CHAPTER 1

Jude Queens hated going to these things. High school parties had been bad enough, but college parties? They were a whole new type of terrible. The air was thick with mingling scents of sweat, cheap cologne, and spilled alcohol. There was no

way to make

it to the bathroom, and if you did,

it

was

worse

than

disgusting—sticky floors, overflowing trash cans, and unmentionable substances on all

surfaces. Missing these gatherings was his MO, but they'd just won a game tonight, and Yon and Klaus just would

not let him stay home. It was

not like he was any fun at them, anyway. He didn't drink, didn't smoke, and

did not have any intentions

on

getting

involved with anyone. And

yet here he was, holding a red cup of

what was probably stale beer. He sniffed it; yeah, beer.

"Can you at least try to look like you

are not in hell right now, Jud? Can you do that? For me?" Yon asked.

Jude shot

him a look in response. "You said I could go

home after one drink."

You haven't even touched it! It's been an hour, and I have

not seen you take a

single sip. 

Please, just have one sip," Yon said.

Jude sighed

dramatically

before

he

brought

the cup to his lips. God, that was disgusting. He grimaced, and Yon burst into laughter.

"Did he actually try it?" Klaus asked.

Yon shrugged.

"I did try it. You said one sip. I may

go now," Jude said

to Yon.

"We're

meant to be celebrating. This is

meant to be a celebration. We won the tournament; you won your first college tournament! Don't you think we're

entitled

to this?" Yon said, clearly exasperated with Jude.

Jude rolled his eyes. Why would Yon even want him here? “I’m happy, but this is just not my idea of a celebration,” he pointed out. He surveyed the room again—bad music and people gyrating against each other, covered in sweat…ugh. The dim lighting and flashing neon created an almost surreal, disorienting atmosphere, amplifying his discomfort.

"Come on, a big swallow," Klaus coaxed, pushing the cup upwards

against Jude's lips and making him tilt his head back and swallow

some

more.

Jude scowled, the bitterness stinging on his tongue. "I liked you better when you were scared of me."

"I wasn't

ever scared of you. I just didn't realize you were a softie under all the glaring," Klaus said back, his face

flushed. He'd

probably had

a

few

warm beers by then.

"We

have to go to the gym tomorrow," Jude said,

reminding him, and Klaus shook his head

and

looked away.

Yon and Klaus were both sophomores, a year older than Jude. Klaus had attended

Jude's high school, so

he

felt

obligated

to

Jude. They'd

taken

Jude under their wing since they started school three months prior. They didn't

have

any classes together but shared

the volleyball team, which constituted Jude's life. Jude was on a

sports scholarship, after all. They did

attempt to be Jude's

friend, and Jude was

aware he was

not always the easiest guy to be

friends with.

Jude sighed and took another drink without being prompted. Surprised, they both turned to him, the glee evident on their faces. Jude drank and tried to smother his smile.

“I’m so proud of you,” Yon said while Klaus clutched his hand to his chest in a mock impression of a proud parent.

“Don’t get too excited about it,” Jude told him.

A

girl

who

was drunk and

heading

to the bathroom

crashed

into

Jude. She apologized,

turning

around,

and smiled at him. Since Jude did

not smile back, she proceeded

with

an

strange

glance

at

him.

"He's not mean; it's just his face," Klaus called out.

Jude gave

him

a horrified look. "Could you not do that, maybe?"

"Would you not look as

if you're going to kill

every

person

in this room?" Klaus asked, taking a huge gulp of his beer and reveling

in it.

Jude gave him a half-hearted fake smile.

"Oh, so cute," Klaus said, stretching out to pinch Jude's cheek.

Jude slapped his hand away.

Yon called out a name and stepped away from the individual. Jude turned, watching him talk to a man who had passed

by them. Jude did

not

catch his face.

"Drink

up. I'm getting you another one," Klaus said.

"You said one drink," Jude protested.

"Oh, my god, you're such a baby. Just drink the beer," Klaus muttered.

Jude took another drink. He turned back to Yon, hoping he would keep his one-drink promise, and choked on it.

Wow.

"Are you okay?" Klaus asked him.

Jude turned to him and waved vaguely. He was

able to work his throat around the drink and coughed a few

times while Klaus whacked his back.

"I'm fine," Jude said, not at all feeling fine.

Yon was still talking to the guy he'd

yelled

at, and he was just…wow. Jude had never been

quite so instantly attracted to someone

he'd

just seen, not like this. The way he stood with his hands half

in the pockets of his jeans, to the smile he gave Yon, he just looked perfect. He was shorter than Jude. His dark brown hair messed

untidily

on his head, giving him that just-out-of-bed disheveled

appearance. He licked his lips prior

to

erupting into a wide smile at Yon's statement. God, he also had a great smile. His dark eyebrows were thick over his eyes in the most endearing

manner, slanting at precisely the right angle. The stubble along his jawline was light but enough to convey

the

impression

of sharpness. Jude couldn't discern the color of his eyes from this far away, but he could see a beauty mark high

on his cheekbone.

"Hey, are you there?" Klaus asked with a laugh, and Jude turned

his attention back to him.

Jude nodded

distractedly. How long had he been staring at him?

"What were you staring at?

Whowere you staring at?" Klaus questioned, amusement

evident in his voice.

Jude panicked. He had

not

told

them

this

part

about

himself. It had

not come up, and it was

not like he could announce

that he was gay during

practice and carry on as normal. Klaus caught a look at Yon and then at Jude.

"No one," Jude tried, but Klaus frowned.

His eyes drifted back to Yon, and then his eyebrows rose. Jude started shaking his head.

"Holy fuck, Jud, I had no fucking idea," Klaus said with a grin.

"It's not—" Jude started to argue, his heart in his throat.

"It's not? You're literally drooling looking at that guy," Klaus said, leaning

in a little and dropping his voice.

Jude clamped his lips shut. "I wasn't—" he tried again.