They flowed freely down her cheek and right onto her knees. I instinctively brought her to my chest and wrapped my arms around her in a protective way. “Dean, I am so sorry that this has had to happen to you and that people have hurt you,” I say, my own voice overcome with a mix of emotions, “but I swear to you, none of us are ever going to hurt you. I will never hurt you. I wouldn’t even dream of it.”

Dean was quiet for a few moments, excluding her soft sniffling, before she finally spoke. “How do I know you’re not lying about this?” she whispered.

“Because I wouldn’t be able to ever live with myself if I did,” I told her. “I know that’s not much to go off of, and it’s not much to prove to you, but just know that I promise you with all my heart that I would never leave you or hurt her.”

Dean went silent again, but her tense, shaking body had relaxed considerably in past few moments. “I- I don’t know- I just…” Dean was tripping over her words, almost like she really didn’t know what to say. She finally let out a sigh and leaned into me, accepting my embrace and not fighting it. “Thank you Vic,” she whispered.

I nodded slightly and whispered back, “Anytime, Darling.”

We sat there on my bed for long time, not really saying much, just sitting there in the silence while I still held her in my arms. After a while though, Dean began to yawn and relax comfortably in my arms. This brought a bit of a smile to my lips and I leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Maybe we should get some sleep now.”

Dean just nodded and mumbled some tired string of words. I started to let her go and lay her now when her entire body froze and she quickly muttered, “Wait.”

I looked down at Dean in both worry and confusion. Did I do something wrong? “What?” I asked. “Is everything alright?”

She nodded and quietly said, “Yeah, just, um...would you stay with me?”

I relaxed and let out a small breath, relieved that I didn’t do anything to her. “Of course,” I told her, settling down next to her on the bed. She cuddled up next to me and my arm automatically wrapped around her waist to bring her closer. We both laid there for a few moments, our breathing slowly matching in sync, when Dean broke the silence.

“Vic?” she quietly asked me.

“Yeah?” I replied, looking at her curiously.

“Could you sing me something?” she whispered. “You know, so I can fall asleep?”

A small smile tugged at my lips and I couldn’t help the soft chuckle that fell from my lips. “Anything for you, Dean,” I told her in a mildly teasing tone. I heard Dean giggle a bit softly and I knew that she was smiling a little too. I quickly racked my brain for something to sing her and eventually decided on the first song that I thought of.

“She sits up high, surrounded by the sun
One million branches and she loves every one
‘Mom and dad, did you search for me?
I've been up here so long I'm going crazy!’

And as the sun went down we ended up on the ground
I heard the train shake the windows
You screamed over the sound
And as we own this night
I put your body to the test with mine
This love was out of control
3-2-1 where did it go?

Now don't be crazy
Yes now of course you can stay here.
Been in a touring band for going on ten years.
‘Big deal,’ she said, ‘I guess you're official.’
I only said it 'cause I know what it's like to feel burned out

It gets you down,
We've all been there sometimes
But tonight I'll make you feel beautiful once again

And as the sun went down we ended up on the ground
I heard the train shake the windows
You screamed over the sound
And as we own this night
I put your body to the test with mine
This love was out of control
3-2-1 where did it go?

If I were you I'd put that away
See, you're just wasted
And thinking 'bout the past again
Darling, you'll be okay

And she said,

‘If you were me, you'd do the same
'Cause I can't take anymore
I'll draw the shades and close the door
Everything's not alright and I would rather...’

And as the sun went down we ended up on the ground
I heard the train shake the windows
You screamed over the sound
And as we own this night
I put your body to the test with mine
This love was out of control
Tell me where did it go?”

By the time I was done singing, I could hear the soft, quiet breathing from Dean that let me know she had fallen asleep. I let out a soft sigh and without thinking, I pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. “I swear to you, I’m not leaving,” I quietly mumbled to her, holding her close to my body as I closed my eyes and let sleep overcome yet again.

And for the first time that night, we both fell asleep without dreams or other thoughts to keep us awake.

Notes

Hey guys! I told you I'd be back soon ;) Anyway, I thought I'd try to writing in Vic's POV for this chapter, and I can guarentee that this isn't the last time you'll be reading from his POV.

Song Credit- Hold On Til May by Pierce The Veil ((I know, I know, it's lame and everyone uses this song for everything, but I was stuck on what other song for Vic to sing xD))