Survival Of The Fittest

"Awesome!" Bert exclaimed. This was going to be great. A closet? Closets were amazing because you could just close the door and let that fucker go, hotbox the place, and basically be high and laughing and happy happy forever. Forever is a long, long time to spend in a closet, but hey, it'd be chill. But, where were the closets? They'd probably want one on the second floor, or maybe somewhere even more secluded than that. Hey, how about downstairs? Nah, dance floor was downstairs. Bert could feel that it was just so, so loud down there, in so many ways, that being anywhere closer would kill her vibe.

This is a big, pretty swirling vortex of colors and emotions, Bert thought to herself, smiling at the thought, of everything's and nothing's. So much shit, so many people, so little time, and all of that time, and all of that shit, and all of those people, are beautiful. Have I not had any of this yet? I'm primed and fucking ready then.



Is she?



"Follow me," Bert said, smiling at Camilla, "let's find a place together."

And up the stairs Bert went.

[Bert Wren continued in The Mascara Snake.]

There was but one thought Camilla had in mind as she followed the now-not-so-much-a-stranger Bert up the stairs.

What have I gotten myself into?

[Camilla Bell continued in The Mascara Snake]

I want to fucking escape from these two hot as fuck dudes!

Okay. Emmett's thoughts were getting out of hand for him and he knew that things were possibly going to get worse. He really wanted to bolt right out of there as there were definitely too many people there and he just wished that there was more room for him to move. Andy was still touching him and his mind felt like it was going to shut down at any moment. Stupid good-looking Andy and shirtless Ace.... Uggggh….

He had downed about two or three more shots after that and he felt like he should tell the others that he was going to fuck off to another room to be by himself. However, Tanisha seemed to be taking control of the situation. Like she wanted them to play another game. At least Emmett knew what the fuck this one was. Looks like he had to stay a bit longer. He didn't know why he wanted to stay with these guys. They weren't his friends but.... Fuck it. One night of fun was all that he could deal with.

"Alright. At least I know this game." Emmett let out a small sigh and he picked up another cup of peach vodka. "Let's get the fuck out of here tho. It's too crowded and we can get a room to ourselves. Yeah? Fucking yeah!"

I am going to fucking regret doing this. Fuck my life!

((Emmett Bunnell continued elsewhere))

Ace was a little too busy milly rocking to really participate in the deliberations...

But he wasn't too busy to not notice Tanisha staring at him and there wasn't nothing mixed about those signals. Ace didn't need a girl to lead him on--he got there all on his own more often than not. He didn't have a good record of calling his shot, he was too shy and too insecure to put himself out there like that...

But somethings you just know! Some shit was just impossible to miss.

He was sure that the way she was looking him up and down meant something and the primal side of his mind mixed with the adolescent unsure part. A few moments prior to going into the bathroom Tanisha hadn't looked like anything real special but now? You could tell girl had ass from the front. That was a certified weapon of ass destruction staring him down like a prized pony.

And biting her lip in a way that was far too PG-13 for Ace Beats...who was he trying to fool?

All he heard was Juvenile playing in his mind while Miss New Booty herself dropped it and popped it like he was Uncle Luke.

Shit, I'm mixing rap metaphors...that's a bad sign and shit...

What you give me Brockman?!

"Well, uh, shit, fuck, damn, well, uh never have I ever played Never Have I Ever, so I guess now or never," he paused and blinked and then began whispering to himself in a bit of a sing song rap fashion, "Never have I ever so I guess it's now or never, too grown to be stupid, too young to know better..."

Not bad...

"Maybe."

Not now!

He reached in his pocket and scrolled through his phone in a panic trying to get some focus and also produce some armor from the social interaction. He was getting a little paranoid that maybe just probably maybe possibly that people knew he was wasted. The first contact that came up in his texts that wasn't his parents brought a smile to his face. Yeeeeah! Keep the good vibes going, don't focus on the doubt--let the serotonin take you for a ride! That was the ticket, no doubt.

"Uh, lemme find a friend of mine and I'll catch up,lemme just get a swig for the road," he took a hold of the vodka bottle after Tanisha poured her shot and took a chug, a quick one though, he still remembered the taste (it still tasted like shit), "Don't finish all the liq without me y'all."

He shot off a text on his phone as he made his way out the kitchen...

[+] Meilin

>yoooooooooooo
>u at the ball of swiftness or nah?
>let's link up...shit crazy here

Meilin stumbled out from the staircase laughing all the way up. It wasn't that anything particularly funny happened, it was just a damn good time down there. Everybody was dancing, the DJ was giving it her best, and this was the kind of party that reminded her why she partied.

Of course, moderation had to be practiced in everything, and Meilin was pretty sure she might just go deaf being down there too long. Luckily, her ears stopped ringing so loudly in time for the little text notification chime. Though, the vibration in the pocket of her bag hanging against her ensured she would have noticed anyway. So, she took out her phone, and...

Ace? Well, it was kind of a given he'd be here, and yeah, seemed like a pretty good idea for them to get together for a bit! To be honest, she was just a little curious as to what he was getting up to. If he asked the same, she'd say she did what she always wanted to do at parties- dance. And who could blame her?

[+] Ace

>You know it!
>Where you at???

Call her nerdy, but something about proper capitalization when texting just made her happy whenever she did it. Ah, the sweetness of typing!

"Okay, boo. You take your time," Tanisha told Ace.

She did another quick glance up and down, and then started to gather all the cups. It seemed like they had a good-sized group for this game, but it couldn't hurt to bring extra glasses in case anyone else decided to join in mid-game. Still, considering how under-the-spell Ace was, Tanisha figured that, as the Diva of Drinking Games (which she just mentally came up with and would try to own as hard as possible tonight), she should try to manage it well to a better degree.

She looked around and noticed a tall, empty flower vase sitting on the windowsill by the sink. It was one of those tall, square glass ones you'd put some cheap flowers you saw at the grocery store, but for now, it was just sitting on the windowsill doing nothing. Tanisha nodded, and moved over to grab it.

"Let me take some insurance too."

Tanisha grabbed the vase and turned on the sink. She rinsed it out a bit, drained it, and then filled it up with water. Now they had a water pitcher for anyone who was tired of peach vodka or wanted to balance out their system before they puked everywhere or pissed themselves trying to get home.

Tanisha collected the vase and the extra cups and carefully walked out of the kitchen, keeping them bunched and pressed together between her hands like she was a pro bartender. It looked like they found a place to play the game, so she'd join them.

"Alright, let's get this game started."

((Tanisha Abbey continued in In Vino Veritas))

There was a unique sensation going on in Ace's mind as the vodka mixed with ecstasy and the loud music paired with the knowledge that he was likely being judged a bit for...doing more than alcohol. He had thought he was bigger than those doubts but he was reminded all too quickly that he had just been putting on a mask when he had come to the ball of swiftness. He wasn't a drug user or a big party person, he danced in his room or in the shower...he had a couple of near death experiences involving rogue bars of soap and a few lost towel racks to prove that.

This was all too much and too soon!

He didn't really want to play Never Have I Ever and get more wasted and not be able to get home, he already felt like he was probably gonna have to be at this party until dawn at least and then hit up Waffle House just to sober up to get home. Talking to Meilin was just as much strategic as anything, he knew that she was as straight edge as he had been about twenty minutes ago. She'd have some good clean fun and she'd take care of him if anything! Getting a text so quickly from Meilin made him smile and lose focus on his paranoia. Meilin would be a calming, non-judgmental person and she also knew how to have a good time. She was the perfect ally to have in the madness that was #Swiftball.

Yeah, nothing 'bout her being cute and you wanting to dance, huh? And also escape being the virgin homebody who decided to do E on a whim playin' Never Have I Ever...?

Well...maybe.

Ace didn't care about punctuation, he was a natural babbler and he liked to shoot off multiple texts with quick abandon.

[+] Meilin

>gettin out of da ktchn
>a lil 2 messd ^
>lookin 2 chill a bit

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah." Andy kind of lost track of like... anything at all that came out of his mouth a minute ago. Were they moving on to greener pastures, or whatever the fuck? Looked like they were.

Well, hey. He couldn't abandon his good buddy pal friend Emmett, whom he had solemnly sworn to party with. It went against the Bro Code, or something.

Andy took a short detour to the fridge to finally retrieve that soda he'd been craving since he got down here, and then he followed Emmett and Tanisha out.

((Andy Silverman continued in In Vino Veritas))

A concoction of feelings mixed within Kayden's brain as Lorenzo got closer and it began to bubble the moment their lips touched. For a moment he was slightly still, letting it wash over him. Then, instinct took over as he returned the kiss. Oh wow. This was really happening, huh. Probably a few years overdue but still. Man, Lorenzo was a really good kisser - he'd probably had a lot of practice and all, but still. If he'd been less addled, he might have considered the fact they should probably be retreating to a less crowded spot so they weren't in the way of anybody, but a small pop of emotion decided against that, since hey, straight people made out in front of everyone else all the time, if they didn't like two dudes being guys and just giving each other the precursor to fucking like nature's mammals then join a convent.

Of course it didn't go over quite that detailed in Kayden's head.

LORENZO HOT. WANT KISS.

His left hand fell to Lorenzo's hip while his right stayed at the back of his neck. He pulled them in closer as the dance raged on around them, before suddenly feeling a wave of slight weariness seep in. Thinking fast, he began to push Lorenzo backward through the crowd before hitting the wooden wall under the staircase and going back at it more powerfully than he had before, this time having a surface to lean on while he devoured Lorenzo's lips.

This was going to be a fun night, and thank god Kayden had prepared, in more ways than one. That detachable showerhead that came with the new ensuite was going to pay dividends.

Lorenzo felt Kayden lean into the kiss as their tongues dueled for supremacy. Lorenzo felt his body temperature rising, and he couldn't be sure if that was from the molly he’d just ingested or from the sheer intensity of their make-out session. Kayden’s lips were soft and delicious, and Lorenzo was starting to regret never having had a taste before. It was almost addicting, he just wanted more and more of the blonde. Kayden’s hand wandered down to Lorenzo’s waist and he began to push him backwards. Lorenzo went with the flow, never once breaking the contact but letting his right hand wander below the jock’s waist to grab a handful of his perky buttocks. All of a sudden Lorenzo felt his back hit a wall, and just as soon as he did, Kayden became even more ravenous than before. Lorenzo felt his head spinning as multiple emotions began to swirl in his head. All he could focus on right now was hot hot this entire situation was and how much he needed to keep his mouth on the boy in front of him.

Lorenzo’s left hand soon joined his right on Kayden’s jean-clad butt, gripping both cheeks roughly and firmly pulling the boy’s crotch into his own, grinding against him steadily as they continued to swap saliva. Lorenzo had to admit, as nice as he thought his own ass was, it was nothing compared to the bubble he was currently squeezing. Those workouts Kayden did for football really paid off, he had the best ass Lorenzo had ever held. He could only imagine how much better it must look without the pants.

Lorenzo pulled out of the kiss for a moment begrudgingly, and did his best to catch his breath for a second, locking his eyes on the other boy’s. He grinned and nipped at the other boy’s lower lip before moving his mouth over to the jocks ear and whispering.

“Maybe we should relocate…” He let his words trail off slightly as he used his tongue to lick from Kayden’s ear down to his collarbone, when her continued his kiss and nip assault from before. His hands released the other boy’s buns for a moment , one traveling up to tangle itself in Kayden’s blonde hair and pull it slightly, pulling his head back for better access to his neck. His other hand came around the boy’s waist and dove in between their bodies, grabbing a handful of the jock’s crotch firmly.

Kayden pulled his own mouth over to Lorenzo's ear.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! MUSIC!"

Kayden wasn't sure why Lorenzo was trying to whisper over a speaker that could punch a hole in their guts, but that just added to his charm. He wouldn't have known at all that the other boy was speaking if it weren't for the fact he felt different puffs of air coming for his ear. God, wasn't this whole thing just delicious? Room full of probable straight people and the hottest scene in front of them involved two dudes. Life should be like that all the time - not just the making out, but more the shoving it straight down their throats.

People. Huh. There's a lot of people in this room. Bit too many. Weird I'm thinking of that now. Oh, right, probably the E talking. And going by the fact that the first minute in his mouth tasted like bath salts, he'd probably taken some too. That was what Ericka had, right? Anyways. Anyways anyways anyways. Any ways about it, they were going to get it at each other in any way, in any of the ways. There were many ways. At that school were many-

Kayden blinked while laughing a bit into Lorenzo's ear, although the other boy probably didn't hear it. He'd gotten a bit off track inside his own head.

"LETS GO UPSTAIRS!"

Kayden wasn't sure if Lorenzo heard what he said, but Kayden forcefully grabbed him by the hand anyway and led him back through the crowd. They hadn't even been dancing for that long, what a bummer. But before they started up the stairs, Kayden pulled Lorenzo back into another kiss, before grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him upstairs.

The moment they cleared the landing and were back in the kitchen, Kayden pulled the other boy back in for more. Gosh, he was such a distraction, wasn't he?

The music kept on with it’s unending beat as the two boys continued to manhandle each other against the wall. Lorenzo’s suggestion fell on deaf ears, as Kayden didn’t even seem to notice he was speaking. Made sense. Music was super loud. Lorenzo’s attempt to be sexy was a failure, but at least only he knew it, so that was a win. To make up for it, Lorenzo began his assault on the other boy’s neck area again with a renewed vigor, but stopped to look up at the blonde as he felt him laughing in his ear. Lorenzo grinned. Kayden was fucking cute. His lips looked even better now that they were a bit swollen from their make-out. Kayden suddenly shouted that they should head upstairs and Lorenzo let the boy drag him over to the staircase. It felt as if they’d just come downstairs, and they were already leaving. Lorenzo wasn’t complaining though. Wherever the blonde wanted to take him, Lorenzo was here for it.

At the base of the stairs Lorenzo felt a sharp tug on his arm and soon he and Kayden were lip-locked once more. Lorenzo wasn’t sure if he was feeling drunk from the whiskey he’d been chugging or if he was getting drunk off Kayden’s lips. Maybe it was both. The MDMA swirling around his brain wasn’t making matters any easier to discern either.

Oh, well. In the end it felt fucking fantastic, so who cared?

They were back to going up the stairs now, Lorenzo letting himself be led along behind the jock, and making sure to ogle his ass as he climbed up behind him. Now they were back in the kitchen, and Lorenzo was pulled in for another taste of Kayden. He could spend all night kissing this kid, he tasted so fucking good. Lorenzo shoved the other boy against the kitchen counter, devouring his lips like a starving man. He pulled back and stared into the blonde’s eyes, and he felt his heart beating like a madman. It was like he couldn’t get enough.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lorenzo spotted the bottle of Gentlemen Jack he’d abandoned in here not long ago. Grinning, he snatched the bottle up, taking a generous swig from it to calm his erratic heartbeat, and grabbed Kayden’s hand. Now that the music wasn’t so loud, he could at least hear himself talk.

“Let’s find a room. I want you now.” With a wild grin Lorenzo pulled his soon-to-be bedmate out of the kitchen, bottle still in hand, to go find a suitable place for the next set of activities.

[Lorenzo Tavares Pulling Kayden to Morningleaver]

A quick step to the side ensured that a poor sod who'd clearly had too much of something would sway harmlessly onto a chair, instead of barreling into her. As much as Meilin didn't like to recite it to herself, the rule with someone like herself at parties like Switfball was to come late and leave early (earlier, anyway).

That train of thought kept going as the nail of her thumb lightly tapped the screen where Ace's latest text had shown up. It took her a few mental laps for her to get the intended meaning (she hoped!) out through the second-hand white noise she was experiencing. Once she got it though, it was pretty easy to guess what he had been up to lately. Would he need a ride home...? The car was some ways away on a smaller street where one could actually park, which would be kind of annoying. Hopefully he was sober enough to remember how to walk! (Of course he would be, Ace probably wouldn't mess himself up that badly.)

[+] Ace

>Close to the kitchen? Be there soon!
>OH btw do you need a ride?

Do I need a ride...?

And with an emoji...?

What does that mean...?

Is she hitting on me...?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How do I respond? Should I text someone for help? Shit. Think. Shit. Think. Fuck! Damn it! Code Red! Code Black! Code Red and Black!

Ace stared quizzically as he held his phone up to his face and walked through the crowd, pretty much moving anyone in front of him aside with a quick pawing. The place was still crowded and he was still hot but not having his tanktop on still made him feel nice, it was much better than sweating out the cotton undershirt.

That he had lost by the way, whatever, he was sure it was on the kitchen floor somewhere.

Somebody somewhere, either above or below, was looking out for him and as he looked up from his phone still pondering how to respond to Meilin--he saw her ahead, in a gap between party goers. He felt another wave of euphoria go over him but he didn't know if it was the drugs, he felt his heart pitter patter and felt an urge to slap himself in the face--but his eyes remained low and his grin simply expanded. Whatever doubt he had about the MDMA faded away as he stared at her. He knew this sounded crazy but with the glow of her skin paired with the light in the house--he could've sworn he saw Meilin's aura.

And it was hot pink.

"Hey! Over here! Mei! Mei! Hey! Hey! Mei! Mei! Hey! Hey!", he waved his big mitt of a hand and giggled, "It's me Ace!"

Okay, but now what?

Be cool, don't act weird bro, you're on a little bit of ecstasy--people do that shit erryday b!

"Crazy party, huh?"

Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it together.

Mikki wasn't sure how long she'd been at the forefront of the dancefloor, but her last bottle of water had just been quenched. She wasn't going to survive down there much longer if she didn't get some refills, after which she'd get Charelle or Forrest to take over for a bit. Either way, it seemed like everyone was having the time of their life. She saw people getting busy on the dancefloor before heading off, although some stayed behind to keep dancing and making out. Lucky bastards - Mikki hadn't had a good makeout session with Andy in ages. Maybe it was time to change that.

She loaded her last handled song onto the system, before setting everything up to shift it onto a pre-planned playlist. The moment that song ended, Mikki bound up the stairs to get her drinks and be social at her own goddamn party.

((Mikki Swift continued at her own goddamn party))