Chapter Text
The party is raging on outside, but the four of them are cramped into a single stall in the men's bathroom and honestly, Jorge is okay with that. There's good weed and good friends, and the music is seeping through the doorway just enough for Lucas to manage an occasional ridiculous, wiggling dance move that makes them laugh all the more for being stoned. The door opens and they hastily slam the stall door shut, but its just Cris and so they laugh and jibe at each other. Any other girl in the men's room might be weird but Cris is Cris and it isn't like she's going to rat them out for the weed either. Hugo extracts himself from the tangle of limbs.
"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" he asks her.
"I haven't congratulated you?" she replies, and offers to buy him a shot while pulling him in to a hug.
Jorge joins in the gentle ribbing, then takes his turn with the joint. As Hugo and Dilan ask Lucas about being gay, Jorge lets his mind wander a bit. All of his cluster seems to be out partying tonight, which is nice. They wave at each other as he passes through. The music is loud everywhere, and Tyler has evidently met a cute guy so that's awesome for him. He comes back to himself as Cris is leaving the bathroom stall, mock-angry about her missing drink but its Hugo's party so she can't really be too upset. Besides, Cris is never really too upset about anything. Her easygoing manner is one of his favorite things about her.
After the door swings shut behind her, Jorge finishes up his mental circuit with a stop in Italy. Marti's party is evidently for girl Fede's birthday, and he's mostly been spending it down in the basement with the guys. Jorge thinks that that's ridiculous-he and his friends are 2 doors away from the party, not 2 floors- but whatever makes Marti happy is good enough for him.
When they do get back upstairs, there's a fight breaking out about missing drugs and money, and Jorge is too busy trying to make sure Hugo's birthday isn't ruined and Eva andCris don't get hurt and on and on about that to worry about what anyone else is up to.
Marti tries very hard to put Eva kissing him, or, attempting to, out of his head as he returns to the basement with his loot. He brushes off whoever is on the phone on the way down. The scene when he returns is pretty much what he expected. The air around them is hazy, and his friends are sitting in the frankly gigantic bathtub with the detritus of their partying so far scattered around the rim. They toast to Big Fede, and then comes the part of the night that he always dreads: the part where they start talking about girls.
("You could just tell them you know," Magnus points out, his own mind hazy and drifting from a joint on somebody's rooftop.)
Marti ignores him and just says that he would hook up with the Argentinian girl, and sinks into the blur of his mind when they start talking about Fede again. Thankfully they move on soon enough, and Elia accepts the 5 euros and lack of responsibility instead of the full 20 that he owes. Just then however, the door swings open and Covitti, who they were just talking about, comes in.
And then, and he doesn't quite know how it happens especially after he called her a frog ("rude," says Mia) and then he's making out with her, leaning out of the bathtub as she leans in. She climbs in, taking over the space where Gio's legs were, and she's going in for the blowjob when a knock sounds at the door.
"How long are you going to take in there," says the voice that might just be the voice of God.
Emma pees, quickly, and they head out past Daphne and Eva together. He loses her somewhere at the top of the stairs, which is fine with him, and when he finds the boys they rumple his hair in congratulations. They've just started asking for details when he is saved again, though this time in a far less fortunate way. He has just enough time to stash the weed before they are fleeing the roof, fleeing the cop that stops them, stumbling on to the bus giddy with exhaustion and high on so many things.
After the chaos of the party, the rest of the weekend passes in a hungover sort of blur. If there's a major disadvantage to this whole sensate thing, its that when one of them has a headache, everyone has a headache. And when six of them have headaches...
("This is so unfair. I don't even drink!" Mia exclaims, Imann nodding along with her. "Maybe if you stopped complaining so loudly, they would go away," Tyler groans in response. Jorge and Britt shove at him, but no one disagrees.)
Anyways. Saturday is painful and Sunday is sleepy but Monday is back to school so Emma tugs on her comfiest shirt and fuzziest jacket and meets the Alex and Manon in the school's front hallway. Before they can do or say much though, the sight of Lucas making out rather violently with Sarah literally cuts them off as they spin lip-locked across the hallway.
She updates them (and Marti, who is if nothing else apparently slightly more self aware than Lucas since he at least tried to get out of the BJ at his party, even if his success was due to outside factors) on the situation. Daphne comes hurtling down the hallway just then, with Imane striding far more calmly behind her. Daphne has party planning news, surprise surprise, and though Emma admits Manon is probably right and everyone is probably partied-out, she has to admit it would be fun to host. Before they can talk much more, the bell rings and the five of them scatter off to class.
Emma didn't even get to ask Manon who that text she ignored was from, though she has a strong suspicion that she knows already.
Okay, so on the list of ways that Mia wanted to spend her evening, accidentally seeing her roommate get a blowjob ranks even lower than cleaning up his piss from the toilet seat does, and she is very much regretting not taking the hint when Linn told her than he had a visitor.
(Jorge, Tyler, Magnus, and Marti all seem vaguely impressed by just how terrible Hans' aim is, while Imann, Britt, and Emma are joining her in total and utter disgust.)
Nevertheless, Hans to hear what she has to say about cleaning up after himself, and Mia is annoyed enough about his callousness regarding the state of the world to let herself get angrier than she usually might. The "You all" comment might have gone too far though, and she's thankful that she has Marti to jump in and clarify "you guys" not "you gays."
Then her parents call about Christmas, and she is insanely glad that she has Hanna to talk to about all of this.
To her dismay, Hanna does not approve of her "sit alone at home and read books for Christmas," plan, instead inviting Mia to celebrate with herself and her father. Hanna's version of Christmas sounds very cozy though, and Mia likes Mr. Jung a lot. Besides, she can hear the vulnerability in her friend's voice when she says that they could use more people, so Mia gives in without much further complaint. They run into Jonas and Matteo then, but apparently there hasn't been much movement on that front either so they walk the rest of the way to class in silence.
Magnus, Mahdi, Jonas, and Isak are sitting a table away from the girls while they talk about their bus meeting, so its fairly easy to overhear even without intentionally eavesdropping. Which he definitely isn't. when Vilde talks about how they are all strong, independent women, he definitely doesn't feel a soft smile slip onto his face. When Eva mentions going to the Elvebakken party with them on Friday, he definitely doesn't make eye contact with Jonas. And when they start talking about William's Tragic Backstory, he definitely doesn't find himself sharing headspace with Mia, who is apparently talking to Kiki about veganism.
("I'm worried about her." Mia says, as she cycles to school and Kiki jogs in the other direction. "I thought we had gotten past this when we talked to the nurse."
Magnus very carefully ignores her own avoidance of the William/Alexander thing, and instead offers a place for her to sit under his arm while the cafeteria hums around him. She takes a few deep breaths, and she isn't eavesdropping on the other table's conversation either. Isn't mentally comparing William's apology speech to Alexander's, or hearing her phone chime along Noora's. Doesn't shake her head to cut Eva off along with the other blonde. Doesn't nod decisively when Noora cuts off the possibility of a her-and William. She does, however, give him a comforting squeeze when Vilde continues to sigh over William. Both are grateful when Sana cuts off all talk of Christmas.)
Magnus is also grateful that Mia needs to disappear to go to her biology class before William invites everyone to the bus party. He sighs deeply. Noora appears to be losing this battle, but it doesn't seem like anyone is winning.
("I know what that feels like," grumbles Marti, as Luca goes on about some girl's clitoris just as a text arrives from his father asking about dinner later in the week. And Silvia comes up to talk to them about a radio station. Jesus. He can't catch a break. The guy that they were talking to before approaching his group was pretty cute though. Maybe if he joins the radio station...no. They are busy on Thursday. But something about Sana's face tells him that she knows something he doesn't.
"I always know something you don't" Imann chimes in cheerfully and not a little bit sarcastically.)
Magnus kicks them all out of his head then so he can finish his lunch before the next class.
Look, Tyler knows there's a whole lot going on right now, but if he's being honest, his main focus is on the band. They've been putting together some good songs lately, and booking this gig at SX sessions seems like it will be a really great opportunity for them. So while Marlon flirts with some girl, and Meg and her friends giggle and gossip, he sticks with Shay on stage. He's pointing something out in their song book until she tears out a page entirely which, OK, not cool. what she comes up with in place of it is actually pretty awesome though, so he lets it go.
His chill enjoyment of the afternoon, however, is interrupted by Mia, who has appeared to watch Grace try and talk Kelsey out of the beach house trip. Thankfully, Meg seems to be helping her.
("Picking up tips?" Magnus asks Mia after showing up next to her.
Mia sighs in what might be considered resigned acceptance of the fact that she's dealing with this too. Britt show up next, looking over it all with a somewhat detached air but not saying anything.)
Megan breaks away from the group, heading towards the stage, and Tyler hopes that she's coming up to them. She and Shay have been in a weird place lately, and Megan asking about their songs like she used to would probably go a long way towards smoothing things over. Instead, she stops next to Marlon and the girl he's talking to. Nic comes up to talk to Shay then anyways, and one of the kids from the AV kid grabs Tyler to talk about a sound check. He absorbs himself in that conversation as everyone fades out around him.
Liv invites everyone over to her apartment for Jayden's housewarming-roomwarming?- party, and though Imann was hesitant about going, she's definitely glad that she did. One of Liv's other roommates, Esra, is a fellow Hijabi and the two of them spend a while comparing favorite wrapping styles. She also has a great time dancing with Engel and Janna. With her grandmother sick, she's been out of town a lot. Keeping up through texts and weird mental parallels isn't the same as being with her real friends at all, so she's happy to have the chance to spend some time with them.
At one point, everyone besides Janna gathers in the kitchen, where Engel is mixing vodka with sparking water and calling it a drink. Imann might not consume alcohol, but the look on Isa's face when she sips it are enough to confirm her suspicions that its gross. She and Liv giggle over the look on Isa's face before she wanders off with Kes. Engel has also vanished, and Imann goes with Liv to get rid of the trash. Lucas is making out with some girl between them and the door, which is definitely something that Imann will be talking about with Marti later. For now though, she and Live take a minute to pause on the balcony.
"It would be a good shot," Imann says, and Liv lines an imaginary one up of the city skyline.
"It would,"
They take another few breaths outside before going back in. She and Liv giggle over the drunken dancing in the middle of the living room, before throwing themselves into the fray.
"Yes." Imann thinks to herself as Janna's arms wrap around her. "This is exactly the kind of break we all needed.
The beat boys party ends up being a decently good time. There's good food and good alcohol of course, and Britt makes out with Luka a bit just for the hell of it. Sarah, of course, still can't dance on a beat to save her life. It seems like even with the new year some things stay the same. Britt is a good bit smarter than most people give her credit for though, and she can't help but notice that Senne isn't him susual self tonight. He won't stop looking at the door for one thing, or his phone for another. He looks very nearly upset.
("Do not say what i think you're going to say" Mia orders, and Britt shrugs.
Emma pops in then, leaning her head on Britt's shoulder. She can't tell if its a gesture of affection or of drunkenness, but the French girl is definitely lucid enough to say "just because you don't like it doesn't mean it isn't true")
Britt decides that this is an excellent opportunity to go get another drink. She's pouring herself a vodka sprite when someone else arrives in the kitchen. Senne, looking at his phone. He seems a bit upset at whatever he's reading, and doesn't seem to even realize that she's there. He dials, but whoever is on the other end doesn't seem to pick up because he goes right back to texting.
She squeezes some lime into her drink as his phone rings. The half-conversation that she catches seems to be mostly him playing dumb, but the look on his face is genuinely hurt, until whoever is on the other end-Britt would put good money on Zoe-says something that turns his face into a familiar smirk.
"What do I get in return?" he asks.
Whatever her reply, it makes his face fall, and he says that he'll see them later before probably-zoe changes her mind and makes him smile. The conversation ends, Senne smiling slightly. He makes one more call, says something about the party being cancelled, and hangs up the phone. It is then that he notices her.
"I was..."
Careful not to spill her drink, Britt throws her hands in the air in the universal gesture of "not my business," and goes to rejoin the party.